Wine and Design

May's girls night has been my favorite so far! This month we headed to Wilmington to Wine and Design. We were all really nervous, none of us are artists, so we went in thinking our "art" would look more like crap. I chose, what I thought, was a really simple design....but turns out we had to do a whole lot of blending, mixing, layering. But the good news? The wine glasses were already drawn on the canvas...a little bit of a cheat, but it was awesome!

It's funny how different everyone's pictures are. We were given black, red, blue, yellow and white and were given instructions on how to mix and blend. Everyone's personally really came out! Believe it or not, the moon was the most difficult part. Some of us ended up with no moon at all, some were able to follow directions for a half moon, and then there was me and Laura...an eclipse and a full moon. Hey, there's no right and wrong way here!

Jackeline

Jenny

Amberly

Laura

Crystal and Jennifer

Jena and Tiffany

Angela

Me

And, of course, we snapped a group picture! I had such a great time with this girls night...I'm already thinking about going back and even bringing Kaleb back for a day of fun!

A Dining Experience!

If you know me, you know I love food. And this past Saturday I had a fabulous food experience with my friend Laura. For my birthday Laura and her husband took me to two different restaurants..so it was no surprise to me when she had elaborate plans for our Saturday dinner!

Our first stop was to a wine shop, Temptations Everyday Gourmet. This small hole in the wall shop was a huge surprise to me. I've driven past it a million times but have never even noticed it! We started our night off with a cheese platter, risotto cake and a great glass of Riesling. I even tried pimento cheese for the first time, and (no shocker here) and loved it! We had great conversation, drooled over all the food and even left with 3 bottles of wine each! 

The next stop was Catch. Now, I haven't watched Top Chef in a long time but this restaurant is owned by season 9 contestant Chef Keith Rhodes, so I was pretty excited to be eating there. We sat at the bar, planned to order just appetizers, but once we saw the menu...we knew we wanted more! We had the crispy duck with mac and cheese. Holy crap. AMAZING!! And our drinks? We had cucumber margaritas. Quite possibly the most delicious and most refreshing drink ever.

It was absolutely gorgeous out Saturday night, so before dessert we walked around downtown. We went into a few stores, peoples watched and had a few laughs. At some point we decided another drink was in order and we wanted dessert...we ended up at Little Dipper, my favorite fondue place. We sat on the patio, listened to some live music, ordered strawberry margs and had a yummy peanut butter chocolate fondue. It was such a great way to end a fantastic night!

Someday we'll get a good picture!

It was such a fun night! The next time me and Hubby have a date night, I already told him it was going to be an all night experience! Now I just need to find three fabulous restaurants to visit!

Day 33: Downtown Wilmington

I'm not going to complain about the weather, because frankly I think the hotter the better! But it was hot enough to make me not want to cook at all...well atleast that's the excuse I used when I told Danny I wanted to go out to eat! But really, I just wanted some delicious Front Street Brewery nachos. Mmmm....

We all got something totally delicious. I had shrimp and grits, Danny had brisket, and Kaleb had ribs. Kaleb loves ribs.

After dinner we walked along the river. It was too hot to really do anything so we just stood around listening to live music and enjoying the sites. I love cover bands, I could have stood there all night!

Our next stop was to see the USS North Carolina up close and personal. Me and Danny have done the tour a bunch of times but Kaleb has never even seen it! We went after hours, so we missed the tour, but it was relaxing just sitting by the river next to such a massive ship.

Our family picture had such potential...but I ended up with a light saber through my head! Seconds after this picture was taken the camera fell off the railing, busting my lens! I'm pretty sure I've had this camera since 2007 (it replaced the same camera, that suffered the same death) so it's time for an upgrade anyway. Now I just have to save my pennies to be able to get a new one!

Cupcakes and Wine!

There are about a million reasons why I love North Carolina. The number one reason why I love it here? There is always something going on. There's always some kind of fair, festival, or event. Most weekends we have a hard time deciding which one we want to do!

Thursday night me and Jacque made our way down to Wilmington for what sounded like a perfect night. Cupcakes and wine. Seriously, does it get any better than that?!

Fortunate Glass and Coastal Cupcakes hosted an amazing event. Five cupcakes, five wines, $25. My taste buds are watering just thinking about it! Here's the menu:

 1st Pairing

2008 Shramsberg Brut Rose

Strawberry Champagne Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

2nd Pairing

2011 Crossings Sauvignon Blanc

Seabreeze Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

3rd Pairing

2010 Hopler Gruner Veltliner

Lavender Cupcake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

4th Pairing

2006 Bodegas Covitoro Gran Cermeno Crianza Tinta de Toro

Pistachio Cupcake with Cream Cheese and Caramel Drizzle

5th Pairing

2008 Scott Harvey Syrah

Chocolate Cherry Jubilee Cupcake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I don't think I need to tell you....but they were all delicious! If you are ever in Downtown Wilmington make sure you visit The Fortunate Glass. It looks like the perfect spot for a date night! And then make sure you check out Coastal Cupcakes. You won't regret it!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

My sister and her friend came down for a few days!

Here's a look at what we did!

Wilmington!

Duplin!

Fort Fisher Aquarium!

Carolina Beach!

Swansboro!

What a Weekend!

This was my favorite kind of weekend....busy busy busy!

Friday started with a trip to the beach. Miley loves the beach. We did lots of running around and playing in the water. She loves trying to sneak up on the birds...but she could care less about the fish. I can't wait for many more trips to the beach this summer!

