Restaurant Regulars

In an unsuspecting building at the edge of a high school, there is a new restaurant on James Island called Lemon Grove Grill. I pass it almost on a daily basis, wondering how long it will last. There was a coffee house there before. And before that, a small convenience store.




Eager to check it out, B and I went there for dinner this week. The place was empty (bad sign) but the waitress friendly and chipper. We ordered a glass of wine and was given bread with dipping oil to munch on before we got our meals. As we glanced over the menu, B commented on the beer prices- they were good! And I commented on the appetizers- Caprese Salad, Stuffed Mushrooms, Roasted Artichoke, Trio of Dips. They all looked good! The main courses were a bit sparse (6 to choose from with one special, not on the menu) but the waitress assured us that they were changing up the menu and more were going to be added.
We ordered an appetizer and two main courses.



Caprese Salad for app.
Then Steak for B and i had the stuffed mushroom app and a side of angle hair pasta.
All three were perfect.



Each had great seasoning, were cooked to perfection, and were of good size (not too little, not too big). We even had room for dessert, which B claimed was the "most light and fluffy cheesecake" he had ever had.

All in all, this meal was excellent. It pains me that business wasn't booming. A total of 3 couples were there that night (including us). Lemon Grove Grill needs to advertise more and get the word out that they are open and have great food. I will be the first to say- AMAZING! I will be back! B and i want to be regulars so that when we walk in the owner and waitresses will say "hey guys, do you want your regular table?"



Hehehe
:)


Go visit them.
1014 Fort Johnson Road (next to James Island High School)

Or check their website: http://www.lemongrovegrill.com

Current internet obsessions

Good morning!
Due to circumstances that were unforeseen, i am working tonight. I am NOT a night person but i am trying to make the most of it. Anyway, I am trying to stay awake while working, so i thought i would let you know about websites i am currently obsessed with.



1. Judith March
http://www.judithmarch.com/
When i say i am obsessed, i am OBSESSED with this designer. Stephanie Nichols is the designer of the brand, based out of Florida, and the dresses are totally cute and practical, and pretty affordable. Her theory is: "Fashion will continue to be inspired by the classic styles of yesterday with a forward thinking edge that can keep up with today's women."

I have about 10 (ok, maybe 15....or 16) of her dresses. I really haven't counted...but maybe when i go home, i will.
I usually buy them from my favorite store in Manning, Jessica's Boutique, but sometimes i find them on Ebay and Facebook.

However-If you are going to buy, call Jessica, at Jessica's Boutique- she is WONDERFUL! Not only is she stunningly beautiful, she is sweet and a great person to do business with! Now, go buy some Judith March!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/jessicasboutique





2. Kandee the Make-up artist
http://www.kandeej.com/

This 32 year old mom of 4 (Jordan 14, Alani 5, and Blak, and Elyse <1 year), went from Beauty school when she was young, to overcoming adversity and grew to become a CELEBRITY make-up artist, working for amazing companies like MTV/VH1, CNN, ABC, CBS, VISA, VANS and working with celebrities (too many to list).

She is basically me (overcoming adversity, having a kid at a young age, etc), but more creative (uses her R side of her brain) and she knows how to put on make-up (which i don't really). AND she gets to work with celebrities, which i would LOVE to do. Right now i have patients that like to cuss me out and not listen to the advice a give them. Fair, eh?

I read her blog daily- lots of info from how to tweeze eyebrows to make-up applications to fashion to YOU NAME IT.

I <3 her!




3. For the Love of Cooking
http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/

Basically it is a blog by Pam, a stay at home mom with two children who inspires her to be a better cook. She uses fresh ingredients (organic when possible) and experiments with different tastes and textures, all the while trying to keep her recipes lower in fat but still tasting great.

I have made wonderful meals inspired by her recipes.
Next up, the southwestern stuffed portabello mushrooms (seen below). Looks delish!

