Final Rose Party

I enjoyed a fun little Sunday evening at a Final Rose Party in regards to The Bachelorette.

I was asked to create place cards for the dishes, and I may have gotten a little carried away with cutouts of each of the main people. I was Team Jef since day one so happy night.

Bentcasso

One highlight of this past weekend was heading to my neighborhood's Yappy Hour where dogs and their owners meet to play. The morning was filled with pools, dog trainers, tricks, treats, relay races and an agility course. Bentley had some fun going through tunnels in the agility course, and he loved his party favor of gourmet treats from Woof Gang Bakery. 

The coolest part of the morning was when we did paw print paintings. You got to select your canvas size and three paint colors - then the dogs made it happen. Bentcasso even picked some of my favorite colors! I so love how this turned out that it's on display in our house.

This & That

THIS: I love opening my fridge to have these new gems among my drink options.



THAT: I'm happy to open my freezer to find a shelf of only Carolina + Disney Princesses.



Mom shipped Disney Princess ice packs to me - to say I was excited is an understatement. 

It's a Carolina day!

I enjoyed a lovely Carolina day this week with a walk through campus. Many stops were made by campus landmarks as fun bestie pose photo opportunities presented themselves. Lunch at Sutton's on Franklin Street is always a treat with those hot dogs and crisp crinkled fries. I ended the day by painting the Old Well in the fall at Wine and Design. Great day!

Snacks

Yesterday I enjoyed two fun workouts - bootcamp in the morning and pole flex fusion (where pole dancing meets bootcamp) by night. In response, I'd like to discuss snacks. July's GetLit was based on the book Fifty Shades of Grey. We got to request our guilty pleasure, snack style, and my guilty snack pleasure is definitely pimento cheese. I loved Laura's pairing of celery, crackers and out of this world homemade family pickles.

I was tasked with the lingerie cookies for Fifty Shades. I discovered the most amazing gem  - A cookie a Day Bakery. The cookies were seriously on point, and I highly recommend.

In other snack news, Hank and I finally tried Which Wich this weekend. I am hooked. I ordered the Thank You Turkey (with stuffing and cranberry sauce) toasted on wheat with provolone, honey mustard, caramelized onions and lettuce. Loyalty club? Yes, please!

"If we're not supposed to have midnight snacks, then why is there a light in the fridge?"

Happy Snacking!

Day at the Museum

Thinking of new ways to beat the heat, because sometimes it's hot at the pool.

I enjoyed the indoors on Sunday afternoon with a trip to North Carolina's Museum of Natural Sciences. Hank and I made pressed pennies, saw the Terror of the South and walked through the Living Conservatory home to the two-toed sloth. My favorite exhibit was definitely the mountains part of the Mountains to the Sea... I loved the 20-foot waterfall modeled after Linville Falls. I saw some cute little turtles, and the very cool skeleton of the Acrocanthosaurus. It's skeleton is the most complete of its kind on display in the world. 

Be a tourist in your own town!

Just playing with my new toys...

Tire, monkey, duck... Go!

Barbecue & Veggies

Hank and I made barbecue chicken with corn on the cob and paired it with a refreshing salad. I think the corn on the cob was my favorite part as it had a chili lime butter. We grilled the corn with the butter on, but next time, I think I would grill the corn and add the butter right before you're about to dig in. Chili Lime Butter (for two) consists of two tablespoons of butter, melted in a small serving dish. Then I added two teaspoons of a chili lime seasoning from Williams-Sonoma, along with a dash of lime juice and a few chopped jalapeños. I stirred this while melted and then put it in the freezer for a cold second so it could get back to being a spreadable solid. Butter your corn, add some S&P and a delicious veggie is born. 

As for the refreshing salad, I halved a pint of cherry tomatoes. Then halved, deseeded and chopped a medium cucumber. I diced half a medium red onion. Then I added a half cup of crumbled feta and a quarter cup of chopped fresh basil leaves. Now for the vinaigrette... one tablespoon red wine vinegar, half teaspoon sugar, one tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon lemon juice, half teaspoon pepper and a half teaspoon sea salt. I mixed these five ingredients together, poured them over the vegetables, made sure all was mixed and coated evenly. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. This made for a fresh dimension to this meal.

Let Freedom Ring

For this Fourth of July "mid-week special" we enjoyed drinks with coworkers at a rooftop bar, snacks at Angus Barn's Wild Turkey Bar & Lounge (favorite!), then some time at the pool for a little fun in the sun, a cookout with friends and of course, fireworks.

I was excited to rock my red, white and blue bathing suit at the pool by day. The fireworks were so tiny by night that Hank and I absolutely had to light up some morning glories once we were back home. Morning glories are my new sparklers. God Bless the U.S.A.

"Goodnight Tar Heels Wherever You Are"

I went to a book signing on Saturday for Goodnight Carolina, a new book "perfect for Tar Heels of every age." It's a true gem that is illustrated by the one and only, Elaine O'Neil.

I heard word from a friend that this book sold out shortly after my friend Kat and I made our purchases. That news came as no surprise, because here is an example of how cute the rhymes are, "Goodnight hot dog specials and crisp crinkled fries and the line out the door that's no surprise. Goodnight Carolina fashion and style and the original birthplace of True Blue argyle." I love it! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool with some pretty cool guys ; ) We did an eight person link down the slide which was quite eventful considering it's only suppose to be one at a time. The pool was the perfect way to beat the heat!

Brews & Blues

This past week was for supporting a friend in a homebrew competition ...

... and writing encouraging postcards to incoming first-year Carolina students.

I loved my friend Kat's set-up above - it was Carolina blue from the candle to the waters.

Home Happenings

I'm excited about the addition of these light blue outdoor pillows to our rocking chairs.

Dinner Lately

Corn and Tomato Salad {top, left} two cans crisp yellow corn (drained), two cans white corn (drained), three large tomatoes (chopped), half of a large sweet onion (chopped), half cup fresh basil (chopped), four tablespoons apple cider vinegar, quarter cup olive oil, sprinkles to taste of oregano, sea salt and pepper. Mix all together in a large bowl. Best served after chilled for a few hours or next day.

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers {top, right} two cans cannellini white beans (drained), one large sweet potato (baked and peeled), two teaspoons maple syrup, one tablespoon or more to taste of chipotle seasoning (or other fun seasoning you have), salt and pepper to taste, quarter cup flour. Mash all together. Add more flour as needed to make formable patties. Coat patty in bread crumbs then pan sear in fry pan with olive oil. Top with dijon mustard, avocado slices and sliced sweet onion. 

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup {bottom, left} add in crockpot five cups chicken broth, one can cream of chicken soup, half cup sweet onion (chopped), half cup celery (chopped), half cup carrots (chopped), half cup green onion (sliced), one can crisp yellow corn (drained), salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for five hours. Add one and a half cups egg noodles and two large cans cooked chicken for an additional hour on high.

Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies {bottom, right} one cup unsalted melted butter, plus three quarters cup brown sugar and three quarters cup granulated sugar. Stir these three ingredients until combined. Then add one teaspoon salt, two teaspoons vanilla extract, two large eggs, two and a quarter cups all-purpose flour, half teaspoon baking soda, half teaspoon baking powder and mix all. Fold in two cups chocolate chips and two cups pecans (chopped). Scoop dough onto cookie sheets at desired cookie size.  Refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 13 minutes, yields 40 cookies.

The above delights were all inspired by Pinterest and will definitely be made again.