Just what I needed in this time of self-reflection...a party full of guys with dirty mustaches and girls who need an excuse to dress ho-ey! I don't really have much to say about this party...ice luge, keg, jello shots, mustaches and hoes. Very nice! I feel like the pictures really say it all...wow!
So, you have to say "born and raised" with a southern accent or it just doesn't work out really well for the whole theme of the weekend.
To continue my running this year, Matt and I ran in the 10k Bridge Run in Savannah the other weekend while Natalie cheered us on from the start line to the finish line. Let me tell you...it was the hardest of the three that I've done this year. The bridge had a lot steeper incline that the Bridge Run in Charleston and it was a lot longer...PLUS, we had to run over it twice. They aren't lying about the toughest Bridge Run of the south! But as always, it was such a good feeling to finish in the end and a pleasure to run with Matt. Time: 1 hour and 11 minutes
While we were there, you know we had to go to Lady and Sons to consume all the calories we just ran off that morning. We surprisingly grabbed a table right away and lushly (is that a word?) ordered our bloody marys that we have been craving ever since we ran over the finish line. They were oh-so-delicious and well worth the 6.2 miles. For food, Natalie ordered a crabcake sandwich, Matt ordered the crabcake and I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of crab bisque. We all had crabs (as in the food)! You know I laid that joke out on the table (pun intended!) after we all got our food.
Afterwards, we had to walk off our meal and took a nice scenic route through Savannah back to our hotel, which by the way had the best view of the Savannah River as well as the Mount Everest bridge we ran over. At the hotel, we all took an oath that we would not take a Charleston nap and that we would get ready, go to a bar and watch the SEC Championship game. And we did just that, but we were totally off our time because by the time the game was over it was around 8pm...too early to go out, so we went back to the hotel. Wrong Choice! We broke our oath and took a Charleston nap well into the following morning...12 hour Charleston nap!
Oh well! It was definitely a productive weekend with the 10k run, eating at Paula Deen's restaurant, sleeping for 12 hours and buying 2 dresses from Blue Belle, which I couldn't really read that weekend and thought we were walking into Blue Balls...ha!
My new favorite animal...It seems to be a growing trend these hooters!
All I want for Christmas is an Owl in a Tree Jewelry Stand from Urban Outfitters
Cute Notepad cover from ecojot
Reminds me of Ann Wood's birds, but they're owls! These are handmade by LaurenAlane
The Beach. Beautiful Sunsets. Yummy Food. Family.
Dauphin Island, Alabama was our Thanksgiving destination this year. A week full of seafood, sun, the beach and family on a 14 mile barrier island in the Gulf Coast of Alabama. What more could you ask for in the middle of winter?
Although I wasn't able to catch a single fish, I still had a great time trying (even if it was for only a couple of minutes). I was able to get my seafood fix...oysters, crawfish, crabs and shrimp. It was definitely shellfish heaven!
The family also had a great time with the drinking games...150 something beers, numerous games of beer pong and a couple rounds of Asshole equals good times for everyone. And maybe a couple of pounds of unwanted weight. Why is it you always bring back more from a vacation then when you arrived?
Nonetheless, it was a great week for giving thanks with the people you love, the food you love and the landscape that you love.
PS. We even made a new friend that week as well!
It's always such a nice surprise to go to the beach at a time other than the summer. This past weekend Justin, Anne Marie, Chris and I made our way to Myrtle Beach for some good times and good laughs.
Justin and I arrived in Myrtle Beach late Friday night because of my awesome ability to read maps! :) But the next morning, I looked out our window and the view was awesome! Our condo was across the street from the beach, but walking out onto our balcony seemed like we were right on the beach.
Saturday night we went on the SunCruz, a casino boat, that goes out to international waters and opens up the casino with slots and tables. I pretended like we were in Vegas, but the 4-5 foot waves and the horrible rocking back and forth made the experience more of an episode on Deadliest Catch. The good thing about the nauseousness was that it saved me from losing insane amounts of money. We all walked away with more money than when we boarded and had a great time making fun of all the classy people from Myrtle Beach. I will definitely do it again!
Stay tuned for my next excursion to Dauphin Island, Alabama for a whole week with my family for Thanksgiving. I think this is my new favorite road trip...going to the beach when it's not peak season.
