A week/weekend full of visitors!

This week was the first week I was not traveling for work so I was excited to have a relaxing weekend working from home.  It turned out to be quite the opposite.  After the internet going down on Monday, I went up to WIKA to get some work done and do a couple of meetings.  Monday night, we were having visitors, so after work, it was time to clean the house and get dinner ready!

Monday and Tuesday, Deck and Kayla, two friends and fellow athletes at Tech were staying with us while they looked for apartments in Atlanta.  They finished up their apartment search around 6:30 or so on Monday and headed to our place.  After a house tour, it was time to start cooking dinner.  Amanda, another track runner at Tech also lives down the road from us, so we invited her to join us for dinner!  We kept dinner simple, serving hamburgers, brats, asparagus, and stuffed mushrooms.  The stuffed mushroom recipe can be found here...SPINACH ARTICHOKE STUFFED MUSHROOMS.  We had so much fun relaxing, eating, and drinking some amazing wine up on the rooftop!  Before we knew it, it was time for bed.

Tuesday went by quick, and before I knew it, we were cooking dinner again!  Joe had to pick up some interviewees from the airport at 7 so he stopped by for appetizers and we planned on a later dinner.  For our appetizer we went with brie and blueberry jelly wrapped in a croissant.  It is incredibly simple and you will find the recipe below:

Brie Croissants:

Ingredients:
Brie Pinwheel
1 packs croissant dough
1 to 1 1/2 cups jelly of your choice
Club crackers

Directions:

Spread out the croissants and pinch together the seams to make a square.  Put the Brie in the center of the square/rectangle, then spread out desired amount of jelly on the top.  Pull up corners and encase the brie with the croissants.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (until croissant looks golden brown).  Serve warm with club crackers.

For dinner, we were making shrimp with mango salsa on the grill and it was amazing.  Here is the recipe...SHRIMP WITH MANGO SALSA.  It was so much fun having people to cook for and relax with after work, that we were sad to see Deck and Kayla go on Wednesday, but luckily they are moving in tomorrow!!!!  I am super excited to have some new neighbors :)

Wednesday evening Joe brought by some work colleagues for drinks at our place before we headed out for an experience of a lifetime when going to Johnnies Hideaway.  It is literally the most crazy places I have seen and I can now say I have been there, and most likely will never return until I am more appropriately aged!

Thursday evening was another night Joe brought by some work colleagues, but this time, Amanda had come into town so we talked our way out of going out.  Instead, we started the process of making ice cream cookies and baked a couple batches of cookies to stick in the freezer to complete on Friday.

The week went quick since I was taking Friday off for my hair and makeup trial.  Amanda came into town late Thursday evening to come with me to my hair and make up trial and since it was up in Roswell, we had an earlyish morning before heading up there.  Although I am still not 100% sold on what my hair will look like, it was such a fun experience, and then Kellie Ann and Amanda enjoyed a day of girl time!  After a long day we were ready to come home and relax and cook dinner/finish up some ice cream sandwiches before getting ready for the evening (Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe).  It was girls night Friday night, and Courtney had come into town at around 5 so we were ready for a good time.  Blaine, a coworker of mine, was joining us as well so after it seemed to be appropriate time to head out to the bars, we went to Ivy for some dancing and fun!  At Ivy, we were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Sam and Dem who were in town for the weekend!!!  We danced the night away and had such an amazing time and I cannot wait to do it again soon!  After leaving Ivy it was time for some yummmmmmy Waffle House hash browns before walking home.

BFFFFFFFFFF

He came :) :) :)

LOVE THESE GIRLS!

Amanda had to leave Saturday morning, so after she headed home, Courtney and I went for a long walk before going to Rocky Mountain Pizza to watch the Tech game with Sam, Mike V, and Nick!  Although we might have watched about 4 minutes of the game, it was a VERY entertaining time!  After getting home from watching the game, it was time for me to be a bit productive for the day and address save the dates!  After a couple hours of addressing save the dates, we realized that we were all VERY tired from the weekend so we headed up the the rooftop to hang out and enjoy the wine we had picked up at Mac's earlier in the day.  It was an early bed time for us since we all got sleepy, but we LOVED that Mike V came to visit and entertain us for a bit!

