Swim Style

Sitting on the beach a few weeks ago over Memorial day weekend it hit me, it's swimsuit season! I've been thinking about swimsuit styles a lot since then. I have a few suits that are a few years old but I started thinking I may need an update this year. There are so many options available it can be overwhelming but after sorting through the prints, and brightly colored solids, I decided to be consistent with my wardrobe and stay simple and neutral.  So here's where I landed...

black bikini; striped rash guard and bottom; simple black one piece and black bandeau one piece

I love how simple each of the looks above are without being boring. There are prints and colors everywhere right now but for me nothing beats a classic! I'd love to hear, what's your swim style?

Swimsuits are the trickiest so I'd love to know where you have good luck finding yours too.

- Heath

PS my aunt wore a rash guard over Memorial day and I officially need to own one now! 

image 1 and 3 via Pinterest, image 2

Summer Steaks

On Friday Andy and I hosted one last summer Steak Club. When we set the date for this last weekend in August I knew I wanted to serve summer sides and keep everything bright and simple.

I set the table with a mix of fun glasses(a trick if you don't have enough of each type of glassware, like me!) and used wicker chargers to keep my china from looking too formal.

We served Moscow Mules as pre dinner cocktails and they were a big hit. Perfect refreshing cocktail to celebrate the end of summer.

We served olive tapenade, basil pesto and gorgonzola and artichoke dip with grilled crostinis as appetizers. We purchased all the dips from a local Italian market to keep minimize our prep work and everything was perfect. I highly recommend grilled bread with a simple dip as an easy and delicious appetizer.

For dinner we kept it super simple with a platter of fresh tomatoes sprinkled with a few herbs and corn on the cob, all from our local farmers market. I sadly didn't get a picture of my steak or any corn, but I'm sure you can picture how summery the plates looked!

 

And for dessert we surprised MK's birthday with her favorite coconut cupcakes from my favorite bakery in Charlotte.

It was such a fun night! All in all a super easy and summery meal, perfect for a late August evening with friends.

- Heath

Summer Squeeze!

I know it's super cliché to say that this summer is flying by too quickly.  It really is, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to fall!  I think summer doesn't technically end until September 21st, but mentally summer ends for me after Labor Day.  (Once football begins, I'm thinking fall!)  So, to really squeeze the most out of this last month of summer Heath and I each made a list of our top 3 things we'd really like to do this month to feel like we've properly enjoyed this season!

Mary Keller's Top 3:

Enjoy a Low Country Boil - I really feel like my summer is incomplete without a good old fashioned casual shrimp boil!  We still haven't taken our annual beach vacation this year and are planning to have a fun shrimp boil while we're at the beach for Labor Day. 

Eat Lots of Fresh Tomatoes - with our kitchen being out of commission for half of the summer, we really haven't taken advantage of the delicious tomatoes (or corn!) that come with summer.  We definitely plan to change that these next few weeks.  (Lot's of tomato recipe ideas here.)

Make a Peach Cobbler - I really hate to think that I could go all summer without homemade peach cobbler.  I'm thinking we may need to try this recipe with blackberries asap!

Heath's Top 3:

Make Homemade Popsicles or Ice Cream - Before the season ends Heath's hoping to make some type of homemade cool treat to enjoy on these last few hot weeks!  These Watermelon Mojito Popsicles look really yummy, and so does this Ultimate Peach Ice Cream recipe.  Smitten Kitchen's also been showing off some really fancy popsicles!

Make Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches - this one may sound tricky, but the fish monger at our local fish market swears these are super easy and sooo amazing!  (If you're local to Charlotte, Clean Catch often has crabs on special.)  This Food&Wine recipe looks really good, and I think Gwyneth Paltrow's first cookbook (my favorite) also has a really good looking crab sandwich recipe. 

Drink More Rose' - as Heath says, this one is self explanatory!  Perfect wine for summer evenings!

Don't you love how all of our remaining summer plans are food related! :)  What does everyone else really want to do these last few weeks of summer?

~ Mary Keller

Images:  Low Country Boil via Coastal Living; Tomatos via Martha Stewart; Peach Cobbler via SundayMorningBananaPancakes; Watermelon Mojito Popsicles via Endless Simmer;  Soft Shell Crab Sandwich via Food & Wine; Rose image by Michael Bullock via Camille Styles