the fourth!

cory and i found ourselves with absolutely nothing to do for the fourth.  typically we would be okay with a relaxing weekend at home, but we were both really itching to get out of town.  so we said... let's go to asheville!

if you are looking for a place with good food, excellent beer, nice people and beautiful mountains in every direction... then asheville north carolina is definitely the place for you.  i've been there several times before, but each time i go i can't help but realize there's nowhere else like it!  what a unique city!  it seems like most hotels and restaurants are extremely dog friendly, so there's super cute pooches all over the place which i love (i even saw a woman walking a baby goat on a leash... aaaannnd i'm not gonna lie, i kind of wanted one too).  everywhere you turn, there's adorable little cobblestone-lined streets and alleyways, mirrored with unique shops and restaurants.  in the background you'll hear the most talented musicians (lots of bluegrass bands and country duos), just trying to get their name out there and earn a few bucks!  there's even little community vegetable gardens growing amongst the rubble of old parking lots!  asheville has a charm like no other, with so much to see and do.  it certainly made for a fun impromptu fourth of july getaway.  i have so much fun making these little videos, so i decided to compose one...

... along with a few photos (warning: most photos are food and beer related).

we didn't mind the drive at all!  it was so scenic!

we had a lovely stay at the hotel indigo!

most of the hotels we stay at, i feel dirtier getting out of the shower than i did getting in.... that was not the case here!  our room had a glass-enclosed shower that really made me feel like i was in a spa!!

after we settled in at the hotel, we quickly consulted yelp to find the nearest brewery, which led us to wicked weed brewing.

north carolina beer is no joke, y'all.

hers: freak of nature double IPA/his: sweet talker IPA

what can i say... i'm a sucker for a cool lightbulb!

the back patio at wicked weed!

reading everyone's comments was really fun.  obviously a group of teenage girls had just visited this wall.  although, i wouldn't object to meeting ed sheeran.... or being a super model.

a double-decker bus turned dessert bar???  yes please!

see?  cute streets!

if you're looking for a great bite to eat downtown, i highly recommend pack's tavern.

just another day... posin' with a gargoyle.

roses are one of my favorite things about summer (especially peach ones).

omg you guys.  sunshine sammies has been on my food truck bucket list for almost a year, and i was more than happy to oblige and check it off this past weekend.

i went with the funky monkey: banana pudding ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate cookies with a peanut butter drizzle on top.  HOLY YUM!!!

fun random bluegrass band!

we happened upon this gem of a place for brunch on saturday, mayfel's.

how could you not love a restaurant with multiple chandeliers hanging from the ceiling?

take note of the bloody mary bar....

... we sure did!

his:  buttermilk fried chicken and biscuits topped with milk gravy, and side of home fries

hers:  the "southern" eggs bendedict.  a fluffy biscuit topped with fried green tomatoes, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.  and a side of home fries of course, because... carbs!

i could use one of those coolers...

my man.

for dinner (not that we were hungry, haha) we gave the D.O.G.S. food truck a whirl.  i'm so glad we did!

check out these beauties!  best veggie dog i've ever had!  the parmesan french fries were pretty amazing as well....

also, they have the best tip jar in history.

pre-fireworks selfie

the gold fireworks that slowly fizzle out are by far my favorite!

we hope you and yours had a wonderful and safe fourth!

thirty three

june was a busy month, but it was also a very fun one!  we've had so much going on, that i've been a bit behind on keeping up with posting all of the fun to this blog thing of mine ;)  on june 19, i welcomed my thirty third year of life.  i'm not quite sure why, but i feel really good about this number.  anyhow, if the rest of my year is anything like these first few weeks have been, it's bound to be a good one!  here's a look at some of the festivities:

cory was kind enough to make my one birthday request come true: a birthday cake from publix!!  their buttercream icing is truly the stuff that dreams are made of... well, my dreams at least!

well, i guess i had a second request too... beer and nachos for dinner!  i was so tired from a busy work week, i just wanted to stay home and do absolutely nothing but eat bad food and cuddle with my husband.  cory made his famous baked nachos (i've been meaning to do a recipe tutorial for these), they were beyond delicious!!

i'm so lucky to have such sweet friends and family who showered me with the most thoughtful gifts!  the night after my birthday, we had our friends katie and ryan over.  she presented me with this adorable ceramic crock filled with peaches.... it looked like it was straight out of pinterest!  how cute!

 twinning!

