Rise up or wise up!

Three-day weekends are truly a gift from God.

When I realized I had MLK day off, I instantly knew I had to plan something big.

A weekend reunion with my college roomies (aka the “sweeties), was the first option that came to my mind.

However, no trip to the Carolina’s is complete without a pit stop in Cola. If you think you had your fill of Columbia in your four years at USC, try rolling into the Capital City on a Friday night. Cue nostalgia!

Upon my arrival at the lovely home of Miss Alli Huebner and Lauren Onorato (where every guest takes home a back-to-back national championship Coca-Cola), I was greeted with a large glass of wine—compliments of Miss Huebner herself!

              

After the first cocktail of the night, Alli, Ashley and I made our way to Pawley’s front porch where we quickly ordered fried pickles and drinks. Perhaps my biggest mistake of the night was starting off with R.J. Rocker’s Impeachment. (9% ABV, but hey, who’s counting?)    

A few adult beverages and lots of laughs later, we headed over to Tin Roof Columbia, where we were pleased to find two of our pledge sisters working! Thanks for all the hospitality, Erika and Sunny—I think we can all agree we had way too much fun!

                                                 

Some more friendly faces!

I had an early start on Saturday, complete with Chick-fil-a breakfast and a large water, but the lack of sleep was well worth the sweeties that were anxiously awaiting my arrival in Charlotte.

First stop in the Queen City—lunch, duh! And my absolute fave—Mexican.

                                                      

I chose this amazing steak burrito. Don’t worry folks, I didn’t eat it all!

When our sweetie (Jules) got off work Saturday we tackled Clt's restaurant week at e2. (http://e2emerils.com/) If you watch the Food Network, you know Emeril and Bam, this food was yummy!!

A quick toast to my BFF’s, shrimp and grits and espresso pudding with fried donut balls…Yes, it put me in a food coma and made the walk back less than enjoyable, but it was totally worth it!

Sleeping in Sunday was the perfect way to start our day. As a new resident to Atlanta, I am working on becoming a fan of professional sports. With the Falcons game against the 49er's I was able to practice my loyalty at Selwyn Pub.

I think we can all agree I played the part pretty well, and I can definitely say, we all tried to Rise up and Wise up (thanks for the infamous line, Stephsie!), but I guess the Falcons just weren’t ready for the Superbowl. As a life-long Gamecock fan, I can handle disappointment. Don’t worry, Falcons, there’s always next year!

Gametime snacks—more fried pickles and some sub-par nachos

No sweeties reunion weekend would be complete without a couple Magnums. If you haven’t tried these tasty treats, you better hightail it to Kroger and pick up a box. Our fave is the white chocolate with vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

So with countless cocktails, some delish meals, several episodes of “Catfish,” and more laughs than I’ve had in a long time my trip to the Carolina’s was complete.

I’m back in Atl and ready to face this four-day week!

RISE UP!

2013 is off to an eventful start here in Georgia!

Last weekend, I joined my favorite Carolina alumnae on a hike to the top of Stone Mountain. The quick, yet surprisingly strenuous hike was refreshing—so refreshing that we decided to take the Summit Skyride down!

Despite our slight fear of heights, I think we all agree the six bucks we shelled out for that ride down the giant rock was TOTALLY worth it!

 

After a chilly weekend full of physical activity, a relaxing few days in beautiful Savannah was just what I needed!

Friday afternoon Taylor and I headed south to celebrate his mom’s birthday, and boy did we celebrate!

After a fabulous dinner at Local 11 Ten (http://local11ten.com/), we took a couple rickshaws over to Lulu’s Chocolate Bar. (http://www.luluschocolatebar.net/)

We avoided the traditional menu and instead, we opted to drink our desserts!

I absolutely loved the Jacki-O, a sweet champagne cocktail. Taylor enjoyed a traditional Irish coffee, and his mom and Richard went for the house favorite, a chocolate martini. Yum!

After sleeping in on Saturday, we made our way to the Bohemian rooftop bar for a delicious tapas lunch. The view at the bar never ceases to amaze me. And the mojitos aren’t bad either!

The birthday girl!

To continue our celebrations, we made our way to Savannah’s newest (and only) river-front sports bar, Dub’s Pub. I immediately ordered an Allagash White—one of my faves, and Taylor and his mom immediately made their way to the ping-pong table. 

In case you’re wondering, Taylor was in his usual competitive mood, not even sparing his mom on her birthday!

After a quick siesta, it was time to start the official birthday celebration at Circa 1875 (http://www.circa1875.com/). My mouth is watering just thinking about the amaaaaazing trout I devoured!

