Social, Crown Royal & New Favorite Recipes

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway there. Tonight, I attended a special media event in Charleston at Social Restaurant + Wine Bar (disclaimer: I attended this event for free).

I was excited for the event for three reasons, 1. I really enjoy meeting other Charleston bloggers/media,  2. I had never been to Social before, and 3. the event was being thrown to introduce us to Crown Royal Maple. Crown Royal Maple is the brand’s newest effort. According to the company, “the liquid combines the legendary taste of Crown Royal with a touch of maple flavor, resulting in a uniquely smooth tasting experience.” (EXCUSE my flash, it was dark!)

Since I do not drink, I brought my Whisky expert (and food enthusiast) Uncle with me. 

Also at the event were Katie and Kerr. So great to catch up with them.

Crown offered a number of signature drinks to taste test:

My Uncle tasted each of the beverages listed above and liked the maple on the rocks best!

I gave it a little sip, definitely a nice, sweet flavor. The smell of maple was everywhere!

Outside the beverages, Social offered some delicious appetizers:

There was a drink making contest and the best drink maker won this beautiful guitar:

Before submitting our recipes, Crown Royal’s master of Whisky, Gerry Graham,  lead the group through a tasting/cheers.

And Mixologist Troy Sidle, from nationally recognized cocktail and spirit consulting company, Alchemy, walked us through the process of creating a tasty cocktail!

And then it was GO time!

 

 

We didn’t win…but Katie did!!! Congrats!!

            

Such a fun event!!!

On a side note, I have been enjoying some delicious recipes from other bloggers. Two of my favorites: 1. Maria’s quinoa spinach macaroni and cheese. I made it with pepper jack cheese and ground red pepper vs. sharp cheddar and nutmeg:

I also made Lynn’s Peanut Butter Yogurt Oatmeal bars. SO good!

Have you made anything new/fun lately? Links welcome!

My First Baby

Today is Frank’s birthday!! He is 7 years old. He has been such an amazing and important part of our lives. Josh proposed with him and he was even in our wedding. I just wanted to put up a few pictures of Mr. Frank over the years:

A few days after Josh proposed with the little man:

One of his first baths:

 

Looking handsome at our wedding(courtesy of Alison Conklin):

While all the other dogs played at the dog park, Frank preferred standing in the water container:

 

His favorite activity? Sleeping:

To celebrate his birthday, we went for a walk:

Went to Petco for a new toy:

 

and he had his birthday steak (a tradition):

 

 

 

 

Happy birthday baby boy!

Burrito in a Bowl

Some nights require a quick and yummy meal. Here is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• cooked rice, black beans, corn, peas, avocado, tortilla chips, cheese, Greek yogurt, anything else you want to add!

Directions:

Heat a skillet or pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and onion and cook until onion is fragrant. Add turkey and spices and cook through. Turn heat to low, add tomato sauce and let simmer ~ 5 minutes.

    

To make bowl, assemble taco meat and desired add-ins. I used rice, black beans, corn, peas, and added avocado and tortilla chips prior to serving. These RW Garcia chips are my new favorite:

Such an easy and delicious dinner!

How is your week going? Mine has been pretty good. Works been busy and my quads are feeling much, much better. I know its only Wednesday…but I’m already looking forward to the weekend ;)

Charleston Eats

Thank you all for the kind words on my half marathon! Post running, there was a lot of relaxing. Kaylin and I also played ball and legos outside.

At night, we had an adult dinner at Hank’s.

Hank’s has AMAZING seafood.

We went to dinner with Josh’s parents and brother. The table ordered Hank’s oysters casino and crispy rock shrimp and calamari. I didn’t get a picture of this, but the shrimp was awesome (I’m not a calamari fan).

I tried their seasonal salad with goat cheese (again…excuse the dark photos):

Josh had the grouper which came with tasty lobster risotto:

and I ordered their peel and eat shrimp.

For dessert, the table got the peanut butter pie. It was a huge hit. Mmmm to the cookie crust.

 

On Sunday, I went to hot yoga. It made my aching quads feel so much better. I also attended a food tasting that Christina invited me to at a new-to-me restaurant, Mi Xao.

 

I brought Kaylin with me and she was SUPER tired, so I didn’t get to do a lot of sampling/photographing, but I know Christina will have lots of pictures up soon. The food I tasted was totally delicious. Josh and I plan to get takeout from the restaurant soon.  

 

Thank you for the invite Christina!

Today, I taught Attack & Step and got a lot of cleaning done. Kaylin also had a second date (play date ;)) with a boy friend. Good stuff!!

How was your Monday?

Charleston Half Marathon

Do you have a bucket list? I haven’t written mine out, but I have a lot of items in my head that I consider on the list. One of them: Run a half marathon. Today, I crossed that item off!

Yesterday, I drove over the bridge to pickup my race packet:

I love that they put our names on our numbers (plus we got tickets for free beer and shrimp and grits ;)):

Then…I got nervous. Wonderful surprises from friends and family (including a sweet note):

and a container of Grill 225 Brussels sprouts to eat post race (thank you Cookie, Hardy & Josh!!) calmed my nerves.

Then it was time:

 

I ran and ran and ran! I met a lot of awesome people throughout the race and finished strong (despite a tummy ache that started around mile 8):

 

Final time? According to the website I chipped at 1 hour 51 minutes and 34 seconds!! An 8 minute 30 second pace!! SO excited I finished, SO glad its over ;). A BIG thank you to my Aunt Lori who picked me up.

I used this training plan, but only followed the long run portion (I have been teaching 5 or 6 days a week and couldn’t do the other runs). It worked great.

What is on your “bucket list”?