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A couple of weeks ago we threw a wine tasting party - an event that was supposed to be held outside to show off and enjoy our newly lit patio.  However, Hurricane Matthew had other plans.  Thank goodness we didn't suffer any damage, but due to wind and rain, we had to hold the event inside.  I was pretty disappointed, as I had just added a sturdier base to each pole....not pretty, but functional:
Between the square container and extra helping of concrete, I hope these will be less likely to tip over!

So since this was our first time hosting a wine tasting event, I just asked people to bring a bottle of something - anything.  I didn't give any parameters and was a little curious about what we'd end up with, but it worked perfectly.  We had a pretty even mix of white and red, some people brought two bottles, some people brought a food to pair with their wine choice, and everything went smoothly!

I really wanted to keep snacks simple so the wines would shine.  I got several cheeses and meats plus fruit, nuts, crackers, and bread.  I covered the dining table with black paper so we could label everything with metallic Sharpies.


As usual, not nearly enough photos were taken - I was quite proud with how everything turned out!  


I provided a spicy Zinfandel....


....an oaky Sauvignon Blanc (recommended to me as someone who loves both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc)...


...and a very drinkable Rosé.  There wasn't anything I didn't like (of course) - everything was good, from my budget Trader Joe's Rosé to a European white my friend Deidra brought back from a trip last year.


I made up little tasting tally sheets so people could make notes about ones they liked (or didn't like), and we played Postmodern Jukebox - it really was the perfect playlist!  We had friends and parents, and I think attendees of all ages had a great time.


I'm already looking forward to the next one, and I might try to do some kind of theme next time.  However, the "just bring whatever" approach really worked well!
At least part of my Sundays are usually spent like this


I prep Mason jar salads for hubby and myself for each day of the upcoming week.  I've actually come to enjoy it - methodically chopping and employing a mise en place method with each different element in its own little bowl - it's almost cathartic.

Yesterday I used up some of the ingredients from my mac 'n' cheese this weekend to make a squash casserole.  



I'm so excited to have completed a project today that I've been mulling over for months now - patio lights!


I posted an inspiration board a couple weeks ago for this space, and finally things are falling into place.  We've used this patio only a handful of times, as its lack of lighting was prohibitive for doing anything but stargazing.  I can't wait to entertain out here this fall!

I went back and forth awhile on how to secure the bases, but finally decided I wanted something ultimately moveable in case we want to set up a banquet table in the yard for an event or play cornhole after dark.


Budget won out when picking out the bases - I got black plastic pots from the garden center of my local home improvement store for cheap.  I covered all the drainage holes with duct tape (while I watched Hocus Pocus, natch).

I used two 50-pound bags of Quikrete for the 6 bases, 1/2" metal conduit as the upright supports for the lights, and plain ol' white PVC pipe to stand in the middle of the concrete base.  The interior diameter of the PVC snugly fit the conduit, so I can insert and remove the conduit uprights and store everything under the deck out of the way when we get tired of looking at it.


I cut the PVC pipe to the same height as the plastic buckets and affixed them temporarily with duct tape to hold them in place.  Then I (with help from hubs) troweled Quikrete in the bases, making sure the PVC stayed upright - this was my biggest fear, that they'd get bumped and end up at a wonky angle.  They stayed pretty straight!


I painted all 6 metal conduit uprights with black hammered Rustoleum and used the whole can on this one project.  I ran out short of finishing, but it's good enough for me.  They don't need to be perfect, I just didn't want super-shiny silver poles sticking out like a sore thumb!

To affix the lights to the poles, I used these neat little conduit hangers for under a buck apiece.  They're perfect - they're adjustable, and the edge opposite the screw is the perfect place to clip the lights on.


Everything technically works, however, I may need to go back and pour a wider concrete base for each pole.  They are fairly sturdy as-is without being too topheavy, but as you can see in the Instagram photo below, a couple of the poles are leaning (which is alright since I have them propped up against a wall).  I only affixed the clips as high as I could reach on my tippytoes, but they're so easy to change the height of.  So definitely if I decide to put the lights higher on the poles, I may want to consider adding a wider base of concrete for more stability.  Plus, I need to play around with the spacing of each base - that might solve my problem, too.  All in all, I'm so pleased with how it came out, and the whole project (lights, quikrete, poles, bases, clips, and paint) was well under $100!

