Red Front Door

Guess how many times I've painted my front door since we've been here?  We've been here 4 months shy of 2 years..i've painted the front door..

6 times.

I need to go through the archives and find all the colors I've painted it.  But I am happy to say it's going to stay this color...until further notice. Haha.

When we moved in, it was a nasty burnt orange/red color.  Then I painted it:

Blue

Turquoise

Another shade of blue

Another shade of turquoise

black

 

and now red.  

Here's what it looked like last week:

And here's what it looks like now:

Also, I did not chalk my porch...it's pollen.  Yes, it's horrible.  

I like red.  Makes a statement.  And would you check out that beautiful potted flower? 

Key Lime Pound Cake

It has been a while since I posted a recipe...like a LONG while.  And that's a shame because I love cooking and when I find something I think is yummy, I should share it..right?

AND on top of that, I get Southern Living magazine every month and they have such delicious recipes..and who doesn't love some Southern cookin'?  I sure do.

I made this Key Lime Pound Cake yesterday to take to my in-laws house and it turned out soooo yummy.  It doesn't make you feel heavy after eating it and has just enough Key Lime taste for my liking.

This is a great recipe to make anytime of year, but especially with Spring and Summer quickly approaching!

Key Lime Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1  cup  butter, softened
• 1/2  cup  shortening
• 3  cups  sugar
• 6  large eggs
• 3  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  milk
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon  lime zest
• 1/4  cup  fresh Key lime juice
• Key Lime Glaze

Key Lime Glaze

• 1  cup  powdered sugar
• 2  tablespoons  fresh Key lime juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Whisk together powdered sugar, fresh Key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. Use immediately.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.
3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
4. Prepare Key Lime Glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

I hope you enjoy!

*Recipe taken from southernliving.com*

I linked this up at Remodelaholic.

Plum wore out!

When my wonderful grandmother (Nanny)  is really tired, she says "I am plum wore out!"  Well, that's how I feel today!


I've been working a lot this week (and I am so thankful for that!) even though I am going to be so happy when the weekend is here! Mr. husband is off on Saturday (praise the Lord) and so we are planning a fun filled day of sleeping in and a night on the town! A night on the town means driving around Charlotte and looking at all the mansions! hehe, we've been wanting to do this for a while now just to look at all the HUMONGO homes.  Speaking of homes, Seth and I have this dream of building a home on about 100 acres of land in the country so we can have lots of dogs, cats, chickens, and of course, children! :)  Although it will be a while before that happens (we have to get through law school and save some money (or a LOT of money)) I have started compiling some photos of what my dream home will look like. 

Maybe one day, we can bring these photos to life-but even if we don't I know it'll be okay because I'll have a beautiful family and a wonderful husband.  (That was kind of cheesy, but true!) 

 I love the ceiling to this kitchen. And the plate rack! My dream is to have a white kitchen. It's just so airy and bright. I also love the blue and white accents.  The dishes that I have would go perfectly!

 Umm..hello chalkboard door!  I would LOVE this to write sweet little notes to the hubby, daily bible verses, chores, and grocery lists!

 Yes another chalboard..check out those awesome bookshelves.  And the cute little sitting area.  The only thing is you'd have to dust the shelves like crazy..and i don't see myself doing that. ;)

 Here is another view of the same kitchen. I love the island  and how spacious it is.  I mean, I could definitely cook up some yummy dishes, dontcha think!?

 A chandelier in the kitchen? Yes please!  I also love how to stove is recessed into the wall.

 Another built in bookcase.  Can you tell I love those? And I love the old coffee table...i'm drooling!!!

 Look at that humongo sink.  But most of all I love the antique cabinents that the sink is in.  I WILL have something like this one day.

Gotta love a farmhouse sink. 

 The house I grew up in had brick floors in the kitchen and I've always loved them.  Maybe I'll have this in my dream kitchen!

 A chandelier AND brick in the bedroom.  Ohmygosh, someone pinch me.

 Look how bright and fun this living room is! I love all the photos on the walls, and the red accents.  It's kind of eclectic, but I really like it.

 Okay, this is the last kitchen chandelier photo, I promise! Isn't it great!?

Lastly, a screened in porch.  I would LOVE one of these so we can enjoy dinner on the porch on a nice cool evening while watching the fireflies and listening to Frank Sinatra. And then Seth would ask me to dance and we'd get lost in  each others eyes...  (Okay, I got a little carried away)

So, whatcha think?  You like?  I think by the time we start building a house, if that's the route we choose for a home, I will have like millions of photos. Oh well, I guess it's better to have lots of ideas than none, right?  

(I got all of the photos from googling "southern kitchens, farmhouses, or southern bedrooms")

On a different note, I made a trip to Hancock's the other night and got lots of wonderful fabric that was 50% off! I am excited to show you what I am gonna do with it!  I have already made two things that I can't wait to share-I'll post tomorrow about them!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!  What are your plans for the weekend?  I am going to bring my camera to go "house-hunting" and I'll let you know of  all the mansions we find! ;)

-Kait

Southern+Charming=PERFECT!

