Lowcountry Shrimp And Grits

I was talking to my sister a couple of weeks ago and mentioned how I was craving shrimp and grits. She couldn't believe people would actually put shrimp in their grits, as she likes sugar and butter, but I definitely reassured her that shrimp in grits is almost one of the best things she could probably try!

Being from Alabama I hadn't heard of shrimp and grits until I moved to Charleston, but boy have I had my share since moving. Each time I cook the delectable dish I prepare it a different way. This batch was probably my best batch thus far and I wanted to share it with you guys, because who couldn't benefit from a good shrimp and grits recipe?

Ingredients:
As much shrimp, okra, garlic and onion powder / seasonings as you prefer
Grits (I used instant)
8 ounces chicken broth
1 pint of light cream

Directions:
1. Prepare grits as directed on box, but substitute water for cream and broth. The more broth you use the "meatier" the grits will taste and the more cream you use the richer and creamier your grits will taste.
2. Prepare shrimp as directed on packaging
3. Once grits are almost finished toss in desired amount of okra and shrimp
4. Finish cooking grits, okra and shrimp until desired
5. Top with shredded cheddar cheese

Enjoy!

*Please note that the shrimp I used was also already peeled, deveined and cooked.

Friday Favorite: Supernatural Charleston Ghost Tour

This week's Friday Favorite includes a Supernatural Ghost Tour through Charleston that Nick and I took last week. I absolutely believe in ghosts and spirits as does Nick. We have been on three different tours throughout Charleston and this tour was the best, hands down!


The Walks In History tour was fabulous and very informative for our interests. I won't give away all of what Geordie Buxton covered on the tour because, of course, I want you all to rush over and take this tour, but he is very well versed, funny and engaging. He is very charismatic and actually takes you into a haunted hotel downtown. I have lived in Charleston for almost two years now and I have heard stories about different hotels, buildings, graves, etc., but he actually gave us the scoop on one in particular!

A warm, humid spring night on the historic streets of Charleston, S.C., couldn't prove to be more eerie than after I took the first photo of the Walks In History tour. We were standing in the exact death location of a prominent "blue blood" in Charleston and I snapped a photo of his head stone. I purposely used the flash, because after three ghost tours I am well aware ghosts are seen more in photos where a flash was used. All of the below photos were taken with a flash in the same graveyard but the first photo I snapped shown to be foggy. It looked as though someone actually set off a fog machine and there was no fog, smog, etc., that night. I don't believe a flash could have made the entire photo turn out that way, especially since none of the other photos developed in the same way. 

Let me know what you think below. If you're interested in taking this tour or reading one, or all, of the four books Geordie Buxton has written please click here or simply click the above photo!  

I recommend this tour for sure! 

...

Some Good Advice

I am always in search of some good advice and I have gotten plenty of it recently. Two pieces of advice I got from my boss have really resonated with me and I wanted to share them here. 

1. When you get older you realize there is no such thing as adults. We are all doing the best we can with what we've been given. No one really has it together 100 percent.

2. That since I am young I put a very high expectation on my career choice and how I see it as, almost, my entire life. But since I am young I don't have kids nor am I married so my job does seem like a huge piece to the puzzle because I don't have a lot of puzzle pieces. I do realize how much of a blessing having Nick in my life has been and when I do have kids, a marriage and more going on, that my career will suddenly be just a small portion of what life is really about. 

I always receive sound and wonderful advice from my boss and I am thankful for it all. 

Beautiful wisteria on Meeting Street.

Turning 25: My Birthday Weekend

So, Sunday I turned 25-years-old. I was really excited because as I mentioned to my co-workers "I feel more legit" now. I posted several months back about what my teenage self would think of me now. If you'd like to read that you can do so here  and I believe that my teenage self would be ecstatic. 

Of course, turning a quarter century old, I have done some reflection and I am excited about where my life is headed and I am very happy with where I am now. I enjoyed the entire weekend as if all three days were my birthday and here are some pictures to prove it. 

Friday:

On Friday I snagged first floor parking in the garage (which only happens every blue moon and just so conveniently on my 24th birthday also), my coworkers decorated my desk with a banner and four birthday signs to bring in the big 25! I went for an awesome 3+ mile walk, as usual, and it was a magnificent 80+ degree day. When I got back from my walk my coworkers surprised me again with a scrumptious birthday cake (three layers: chocolate bottom, cheesecake filling and chocolate top with chocolate icing)! Once off work I met my amazing boyfriend and we had our normal Friday Night Date Night at Ye Ole Fashioned and ate until our hearts were content and our stomachs were about to bust!


