happy birthday, Mom!

My mom turned 51 today! What a happy reason to celebrate! She and I had both been invited to Tamela's for lunch. {Tam hosts a delicious ladies-only lunch each month for those that have birthdays in that month! Isn't that awesome of her?!} She had everything looking festive with Coca-Cola decor and fresh flowers. We feasted on grilled hamburgers, great northern beans, and potato salad. Dessert was a double-fold delight! Both Oreo and Nutterbutter ice cream desserts with your choice of chocolate or peanut butter sauce.....what rapture! Twas a lively group; we didn't lack for topics to chat about! All too soon, it was time to be on our way back to mom's house for the next celebration! Aunt Donna and Aunt Tricia came to join me, Mom, and Mel for a Pool Party! We floated and had fun in the sun talking and laughing. True to Smith style, we also had lots of food!!! Party mix, mixed nuts, popcorn, cheese, congos, chocolate crinkles, and chocolate oatmeal bars! I decided it would be a perfect time to debut the above pictured watermelon lime frosties too! Of course, the finished product was quite different from the original recipe. I'll post the original and put my tweakations in parentheses. I also doubled the recipe!

Happy Slurping!

Watermelon Lime Frosty (or Margarita)

adapted from Happy, Healthy, Life

makes 2

3 cups watermelon, cubed and frozen

1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen  (didn't have! substituted 2 T. sugar)

2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (white sugar)

Zest from 2 limes (only had 1/2 lime)

Juice from 2 limes (about 4 tablespoons)

1/2 cup water (used 1 cup)

Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding more water as needed to keep the mixture moving. For margaritas: add 3-4 shots of silver tequila (used ginger ale!)

zippers!!

Thought I'd quick type a line here before bed while Danl is out stealthly sneakin' around attempting to assasinate a pesky armadillo! Sure hope his mission is succcessful since more holes are appearing every night! I just finished up with this years zipper cream peas. 27 bags later I'm feeling like a virtuous housewife! Starting the pea fiasco at 8 o'clock wasn't my best idea, but finally the kitchen is back in order and we are ready to call it a day! (danl returned; mission update - no armadillo...)

keep calm

I LOVE this! :) In fact, I'm gonna go find some chocolate right now! Wanna join me?

the princess and the pillowcase

I had a crafty attack the other day and followed this tutorial detailing how to turn a plain ole pillowcase into a posh shopping bag! :) It was fun; I want to make a few more and jazz them up a bit. Mine was very plain other than a decorative stitch on the hem. Then I humbly gave it to a much craftier friend who I'm sure could've effortlessly given it much more razzle-dazzle! Anyway, here's the link if you get the urge to primp up a pillowcase!
http://growmama.blogspot.com/2010/10/take-vintage-pillowcase.html

questions

Sometimes life feels like a woolen cloak draped over your shoulders; too hot, too heavy....
But you can't shrug it off...
Confusion, sadness, perplexities, reign.
How to be better instead of bitter?
Is it possible?
Change, or acceptance....
How to live in the light; how to walk in the right.
Why is life crazy and beautiful but tragic?
Why is there peace and pain?
Where are the answers....where is the magic?
But like the songbird at the bottom of the well,
God is there.

sharon faircloth
06.23.12

a moment of sadness

Flo-Flo the Beta fish has passed.....let us have a Southern moment of silence accompanied by a slight dip of the head as we contemplate this tragedy.
She was a lovely fish. Her brilliant colors of mottled blue, purple, and green cheered the days as she calmly swished about in her clear plastic high-rise home on the wall.
The cause of death remains unknown, although speculation would lead to the conclusion of old age being the culprit. A simple flushing ceremony at the home was held in honor of her passing.

R.I.P

Flo-Flo

You will swim forever in our hearts.

a (somewhat) pithy post

Because I know how verbose I can be when I have a lot on my mind, I will relieve my thoughts with a few concise bullets here instead of in a rambling post that gives you "Finger Scrollitis!"

