Fall 2012 Bucket List

First off, I’d like to give a shout out to Jane, one of my favorite bloggers, who writes In The Pink & Green. She’s got an awesome blog, writes well, has a great sense of style and seems like such a sweetheart. I hope to meet her one day! Yesterday she posted a Fall 2012 bucket list and inspired me to make my own.

Food

• Bake at least 1 new recipe with pumpkin
• Bake at least 1 new recipe with apples
• Make 1 new recipe per week using my CSA produce
• Use the double waffle iron I won on The Shiksa’s blog

Fitness/Health

• Run at least one registered 5k – the Pajama Run and/or the Reindeer Run
• Reduce sugar intake during the week, feel less guilty about indulging on the weekends
• Continue doing 30 pushups and/or 1 minute planks every hour at work with Dane

Education

• Attend a cooking class
• Read at least one book a week (I know, I’m crazy.)
• Go to the 30th Annual That BIG Book Sale
• Attend a Wine Awesomeness Wine School class

Fun

• Have a girls’ beach house weekend on IOP using the gift certificate Amanda & I won from the Bacardi contest
• Celebrate my baby brother’s 16th birthday – ahh!
• See Breaking Dawn Part II on November 16th…at midnight, of course
• Halloween!!

Travel

• Go to at least 1 college football game this  year
• Visit my family in Massachusetts
• Visit my grandparents in North Carolina

Fall officially starts September 22nd and ends December 21st. I have plenty of time to cross everything off!

What’s on your Fall bucket list?

What’s your favorite thing about Fall? I bet 50% of you are going to say PSLs….

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. As I was walking down King St on Sunday afternoon, I spotted this graffiti:

2. I went back to Ann Taylor on Monday because their sale got even better. 60% off? Yeah, give me one of everything. I snagged this beautiful top. It’s sheer cream at the top with a keyhole back. So ready for Spring. Pastels!

3. @GsElevator is my new favorite twitter feed. It’s a bunch of quotes overheard in the Goldman Sachs elevators. Some of the things these guys say are unbelievable. These are actually very tame:

4. This book. Eye makeup is my favorite to play with. It’s much easier to shamelessly wink at men when you’ve got fancy eyes.

5. Kashi’s Banana Chocolate Chip Soft ‘n Chewy Bar. Thanks to Rachel for telling me about it!

I’m also dying to find this flavor, but they don’t sell it anywhere around me. If anyone wants to find one for me, I would love them foreverrrr.

6. It’s FEBRUARY!! I have so much fun stuff planned this month:

• Champagne (v.) for a Cause party at Fish on Friday
• Aziz Ansari at Theatre99 on Saturday
• Super bowl Sunday
• Lunch with Ashley, Holly, and Trish at Square Onion on Monday
• Wine & Painting class w/ Boding at Fear No Easel on Tuesday
• Hair appointment! YES. Thrilling, really.
• Bacco Cooking Class the week after
• Valentine’s Day – blogger swap presents! Also, if you guys know Cupid, tell him to stab me, please.
• NYC!!! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this.

Tell me something fun that’s going on in your life! New foods, music, books, planned vacations?

Weekend Highlights: Pumpkin Beer, Clemson Wins, The Bagel Shop

The highlights…

Friday: Exhausted from this week’s workouts, I jumped on the opportunity to take Body Flow for the first time. Body Flow = Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates. Body Flow is supposed leave you feeling “centered and calm.” I don’t know that I’ve ever felt “centered and calm.” It was a nice stretch and and all, but mostly I just left feeling ready to party.

So I did. Boding and I picked up 2 types of beer From Trader Joe’s and met my roommate and her boyfriend back at home. They had just bought a case of Coor’s Light and Jenna suggested we play Circle of Death. What are we, 21? Mentally, I think so.

This was one of the beers we picked up. It was so…um, pumpkiny. Weird. Not a fan.

Circle of Death left us knowing a little too much about each other, as per usual.

Saturday: I met Mariah at Midtown to watch the second half of the Clemson game. Those tigers are undefeated this season! After their 59-39 win against the Tar Heels, they’re now ranked at #5!

They’re kind of making me want to be a tiger (tigress?) for Halloween…

After the game, I met a friend for lunch at The Bagel Shop. This tiny little shop is located downtown on George Street, right outside CofC’s campus, my alma mater. Had it been there when I was in college, I would have made it part of my dining ritual. Along with the expected bagels and breakfast sandwiches, they also have paninis, wraps, salads, and baked goods. If you’re thirsty, stop in at the coffee bar or grab a cup of organic tea. Even better are the heart healthy options like oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit cups.

While I would have loved to grab an everything bagel (my fave!), it was 3 p.m., so my friend and I opted to try two items from the lunch menu.

I have an everlasting love affair with basil, so when I saw the Turkey Panini on the menu, I knew I had to try that.

Turkey Panini: Sliced turkey, pepper jack cheese, and sliced green apple with basil pesto aioli on focaccia

This was my second sandwich this week that had apple slices on it. Lovers of the sweet and salty combo will appreciate this sandwich –- although the green apple is tart, it delicately balances out the spiciness of the pepper jack cheese.

Our second choice had one of my other favorite sandwich elements: avocado!

Grilled shrimp, avocado, mixed greens, tomato and sautéed onions and red peppers with cilantro-lime aioli in a tomato wrap

Obviously, this was requested sans onions. I was impressed with the large chunks of fresh avocado but a little overwhelmed by the amount of tomatoes. I guess it’s never a bad thing to get your daily requirements of lycopene though.

