Lowcountry Produce in Seabrook

As the season has shifted into fall, the way the sun lights up the spaces in our house throughout the day has changed.  For some reason, thinking about how the sun streams in reminded me of a visit to Lowcountry Produce earlier this year.

While I don't have dreams of opening a shop, Lowcountry Produce is the kind of place that I would like to create if I did.  Everything about it was charming, from the bright white floor-to-ceiling board and batten clad walls, to the pickles, jams & soups lining the shelves.  It is a sweet little market where you can find a darling gift or something to make a plain appetizer or meal a little bit special.  The colorful art placed here and there and the sunshine streaming in warmed the happy space right up.  

By the way, the make scrumptious breakfasts and lunches, too.

Children, Fishing and Art

To me, there's nothing more delicious than the sight of a little one outside, soaking up the sun and soaking up life.  I get major heart eyes for a good shot of my little guy fishing.

When I had the opportunity to have a painting created from one of these images by an artist I adore, I jumped.  Kendall is so very talented and I have to resist the urge to buy pretty much every single happy floral painting she creates.  When she mentioned that she wanted to work on a series of paintings of children earlier this year, I got in touch with her immediately.

I couldn't be any happier with how the piece turned out.

You can check out Kendall's work here.

I had a custom floating frame made through one of my favorite Etsy shops*.

*affiliate link

Handmade Frames

You guys!  Have you ever ordered something online, and just enough time passes before it arrives that you've kind of forgotten about it?  That happened to me and today was delivery day!  Such a fun little surprise.

I ordered these frames and I'm so glad that I did!  They are handmade, from real wood, and they are lovely.  The smaller one is a standard size frame in 2-Tone style in the Robin's Egg color.  The larger frame is a custom size in the Escalante style in Vintage Dark Wood finish.  These frames are sturdy and the paint and stain are rich and beautiful.

I sought out these frames for two specific pieces of art.

The Robin's Egg frame will hold a sweet little Rainbow Row (Charleston) print from C. Brooke Ring.  The color of the frame makes this print pop and it's just the little room brightener its future space needs.

The dark frame is for a darling painting by Kendall Kirk.  If I had my way, I'd buy every single one of Kendall's paintings.  The colors are happy and the thick paint delicious.  I plan to stare at this one for several minutes every single day.

I can't wait to show you where these two pieces end up.

The Library Nook

The hallway downstairs is wider than the average hallway and has two nooks, one on each side of a closet in the middle.  The original plans for the house called for one window centered in each nook.

We owned a large sturdy bookcase.  It was one of the first big pieces of furniture we bought for our former home.  It is solid wood, purchased locally from Celadon (likely from India).  I wasn't willing to give it up, but there was just no obvious spot in the plans for it.  That's what sparked an idea for one of the nooks.

We worked with our builder to remove one of the nook windows (and to move it to the other nook), which created the perfect space for the bookcase.  I love how it fits just perfectly!  The space isn't complete yet, but I thought I'd share a sneak peak, and see if y'all have any ideas.

I know I want another little piece of art for the wall on the right.  I'm thinking of a small marsh painting or print.  I also have a thing for silhouettes of children and adore this one from Etsy. What do you think?

Also, I kind of like how the lighting at night is faint, but I do wonder if I should try to add some lighting.  A set of string lights, or a sconce, or a tiny little lamp to sit on one of the shelves.

And, maybe a little stool or bench...

I like how these ideas come to life over time.

In case you're curious, my favorite author is the witty Jane Green.  Her books got me through my living-alone in Boulder days, when I should have been studying text books instead.

Goat Cheese and Onion Burgers with Garlic Goat Cheese Aioli

We rented for nearly a year after selling our last house.  It feels so amazing to finally be back in a place of our own.  Aside from unpacking, I've already started to dream about how to turn this house into our home.  Hanging paintings and painting.  Planting flowers and finagling the furniture.  Sorting out how to make each space functional and comfortable and light.

While those plans get underway, we're enjoying simple things like having space and a grill to be able to cook like we like.  I love cooking and eating at home.

Goat Cheese and Onion Burgers with Garlic Goat Cheese Aioli

Ingredients -

for the aioli

• 3 tbsp Dukes mayo
• 2 oz goat cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated*
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp paprika

*I like to use a microplane to grate garlic when it is going into a sauce or uncooked dish.  You get the flavor and keep your sauce smooth.

for the burgers

• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium onion, slided
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 2 oz goat cheese
• white or wheat hamburger buns, optional

Process -

1. Heat your Big Green Egg or grill up to 500°.
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil for minute, then add onion and salt.  Turn the burner to low.
3. Continuously stir the onions to avoid burning and cook until soft, 20-30 minutes.
4. In the meantime, mix all of the aioli ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Place the aioli in the fridge to meld and setup until your onions and burgers are ready.
6. Mix the ground beef, chopped onions and Worcestershire in a medium bowl.  Do not over mix!
7. Form burger patties by hand or use a burger press (we like this one because it leaves a dimple that helps keep the burgers juicy).
8. Cook the burgers for a few minutes on each side.
9. Lightly toast your burger buns on the grill if you like.
10. Add a teaspoon or so of Aioli to the bottom bun, add the burger onions & goat cheese.

