Siete de Mayo

Remember my pathetic dinner from Cinco de Mayo???

I had to redeem myself.  On  Saturday night, the fam decided to go out for Mexican fare.  My sister Adrienne and I have said many times that we think we could eat Mexican food every night and never get tired of it.  Last night we tried out a new place close to my parents’ house: Compadres on N. Pleasantburg.  If you are in the Greenville area, you’ve got to check this place out!

We started with (what else) chips and salsa.  I know these are a huge healthy-eating fail, but I just cannot turn them down.  I love chips and salsa. 

Our waiter even brought us some complimentary appetizers for the table!  Bean Dip-- hooray!

I decided on a combo plate: enchilada, chili relleno, rice, and beans.  (Oh, and a Corona Light—my fave!)

Our waiter was wonderful.  Everything was super-quick, and he was very attentive!  Be sure to check them out!

 

Stay tuned for my last Mother’s Day Weekend post… where you will find the answer to this question:

Can anyone guess what Ryan got me for Mother’s Day???  Here are some hints…

-- it is something I really wanted

-- it’s perfect for me

-- it came in this box!

Any guesses?

Mother’s Day Surprises

If you’re just catching up, make sure you take a look back at my post about our trip to downtown Greenville Friday night!  (The start of Mother’s Day weekend!)

Later on Friday night, we broke the news to my mom that we were celebrating MD early… with a trip to West End Spa the next morning!  That’s right… Spa Day!

pink toenails

Meredith, Adrienne, and I all had pedicures and facials.  Mom had a facial, paraffin wrap, and make-up application.  We really enjoyed our morning together.  It was relaxing and fun.  This was only the second time I have ever had a facial, but I loved it.  I must do this more often!

When we finished, Sadie joined us and we went for a special “girls’ lunch.”  There are so many possibilities in the Downtown area of Greenville, so at first we couldn’t decide where to go.  But we ended up at High Cotton.  Lucky for us, the wait was not long, and we got to sit right by the window and enjoy the view of the Reedy River.

Because it was a special day, we opted for cocktails: bloody mary for Mom and Meredith, Sangria for Adrienne, and a Greenville Cocktail for me.  (My Greenville Cocktail was wonderful!  Will have to try and recreate this!)

Sadie really enjoyed the cornbread and butter.  I loved that they served it in sweetgrass baskets. 

I decided on the High Cotton Quick Fix, which is sort-of like a sampling of a few different items: half sandwich (braised beef with a sweet slaw or chutney on top), soup (smoky corn chowder), small side salad (mixed greens with walnuts and a sweet dressing), and a mini creme brulee. 

I loved the sandwich.  I was expecting a chunky soup, but it was pureed, which was different, but in a good way.  It had a hit of spice and heat.  The creme brulee was very good, but I could only eat a bite or two of it in the middle of the day, so I shared with everyone.

If you’re local or visiting Greenville, check out High Cotton!

After lunch, we wandered down to the river, just in time for the KenDucky Derby!

10,000 rubber ducks were released into the Reedy River for a “race.”  I think “Sir Quacks A Lot” might have been the winner.  What a fun day! 

 

Next up:  Celebrating Cinco de Mayo AGAIN!

Jump Ropes, Hula Hoops, Bouncy Houses, and Giant Slides

Happy Weekend, friends!  I don’t know about you all, but I was ready for the weekend!  After work today, we packed the car and headed to Greenville for Mother’s Day weekend.  We were looking forward to spending a little time downtown Friday night.

The weather was perfect.  Not too cool but not hot at all!  Greenville has an amazing downtown with tons of activities for adults and kids.  Every Friday, they have live music, games and activities for kids, and drinks. 

Sadie waited patiently for her turn in the bounce house…

… and she had a blast jumping, going on the giant slides, and playing with jump ropes and hoops.

Poor little Mady wasn’t feeling well.  She had a little upset tummy. 

Stay tuned for more details on our weekend.  Can you guess where we went on Saturday morning???

New Class Celebration and Cinco de May “Shame?”

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Did you go out for fun Mexican fare (i.e. Margaritas and Coronas)? 

