Happy Thursday! I am so excited for the weekend, who’s with me? I LOVE the 4th of July! I mean come on, who doesn’t love to celebrate our beautiful country and sweet freedom by dressing up in flag themed apparel, eating red white and blue themed everything and spending time with friends and family at your closest beach/lake/pool/backyard? AND you get a day off from work? Hallelujah, America you sure are beautiful.

Robert and I have spent the last few “Fourths” with my family either at my grandparent’s beach house in North Carolina or my aunt and uncle’s in Florida. Both are two of my very favorite places, but it was high time we spent an Independence Day here in Hilton Head.  My sister had to work since she took off for our Chicago trip a few weeks ago, but my parents agreed to come here for the weekend and are getting in tonight, I can’t wait! Next year my goal will definitely be to have all of us together somewhere sandy!

I can’t wait to spend time with my parents, and I am almost equally as excited about the gift my mother is bringing… my very own herb pots!  I love to cook with fresh herbs but have never had a lot of luck growing my own on our little back patio. Unfortunately I didn’t inherit a green thumb (or even a green pinkie) from my mother or grandfather who are both avid gardeners. My sweet mama must have finally gotten sick of listening to me complain about the price of fresh herbs because a few months ago she started two big pots full of a variety of herbs for me. Best Gift Ever! I can’t wait to smell them, use them and hopefully not kill them. Fingers crossed! It gets hot down here on the South Carolina coast and I am not always the best at remembering to water….

Second to extra Renly cuddles and waking up an hour later, my favorite thing about having the summer off is no lunchbox. During the school year, to save money and remain mindful, I pack my own lunch for work every day and it gets really, really monotonous. I eat a lot of kale salads and a lot of apple slices and string cheese. And by a lot I mean I eat that every day, literally. I’ve gotten very good at cooking just enough dinner to feed two people so the rare occasion I get to bring leftovers for lunch is a special treat. Sometimes by Friday I’m out of salad and end up eating oatmeal at my desk. My lunch game during the school year is pretty sad so lets not dwell on that. Instead we’ll focus on the beauty of actually cooking lunch during the summer time…hooray!

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