The Last Day of November

OMG, I cannot believe it's the last day of November. Seriously, where has 2010 gone?!

My Thanksgiving in a nutshell- Thanksgiving was a nice day. I got to sleep in on Thursday morning and it was pure heaven. I rarely get that joy so when I do, I take FULL advantage. After mom and I got all our assigned dishes prepared, we head down the street to my brother and sister in law's house. My sweet nephew was dressed in a preppy sweater vest and khakis....LOVED IT! Several friends joined my family for dinner and the evening wrapped up with some vodka and wii.

It was a pretty uneventful weekend following Turkey Day. I saw the new Harry Potter movie which was surprisingly great!

One of the best parts of the weekend was that on Sunday, KLM and I got the whole house decorated for Christmas!! This time of year is my favorite. I love Christmas decorations, holiday cheer, parties, and lights- lots and lots of lights! Here's our brand (and all reused) front porch wreath!

(sorry for the bad photo- the shadowing is weird)

After an unnecessarily long trip to Lowes Home Improvement store, I decided to make a wreath with ornaments on it. I'm pretty proud of my handiwork and I didn't have to buy a single thing to make this wreath happen! I had everything in my house and I'm thrilled to reuse things!

Tonight I'm baking cookies so I'll let you know how those turn out. I snagged the recipe from Our State magazine. If they are good, I'll share the recipe!

Please enjoy this holiday season!!

Weekend Recap

Man, it was another busy weekend. I thought life would slow down for at least one weekend before the holidays began but I was wrong.

The weekend began with what I thought would be a very low key night home alone. Roomie went out for a birthday dinner. I happily cleaned the bathroom and proceeded to enjoy a night with an empty house. I was very wrong about how my night would turn out.

I ended up going to AC's house, drank a tad too much red wine, had a dance party, then came home to find an inch of standing water on my bathroom floor!!! Luckily, I was smart enough to turn the water off to the toilet which was the root of the problem. Then it took my about 2 hours to clean up the mess. I finally crawled in bed about 3am- so much for my low key night!

My old greek man of a landlord sent his worker-guy to our house first thing Saturday morning. He had everything fixed in about 10 minutes. Thank goodness!!

This past weekend was also the chili cook off/engagement party. I'm proud to say that I won 3rd place in the cook off!! Go me! I cooked a white bean chicken chili. I was surprised how yummy it turned out. Sadly, there were no eligible men at the party so that was a bummer.

After the chili cook off/engagement party, a group of us headed over to AC's house again. This time for a couple games of cards. Once the cards came out, so did the hat box. I wish I had taken a picture, but everyone ended up in different hats- cowboy, genie, Darth Vader- ya know, the norms!

Alright, I'm off to dinner with the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. H. I was a bridesmaid in their October wedding and have not seen them since. Can't wait to catch up and enjoy a yummy dinner. The new Mrs. H is a very good cook :)

Just a Normal Week

Tuesday night was Bunco night. This is another group of fabulous ladies that meets one Tuesday a month sans boyfriends, fiances, husbands, etc. for a night of dice, gossip and wine (usually lots of wine). This bunco night was not one of my better nights, sadly. I came in second to last place lol. Oh well, I had fun catching up with everyone and got a cute christmas ornament as a loser's prize. Thanks MRW for hosting!



I spent yesterday evening getting into the holiday spirit! A group of friends decided that we would adopt a family for Christmas. We did this project through the Junior League's Angel Tree project. Everyone met at my house for a wrapping party. We had 3 children and a parent in our family. It was so much fun shopping and wrapping all those gifts!

Since I was hosting the wrapping party, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test a new pie recipe before Thanksgiving. My awesome sister in law requested a chocolate pecan pie this year. We've never really done pecan pies in my family so there is no great grandma secret recipe to refer to. I knew I had seen one in my favorite party/cook book so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I was nervous taking the pie out of the oven because it was pretty hard to tell when it was ready. I was scared it would turn to soup as soon as I sliced into it. However, I'm proud to say this pie was divine!!! It has the perfect sweet/salty mix. Just enough pecans to the rich chocolate. The only thing I would change about the recipe is that I will use a deep dish pie crust from now on.



Things never slow down around here. Tonight is dinner with Bella (my friend, not my cat). She and I studied abroad together in college in Italy. Every since then, Bella has been our nickname for each other. Friday will be spent back in the kitchen :) prepping for a chili cook off on Saturday. Roomie (KLM) and I (along with most of the people from the Supper Club/Angel Tree group) are going to an engagement celebration/chili cook off for MB + SH. I'm a tad apprehensive about this whole chili shindig but I'm trying to go with a positive attitude. No worries, I'll let you know how I survive the event or if I meet any eligible groomsmen! Eventhough I maybe a professional bridesmaid, I won't stop looking for my own Groom till I find him!