This meal goes well with a fresh salad, but tonight we used up some extra Alexa tater tots dipped in the left over aioli - yum!

Stuck up a Creek

We intended to spend a couple hours on the water and to catch a fish or two, if we were lucky.

This guy had been waiting eagerly for the day he could could give his new cast net a try, so the cruise started with a little instruction.  He loved every second and, one way or another, we managed to collect a little bait.

We headed up the river to a familiar creek.  We fished for a bit, but when the fish weren't biting, we decided to move further into the creek.  We got to having fun.  The little one talked non-stop about this and that.  A friendly creek resident rode in on his kayak and we chatted with him for a while.  We talked about staying just a few more minutes and then heading out before the tide got too low.

Whelp... we waited just a few minutes too many.

The good news - we had everything we could possibly need.  Snacks, water, extra clothes, sunscreen and music.  The better news - the three of us were there together, and even though I had a list of chores planned for the afternoon, there was nothing that could be done.  So, we decided to enjoy it.

It was perfect, not being able to get anywhere even if we'd had somewhere we needed to be.  Fishing unsuccessfully, catching a random crab, thinking, looking, talking and just breathing.  We had all the luck.

Before we knew it, the tide rolled back in and we rolled back out of the creek.


Sources
Kid-sized cast net - Hadrell's Point
Kid's trucker hat - oldie but goodie from Field and Stream
Head buff - this one was a freebie from this year's i5k bag, but we have a few of these too
Hatley trunks and rashguard - Amazon
Kid's fishing net - Sewee Outpost

affiliate links

Simple Overnight Oats and Quinoa with Strawberries

Have you ever tried Overnight Oats?  The refrigerator kind (as opposed to the slow cooker kind)?  I love them!

They are simple to make.  Just layer a few ingredients in a jar before bed, toss some fresh fruit in when you wake up and voilà, you have breakfast!  Plus, you can easily make a few at a time, so you can feed others or have breakfast ready and waiting for a few days.

Overnight Oats are so addictive, too!  I didn't think I would like eating cold oats.  You can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them if you like, but they are surprisingly good straight out of the fridge.

By the way, rolled oats are high in fiber and have tons of health benefits.  

This week, I'm adding a generous bunch of the amazing strawberries we picked out at Wabi Sabi last weekend, but you can use almost any fruit you have.  I like fresh berries best, but you can use frozen, and you can use other fruit like apples, banana or mango.

Ingredients-

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon, or more based on your taste
• 1 tsp almonds
• 1 tsp honey (local honey helps alleviate allergies!)
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/3 cup fruit

Recipe -

1. Layer the oats, quinoa, cinnamon, almonds & honey into a jar or container.
2. Top with almond milk.
3. If you're using frozen fruit, go ahead and add it now.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight (I've found that I can make these a few days ahead and they're still so good)
5. If you're using fresh fruit, add right before you serve.

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U-pick Strawberries from Wabi Sabi Farm

The first time I ever picked strawberries, I was somewhere outside of Portland, Maine.  There's something about eating food that you harvest yourself, isn't there?

We are so lucky to have several good U-pick strawberry farms around here.  I especially love Wabi Sabi in Cordesville.  It is off the beaten path, for starters, and it's nice to have a little space when you're picking strawberries.  Also, the sweetest family runs this farm.  They care about what they do and it shows each time we visit.  I like supporting them for that reason.  Finally, the strawberries at Wabi Sabi taste AMAZING!  They are juicy, sweet and slightly tangy.  They are delicious on their own, tossed in a salad, or made into a scrumptious dessert.

We went out to Wabi Sabi this morning and brought home the two boxes above.  I was browsing though my pictures the other day though, and happened upon few that I took out at this farm last year.  

You could just stop into the grocery store and pick up a container full, but you haven't really tasted strawberries until you've picked your own.

By the way, I picked up one of the strawberry hullers at Coastal Cupboard here in town.  My son thoroughly enjoyed hulling a bunch of the strawberries that I planned to freeze.  If it were just me, I'd just cut the entire top off to remove the stem, but it is so much fun to see kids amused by something so simple.  Perspective. :)