Been mulling this project over in my mind for the better part of a year. Finally did it today, just in time to enjoy it in fall weather! #patiolights #diyproject #alfresco
A photo posted by Katherine Barrett (@acordiallife) on Sep 11, 2016 at 6:16pm PDT
We get together every 6 weeks or so with some of our family members to do a themed potluck dinner and always have a great time getting creative in the kitchen!  My mother-in-law and cousin-in-law both went to culinary school, and hubby and I both consider ourselves foodies, so everyone brings their A Game!

Our hosts realized that September 10th was National TV Dinner Day, so they wisely set that as our theme.  Favorites like Salisbury steak, peas and carrots, mac and cheese, and spaghetti were on the menu and were served on cute little partitioned trays.




We had a smorgasbord of kitschy American TV dinner favorites...kicked up a notch, of course.


One of my contributions was truffle mac and cheese cups (made with this recipe from The Kitchen Wife), some served in phyllo cups, some formed in mini muffin tins.  My local grocery, despite having an impressive gourmet cheese department, didn't have truffle cheddar.  Since I didn't afford myself enough time to go to a gourmet market, I used some truffle oil in the roux and liberally applied truffle dust to my cheese sauce.  Still not the same, but it gave just a hint of truffle.


I used ditalini pasta so it'd be small enough to cram into a large space.  I baked them and then added fresh grated cheese and broiled it just before we left.  These were MUCH better straight out of the oven...I should've followed hubby's suggestion of baking them at our hosts' house, but I really want to avoid asking to use a hosts' oven if I can help it.  

The other dish I brought was "lunch lady brownies" from Life in the Lofthouse - dense, chocolatey brownies with thick chocolate frosting.  I think I slightly overbaked the brownies, but he frosting redeemed them.


What's your favorite TV dinner dish?  One of my favorite modern choices is the Butternut Squash Ravioli from Lean Cuisine.



The next burger on our Tour de Bob's was the Eggers Can't Be Cheesers burger.  It features a burger topped with American cheese, a fried egg, and served on an English muffin with lettuce and hot sauce.

I'm not a fan of runny yolks (usually hubby isn't either, but he wanted to be a purist with this recipe), so I punctured the yolk and flipped my egg.




We had our leftovers for brunch this morning, and I added some blackberry jam to add a little kick.  I'm a big fan of sweet/savory combos and this was ON. POINT.



What's your favorite sweet/salty breakfast combo?  Two of my faves are from different lowcountry restaurants - the chicken and waffles from Early Bird Diner in Charleston, and the sausage and French toast sandwich from the Fat Hen on John's Island

Because we're weak-willed foodies, when one of us piped up with, "man I'm craving a pizza" on Labor Day, the other couldn't stop obsessing about it either.  So pizza we had.


I ran to Publix and grabbed a bag each of white and wheat dough from their deli section.  I don't know how they do it, but they always have specials on whatever specialty ingredients I'm going there specifically to buy.  Their fresh mozzarella was BOGO, and their gourmet sliced pepperoni and salami was on sale.  #win


I used the wheat crust to make one of my sweet/salty faves - fig/arugula/chevre.  Instead of fresh figs this time though, I used a Stonewall Kitchen Fig and Ginger Jam (affiliate link) we received as a gift as the base "sauce."  Most often I'll use prosciutto on this pie, but I went for hot Italian sausage this time.  It did not disappoint.


For the more traditional pizza, I used the white crust, homemade pizza sauce, large-sliced pepperoni and salami, fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan, and basil from our garden.


We've eaten off these pizzas for three days.


One of the nights we had leftover pizza, I made an antipasti salad inspired by this one I found on From A Chef's Kitchen and it was a thing of beauty.  I had been craving a hearty salad for days and this fit the bill.  

What's your favorite pizza combo?  Any good salad recipes out there you just can't get enough of lately?  This salad dressing from Serious Eats has turned into our house dressing...I could drink it with a straw!

