Thief!

It was Monday night about 7:30 and Jason had just gotten home from work.  Finally time for dinner, leftovers! 

We had Philly cheese steaks over the weekend and I couldn't wait to have them one more time.  I pulled the caramelized onions and peppers out of the fridge.  Then I retrieved the shaved beef which I had sauteed in Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, vinegar, Dijon mustard, etc.  I had three different kinds of cheese already grated, sharp cheddar, monterey jack and gouda. 

All I needed was a nice crusty bun to build my masterpiece.  But where were my buns?  I knew I had left them on the counter in a ziploc bag.  They were definitely on the counter next to the refrigerator when I left for work.  Where were they now?  Jason & I looked all over the kitchen thinking we must have lost our minds.  Two baguettes couldn't have disappeared into thin air. 

And then we thought to ourselves, 'surely the cats didn't eat them right?'  If they had, where was the evidence?

UNDER OUR BED!!!  Yes that's right.  Bluebell must have jumped onto the kitchen counter, picked up the ziploc bag, jumped off the counter, proceeded to take it up the stairs, into out bedroom & then sample it under our bed.  I would love to have seen Moses' face during this episode.  'Ummmm I don't think this is a good idea.  Bluebell, have you done this before?  What's mom gonna say when she gets home?  You're going to be in trouble!'

DOUBLE TROUBLE!  Guilt is all over that pretty white face.  And you can see Moses is dreading the punishment from afar. 

No one got punished but I was really sad to miss out on my yummy leftovers.  We laughed so hard, especially when we tried to imagine what Bluebell looked like while she was dragging the ziploc bag throughout the first floor and then up the stairs.

Who knew cats loved bread so much?  Guess we'll have to hide our leftovers a little better next time.  Silly kitties:)!

  

Happy Anniversary, please pass the biscuits!

 Yesterday marked our 6th wedding anniversary.  It's true what they say, it really does get better every day!

In years past we've always celebrated big.  Our philosophy is 'forget the gifts, let's go somewhere!'  Not to be out done by previous years like Las Vegas, Savannah, St Lucia, Hong Kong, a new house (well not a trip but what did consume all of our October 2010)...this year we went to...

CHAPEL HILL!  Yep that's right, just a quick 30 minute drive down I-40.  Did I mention we bought a new house last year?  Hence the close locale:)!

Jason & I treated ourselves to a Southern Biscuit Making class at A Southern Season.  What's more comforting to eat than a real Southern biscuit?  Oh with honey, or maybe hot jam, or maybe my favorite, mayhaw jelly.  Is your mouth watering yet?  Unfortunately this delicacy is also one of the most intimidating things to make from scratch, almost as scary as a real pie crust. 

Our instructors Willard and Marilyn took us through the history of the Southern biscuit including how and why to pick the right flour, choosing the right fat (crisco, lard or butter), and how to prepare the perfect sausage gravy to compliment.  We also made plum jam & sampled some of the best grits I've ever had.  I confess to having instant grits in my pantry.  I'm honestly embarrassed to type such hypocrisy.  I promise to repent and turn to old-fashioned NC milled grits from now on.
       
Not only did we observe the preparation of 2 different biscuit recipes but we also got hands on experience mixing the dough, cutting out and shaping the biscuits, and making our own dry mix to take home. 

How blessed am I to have a husband who loved this budget friendly travel experience equally as much as I did?  Happy Anniversary dear Jason!
  

Jason measuring his ingredients for his dry mix, so cute in his apron.

The biscuits we cut out were brushed with melted butter once coming out of the oven.

Warm plum jam, so easy & delicious

Wow, I'm not sure if I've had sausage gravy before but from now on I'm a believer!

This is how my plate started out...

And then I ate some...

And then I served myself some more...

And then I ate again...

Ok finally I stopped, pretty sure I ate everyone else at the table to shame, well maybe except for the fat guy on the end.

If Southern Biscuits 1 was this much fun, we can hardly wait to go back for Southern Biscuits 2 where we learn to make sweet potato biscuits, pimento cheese biscuits, chicken pie and cobbler...maybe next October (but hopefully before)!

Labor Day Weekend

 It's never a boring weekend around our house and Labor Day was certainly no exception. 

Friday night we enjoyed a last minute dinner at Jason's aunt's house in Sanford.  Jason's cousin & her husband came home from TX for the weekend.  They shared with us the exciting news that they're expecting their first child, a little girl in February.  That will be Jason's aunt's third granddaughter. 

Dinner at Margaret & Rupert's in Sanford

Friday night Jason's parents spent the night with us so that Jason & his dad could get up early Saturday morning to work in the yard.  They used some of the cross ties from our dirt pit (former playground area) to give some definition to the flower bed on the left side of our house.  It turned out even better than I expected.