I'm not very big on Halloween and haven't dressed up probably since high school, but this year seems to be a year of change. Also, for some reason, my creativity comes to a halt when it's time to think of costumes. I look around at other people's costumes and think to myself "Why didn't I think of that?" Friday night, I saw everything from a little white lie to Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Our costumes were very generic (besides the Eskiho!...please see below), but we definitely had a good time showing everyone our dance moves on the dance floor!
So we had a doctor or a witch doctor (hey-oh!)...
...a witch...
...an eskiho...
and a cowboy...
In light of it being Halloween week, I wanted to share with you the Halloween costume of my cousin's daughter in the Philippines. They are always so creative with her costumes for Halloween and this year she is a doll in a box. How awesome is this? Very clever!
This past weekend Jessica and I went up to the Queen City (Charlotte) to visit Anne Marie and Chris for some much needed R and R and to just get away from our lives down in Atlanta. It was a weekend full of sleeping, watching football (Go Dawgs!!), eating and lounging around.
On Sunday, we ate at a Cornelius favorite, definitely a secret hot spot, called Laspadas. Just look at the array of good food we ate. We had the essentials...curly fries, cheese fries and fried pickles. Yummy!
Photo from jenniferbehr.com
I just got Daily Candy's Deals email today and one of the features was Jennifer Behr's hair accessories. She has also been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. Her accessories are absolutely beautiful...also going on my Wish List after my own pair of piddies!
Seems like I'm all about Germany these days...I don't know if it's because I've been watching Heidi Klum on Bravo or if it's the October weather, but what better way to ease into the fall season with a German feast...Soft Pretzels, German Sausages (Brats!) with Apples, Sauerkraut and Onion with a side of Potatoes with Parsley and Dill. These recipes are from the past issue of Martha Stewart Living. This post is dedicated to Jana...
Look at these cute pretzels!
Soft Pretzels Makes 12
Ingredients
* 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1/4 ounce)
* 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 cup warm water
* 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* Vegetable oil, for baking sheets
* 3 tablespoons baking soda
* 1 tablespoon pretzel salt
* Assorted mustards, for serving
Directions
1. Mix yeast, coarse salt, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix flour and cayenne in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Slowly pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, stirring to combine. Using your hands, gather dough together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until it is no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
4. Cut dough into 12 pieces, and roll each into an 18-inch rope. Form a U shape with 1 rope, and twist ends together twice. Fold twisted portion backward along center of U shape to form a circle, then gently press ends of rope onto dough to seal. Transfer to an oiled baking sheet, and repeat. Let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add baking soda. Boil pretzels in batches until puffed and slightly shiny, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to wire racks to drain. Return to baking sheet, sprinkle with pretzel salt, and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Pretzels will keep, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 12 hours. Rewarm in a 250-degree oven if desired, and serve with mustards.
Helpful Hint
To save time, store-bought bread dough can be used in place of homemade; start at step 4.
German Sausages with Apples, Sauerkraut and Onion
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
I officially heart Ray Lamontagne. I've always loved his music but last night was the first time I have ever seen him in concert and he was absolutely A-MAZING!! There are only two singers who can make me cry when they sing their beautiful music and Ray is one of them. Check out his new album, Gossip in the Grain. My favorite song right now: You are the Best Thing (first track on the album)
Here is Ray singing Trouble (Sorry I can't rotate the video...)
Friday night I went to my second Panic concert and it was a little different and much better! My first show was at Philips and this show was at Lakewood...a much better venue for dancing. Despite the rain and the mud I seemed to get my dance on without a worry in the world!
Look at me and all of my hippieness: long dress and barefoot!
While we were on our trip, Maggie found out that she passed her boards!! Yay!! She can work now! Congratulations! And we caught it all on our camera. She was hysterically crying. I didn't know if something tragic happened or what...it might be tragic that she did pass and that now she is entering the working world! Go back Maggie...go back!!
For her celebratory dinner, we went to La Fonda, a restaurant in Valencia that Leslie's friend recommended us going to. It was probably on of the most memorable meals I have had (and it wasn't because of the story of the prawn that fell on the floor and magically reappeared on my plate). Just look at the beautiful array of scrumptious dishes.
