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Over the weekend I hosted a girly slumber party (without the slumbering...we all prefer sleeping in our own beds as opposed to on my living room floor). 


This event has been in the works for awhile - my sweet friend Twinkle moved to the US in middle school and we've often talked about some of our favorite childhood movies she has yet to see. Well, "let's make a list of movies you have to see" turned into "let's have a weekend-long slumber party during which we watch all these movies you have to see."  But then we got realistic....we're (masquerading as) adults and have too many obligations to spend a whole weekend lazing around eating junk food and watching movies.  So we kept it to one night!  You better believe we were in our jammies and makeup-free, though!

The signature cocktail was a raspberry lemonade spritzer with a rim full of sprinkles....


And we had waaaay too much snacky junk food to go around - I was still full the next day.  


My friend Lofton also brought some apple cider and mulling spices to which we added cinnamon schnapps (of course).  Because we were so full from snacking, I have tons of cider left over to enjoy by the fire!

Have you ever had a grown-up slumber party?  It was a lot easier to stay up late when we were foolish kids without responsibilities!  😝

The last few years we've hosted a big Halloween party, but this year we've decided to do something different.

source

The 2nd season of Stranger Things is set to premiere on Friday, October 27th and I couldn't be more stoked!  We're planning a 2-part binge watching party, episodes 1-4 on Saturday and 5-9 on Sunday. We'll still decorate for Halloween like usual, but I'd like to make a few special show-specific touches, so I'm looking for inspiration on Pinterest and Polyvore.  So far I know my signature cocktail will be a maple bourbon cocktail with a Eggo garnish, and I'll have some Christmas lights up so we can easily receive messages from the Upside Down!

Stranger Things Party

Stranger Things Party by cutigerkat on Polyvore
This past week(end), hubby had some work to do in his company's Raleigh office that would be easier done without other employees around, so we decided to make a weekend getaway out of it!

Soon after we got checked in and settled in the room, we decided to check out the bar on our hotel's 20th floor - it offered great views of the city (kicking myself for not going back for a photo opp).

Bourbon, neat, for him and sauvignon blanc for her.

We asked family and friends for recommendations to check out while we were in town, and we heard good things about Whiskey Kitchen.  Look how charming!

THIS is the atmosphere I want for our deck and backyard!  SO charming!


Hubby got an Old Fashioned (his standard), and I got a Sazarac.  Both were amazing, natch.


We split dinner (pork chop and veggies, smoked mozzarella salad) and a beer while waiting out a random summer downpour.


There were tons of cute murals everywhere you turned!


I had really wanted to see the Postmodern Jukebox concert that evening at Red Hat Amphitheater but we agreed we might not get into town in time and didn't want to be panicked trying to make it.  When we finished at Whiskey Kitchen, I wanted to take a stroll around the amphitheater where the show was to see if we could hear any tunes.  I overheard the announcement that Straight No Chaser was about to take the stage, whom I wrongly assumed were the opening act, which made me wrongly assume that the entire show was delayed due to rain.  Under these assumptions, we decided to head to the box office after all, and under some serendipitous circumstances, we found ourselves with free tickets and headed inside to enjoy Straight No Chaser's set...woohoo!

Freshly seated, before a small rainstorm.

I'm an a capella superfan!

Once they finished, the audience started getting up and leaving...and I was totally confused. I asked a security guard if Postmodern Jukebox wasn't playing because of the rain (it had rained once or twice during SNC's set), and she looked at me funny before telling me that PMJ was the first act.  

We missed them after all.

Oops.

After the show, we stopped at Poole's - a retro diner with a hipster vibe.  It was such a neat atmosphere and seemed to attract all sorts of people - a great place to round out the evening with a nightcap cocktail and a peach and cherry cobbler for dessert.

The next morning, hubby and I met a coworker for breakfast and to get keys to the office before heading in for several hours of work for him (I helped a bit) and reading for me.


We left the office after packing the car full of computer hardware to bring back to his home office, and we stopped for a photo op along the way (that's our hotel in the background).


Clouds Brewing was our next stop for a late lunch, with pour-your-own taps and some pretty great food.  We split a burger, fries, and a wedge salad - great choices!




After lunch, we visited the Museum of Natural Sciences and rushed through its last 30 minutes before closing.  I'd definitely want to check this place out again - we didn't make it to all the floors, and really weren't able to give the exhibits the attention they deserved!  We went geocaching "on the way back" to the hotel - taking the long way around the city to see what we could see.

After freshening up at the hotel, we checked out  Boxcar Bar & Arcade.  VERY fun but also VERY overwhelming.  There were several birthdays and bachelorette parties going on, in addition to a whole mess of regular folks just like us.




I tried two really good beers there - Milky Way by Trophy Brewing, and Summer Basil by Fullsteam (I like the weird stuff).


