Exciting News!

A few weeks ago I did a post on Tastefully Simple (found here), since Brice's sister Allison is a consultant. I gave it a lot of thought and recently decided that I would probably enjoy being a consultant myself! Why not? I love food, love to cook, and love to attend/give parties!

So I joined! :) Woohoo! I gave my thoughts on Tastefully Simple before, and if that post doesn't make your mouth water I don't know what will! With every blog out there posting their favorite fall recipes right now, I'd just like to say that there are some GREAT and DELICIOUS fall treats available right now! They're only seasonal though, so you might want to stock up while you can!

One of the things I love is how easy it is to order. Just like shopping online from your favorite store! You can visit my web site here www.tastefullysimple.com/web/bjackson2  !! If you live in Charleston and are interested in having a party, e-mail me and we can make that happen! You also get great rewards just for being a host!

I am going to start dreading Auburn vs. Carolina games!

This weekend has been long awaited for two reasons:

a) It is the weekend of the Auburn vs South Carolina football game (aka the Brice vs. Brooke game!)
b) Brice's friends have been growing mustaches for the "stache bash" Bachelor Party, I couldn't wait to see how creepy they looked! Creepy because 26/27 year old guys don't look right with a stache... that's something only men ages 50 plus can sport and not look awkward.

Friday night we went to meet them for a bit at Trio. For those of you not familiar with the "Club Trio" here in Charleston, let me fill you in. You really have to be in the right mind set to go here, and ready to dance... because thats pretty much all you do. Downstairs they have a band, and it's a great atmosphere usually consisting of music ranging from beach music to r&b to pop you name it. Upstairs is the "club" portion... with a dj, smoke, laser lights and yes... a stripper pole.

I decided to wear my new dress that my mom made me! Here is a photo I made Brice snap before we left because I knew she would want to see what it looked like on! (And for blog purposes of course!)

The dress actually just has a band around the waist, but we added the sash. It's a Cynthia Rowley pattern. If any of you are sewers, you can purchase the pattern HERE on sale right now! I really like the full length as well, possibly for a fancy wedding or cocktail party! (New Years?!)

It was certainly an interesting night, not only were there mustaches, there were handlebar mustaches, chops, mohawks, and even a culdesac!! omg find the picture below!

All I can say is I'm sure glad Brice wasn't a part of this party! I would DIE if he had to grow a mustache!! EWW! My dad is pretty much the only one allowed to have one of those!

Saturday we ventured to the house they were renting on Isle of Palms... I just hung out here all day! It was VERY VERY nice!

Saturday night was intense to say the least. My friends and I had a space reserved for 20 people at King Street Grille in Mt. Pleasant. It ended up being a space made for about 40 once the stache crew arrived... I think our waitresses were a little shocked and overwhelmed! Not to mention she was being bombarded by crazy Auburn fans in mustaches?! Ahhh! Here are some photos I took during the night!

Kiki and her boyfriend, Al! :)

Me & Brice

Some of the mustache crew

The girls!

Our section!

I wasn't so happy with the outcome, and it put me in pretty much a bad mood. I just thought we were going to win, and when you have a bunch of loud Auburn fans (which I love any other weekend than this one!) it makes it even worse when you lose. So yes, I was a sore loser! But that is ok! It happens! 

Today began a great week... and it was rainy! I have waited 20 days for a nice, cool, rainy day like today. I made a grilled cheese for dinner and it was delicious! I also bought a $3 candle at Wal-Mart that smells like mulling spices and my apartment smells SO GOOD now! $3 and it is just as good as a Yankee Candle... who knew?!

Tagged! 8 Questions!

Clare, over at Little Fish, Big C tagged me in her post "Tagged: 8 Questions!" So now I have a few questions to answer.

1. What is your favorite dessert?

Hmmm... that is a tough one! I'm gonna have to go with my mom's Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting! It's what I request every year for my birthday! :) Following in at a close second is Tiramisu! Let me tell you, Publix makes an amazing Tiramisu! You have to try it... I even find that a lot of non-coffee drinkers enjoy it!

