Thoughts on Thursday

 *Have you ever had golden zucchini?I picked some up from Freeman Farms, and it makes really good zoodles. I felt like these had a lower water content. I just made a quick red sauce, with onions, mushrooms, sausage, basil and fresh mozzarella. It was tasty.

*I think SS and I are going to try this "firework" art. Looks easy, and cute and Patriotic!

*It is going to be in the 90's today! I am hoping for some serious pool time this weekend.

*I made SS this very fancy breakfast and she loved it. Obviously. It is Nutella on mini pancakes with strawberries. 

*Who is ready for the long weekend? ME ME ME!

 *Perk got tired of my whining about the dining room, so he built these nifty cornices. I strategized remotely with my interior designer Summer and she helped me select fabric and I ordered it. Only to be notified 3 days later that fabric.com was out of it! ANNOYING. So I found another print, and ordered it from Joann's. I can't wait until it arrives.

*I really love the idea of planking a wall. 

*This picture had to be documented. This is the first time that this baby has loved on me. In fact, I bored him to sleep. He is seriously the best cuddler ever.

What's new in your zoo?

Linking up with Annie and Nat!

Summer's End Book Launch Party

*Kerr and I hit up the Summer's End Book Signing and Launch party at the Aquarium last night with local author, Mary Alice Monroe. We are so fancy. Ha.  We both got odd looks from friends when we told them we were going to a book signing... 

*The Summer's End (Lowcountry Summer)is the third novel in the Lowcountry Summer Trilogy and I can't wait to read it! (Don't worry Connie, I started it last night)

*For the party, the first 90 people got to take a tour of the (featured in the book) sea turtle hospital, and guess what? Kerr and I were number 89 and 90! Lucky us. Above is their wishlist if you want to donate! It was impressive. Check out the little guy to the left of the column. He wanted his picture taken.

*Hamby's did the catering and it was a lovely spread. They had my favorite shrimp salad sandwiches which always make me happy!

*The author, Mary Alice Monroe signing books!

*Here I am right outside of the turtle hospital! I am slightly taller than the average loggerhead turtle. (My dress is the Brooke Tunic by Lilly Pulitzer in Hippy Hippy Shake-scored at the Mt. P Belk's on super sale! I linked it to splash of pink's site, because they had the print available.)

It was a fun Charleston night and Kerr and I enjoyed getting out and about. The Aquarium is such a fun place for a party and the best part is you can roam the whole space with a drink in hand. We had a lovely evening with proceeds from the event benefitting the turtle program and the Aquarium.

Cucumber Salad

Everyone has a favorite cucumber salad recipe, but this one tops my list. Perk complained that we have an overabundance of herbs that I have been failing to use (our schedules have been horrible lately!) since I have not really been cooking. So I took it upon myself to basically make an herbcentric dinner. I love cold salads on summer days, and am looking forward to lunch leftovers of this dish. SS is also a huge fan, which surprised me. She hates the onions, but she is totally down with the dill and the cucumbers!

Chilled Cucumber Salad 

Original Recipe here

1/2 pound mixed cucumbers (I used garden cucumbers and kirby cucumbers)
½ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar (Trader Joe's has a great one!)
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
½ cup water
¼ cup fresh dill leaves, chopped

handful of parsley, chopped

Combine the sliced cucumbers in a colander set inside a medium size bowl and sprinkle with the salt and sugar. Place in the refridgerator for about an hour. Drain the cucumbers. 

Add the onion, vinegars, water and dill. Serve or refrigerate. The cucumbers will become more pickled as they sit. We believe this to be best, when very chilled.

I served it with pan sauteed triggerfish with an herb butter sauce, and rosemary roasted potatoes.Did you have a good weekend? What is your favorite cold side dish?

Thoughts on Thursday

 *This little drama queen has been loving life this week. She has rekindled her love with boiled peanuts and now asks for them daily. It makes me laugh, but she has finally figured out how to crack them herself.

*I stumbled across a Lilly for Target Swimsuit that my sister had wanted in just her size this past weekend. FATE! I hope it fits  because it is really cute.

*It is super salad season. We have been making salads a few nights a week with Perk's lettuce and sweet peas. I love salads with a lot of stuff going on. This salad also had grilled steak as the protein (he also grilled the corn and the peppers).

*I also made this ginger kale beef stirfry. It was delicious and I actually liked the kale in this recipe. Perk grew a lot of kale this year, and I am trying to incorporate it into different meals.

*We hit up White Duck Taco last night and it was delicious. I had a Bangkok Shrimp Taco and a Steak and Cheese Taco. We sat outside and enjoyed the pretty weather. I enjoy a good midweek no cooking evening. The service was lackluster, but I am guessing they might have been hungover from Cinco de Mayo?

*Good thing we went out because due to some construction our tv and internet were down. It was annoying. We are so dependent on both!

*The Summer Wind (Lowcountry Summer Book 2) was a fun second step in the soon to be trilogy of Lowcountry Summer by Mary Alice Monroe. 1st book:The Summer Girls (Lowcountry Summer) The story continues to follow 3 half sisters and their grandmother through a steamy lowcountry summer. Kerr and I are going to a launch party at the Aquarium for the third book in a few weeks and I couldn't be more excited. 3rd Book: The Summer's End (Lowcountry Summer)

*How are you celebrating Mother's Day this weekend?

*I am drooling over this gorgeous Fiji Necklace from Beth Ladd Designs. I mean, how stunning is this? especially against that pink! ooh lala.

*So this might happen this weekend....

*You can do it!

Grab the button above and link up to Annie and Natalie  on your Thoughts for Thursday post.

*This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links

'Berry Season

Strawberries, local ones, are my favorite fruit. On Saturday we headed out bright and early to go to U-pick at Ambrose Farms. We were the first to get there and they directed us to a new field and we had a ball. 15lbs of strawberries ended up in our buckets and I would wager another couple of pounds ended up in Sarah Sterling's belly. 

Here are some tasty strawberry recipes that we have been cooking up!

 *Strawberry Shortcake: 1 angel food cake (I am anti the sponge cakes from my youth) freshly chopped strawberries, fresh whipped cream.Easy and delicious.

*Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Glaze:Super easy field greens, peppers, carrots, strawberries, goat cheese and a drizzle of Trader Joe's balsamic glaze as opposed to the dressing.

Strawberry Lemonade

*Strawberry Butter (her pic is way prettier than mine)-so good on french toast, or waffles

*Strawberry Jam I used this recipe and it worked like a charm.

*Strawberry Brown Sugar Tart: This is seriously a house favorite.

*Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting: I love frosting.

What's your favorite thing to make with strawberries? This year we tried keeping our fresh picked berries in tupperware and in mason jars, The mason jars worked great. The article I read said that the glass keeps it humid and that kept them fresh!