What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Did you know if you soak gummy bears in rum, you get rummy bears?! I’m way too excited about this.

Imagine all the possibilities: gummy bears, worms, sharks! Trader Joe’s sells gummy penguins and I plan soaking those in some vodka this Summer.

2. Chuckles.

3. On Friday Amanda and I found out that we won the Bacardi Photo Contest!! In case you missed it, here’s the pic we entered, titled “Bacardi Babies.”

We won a 3-night stay at a house on IOP. We’re so excited to plan a fun girls weekend. Thanks to those of you who voted!

4. We also won tickets to go to the Bacardi Classic event but gave them to my friend Melissa who also entered the contest. She’s an awesome gal and totally deserved them. Before she left, she sent me this tweet:

That made me so proud. I hope the Chick-fil-A helped soak up all the Bacardi. ;)

5. This ice cream is the reason why I’m going to work out extensively this Summer. This is a combination of 2 of the best ice cream flavors. Damn you, Breyer’s. You are good.

6. The intern left me this note on my second monitor at work.

Can anyone honestly tell me they don’t like that song?

7. I love Danielle for this tweet, reminding us to be so grateful for everything we have.

Look at everything around you right now. Feel blessed.

Don’t forget to enter the very yummy Protein Bakery giveaway!

Bacardi Photo Contest

Hi friends! The only time I’ve ever asked for your vote is for the 2011 and 2012 Charleston City Paper awards. I can never thank you enough – it is because of you that I won both years. Huge hugs.

Amanda and I have entered in a photo contest with Bacardi. We’d LOVE for you to vote for us. If we win, we get a 3-night stay in a house on Isle of Palms and tickets to the Bacardi Cocktail Classic event.  We think it would be a great weekend getaway for us and a few girlfriends. How exciting would that be!?

Here’s how to vote:

1. “Like” Bacardi Cocktail Classic on facebook HERE
2. Go to the photo contest tab HERE
3. Vote for our picture, titled “Bacardi Babies”

To purchase tickets and watch us do our victory dance, click HERE. The event will be held on Tuesday, June 5th, at the South Carolina Aquarium. Local bartenders from 18 of Charleston’s best restaurants and bars will compete to see who can make the best party cocktail.

Thank you!

Pizza, Gelato, and Packing for Destin!

Three day weekends really freak me out. I felt so off today! Anyone else out there keep forgetting it’s actually Tuesday?

My friend Rob is moving to NYC in a couple weeks – sad! We went to our last work lunch today. We went to Vespa Pizza last time, so today we tried the other pizza place on Daniel Island: Orlando’s Pizza. Orlando’s brick oven pizza uses dough and sauces that are made daily and the freshness is evident in its taste. The crust was perfectly thin, with a fair amount of cheese, and lots of sauce. To me, this was the perfect slice of pizza, and for only $2.50. I will be back a thousand times.

I regretted not getting two slices!

After the salty came the sweet. We walked to Et Cetera, a small gourmet food shop. They had gelato from Paolo’s Gelato, which is located downtown on John St. I ordered the Bacio (chocolate and hazelnut) which is totally weird for me; I don’t like chocolate based ice cream. This little sucker cost $4 pre tax. What? My pizza was less than this ball of ice cream. Don’t be fooled by this pic – it may look like a full cone but it’s just a blob on the top. I ended up throwing out the cone because there was no gelato in it. Boo.

After work, I went to the gym for some cardio. It was 93* outside and it felt the same in the gym. I sweated like never before. I ran a little over 3.5 miles (1 regular mile and 2.5 miles of interval sprints) then headed over to Whole Foods to pick up my 7th CSA box. Goodies!!

I quickly showered and got ready because Mariah, Lucy, and I had plans to go to Mustard Seed for dinner. We shared an appetizer of sesame crusted tuna with wasabi ginger mayo and sweet soy sauce. We tore that right up!

I was craving vegetables like never before, so I ordered the stir-fried vegetables with brown rice and added chicken. This did not disappoint – I think it included every vegetable known to man.

It should be my bed time, but I have work to do. I’m about go to nuts with these markers – stay tuned for the fancy tank tops I’m making for our drive to Destin tomorrow.

