Livin' Life

Hello from the West coast! I am currently in Oregon visiting my Mom's side of the family. We are having an amazing time and I can't wait to post about all of the fun things we are doing. Until then, I thought I would share a few things I've been up to the last few weeks.

Disclaimer: If you are sick of looking at my amazing pictures of beautiful beaches and amazing sunsets, stop reading.


I feel like every weekend I have down in SC and NC are ones to remember. I guess that's what you get when you live by the beach. Even the littlest things are turned into a fun adventure.

One night my mom and I took the dogs for a walk to the crab dock just in time for this beautiful sunset.

Last Friday we decided to go on a beach picnic in the evening. I decided to make this recipe accompanied by chicken satay with a peanut yogurt sauce. YUM. You have to try this summer salad. It was so fresh and filling without overdoing it. I will be making it again very soon!

If you make this recipe, definitely follow her method of cooking the ears of corn. It turned out really well and was very easy, especially if you hate shucking corn like me. I actually used the sweet white corn instead of yellow corn and I LOVED it. 

We packed up our picnic and beach chairs and headed down to Isle of Palm. It was perfect weather. It was the kind of weather where you can't stop saying, "Wow, it's a beautiful night" even though you've said it a million times. Beautiful weather in Charleston isn't usually out of the ordinary, but lately there have been quite a few grey days. It rained 30 of 42 days at one point. 

It could not have been a more perfect evening. I've decided beach picnics are where it's at. You get the atmosphere without paying the price of expensive restaurant food. Win-Win.

Like I said, perfect evening

Saturday I hopped in the car to meet Jake in Wilmington. As hard as we try to not see each other on the weekend to save a little cash, we can't stay away. I guess it's pretty normal to want to see your spouse. We had planned to meet at the beach, but when we got there (after sitting in crazy lines of traffic) it was raining and there was no parking. Total buzz kill. Luckily we had a plan B. We headed to our riverfront hotel to lay by the pool. It actually wasn't raining there. The hotel was beautiful and had an amazing view of the river and the USS North Carolina. After the pool, we cleaned up and headed to dinner with friends on the waterfront.

Mr. Micah Tate with his bucket of Oysters

Sunday, Jake and I went to the mall to get me some new sunglasses and then went to check out the USS North Carolina. It was a beautiful ship and it was fun the learn the history behind it.

Like all other weekends, Sunday afternoon came and Jake and I had to say goodbye. Fortunately, we have less than a month until we won't be in a LDR(long-distance relationship) anymore. Not only that, but in a month and a half, we will be headed to LIVE in Japan. Pretty crazy.

Until next time,

J and M

Red, White, and Blessed

We really like the 4th of July around here, so we spread our celebration out for a whole week! Meghan and Joey came down the 27th for a whole week. Friday we went to seabiscuit, a breakfast place on the beach, took a beach walk, and then headed to the pool. Jake came down later that afternoon. That evening we had our 4th celebration with a dinner of pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob, and watermelon. A perfect American meal.

We finished off the American meal with this amazing pie my mom made

blueberry strawberry cream cheese pie

On Saturday, the weather forecast wasn't looking promising, but we headed to the beach anyway. It started out cloudy, but ended up being a beautiful day. The waves were crazy. There were surfers and kite boarders every where. We even got out our boogie board and hit the waves. It was such a fun day, even if we all got extremely burnt (and later peeled like snakes). We ended the day with a Mexican fiesta at home and a night of board games. 

Meg and I being silly 

Jake had to leave on Sunday, unfortunately. But, we did get in a delicious meal and a rematch at board games before he had to go back. 

Monday we got pedicures, went to dinner at a local restaurant, and watched the Bachelorette. Tuesday we hit up the outlets, which were having amazing sales, and then everyone went to yoga with me. It was fun to show them how great yoga is. Meg and Joey loved it and are considering going when they are back home. Wednesday morning we packed up all three dogs at 6 am and headed to the beach. It was Nellie's (my parents puppy) first time going to the beach. The sunrise was beautiful and the dogs had a blast!

Later that day, my friend Sarah, who lives in Savannah, came and picked me up and we headed to Lexington! We were so excited that we didn't even care that it pretty much rained the entire drive. It was so great to be back in Lexington after quite a few months. Jake hadn't been back since Christmas and Sarah hadn't been back in over a year. We went to our favorite restaurant, Durangos, as soon as we got back. Ahhh felt like home. 

Here we come Lexington!

notice the peeling forehead?? Thanks sunburn

Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were there. The 4th was the worst. We woke up and it was absolutely pouring. BUMMER. We tried not to let it take away from our time with friends and family. Kellie Jo and Dan cooked ribs, brisket, her famous texas potatoes, beans, and corn. Another perfect American meal. Lots of friends came over. It was great to be stuck inside catch up with everyone and laugh till our bellies hurt. We then headed downtown, but unfortunately is was too rainy to see many fireworks. 

Happy 4th Y'all

Friday, Jake and I took Lexie to the vet and then went to our favorite breakfast spot, Great Bagel. We then ran a couple of errands and stopped by Jake's old job, Allsports. It was so weird driving around and seeing how everything had changed since we had been gone. It was also fun to reminisce on all of the good times we had growing up. That night we ordered pizza and hung out with friends. We had tons of fun telling stories and talking about where everyone is now. It's crazy how we have all grown up. 

Saturday, Sarah, Hannah, and I headed to another one of my favorite places, Wine and Market. This place is a must see. The atmosphere in itself is worth the trip. There is a room off to the side that displays all sorts of wines, but it is mostly a market for local foods. There are tons of cheeses, meats, pastries, spreads, chocolates, and other miscellaneous items. Sarah and Hannah got really yummy sandwiches and I got tomato soup. We also shared a cheese plate, and if you know me, you know I was in heaven. I had also been dreaming about their macaroons and finally got one! 

We then went to all of our favorite boutiques downtown. None of us felt like spending money, but it was fun to look. We even popped our head into a used bookstore. It was this old house lined with all sorts of books in all conditions. The cute little store owner excitedly showed us around while we ooed and awed. He even tried to sell me his rug that I was in love with. I wanted to buy some old childrens' books from him, but considering my stuff is already in Japan (yep you heard right. It's over there waiting for us), so that wouldn't have worked out. 

Sunday we all had to head home, Jake on a plane and us in the car. Yep, it rained ALL THE WAY HOME. I was not happy. Especially because I wasn't excited about leaving Lexington. Thank you everyone for reminding us that we will always have a home in Lexington. We enjoyed seeing everyone we did see and we are sorry if we did not get to see you. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We will be back in August before we head to Japan so we hope to see everyone then!

All in all, it was the perfect way to spend American's birthday. Now we are back in Charleston/Camp Lejeune and know time will fly by. We will be in Japan before we know it. Hopefully we will be ready.

Until next time,

M and J