Artist Betty Anglin Smith and her husband own the sweetest cottage in Meggett, South Carolina. It’s a place to sit and read, watch the beautiful view on the water, and for Betty a place to paint. This photo was taken back in 2006 at an oyster roast there for an guest artist in the Smith Killian gallery in Charleston, SC. It was a beautiful night with a spectacular sunset. The reflections were just gorgeous!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
An artist friend of ours had an oyster roast back in 2006 when I snapped this photo. This is in Meggett, South Carolina. The beauty is unrivaled! Can you imagine seeing this everyday? Ahhhh! It just looks so relaxing!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Years ago I picked up this gigantic pumpkin from Target after Halloween. Bought it for $10. Every year we put it on the front porch and plug it in on Halloween night. Everyone thinks it’s real. Every. Year. It was a great find. Sometimes I get a real pumpkin and sometimes I don’t… this one gets all the attention!
Be safe on the roads, watch out for the kiddies… HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Catch you back here tomorrow!
Those of you who know me know how I love Taco Boy restaurant. The ambiance can’t be beat, and luckily neither can the food… Every day is a party at Taco Boy… and although I’m not one that stays up late, I want to let the rest of you know there is a PARTY at Taco Boy tonight… there will be live music, games, contests AND the best costume wins $1000! Whaaaat? So what are you going to be?? Hey, get a group together, best group costume is $500! Spend a few minutes, come up with something creative and go for it! Have fun, and if you go, I’d love to hear about it!
Is there truly any way to feel better than to do good for someone else? There is nothing that will make you feel better than helping someone who needs it, especially during the holiday season. I normally don’t start talking about the Christmas season so early, but this is for a good reason. FAMILIES NEED YOU. Kids need you. Senior citizens need you. YOU can make a difference in someone’s life. Families Helping Families is a great organization that my husband and I have been involved with. There are different ways that you can help make a big difference.
You can make a tax-deductible donation by going to the FAMILIES HELPING FAMILIES WEBSITE. Once on their website click on the MAKE A DONATION link. These funds will allow FHF to provide gifts for unsponsored families and cover their relatively low operating expenses. PERFECT!
The other option…
You can become a sponsor for a family (or families) by clicking here to go to the FHF website, click on the SPONSOR A FAMILY link by Nov. 18. FHF send you a profile of your family that will include specific needs and the children’s wish lists. Most sponsors say they spend an average of $50 on each family member. This my friends, is what the holiday season is all about. Bringing a smile to someone’s face on a day that can be difficult for so many. Can you imagine being a child on Christmas and not having one single gift to open? I was fortunate, I never had that worry. No child should. Don’t let the $50 scare you. The average is $50 spent per person, but with larger families that may be $30 or $40 per person. Whether you adopt a family on your own, go in with some friends or neighbors or get your office to adopt a family/families – please do it today. They’ve made it so easy. The process goes something like this:
You fill out the form. If you like, you can specify the number of people you would like in the family and they will try their best to match it (i.e. a single parent family with 3 children, or a senior citizen, or hey… BOTH!).
You will be sent a packet with information on your family, it will give their names, ages, and a wish list. A wish list is just that… it doesn’t mean you have to purchase everything on the list. If you have big plans (TV, Computer, Bike) you may want to mention that when requesting a family so they can hook you up with someone who has big wishes :) Sometimes the adult may ask for an item, sometimes they just want everything to go to the child. Hey, it’s Christmas for us all… the last family we had the mother asked for a clock. A simple everyday item we take for granted. We shopped the sales and got her some great things, and a clock was one of them. I cannot tell you how much fun we’ve had shopping for our FHF Christmas Families… you can’t help thinking about them, you’re excited on Christmas Eve for them to open their gifts the next day. You wonder if they enjoyed their gifts. You. Care. AWESOME!! It’s nice when Christmas is all about someone other than ourselves…
A nice thing to include is a gift card so the family can buy food for dinner. If you pick a place such as Walmart, if they don’t have items for a Christmas meal they can use the gift card, or if they need household items… they can pick. Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s nice to know with a small gift card, that your family is enjoying their own Christmas dinner. That’s perfect!