Both items were served with super crunchy pita chips and a pickle spear for around just $8 each. Considering how good lunch was, I’m convinced I’ll have to go back for breakfast. The Bagel Shop claims to serve traditional New York style bagels – dense, chewy, and doughy interior with a crisp exterior. Guess I’ll have to return to find out for sure…or maybe I just want to go back for the blueberry cream cheese.

CofC students and downtown residents: I know you’re reading…you’re soooo close. Go!

The rest of the weekend…to be continued…

Halloween costume ideas: lady tiger or devil? I’ve never been either. The previous few years I’ve been a Greek goddess, a bunny, a nun, and a cop. Any other ideas are welcomed.

Paninis or wraps? Favorite type of bagel?

What I’m Loving Wednesday Version 8.0

Geez, how many versions can I do? This could get to WILW Version 8 billion.

1. College football starts Saturday!!! Where is everyone watching the games?

2. Speaking of football, the first game I’m (probably) going to is the Clemson vs. Auburn game on September 17th. I’ll be wearing orange to stay neutral. I just bought three dresses online in preparation. Hopefully at least one will fit.

3. In other fashion news, my new blog friend Sierra @ Posh Meets Pavement sent me a picture of her “bracelet brigade.”

How cute is she? Sierra went to UNC, got married here in Charleston, and now lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Check out her blog!

4. In food news, Ashton sent me this picture message a couple days ago:

“You can now get your favorite ketchup packs at Harris Teeter. I am purchasing them because any true ketchup lover needs them.” Smart lady!

5. This Hello Kitty duct tape I found at Target. Of course I immediately sent a pic to Katie. But seriously, what can I do with this? It’s too cute not to use.

6. I’m still incapable of typing on my phone – touch screens are tricky!! However, I’ve been so amused with my typos. My new favorite? Instead of typing Christina Orso, I type Christina Oreo. YUM!

7. I was telling my coworker that I wanted to read this book that was mentioned in church on Sunday. He goes to the same church and knew exactly which book I was talking about. When I walked into work this morning, he had left his copy on my desk! :)

8. Tonight I get to hang out with Sarah!! I’m heading to her house after work so we can cook dinner and drink wine!

XO!!

Happy Birthday, Margaret!

Margaret:

Since we have been friends, we’ve had an unbelievable amount of fun.

We’ve danced with swords on more than one occasion:

We’ve worn horrible sunglasses at night:

We’ve dressed up in ridiculous costumes:

We’ve consumed way too many drinks…some delicious and nutritious:

and some downright disgusting:

You’ve helped me be a good blogger, despite us dropping this cake:

Remember this cake that was originally meant for our ex-boyfriends but turned into a “Bestie Cake?” Sorry boys, our love was stronger! Ha.

You helped me (semi) understand football, which is still shocking to most people:

I showed you my love for Chick-fil-A,

and you showed me your love for ice cream.

We celebrated Auburn winning the National Championship,

and me winning Charleston’s Best local blog.

We’ve had lots of smiles…

but even better were the times we laughed so hard that our eyes rolled back in our head:

I promise to always let you squish my face…

and be the “big sister” you never had.

THANK YOU for being an amazing friend: listening to me cry, bringing me soup when I am sick, telling me when I’m acting coocoo, but most of all, BEING SO MUCH FUN!!

Can’t wait to for our birthday party tomorrow! XOXO!!

Grammy’s Back! Softball, Football, and Perfectly Frank’s

Grammy’s back for Spring! We all greatly anticipate her arrival because each visit she gets a little bit kookier. As soon as I picked her up from the airport, she was already complaining about her age. She told me, “Oh my gosh, Christina, I’ve really begun screwing up the English language! I actually have to think really hard to spell things now!” Haha.

I took a risk and parked in a handicapped spot so she wouldn’t have to walk far. Luckily I didn’t get caught and she’s only handicapped in the grammar department.

Off we went to meet the rest of the family at my cousin Gabrielle’s softball game. We arrived just in time to watch her team win.

All the purple and orange reminded me of Clemson.

Here is our softball player/model. So cute!

After the game, we all went to Perfectly Frank’s for dinner. Perfectly Frank’s is a unique restaurant in downtown Summerville that features loaded hot dogs, fresh tacos, sandwiches, salads, and more. They have over 25 different types of hot dogs with some very interesting toppings.

Uncle Johnny ordered two interesting hot dogs. Here is the “Frankie J” with grilled ham, bacon, onions, fresh pineapple, and a creamy kickin' hot sauce.

He also had a hot dog that was essentially a reuben, with pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing.

Grammy had the “Aretha Franklin” with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, slaw and fried onions.

Gabrielle had a hot dog topped with chili and mustard. I think I spy some French Fries in there.

Kelly and I split two orders of tacos: shrimp tacos with cabbage, fresh fruit salsa and watermelon aioli……and jerk chicken tacos. The shrimp tacos were much better. We also split a basket of sweet potato fries. Sooooooo good.

The inside of Perfectly Frank’s is bright and cheery with unique paintings all over the walls. I think they’re also Clemson fans.

Last Fall I asked Gabrielle if she wanted to be a Clemson fan or a Gamecocks fan. She replied, “Oh, definitely Clemson! I love the kitty paw.” Kitty!! Bahahha.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her he’s a tiger.