Oooh summah summah time!

Although it’s hotter than Hades outside, today is officially the first day of Summer! Yippee! Time for heat strokes, dehydration, sunburns, sweating, tanning, boating, fishing, swimming, and parties! Bring it on.

This is probably my favorite time of year. Yeah. It’s freaking hot. But that’s what swimming pools, ocean swims and cool drinks are for, right?! Sean and I have already prepared for this summer by shipping out the old and welcoming the new (to us). We got rid of our 16’ Carolina Skiff flats boat and bought my uncle’s 20’ Mako bay boat. It’s been in my family since I was two years old and I practically grew up on it. It’s the reason I have such a huge love for fishing, boating and the “salt life” in general. I have a lot of memories and fishing lies stories that stem from that boat, and now, it’s all ours  :) 

One of the first things that Sean and I bought for the boat was a marine bean bag. Soooo awesome! Whenever Sean has spare time this is where he spends it: 

Yep, right in the driveway. No shame in that boy's game.

Moving on, let’s talk about the most important “B’s” of the season:

Beaches

Boats

Bikinis

Barbecues

Booze

That's what it's all about folks. As many of you know, I’m not a big drinker. But as time goes on, I’m finding more and more that I like. What do I like, you ask? Pretty much anything that’s sweet. Haha! I still haven’t found a beer I can remotely stand…  So, in honor of my love for everything fruity-tooty, here are some things that I’m excited to make this summer:

Peach Sangria

Coconut Rum Soaked Pineapple

Malibu Bay Breeze

And, if I'm feeling lazy, my favorite fallback that doesn't require prepping,

An ice cold bottle of Woodchuck Cider. Yummm :)

Our summer plans pretty much consist of going out on the boat and chillin' at our favorite spot, the John's Pass Sandbar! It's perfect because there is cool water to sit in, it's close to home, we have a bunch of friends that we meet out there and it's shallow enough for the dogs to hang out with us too!

Lucky for us, it's summertime here about ten months out of the year, so we'll be doing this routine for a while! Bring on the boat trips, cool pools, fruity drinks and good times; it's summah time y'all!

-C Doc

Life and times

Sean and I are in a really good place. We’re happy, healthy and goin’ with the flow. At times we can get on each other’s nerves, but lately, it’s been different. It’s been awesome. I think we’re really getting the hang of this whole marriage/business partner/roommate deal. I mean, we had a pretty easy relationship before, but still, everyone would ask us how the “married life” is. We’d always say “great!” and that not much has changed. And for the most part, it’s true. Not that much has changed since we got hitched. Granted, we’re still learning each other’s quirks. I think we will till the end of time. But lately, life has been good.

In my month long hiatus, I celebrated my 25^th birthday. That’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m half way through my twenties! Where has the time gone?! Your twenties are some defining years… they’re the years in between being told what you are and actually becoming who you are and being that defined person. That’s a big deal. A big big deal.

So far I’ve graduated college, received a license in massage therapy, got a good job, got a house, made it a home, nabbed a husband, gained some friends and reluctantly lost some friends. To say it’s been one hell of a ride would be an understatement. But, these are things that are a part of my definition. These are the things that have made me the person I am today. And while I’ve got the next five years to really figure my ish out, the first five have been a whirlwind. A roller-coaster ride, if you will.

Growing up has been fun. I have a lot of awesome memories with some equally awesome people. And I will continue to make said memories with said people with a Tervis cup full of wine in my hand. Because I’m classy like that *insert hair flip* 

I’m excited for what the future holds. I’m blessed beyond belief to have an awesome husband that supports me and I’m happy that he’s my best friend. I know that nobody has my back as much as he does and I’m humbled to know that he’ll always be there for me and I’ll always be there for him.  And I’m glad to be surrounded by a good group of people. It makes life so much more appealing. I’m also glad that I get to go on vacation next Friday with these particular people. Good times are to be had, for sure. Georgia and North Carolina doesn’t know what it’s in for. This upcoming trip will definitely create some memories and I can’t wait. Perhaps it will be a “life defining” trip. After all, there will be seven of us crammed in a house together. Now that…. should be interesting. Luckily there are four bedrooms and two bathrooms to handle us.

Let the good times roll. 