1. We are back home! :)

2. Guntersville is a great place to spend Father's Day. (or any day for that matter!)

3. Diesel and Leroy are now "Blistering Bulldogs!" That bleaching shampoo they use at the K9-Kleaners really does the job.

4. I am the ripe, old age of 26 years and 3 days.

5. Dad's poor blackberry bushes were glad to see the last of me! I scoured them relentlessly for ripened fruit.

6. My chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting was scrumpdiddlyumptious! (thanks, MomDenise!)

7. We love Lake Guntersville! Wednesday was the BEST!

8. Flying 10 feet in the air over the water after losing the tube is quite exhilarating until you come crashing down.

9. Wake-boarding is harder than it looks.

10. I am not particularly graceful when it comes to scaling rocks and jumping from a 15 foot peak. (what ever happened to the pretty, pointed-toe, ballerina pose I had in mind?!)

11. The "Princess and the Pea" developed a small blister while masquerading as the "Princess with the Pick Axe."

12. Danl is a much better ditch-digger than I. (too bad the swimming pool was under construction during our short but sweet vaca. We tried to help!)

13. Oreo Fluff is every bit as good as it sounds! (comment if you want the recipe, and I'll post it asap!)

14. Why does pale, white, ghastly, human, skin have to turn red, blotchy, pink, crackly, crispy, and blistered when exposed to extensive sun rays?

15. While in North AL, we were privileged to consume the following foods: (not necessarily in this order) T-bone steaks, blackberry pie, ham, mashed taters 'n gravy, Georgia salad, THE BEST raspberry jam, homemade vanilla ice cream with peaches, grilled hot dogs and sausage dogs, biscuits and gravy, breakfast egg casserole, BBQ ribs, grilled corn, sub sandwiches, great northern beans, nachos, Oreo fluff, choc. bday cake, ice cream sandwiches, more jam :), blackberries by the handful, and Diet Cokes sprinkled amidst it all! (I'm sure I didn't even get all the wonderful delicacies we stuffed our faces with listed either!)

16. One of my favorite places in the world to be is behind Danl on the 4-wheeler hangin' on for dear life!!!

17. Molly and Ginger are the sweetest horses. (Thanks for putting up with a novice rider, Ginger!)

18. The image of Dad's lil bass pond complete with the backdrop of a mouth-dropping, mountain sunset on the horizon is quite picturesque if you overlook the cow dung lining the pond banks. (Lol, we had a blast fishing catch and release though!)

19. We have the most wonderful family, near and far....wish we could spend a few days with each and every one of you!


20. Deet Deet and Seezoy LOVE their new, pink, "pig" dog toys!


 21. I need to wrap this post up so we can hit the hay and start snoozing; we both feel like a wrecking ball took a few swings at us.

22. There is nothing quite like your own bed. (no offense "O, thou most wonderful of Coleman air mattresses!")

happy father's day!

My Dad

My dad looks noble and handsome at 5 foot 14 inches.

The sound of his voice explaining how things work, and telling me the importance of doing it right, puts me back on course when I want to slop over something.

My dad brings to mind the taste of “Turtles ‘n Mud”….

And the smell of his favorite congos hot from the oven just waiting for milk.

Thank you, Dad, for giving me the gift of your love, for teaching me to ride my banana-seat bike, for guiding me in the paths of Truth.

I feel so blessed that God chose you to be
My Dad.

 By Sharon Faircloth
Fathers Day, June 17, 2012

I'd like to wish all my family and friends a very merry Father's Day! It's only fitting to honor the dear men that play a most special part in our lives.....
Thank you Dad, DaddyWayne, and Mr. E for being there for us. We love y'all so much!!

north AL

We have made the short pilgrimage to North AL once again! The purpose of this visit is to celebrate Father's Day with Daniel's dad. (and to eat all the awesome food we are always served up here!! shhh!! don't tell!) For lunch, we consumed massive T-bones hot off the grill and fresh blackberry pie from the berries he grows behind the barn. It's so pleasant up here in the foothills of the Smokies....the sun is setting, the air is thin, and relaxation is seeping into our bones....but wi-fi is sketchy, so my posts may be few and far between for the next few days! Cherrio!

