Oh My Girls Weekend

Yep, it has taken me this long to somewhat recover.  Well, kind of.  I'm still tired, but these days when is that not the case?  So I got an amazing stress relief by hanging with the friends who know me best.  And thank God because that means they know what to expect out of me.

We stayed on Isle of Palms in Little Daina's fiancee's beach house.  Pretty sweet.  Doesn't get much better than that!  Drinks were ON as soon as we got to the house.  And snacks.  Good Lord the snacks.  And cupcakes.  From Cupcake.  Pure heaven.

Anyway, aside from the food... the weekend was magnificent.  Joy and I slept in a striped room.  It was vomit-inducingly striped.  Navy and white stripes that made the room seem like it was spinning.  And no, that wasn't the alcohol.

We went out Friday night for Mexican.  Excuse me, nasty Mexican food.  The server couldn't speak English and gave me some strange combination of chips, beef (?), and cheese that was supposed to be nachos.  I love nachos almost as much as I love cupcakes, so this was a major travesty.  For anyone who doesn't know me, I do not hide my feelings well.  AT.  ALL.  Not to mention that the server looked at me funny when I asked where the sour cream, and gaucamole, and lettuce, and tomato, and SHIT THAT OUGHT TO BE ON FUCKING NACHOS was.  Sorry for my outburst, but I'm passionate about nachos.

Luckily, we went back to the house before anyone else could piss me off.  We had a lovely time chit chatting over wine and I actually woke up Saturday morning feeling great!

Well, great until I had breakfast.  It was fantastic, but my stomach isn't used to much more than a granola bar and coffee in the morning.  Oh, and speaking of coffee, it seems that I may have woken up everyone in the house when I went into the kitchen at 7:00am to make coffee.  It was a total Folgers moment, for sure.

Linds and I went shopping and she introduced me to the Dollar Spot at Target.  I got an awesome Royal Hat for just $2.50!  And I bought Joy some neon green Kanye West glasses... that she still hasn't worn.   Whatevs.

Since I burnt up my check card, I figured the next best thing to do was go burn on the beach.  Of course I wore my SPF, buuuuttt I may have gotten a little on the crispy side.  Actually, in some strange places.  That spray stuff is weird.  I do believe at one point in the evening I said that it looked like I had flames coming from my crotchal region.  Hmmm.  Anyway.

Little Daina's lingerie shower was hilarious.  The girl has never worn a thong in her life.  She was so cute and embarrassed and Gung-Ho at the same time.  She is pretty dang awesome.  Then we all got showered and changed and headed out to dinner.  PS. someone may or may not have gotten punched in the ass a few times by someone who might have gotten roofied out on the beach.  Or something like that.  I don't think the roofied person spoke much English, so it is hard to know really what was going on.

Dinner was nice, dancing afterward was super fun, and I was damn tired by the time we got back to the beach house.  I haven't spent that much time with the girls in a long time and it was much overdue.

As promised, I have no pictures.  Well, yet.  I might be able to steal some off of Facebook or something.  It might be a good thing that we don't do this often.  It might just kill me.  Oh yeah, and before I forget, I had a massive chocolate cupcake with a mountain of chocolate icing and fudge on top for breakfast on Sunday.  The perfect ending to a pretty perfect weekend.  xoxo to my favorite girls :)

A Weekend in Pictures- Charleston, SC

Our night out in Charleston was utterly divine.  I don't know how else to describe it.  Yes, of course, I missed Little J.  Surprisingly enough, we didn't spend the entire evening talking about him.  It was like a date we would have enjoyed before we were married- before we ever thought about having kids.

The Library at Vendue Inn is an interesting little place.  Although it was converted from an old grain warehouse, the rooms are reminicent of an old house.  Small.  Charming.  Oh yeah, and then there is the Alice in Wonderland factor.  The room where we were seated was at the bottom of a staircase, putting us below street level.  However, up a smaller set of stairs in the same room was a balcony at street level, which held an small two top and overlooked the street.  Looking up towards the high ceilings I noticed a small door.  Again, it was connected to a balcony.  However, this balcony was only a foot wide and about six feet long.  All leading to nowhere.  Very Alice-esque. 