While Jason & his dad worked in the yard, Jason's mom & I prepared several dishes that we would later take to W-S for my dad's 70th birthday celebration that night.  With the help of some of my dad's golfing buddies, the 'surprise' was pulled off perfectly.  It was lots of fun hearing stories from my dad's friends all night about their various golfing, fishing & travel adventures.

Dad being led into his party by Mr Dickerson & Mr Clark

Dad & Mrs Connor serving their plates from the buffet

Dad getting ready to blow out his candles on his banana pudding

Dad & Me

Since we were still in W-S Sunday morning, we headed to K&W for breakfast!  Unfortunately no one in the Raleigh area can share our enthusiasm for K&W breakfasts since the cafeterias over here only serve lunch & dinner.  But let me assure you, it is the best & the cheapest!  Best grits you'll ever eat!

We got back to Raleigh Sunday night & met up with our favorite foodie couple, Ryan & Susan (also great friends from church) for a night out.  Jason remembered that the NC symphony was playing a free concert at the new amphitheatre downtown.  Our friends agreed to the outing & we ventured off.  The symphony played a variety of music from Beethoven, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Swan Lake, Phantom of the Opera and more.  It was nice to actually recognize most of the pieces.  The weather was beautiful & the amphitheatre was packed!

Downtown Raleigh at night

NC Symphony

After the concert we tried a new restaurant downtown.  Poole's Diner tops Jason & my list of Raleigh foodie finds.  The chef & owner Ashley Christensen (who recently appeared on Iron Chef) is in the process of opening 3 new establishments, a fried chicken place, burger joint & bar.  As of that weekend only Beasley's Chicken & Honey had opened.  YUMMO! 

Beasley's Chicken & Honey, on the corner of Wilmington & Martin

The blackboard menu, so chic

Let me tell you, this place is rockin'.  We felt so cool just being inside the doors.  There were only 3 entrees written on the chalkboard menu, 1/4 of a fried chicken ($7.50), chicken biscuit ($6.75) and fried chicken with a waffle ($10).  These could be paired with a variety of southern sides & decadent desserts.  We were seated at the community table in the center of the restaurant with a lot of other strangers who were all obviously 'in the know' when it comes to late night eateries.  Unfortunately I was too excited about eating the biscuit that I missed taking a picture of it.  Did I mention that the biscuit was served with a pickled green tomato & honey mustard sauce?  We had a side of greens with our fried delight.  Greens...doesn't it make you feel Southern to say that?  I love the South!
It won't be long before our foodie friends review Chuck's, Ashley's burger spot which opened this past weekend.

Me & Susan

Monday morning we met several of our YM1 friends at our Sunday school teacher's house for breakfast.  They live next door to our favorite nursery so we could hardly resist buying more plants for the yard.  How can you say no to 25% off?  Luckily we managed to only buy 5 things, 1 magnolia tree, 1 fig tree and 3 burning bushes.  I can't wait to take Moses' picture in front of the burning bush!  So much for not laboring on Labor Day as we spent the remainder of Monday working in the yard.

Thankful Thursday

This post is long overdue.  Despite our goofball President's efforts to completely destroy the American economy, I am fortunate to work in a field rarely touched by the recession.  While picking popcorn out of people's teeth and giving flossing lectures all day isn't necessarily glamorous, I am thankful for my job!  

I know what it is to have a bad job and I know what it is to have a wonderful job!  When I left my last job almost 2 years ago, I had no idea where the Lord would take me.  Never in a million years could I have imagined a better fit for me than where I work now!  Not only is my office only 2 miles from our new house but it is also only open only 3.5 days per week.  Seriously, could it get any better than that?

Let me tell you all a little about my co-workers who are in large part why I consider myself so blessed to work where I do.

Dr B-He's been practicing dentistry nearly 40 years.  Dr B is a huge WFU fan and he has one of the most contagious laughs I've ever heard.  We share the same birthday and also share the passion for getting out of work by 5pm! 

Liz-She's the office manager!  It's been fun getting to know Liz over the past year and a half.  We have so much in common.  One of the first things we realized was that we both loved Ina Garten.  Since then we've shared lots of recipes & delicious dishes together.  If it weren't for Liz I would never have known how to hang blinds in our house.  She is always happy to help with a house or garden project.  In return I've taught her all I know about canning jellies and veggies and making handmade cards.  It seems like everyday we find one more interest we share!

