Five on Friday

Happy Friday y'all!  I've been a bit busy this week because today is officially moving day (or more specifically day 1 of moving weekend!) In true procrastinator Heather fashion, I'm still packing up boxes because the moving truck doesn't actually come until tomorrow...

Which reminds me that tomorrow is the first day of March!! March has always been one of my favorite months because it means spring is coming (daylight savings starts next weekend!) and I've always had so many fun events happening around that time. We have lots of fun plans the upcoming weekends so I'm definitely looking forward to an exciting month! Here's what's been on my mind this week, but of course I haven't really had a chance to sit down and share with you all:

1. Audrey Hepburn Chocolate Commercial

I caught the end of this commercial yesterday morning when I heard "Moon River" playing and rushed into my bedroom. Little backstory on my love for this song- my freshman year of college was the first time I finally saw Breakfast at Tiffany's. Also during my freshman year, my roommate/bff/sorority sister and I would watch an episode (or two or three) of Sex and the City every night when we were in our dorm room before bed. One of my favorite episodes is the "I Heart NY" episode ("you take a nappa, you don't move to Nappa!") because I loved when Carrie & Big danced to "Moon River" which you can watch here! Even though it's a super old and cheesy song, it still remains one of my favorite classics!

2. Scandal

Olivia Pope was back in action last night! I recently just started watching this show (thanks Netflix!!) and have been hooked. Did y'all watch last night too??


3. Closet Cleanse

I still have some pretty things available that I'm selling on my Instagram account! I have a feeling there will be more next week when I move everything over to my new closet and go through it all so be on the lookout for more on sale! (The bow bracelet shown is sold now, sorry!)

4. Tory Burch Spring

one // two // three // four // five

I posted this image on Instagram yesterday with five of my favorites from the Tory Burch website. I have a gift card that I've been saving and just can't decide what to use it on! At first I was all about the gold Miller sandals since I practically lived in my tan ones last summer but then I saw all of those cute navy & white stripe bags... oh my goodness I'm so indecisive so I'd love some other opinions!

5. Thank You

Just wanted to throw out a special thanks to my mom, dad, brother, and boyfriend who have taken time out of your busy schedules to help your favorite daughter/sister/girlfriend move this weekend! Y'all are the best, not only for helping the packing and moving of the boxes but for always being there to support and encourage me! Love y'all!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, you know I'll be posting lots of pics of my new place! :)

Monogram Monday

Happy Monday! Today I'm featuring a customer favorite from the Sweet Tea Monograms shop, our Monogrammed Gingham Columbia PFG shirts!

I've had the clear blue gingham shirts in the shop for the longest and they have for sure been one of our most popular items but I am so excited about the new navy ones and the grape are so cute with a bright thread color. 

The shirts can be ordered with a big monogram on the back like the middle example or you can choose a smaller monogram above the pocket (like the grape and navy examples) OR you can even order it with both!

These shirts are some of my favorite to wear in the sunshine because they are very light weight and have UPF 30 sun protection. I have skin cancer history in my genes so am always looking for cute ways to get a little extra sun protection. They are Columbia's "PFG" shirts which stands for performance fishing gear so are made for being out on the water all day!

This time last year I was getting ready for a trip to the Caribbean with my family for my brother's college spring break and my monogrammed PFG was one of my first things packed!

The sleeves on the shirts can be rolled up which is nice when it's really hot! It was a perfect shirt to throw on over my bathing suit with a pair of white shorts. Of course I had to add one of my monogrammed headbands into the mix too! 

I wanted to include these pictures to show you the length and the fit of the shirt. For reference I'm wearing a M because I wanted it a little bit more relaxed than a normal button up shirt since I knew I'd be wearing it over my bathing suit.

Hope y'all enjoy my Monogram Monday and let me know if you have any questions about the shirts! Be sure to check out my Monogram Monday next week, I'm excited to start up some March Monogram Madness soon!!

