Crazy little thing called love

KLL from Magnolia and Fox asked me a few questions about WEG and me, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to answering those questions. If you have anything else you'd like to know, feel free to ask me!

First off, How did you and WEG meet?

Well, the first time we met he does not even remember. Clearly, I did not make much of an impression, huh? That first time was briefly at a tailgate of a football game. He was tailgating with my roommate and her boyfriend, and I stopped by to say hello on my way to another tailgate. He was with someone else at the time, and has no recollection of this. However, I have one stellar memory and remember it clearly. I was re-introduced when I joined a bowling league with the same roommate and friend. He was in the league and we became friends. One night, in a drunken haze I'm sure, he told my roommate that she and I could move in with him for cheap rent, so we did....it was too good of a deal to pass up, even though I didn't really know him all that well. It worked out well, and the rest is history.

Which brings me to the next question, Do you and WEG live together?

Yes, we do. We started out as roommates and for 6 months that's how it went. Nothing more than that. And then after 6 months, things began to change and we developed feelings for each other. Those feelings progressed, and in May we will have been together 3 years, living together 3 and a half. It's not the most conventional way a relationship works, but it has worked for us and really been an easy cohabitation overall.

Finally, You and WEG cheer for different teams. When not in conflict, do you cheer on each other's teams?

For the most part, no, we do not. Our alma maters are bitter rivals. I grew up with garnet running through my veins (and so did WEG, but he went astray in his college decision). All my life I have disliked all things orange. I have 3 degrees from the Univ. of South Carolina and I work there, so my allegiance runs deep. I, in good conscience, just cannot pull for Clemson. I will sacrifice if I go to a football game with WEG at Clemson. As long as they aren't playing SC, I will wear orange, but I will not cheer for Clemson. I have to draw the line, but I try to be a good sport about at least not sticking out like a sore thumb in orange country. WEG, on the other hand, will not wear garnet- no way, no when, no how. His only exception in pulling for us is that he will pull for our basketball team because he really likes Devan Downey, our point guard. We are TRULY a house divided- there is really no gray area! The picture below is from the Carolina-Clemson game this past November. I am happy to report that my team was victorious, which rarely happens :-)

And, there you have it, my friends. A little bit about WEG.

The way to my heart is through my stomach...

No seriously. I LOVE to eat. I like stuff that's good for you, like vegetables and fruit...love them, in fact. But I also like things that are not so good for me...like cheeseburgers and french fries. I'll try *almost* anything once. I'm not quite as adventurous as Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern, but if it's not something that sounds totally gross, I'll give it a shot.

Several of you asked me questions that centered around eating, so today I'll entertain you with those answers. Here goes.

Gwennie asked: What 6 people, living or dead, would you like to have at a dinner? What would you serve?
Well, I'm a very family oriented person, and although it would be neat to have some famous people at dinner, I'd really not know how to react. So, I'd like to keep it simple and just have some family members, living and dead. First off, I'd like to have my grandparents that are no longer living. I miss them like crazy all the time, and 2 of them I haven't seen since they passed away when I was younger. My grandma, grandpa, and poppy meant the world to me, and I'd like the chance to have them for dinner now that I am older and could fully appreciate their stories and their wisdom. Rounding out my guest list would be my Granny, Mama, and Daddy so that they, too, could have dinner with their loved ones. What a wonderful dinner it would be to have everyone that has been such a formative part of my life at my dinner table. And what I served to family wouldn't matter, so I'd probably go with something very good, but easy to make for a large group. So I'm thinking stuffed shells, a big salad, and garlic bread. One of my favorite meals and something I'm sure they'd all enjoy.

KLL asked: What is your favorite dessert?
That's a tough one! I haven't met much dessert I didn't like! However, I'm pretty smitten with white chocolate raspberry cheesecake...mmmm! Coming in as runners-up were strawberry shortcake made with mom's homemade pound cake, key lime pie with an Oreo crust that my mom makes, apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and Peach Yums. See, it's hard to narrow down!

Lis asked me: What is your favorite Starbucks drink?
I don't drink a whole lot of Starbucks. Maybe twice over Christmas and about twice the rest of the year, but I am a creature of habit when it comes to Starbucks. At Christmas I always get the peppermint white chocolate mocha with nonfat milk and no whipped cream, and during other times I get the white chocolate mocha with nonfat milk and no whipped cream. Not very adventurous, I know, but once I find something I like, I generally stick with it so I don't run the risk of getting something I don't like (especially for a $4/drink price tag!!)

