Hi friends! Here are some highlights from the past few days.
We celebrated my cousin Gabrielle’s twelfth birthday. This sweet girl is 12 going on 22; she’s almost as tall as me and probably smarter and more mature. And quite the beauty!
She’s into the mustache trend, so one of my presents to her was this pair of gloves.
Thursday night, Amanda and I went to the early showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2. I mentioned this on Friday, but let me say it again: the movie is so good! It is definitely my favorite of the saga. I want to know what you all think! 
This past weekend I went to my grandparents’ house in North Carolina. It’s always so nice to visit them. Our weekend was full of shopping, wine and eats. Their house is in a really pretty neighborhood on a mountain and driving up always freaks me out. The curves and bends, yikes!
When I got there, I found some presents on my bed: a chocolate advent calendar, a Chick-fil-A cow from a race my grandfather had run, socks my grandma made, and a recipe they thought I’d like. Bonus: a crossword puzzle book, not shown.
Onto the eats! On Saturday, we went to 131 Main while we were out shopping at Biltmore Park Town Square. Sarah insisted I go there for the beet burger that she always gets. Right up my alley!
Look at how red it is. You’d almost think it was meat, right? Ha. It was really, really good and I’ve got to remake this at home. Sarah, let’s do this!
Saturday night, we made Ina Garten’s recipe for Roasted Shrimp with Feta. Changes we made: we nixed the Pernod and used artichokes instead of fennel. 
We wanted to make spanakopita (inspired by you, Sierra!) but the phyllo dough we bought had dried out. We improvised by placing the spinach mixture in a baking dish and making a crustless pie. This was originally another Ina Garten recipe too.
On Sunday morning, we made a frittata with red pepper, spinach, onion, and basil. This would be great to make for a week long of breakfasts. Just grab a slice, reheat, and go! I don’t have the recipe right now, but if you’re interested, shoot me an email and I’ll find it.
My 4-hour drive back was a bit slower than my ride up. On the way there, as soon as I hit North Carolina, I got pulled for speeding. Boo!! The way back I watched my heavy foot, listened to the Breaking Dawn 2 soundtrack, and fueled with coffee and candy. 
What was the best thing you ate all weekend?
What are your road trip essentials?
