mocktails for mamas: grapefruit & pink orange spritzer

this past Sunday, I went and got Mexican food with a few girlfriends. We sat on the patio and ate 30 baskets of chips and it was so so good to see them and have them rub on the bump a little bit. But I gotta say, it was the first time I have realized ever in my life, even after a hundred years of working behind a bar, just how few drink options there are besides water and soda for a pregnant woman surrounded by her margarita lovin' besties. Even a few weeks back, Andrew and I tried out a new taco place and I got a virgin margarita just for fun. Nope. Tasted just like lemon lime Gatorade. I've never been so jealous watching someone slurp down a salt rimmed beverage and I'll be perfectly honest I can't wait to go back into my little routine of having an adult drink at night with my friends or husband once this pregnancy is over. The moment I peed on that stick at roughly 5 weeks along, we both quit all of our bad habits and haven't looked back and I'm so damn proud of us but in the meantime, I gotta shake it up! Now that it's finally warming up outside, I'm ready to fire up the grill and sit on patios pronto so it felt like the perfect time to try out some new mama mocktails and this was first up. A grapefruit and pink orange spritzer (by "spritzer" I just mean soda water, but I miss you white wine) with rosemary and honey. Super easy and delish and you'll feel just as fun and free spirited as you watch your friends get a buzz. Speaking of buzzes, I think this drink would be perfect with tequila so if you're having friends over, make a huge batch and just add liquor per request. Just be mindful to not do a switcharoo! No one needs to see a pregnant woman dancing on tables!

for 4 servings, you'll need:
3-4 grapefruit
2 pink oranges
2 tablespoons honey
8-10 sprigs of rosemary (extra for garnish if that's your thing)
crushed ice
club soda

Over medium heat, combine your honey and rosemary for about 5 minutes. While that's working, Start squeezing your fruit (doing this procedure always reminds me of when I met Andrew. he was my boss at a tequila bar and I would come in early and squeeze limes for him just to hang out with him. now I just squeeze his limes for fun ;) Remove your honey & rosemary from heat. Add crushed ice to glasses. Pour your honey & rosemary mixture into your citrus juice mixture and stir vigorously (if you can, shake it until frothy. but stirring works fine, too!)  Pour over ice and garnish with fruit chunks or rosemary or both if it's the weekend.

like I said before, a shot of tequila in this would probably be delicious and I'll report back on that theory in about 6 months :) enjoy mamas and happy weekend!

a winter meal staple: chicken and dumplins'

I posted recently about our wedding registry favorites and this dutch oven is slowly, OK quickly, inching its way up the list. Andrew has successfully created fried chicken, pork ribs, and now chicken and dumplins. I can't even remember the last time I had chicken and dumplins prior to last night but they were everything I remembered. Creamy and filling and I had three servings. In fact, I'm writing this the next day and they're even better now. Don't you love foods that do this? Is there a name for that? Meals that get better every day that they're reheated? Let me know. 

So if you're searching for an easy recipe for supper (Chicken and dumplings are for when you want supper, not dinner) here is the recipe we used here. I was in charge of the dumplins and they were stupid easy to make (i know my kitchen limits. Give me the simple work) and it's kind of a fun meal to make together as a team. Just don't expect too much PDA after that second bowl. Because chicken and dumplins should always be followed by naps. On that note, goodnight. 

our favorite wedding gifts from amazon!

I swear, a wedding advice post is coming, but this seemed more fun for a rainy Thursday! Our wedding gift favorites so far! Well, I guess this is a little wedding advice- you should register. And when you, you should register through Amazon. Their registry was super easy to navigate for us and for guests, you can link the registry right to your phone and see when gifts are purchased, it will show you when the same item becomes cheaper, AND no one has to leave their house to give or receive! Introverts rejoice! So here's our top ten, so far, that I highly recommend you get for yourself or someone you love!