Amber-She's Dr B's assistant.  Amber is awesome!  She knows everything about dentistry, I'd let her do a filling on me any day (that is if I ever had a cavity, I never plan to).  Amber is kinda like my big sister at work.  Our sweet friendship has really grown over the last 17 months.  We share a love of animals, country music, exercising (well Amber probably loves this more than me) and good Southern cooking.  She's always asking me, "what'd you cook for dinner last night?"  This week I had to confess that we ordered take out and she laughed because she did too!

Robert-He's the other hygienist.  Thank goodness for Robert.  He has been such a wonderful help to me as I've adjusted to the office.  He's always happy to answer my stupid questions and point me in the right direction to supplies or whatever I need.  Another interesting fact about Robert is that he is from the mayhaw capital of the country, a small town in southwest GA.  Last year he had his mom send me some mayhaw jelly for my birthday, so thoughtful!  Robert is very talented outside of dentistry as well.  He is a massage therapist & choral singer.         

Julie-She helps at the front desk with Liz.  I love getting to spend time with Julie in and out of the office.  She's so much fun and always a wealth of creative knowledge.  Julie could turn any piece of old furniture into a beautifully stylish work of art.  She is also incredibly talented when it comes to home decorating.  You should see her Christmas decorations!  I've never seen a mantle look so pretty!  I'm thankful that I've already benefited from her skills, she rearranged our living room not too long ago. 

Dentistry, oh dentistry how I am thankful for plenty of dirty mouths to clean.  My back may not hold out forever in this profession but I'm glad that while it does I'll be sharing my days with these great people!

Furry Friday

Prepare yourself for some of the cutest cat photos you've ever seen.  My kitties have been so cuddly with each other lately.  Whenever I come home for lunch during the day I always find them wrapped up in each other's arms on our bed.  Or better yet, when I'm home early on Thursday or during the day on Friday I get to enjoy a nap or two with them!  Here are some of my favorite shots from the last week...

When we brought Bluebell into our family I never dreamed she and Moses would become such great friends!  I'm so glad they can keep each other company during the day while we're at work and for longer periods of time when we travel.  Moses couldn't have picked a better little sister!  We love you Moe and Bluebell!!!

Happy Birthday!

August is a busy month around here with my birthday & Jason's birthday only 9 days apart.  We're up to our ears in sugar so it's a good time the parties are coming to an end.  Here are a few of the highlights...

 

Who wants to celebrate their 30th birthday alone?  My thoughts exactly!  That's why I made sure everyone driving on I-540 knew to wish my husband a happy birthday! 

And I wasn't the only one who made the day extra special.  Moses and Bluebell put together a picnic basket full of blueberry muffins, fruit and ham biscuits for Jason to share with his co-workers. 

After work Jason and I tried a new restaurant for dinner, Margaux's.  Not only it is a mile from our house but they also have an early bird special, otherwise it can be very expensive.  It was delicious!  We cannot wait to go back!

The night after Jason's birthday we had a few friends over to celebrate and play games.  I made Ina Garten's Beatty's chocolate cake, a cherry-strawberry pie and a peach-blueberry pie.  All three were served a la mode with Bluebell ice cream of course!

Then if all this fun wasn't enough, I surprised Jason with a trip to Lake Norman this past weekend (which just happened to fall over my birthday).  I contacted Jason's college roommate Jon about 1 month ago and asked him if we could use his lake house for our special birthday weekend.  Jon's family never hesitated and before I knew it we had a wonderful trip planned for Jason, myself, Jon, his wife Ashley & Jon's parents.

Lake=water skiing and lots of it!  I am pretty sure I've mentioned this before but in case anyone has forgotten it, there's no place we'd rather be than at the lake!  The beach is fine, the mountains are lovely but give us a lake and a set of jet skis and we're the happiest we could be in this lifetime!  Jason has become an incredible water skier since meeting Jon in college.  Me, well I am not highly skilled at the sport but I am definitely hard-headed enough not to give up trying!


And now my turn!

One ski

Two skis

Unfortunately my photographers' skills were lacking but at least there is one shot of me slaloming.  This was very redeeming as the first trip of the summer I was only able to get up on two skis.  I realized that I had been holding the rope on the wrong side which kept throwing me off balance.  Problem corrected and no troubles this go round.

Saturday night (my birthday) all six of us went out to dinner in Mooresville.  After consulting Trip Advisor and hearing personal testimonies, we choose to dine at The Prickly Pear.  Wonderful!  Their spin on modern Mexican cuisine was divine!  We will definitely be back!

Myself, Jason, Ashley and Jon before dinner

Wouldn't love to wake up to these views every morning?

We are so grateful to the Marx family for such a memorable weekend!  Much fun was had by all!

