Animal House
Whew. The past couple of days have been a whirlwind. In fact, the whole month of October has been a blur and it continues this weekend when I head to the west coast for Foodbuzz. I’m trying to savor all the fun events, but time is moving so fast.
As my post last night alluded to, my friends and I had margaritas and dinner on Friday night. We then headed to a funky community space/bar called Pinhook for Scaryoke. We had a blast, although it took two hours for our group to be called to the stage and we were the last song of the night. The computer system froze and we didn’t know many of the words except for the chorus. At 2am though, I’m hoping no one noticed .
Saturday, was rainy and cold, so we headed to Elmo’s diner for a hot breakfast. I shared the huevos rancheros as well as pumpkin pancakes and then had a nice nap while my guests assembled their costumes. My dining room was transformed into a sewing shop.
A friend of a friend who traveled all the way from Chile made homemade guacamole for the party!! I did some simple cooking of my own.
Not a party without a cheese board.
We had Anne’s pumpkin dip, which was a hit and an unpictured black bean and white cheddar mexican scoop.
And dogs, delicious dogs.
Halloween punch! This was my mom’s recipe and I thought it was delicious. Mostly pineapple and orange juice, lemonade, lemon-lime soda, and rum – topped with orange sherbet.
My parents were nice enough to come over and help me get everything ready and then they enjoyed cocktail hour with us.
All the party animals:)
…with Justin Bieber!!
Lots of fun Fuqua friends joined the festivities and everyone had amazing costumes.
With a little coaxing, Justin even performed for us!!
And I was like baby, baby, baby oh
A brief dance party ensured before we headed out to another Fuqua Halloween party at a local roller rink.
So.much.fun. Thanks to my party animals for traveling all the way to Durham for a fantastic reunion!
Read MorePumpkin Sampler
This weekend was just fabulous. I couldn’t have asked for better weather and I did a lot of relaxing. I wasn’t able to go out Friday night because of a stomach ache, but I got a great night’s sleep and was feeling energized on Saturday morning. I went to the mall to run some errands and eyed some things I might like if I’m lucky enough to get any birthday cash:) I made some last minute plans to hang out with my friend Meredith and discovered she had never tasted a pumpkin beer! What? I was in shock, so I drove directly to Sam’s Quick shop and prepared for a tasting.
I picked Cottonwood and Dogfish Head because I know they are good ones, but I’d actually never tried Big Boss’s Harvest Time. All three were delightful. Too bad they don’t make Pumking in smaller bottles or I would have added that to the line up. I believe the intervention was successful.
I said goodbye to Meredith and joined Matt for our anniversary celebration at Guglhuph. Ever since we ran into the chef back in July, this place has been on our list. We set aside $5′s and $10′s here and there and finally sat down to dinner in the adorable space last night.
The restaurant is German, so naturally I ordered a German beer – The Ayinger Celebrator which was divine. It was thick, sweet, and perfect for a chilly night.
We sampled a mushroom soup with plenty of bread. The soup was on special and we ordered it last minute, so I cannot remember any details, but it was very good.
Matt and I split two entrees. The first was German dish that I would describe as the cross between a ravioli and a dumpling. These were stuffed with butternut squash, mushrooms, spinach, and smoked gouda and served in a herb cream sauce with spicy walnuts
This was AMAZING. Seriously, the waiter came to take our plates and I had sopped up every last bit of the sauce with my bread because it was that good. I just wish there had been more than three!
The other entree we split was a slow braised all natural pork shank with potato dumplings, green beans, and a whole grain mustard sauce. Again, amazing. The portion was huge! I spent about 20 minutes eating this and there was still a ton of meat left. The potato dumplings balanced the meat perfectly.
We had trouble with the dessert menu and, despite not being huge chocolate cake people, we ordered the Duck Rabbit milk stout cake. BUT, the waiter came back and said that he thought we would prefer the special pumpkin sampling platter. How did he know?
Spiced pumpkin cake with homemade marshmallows and pumpkin compote, house made pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin brittle.
Everything was delish, but I loved the pumpkin brittle and was surprisingly very impressed with the marshmallow.
I cannot even express how wonderful this dinning experience was. And the service was excellent. I’d say it has my vote for best Durham restaurant experience thus far.
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Today, I went for a jog, drove to UNC to watch Matt’s sister’s soccer game, and I just finished Pride & Prejudice (the movie). It was a fantastic day.
What’s the best dining experience you’ve had in your current city or town?
Read MoreGrey Snowy Island
A grey and snowy island = ultimate relaxation
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We all spent the majority of the day on the couch in front of the fire, but we ventured out just before cocktail hour for a little exercise.
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This morning I spent some time at the gym at the Bald Head Island club and then Kanz helped me tackle a baking project I was supposed to make a few days ago: Lauren’s pumpkin pie chocolate cups!
My mom had gotten me a couple of bags of the soy-free chocolate chips I love so much, so I used those instead of white chocolate to make the cups. We also only had the jumbo foil cupcake liners, so I made about 6 huge cups instead of ten mini’s.
Ta-Ta Pumpkin
Good Afternoon,
I’ve enjoyed pumpkin season so much this year, but I think it officially ends with Christmas. I had half of a can of pumpkin in my fridge last night, so I made one last loaf of pumpkin bread (with a little bit of frozen butternut in it as well) to bring home to my family.
I filled this one with raisins, so I’ll let you know how it tastes.
Like most of my trips home, my schedule is pretty much packed. Today, Matt and I are hoping to peek into a few potential apartments for next year. I’m obsessed with real estate and apartment hunting is one of my very favorite things in life, so I’m totally pumped. We’re not anticipating moving until July, but I really couldn’t wait to tour a few places I’ve been dreaming about:)
This evening, I’m hosting a little gathering with my bff’s from high school, so I’ll give you a recap of all the [hopefully] delicious eats tomorrow. Let the holiday festivities begin!!!
Read MoreGallows Gobbler
Half days are awesome!!! I went to work and then came right home again:)
I did a quick stint on the elliptical before Kath and Kanz arrived all bundled up and ready for a walk!
We strolled down Newbury for a bit and tasted some sweeet balsamics at the Boston Olive Oil Co. before heading back home. It was so brutally cold out and now my body is itching and red with chapped skin:(
As soon as Matt arrived home from work, we put all the layers back on and made the daunting trek to the south end for dinner at the Gallows.
I was so ready for a glass of Malbec. Mmmmm.
We all shared the farmer’s cheese platter, complete with an awesome fig compote.
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?