1. Oil diffuser. This thing has been a dream to have in the bedroom and I'm buying another one for the living room. Pop open the top, add water and a few drops of essential oil (lavender in the bathroom. zzzz) and hit the power button. It makes the dreamiest little bubble sounds, too!
2. Waffle maker. So far, I've only used some waffle mix but holy shit. Plug it in, turn it on and wait for the heat, put in your batter, rotate it, and 90 seconds later you have the most beautiful waffle. Yum.
3. Bamboo cutting board. I've always wanted a beautiful cutting board and I'm so glad we got one. It's smooth as glass and sturdy. I'm thinking with cutting boards, you get what you pay for.
4. White cotton bath towels. We were long over due for towels anyway. These are flufftastic and super absorbent. Somehow, we registered for 2 sets and wound up with 3 so I'm saving the last pack. 
5. Instant pot. I didn't know what it was initially but apparently it's "like having 7 cooking devices in 1" according to the meal cooker of our house.
6. KitchenAid attachments. Yes we pimped out our stand mixer and I'm stoked to play with them more in the near future. Gimme all the real pasta and a bigger jean size, please and thanks.
7. Turkish tea towels. I've got a soft spot in my heart for dish, hand, and tea towels. I registered for three sets. seriously. I love them.
8. Cuisinart pots and pans set. We added this to our registry after our wedding, just kinda on a whim. Like a hey! Maybe we have a great uncle out there somewhere that wants to get us a nice gift! turned out that my pseudo aunt got it for us and it was the best surprise ever! They are gorgeous.
9. Wok. again, according to this house's chef, this is a good one.
10. Dutch oven. I have wanted one of these bad boys forever but you know damn well I won't spend hundreds on something that I can find for $40. Save your money and go with this one. I got the white one :)

I've linked all of my favorites below! I wasn't on board with doing a registry from the beginning. I'm nearly 30 and have everything that I could ever need. But we had some friends and family insist and now I'm glad we listened to them. It was so fun the morning after our wedding to eat junk food in our pajamas and opening all of our new home goods that we get to start a life with together. These are our things. I love that. We donated all of our old linens and towels to the SPCA, all of our dishware went to family, and I have put boxes of random stuff on our stoop a few times a week (it's like a magic show watching shit disappear!) So I feel like I'm at least not being wasteful. Hope this was a little helpful to anyone looking for where to register or just anyone wanting to treat themselves this holiday!  

A fall taste tour with Piada

my favorite detail of this city, besides the cheap rent and changing seasons, is the food. At just about any time of the day or night you can have tacos, sushi, pizza, cookies (most of which will even delivered to your front door. remember Insomnia Cookies? yum) Honestly, I wish there was a food out there that I didn't like. My jeans would thank me. But! Until then, I'll just keep eating my way through the queen city. Before a few days ago, I had never heard of Piada and when Andrew and I were invited to try out their new menu last night, I couldn't reply "YES! WE'LL BE THERE!" fast enough. I didn't even know what the old menu was prior to this new menu coming out but I'll take two of each of whatever ya got, please and thanks. Andrew and I both are the least picky eaters so we didn't have much to lose. 

We arrived at The Mockbee, one of my favorite event spaces downtown with arched brick doorways and creepy corridors, only to be greeted by some of the best and lightest foods I've had in a while. Their new menu is loaded with fresh ingredients, vegan and gluten free friendly, and packed full of super foods. It also highlights foods I had never heard of before tonight like FARRO. A friend of mine described it as "mouth sex" and "chewing on pillows" in the best possible way and he wasn't lying. I had no idea. I will be buying my own supply tomorrow. We munched on pork loin sandwiches topped with basil aioli and finished our night with chocolate chip cookies covered in toasted marshmallows. Before we left, we made sure to grab one more blood orange pomegranate tea for the road and drove home with two full bellies and said "that was so good!" to each other probably ten times. 

Thank you so much to Piada for extending the invite to us so we could be some of the first to try out the new magic happening! Just one more reason to get excited for fall!  

