2nd Wedding Anniversary

Two years ago today, surrounded by friends and family, I married my best friend.

 

We both had to work events today and honestly that is okay. We will come together at the end of the day, watch our wedding video and remember how perfect our wedding day was. Nothing over the top or fancy, just remembering how lucky we are to have found each other.

If anyone wants to see the best wedding trailer ever click on this link!

(Nope, totally not bias)

https://www.facebook.com/CinemaCouture#!/photo.php?v=4452166707775&set=vb.179323375418929&type=3&theater

P.S. We have planned a mini road trip for the weekend to celebrate, so don't worry. We aren't totally boring and old. ;)

Five on Friday

I'm linking up with my favs April at A. Liz Adventures and Christina at Carolina Charm for.....

 

ONE

I love T.J. Maxx and always walk out with something fun. After a quick trip recently I got two candles that I'm obsessed with. I loved every candle in the Everyday Luxe brand and at $5 each I was sold.

 

TWO

I have found another Trader Joe's love: Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries. I may have opened the container in the parking lot because I was so excited.

 

 

THREE

I scored some great sleepwear at Old Navy on clearance. Who doesn't need cute pajama pants and cute shorts?

 

 

FOUR

After hearing tons of people talk about it I finally caved and started watching Southern Charm, and of course I'm now addicted to it. I roll my eyes a lot at some of the stuff they say, but it's all very entertaining.

 

FIVE

I was walking our dog Camden yesterday and I little boy and his mother walked by and the boy kept saying "Big doggy, big doggy". I know it sounds crazy, but I forget how big Camden is until I see other dogs or someone points it out. He is just a pup to me. (Granted a big pup)

 

Leftover Easter Ham Recipe

I don't know about you, but we still have a staggering amount of Easter leftovers in the refrigerator. And that's after we sent a ton home with the family.

I had my monthly girls night of wine and appetizers last night and I needed to make something quickly after work. I looked in the fridge and saw leftover Easter ham, extra cheddar cheese (which was shredded by hand for the potatoes au gratin), and Pillsbury crescent rolls. Bingo! Ham and cheese pinwheels it is.

This was super easy to make and I even made Andy a homemade hotpocket kind of thing with the extra ingredients for dinner. We are terrible at eating leftovers, so if we can repurpose food it works better.

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

1-2 cups cubed ham

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mustard (I used plain yellow with a squeeze of honey)

Mayo

If you are starting with leftover ham, dice it up as small as your patience will allow.

Unroll the crescent rolls and pinch the edges together. I cut mine in half so the pinwheels would be small.

Mix the mayo and mustard together and spread on the dough. Then top with cheese and diced ham.

Start rolling it up and pinch the seam and ends together. Cut into slices as big or as little as you like.

Bake on a greased baking sheet at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve with a little extra mustard.

 

*P.S. The leftover pinwheels were great for breakfast this morning as well.*

Out Of My Comfort Zone

The other day a couple coworkers asked if I'd like to go to lunch. I said yes and jumped in their car.

I realized I didn't ask where we were going and we pulled up to a place I've never been called Good Life Cafe.

We sit down, look at the menu, and I immediately knew something was different. Turns out we were at a vegetarian, vegan, non-dairy, raw restaurant. Who know they had that in Columbia, SC?!?!?

Thankfully I was dining with an expert and let her guide (i.e. order for) me.

We got a cup of "queso" to share and I got the taco salad and silently planned to grab a cheese burger on the way home from work since I figured I would be starving.

Turns out, everything was delicious and I was crazy full after our meal. Everything is made out of nuts and veggies and while you feel full at the end you don't feel gross and weighed down. Everything tasted amazing and you forget instantly that "things are not as they seem".

While I have no intentions of giving up meat or dairy, I really liked Good Life Cafe and the fact that they are vegan.

All I can say is try it for yourself, I promise you will like it.

Five on Friday

I'm linking up with my favs April at A. Liz Adventures and Christina at Carolina Charm for.....

 

ONE

Yay for Friday! Let's start with some pretties. I'm loving navy and coral at the moment. The combo is very classy spring in my opinion.

(All pictures from Pinterest)

TWO

For my third trip to Charleston in a week I got a book on CD. I just ran into the library and the first one to catch my eye was Billy Crystal's autobiography Still Foolin 'Em. It's honestly wonderful. He is a fascinating person; not only as an actor, producer, & director, but he is an avid baseball fan and grew up around jazz music.

THREE
I don't think I should be allowed in Trader Joe's anymore. Every time I go in there I grab something new that I don't really need. Like White Cheddar Corn Puffs. They are crazy addictive and I can't stop eating them.

FOUR
I have decided Easter is my holiday. As in I am cooking so everyone come on over. Last year I cheated and bought a ham, but we had friends in town so I figured it was okay. But this year, I have my sites set on The Pioneer Woman's Glazed Easter Ham. Anyone ever tried it?

 

 

FIVE

Speaking of Easter, if I could have one thing in my imaginary Easter basket I would want Essie's Cute As A Button nail polish. I think it is the best spring color, somewhere between pink and coral.

 

 

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I can't say that I've ever had meatballs without pasta before, but when I saw these on Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers I knew I had to try them.

