The Birth of Mactina

Congratulations are in order! Over the weekend, I made a serious purchase.

At 13.3” and 4.5 pounds, meet my child, Mactina!

I actually attacked King Street with my debit card on Saturday.

Boding was nice enough to carry the child as my bags started building up.

My motherly instincts should have kicked in by now, right? They have not. I can barely work this thing! I might need to hit up the Genius Bar for some lessons with the senior citizens.

All jokes aside, I’m curious to know what you bloggers use for writing your posts. I currently write with Windows LiveWriter and publish through Blogger. I know, I should have made the switch to WordPress long ago, but that’s another issue. I may continue using my PC to write posts until I figure this out.

Mac users: How long did it take you to get used to your Mac? What are some must-have apps I need?

Bloggers: What the heck do I use to write my posts? I refuse to write in the blogger platform – ick!

The Weekend Consisted of…

A miniature run in I’On.

Hanukkah with Sean’s family!

The pup included. Love this ball of fur!

But I think I love latkes more. I can’t believe this was my first time having them. SO WORTH the strike.

The usual Mi Xao lunch with Danielle on Saturday. Tom Yum Kung, extra spicy.

Random drinks with Sarah and Moffett at The Shelter. In my gym clothes. I like teetering on the fine line between disgusting and overly confident.

Embracing my inner Mount Pleasant housewife, doing a little Christmas shopping at Target. Ha ha.

Long run of the week with Danielle! She’s training for a half marathon in LA two weeks before mine. Wish her luck!

Celebrating with best friends at Mama Holloway’s annual eggnog drop in.

What did YOU do!?

What I’m Loving Wednesday 11.7.12

1. When my old roommate moved out, she sold her dining room table. Until I replace it, the dining room is empty. It has become the “Activity Room,” aka the place I do handstands.

In this space, we have enough room to exercise, blog, do arts & crafts, have dance parties, or maybe even play spin the bottle.

2. I was browsing through the Juvenile section of the library this week and stumbled upon this gem:

What kind of message are we trying to send our adolescent girls? Not all men are dogs! Just half of them. ;)

3. I used to never (ever!) drink Red Bull. Then I met Danielle, a Red Bull rep and enthusiast. Since then, I've learned the magic of having Red Bull wings from drinking RBVs. They make for incredible dance sessions. Today Danielle informed me that the sugar in red bull is produced from a sugar beet. No wonder why I love the drink!

4. If any of you were wondering if I had commitment issues, you are correct. I can’t even keep a cart for more than one aisle.

5. I secretly want to decorate the apartment like this for the holidays:

I call it “Pastels meet Winter Wonderland.” All of that glitz was at Marshall’s if you’re interested in glamming out your home, too.

6. Speaking of glamorous, I found this pretty nail polish in the clearance bin at Target. L’Oreal’s “Brit Invasion.”

7. Once a fan of hipsters, always a fan of hipsters.

Is that not great? It’s a totally different kind of hipster, but still, the look of pure joy on my face cracks me up. It is the exact same face I make after a shot of tequila, haha!!

I want to thank each and every one of you who commented on yesterday’s post about my half marathon training. You are all so sweet and I will remember that as I cross the finish line. Big hugs!

What I’m Loving Wednesday 10.3.12

1. I’m loving that it’s October, but Charleston’s weather is still in the 80s.  I’m not ready for Fall clothes. I hate Fall/Winter clothes. They make me feel dark, boring, and frumpy. Thank goodness I can still wear shorts and dresses for a few more weeks.

2. Danielle and I didn’t plan on both wearing colored jeans on Saturday; she appeared at my apartment glowing in these orange jeans right after I had just “painted” on my electric blue.

Let’s just say they did not go unnoticed and we are both convinced we should wear colored jeans every weekend.

3. Because it’s October, my brain wants me to eat Fall-ish breakfasts. Check out this sugar bomb of a breakfast combo. It’s pretty much dessert.

4. Speaking of sweets, Amanda and I have been trying to cut back on our sugar intake during the week. We were craving something sweet after our salty dinner (of course), so I dug into my stash. I asked her, “Who ran 5 miles today?” She looked at me and said “Um, we did…” And then I gave her five pretzel M&Ms.  One M&M per mile seems logical, right?

That picture makes me laugh; it just looks so pathetic.

5. I found this prayer in The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook and made it pretty with instagram (@christinaorso). I just love it!

6. Random purchase of the week: Scentportables from Bath & Body Works. They were buy 3 get 1 free, so I left with Marshmallow Fireplace, Mahogany Leather, Apple Crumble, and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.

My car currently smells like mahogany leather. I’ve got cloth seats, but trust me, I’m tricking everyone.

