Holy City February Fun

Even though January is still in full swing, February is already shaping up to be a superb month. Several events and concerts will be making their way to the Holy City. I'm very excited, because outside of the normal country concert, Charleston doesn't get a lot of big music acts. Most of the time we have to travel to Charlotte or Atlanta. Thankfully, all of these people wised up and decided to swing by the lovely Lowcountry. 

The show I am over-the-top most excited is definitely Elton John. Excuse me, Sir Elton John. Growing up my mom was always blasting Rocket Man on high. I cannot wait to experience his concert in real-life. I suppose I will finally have to learn the real words to Benny and the Jets before concert time.

Another surprise visit is from Aziz Ansari. Aziz was scheduled to perform at Music Hall for a benefit next week and I was sad when I realized that tickets sold out FAST. Luckily, he also booked 6 shows at Theater 99. Perfect. I believe my Parks and Recreation obsession is well documented, so I cannot wait to see Mr. Tom Haverford.

While maybe not a big deal to the general public, my beloved Kentucky Wildcats will be gracing South Cack-a-lack next week in Columbia to play those dirty Gamecocks. We're currently #1 in the country (!!!!) and I expect us to hold on to the throne this time. Two years ago we were in the same scenario . Number 1 in the country, and had our first loss at Colonial Life Arena. It was heartbreaking. I cannot explain how terrible a feeling it is when your team losses an away game that you're attending and the other fans rush the floor. Hopefully we'll just avoid that problem completely this time and give a good 

Also in February, the fantastic Who's Bad, a Michael Jackson tribute band, will be at the Music Farm. I've seen Who's Bad in concert twice and they are incredible. It's everything you would want from an MJ cover band. Dance routines, costumes changes, AND two Michael Jacksons. It is truly a sight to see. And an awesome event for any Michael fan. 

And the last show I'm excited about is unfortunately one I don't think I'll be attending. Mr. Jimmy Buffett's concert sold out like hotcakes. Which I suppose should be expected. However, if there are any Parrotheads in the Universe who have extra tickets and want to help a sister out, give me a holler!

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Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm celebrating my bday! :)))

Memory Map

Today I'd like to share a gift I made for Adam. After being inspired by the sentimental gifts posts on Young House Love, I decided to make Adam a map of the places we've traveled together. Since we've been dating, road trips has been a common occurrence. Whether we're making the drive back home to Kentucky or being spontaneous and hitting up a football game in Auburn, we can generally be found in his Civic going somewhere on weekends. 

The map was easy enough to make. I ordered the print on National Geographic. From there my supplies were:

• Cork Board from Target
• Decorative paper
• Map push pins
• Upholstery pins
• Dark Wood Stain

I stained the wood with two layers. The cork board was the original light colored wood that I knew wasn't manly enough for Adam's bedroom. The stain took longer to dry than paint does, so I let it set for two nights. After the stain was dry I cut the paper to size and kept it in place with the upholstery pins. I again tried to opt for the most manly upholstery pin type. Can upholstery pins even be manly? Probably not. 

Once the pins and the map were in place, the fun part began; pinning all of the places we've been together. I tried to make a general rule that we had to have slept the night in the location. And I didn't go wild with cities that were nearby. If this were the case, then the entire Lowcountry would be one big white glob. 

What did the map teach me? Well, that Adam and I need to explore out of the Southeast. 

This was a fun project and I think it's nice to be able to look back on it together to remember the places we've visited and the memories we have.

Today I've also got some very happy birthday wishes to send out....

First, my mom. 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I hope you have a fantastic day! I'm sure happy hour will be great this evening as well as Terri's 5-course meal. Wish I was there to celebrate!

And to my love, Laura - Happy Birthday!

I hope you have an incredible trip to the West Coast. Can we please be long lost lovers?? - I'll put my foot in the Atlantic as you hit the Pacific! Miss you!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Juice Me, Please

Confession: I haven't had solid food since Sunday afternoon.

For some crazy reason, I've decided to do a mini-juice cleanse this week.

