Weekend Happenings

After a work project was completed on Friday, Rachel and I were given gift cards to Bottles for helping out. Woohoo! I managed to scoot out of work by 5 pm and headed over to find a delicious red wine.

I highly recommend this! It’s a full-bodied, fruity red with hints of strawberries and cherries. With a glass in hand, I finished Fifty Shades Darker. It left me wanting to jump into the third book immediately, but sleep was more important.

Saturday morning I took my 16th Pure Barre class in April. I’m so close to completing the 20 class challenge! During the day, I met up with my friend Courtney for lunch and shopping. That evening, a few of us went out for drinks and dancing at Closed for Business and Oku. Much later, somebody (no, not me) had a wise idea of going to IHOP. After being convinced they had “healthy options” on their menu, I went along with the gang.

My friend Dodd ordered probably the most disgusting thing on the entire menu. Country fried steak with um, “gravy.” It was just awful looking…

And I had the face to prove it.

I ordered one of the healthy menu options (egg whites, toast, fruit, and “bacon”) and it was terrible. Just terrible. Now I know why I don’t eat here. We did have a lot of fun though. The people watching was incredible.

Sunday Funday was much more delicious! For brunch, Steve, Ryan, and I went to Butcher & Bee. This place is BYOB, and Steve surprised us with beer, champagne, and orange juice. The pineapple o.j. is money in a mimosa! The shark that Steve is holding is actually a bottle opener.

To eat, I had the Shaksuka, an Israeli dish of poached eggs in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic, cilantro, and a dollop of tahini served with crusty bread.

It was really good. We also shared a cream puff for dessert.

Yum and yum.

Sunday night, a bunch of us went bowling. And by a bunch of us, I mean Lauren and I with eight boys. She and I really enjoyed that ratio. We also kicked their behinds. I definitely dominated my lane on the last game.

I swear, it’s because I’m left-handed.

What was the best thing you did this weekend?

Weekend Update Part I

Friday: Charleston friends, you know Joe Girard, the afternoon DJ for 95sx? Well he’s a good buddy of mine and I think you should vote for him in the Charleston City Paper Awards! He deserves it! Speaking of Joe, he and I went to a tweet up on Friday night. Random! We were invited by a mutual twitter friend who I had never met. A few girls that I knew (in real life) were also going, so we figured the party was a great way to meet new people that we had already connected with online. It was so fun! Just like blogger meet-ups, but Twitter style. It’s also one of the few opportunities you get to introduce yourself by your twitter handle. Too bad mine is my actual name!

Saturday: Around noon, I went downtown to volunteer with my friend Dane from work. This particular group, called God’s People, meets every other Saturday for a picnic in the park, offering food, clothing, and other goods to the homeless. Not only do they provide meals and such, but they establish friendships and help them get off the street. It was really nice to see how everyone connected and I would love to go again. If anyone is interested in volunteering, please let me know!

After that, Boding and I went to a wine tasting at Winestyles in Town Center. I’ve been to their wine tastings several times and always have a lot of fun. You taste 5 different wines, learn about their pairings, and meet new people. We tried 2 whites and 3 reds. My favorite was The Federalist – a rich, full-bodied Zinfandel with bright berry character. I had no idea I liked Zinfandel. It had such great flavor.

After some shopping, we headed over to Papa Zuzu’s for dinner. Papa Zuzu’s is a casual, family-run Greek restaurant in Mt. Pleasant. Everything is made to order and extremely fresh. We started out with a platter of warm pita bread, hummus, and tzatziki sauce. Delicious.

I had the standard Chicken Gyro with a side of cucumber salad. Holy moly, this thing was huge. I could only finish half and was stuffed to the brim. It was loaded with chicken and lightly topped with tzatziki sauce and tomatoes. Boding got the lamb gyro and I can’t even begin to tell you how jealous I was. The meat was out of this world. If they weren’t closed on Sunday, I would be there tonight. Get there now!

Later that evening, I met some friends at the bowling alley. Ummm have I ever told you how much I love bowling? I really do. And I get kind of competitive. Guess who won all five games? This girl! Oh, such dorky things I’m proud of.

It’s like a trophy case on my blog right now. My friend Chris pointed out that my bowling name (well, what shows on the screen), XTI, sounds like a stock symbol.

Now don’t think that my bowling skills have pumped up my ego or anything. I’m still the same dorky little girl that cannot dance. I’m so white. It’s great. Enjoy a little clip of Boding and me dancing to “Can’t Touch This.”

Points of Interest:

• :24 – Boding’s face. Omg.
• 1:46 – I think I just choked on my gum.
• 1:49 – I tell my roommate, Jenna, to join in. She declines.
• 2:14 – Oh, just blowing a bubble.
• 2:37 – Hi Jenna! Watch her stand on the table to blow the candle out. She’s even shorter than I am!
• 3:17 – “Yes, I have the crown!” Competitive little brat.
• 3:24 – Ironic that I have the crown, as I pretty much lose it here.

Weekend Update Part II coming soon!

Hope you all have a wonderful day off. Happy Birthday, Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!