From New Jersey to North Carolina

Last week I had to go on a work trip to Red Bank, New Jersey. I was terrified. This would be the first time I would be traveling alone, and I did not want to get lost on the Jersey turnpike. However, it ended up being a breeze of a trip besides the fact that the rental car place was in the ghetto and the hotel overbook my room the first night. The best part of the trip was the second night there when I did get to stay at the hotel I had originally planned on staying in. I was done with all my work, and I could finally relax. See below for my relaxation pictures.

The hotel was right on the water, which gave me this amazing view as seen above. Red Bank, New Jersey is beautiful - the complete opposite of what you see on the Jersey Shore show. 

So, if you ever find yourself in New Jersey take a trip to Red Bank and stay at The Molly Pitcher Inn. The bar service is wonderful as well as the food! 


I came back home Thursday night and Friday we were headed to Wilmington to visit some friends of ours. Zero pictures were taken except the one below. 

My best friend, Heather, has the most adorable puppy. Jared said "if we ever get a small dog, I want to have one just like this." HAHA we are getting a Golden Doodle you silly little man. I guess if we wanted a third dog I'd be down.

Anyway it was great catching up with friends, but we had to rush home Sunday because we were going to the Panthers vs Steelers game. Well I was just going to tailgate, but Jared was going into the game.

It was the perfect day for tailgating especially if you were lucky enough to find shade. I was exhausted by the end of the tailgate and could not wait to crawl in bed - of course Jared was skipping into the stadium. Doubt he was skipping out :(

It was a long week last week, and this weekend we are off to Gatlinburg, Tennessee! Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures...

Charlotte Restaurants

A goal of mine is to go to a Charlotte restaurant I have never been to before at least every couple of weeks. Hopefully Jared will be on board - if not I'll give him a big screw you and go with a friend :)

A couple weeks ago Taylor and I went to The Liberty  located in the heart of South End for lunch, and damn was it delicious. Both of us got the Painted Hill's Natural Crunch Burger (pimento cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, stacked with house chips) with a side of fries. Of course we could have ordered one of their salads, but why the hell would we have done that when they have burgers???

Of course I had to have a beer wash it down. If you are looking for a good burger while you're in Charlotte I highly suggest looking this place up!

My instagram has exploded with pictures of food.

Yes, I have become one of those girls that has to snap a photo every time I cook something. I mean I'm still getting used to the fact that I can cook so it's like I need to document it to make sure it's real. I have to admit I am not the only one in the kitchen cooking - Jared does assist. However, he gets on my damn nerves. I will print the recipe out and he pretends like he can't read. Well, sometimes he really can't...but he will keep asking me for measurements and what to do next when it is right there on the paper I PRINTED OUT. Sorry, it just kills me. 

The food I have veered towards cooking most likely will end up in a casserole dish. And I am always trying to go the healthier route when choosing ingredients, but sometimes I just can't seem to find them :) Take a look at the meals I have been cooking up lately in the pictures below.

Caprese Mac and Cheese

Caprese Dip

Enchiladas!

A Weekend at Lake Gaston

I used to spend almost every weekend at Lake Gaston growing up. My mom and guncle (gay uncle) got a place up there when I was around 6 years old, and it was definitely worth it. For those of you who don't know this lake is located on the Eastern part of the state. Half of it is in North Carolina and the other half is in Virginia. It's a quiet lake - nothing like Lake Norman. Don't get me wrong I like both lakes, but at Lake Gaston it's just so peaceful as my friend Audrey would say.

Speaking of Audrey she accompanied me on my trip to Lake Gaston this weekend. Raleigh is on the way to the Lake so I swung by and picked her up. In a short hour and a half we were there. Mom of course greeted us as soon as we pulled up to the trailer. Yes, trailer. Mom arrived a few hours ahead of us, therefore she was already pretty deep into her wine bottle. Audrey and I were jealous. So as soon as we put our bags down we poured a glass of wine and settled in on the screened-in porch. All three of us spent the night catching up until the wine was gone and so were we.

The best thing about the lake is the screened-in porch - we spend almost every second out there when we aren't on the dock. Every morning starts off with baileys and coffee then we jump into the champagne. Notice how I didn't say mimosas because we only drink champagne.

We typically head/stumble to the pier around oneish where sunscreen is or is not required. Saturday was SUPER hot so most our time was spent jumping in and out of the water.

After a few hours, we were spent. We decided to head up change into some dry clothes and eat dinner, but not before changing beer out for wine of course. I'm telling you being at the lake can give your liver a run for its money.

Mom made some of the best chicken wings I've had in awhile. She uses my grandaddy's sauce which MAKES the chicken wings. Oh and you have to burn the outside of the wings to a crisp. Sorry rambling on about chicken wings, but hell they were good. The night wrapped up pretty quickly after dinner and after a day of drinking.

Sunday was overcast and I was extremely hungover so Audrey and I cut out around noon to make in home in time for FOOTBALL. God bless America that football is back.

A Delayed Labor Day Weekend Post

This post will be pretty short - One because it was so long ago I don't really remember and two because I only have like three pictures. 

We hung around the Charlotte area for the weekend. Saturday morning consisted of yard work and cleaning the entire house. I hate cleaning the house, but I hate yard work more so I normally do the inside and Jared does the outside. Getting old fucking sucks. 

The rest of the afternoon was filled with college football. NC State played early in the afternoon and ECU played in the evening. HOUSE DIVIDED. Thanks again Audrey for the beautiful wreath!

Since we were planning on going out that night I had to make something for dinner that was going to soak up the alcohol. And so we have the Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta Bake.

I got this dish off of a website, http://www.emilybites.com/, that has great low fat recipes. Perfect if you are trying to stick to your weight watchers diet. Side note: I did not use whole wheat pasta. What?! Food Lion didn't have any...

After dinner, we went to a bar in the epicenter located in downtown Charlotte called Mortimers (http://www.mortimerspub.com/) to watch the ECU game.  Apparently it is an ECU bar...as if I care. We met up with a couple of Jared's college buddies, and enjoyed a few rounds of beers and shots while we watched the game. After they started creaming NC Central we decided to head on over to VBGBs (http://vbgbuptown.com/), which stands for Very Big German Beer. I highly recommend this place to anyone who comes to Charlotte. They have every outdoor activity you could think of - volleyball, lifesize chess, cornhole, etc. Please go if you get a chance!

Sunday we spent the day with Jared's family at his parents' neighborhood pool. I struggled MAJORLY that day due to all the drinking I did before, but I sucked it up and had a beer with dinner.

Monday I went shopping with Jared's sister, Stephanie, and Taylor at the Charlotte Premium Outlets. We didn't find much, but it was nice to get out with them and be away from Jared for a little while. Gotta have your space - I'm just sayin. After a morning slash afternoon spent shopping I headed home to a house full of boys doing a fantasy draft. Yawn.

Sorry the weekend was not that exciting, but every once in awhile it's good to have a boring weekend.