Simply Enjoying!

We are settling in to our new home very well!  There are only a few boxes remaining to be unpacked and we have made a "home" of our new place!  We have water, electricity, cable/internet, and we are finally receiving mail to our new address....what more could you ask for?!  To beat that, I now do laundry within our home instead of paying $4 in quarters per load at the hotel coin machines!  While I still miss the fresh fruit and coffee each morning, I don't miss the hotel laundry system (although I was extremely grateful for it at the time). 

It's really hard to believe we've already been in our new place for over a week!  The time sure is flying.  The month in the hotel was a great experience and I enjoyed it so much, however we are loving our new place!  Including the extended hotel stay, we stayed 39 of the previous 42 nights in some hotel prior to moving into our current condo.  That's pretty crazy!  Looking back at it all, everything is quite a blur......hard to explain, but for those of you who have done this before I'm sure you know what I mean!  Our suitcases are ready for a break for sure!

Thursday evening we made "the grocery run" -- you know, the [slightly dreaded and also expensive] big trip to the grocery when you first move somewhere.  Not only do you have to think of some meal ideas, it's a grocery trip to replace the regular things that are usually just in your fridge -- like mayo, mustard, milk, and other perishables that we couldn't pack with us. That also brings me to the funny point of mentioning that we had to purchase a broom!  Seriously, we don't know what we were thinking on moving day last month.  We had THREE regular size brooms and somehow we didn't get here with even one of them.  The dust pan was packed and so was the MASSIVE PUSH BROOM, but no regular broom.....whatever, we were exhausted!  So in our Kentucky storage unit there must be three brooms that we will have back in our possession someday.  The trip to Walmart was a pricey one but we are in a pretty good shape and have enjoyed using the kitchen again!

Apparently I was out of practice because while making sweet tea I managed to dump the measuring cup of sugar ONTO THE HOT BURNER instead of in the pot.  Hot sugar makes a bit of a sticky mess.  Glad I broke the new stove top in well!

Thankfully later that Friday evening my domestic side redeemed itself with these easy-peasy mini pizzas (after all, I better start back to cooking in a simple way)!  My husband was thrilled, which was awesome because these babies couldn't get any simpler!  Assemble and bake english muffins, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperonis, a side of marinara.....dinner is served!

Along the domestic lines, I want to mention that we do not have a microwave.  It was the only appliance that didn't come with the condo.  We had full intentions of purchasing one to use, however since being here I have decided to wait on that purchase.  Of course there are times that I think in my head "I'll just microwave that" and then quickly remember we don't have one.  Buuuuuuut.....I kind of like it.  "Like it" as in the feeling that I am not tempted to use it, I'm not settling for some faux version of cooking, and I'm not short-cutting the kitchen experience.  And to be honest, I really haven't missed it!  I have enjoyed stirring my soup on the stove top and reheating spaghetti in the toaster oven (no joke, it worked beautifully).  Just this afternoon I even warmed a tad bit of oil in a covered pan, opened up a bag of microwave popcorn and poured the kernels in the pan, placed the lid on, and watched the popcorn pop to perfection!  It not only worked, but it was fun!  I feel like this is a healthier family option.....any one else out there living without a microwave by choice? 

 

And speaking of not-so-healthy......these fried gator tail bites with "swamp sauce."  Can I get a "yum?!"  YUM!  They were delish and the perfect appetizer for Saturday's date night at Hammett's Landing!

Josh with his crab cake sandwich!  It also was super yummy!

And I ordered a tuna burger with a cucumber wasabi sauce (yumminess!) and sweet potato fries!  

 

We shared this gorgeous dessert!  Banana white chocolate won-tons.....YES, PLEASE!!

Enjoying date night after a full day of playing outside!  We rode our bikes and played at the park with friends for a really fun afternoon.  Less than two hours after this date-night pic, I fell asleep on the couch while the tunes of Boyz II Men were playing a concert on our island.  I had every intention of bike riding downtown later that evening.....needless to say, I was good for nothing!

Then after an amazing church service on Sunday, I enjoyed my first experience riding my bike by myself downtown to the Publix grocery store where I purchased our dinner items.  When I left the condo it was daylight and because I spent quite a bit of time at the grocery chatting with strangers, it was dark when I was leaving.  Fortunately the roads are not too busy and I did return safe with my groceries in tow (I learned next time to wear a backpack if biking), however my sweet husband was worried and had already placed an online order for a set of safety lights for my bike!  :) 

Last night we rode bikes together to have pizza at Orlando's, but we made sure to return by dusk since we're waiting on those bike lights to arrive.

Which brings me to tonight.....super simple, and completely amazing!  We had some leftovers so I quickly prepared those things in containers, threw in some paper goods, our picnic blanket and a football....and off we headed to Smythe Park where we enjoyed a picnic and throwing football together!

 Tonight's picnic was in this little area.....completely surrounded by the lake and beautiful trees!  It is really just perfect!  I wish I could capture it completely on film - gorgeous!

So happy together!

Our yummy fried chicken dinner!

 The sun was setting and the clouds were vibrantly pink and purple!  Perfect evening!

We are loving Charleston and especially where we live on Daniel Island!  With all of the parks and amenities, I am happy to stay on the island as much as possible....it really is great!

With love from Charleston!