Apartment Tour

I have loved living in my little downtown apartment but next week I'm moving about 20 minutes away where I will have a little more space, more closets, and a real kitchen- yay!! Since I am moving I wanted to snap a few shots of what my place looks like now so I can remember where things go and remember what it was like. I love my tall ceilings and all of the natural light the huge windows let in- the very second I walked in and saw that, I knew this was where I wanted to live!

Most of my furniture are hand-me-downs from my parents and my dining room chairs actually were my dad's parents chairs when he was growing up. I totally lucked out because my parents had moved right before I did so I was able to "claim" some of my favorite furniture! Most of the pieces are kind of "mix and match",  like the red chair that I haven't been able to find a slipcover for, but they are all pieces that are comfortable or functional so for me, it works! My main color scheme stems from that green piece (not sure the exact term for it...) that my mom found at an auction. It's a great statement piece, and is very functional too because it gives me some great storage space.

When I first moved to Charleston I bought my very first sweetgrass basket that I keep on my entry table. It's the perfect place to keep my keys/wallet/sunglasses to grab before I go out the door!

My bar cart was probably what I was most excited to put together when I moved in and it's still one of my favorite little spots. Of course it's used more for storage and decoration (we're mostly just wine and beer drinkers) but I love all of the little details. It's a great place to display some of my favorite little gifts from friends, like "The South" tea towel, alligator plate, and monogram coasters in the top left photo (thanks Jen!!) and the adorable little mason jar shot glasses in the bottom left photo (love those Jess!)

Next to my bar cart is my "coffee bar" and extra little fridge (the one in my kitchen is teeny tiny!) which is starting to become a display for the upcoming wedding season! My Keurig was one of my favorite Christmas presents this year and of course I had to find some cute coffee mugs to enjoy it with!

My little vignette next to my TV changes often and this is where I usually like to display little holiday things, but for now it's back to my usual "life's a beach" frame (and Valentine's day roses from last week!) with my favorite candle, which of course happens to be the "Charleston" from Archipelago, on my Design Darling tray.

I love having the shelf behind the couch because it serves as a giant sofa table (and a nice spot for some Sweet Tea Monograms displays!) Most of the items on the shelf are from Home Goods or One Kings Lane- two of my favorite places that I've banned myself from now until I move into my new place. I made the coasters this summer for Robbie's birthday with some of our favorite Charleston spots!

I was pretty pumped when I moved in to get a bookshelf to hold my pretty picture frames and of course my wide assortment of books! On the top shelf you'll see some of my favorite things- my little custom pieces from Amanda Bee which will be the first thing framed and up on the wall when I can finally hang things on the walls!

Thanks y'all for joining me this morning on my little "tour" of my living/dining room! Cheers!

Baked Zucchini Fries and Hawaiian Pizza

I started really learning how to cook (and enjoy it!) when I came home from college and lived with my family. I learned a lot from being in the kitchen with my mom and younger brother (who has been a little chef since he was young!) Around that time was also when I learned how to cook healthy meals and snacks, as opposed to the dining hall food I used to eat in college (and the late night DP Dough and Gumby's...) so I was able to drop a few pounds and felt SO much better because of the healthy lifestyles I had started to adapt.

I've tried to keep those healthy habits living in Charleston (although I do love some Palmetto cheese, grits, and all of those bad-for-you Southern foods!) but I've felt that cooking dinners at home has been the easiest way to stay healthy because I know exactly what's going into my food. I also love cooking dinners, whether it's just for myself (I'll always make more than I will eat so I can have leftovers for lunch the next day) or for me & my beau (who is the best person to cook for because he'll eat just about anything!) I see cooking as a creative outlet, so for that reason I always like to mix it up and probably 50% of the time I never use a recipe. Of course when I'm trying out new things, I'll need a recipe close by, but I usually never stick right to it- I don't measure much, just "eye ball" it most of the time. I love to experiment with different flavors and ingredients!

Last week (remember back when it was freezing in SC) I wanted to make something easy but hot and fulfilling for Robbie and myself. I already had some zucchini, pineapple, pizza sauce so I decided to try a recipe for baked zucchini "fries" and throw together a Hawaiian pizza since I already had the pineapple (and banana peppers if you want to get crazy!)