birthdays and blackberries

Please excuse the cunctation of this post! I was drooping so badly last night that I just didn't have it in me to wriggle down on the floor and belly up to my laptop to blog! (the only position so far that my laptop wants to take a charge in is half-on half-off the rug with the cord curled up and around a chair leg!!) But I do have fun things to write about so here goes! On Wednesday, several of us girls celebrated Monica's birthday at the Coffee House. Had a delightful time savoring coffees, smoothies, friendships, belly laughs, and pie! I sure hope this coffee shop will last! It's a charming lil place... Moni surprised me with an early bday present of $$ and a vibrant, yellow Paris wall print which I ADORE! Can't decide where to put it; I want it in every room!! The $$ will be stashed away to be used for a few art classes...Thanks again, dear friend!

Neil, my mom, and I had picked piles of luscious blackberries Tuesday eve, so since I had them handy, and I needed to make cupcakes for VBS, I decided to tackle this blackberry key lime cupcake recipe that had snagged my eye on pinterest. Some of the comments were a bit dubious, but I figured a little recipe tweaking would help the finished results! (one comment was "help! this filling taste like Lysol!!) I did mess with and make changes to each the batter, filling, and frosting recipes. I will post it with my tweakations. Still in a weird food mood and in need of a fruit salad to take to Kevin's for supper, I mixed 1 pkg cream cheese with 1 cup sugar, added 4 8oz. tubs of Cool Whip, and a splash of clear vanilla. Divided the fluff mixture in half, and added blackberry pie filling to some, and mandarin oranges to the other. The orange fluff tasted a touch blah, so I melted some o.j. concentrate and threw that in! I guess it was improved! :) This salad idea stems from the lovely strawberry cheesecake fluff we've had in Guntersville...nothing like taking dessert ingredients, mixing them together, and pronouncing it "salad" and part of the main course! I won't fuss about it, anyway! Two desserts in one meal is right up my alley! Needless to say, by the end of the day, it looked as if a Blackberry Bomb had dropped on my kitchen!!

Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting

recipe from Baked Perfectionmakes 30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons key lime juice

zest of two limes

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or paper-line 30 baking cups.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, key lime juice and lime zest; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely, cut out small hole on each cupcake, then fill and frost as desired.

Blackberry Filling

recipe from Baked Perfection1 32oz container frozen blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of one lemon

3 tablespoons cornstarch

pinch of salt

Place blackberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let thaw. Drain blackberries, reserving liquid. Squish the blackberries and push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, set aside. Add enough water to the blackberry liquid to equal 1 cup. In a large saucepan, combine the blackberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be made several days in advance and any leftovers works well on toast, on pancakes, or mixed in plain Greek Yogurt.)

Blackberry Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection2 sticks butter, softened

1 tsp clear vanilla extract

2/3 cup blackberry filling (seedless blackberry jam or preserves can be substituted)

pinch of salt

6 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons whipping cream

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in blackberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Yesterday, after rescuing Roxie from the clutches of the airlines, we ended up at Dharma Blue for lunch. It fit the ticket since we both wanted a unique, cozy, cafe instead of a bustling chain restaurant. I would describe it as a chic, Southern bistro. As you can see in the pic, we could have dined on the porch in the sweltering humidity, but we declined, and basked in the AC surrounded by vivid shades of turquoise and aqua walls adorned with the abstractest of artwork. Lunch was lovely; Roxie had the quiche of the day, and I the fried green tomato club which was ravishing!

Our next stop was DUH.  We had a mutual desire to explore this store based solely upon its eccentric name! It did not disappoint!! This next passage describing the place is transcribed from their website, which I definitely recommend you to browse about it a bit on. http://www.duhpensacola.com/

Philosophy

Welcome to duh for garden and home. Our store in Pensacola, Florida offers an eclectic collection of furniture, home accessories and found objects from all over the world. Our collections emphasize texture/pattern and natural design elements from a mixture of cultures and eras. Our belief is this defines today's way of living in a comfortable, relaxed style with an elegant presence.