One more birthday shout out...my dear girlfriends and I celebrated Southern style with another beach music concert last Thursday night.  I think we are on the verge of becoming Band of Oz groupies!  And speaking of shout out, my girlfriends had arranged just that from the band for me during the concert.  Before I knew it the lead singer said, "I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Caitlin!"  We all screamed and got several funny looks from the crowds around us.  Oh well, it made my night!  We finished off the evening with dessert at my favorite place, Hayes Barton Cafe.  Love you girls!!!

  
   



Oak Island Beach Trip

What a blessing good girlfriends are!  January 2010 myself & 3 other girlfriends went on a cruise together.  Why end the fun there?  So last July myself & 5 other girlfriends went to the beach together.  3 births & 2 pregnancies later, we managed to plan another girls' beach get away this July!

Casey was gracious enough to be our host this year at her family's house on Oak Island.  Jenn, Casey & I headed down to the beach Friday morning while Mary Beth and Jessica waited to leave after work.  We weren't on the road long before we embarked on our first adventure.  Jenn 'knew' of a place to eat in Faison so we jumped off I-40 & trekked into the country 3 miles.  Lo & behold in the middle of nowhere we found Southern Exposure.

If you're ever on I-40 headed towards Wilmington around a meal time, this place is definitely worth a stop.  I'd describe it as southern elegance with a country twist.  Lunch prices ranged from $7-$10, we heard dinner was much pricier. 

After a quick stop for ice cream at a small shack boasting the 'best ice cream in Brunswick county' (definitely not in my opinion, but at least now we know), we arrived at the beach house.  Here's where adventure #2 began.  Casey begins walking up the back stairs of the beach house & freezes.  I'm right behind her & think, 'umm maybe she sees a bug?'  Nope, the window of the back door is completely shattered.  Upon seeing this Casey responds, 'umm maybe a bird flew into it?'  Wrong again, looks like a bullet hole to me.  Sure enough, we get in the house to find a corresponding hole in the drywall across from where the entrance hole in the window is.  Yikes.  So much for our beach music concert plans.  We spend the next hour or so bonding with police & detectives who 'thoroughly' investigate the crime scene.  And by thoroughly I mean the police officer just graduated from police school and told us this was the first bullet hole he had seen.  He did manage to describe the location of the gunman as being on the other side of the back door.  Wow Sherlock, I think we could have figured that one out!  Needless to say, we were all tired enough to sleep just fine once we taped up the window:)!

When Jessica and Mary Beth arrived we celebrated the upcoming arrival of baby Callie.  This will be Jessica's 2nd child, but 1st girl.  We feasted on fondue and sparkling grape juice.

Yay for a surprise baby shower!!!

Saturday morning we lounged around eating cinnamon rolls and chatting before we mustered up the energy to brave the heat. 

Unfortunately we planned our trip during the hottest weekend of the year.  So with two 7.5 month pregnant ladies we opted for indoor shopping rather than outdoor beach time.

First we hit the party store in hopes to find some treasures for Mary Beth's upcoming baby shower.  Didn't find what we were looking for so we opted for some Kodak moments instead.

We then browsed through a few touristy shops in Southport before discovering what has to be the best restaurant in town-Taylor's.  I'm honestly trying to plan a vacation around this restaurant alone.  I figure we could eat 3-4 meals there within a 24 hour period and then drive back to Raleigh.  It is well worth the 3 hour drive to experience this southern gem.

Here is my plate...fried catfish, collards, sweet potatoes, and a biscuit.  All for $7.50.  Need I say more?
If this wasn't enough, look whose picture is on the wall...

Yes you're right, that is Ina Garten.  I hope that's not the closest I get to having my picture taken with the Barefoot Contessa but in reality it might very well be.  I spoke with the owner about meeting Ina & she assured me that both she & her husband Jeffrey were very friendly and down to earth.  So good to hear, I was afraid she could be a little snooty coming from the Hamptons!  Tyler, Giada, Paula and other Food Network celebs graced the walls as well.  Wow, you know you've made it in the world when you can posts pics like this on the walls.  Seriously...you've got to try this place!!!

We chilled back at the house for the rest of the afternoon, watched a chick flick & then got ready for a seafood dinner, always our tradition when at the beach.  After dinner we finally saw the ocean!  And what better way to enjoy the waves than on the pier at sunset?

Sunday morning we spent a little more time out on the beach before it got too hot.  Jessica, Jenn and I went for a nice walk which ended in a lecture about sea turtles from a lady who makes it her mission to educate the general public on turtle breeding tendencies.  Casey & Mary Beth, our 2 beach bums, relaxed in the sand and soaked up some sun.  

I'm so grateful for this annual retreat.  Maybe next year we'll bring the guys along for the adventure...