Speaking of Destin, I thought it would be fun for Margaret and I to complete a photo challenge on the way there…kind of like a scavenger hunt with our cameras. I am trying to think of funny things we need to take pictures with. So far I’ve come up with the following:

1. A picture of SC, GA, and FL welcome signs
2. A picture of us with a truck driver
3. A picture of a “foreign” Chick-fil-A
4. A picture of Margaret pumping gas with her beef jerky and Mt. Dew – her car ride requirements
5. A picture of somebody else pumping our gas (Thanks for that one, Rob!)
6. A picture of us wearing our horribly ugly sunglasses/headbands…just you wait

Please help us come up with more ideas! I will be receiving all your comments while we’re in the car, so I can just keep updating our list! THANKS!!!

XO!

The Ugly and The Pretty / Photo Day 13

I’m on Photo Day #13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

Britney Spears! Who cares if she had a mental breakdown? Everyone is allowed one or two of those in a lifetime, right?

P.S.: Her newest album, Femme Fatale, will be released on March 29th. I just pre-ordered it and downloaded the song “Till The World Ends.” It is good! I foresee another foot injury dancing to this at Trio.

How was everyone’s weekend? On Friday, my favorite paparazzo (Matt) came over and tried to photograph me changing before we went to the movies. Creep! He did manage to snap a picture of my new highlights and hologram nail polish. Yes, I said hologram. It is beauuuuuuuuutiful in the sunshine. :)

We went to Mustard Seed for dinner and then to Cinebarre to see The King’s Speech. Did anyone see this? Hate it, love it? I was kind of bored but thought the acting was excellent.

Today I made two recipes: the first being quite colorful, yet unattractive, and the second being adorable. Both were delicious.

Roasted Beets with Israeli Couscous, Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Citrus Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized beets, washed, peeled, and cubed
• olive oil, for drizzling
• 2/3 cup Israeli couscous
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• blue cheese, crumbled

Citrus Dressing:

• juice of one orange (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. honey

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400*. Place beets in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. While beets are roasting, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add couscous and simmer, covered, for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Prepare citrus dressing by whisking together the orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey.
4. When beets have finished roasting, mix together with the couscous and walnuts. Top with blue cheese and citrus dressing.

Not pretty. Tasty!

After dinner, I made some cookies for my neighbor, Daniel. When I texted him that I was making him cookies, within 15 seconds he was walking through my door. No knocking necessary. He walked in JUST when Lucy was doing a downward dog in the living room. I think he liked it. Hahaha.

I used Emily’s recipe for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever. She’s not kidding around you guys. These cookies contain browned butter and yeast. They are big and have a crispy edge with a slightly chewy center. They.are.perfect.

Daniel just ate a cookie. I asked him, “On a scale of 1 to Titanic, how much do you love these cookies?” He responded, “They’re pretty Titanic.”

Have a great week!

Blogger Meet Up / Photo Day #11

Today is Photo Day #11: Picture of something you hate. I cannot stand being cold. When I am really cold, I completely shut down. I can’t even talk. I just stare at you like it’s your fault. What’s worse? Being WET and COLD. The following photo is from Summer 2009 when we got hit by a rainstorm on the boat.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Caroline from Chocolate & Carrots. I have been reading Caroline’s blog for a couple of months and am always fascinated by her recipes and food photography. She grew up in Mt. Pleasant, where I live, but now lives in Columbia, SC. When she asked to meet up while she was in town visiting family, I was delighted!

We met at our favorite coffee shop, Metto. We both ordered lattes and chatted for FOUR HOURS. It was so nice to finally meet her. She is such a sweet girl and you should definitely check out her blog. Her food pictures will have you drooling!

After our meet-up, I went to the gym to bring Julius some of the peanut butter banana bread. I’m pretty sure he ate it in 5 seconds. A few hours later, I was back at Eco to actually work out. Heavily caffeinated, I jumped right onto the assisted pull-up machine. It’s going to happen one day, I swear! Immediately after, I knocked out a mile run. Since my foot incident, I have been trying to calm down, so my mile time went up. Boo. I did some shoulder/back workouts, then hopped back on the treadmill. I had already run 1.79 miles when my friend Mike came over and challenged me: “Wanna race to 3.1?” I was like “Are you kidding me, you think you can run 3.1 miles in the time that I run 1.31? Ok, let’s go.” So like the maniac I am, I ran at warped speed just so I could win.

I won.

