Weekend

This weekend was packed with beautiful food, drink, and places.  Photos below: The Bar at Husk for "Autumn in a Glass", The Windjammer (this is where my parents met!), Heart Woodfire Kitchen brunch, and the Battery with my babies. 

My heart is full!

High Five Friday!

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5.

1. Looking up while enjoying the back porch
2. New plate ( via yardsale) and a Tuesday treat
3. My happy boy
4. Outdoor collage at Tin Roof
5.Shrimp and Grits casserole (cooking light)

Easy Entertaining

Items I always keep on hand:  Light and creamy spreadable cheese with rasberry preserves; Crisp crackers; European chocolate biscuits; a decorative plate and napkins

Not pictured: wine and coffee

Weekend

Friday night, with a warm buzz from our Food and Wine pairing class, we headed straight to Club Habana for a night cap. 

 

 Saturday night we saw a Comedy Show at the American Theatre and the rainy night was washed away with belly laughs.  Overall, this weekend was full of blankets and comfort food...staying warm inside and out.

High Five Friday!

5. Last night I tried the Chicken Tortilla soup at Chic-fil-a.  YUM!  I decided to go this route in lieu of fries to cut some calories.  I also didn't use the tortilla strips on top to save a little more.  This was delish!

4. Question for my wine drinkers... Do you ever buy the jumbo (1.5L) bottle to save money?  I'm curious because I notice such a great cost cutting option here, but I'm still not sure if I would end up with most of it going bad... Any thoughts



3. Three is the number of miles I'm running on the treadmill today. 
2. I love the weekends for multiple reasons, one of which is getting the paper and taking the time to make french press coffee.  Do you have any weekend morning rituals/luxuries?

1.  Tonight we head to Charleston Cooks for the Food and Wine pairing class.
We will first cook the meal and then sit down to enjoy each course with a perfectly paired wine!
Check out the menu:
Gruyere and Herb Popovers (Sparkling Wine);
Shrimp and Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Yogurt Sauce (Sauvignon Blanc);
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs (Cabernet);
Garlic Mushroom Smashed Potatoes (Pinot Noir);
Molten Chocolate Cake with Cherry Ice Cream (Port)   

Y'all.
 I'm so pumped.

TGIF

Will you be my Valentine?

Christina over at Hungry Meets Healthy is hosting this Valentine's Day swap and I'm so excited to participate!  Basically she's matching us up based on who signs up, and then we'll be exchanging little valentine's packages with our "valentine".  So cute!  Head on over there and sign up yourself!

Humpity Hump

So what's everyone got happening this weekend?  Is anyone going to be checking out any of the Charleston Comedy Festival events??  I think that we are going to be heading to the American Theatre for a stand-up show Saturday night.  I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm a huge fan of stand up, especially Jerry Seinfeld as I mentioned here.
Whenever I visit New York I always make a point to visit as many comedy shows as I can.  On one of my first trips years ago, I went to see a little known comedian, Kristen Schaal.  I ended up talking with her after each of the shows (they were very small and intimate) and she was so cool!  Well, now she's a pretty big deal and I couldn't be happier for her!

Oh, and I also hung out with Aziz Ansari a few summers ago during Spoleto.  A friend and I met him and his "Human Giant" costars out at a bar and they invited us back to the house Spoleto set them up with. I'm sad to report that Aziz was not cool or down to earth, I just have to admit.  But I'm still happy for his success :)

Top That!

I watched Teen Witch this weekend, and Oh my Lord this movie cracks me up.

Friday we went to Gene's for shuffleboard with my parents:

Saturday night we ventured out downtown to see The Have Nots. Sold Out.

We then made a reservation at Pan e Vino, which was not honored when we showed up!  This place was so packed we had to get out of there stat.

So we ended up at Juanita's!

and then down to the Cocktail Club for a fancy drink:

This martini had a jalapeno and cilantro in it! Ole!

It was a nice weekend but I'm happy to get back in the swing of things. 

You may have noticed that I have not been posting as frequently lately.  Well it's because I've been at work on something very big!  I mentioned that I left my corporate job months ago.  I have been persuing my personal business since, and I'm finally getting to the point where I can start sharing my news.  With that being said, this blog is going to undergo many (exciting) changes within the next

few weeks.  I can't wait for you to see them!

Tribute

to my Dada, Harold Joseph LeaMond

This and That

This past Friday night, we had a typical date night out at the Terrace Theatre, and then walked on over to Zia for a margarita.  We went to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and I liked it a lot.  I liked it so much that I went over to Blockbuster tonight and rented the Swedish version.  I noticed how much more "perfect" the American film was... The people more beautiful, everything more...dramatic and unreal.  The Swedish version reminded me of older American movies, less about the Hollywood blockbuster thing and more just about the characters and story.  It was a fun little experiment.  You should go see it!  I can't wait for the next to come out, and strangely I have absolutely no desire to read the novels.
Also,  for any of you who have made the resolution to be healthier this year, and that also love beer, I want to reccomend Beck's Premier Light.  This tasty import totals 64 calories per bottle and I actually enjoy the taste.  The ABV content is low, so it's not a "chug to get drunk" sort of beer, but if you are simply craving a beer with dinner or after work, this is the way I go.  It reminds me of a lightened up Stella Artois.  My runner up Light Beer is Yuengling Light, which for 99 calories, runs laps around Mich Ultra.

January in Charleston

I love 70 degree weekends in January, perfect for some family outings to our favorite places:

2012 what's up!

The past two weeks have been a complete tornado of friends, family, food, and more. By more I mean more stuff. I have had to rearrange our entire house to fit the gifts that we were given this year, which is not a bad problem to have. I feel blessed and grateful.

Let me show you a few things:
Too many kitchen appliances and not enough /cabinet space!

I received an ice cream maker, a fry daddy, a cookbook display (pictured below), a fondue set with built in lazy susan, and a few nick nacks.

This is a great decorative and functional accent to my kitchen!

Appliances are always a great gift.

We love our new blue ray player, and my new Pet Lover bagless vacuum!




Girly gifts

My most treasured gifts of the year:



My man has great taste y'all!




Also, the gift of experience

We were given tickets to a Charleston Cooks! class, that includes wine pairings, as well as day passes to SEWE (coming up in Feb!).



It was a wonderful Christmas! But boy am I glad it's over! :)



We celebrated 2012 channeling old Hollywood glamour at Club Habana. K with a gin martinis and I enjoyed Gran Marnier sidecars.




I love Club Habana because no matter how busy they are, the service is top notch. We were given a complimentary champagne toast at midnight, in actual crystal flutes, not plastic.  I can't justify paying over $50 for a party where I drink out of plastic.  (I realize I'm a picky girl)

The next day we enjoyed all of the traditional southern New Years food, twice! And we talked about our goals and dreams for 2012.  Maybe I'll share them in my next post.

Monday was football and Kick Chick delivery day. 

To conclude, the leftover treats are frozen or gone, the gifts are put away, and the decorations are boxed up, already anxious to come back out later this year. 

This holiday season was magical and I can't wait to see what's next.

2012, what's up!