Believe it or not, we couldn’t wait to get back to the Bohemian where we fell in love with the band, who played everything from The Wallflowers to The Beatles.
My feet will be suffering the effects of all of our dancing for days!

In just a few weeks 2013 is quickly becoming one of the best years ever!

Stay tuned for tales from a reunion weekend with my college roomies! It won’t disappoint!

Owl be home for Christmas

 

Christmas season is my absolute favorite time of year. “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Merry Christmas, Darling” can be heard in my house as early as Nov. 1; the tree goes up WAY before Thanksgiving and any plan to eat healthy is thrown out the window the minute I devour my first sugar cookie.

This year was especially fun-my first Christmas in ATL!

I put up my usual tree-full of rustic owls, hand-strung popcorn and cranberries and glittery Christmas balls. For a cheap, fake tree, I manage to “spruce” (pun intended) it up quite well!

 

My first gift exchange of the holiday season was with Taylor. He enjoyed his new coat and French press, and I was thrilled to find out I would finally get to go to the Titanic exhibit. Nerd alert!

 

                                                                                

        

Before I left for Clinton, Alli and I decided to do some exploring around Decatur. We had a blast walking through the adorable shops and dining at the rustic Brickstore Pub, where we both devoured burgers-veggie for Alli, meaty for me! J

 

I loved the atmosphere at Brickstore so much, Taylor and I went back the next day to enjoy an afternoon Southern Tier brew and some delicious appetizers-sausage with grit cakes! Yum!

 

 

 

The hardest part of this Christmas was not having my month-long vacay, as I had in college. Working up until the holiday week was tough, but I finally made it home to the upstate of SC, and my first stop was, of course, Hollywild Animal Farm in Lyman.

For those who don’t know, Hollywild is an outdoor animal farm, turned light spectacular during the Christmas season.

I accompanied my dad, stepmom and her adorable niece and nephew on an adventure through the winter wonderland.

 

We even made some new friends!

 

Reuniting with my Clinton friends is always a highlight of my trip home. I loved seeing Amanda, who has FINALLY returned to SC for good, and I even snuck in a quick gift swap with Emy before she took off for Christmas in NY.      

 

It wouldn’t be Christmas at the Riser’s without a few cocktails, and I think everyone enjoyed my first attempt at a Cranberry punch.

 

It was so easy to take down, I could barely stomach a mimosa Christmas morning.

Devouring Scott’s quiche, however, was no problem!

 

We spent our day opening presents, stuffing our tummies, downing cocktails and making memories! Headstand attempts, overly-stuffed puppies and several rounds of Circle of Death made this Christmas one of the best ever!

 

 

 

2012 was a wonderful year-my graduation, Shawn and David’s wedding, summer in Holden with my sweetie, the move to ATL and an awesome new job.

Now it’s back to work and time to celebrate the New Year!

My first weekend in Atlanta was full of fun…

...and disappointment (Why Gamecocks, why?!)

New to the city, I’ve been anxious to explore!

Last week, a co-worker offered me two free tickets to Saturday’s Decatur Beer Festival, so of course, I accepted!

Saturday morning, Taylor and I got up around 9 a.m., which would have been considered “bright and early,” in college, but now it’s just sleeping in!

We rode the MARTA (always an experience) to Decatur, a charming little town I instantly fell in love with.

With a hipster feel, Decatur’s downtown is lined with quaint boutiques, charming coffee shops and on this particular Saturday—LOTS and LOTS of craft beer!

With almost 60 breweries inhabiting the town square, Taylor and I didn’t know where to begin!

We visited many of our favorites– Allagash, Bells and Dogfish Head, but my absolute favorite was the Ichadbod Pumpkin Ale from Michigan’s New Holland Brewing Co. I swear it is the BEST Fall seasonal I’ve ever had!

Taylor’s favorite was Dragon’s Milk, also from New Holland. We visited their booth at least 2 times. Can’t remember the exact number, as this was nearing the end of our time at the festival J

Around 3, we hopped back on the Marta and made the quick trip to Taco Mac. Last time we were there it was December 2010. Gamecock fans remember the day well – The SEC Championship. The outcome that day was less than favorable. The outcome last Saturday was devastating.

BUT, as true Gamecocks do, we stood it out until the last quarter, and we’re still keeping the faith for the season, even with the heartbreaking loss of Marcus Lattimore this Saturday. Get well soon, 21!

But hey, there’s always next year, right? And I’ve heard there are PLENTY of beer festivals coming up in November to help me drown my Gamecock sorrows!

I’ll be sure to keep y’all posted!