Celebrating the Holidays

December is pretty much over. Okay, okay, we still have Christmas and New Year’s Eve but um, where did the time go? I’ve been so busy that I wouldn’t even know what the date was unless I had an advent calendar. And then I got so busy that I forgot about the calendar and just started eating random days out of chronological order. Who does that? One day was really special because I got to eat four days that I had skipped. Nothing better than a morning chocolate overdose.

One of the first holiday celebrations was going to the Festival of Lights on James Island with TJ. (Gosh he hasn’t been on the blog in a while.) You drive through 3 miles of light displays.

Reindeer:

Our bridge!

A mermaid. I flipped over this one.

In the middle of the drive, you can get out for shopping, food, and SANTA. Yes, I went there. Straight to his lap!

I was definitely the only adult (until they made TJ sit with me), but according to this sign, it was legal.

After I made Santa’s day (trust me, he told me he liked it), we roasted marshmallows. So festive.

Naturally I got marshmallow all over my face.

This past weekend, I went to a friend’s Christmas party. Amanda and I had a little too much fun with the new Bethenny Frankel Skinnygirl cocktails. She brought the Sangria and I bought the Cranberry Cosmo. I didn’t love the Sangria, but the Cosmo was delicious. Amanda preferred the Sangria, so it was a win win. I’m sure our faces prove that.

The mistletoe headband came on for the second party I went to. As much as I want to explain Boomer’s strange outfit to you, I just can’t. Let’s just say we went to a “future” themed  party and he doesn’t typically dress this way. I’m glad I can embarrass him in front of all my readers though. #notsorry

As you can see, not everyone dressed like a mountain man. Say hi to Jason.

How have you been celebrating the holidays?

Do you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or are you a Scrooge?

At what age did you stop sitting on Santa’s lap? I’m not stopping!!!

Survey Saturday

Sure, why not.

1. What time did you get up this morning? Don’t ask me that on a Saturday. Just don’t even go there. 

2. How do you like your steak? I don’t care for steak really. But when I do eat it, I want it rare.

3. What was the last movie you saw at the theater? Breaking Dawn!

4. What is your favorite TV show? Um. Jeopardy? I don’t really watch t.v.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? That’s a major life decision. I don’t make those. I always thought I’d end up in FL but I do love Charleston!

6. What did you have for breakfast? Plain Greek yogurt + peanut butter + raspberry preserves + an orange.

7. Do you wear glasses or contacts?  Glasses as needed. Like when I eat froyo.

8. What food do you despise? Raw onions.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? LBH – Chick-fil-A brings me more joy than any other restaurant.

10. Favorite dressing? White balsamic or any fruity vinaigrettes.

11. What’s your favorite movie? American Beauty.

12. What are your favorite clothes? Dresses, sandals, bathing suits. I hate Winter clothes.

13. Where would you visit, this weekend, if you had the chance? NYC! To see Lucy and Kaye.

14. How many tattoos do you have? 1 1/2. Okay, 1 and 1 in the removal process.

15. Where would you want to retire? Doesn’t everyone go to FL?

16. What is your desktop photo? Dom. Tiled.

17. Where were you born? Concord, MA.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? College football, but let’s face it, am I really watching?

19. How many siblings? 3 brothers.

20. Favorite pastime/hobby? Blogging, hello!!

21. Coffee Drinker?  Yes

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night owl for sure.

24. Do you have any pets? That would be a bad idea.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? The mistletoe headband is coming out tonight.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? In 5th grade I wanted to be a brain surgeon. Then I thought about being a librarian but obviously I am way too loud for that.

27.  What is your favorite color? Green.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog.

29. Are you married? To my blog.

30. Always wear your seat belt? Most of the time.

31. Been in a car accident? Pshhhhhhh

32. Any pet peeves? Loud chewers, gum smackers, slow talkers, slow walkers, slow story tellers, slow computers, slow music, slow anything. Except for slow cookers, those are pretty cool.

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Margherita pizza. Or chicken.

34. Favorite Flower? Don’t have one. I’m not a female.

35. Favorite ice cream? Cookie dough. Oreo. Peanut butter coffee. Or Chick-fil-A IceDream.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chick-fil-A

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? I think only once.

38. From whom did you get your last email? Kaye.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Just one?! Um. Piperlime.

40. Like your job? Yes!

The Friday Five

1. What I’m Reading:

I picked this book up from the library for two reasons: 1)Ellen is hysterical. 2)I say that all the time. I haven’t started it yet, but I’m sure it’s a gem.