Saturday:

So, Saturday morning we woke up and headed to brunch (I say brunch because we went to a buffet and they were in the process of switching breakfast for lunch; therefore, I received a plate of each)! We then headed to Folly Beach and explored the outermost edges of America! We went to the very end of Folly where neither Nick or I had been and realized it was beautiful up that way and that the waves were a lot better and that's why all the surfers were there instead of where we normally go. Either way it was beautiful and it was overcast which led me to believe it might be that way the entire day (as it was supposed to be anyways) but it wasn't because a few hours later it was sunny and warm! After we spend about half an hour exploring that side of Folly we decided it was TIME! It was time to go get the spray paint and paint the boat I had been wanting to paint and knock off my bucket list for so long. It actually only took around 30 minutes to cover up half the boat's painting and cover it with my writing. 

After writing on the boat we decided to head back to the beach and spend some quality time in the sand and surf! The water was great for a good thigh-high splash and we made sure to get in and we even grabbed some seashells too. We have started a collection in a nice vase since our room is nautical themed.

Once we spent a couple hours at the beach we decided it was time for dinner. I had my eyes set on this quaint-looking seafood restaurant that sits right on the edge of Oak Island Creek. It has a few picnic benches located in the screened-in side porch and all their food is fresh and fried; just how I like my southern seafood. I mean, come on, when you're in the south there is only one way to have your seafood and that is fried! Nick and I split the seafood platter which was enough for Nick and I to split and still have a little left over. We started with an appetizer of she-crab soup and it was so delicious we bought another bowl!

I ate from my first food truck, Tokyo Crepes, (bottom left) and they were delectable. It was a nice dessert addition.

After we stuffed our faces with all the delicious food we then headed to all the tourist-y shops and browsed around until the sun started to set and then we headed back to the beach so we could view the beautiful boneyard beach and the Morris Island Lighthouse. Both of which were on my bucket list!

Boneyard beaches occur when the ocean erodes barrier island shoreline until it is skeletal remains of tree trunks. 

Sunday: 

On my actual birthday Nick and I had Firehouse Subs (each a sub, chips and regular drink) for $11.40ish. If you show your ID at their restaurant you receive a free medium sub. This is a $6 value! Once we had our lunch we traveled to Mt. Pleasant for the Hone and Bee Expo which proved to be very successful! Nick bought the best honey I've ever tasted and I got to sample honey cotton candy! We got to see bees on the hive, sample lotions and candles that are straight from bees' wax and learn about what to plant to attract honey bees. This was all really interesting to me because I did a research paper in college about honey bees and how they are in danger of extinction. 

After we spent some time at the expo we headed over to Baskin Robbins for my praline ice cream birthday cake. The lady did a decent job decorating my cake but smudged my name a little, but she made up for it by using purple icing (my favorite color) even though I didn't tell her.  After dinner we had a celebration with sparkling cider and a slice of ice cream cake while watching Bob's Burgers! I couldn't have asked for a better ending to a wonderful birthday weekend! 

Future:

My boss suggested that I set a goal for myself to accomplish during my 25th year, since turning 25 is a special and monumental event. So, with that being said I have set out to accomplish a big feat I have wanted to finish for a while. I really want to jog an entire 5K. I have done a couple of 5Ks and have jogged some during the event, but hopefully during this year I will be able to prepare appropriately and by the time I turn 26 I will have jogged an entire 5K!

Cheers to a new birthday year and being able to spend it with the man I love!

Thank you, Nick for everything you've done for me over the past year especially making my past two birthdays amazing and rememberable. I love you.

Spring In Charleston

As if I needed anymore reasons to love Charleston, I have one of those days that makes me realize how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful destination. Nick and I had lunch together, visited gardens and when I got off work we sat by the water and ate a nice dinner!

I hope you're enjoying your spring! Here are a few pictures!

My 25th birthday

In roughly a week I will be celebrating my quarter-century birthday (25th birthday). I am really, really excited. I don't feel old yet I don't feel young. For my 24th birthday Nick and I spent the weekend at Myrtle Beach and we had a wonderful time, but this year we aren't going as elaborate.

