a list.

Once upon I time I went to work. I came home. I made dinner. We watched tv and we maybe went to the gym.
Lately between work, social functions, workouts, and trips out of town I barely have time for my darling blog.
This week in particular is jam packed with obligations and I can't tell you how happy I'm going to be come Friday evening.

Here are a few things helping me get through this week:

Try these and you'll understand.
They are so good that I had to go out on my lunch break today to pick up a new pack.
I even plan to send Planter's an appreciation letter and if you think I'm kidding, let me assure you, I'm not (I mentally wrote the whole thing on the way back from the grocery store this afternoon)!


As you probably know I love music, but this morning nothing quite fit my mood.
That is until I popped in the Eat, Pray, Love soundtrack my sweet husband so kindly downloaded for me.
After seeing the movie this past weekend with my mama san I now hear the songs and imagine I'm strolling down cobblestone streets in some small Italian village with my love.


This coming weekend we leave for the first Hokie game of the season and it's a big one folks! This game is being played at FedEx field in Maryland which means we get to spend the whole weekend with some of our favorite DC area folks.



Having these fellas to come home to is always the best part of any day.



I'll be back soon my few beloved blog readers. Promise!
xo

food.

Is anyone watching Master Chef?
It's quite possibly my new favorite show on tv.
Home cooks are competing for the title of 'Master Chef', a quarter of a million dollars and their own freakin' cook book.
So cool.
The show is very inspiring.
There have only been 4 episodes thus far. I've cried during each one.
You see, I love food. I really, really do.
I love watching people create amazing dishes...thus the reason I could watch Food Network 24/7.

I haven't always been this way though.
As a child you could say food was my enemy.
I ate chicken. A lot of chicken.
In fact my mother used to say I was going to turn into a chicken nugget.
I resisted trying new food for some reason.
I turned down many offers to just take a bite of a bologna sandwich...although many wouldn't blame me for that one.
I also remember a time when I sat staring at a piece of meatloaf.
My parents were not allowing me to leave the table until I ate my dinner.
I have no idea who won that battle. All I remember was the disgusting 'meat cake' sitting on a plate growing cold.
Funny, because now I'd love to make a meatloaf as perfect as my mothers.

When I went away to college I was lucky enough to live across from the best food hall on campus.
There was a wrap station that I was amazed by. I'd never seen chicken and cheese, two of my very favorite things, in anything other than two pieces of bread.
I was hooked and therefore easily gained my freshman 15.
The rest of my college years I lived off campus and indulged in cereal, chicken a la George Forman and turkey and cheese sandwiches.
Ask my husband. That's really all I ate for quite some time.

Then slowly but surely I started trying new foods.
I had my first burger only 7 years ago and now I think there isn't much better.

I'll never forget the first time I had a burrito. It opened the door to this whole world of Tex Mex I had no idea existed.

My first bolognese. Oh my word. It was in Chapel Hill, NC. We sat in a little Italian restaurant with best buddies, The Cheds. I'd heard of this dish, but wasn't quite sure what it was. I think Chelsea convinced me to order it and I swear to you I still think of that dish.

I don't know where or how my inner foodie emerged, but it has and I'm ever so certain that Mr. P and I will own a restaurant someday.
There is lots to learn, but I love nothing more than trying a new dish and being in the kitchen.
I LOVE looking up a restaurant I hear or read about regardless of it's location because I'm fascinated with menus.
My handsome hubby is also quite handy in the kitchen, in fact he's taught me quite a bit.
Plus we both love people...who wouldn't want to come to our restaurant? :)

So somehow my post about a new tv show turned into this.
I could talk about food for hours. I really could.
It's a wonderful feeling finally finding the thing I'm most passion about.
I know my knowledge and love of food will only continue to grow and that makes me very, very happy.

xo

saturday & happiness

Last week my hubby cancelled a trip to visit his sister in Raleigh so that I could attend the Zac Brown Band concert.
Later in the week, after a sweet & thoughtful text from Mike (bro-in-law), we decided to head to Raleigh on Saturday to surprise Tarina (my WONDERFUL sis-in-law) after all.
We drove up and spotted Tarina mowing the lawn.
Thankfully we were driving The Dood, which she didn't recognize.
We parked and casually strolled down the sidewalk until she spotted us.

It's in those first 30 seconds of being there that I knew without a doubt I made the right choice in skipping the concert.
Family is so very, very important.
I'm lucky, incredibly lucky, to have amazing family.
Neither of us have a particulary large family that we regulary keep in touch with, but the ones that we do mean the world to us.

We spent the entire evening and afternoon just hanging out and enjoying each other's company.
We had a lovely dinner of grilled chicken, artichokes, veggies and corn-my favorite.
My only wish is that we could have stayed longer.


