8:30 am, breakfast of soft boiled eggs

& cheesecake stuffed crepes.

9:45 am, a clementine snack at the beach.

10:45, swimming in the deep blue sea.

11:30, lounging with J.

12:55 and walking to get a snack, these seagulls can’t seem to fly forward because of the strong gust of wind.

1:30, snack time.  Yellowtail and spicy shrimp/crab rolls.

2:45 and walking back home, J plucked a flower for me

What was your favorite part of your weekend?

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

How I feel every morning I get up:

Weekend Bites:
Fried pickles {hey, we’re in the south}

Jerk chicken

Best thing on the grill recently?

Broccolini!

Homemade pad thai and dumplings with J.

A gift from our new neighbor: fresh trigger fish.

Most beautiful things I saw this weekend:A boy and his father.

A honey bee that reminded me of J {he’s also a bee keeper}.

What I’ve been listening to all weekend:

httpv://youtu.be/fA8paY4oKoI

And a peek outside that always reveals the most gorgeous sunsets!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

The moment we left home and started driving away, I started bawling.  Like a baby.  I’ll be 29 in 3 months and there I was.  Bawling.

It’s been nearly 2 weeks now and it still hasn’t quite sunk in but we’re just about settled in and I’m enjoying the slow pace of the island.  Everyone I meet eagerly offers me their own explanation of being on “island time.”  Will my staunch type-a personality ever allow me to fully immerse myself in this philosophy?  All I know is that natures seems to prevail over what suburbia flaunted with a concrete jungle filled with high rises.  I’m spending almost all of my time outdoors and swallowing all the natural beauty that surrounds me.  Though my heart aches for my family, the sea swirled with shock of blue sky can’t be bad for my soul.

The inlet where we went shrimping, the view home from the grocery store, a turtle in our driveway, and an alligator down the road.

Mama’s parting gift {mugwort rice cakes}.  Thank you mama!

With my plaque at Charlotte’s “30 under 30” right before the move.

Daddy’s Father’s Day low country boil: crab, bbq clams, mussels, shrimp, corn, potatoes, caesar salad, banana pudding, and squid jerky gift bags

Our first meal in our new home: roasted broccoli, grass-fed ribeye, and garlic mashed potatoes.

New videos will be posted next week!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

The Squishy Monster is moving to the beach!

This is something that’s been on my bucket list for quite some time and I’m ecstatic that by next week, we’ll be living just a few blocks from the beach.  We combed through all the details this past weekend {not without some play time, of course} and I’ve brought back a pink nose, bubbling excitement, and a bittersweet note as well.  As y’all may know, I’m very close to my family and I began tearing up when thinking about leaving them and guilt for all those wonderful weekly family suppers to not be had regularly.  J has reassured me that we will come back often and that future suppers will be even that much more special.  Not to mention, I’ll be able to bring back some fresh seafood with me to serve!

A jelly fish and crab that washed up to shore

Fun pancakes to fuel a day at the beach.

Lobster rolls for lunch.

Sole with white wine and butter.

Shrimp & grits brunch.

Fresh shrimp cocktail.

Mahi tacos, buffalo oysters, and sweet corn fritters.

They say that home is where the heart is.  My heart will always be with my family but I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

I will be setting up a new kitchen next week and should have videos posted thereafter.

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

There is beauty just outside your door, if you care to look.

Beach appropriate lunch of shrimp, crab and more crab.

The back yard//the view before I slid and busted my knee, lol.  I find that as I’m getting older, I’m getting to be more of a klutz!

Quite possibly one of my most favorite parts of the trip.  This little Squishy Monster loves the aquarium.  I could seriously sit and stare at the creatures float for hours.

A ride on the ferry to see a sunset to bid a weekend at the beach goodbye.

I hope everyone finds beauty wherever they go, wherever they are.

Have a happy weekend, y’all!

Love always,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

Good morning, Charlotte!

Breakfast {Papaya}

Impromptu trip…hello, #Charleston !

Arrived in time for sunset

Yup. That about sums up my weekend in LA. I concluded a pretty stellar weekend with the premiere of The Walking Dead. It always feels too far and long in between seasons.

Here’s what my weekend looked like:

Congratulations to Frank & Alexandria… You guys are going to make some beautiful babies together!!!

It will completely interrupt my reverie when I return to sweater season back home and depart from sun soaked days that call for tropical scented tanning lotions instead of extra hot lattes.

See?  (and that’s just a lousy, quick shot in the car on the way to the airport).

I could literally sit by the water, stare at the sky, and listen to the crashing waves all day long. I think I must have been a mermaid in another life.

(L-R) $10 for 2 meals in K-Town, the silver lining to missing an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ by 20 minutes. Steak & Eggs, it’s what’s for breakfast. Dinner at the reception.

I have to say that Sprinkles was rather underwhelming. In order to satiate my crying sweet tooth and curiosity, I’ve visited many mainstream cupcakerys and always find that local spots are always the best. Their chocolate and dark chocolate are actually one in the same, despite their deceptive labels and their soft cake and buttercream managed to salvage an otherwise boring and flavorless base. It seemed they altogether omitted salt, coffee, or undercut a bit of necessary cocoa.