Valencia is probably one of the nicest cities we went to in Spain. If I were to go back to Spain, then I would definitely go back to see Valencia. It's like being in Beverly Hills with the palm trees lining the streets and all the nice, high-end stores.
PS. We were on a quest to find the Holy Grail and by God, we found it! It's in Valencia!
photos from etsy.com
Leanne is in!! I'm so thrilled that Leanne won! I knew she would. Her clothes are just absolutely impeccable, innovative and wearable. If I only I knew about her before she became famous because she has her own clothing line on etsy.com but because of her fame and workload, she has stopped selling online...boo!!
Michael, she will NEVER be remembered as Petals Marshall!
It's almost been two weeks since we've gotten back from Spain and it seems like my mind is still there. I had to actually make it a goal for this week to update you folks on my trip and I've seemed to change the look of my blog as well. Two for the price of one!
Tapas, Wine and Gaudi...OH MY! That definitely captures the trip in one sentence, but of course I will elaborate more for your entertainment. Spain was such a welcoming country. You could definitely get by with hand gestures (I want this...and you point..simple enough) and the little Spanish that everyone knows, which we've quickly added to our every day conversation back here in the states... ¡Hola Bebé! If you hadn't noticed on facebook and kodakgallery and just talking to me in general, it's like our trademark salutation! I told you I would come back speaking Spanish.
The tapas. We definitely were told twice that we were ordering way too much food: once at Can Cortada, a renovated 11th Century farmhouse and again on our last night in Barcelona. Anyways, they were right and we were full. Enough said. The food in Spain is simple, but tasty. They seem to use the food's natural flavors to carry the whole dish. There were lots of Patatas Bravas (your basic Spanish french fries), mussels and cheese eaten. It was deliciously heaven!
The vino. Cheaper than water. Many, many many bottles of wine were consumed on our two week trip, but just think we probably saved a lot of euros by ordering wine instead of water! Wine always seems to bring people together as well as help create good conversation between good friends. I miss drinking a bottle of wine for lunch and dinner.
The architecture. It was absolutely amazing. I kept thinking how do we live, work and breathe in those straight-angled buildings...so boring...while Spaniards are lucky enough to walk in and walk out of these beautiful buildings with intricate detail. We saw most of Gaudi's famous works of art, La Padrera (was once an apartment, but there are 2 families who live there now), Casa Batllo (a house built for the Batllo family and is one of my favorites because of the vibrant color) and the Sagrada Familia (it's actaually still being built and they say won't be done until later in our lifetime). If you saw his work in person, you would have definitely thought: There is something wrong with this guy. He seems delusional...really out there, but he got all of his inspiration from nature...bones, shells, plants, etc. In conclusion, we analyzed the crap out of Gaudi (poor Gaudi) just from his work...we assumed that he was actually a homosexual, but living in a Catholic country and having very religious values, he was oppressed with his secret feelings, so he took it out on his work. Done and done.
Our experience in Spain could probably best be told through our thousands of pictures, so if you've got time and a glass of wine just look at our pictures and you will see Spain.
Barcelona
Hasta Manana Amigos!
PS. I'll post more stories about our trip. Stay Tuned!
It's almost surreal that in about 36 hours I will be in Barcelona looking at Picasso paintings, strolling through the small streets of the city and drinking fabulous Spanish wine. You know sometimes when you are going somewhere you can imagine yourself actually there, but for some reason this time it's almost like a dream. I can't believe that our big trip to Spain is finally here!
I will be in Spain for about two weeks and I know that it will definitely fly by, but while you guys are sitting at your computers you can dream about me sitting at a Spanish cafe, drinking wine and listening to a Spanish guitarist (if any of you watched Vicky Christina, you will know exactly what I'm talking about). But don't worry, I will try and keep you guys updated while I'm there with lots of pictures, in depth descriptions of the awesome food and the adventures of me and 5 other girls.
Woo! Hoo!
I'm off to Spain!
okay okay, so I had to go to some English-Spanish website to look up what I wanted to say, which is "I can't wait to go to Spain!" but that doesn't mean my Spanish words of the day aren't helping me out. Just watch! I'll be the most fluent Spanish-speaking Filipino you will ever know.
