Rainbow Bagels and Days at Sea

My dearest Friday I am so very happy to see you again! Y'all I'm so glad the weekend has arrived! Our plans include a whole lot of nothing and often times, those are the best weekends. I see a lot of netflix and snacking in our future.

I cannot wait to travel back to NYC and eat one of these deliciously colorful bagels. The Bagel Store, located in Brooklyn, has became well known within the past month for their colorful bagels with equally colorful cream cheese.

image source

There are a wide array of colors, but this pink and purple bagel, called the Passion bagel, screams out for me! You can order online, but there is a wait list. I signed up for it two weeks ago and still haven't heard anything, but as soon as I do I will for sure have some shipped to the lowcountry until I can make it back to the city! If you want more info, visit their Facebook page here.

I saw this idea yesterday and thought it was a brilliant and unique way to present Easter Baskets this year. I don't know about you, but I have at least six baskets stored away from the past years and I can't bring myself to chunk them...but Cadence surely doesn't need yet another basket, however, what kid doesn't want/need an umbrella? I love Easter! I've been pinning a lot of great ideas for Easter. Some include delicious recipes, others are inexpensive decorating ideas. Go check it out...

When we were looking at cruises, the one stipulation I had was no days at sea and the one must do Tarl had was Nassau so we could go to Atlantis' water park. Well, we lucked out and not only found a cruise that met those two requirements, but we also got them at a really good discount and even an onboard credit for us to have a little spending money without it coming out of our pockets! Fruity umbrella drink anyone?!

Long story short, my stomach can handle a cruise as long as I can walk around on dry land after about 7 hours of sailing. I've been on three cruises in my lifetime, this being the 4th, and I've learned the hard way, I cannot do days at sea. My stomach just can't handle it! This one has no days at sea and docks each day. The first day being Nassau and the second Cococay, Royal Caribbeans private island. 

Yesterday we booked our shore excursion for Nassau, Atlantis Aquaventure, and y'all, I cannot wait to be back there. I've never been to a water park that was as fun as that one. Their rapid river was by far the highlight of our entire cruise when we went almost 5 years ago now, and this time, there's a group of us going. I have a feeling I'll be laughing so hard at everyone my sides are going to be sore!

Happy Friday, I leave you with this...

Sun, sand and a drink in my hand!

Well hey there and happy Wednesday. I can't believe that we're already half way through the work week and I couldn't be happier about that. I'm linking up here for What's up Wednesday to answer some fun questions.

1 // This week we're eating lots of goodies including spaghetti and meatballs, cubed steak with garlic mashed potatoes, fried chicken salad with delicious spring mixed greens and Gorton's fish sticks (because sometimes you have to keep it simple!).

This past weekend I made something that settled my sweet tooth using saltine crackers. Yes, you read that right, I used crackers to make candy. Original post here, and I'm still snacking on it!

2 // Honestly, I've been reminiscing about warm days on a clear beach. Y'all, it has been a hot minute since I've seen gorgeous clear water and had my toes in some golden Bahamas sand and I can't take it anymore, so a group of us got together and planned a quick cruise this summer! Tarl and I are ecstatic and cannot wait. What started out as a simple text, grew into a cruise, and voila...we all met at my sister-in-law/brothers place and booked in a matter of minutes.

This is the crew going minus the babes! Hurry up summer!

The family trip is over spring break, but the adults trip is this summer. Cruises, for the most part, are pretty inexpensive considering all you get, but we also took advantage of a 30% savings and some free onboard credit which made it even more inexpensive. See you soon Bahamas, see ya soon!

3 // I'm loving that our friends and family are as spontaneous as we are and said yes to booking after only a quick text and a 5 minute conversation. A weekend away with Tarl would be great, but a weekend away with Tarl and family on a cruise...sign me up!

These have been our travel buddies for life, and this time my sis-in-law and brother are going too!

4 // We've been up to more home remodeling. Slowly but surely we're doing one room at a time and the kitchen was a room we were dreading the most because who in the heck wants to put on 3 coats of paint onto kitchen cabinets, and then lacquer them after? Not us...but we did and I'm glad because it looks great if I do say so myself. The transition from oak stain to white not only brightened up the space but made it seem so much bigger!

Next up, countertops, but that's months away. Tarl and I have to work ourselves up to home improvements.

5 // What I was dreading was this morning...my annual ladies checkup, that wonderful papsmeare and all. On a side note, who the hell came up with the term papsmeare...gross! Anyways, I was dreading it, and it's over, praise the Lord! 

