Daily Doily

Life Lately, according to my instagram.

Zac + I saw Local Natives play this past week.  I LOVE them :)  We first discovered them together in Nashville when they were the start up band for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.  They have such a positive energy and their music just makes you feel good.  I got chills a few times while they were playing haha.  One of my favorite lyrics is "as you think, the bad feeling so bad makes the good so good".  It's at the very end of world news.

This weekend we went to the movies twice!  We saw Before Midnight (I absolutely LOVED Before Sunrise + Before Sunset).  It was a lot less romantic, but I still really liked it and seeing how the characters had grown.  We also saw Mud.

On Saturday, we went to the famers market.  Zac asked if I wanted to get any flowers so of course I had to say yes :)  I picked out some Zinnias.  We went for tomatos (to make salsa) but ended up only getting peaches.  I made a peach cobbler on Father's Day.  It was SO yummy!!!

Currently.

Watching: The Real World: Portland, The Little Couple, Cupcake Wars...most of our shows aren't on right now.

Listening to:  The new Vampire Weekend album "Modern Vampires of the City" and the new Wild Nothing "Empty Estate"

Dreaming about:  What baby Everett is going to look like, ever since we saw the 3D photos.  I don't want to speed this time up at all because I LOVE being pregnant, but I dream about the day we get to meet our son and how our life will change.

Reading:  Would you believe I STILL haven't finished the freaking 50 Shades of Gray series yet.  Geeze.  I'm also still reading What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents (the lady reads from this in yoga and I LOVE it).  I just ordered like 4 more baby books, haha.  Time to get my read on.

Looking forward to:  Decorating the nursery!!!  Zac is going to finish painting the walls tonight and then it's so on.  I just have to move a bookcase out and a dresser in.  I'm so excited!!!  I'm sick of it looking cluttered right now.

Drinking: I think I found the BEST pregnancy drink ever, haha.  Jamaican lemonade!!!  It combines my citrus cravings and ginger ale.  I only wish I had found it in my first trimester.

Making me happy:  Feeling Everett kick :)  How sweet Zac has been, when he rubs my belly and talks to Everett.  Celebrating two years of marriage!!! and how in love with him I am.

Eating: The BEST popsicles EVER.  I'm pretty excited that I found a place close to work that sells the most amazing paletas.  I tried the avocado, strawberry-kiwi, and cherry (yum...I can't describe how much I loved it [pictured above]).  I also sampled the oreo (which I'm getting next time).  I've started making a list of all the flavors I want to try and brushing up on my Spanish.

Knitting:  Baby blanket.  I just started color 3 out of 7.  I hope I finish before he comes :)

What about you? What have you been up to lately? If you do your own "currently" post on your blog, link back in the comments!  I'd love to hear.

*Thanks again to Danielle + Megan for the inspiration of these posts.

Advent Activity: Date Night

Friday night we had dinner at Amerigo's.  It's one of my favorite winter date night spots.  The atmosphere is so cozy with their wood burning stove.  We had the best oven roasted artichoke cheese dip and I love their mussels so much.  Yum!  We also got a blondie for dessert :) 

Welcome Fall.

This weekend we walked the Tour d' Wolf mountain bike trail in Shelby Farms.  We wanted to see how Vera (our wheaten terrier) would do before we take her on a longer hike.  She loved every minute of it.  Vera was running wild through the fields and sneezed for the rest of the day.  She has allergies just like her momma ;)  Later that day I made a gruyere chedder apple pie, old-fashioned spicy chili and buttermilk cornbread.  It was the perfect meal to welcome Fall. 

A little bit of...My sunday

Baked chocolate chip cookies using this recipe.  I used regular flour instead since I didn't feel like buying bread + cake flour.  They were pretty good but didn't stand out to be the best.  I baked some immediately and they ended up being hard.  I baked some after 24 hours and they were better.  I still have some dough left to cook so I wonder if they will be the best?

Cooked a pot roast using this recipe.  The ingredients sounded weird at first (coke, chili sauce, brown sugar and ketchup) but it was really good.  I'm excited to try it again.

Looked at our growing tomatoes.  All of them are pretty small right now.

Played with sweet Vera.

Helped with a friend's fantasy football draft because Zac was playing basketball.  I had no idea what I was doing, haha.  It was pretty nerve-racking.

Painted in the studio.  I decided to use an old book that I made as a new place to paint quickly and just to have fun.  It has really nice watercolor paper in it.

Wore comfy slippers Zac got me last Halloween.  I'm so excited that it's getting closer to Fall.  Yay!