 

we indulged in a delicious seafood dinner at backfins crabhouse in wake forest.  a half-dozen or so maryland blue crabs were invited too :)

crab crushin'

cory's crabs.

 i love this girl!  she was so sweet to agree to go to a seafood joint with us, even though she hates seafood :)

 so.  much.  seafood.

aaaaannnnnd.... i got to wear this fun birthday crab hat!

after dinner, we headed over to white street brewing co. for a few beers and a friendly game of shuffleboard!

fresh sand for the shuffleboard table (that stuff is sand, right?)

we also played a few games of darts.  needless to say, cory and i were quickly beaten.

i had such a wonderful birthday, thanks to the best friends, family and co-workers for making it a great day!  i'm super excited to see what 33 has in store for me :)

maple & cinnamon toast crunch rice krispie treats

i can clearly recall the fist time i ever tasted a rice krispie treat.  it was circa 1988... i was attending some sort of after school production for my brother's third grade class, and one of the moms was selling them for 25 cents.  i asked my mom for a quarter, and thus began my love affair with the one and only rice krispie treat (RKT).  now, nearly thirty years later my love affair continues.

luckily i have a few coworkers who share my same affinity for these tasty treats.  we were highly inspired by this buzzfeed article, so we decided to attempt to bake every RKT on the list.  i of course decided to take it a step further and make up my own recipe... allow me to introduce you to the maple & cinnamon toast crunch RKT.  the recipe isn't too different than that of the original RKT, but i've posted a few tips i've perfected in my 27 of baking these little guys :)

maple & cinnamon toast crunch rice krispie treats:
yield: two batches, about 20 large squares

ingredients:

for the treats:
 6 tbsp butter
2 - 10oz bags of marshmallows
6 cups cinnamon toast crunch cereal
6 cups rice krispies cereal 

for the maple drizzle:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
5 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash allspice

 instructions:
 * i cooked this in two batches, but if you're stirring arm is stronger than mine and you have a pot big enough... you could save time and do it all in one.

heat 3 tbsp butter over low heat in a large pot.  when the butter is melted, add 1 bag of marshmallows.  when the marshmallows are almost fully melted, remove from heat and add three cups of cinnamon toast crunch cereal.  stir into mallow mixture.  finally add three cups of rice krispies cereal, and stir again to combine.  dump the delicious sticky mixture into a 9x13 inch pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  here i like to also lightly spray the back of a large spoon with more cooking spray and firmly rub it over the top of the rkt's to even them out and to make them more dense.

now, after scraping/licking every crumb from the inside of your pot and spoon (it's tradition)... wash pot and spoon and do this all over again with the remaining first four ingredients, for the second batch.  when the ingredients are all mixed together, layer this batch on top of your first batch in the same pan.  rub over top with spoon again.  allow to cool

for the maple drizzle, mix 5 tbsp of maple syrup with 1 cup sifted powdered sugar.  mix together well with a spoon.  add a tiny bit more syrup into the mixture if it's too thick.  add 1 tsp cinnamon and a dash of allspice into icing and mix again.

when the RKT's are cooled, cut appx 20 squares with a sharp knife.  pour the maple drizze into a small ziplock bag (or icing bag w/tip if you want to be fancy), cut a small tip off the bottom corner, and drizzle the icing on top of the RKT's.  allow the icing to set for a few minutes.  now, try not to consume all 20 RKT's in one sitting.

low and slow is key in the marshmallow melting process.  patience is a virtue here... if you melt them over a burner that's too hot, your RKT's will be hard as a rock!

be sure the add the cinnamon toast crunch cereal first... then add the rice krispies.  it's easier to mix that way and crushes up the cinnamon toast crunch a bit which makes the final product easier to eat.

i swear by this spoon trick for perfectly square treats.

i'm from the south.  i sift everything.

maple syrup...

cinnamon...

a very sharp knife is a must here to maintain a perfect edge/square shape (i'm a little OCD over this).

i learned this"icing bag" trick in home economics in seventh grade.  it's life changing.

pipe the icing onto cooled RKT's.

voilà.  rice krispie treats and cinnamon toast crunch.  two of my favorite worlds collide.  also, in case you were wondering, it's perfectly acceptable to eat these for breakfast.