Thoughts on Thursday: Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice is Back!!

Linking up with Annie from Home of the Malones and Natalie from East Coast Chic again for Thoughts on Thursday.

 

A heads up to all Pumpkin Spice Latte fans, it will be available  at Starbuck's to the masses on September 2nd, however, for some people, it will be available this coming Monday, August 25th! Apparently according to this article if you join @TheRealPSL on Twitter, you should be able to get PSLs on the August 25th date. I have downloaded the Twitter application on my iphone and added the above-mentioned group in an effort to hopefully be part of the early access. I will let you know if it works!    

 

 

 

 

 

Another hint that Fall is right around the corner, are all of the Fall magazines.  My favorite are always the Pottery Barn magazines. I already have my eye on some Fall decor for the home. More to come as I make some decisions in this area...

  

 

Hurry up Fall and get here already!

Weekend Recap: Mingling on the Green, Braves, and Streaking

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was a lot of driving with our trip to Atlanta on Saturday; however the drive wasn't too onerous thankfully.

 

Friday Evan was able to work from home (I was so jealous). Apparently according to Evan, Bella spent the day sleeping by the door; waiting for me to get home. So sweet!

 

 

Friday evening I was not feeling that well due to a sinus headache; however being that it was Friday night and Evan was done with his busy working period; I wanted to get out and do something. We ended up going to Mingling on the Green at Birkdale Village to hear some live music. A lot of the outdoor patio areas at Birkdale are dog friendly, so we took Bella as well. 

 

Bella and I before heading to Birkdale.

 

Saturday midday we drove to Atlanta, checked into our hotel for the evening, and then met two of our friends for the Braves' game. We have stayed in various parts of Atlanta for Braves' games in the past; but I think we found "our hotel" for all future games. The view from our room was pretty awesome (we were on the 37th floor). The hotel has a Starbucks, gift shop, cafe, bar and restaurant. In short, I highly recommend the Westin in Downtown Atlanta.

 

 
We tailgated for several hours before the game with our friends (ugh...it was soo hot)! Once at the game however, it managed to cool off a good bit and the seats we had were pretty darn good.

 

Somewhere around the sixth inning or so...a guy ran from the back of the stands to the front of the dugout (right in front of me as I was sitting on the end seat immediately in front of the dugout). The guy proceeded to drop his pants, boxers and his shirt, jumped over the dugout onto the field,  and proceeded to begin running! I was in shock! It was one of those experiences where my brain did not really process what I was seeing. We had a streaker and I was front and center to witness it. Evan at that point grasped what was happening and started screaming for the camera! Although blurry, Evan managed to capture the following shots of the incident.  You can see the natural progression of security going after the guy below.

 

It was quite entertaining!

 

 

 

 

 

Us at the end of the 9th inning. The Braves won!

 

Linking up with Biana for Weekending

Mingle Monday with Meg

 Lisa and Bella for Weekend Recap.

 

Oh Hey Friday

Linking up with the lovely ladies, Karli and Amy again for Oh hey, Friday.  I have a very random five for this Friday.

{ONE} Bella, our Mini Goldendoodle

 I never get enough of our little snuggle bug!

{TWO} Another Braves game this weekend

Generous friends of ours got free tickets through work {five rows behind the Braves Dugout!!} and asked if we wanted to go with them; Evan couldn't say no. We decided to make a quick weekend trip out of it!

 This is a picture of us early this summer at another Braves game.

{THREE} This recipe for Cheesy Chicken Taco Rice. 

It is cheap, easy, healthy, and DELICIOUS. I have had the leftovers numerous different ways this week: in a whole wheat wrap, by itself heated up, and with blue corn tortilla chips. WARNING: you will be eating the leftovers for a week; this makes a lot.  

{FOUR} Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Facial Towelettes

I don't know if anyone else is as tired lazy as I am some most evenings, but I hate having to wash my face at night. Something about the water splashing everywhere, etc...I just dread doing it every night! These towelettes work really well at removing all of my makeup/dirt from my face without having to use water and I do not dread doing this every night. I know that there are many similar products out there; however, this is the first product I have found that does not make me break out {I am allergic to Aloe and most towelettes contain Aloe}. I also tried the Grapefruit Exfoliating wipes and so far I am a fan of those as well. For anyone who has sensitive skin or who is allergic to Aloe, I highly recommend these! You can find these here at Target.

{FIVE} My recent purchase from Jcrew.

After seeing Natalie from East Coast Chic's recent post regarding the Jcrew Swing Sweater, I ventured over the their website to check it out. I just purchased the heather grey color. I think it is going to be an extremely comfortable, versatile sweater that I can layer with lots of colorful scarves this fall. I will let you know what I think once it arrives! Thanks Natalie for the recommendation!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Local Restaurant Recommendation: Fork

About  a month ago {clearly I am a bit delayed, sorry}, we ventured to Fork, a fairly new restaurant located near us in Cornelius, North Carolina.  I have been meaning to mention how much we enjoyed this meal and I definitely recommend it to others. Fork specialize in local farm to table fare.  Since the weather was relatively cool, we choose to sit outside on their quaint patio area. The menu is a bit pricey for our everyday; however not so extravagant to have to save it for an anniversary, birthday, etc. It also would be a great place to grab a couple of drinks after work or on the weekend.

 

A view from our patio table.

 

 

I had the scallops. They were perfectly cooked.