Then we had Family Day on base. One word to describe this: boring. Most of the guys are younger and single...making me the only girl. What kind of girl complains about being the only girl in a group of Marines? Me. My other problem with the "mandatory fun" events is the fact that they are directed towards families with kids. If you don't have a kid....you just sit there. Alcohol should be provided that mandatory fun nights!

We didn't hangout very long at Family Night...instead we headed to Jen and Dustin's house for a cookout/game night. We had tons of fun! We played a fun game of Apples to Apples and enjoyed an easy going night. Game night needs to happen more often!

Finally, Friday night ended at a bar. Apparently I don't mind being the only girl at a bar with a bunch of Marines. Alcohol can get me talking....and apparently I'm a lot of fun. I don't remember the car ride home, getting into my pjs, watching a movie in bed...or falling asleep.

Needless to say.....Danny was up with Miley bright and early Saturday morning while I had a hangover. Remember last time I said I was never drinking again? I never learn my lesson. Jeez! I woke up at 8, Danny brought me breakfast in bed, I went back to sleep til 10....and didn't get out of bed until 3. And that was only because I had to!

We headed down to Wilmington with Jen and Dustin for a double date: dinner and comedy! Lots of laughs! The guys drank too much...which is always annoying, but we still had a good time.

Sunday is the day of rest? Not for us! We did grocery shopping, planted a garden (cucumbers, green onions, peas, banana peppers and some pretty flowers,) made a yummy dinner, and took the puppy for a walk. Fabulous Sunday!

Can you believe I did all that and only took a handful of pictures? Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Why is it that Monday through Friday d-r-a-g but the weekend flies by. I swear the twenty-four hour rule doesn't apply to weekends...the universe knows that people are having fun so time is magically shortened. So, to the universe...please stop, I really like weekends!

You can add this weekend to the list of "great weekends." Friday night was supposed to be girls night, but it ended up being a group thing. And it was awesome. Ten of us went to the hibachi and had some good laughs and a lot of fun. Our chef of the night who calls himself Bob was awesome...and I've never seen so much rice in my life. Ten people sure can eat a lot of rice. I swear I had a large order all to myself.

The fun didn't end when we left the restaurant. My new friend Stephanie came over, so I chilled a bottle of wine...or three. Danny and Justin got some beer...and then the Gambizzles came! We stayed up all night drinking wine and chit-chatting. Three bottles of wine, thirty-six beers later, and a failed attempt to make the guys walk Justin home...it was finally time for bed.

Saturday morning the Gambizzle's had to be up early for a photoshoot. I couldn't believe it...but Miley actually let us sleep past 10:00. HOLY CRAP! And thank goodness for that...I wasn't feeling very human-like when I finally did get up. I think I took a long shower at 11 and then refused to get dress until 1. My head was pounding. It was definitely one of those "never-drinking-again" type of days.

Except we planned to go to the winery for dinner. It was probably a good thing it was closed for the night. Instead we went to Front Street Brewery...not for the beer, but for the amazing nachos! The four of us really showed our "old age" when we decided not to go bowling...but watch Toy Story 3 instead. So, that's how we spent our Saturday night. And I must say....I kinda loved it!

I didn't know Bojangles was a North Carolina place. We spent a good portion of our weekend talking about the "best kept secret" and how they should "share the goodness." The four of us had breakfast there this morning..and we were so under dressed. That's right...under dressed at a fast food place!! It's apparently the happening place to be after church.

While the guys played Black Ops (Danny can't wait for Christmas, he just had to rent the game....) me and Marie went on base. I think it's insane that things don't open until 11AM in the south. So, we paid Katie a little visit! It was nice to have a little girl time and just hangout. And I must say...I'm getting so excited for Katie's wedding. I can't believe it's a little over six weeks away!

And now...it's Sunday. I hate that the "daily-grind" starts on Sunday for us now. I also hate that I took one picture this weekend. I have zero proof that the Gambizzle's were even here! So, you know what that means? We are just going to have to do it again!

Edit: Just an FYI - Bojangles was founded in Jacksonville.

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

1:00 is really early to start drinking.

And if you are at a beer festival, you will be drunk before 5:00

back to the hotel by 7:30

and sleeping by 10.

Yesterday was the Lighthouse Beer Festival in Wilmington.

Me, Danny, Carmen and Mike headed down for a full day of drinking.

We got a hotel, parked the car, and drank many samples of beer.

A sample might seem like nothing,

but when there are 70 breweries...

believe me, you will get drunk.

You will take a lot of pictures

you might will make out with a friend

and if given the chance, someone will buy a Pabst Blue Ribbon hat

After drinking for four straight hours

you will celebrate with empty glasses

and take the mandatory group photo.

Then, you will call a cab (and give way too big of a tip)

You will eat nachos and walk around downtown for the night.

And by night, of course I mean before 7:30. 

But since you have been drinking since 1, you have no concept of time.

By now, the girls are done drinking

but the guys want Patron.

The next day you will find out the guys don't remember this....

or any of these pictures

Now, you will find the guys being kicked out, not allowed in, and trash talking hippies.

This means its time to call a cab, go home, and sleep.

Fast forward to 6AM the following morning someone will wonder why their eye hurts.

Answer: You walked into a wall.

You will have to tell them about the paramedics and cops that might have paid you a visit during the night.

And you might even have to remind them they can't wear their pants home because they peed them.

I'm not saying this happened to us

but just know...

there's a reason you're supposed to wait until 5:00PM to drink!