Palmetto Cheese Shrimp & Grits

Shrimp and grits is seriously one of my most favorite dishes. It must be my South Carolina roots. It’s also become one of my favorites to cook because it’s pretty quick and very easy. One pot? Yes, please!

In recent years, we’ve worked to create new family traditions as our family structure has change. It’s hard to change things that seemed perfect the way they were, but sometimes what comes from the change is even better than the original! One of my favorite new traditions is our seafood family style dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ll have crab legs, shrimp, and shrimp and grits, with all the delicious fixin’s and sides you can imagine.

I like to consider myself a student of Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade ways. This shrimp and grits recipe is just that. Be sure to get a big can of quick grits, but not instant, for this fast and delicious recipe.

Cook four to six slices of chopped thick-cut bacon in a large pot, then set aside. Saute a generous amount of minced garlic in two tablespoons of salted butter in the pot. Add a pound and a half of raw chopped shrimp once the garlic is browned. Here’s where you can play chef: either add Old Bay seasoning to your shrimp if you prefer a smoky flavor, or red pepper flakes if you like a spicy kick. I prefer the red pepper flakes, personally! 

Cook the shrimp until light pink, and remove from pot. In the same pot, add eight cups of water, four chicken bouillon cubes, and two cups of quick grits, and cook per package instruction. Slice and add a pound of kielbasa to the cooking grits. When the grits are done cooking, add a container of Palmetto Pimento Cheese and the previously cooked shrimp to the pot. Allow all to melt and blend together nicely, before serving in a bowl topped with green onions and chopped bacon.

This is definitely a “best the day after” kind of dish that warms up well! It’s one that can be tweaked to please the cheese or spice level of those enjoying it. Enjoy! 

Weekend Recap: Fixer Upper Chic

Saturday was CJM's first day home in over a week. He's been wanting to investigate the idea of building a live edge dining room table for us, and I've been needing to figure out a solution for our lack of drawers in our bedroom, so we decided to go adventuring to look at some furniture and some project wood!

We went to Rincon, which is near Savannah, to stop by The Rusty Nail Home Market and The Vintage Nest, two shabby chic/farmhouse styled shops. Some of the pieces are redone, and some are custom built by various vendors. The trip did not disappoint! We gathered lots of ideas of things we'd like to try to make ourselves {I totally forgot he has a large chest of drawers that we painted once in college!} as well as some pieces we'd like to incorporate in future spaces.

These are a few of my favorite finds:

I love the contrast of the metal container and that soft, fluffy cotton! I need more cotton in my life, stat. 

CJM and I are obsessed with barn doors. I'd love a piece like this in our bedroom to double as a place for the TV, and for shoe storage. 

Does anyone else imagine their classic family furniture with an updated look like this side board? 

I've made my own chalk paint in the past. Not the most difficult of projects by any means. But I want to try this kind that doesn't need the wax sealant! Anything that helps a project go faster is a product for me. 

CJM's chest of drawers is just like this, but we painted it a dark gray color to match his "boy room" in college. I'm thinking it needs a fresh look with a white coat of paint! I usually spray paint the handles a contrasting metallic color, but I kind of like how these add an unique texture to the piece. 

While personally not a huge fan of the chicken wire, the painting technique on this china cabinet is very unique! It brings a more casual feel to an otherwise formal structure. 

Besides of course loving the detail on this chest, I also love this Mr & Mrs sign! 

We also visited Denmark's Furniture in Brooklet which has the Magnolia Home/Fixer Upper line of home furnishings. We loved these looks! 

It wouldn't have been a trip to the furniture store without testing out almost every recliner in the "recliner world." I'm not sure that we'll be incorporating this piece any time soon! 

Weekend Recap: Hurricane Matthew

It's always a bummer when a weekend doesn't really feel like a weekend at all. I'm kind of obsessed with the weather, so when the possibility of a major hurricane hitting the Savannah area developed last weekend, I of course began tracking that thing by checking my weather apps multiple times a day and constantly refreshing my Twitter feed for any related news. Last Wednesday it was pretty much confirmed: the Georgia coast would be seeing extremely rough weather sometime over the weekend.

Most of the town closed down Friday in preparation, which was great for me. I slept in, cleaned house, and sat on the couch most of the day watching the 24/7 live stream of Savannah news as the storm rolled in. As the winds and rains began to pick up after dark, I started getting a little more nervous. Christopher wouldn't be off work until 10 p.m., and then he had over an hour commute home. Thankfully he pulled up right after midnight, and right after the first storm band was beginning to really come in strong.

We went to bed while many of my friends didn't sleep all night long. I woke up a few times to the 50 mph+ wind gusts rattling the windows. Once, I woke to the sound of cracking limbs, but that was all I heard so I went back to sleep. Imagine my surprise when I woke Saturday morning to find that we actually still had power and a major downed tree in the back yard! It appears to have been struck by lightning and split down the middle as it fell, taking about six smaller trees down with it, crushing the fence along the property line. We are so thankful that it didn't fall the other way, as it surely would have landed on the house, and probably in our bedroom!

Our backyard

Visitors will have a hard time getting in today!

There are still trees down all over town this morning, including one blocking the main entrance to our office building. We were blessed to have had power all weekend, while still so many are without, including my family in South Carolina. Sunday was full of yard clean up and trying to get the house back to normal after such an intense weather weekend. Needless to say, I'm a little exhausted today, but nothing like the amazing men and women working to restore utilities to our region! One of the Georgia Power men yesterday stopped to ask why we had power when the rest of the streets surrounding us didn't {I don't know! But glad we do!} and mentioned that he still didn't have lights on at his own home.