Ate my delicious dinner :)

Hog & Hominy // Memphis Eats

I tried a new restaurant for lunch today called Hog & Hominy + it was so GOOD!!!  The outside is super cute and I loved the style of the whole place; They had my favorite french style galvanized chairs + white subway tile on the inside.  Their logo is a pink pig's snout with a mustache + motto "What happens when you combine a brick oven, family meals & bocce courts with southern cookin', a lively bar & a love of pork?"...AWESOMENESS ;)  I shared 3 sides: Collards | belly ends, hominy, pepper vinegar, Peas | prosciutto, cream + Polenta | creamy goodness...AND we had to try a pizza: 'Shrooms| porcini, mushroom, smoked mozzarella, arugula, cream, roasted garlic oil...AND the waitress talked us into her favorite dessert: Peanut Butter Pie with banana pudding.  It was all delicious + I have been stuffed all day...I'm not sure I will even eat dinner, haha.  I highly recommend it if you are ever in the M-town.

I'm excited about trying their dinner menu + bringing the husband with me next time ♥

A Little Bit Of...Our Weekend

We ate our usual Friday night Mexican.  My husband can not get enough Mexican food, haha.  It's his favorite.  Then out of the blue he mentioned shopping.  This is VERY rare.  He even said we could go to Hobby Lobby or Jo Ann's...shocker! :)  But we decided on Bass Pro Shops because he had a gift certificate + we could take Vera (our soft coated wheaten terrier).  We ended up not buying anything.  We ended the night with ice cream from Baskin-Robbins to cool us off in this HOT weather.

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday + got so much local produce I could barely carry it all to the car.  How pretty are those flowers?

I'm so proud of our tomato growing!!!  I hope it keeps growing + we actually get to eat it.  I swear I found another tiny one growing, but now I can't find it.  We have lots of blooms.  I can't wait to see how many tomatoes we get to harvest (I hope at least one).  I really never thought this plant would make it;  It had a rough start.

I'm also growing basil + mint :) I have been putting the mint in my tea + it is so yummy!

I made a peach cobbler to take to a friend's house for dinner that night.  It was delicious!!!

I also made a tomato "salad" with goat cheese + basil from my "garden".

On Sunday my niece came over to swim.  It's the first time I've been to our pool all year.  She wore me out, haha.  We played colors (where you guess the other person's favorite color + if you are wrong you get dunked)...She stood on my shoulders + jumped off over + over again...We had a race to the deep end...

Zac + I ate watermelon.

It was the perfect weekend.

♥

P.S.  I hope everyone has a happy Independence Day!  I'm just happy I get a day off work.  We have no plans :)  What about you?

Central BBQ // 100 Things to Eat in Memphis

I hate to give a bad review because before this experience I actually liked Central BBQ, but wow it was disappointing.  In my Dad's words, "That was the worst food I've had in a long time...$40 worth of yuck!" and that pretty much sums it up.  I'm not sure why the ribs + nachos were on the list.

The nachos barely had any meat + the few pieces that were there were dry with no flavor :(

The dry ribs were so charred on the outside + very fatty (hard to find good pieces to eat).  The mac n cheese, potato salad + greens were pretty good but nothing special.  The slaw was no good (my Dad likes vinegar/mustard based + I like mayo based + neither of us liked it).  The vinegar sauce was my favorite part + it always has been.  I think I'll be sticking to their pork sandwich if I go back.  

Did we just go on a bad day?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  I was thinking about how great The Bar-b-q Shop's ribs were the whole time I was there.  So...for sure get the pork sandwich here + ditch the ribs (SORRY! Central BBQ).  I hear the wings are really good :)  Better luck next time.

The Bar-B-Q Shop // 100 Things to Eat in Memphis

Here's another one I marked off the list.

Ok.  I will admit that I am not an expert here considering I probably never had ribs until the past few years.  I always thought they were too messy + why not just eat pulled BBQ?  Well here's the reason why not...

I have been thinking about these ribs ever since I ate them.  You have to get half wet + half dry.  The dry are amazing (seriously!!!) with their topping of sugar granules + spices, but you have to have a wet one to try their yummy sauce!  They are SO TENDER.  Mmm... 

I can't wait to go back.   

Have you ever tried Memphis BBQ?  Where's your favorite place to go for ribs?

Jerry's Sno Cones // 100 Things to Eat in Memphis

Rachel (my bestie) + I went to Jerry's Sno Cones for the first time.  How have I never known about this place??? haha.  I have the feeling I'll be going many more times before the summer is over.  Yay!

#51 can be crossed off the list.  I got the wedding cake supreme sno cone + it was SO GOOD!!!  Rachel got the cookie dough + it was a little too sweet.  I'd like to try the john deere, hurricane elvis, almond joy, napolean dynamite (haha), orchid + white wedding :) Yum!

I've heard the line wraps around the building at night.