I love beating men at anything. I wonder if he let me win? Either way, I successfully knocked out another 3.1 miles and was literally a hot mess.

Are you a competitive person? Are you competitive with yourself or friends? Girls or guys? I’m never competitive with friends. Boyfriends….oh yes. I make no sense.

Pastitsio / Photo Day #10

Photo Day #10 - A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with. This was a no-brainer: Ashley. We’ve haven’t even celebrated our 1st friendshipaversary yet, but we have done some wacky things. That yacht we met on changed our lives forever. If you’ve been reading my blog over the past few months, you already know how weird we are together. If not, you can catch up here, here, here, here, or here.

Earth Day 2010

Moving right along…

This morning I noticed that I had too much spinach in my refrigerator. Knowing how I will typically read 206982 cookbooks looking for the perfect recipe, I decided to waste no time and ask my twitter friends. Nicole was the first to respond:Anything called “pastitsio” needs to be in my kitchen just so I can say it aloud. Repeatedly. \päs-ˈtēt-sē-(ˌ)ō\ …Pas teet see oh. Say it with me now. Pastitsio.

Today I took impulsivity to a whole new level. When I got this tweet, I had just started to get ready. Picture it: wet, curly hair, no make-up, t-shirt, skinny jeans (obvi), flip flops. Publix is across the street, so I just took off.

While stopped at the red light I realized I still had my Crest whitening strips in. HOT.

I figured I know the grocery store like the back of my hand, I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. WRONG. Not only did I have to ask for a 1/2 pound of ground turkey, I had to ask where the condensed milk was. Try saying “turkey” and “condensed milk” wearing whitening strips. HOT x 2.

Pastitsio, adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef (99% fat free)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 9 oz. fresh baby spinach, cooked and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• freshly  ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked ziti
• 1 (12-oz.) can evaporated fat-free milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 2-qt. casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet sprayed with nonstick spray. Sauté the turkey and onions, breaking apart the turkey with a wooden spoon, until it is cooked through and the onions are soft, 5-8 minutes. Stir in spinach, tomatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper; heat through. Stir in ziti, then transfer to baking dish.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to just below a boil. Whisk in eggs and egg whites until frothy. Pour over pasta mixture; sprinkle with blue cheese and more ground pepper. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Does this look low fat? It is!

The pastitsio didn’t plate well but who’s judging? I really hope you guys aren’t because the previous description of my appearance would have made you leave anyway.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread / Photo Day #9

Photo Day #9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most. Auntie Kelly! There was no question as to whom I would choose for this photo day. More like a mother than an aunt, Kelly has been there for it all. I cannot express how grateful I am for her, especially over the past few years. She is a wonderful listener, gives gently honest advice, and is always up for a glass of wine!She’s also the mother to two of my beautiful cousins, Gabrielle and Zachary.

It’s kind of funny that we’re holding bananas in that picture, because I made peanut butter banana bread tonight. Actually, I made the batter, ate 1/8th of it raw, then baked the rest. My stomach hurts but I’m going to blame the veggie overdose at dinner.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2  cups mashed banana
• 1/2  cup  plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/3  cup  creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. canola oil 
• 2  large eggs
• 1/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup  ground flaxseed
• 3/4  tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add both sugars and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and remaining ingredients. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and beat just until blended. Pour batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove bread from pan; cool.

I wouldn’t describe myself as an impatient person, but when baking, all patience flies out the window. I just get restless waiting to see if I’ve created a masterpiece or a x-tastrophe. (Xtina + catastrophe, yeah, go with it.)

I cleaned for 12 minutes. Boring.

I whitened my teeth.

I realized that it was stupid to whiten my teeth right before eating.

I stalked people on facebook.

I banged my knee into the coffee table so hard that I heard it before I felt it. How is that possible?

I have 21 minutes left.

Now I’m gchatting with Tyler.

I just peeked into the oven (without opening the door!) and realized that my bread is rather large. It’s starting to look like a creature.

14 minutes left.

Three people today told me they liked my top. I was wearing it as a dress. Shit.

Has anyone seen Proactiv in vending machines? Because I did today. What’s next, MEN in vending machines? I’ll bang up against that so I can get an extra.

WHERE IS MY HEAD!?

The bread is done.

I told you it looked like a creature.A really tasty creature. I just licked this knife. Do you see why I constantly hurt myself?Who’s coming over for bread?