And did I mention the bonus for you?? Families Helping Families is a tax deductible contribution. You just keep your receipts (or make copies if you want to include the receipts for your family to exchange if they need), along with a copy of the letter that comes in your packet and voila! You have a tax deduction!
Can you get some people together who may be interested in participating?? Maybe instead of exchanging gifts at the office everyone chip in some $, then have a wrapping party…
After the purchase you wrap the gift, put a name tag and include the Family ID# (will be in your packet), then if possible, put the gifts in a big clear plastic trash bag labeled with their Family ID#.
Drop off of gifts is at the Strobel Tire Warehouse located at 1101 N Main Street/Hwy 17A, Summerville, off I-26, Exit 199. If you need help getting your gifts to that location you may contact FHF, please DO NOT BE DETERRED if the drop off location is not near you, they will work with you to get the gifts there!
If you have any questions, here’s the email: FHFCharleston@PalmettoProject.org
I would love to hear any of your stories! Catch you back here tomorrow!
Ok, this is a heads up to everyone out there who can help make a difference. The Lowcountry Komen Race for the Cure is next Saturday, October 15 on Daniel Island.
If you can’t be there to run or walk, there are other options, check out their website it’s a good one. A site that offers not only race information but breast cancer information as well.
Check it out HERE – here’s to everyone making a difference. Somethings got to happen!
Hang in there, it’s almost the weekend…!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Isn’t this a sight to behold? Behind our house we have something that’s called the WEST ASHLEY GREENWAY… its roughly 10 miles long and is used as a hiking/biking trail. We are fortunate to have such beautiful views!
Well it’s been nice touring with you… this is my favorite house on Sullivan’s Island, not that I’ve been in many houses on S.I. but once you’re in this one there just can’t be a comparison. CAN’T. BE. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that this project was done by Gray Wade, LLC. Contact information is at the bottom of this page. In closing I would just like to showcase a few of the design ideas that I really loved. That’s ME, personally… certainly no expert, well, hmmm, I take that back. Fred and I have exquisite taste, hee hee… seriously, we both love design. It’s what we do in our off time. Our walls have been umpteen colors over the 16 years that we’ve lived here. Our dining room has been in three different rooms, basically every room has changed except for the kitchen and bathrooms. We have serious fun doing it, and we love it with each change. If you need something different but a new house isn’t in the budget, or if you just love where you live (we do!) changing things around can make all the difference… that includes paintings!
Enjoy the rest of the tour!
I’ve enjoyed your company on this visit, catch you back here tomorrow!
Hello there! We’re nearing the end of our Sullivan’s Island Home Tour. Over the past several weekends I have taken you inside one of the most beautiful homes on the island. I have taken MANY photos and you’ve seen precious few, but I tried to select the ones I thought would interest most of you! Today… two area’s: kid’s rooms and the original cottage (sitting area)… granted the children’s bedrooms were decorated for girls, but the space could easily be used for boy OR adults. Each room has a private bath, a walk-in closet and tons of storage. Tomorrow will be the last day of the tour… special design elements I thought might capture your attention… so stay tuned!
A brief stop at the butler’s pantry… such a functional space. Who doesn’t need more storage? For that matter… who doesn’t need a butler? hee.
Very pretty…
I like the mixture of textures, wood, seagrass as well as lucite, very nice!
Ok, I’ll catch y’all back here tomorrow… final day of the house tour… don’t miss it!
I love going on home tours, what can be better? It’s especially nice doing it from the comfort of your air conditioned space wherever you may be, right? Like I mentioned in previous posts, this is a house that was built/remodeled by GRAY WADE, LLC. owned by Michael and Alison Brewer. They took a small, old, very rough cottage and renovated it, adding on a substantial amount of square feet, AND it’s mighty difficult to tell the old from the new. In the newly designed space part of the original cottage became the entryway and what I call the library/piano room. I asked Michael about the space and he said that the floors and the glass are original. Everything else has been made to look like the old… They found the push button switches at a specialty store, and whoa… those little details MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The light fixtures are custom made and the string and bulb matches the original… This cottage has been lovingly restored to it’s original splendor! Enjoy the pics… .
We will complete this Sullivan’s Island home tour next weekend! Catch you back here tomorrow!
