Weekend Away: Bulldog Bash

This weekend was Bulldog Bash in Starkville, so of course we spent our weekend there. We drove over late Friday night and watched a little bit of The Black Crowes concert in the Cotton District and got to see a couple of people, but it was too hot to spend much time in the crowds. We really kicked off the weekend on Saturday morning with a hearty Southern breakfast, a few good friends, and lots of coffee at Starkville Cafe before walking around downtown.



Then we spent the afternoon tailgating in the Junction, visiting with family and some of our friends from college. We went out to the game—-our dear ol' State was playing LSU this weekend. Though it wasn't a pretty ending, it was a great night for a football game and the stadium was full of fans proudly wearing the maroon and white.



This morning we met up with MrLanke, as usual, for Sunday brunch before heading back to get ready for the work week. Today we went to Restaurant Tyler, filling up on mimosas and thoroughly unhealthy breakfast foods. Fried Green Tomato Benedict for me, Sausage Biscuit Benedict for the mister, and a French Toast Sandwich for Lanke.



On our way out of town, we stopped to get a big cup of Blueberry Cobbler coffee from Strange Brew to get us through the long drive home. I walked away for one minute and the mister had picked up a bag of The Great Pumpkin Spice for each of us. Then we drove home through the rain that's supposed to bring us some fall weather.

Weekend Away.

This weekend I got to go over to Athens and visit the mister for a quiet, relaxing weekend. When I got to town on Friday, we went out for Hibachi and caught the end of Hocus Pocus on TV. Saturday morning was perfect early Fall weather, so we walked around most of the day on Saturday, around campus to downtown and back. We stopped by to see where they were having College Game Day and through the tailgate tents, then stopped to see the stadium.




A little while later we realized that we hadn't had lunch, so we walked over to a pizza place called Your Pie and got a couple of fancy pizzas and lemonade. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, I read while he watched football.

Sporadic Settling.

As I'm sure you can tell from my sporadic posts, I'm still getting settled into my condo in Birmingham. Over the weekend, however, we finally got the bedrooms and office painted so that the new carpet can be put in and then...FURNITURE! I was really looking forward to seeing the colors that I chose for the rooms and I'm really happy with them. The next thing I'm looking forward to getting in here is my Christmas tree, y'all. Normally, the mister and I would have put up my tree a couple of weeks ago, but this move has thrown a wrench in our holidays—along with his graduation from PA School and board certification coming up. However, we have planned the perfect date to celebrate our 3 years.

We had to postpone our date because things are so crazy right now, but as of today, Mr. Burton and I have stuck together through three years and three different cities. Who would've thought we would make it this far? I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Rainy days are for books and tea.

After spending practically the entire day reading, I finally finished The Night Circus. It was just as good as I hoped it would be when I read the first chapter. The story is written in such and interesting way, from different, intertwining points of view. It's magical in a wonderful way--I definitely recommend it if you're looking for something new to read. 

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields."

Then, after spending the dreary, rainy day with my nose in a book, Tiffany and I met at The Domain for tea and dinner at The Steeping Room. We each got a different kind of sandwich and tea. It was the first time I've eaten an actual meal there, but the food was just as good as I hoped. Obviously, it is a wonderful place for tea, too. And of course, we took a photo of the food before digging in (and our waiter arranged the teapots and cups for us). 

A Breakfast Recipe

This morning I put together a little recipe for a baked spinach, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. 

Here's what you'll need:

2 eggs

A handful of baby spinach

Light butter

Non-stick cooking spray (I used olive oil)

2 slices light/thin-sliced bread

1 slice light American cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425, and spread a little butter on the bottom of one of your bread slices & place it (butter side down) on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Layer your cheese slice and top with the second slice of bread. Cut a hole in the center with a cookie cutter (or whatever you have on hand). Chop the spinach and combine the eggs & spinach in a small bowl. Pour the egg/spinach mixture into the center of the bread and sprinkle salt & pepper on top. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the eggs are set. (ww pts+ value: 7)

On an entirely different note, I finished reading The Baker's Daughter and I really enjoyed it! Next up for book club is The Night Circus--I started reading it at the end of December, but classes started back, so I never finished. I can't wait to see how it ends. Have any of you read it?

