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on May 24th, 2013  Ehow.com The kick-off of the summer season is here! Even if it isn’t officially summer yet, Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of all the good things we associate with summer: barbeques, swimming, catching fireflies (lightening bugs as I grew up calling them), after-dinner kickball or softball games, ice cream, water melon, hamburgers, hammocks, vacation, camp, and, well, whatever it is that says “summer” to you.
The one thing that I bet everyone will be eating this weekend is hamburgers.
 Carnival New Orleans Blog Americans have taken hamburgers to dizzying culinary heights. What was once a cheap and easy meal consisting of some ground hamburger meat slapped between two buns with a few optional food accessories (pickles, tomato, and lettuce) and your choice of condiments, has become gourmet food.
 Barney’s Gourmet Burgers  Sweet Fix.net – Maria Corcuera  Barney’s Gourmet Burgers  Celebration.com I am no longer amazed at what people will include in their burger. Burgers have become as varied as Americans themselves and as creatively concocted as happy hour beverages. That’s what makes them fun.So, have a great holiday weekend, be creative with those burgers, and send me your newly created burger recipes to include in a future Outdoorlicous! blog.
 Food and Wine Magazine Chile-Stuffed Cheeseburgers
Courtesy Food and Wine Magazine
Serves 4
- 4 Chiles – 2 Anaheims and 2 Jalapeños
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Large Garlic Clove, unpeeled
- 4 Ounces Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- 1½ Pounds Ground Beef
- 4 Kaiser Rolls, split
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
- Lettuce leaves, sliced onion and tomato, mayonnaise and ketchup, for serving
- Light a grill.
- Rub the chiles with olive oil. Thread the jalapeños and garlic onto a skewer and grill until charred all over. Using tongs, repeat with the Anaheims.
- Peel the chiles and discard the stems and seeds. Peel the garlic. Chop the chiles and garlic and transfer to a bowl.
- Fold in the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Cut eight 6-inch squares of wax paper; divide the beef among them. Pat each portion into a 5-inch round, a little thicker in the center.
- Using a 1/4 cup measure, mound one-fourth of the cheese mixture in the centers of 4 patties. Top with the remaining patties; press the edges to seal. Flatten the centers so that the burgers are even. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Brush the cut sides of the rolls with oil.
- Lightly oil the grate. Grill the burgers over a hot fire, turning once, about 7 minutes for medium to medium-rare meat.
- Toast the kaiser rolls.
- Place the burgers on the rolls and top with lettuce leaves, onion and tomato. Serve with your favorite condiments.
on May 21st, 2013  Globe Attractions There is something about the colors purple and green together that makes my heart sing! Purple is a warm color that is regal and vibrant while green is cool, soothing, and relaxing. Together, they harmonize perfectly.
Each is a secondary color, made by combining two primary colors. Green is made by mixing yellow and blue. Purple (or violet, as it is called on a color wheel) is a mixture of red and blue. So, both of these colors has blue as one of the base colors. If you add blue to a purple and green color scheme, you have what I refer to as the “hydrangea colors.”
Balance these colors with white and the resulting color palette is irresistible.
 Fermob This color scheme can be dramatic with the use of bolder shades of purple and green, or soft and dreamy, with paler tints and lots of white.
 Fermob  Turquoise Tulips and Bliss.tumblr Look around the garden and you will see both effects naturally. Of course, nearly any purple flower has a green stem and leaves, so it’s clear how Mother Nature feels about this color combination.
In Provence, where lavender grows abundantly, many homes have painted blue doors and shutters. Is this a coincidence or have the people of this region instinctively known the effect of these three colors together? Makes no difference, the effect is breathtaking.
 Provence Guide.web With nature providing so many instances of purple and green together, it’s easy to use the landscape as part of the color scheme.
 Better Homes and Gardens  Design Recess Using white, blue or purple on outdoor furniture cushions and adding accent pieces such as throw pillows, area rugs, pots, and table top décor which may include any of these colors, you can easily achieve this color scheme.
 Crate and Barrel  How Do I Love The Style.blogspot  Saffron and Silk.blogspot.com Another idea is to paint a wall one of these colors and use the other colors on the furniture and accessories. Paint is one of the least expensive changes that can be made to any décor, inside or out, and have the biggest impact. If you get tired of purple, for instance, later you can paint it a different hue for a new look.
 Penick.net  Daily Decorator Create the Outdoorlicious! color scheme that makes your heart sing by considering the landscape around your outdoor living room. It is so much better when you integrate it all together by considering what nature has to offer.
on May 17th, 2013 
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a part of an archaeology dig and discover something important? Now’s your chance. The Community Archaeology Project at Hampton Plantation State Historic Site invites the public to join in the experience.
Hampton Plantation was home to the Horry and Rutledge families, both prominent families in the history of South Carolina. The house was donated to the state in 1971 by South Carolina’s first poet laureate, Archibald Rutledge. Rutledge returned to his family home frequently throughout his life. Many of his works were inspired by the house and grounds.
A federal stimulus grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities gave the Community Archaeology Project life in 2010. Three years into the project, archaeologists (both professional and amateur) are still digging and discovering little bits and pieces of what life was like on a once thriving rice plantation.