Tonight was a special night for me because I had a new class celebration for my new Zumba class!  Yay!  It was such a fun class!  I’m already excited about next week.  Can you believe I forgot to take any pictures???  Whoops!  However, I think it MIGHT be showing up on TV soon!  Our local station came out to film a little and are possibly going to do a story on it!  Yikes!  I am nervous about seeing myself on camera teaching Zumba! 

After class, I thought about what I might have for Cinco de Mayo dinner.  I was on my own because hubby and Sadie were having dinner with his parents.  So I decided on…

umm…yes… I went to Taco Bell on Cinco de Mayo.  Those of you who know me well or have been reading for a while know that I have a special relationship with Taco Bell.  I don’t eat a lot of fast food, but I have a special place in my heart for TB’s Fresco tacos. 

I would say it was my Cinco de Mayo shame… but I am just going to celebrate it.  Ole!

So today was a great day… but it is also bittersweet.  Many of you know that I lost my two wonderful grandparents this spring.  Today would have been their 66th wedding anniversary. 

 

Memama and Grindaddy with Sadie, one year ago

Anniversary Cake, one year ago

Several times today, I’ve thought back to this time last year when we celebrated their 65th anniversary.  I can celebrate the fact that they are together now.  But today, I am missing them both so much. 

Impromptu Dinner Out

Happy Hump Day!  I hope all of you are having a great week so far!  Mine has been busy as usual, but very productive.  This is a very hectic time for us teachers, because we all have our Statewide Testing coming up next week.  It’s stressful for all of us.  Testing starts Monday, so please send some positive vibes our way!

Today I had a very productive meeting with some coworkers and then headed back to my school for our last PLC (Professional Learning Community) meeting.  I love my job and the people I work with.  They make it so much fun. 

After a very energetic Zumba class, I met Ryan and Sadie for a little impromptu dinner out.  We decided on Grouchos. 

I had the STP Dipper.  It was tasty.  I love this dipping sauce.  It’s like 1,000 Island Dressing… only better.

So… tomorrow I have a new Zumba class starting!  I am so excited.  It’s a Cinco de Mayo Zumba Party!  I know it will be fun.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it tomorrow! 

National Dance Day!

Happy Sunday!  Did you know that yesterday was National Dance Day?  Did you celebrate it?

I got up and went to Zumba with Katie.  I’ve mentioned Katie on here several times… because she is one of the main people who inspired me to be a Zumba instructor!  It’s been a while since I was able to rock it out with Katie on Saturday morning.  I was glad to be back for a morning!

Sadie and I spent a semi-lazy “Girls' Day” while Ryan played golf.  We hit up a few stores so Sadie could pick out an Easter present with some money she got from her Leenie and Poppy, and then we went to Books a Million so she could pick out a new book.  She decided to use her Easter money to get Snow White. 

Then it was time for a night on the town with a few friends!  A big group of Zumba enthusiasts had an Uptown Takeover!  We hit up several local spots to do some dancing.  My favorite spot?  A Latin Club called El Torres!  It was amazing to watch all of the dancing.  I love doing Salsa in classes, but it’s so cool to see people do it “for real” with a partner, when they really know what they are doing.  One big difference between the regular clubs and El Torres was how in the Latin club, almost everyone on the dance floor had a partner.  In other clubs, you usually see big groups of people dancing together and lots of girls in groups.  But at El Torres, it was more traditional—partners.  I love to see men dancing like that.  Dancing is not just for chicks!

It was a great night of fun. 

I got home late, so Ryan let me sleep in while he took Sadie to church.  Sweet Hubby.  (And poor hubby waited up for me last night, just to be sweet.  he was tired today, too.)

Today I met my friend Angie at Starbucks.  She’s going to be helping me with my new Zumba class that starts this week… Thursday to be exact!  YAY!  I am so excited!  We were going over some things for class.  I decided I had to sample one of their Red Velvet Whoopie Pies.

Um… yum.  Loved it.  And I had a Passion Tea Lemonade.  Also delish.

Now Sadie and I are watching Snow White together. 

We’re trying to soak up the last few hours of the weekend.

I hope all of you had a fantastic weekend!