-C Doc

Father's Day

Sean and I are so lucky and blessed to have two of the coolest sets of parents around. Both parental units have been married for over 30 years, which is hard to come by these days. While I was on a blogging hiatus for Mother's Day, I'm here to dish about our dear ol' dads. Because, let's be honest, they're pretty cool dudes.

We had a cookout on Saturday for Sean's dad, John. And, because he is a lover of everything sweet, I made these guys:

So much better! More chocolate, more happiness.

As for my dad, Sean and I cooked a mean breakfast. I made these awesome baked eggs in bread bowls while Sean cooked two pounds of bacon with no shirt on... he's not the brightest crayon in the box. I also set up a Bloody Mary Bar, one of my dad's favorite drinks!

Major blogging fail: I didn't get a picture.

All in all, it was a great weekend. A lot of good times were had and a lot of good food was eaten. I'd say that's a success.

And, last but not least, to my dear husband Sean:

Although you are a great father to our fur-kids, Lord knows we are not ready for a tiny human. Cheers to not being a father....  yet.

-C Doc

Gimme some more

I keep seeing all these ads, pictures and articles about how excited people are about summer. And don't get me wrong, I am too, but let's be serious.... it's freakin' hot outside. And all these crazy people can talk about is hanging out, going to bbq's and having bonfires. Um... what?!?!? Bonfires? Give me a cool pool and an ice cold beverage, thank you very much. Old Navy, with your camp commercial, why don't you wait six months to talk about camping... the thought of staying in a tent, in the wilderness sweating my bum off in some crazy scorching temperatures makes me want to cringe.

But, alas, I am not here to rant or bash anyone's ads or their summer plans. Today, I am here to talk about one of my favorite desserts, s'mores! If you're like me, when you think of s'mores, you think of roasting your marshmallow on a stick over a fire. which is so overrated.... 9 times out of 10, the chocolate never melts when you smash your roasted mallow between two grahams and a Hersey square. Am I right? So, let's get busy making them the right way, ooey gooey, messy, crumby, and super sticky. Yummm :)

I started out with typical s'more stuff, graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate. Instead of buying the bars of chocolate, I bought Kisses. Who doesn't love a kiss?

Let's begin:

Step 1: Pray to 8lb baby Jesus that your graham crackers aren't completely crushed when you open the package (this is the most important step).

Step 2: If they aren't all crumbs and are in somewhat whole pieces, break them in half (I know, it seems counterproductive) and lay the halves out on a cookie sheet.

Step 3: Place a marshmallow on them.

Step 4: Put them under the broiler and make sure to keep a close eye on them!!!

Step 5: When your marshmallows get a nice Jersey-Shore-like tan, take them out and smash a Kiss in the center of the marshmallow.

Step 6: Let them cool for a little while and enjoy!

How good do these look?!

As you can see in the picture above, the Kiss may start to melt a little bit and sink further into the marshmallow. Although it looks a little wonky (like the guy on the left), it still tastes great! Melted chocolate in the middle of a warm roasted marshmallow on a toasted graham cracker. Sign. Me. Up.

The best part? I didn't have to sweat like a whore in church pig by a fire to roast each marshmallow to make them! Next time, however, I think I'm going to smash a chocolate square on top, much like a normal s'more. The Kisses are super cute, but why just have chocolate in the middle? Spread the love!

^^ This girls knows what I'm talkin' about. We want more, like, we really like it. We want some more s'mores.

-C Doc

'merica

I'm baaaaaack! Did ya miss me?

I haven't posted on here lately because I've been busy... ah, who am I kidding, I'm lazy. My DIY list is running slim since our house is, dare I say it, pretty much complete! Plus, to be quite frank, I'm running out of wall space and room in the house for cute stuff. Which is a total bummer. We need to move so I can start over. Haha, kidding not really.

On the cooking side of things, I haven't really been documenting anything. I tried some great new recipes, however! Trix Krispies (which were a huge hit), Cheesy Ranch Burger Bites (also very tasty! especially with hot sauce), Fiesta Dip (yummy!) and Taco Roll-ups (gone in 60-seconds). I definitely recommend all of these recipes; special thanks to Pinterest for existing and allowing me to find all of these tasty concoctions :)

Back to the decorating side of things. There is one thing I'm still able to design.... my changable wreath! As you remember, the last time I decorated it I stuck a bunch of brightly colored flowers in honor of it being spring, the time before that I shoved a bunch of greenery in my twiggy wreath in honor of St. Patty's Day. Now, since we're fully engulfed in a hot and sweaty summer, it's only right that I change it out again!

