Wilmington Weekend

Clearly I have had a busy week and am just not getting around to posting this!

If you have never been to Wilmington, North Carolina I suggest that you do (especially in the summer!).  Wilmington is one of my favorite cities and has been since my family started vacationing there when I was younger.  Even though I have been graduated and not living in Wilmington for almost 2 years (crazy how fast that has gone by), I still miss Wilmington all the time.  I had the most amazing college experience and met some of the best friends I could ever have, so it is always nice when I can squeeze in a little mini-vacation there.

This time, I was able to bring my boyfriend for the first time.  I was beyond excited to show him around the city that I love, but unfortunately the weather wasn't too excited to see us! The weekend before we came it was gorgeous, but of course when we went it was cold and rainy but we still made the best of it!

Friday we had fun going to a new bar called Might as Well.  They had karokee, which is always entertaining.  When Jordan ran off to the bathroom Leah and her boyfriend signed Jordan up to sing.  She tried to get us to go, but I CANNOT sing. I love being back with my best friends so that was a perfect night after a long work week!

Love my best friends!!!

Jordan doing her thing!

Rusty and I at Might as Well

One of the big reasons we went to Wilmington that weekend was because it was the Annual Wing Fling.  This was always a big event during college and lots of people always come back after they graduate, so its a perfect reunion weekend.  Unfortunately, the weather was not wanting to cooperate and it was cold and rainy so we only stayed for a little while.  During the little time we were there, we saw lots of old friends and of course had to take a Phi Mu picture (those occur at every event!).  The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoy being with our friends.  Rusty LOVED Wilmington, so I am so excited to bring him back when we can actually enjoy the beach!


In other exciting news, when we got back into town this week we FINALLY signed the contract for our house!!!! I cannot believe that we will be in it so soon. Now time for picking out furniture, colors, and decorations!

I hope everyone has a good Easter! I am off to Chicago tomorrow to spend time with my Grandmother and family...lets hope I don't freeze!

French Toast Casserole

Happy Friday everyone!!!

 

I am finally heading back to Wilmington for the weekend after 6 long months of no visits! I am bringing my boyfriend, Rusty, with me for the first time.  I cannot wait to show him the town that I am in LOVE with.

 

We are going for Wing Fling, which is a all day wing, beer, and music fest that they have every year.  I am so excited and I cannot wait to see so many friends.  Since this event starts around 11am on Saturday, you can bet that we will be up early getting ready and having some fun beforehand.  Because it is so early, I thought that it would be a good idea to eat a delicious breakfast, but didn't want fast food or to go out to eat.  I figured that I could make somethign easy that everyone would enjoy! So I came up with the idea of French Toast Casserole.  I mean who doesn't love a french toast? And everyone LOVES a good casserole.

 

 

There are so many different recipes online for this, but I thought I would just wing it.  I don't think that you can really mess up French Toast.  But I guess my friends will be the judges of that when we eat this tomorrow :)

 

 

Megan's French Toast Casserole

 

8 large eggs
3/4-1 whole loaf of bread (I used honey wheat)
3-4 tablespoons of cinnoman (I just guessed and poured it in)
2 cups of milk
Brown Sugar to sprinkle on top
Powdered Sugar

Syrup



Bread cut up in 1 inch squares ( I just tear it!)

 

 

  

1. Cut the bread into 1 inch chunks and fill up a 9x13 baking dish that is lightly greased.
2. Mix the eggs, 2 cups of milk, and cinnoman together in a large bowl.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and allow it to soak in. (I went ahead and sprinkled a little bit more cinnoman over the dish to give it a little bit more flavor!)
4. I would recommend putting it in the fridge over night so that the flavors can soak in more.
5. The next morning when you are ready to cook, sprinkle the brown sugar over the dish to give it a crunchy topping (you can also had crushed nuts/pecans to this too!)
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until it is golden brown or no longer wet.
7. Cut and sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup!

 

 

 

Eggs, Milk, and Cinnoman

 

 

Pour the mixture over the bread

 

 



Casserole ready to be cooked!

I can't wait for my friends to try this tomorrow in Wilmington.  Crossing my fingers that they like it! I hope you all have a FANTASTIC weekend :)

Buffalo Chicken Bake

I would say that I have an addiction to Pinterest.  Whenever I get bored at work or when Rusty is watching sports, I am on my phone or iPad pinning new things.  With the amount I pin, you would think that I am crafting and cooking all the time. Unfortunately, this is not the case.  I try to cook new things as much as possible and I have gotten a lot better at it lately!

I came across a recipe on Pinterest that I knew Rusty would love.  I love making casseroles dishes because they are super easy and you can have leftovers for dinner the next night or lunch!

I decided to make this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake Thursday night and let me tell you, it was delicious!

I have included the recipe below from The Lentzed Life blog!

• 1 16 oz. box Penne Pasta, cooked and drained
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cubed and cooked (I shredded mine instead after I had boiled it)
• 1/2-1 cup Franks Hot Sauce
• 3/4-1+ cup Ranch Dressing
• 1-2 cups shredded cups (Colby Jack or Chedder) I did one cup of each!

1. Preheat Oven to 350* and prepare a deep baking dish.
2. Mix together hot sauce and ranch. in separate bowl mix chicken, pasta, and 3/4 of the cheese.  
3. Pour the sauce over all and mix well.
4. Pour everything into prepared baking dish, sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on the top and bake for 20-25 minutes

Enjoy :)

Is it June Yet?!

