Book Club Meeting #2: Sarah’s Key

Right after work on Tuesday, Mariah and I met up for a run through I’on. It was in the low 80s – perfect running weather. We ran a little over 3 miles throughout the neighborhood and admired all the beautiful houses. It was really nice to be outdoors instead of stuck in the gym. Lately, I’ve been trying to exercise outside as much as possible because the cold weather is just around the corner…

After our run, I met up with Amanda, Kira, Mary, Jess, and Price for our second book club meeting. At the end of our first book club meeting, Amanda suggested that we read Sarah’s Key. Six weeks later, we all got together for wine (duh) and discussion time. As usual, we all brought something to eat. My contribution was zucchini muffins:

Amanda’s dad grilled us some delicious shrimp. Seriously, so good. Thanks Papa Holloway.

The rest of the food is shown here: hummus/carrots/pita chips from Mary, cream cheese and almond stuffed strawberries from Jess, cheese and crackers from Price, and pumpkin dip (!!) from Kira:

Aren’t these strawberries so pretty? They were a hit.

While Amanda, Mary, Kira, and Price really enjoyed Sarah’s Key, Jess and I were not fans. Both Jess and I felt that we couldn’t really get into the book at any point. Usually I can pick up a book and plow through it in a few nights, but for some reason, I was never really excited to start a new chapter. The one thing I did like about the book is that during the first half, the chapters are from two different character’s perspectives. The second half of the book seemed to drag on.

Jess offered to host the next meeting at her house, and she’ll be emailing us what she chooses for our next book tomorrow. I was hoping to get started on our 3rd book tonight, but instead I’ll be starting Exes and Ohs!

Have you read Sarah’s Key?

Ever checked out Time Magazine’s list of the 100 best English-Language novels?

Favorite book of all time?

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Woah. MDW was the most random weekend of my life.

Friday: After we all got off work, Mariah, Lucy and I went to the new TCBY in Town Center for some frozen yogurt. The inside is full of neon colors – my favorite! It’s very clean and modern.
I kind of want these chairs in my kitchen. Don’t you? Okay, maybe not.I got a strange combination of watermelon sorbet, original tart yogurt, and peanut butter yogurt topped with cookie dough balls and heath bar bits. I am in l-o-v-e with the watermelon sorbet. I was not impressed with the frozen yogurt flavors at all. Lucy got grapefruit sorbet with mango, mochi, and coconut. She was very happy with the sorbet.I can’t remember which flavors Mariah got – maybe that’s strawberry and peanut butter? You can see she likes a good topping to froyo ratio. :)Clearly we destroyed our dessert. Overall, I have to say that TCBY has nothing on Menchie’s. I would definitely go back if I’m in the mood for sorbet because the 4 flavors they had that night were delicious. The frozen yogurt barely didn’t have much flavor though. Menchie’s wins in my book.

Saturday: Saturday was the most relaxing day of the weekend. Mariah and I woke up late, lounged by the pool, then each went on dates. We may or may not have planned our dates according to each other’s schedules.

Sunday: Beach day! Mariah, Lucy, and I met a bunch of friends at Sullivan’s Island for a few hours. On the way to the beach we stopped at the store for snacks and I found the most exciting thing ever:

PICKLES IN A BAG.

Thank goodness both Amanda and Jess were also at the beach, because I could not have enjoyed this without my frickle tasting buddies! For the record, they were actually good and the juice was ridiculously sour. I am unsure whether the guys on the beach thought we were a)disgusting or b)disgusting.

Monday: Well, today I shot my first hand gun. I shot a rifle and a shotgun last fall, but this was my first time holding such a tiny little weapon.

I’m not aiming, I’m winking at you.

Tiny but LOUD. Even with earplugs it’s quite the bang bang. Literally.

The first time I shot it, I almost peed my shorts. My palms were sweating profusely--I just didn’t know what to expect. After 10ish times, I felt less nervous. It was nuts. I was able to shoot a plastic bottle though! I was shocked because honestly, I need glasses so badly.

And this picture just makes me wonder if I need to start wearing a higher sunscreen. If I’m brown now, what am I going to look like after Margaret and I go to Destin? After that, we grabbed some lunch at Jack’s Cosmic Dogs.
It’s a cute little shack far down off 17 with hot dogs, fries, ice cream, and shakes.
I had a hot dog with spicy mustard, sauerkraut, and a pickle. I also doused it with ketchup.



After lunch, we all went to the beach for a couple hours. Mariah and I wore fancy Memorial Day sunglasses. Thanks for the day off, Veterans!

Somehow after all of this, I still made it to the gym. Too much boozing over the weekend = sweaty hot mess after running 3.5 miles. It felt so good to sweat out my weekend. I am exhausted.

What was the highlight of your weekend? I’m grateful that I got to spend so much time with my friends! The pickles in a bag might have been my favorite part of the weekend.

Woohoo for a 4-day week! I only have to work 1 1/2 days, then Margaret and I are off to Destin!!

Vespa Pizzeria, Boozin’, and Life Lessons

Last Friday, Rob and I took a much-needed lunch break at Vespa Pizzeria. Vespa is right on Daniel Island where we work, so within just a few minutes, we had escaped our daily duties and were indulging in cold brews. Cheers!

