Monday, February 27, 2012

Blushing Mimosas & an Engagement Party

So a lot is going on in this post because a lot has gone on since last time I posted!

mardis gras wreath

Yeah… I’m still celebrating Mardi Gras. I have already taken down my wreath but hadn’t put the beads up yet.

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I knew I had to try the Blushing Mimosa as soon as I saw the recipe in my inbox from My Recipes.

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Blushing Mimosa
by Brittany Ray
Keywords: refrigerate beverage champagne
Ingredients (6 cups)
  • 2 cups orange juice, chilled
  • 1 cup pineapple juice, chilled
  • 2 tbs. grenadine
  • 1 bottle champagne, chilled
Instructions
In a small pitcher pour orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine. Stir until mixed.
In your glass of choice, pour equal parts of juice mixture and champagne.
Enjoy!
Powered by Recipage
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This weekend a few of my friends and myself threw Perry a surprise engagement party on Saturday! We have been planning it since the day she got engaged! I think it was a great success! First, we started with brunch at The Waysider.


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We waited outside for about 45 minutes which was no big deal. They were packed. Hence, why I didn’t take a picture of the building myself. People were everywhere! Good sign right?

Half right, if that makes since. We got in and seated. Our waitress took our drink order and brought us all waters. Then we got overlooked for 45 minutes. Yes they were busy but people that were seated after us got their drinks, biscuits and food before us. Finally after asking someone else that wasn’t working just helping out we got our drinks and biscuits. They serve all you can eat little homemade biscuits while you wait for your food.

thewaysider

An hour after being seated we got our food. I ordered a short stack, 1/4 order hashbrowns and turkey bacon. The turkey bacon was terrible. The flavor was just gross. The hashbrowns were good. The pancakes were amazing. I would say The Waysider is more of an atmosphere type place. If you live in Tuscaloosa or visit for football games then it’s a place you should go at least once. It is 50/50 with the service though. I have been before and we had no problems at all and the food was great. If you have plenty of time I’d say give it a try but if you are in a hurry just run to the grocery store and make your own breakfast!

Waysider on Urbanspoon
 
After brunch/lunch I had to waste time with Perry until time to head to the party. This was not hard at all since we are expert time wasters! We strolled around and shopped.

Here are some pictures from the party!

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Anna and her mom did all of the food and it turned out great!

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The hosts and the bride.

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The hosts and the bride and groom.

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The bride and all of the bridesmaids.

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Everyone was asked to sign the canvas.

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Such a great weekend!

Question:
  • What did you do this weekend?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WIAW # 5



This past week I tried two new restaurants in Mobile, AL. Both were great but Regina's Kitchen was definitely my favorite!

Regina's Kitchen - Mobile, AL

BRG The Burger Joint - Mobile, AL

I got these tiny heart shaped candies in the mail yesterday. They are adorable and taste good too! I may end up actually ordering more. Papabubble's candies are so pretty. I was suprised that they are reasonably priced as well. It's always my luck to try something and love it then go to order more and its outrageously expensive. 

I am in love with Panera's Acai Berry unsweetened tea. It has such a great flavor! I got a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich hold the bacon and gouda add organic American cheese. I ate half the other day and plan on eating the other half for lunch today! I love the tomato basil bread. It has a cinnamon crunch like crust on the top part only. I always save the top crust and it eat last by itself. It's like a little dessert built into the sandwich. Does anyone else think that Panera, McAlister's and Jason's Deli have the best pickles? I can't seem to find the exact kind at the grocery store but the Kosher ones in the cooler section are pretty close.

This salad box came from DCH Regional Medical Center's cafeteria. While my Mom was there this week I frequented the salad bar which was surprisingly fresh and loaded with lots of good toppings. (I promise there is some lettuce under that cheese:))

I bought a little bit of the vegetable sticks from Fresh Market while in Mobile. I wasn't sure if I would like them but now I wish I would have bought more than one scoop.

My Dad gave me a box of belVita blueberry flavored breakfast biscuits. They are actually really good.

Question:
  • Have you tried any new restaurants lately? 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mini Foodzie Box

My Mom came home from the hospital today! She is doing great! Thanks for all of your prayers!

If that wasn’t enough exciting news today, I also got my free mini Foodzie box in the mail. I think the offer is still available. If you are a new subscriber you get a free mini version of their monthly box. If you don’t like it you can cancel and not be charged and keep the free mini box.

Let me preface the rest of this post. These are all my own opinions and I am not being compensated in any way to post about the Foodzie box. I really like it and thought I would share with you all!

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foodzie

In the box I got a bag of heart candy from Papabubble and Almond Fleur de Sel Toffee from Valerie Confections.

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I am a huge fan so far! I love the idea of getting to try items from small businesses! They send you several food items that they have selected from “small-batch foodmakers” across the nation. If you like any of the items you receive you can order them directly from Foodzie.