Since I moved to Charleston in August 2012 I have been working to mark off bucket list items from the Charleston Magazine's list. I have completed approximately 34 percent or 22/64 of the Bucket List (all but one thing have been with Nick). I don't count the last item on the bucket list because we still live in Charleston.

Here have been a couple suggestions I've received.
A) One of my friends has suggested I do something I have never done for my 25th birthday.
B) My boss told me since I've done so great at my fitness routine to set a goal for myself during my 25th year and complete it before my 26th birthday.

I have something in mind, but I would love your ideas and suggestions so please leave your ideas below!

Spring in Charleston

Spring in Charleston means bathing suits and beach weather! With all that pollen swirling around and this week's jump into the "official" spring season I have put a few favorites together.

1. Torrid
2. Sungrubbies
3. Monif C
4. Torrid
5. Steinmart
6. Torrid

Now, for the rain and storms to hold off tomorrow so Nick and I can go to the beach! Fingers are crossed that we get to spend the first Saturday of spring relaxing on the sand.

Charleston In Pictures: The Weekly Round Up

I love Charleston and there are many reason why, but here are my reasons this week! Take a look!

Oyster Roast Dress

According to the Charleston Magazine  a must while living in Charleston is an oyster roast or hosting your own oyster roast. Today Nick and I were able to attend Oysters on the Point in Mt. Pleasant today. The best point about this day was that Nick and I were able to attend the oyster roast for FREE because I won tickets through InTown.com

Since I'd never been to an oyster roast and I knew it was at the Marina and Resort I wanted to wear something that could be considered dressy yet casual. I also wanted something beachy-esque (by that I mean flowy and light) and so below is what I chose.

This is a dress I have had for several year (that is way too big but I still like it even though I have to pull at it every couple of minutes).

Dress: Ross - $14
Dress cover: Ross - $10
Belt: JC Penney - $2.98

In addition to the oyster roast we went shopping and went to dinner and this outfit was perfect for the night.

Why I Love Charleston

I moved to Charleston, S.C., in August of 2012 after falling in love with the city in 2011. Here are some reasons I love Charleston and why you should visit if you haven't yet. 

Sunsets are phenomenal. 

The entire downtown area decorates for Christmas. 

The Ravenel Bridge is exquisite and walkable. 

The Battery is beautiful and enables me to jog and walk three miles daily. 

The palm trees are luscious. 

I live less than 30 minutes from three beaches. 

Bonuses:

1. Hospitality 

2. Conde Nast has named Charleston the No. 1 city three years in a row. 

Come visit me some time!  

Plus Size Fitness

When the weather turned crisp and the days got shorter I slacked off on my fitness routine. I went from jogging and walking four - six miles a day, five days a week for a total of between 20-30 miles a week to a maximum of 12 per week. My weight has maintained, but my weightloss has been at a plateau. 

The candy corn, Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas meals and Valentine's candy got the best of me this year. Now that all those holidays are behind me I am back and better than ever! Really, I logged my best lunch-time record today! I jog (mostly walk) at during my hour-long lunch break and the most miles I ever logged was 3.4/5. Today I busted that wide open; I started this year's routine with a bang. I kept up my pace and within 12 minutes of walking I had already logged a mile. I thought that surely my GPS was messed up or something was wrong, but sure enough I kept my pace and logged another mile 24 minutes in. My typical mile is 17 minutes, but I shaved right at five minutes from each mile today. 

Thanks to the wonderful Southern sun and some good music I felt like my old self again. I can't wait to see the pounds start melting off again. 

Thankful for the 73° Charleston weather to make myself feel normal again. 

Colonial Lake and The Battery never felt so good as it did today. 

Mentoring Means The World

I mentor two elementary students in two different mentoring programs. With one program I mentor bi-weekly during lunch and with the other program I mentor once a week. I have established a connection with both children as this is my second year mentoring them both. I get the best of both worlds because I mentor a 6th grade boy and a 4th grade girl. 

With the 4th grade girl, whose name and photo I will not post on here for privacy reasons, I have bonded more. I have watched her perform in a Christmas play, I see her once a week, I get her Christmas and birthday gifts, I go to her birthday parties and I talk to her mom on a weekly basis. In addition, she has a twin sister and a younger brother (who all share the same birthday, yes even the younger brother)! 

If I bring her a surprise I try to keep it balanced by bringing enough for all three of them or bring them the same thing. I do bring her a little extra or something a little different, after all, she is my mentee! 