Let's just say they are amazing, you need to try them and leave it at that. No serious, make them tonight.

I used ground round, because it's what I had, and marinated mozzarella balls, but otherwise I followed Natalie's recipe.

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday Y'all!

This weekend I went on an express trip to Charleston, SC for a friend's bridal shower. It was great to see some of my sorority sisters and who wouldn't love an afternoon in Charleston. Sunday was spent in the yard riping out overgrowth like usual. One day I hope to actually be able to plant pretty things in our yard, but we have to get rid of the ugly stuff first.

One a totally different note: Chick-fil-As in South Carolina are testing smoothies on their menu. I picked up the Pineapple Mango with Spinach added this morning. It was awesome. If you are running late and need some fruits and veggies for breakfast I highly recommend it.

Easiest Way to Cut A Pineapple

My favorite fruit is pineapple, hands down. When we registered for wedding gifts I knew I had to have a Pineapple Cutter from Williams Sonoma. Andy thought I was crazy. I was super excited when we received the gift and I use it all the time. You can easily cut a pineapple in about 2 minutes and I love it!

Here's how it works.

Cut the top off the pineapple

Line the center of the cutter up with the core of the pineapple

Then just twist

Squeeze the sides to loosen the fruit, then pull straight up

Slide rings off the cutter and cut into wedges

You are left with a couple servings, depending on the size of your pineapple. This is a healthy snack with no added sugar, water, or high fructose corn syrup.

Weekend in Review

What a great weekend! We had absolutely nothing planned and really got a lot done.

Saturday morning we finally made it to Soda City Market on Main Street in Columbia, SC. There are lots of different venues all lined up and you can just wander around. We grabbed brunch (breakfast burrito, s'more crepe, coffee, and a strawberry, basil, ginger lemonade) from lots of different vendors, grabbed some homemade bread and cheese and leisurely browsed the other stalls.

Then we changed into t-shirts and spent the day in the yard. Despite the huge amount of pollen on the ground we rinsed the cars, mowed the lawn, moved around a bunch of pine straw, raked, and laid grass seed. Fingers crossed we can get more grass than weeds in our yard this year.

Sunday we waited for the rain that never came and just hung out at the house.

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Five on Friday

I'm linking up with my favs April at A. Liz Adventures and Christina at Carolina Charm for.....

 

One of my favorite parts of spring is all the food. Everything is light, bright, and fresh; it just makes you feel good to eat good food. So here are some of the items I am craving and excited about.

 

ONE

If you live in an area that has a Publix grocery store you probably already know that their deli makes the best sweet tea. Well they recently came out with a special green tea that is flavored with pineapple and mango. The fruit notes are light and so refreshing. This tea is amazing! If you have a Publix near, do yourself a favor and go get a half gallon.

 

TWO

Here is another score for Publix. Recently Laura over at The Reedy Review told me about the amazing basil plants that Publix has. I this is my second basil plant from there (thanks to the weird cold weather in March) and I'm so excited to plant it. Basil is one of my FAVORITE herbs and I can't wait to start using the fresh stuff.

 

THREE

Speaking of fresh, have you ever been to a meat market? And no, I'm not talking about a fraternity party, I'm talking about an actual place where they butcher and sell super fresh meat. I hadn't until this week when my husband found a local place that does a monthly deal. We got crazy amounts of meat (pork, chicken, and beef) in all different cuts for one lump sum. Everything went right in the freezer and we just pull something out each morning for dinner. We have been super impressed with our experience, anyone else tried it?

 

FOUR

I try to stay away from sodas generally, however sometimes you just want something more fun than water. I've really gotten into La Croix waters and during my trip to Target yesterday I spotted a new flavor. It's Cherry Lime. Has anyone tried it yet? I don't think it's too bad.

 

FIVE

To end on a high note, but not a healthy one, let's talk ice cream. Ben and Jerry's came out with a verison of their pints with a special "core" in the middle. We picked up the Hazed and Confused which combined chocolate and hazelnut ice cream with a nutella-like fudge core. Needless to say, it's really good!

 

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

 

My Rent The Runway Experience

I had a fantastic experience with this company. I was pretty nervous because I didn't have a backup dress option for a wedding I was going to, but everything work perfectly.

 

I ordered a dress, which they sent in two different sizes (the second for free!), and two different earrings, one for the rehearsal dinner and one for the wedding.

 

I got the box Friday afternoon and I was so excited! It's so fun to get packages in the mail. The box has a fun quote inside and even came with free product samples.

 

I absolutely loved my dress! I got tons of compliments on it, even from the wedding photographer, and it fit like a glove.

 

Both sets of earrings come well packaged and I was sorely tempted to buy both pairs, that is until I looked at the price tag.

 

After the event I just stuffed everything in the prepaid evelopes and dropped them in a UPS dropbox. Easy-peasy!

 

I honestly can't wait to use this company again. Who doesn't love designer shopping at a crazy discounted price. Since, like most girls, I try not to wear the same dress around the same people more than once, this company comes in handy. I'm already planning for the next wedding I'm attending.

*PS Rent The Runway has no idea who I am, I'm just writing about my own experience.