Thursday Night Sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were planning our move to Florida, it was a night like last night that I usually pictured in my mind. A night that we could easily head to the beach on a random Thursday, with two beach chairs and a cooler full of beer and wine. Last night, we put the top down on the convertible, crossed the drawbridge over the inter coastal waterway and were at the beach in minutes. I really have to keep pinching myself that we actually live here now.

Mostly we sit and sip our drinks, getting more and more relaxed as the sun begins to set. We might collect a few shells or maybe put our feet in the water. Every sunset is different and I'm becoming quite the expert on viewing one. I used to think the sun going down was the prettiest part, but I was wrong. It's the half hour or so after, when the sky lights up with those beautiful cotton candy colors, that is really the payoff.

I don't think it will ever get old.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Florida Decor - Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When designing the kitchen for our new home in Florida, I knew that I wanted an all white kitchen. Definitely white cabinets and white countertops (Corian). I wasn't sure about the direction to take the backsplash, but ultimately went with white tile and a neutral small square stone accent strip to add texture and interest.

We had to make many of the decisions in a hurry and went with simple, brushed nickel cabinet and drawer knobs, but may change to something more stylish later. We splurged on the pendant lights and love their modern style, shape and texture. The counter stools are the perfect color for the coastal, beachy feel of our home and I was thrilled to find them at a very good price. I'm still on the lookout for something really unique to sit on the island, but for now I have been enjoying the simplicity of fresh flowers in a pretty vase.

Other details I love are the crown molding, the tall cabinets (I need a step stool to reach the top shelves), the gas stove and oven and the big walk in pantry. It's simple, modern and bright and a perfect contrast to the colorful accent pieces in the adjoining open concept spaces. I love combining modern and casual; as well as neutrals with pops of color.

Happy Tuesday!

 

Pineapple Coconut Baked Oatmeal

 

 

 

These flavors make you think of sunshine and beach days (pina coladas!) and I thought it was the perfect recipe to try on a beautiful, sunny Florida morning. Unfortunately, I woke to a thunderstorm rolling in, so it's a little dark and gloomy, but looking at the bright side; a perfect morning for baking.

I do love pineapple and coconut and don't really think of these flavors when thinking of oatmeal, but I have seen tropical French toast at brunch spots, so it really does work. I also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk to add to the flavor and you could also add sliced almonds for a delicious crunch.

I'm all about tropical, light flavors right now and while I'm sure when Fall comes, I'll be back to wanting apple and cinnamon in my oatmeal, for today, it's sunshiny flavors all the time.

 

Pineapple Coconut Baked Oatmeal

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup brown sugar ( I used Splenda for baking)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup melted butter

1 small container Greek vanilla yogurt

2/3 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 small can crushed pineapple

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl combine all dry ingredients. Beat eggs, melted butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla together in a separate bowl with a fork. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well combined. Add in pineapple and coconut. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until set. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

{Linking with these friends}

French Country Cottage

A Stroll Thru Life

Savvy Southern Style

Have a Daily Cup

Between Naps on the Porch

Skip To My Lou

Craftberry Bush

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

Rattlebridge Farm

Florida Decor - Guest Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is the start of a series of posts that will show my new house in Florida. I decided to start with one of the guest rooms, because I think it gives a real feel for the style of my new home and its coastal decor.

I really had fun with this room and wanted it to be calm and inviting, with soft beachy colors and white bedding. My goal was for our guests to feel like they are on vacation and they are here to relax. My inspiration was this pin from Pinterest that I saved quite some time ago and I feel I came pretty close. The room is a mixture of things we already owned and new finds. The white quilts are new, the bedside table was purchased at a local furniture shop and the decor items were found at various places, including Home Goods. The shells in the jar are collected from our local beaches and we (or our guests) will fill it up over time.

We are looking for a special piece of wall art and I would like to add some soft throws on the ends of the beds, but otherwise, it's all ready for guests - and my daughters were the very first to use it :-)

Happy Tuesday!