7. I ordered an Iphone cover on Etsy last week and I’m really excited for its arrival. Here is the proof. Cute. Cute. Cute. I can’t wait to see it in person and slap it on my phone. Gently slap.

Check out the store PrintsandPapiere. They have a ton of styles.

Have you jumped on the colored jean bandwagon? What’s your favorite color to wear?

What does your car smell like? Don’t tell me garbage or french fries!

Bell’s Brewery Beer Dinner at The Coastal Cupboard

One of my favorite stores in the Belle Hall Shopping Center is The Coastal Cupboard, “the Lowcountry’s most complete kitchen store.” They’ve got all sorts of tools, gadgets, gourmet food products, and gifts. I could spend hours just poking around looking at all the fun kitchen toys. Aside from being a store, The Coastal Cupboard offers cooking classes taught by Chef Stephen Harman.

My friend Eric, another food writer, and I were both invited to select a class to attend. The Bell’s Brewery Beer Dinner appealed to both of us, so we signed up, and my “sister wife” Amanda came along for the fun. The class started at 6:30, shortly after the store was closed so we had the entire place to ourselves (and about 18 other guests).  We were seated and given the recipes with room to take notes.

We got down to business right away. And by business I mean beer. The first bottle we tried was Lager of the Lakes. I’m not much of a lager fan, but I actually quite liked this one! While we sipped, Chef Stephen started on the first dish: Maple Bacon Mac N Cheese.Look how creamy that is. Guess how. Butter, flour, whole milk, maple syrup, and cheese. Paula Deen would be so proud.

The second course was Rahmschnitzel, which is essentially veal cutlets that have been breaded and pan seared, then cooked with cream, lemon juice, and herbs. MORE CREAM!

The Rahmschnitzel was paired with a Pale Ale. I liked this one a lot too.

The next dish was sort of a bonus; the chef was braising pork for another event but let us have quite the sample…and I’m so glad he did. It was fantastic! Alongside the pork were braised mustard greens.

The third beer we tried was Two Hearted Ale, which Eric said is one of the best-rated beers. I liked it, but had to give it to him or else I would have been bouncing all over the place. ;)

Our fourth and final course was dessert of course! For this, we tried the Kalamazoo Stout. I’ll be honest – there was no chance in hell I was drinking this. It was way too heavy for me. A man beer if you will. I was much happier with the dessert.

We had a slice of Chocolate Stout Cake with a scoop of Molasses Stout Ice Cream, both of which had been prepared in advance. I’m not really a fan of chocolate cake (weird, I know), but this was so rich, I couldn’t resist eating half of it. The ice cream? Oh, that went down easily.We had a great time at the cooking demonstration. Stephen gave us great tips, let us ask questions, and was very personable. I’d love to go to another class. Eric and I both suggested they do a class on pickling. Pickles + beer = heaven.

Thanks to The Coastal Cupboard for having us! Check out more classes here.

What I’m Loving Wednesday 8.15.12

1. For the longest time, I thought that the monogram stickers on girls’ cars were awful. But not as awful as the “Salt Life” stickers. What the hell do those even mean?! However, when I saw a fancy X, my credit card flew out of my purse. All on its own, I swear!

I suppose one letter isn’t as awful as all three. Nancy, I know you are shaking your head.

2. The day before I left Flat Rock, something made me look up The Christmas Tree Shops, a store that I frequented while living in Massachusetts. To those who aren’t aware, this place is not a Christmas store. It is a mecca of bargain-priced “necessities.” My mom used to drag me to The Christmas Tree Shops when I was little, specifically when we were at the Cape. (The windmill location!! <---Danielle, you know this!) Much to my surprise, a store had opened in Greenville, SC. I almost had a heart attack and definitely made a point to stop there on my way home. Pure nostalgia.

3. When my grandmother took my brother clothes shopping, they brought me home a Hello Kitty pen. I don’t care how old I am, I will never be too old for anything Sanrio.

4. This picture. I believe this was circa 1991.

5. I’ve been on a cracker kick lately. The Trader Joe’s Roasted Gorgonzola flavored crackers did not disappoint. I foresee myself buying this regularly. Don't be afraid if you don’t like gorgonzola; they have just the slightest hint of cheese.

6. After posting about Casual: The Series on Monday, I got a tweet from Lauren, the actress who plays Girl. Brush with fame, what! If Brian tweeted me, I would probably pass out.

Have you watched it yet? Get on it!

7. Thanks to Klout, I received a great perk: free business cards from Moo! (Add me as an influencer!) Though the options were very limited, I managed to make some adorable two-sided cards. Here’s the proof:

FRONT

BACK

And just like that I got a craving for cookies.

 

xo!