Carolina In My Mind

Summer Floyd
Mar 17, 2017
4 min read

Woo-hoo the first blog post! What better way to start it off than recapping my spontaneous trip to South Carolina to spend a weekend with my parents and best friend. Of course food will be involved, if you read my "about me" section you know my father is forever chef'n it up. What I did come to realize is I need to purchase an artificial light because we had a beautiful & delicious dinner but was unable to capture great quality due to poor lighting/dark outside. For those who ask why? Kitchen lighting is poor lighting...just don't rely on it!

I currently reside in Northern Kentucky near Cincinnati and my best friend (pretty sure its up to 22 years of friendship now) lives in Lexington, Ky. When I had mentioned of visiting my parents to have a quick "get away" she was on board to join. Luckily I pass Lexington on my way down south, so I swoop her up and off we go away from the cold (so we had thought, it ended up being chilly in SC as well!). Other friends and family love to visit the lake house whether for celebrations, vacations, or mini getaways which I am more prone to. One of my favorite things about arriving at my parents house is being greeted by the best dog around, my Australian Shepard Jack. Seriously, look at that sweet face! Add his sustaining high energy (he's 9 years old) and fluffy warm coat is so heart warming to have running and shaking his butt to you with excitement. Below are some images from my parents lake house which they named, All About the View, due to its beautiful scenery.

It's All About the View

As you can see the home and the view is worthy of its name. Unfortunately the day I took these photos was the only nice day during our visit! Therefore we soon became home bodies and sack of potatoes on the couch--still in pjs come mid-afternoon. Relaxation is hard for me. I rather be doing something than relaxing. I NEED TO BE DOING SOMETHING. After my one full day of hard relaxation I had become very antsy to go adventure around the small town of Lexington, South Carolina which only led us to one bar =D BUT IT WAS OUT AND ABOUT, had to get out of house. I love beer. I will always love beer no matter my health and/or fitness goals. Needless to say, during travel I'll drink more than when I'm at home. Needless to say for the remainder of our days Amber and I scoped out new locations to bar hop, even went to Columbia, SC. I enjoy a good adventure with food and drinks, and ordered my first flight (how the hell have I loved beer for so long and never gotten one of these?) and first try of sour beer! OHHH and the biggest surprise of them all.....I TRIED MUSSELS AND FELL IN LOVE! So maybe its time for me to try oysters again....that is a stretch though.

Enough about our drinkaholic shenanigans lets get into some foods...

#foodie ammiright

Ham & Asparagus Quiche

I did go out of my food comfort zone with this one due to the ham...ya I'm not a ham person. What I did love was the softness from the Gruyere Cheese and crunch from the asparagus. At least this is protein packed to start our day. Read my father's cutting board...this should tell you all you need to know about his cooking philosophy haha

Cozy Morning Basics

Sometimes a simple breakfast with coffee is all you need. Add some oversized pajamas & socks. Yes that is real, full of fat-licious, bacon you see. It was crunchy, delicious, and in the "not so nutritious" category. But you see, at Forkin' Nutrition its all about balance and having a healthy relationship with food. I do not categorize any food as bad, that's too much of a negative term. However, there are foods that are less nutritious yet still delicious which I consume in moderation. If you crave it, allow it. Just don't get crazy with it =D

Chocolate Chip Cookies

WHY WHY WHY would my mother make these? Look how fluffy and chippy these beauties were. Somehow I managed to have only 2 (and not at one time!). This is probably another reason I decided to make Amber go beer searching with me to get far away from these. (I know what you're thinking.....so you leave desserts to go get alcohol? Yes, I did. I'm good with the decision.) The whole house smelled like a fresh, gooey in the center, crunchy on the outside cookie. Jack was intrigued himself---Sorry baby boy you get a dog treat instead.

My restful weekend was successful, but now its back to reality. Time to get workouts in, food made, child bathed and entertained, school work to complete, and the list goes on. Those first few days back always seem such a struggle from any trip!