Thursday Thoughts

Hi everyone! Just wanting to pop in and share a couple things.

Grocery store finds!

I am a big fan of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I found this to be a great, somewhat healthier option:

Also, I love these Recipe Ready vegetable blends:

This one is great for chili and baked beans.

They have some really great varieties!

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I watched this show last night on GAC, it was really fun!

 It talked about the history of the SEC and shared tailgate ideas and recipes.  This definitely got me in the mood to plan some menus!

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Annnd I will leave you with my motto for the weekend:

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Y'all have a happy and safe holiday weekend....

Humpity Hump

It's been a busy, but good, week over here.  I've had book club and investment club this week.  I've always been a very "involved" person, but sometimes I just want to cancel all of my meetings and sit on the couch with my babies.  I typically only schedule one "extra-curricular" per week but as I said, this is a busy one.  Combine this with the fact that we are leaving for Wolf Laurel early Friday for the long weekend, and I've got a lot going on!  I seriously can't wait for this view:

I tried my hand at Chicken Fried Steak for the first time the other night and I really liked it.  I think I used a bit too much Cheyenne in my flour mix, but it was still crispy and delicious.   Of course I used Pioneer Woman's recipe. I did not make the gravy this time but I will on my next try. 

On the menu for tomorrow night's game: Chili and cornbread!

I received an interesting email from the Discovery Channel show "Fast N Loud" wanting to talk to my boss about him winning the Cannonball Run in 1979.  How cool, Have you ever watched this show?

I really like the 2 owners:

I was looking at the calendar this morning and realized it is quickly filling up.

Heads up! Restaurant Week begins next Wednesday and from my review I recommend Blossom's menu.  

The countdown is on for our week at the beach, when I'll have 9 consecutive days off!!!!

Annnd I just received this:

Let's go!

Date Night!

Hello beautiful Monday!  How was everyone's weekend? 

Ours was very uneventful and lovely. 

Friday after work I met my man up at South Windermere for drinks and dinner.

We started with a glass of wine at Med Bistro.  They have a great happy hour, $3 house wine and half price bar menu.  I wore a special dress that I bought in Atlanta.  I hesitated at first because it felt very summery, but I'm glad I bought it.  I love the bow belt, but the back is my favorite. 

You can buy it here.

After a couple glasses of wine we walked over to YoBo Cantina for dinner.  I found out that this is Yo Burrito's sister restaurant.  It's very small, but quaint and lively inside.  We had chips with salsa/queso to start.  They serve all of their drinks in mason jars which is a cute touch.

I ordered the Chicken Plato for dinner and K had a burrito.  Tasty!

After dinner we walked into Earth Fare and bought a slice of flourless chocolate cake to-go.

It was delicious and a steal at $2.00 a slice.

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What's your idea of the perfect date night?

For me it's getting dolled up and trying a new restaurant!

Tell me yours...

Not Hotlanta

I had a nice little work escape from the daily grind last week when I traveled up to Atlanta for some training. Lexus Southern Area is headquartered there, so this is a trip I've made before.

And, hence the title of this post, it was COLD in Atlanta.  I'm talking record lows!  Thursday's high was 64, y'all.  And it was great except for my lack of appropriate wardrobe options. 

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I guess I should say that I hate driving on the Interstate and it gives me major anxiety, but I was given a 2013 ES to take and wow, what a dream! The safety features were very reassuring and it was, of course, a luxurious drive.

I stayed at the Marriott Gateway and it was a gorgeous hotel.  It was especially nice because the training was held here as well.  It had a great, deep tub and I enjoyed a bubble bath all three nights I was there. 

 And a comfy bed all for meeeeeee :)

I swear I could gain 10 lbs on each of these work trips with all the food they offer.  I really try to stay focused on my health and avoid mindless eating.  I prefer to indulge myself when I am with loved ones, in a happy place, not sitting in a conference room trying to stay awake!

There are definitely ways to stay on track while traveling:  

On the last day of my trip, I went to one of our sister stores in Duluth.  They had a sweet lady who brought flowers into the dealership weekly.  She also sold roses to anyone who was interested in buying some for home.  I think we should start this at our store. 

I also did some shopping (I'll share some of my scores as I wear them.) and followed a restaurant rec to The Brakepad.  This was a really cool restaurant and reminded me of Fuel a bit, it had the large garage doors that made it open-air (perfect on a Fallish night!).

I had a nasty drive home on Friday, the roads were a mess, 

but it was Friday, hey hey!

I was wrong to hope that the cold front might come our way, it's been a humid hell out there this week.

 I'm happy to be home and oh look, tomorrow is Friday again!

Woop woop, what's happenin y'all?

Hastle-back Potatoes

Over the weekend I decided to try my hand at Hasselback potatoes.  I'm calling them HASTLEback potatoes because they were not quite as simple as I'd expected.  Regardless, they did turn out tasty and so I wanted to share the recipe and my commentary.

