The devilishly handsome Fitzgerald Clonts got a mani/pedi yesterday! Well, I held him down and glued kitty caps on his nails. Here’s hoping they stay in position and protect our furniture (and skin) from harm.
I wanted to get some kitten mittens, but Forrest said no.
Also, Fitz got his first big boy collar- doesn’t he look so grown up? It’s leather and I’m hoping it will hold up for a while. He shreds those nylon cat collars like whoa.
<3, Liz
We had a fantastic time at the Palmetto Tasty Tomato Festival on Sunday! Forrest was the event photographer, so I hung out and ate as many tomatoes/tomato dishes as possible. It’s awesome to see the variety of heirloom tomatoes being grown at City Roots and by others throughout the midlands. They’re beautiful and delicious!
Our tomatoes in the backyard have been, ahem, growing slower than we hoped. But my Grandfather sends us baskets of tomatoes from his farm year-round (thank you, greenhouses). When it comes to good ‘maters, we’re spoiled rotten (like a tomato- get it?).
The point is that I ate a lovely slice of tomato pie at the Festival made by the Bone-In BBQ guys. It had caramelized onions and goat cheese and was sort of fantastic.Who knew the BBQ truck could make such a yummy veggie dish?
This morning I decided that I must. have. TOMATO. PIE. Or else. SO I did a little research. Paula Deen makes one (go figure). Martha makes mini-ones. But do I ever follow a recipe? No, no, not really. I decided to wing it. Sure, why not?
We didn’t have any pie crust and I’d rather be shoot in the leg than I don’t usually make that sort of thing, so I used a can of crescent rolls for the bottom. This tomato pie was just the crescent rolls, sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh basil from our garden, and cheddar cheese baked to a golden goo.
So yeah, maybe I cheated with the ingredients a little, but HELLO, it got the Forrest-Clonts-two-thumbs-up. If I’m honest, that’s pretty rare.
Do you have a good tomato pie recipe? I’d like to try again with a really great recipe!
Also, have you tried New South? It’s brewed in Myrtle Beach and it’s my favorite during the summer months!
<3, Liz
We spent last week at the beach with my family! Fourteen people in one house on the ocean. It was awesome.
While we were there, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday and Forrest’s birthday, kayaked in the inlet, dug in the sand, basked in the sun (plenty of sunscreen, of course), ate too many delicious things, and even spotted a couple of sharks (but that’s too scary to discuss)!
I’ll post more about the restaurants we visited and the yummy things we ate very soon!
<3, Liz
Forgive the delay. We’re just getting home from a week at the beach with my family and I completely forgot!
And speaking of family…
SC Palm by Luke Clonts
This lovely (which hangs in our living room) was made by Forrest’s cousin.
Luke and his wife, Ailsa, gave us his gorgeous painting as a wedding gift. Luke is ridiculously talented and makes such beautiful things!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FORREST!
Here’s to another wonderful year! Love you!
<3, Liz
I won’t say that I’m a chicken wing connoisseur, but I DID grow up with a dad from Buffalo, NY, the place that put chicken wings on the map! Every time we’re there, we end up on a quest for chicken wings at some place or another. SO, maybe I lived with a wing connoisseur…that might not be a stretch.
Last night we tracked the 2 Fat 2 Fly Stuffed Chicken Wings truck over to the Vista Grill. They normally operate as a food truck, but recently 2 Fat 2 Fly has been doing events in different locations. They took over the kitchen at the Vista Grill last night and turned out some fabulous chicken wings and other goodies.
STUFFED chicken wings? What could go wrong?
This sweet ride was parked outside!
You order the chicken wings just like sushi. Our order took a lot of very serious concentration.
Forrest has eaten 2 Fat 2 Fly before, so he knew what he liked. I wanted to try EVERYTHING.
Of the chicken wings, we ordered…
Sucka Punch: stuffed with jalapenos, bacon, and cheddar
Smoke House: stuffed with bacon and cheddar, coated in BBQ sauce
Mac N Cheese: stuffed full of macaroni and cheese, smothered with a cheese sauce
Chicken Parmesan: breaded mozzarella inside, coated in a rich marinara and parmesan on the outside
Wingo: stuffed with lots of cheese
AND a side of fried okra. It was epically delicious. (No, my memory is NOT that great- I borrowed a menu.)
THAT is cheese sauce on that Mac N Cheese chicken wing. Hah!
Okay, I don’t usually go for fried vegetables, but Forrest insisted that this okra was great. Look at how beautiful it was on the inside! It was spicy and fresh and lovely! If you’ve eaten a fried veggie before, you know they don’t usually look that way.
Our dinner was amazing. I still feel stuffed (like a chicken wing, get it? hah!).
Also, we destroyed those wings.
2 Fat 2 Fly is a food truck in Columbia, but they frequently have “events” and are in one position for a period of time. Keep up with their location on Twitter, Facebook, or the 2 Fat 2 Fly website.
<3, Liz
Haha
We’re beginning a series of posts that will highlight the art in our home. Every Friday, I’ll post a photo and information about the artist and the work. We’re lucky enough to have a fair amount of original artwork by our friends, teachers, and a few local artists.
Forrest thinks we should call this series “Artsy Fartsy Friday.”
Untitled (Wedding Chickens), Ernest Lee
Let’s start with this. We received two of Ernest Lee’s paintings as wedding gifts and we ADORE them both!
Ernest Lee is commonly known as “The Chicken Man” or “The Funky Chicken” around these parts. He’s a folk artist of the best kind who lives and works in Columbia. For years, Lee has set up shop under a tent with his paintings on a street corner downtown. He’s most famous for painting chickens, but he is willing to paint just about anything. He’s a legend in South Carolina and I’m proud to have some of his work in our home.
I teach my 3rd grade students about the “Chicken Man” and they get SO excited about him and his paintings. The chickens look like they’re dancing and, well, kids love dancing critters.
Also, we admired Christine Cannon’s artwork at First Thursday last night. I’m obsessed with her paintings of girls in robot bonnets. Fantastic.
My grandmother makes a killer potato salad. And like all self-respecting grandmothers out there, it has no recipe.
I picked her brain for the ingredients and gave it a whirl.
Red potatoes, hard boiled eggs, sweet pickles, bell pepper, salt, pepper, and the tiniest bit of mayonnaise.
I’m terrible at following directions, so of course I used a different type of pickle and I don’t believe in peeling potatoes, so they have skin. It turned out pretty well, but definitely not quite right.
Why does that always happen? I can’t duplicate my mom’s spaghetti sauce, either.
There must be a secret ingredient.
<3, Liz
The little cat has been by my side constantly these last couple days. I think he missed his mama.
Also, I made a variation of this for dinner. It’s one of my favorites and it’s pretty delicious.
<3, Liz
It’s been a slow, lovely weekend. We spent yesterday afternoon on the lock in the river with Nick, Shannon, and a few friends. 
Then we came home, cleaned up, and enjoyed a dinner of Caw Caw burgers (a fabulous new beef-pork blend from Caw Caw Creek in Columbia), spinach salad, and sauteed summer squash.
Oh, hello, perfect summer dinner.
After dinner, we sat on the back deck and watched the fireworks over the river- oohing and ahhing at all the appropriate times.
Hope your weekend has been an adventure!
<3, Liz and Forrest
Domesticated Artists 