The recipe for the zucchini fries I found on Pinterest (where I find almost all of my recipes these days) a few weeks back and had tried them once so I knew they were pretty good! They are a great healthy appetizer and since we dip them in marinara, they are great to serve with any Italian style dinner.

Baked Zucchini Fries

Before they went into the oven... drenched in eggs then dipped into the panko bread crumb/Italian seasoning/Parmesan cheese mix.

Popped them into the oven at 425 for about 20ish minutes (the 12-15 mins from the recipe wasn't quite enough for my oven) and voila!

Serve with some marinara (or whatever spaghetti sauce you have in your fridge, in our case- Trader Joe's bolognese sauce, yum!)

Next for the Hawaiian pizza, which happens to be one of Robbie and my favorites! Like I mentioned, I already had some pineapple, banana peppers, and pizza sauce in the fridge at home so I picked up a whole wheat crust (remember, I wanted this to be an easy dinner), Canadian bacon (although I could have used ham instead), and an Italian cheese mix- easy peasy!

My cooking companion before Robbie came home! ;)

All of the ingredients ready to go on the pizza! I chopped up the Canadian bacon into smaller pieces but that was really the only prep work!

All set to go in the oven. I think I cooked at 425 for about 20-25ish minutes, though it may have been ready a little sooner.

Yum! All ready to eat!

Thanks for reading y'all! I'd love to hear what some of your favorite quick and (somewhat) healthy recipes are since I'm headed to Trader Joe's this afternoon! Have a great weekend!!

Guilty Pleasures

Yesterday I decided to create a new day of the week... Tuesday's are now "Treat Yourself Tuesdays" (it brings me back to my college days when Tuesdays were my favorite night of the week for TOTS Tuedays!)

After I dropped off some Sweet Tea Monograms orders at the post office, I treated myself to a much needed mani/pedi in one of my favorites.. OPI's Strawberry Margarita. Since it was a gorgeous day out, I decided to at least pretend that spring is right around the corner and broke out one of my favorite outfits, along with some Jack Rogers after the pedicure!

Riley Infinity Loop Scarf // Top {short sleeve version} // Jeans, old Worth Straight Jeans from Lilly Pulitzer
Sparkle Navajo Jack Rogers // Monogram Necklace // Tory Burch Amanda Hobo 

The afternoon/ evening was full of some of my favorite guilty pleasures so I decided to share a few...

{via}

Pretty Little Liars is by far one of my biggest guilty pleasures. Yes, this ABC Family show is the one show I never miss during the week and have watched every episode from the previous seasons (probably multiple times) on Netflix! I just love the mystery of it all, something about it is just so addicting for me... and maybe one of these we'll really find out who "A" is!

Since PLL comes on at 8 p.m., I am usually right in the middle of doing paperwork and sorting through orders so I'll often take my work to the couch while I watch. Last night, in honor of my "Treat Yourself Tuesday" and National Drink Wine Day, I enjoyed a glass of wine and my favorite candy - Lucky Country Strawberry Australian Licorice as well! I didn't really start liking wine until my senior year of college, but now that Robbie is also a big red wine fan, it is our go-to drink (when I'm not gulping down water, La Croix or hot tea!) The licorice that I mentioned I sort of stumbled upon at Harris Teeter one day, and quickly became addicted! It. is. so. good. It takes a lot of will power some days to not finish a whole bag in one day, seriously- that good.

Last but of course not least, like many girls, shopping is another one of my serious guilty pleasures. I needed to exchange something at Palm Avenue from last week so I wanted to try on some new things... I was obviously going with a navy vibe - definitely my favorite color to wear (I guess I could say navy clothes are another guilty pleasure, especially when it's Lilly and navy!)

I'd love to hear about some of your biggest guilty pleasures!

Does anybody else still watch Pretty Little Liars? What did y'all think about last night's episode??