 Last year we hosted a co-ed baby shower for a couple of dear friends.  We were knee-deep in house projects from March through the summer, so this party served as a goal for us to be guest-ready by late August.

I didn't want the theme to be overly cutesy and girly, even though my friends were having a daughter.  Because it was a co-ed shower and the parents-to-be really love the outdoors and have a more rustic sense of style, I went with a Little Woodlands Critters theme.  The inspiration was black buffalo check plaid with touches of red (think toadstools), green (think moss), and natural textures (twigs, pinecones, etc.).  It was borderline difficult to keep the color scheme going without getting Christmassy, but I think we pulled it off!

I designed the invitations with some cute woodland critter graphics I found online and used black and white scrapbook paper behind the party details.  I was so bummed that buffalo check plaid wasn't available in the scrapbook paper sections of ANY of my local craft stores!  They had pink, blue, or yellow, but no black!  I also used kraft envelopes and printed a rustic line graphic on the back to tie in to the invitation. Registry details were located on the back of the invite along with more graphics.  I was so pleased with how the invitations turned out!


Everything came together at the 11th hour, so my mom was the only one who took photos - gotta learn to make time to photograph details, as I was really proud of all the little touches!

Decor and gifts

We served lemonade along with juices to customize it and gin to spike it.  I also stuck with all-white flowers along with greenery and twigs for accents.

Buffalo plaid was hard to find, so I used it where I could and filled in with stripes and polka dots.  I bought the buffalo check tablecloth (affiliate link) on Amazon and am glad I splurged for a keepable fabric instead of cheapy plastic or paper - it's a good neutral I can use for so many holidays and occasions!  And not to toot my own horn, but a month or two after the shower, this pattern was EVERYWHERE.  I'm a trendsetter, trust me - it has little to do with cooler temps and the timeless pattern.  ;)

My mom made the cutest acorn cookie snacks - Hershey Kisses attached to mini Nilla wafers with a peanut butter morsel on top.  I also bought some Chocorooms from World Market - cute little tiny mushroom-shaped treats with cookie stems and chocolate caps....adorable!
Decor, mushroom cupcakes, s'mores cookie cups

I painted this weeping willow on a canvas with background colors from the parents' nursery and asked people to sign each branch with white paint pens so that the signatures would look like flowers/willows.  I hate that I didn't take a picture of the final product!!

We played "guess the baby food" - a different caliber of gross than the "guess the melted candy bar in the diaper" game! I put out popsicle sticks for people to get a little taste of each numbered baby food jar (along with a discard jar) and laid out numbered scrapbook paper for people to use as ballots.
Food and decor
Beer chugging out of a bottle contest.  A seasoned dad cheated by chewing a hole in the nipple.
Chugging beer out of baby bottles...that's my kind of baby shower!  
I really enjoyed hosting a shower that was a little different than your typically-themed event.  I do wish I had done a little more in the way of decor (and documented it better), but I think for all we had going on to get the house itself ready, everything turned out beautifully!
We watch A LOT of cartoons around here.  Hubby and I are basically children, masquerading as large human "adults," and one of our faves is Bob's Burgers.  So naturally, their "burger of the day" cookbook (affiliate link) was an item on hubby's birthday wish list.  For a man who loves cartoons and cooking, it's the perfect gift....and I get to reap the benefits.
We're (mostly him) cooking our way through the book, and in the span of about a week, we've already tried two recipes.
First off: "Hit Me With Your Best Shallot," featuring sauteed shallots with fresh herbs, arugula, and goat cheese.
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Hit Me With Your Best Shallot


The second we've tried featured the same arugula and brioche buns, the "To Err is Cumin" burger...
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To Err is Cumin 
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ground beef with diced jalapeno
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making quick work of cilantro with my rolling herb  mincer (affiliate link)
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flamin' burgers
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assembling the final product
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To Err is Cumin burger
Have you ever cooked your way through a cookbook?  Another we're unofficially making our way through is The Food Lab (affiliate link) - a great resource for the fundamentals and more sciencey aspects of cooking!



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