life has been wild and i love it.

{it's mary ruffle}

{chocolate therapie}

{chocolate therapie}

we've been so busy.

and it's been SO good.

had such a good trip to KY.

can't wait to post pictures.

we got home Sunday evening, with sis and bro-in-law in tow. 

they came to Charles to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary (congrats, my loves!), and to spend some time with us.

we used to live two blocks from one another.

we're terribly missing those days.

so that was sunday, and monday i started my internship with Charleston Home magazine (BIG yay!).

it's pretty much my dream: immersed in writing and interior design. need i say more?

last night we went crabbing. 

corey + bro-in-law AJ caught some little critters, so we cooked them for din.

so fun. and yummy. can't believe we are living out our dream.

now if they'd just move here :)

oh, and a big congrats to my dear friend Bea...the newest employee at JCrew corporate in NYC.

i feel the need to announce that i will surely be taking advantage of friends + family.

cinco de KY.

{Hillary the mammal}

must say goodbye for the time being.

never fear...it's only for a few days.

you see, we are back in Kentucky, what once was my home sweet home for 24 years.

so strange to be a visitor in the town you grew up in.

i forgot how much i love this city.

so we have a wonderful few days ahead of us. all celebratory.

my brother-in-laws graduation.

my good friend's birthday celebration (at a winery, i might add...ooo and ahhh in excitement, please).

and, AND, margaritas, fajitas, best friends and family...tonight...

oh, and, i must solicit some prayers. 

it seems my grandmother ended up in the hospital last night.

any would be helpful :)

happy cinco de mayo, y'all.

i bid you goodbye til next week.

oh. and..don't forget!! enter the give-a-way if you care to rock some new jewels.

give-a-way.

so, my dear readers, the time has come to reward you.
yay for a maple and shade give-a-way!
i'm super excited about this one...and think you will be too.

the lovely Rachel Ridd of Stella Bella Boutique and blog has so generously offered a
$25.00 gift certificate to purchase anything your heart so desires from her amazing etsy jewelry store.

so, here's how to enter:
simply visit Stella Bella Boutique, browse through her hand-made jewelry selection, and answer this question in the comment section of this post:

what's your favorite piece of jewelry that you currently own and why?


be sure to leave your comment by midnight onTuesday May 11! A winner will be selected at random and announced on Wednesday May 12.

happy entering :)

yellowed.

{door sixteen}

it's raining.

but i am feeling this happy today.

partly because i love the rain. (i know, who really loves the rain?)

but i do.

i love the rain and have been thirsting for a drizzly break from the daily sunshine.

don't get me wrong...i love the sunny city of Charleston.

but, the rainy facade of today is a welcome change :)

also so happy and amazed at how quickly this city has become our home.

i miss my KY friends so very terribly, and cannot wait to visit with them (tomorrow!!),

but am feeling so blessed at the abundance of new friends we've made in the south.

had a wonderful new friend for dinner last night and off to assist some new friends

with arranging their home and preparing for baby tonight.

one again, feeling so happy.

and speaking of yellow,

i've been reading a book that is absolutely too good not to share.

and i must throw a disclaimer in with my rave: be careful. it's unearthing. it's mind-reeling and has the potential to cut right into your heart and make you want to get up from the computer and go do something passionate and incredible and life-changing. 

it's a story worth the read. 

a story that will change your story, which maybe won't make a bit of sense til you open that happy, yellow cover. 

it's written by the author of Blue Like Jazz if you are familiar.

and entirely worth the 254 pages of soul-stirring type.

certainly the best book i've read in years, and maybe even in all of my years...

i'm quite the advocate, if you can't tell :)

so, anyway, i hope your day is happy and bright...

just like the color yellow.

wash cycle.

{french trotter}

{congoeel}

so today has comprised solely of laundry.

yes, we had a lot.

our new apartment doesn't have a laundry hookup, 

so we were forced to leave our washer + dryer at home.

i originally thought this was a tragedy.

that i would dread the laundromat with everything in me...

