Hominy Girl: November 2015

Friday, November 27, 2015

Black Friday: Pretty Little Laura

This is a scheduled post as I am currently in total vacay mode.

Big Sale at my Etsy Shop for Black Friday!
Fun and whimsical gifts for "the lady who has everything"...

Half Price on ALL of my Barbie head wine stoppers! As always, additional stoppers ship for free.

To claim the deal, message me in Etsy and mention "Hominy Girl".

All Black Friday orders will ship on Friday, December 4th.

Happy Shopping!!

Special Addition:

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Our Weekend

First of all, Hallelujah it is finally chilly in Charleston!!!

Okay, on to our weekend...

On Friday afternoon my mom and I got manicures.

We went to the same salon where I had my wedding nails done, Reflections on James Island next to The Terrace Theatre. I think they do a great job.

I was debating on trying the stiletto nail trend but ended up with oval.

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On Saturday I ran errands, rushing around town in order to make it to North Charleston by 2 pm to pick up our catered basket.
I wasn't able to get everything done because of the time constraint only to arrive at a deserted building, call my caterer, and discover that they had actually moved to Camp Road. 2 minutes from my house.
Really?!
I guess you had to be there but seriously I was running all over, not getting anything actually accomplished because I felt rushed, only to realize that it was all for nothing.

Anyway!
Saturday afternoon we did the Wild Blue Ropes course.
It was a blast...so much more fun than than I expected.

Here we are at the top, I'm getting ready to bungee down.

I wish that they would have captured a little perspective of how high up we were in this pic.

Later at home, I set our table picnic style.

Check out this cheese tray:

For dinner we had caesar salad, beef tenderloin, sauteed veggies, and penne pasta primavera.

I'm showing this picture below for 2 reasons.
1) I was seriously insistent upon a variety of bread options at our wedding reception. I am alllll about the bread basket so I loved that they remembered to include this a year later.

2) Alfie ate the stick of softened butter that I set out with the bread which was a disaster. It resulted in 3 calls to 3 different emergency vets as well as endless worry all night. Everything is fine, but I felt awful for my boo, not to mention the guilt!

Our butterball, literally.

We did not really exchange gifts this year, other than write each other notes.

Fun story: K's note was the one that was intended to be given to me on the wedding day. This never happened because it was misplaced in our honeymoon luggage. So, for our anniversary I was finally able to read it.

And the cake! A slight freezer taste to the outer frosting, but otherwise delish.

On Sunday we had brunch at Fish and walked around downtown.
I forgot my camera so no snaps but it was a brisk, beautiful day in Charleston!

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I hope that y'all had a fabulous weekend, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I'll be back in a couple weeks!
Until then,
Happy Holidays!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

One Year

It's been a blink.
A flick of a switch and we're here and everything is bright!
Thank you for being my best friend,
who I want to spend forever (and every.single.day.) with...
For every day you give me confidence and faith, not only in our future-which shines ahead, but in myself.
I more than love you, those four letters plus a million, K.
11.22.14

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Thursday everyone, so glad to be over the hump!

This weekend is our One Year Anniversary.

We're looking forward to celebrating that, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and tying up loose ends for our trip.

Here are a few other things going on around here:

I think I received the most enthusiastic text I have ever gotten from K in response to a Monday night dinner suggestion for Barberitos. We love that place! So much fresher and better portions than Moe's.

Plus their chips are super light and crispy.

I get the spinach wrap with spicy chicken.

Aren't these gorgeous?
They are from a Sunday service and are now sitting on my desk,

brightening up yet another dreary day in Charleston.

Lunchtime walks. I love historic graveyards.

I mean I really love them. So much so, in fact, that my number one choice of wedding reception venue was Lance Hall, which is actually located among the tombstones in the Circular Church graveyard.

Alas, my husband and mother did not receive the same kind of chills that I did upon visiting the property.

It all worked out with Society Hall,

but here's a fantastic vision of what could have been:

We had an International Food Potluck at work the other day.

And let me just say, I am a lazy bum!

The days are so short now that by the time I make dinner, I am done.

I give you Germany:

So, How's that for random Thursday thinking?

I hope you are having a great week!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Our Weekend

Happy Monday!

This weekend was so beautiful, weather wise.

It was also wonderful because we didn't have anything planned and just let the autumn wind take us...

So let's see,

I loved this Veteran's Day tribute seen on my morning commute last week:

We ended up grabbing dinner at Smoky Oak on Friday night. I think they have the best burgers and it's just around the corner from us. As a rule I don't cook Friday nights. :)

On Saturday I ran errands over in Mount Pleasant all morning. I stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up something light for lunch, ended up with their shrimp spring rolls. I was disappointed! They were mostly filled with lettuce which made the overall flavor bland. Oh well.

When I got home we decided to take Alfie to the park.

Out on the dock:

The Holiday Festival of Lights opened this weekend, they were turned on as we were leaving.

For dinner Saturday we tried baking filet mignon instead of grilling...

and decided we prefer grilling. I served these with ceasar salad and scalloped potatoes.

On Sunday we decided to run around and pull some things together for our trip NEXT WEEK!!!!!

We are leaving early next Friday.