 

{Linking with these friends}

French Country Cottage

A Stroll Thru Life

Savvy Southern Style

Have a Daily Cup

Between Naps on the Porch

Skip To My Lou

Craftberry Bush

21 Rosemary Lane

Stonegable

Rattlebridge Farm

New Places to Walk

 

 

 

 

 

Walking is definitely different in Florida. I have needed to make some adjustments, but all in all, it has been fun discovering new places. Usually I walk in my neighborhood, because I like seeing all the houses, landscaping and seeing the new construction that changes daily. I'm hoping it is also a good way to meet new people. In Michigan, I usually tried to walk between 5 and 6 pm and it was rarely too hot at that time. Here, I need to wait until closer to 8 pm and it usually is quite comfortable. The sun sets earlier here, on the east coast of the USA, so that's pretty close to sunset and I'm always mindful of finishing my walk before dark to avoid any unwelcome surprises from alligators.

While I prefer to walk in the evening, rather than the morning (it's better for my blood sugar), today I drove to downtown Venice and took a lovely walk from downtown to the beach. There is a shaded path that runs through the middle of a boulevard and shade is definitely my friend here, even fairly early in the morning. The gulf was beautiful and even though dogs aren't allowed on the beach, my puppy and I sat on a bench in the pavilion for a few minutes and enjoyed the shade and the view.

There is another walking path I will try soon, but need to get there fairly early since it follows the intercostal waterway and there is no shade at all. I'm hoping to spot a few dolphins on that walk.

It's all very different than my former walking paths through the woods, but new sights are always interesting. As long as I have water, a hat and most importantly my favorite walking buddy, my walks will be part of my new life here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

What I'm Watching

 

 

The good news is that we now have cable in our new house. The bad news is that due to a construction error on our street, we went one month without cable and had only temporary, very slow internet. So, I'm very behind on some shows I wanted to watch.

I did catch up on two shows that I have been looking forward to this summer and they are both British shows on PBS.

 

 

First, Tennison: Prime Suspect is the prequel to Helen Mirren's portrayal of Jane Tennison in the original Prime Suspect series, of which I was a big fan. I read a lot of British police procedurals and both this new show and the original were very good at translating those genre of books to the screen. Gritty, true to life and detailed about solving a crime in a British police station.

 

 

This new series (only three episodes, so easy to catch up on) takes place in 1973 and the style, clothes and depiction of that decade are fabulous. Lots of facial hair on the men and no cell phones or computers to be found. I really enjoyed the characters, the look and feel, as well as the story.

 

 

Quite a different change of pace from a crime drama, but I always enjoy The Great British Baking Show for its sweet, calm pace. It's just a lovely look at lovely people, baking lovely things. This is the fourth showing here in the states, but we get a combination of older and newer series as shown on the BBC, in no particular order or timeline. I love everything about it, even though I get confused every time a cookie is called a biscuit :-)

Happy Tuesday!

 

A Visit From My Daughters

 

 

It has been a wonderful week, a very special birthday and a fun 4th of July, so I know you will understand that instead of posting, I have been living life with my family. I pretty much put away my phone and iPad, so luckily the rest of my family did a really good job of taking photos of all the things we did. We really tried to show my daughters the area and as many of our favorite spots as possible. We have been to the pool and the beach numerous times and enjoyed our fair share of shrimp and fresh seafood. We have been drinking margaritas, pins coladas and mai tais. We did yoga on the beach to start my birthday and finished with a freshly caught seafood dinner, followed by drinks at a tiki bar. We shopped and restaurant hopped in St. Armands Circle and took a boat ride to a sand bar in the middle of the gulf for a beautiful sunset we will never forget. I was so happy to have my daughters here, in our new house and make so many new family memories together.

There are a lot of photos to show you, so I'll let them do the most of the talking today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thursday!