6 // I've been working on getting my butt in shape and as of Monday, I have walked one mile each day. It's not much, but it's a mile more than what I was doing. Tarl and Cadence walk with me so it makes it easier having someone to talk to.

7 // I'm excited about Spring Break! I'm ready to have an entire week off of work, away from home, in Disney with my family. There's nothing like the magic of Disney with your family. It's just super special and memories that truly last a lifetime! With it drawing more near each day, it's been a daily topic of conversation.

Riding Dumbo! Can it be April already?

8 // I haven't been reading much lately but I thought to myself the other day how I want to get a good summer reading list for myself. However, I've been watching Criminal Minds non-stop on netflix and am now on season 9. If you haven't seen that show, get on it!

9 // I've been listening to a mixture of tunes lately. Every so often I'll get on an oldies kick. Not necessarily 60s music, but stuff that was back in the early 90s or early 00s and listen it to it non-stop. Nineties country has been my jam here recently.

10 // With the warmer temps, Lilly prints and neon colors have been gracing my pale skin! Spray tan anyone?!

11 // This weekend we are up to a whole lot of nothing. The thing about travel is it's costly. Ultimately you have to decide whats important, splurging on the weekends or splurging on travel. We pick the latter and always try and have low key weekends and save up for vacations. Lots of hanging out with friends and family and stacking cash in the mean time.

12 // Next month I'm looking forward to warmer days and celebrating eight years of marriage to this guy. We have decided not to buy each other anything, especially with the recent cruise spending and upcoming Disney trip. Maybe a homemade cake and netflix...sounds perfect to me!

13 // It's been the same around the lowcountry, other than the painting of cabinets (see #4) and random trips to Dairy Queen to get a dipped cone...it hasn't been too exciting and that's not always a bad thing!

14 // The bonus question for this month was Easter traditions and y'all I happen to think that my family has the best Easters! We celebrate first and foremost the resurrection of Jesus...tis the reason for the season! After a large meal and a well said prayer by my dad, we play games, and one thing about my family is the games are always serious! Competitive is an understatement! We also always try and take some family pics, but that's hit or miss as noted on this Easter recap ;)

Testing Our Marriage | New Kitchen | Must Make Recipe

We could not have asked the good Lord for a prettier weekend then what He gave us here in the lowcountry. It was absolutely gorgeous and was a tease of what's to come with spring just around the corner. We were so excited to break out dresses and shorts instead of jeans and boots!

Lilly Pulitzers Target collaboration questioned me at first, but the more and more I saw all the pretty goodies she offered I became smitten with most of the collection. Once the newness died down and people started re-selling the items that they decided not to wear, that's when I purchased! I got Cadence's romper for $12 and this maxi for $30. It's a steal of a price when you think about how much these were going for when the line first came out last year. People were asking hundreds...um, no thanks!

This is the nosie posie print and it's very bright and colorful and has hidden kitty cats throughout the print, so naturally, it was Cadence's favorite. I swear that kid's going to be a crazy cat lady when she's in her 60s! Her poor future husband! (Side note - this girl takes after her daddy with height...I cannot believe how tall she is!)

When Tarl and I purchased our home that's when brown was in. Brown cabinets, brown floors, light brown walls...brown was the thing. As time has passed, white has become the new brown and I'm loving it. White is so clean and fresh and brightens up the entire home, plus when you brighten a space, it makes the space seem so much bigger.

We've slowly but surely made our home what we wanted it to become one room at a time, and our next project is kitchen cabinets, so guess what we did this weekend?

Lots of taping and painting and coating and sealing, it's making me tired just re-living it in my mind, but guess what, I am absolutely smitten with how it's turned out. We still have a few touch ups here and there to do, but my goodness it's made our kitchen space seem so much bigger!

see all the brown!

I spy a kitty, and more brown!

a newly brightened kitchen...yes!

I've said it before, but it's amazing what paint can do to change the entire look of a room. Next up, we want to change the countertops...I'm thinking formica with a marbled white and black texture to it. I will say one thing about any sort of home re-modeling, it's a true test of your marriage! Tarl and I bickered throughout the entire process, as soon as it was over, we were back to our peachy selves. What can I say...we both HATE painting!

I saw this video on Friday and knew I had to make this cracker candy. It was so easy, and incredibly delicious!