First thing, I rinsed and peeled my potatoes.  I used my mandolin slicer which makes it really fast and easy.  Next I used my knife to cut slices in the potatoes, but not all the way through.  I left about a half inch base holding the potato together at the bottom.  (Also to note: I cut a flat edge on the bottom of the potato so that it would stay upright)

The recipe I followed said to "fan out" the slices after cutting, but they just would not cooperate, so my hope was they would do so as they began to bake.  I preheated my oven to 450 and was instructed to butter (I melted the butter and did my best to coat, but it really just dripped right off) and season (I used salt and Italian seasoning) the potatoes, and then bake for 30 minutes.  At 30 minutes they hadn't really cooked or fanned out at all. 

So, I turned the oven up to 500 and baked for another 30 minutes, and then used a fork to "fan" out the slices (they had not budged at all during baking). 

I topped with cheese and put back in for another 10 minutes.

They turned out, but they could have used a little more time baking, and at that point everything else was ready and everyone was hungry.   And oh boy, a 500 degree oven will heat up a condo real quick ya hear!   

Also on the menu:

Mesquite Pork Loin

Corn casserole

Caesar Salad

Garlic Knots

& Publix Chocolate Ganache Supreme cake for dessert!

And that, my friends, is what you call a 5 star dinner.

Hey Monday!

We had a very relaxing weekend, how was yours?

We rounded it out with "We're The Millers" and an evening family stroll (the only time of day that doesn't make me dizzy with heat) last night.

I am heading to Atlanta for work tomorrow morning and won't return until Friday, so I'm busy getting everything wrapped up and ready to go.  Here are a few thoughts!

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Two tips for the grill:

Thyme!  We add it to ground beef for burgers and it brings in the greatest fresh taste.

This marinade:

It's buffayaki's brother!  Love this on chicken and shrimp.

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And here is our first and only instagram pic: 



My favorite part is the hashtag thing. #blackandwhitebabes?

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Sarah Dessen was my favorite author during high school.  I found this at a yard sale and ended up reading it over the weekend.  She's still got it!

 And ya know, this book took me back to the summers of my youth.  Endless days of reading and relaxing, and I just couldn't help but post this picture from the summer camp I used to attend,

Love-a-Llama.  



Ha!
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Also to note, I ran the Ravenel Bridge last week and was not a fan.  I'll take my James Island County Park trails any day.   I wiped myself off and stopped at Rooftop to grab a drink with my girl.  Ahh, what a view!

 ;)
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I saw this new restaurant/bar open in South Windermere over the weekend, I'm hoping to check it out soon.  It looks great!

Well, that's all I've got for today, and probably the rest of the week.
Oh! & If anyone has any restaraunt recs in ATL, I'm all ears!  I'll be there Tues, Wed, Thurs nights.
Bring 'em on!

Oh Snaps!

With exception to tonight, it's been hot as blazes here y'all.  We are in the dog days right now!  So with that said, we've been spending most our time lately just taking it easy. 

Here are a few shots I've captured along the way:

Home-made pizza night, a cookie sheet works just as well as pizza pan!  Tip if you like Hawaiian: Use bbq as your base (over marinara). YUM!

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Kiawah's Music on the Green was packed!  We got there right at 6:30 and it was already full. 

It's a good thing they block off the streets. 

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Oh, Just a cute strawberry print I saw:

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Boys will be boys:

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Hello, lover:

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Casual is the only option in this weather, so here you go:

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Shrump!  I have a great recipe suggestion coming up later this week!

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Oh my word, my sweet furry child was not feeling the heat at Saturday's Farmer's Market. 

So we took it inside, where we spent the majority of our Sunday.

How are y'all keeping cool?

Do tell!

Pillow Talk 2

L: What is a pearl, exactly?
K: It's calcium built up within an oyster, I think.
L: I think they're kind of like nuts, from the ocean, ha!
K: No, not at all.

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First Pillow Talk post here.

Thoughts on Thursday

Well Helloooooo August!
I'm wearing a Lilly dress to work, it's making a sort of dreary, steamy morning feel bright.

I had to put a little cami under it to make it appropriate. 
Have you noticed that so many shirts these days require camisoles?  Everything is so sheer!  I'm not a fan.

Another cheerful element to my morning:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the September Glamour!

I think it's so odd that a few of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials start with "Hey Ladies!", what's up with that?  I mean I love it, but so does K. 

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Now, isn't this fun!  We got this done at my work Christmas Party last year.  Love it!

I would recommend Eric Grady for anyone interested in hiring a caricature artist!

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Have you voted in the Giving Back Awards yet?

You can do so here.  And may I suggest voting for Our Lady of Mercy Outreach?
:)