Weekend Update ~ Halloween

Hi friends! Sorry for the disappearing act! I was really busy with after-work activities last week and then my computer decided to go on the fritz over the weekend. Nothing the MAC geniuses couldn't fix in less than 3 minutes, making me feel completely and utterly useless when it comes to technology! I thought for sure my 5 year-old MacBook Pro was gone!

But let me recap the weekend now that I'm back in action and can upload my photos!

Clemson played a Thursday night game against Wake Forest last week (and won!) so we had a free weekend and no team to watch! Our friends Trent and Holly both went to UGA for grad school and invited us all over to watch the UGA/FLA game on Saturday afternoon. Many pumpkin beers, buffalo chicken bites (recipe coming soon!!), and other snacks were consumed, all while cheering UGA to a victory!

Riley (the dog) even had a great time playing "Ruferee"

I may have mentioned how much I hate don't care for Halloween, and of course my friends wanted to dress up and head downtown Greenville on Saturday night. I fought with them all day long about my dislike of the holiday and refused to dress up. I know I'm the only one on the planet who feels this way, but we're too old to dress up anymore. I'm all for celebrating the holiday if little kids are involved and certainly would never turn away trick-or-treaters. But come on guys, we're 24! TOO OLD! (End rant)

Ryan already happened to be wearing his Texas Rangers baseball t-shirt and begged me to wear my Braves t-shirt so we could go as angry baseball fans. If you follow MLB at all, you'll know that they changed the playoff rules this season and both the Rangers and Braves were in separate Wild Card games, which was basically a "sudden death" entry into the division playoffs. Both of our teams lost, and Ryan and I have refused to watch the World Series as a protest of the new rules this year. After much convincing, I threw on Holly's baseball jersey, we donned homemade signs, and I begrudingly headed downtown with the rest of our crew.

And that is how I reluctantly spent my Halloween.

You might also remember I was supposed to run a 5K this weekend. Yeah, that didn't happen either, and the only reason I have is because I'm lazy.

Hope everyone is staying safe/warm/dry during this crazy weather we're having lately thanks to Hurricane Sandy. I'm working at a client in the mountains of NC this week and I must say I'm not quite ready for this wintry mix that's falling! I still refuse to turn on the heat because I'm stubborn like that :)

Weekend Update ~ Football Reunion

Every year, the Clemson/Virginia Tech football game is a big one. Last year, we beat them in Blacksburg to make it to the ACC Championship, where we played them again and won, taking the championship title! So many friends were in town this weekend, making for a fun reunion. We had a cookout on Friday night to celebrate Bobby's return to Clemson (it's been over a year!) and spent the whole day Saturday tailgating with all our college friends.

      Pretty flowers from Ryan  |        A little tight in the back seat     |        Roomie and me

Please ignore the really obnoxious but kinda presh photo shoot. Lauren got a little camera happy.

A gorgeous day for football!

I kind of love my friends. Also, I miss Clemson sunsets.

{Recipe} ~ Football Friday

I'm constantly trying new recipes so I can post them to the blog and it just now occured to me to combine two of my favorite things for a fun Friday post: football and food!

In honor of Clemson's last four home games (tomorrow and three weeks in a row in November), I'll be posting a tailgate recipe I've tried this football season.

When I was a student and lived within walking distance of the football stadium, it was so easy to prep for tailgates because I knew I wouldn't have to travel far with my goodies. The past two years have been quite different, seeing as Greenville is a solid 40-minute drive from Clemson, without traffic. That makes it difficult for me to transport items that need to be warm when we arrive. I need to invest in a heavy duty insulated tote! This definitely becomes part of the decision making process when prepping for a tailgate. If anyone has any tips for transporting food, please share with me!

It also depends on what time kickoff is. If it's a noon game, I'll try to make a breakfast dish to serve with mimosas. If it's a 3:30 game, a combination of chips and dip needs to last throughout the day (and has to taste delicious both hot and cold). A night game needs to be something hearty, because a day of drinking requires a decent amount of food to go along with it. Tailgating is hard work, people!

