Open Doors

You know the saying, "when one door closes, another opens"?  Well, I'm modifying it: When one door opens, a thousand windows of opportunity open!

As you may have read, I'm moving to Charleston in August! I made this decision on Good Friday after meeting with my realtor and a builder on Johns Island.  And let me tell you - Good Friday was a REALLY GOOD Friday!

I hate to get all "Alanis Morisette" on you, but irony is a funny thing.  On said Good Friday I had the most uplifting morning in which I decided to make a huge life move and start building a house and a life in Charleston, SC.  That night, I had a blind date - well, kind of - I knew OF him, but had not seen him since we were like 14.  So all afternoon I waited around (no I didn't) to hear from this dude to tell me what the plans were for the evening.  No call.  No text.  Nothing.

At that point, I was about 2 glasses of wine deep and pissed.  But, not sure why I was pissed - I was dreading going on this date.  I've never been asked out on a "Real Date" before, much less a BLIND one!  I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point between glass 1 and 2 I said "screw it".

I called up one of my besties and we met up for (more) beverages at Waters Edge on Shem Creek.  Her and her fiance (soon to be hubby - like tomorrow) wanted to go downtown and I opted out.  I texted my best good buddy, and he was exactly where I had expected him to be - Richard's.

Before I go into any more of this story, I have to give you an idea of what Richard's is like.  First of all, it's a dump.  And by dump, I mean I would hate to see the inside of this place in daylight.  College friends, Scandals was like Blackfin compared to Richard's...yea, I said it.  It's the only place in Mt. Pleasant that still allows smoking indoors, and patrons take full advantage of this.  After leaving Richard's you must wash your hair and clothing at least twice to get the smell out.  Richard's serves canned beer and wine out of boxes...you can't make this shit up.

I'm getting off topic again - but remember how I said that irony is a funny thing?  Yea, the guy who stood me up just texted me and asked if I was going to be in Charleston this weekend.  Seriously...you missed your chance...read on.

So...I drove over to Richard's to meet up with my buddy and have a good time - cause no matter how terrible this bar may look/seem, I've ALWAYS had a good time there!  I found him and announced my good news about building a house and we decided it was a reason to celebrate - with canned beer!

I noticed this guy standing up at the bar while I was talking to my friend and immediately looked at his ring finger - habit.  No ring.  No tan line.  Hmmm...

Not 5 minutes later, another friend of mine walked by and I grabbed him and asked the common question at Richards: "What the hell are you doing here?".  At that point, he introduced me to cute-guy-with-no-ring-from-bar.  Within that moment, I was so completely drawn into talking to this guy I had forgotten where I was.  We stood there and talked for what seemed like hours and found out that we had a lot in common.  I high fived my buddy who introduced us and then smacked him on the head for not making the introduction sooner.  Granted, it's not about WHEN, but that it happened that matters.

What happened after we met was insane - apparently two rough bitches decided to go all Tiger Woods on eachother in the parking lot.  We were unaware of this until Smokey and the Bandit came sliding into the gravel lot all crazy-like.  Our mutual friend rescued us (ok, we weren't really in danger) and took us out of the bar.  

At some point or another, talks of going to Clemson for a baseball game came up, I asked him if he was an axe murderer or married with kids, and the rest is history.  No, it's not a fairytale, but I'll take it!

After knowing him for only one week I packed a bag and cooler and headed to Clemson for a weekend with a "stranger".  The excitement of seeing him again kept the fear away until I reached the infamous 19B exit...then I wanted to throw up.  I called my mom and told her how nervous I was and asked for confirmation that I wasn't crazy.  She said "You didn't think twice about driving there and you made it this far, I'm sure you will have a wonderful weekend".  Mom knows best.

We did have an amazing weekend together and leaving was the worst.  I knew I would see him again in a week in Charleston, but I really didn't want to leave.

We have so much in common, but enough differences that we can appreciate each other for being themselves.  I have never felt so nervous to be around someone yet so comfortable when I am with them.  It's a weird feeling - but I'm not sure I want it to end!  He is the most genuine guy I have ever had the privilege of knowing - on top of that, he's smart, funny and really, really, ridiculously good looking (yep, went there).  When I say I feel like the luckiest girl in the world - it's because I am!  