Brunch + Book Club

Last weekend I went to my first book club meeting in Austin. I got to have brunch at the Galaxy Cafe and chat about good reads with a few lovely ladies and we picked out our first book--The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy. We had a few to choose from, but the description of this one was just so appealing. I can't wait to get started, have any of you read it?

"In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep in the dead of night on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger."

Records and Espresso.

Today was a day for relaxing. My first plan was to spend my Saturday laying by the pool, but the cloudy skies had other plans and it just wasn't the kind of day for that. Once I realized that, I spent the greater part of my morning reading while Zoe sat in her favorite window, then decided to go out and explore some more of Austin.

I read about a coffee shop called Epoch Coffee, so that was where I decided to head for the afternoon. I found it, and ordered and Espresso Freeze (I think that's what they called it) and y'all, it was probably the best frozen espresso I've ever tasted. Plus it looked pretty.

Since you all know just how much I love my coffee, you should also know that I'm a sucker for a good record store. So when I noticed that what is possibly my new favorite coffee shop is right by a sweet little record shop called Breakaway Records. So I decided to treat myself to one or two, including this sweet copy of The Beach Boys' Endless Summer. Obviously, it was a great day.

Cooking y'all.

After a strangely stressful week, I decided that tonight was a good night to try out a new recipe. I don't know about all of you, but growing up in the deep South around the the ladies that I did, there's nothing much more relaxing that cooking yourself a good dinner. Somehow I just happened across a recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps on Emily Bites and it seemed like a good one to try out on a Friday night. And these turned out pretty fantastic with a cup of tea, y'all. So I couldn't help but share the recipe.

Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps from Emily Bites
Yields 4 wraps. WW P+: 8 per wrap (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
1 lb 95% lean ground beef  (I substituted ground turkey for ground beef, as always)
1 T McCormick Hamburger Seasoning
4 Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Wedges, cut into pieces
2 T Ketchup
2 t Yellow Mustard
1/3 cup 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 T Hormel Real Bacon Bits
4 light original Flatouts 
½ a medium tomato, cut into pieces
1 – 1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
Directions:
1.    Bring a large skillet to medium heat. Add the ground beef and hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Drain meat. Clean skillet and set aside.
2.    Place meat in a medium bowl and add the cheese wedges, ketchup, mustard, cheddar and bacon bits. Stir to combine. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir again until meat is evenly coated.
3.    Spoon a quarter of the meat mixture (around a generous ½ cup) onto the center of each flatout and spread the mixture lengthwise, leaving about an inch at each end. Evenly distribute the shredded lettuce and tomato pieces across the top of the meat. Fold in the short ends of the flatout over the filling and then fold in the long ends to cover it. 
4.     Lightly mist the large skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium-low heat. Place the wraps fold-side down onto the skillet (I did them in batches of two) and let them cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Flip the wraps and continue to cook until golden on the bottom. Cut in half and serve.


I have yet to try one of her recipes that I didn't like, so check her out! There are tons of cute, individual serving "cupcake" recipes--I haven't tried any of them yet, but they're on my list of recipes to try!


Happy weekend, friends!

Renegade Austin

First thing this morning, I went over and signed one last piece of paperwork for my new apartment. It looks like I'll be moving in to it this week!

In the afternoon I got to have my first experience with Renegade Craft Fair--I love it. Being a craft-lover, I've wanted to go for a few years now and somehow I moved here the week of Renegade Austin. How does that work out? Even though I meant to come leave with just one thing I came home with three. A necklace (sewing machine), a bracelet (arrow), and a screen printed dress. Typical. 

After having the Renegade experience, I decided to do a little exploring--which led me to the Whole Foods in downtown Austin. Having grown up in small-town Mississippi, I haven't ever really spent time in Whole Foods since the nearest one was always a few hours away. I love that place. Fresh fruits and veggies everywhere. I came home with strawberries, peaches, kiwi, and an enormous salad for dinner with lemon-chive salad dressing. It was wonderful. 

Happy weekend, y'all!