My favorite Fall Sangria

I've been on the prowl for a good, girl's-night-in sangria recipe that was perfect for fall and by god, I think I found her. Thank you, Pinterest and thank you Flavour and Savour for creating this magic in a glass. I've had my fair share of sangria's in my day and after one or two, they all start to blend into the same, cold red wine flavor. (which is fine by me. Thank you Diane Keaton for introducing me to drinking red wine with ice) but this recipe. I don't know. Maybe it's the smoothness of the honey? Or that sharp pucker in my mouth from the cranberry juice? Either way, get your designated driver ready or settle in for a night on the couch with your favorite flannel pajama set and a pumpkin spice candle because these will knock your fuzzy house slippers off. 

Cheers!

bitchin' from the kitchen

I guess I'm no different than any other bitchy bride out there but I'm soo ready for this wedding to be here so life can go back to normal. We are knee deep in it, going a million miles, and knocking out our check list left and right and it's super exciting but I'm very much ready to relax and eat what I want again.. oh, and cut my hair. I can't wait to chop off all this hair. New last name, new short bob with layers.  I have a very clear picture in my mind of my new haircut and it makes me positively giddy! but, in the meantime, we're trying to get sexier over here. Andrew has joined a gym and I have been doing my very best to avoid carbs at all costs. I count out crackers and read labels and obsess over trying to lose this little belly pooch if it kills me. While I know that no one is force feeding me and it's 100% my own genetic, lazy fault, I do partially blame my birth control (in all fairness, my doctor did say "you will 100% gain weight on this" ... I didn't care. So I knew what I was getting into) but man! 

It is hard! It is so stressful to worry that your dress won't fit or that your photos will pick up any imperfections. You'll see later, this dress has no room under the service for corsets and girdles and magical tape. It puts it allll out there... So here I am, trying my best to become more acquainted to my kitchen. I'm eating more fruits and vegetables than I ever have in my life and I feel good about it but mannnnn I can't wait until our first official day as husband and wife, putting our apartment back in order and opening up all of our new wedding registry goodies and loading up our kitchen with new pots and pans...  To make me all the pasta and bread I want! Mwahaha *insert laugh/crying emoji here* 

pickin' our own blackberries!

coming to you live with a few sweet nothings dedicated to the blackberry. can we take a minute? just one minute to discuss and appreciate the blackberry? oh man. i don't know where my love came from. as a kid, i couldn't tell you if i had ever even tried a blackberry and I'm nearly convinced they weren't invented until i was in my mid twenties. But somewhere in there, I met my first blackberry and ever since then, I eat them plain at work or covered in whipped cream or in smoothies or frozen. or or or .... I could go on forever. 

So Jon has been working on his family farm all summer and wouldn't you know it, they are covered in blackberry goodness. We drove deep down into Kentucky a few weekends back for his birthday and while sitting along the patio table, his dad set down a huge bowl of fresh blackberries straight from his farm. They tasted as good as they looked so when he invited Andrew and myself out to pick blackberries for ourselves, there was no way I wasn't going to take advantage. Those pick-your-own-food places aren't really my jam. Too much quiet and direct sunlight for my taste... so it was definitely more fun to partake in the activity with friends, a nine year old, and a precious pup running around. Plus, you gotta love my fiance that will take pictures of fruit with me. What did I learn in that hot hour under the sun? Let's see. Well, just remember that the darker the berry is, the sweeter they'll be. Blackberries grow faster than weeds. and... when you get home, the berries pair well with gin.   

five-ingredient blackberry & peaches cast iron pie!

happy Monday! it's probably the only perk that Monday gets is that every once and a while, it is awarded the privilege of giving us all one extra weekend day... and we are ever so thankful. As members of the hospitality world, Andrew and I both worked this weekend at his restaurant but now it's Monday and we refuse to do anything. No grill outs, no river trips, nothin. and it's glorious. It was an absolutely exhausting weekend for that poor dude of mine- he worked all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and so today we are dedicating our time to starting a new-to-us Netflix series together, enjoying a bloody mary or three, and I couldn't help but make something sweet for us to pick on all day. Days like today (we like to call them snow days... where we don't do a damn thing for 12 hours) are the perfect day to make something 1. yummy 2. easy and 3. that can be reheated over and over. 

