Did you catch this?

Dave sent me this clip from The Today show on Halloween. It was the first I had seen of it and I couldn't believe that it happened. Of course Dave said I would react much like Anne Curry. Awesome. LOL Watch and see how the Ewoks steal the show.

Kate Marie

My friend Ashley has a good friend that has opened her own Etsy store called Kate Marie Designs! It's super cute and you can tell that she is a Clemson Fan... just like Ashley!

Turkey Day Appetizer

So for Thanksgiving I contributed a cheese ball for an app. I know I know, a CHEESE BALL? Don't let it fool ya, this cheese ball is the most delicious thing! My mom's friend Carole would send the cheese ball via my VA girlfriends when they would come visit me for a girls weekend in Charlotte. We devoured it. It finally asked Carole for her recipe and last Christmas I gave out cheese balls as Christmas gifts. They were a HUGE hit!!! Here is Carole's secret recipe. Without the nuts, you can freeze it! And it makes for sizable ball so you could make two smaller ones... they make cute gifts!

Carole's cheese ball:

16 oz cream cheese (i used 1/3 less fat)

8 oz shredded cheddar (i use sharp but mild would work fine)

1T chopped green bell pepper

1T chopped pimiento

2T minced onion (i use a white onion)

2T Worcestershire sauce

1t lemon juice

dash of cayenne

1/4t salt

freeze ahead or serve....

roll in 1/4 -1/2 cup chopped pecans

Chill - serve at room temp with crackers. I like to use a buttery cracker.

Happy Thanksgiving

...coming from someone who hasn't eaten meat since July and honestly, has never enjoyed turkey! I am really lookin forward to the siiiiides! mmmmmm!

Pottery for Peace!

Check out Pottery Barn's Peace Tree! When we were in their store earlier this month I noticed they had a peace theme going on. I also love this door mat!

All about strategizing!

AWESOME Tips on how to survive Thanksgiving!

Winney and Bea

Going to a baby shower or HAVE a baby? So stinkin' cute! Winney and Bea

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WinneyandBea

Another winter favorite!

YUM! So I made this Vegetarian chili from Cooking Light last Monday and it turned out fabulously!! It was SUPER easy to make too. I bought the pre-chopped onions and peppers. I actually added another can of water to the chili because I wanted it a little bit looser just incase I paired it with some rice or noodles later in the week. Dave loved it although he missed his meat. We put monteray jack cheese and sour cream on top! Ahhh, what would life be like without sour cream? It's my number one condiment! I also added some hot sauce to mine to give it a little zing! You could definitely make a chili bar with this recipe and have people top their's with avacado, salsa, etc etc.

My roommate from college and pledge sister, Bethany, was on the Rachel Ray show on Monday! She was on a segment called Holiday Hair do's! This is a picture of her all dolled up and on the show! She writes more about it on her blog!

From Rachel Ray's site:

Bethany, 27, is dying to wear a cute flower headband for a fun festive look, but every time she picks one she feels like she has a big flower growing out of her head. "This is all about proportion," Jeanie says, "You don't want the headband walking into the room before you!" The trick is to create volume. Jeanie added 24-hour body mousse to the back of Bethany's hair and dried it with fingers instead of a brush, and added random waves throughout her hair to create a super tousled, natural look. "For someone who has longer hair," Jeanie adds, "you can pull it back into a loose bun on the side."

Twilight is here!

So one of my crazy coworkers is having people over to her house for a PRE-Twilight party tonight! She has been planning this party for months and prefers that people call her Mrs. April Cullen here at work (she is a die-hard Edward fan). She loves Eddie so much that he daughters have even photoshopped some of the Bella/Edward lovie-dovie photos to have her face as Bellas! They are a little creepy but HYSTERICAL. She is too much! Anyways, think of me tonight because it's going to be a late one (Dave cannot believe I am doing this)! We are going to the party after work and then we go to the theatre to see Twilight the first movie at 9pm and then NEW MOON at MIDNIGHT! I hope the real vampires don't get us! Friday's gonna be rough but.... totally worth it! ;)

New to NASCAR

I sent my great aunt Barbara these Dale Jr. items because since she moved into assisted living, she has been racing around on her new scooter! Apparently she is SO fast! We thought she needed a little NASCAR flare for her new ride! Isn't she the cutest??

Son of a Bee Sting!

Ya'll. On Sunday I got stung by a bee, in the car, in the crotch region! NO LIE. OUCH! Sure it was a tiny sting on Sunday but as of Tuesday this thing is redder than red and the size of my palm! It's itches like the dickens and is hard and swollen. Looks like someone slapped me! I am taking benedryl at night and spraying no itch stuff on during the day. I am gonna give icing a go tonight. Any other suggestions?

WWII Museum - New Orleans Trip!

So Dave and I went to New Orleans this month to celebrate the opening of three new additions to the World War 2 Museum - The stage door canteen (features a USO show); American Sector - John Besh Restaurant - chef John Besh has several restaurants in New Orleans and has been on Iron Chef and The Next Food Network Star; and Victory Theater - which shows a 4D movie produced by Tom Hanks called Beyond the Boundaries. We attended the Black Tie affair at the Museum which gave us a first peek at all the fabulous additions! Tom Hanks and Tom Brokaw were present all weekend long. Brokaw was the MC and Hanks was the constant fun comic relief lol. He roasted Dave's dad who is the President/CEO of the museum and it really hit home at how much Dave's Dad, Nick, has done with his career. It's quite amazing and I kept saying to Dave -
"That's your Dad up there!!" when he would come to the podium to speak in front of hundreds of people. We got to meet both Hanks and Drew Brees at the Black Tie event and I've posted those fun pictures for you to see! OH and I did get a fabulous black dress from a Vera Wang tag sale in NYC..... original price:$450, sale price: $50!!!!