I like where things are going in my life - and about 8 months ago, I would have never said that.  I've become more in touch with my spiritual side (more than I had before February), and have leaned on my religion for a lot more than I used to.  God has a special plan for all of us, it just takes time for him to get his plan in motion.  What a blessing it was to start my plan on Good Friday!  I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me next, but I'll take everything that I have right now!  

Cheers y'all!

Mi Casa!

Well, after visiting only one house in Huger, SC and a thousand more listings from my realtor I decided to look at new construction on Johns Island.  We set up appointments at three new subdivisions and as soon as we drove into Staffordshire (the third one we visited) I knew that I wanted to live there!

The neighborhood is full of young professionals and the location is perfect!  

• 25 minutes to the beach
• 35 minutes to my mom's
• 60 minutes to my dad's

Here's the lot:

Lot 55

 The road name is actually changing - Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be living on Needwood Forest Drive.  No joke.  That's really the name of the road.  What a terrible arrangement of words...in more ways than one.

Here's the elevation of the house:

I cannot wait to pick the finishes - it will NOT be beige!

And the floor plan:

First Floor

Second Floor

I had the chance to walk thru a near-finished home with the same floor plan and took these:

Entry into open kitchen and great room

Kitchen

I'm so excited!  The estimated close date is August 24th - and it can't come soon enough!

So far, this process has been totally painless with the help of my amazing Realtor, Jennie Hood from Carolina One Realty.  If you're in the market for a new/pre-owned house, she's the best! Harbor Homes has been wonderful so far too - and my agent there is actually going to be my neighbor!

I cannot begin to express my appreciation for my mother and step father during this process.  With me being in Rock Hill, they're having to handle a LOT for me, and I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life!  My dad doesn't know it yet, but he's building me a fence and a deck/pergola!  The support I have from my family is making this process painless, and I am so blessed to have them!

Yes, there's a guest room - but it's pretty much booked up with guests until 2013!  Love my friends in Charlotte!

I cannot wait to start a new life by the sea - it's where I belong! 

Artistic April

First off, Meatless March was a total success!  I only cheated two times - once was St. Pat's when I mowed down a Wild Wing's Buffarella at 11:00pm and the other time I was making dinner for my friends and completely forgot to leave the chicken out of my quesadilla.  Trust me, there were PLENTY of other times I wanted to cheat!  The hardest part about not eating meat is not being able to find something fast (read: Chick-fil-A) when I was hungry.  The most "fast food" I ate was a veggie sub from Jersey Mike's...which is pretty delicious.

So, my most common response to "I'm not eating meat this month" was "What the hell do you eat then?".

Glad you asked:

Did I miss meat?  NO!  Look at all the delicious stuff I ate!  I will say that Trader Joe's was my best friend in March, and I will continue to drive the 30 minutes to Rae Road in Charlotte to purchase all my groceries going forward.  They have such delicious produce and it's CHEAP!

I ate lots of FREE shrimp - thanks to my father who took me casting one weekend in McClellanville while I was down visiting.  We tried to go offshore for some serious meat fishing, but ended up fishing in the creek instead.

Shakes and smoothies provided the protein I was lacking, and by the end of March I had concocted a ridiculous amount of different flavored smoothies, and learned that I like the protein shakes a lot more when made with coconut milk instead of water.

I love veggies, but I needed meat yesterday...so I ate this:

Lunch.

 Ok, so onto April...

If you don't know already, I'm what most people would call "Artsy Fartsy".  While my cousin wrote 15 page papers on God knows what, I was sketching trees from our dorm room.

Lately, I've been going thru some tough stuff, and I've been trying to find alternate ways to control my stress.  Yesterday, I had an epiphany...I should paint.

So I trucked it to Michael's Craft Store and bought some new paints and 4 canvases.  I then spent the rest of my afternoon painting in my tiny ass living room, on the floor with the iPod on shuffle.  It was so relaxing.

So, now I have 3 blank canvases and 29 days to bring back the artsy fartsy Lindsey.  Hey, at least I'll have new art for my new house - whenever I find it.