2. What I’m Listening to: NOT CHRISTMAS MUSIC. I can’t get into it this year. I do love “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation:

3. What I’m Watching: Dom Mazzetti on repeat. Can’t stop watching this tool. Here’s the latest video about Christmas.

4. What I’m Eating: Um, did you see my post on Hall’s Chophouse? What else… Mmm, these.

5. What I’m Pinning: Oven fried pickles ! ! ! ! ! !

What are you up to this weekend? So far I have plans to work out & have lunch with Amanda, a Christmas party, a photo shoot, maybe some Trio dancing action… HAVE FUN!

Hall’s Chophouse

As a girl who isn’t the biggest fan of red meat, you may be surprised to hear that Hall’s Chophouse is one my very favorite restaurants in Charleston. Hall’s is a family run New York style steakhouse located on Upper King. Upon entering the dimly lit, plush restaurant, you will be immediately greeted by someone from the staff or even one of the family members themselves. And when I say greeted, I don’t mean someone says hello – you’re either getting your hand shaken or hugged. The Halls are genuinely happy to see you and appreciative of you dining in their restaurant.

Although I honestly eat at Hall’s (mostly bar seating) about twice a month, I’m always willing to go when a friend wants to. Always. Amanda and I decided we needed a date night, and as she’s only ever eaten at the bar with me, we decided to go all out.

We started the night off with a really smooth bottle of wine.

I recommended that we get the shrimp appetizer. It’s absolutely delicious. Crispy shrimp served in what I assume is a ginger chile sauce with a hint of heat.

My steak loving friend appropriately ordered filet. As soon as she took her first bite, she let out a long “Mmmm.” I had the same reaction when she gave me a sample. It was just so…buttery. Side dishes are served family style, aka large and in charge. Amanda chose the macaroni and cheese shown above. Dare I use the word buttery to describe this as well? Cheese, butter, cream…what else hurts my heart at the same times as it makes it so happy?

I have had almost all of the non-red meat entrees as Hall’s except for the Tuna, which was highly recommended by our server. That was an easy decision. I was most intrigued by the gastrique – this sweet, citrusy sauce did not disappoint.

Apparently it pays to be a regular, because Tommy sent out my favorite dessert: whiskey bread pudding. I first had their bread pudding over a year ago when I wasn’t even sure what bread pudding even was. A friend ordered it and I am so glad he did. It’s the softest piece of brioche with cinnamon and cherries, drizzled in a praline sauce. It’s so good, I get emotional.

Amanda and I had joked about being on a “date” ealrier that day. She purposefully wore a blazer, saying that she was "the man” tonight. We couldn’t resist taking a festive picture in front of the tree.

In summary,

• Angela, our server was very sweet and attentive
• Portions, as always, were very generous
• Ambience is warm and very welcoming
• They have my absolute favorite salad: the Blackened Salmon Salad
• GET THE BREAD PUDDING

When it came time to pay for the bill, Amanda and I took advantage of Serve, a new digital payment platform that we both signed up for. With Serve (from American Express), you can organize your money, send and receive funds, and manage payment requests — all from a single, unified online account. Using her regular debit card, Amanda paid for the bill. I then logged into my account using the Serve smartphone app, and sent her a payment for my half. She immediately received the payment, and then transferred it back to her bank account, which had been linked to her Serve account. Easy, peasy! The serve system would be so helpful for larger parties – the server doesn’t have to collect multiple credit cards and the party members can send their portion of the bill to whomever pays. Check it out!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a $250 stipend to try Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use.  Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found here.

What I’m Loving Wednesday

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Chick-fil-A is coming out with the new cow watches tomorrow. I’ve been waiting like a month for these silly things. See ya later Michael Kors – the cows have replaced you.

Ok, let’s be real. MK isn’t going anywhere – I’ll just wear these to the gym/while running.

2. Nancy discovered a new fancy way to transport wine on the Uncommon Goods site. Classy!

But even more amazing is the Wine Rack from The Beer Belly site. With this contraption, I can turn my barely Bs into beer-filled Ds!? 1 win for me, 1 win for my mental state, and shoot, a win for the boys too. And it’s only $29.95. That’s cheaper than most Victoria’s Secret bras.

3. Speaking of clothing, I am mildly obsessed with these ballet flats I got from Gap a couple weeks ago. They are hands down the most comfortable flats I’ve ever worn.