As we drove home that next afternoon I felt overwhelmed with happiness.
Life just felt perfect.
I have many of those moments.
They come when I'm arriving home after work to my husband and my 4 legged son.
They come when I'm surrounded by friends or family.
It's a feeling of pure happiness, that all is right in my life, that I'm where I'm supposed to be and with a man who couldn't be more perfect for me.

I hope you all get this feeling from time to time.
Every time that I do I remind myself to never take any of it for granted and that I can always improve on my already amazing life by being an even better person.

Sorry for going and getting all sappy today.
I couldn't help it.
xo

Brunswick Plantation-Beach Trip

June Buggie Barzee's parents live in a beautiful development located in Calabash, NC (a town famous for their seafood).
Mr. P and I were lucky enough to join them on a 4 day, 3 night trip to this community located next to Sunset Beach.
I haven't seen the ocean in a few years and I couldn't have been more excited to have nothing to do but lay pool/ocean side for a couple of days.

We checked into our villa that would have been lovely minus the cigarette smoke, yep somehow we ended up in a smoking villa.
However this group wasn't going to let a funky smell damper our moods...
The gals headed to the pool, the boys drank beer and it was the perfect start to our vacay.


While there we spent time with Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, the sweetest, most lovely parents imaginable.
We had fresh seafood, amazing ribs and one of the best thin crust pizzas I've had to date.
We bought rafts that we love and may just be sturdy enough we can pass down to our own kids someday.
We frolicked in the ocean.
We laughed. A LOT!
We had another thin crust pizza.
We had italian ice...the mango was to die for.
We may have gained a pound or two.
We made more amazing memories with our best friends.



*I obviously devoured all said food too quickly to get a photo. sad face.

The past week of my life was filled to the brim with laughter, relaxation, fun times, best friends, sunshine and good food.

I promise you can look forward to upcoming posts on the Minute to Win It premier party and our 2010 beach trip with best friends (once I steal photos from friends).

Work has been busy and my evenings are taken up by workouts and reality tv, but I promise to try and blog more frequently.

Have a happy evening.
Hubs and I are meeting up after work for a lobster dinner that has pretty much been consuming my thoughts all day.
xo

Minute to Win It

A little over a month ago our best friends were flown out to California to tape an episode of Minute to Win It.
Wild, huh?
Mr. P and I were lucky enough to be able to join them as "supporters"...
An experience I will forever be grateful for and NEVER forget. NEVER.

Tonight their episode airs.
Be sure to tune in to NBC at 8pm to see them take on crazy office themed games.

We'll be at Fox and Hound in Birkdale Village where our sweet friends are hosting a viewing party.
Tomorrow we are lucky enough to be joining the superstars on a 4 day, 3 night beach trip.
Needless to say I'm a very, very happy girl.

I'll be back next week with more details and lots of photos.
xo

Baby Cakes

Last week a sweet & lovely mother contacted me to make baby cakes for the adults to snack on at her son's birthday party.
I hadn't had an order in a few weeks so I was thrilled to make a batch of 50 in this adorable blue/green color scheme.
Mr. P helped me rig my cake pan with aluminum foil so that I could half the batter making one almond cake and one vanilla.
The results was two perfectly baked mini cakes that yielded this adorable batch of Baby Cakes.


xo

breakfast salad

Since hubby and I are on a pretty strict diet we've had to get creative so we aren't eating grilled chicken or scrambled eggs every night.
One of my favorite meals of the past week would have to be this yummy breakfast salad inspired by the one I had at Sunny Pointe Cafe in Asheville.
I used Jenny O Turkey Extra Lean Turkey Bacon (only 20 calories a slice) and cooked it with red onion to add a little flavor.
We topped organic mixed greens with the turkey bacon, onion, homemade maple vinagrette* and two eggs over medium.
This. was. DELICIOUS!

*Maple Vinagrette:
1/4 cup of at least Grade B Maple Syrup.
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. of good honey mustard (dijon mustard would probably work well also)

Whisk syrup and vinegar together while slowly adding olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper and lastly whisk in honey mustard.

This stuff is so yummy and a little goes a long way, I only drizzled a bit over my greens.
The combination of the dressing and the runny egg yolk are superb!

d.c. finally.

This trip was jam packed with celebrating, laughs, good food, lots of fun, drinks, adventures and most of all best friends.

Nic, thanks for hosting us at your place.
L, a million congrats.
Both, thank you for such an amazing trip I'll never forget.

so sweet.

My DC trip was perfect! We packed both days full of fun and I'm therefore exhausted.
I don't think I can muster up the energy and I know that in the state I'm currently in I wouldn't verbally do this trip justice.

So in the meantime, enjoy this sweet jesture from my always sweet hubby.
I walked in the door last night to see that he had used two of the antique letters I purchased in Asheville, as well as some of my craft paper from back in the wedding planning days to create this...


He cut the heart out all on his own, he even ironed it. PRECIOUS.
There was also a flower he picked while out on a walk with our son.

After a 7 1/2 hour drive it was exactly what I needed.
LOVE.