Super Bowl Weekend

Super Bowl weekend is the Thanksgiving of the New Year! It's a time spent with family, friends, football, lots and lots of food and drinks.  I still feel stuffed from our delicious feast yesterday.

This weekend was a busy one for me.  Friday after work, my dog Harley and I ventured back home to Charlotte. I had one of my best friend from high school's baby shower to attend on Saturday and wanted to spend some time with my family since my little sister was home from college this weekend too.

Friday night my family went to our favorite restaurant, Riccio's, but I unfortunately missed out because I wasn't feeling well.  My sister did surprise me with a carton of Samoa Girl Scout Cookie flavored ice cream and let me tell you, it was SOOOOO good.

Saturday was another busy day for me, but I was starting to feel much better.  The whole reason I came to town was to go to one of my best friend's Baby Shower.  I cannot believe that I am old enough to have friends that are married and pregnant (where does the time go!?).  Her baby shower was at TPC Piper Glen in Charlotte and it was absolutely gorgeous.  They had a nice brunch menu, full of different choices.  I chose the Shrimp and Grits and they did not disappoint, they were so nice and creamy--such a Southern staple!  After food, we of course indulged in the adorable cake that Stephanie had ordered and even had cute baby Riley's name on it.  Watching Stephanie open the presents was so cute, she was so excited for all of the gifts that she was given.  Little girls are so much fun to shop for. I could have spent days in the baby aisle picking out what clothes and accessories I wanted to get her.  It was a great way to celebrate Stephanie and her new addition to her family! I cannot wait to meet Baby Riley :)

All the ladies that were at the Shower

Shrimp and Grits...yum!

Pretty Cake for Baby Riley

Sunday was spent getting ready for the big game! I headed back to South Carolina and went to my boyfriend's house to start cooking away.  Since none of us really had a team that we were pulling for and were really just watching for the entertainment value and an excuse to eat a lot of food, I went searching for new football favorites to try! I found so many recipes that we couldn't resist making even though it was just going to be a small group of us watching the game.  Needless to say, we had WAY too much food and all were stuffed within the first 5 minutes of the game.  I think we were more excited about the food than anything else, especially since the commercials for the most part were disappointing.  The only good ones were the Budweiser and Taco Bell with the old people from the nursing home (I secretly hope that I am that fun at that age!!).  Here is a small sampling of our Super Bowl feast! 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough dip from Shugary Sweets

Rusty's pork for the Pulled Pork Sliders

Turkey, Swiss, and Pesto sliders from Reluctant Entertainer

Delicious Jalapeno Popper Dip from Simply Gourmet

It was such a fun weekend with family and friends, but now its time to get back to the grind of work before another fun weekend with visitors!