...i actually quite love it.

it smells so clean.

the sound of the dryers churning is really quite soothing.

i can get all of my six loads done in about an hour,

AND, and...i love the vintage appeal of the interior.
i know. i know. sad, but true.

i wish i had taken my camera.

ours has orange dryers. :)

i gotta bike.

....and we're in love.
i just bought her a basket. she looks extra cute. can't wait to show you more pics.
just rode her to lunch...at a little french restaurant.
yes, today is an extra-good day.
check out my friend Bea's blog, too.
she started the same love affair with this mint beauty.

but now she needs a name. yes, i think she is worthy of a name.
any ideas? would love to hear.

en la cocina: eggplant surprise

so, if you've been reading, you know that the Maples have been doing a little detox.
nothing fancy, it just consists of cutting out any and all foods that deposit toxins in our bodies.
well, we've been inventing some healthy recipes that taste so delish you don't even have an inkling that they are ridding your body of filth :)

below you will find one of our very favorites so far.
it's so super yummy. if you like eggplant, this will not disappoint.


one medium eggplant, diced

two roma tomatoes, diced

red or green or yellow pepper (i used yellow), diced

one small, yellow onion, diced

1 can of low-sodium diced tomatoes

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 package extra firm tofu, squeezed to drain, halved.

cook rice according to directions on package.

saute the onion (in a large skillet) in olive oil. 

add garlic.

immediately add eggplant, pepper, half of the tofu package and roma tomatoes.

cover and allow to cook in plenty of olive oil til eggplant softens.

add can of diced tomatoes, drained.

let simmer for 5-10 min.

serve on top of a yummy bed of rice.

shoes.

{aldo}

{nine west}

{nine west}

{calvin klein}

{toast}

arghhhh.

so very many pairs of shoes.

all in which i want.

this isn't even the half...

guess i will have to go on dreaming :) 

sugar, coffee...sugar.

so, i'm doing a cleanse. a detox, if you will. what that really means is...i'm eating all the healthy and nutritious foods i should be consuming on a daily basis. and the truth of the matter is that i do consume these foods on a daily basis, with maybe the exception of tofu, which we ate last night. but, you see, i have a little thing called a sweet tooth, and, while we're at it...a coffee obsession, which taint my daily attempts to be healthy. so the hubby and i decided to cut those things out for a few days. we're not ingesting sugar, caffeine, wheat, meat or dairy...and a few other food sources. but, you see, all i can ever seem to think about now is:

coffee. COFFEE. coffeeeeee....i misssss you.
SUGAR.
SUGAR.
BROWNIES.
COOKIES.
ICE CREAM.
SUGAR.
and...
cheese.

not really missing meat...horribly, terribly missing those others.

{creature comforts}

{nami kimi}

{creature comforts}

{creature comforts}

and yes, i like to torture myself with gorgeous, mouth-watering images of all the things i will not allow myself to eat at the moment. i'm working on my self-determination, you see.

and i will persevere. my gosh, it's only five days. and it will be good for me...for my body. and i'm hoping to realize i don't need all of the things i so desperately want to consume each day. i hate the fact that my morning demeanor is so dependent on whether there's a steamy cup of joe in my hand. and i hate the fact that sugar is absolutely addictive. 

so here's to my cleanse. and here's to being healthy. and here's to, so far, having the personal resolve to resist my strongest urges. 

let's hope i make it til friday.

saturday, sunday.

yes,
those are the days that comprise a weekend.
aren't we happy they do.
i mean, whoever invented the weekend is really quite brilliant.
right now my weekend includes 7.
i never really thought i would find myself doing this,
but i am hoping, wishing and waiting for the day it includes 2.
or maybe 3, if i am really lucky :)

{kellymccaleb}

{it's mary ruffle}

{chocolate therapie}

{dandelion and grey}

either way, dear friends,

i will be spending my weekend outdoors.

in the sun.

on the porch.

maybe, if i am truly lucky, on the sandy shores of that gray, blue and foamy expanse we call the ocean.

yes...outdoors, i think.