 Post and Courier The plantation sits on Wambaw Creek and, at one time, was covered in rice fields as far as the eye could see. The archaeologist spend long days digging and scraping with a focus on the excavation of artifacts associated with salve laborers on the plantation.
Hampton Plantation is open to the public and visitors are encouraged to lend a hand at the dig site. In fact, volunteer help has allowed the project to continue this far. Imagine the thrill of discovering something that could end up in a museum or help piece together a part of the puzzle of history. I think many of us wonder what it would be like to participate in a dig and perhaps find the adventure of a lifetime à la Indiana Jones.
 Impassioned Cinema.com Well, I doubt it will be that exciting, but you never know until you try.
on May 13th, 2013 
What’s your ideal dream get-away spot? Would you choose the beach? The mountains? An island? A big resort with plenty of pampering amenities? What if you could create this vacation spot in your backyard?
That’s exactly what Cathy and Rick have done at their Columbia, S.C. home, which is featured in Columbia Green’s Festival of Gardens. The desire to travel and truly get away, find adventure, and experience something new, wasn’t pushed aside as if this were an either/or decision. It was the belief in their ability (with the help of experts) to create a place at home that would be available to them 24/7 for well- deserved R&R any time they needed it, that drove their decision to create their own private sanctuary. Uniquely their own, their backyard resort helps make the days in between trips away more enjoyable.
The house sits on a piece of land that is what some would call radical. Working with the terrain, Cathy and Rick took advantage of the height in the back to create a stepped waterfall surrounded by plants and ending in a series of spill-out fountains into the pool and spa.
Cathy loves her beach time and had this area created so that she could have a beach in her backyard. With the beach chair sitting at the walk-out, she can move her chair right into the water and dip her toes for the ultimate beachy feel.
On the opposite side of the pool sits a pool house, complete with covered porch, bathroom, upstairs loft, and outdoor kitchen. It’s the perfect grown-up doll house! This is a great spot to get away from the house without going very far.
All-weather wicker from Lloyd Flanders sits under cover in a space with a prize view of the pool and waterfalls beyond.
The granite-topped bar separates the small kitchen from the active pool area and provides an alternative dining spot for a casual meal.
Attached to the house is another covered porch. This one, also furnished with black wicker, sits right off the house and provides a space for more reserved relaxing.
From the pool and outdoor living room level, a set of stacked stone steps leads down to the lowest part of the yard.
Traditional wood fencing, featuring oval “window” cutouts and an arbor entrance to the front yard, surrounds an open yard which provides space for children to run around and play ball. Beyond the grassy area is a wooded space, complete with hammock, adding another layer to this multidimensional landscape.
Work (yes, Cathy admits to taking her work out to her “beach”), play, entertaining, socializing, relaxing, and, most of all, decompressing after a busy day, are all supported by this multi-functional outdoor haven. For this couple, the idea of outdoor living has become a necessity that they can’t imagine living without. That’s what happens when you create an Outdoorlicioius! space that feeds the soul right in your own backyard.
Each year Columbia Green showcases beautiful private residential gardens in the Greater Columbia area. Tours of the nine gardens featured in the 2013 Festival of Garden’s are being held Thurdsay, May 16 and Saturday, May 18, 2013. Visit Columbia Green 2013 Festival of Gardens for more information.
on May 10th, 2013 
In case it has slipped your mind, Mother’s Day is this weekend. Just a little reminder so you don’t forget the woman who made you possible (okay, with a little help from Dad). How many of us have memories of Mom licking her thumb to get a smudge of dirt off our face? Or, hearing her say, “Just wait ‘til your father gets home!”? Is there a Mom Manual somewhere that tells them to do this stuff ?
If you are wondering how to show your appreciation for Mom and aren’t considering tickets for a week in Paris, how about simply spending the day with her and taking her to brunch somewhere nice? It may not be an original idea but Mom’s always appreciate spending time with their children and grand children.
Mother’s Day brunch seems to be one of the busiest days of the year at many restaurants. In fact, many that are not normally open for Sunday brunch bring in the staff and open the doors for this high holy day in the world of brunchdom.
Even places that don’t normally serve food at all, get into the biz, as they say, on this day. With all of the people serving and eating out on this particular Sunday, you would think that American homes aren’t equipped with kitchens at all!
For those of you who would like to take Mom out for a special meal and spend some quality time with her to make her aware of how adoring a child you are, why not try to find something a little bit different than just plain old brunch in a noisy restaurant?
In Columbia, doting offspring can make reservations to treat Mom to the Historic Columbia Foundation’s annual Mother’s Day Brunch. Mom will not only have brunch, but an afternoon at the Seibels House and Garden in downtown Columbia.
After an ambling walk through a captivating historic garden, a complimentary historic house museum tour, or a Second Sunday Stroll in Cottontown, Mom will be tuckered out and ready for a nap by the time the day’s activities wind down. That may still leave you time for a nap of your own.
A Sunday in May is a good reason to celebrate as May is one of the best outdoor living months of the year almost everywhere. Add to that an OUTDOORLICIOUS! activity with Mom and it just doesn’t get more special. Happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere!
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