Kelloughs come to town

As much as we love it here in Georgia, we still miss our people back "west."  But last weekend we were graced by the visit of some Texas friends.  I've probably said this before, but having old friends from far away take the time and money to come visit us here just simply makes my heart happy.  There's no other way to put it.

Justin and David were roommates in college...and basically we've all been friends ever since, only growing closer as time went on.  He literally married us (he's an ordained youth pastor).  You can't get much more special to us in my book than that!  And last summer we were honored to be a part of his wedding when he married an equally awesome lady, Kristen.

So to keep it more to the point: they came, and it was fun, and here are some pictures.
"THE" course
Chillin' lake side
Justin taught us the game of Petanque
Perfection
Intense game of Dominion
We built a fire pit!
Hope to see y'all again soon!

Before + After

Howdy there,
I know this is over a week late, but I hope everyone had a good Valentine's day filled with love and sweets.  David had to work the evening shift, but we had a morning date where he brought me coffee in bed and made me french toast.  What a good man!  And the next night I continued our V-day tradition of Paella.  Good stuff right there.

Lately we've been spending lots of our time getting a handful of house projects done.  Some of it's boring stuff like caulking and bathroom vent fans, but I thought I'd show a few photos of the more cosmetic progress.  Sorry in advance for half of these photos being from my phone, i.e. the colors might not come through well and a bit blurry.

This is the view of our front door standing in the foyer.  Before it was a terrrrrible yellow, had a rotting wooden door, a light fixture that hung too low, and lots of patchwork needed.  See that bare drywall to the left?  That was the fun outcome of replacing our plumbing.  But now it's painted a fresh new color, all cracks patched, a new rot-proof fiberglass door, and a new fixture (not pictured) that you don't hit your head on.
Paint color: Natural Gray by Behr.
Rug: West Elm - only 10 bucks! I love it so much I bought one for the back door too.
This is a small nook that it's in the foyer.  Before it was more of that terrrrrible yellow, more patchwork, and just empty.  We continued the gray paint color above, and added a little decor.  The table I found at a local antique store that fit perfectly in that space.
This is our downstairs/main guest room.  On first glance it might not look that bad before.  But that was the previous owner's staging furniture so it all went with her, and it was more of that terrrrrible yellow in the foyer.  The light fixture had no lights at all, and just take a minute and zoom in on those picnic napkin curtains.  Icky.  Now it's freshly painted, has a new fan fixture with lights (not pictured), new headboard, bedding and curtains.  We don't have any art up on the walls yet, but I love how this room turned out.
Paint color: Ozone by Behr
Bedding: Macys
Curtains: Target (secret: they're actually shower curtains!)
Mirror: Pier 1
Hope you've enjoyed the mini tour.  Sometimes this 75 year old house is frustrating, but I love it and it's character.  It's fun to look back on how much we've done in less than a year.  Next i'll have pictures of our room and maybe a few more.  Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Charleston

I've said before, one of the things I love about Augusta is where it is located...less than 3 hours from lots of great places, and lucky us Charleston, SC is one of them!  David had a pharmacy continuing ed conference there, so we went up the day before and spent a brief but fun night out.  
We walked along the cobblestone and old houses, explored the markets, stood by the ocean and watched dolphins swim by, and ate such good food.  I never knew I would like raw oysters so much. 
Thanks Charleston, hope to be back soon!

Produce co-op

I've contemplated many a time joining a co-op to get good, fresh produce.  I've always aspired to buy more local food, but i've never quite been happy with the co-ops i've found...either a long commitment with additional fees or not knowing what you'll get with each delivery.  I didn't want to pay a lot to be stuck with 5lbs of radishes and not really have a choice.

Until recently, when God's produce co-op gate opened unto me :)

My sweet friend revealed to me My Aiken Veggies (I apologize that this will only relate to regional readers).  They are a local farm, and everything is grown natural/organic.  There is no commitment or fees, so I can order one week but don't have to the next.  It's really affordable (I think by anyone's standards), and they have additional cheap things like homemade cheese, butter, eggs, milk, honey, etc.  And the best part is that you can choose what you want online beforehand or at the pick up site.  I am very happy with it all so far.
One of my adventures with my produce order was to try to make kale chips.  It's not something I would normally gravitate towards, but I've heard people rave about them so much I thought i'd try.  I wasn't totally satisfied with my outcome.  The flavors actually turned out very delicious (onion & garlic powder, S&P), but I didn't nail the texture.  They really weren't that crispy at all, and felt like I was eating a leaf.  Maybe I should use less olive oil? Cook them longer?  I'd appreciate any suggestions.  I'd like to try one more attempt.

Other recipes I made with my order:  This baked eggplant parmesan and these chicken, spinach & butternut squash pockets.  Both were really delicious, give 'em a try.

Oops!

Wow, sorry I didn't realize I took a month long blogging break.  There are no huge reasons why, it just didn't happen.

I won't bore you with tons of Christmas photos, but our holiday was just wonderful.  Family, food, church, slightly chilly weather - good stuff.
My time since then has been spent doing house projects, watching football playoffs & Downton Abbey, visiting sweet babies, working with sweet babies, and finishing a school research project.  Lots of fun stuff, see?
Alright, let's move on.

Last weekend we went to Atlanta with the purpose of visiting several friends there, doing some "big city" shopping, and eating more food than we needed to.  It was a success.


Hope to be back sooner rather than later with adventures in a produce farm/co-op i'm trying out this week.  Kinda excited!