The Weekend Update

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?

The Friday Five 11.16.12

1. What I’m Reading: The Flexitarian Table by Peter Berley. This is an awesome cookbook! It’s got options for “vegetarians, meal lovers, and everyone in between.” There are a lot of beautiful photos and so many recipes I want to make. None seem very difficult and all very healthy.

2. What I’m Eating: These Simply Gingerbread pita chips by Stacy’s are really good. They taste just like their cinnamon flavor but “a little like Christmas” as my brother said. They’re seasoned with nutmeg and ginger. Grab a bag or two while you can!

3. Recipes I’m Bookmarking: Orzo with Caramelized Fall Vegetables & Ginger.

4. What I’m Listening to:  A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. After you see Breaking Dawn Part 2, you will appreciate this song SO much more. The movie, by the way, was sooooooooo good. I really loved how they recapped the entire saga through Bella’s eyes and credited all the actors at the end. So so good.

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN I’M ABOUT TO EAT MY FAVORITE FOOD

WHEN SOMEONE SAYS THEY DON’T LIKE AVOCADOS

Happy Friday! Go see Breaking Dawn!

Breaking Dawn Midnight Showing

Last night was the premiere of Breaking Dawn: Part I! Around 9 p.m., a few of us girls met up to head over to Cinebarre where they were having a pre-show party. They had tents set up with people serving food, handing out free glow-in-the-dark fangs, holding giveaways, and doing fortune readings! We got there pretty early to get a spot close to the front and center.

As soon as we got our fangs, we popped them in our mouths for photos. Sorry if these pictures disturb you – they disturb me too.

Amanda and me:

Mary and me:

It was so cold outside. Like in the 40s I think! Haha. We are not used to these arctic temps in the South.

Mary and I ventured over to the fortune teller. Mary said her reading was very accurate.

I thought my reading was just wacky. The only part that seemed true was when she said that I am typically aggressive and confrontational, haha. She then said that as I get older, I will become more feminine and less aggressive. WHAT?? I asked her if she was drinking a beer and she said no.

In case you haven’t seen it, here is the Breaking Dawn Trailer. It would give me chills every time I saw it on t.v.!

Once the movie came on, it was much easier to forget about how cold we were. I don’t want to give away any details, but  will say that I enjoyed the movie a lot! It was definitely my favorite of them all. There were a few comical parts, and only one very cheesy part. I actually got scared during the birthing and transformation scenes. Totally creepy…

Did you see Breaking Dawn Part: I last night? Or are you going this weekend? Let me know what you think!