Perfect Easter Treats

Easter is easily one of my favorite holidays. Most importantly, it's the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but of course, I am smitten with the warm spring sun, gorgeous pastels, pulling out our best seersucker or Lilly, and of course all the delicious treats that the wonderful holiday has to offer.

Pinterest is a great go-to, as it is with most any idea that comes to mind, more specifically, recipes! These are some great (and colorful) ideas that I may just have to use come March.

Bunny Tail Truffles

Bunny Pretzels

so cute and with just a few ingredients!

Chocolate Covered Peeps

because who doesn't love those little marshmallow chicks!

Layered Peeps Rice Krispy Treats

Annually, it's a must for us to bake crescent tombs. Not only are they incredibly delicious, but the meaning behind them is what Easter is truly about! You can read all about how to make them, and the story to tell here, as well as an Easter recap back from 2014.

My bunny butt cupcakes were also a hit that year!

Kendyl and Jack

Neon colors have always drawn me in. If it's bright and the price is on point, here, take my money!
I get daily emails from Jane. They always have really great deals and this time last year was no exception.

As soon as I saw the neon green top they had listed on sale for under $20, I knew I had to have it and it has been a staple in my closet ever since.

I pair it with jeans, tall boots and a white coat when its cold outside, and on days like today, when the weather is tempting to warm up and be in the low 70s, I pair it with white skinnies and my jacks, the great thing about this top is how transitional of a piece it can be, because when it's a balmy 90, it's perfect with shorts and wedges.

Ladies, I give you the Kendyl blouse.

A few weeks back, Jane had them on their site again on sale. Although they are not on there today, the boutique that sells them has them on sale for $21.99 and in some gorgeous colors that are perfect for fall, winter and the transition into spring.

My personal favorites are the yellow, lilac and blush. Gorgeous pastels that scream "wear me on Easter!". You can buy them here.

Although I don't see any of the bright colors, I have a good feeling they'll be listed for sale as summer draws near. I'll be sure and keep  you posted. It's one of my most favorite tops I have in my closet and I can't wait to add more colors to the collection. 

I do suggest a cami or tank top underneath as it is a thin top, but very comfortable!

Oh, and speaking of Jane, here is my favorite sale item they have today...Jack Rogers look-a-likes for $14.99! I am smitten with the natural colored pairs!

Link to buy here.

New Look

I've decided not to change my blog name. The lowcountry will forever be a part of me. It's where I was born, raised and where I hope to live the rest of my life here on earth so I just couldn't bear to part with it.

My blog is still going to be focused more on what I discussed yesterday, but Life in the Lowcountry is what it will be :)

I did however update the look a bit. It's not 100% perfect, but I did manage to do everything myself, including the navigation bar up top. Playing around with html codes, css, and everything in between is no joke and I will never hope for a job in the tech industry because I would fail miserably. Thankfully, Google was pretty helpful in assisting.

I can't wait to move forward with the new, Life in the Lowcountry...xo

Hiatus and Blog Update

Sorry for the week long hiatus. I'd love to be able to tell you that we jet setted away to NYC or had elaborate plans but truth is I was just plain sick and it sucked!

Head cold turned sinusitis turned into blood tests, spinal tap, CT scan, more blood work, needles, IVs, just a whole lot of yuck! I am still fighting with nasal congestion and head cold symptoms which my doctor and I think is basically real bad allergies but because of my body trying to fight all of this mess off, it's caused my heart rate to sky rocket so yours truly has to see a cardiologist this week as well as an ENT to figure out what to do next.

Head colds normally aren't so bad, but when you're going on one entire month with no relief, trust me, it starts to wear you down! Thank the good Lord my doctor prescribed me a medicine that has provided some sort of relief until I can get to the ENT.

Needless to say, I'm over winter and ready to dive into spring!

Not too much has happened this past week. We celebrated Valentine's Day by treating Cadence to some lovely treats, or should I say Lilly?!

She loved her custom Lilly shorts! Girl takes after her mama :) Although she couldn't wear her Valentine's goodies, because it's still really chilly, we dawned our best pink and went out to dinner.

Love these two!

I also made our Disney FastPass+ reservations. I'm happy to say I snagged each FP+ that we wanted, including a meet and greet with Elsa and Anna and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train (the hardest ones to get!).

Onto the news...

I'll be honest, the week long hiatus was great. I didn't have any worries about updating here and I didn't care. Sounds bad, but I'm being honest. I've always had a passion for writing. Poetry when I was a child, writing for my high school, I even got published in a newspaper once (#celebstatus) and of course, here on blogger.