4. Next Monday, I get to meet Sierra from Posh Meets Pavement.

Sierra is an American girl living in South Africa with her new husband and his family. I have been reading about her adventures on her blog for a while. She’s smart, adorable, perfectly fit, and even got married in my city! Check out her blog!

5. Dom Mazzetti. Thanks to my friend Ryan, I have fallen in some type of love with a youtube sensation. I could watch Dom’s videos on repeat for an entire day. Honestly, I have watched every one he’s made. This one is my absolute favorite:

You’re welcome.

I’m also not ashamed to say that my obsession with this fake meathead has caused me to purchase these two t-shirts.

Watch his videos to understand them.

I swear I dress really normal despite what the Chick-fil-A watches and Dom t-shirts might imply…

Tell me what you’re loving lately! xx!

Skinny Taste Chicken Tikka Masala

It’s that time of year…when my Grammy is here! Yep, that old hag awesome lady visits her family in the South twice a year. She lives in Massachusetts with the other half of our family, but we’re lucky enough to get her for about 10 weeks a year. Tuesday evening I went to my aunt’s house for family dinner. Both my aunt and Grammy are currently on the Weight Watchers program – and doing really well! Auntie Kelly has lost over 20 pounds and looks great. Grammy just started, but I know she’ll do well too.

One of the websites that Kelly uses for Weight Watchers recipes is Skinny Taste. She’s made several of the recipes and has really enjoyed them. For dinner, we had Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala.

Nobody loved the recipe, but it was edible. Over the Summer, Amanda and I made Jenna’s recipe for Channa Masala and it was a thousand times better. It’s actually one of the best recipes I’ve ever made. She also has a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe, but I haven’t made that…yet.

After we ate, I caught up with my two favorite women in my life over some red wine. I have to keep them updated on the boys (men?) in my life and they give the best advice. Kelly reminded me that I should “just stay single and maybe adopt a child one day.” Ha. I’m okay with the first part of that sentence but the good Lord knows I’m too scatterbrained for a little Xtina.

Feeling slightly unsatisfied from dinner, I started snacking. On pickles, obvi. My little cousin eats these tiny individually packaged pickles. Convenience factor: 10!

Do you want to know what a possessed person looks like? Here, I can show you.

I get way too excited over these overly salted cukes.

Do you have a favorite Weight Watchers recipe you’d like to share?

Pickles: love or hate? I feel like so many men abhor pickles. Anyone know why?

Highlights From The Weekend

Friday: My best friend Nancy came over for dinner and some catch-up time. Catch up, not ketchup. Although now that I think of it, ketchup time sounds like a great idea. I made us spaghetti & meatballs and, of course, managed to make a mess. While reaching in the cabinet for the spaghetti, a couple other pastas went flying.

And then as I was walking back to my computer, I dropped the one I was going to use. Like what? I need to work on my motor skills.

Saturday: Now here’s one of the many reasons I love twitter. That morning, I tweeted: A few minutes later: A few hours later:Be careful what you tweet; you just might get it.

This is a bold statement, but Hall’s Chopshouse might have my 2 most favorite salads ever. I strongly urge you to try their Blackened Salmon Salad or their Beet Salad. That night, I went for the beets:

Joe came out for a bit too, just long enough for me to take this rather romantical photo with him.

And then Danielle and I went to like 75 different bars. Or just three. Surprisingly, the bar we stayed at the longest was O'Malley’s. Random as ever – college students live here -- but the people watching was impressive. I saw this girl who danced just like Snooki. In other words, I saw her underwear about 5 different times.

Sunday: Another one of my best friends, Nikki, had her baby on Friday! I went to go visit them in the hospital. She had the most beautiful baby boy! Meet baby Liam who was born weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces!

He looks like our love child. But seriously, how cute is he?! I’m so excited and proud of Nikki & William.

While at the hospital, I realized that I am definitely not the only freakshow who carries around random food items in her purse. Nikki’s mom carries around a PEPPER GRINDER. When I asked her why, she said she puts it in her ketchup. No joke, the woman grinded (ground?) up some pepper right into her ketchup. She says she can’t eat ketchup without it. I tried and it is really good.

What weird food items do you need to carry around with you? I almost always have a snack, but used to carry around a bottle of cinnamon. I know my beautiful friend Katie carries around salad dressing.  

Ketchup: love it or hate it? Weirdest thing you put it on? You guys know I love the Chick-fil-A ketchup.