I might also note that in Clemson, we take our tailgating very seriously, evident by Southern Living's most recent poll: "Clemson Wins the South's Best Tailgate"!!!! How cool is that? I'm so proud of my alma mater!

Our tailgate is still a work in progress, as guys seem to care less about how it looks than whether or not they have enough space to throw the football and play cornhole. Strange.

But without further ado:

Mississippi Sin Dip
from Plain Chicken

Ingredients

• 16oz sour cream
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt
• pepper
• 16 oz French bread loaf

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, except French bread; stirring until well blended.

Cut a thin slice from top of bread loaf; set slice aside. Using a gentle sawing motion, cut vertically to, but not through, bottom of the loaf, 1/2 inch from the edge, to cut out center of bread. Lift out center of loaf. Fill hollowed bread loaf with the dip. Wrap loaf with foil. 

Bake dip at 350° degrees for 20 minutes or until warm. Serve with reserved bread cubes, crackers, or potato chips.

......................................................................................

Ps. I asked my friend from Mississippi why this was called "Mississippi Sin" and he laughed and said he had never heard of it! So feel free to name it whatever kind of "sin" you'd like! I must say, the folks at our tailgate sure loved it!

{Recipe} ~ Pecan Kahlua Brie

I volunteered to bring an appetizer to the mountains to feed our hungry crew before dinner on Saturday. I always have so many recipes I want to try so it makes it difficult to narrow it down and actually make a choice! This recipe has very few ingredients and was super simple to throw together for a delicious appetizer that was gobbled up in minutes! I highly suggest making this for your next party or get-together. Trust me, everyone will love it!

Pecan, Brown Sugar, and Kahlua Baked Brie

from My Life as a Mrs.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup pecans (2.5 ounces), toasted and chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons Kahlua
crackers
1-2 sweet apples (I like Honeycrisp)
13.2 ounce wheel of Brie

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F. Using a knife, score a circle around the top edge of the brie (leave 1/4 inch rim). Take a spoon and scrape the white rind off the center circle of the brie (to the inside of the 1/4" rim). Place brie on the center of an oven safe platter.

Mix the pecans, brown sugar, and Kahlua in a small bowl. Carefully place the mixture in the center of the brie and spread to the edges (staying within the 1/4" rim you left). Bake for 8-15 minutes until brown sugar/pecan mixture begins to bubble. Be careful not to overcook (the brie will literally melt and lose its shape if baked too long). You want it nice and warm.

Serve with crackers and apple slices.

Weekend Update ~ Mountain Getaway

I rounded out my third weekend out of town by spending it in the mountains with Ryan, my parents, and my parent's best friends, Ted and Becky.

Friday was my dad's birthday, so we celebrated with dinner at Lakeside Restaurant in Highlands, NC.  It was a cute little restaurant situated on a small lake with mountain views. The fish was fresh out of North Carolina waters and quite good! I had crab-stuffed rainbow trout, but Ryan and Ted decided to tackle a whole bass! I made sure Ryan pointed those fish-eyes away from me while we ate!

Happy Birthday Dad! 

We had a lazy Saturday. Ted and my dad went fishing, my mom and Becky went shopping, so Ryan and I do what we do best: drink beer and watch football! We went to my favorite brewery to catch the noon games, took naps on the couch afterwards, then had a delicious dinner at the house! 

The house! 

Taking Ted and Becky's dog, Scarlet, for a morning walk! 

View from the brewery

Someone's worn out but ready for dinner!

I've spent today essentially unpacking three weeks worth of clothes, did 6 loads of laundry, and now we're gearing up to watch the Packers on Sunday Night Football. 

I'm so glad the next 6 weekends don't require packing a suitcase! We'll be traveling to Clemson for 4 more home games, but plan to stay in Greenville as much as possible! All this traveling has worn me out - but I wouldn't change it for the world!

I plan on sharing some more recipes from the weekend soon! 

{Recipe} - Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

As part of my fall bucket list, I wanted to make it part of my mission to test out some new pumpkin recipes. I've just recently discovered a love of all things pumpkin (thanks PSL), because I never really ate it growing up. We don't even have pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving (I know, the blasphemy)! I remember distinctly one year my dad brought home a pumpkin cheesecake from work, and it was so scrumptious. So I scooped up a few cans of pumpkin at the grocery store and started pinning every pumpkin recipe in sight.

