Land Update...

I feel the need to update ya'll on our land situation. As some of ya'll may know from here, we're in the process of purchasing about 30 acres of land back in my home town. Everything was just practically falling into our laps until a couple weeks ago. My love called and said there was, I quote him, "A hiccup with the land" (isn't he presh!). Turns out that the owner of the land's lawyer screwed something up on paperwork and it has to be fixed. We're not discouraged and we hope "the hiccup" will be righted by the end of this year and we will finally be land owners! So in the mean time I'm still looking at fun ideas for my barn! Take a peek at some small kitchen ideas!

one comment...

I have been blogging for a little over a year now. And have really grown to loved my 'lil blog (that could). I am proud of the little thoughtful deposits of myself I compile together on any given day. I'm proud I've stuck with it for this long (you who know me know I'm no writer, not too creative or artsy :0) And I realize some posts are completely random and come from out in left field somewhere. You never know exactly what you're going to see pop up under In My Tennis Shoes on a daily basis. But I guess that's just me. Maybe I'd have more followers if there was a theme... I don't know. But of those 14 followers (lost one a couple days ago), I know only a handful actually read my little deposits. I completely understand those that don't. Maybe you saw something in me that wasn't actually there. We all change. Our interests change. And if you need to drop me I completely understand. I actually recently went through and filtered out some blogs I used to follow religiously but just no longer really read anymore. Like I said, we do change. But I do want to take this opportunity to thank my followers who have interacted with me over the last year! Ya'll are awesome! Some days your one comment will completely make my day! :0) So I do thank you for taking the time for a quick visit into my thoughts and into my life!

A telltale sign

If you are raised in South Carolina and love football, you are either a tiger fan or a cocks fan. You were either raised to pull for Clemson University or the University of South Carolina. Those are our teams... Me? I'm a Clemson Tiger fan... bleed orange. Ok, so I don't go too overboard like many fans. But when Dad wanted to take us on a special "date" with one of his 4 daughters, we'd go to a Clemson football game (looking back in retrospect he really was "date" smart, we did love it though and jumped with enthusiasm at the mention of the game!), I married a Clemson graduate this past April, and many of my family/ friends have gone or are currently enrolled at Clemson. One of my cousins currently enrolled sent me an article from their campus newspaper, The Tiger, called "A telltale sign". As I glanced at it I noticed it seemed a little wordy and long so was just going to delete it from my inbox, but for whatever reason I was compelled to read it anyway.

After reading it, I had to pause. This article was so true. And the very reason I didn't want to read this "long and wordy" article was a little slap in my own face. You see, this article literally talked about words and how our society has forgotten how to speak or even how to verbally express ourselves. The author, Zak James, quoted N.T. Wright saying “A serious breakdown of language is a telltale sign of a serious breakdown of human culture.” James goes on to write,

" No wonder we are quick to give credence and respect to the words of
individuals who speak as though they are from a time in the past... We disregard
language that carries with it a level of meaning and complexity for a new kind
of vernacular that is painfully shallow and deeply defensive, overtly gratuitous
and laughably bombastic. Should we really feel so entitled as to blame our
foreign neighbors for believing us to be fools by virtue of our speech? I think
not... The culture at large rests upon the language of its people; when the
language erodes, culture soon follows. It is a perpetual cycle of reciprocal
determinism that, if not soon grasped, will undermine everything we have
achieved... (It is) a society in which bad language is no longer ceaselessly
implemented as a substitute for the inability to articulate one’s emotions or as
a cop out for not putting forth the effort to speak as individuals."

Why do only a handful of readers out there read Jane Austen? Our society can't understand her books. They are too long, wordy. Its "hard" reading, we have to concentrate too "hard". Why is EVERYONE out there reading Twilight (material written for young adults)? Its on a 4th grade reading level. Our society likes to read on a 4th grade reading level because we can understand the material. And I'm as guilty as the next. Makes me think... how am I contributing to the linguistic decline of our society? Can I do anything to change the snowball effect? Is it too late? I know this is a little heavy, but definitely something to think about... Check out the article. What ya'll think? Is this article true/false?