So today I got to celebrate her 10th birthday with her family. The party was at this really cool place called Monkey Joe's. If you haven't heard of this extremely impressive fun zone you should definitely check it out, especially if you have children. It is quite inexpensive and full of inflatables for the children to jump on for hours.

The picture to the left is the gifts I got all three of them. They each got 1) a DIY coloring travel mug, 2) a jump rope, 3) a bottle of bubbles, and 4) a pair of crazy straws.  I got my mentee something a little extra though. She has been wanting Pokemon cards, and to be specific, Lugia. Now, with the expertise of my amazing boyfriend I found out he (Lugia) is a second generation and it was almost impossible to find him in a set of cards at Target, but Nick did it! He found a tin box set with Lugia as the cover and in the cards! She said, multiple times, that it was her best birthday ever! She thanked me several times for coming and greeted me and Nick with a big bear hug when we got there and when we left. Did I mention she is only 10-year-old? She is so amazing to be a 10-year-old. She is one of the sweetest kids and so well-behaved. 

With all of that said, mentoring has made such an impact on my life. It has made me realize that, whether I believe it or not, I am a HUGE influence in their lives. I set examples and I see both of their faces light up when they see me. Not only is mentoring great for the heart and soul, but it has direct correlation between the child's attitudes, grades and future in general. 

Courtesy of mentoring.org 

Doing the Impossible With Inspiration

"Just because that's the way it has always been doesn't mean that's the way it always has to be," - Bryan Ganey 

Bryan Ganey speaking at a luncheon at the Charleston Maritime Center. 

I will keep this as short as possible and make as big an impact as I can. In January of 2012 I made a choice; I decided that I no longer wanted to be big. Little did I know that my definition of big would be different throughout my lifestyle change and weight loss journey. I chose to make a lifestyle change because I don't like to use the word diet. I relate diets to fads and losing weight fast and while fast might be great, I was going for a lifetime of change.

With that being said I read a weight-loss article in EBONY Magazine that month and the lady went on to say she used an app on her phone called "Lose-It" to help track her physical fitness and caloric intake. I immediately downloaded the app. I later bought a pair of Nike shoes that were Nike+ enabled. This allowed me to walk daily and track how many calories I was burning and the distance I was walking each day. After downloading the Lose-It app and recognizing how many calories I was eating on a daily basis and then realizing how much physical activity was required to burn off the calories I was eating blew my mind.

I quickly began to change up my diet and exercise routine and by March my lifestyle change was in full swing. I had started to lose weight, I was down 20+ pounds and was feeling great! My pants weren't fitting anymore and my shirts hung on me. It was a great feeling and once you know that you're capable of doing such things you don't want to go back, especially when it comes to your health!

In August 2012 I landed a great job at a workplace that fosters a healthy lifestyle. I started walking three miles during my lunch break and would do another three miles after work. I was up to six miles a day and eating nothing but healthy food. I was in the best shape I had been in a very long time.

But as we all know, when you lose weight so fast, there comes a time where you don't lose it so easily or so fast anymore and that is called a plateau. This is where I am now. I have been in a plateau state for longer than I want to be, but today I am still losing weight, I am still healthier than I have been in a long time and I am now 100 pounds lighter. I walk everyday (except those days where it is too cold or raining which has been too often here in Charleston).

Bryan Ganey and I at the City of Charleston luncheon. 

I went to a phenomenal luncheon today that helped replenish my energy during this cold, gray and soggy Charleston winter, where too often I am not able to get outside and log six miles a day. I got to hear Bryan Ganey, a man who lost 400 pounds without surgery and who has been featured on Rachael Ray and Dave Ramsey. He spoke about his journey to becoming 400 pounds lighter and it was definitely beneficial to hear him as he was very relatable to me. I even related to him down to the fact that we both indulge in plain oatmeal (mine has a tablespoon of peanut butter) for breakfast, we both walk three miles during our lunch breaks and we both struggle just like most individuals who are fighting to live a healthy lifestyle after being larger, obese, unhealthy, whatever you may call it.

So to keep this short and sweet I will just say that on my weight-loss journey I have done what most individuals do when they strive to lose weight. I lost weight by eating better and walking more. I signed up for 5Ks, turned down my fair share of fast food meals and I love the healthier life I am living today because of all those choices. I am far from finished because this is a lifestyle change and I plan on having a long, fruitful life!