I received a juicer for Christmas from Adam and have been loving it. Juicing fruits and vegetables has delivered some very tasty treats for the last month, but I haven't gone any further than using the juice as a supplement. I spoke to a friend the other day and she praised the feelings associated with a juice cleanse. She only cleansed for 2 days, but said she could definitely feel the effects. I figured I didn't have anything to lose.

I clearly have no expertise in cleanses, but wanted to share what worked for me. I've been having approximately 4 large tumblers of juice a day. One for breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. Here are a few of the combinations I've been trying:

• Grapefruit
• Blueberries
• Carrots

• Beets
• Oranges
• Carrots
• Celery
• Ginger

• Sweet Potato
• Oranges
• Carrots
• Celery
• Ginger

• Cucumber
• Grapefruit
• Kale

That's a mix of what I've been trying this week, but over the last month I've been juicing a lot of apples and pears mixed in with veggies.  

One of my biggest worries starting the cleanse was the the hunger would be unbearable. This hasn't really been the case. I definitely haven't been stuffed, but I've been satisfied. It's a different feeling to fill up on liquid that anything solid, but I can tell I'm still getting most of the food I need. I've also avoided any strenuous exercise in the last couple day. I know my calorie intake is lower than normal, so I don't want to go overboard with an exercise and feel faint. 

I didn't have any real goals with this fast, I only wanted to understand how it felt. That said, this is a short cleanse for me. My goal was to last 2-4 days. I think I love food too much to go any longer than a week. I don't always eat healthy, but I think I balance it enough that my splurges on duck fat fries and buffalo wings are okay. Another reason I won't go more than 4 days is because my birthday is this weekend. No way I'm juicing on my birthday. Pshh..instead I'll be devouring Taco Boy. 

I can see how juicing can help transform your life and help you lose weight, but these definitely aren't my goals. Watch the trailer below for Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead to see the power juicing can have. 

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - Official Trailer from Team Reboot on Vimeo.

Have you all ever juiced or gone on a juice cleanse? Any thoughts?

Rock Me Like a Herman Cain!

Hello, hello! Hope y'all had a great weekend! This past week in Charleston has been pretty whirlwind because of the South Carolina Primary election. The candidates have been all over the state for the last week and all were in Charleston Thursday night for the CNN debate. While, it's pretty cool that the candidates have been roaming around, I've been enjoying the hoopla more for the national press in our little city. Several news programs were specially aired from Charleston this week and I had the pleasure of attending a few.

On Thursday and Friday Morning Joe was filmed in Charleston. However, this taping began at 6AM. No way I could do that. I could, however, make it to the lunch meet and greet. 

 

Both Joe and Mike took some time to give a little background on themselves and take questions from the audience. It was a casual forum that made it fun to see a more interactive side of the co-hosts.

Thursday night was the Primary Debate Live from North Charleston. I would have loved to go, but since it was sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Leadership Conference, I was not in the mood to pony up $50 when it would be live on TV. I had even heard that people who bought passes that day were denied at the door. No bueno, SCRLC.

Instead of attending the debate, my roommates and I had even more fun with it and made it into a drinking game. Anytime the following references were mentioned, a drink of wine went down. It got sloppy fast.

The end result:

If you're interested in playing this game, I assume most of the references will work for the rest of the primary elections.

Friday was the main event. A couple of my friends I work with and I went down to the Cistern on College of Charleston's campus for 'ROCK ME LIKE A HERMAN CAIN - South Cain-olina Rally' put on by Stephen Colbert.

The rally was essentially put on because Stephen Colbert was not allowed to be placed on the South Carolina Primary Ballot this close to the election. Instead, he encouraged voters to vote for Cain, who had dropped out, because a vote for Cain was really a vote for Colbert.

 

A few thousand people attended the rally. It was a great event and just so silly that I was laughing most of the time. Colbert was great, Cain didn't really seem in on the joke, but it was still a worthwhile event. If you don't follow The Colbert Report, it can be hard to really know when Stephen is being serious or making a joke. Yes, this rally was essentially a joke, but it was created and promoted to bring light to how ridiculous rules and regulations are surrounding Super PACS.