As most of you know, I'm planning a trip to Spain with 5 girlfriends this September. My aunt is renting a villa in Denia, Spain for a month and invited people to come visit her, so we are making the trek to Denia! As a birthday gift, Maggie got us a Mediterranean cooking class at Whole Foods to prepare us for the Spanish cuisine.
The Menu:
Moroccan Phyllo Cups and Spanikopita with Almonds, Raisins, Carrots, & Chicken
Artichoke Salad with Roasted Red Peppers & Herbed Goat Cheese
Grilled Sea Bass (we actually used Grouper because Sea Bass wasn't in season) with Capers, Charred Tomatoes, & Saffron Rice
Lemon Panna Cotta & Macerated Berries
Maggie's famous rice!
Our Lemon Panna Cotta that never got to settle because it takes 6 hours! We still ate it and it was soupy and delish!
Artichoke Salad
My plate full of yummy food! Look at those caper berries...YUM-O!
Thanks Maggie for an awesome gift! Can't wait to eat in Espana and will of course post about our anticipated trip. We are arriving in Barcelona and will stay a couple of nights and then head down to Denia, in the Costa Blanca region. We will then explore the Costa Blanca region visiting Alicante and Valencia.
We had to some research on squirrels for one of our clients at work and we came across this video...hilarious! Another sad episode of a child actor gone completely wrong...
AAH!! Summer! A time for fun in the sun, hanging out with friends, playing drinking games...well that's really year round for me, BUT, I love summer because that's when all the artists tour and play their oh-so-awesome music!
Today, I bought my tickets to see Ray Lamontagne! I have never seen him in concert before and I'm pretty pumped about it. Although, it's in October, I still just have that summertime music feeling!
I have acquired some new music this year...The Bridges, Modern Skirts, Paolo Nutini, Amos Lee (who by the way is my obsession of the moment because of his song "Arms of a Woman" and I just got tickets to see him Aug. 5 at Variety Playhouse). I would really like to thank Richard for opening my eyes to other music besides Ben, Jack and Ray. I had no idea that there were other artists out there who could really capture me.
If you don't know who The Bridges are, then you are definitely missing out...think all-girl band (well except for one guy) from Alabama who wear boots!! My kind of girls! Some of us went to see them at Variety Playhouse a couple of months ago...
The Modern Skirts are a local band from Athens and I'm sad that I wasn't able to see them when they were here..it was actually the same weekend as The Bridges. That weekend was definitely a music-filled weekend because I saw Blue Traveler and Drivin n Cryin that Saturday night.
Oh and Paolo, when will I get to see him? Who knows...he is touring in Europe and apparently I missed him while he was touring here in the States. I guess I wasn't a big fan of him until after he left..sadness. Why didn't I become obsessed with him while he was here? Now, if I could just get tickets to see Jack Johnson!!
I think God is trying to tell me something...He is telling me that I'm an idiot! So, I was just checking the url address for this Mega Bible website and I was typing in http://ppellicer.blogpsot.com (notice the misspelling of blogspot). Now that I know what God was really trying to tell me, I'm wondering why this Mega Bible website chose my url address with blogspot misspelled...interesting...
Am I doing something wrong in my life that God doesn't approve of? Maybe... probably. For some reason, when I type in my blog address it seems to go to this Mega Bible website, but then when I type it in a second time it goes directly to my blog. Is God trying to tell you guys something too or is it just me?
The Peachtree Road Race is a time-honored tradition in Atlanta that honestly I never really had any ambition to do (even though I've lived here all my life!), but since you know I'm a runner and all now, it was really exciting for me to be a part of all this. The Peachtree is a 10K starting at Lenox Mall in Buckhead and usually finishes at Piedmont Park, but this year the finish line was on Juniper Street because of the drought. So the hot topic of this year's race was the new finish and of course the shirt! Can't forget the shirt!
