United States – Fervent Foodie

A day in Clover, SC

July 25, 2011 9 Comments

This past weekend my mom and sister made the long haul down from Ohio to visit me in North Carolina. 7 hours in the car, and they still had smiles on their faces when they arrived Open-mouthed smile

I’ve been so excited for them to come down since I relocated to Charlotte in April. When you’ve spent your whole life in one area, it’s really bizarre to pick up, move, and plop down in an entirely new city without physically sharing it with your friends and family.

One of our excursions over the weekend led us to Clover, South Carolina to visit my mom’s friend Lucy. My mom and Lucy met on the internet. Apparently, that string of crazy runs in the family Smile .

Clover is a very rural town about 45 minutes away from Charlotte and about 30 minutes from Rock Hill, SC.

By rural, I mean there was a whole lot of this going on:

I don’t know what it is about this photo, but I absolutely love it. Maybe it’s because I don’t often get the opportunity to photograph animals in such close proximity, or maybe it’s just the look in this guy’s eye. Doesn’t he look like he’s posing for the photo??

Lucy lives on a beautiful property dotted with wildlife and rustic buildings.

It’s crazy that such a short drive out of the city brings you to this peaceful, seemingly simple, town.

If it weren’t for the sweltering heat (holy triple digits!) I could have walked around taking photos for hours. Every nook and cranny bubbled over with picturesque country charm.

Are you ready to hightail it to the countryside yet?

By the time we finished touring Lucy’s house, we were starving (when am I not?) and headed to Lell’s Café in Rock Hill for lunch:

Lell is a friend of Lucy’s, and her café is about “real food and quality products.” They specifically focus on using fresh local ingredients with an emphasis on keeping the menu as organic and natural as possible. They don’t even serve pop (soda for your southerners), given the artificial ingredients and chemicals it contains.

How awesome is that?

I eyeballed the menu and the specials and spent some time drooling over these fabulous looking scones:

But decided to go with Lucy’s advice and get the French Connection sandwich for my meal:

The French Connection had sliced ham, a generous portion of deliciously melty brie (welcome to heaven), and fruit spread:

I’m not usually big on mixing sweet and savory, but I am so happy I stepped outside the box and got this sandwich because the combination was simply fabulous.

Yow.za.

Jenny tried the veggie wrap which featured the hummus of the day. Unfortunately, the hummus of the day happened to be olive hummus and Jenny happens to hate olives (even more than I do!). She took most of the wrap home with us, and Mom, who adores olives (she must be adopted) had the leftovers for a midnight snack and said it was fabulous.

I tried to be sneaky and snap a photo of mom on my way back from the bathroom. Of course the light shining in the window washed out what could have become THE ONLY photo in existence with her actually smiling.

Apparently the gods are on her side and intervened on the photo op, thus destroying my hopes of getting a natural photo of her.

One of the many great things about Lell’s is their serious coffee selection:

I went with the mocha latte:

So friggin delicious. One of these days I am going to get a job as a barista so I can learn to make delicious coffee concoctions for myself. A girl can dream, right?

Lell’s carries their local focus from the table to the walls and displays artwork of several local artists. Lucy was one of the artists featured. How cool!

After lunch we drove around Rock Hill, scouted out downtown Clover, then hit up the Goodwill where I found a new pair of running shorts (tags still attached!) and a gap skirt for $3 a pop.

Can I get a Boo.Ya.?

Dinner was courtesy of Lucy’s husband Tommy, the Red-Neck-Chef.

Hello Moroccan Chicken!

As soon as I saw the olives, I had to giggle. Poor Jenny Smile

Even with the olives, this meal was deserving of a golf clap for the chef! I adore anything with cumin, so this dish was right up my alley. Ok… yes, I picked out the olives. Maybe the Red-Neck-Chef will post this recipe to his blog so we can all enjoy it again Smile

We ended our visit in Clover on a sweet note courtesy of a large slice of Lucy’s homemade peach pie:

Only in the south Smile

I may not have gotten any photos of the people in this post, but every person mentioned has a website so feel free to get your stalk on Winking smile

Travel

Weekend in Paradise

June 7, 2011 15 Comments

I’d like to rewind this past weekend, click the pause button, and live the life of an islander for the rest of eternity. The island life. Where your stresses melt away, your to-do lists disappear, and daily woes are forgotten.

OHH, PLEASE. I forgot to say please!

Ahhhh the island life.

Forget the fact that I missed out on first place in the 5th grade spelling bee because I misspelled the word “paradise.” As a wee 10 year old I hadn’t experienced paradice let alone PARADISE!

What’s this island I speak of?

Good old Bald Head Island, NC.

**sigh**

Bald Head Island. A beautiful harbor and beaches that stretch for miles. No cars—just golf carts. No stress—just cocktails.

Quite frankly, there’s not much to do there. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

They even have little trucks to smuggle you across the border:

Being the Frugalista I am (can I coin that??!?! … no pun intended Winking smile ) the BF and I rented a TEENY TINY little studio right on the harbor (this one was called the Elements – Fire).

So cute and quaint and sassy all in one little shoebox!

We didn’t waste any time once on the island. First stop—kayaking on the beautiful island marshes!

BF wasn’t exactly a natural…

Tootsie tanning:

Bird watching… (birds are so creepy).

After kayaking it was back to the harbor.

For a little dinner at Eb & Flo’s!