Also, I'm adding "Appreciative April" to the mix.  Each day I will tweet (I never use the Twitter) about something that day that I found that I appreciate.  I think this exercise will help me find the positive in the days that seem impossibly negative.  Follow me @LowcntryLindsey

April is going to be a good month...I just feel it.

It's Official...

...I'm moving back to the Chuck!!!

I've been holding this in since Wednesday but can't hold back any longer without sharing my news - so here it is.

Back in January, I brought up a teleworking (working from home) idea to my company.  After a couple of months, I finally got my chance to create a teleworking proposal and present it to my new manager and the president of our company.  

I spent an entire weekend creating a 10 page proposal of information from concerns and benefits, costs, and a detailed timeline for this proposal.  I presented it to the decision makers and after several hours of discussion, they agreed to a trial period to see if the move will in fact benefit the agency.

I've said this before, but I have to reiterate it, I work for some of the most compassionate and trusting people I know.  I love my job, and I love Charleston - and they're giving me an opportunity of a lifetime to combine the two things I love the most.  I cannot be more excited and thankful for having the support from them in following what my heart tells me is the place I need to be.  I'm truly blessed, and this is the happiest I have been in a long time.

So...if everything goes as planned (fingers crossed) I'll be back in the Lowcountry by July!

I'm currently working with an amazing realtor in Mt. Pleasant - yep, I'm going to buy a house!  I've wanted to do this for so long, but couldn't mentally make myself do it in the place I currently live.  I know the Lowcountry is where I belong, so I'm going to plant myself there.

This is a HUGE life changing move for me - and I'm beyond excited to be back in the place I love the most with the people that keep me going - my family.  I will miss my friends in the Charlotte area, but I bet y'all won't mind having a place to stay by the coast! :)

And so begins the next chapter of this girl's life...I'm moving back bi&#hes!

Cheers Y'all!

The Bachelor - Finale

I am mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted tonight.  I cannot guarantee that this blog of probably the most important night this season will be any good at all.  At least I still have my honesty.

Lindzy met Ben's family and no red flags from the overprotective sister.  But apparently Julia has some serious concerns with Courtney already.  Very comfortable meeting of the family.

Courtney pretty much starts out her whole conversation with Ben's Mom and sister by talking about how the rest of the house didn't like her.  Then she proceeds to LIE to Ben's sister and say that she tried to get to know the girls in the house since day one.  They should totally let the families of the Bachelor/ette see video from the season - or better yet, just let them watch the "Women/Men Tell All" episode.  Somehow, Courtney makes Ben sister think she's a nice person...she's an ACTRESS and model...come on people!


Ben's family are Team Courtney...ugh.


Ben and Lindzy go skiing in the Swiss Alps on their date.  On the way up, on their private gondola, the damn thing stops...stops.  Lindzy is like "ohh this is so special"...THIS Lindsey would be like "OMG, OMG, get me off this thing!".  I don't ever have much to say about Ben and Lindzy's time together...mostly, because it's normal.  She's normal.  

On Courtney and Ben's date she's sort of back to her bitchy self - no one to impress (family) I suppose.  Courtney does say something that caught my attention: "It's bitter sweet - since I've had so much fun, but it's ending".  Ummm...shouldn't you be saying it's the beginning?   Yea, thought so.  Courtney gives Ben a gift - a scrap book.  Isn't that what like everyone gives the Bachelor/Bachelorette?  How original.

In true Bachelor fashion, he has to break someone's heart first...and it's Lindzy...shocker.

Ben, Ben, Ben...I knew this was coming, but it's so much more horrible to watch you break a good girl's heart.  Really, how could you imagine that "I'm in love with someone else" would be okay to say to a girl you're breaking up with?  LIE dude!  The poor girl is speechless - you dummy!

Lindzy goes out with class and humor "If things don't work out, call me" - Love that girl!

Dear Courtney, why the hell would you wear full length gloves if you anticipate a ring going on your finger?  Seriously?

I just found myself making a really disgusting face this entire part of the episode.  Barf.

"Oh my gosh, this ring is nice"...seriously, that's who you just proposed to.

After the Final Rose comes on next, and I'm not sure I'll be able to stay awake for it...but the DVR is set.

Night Y'all!