Okay, I believe I should get to work. Oh, just remembered Grey's Anatomy is on tonight- score!

See ya soon

Learning to Make This a (Good) Habit

Ekk, its been a whole week since I last blogged. Sorry, I'll try to be better.

I left you last week as I was rushing off to supper club. Let me tell you- this group of ladies can cook! We had everything- gnocchi, pizza, prosecco, cannolis, and the list can go on. The best recipe, again, came from my favorite magazine (that my mom let my subscription run out- no, I'm not bitter) Okay, I'll stop with the side comments. Anyways, CW made Gnocchi with Green Beans, Pesto, and Ricotta. Two words- absolutely amazing. You should try it.

Ingredients
1 pound gnocchi (fresh or frozen)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 8-ounce container store-bought pesto (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup ricotta

Directions
1) Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. Drain and return them to the pot.
2) Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. 3) Add the green beans and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes; drain.
4) Add the pesto and cream to the gnocchi and cook over medium heat, stirring, just until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
5) Divide gnocchi among bowls and top with the green beans, ricotta, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

**CW used half and half instead of heavy cream if you want to save a few calories

Alright, changing gears. The weekend was another whirlwind of fun. LBT, a dear friend (and old roomie), came to visit on Friday for the night. She asked me to be one of her bridesmaids for her upcoming wedding. Of course I said YES! and I cannot wait to celebrate the happy couple. We did "research" Friday night for the perfect yellow signature cocktail for the cocktail hour before the reception. If you've never had a Yellow Cake cocktail, go to your closest bar this moment and order one. Saturday we did lots of wedding errands while she was here in the capital since she doesn't have much at OIB. She found the perfect bridesmaid dress but its about $400 (without alterations). Does anyone else think that astronomical?! Seriously, has anyone paid that much for a bridesmaid dress?

Saturday evening I headed to my parents house to get some qt in with my perfect nephew. He is a whopping 11 weeks old! He has been smiling for awhile but now has added giggling to list of talents. He is also pretty good at looking like Elmur Fudd. Ahhh, I miss him! I've been searching for a turkey costume for him for his 1st Thanksgiving. I haven't been successful so I guess I need to settle for a cute outfit. Esty was even a disappointment. A co-worker suggested I make one. My response basically was "Silly girl, I don't own a sewing machine!" I know, one of these days I need to make that investment. But that is for another day.

Tonight is Bunco so keep your fingers crossed that I win big! I could use a new pair of shoes....I'll be back soon to share Bunco results, my chocolate pecan pie adventure and Angel Tree wrapping.

ps- I promise I'll learn how to post pictures soon since this is getting so text heavy.

Getting the Swing of This

I guess I need to jump feet first into this lol

Tonight is Supper Club. This crazy group of ladies finally got their act together. We decided that instead of talking about new recipes and talking about needing to get together for dinner, we would do it. Thus Supper Club was born. Fairly simple concept until you factor in about 10 ladies and everyone's complicated schedules!

Last month was the first time we gave this a whirl and it was a blast! AC had everyone over for a fall foods potluck. Let me tell you that it was some of the best food I've had in a long time. I made brie bites with a raspberry dipping sauce, KLM made this decadent butternut squash casserole almost dessert dish. I plan on making it for Thanksgiving, it was that delicious. Another dish that was a hit was Smoky Corn Chowder from the best magazine ever. I'm not sure if the recipe is still available so here it is-

Ingredients
8 ounces sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 10-ounce packages frozen corn
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half-and-half
kosher salt and black pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 baguete, sliced and toasted (optional)

Directions
1) Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
2) Spoon off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
3) Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4) Stir in the corn, broth, and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
6) Divide the soup among bowls and top with the scallions and bacon. Serve with bread, if desired.

Anyways, tonight is Italian theme so I'm bringing capresse salad. Going through all my recipes and thinking Italian, took me back to the summer when I studied abroad in Sansepolcro, Italy. What I wouldn't give to be back there! So, if you're looking for a funny travel blog about Italy, please check out this little Travel Gnomad. She is adorable!

Alright I have a quick work meeting then I've got to jet home to make my dish for tonight. Hope to be back tomorrow with yummy highlights!

The New Girl on the Block

Hello out there! I'm new to the blog-world so bare with me. I think I'll start out with a little intro....

I'm a 20 something year old, southern gal, living the single life in the capital city. I'm a chronic bridesmaid, but having a lot of fun along the way. I work in the non-profit world and desperately need to go to graduate school. I love all things vintage, classy, and stylish.

I promise to be back soon!