I am way too excited for June to get here now after meeting with the Builder and Developer last night! I feel like a little kid on Christmas Day being able to pick out the floors, cabinets, countertops, etc.  I think one of the big reasons that I wanted to build a house was because I had always wanted to be an Architect or Interior Designer growing up, but that dream was short lived after I went to a Design Camp (yes, I know it was super nerdy!) and realized that I am not so good at sketching, etc! So this is fun for me tthat I get to pretend and decorate and ENTIRE house :)

I feel so blessed that at 23, I can afford to buy my very OWN house all by myself.  That is a HUGE accomplishment and I am very, very happy!

They said that they are going to start grading the lot and clearing all the rocks out, which cross your fingers can happen or I don't know what I would do! Then as soon as construction starts the house will be up in no time, which scares me but is exciting at the same time. 

So far, Rusty and I have pretty much been in agreement on everything, but he really doesn't get a say in the matter :)  I think he is just happy that he gets a Man Cave all to himself.  He has already let me know that I am not welcome up there unless I am invited or he needs a beer! Ha, he can keep up on dreaming if he thinks that is how it will be!

Since we have pretty muched picked everything out that we want in the house, the next step is for me to sign the contract. I feel like such a grown up and it is so scary because once I sign on that line, any changes that I want to make on the house come straight from my pocket....EEK!! Scary right?!

This is a stressful and scary process, but I know that it will be SO worth it in the end.  And here is a little sample of a model of the house that we are going to build.  Of course our coloring on the outside will be different because I am not a fan of the red and it reminds me too much of Gamecocks :)  As soon as ours is started I'll upload weekly photos!

The outside of the house! It's a cute ranch with a Man Cave upstairs!

A preview of the inside living space!

Can't wait to share more of the progess and of course my decorating finds!

Life Lately

A lot in my life has changed in the last couple of weeks...it has been crazy!

I have officially moved in with my boyfriend in Greer while we are waiting on our house to be finished (or lets face it, be started!).  We did get good news the other day from our builder...he said that the house should be finished by early June! I cannot even start to explain how excited I am.  Tomorrow, Rusty and I get to meet with builder and pick out colors and all that other fun stuff.  This will be by far my favorite part of the process besides decorating the house when its finished! As the construction beings, I will upload pictures of the progress!

As if the house wasn't exciting enough, two of my very best friends had their babies in the last week and a half.  My friend from high school, Stephanie, had her daughter Riley Elizabeth on March 1st.  She is so adorable and I cannot wait for her to meet her "Aunt" Megan! As if Riley wasn't cute enough, my best friend and roommate from college, Megan, had her son Cash Jaxon on March 5th!  It is so crazy that now all of my friends are getting married and having babies (when did we become adults!?).  

This past Sunday I drove up to Fayetteville to meet Jordan and Leah at Megan's house to visit Baby Cash.  He is one of the cutest little babies that I have ever seen.  I could just love on him all day!

I love having weekends that are packed full of things to do.  I am not very good at relaxing or doing nothing all day, I guess my ADD gets to me too much! I spent this past weekend in Charlotte with my family.  It is always nice to have the family together. I got so much accomplished! I did some shopping, limited myself to just about an hour or I would have gone a little bit too crazy and I need to be saving for my house. I enjoyed a nice walk on the Greenway with my mom and little sister, Katherine.  I also treated myself to a much needed mani/pedi...which I must start doing more regularly! I finally had the time to bake these Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes, which were surprisingly delicious! And when I did get bored, I decided to sign Rusty and I up for the St. Patty's Day Dash and Bash this Saturday in Downtown Greenville.  We will be running a 5k, which should be interesting at 8am on a Saturday, but thought we could give it a shot and then reward ourselves with lots of Green Beer afterwards! I will let you know how this goes :) 

Gorgeous Greenway (old picture, but you get the idea!)

My Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes

Nails all ready for Spring!

Have a FABULOUS week! Tomorrow is Hump Day, woohoo!

One year in Greenville

I still can't wrap my head around the thought that I have been in Greenville for a whole year now! It has gone by so fast and so much has happened! I have now officially moved for the 3rd time since I have lived here and will soon be moving for my 4th (and hopefully) final time into my house that is slowly in the works!

Moving to Greenville was one of the scariest things I have ever done.  I only knew one person here and that was the one girl that I would be working with.  We were starting up our office in Greenville and I was asked (or begged) by my bosses to move down here.  I reluctantly agreed, but a year later I couldn't be any happier in my decision!

So many things have changed and I have learned a lot about myself and grown up a lot too! Work has had its ups and down, but overall I am very happy that I was given the opportunity to grow in my career.  I have made so many friends and met an AMAZING guy! None of this was what I had expected to happen, but I wouldn't change anything!  As amazing as this year was, I cannot wait to many more years here and what the future holds for me.

Here are a few of some of the memories I have made over the past year!

My first apartment was in a GORGEOUS converted Cotton Mill!

First date with Rusty at the Zac Brown Band concert!
Best concert ever :)

I couldn't resist getting a little puppy back in May! Harley is such a handful!

My first Beer Wiffleball experience!

Rusty and I spend a long weekend in Charleston

23rd Birthday with new and old friends :)

Best friends come to Greenville for some Clemson football

Gorgeous Falls Park in Downtown Greenville

Sunset in Greer! So pretty 

Design with Wine with Coworkers

More friends come to visit!!

There are so many more things that I have done and so many unforgettable memories I have made, but these are just a few snapshots of those! I cannot describe how excited I am for this year and all of the big changes that will be happening!

Have a fabulous week :)