That's 3 of my Internet obsessions right now. I am sure i am forgetting more (hey- it is 12 am and my brain is a bit fried) but it is the little things that make me happy. Especially when i am doing 6+ hours of studying a day. Bleh. Unfortunately August 10th will be here soon enough!

Martha Stewart, I am not

I am not creative. I am not artistic. I do not really use my right side of my brain.
I do however, like school (i am a perpetual student), i like to learn, and my left side is my dominant side. I am a nerd.

So when taylor asked me for a bookshelf for her room, we ended up getting this UGLY brown bookshelf. It didn't match her room (black, white, and *some* green). So i looked on the internet and came up with an idea to make it look sooo much better. Ok, so i actually copied an idea but whatever. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. :)


This was my inspiration.....a bit fancier bookshelf and appears to be more sturdy. But i thought it was pretty cool. And do-able. Even for me!

First i painted it white- just the outside, because the inside was going to be covered up.

The inside was covered with two types of wrapping paper. It was suppose to be wall paper because that is more durable, but i couldn't find any cool black/white wall paper. So i bought wall paper at Target and put the black/white striped paper on the shelves and the black/grey on the sides and back of the shelves.

This is the wrapping paper- black/white stripe and black/grey floral.

Work in progress.....

Almost done- the wrapping paper was REALLY hard to work with and each section of wall paper needed to dry overnight before i could start on the next. AND i kept on misplacing my straight edge.....

Finished product!

Like i said, i'm not martha stewart but i think it is a good 1st attempt!

ABC Family has broken my heart

In 2000, the WB (now the CW) started airing the Gilmore Girls, a drama centering around the relationship between a thirty-something single mother (Lorelai, played by Lauren Graham) and her teen daughter (Rory, played by Alexis Bledel) living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. I remember my friends at Duke gathering around the tv weekly for Dawson’s Creek and Gilmore Girls but I never watched GG. “Why should I? I don’t need to see a tv show about MY LIFE,” I would always say to those who asked me why I didn’t watch. When the final episode aired in 2007, I prided myself on never seeing an episode of the show that mimicked my life.

Four years ago, after coming home from work one day, I turned on the tv for mindless entertainment. It was needed after my long days at the hospital, dealing with whatever I had to deal with that day. I use to enjoy Friends re-runs but TBS became sporadic on when they showed it. I ended up finding the Gilmore Girls on ABC family from 5-6 pm and after watching one episode, I was hooked. Each day, for the next four years, I would try to race home by 5 pm so I could watch the show. It wasn’t always do-able, especially when I was in the ICU, but I made it home for the show when I could. Enjoying my sweet tea vodka and rice cakes, the hour gave me a respite during my crazy day. Taylor and I watched it at first but then she thought it was “lame.” And B watched it too….just to spend time with me….which was sweet…until he would start talking back to the characters telling them that they were annoying, whiny, etc.

I am now so in love with the show that I have seen each episode at least 5 times. I love Lorelai and Luke’s relationship. I despise Dean and love Jess for Rory. I compare my parents to Lorelai’s parents. And I wish I had a best friend like Suki. I would curse ABC family when they showed Harry Potter movies instead of Gilmore Girls. Or when they would do marathons of their new shows to gain audience members instead of showing Gilmore Girls. B started calling me and Taylor “Lorelai and Rory.” I would use “Gilmore Girl”-isms in daily conversations. And for my 30th birthday, B gave me the complete tv series. It was the best 30th birthday present ever! And I do plan on watching it-- when I am on pregnancy bed-rest. And no, I am not pregnant, that is just my future plan. :)

Unfortunately my heart is broken because as of today, ABC family is not showing Gilmore Girls. They have taken my beloved show off the air and have replaced it with Secret Life of an American Teenager. Yet another show similar to my life- but minus the witty banter between mother and daughter, and amusing characters that defined their small town life. I won’t watch it. I WILL NOT watch it. 5 pm will never be the same.

And ABC Family has broken my heart.

I love my floors, I love my floors, I love my floors....i want to f**** them!