The Bachelor - The Women Tell All

My FAVORITE night of every season: The Women Tell All episode!  A night when we get to hear all the women bitch about each other!

Apparently ABC can't fill up a full two hour block with women bitching, so they show us what happens at the Bachelor/Bachelorette reunion party in Vegas.  Oh man - what a party!  So many broken hearts, pheromones and booze in one room - they should film that.  Oh, wait...they do...Bachelor Pad!  Yesss!  Almost forgot about that one!

First on the chopping block, Blakeley: apparently she was a bully.  Boo freaking hoo!

Brittany says that the reason she left was because she wasn't attracted to Ben.  Kudos to you ma'am - thanks for being honest, now.

Samantha needs to shut up!  Oh my gosh...someone slap a muzzle on this girl!

Shawntel shows up again...whoopdie doo.  Seriously girl, nobody even remembers you showing up on the show this season...you were there for like 10 minutes.  But in all honesty, the things the girls said about her in their confession sessions were harsh.  Emily makes a good point saying that the girls wouldn't have said mean things about her if they didn't think she was a threat...very true. 

Emily is in the hot seat with Chris, and the majority of the conversation is about Courtney and how terrible of a person she is.  Emily is so well versed in the language of love and heartbreak - she should write a book.  Just sayin...I'd read it.

Nikki is up next...blah blah blah...broke my heart...blah blah blah...let my guard down...blah blah blah...

Now my girl Kacie B. is in the hot seat.  No drama with this girl, as always...just talks about her experience on the show.


Oh man, it's time for Crazy Courtney!  Chris gives the chicken coop time to rant about Courtney before she comes out to give her side.  No new stuff here - same feelings across the board (Casey S. being the exception).  When Courtney comes out she says that she has regrets and that she came into the whole thing not wanting to have any confrontation.  Hmmm...interesting.


After 15 solid minutes of taking jab after jab, Courtney proves that she's not a robot and starts to make herself cry.  Pretty sad that after she apologizes to the girls, they still get her off the stage, in a car and off the property as fast as they can!  Haha!


Finally, we get to see Ben and have the ladies punch him in the face with questions.  Ben says "welcome to my nightmare"...nuff said.  These girls are making Ben answer questions about why they weren't picked and why they were sent home - poor guy!  


Best part of show: out takes.

Now all we have to do is wait until next week and keep our fingers crossed that he picks Lindzy!





 

Veggie Lasagna

I stayed home from work to try and get some rest, and I did...but I also learned three very important things: 
1.) Daytime television sucks.
2.) If I am cooking, my mind is not concentrating on what's wrong with my body.
3.) Dr. Oz will make you believe that anything and everything will give you cancer.

So, in my attempt to relive cabin fever I trucked it to EarthFare to pick up some veggies for the week.  $40 later, I'm tired again and headed home to make something delicious that will occupy some of my day.

A few months back, my friend Stacy came up to visit me.  She made an organic "Spaghetti Stew" with all organic veggies and grass fed beef.  It was delicious.  SO I took her idea and elaborated a little (including removing the meat)...thus, Veggie Lasagna.

Basically you can make this with whatever kind of veggies you like.  I chose: squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, jalapeno peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers, mushrooms, garlic and kale.  

rabbit food.

I sauteed each of the bowls of veggies individually with olive oil, sea salt and pepper then added them all (except the kale) to a huge stock pot with two jars of organic marinara sauce.

forgot to photograph both of them...

 Simmer for about an hour, then add the kale for an additional 15 minutes.

this smells delicious.

This amount of sauce will make a HUGE lasagna, so I took four servings out of it and packaged it in individual servings and tossed them in the freezer.  Easy meal: thaw and pour over whole wheat pasta!


Speaking of whole wheat pasta, I boiled a package of lasagna noodles til they were almost al dente.  Then started building my lasagna.


Layer noodles, veggie sauce, then cheese (used shredded mozzarella cheese)...then repeat.  I may or may not have put red pepper flakes in between layers...I like it spicy!

layers of deliciousness.

 

 

 

Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on pan size)....and...

ta da!

 Needless to say, more than 3/4 of this will be frozen for later...but the piece I had for din din was yummy!


Cheers y'all!