Ryan and I are headed to the mountains this weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday with my parents and our family friends, so what better time to try out a new recipe?

I tried out a few new ones, which I'll be sharing soon, but I thought I'd post this one for the weekend in case anyone wanted to do a little baking in their free time! This recipe was fairly easy to throw together, but I did have a hard time making all the cookies the same size. The batter is much wetter than typical cookie dough, so it's not as easy to control when you scoop it onto a baking sheet. But I think that just adds some character to the pies!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Spice Cake mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 (16 oz) container Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting

1. Prehead oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, add the cake mix, butter, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, and milk. Mix slowly for 30 seconds or until combined, then beat for 1-2 minutes. Batter will be on the wet side.
3. Drop tablespoon-sized dollops onto the cookie sheet. Try to make sure that they are all the same size.
4. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Let them cool completely.
5. Frost a cookie with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and top with another cookie. Store in airtight container and refrigerate until ready to eat.

"Oh Mexico, You Sound So Sweet..."

Paradise.

That's pretty much the only way to describe our vacation in Cabo San Lucas.

Ryan's mom and stepdad bought a timeshare there this year, and got a "bonus week" for being new owners. They generously invited us, Ryan's stepsister Laurel, and various other friends/coworkers. We had a group of 15 and I couldn't have asked for a more fun group of people to spend 4 days in Cabo with. We had our own chef and bartender, so we only left the house a few times. Boy, were we spoiled.

I'll try to organize my pictures by topic, since all the days kind of ran together!

The House

This place was amazing. There were two bedrooms per floor, and everyone had their own pool. We spent most of our time at the main pool on the bottom floor/beach level with the swim-up bar, and our morning pool time on the top floor pool since it got the most sun.

Most of the floors had an indoor/outdoor pool feature, which was so cool!

The View

Anytime you google Cabo, pictures of "The Arches" will inevitably come up. Actually, this was all I could picture when preparing for our trip. I was incredibly lucky that our house was positioned with the perfect view of the rocks and Lover's Beach. The sun set on the other side of the rocks, but we got a great view of the sunrise each morning!

Where we ate breakfast and lunch every day

Perfection, no?

Swimming with the Dolphins

On Saturday, some of the girls (Laurel, her friend Olivia, Ryan's mom Marni, and I) went to swim with the dolphins. This was by far one of the neatest things I've ever done! You're in a salt water pool with several other people, but each group gets their own dolphin to swim with and pet. I was amazed at how smooth the dolphin's skin was, but they're so muscular! 

I still can't believe I got a kiss from a dolphin! That'll be a memory that'll last forever!

Pool days

We spent 99% of our day by the pool, and I wouldn't have had it any other way in Mexico! 

We indulged in way too many Coronas, chips, pico de gallo and guacamole (oh my goodness, so fresh and amazing), Dirty Monkeys (some kind of frozen concoction with rum, bananas, and chocolate), Bloody Marys, Screwdrivers, and Mai Tais. Hey, when in Rome...

As evidenced by the aftermath at the pool bar on our first night in Cabo...

Ryan's trying to pretend I'm topless in the bottom left picture...

The Gang

Laurel, Olivia, Ryan, and I were the youngest members of our 15-party group, but we had an amazing time making new friends! 

        Ryan and his mom       |  Laurel and Cotton playing on the beach   | Laurel and her dad Scott

Pictures on our 2nd night: the usuals, plus Lance (bottom left), and Glenn and Alex (top right)

Dinner at an Italian restaurant on our final night in Cabo

(Sheri and Sherm with her brother Glenn, bottom left) (Lance, Cotton and me, bottom middle)

The trip was amazing and I kept waking up honestly thinking I was dreaming! I'd love to go back to Cabo one day (except I'm pretty sure no other trip will compare) as it reminds me a lot of Hawaii. 

Having a hard time believing it's really over, but we're back to reality now!