Ok, so if you didn't get the title reference, it is from the show "Ice loves Coco" on E! Great show BTW. Such an interesting couple!
Anywhoo..... Coco is making a rap song and instead of floors, she says shoes! "I love my shoes. I love my shoes. I love my shoes. I want to f*** them!" Now, that is my kind of girl!
:)
But i do have to say, right at this moment, i like saying "floors" in my title because IT IS SO TRUE!

A few months ago B decided that we needed to get of the nasty, old, dirty carpet in our living room/family room. It is a high traffic area, the carpet was old, and honestly the dogs had just ruined it over the past three years. So we bought interlocking wood from Lowe's and the plan was that B was going to install it over the summer. He had never done a job like that before but i was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him that he could get it done and make it look good.

Fast forward to a week ago and the summer was quickly ending. I am still studying for boards and Taylor is about to get home and will start school August 16th (did i mention high school?? ahhhhh!!!). It seems like the summer was quickly coming to a close and the floors weren't done. After talking it over, and calculating cost, materials needed (did B really need a $200 saw to cut wood?), and time it would take, B and i decided to hire someone to put them in.

And......BEST. DECISION. EVER.

In 2 days, our carpet was cut up and disposed of, the white tile floor cleaned (gross tile floor), and the hardwood floors laid down. It is beautiful. It smells good. And makes the room feel really open and airy! The pups have a love/hate relationship with it because while it is cool, it also has very little traction and they slide everywhere. It is hysterical to see them try to get from one point to another quickly.

Here are somepics from our floor adventure. Enjoy!



1st pieces laid down.....

I told you the carpet, white tile was GROSS!!!

The pups ejoying the completed floor!

This is the room once it was done....not set up yet (and we are still unpacking all our boxed up items) but the floor is DONE!

Midday Mush

8 years ago (2003....i was such a baby then), i started medical school. At that time, it was my job to study and learn and regurgitate information onto multiple choice tests. That was my job. And of course my other job was a mother but two job....i could handle that. When i was at school, i studied and learned. When i was at home, i was a mom. The end.

Fast forward 8 years. Graduated Med School. Graduated Internal Medicine Residency. Year 1 of 3 (maybe 4) done for Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship. Life is a bit more complicated now. I am a wife. I am a mother (still...duhhh). I am a homeowner. I am a fellow. I have what i consider "multiple jobs" now. Which brings me to my point. When it was only my job to study and be a mom, it wasn't bad. Now that i have multiple things pulling me in different direction, it gets a bit more dicey.

Which is why i am going to take a second to complain. Please bear with me. I am spending the months of June, July, and August locked in the library. Studying for a test that i will take on August 10, 2011. Yet another test i have to pass in this never ending hurdles of multiple choice tests for medicine. Sitting here makes me rememeber sitting here in the past years- studying the cranial nerves, learning pharmacology, and the studying for Step 1 and 2 and 3. Back then, i could sit in the library for 12+ hours....soaking up the information. Not caring about what else i had to do because studying/learning was my job.

Unfortunately 1/2 way through my day now, my brain turns to mush. I don't have the stamina i use to have to sit and study or learn. So my brain is mush. This is my break to see if i can refocus and get back to questions.....but the mushiness is here.


Here is a picture of mush (cornmeal mush i think). This is what my brain look like. :)

I'm sorry

Well, i must say sorry to my family and our few readers for destroying our previous blog. There is a reason why i took our family blog down, but that is in the past. And rather than relive that, we are forging ahead and making a new one.

Unfortunately, i cannot recover our wonderful posts about obsessing over beautiful pink coats, Berry's first deer, Taylor's driving lessons, and our pictures from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Key West. I can't bring back the wonderful banter between me and taylor, or the comments about Gilmore Girls.

What i can do is start fresh. Give our family- me, Berry and Taylor (and Ellie and Tiberius) a new forum to dish, spill, write, and blog.

Hope you enjoy. I know i (and we) will.
:)


-Lara