Riding out the storm with our scaredy-dog 

My favorite house in Statesboro...seemed to only sustain fence damage! 

I'll be interested to see how Christopher's apartment on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah fared, but there is still no way on to the island at this point. Thanks to all who checked in on us throughout the whole ordeal. We are definitely counting our blessings!

Power truck from Tyler, Texas 

4 fourth of july memories

My family moved around a lot throughout my childhood, which meant I got to experience holidays in many different places with different traditions and events. I've always loved Independence Day due to my emotional obsession to fireworks and all things sparkly. Also, hotdogs, cotton candy, funnel cake, watermelon, boiled peanuts, etc.

This year, Christopher and I will be hanging close to home after have a couple really busy weeks apart and I'm looking forward to attending my first ever Firecracker Fest with friends. Some of my favorite memories surround the fourth of July, in some way or another!

1. When we lived in New York, we went to watch the fireworks shot off over the Hudson River. The weather is so very different there: much cooler, and no humidity compared to Georgia. I distinctly remember being told to bring a light jacket as it would get chilly once the sun went down {I also remember the atrocious silver wire glasses I wore at that time, but that's another story}. Over the next year, we moved back south, and when the fourth rolled around and it was time to go see fireworks, I ran to get a jacket much to the amusement of my parents. Needless to say, it took me a while to assimilate back into the warmer weather.

2. The summer after I graduated high school, we moved from north of Atlanta to Florence, SC, where I was born. My mom, who at the time had a very popular blog, invited the daughter of one of her bloggy buddies to come stay with us the week of the fourth. Brooke and I were close in age, and both of us were starting college in the fall. We spent the week together exploring Florence and we all went to Myrtle Beach on the fourth of July. We beached at the Myrtle Beach State Park, which is a great place to go for the day, and then watched fireworks that evening while eating dinner which was so much fun. Brooke also has a blog, and it's been a great way for us to stay in touch...check her out, here!

We had bought the same dress in different colors for Easter
and wore them together--weren't we the cutest?!

3. Two or three years ago, I went with my mom and brothers to the Darlington race track for the fourth. They have a huge event with turkey legs, race cars, and amazing fireworks. It was quite the people watching event, that's for sure!

4. Last year, Christopher and I spent the day on Hilton Head with some of his pharmacy school friends. We had a great time at one of the hotel's private beaches, and a lovely dinner at the Westin. But truly the best part was when we were coming back into Savannah over the bridge, just as the fireworks began over the Savannah River. We were higher up than the entire town, and could see sparkling explosions from every square, too. It was absolutely beautiful, and I so wish I had pictures from that night!

Happy fourth of July to you, and yours; here's to making new memories!

Weekend Recap: Pharmacy School Graduation

This weekend, Christopher graduated from pharmacy school! Woooo! He was in the accelerated three year program at South University in Savannah, which he started right after we got engaged. Lots of sleepless nights, and too many tests to count, but he's finally done. Which means I'm finally done worrying about it, because that's how I roll. 

I'm really proud of him. He stuck it out when everything about school was miserable. I don't think I could have done it myself! On Friday, he received his doctoral hood at an intimate ceremony with just the other pharmacy students. 

After pictures and checking into our hotel, we went to Elizabeth on 37th for a very nice dinner to celebrate. This is one of the places that I've always wanted to go in Savannah, and it did not disappoint. We started with the tuna tartar of course, and I enjoyed the delicious scallops while Christopher had the beef tenderloin. Yum! That evening we met up with some friends after a stop at Lulu's Chocolate Bar where I had the best chocolate raspberry cake of my entire life. Savannah always feeds me well.

Saturday morning was the actual graduation of all the Masters and Doctoral programs. There were a ton of people there, but it only took an hour and half or so. My mom and brother drove down from South Carolina to join us for the commencement ceremony, and it was so good to see them for the first time since the wedding. I had missed them a ton!

Of course I had to get a couple of new dresses to wear to these important "once in a lifetime" occasions! My green dress is from Walker Boutique here in Statesboro, and has a fabulous tie-neck, which is one of my favorite details. There is a cute scalloped shift dress on their website in the same amazing emerald! The navy dress is from Entourage; they have a similar one on their website in white!

Congrats, Grad!

This guy graduates from pharmacy school this weekend! His hooding ceremony is this afternoon, and he will officially graduate with his PharmD tomorrow morning. It's been a long time coming, and we both couldn't be more excited that this weekend is here!

Christopher has taken a job as a pharmacist about an hour away, and I'm glad we are able to stay in the area. After his graduation trip with as I call them "The Friends" or in their words "The Ballerz," he'll start full time in the real world! A few more tests stand in his way before being officially done, but it feels so very close!

I'm incredibly proud of him for working so hard over these last three years, even when it was really hard and everything seemed to be going wrong. He's passionate about helping others, and about being able to provide for our family, and I'm so thankful for both of those qualities. We're celebrating this weekend in Savannah with our families, and I can't wait!

Happy Friday!

Bridal Portraits 2

 After weeks of anticipation, we should be getting our wedding pictures back this week and our video in the weeks following--I can't wait! I'm ready to see how the whole day came together, and see all my friends and family who came to celebrate.

I'm also a little anxious...all those months of planning, and it comes down to just this one day! All the prep, and I can hardly remember what I, or what any of it looked like. So today I thought I'd share just a few more of my faves from my bridal portrait session before the wedding. It's rainy and humid here {thanks to the second tropical storm in as many weeks}, so hopefully this will brighten up your day, too!

Also, be sure to head over to Facebook to like my photographer's page: Ari Merritt Photography, especially if you're in the Savannah area!