Happy Fourth of July!

How about a top five list for today?

 

The five things I like best about Fourth of July Twenty-Thirteen:

 

10. No work on a Thursday!

9. Sleeping until 8:00 a.m.

8. Sun after seemingly endless days of rain.

 

7. Seriously. The sun. It counts twice because we have missed it so much.

6. Spending the day swimming with good friends and their kiddos!

5. Cooking out with family.

 

4. Tips on how not to burn yourself while using sparklers.

 

3. Getting served plastic cupcakes by this sweet girl.

 

2. Getting a free fireworks show from all of our neighbors!

1. The blessing of being an American! So many people dedicate their lives to protecting this country. Thank you!

 

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Local Restaurant: Culina & Slawsa for Cookouts!

You know how sometimes things are just meant to be?

Like this past Sunday. I woke up thinking about brunch. Breakfast/brunch is my favorite eat-out meal, and I was sitting on the couch sipping my coffee and feeling bad that I STILL have not been to Culina, a new-ish local restaurant in Rock Hill.

And then...

in my email...

Boom. Daily Deal. Culina.

See? It's like it was meant to be. I made a reservation for 12:15 and after church, we headed out to brunch.

 

Culina is open nightly for dinner, but they also feature a weekend brunch.

 

The menu features items like Shrimp and Grits and Eggs Benedict, but I already knew what I wanted:

 

Yes, you read that correctly: "Cheerwine Chicken and Waffles." I have been eyeing this menu item for quite some time.

 

 

(For those of you not in the south... If you aren't familiar with Cheerwine, you are missing out. It's like Cherry Coke, but way better.)

The chicken was so crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! The Cheerwine sauce was sweet, but not TOO sweet, and was a perfect waffle topping!

What is it with chicken and waffles? It seems like such a weird combination, but it's really genius. Sweet and salty all on one plate.

Not pictured: Bloody Mary. Culina has a Bloody Mary Bar. The server brings your drink to you, and then you add whatever additions you like!

The husband went with Eggs Benedict.

 

I stole a bite and it was delicious! Especially the potatoes! Our server let us know that Culina's dinner service is different from the brunch service. Dishes are served more family style and sharing is encouraged. I love family style since I like to steal food from everyone sample all the items on the table. I'm like a seagull, I guess.

If you decide to visit Culina (and I think you should,) I would make a reservation, because it is small. You can make a reservation by visiting their website.

 

 

 

Now... On another note... Are you ready for the Fourth of July? We are having a little family cookout he at home, so I made a special trip out to The Peach Stand this week for Slawsa! You can't have a cookout without Slawsa! If you haven't tried it, what are you waiting for? It's so yum. And this is a condiment made by a small, fairly local company. You'll be supporting a great small business by buying Slawsa!

 

 

 

Don't forget the Slawsa!

 

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Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous moms out there! I hope that you all were able to enjoy the day with friends and/or family today! We had an amazing weekend. I have lots of pictures to share with you all.

We started the weekend with some cleaning, because we had family coming to town! On Saturday, Adrienne and Paul, Meredith and David, and my Mom and dad came to town. Everyone had really wanted to see one of Sadie's soccer games, so we decided to make a weekend out of it! We were a little worried about the weather, but the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the game!

After the game, it still was dry, so we decided to hit up a local spot that I haven't been to in years- T. Bones on the Lake! I always forget about T. Bones, but it is so much fun to go there in the war weather months because it is right on the water. If you have a boat, you can even arrive via Lake Wylie! It ended up being super sunny and warm and we all had such a good time sitting out on the deck and chatting.

I decided on grilled fish tacos- which were delicious, by the way! I got mine lightly blackened. Instead of using the soft tacos, I just mixed mine all together into a taco salad. Perfect lake-side eats!

It actually made me really excited for summer and pool time and beach trips!

Adrienne had suggested bowling a while back, so after dinner, we decided to make a quick trip home to let the doggies out and then we headed to the bowling alley!

We had such a good time. I honestly do not think my family has ever bowled together. Sadie loved that the bowling alley had special tools to help her bowl and she is already asking to go back!

Since we had such a fun and busy day on Saturday, we decided on a low key brunch at our house for Mother's Day. The weather was amazing today, so we even were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy it.

 

Monkey bread...

 

Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Bell Pepper Frittatta

 

My plate (splurged on carbs today...oops!)

 

I think this was one of the best weekends at home that we have had this spring. The weather has been so cool and rainy. It was such a nice change to see the sun and be able to enjoy it! We even squeezed in some yard work this afternoon.

Hope you all had a nice weekend also!

 

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Spring Break Festivities (Part 1)

It's one of the few times of year that the rest of the public is jealous of teachers: it's Spring Break!

Every year, educators everywhere look forward to a much-needed week off from school. We had big plans of lots of relaxing activities, like:

• Cleaning the house
• Redoing the landscaping in the front yard
• Doing all the piles of laundry

Wait... Did I say relaxing? Maybe I should have used a different word to describe Spring break.

 

At any rate, things took a bit of a surprising twist when a nasty stomach virus made its way through our family. I meant to post an Easter recap a few days ago, but was incapacitated for a few days. But now I am better and ready to share!

We made our annual Easter trip to Greenville to see my family. Each year, we have certain traditions that my mom makes us we love to continue...

...like dying Easter eggs...

 

...and making the "bunny cake!"

 

 

We also did a little shopping and had a delicious girls' lunch at Adam's Bistro.

 

 

I decided on the grilled shrimp skewers with sautéed spinach and green beans. Delicious!

 

 

Unfortunately, it was a bit cold and rainy on Easter, so we made our pictures indoors.

 

It was so nice spending time with family! It was also wonderful to have Easter at the beginning of Spring break! It always feels depressing to go back to work on Easter Monday.

Unfortunately... Things fell apart after this photo was taken, and the stomach virus took several of us down for a few days...

Thank goodness that is over!

 

Stay tuned for Spring Break Part 2!

 

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