Two important holidays take place during these summer months, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. What's better than an Americana wreath?! Super cute, sorta vintage/rustic looking and it represents the best country in the world, the good ole U.S. of A. Since we're on the subject of the U.S.A. it's only right that we talk about stripping....

The wreath that is.

After my naked wreath was all prepared, I then prepped the flowers and doodads that I planned to use.

Total Cost: $15.00. Everything American-esque was 50% off after Memorial Day and most of the floral items were 50% off as well. Whoop whoop!

After careful placement, here is what I created:

Even though it's hard to see the details in the wreath from the road, and most of our friends and family enter our house through the garage door, I know our mailman has to appreciate the cuteness. At least I hope he does.... Heck, he's probably hightailing it away from our house most of the time since our dogs completely despise him. What is it with dogs and mailmen anyway?

-C Doc

Planters and palms and flowers, oh my!

Hello friends!

There's been a lot of work going on at our little Dockerty House, and it all has to do with landscaping; which makes me a very happy girl! Are you ready to be inundated with copious quantities of pictures?!?

I hope so :) 

Below you'll find the finished landscaping in the backyard (complete with an irrigation system!), flowers in the front, new entryway swag, and one of our pups with a bunch of hitch-hikers stuck to his chest, you know, for good measure...

Here we go! In a verrry random order:

I love it! Our house has come such a long way from how it looked when we first bought it. It's been a wonderful three years! I think it's safe to say that we've completed almost every project that we've set out to do... there are a few little things left here and there, but we're so happy with the way everything has turned out. I love our home :)

-C Doc

Salivating Salisbury!

Hey all! Hope you had a fantastic weekend, we definitely did! My man went fishing with a friend and my uncle on Saturday and caught five mackerel (yummm) and we cooked it on Sunday with some friends.

We also had bratwursts and chopped up onions and green peppers along with Sean's favorite, new potatoes! We got a little overzealous with the green pepper/onion/new potato mix and had a ton left over. It was super simple; throw it all in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, dump some spices on it and bake at 350* for about 30-40 minutes. Perfection!

In an effort to not let anything go to waste, we ate the veggies again last night. I decided to make some Salisbury steak to go along with it. The green peppers and onions tasted great in the gravy! Here is the recipe I came up with that was deelish!

One pound of ground beef
One egg (beaten)
Bread Crumbs
Worcestershire Sauce
One can of beef gravy

Notice I said you needed bread crumbs and I had croutons pictured? I thought I had bread crumbs at home, but it turns out that I didn't... Fail. Luckily, Sam's Club sells ginormous bags of croutons so I crunched some of those up. I did about 1/4 cup. Use whatchya got!

Once that was all crunched up, I beat the egg in a bowl, poured in three tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, threw in the "bread crumbs" and mixed in the meat. I mixed it with my hands and it felt gross, but I really think that's the best way to do it... Once all of the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the meat, slap them into little patties.

I let mine sit in the fridge for a little while to let all of the flavors mesh together. After about a half hour, I fired up the stove to a medium high heat, poured in some olive oil and browned the patties on both sides.

After both sides are all browned up, take out the patties and drain the grease. Place the patties back in the pan and pour in the can of gravy and about two tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce (the star of this recipe). Put the lid on the pan and bring to a boil; this only takes about two minutes.

Return it back to a low heat and let it simmer for about ten more minutes. After that, dinner is served! I rolled up some crescent rolls to have along with our meal. They also tasted great dipped in the gravy :)

The meat and gravy had wonderful flavor and I believe it had everything to do with the Worcestershire Sauce! I love that tang and spice that it has. We use it on our steaks all the time; it adds the perfect flavor to red meat.

That's all for now! I'm hoping to be back later this week with some updates that we did to the office, in the meantime, we'll be running irrigation to our lovely landscaping in the backyard!

-C Doc