Friday night Adam and I made the trip back to the Cistern for a much more subdued taping that the Colbert Rally. Anderson Cooper was live in the square!

 

It was a much smaller crowd so we were able to be close enough to hear Anderson while he was live and he interacted with the audience during commercials. He was very, very personable and made lots of great comments about Charleston, including this tweet:

Charleston, SC is such a beautiful place. Historic homes, wonderful restaurants, friendly people. If you've never visited, you really should
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) January 21, 2012

 

And of course Saturday was election day!

I really enjoyed all of the hoopla surrounding South Carolina this past week. Growing up in Kentucky, not much emphasis is placed on the primary as our state is so late in the game. In South Carolina there was a lot of anticipation and excited that I found refreshing.

Now all eyes turn to Florida. 

Shem Creek Park and Dock

 This past weekend, Adam and I made the trip out to the fairly-new Shem Creek Dock and Park. We were both feeling antsy and wanted to stretch our legs, this was the perfect little stretch to do so. The dock went much further out than I imagined. It was the perfect day for being near the water, a little chilly, but bright and sunny. If you live in the Charleston area, I highly recommend a quick stroll. Especially good for picture snapping. :)

I'm much colder than I appear

Geek

Adam pensively reflecting on life

Last weekend we also went to Tattooed Moose for the first time. I've heard way too many good things about Mike's Duck Club that I couldn't wait any longer. Seriously, this sandwich lives up to the hype. Husk introduced me to the wonders of duck confit, but they now have a serious rival with the duck club. I forgot to take a picture of my meal, but here's on courtesy of Food GPS. 

The Duck Club comes loaded with duck confit, apple smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, garlic alioli, lettuce, tomato, and red onion on Sweet Hawaiian bread. It is incredible. I really appreciated the bread; it was toasted but never had any problems with scratching the roof of your mouth. Clearly, this meal may be a baby heart attack, but life is all about balance, right? I'll just juice my breakfast the next time I do this. 

On the other hand, I did get a picture of Adam's meal. He is ridiculous. He ordered the Lucky Sub #1, which is BBQ braised pork belly, house made kimchi, tomatoes, cucumbers, crispy onions, cilantro, and sweet red chili sauce. Unfortunately, Adam missed that the sandwich also included wasabi mayonnaise. Now both of us can't do wasabi. I love, love, love spicy food - but I hate wasabi. It's something about the taste. I find it unbearable. As does Adam. Whenever we order sushi we have to sometimes avoid pieces that the wasabi may have touched. You may call us babies, but I just can't stand the stuff. 

So when Adam discovered his lovely sandwich was covered in wasabi, this is what happened:

I went to dinner with a 5-year-old. Apologies Tattooed Moose, he loved the rest of the sandwich.

Side note: Eat the fries! They're fried in duck fat! If you cannot tell, I can't get enough of duck. ;)



Tonight I'm off to Coast for restaurant week with my roommates! Have y'all been to any special restaurants this week?

Thursday Thoughts (Random!)

Today I have a bunch of random things to discuss...



I rarely listen to the radio (life without a car), so this song may have been out for awhile, but I've just fallen in love with it. I think Jason Mraz hits it out of the park with this song. It's so simple, but beautiful. Give it a listen if you haven't already.

CHIPOTLE IS COMING! CHIPOTLE IS COMING!
Y'all - I have been stalking the Chipotle website since I moved to Charleston waiting for a store opening here. Well, the day has finally come - Chipotle will be opening in North Charleston and Mount Pleasant. I'm a little embarrassed by how excited I am about this one. Only thing that would make it better is one downtown. I'm just going to lie to myself and think that a DT store is on it's way.

I actually worked at Chipotle when I was in college. Let me tell you, I cannot get sick of those burritos. Granted I was broke, but there were several weeks where the only thing I ate came from the land of Chipotle. Salsa Squad for life.

Now we only need an H&M downtown and my life is set.

What would you do with a $100 gift card to Amazon? Well, if you're like me, you would buy a toothbrush. Ridiculous? Yes, I believe so. My wonderful FlexCare+ is in the mail right now. I expect it to complete change my teeth for that price tag.

