MerriMINT

My mom has made these previous years, and she's making a big batch for gifts this season.  They are simple and adorable!

You Need:
1 white wire hanger
Red ribbon (the kind that curls is best)
Peppermints

Form your hanger in the shape you would like (circle, heart, etc.)
Cut your ribbon into small 5 inch pieces.

Tie two to three candies to ribbon and attach to hanger form.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Last, Tie a big bow at the top as an accent.

Beautiful! And Fresh!
I can't wait to show y'all how my cake stands turn out, so excited!
Happy Wednesday!

Fa La La

Here are the highlights of our long & busy weekend:

•  Turkey Day Run=Perfect way to start the holiday.

• Too much food and a cornhole victory with K's family.

Smoked Turkey YUM

• Coffee, Baileys, and desserts with the LeaMonds.
• Black Friday, bought myself the most perfect Christmas Eve Mass and party dress!

•  Saw The Muppets with Kristina!

• Enjoyed venison Brats with K's family during Saturday's game...
• and we won 15 big ones in the bet for total score.  47! GO COCKS!

Did you have a good holiday weekend?
Get any shopping done on Friday?

Cough Cough

I feel sickly.

I'll be back tomorrow with a better holiday update, birthday plans, and a couple of Christmas crafts!

Last Minute Pie!

I found this Pumpkin Spice pudding at Walmart a while back, and decided to whip up this quick pie, just for fun, tonight!

Triple Layer Pumpkin Spice Pie

What You Need

2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Pumpkin Spice Flavor Instant Pudding

1/4 tsp.  ground cinnamon

2 cups cold milk

1   HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1/2 cup  PLANTERS Pecan Halves

1 Tbsp. honey

Make It

BEAT dry pudding mixes, cinnamon and milk with whisk 2 min.; spread 1-1/2 cups onto bottom of crust.

STIR 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP into remaining pudding; spread over layer in crust. Top with remaining COOL WHIP.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook nuts and honey in skillet on medium-low heat 2 to 4 min. or until nuts are caramelized, stirring frequently. Spread onto waxed paper, separating larger clusters. Cool. Sprinkle over pie just before serving. 

 

Chestnuts roasting...

On my tv!

You can find the Yule Log station on Comcast On Demand!  It plays Christmas music as well.  It has all of the fire crackling and popping sounds too! I love it.
Busy day so I've gotta run!
I love holiday weeks, don't you?

Giving Thanks

This weekend was a total blast!  Yesterday we took Alfie down to Folly to run off the leash, dropped in to Zia for a frozen screwdriver, took a long drive out to Kiawah, and then cooked steak and potatoes for dinner!
Saturday morning we were early birds, heading up to Columbia at 8:00 AM to tailgate both before and after the game vs. Citadel.  The Bulldogs put up a great fight, but ultimately the Gamecocks kicked butt!

Saturday was completely devoted to family, both K's and mine, and I'm so thankful to have such a strong support system.

I'm also thankful to be able to spend time giving back to my community.
This week I'm a volunteering fool!
You can come see me in the tents in Marion Square Tuesday night from 5-8pm.  I'm going to be organizing and handing out race packets for the Turkey Day 5K, which I will also be running Thursday morning!

Wednesday I'll be serving a Thanksgiving feast to all of the lower east side residents who show up to the Neighborhood House.  All are welcome to come help!  We will also help by handing out bags for those in the food assistance program.

I'm not one to only give back during the holiday season, it's a year round obligation in my mind, however now is the time that I am filled with such joy to do so!  I love the feeling that I can help others to feel the splendor of this time of year even more!

How was your weekend?
Do you get involved with any charities around the holidays?

TGIF

Heading out of Charleston tomorrow morning and I love the open road!

But today I'm in the kitchen:
Making some chex puppy chow.
And my morning tailgate menu.
Also, packing up the car with my tailgate essentials.


