Cinnamon Heaven

Ahh this weekend! It was fabulous! A magnificent weekend with close friends and family to celebrate our beautiful nation! As I promised, I have provided a pictures of the most wonderful cinnamon roll in the universe, paired with a cup of surprisingly nice, but somewhat weak coffee. We ate breakfast at this, my favorite, cafe twice and had a cinnamon roll for "dessert" each time! We were even lucky enough to acquire an extra cinnamon roll on our last trip to The Cafe, as we were headed out of town on Monday. I must admit that not an hour into our journey, we had finished that fantastic little bun!

In my enthusiasm over the cinnamon roll, I've neglected to tell you about all of the other wonderful dishes as the restaurant we affectionately call "The Cafe". My personal favorite is the omelet. It is a "create your own" sort of set up where they provide you with a list of possible ingredients and you choose what you want. Adam, my husband, and I always have at least one omelet on our weekend getaways to St. Simons. I always get the same one! I love the usual ingredients: tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and spinach. But, it is the final element that makes this omelet so great! I add crab!

Now, I'm sure you're shaking your head right now, not sure of how your feel about pairing crab with eggs. But, I assure you, it is pure goodness! The rich, buttery flavor of the crab makes this dish superb! The hint of onion and bell pepper add to the already excellent flavor of the crab, and the perfectly cooked spinach adds just a tiny bit of crunch to each mouth-watering bite. This most perfect combination of eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, bell peppers, spinach, and crab is good enough to eat every morning (or night)! I'm dying to try and recreate this fantastic meal in my own kitchen!

I'm sure you think based on what I've written so far, that I spend all my time this weekend eating breakfast! But, I did not! We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and the whole family, husbands and boyfriends included, participated in the Sunshine Festival 5K. What a perfect run for a hot July day! And the best part of all is that it wasn't really that hot. We have been blessed with a cold front this July and the weather, up until yesterday, has been extraordinary! The weather on the 4th felt like early fall! Can you imagine, early July in Georgia with lows in the 70s. It's unheard of and particularly fabulous!

We spent our days this weekend lounging on the beach, playing in the ocean, and soaking up some rays. On Saturday afternoon, my best friend called with an offer we couldn't refuse! So, Adam and I met my dearest friend and her wonderful father at the airport where they took us on a fabulous helicopter ride around the islands. What a great way to spend an afternoon! The views of the marshes were stunning! The marsh grass this time of year is a stunning bright green and the canals that cut through it a dark, muddy gray creating a beautiful contrast. We flew over the beaches, the marinas, and the lighthouse. It was breathtaking. Oh what a perfect way to spend a weekend in Georgia!

And We're Off...

We’re on the way to the beach, for a much needed vacation. The South Carolina scenery is passing by quickly as we make our way to my favorite little island off the Georgia coast. We’ve been married nearly two months now and it has been absolute perfection. Our monogrammed towels and our new pots and pans have been tucked neatly into newly lined cabinets, and we have finally hung most of our artwork on our once bare walls. It is beginning to feel like home.

Our hydrangea that we didn’t even know we had has begun to bloom. I wish we had more. I’ve cut as many blooms as I can, without leaving the plant bare, and placed them in my favorite Waterford carafe on our dining room table. The blue flowers with the hint of purple match the color of the summer sky. Our new grass is happy, healthy, and growing like crazy! Our yard actually looks like a real front yard now, instead of the sea of pine straw that it once was. Oh, if you could see the brilliant green color just after a late afternoon thunderstorm, it’s electric.

At night, in our quaint little neighborhood, I can hear the crickets and the frogs and if I close my eyes, it feels like I’m back in my small hometown sitting on the top deck of my parents’ courtyard. I dream of how we will transform our unorganized, and slightly eclectic backyard at our new house into something elegant and inviting just like that pretty brick courtyard I grew up playing “Princess” on. Our little house, tucked on a quiet street has so much potential.

I realize, as I’m writing as we drive down I-26 towards I-95, that I’ve been daydreaming about the possibilities and forgotten completely about the adventure we’re embarking on. While visiting an island I’ve practically grown up on doesn’t sound adventurous, it is exciting and thrilling, which is adventurous enough for me! I love the little shops, the beautiful beach, and most of all, the fabulous food. You see, I’m a foodie. I love to eat, to cook, and to learn about food. So, while I’m anticipating some much needed sunbathing, I’m most excited about the restaurants and my favorite cookout of the whole year, The Fourth of July!

I’m ready for seafood and cheesecake, fabulous bloody marys and out-of-this-world appetizers. I’ve also been craving the most perfect cinnamon roll, that should be famous, but somehow, isn’t. At least it isn’t, yet! It is the most unbelievably wonderful mixture of cinnamon and sugar with a dripping glaze that has to be made of pure goodness. It melts in your mouth, hot out of the oven, and is only made more perfect by the cup of somewhat weak, diner-style coffee that accompanies it. So, tomorrow morning, after the annual 4^th of July 5K, we will have to go and get one of these little pieces of heaven, perhaps as dessert after my crab and spinach omelet. I promise I’ll take a picture for you.

This weekend we’ll stop in my parent’s store, Low Country Walk, I must say it is my favorite site for antiquing, to see if we can find that perfect piece for our house. I write a blog for them as well, but I took a VERY long break before the wedding. So get ready, I’ll be adding to McIntosh Cottage’s blog in the coming weeks! Perhaps I’ll feature my newly found perfect piece, wish me luck on my search this weekend!

Though the crowds that will swarm the beach, the village, and the stores this weekend are not my favorite, I love that patriotic feeling I get when I’m in St. Simons, ready to celebrate the 4^th. We’ll gather in the Georgia heat to cookout ocean-side and then clean up just in time to walk out on the beach and see the fireworks. From where we stand on East Beach you get three fireworks shows I you pay attention. If you look into the distance across the water you can see Jekyll Island’s fireworks and then if you glance down 
the beach you can see the bright fireworks light up the Sea Island sky.

I’m excited about three nights of fantastic food. The first two nights we’ll dine with friends and family at two local restaurants and then the third, and last night of our mini vacation we’ll cook out by the beach. And my favorite neighbor will inevitably introduce a stranger to the earth shatteringly good “red hot” with white bread and yellow mustard.

I’m ready for a weekend that is just relaxing, just wonderful, and just frivolous!