Dining out = happy Mary

We split some yummy jambalaya:

Reminds me of New Orleans!

Grey Goose and Tonic for the lady. Blackened chicken Caesar wrap for the man.

My entre:

Shrimp AND potatoes?! Sign me up!

The restaurant deck was prime for people watching across the harbor.

We took a stroll on the beach after dinner. It was entirely empty and entirely peaceful.

Saturday we had one thing on the agenda: BEACH TIME! With chairs and umbrella in our cargo, we headed for the sand.

Never underestimate the luxury of a nice beach umbrella.

The beach was pretty uncrowded, but still provided quite the opportunity for man candy oogling Winking smile

After a few hours in the sun (or sprawled out on a beach chair under the nice shade of a 6 foot beach umbrella as the case may be)…

we were in need of some serious fuel. We headed to the Shoals Club where I feasted on an ENORMOUS burger complete with Swiss cheese, onions, and mushrooms.

After lunch, it was—you guessed it–back to the beach! We were so full, that we both passed out under the umbrella for a good hour and a half.

R&R.

Good Ole Baldy:

For dinner, we headed to the River Pilot Café.

Cheesy appetizer goodness:

BF got the jambalaya pasta for dinner (apparently we were really missing New Orleans):

It was DELICIOUS. Shrimp, sausage, country ham, and chicken over pasta?!?!

FABULOUS lobster bisque.

SALAD with EGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Open-mouthed smile

After dinner I realized the sun was setting… on our mini vaca Crying face

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning and took a stroll along the harbor.

This is what I do to keep myself occupied when my travel buddy is STILL.FREAKING.SLEEPING… It’s 9am. Get your butt in gear man.

Anyway….

For breakfast we headed to the Maritime Market Café to get our grub on.

I know this looks like a massacre, but it’s actually a bit o hot sauce heaven.

The breakfast burrito was delicious and so were the potatoes.

His face says “enough with the pictures already” but his plate says “I’m a breakfast burrito eating champion.” I’ll go with the latter.

Ooooooghahhhhhh yessssssssss cheesy bagel bliss:

Never have I ever seen a golf cart with a baby car seat strapped in…

Waiting for the ferry to take us back to the daily grind:

Farewell Bald Head!

(insert obligatory “I’m the King of the WORLDDDDDDDDDDD” titanic reference here)

We’re already planning our next beach retreat… hopefully priceline will be kind to me Smile

My Favs, Ramblings

10 Tips for Tax Season

January 19, 2011 12 Comments

Those of you who are NOT tax accountants probably think of taxes on one of two days during the year:

a.) the day you get your w-2

b.) April 15th (AKA the day your tax return is due)

Ohhhhh how blissful that must be! Tax accountants, on the other hand, live and breathe taxes. We are number crunching, tax law massaging, carbo loading monsters this time of year. Understandably, this season puts crazy stress on us and leads to periods of extreme unhappiness followed by periods of extreme slap-happiness in rapid succession.

Up and down, up and down.

Smile –> Sad smile –> Surprised smile –> Angry smile –> Rolling on the floor laughing -> Crying face -> Vampire bat

This is tax season #6 for moi and E.V.E.R.Y year I see myself and my coworkers fall into this instability.

Not this year, Uncle Sam. Not this year.

10 Tips for tax season.

Find time for fun.
Eat healthfully… Especially when it’s 10 pm, you’re still at the office, and that Krispy Kreme donut has been calllllllllllllling your name all.friggin.day.
Breathe.
Exercise woman! All that stuff about exercise and endorphins is true and don’t you forget it!
Back.away.from.your.desk. BACK AWAY.
Smile. Even it it hurts. (AKA fake it til you make it, baby)
DO NOT project your stress on to your lovely coworkers. They’ve got enough poo on their shoulders without you flinging more at them.
Go pee (you know you’ve been holding it for the last 2, possibly 3, hours)
Dance. Bust out at least one dance move, at a minimum, each day. Work it…. workkkkkkk it.
It’s just taxes.

Ramblings, Travel

Things I’ve learned over a week in Charlotte

January 3, 2011 4 Comments

The people in Charlotte are nice. Like SUPER nice. Like almost weirdly nice. I love them.
Carwashes in Charlotte are a whole heck of a lot cheaper than in Ohio… 30% cheaper, to be exact. Though, they will look at you funny when you ask to stay in the car as you go through the carwash. Apparently, that’s not how they do it here in Charlotte.
Everyone is really nicely dressed. Not in a I’m-better-than-thou sort of way, but in a I’m-putting-my-best-foot-forward-today (and every day for that matter) sort of way. I’m a fan.
Chicken paws are not the same thing as chicken breasts!
Speaking of chicken, why is the chicken breast at the butcher counter at Harris Teeter only $1.99 a pound??? That’s cheaper than the stuff they have on the shelves. Mystery.
Either u-turns are legal here or we’ve broken the law 7 times in the past week. I’m hoping for the former.
North Carolina is part of the South. People actually have accents here.
A Charlotte native can spot an Ohio accent a mile away… I didn’t think there was such a thing as an Ohio accent. I was wrong.
Public transportation is awesome.
People are young here. Like a city chock full of Doogie Howsers.
I’m pretty sure it’s possible to eat at a different delicious Charlotte restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for a whole year without having any repeats. I may have to try that sometime. Charlotte knows a thang or two about food. (Stay tuned for more on that topic!)