The past week I've been thinking a lot about my Thanksgiving outfit.

Should I go somewhat dressy?

Or casual:

I'm leaning towards a festive sweater dress but still unsure due to the quantity of stuffing and pecan pie I will be consuming, 

What do you like to wear on Thanksgiving?

I have no Pin-ergy

We painted my bedroom in three hours yesterday.  Hot dang!
First up:
Today's agenda:
Neighborhood House
Late lunch with Kristina!
Reorganize bathroom cabinets
Bodypump at Golds

One week from today my agenda will look like this:
EAT

Ok y'all, so I finally logged into my Pinterest account for the first time last night.  First thought: very overwhelming!  I think I will save up my "pin-ergy" until I'm planning a wedding or a party or something.  For day to day life, I can't handle so many additional ideas in my head!
I did, however, pin this:

Basically you send Mickey and Minnie an invite to your wedding and they politely decline and send you a fun  photo of themselves!  K loves Disney World so much and this is a really cute idea.
Other than that, I'm lost.

What do you have going on this week??
I assume you use and love Pinterest?  I'm really late on this!

Humpity Hump

 I'm a busy girl this week, buzzing around like a bee volunteering and now painting our bedroom. We've chosen a dusty green, not sure if that really creates the right mental image for you but it's very pretty and I'm so excited to check this off of my home improvement to-do list. 
In other news, I'll share my yardsale find of the week:

 Holy moly!  It's a little Scrooge in the Box.  It plays music too.  What a find!
 
I bought K's birthday present and I'm SO excited.  I can't even give you a clue because he reads this sometimes, but I can not wait to tell you in a few weeks!  Last year I gave him a Williams Sonoma steak brander (& cutting board) with his initials.  He is officially a grillmaster.

We're still in football mode over here (heading to Columbia Saturday) but I can't wait to go see my Cougars uncaged on the court!

We are planning to go to the Wofford game in January!

So that's all for today!
Happy Wednesday.

This Weekend

Yay, we found Snow Day!

I love Charleston with all of my heart, I only wish there was the possibility of a White Christmas. Maybe? No? Okay, I'll wear a tank top on Christmas instead.
As for the beer, I loved it. Initial Review: sort of like an IPA.

We wined and designed:

Mine is the one with the pearl :)

This was a fun time!  My only complaint was the time length of it, 3 hours!?  We left early and went to PF Changs, which was very tasty!  We ordered several things and shared.  The highlight was K's Chinese 88 martini:  Plymouth Dry Gin shaken with fresh lemon juice and topped with sparkling wine. 

We bought part of Alfie's Christmas present:

He found the candy cane where I hid it and it was sad to take it away.  But what kind of mother would I be if I gave him his present beforehand?  I'm just glad he doesn't believe in Santa anymore ;)



How was your weekend?

Morning Tailgate Menu

Ham biscuits:

Sausage balls:

Banana Nut & Pumpkin muffins:

Fruit:

Mimosas:

Bloody Mary's:

What else should I make?

The Lightning Bug

1 part:

2 parts:












Oh, and you can't forget these:

and

This drink is so crisp and fresh.
You can use Sugarfree Firefly and Sprite Zero also, tastes just the same!

Have you been out to the Firefly Distillery yet?!
It's located on Wadmalaw at Irvin House Vineyard.  While I'm not a fan of muscadine wine, I did enjoy tasting what they had to offer, and then heading over to the barn to get my vodka on.
Did I mention this was all before noon?
There is a small little "zoo" on location as well. 
What's better than tasting wine and vodka before noon?
Tasting wine and vodka before noon and then hanging out with some turkeys, peacocks, and goats for a while.
Boom!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Humpity Hump

It's Wednesday and this is what I'm:
Looking forward to:

Saturday night!

Cooking:

Tilapia and Risotto (lima beans not pictured)

Reading:
Lauren Conrad's column on Forbes. 

What an inspiring young woman!