The philosophy at duh is simple. Look to neutrals to create a calming home and keep the design clean and sophisticated. Introduce materials such as wood, shell, glass, iron, stone and linens. Make your interior appear collected with a mix of new, vintage, and antique treasures. Above all else - surround yourself with things you love!

After a healthy dose of shopping, we soothed our weary souls with ice cream from the Marble Slab Creamery before heading home to open our birthday presents!!! I LOVE the paisley platter!! Thanks again, Roxie!

I shall end this giganoramous post with a hearty farewell! I must needs get busy with my breakfast of coffee and a blackberry cupcake. :)

a quick lil post-it note

Good morning!

Thought I'd quick stop by and say Hi before I head to P'cola to the airport to pick up my "kindred spirit birthday twin" Roxie!! :) So excited!
I will blog about yesterday tonight.....twas a "Birthday and Blackberry Day."

tea-time!

            sweet, iced tea.......
                        sweet iced tea!            
      three of the most beautiful words in the English language!

Since my mind is in a bit of "teaopia", I will blog about tea tonight! Please bear with me....as I tea along here! :) The day began with a hot brew of Lipton's finest loose tea leaves with cream and sugar added. ( I take my tea like the Brits! But where are the crumpets?!) Mid afternoon, I simmered some mint leaves to make mint tea. My made-up recipe was 1/2 cup mint leaves, 2/3 cup sugar, and 2 quarts of water. I must not have the right touch though...my mint is "apple" mint; maybe that was the problem! Anyway, try as I might, I couldn't get it tweaked to where I could appreciate it! Even with lots of sugar, and a splash of apple juice, is was barely "tea-olerable!" (I need some help, Shelley! What did I do wrong?!) So after that fiasco, I made some "regular" sweet, iced tea! Good ole orange pekoe and black! Being me, I don't have a favorite brand; it varies from the cheapest Piggly offers - "Best Choice", to "Luzianne", to "Lipton", or "Red Diamond." The current box is "Leroy Hill - Hill and Brooks." Do y'all have a favorite brand or method to make good, strong, Southern, sweet, iced tea??? Whew! What a lot of adjectives!!! My method is pretty mediocre - I grab a quart Mason jar, fill it with tap water, and zap it in the micro for 5 minutes, (IMPORTANT! Do not omit next step!) then gently bring tea bags to nose and inhale deeply the deep, dark, musky scent of tea....and let your mind wander to faraway places with strange sounding names....then JOLT back to reality and plunge the tea bags in to the hot water, (I do apologize for my obsessive compulsive smelling disorder! But you should try it next time you make tea! :) You know you want to, and no one is watching, and so what if they are! If sniffing tea bags makes one certifiably crazy, I am a lost cause!) After the tea has steeped 10 minutes or half a day or so, pour it into a 3 quart pitcher along with a heaping cup of sugar. Liberally add ice and water to fill 'er up! Pour yourself a glass, and sit on the porch and rock awhile! Nothing hits the spot like a cold glass of iced tea on a hot summer day! Pleas tell me in the comments how you make or take your tea.....I'd "tea-otally" love to hear all about it!

