The Graduate
Congrats to Matt for not only making it through two challenging years of business school at Duke, but for getting awesome grades along the way and a fabulous job in the end!! I’m so proud:)
More April Showers
I had the pleasure of attending two baby showers this weekend!
Don’t ya just love shower food?!
This was like a nutty pineapple carrot cake combo involving cream cheese and buttercream!!!!
Cheers to [one of the] lovely moms-to-be:)
The second shower on Sunday had fabulous food too! Both showers were gender-neutral, which meant lots of yellows and greens.
After Saturday’s shower, Matt and I grabbed pizza with friends at Pizzeria Toro.
We shared the asparagus salad and a spicy clam pizza – I can’t believe I’m going to Italy next month – this meal made me soooo excited!
After we said good night to our friends, we couldn’t resist a drink at Mateo Tapas (my very favorite in Durham). We have so few free weekends left here! So even though we had just finished dinner, we ordered the blue cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates because they are heavenly.
What a nice weekend! And after today’s shower, I had my second-to-last fitting, so my dress is just about ready to be picked up. Yay!
Read MoreNever Too Late to Celebrate
The highlight of my weekend was definitely a little engagement party we had at Six Plates wine bar on Thursday!! A couple of of friends got together and hosted and it was so sweet! I don’t think anyone has ever planned a party for me and it just meant so much to have all our friends gather together to celebrate.
Of course, since it was at a wine bar, there was wine! Its so fun being able to choose wines on tap. And I ended the night with a tawny port – one of my favorite things for a special occasion.
Matt and I shared some small plates – spicy shrimp with plantains and a white bean and asparagus flatbread.
Dessert! These cute cupcakes were from Whole Foods and the strawberry and peanut butter icings were just divine.
[the men are participating in a stache bash]
The best part was this cookbook from a local Durham chef that everyone signed – LOVE it! And the recipes look great! Our friends did such an amazing job. I’m going to miss them so much:(
Read MoreSpring Break for Dinner
Our first wedding gift arrived today! It’s equally weird and awesome that presents are just going to start showing up on our doorstep.
We have a whole set of new wine glasses now!!! What do I do with them? Matt says we can’t use them until June 1st?
I don’t do everything Matt says, but when he insists on fish tacos I say yes. He’s on spring break this week, so he’s pretty much drinking beer and bourbon and cleaning everything in sight. I came home to find the sweaters in my closet organized and folded. I can’t really reach them, so my sweater shelf is always a disaster. Not anymore!
Anyway, with these freezing temperatures and the miserable wind, I think he just wanted to feel tropical. And tacos, mexican beer, and a festive atmosphere is really the only way to do that in the middle of Durham. We went to Nana Taco and I got the special – tuna tacos with spicy tomato jam.
The meat was slightly charred and the jam was divine. What a fabulous dinner. I kinda want to go back on Friday.
Now we’re getting ready to watch Magic Mike. Barleywine for him, sleepy time tea for me.
Adios.
Read MoreDinner Date, Breakfast Date
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of dining at the lovely Guglhupf, thanks to a Christmas gift from Matt’s parents. We’ve celebrated at this cute cafe before, so it felt special to return:) We settled into our two-top on the second floor, amidst the funky hanging lanterns and chandeliers.
However, we couldn’t quite settle because Duke was in the final minutes of a heated match with Maryland. We shared a bourbon with a splash of maple syrup and secretly watched Matt’s phone for updates. Sadly, we lost the game. Matt was a die-hard Maryland fan in his past life, so he just didn’t know how to feel about the final result!
Once we had a chance to take-in the menu, we were hungry! We started with the mussels steamed in riesling with tomato confit, new potatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs. We got a big ole bread basket and enjoyed soaking up every last bit of broth with it. The mussels were awesome.
I went away from my usual pork or fish entrees and tried the cabbage rolls stuffed with french lentils and sweet potatoes, topped with queso fresco and a local honey tomato sauce. I’ve gotten more into vegetarian dishes lately, so I thought I’d really like this, but I just didn’t love the combination of tomato sauce and steamed cabbage. The flavors were really unique, but I think I was craving a heartier dish…
Given that we were celebrating Valentine’s Day, which to me is a desert holiday, we ordered dessert! This was a salted caramel tart with a chocolate crust. It was surprisingly on the lighter side, but very good.
A perfect date night:)
I ended my weekend with another date on Sunday – a breakfast date with a high school friend who was in town.
My friend is getting married as well, so we talked all things wedding and honeymoon! I ordered an english muffin with fried eggs, tomato jam, and pimento cheese. It was kinda small, but soooo good! I need to get out and order breakfast sandwiches more often. And go on more friend dates.
I’m getting really into these relaxing weekends. The next two are going to be busy, so I’m glad to fit in some really lazy weekends this month. Back to work. See ya.
Read MorePop Up Dinner @ Pops
Just checking in to say hello on this snowy Saturday.
I know I said I wasn’t going out to eat on Thursday, but Matt gave me a card and inside the card he declared that a casual date night was mandatory! He even put the fish I had thawing back into the freezer once I left for work because he knew I’d insist we eat it:)
We went across the street to Pop’s and sat at the bar. It was surprisingly empty – perhaps it’s getting trendy to stay in on Valentine’s?
I started with an organic Spanish tempranillo.
Matt and I shared the Asian pear salad with brie, walnuts, and arugula,
the short ribs over polenta – a phenomenal dish -
and the chicken cooked under a brick with pan seared gnocchi, rainbow cauliflower, grilled yellow peppers, and a dark chicken reduction. I don’t tend to order chicken, but Matt had his eye on it and honestly it was fabulous!
Everything was excellent and sitting at the bar felt quite romantic.
Saturday has been dominated by wedding stuff. I went for my first fitting with the seamstress today!! I’m loving my dress more and more and getting so excited to wear it. I also stamped our return address on all the invitations. I’m so glad we got the stamp, as I think it looks great and definitely made things easier.
Have a terrific Saturday.
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Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?