 

One thing I really liked about this place, is that the sides are meant to be shared. Accordingly, Evan and I each ordered a side, which was plenty for two to three people. We chose the Parmesan fries and the green beans.

Evan had the beef tenderloin medallions, which were also heavenly.

 

All in all, a great meal. We are fortunate to have so many great restaurants in Lake Norman!

DIY Pedicure

Linking up with Annie from Home of the Malones and Natalie from East Coast Chic again for Thoughts on Thursday!

Today is not so much about my thoughts per say, as about  a great recent discovery I have made.  Really effective and easy do it yourself pedicures. Sorry, I do not have any pictures today, however, I promise this post is definitely worth your while!

I am a runner and also like to wear a lot of heels/platform sandals, so my feet quickly get calluses, etc.  If I had the time and funds I feel like I should probably be getting a pedicure at least every two weeks all year round. Unfortunately, I do not have the time or funds to be getting pedicures that frequently and recently found this pin on Pinterest from Truly Charlee for DIY pedicures. I have tried several of these at home remedies before with less than impressive results, however, this one really does work well.

Combine :

1/2 Cup Vinegar

1/2 Cup Listerine

1 Cup hot water

I combined these three ingredients in a Tupperware container that was just big enough for my feet, so that I could sit on the couch and watch tv/use my ipad while I waited for the ingredients to work their magic.  I let my feet soak for approximately 30 minutes, but longer definitely wouldn't hurt. You can use a foot sanding block to sand your feet after to get rid of the dead skin or you could use your fingers {some might find that gross}. This as results as good as if I went to the nail salon!

ENJOY!

Weekend Recap

I am a little late on my "weekend recap," however I figured better late than never.  Evan has this quarterly busy cycle where he works longer hours than his typical 9-5. This quarterly cycle began on July 23rd and should be over sometime next week. During this time, Evan generally has to work several weekends; meaning we can't go on weekend trips, restaurants, etc. during that time. Generally, I am okay with this as I spend the time: catching up on shows that have been recorded on our DVR for the past six months, cleaning the house, cooking, and overall just catching up on things i haven't had time to do previously. Here some of the random things I cooked/discovered this weekend:

 

 

 

Astoria Primo Rosso Red Blend. This was featured during a wine tasting at World Market recently and I think it's pretty darn good and bought a bottle.  I cannot find it on World Market's website; however they do currently sell it at the Mooresville, NC location.

 

Found this tank at Target this weekend for $10. They only have X-Large left online; however, they had all sizes in the store. Love anything pineapple right now!

 

Evan and I made dinner Sunday evening: Turkey Burgers {pretzel buns, cheddar cheese and ground turkey from Trader Joe's} and three cheese risotto that I made for the first time. The risotto was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend this recipe I found on Pinterest.

 

 

 

This is completely random...but here is taste of the shenanigans that go on in our house. I may have mentioned it before, but Bella rarely barks. She communicates sometimes through various grunts {ha!} but she rarely barks. She barks more in this video than I think she has done in her entire life. We found it pretty hilarious!

My father-in-law, Paul, spent the night with us this Saturday as Evan and Paul went to the Liverpool FC v. AC Milan Soccer Cup Saturday evening. I wanted to whip up something for breakfast Sunday morning and found this easy breakfast casserole on Pinterest and it was a hit.

As much as I enjoy some down time, I am ready to have my husband back soon!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Pumpkin Beer Favorites

Linking up with Biana for Weekending and Meg for Mingle Monday again today.

 

It is officially that time of year again...PUMPKIN BEER TIME!  I LOVE almost all pumpkin beers and seriously could drink them all year round {too bad you can only get them in the fall}!  Fortunately for me, several pumpkin beers have already been released this year and are currently in stores.  

 

Thank goodness that one of my best friends texted me yesterday afternoon to tell me that pumpkin beer is out; otherwise I would not have known. As obsessed with pumkin beer as I am, I immediately ran  out to the store and bought all of the  current options.  Below are my purchases yesterday and also a list of my favorite pumpkin beers {not in any particular order} that should be coming out in the next month or so {hopefully}.

 

*Star denotes that it is currently available at craft beer stores/Whole Foods.

  

 

{1} *Uinta Punk'n - This is available now; get it while it's still on the shelves! When I went yesterday, this was the last case! This is one of my favorites. It has a crisp, clean pumpkin taste that is not overpowering. I found mine at 201 Central.

{2} *Saranac Pumkin Ale - I had this last year in bottle form; however as pictured above, they currently have it in half growler size. I sampled this one again last night and it is definitely a good one. It is currently available at 201 Central.

{3} *Crown Valley Pumpkin Cider - I have not had this one before and will let y'all know once I try it. This one is also currently available at 201 Central.

{4} Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - This is my all-time favorite. This one is a little more full bodied, but it balanced out well with baked pumpkins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.  Be warned; this one does have a higher alcohol content at 7% ABV. I drink two of these and am feeling a bit tipsy!

{5} New Belgium Pumpkick - This one is pretty good. It is lighter on the pumpkin taste than the Dogfish and Unita.

{6} *Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale - This one is just okay in my opinion. I am not one for watered down beers; and to me the pumpkin flavor is just not as strong in this one as some of the others. I have not tried it since last fall, however, thus I will try it again soon to see if my opinion has changed. This one is also currently available at 201 Central among other places.

Obviously it is not Fall yet, however with the release of some of the pumpkin beers; we are getting closer! Can't wait for my favorite season to start!



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