I've been obsessed with this blog for the last few days and wanted to share a few gorgeous pictures from it. It's a wonderful wedding blog called Style Me Pretty and you can go to it here!

 Oh my gosh. Look at that gorgeous cake.  And those flowers are beautiful too.

 These flowers scream "southern" to me. Big and loose and fluffy.  I love em.

 

How cute is that?  Heart shaped balloons?!?! {Swoon}

 I love the elegance of this cake. 

Umm..can I find a tree like that so I can renew my vows in ten years? hehehe

Sometimes I wish I would have researched more for my wedding, and although I could NEVER be happier with the way mine turned out, it's always fun to look...I had two amazing planners to do all the work for me!! :)

Well I am not feeling well (i've had horrible cough and sinus junk all week) and I gotta get up EARLY tomorrow for work!  Goodnight! 

Xoxo Kait

Southern Women...

You know, on the way home from work today I got to thinkin...I am so blessed to be a Southern woman.  I am so glad that I love sweet tea, that slower laid back way of life, sitting on the porch in the rocking chair listening to the rain, picking hydrangeas from the front yard, monogrammed towels, the word "yonder" or "y'all", chicken n dumplins, grits, and all of those other wonderful things that make up the Southern way of life.  (For those who may disagree with me about that list, it is just my opinion and is not limited to any of those things...anyway..)

I got my Southern Living magazine in the mail today and I just love reading it.  It talks about SO many places that I want to go and see..i'm making Seth a list so he can remember in case he wants to plan a surprise get-away for us.. ;)  hint hint...

One of my favorite things that has come with marriage is our evening walks.  Since we moved to NC, we take Penny on a walk every evening.  It's such a great time to reflect on our day, to share our struggles, and to chase our dreams.  (That was corny, but true).  One of my dreams is to own a big Southern style home with a wrap around porch..when you walk inside you are overwhelmed by the smell of fresh apple pie and dogs.  Wait..that was a horrible analogy.  Fresh apple pie and the sounds of laughter...is that better?  But you would see a couple of dogs laying around..okay, whatever.. you get the point.  I want our home to be lived-in yet beautiful and elegant. And you know what?  I don't care what anyone says but I would like to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. HAH! 

One of Seth's dreams is to open up a Tennis and Golf shop featuring indoor tennis courts and the latest technology for demoing golf clubs.  Arizona sweet teas and a golden retriever would await you when you walk in the door.  You know those soft chewy peppermints that melt in your mouth?  He wants those at the check out counter.  I could go on forever about our dreams, and i'm sure I've already bored you with them before but I still like to talk about them..and hey, it's our blog so we can do that, right?


 Oh yeah, I also want to can my own pickles when I am older...that way I can eat them all day every day without paying lots for them.  So I guess that means I will need a garden. 

For those of you who are not aware of the happenings in the tennis world, the U.S. Open is going on right now.  What does that mean for us you might think?  Well..let's just say we are both sitting on the couch, watching Andy Roddick play some guy whose last name looks like "Tipsarevichsedechusick" with our Lacoste hats on.  Seth has the same one Andy is wearing and I am wearing a different color.  And you better believe that our television will be on EVERY single night to watch EVERY single match that Seth deems important...I'm glad I like tennis otherwise I would be one grumpy wife these next two weeks.

Now on to a little more serious discussion....

One thing that I need to be in constant prayer about is money.  When Seth and I got married, we thankfully both had some savings that we joined together. Well we spent the WHOLE summer unemployed in Georgia...we still had to feed ourselves, we still had to pay bills, and we still had to travel all over the South for weddings/get togethers/ vacations...common sense will tell you that our savings was drying out with each passing month.  Once I got my new job and Seth got his, we were really relieved.  Lord willing, we would have money each month and maybe have some left over!

Still, I have not been in prayer about how we should spend our money. I am constantly worrying that we won't have enough to make it each month and that if we spend it on one thing that is not "necessary" that we will be doomed.  How are we supposed to pay our bills, rent, tithe and still have money left over to put into savings? 

This is what the Lord says I should do:


 ²⁴"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
 ²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" -Matthew 6:24-26

I need to remember those words the next time I am worried.  I know we will be fine if we just trust in the Lord.  It's just so hard to do sometimes...but I am trying!  The Lord will bless us so much if we just put our trust and hope in Him.  I need to put my worries aside and rejoice in what I have!

So that is what's going on here in the Jones' household...


And now I will leave you all with these:

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~ Roger Caras

 

That is us in our Roddick hats.  Seth wore his hat because Roddick had that same one on while he was playing..I wore the other one halfway making fun of Seth and halfway because I thought he was so stinkin' cute with his love for all things tennis.. :) Oh yeah, and Penny wanted in on the fun...

Huey Cat, out of ALL the places in our house, decides to plop down on the newspaper...




Alright, enough from me...Have a great evening!