You get to choose one box from three different themed boxes a month. Listed below are examples of previous boxes.

Cooking Box: Date Night – Durum Wheat Mohawk Pasta, Fig & Port Vinaigrette, roasted salted pecans, Mendocino sea salt, port wine caramel chocolate bar

Tasting Box: Valentine’s Day – salted almond dark chocolate bar, coconut palm sugar caramels, peanut butter brownie, hand pulled Valentines Day candy, dark chocolate covered pistachios, almond fleur de sel toffee

Tasting Box: Movie Night -  Heirloom popcorn, all natural gummy bears, handmade peanut butter cups, original zzang candy bar, all natural red licorice, chocolate covered raisins, chai cola

The Signature Box: Jump Start The Year – kale chips, sea salt & cacao nib chocolate bars, blueberry energy bars

The Cooking Box: Breakfast in Bed – almond granola, organic raspberry preserves, hazelnut pancake mix

The Pairing Box: The Buzz Box – micro-roast espresso, four different percentages of bean-to-bar chocolate

I don’t know about you but I am going to have a hard time deciding each month which box to choose! They all look great!

They list allergens for each box so if you are allergic to any food items they make it super easy for you to avoid any boxes you can’t have.

Go check them out!

Questions:
  • Have you ever heard of Foodzie?
  • Are you a Foodzie subscriber? If so, what is your favorite thing to receive so far? 

Monday, February 20, 2012

Closer to Coming Home!

In case you haven't noticed from twitter, I have been frequenting the hospital this past week. My mom has been in the hospital since last Wednesday. She got bit by something last Monday. She tried doctoring it herself until Wednesday when she decided it was not getting better only worse. They ran tests and staph had gotten in the bite. I will save everyone's stomachs and not post pictures of her finger. She is doing much better now and should be going home tomorrow or Wednesday. They have been giving her antibiotics through an IV but they have changed over to giving it by pills. Closer to coming home!

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My little cousin drew this picture for my mom. My mom is walking our dog Lucy and the spider that bit her is chasing them. We all thought this was funny. Children have the wildest imaginations.

Please keep my mom in your prayers!

Question:
  • Have you ever been bitten by a spider or venomous creature?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

BGR The Burger Joint

Today before I came back to Tuscaloosa, Trey and I did a little shopping. I had to go to Fresh Market! We don’t have a Fresh Market, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s in town. I guess the closest thing would be a Publix. We also went to TJ Maxx and The Vitamin Shoppe.

shopping

nuun

I bought nuun at The Vitamin Shoppe. I tried the Tri-Berry on the way home. Very good! Nuun is a tablet you out into your water and it dissolves. Lots of electrolytes and hydrates you without the sugar. 

After shopping we went to eat lunch at BRG The Burger Joint.

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They had Cheerwine! I haven’t had this in years. It is so good! It is kind of like cherry Dr. Pepper.

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Trey ordered the Veggie Burger - fresh house-made recipe including brown rice, black beans, oats and molasses. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mojo sauce and swiss.

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I ordered The Burger – served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun. With lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mojo sauce and cheddar.

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We cut the burgers in half and shared. Both were really good. The veggie burger fell to pieces but tasted good.

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Not sure why I took a picture of this but it was in the bathroom. In case you were wondering what the ladies bathroom décor was.

BGR The Burger Joint on Urbanspoon

After lunch I left for my 3.5 hour drive home. Trey gave me his and his friend’s music collection. Including every Disney song ever made! Definitely kept me awake and bored free for the drive.

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This weekend was way too short! I hope everyone enjoyed theirs!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Regina’s Kitchen

For lunch today Trey and I tried out Regina’s Kitchen. It is now one of my new favorite places to go to in Mobile to eat.

Regina's Kitchen

I love the atmosphere. Very inviting and friendly. We actually walking in a few minutes before they opened without realizing it and they were really nice and talked to us until they were ready to take our order. They take your order at the front and when your food is ready they call your name for you to come pick it up at the front. We were the only customers for the first 5 minutes but then they got busy. 

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They had a fridge you could pick a bottled soda, beer or wince from. I chose to try Jones zero calorie Black Cherry Soda. It was really good! I am not obsessed and will be searching for this in grocery stores.

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They table were set really cute! Each table had a different book you could look through.

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Trey ordered the veggie sandwich – swiss, provolone, cheddar, feta, lettuce, tomato, spinach, artichoke hearts, purple onion, fresh veggie and herb dressing, steamed on French bread.For a side he got the pasta salad (which was good, I tasted it).

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I ordered the Mobilian which you chose 3 from a list of items. I chose chicken salad, potato salad and fruit salad. I ordered the poppy seed vinaigrette on the side of the fruit instead of mixed in. I loved everything. It all tasted fresh and great!

Regina's Kitchen on Urbanspoon