Tomorrow I will be getting the first massage of my life. Confession: I am a terrible girl. I'm never had a massage, I've never even had a mani/pedi. I don't know if I would ever book a massage on my own, but it was a gift from my company, so I'm going to try it out. Is it irrational that I'm afraid I might leave the massage paralyzed? One of my good friends is in her medical residency for neurosurgery and told me a story about a man who went in for a simple massage and came out paralyzed. That is terrifying. I may request the masseuse to avoid my neck. Irrational fears = my life.

I'm currently on the hunt to find the perfect Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. I've been craving this comfort meal and have yet to find the recipe that hits the spot. I made the version pictured above from Tasty Kitchen, and while good - it wasn't Tikka Masala. Please let me know if you know of the a recipe!

2012 Loves

Today's blog post comes from the request of my roommate Jen. Apparently I've been a bad blogger. I just blame it on being lazy. No real excuses. But for dear Jen, here is a new post.

I feel like I've finally gotten back into a routine in Charleston. The end of December was a bit of madness. I think I went a whole week without sleeping in a real bed. Christmas and the events before and after were a great break from reality, but definitely threw off my schedule.

When I went to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, I made an effort to not have any plans. I wanted to relax and let my mood dictate my schedule for the days home. It was great, I was able to hang at home with my parents and get into bed early for most of the trip. But on the flipside, I didn't see many friends. When I did try to meet up with people, everyone was already booked. This encouraged me to schedule lunch and dinner dates with friends beforehand over Christmas break. This worked like a charm. I knew when I was going to see everyone and where. It's always impossible to see everyone I want to in such a short trip, but I did fairly well over Christmas.

Although, once we landed back in the Lowcountry we were out of whack. Do allergies get worse with age? Because I think a combination of smoking and cat allergies knocked me into a sinus infection. For some reason, Northern Kentucky is one of the last places left in the world where you can smoke in bars.

Being back at work this week and returning to my normal eating and sleeping schedule has made me feel like a normal human being again. I actually got off my lazy butt and went to yoga last night....and it kicked my ass!

So enough of my holiday ramblings - it's the new year! To start things off right I want to introduce y'all to some things I'm newly obsessed with.

Game of Thrones

Last week I was sick and off work so my On-Demand and I became very good friends. This led me into the mythical world of Game of Thrones on HBO. The series is about 7 families and their fight to become the rulers of the mythical land of Westeros. There is lots of twists and turns and character developments. A warning: it's very graphic, both in terms of gore and sex. Not for the light-hearted. The show is a little hard to follow (I would read recaps after each episode) because there are so many characters, but I loved it. From episode one I was hooked. It makes me feel like a big geek, but I don't care. The show is just SO GOOD. I made it through the first season in a matter of days. I also have a serious new-found respect for Peter Dinklage. Season 2 is coming in April!

My New Juicer

Adam gave me a juicer for Christmas and no fruit or vegetable has been safe ever since. I love this thing! It's very powerful and will take a whole veggie and deliver me with all the juicy goodness. Apples, celery, carrots, ginger, kale, and oranges have been on my short rotation. My only issue is I don't know what to do with all of the pulp extras. Anyone have a garden and need a food compost?

Global Santoku Knife

I've been wanting a good knife for a few years and am so happy that my parents delivered on Christmas. This puppy is incredible. I never knew chopping food and vegetables could be so fun!

Starbucks Gold Card

I have the Starbucks app on my iPhone and have been counting down the stars needed to get this little beauty. Had I been smart, I would have probably had a Gold Card 4 years ago. But oh well, better late than never. If y'all frequent Starbucks, I recommend to start paying with giftcards. You can set up an account and reload the cards online. Each time you purchase a drink, you receive one star. 30 stars = Gold Card. With the gold card you get a free drink every 15th, free syrups and soy, and free refills on coffee and iced coffee. And of course a gold card with your name on it. :)

New Business Card

We've redesigned our company logo, and with that came new business cards. How sweet is that thing? On top of the design, it's letterpress and has a letter-pressed back. I am in love.

Jay-Z at the Kentucky Basketball Game

Enough said.


What new things are you in love with this year??