Destin Days 2 & 3

Friday: Boat Day! Margaret and I, along with her brother and sister, took the family’s boat out to Crab Island. There were a ton of boats, but believe me when I say that we didn’t go unnoticed. How the heck would we wearing these ridiculous headbands? Oh, and matching bikinis. We didn’t purposely both pack them, but when we found out that we had, we couldn’t resist wearing them together! Dorks.

Look how clear the water is!

While on the water, we spotted quite the fancy party boat. We soooooooortaaaaaa kinda wanted to be sunbathing on the roof of that thing.

I also spotted a lime green boat!

And a pretty all white house.

After a couple hours in the sun, we met Mama Maclin at Dewey Destin’s, a seafood restaurant on the water. We shared the smoked tuna dip appetizer. It was surprisingly light on the mayo – thank goodness! It was delicious.

I had the grilled mahi basket with corn, potatoes, and coleslaw. I really liked how the seafood was simple but full of flavor. No nonsense in messing with fresh fish!

After such a light meal, we did something really naughty. We celebrated National Doughnut Day!! I still can’t believe we did this. Krispy Kreme was handing out free doughnuts all day long. Margaret’s little sister insisted that we get some and we didn’t argue. Mama Maclin even asked if we could have hats. As if we needed more crap to put on our heads…

Saturday: Pool Day! On our last day, we felt like being lazy by the pool. It was soso hot. The temperature raised to well over 100*. I liked it.

That afternoon, we four girls got pedicures. It had been too long since I had gotten one, and all the dancing at Trio had caught up with me…er, my feet? I got an orangey color that was strangely similar to that of a persimmon. I hate feet and I also hate that I’m putting a FOOT on my blog, but whatever, I hope you’ll love me anyway. Pretty please?

Next, we did a bit more shopping. I picked up this cute summer dress from Forever 21:

I also fell in L-O-V-E with one of Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers perfumes at Sephora. Meet “G of the Sea.” This limited edition summer scent is “a citrusy woody floral with hints of crisp apple, magical water lily, and the sweet surge of crushed berries.” Mmmmmmmmmm. I might have to buy this.

Saturday evening, Margaret and I went to Baytown for dancing and drinks. We snapped a Blackberry photo and somehow a dude managed to creep in the back! Ha. 

We drove the 8 hours home today and I’ve been slowly settling in. I love vacations, but I always love coming back to my bed. Hope you all had a great weekend!!

I May Be Crazy But I Can Make Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese!

All of my negative traits must be forgiven, for I can make some killer risotto.

And cookies.

But really, I am a CLUMSY MESS. It’s not a joke. My attention span is unreal. I’m either unable to focus on anything, or I’m hyper focused on one thing. Luckily, I tend to be hyper focused at work, as long as I have my music on.

A typical Whole Foods shopping adventure for me includes a)knocking something over, b)dropping something, c)ramming something or someone with my cart, d)losing my cart, or e)all of the above. Today, while purchasing Arborio rice for my dinner, I had a moment. You know those bins at Whole Foods? I had pulled down the handle to release Arborio rice into my bag and then heard my phone go off and for some reason, I just walked away. While the handle was still down.

I made it rain Arborio rice all over that place.

This girl looked at me like I was all sorts of stupid, but I looked at her and laughed, because really, how serious could this be? It’s freaking rice. It costs like 2 cents and you have to laugh at life, right?

I walked out of Whole Foods and chuckled to myself the entire ride home. Then the cooking began! I was in the mood for something comforting, so the beet risotto that Lucy’s mom had made us came to mind. It was time to recreate her masterpiece!

I used a combination of her recipe and one that Jenna recently posted on Tasty Kitchen.

Beet Risotto

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 medium beets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt & pepper to taste
• crumbled goat cheese, for topping

Preparation:

1. Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot.

2. Add the beets and onion, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the rice, chicken broth, and balsamic vinegar. Increase the heat. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the risotto is creamy, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).

4. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Sprinkle with the goat cheese. Serve immediately.

While chopping the beets, I nicked my palm with the knife. Then I realized I had no idea if I had broken the skin because my entire hand was red anyway! Aren’t beets fun?!

Despite spilling rice and cutting my palm, this meal was ridiculously good. It was creamy and comforting with a nice hint of thyme. The goat cheese balanced out the tangy balsamic and also added to the creaminess. I’m kind of glad I didn’t invite any friends over because I want this alllllllllll to myself!

Along with the beets, I had some Swiss chard that I sautéed in olive oil with garlic and crushed red pepper. Quite a colorful meal.

Now apparently I am not the only crazy in Charleston. Check out this dude I spotted walking down King Street last weekend. HOT PANTS! They are bright yellow and his hair is blue. I found it to be such perfect timing that he was walking by a fire hydrant when I spotted him. They match!

XO!