Once we ran out of tokens, we headed closer to the hotel to State of Beer where we sat at the bar and enjoyed a couple of dishes - bean dip, salad, and a sandwich.


We rolled home and were pretty worthless the rest of the evening - full of beer and good food.  I still woke up around my usual time, though, and was glad to see such a beautiful view!


We snarfed a protein bar for breakfast and ran out to Morning Times for an iced coffee and a wake-me-up ginger juice shot from Humdinger Juice.  Hoo boy....I've been battling an upper-respiratory thing for a few days, and this spicy shot was simply medicinal (in a good way)!



We walked around some residential areas near NC State's campus and did some more geocaching and yard-lurking.  This fella kept a keen eye on us.




 This weekend was good for my soul.  Sometimes you just need a quick getaway to shake up your routine and appreciate some of life's simpler pleasures.  We had a great time being tourists and taking notes about places to check out next time we're in town! 

Where are your favorite places for a quick weekend getaway?

Taco Casserole

We had some dear friends over Friday night to watch the Game of Thrones premiere (I successfully avoided spoilers all week!).  I made a taco casserole based around this recipe from Buns in my Oven.


I sprayed a 9x13" Pyrex dish with cooking spray and layered the bottom and sides with flour tortillas.  I browned a pound each of ground beef and ground turkey and added two packets of taco seasoning and some water per the package directions.  In a big mixing bowl, I combined a can of condensed nacho cheese soup, an 8 oz block of fat-free cream cheese, two cans of drained Rotel tomatoes, and the ground beef/turkey mixture.  I layered about half of this mixture on top of the tortillas and topped with a can of drained and rinsed black beans.  I sprinkled some shredded Mexican blend cheese on top of the beans before repeating the layers one more time.


Our guests brought Mexican rice and a corn salsa to serve on the side, and I offered shredded lettuce, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, and salsa to serve.  

Peach Enchiladas

For dessert I had every intention of making a peach crisp with some fresh peaches I got from a farm stand nearby.  However, I had an overabundance of flour tortillas I didn't use on our dinner, so I figured there had to be a recipe out there for some sort of dessert enchilada dish.  I was right - Just a Pinch to the rescue!  Since I had fresh peaches, I sliced them and added a bit of bourbon, sugar, cinnamon, and fresh nutmeg and tossed them together in a bowl.  I sprayed a 9x13" Pyrex casserole dish with cooking spray and put peach-filled tortillas in seam-side down.  I did follow the recipe when it came to the butter/sugar/water mixture but it turned out a bit soupy for my liking.  I'm not sure it could have done with less, though, because the sauce did soak into the tortillas really well and make for a nice consistency, there was just a lot of soupiness left in the pan after serving them.  I'm sure they were amazing on their own, but they were definitely better with some caramel praline frozen yogurt!


Both were amazing, as is evidenced by there being no evidence of the final product.  What's one of your favorite go-to recipes to feed a crowd?

Our neighborhood has a huge fireworks display and various events for the 4th of July, so since we've moved here we've invited friends and family to enjoy them with us.  We have a party/cookout during the day and then walk down to the lake to watch the show that night.


This year I made a (last-minute) photo backdrop out of kraft paper and acrylic paints.


And using the Cricut and chipboard, I made some garlands that are sturdy enough to use year after year!  I cut plastic straws into small sections and taped one to the back of each letter so I could thread string through and easily adjust the distance between letters.







I made a sweet and savory snack of Cromer's popcorn covered with candy coating and tossed with patriotic M&Ms (to go with our hotdogs and other snacks and sides).


And my signature cocktail was a prosecco "poptail" - an old-school bomb pop stuck in a big ol' glass of prosecco.  Keeps the drink cold and keeps the flavor and color changing!  I'm still sipping on these made with seltzer or diet lemon soda when I want a little treat!


 We had a good crowd stay for the fireworks, and as usual they were an awesome show!


Friday evening was our potluck wine tasting....which turned into more of a "wine drinking and hanging out," which I'm totally ok with.  Next time if I truly want to do a wine tasting, I'll go with a specific theme to make more of an activity out of it.  But we truly had a great time just enjoying each other's company.

I asked people to bring a bottle of wine and a coordinating snack - no other guidelines.  I got a couple different rosés and made dates stuffed with goat cheese - half were wrapped in bacon and baked, the other half were drizzled in honey.



I also made some homemade crackers in 3 varieties: rosemary and sea salt, herbes de provence, and coriander/black pepper/orange zest.



Here's how my wine bottle flower arrangements project ended up:


And the little wooden caddy I used to hold pens, wine tasting cards, and napkins.



Chilled Wines and Snacks







Maddy served as bouncer/greeter




Selfies on Fleek

  

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