Every April as the azaleas begin to bloom in Georgia, something magical takes place in Augusta.
It is called The Masters.
Golfers from around the world drive down Magnolia Lane and enter the most beautiful golf course that showcases the charm of The South yet challenges them in a way no other golf course can. To me, this is the superbowl of golf and a weekend that I look forward to every year.
I made a clipboard that we use each year to countdown to the beginning of The Masters. I hang it in the kitchen right after Christmas–and the countdown begins. To make this, I painted a clipboard with chalkboard paint and let it dry. The words were hand painted with regular craft paint. I printed out a photo off of the computer with The Masters logo on it (in color) and mod-podged it on the clipboard. You can see in the photo the Mod Podge around the logo although it doesn’t show in person. A little green ribbon with a piece of chalk finishes off the clipboard.
I live only an hour or so away from Augusta and was able to attend a practice round in 2015…this was the last time Tiger Woods played in The Masters. Cameras and phones are not allowed during the tournament (that begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday) but you are allowed to bring them during the practice rounds. Below is a photo that I took as Tiger passed by.
Here’s a few more photos…
Here’s me and Dylan standing in front of Hole 12–Golden Bell.
Adam Scott
The golf course is immaculate and the grass is so green and perfect that it doesn’t even look real. Azaleas in a multitude of colors are everywhere. I snapped this photo and it became my inspiration when planting shrubs in my front yard.
Here’s a photo of my front yard with the golf decorations out. (Lucy is my model for the day!) I planted a row of hot pink azaleas across the front of the yard although this photo doesn’t show all of them. I planted them two years ago and this is the first year they’ve bloomed. They have definitely showed out this year–they are gorgeous.
Donnie was kind enough to cut out the golf bag and clubs with some extra wood we had. I drew a golf bag on poster board and then drew several clubs, cut everything out and then taped them the way I wanted them to look. I then traced the finished product on the wood and Donnie cut the wood out in one piece. I painted the bag and drew out our initial (even though it wasn’t my best work).
Two wooden sticks painted yellow and some yellow fabric glued to them made the flags. I stuck them in the ferns I already had on the porch.
Here’s my “man plant”! I made these planters for Dylan’s house (as well as the monogrammed golf bag on my front door–I am just using them during The Masters weekend, promise) and they’re so low maintenance that I am sure he’ll be able to keep these plants alive! I used sturdy urns that once had lighted artificial Christmas trees in them.
Since Dylan works at a golf course I was able to take a load of old and unused clubs to the course and have them cut at various lengths. ( I cut a few of the clubs with a handsaw at home and the realized how much work it was. I was thankful the guys at the golf course was willing to cut these!) I put a little bit of styrofoam in the bottom of the urns and stuck the shafts of the clubs in the styrofoam. (The club heads are heavy and they kept falling over. You may need a an extra person or two during this step.) I filled the urns with potting soil and a few extra pieces of styrofoam then placed mondo grass ($1.98 a pot at Home Depot) on top. For these, it took 6 pots of mondo grass each. The mondo grass helped stabilize the clubs a lot.
Another way to celebrate The Masters is to eat pimiento cheese sandwiches which one of the menu items The Masters is famous for. Here’s a photo of the menu that I took when we visited August National Golf Club. (The Bar-B-Que sandwiches are really good, too!) Check out the prices…unbelievable.
Last year on Masters Sunday, I bought pimiento cheese and made sandwiches with them. This year I decided to make my own. These sandwiches only have four ingredients and that’s if you count the bread!!! Super simple. Now, there’s a million recipes out there for pimiento cheese but I am sharing with you the basic. You can change up the cheese, add cream cheese or sour cream, add seasonings ( I sometimes put a little garlic powder in mine) but the basic recipe is addictive as-is and just fine with me.
You’ll need about 20 ounces of block cheddar cheese, 1 cup of mayonnaise (I ONLY use Duke’s) and two jars (7 ounces each) of chopped pimientos.
The block cheese will need to be grated. I used the large holes on the grater but if you prefer a finer pimiento cheese, use the smaller grates. Drain the pimientos and then pour them into a large bowl with the grated cheese. Using a hand mixer, mix the two ingredients together.
After they are combined, pour in the cup of Dukes mayonnaise.
That is it! All that is left to do is make the sandwich. I will give my opinion on bread selection for this particular sandwich, too. I usually only eat wheat bread, but a true pimiento cheese sandwich needs white Sunbeam bread. Plain Lay’s potato chips are the best companion for the sandwiches.
The classic dessert served at The Masters is the Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich. This is made with peach ice cream between two large sugar cookies. I served this dessert last year on Masters Sunday and it was good. This year, I have decided to try peach fried hand pies with vanilla ice cream. I will report back to you on how those turn out.
Of course, when I took these photos I was rushing around to get them done so I could eat the sandwich! It was so good! You don’t have to make such a large batch of pimiento cheese to give it a try. I’m having family over for dinner to watch the final round so I’ll need this much to take care of the crowd. (Try a grilled pimiento cheese sandwich, too….awesome!!!)
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope that you have a blessed day!
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