2. Ever tried to cook something and fail miserably?

Ha! Actually.... no! Not that I can recall at least. If I am given a recipe, I can follow it. The only thing I've done before is forget to add salt and pepper to a dish, and another time I burnt the garlic and had to dump it out and start over. But once something like that happens it doesn't happen again!

 

3. Is there a dish you haven't made yet but really want to?

Yes, there are two. One being my grandma's chicken and dumplings! One day, I have to master this!! It must continue through the family! They are AMAAAZINGGG! The next would be crab cakes. I've never made them and keep saying I am going to! One day I promise I will!

 

4. What is your favorite food?

I just love food in general so this is hard! But I'm sure everyone could tell you that if I see Shrimp and Grits on the menu, I am ordering it! (duh, my blog name... hello!)

 

5. What is your least favorite food?

Least??? I really think that just is dependent on my mood. I'm not a huge fan of real coconut, I enjoy the "fake" coconut flavors like in pina coladas. I think it's a texture thing!

 

6. Do you have any seasonal meals you like?

Do I?! Um that would be an understatement.... my dad's chili! my mom's potato soup! breakfast for dinner! fried fish (summer)!, tomato sandwiches, Thanksgiving Dinner! (DRESSING!!!)

 

7. What is your comfort food?

Anything my mom would cook in the winter time. Country Fried Steak & mashed potatoes, meat loaf, casseroles, yum yum yum!

8. Chocolate: milk, dark or white?

 milk: on certain candy bars & in milk shakes

dark: m&m's

white: on pretzels :)

Now it is my turn to tag 8 people to answer these questions! So here we go!

Pink Martinis and Pearls
My Switch to Scrubs
How I Met Your Father
Sweet Southern Prep
The Life of a Suburban Princess
The Classic Preppy
The Pink Prep
It's The World I Know

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I decided to jump on the bandwagon... so what am I loving this Wednesday (that is almost over?!)

Today is the first day of FALL! Even though it doesn't feel like it!

Yankee Candle in "Fireside" It might be replacing my beloved "Autumn Leaves"

 SEC Football! Go Cocks!

My future son in law (hehe) Harper! :)

Zac Brown Band's new album "You Get What You Give"

Lilly Pulitzer's Fall Line!!

Michael Kors Oversized Tortoise Watch!!! AHHHH!! You can enter Pink Preppy Lilly Lover's giveaway here and win this watch!!

Essie's "Little Brown Dress"

I could keep posting... but it's past my bed time! I had to get this post in before midnight or it wouldn't be "What I'm Loving Wednesday" anymore! We are now over the hump, hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! :)

I've got some catching up to do!

Sorry I've been a little M.I.A lately! I've been super busy with work, design stuff, and just daily STUFF! So now, I'm trying to do some catching up before I need to eat and head to trivia night!

This weekend we headed to Auburn, AL for the Auburn vs. Clemson game. Let's just say that the plan was to leave at 3 on Friday, I got off work at 2. Brice ended up not being able to leave work early and then on top of that it was 6 before he even left his office. Geez! So here I was sitting on my couch, all ready to go in my outfit for the night. (But it wasn't his fault of course!) So in the meantime I decided to take it upon myself to have 2 chocolate martinis and play on facebook. :)

Oh yeah, by the way... I made some peanut butter banana bread from How Sweet It Is . It was phenomenal! Here's a photo of the final product :) I didn't get a photo of the inside, because we didn't cut it until Auburn, and we didn't have a proper knife so the boys proceeded to just break off pieces. Not pretty pics! It was so moist, if you enjoy peanut butter banana sandwiches, you HAVE to make this!

The trip took about 7 hours... it felt like ETERNITY. My tail bone was so numb and sore! We went straight to downtown Auburn when we got there and met everyone at Sky Bar, where it was about 105º. Not even kidding! My hair ended up soaking wet and disgusting. But the band was great, and we found an amazing blast of air on the dance floor. We decided to hang out there for the night! Here are some photos:

So happy we found a fan!

Brandon, Pete, Brice & Josh (Please excuse the facial hair, they are getting ready for a "stache bash" this weekend!)