Rob ordered a beer that tasted like coffee. For such a dark beer, I thought it was pretty good.

I ordered a much lighter, peach-flavored beer called “Son of a Peach” by RJ Rockers Brewing Co. This was a perfect mid-day brewski. I could definitely enjoy a few more of these this Summer.

Please note the dude in the background. He’s so spread-eagle, it almost looks uncomfortable. Not to mention disgusting.

Vespa was running a lunch special that I couldn’t refuse: $10 for a small salad and pizza. I was relieved by this offer, as I wasn’t sure if I wanted one of the highly recommended salads or a pizza.

I chose the Arugula & Beets salad with balsamic vinaigrette, goat cheese and candied walnuts. This was my first beet salad of the day. I ended up having another goat cheese and beet salad at Lauren’s birthday dinner. Cannot resist a beet!

I also had the Margherita Pizza with tomato, mozzarella, basil, and EVOO. Rob said the first time he came here, he asked the server what “evoo” was. Hehe. My pizza was really good – the crust was thin and charred in some spots (love!) with lots of bubbles. There wasn’t a lot of sauce, which I need, so I asked for some on the side. I was a happy girl. Or was that the beer kicking in?

Rob ordered a standard Pepperoni Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. We traded pieces, and his was really good too.

Both our pizzas were $10, which wasn’t bad, but those beers were $7 a piece. Eek!! No happy hour specials at lunch I guess. That could be to prevent stressed out individuals from getting trashed at lunch I guess?

After lunch, all I could do was laugh about this e-card that I found:

I will definitely be back to Vespa soon. Our server was super friendly and the atmosphere is very casual and cool. Plus, you can watch the guys cook your pizza! That’s always entertaining for me. Along with wood-fired pizza, their menu also has appetizers, sandwiches, and pastas. And, if you’re a Blackbaud employee, you get a 10% discount on food.

Lately, Lucy and I have been obsessively reading this Bits of Truth blog that my coworker introduced me to. It’s full of truthful quotes that will make you chuckle, smile, or just say ahhh. This is my current favorite:

I always try to find the good in each person and make friends every where I go. I rarely hold grudges and genuinely like people. I just don’t see the point of disliking people for silly reasons – you just never know who will become a close friend. Never, ever, judge.

I hope everyone’s week is going well! I’m already exhausted by my social schedule this week:

• Tuesday: Guy Fieri show with Joe
• Wednesday: Happy Hour with coworkers/friends at Leaf
• Thursday: Frickle testing/dinner with Amanda & Jess
• Friday: Riverdogs game with Margaret, Mariah, & Lucy (box tickets, yay!)
• Saturday: beach or boating, please!

What’s your favorite quote or quote site?

Have you ever become friends with someone out of your social circle? Or someone you never thought you’d be friends with? Does making friends come easily to you, or do you like to stay in a close-knit group?

Moroccan Spicy Shrimp & Grits

You’d think after living here for 14 years I would have made shrimp & grits several times by now. I did tonight, though, with a Moroccan twist, using this Serious Eats recipe.

Moroccan Spicy Shrimp
From Hank Shaw

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large, peeled deveined shrimp
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. ground coriander
• 1 tbsp.ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. cayenne (less if you want it milder)
• Salt
• Juice of a lemon

Directions

1. Salt the shrimp well and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic. Turn the heat down to medium and sauté the garlic for 1-3 minutes — don't let it burn.
3. Add all the ground spices and stir well to combine. Cook this, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
4. Turn the heat up to high and add the shrimp. Stir to combine and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp turn pink. This shouldn't take more than 4-5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and toss to combine. Serve at once.  Serves 4-6.

While I quickly cooked up some of these…

…I made a bowl of grits with diced tomatoes, onion, and garlic. All the different spices in this dish give such a simple recipe so much flavor. The whole thing took less than 20 minutes to make and would have taken even less time had I not dropped the shrimp twice, knocked over a bag of grits, and let 3 cloves of garlic burn. Clearly, I was trying to work too fast.

Speaking of speed, I have been highly irritated by all things slow today.

• slow laptop
• too many slow drivers on the way home
• too many slow people walking around the gym
• a slow woman who felt it was safe to walk in the middle of the parking lot

It’s not that I’m impatient, really. I just know that when I want something, I am on a mission and I don’t like things blocking my way. I’m like Hurricane Xtina and everyone around me needs to get on their evacuation route.But on the other hand, I absolutely cannot stand the feeling of being rushed. Does this make any sense? 

In blogger news, I met two readers this weekend! On Friday night, Jessica approached me at Trio wearing a blue wig! She was at a Bachelorette party and everyone was wearing different colored wigs. On Saturday night, I met Mo, who I didn’t know was a reader. That made me super happy. Thanks to both of you for saying hello! That’s just one of the many reasons I keep blogging. And yes, I have been absent for a few days because I needed some time to focus on other things like work and friends. Sometimes you just have to check yourself before you wreck yourself.  

What is your #1 favorite thing about blogging?

Do you ever feel the need to take breaks from blogging? What helps you regain focus?