We began our dinner with cocktails.  A dirty martini for Jax and a glass of J Brut for me.  Incidentally, we were not charged for these drinks.  I believe it may have to do with the fact that we waited so long for them.  That fact was long forgotten when we were presented with our appetizer and first wine pairing.

Fried Green Tomato and Crab Cake Stack

The apps were such large portions that I wasn't even hungry when the entree came!  Crab cakes are not my favorite, but the crab was extremely mild.  Jax had the Balsamic Calamari, which were unbelievably good.

Pork Loin Milanese

For the main course, Jax had the Greek Lamb burger.  He felt odd ordering a burger in a fine dining atmosphere, but it was well worth it.  Amazing.  I wished that I had gotten it instead.  My pork loin was a little on the bland side, but not too bad.

Gelato Tree

For dessert, Jax had the Grand Marnier creme brulee.  I ordered the choice of three Gelato.  I was not impressed with the selection, but the result was fantastic.  Eggnog, Esspresso, and Mango.  The mango was my least favorite.  The eggnog was sinful.

The wines were well paired with the meal.  However, I could not even begin to remember what was poured, an unfortunate combination of much alcohol and a "first date" high.

After dinner, we headed to the Market Pavillion rooftop bar.  It is truly one of my favorite places in Charleston.  Phenonenal views, an elegant atmosphere, and the very spot were Jax proposed to me nearly three years ago.

I highly recommend a weekend in Charleston if you've never been.  It is unbelievably romantic, with so much to do, eat, and drink.

Finally, over the Ravenel Bridge and to the Isle of Palms for brunch at Coconut Joe's!

Forgive me if some of the pictures are a little dark.  Those were taken with my BlackBerry.  Come on now... you didn't think I'd haul out the big gun in the middle of such a fine establishment, did you?  But I certainly wanted to!

Restaurant Week- The Library at Vendue Inn

Restaurant Week starts this weekend!  Yay!  That means ridiculously low priced, three course meals at many of the fantastic restaurants all over the state.  And our pick is...

The Library at the Vendue Inn.

The menu is as follows:

1st CourseFried Green Tomato & Crab Cake Stack5-Herb Cream & Red Pepper Rouille
Tuscan Calamari
Tossed With a Balsamic Glaze and Chiffonade of Basil

2nd Course
Shrimp & Grits
Bacon Wrapped Pan Seared Shrimp, Jalapeño Cheddar Grits and Orange Horseradish Marmalade
Pan Seared Crab Cakes
Herb-Parmesan Jasmine Rice, Roasted Green Beans & Lemon-Chervil Beurre Blanc
Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Butternut & Apple Wood Smoked Bacon Hash, Collards, Apricot-Jalapeño Chutney
Greek Lamb Burger
All Natural Ground Lamb, Cucumber Salad, Feta Cheese, Rosemary Parmesan French Fries and Garlic Aioli

3rd Course
Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Pie
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Selection of Homemade Gelato
Choose Three of the Daily Offerings

And we are doing the three courses with wine pairings.  AND, as if that weren't enough, we are getting a room downtown so that we don't have to worry about driving all the way home!  How exactly is this possible when we have an almost seven month old?  He is going on a big boy adventure.  My parents are taking him on vacation this weekend.  I'm sad because I will miss him desperately, but I'm excited because Jax and I have a very nice weekend planned, including a visit to one of the rooftop bars with friends after dinner.

Did I mention that I'm going to miss him desperately?  No amounts of fried green tomatoes or wine will change that.  But I am certain that he will have a great weekend and be so excited to see his Mama and Daddy on Sunday.

I will tweet y'all, complete with pics, over the weekend to let you know how I'm holding up.  Anyone want to take bets now on when I crack?  Other than the obvious, when he leaves... oh God, I might just start the tears now!