Amelia asked me: Coke or Cheerwine?
On a normal, day to day basis, I'd probably choose coke (although I try not to drink but about one or two cokes a week). However, I LOVE Cheerwine. I just never think to buy it, and most fast food places don't carry it, which is generally where I am drinking soft drinks. But, when we were in Hickory, NC over Christmas, the Bojangles had it in the fountain, and I was SUPER EXCITED! So, can my answer be both? ;-)

Amelia also asked me: Where did you end up eating in New Orleans?
We didn't want to spend too much money since it was on the University's dollar, so we ate dinner at Ralph and Kacoo's (sp?). I thought it was good, but not nearly as good as Brennan's, where I have eaten with my parents on a past trip. We did partake in a hurricane at Pat O'Brien's and beignets at Cafe DuMonde, though (on our dollar, not the university's!). And, since it was during Mardi Gras, we brought a king cake home with us!

Mrs. Potts asked me: What is your favorite place to eat in South Carolina?
Wow, I have to narrow it down? I don't have one particular favorite place, so I'll have to give you a run-down depending on what type of food I am in the mood for.

For a nice meal out, hands down, my favorite restaurant is Mr. Friendly's in Columbia. I have mentioned this place several times on my blog. Their food is to die for. I have never eaten anything there that I did not just love. It's "New Southern" cuisine, and they put things together you would never think of, but in the most delicious of ways. If you are ever in Columbia, you have to look this place up and go there. They don't take reservations, and the place is small, but it's worth it!

For a burger, Rockaway's Athletic Club, also in Columbia, is my favorite. The service is lacking, but the food more than makes up for it. They have the best burgers in Columbia, especially if you get the pimento cheeseburger. Oh my gosh, it's good!

For seafood, The Wreck in Mt. Pleasant on Shem Creek is the best. It's not fancy, and if you drove up without being recommended to go there, you'd probably leave. But, they don't even have freezers at the restaurant, so you are guaranteed that the food will be fresh. They're right by a shrimp dock, so the food comes right from the water to their kitchen to your table.

For bbq, I have two places depending on the type of sauce you like. For mustard based, Sweatman's between Holly Hill and Eutawville is the place to go. Forget Maurice's...you can have that! I only like Sweatman's mustard based. For "orange" sauce as I like to call it, which is a mixture of ketchup, mustard, brown sugar (I think) and some other good stuff, head on down to Orangeburg to Antley's or Duke's by the Pepsi Cola plant. Best bbq I've ever put in my mouth, but people definitely have their preferences of bbq!

My favorite deli in SC is a toss-up between DiPrato's and The Gourmet Shop. DiPrato's has the best pimento cheese, while the Gourmet Shop wins with their chicken salad. I love both of them.

I'm sure I'm leaving out some of my other favorite restaurants, but where eating is concerned, I could go on for days, so I'll just leave you with a quick and easy recipe that will be a hit at your next party, guaranteed! (And if you have any more questions, send them my way!)

Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Dip

16 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 jar Smucker's caramel sundae topping
1 bag of Heath bits (in the baking aisle)

Spread cream cheese in the bottom of a dish (best to do this in a long and flat dish so the layer is relatively thin). Top with caramel and then Heath bits. Use as a dip for apples.

See how easy? We served this at a party last weekend and I have NEVER had so many people ask me for the recipe. It was gone the quickest of all the other appetizers.

Sweet Friends

The Coastal Belle gave me the Sweet Friends Award. So sweet of her after my post yesterday where I was a bit discouraged with the whole blogging bit.

The rules of the award are to list 10 things that brighten your day and try to do one of those things today. Make sure to link back to the person who tagged you!

1. Planning a successful party. I put this first only because this past weekend we planned a party and it was a great success and everyone had fun!

2. Laughing with WEG...or rather, WEG making me laugh pretty much all the time, even when I am trying to pout.

3. Watching Abe run up and down the beach like a mad man and then go splashing into the water.

4. Warm, sunny days...come on, Spring!

5. A good baseball game at Carolina Stadium, preferably one where we are beating Clemson ;-) I love me some Gamecock baseball, that's for sure.

6. A weekend in Elloree just hanging out with my parents... because it always means pure relaxation and lots of good home-cooked meals.

7. The beach- preferably Edisto because it is so laid-back and out of touch with the rat-race.

8. Enjoying nights with friends. Cooking dinner, going out to eat, whatever!

9. A good hair and makeup day...call me vain, I don't care. It's been hard to have good makeup days with all this dry, winter weather, though!

10. Cute little kids that say the funniest things.

And now I am supposed to pass this along to 10 bloggers that brighten my day. If you have already gotten this award, I apologize- I've seen it around quite a bit.

1. Gwennie at Northern Girl with a Southern Soul

2. Vonda at Sole Matters

3. Jane at Moonflowers, Mojitos, and Me

4. Amelia at Sweet Dreams Preppy

5. KLL at Magnolia and Fox

6. GCE at The Engineer in Heels & Pearls

7. Angela at Pickles on Pizza

8. Lis at Lis Loves

9. Jenny at Practically Perfect

10. Pink, Green, and Southern

Thanks, girls for making me feel better after my little pity party yesterday!!

Are you there, readers? It's me, Emily.