There’s got to be a euphimism here about being replaced by a pink box, lol.

I have some beautiful Castellas to bring back to the fam from here.

Santa Monica

I don’t know about you, but the Casino made me terribly sad, not excited.  I watched so many old people press their trembling hands against the screen on slot machines (that are not touch screen, mind you) as if emitting healing energy through the screen, almost willing the outcome to be in their favor.  I watched $20 balances dwindle to a quarter only to have it replenished by pushing in one crumbly bill after another.  No one (really) wins here and it seemed that all that was taken away from the experience were dead, glazed eyes and the scent of stale cigarettes in your hair but hell, the chairs are comfy and there’s practically an IV drip of sugary, caffeinated beverages and loud dings and bangs just loud enough to distract you from what’s really going on.  I wonder if there’s a market for bedazzled catheters, just because.  I bet I could make a killing setting up shop within any casino.  I’m no Puritan by any means, but it just doesn’t seem to hold an appeal if you don’t happen to be the guys from The Hangover.  I’d go with them in a heartbeat.

Where Marilyn & Elvis come to panhandle.

Segregation for the modern age: the nice folks here have a separate entrance for their “service staff,” “deliveries,” and “guests.”

Rodeo Drive where the mannequins are better dressed than the other mannequins that eat don’t eat at the very same Sprinkles .

All in all, I had a lovely weekend and in typical Squishy fashion, ate my way through the trip, I mean hell, by the time cake was served, I was the only sober one left and decidedly took it upon myself to casually stroll over and taste each differently flavored layer–LA was yummy to me.

I hope everyone out there had an equally yummy weekend!

Love,

Your impossibly-stuffed-Squishy Monster ^.~

New Smyrna certainly had its small town charm, touristy appeal, and fried seafood galore.  I wasn’t able to make it to Disney World this time around but I’m certain when I finally go, it’ll be epic (do you think a Squishy Monster could be a Disney Mascot?)

One of my friends got proposed to in this way.  Kudos to him for not only spelling out “will you marry me,” but spelling out her name Anastastia as well, all while hunched over, trying to make all the words large, even and deep enough.

Flowers I picked for myself.  (FYI, I prefer to receive chocolates).

There are a few things I find amusing about this snap shot.  First, I used to watch Bob Ross all the time when I was bored.  He was accidentally funny all the time and there was something so soothing about watching him work.  I can understand his passion for his art so well because it’s the passion I have for food.  Second, there’s a completely uninspired restaurant next door, simply called “China.”  It seems that exercising even the slightest measurement of thought was too difficult in order to come up with a better name, lol.  Third, there’s a motorcycle rushing past and the 2 women didn’t even flinch, as if it’s that commonplace.  Geez, where I live, you can’t even skateboard without getting a citation.

Mm, YUM!  I think I could eat 3 dz in one sitting all by myself =D

Pretty much the worst thing ever.  Negligible, briny (and oily) shrimp, nearly drowning in a thick muddied mess of “aioli” (really, just soured mayo glopped on haphazardly on a stale bun) with wilted ice berg and soggy tomatoes.  Yucky, not yummy.

Unimpressive spread of Swordfish Tacos.

After bouts of mediocre dining at several self-proclaimed “bests!”, I settled down with some homemade whole wheat penne with pesto and goat cheese with simple, grilled free-range chicken.  Satisfying, inexpensive, and quick.

I hope that everyone was able to spend father’s day with their superman.

I’m currently putting finishing touches on the video I’ll be posting tomorrow

As Bob Ross would say “… I’d like to wish you happy (eating) painting, and God bless my friend.”

XOXO

Your Squishy Monster ^.^

Can you imagine laying back on your towel island feeling nothing but the terry fuzz on your back, the soft warm sand between your toes, the golden dribble of sunshine on your cheeks and your nose filled with cool, salt water air? There’s nothing around you but sand, sea, and sky and somehow, the seclusion is seductive and you don’t feel so alone because the slow and gentle whooosh of the waves makes you feel safe, like it’s singing a lullaby. All your worries drift away with the wind. You look out at the horizon and feel safely nestled within the world, tucked in between water that moves, without needing anyone’s help (not even yours, how nice) and a gentle breeze that will swipe away all your worries, each and every time, the constancy of it is comforting. The magnitude of it makes you feel modest, in a way that makes you feel like all your problems, in retrospect never mattered. In this little Utopia, your only concern is which tropical drink to order next. It’s like you can’t even remember the various shades of gray that belong to the real world and feel that ones made of blues, purples, pinks, corals, champagnes, are the only ones that really matter. You smile and sigh a happy sigh and watch a baby crab scamper past and slowly fall into a delicious nap, the sunshine your blanket. The sound and smell of the sea blend into your dreams and the two become one and the same.

(That’s where Tinkerbell lives, anyways).

“You know that place between sleep and awake? That place where you still remember dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you Peter Pan. That’s where I’ll be waiting.”

I’m the silly one that teared up at this scene, lol.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Love,

your forever youthful, Squishy Monster