life goes on

My blogging has been a bit sporadic of late. I intend to mend that. We managed to stay afloat during the torrential downpours of the weekend. Diesel and Leroy were delighted at the turn of events which allowed them some quality "indoor" time! Even though I enjoyed having Daniel home today yet, I am ready to see the sun! It's still cloudy out, but at least it's not raining liquid sunshine anymore! I had a rare cleaning/organizing attack in the kitchen Saturday night around 10:00 and am so pleased with the result! :) It's amazing how much room I actually have in the cabinets when things aren't strewn haphazardly about! Most of the cabinets are still in dire need of a cleaning fit, but "easy does it" is my style! (Don't wanna get burned out right away!) I baked a carrot cake this morning and delivered it in Atmore, then had lunch with Danl and Anthony at Jalisco's. LOVE their chips and salsa! Hit the spot! Dirt Cheap was next on the agenda. Felt like a good amble was timely since I've been so good at staying outa there for a while now! I was rewarded with a woven basket - $1.50, a green plastic organizer thingy - $1.25, 2 dishtowels $.50 each, and, most exciting! (NOT!) laundry detergent $2.99!!! Neil is spending the evening with us while Wade, Rhonda, and Jacob are at VBS. They should be here anytime now. Maybe he'll want to go pick some blackberries with me....I've been hankering after a fresh blackberry cobbler with ice cream and an iced coffee on the side.....It's definitely time to make Pioneer Woman's iced coffee again! That recipe will be posted here shortly since I've been waking up with cold coffee on my mind instead longing for my normal hot brew.

carpe diem!

The past few days have been nothing to blog about! Other than the occasional oops such as leaving a halogen light bulb in a precarious position which resulted in it shattering to the floor in a wide explosion of glass shards! Believe me, that was a strawberry-blonde move I wished I could redo! I grumpily cleaned up glass from behind the toaster on one side of the kitchen to under the Kitchen Aid mixer on the other! Otherwise, I seem to have been swamped by feelings of complete uselessness and exhaustion....(know the feeling that follows previous fun-filled days?!) and since nothing but the bare necessities of living were staring me in the face for a change (I did babysit Jackson and Mckenna yesterday; loved being with them again!), I succumbed to complete laziness and finished reading through a series of books by Shayne Parkinson on my Nook. They were quite fascinating - life in New Zealand at its best! Just sitting around without much zest for life doesn't hold much appeal to me for very long though! That is one thing I love about blogging; it makes me want to live a life worth blogging about! So today, I charged myself up with chocolate peanut butter oatmeal and lots of coffee for breakfast, and am ready to go out and seize the day! :) Who knows what all I will get in to?!

wedding weekend

Back on the blog and happy to be home! :) This post is giving me fits because I've too much to blog about this go around! My computer has finally given up the ghost and I am mourning its painful death which has left a sad dark hole in my life. So I better get my tears dried while I use Danl's laptop for a bit. The past weekend was wonderful; every minute was packed with family, friends, and fun! We left out Thursday morning. (gave me quite the feelings of de ja vu to be traveling with my parents again after being married for 7 years!!) We stopped in Hebron, KY, for night; then took in the Creation Museum the next day. It was spectacular! I loved the 4-D theatre, and the amazing "Garden of Eden" in the outdoor part of the museum. My big mouth scored us some free tickets to the planetarium show which was interesting as well! Friday evening found us in Washington Court, Ohio, where we were pleased to make acquaintance with the lovely Lydia and adorable lil Kaycie! She is a doll! It was beyond delightful to see my Smith family again, and other friends that fell into the "long time no see" category. We tried to make the most of the time together; which resulted in the beds at the Holiday Inn Express not having to support our sleeping selves for very many hours! Saturday morning began with a bustling breakfast. (I wonder if the hotel staff were quite frazzled by the swarms of Mennos downing coffee!) The wedding was soon over and the happy couple were on their way to who knows where! :) The rest of us chatted the afternoon away at the hotel before eating a much-waited for steak supper! Like usual, I gobbled so many soft steakhouse rolls that I could barely down my steak and loaded baked sweet potato! The next highlight was taking in a few runs of the nearby truck pull! That was exhilarating! I love me some diesels - I enjoy taking interest in them since the hubs does! Vanessa and Seth agreed to let me tag along home with them. (hope they survived!) We finally headed for home  Sunday morning almost 2 hours later than the intended time, but we treasured more good belly laughs and lingering goodbyes. The following hours on the interstate dragged along, but the company made up for it! Finally the welcome sight of the Wind Creek Casino peaked on the horizon....and I was soon home sweet home with Danl and the dogs!