That's all for now, See y'all tomorrow!

Like a Kid at Christmas

I think I actually said "So cool!" out loud after seeing this commercial last night.
Happy Tuesday!
I'm volunteering again today and then joining my lovely friend Britt for a late lunch! 'Tis the season

P.S. I'm now running two miles with no stops! This, to me, is no little feat. Watch me go!

Falling Back

This weekend was nice and long, and relatively uneventful for me.  No highlights so here are the lowlights.
This weekend I...

Fell in love with the shoes I've been looking for everywhere...and Belk didn't have my size:

Finally tried James Island's Sweetwater Cafe for breakfast Saturday:

No frills, good food. Breakfast all day! (Could only find motorcycle pic)

Had flat iron steak for the first time:

Yum!  And it's relatively inexpensive too.

Went to see Tower Heist:

We thought this movie was "good".

Went yardsaling with Mom:

Found this new, in box grill for $10!  Perfect for my brother for Christmas!

What did you do?

My Award Winning Pumpkin Crisp :)

Last year I won 50 big ones at my work over this treat!  (There is a pumpkin bake off everyone Halloween at LCE).  It's similar to the blueberry crisp I made for 4th of July.   Yum!

What you need:
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 cup evap milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
--
1 package butter recipe vanilla cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter

What you do:
Stir together first 5 ingredients.  Pour into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture, sprinkle evenly with pecans, drizzle butter evenly on top!
Bake at 350  for 1 hour until golden brown.

You MUST top this with whipped cream, no buts!

We've been drinking this coffee for the past week and it's awesome:

There is much more of a pumpkin flavor to it than I anticipated.

Oh, and TGIF!
What do you have planned for the weekend?
Brunch, a movie, football.  That's all I got.

Goodwill Hunting

In honor of Johns Island's new Goodwill, which opens today (free hotdogs y'all :), I want to share my most recent Goodwill treasures.
As you may recall, I've mentioned thrift shopping here, oh and maybe here too.  I love it!
My recent finds include everything a snazzy granny would love!

phone photo

A fun sequined sweater.. already wore this out over a dress!
A vintage Gucci crossbody...this was really exciting for several reasons! 1. You can tell in the craftsmanship and details that it's not a knockoff and 2. I love crossbody bags!  They leave my hands free to eat, clap, do the wave, whatevaaaaa.






Anyone else heading out to the new Goodwill today? 
I'm looking for plates people! PLATES!

Do you have a favorite in the Charleston area.  I really like James Island's honestly!

Happy Thrifting Thursday!

YO! BOGO

I was so excited when I received the news that Wine and Design, formerly known as Bottles and Brushes in Mt. Pleasant is having Buy One Get One Free for the month of November! I just booked K and I spots for the Oysters on the Half Shell painting.  It's perfect considering I've been thinking Oyster Roast, Oyster Roast, Oyster Roast Tiiiime! since this past Friday.

Can't wait to have some new original art around the house!
Have you ever been to Bottles and Brushes?
Also, Any oyster roasts on your calendar yet??
My weekends are basically booked through December 10th! It's busy from here to 2012.

I love Fall!

Holiday Season is Here!

We took a three day weekend and I'm finally feeling rested, but still in a rush to make it down to the Neighborhood House.  Saturday's Hallowine was a complete success--there was a lot of wine left over, and well, I drank it.  I'm dragging a bit to tell you the truth so you'll have to wait for a better weekend update.
We are already getting the questions "What do you want for your birthday?" (Me: Dec 1, K: Dec 18) and "What do you want for Christmas?"  I never have any ideas ready but I'm always planning what I will give far in advance.  Hopefully none of you lovely ladies in my life who I plan on exchanging gifts with are reading because here is my plan:

+

=

I can not wait to make these! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! !! !!!  Feel free to highjack this idea, it's just way too good to keep to myself.
Happy Tuesday (Monday?!)

Bye!