Ok, it’s day three of the Gray Wade project on the beach. It’s a flawless design, perfect for beach living. So comfortably together yet each with its own defined space. I think this home is a very functional design. I love the UNfussyness of it all! Today is the kitchen… several pictures, mainly because I just couldn’t choose. I LOVE. THIS. KITCHEN. I love the windows instead of cabinets, the appliances, the simpleness of it all. I’m not fussy, I don’t care for busy, sometimes it’s harder to be more clean lined than it is to be fussy… Enjoy the pics and I’ll catch you back here for day 4 of the house tour!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Day two of the Sullivan’s Island house tour… This photo is taken of the dining room… This is one of the homes done by Michael and Alison Brewer of Gray Wade, LLC. They did a tremendous job!
This photo is taken from the dining room looking towards the back of the house. I love how you can see all the way to the back door. That big, wide, gorgeous back door. Lovely. Such nice touches. The openness that is so inviting, with a dedicated sitting area, perfect for getting together with old friends. It’s extraordinary how the sitting space spills into the kitchen area, feeling very separate (i.e. you don’t see dirty dishes, etc.) yet it feels uniquely together, one big comfortable space where you can sit and talk yet still have the ability to communicate with someone in the kitchen… a great house for entertaining, no doubt. Furniture placement is so important in a room and I think this was done nicely! (Click on photo to enlarge).
More house tour pics next weekend…! I can’t wait! Catch you back here tomorrow!
Welcome to Sullivan’s Island, SC. How would you like to pull up to this home? (And this is the BACK entrance…)! In the upcoming weekends I’m going to be taking you on a tour of this gorgeous home, so check back often, you won’t want to miss it! The renovating and building of this house is a result of just one of the homes done by the GRAY WADE company that is owned by Michael and Alison Brewer. They did a magnificent job of keeping the home looking like it could have in it’s very best days… I didn’t see it when they bought it, but from what I’ve heard it’s the first house they bought that they couldn’t walk all the way through (floors not safe). The part of the house that was added on was done seamlessly. Its nearly impossible to tell where the original house stops and the newly added portion begins. They went to great detail to have it be that way and it shows…the outside is fabulous in itself, but it’s the inside where the magic begins!
The innovative couple who renovated and built this home have since moved to another gorgeous home in a fabulous location. Perhaps that will be a tour we can take together in the future?. Enjoy today’s photos, more tomorrow!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Ohmygosh, we had the time of our lives on our wedding day! This is us, big hair and all, NINETEEN YEARS AGO today! Whew does time ever fly. Right when you decide to forget about finding the one true love in life do you happen to walk a friends dog right up to their very feet. What a happy day that was. I knew almost immediately that Fred was THE ONE. It was his gentle demeanor, the way he listened when I talked, the way he was truly HAPPY to see me. Fred is everything in the world to me, he’s my ONE TRUE LOVE, and I will be forever grateful!
Happy 19 years Fred! I love you!! More happy days to come… xoxo barbara
Catch y’all back here tomorrow!! I believe we have some anniversary cake to eat, ha ha…
HOLY COW! The wildlife around this place is enough to do me in. Seriously. I enjoy (yeah, right) frogs and snakes, raccoons and possums as long as I’m INSIDE and they’re OUTSIDE. I always run into a situation when Fred isn’t here to rescue me, ugh! The HUGE snakes while I’ve been walking… I have to admit, they are the worst. I’m outside with Charlie (Jack Russell who would love dearly to “play” with this frog)… and out of the corner of my eye I spot this big dark thing. WHAT?! Oh…. Charlie!! LETS GO GET TREATS!! I get the beast in the house, snap a few photos of the frog when he decides to hop in and go for a swim. I watch him do laps like nothing I have ever seen! Two swift kicks (yes, frog kicks!) and he was from one side of the pool to the other. I call Fred and ask him if this frog can possibly hop out like he hopped in. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the answer I wanted. So I’m running back and forth with the net and this thing is wearing me out! About lap 10 he slowed down and I was able to catch him in the net and plop him down on dry ground. I got him out of the net and came inside. I warned him that he was on his own… I’m not going back out there! What next…??? Ugh, DON’T ANSWER THAT! I guess I should just be thankful I don’t have the paparazzi following me around and having all this on YouTube… argh!
Catch you back here tomorrow!!
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