We were leaving Towne Centre and decided to grab a beer at the Windjammer before heading back to James Island.

For dinner I had a barbecue pork roast in the crockpot. I really love this Hormel Always Tender seasoned roast. These tend to go on sale during football season and it's great to have one on hand in the freezer. It's tasty without any additional spice or sauce.

That's a wrap on our weekend,

I hope y'all had a good one!

Friday, November 13, 2015

Friday Highfive!

Happy Friday, Here's a highfive for getting through the week!
--

When people ask me what I'd like for my birthday (12/1) or Christmas, I just can't.

We have SO MUCH STUFF still in boxes from wedding gifts and just the thought of adding more to our piles is enough to send me over the edge.

That being said, there are a few things I love that I feel are functional and practical and would not simply sit in their boxes until we move.

Here they are!

Clockwise from top left:

1. Amazon Fire Tablet

Tablets are so convenient and fun, and we don't have one. The Amazon Fire has dropped nearly 50% in price.

2. Blue Apron Gift Certificate

A gift certificate to Blue Apron would be really nice! When the New Year comes we always try to focus on more balanced eating, and this would be a great kickstart!

3. Pearl Flower Necklace

A coworker of mine has a similar pearl necklace that is just the sweetest, daintiest thing. Here's hoping this one is restocked at some point. I love it.

4. Nars Holiday Set

I love the makeup gift sets that come out around the holidays. I think they are a great value and it's always fun to have some fresh products for the New Year. This was Nars' 2014 package, can't wait to see what they do this year!

5.Body Combat DVD Set

Body Combat is my favorite workout class. Les Mills has previously only released instructional DVDs for certification purposes. Recently they have started selling the package to the public, which makes me so happy!

What's on your wishlist?

Monday, November 9, 2015

Weekend Update

Whew, I am so wiped out.

That's about all the intro I can muster for this post.

Here is a weekend recap.

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Fridays are half days for me and I really look forward to having lunch at home.

This week I made a little buffalo chicken taco. Yum!

Later we went to California Dreaming for dinner.

I was up early on Saturday to start getting things together for the party on Sunday. It was so flippin' hot and nasty out, 82 degrees! (Also not sure why my dash looks so filthy but I just had to show you proof!)

After a full day of running around, I made jambalaya for dinner:

Woke up to a dreary, chilly Sunday.

Perfect day for some cozy wine sipping, if you ask me!

After a last minute grocery trip for ice, we started to set everything up.
I selected three unusual varietals that were suggested to pair well with your Thanksgiving Feast for the tasting.

We also had a few wines just for sipping. The Anakena is an unoaked Chardonnay that is simply delish.

Now onto the real star of the show.

We had 2 guest bartenders from Republic Reigns Event Team "R Bar" come out to to show us how to make a festive holiday punch!

They made a St. Germain/Champagne punch that was light and bubbly.

They talked to us about all of the elements of a good punch and other mixology trivia.

Chris showed us how to saber a bottle of champagne:

I can not recommend calling these guys enough! Such a fun idea for upcoming holiday functions.

Here we are, feeling a bit punchy I'd say :)

I don't think I sat down or ate anything of substance the entire day yesterday.

It was so much fun but like I said, I am TOTALLY wiped out.

It's very rare that I order lunch out but today is an exception.

I needed this Grouchos fuel!

I hope that y'all had a great weekend!

I need a nap.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Friday Highfive

Charleston weather has been the absolute pits lately.

Grey and muggy and...warm!

Over it.
Anyway, here's a highfive for getting through the week.
--
{1}
At lunch the other day I stopped a woman to ask where she got her jacket.
It was so classic and versatile, light weight and stylish, I fell in love.
I was bracing myself for a "Burberry" response, but turns out it was an old Loft find.
And guess what, I found ONE on Ebay in my size.
I love the internet!

--
{2}
Another reason I love the internet, this article I found on my great-grandfather's retirement:

--
{3}
These are perfect for an easy weeknight meal. I actually prefer them to making my own ground turkey patties, they are seasoned perfectly. One box contains 6 burgers, so it's enough for 2 dinners for us.

--
{4&5}

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Last November was such a blur of wedding planning for us, and then we were on our honeymoon for Thanksgiving, so it's going to be so nice to enjoy the food and family time this year.

I am going to be serving lunch at the Neighborhood House for their Thanksgiving Feast.

And I also plan to volunteer on their behalf at the packet pick-up for the Turkey Day Run, with Tom the Turkey:

I hope y'all have a fab weekend, See ya next week!

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Thursday Thoughts: Anniversary Traditions

It's Friday-Eve!

Y'all have anything fun planned for the weekend?

I'm hosting my annual Wine Tasting Party on Sunday so I'll be busy with that. I'm really craving California Dreaming nachos so I'm hoping we can make that happen as well. :)

Today I wanted to talk about our upcoming Anniversary and some traditions I've thought about starting.

Attend Church at St. Stephen's

St. Stephen's is, in my biased opinion, the most beautiful, charming church in Charleston.

This year our Anniversary is on a Sunday so it will work perfectly.

Holiday Getaway

Our Anniversary will always feel like a kick off to the holiday season! Any little getaways that we are able to take are sure to be filled with holiday festivities and spirit.