Congratulations to Bryan and his weight-loss journey. His life story helped motivate me during a time where motivation is much welcomed. If you would like to see more photos of me before and during my weight-loss journey please check the side panel of this blog.

Snow Day or Feast Day?

So this post is a mixture of great grocery deals, my inability to do nothing all day and how it affected my first snow day in Charleston.

1. Let me just share my love of Harris Teeter. I signed up for a VIC-Card (their store card) and saved $200+ last year. I wasn't one to bounce from store-to-store for great deals, especially in college, but I am now. I finally realized Wal*Mart isn't always the cheapest place (obviously) but growing up in a rural part of Alabama left a scarce amount of options growing up. As I moved to college I realized that actually going to a grocery store for groceries could be your best bet. Who would've thought, huh? I could make a whole post simply related to the fact that grocery stores in low-income communities are more-often terrible than not. Even though you go to grocery stores that are tailored to lower-income families they aren't always the best which is appalling. Not to mention the food desert issue.

---> So to actually get to my point Harris Teeter ran a sale last week for a dozen large-white eggs for .99 and I couldn't pass it up; therefore, I bought five dozen and that leads me to my next point. I think I am incapable of doing absolutely nothing all day unless I am sick. I never really thought about it until one day I told Nick I was going to do nothing all day and finally caved about five hours later. His response was exactly this, "Baby, is there just one day you don't do anything?" Yeah, he got me so with my now-recognized inability to relax, last night I prepped for our first snow day in Charleston. I took the deal I got at Harris Teeter and the other great deal I got at Food Lion (12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries for .50) and made a feast for the entire village.

I decided to use up one of the four bags of cranberries I bought and made homemade cranberry sauce for the first time! I know, it is crazy but I have alway used Ocean Spray canned sauce. In case you want the recipe it is ridiculously simple and can be found right here!

12-ounces of cranberries, washed
1-cup of granulated sugar
1-cup water
---> 1. Bring to a boil the water and sugar. Once boiling, pour the cranberries in and continue to boil while stirring occasionally until the skins pop off.
---> 2. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Once cooled store in fridge until ready to serve.
Of course I have to include a picture of my final product!

So to finish out this blog post my inability to relax, my great grocery deals and my choice to prepare for any potential snow day concerns led me to this feast.

1 dish of beef stroganoff
1 bowl of homemade cranberry sauce
1 casserole dish of cornbread dressing
10 hard-boiled eggs
16 oatmeal cinnamon cookie bars

Yeah, I went to the extreme for us not to lose power or get snowed in, but now I have dinner and lunch for several days! Hooray for snow days where I lounge, try to do nothing and feast all day. This is like Christmas all over again. Enjoy your snow day Charleston because I sure am.

Where in the world is Jennifer?

So here we go..

I have been absent but with good reasoning! I graduated from UA, got a job and will be moving out of state, lost 58+ pounds and still losing and will be blogging more (especially about healthy choices)!

First things first..

I graduated!!!! I finally graduated with two degrees Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism and Human Development: Family Studies).

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I snagged a job in Charleston, SC. I am right around the corner from beginning that job. I don't want to reveal too much about that.

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I have reached the point in my life where I am serious about getting healthier, losing weight, eating better and living longer! I started my weight-loss journey on January 10, 2012. I started by watching what I ate. I made smarter choices and a couple of weeks later I discovered an amazing app for my iPhone called LoseIt. This has been a God send. It is a food tracker that allows the user to put their current weight and goal weight to calculate how many calories they can intake and how long it will take to reach your goal weight. It also allows the user to update their weight, input exercise and even scan items into the system. 

I recommend this app to everyone trying to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight. I realized, as soon as I started using LoseIt, that I was drastically overeating and definitely not exercising near enough. 

So, I used LoseIt for a month before I discovered Nike+ (thanks to my roommate Hallie). This has been another amazing product. Nike+ is an app that comes with your iPhone. It corresponds to newer Nike shoes that are equipped for the Nike+ sensor. If you have a pair of shoes that are equipped, buy the sensor and get active! I do a daily workout consisting of me jogging/walking off 1,000+ calories and around 4+ miles. Pairing this app with the LoseIt app has worked wonders for my life. 

With all of this combined I have lost 58+ pounds! I feel better and look better. I am healthier and happier! 

So look for me to be posting more, especially about weightloss, health and happiness!