Well, my ask anything post went over like a lead balloon. Not one.single.question (except what the key was- it's a necklace, by the way). Clearly I am pretty boring or maybe I don't have many readers anymore, which is probably a direct correlation with the fact that my posts have been quite dull lately. Is anybody out there reading?

Sometimes I feel like I just don't have anything that any of you care to hear about- I'm not planning a wedding or pregnant or good at decorating ideas. I don't have a craft to share or expert knowledge on any one topic. No cute pictures of children. Yep, I've figured it out. I'm just pretty boring. Boo hoo, I know.

Thank goodness the rest of you have good material to read ;-)

Ask me anything...

Man, I am slack! I can't believe I've only posted one time this week. I have no excuses either, just don't really have any good material to blog about.

So, in light of that, I would like to open the floor up to questions as some of my fellow bloggers have done recently. Ask me anything you would like.

And, I found my camera cord, so I'll leave you with a few pictures from our snow, as well as my Valentine's gift from WEG :-)

Weekend Wrap-up

What a wonderful weekend it was! On Friday morning, I awoke in New Orleans, went to the fitness center in the hotel, and returned to my room to a blinking answering machine and a message from my boss telling me that as soon as everyone could make it to the airport, we needed to depart for Columbia. Apparently I had missed the memo that Columbia was expecting 3-5 inches of snow. Of course, my initial response was "I'll believe it when I see it!" But, we departed New Orleans at 11:00 cst, and made it to Columbia in an hour an a half, thanks to a terrific tailwind and a ground speed of up to 462 mph. Record time, I tell ya!

And, sure enough, after just a few hours back in Columbia, the snow started to come down. WE immediately took Abe to the park and he loved it! By midnight, we had 7 inches, and the final count in some areas of Columbia was 8.6 inches. WOW! That's more snow than I have seen in Columbia ever. So, we rustled up a sled- the top of one of the large green trashcans- and off we went to the hill beside our house. Good thing there wasn't much traffic, because I have to mention that the hill was also a street! But, oh my gosh was it fun! We sledded for several hours, made snow angels (well, not the guys), and finished up the night with hot chocolate at our friends' house. Such a great night.

On Saturday we walked down to the park near our house and there were quite a few people sledding. WEG and I drove around for a few hours looking for the perfect sledding hill, but never found it (the road we sledded down on Friday night was no longer covered in snow because of the warming temperatures). So, we got lunch instead, took a nap, and got ready for the evening. We went to dinner with 6 of our friends at this great new restaurant in Columbia called The Thirsty Fellow. The food was delicious and reasonable, so if you're in Columbia- check it out on Gadsden Street right by Blossom. You won't be disappointed! It was nice catching up with everyone, and we had a great time.

On Sunday I went to church, and then WEG and I went out to the boat show. You know, to dream about all the boats we wish we had! Then we had dinner at some friends....steak, lobster tails, oysters, asparagus, bananas foster....all DELICIOUS! What a great Valentine's meal and, once again, a great time with friends!

And, did I mention my Valentine's gift from WEG? The key necklace with my monogram that I wanted! He totally surprised me with it, though- I had no idea he had even paid attention when I was saying I wanted it.

I would deem this weekend a complete success!

**Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post- I usually carry my camera cord in my handbag, but clearly I took it out for some unknown reason!

Blah, blah, blah.

I don't really have a cohesive post for today, just some tidbits that are bouncing around in my head.

• I have eaten HORRIBLY this week and it is only Wednesday. Last night we had Outback for my dad's birthday. Yesterday and today for lunch I ate at an on-campus restaurant that is run by our students. The food is delicious, but loaded with calories. My week will get no better, either with an upcoming trip and the weekend.
• I finished the couch to 5k, and I am up to running the distance for a 5k (3.1 miles). Now I just need to incorporate a hill into my running like the one on the course for the 5k I am running in March. However, despite the fact that I can run the whole distance, Monday was an awful day for me and I just could not go all the way through. I want to run today, but with 40 mph gusts of wind, I don't foresee it happening.
• And speaking of that wind, what is up with the weather? It's rainy, it's cold, it's windy. Can we please just get a nice day around here? Preferably 60 degrees or above with sunshine, no wind. Thankyouverymuch. (And you Northerners, I feel for you- at least we don't have all that snow you are dealing with!!)
• Tomorrow and Friday I will be in New Orleans for work. It is a flying trip (literally and figuratively), so I won't be there much over 24 hours. However, in that time, I plan to eat a delicious supper on Thursday night and have beignets on Friday morning from Cafe DuMonde. Now you see why I said my eating habits this week are not going to improve!
• For me, Valentine's Day is an overrated "holiday," if you can even call it that. It's a Hallmark holiday, and yes, I got WEG two cards (a funny and a serious) so I contributed to their ploy. However, we are not the type to go over the top. We will have a nice dinner at home sometime over the weekend and exchange cards. Other than that, I have gotten him some Lindor truffles. I don't believe that there should be just one designated day to tell someone you love them- you should do it every day.

And that's all I have to say today :-)