Sunset on the rooftop

Sunday was a relaxing day where Joe and I slept in!  After a lazy morning, we headed up to Joe's parents house to watch the Falcons game and eat dinner since we had not seen them in quite some time!  It was nice to have a little more relaxed day after such a crazy week and weekend and I am looking forward to one more week working from home before I hit the road traveling again!  So, with that, expect some new recipes this week!

4th of July on a Thursday = LONG 4 Day Weekend!!!

I have to say that it was quite a task getting back to work today after 4 days off.  The long weekend was just what I needed!  It started on Wednesday night with a load of excitement.  I also made some cookies for the crew so that we could enjoy celebrating the 4th with Red, White, and Blue cookies!  I made the copy cat recipe of the sugar cookies with icing that everyone loves from Publix and they actually turned out perfect!  I almost like these better because they are just a bit lighter than the store bought ones!  Below is the recipe:

Soft Sugar Cookies with Icing

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:
6 cups flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
For the Frosting:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Several drops food coloring
Sprinkles

Directions:

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk 5 cups of flour, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough needs to obtain the right consistency for rolling, so add additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until this is achieved (up to 1 cup more flour). Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
Generously flour a work area and rolling pin. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.
Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

YummmmmY

Wednesday night we decided that we would attend Welfare Wednesday.  We hadn't gone in a long time, mostly because we are no longer in college, but it's still quite an experience!  Joe, Andy Trinkle, Clint and I headed down to Moondogs and Peach Tree Tavern since the ladies coming down from Charlotte had a very delayed start.  Although we had been at welfare plenty of times, this was the first time that I officially felt too old to be there!  We still had a good time with all the crowds pushing and shoving for the free drinks.  After welfare was done we met up with Kellie Ann and Reza and headed to 5 Paces for a more laid back environment.  The ladies finally made it down and it was so much fun seeing them even if they did miss all of welfare!  We headed home and got super excited for shooting the hooch the next day.

Love These Girls :)

Glad we didn't have to go this weekend without seeing these two :)

 

My Favorite :)

New Friends :) Love them!

Anyone that was in ATL or really the south know that shooting the Hooch did not happen.  It was such terrible weather all day Wednesday and when we woke up Thursday it did not look promising!  Amber and Clint had come and stayed at our place since we had plenty of beds and couches so after we all woke up we made chocolate chip waffles before heading back to Vinings to start the day.  Last year we Shoot the Hooch and went to the Braves game so we wanted to keep with tradition.  We had already gotten tickets for the braves game so we were determined to go.  After 5 girls got ready in a 1 bathroom apartment it was finally time to hit the road and tailgate.  Although it rained during the tailgate, we successfully cooked dinner!  We also found seats that were covered so we didn't get rained on during the game :)  After the game they had a concert and fireworks so it was the perfect ending to our 4th of July!

Group Photo :)

Braves Plates :)

Family Photo :)

Friday, I hit the road early since I was taking the day off and headed to Greenville.  My sister was coming home for a wedding and I had not seen her in quite some time so I decided to make the trip up there!  It's always great to see family and friends!  Friday night Amanda and I had date night at Cazbah downtown.  After dinner we walked around downtown and had a blast!  Saturday night I had a lovely girls night with Courtney and Amanda and we ate WAY too much crappy food.  I love these girls so much and we had a blast drinking wine and eating ice cream, cheesecake, and cookies!  I couldn't ask for two better best friends and I really cannot wait to see how our September plans unfold :)  Sunday I got to meet with Sarah for desert and had some amazing white chocolate frozen yogurt as we talked about life.  Growing up can be so hard but seeing how passionate she is about her faith is always inspiring.  After that I got to meet up with the most amazing new friends when they stopped for dinner in Greenville!!!!  Although it was too short of a time to see all of them, I'm glad I got to see them all one more time so that they could justify my shopping habits :)  I cannot wait until I get to see them again in less than a month :) :) :)  And that wrapped up my weekend which was a perfect combination of relaxing, having fun, and goofing off!  Now, I am ready to be home with Joe and Rox and get back into the swing of real life!

Girls Night :)

Lookin good at girls night :)

So with that,  Happy Week and I am counting down the days until the first week of April!  I miss my girls :)