Sweet Vanilla Rice Pudding / Photo Day #8

I’m now up to Day #8 of the Photo Challenge - a picture that makes you laugh. This is a picture of Matt and me playing an Xbox skiing game. I was racing down a mountain while Matt was, err…I don’t know how to explain that pose. Awkward. And I’m wearing Matt’s shirt because this was also the day he hosed me down in the yard. Click to zoom – it’s so worth it.

In the afternoon, Lucy and I went to the gym for two minutes. Two. About 1 minute and 32 seconds on the treadmill, I asked her “Why are we here? We should be walking the bridge.” We promptly left the gym and drove over to the Ravenel Bridge.  We spent a good hour walking the entire bridge in the glorious 80 degree weather. This picture is also awkward, so just focus on the pretty bridge.

That evening we made the best rice pudding EVER. EVER EVER EVER. It was so good that I got a little emotional in the kitchen. The last time this happened was when I made blueberry ricotta pancakes.

Sweet Vanilla Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole grain brown rice
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 cups light vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice and salt and return to a boil. Turn heat to low, then simmer the rice, covered, until all of the water is absorbed, about 15-2o minutes.
2. Remove rice from pan and set aside in a separate bowl. Add soy milk, vanilla extract, and sugar to the pan and bring to a low boil. Stir often so the milk doesn’t over boil. Add the rice back to the pain along with the raisins. Stir often until the milk reduces and becomes creamy, about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a bowl to cool, or enjoy warm.

We enjoyed ours in the martini glasses that I have never used until today. Seriously. I don’t drink martinis – they make me gag or drunk in .5 seconds.

Throughout the day, Lucy spilled fish food all over her car seat, oats all over Whole Foods, and water on herself. I spilled broccoli and water all over the floor, spilled pink nail polish on the couch, and burned my hand on the stove. How are we alive? Maybe I do need a martini.

SEWE, Granville’s, and Photo Day #7

Photo Day #7: A picture of your most treasured item: When I was 6 years old, the day before we left for Disney World, Grammy surprised both my brother and me with stuffed animals. She gave me the Gund Muttsy dog, shown here.

Twenty years later, here is that same dog that I (so originally) named “Puppy.” This dog has been through it all: vacations, malls, suitcases, purses, you name it. It has lost its nose and the top of its head was badly burned on a lamp near my bed. Here is a pic of how I found him one day that my exbf made my bed. Hilarious.Did you guys have a stuffed animal that you clung to growing up? Do you still have it? Laura, I know you do!

Last Sunday, Matt took me to brunch at Granville’s, one of his favorite Charleston restaurants.

Located downtown at 730 Rutledge, this unassuming restaurant is gorgeous inside. Apparently it had been closed for a while for renovations and Matt was very happy they were back in business. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of the inside, but trust me when I say that the décor and ambience were just as awesome as the food.

We were pleasantly greeted by our server, Shea, who was very friendly and accommodating. The brunch menu is very reasonably priced, with dishes ranging from $8-$12. We started the morning off just how Matt and I like it, with alcohol. We got grapefruit mimosas which are so much better than orange juice because they aren’t as sweet. To eat, I ordered the omelet of the day with prosciutto, Fontina cheese, and grilled onions with a side of grits.Matt got a huge portion of the Shrimp & Grits which were delicious. I’m not even kidding when I say that these were best grits I have ever had – and I’m talking about my plain ones too. They were just the perfect thick and creamy texture. I probably told Matt three different times that I couldn't wait to come back to which he responded, “I told you.”

A couple mimosas later, we were ready to frolic around SEWE, aka Redneck Paradise. For those of you not from Charleston, the Southeastern Wildlife Exhibition is the largest wildlife/nature exhibition in the nation. This just means there are a lot of random animals and guns.Matt likes to take my camera and embarrass me in public, acting like he is a paparazzo. I tell him to stop, he clicks more, and I almost pee my pants laughing. Every single time.Towards the end of the exhibit, we found a giant blow up slide. Matt says we need it for the backyard.And because he always gets to embarrass me, it’s my turn. Look at this face! Hahah I love him!

What are you up to this weekend? I am hanging out with my brother all day, and tonight I am watching Rick’s children. THREE CHILDREN. Two little boys and a newborn baby girl. I’m actually really excited! See you tomorrow!