Southern Living Kitchen

This past weekend My Love and I stayed at his parent's Saturday night (they were gone to the beach) so I wouldn't have to drive as far to work Sunday morning. While we were there I became engrossed in her new Southern Living magazine (i even stole it, brought it to work Sunday, then home with me Sunday night. Bad daughter-in-law). Oh, sometimes it makes me happy to be a Southerner! Great stuff for all you ladies who live down here! I especially loved this cozy kitchen remake! Lately all I've been focusing on is my small barn decor that I haven't really looked out for any "big" house ideas. But this kitchen definitely caught my eyes. Not too big, but still spacious. The muted gray cabinetry with the distressed finish is quite lovely and really love the open shelves over the sink! Plus, I've found that I'm really drawn to large farm styled kitchen sinks as well. If you take a peek at the layout you'll see that the living area is right there too! And that's definitely something I want, all open! This kitchen will definitely be saved in my house favorites file on my desktop.

boys of fall

There are certain seasons that impale your senses full on. Like you cannot only see, taste, smell that season arriving but it puts your senses into overload, without remorse. Christmas is one of them. Fall is one of them. But Football season is also one of them. Luckily its practically knocking on our doorsteps. There is something strikingly different that this football season holds. There will still be tailgating, painted faces, hot scorching days, then blustering cool days, fun, food, rivalries. But this year will be the first year I no longer will see my brother on the field. I've mentioned before that my brother has played football almost as long as he's been walking. Honestly, I can hardly remember a year not watching him on the field in his shoulder pads, jersey, and helmet. I've learned the game and learned to love the game because of him. But this year my #82 will not be on the football field, he graduated from college this past may. When he graduated I didn't think about how much I'd miss that emotional tug that has always been associated with seeing a loved one sweating, fighting, winning and losing on the field. But now that football season has arrived, I am missing it. Missing my boy of fall! It sure was fun seeing him play!

Swim Lesson

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Yes, I've started swimming... well, I'm in the process of attempting to be a swimmer or trying not to drown/swallow half the pool in the process of becoming a swimmer. I'm not exactly sure how this all got started. But its a little out of control now. A girl in my home group from church is a swim teacher and casually mentioned we should go swimming one day because we both go to the same gym. They have an indoor swimming pool and blah blah... Well, offhandedly I agreed, but secretly doubted because i had no intention of being seen in a bathing suit next to a double zero size girl (the size is totally true, i went shopping with her the other day!) who strangely resembles a dark headed Barby. The first "lesson" i totally blew her off. The second time I felt bad so reluctantly dragged myself to my first ever adult swim lesson. And about died.

I know how to swim. My mom put me and all my siblings in swimming lessons at our local YMCA when we were little. I remember well. I even beat our teacher in how long we could hold our breath under water. But that was about 20 years ago I'm afraid. This whole swimming for exercise... without oxygen is a whole different story! And is kicking my bleached whale butt... big time (yes, that's what i feel like some days trying to swim). Examine: girl below on far right... about to die... about to inhale a lung she's breathing so hard. That is how I feel. That is me.

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But I've decided to stick with it. Because I love to eat. And Michael Phelps is able to consume like 7000 calories a meal or something ridiculous like that and still have a rock'n body. And I am getting a little better. Plus, I've bought the bathing suit, and the hard-core goggles and even threatened to buy the swimming cap... because I'm hard core. Or will be... one day... if I don't drown or develop pneumonia from aspirating half the pool in the process.

Atlanta & My Weekend of Food

Friday afternoon conversation:

My Love: "So what do you want to do this afternoon? Do we have any plans for the weekend?"
Me: "Well, I was thinking we could go to a matinee, I haven't seen a movie in forever and Dad said that Salt was really good and we'd probably like it."
My Love: "Hmmm... yea. We could do that...

Me: "Well, what do you want to do... I gave an idea."

My Love: "Lets get out of town for the night. Get a hotel somewhere, eat, relax, just get away. What you think?"

Me: "Uhhhh, YEAH! Ok, your idea was better!"

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So my weekend consisted of basically eating! And relaxing. But a lot of eating. We arrived at our hotel, the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead, Atlanta around 7:30pm. We had just enough time to freshen up in our room before making our dinner reservation at 8:30 at Fogo de Chao.

Ok, so I had never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse. And I'm telling you, if you haven't ever gone, go. It was so delish...and I'm not even a huge red meat fan. Basically the restaurant cooked 15 different cuts of meat. And if you wanted all those 15 cuts, you could have them. You just flip your little card over to green and the meat men come running. My Love was in heaven. They also had a fabulous salad bar. I especially loved watching all our "gaucho" servers rush by with deliciously cooked meats. I felt like I was in Brazil because all our servers had Brazilian accents! It was great. I practically had be rolled out though! Was just too much food! Hmmm, yummy but so good!

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The next morning we headed to The Flying Biscuit Cafe for brunch where they are known for smooth, creamy grits, delicious biscuits and fabulous atmosphere. Again, food delish! My omelet stuffed with mushrooms and goat cheese, grits, and biscuit = heaven.

Pic by Framed

Sunday, back at home, we headed to my parents house to have a cookout out at the pond. My uncle is in from Canada so the whole fam was there to welcome him home. Again, lots of food, fun, fellowship. I made this recipe from the wonderful Framed blog. I have grown addicted to her food blog and love her pics! And what a success the peach crumble was! Everybody commented how good it was! And you can't get easier than that! Thanks Framed!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!!