As shameful as it is to say, the reason I didn't care is because the passion just isn't there. I used to have random ideas for blog posts, search Pinterest for ideas and images that were inspiring, jot down notes with witty sayings to use and within the past few months, it just hasn't been there. 

When it comes to writing, I have grown, and I feel as if its time to grow this blog along with me. I'm passionate about three things when writing is involved, food, fashion and travel. When it comes to those three things I can write for hours on end. The words flow with ease and I don't have to think of ideas and writers block is non-existent. 

I thoroughly enjoy taking good quality pictures. Breaking out the Nikon in lieu of phone pics, and truth is, it makes for a better blog post. Quality verses quantity comes to mind. I'd rather have one great blog post once per week than three mediocre blog posts.

With all this being said, I plan on growing my blog, as I have grown since starting Life in the Lowcountry. I no longer wish to focus on this space as an online journal, but rather a space for me to focus on my passions: food, fashion and travel. 

If you've been a reader for a while or you just started following a long, I sure hope you stick around, however if lifestyle blogs and everyday life posts are more your thing, I totally understand if you bid me adieu. I still plan on doing life posts at least once per month, if not more, but it definitely won't be daily as it were.

As far as the name, I'm still undecided. I love the lowcountry, but as stated, I started LITL back in 2012 as a way to document my daily life here in the gorgeous lowcountry, since I plan on focusing on three specific things, a name change may be in the near future.

I am very excited about this next step in my blogging journey and cannot wait to see what's to come.

Burned Biscuits

Do you like burned biscuits every now and then? I sure hope so. This article touched my heart in so many ways. We need to learn to find positives in the negatives and take the good, the bad and the ugly parts of our lives and lay them at the feet of God.


I hope you are accomplishing everything you wanted to and I hope that your life turns into the fairy-tale you always dreamed it would be. This article is so worth the read and truly brought tears to my eyes.


My life is filled with so many blessings, Tarl, Cadence, my family and friends, financial stability, food, clothes, our home, but ultimately...

This weekend I finally get to make our FastPass+ selections for our upcoming Disney trip. If you're new to Life in the Lowcountry then I should warn you. I talk about Disney, a lot. It's without a doubt, tied to NYC as my favorite vacation destination. Here are some past posts where I've talked about taking a trip to see the mouse.

Disney Tips

10 Ways to Save for Disney

Disney Dining Reservations | Our Reservations

Now that I know Disney pretty well I know what to expect and when and how to plan best, but prior to that I relied on tons and tons of tips from other Disney travelers, facebook groups, fellow bloggers and random web pages, with that being said, I want to help anyone out by sharing our experiences and my advice from our trips. With Disney, it's all in the planning. I should state, I am in no way affiliated with Disney, just a Disney lover! I'll be sure and share our FastPass+ reservations and tips after I make them.

First Beach Day of the Year

I love beach days when there are no plans to get in the water. When there are no lunches or snacks to pack and when there aren't crowds and crowds of people to dodge just to find a place to set your stuff down and lay on a towel. That was the case yesterday. It was obviously too cold to get in our swimsuits and pack beach towels, with that being said, there weren't many people out and about. We knew we just wanted to walk on the sand, I wanted to take pictures and Cadence wanted to collect seashells, so that's just what we did. 

A cloudy day, in my opinion, is a great photo day. You don't have to compete with the sun, you can just snap a picture anywhere without worrying about a harsh glare. Simply perfect, we even caught a dolphin swimming near the shore!

There was a small stream that the ocean tide had made, and naturally, we all had to jump across it. It was a lot wider than the pictures give it justice and Cadence, being the cautious child she is, just didn't think she could do it.

So the best dad award goes to...

...sweet boy jumped back over, picked her up, and then jumped across with her in his arms. I will say, she jumped back all by herself :)

Yesterday was a great day. My most favorite day from the weekend. Saturday was good too, but any day at the beach takes the cake! On Saturday I did manage to score a $168 Lilly Pulitzer top for $12 at a local used clothing store. It's a gorgeous elsa top in her day lily pattern. I still cannot get over that price tag and the blouse is in excellent condition.

All three of us had a major sweet tooth going on after a little thrift store shopping and the thought of beignets did us in. It was quite chilly on the Savannah riverfront so a hot cappuccino and warm beignets hit the spot.

What a wonderful and blessed weekend we had. Church, as always, was uplifting. It never fails that the messages talked about on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights are just what I need to hear.