If you know how I am, I am a HUGE procrastinator and I was an even bigger procrastinator trying to train for the Peachtree!! Let's just say my post about wanting to keep running after the Cooper River Bridge Run...umm yea, that was probably the last time I ran. So, my training started on Monday....June 30, with a somewhat run/walk of 3 miles with Maggie and then on Wednesday I ran a mile..on the treadmill...haha! I thought I was definitely going to die on Friday. I just pictured myself on a stretcher on my way to Piedmont Hospital and then the next day seeing myself in the hospital bed in the AJC! But, I was optimistic and told myself that if I had as much adrenaline as I did on the day of the Bridge Run, then I should be fine...hopefully...
Friday morning came around and I had to get up at 5AM to get to Matt's house at 6. The last time I got up that early was...yea, you guessed it...the Bridge Run; although this time I went to bed at 11:30 the night before instead of 2AM! Anyways, I was feeling pretty good that morning–not too nervous–and all I really wanted to achieve that day was to beat my Bridge Run time of 1:14 and that I did! Maggie and I ran it in 1:06...probably 1:08 if we didn't cut in line (we probably started a little under .2 of a mile) at the start of the race, but it was definitely worth it because Matt didn't start running until an hour after we started running.
At the end of the race, we grabbed our coveted Peachtree shirts, which by the way I wasn't very impressed with. I grabbed this image from ajc.com. The model wasn't very impressed either! I think I will come up with a design for next year's shirt and maybe even run it under an hour, but then again I did say that I would keep running after the Bridge Run and that didn't go so well. I'm probably still on a high from finishing. I'll let you know after a couple of weeks.
This past weekend while we were lounging around we of course started watching the food network, which is the greatest channel on cable! I could watch it all day everyday. Anyways, Everyday Italian was on and we were soon enthralled by Giada's Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas...it looked so delicious up on that screen. I wanted to eat it immediately. Obviously, that wasn't happening, but I did make it last night and it was more than I could have ever imagined. So, for all you cooks and non-cooking food lovers (it's actually pretty easy to make), I suggest you try and make it:
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.
It's official! Girls Weekend had it's second annual trip this past weekend up at Mineral Bluff, Georgia...sounds like a magical place, doesn't it? Anne Marie's parents/Anne Marie graciously offered their guest house as the host for Girls Weekend '08 and the weekend was rightfully named: Bluff Boat Bangers! Maybe you can guess how we came up with the title...
As soon as we arrived, we opened a bottle of wine and sat in the hot tub...it can't get any better than that. Let's just say the night ended pretty quickly...wine and the hot tub...need I say more?
The next day, we were up early (if you've every gone on vacation with me, you know I like to wake up early) and ready to go on the boat. We packed our cooler with a couple cases of beer (one of them was Yuengling: one of our faves since we can't buy it in Georgia)*, brought the cards for a couple of games of BS, food and we couldn't forget Scattegories! Just by reading the items we brought you can guess what we did most of the day and I'm pretty impressed with our drinking skills because we definitely killed a case and a half of beer. Granted, I probably gained about 10 more pounds from that weekend, but I was still impressed. Oh and by the way, the lions were definitely out that weekend!
That night, we cooked the most delicious dinner: shrimp quesadillas, lime and cilantro rice, black beans and guacamole. This was probably the 5 pounds from the 10 pounds I gained, but it was definitely well worth it! Again, let's just say the night ended pretty quickly...beer all day and a very fulfilling dinner...need I say more?
The next day, it was overcast so we stayed in and played board games: Pictionary and Cranium! Maggie and I are now obsessed with Cranium because we went out and bought not only one but two games! If you have never played Cranium, you have to play because it is the best game EVER! It's like Trivial Pursuit, Charades, Pictionary and Boggle all in one! Just ask about Jessica's Tina Turner impersonation, Anne Marie's impression of a clam and Maggie's DNA sculpture...I on the other hand tried to impersonate Bullwinkle and Barbara Streisand..."People. People who need people."
Obviously, this was the G-rated version of the trip, but if you want to know the PG-13 version then just let me know. ;)
Thanks to Anne Marie's parents for letting us stay at the guest house and we can't wait to go up there again! Where will Girls Weekend '09 be and what will it be called?? Stay tuned! A tradition has just begun...
*Murphy, North Carolina is 15 minutes from Mineral Bluff and that's where we bought the Yuengling...just in case you wanted to tell me I made a mistake.