Given the choice, I'll almost always opt for chocolate over fruit-focused desserts but I've been on a huge blackberry kick lately and couldn't help but grab 3 containers of them at the store. I eat them on salads, frozen with some cool whip, and even as a snack for work (I actually have a big project coming up with blackberries soon but that will be revealed later!) And while I like to put on my baker's hat and try to make desserts, they seldom turn out they way they are supposed to. I always screw something up half way through the recipe steps so this 5 ingredient blackberry and peach cast iron pie is perfect for me or any other baker that doesn't know what the hell they're doing. 

///

you'll need:

2 cups blackberries

1 can of peaches in juice, drained

1/2 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2-pack pie crusts 

steps:

preheat oven to 425

press one pie crust into cast iron skillet

mix all remaining ingredients, add on top of the crust

add second crust on top, press into the rim, and cut slits throughout 

(Optional: spread melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon on top) 

bake for 30 or until golden brown

serve with ice cream! 

Bill Nye would love Buzzed Bull Creamery

Full disclaimer this post is coming to you directly after spending a little time with the newest shop to hit the streets of OTR- Buzzed Bull Creamery. It's a doozy you guys. A boozy doozy, if you will. This shop is the first of its kind, serving up alcohol infused ice cream using liquid nitrogen and how they know the science behind all of it- I have no idea- but I'll happily eat spoonfuls of their creations while they make their ice cold magic. Four of the seven owners were sweet enough (probably because of their ice cream connection. ha.) to allow Andrew and me to come in for a little preview of what they'll be offering in a few weeks when they open their doors to the public and I apologize to them for talking to them with my mouth full of ice cream the whole time!! Sorry guys, I really am kind of a professional, I promise!

It's run by a handful of people that came from all different walks of life prior to the ice cream bizz and you can just see the hard work they have each put into this place with their own bare hands. From the tables to display boards to the ice cream sundaes themselves, they really are serving up some delicious homemade goodness over on Main Street.

Andrew and I got to dip our spoons into a few servings of some of their favorite flavors including The Buzzed Bull that features coffee flavored ice cream, caramel, and bourbon as well as a cup of their strawberry margarita. I don't even really care for strawberry margaritas that much but I'm not ashamed to tell you I was licking that plastic cup clean on our walk around the city when we left. That coffee flavor though... oh my god... get it. Get it by the gallon. You guys, eat it for breakfast. It has that bourbon bite that hits you when you first put it in your mouth but it's smooth and creamy and perfect.  You also get to watch them build your sundae from start to finish, adding any and all toppings to the mix, and the process itself is pretty pleasing... but knowing that the end result is alcoholic ice cream is almost too good to be true. 

The shop was thinking 8 steps ahead in knowing it would be a good idea to offer up alcoholic (buzzed) and non-alcoholic (non-buzzed) options, so people can come in on a romantic date night or even with their kids and everyone can have a good time. I'm so glad we got to come in and shake hands with the creative genius' behind an idea that is sure to leave an impact on the city! Be sure to keep an eye out all over social media (their IG account is pretty dreamy- @buzzedbullcreamery) to see their opening date coming soon! But don't worry, you won't be able to miss the place if you drive by, I'll be one the standing out front... banging the door down with a spoon in my hand. 

this scooter is irrelevant... but with a healthy buzz, it seemed appropriate to take a photo of it. Ha! 

and there I am... shoveling my last few bites into my mouth. Isn't that a pretty site? 

thank you guys so much again for allowing us to come in and check y'all out! We'll be back... how about... tomorrow? :)