SEWE Weekend

This past weekend I got to experience my first Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) in Charleston, which should probably be renamed to the Adorable Dog Exposition. I was just loving all the dogs, especially since I can't wait to get one of my own soon! Here are a few highlights of my puppy loving throughout the day... watching the Dock Dogs was probably my favorite. I just couldn't get over how far some of them could jump off that dock!

Other than the really cute dogs, there were some great exhibitors and some really cool and creative companies that were out there. One company, TideLine Outfitters, has made a camouflage out of all oyster shells- perfect for SEWE!

Robbie & me

It was a beautiful day out at Brittlebank Park, but boy was it windy! I had almost forgotten how much I love my old pink J.Crew Bella jacket... since it was wool, it kept me warm from the wind and I was very easy to find in a sea of Barbour jackets. I loved pairing it with just a basic navy long sleeve tee {Gap}, my winter white cords {J.Crew}, and a good pair of boots that I didn't mind getting a little muddy!

We arrived in the morning so after snacking on some boiled peanuts and fried gator and sipping a couple beers, we figured we had seen all we could see there and headed back closer to downtown to some of the other expo locations. 

It was a really great experience and I loved taking advantage of this big event that is hosted just "right around the corner" from me. I love that there's always something going on in Charleston, just another thing I love about this great city I live in!

After SEWE on Saturday, we cleaned ourselves up for dinner at Fleet Landing (where we went on our very first date SEWE weekend last year!) It's a really fun place to go to in the summer because it's right on the water, but it's a fun atmosphere for all year round! Of course, I also love a place that has great seafood and a nautical flair (it used to be a Navy building!)

Sunday morning was spent being lazy and making brunch together (it helped to have some leftover shrimp & grits from our Valentine's dinner!) We ran a few errands and ended the afternoon with a walk/run across the Ravenel bridge. 

It was a gorgeous night over the Cooper River, but was still quite a bit windy! I loved the gorgeous views, but I have a feeling I'm going to love them more in the summertime! :)

To finish off the great weekend, I wanted to try a new restaurant on Upper King and we ended up going with Prohibition which had been recommended from Jen when she and her boyfriend visited Charleston. I'm so glad we branched out from some of our usuals because this place was so interesting!

 

Robbie had a Moscow Mule and I tried the "Itty Bitty" - both were really good!

We both ordered the Duck Hash which was the special for the night. It was so delicious and a great deal- two fried eggs, hash-browns, bell peppers and duck confit along with a mason jar of a beer, and who doesn't love a good mason jar!?

A Charleston Style Valentine's Day Recap

The best gift this Valentine's day was a bright and beautiful day! After spending most of the week indoors because it was rainy, icy, and just plain cold, it was such a treat to get outside and see the sun shining. I was up early Friday morning (who ever would have known I'd be a morning person?!) so I decided I would take advantage of the beautiful weather and get a great walk in around downtown Charleston and start celebrating love with the city that I love!

Dulles Designs

Since I was out and about so early, most stores weren't open but it was so fun to peek in the windows and enjoy the fun Valentine's decorations. Dulles Designs is one of my favorite little stationery stores and they always have some of the cutest cards on display in their window.

It was great to get down to some of my favorite (touristy) spots in Charleston too while the sun was shining bright. While I was walking down East Bay Street it was so crazy to me that I was able to just stand in the middle of the street while getting this photo of Rainbow Row. I guess none of the other tourists were out at 7:30 am with me!

Rainbow Row 

Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park

After my walk, I stopped by Dunkin Donuts and finally picked up some delicious heart shaped and red sprinkled donuts that I had been craving since this post! Yum, I think I'll have to treat myself more often!

Broke out my "Robbie Red" pants for my Valentine's outfit of the day- how appropriate! 

An adorable Valentine's package from my sweet parents! 

The "love" dishtowel came in handy that night when I cooked dinner for my Valentine.

I cooked shrimp & grits for the first time and it was quite a success! You can try your hand at this lighten up Southern favorite here. I had a few tweaks to the receipe, like using real bacon instead of Canadian bacon and I may have added some butter to the grits, ya know since it was a "holiday" and everything... We enjoyed it with a nice glass of our favorite Pinot Noir, Decoy for a perfect date night at home!