Twilight is near!

Can't wait for the new Twilight movie! A coworker is throwing a party at her house and then we are all going to see the movie - the theatre is showing Twilight first and then New Moon! I caught this segment on The Today show this week. People are so into it and I had no idea that the town of Forks in Washington was into it as well! Forks has become a huge tourist attraction!

Swooz-me! 2

Ladies. Keep an eye out for Swoozies great deals! I put together this fantastic gift bucket for my friend Fran's shower. She got married in October and is moving to Germany as her husband will be stationed there as of November. Fran LOVES the beach and she LOVES Hawaii. While dating, her husband was stationed in Hawaii and Fran ended up moving there. So I thought she could bring the beach with her to Germany and show them how it's done. So in this bucket includes invitations, cups, napkins, giant flip flop platter, plates, beverage bucket, beach koozie, snack carry bag, and flip flop glass markers. I thought it turned out wonderfully and I think Fran really enjoyed the thought put into it!

Sneak peek of big lesson plan!

I am busily working on my last project, my BIG lesson plan! Here's a hint as to what it's on ;)

Halloween Pics - Finally!

It was a rainy night in Charlotte but we did make it out with out last minute costumes! We went to dinner at our friend Debbie's house in Rock Hill. She had a chili dinner and apps ready. And we had plenty of cute rick or treaters to check out as the night went on! She has a really nice back porch that is screened in and because it was such a warm afternoon, it made for 70 degree weather on the porch. So we all sat out there. Then Dave and I headed back to Charlotte to pop in to Todd's house for another party. There were many unique costumes there, that's for sure! Dave was a memo pad and I was a paper clip. Office supplies! Dave says next year he wants to be a phone booth - I'm not so sure about that one... lol.

Pumpkin Patch!

How adorable are not only this sign but the pumpkins themselves! What a great idea for guests at any party... shower, dinner party, wedding, etc etc! It could work for anything! A truly great FALL idea!

Adore this entry way!

Check it out!

School!

I loved being in a Kindergarten class the other week! I got to work with them on their Halloween Projects! They were just as cute as can be and although I loved 2nd and 3rd grade, I might be open to Kindergarten too (with added caffeine)!

Here are the fun and edible spiders they made!

Ingredients:

2 Ritz crackers - body

Chocolate Frosting - glue

2 M&Ms - eyes

1 Cherry Pull and Peel Twizzler - legs

Put frosting on 1 cracker. Lay legs down. Stick crackers together. Put frosting on top of cracker sandwich. Put eyes on. And you're done! Enjoy and eat!

Anyone else?

Is anyone else sick of Jon and Kate? I am so tired of reading about them online and seeing them on the news. I just wish that the show would be cancelled and that they would move on with their lives... privately.

One Thing in Retail I Learned

Working at Ann Taylor this past summer really opened my eyes as to how retail stores work. I was amazed that in a week's time, the dress that I had been eyeing up had already been marked down. And in a month's time, it reached the sale rack. And in two months time, it was marked down to $30 from it's originaly $100. This just taught me a huge lesson. Never buy anything full price UNLESS you've got a gift card. Spending your hard earned cash on something full price is just not worth it. I always felt bad for the women who bought outfits right off the rack and would come in a week later only to find that that $75 dollar blouse was now hanging on the sale rack. If only they had waited just ONE week! Ladies, keep your wits about you, retail stores are struggling. Before shopping make sure to check online for COUPONS on the company's website. They are always sending out mailers. Even when checking out you can say, I forgot the coupon that was mailed to me this week and sure enough, the store clerk is going to have one behind the counter! Saving 20% is better than saving nothing at all! Another tid bit... if you have several coupons, ring up your purchases separately! Not only do the stores like it because each sale gives them points BUT it saves you more money by using all of your coupons!

Good luck ladies!

Movie No-Go

Went to see the movie "Couples Retreat" with Dave and it was not all that great. Definitely rentable. Just thought I'd let you know so that you could say your $10 for something else!

Lovin my job!

Blake Shelton rocks and so does my job! :) He was part of the Foundation's concert series. He's as nice as can be too! It was a fun night!

Irresistable

Ya'll. I am a picky soup eater. I like restaurants soups only. A soup snob I suppose. Well let me tell you - THIS SOUP.... THIIIIS SOUP.... is out of this world! It is EASY TO MAKE... HEALTHY...CHEAP TO MAKE.... and SO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! This is in my top 5 favorite recipes now! Try it out!

Getting ready for the holidays!

Are you big into holiday cards or do you have a party to plan? Tiny Prints has the cutest stuff just for you!!

Fall in Sapphire Valley NC

We got one weekend at the mountain house and although it was a little over cast some of the time.... it was totally worth it! It was our first bit of fall and we loved it! All the while, back home in Charlotte, the leaves hadn't even begun to change yet!