Me & Chels... getting wind blown!

I ended up having to get Brice to piggy back ride me to the car because I had, literally, 3 blisters on my right foot and 2 on my left. I used to wear heels every day of my life, but I don't think I can do it anymore! :( Am I old??

Gameday began early, of course we had to watch Gameday on ESPN since it was in Auburn. We never made it over to the stage though. Tailgating priorities first! Look at the outfit my mom made me!! :)

I think I'm more Auburn than Brice!

We headed to the area known as the "amphitheater" to tailgate. It reminds me of Morrison Memorial at USC but with trees, and SHADE! Lots o' fun we had!

I made new friends of course :) Auburn that is.

"Tough Face" Brice can't do a tough face! He's too sweet :)

Pete made sure he was prepared! (Crown = GROSS)

WAR EAGLE!

Brice made me take a photo outside of his old apartment, obviously you cannot see it b/c it's too dark!

It was probably one of the LONGEST drives of my life on Sunday. I slept the majority of the time! I tried to keep my eyes open and so Brice would have some company, but none such luck. Sorry Brice! It was definitely worth it though. I can't wait for this weekend, I'll be cheering on my GAMECOCKS :) It's the Brice vs. Brooke Bowl :) He thinks he will completely convert me one day, but I assured him the only way I would pull for Auburn over Carolina would be if my child played a sport there! Then I'd feel obligated. Of course this weekend I want us to win, but I'll live if Auburn does. Brice's friends from Auburn will all be in town for a bachelor party... and I'd hate to be hanging around a bunch of angry guys with mustache's!! Or would it be worse if they bragged to me all night about their victory? hmmm...

Look for "Stache Bash" pics next week. I'm pretty sure I'm getting photos of them on the stripper pole upstairs at Trio Friday night :) hahah

Oh yeah, GO COCKS!!!

Clemson Cats vs Auburn Tigers :)

This weekend Brice and I are heading down to Auburn, Alabama for the Auburn vs. Clemsucks  Clemson game. (Not to mention it is where Gameday on ESPN will be!! Watch for us on tv!!) He graduated from Auburn and considers it "God's Country". He will proceed to give you the full history of the school along with the history of the "War Eagle" at any time you would like! I really feel like he should be a radio or tv commentator for Auburn Sports, or just SEC sports in general... he pretty much knows everything! And would LOVE to talk about it all day long! I thought I'd take the chance to share some memories of this exact same weekend last year when we went down for the Auburn vs. West Virginia game. Aka... The MONSOON weekend. It rained so so hard that you could hardly even see the field. We were soaking wet but waited it out under cover. One of the things that amazed me is that the entire student section stayed in their seats cheering through what was basically a hurricane in 30 minutes! That is dedication! After that weekend Brice and I both had (combined) borderline flu, bronchitis, pneumonia & mono. AHH! So, needless to say we are praying HARD for no rain this weekend! The forecast is showing 95 degree temps and sun, better but I do wish it was a little bit cooler! Here are some photos I thought I would share... since I didn't have my blog last year this time! WAR EAGLE! :)

Our koozies my mom made!!!

On the bus at Supper Club!

Group shot tailgating!

I have to get a picture with the real Aubie this year!

Me & Chels!

Walking into the stadium... it was a little scary looking!

not too happy!!

Look at the water on the field! OMG

There's a river in the stadium!

Ok, now please look at how dry that field is! CRAZY

Rolling Toomer's Corner... can't wait to do it again Saturday! :)

As for next weekend... when Auburn plays South Carolina, I'm going to have to say GO COCKS! :)

Monogram Giveaway Winner!

I decided to use Random.org this go-round for my giveaway... it was SO much easier than writing every name down and then drawing one! I am definitely a fan!

And the winner is..... 

Congratulations to Sweet Carolina Girl! You won the monogrammed note cards giveaway! 

E-mail me at ashleybrooke83@gmail.com to claim your prize! :) Thank you everyone for entering! Don't forget to look out for another giveaway from CSN Stores in October!

Reminder!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway posted here! The winner will be announced Thursday afternoon, so tomorrow is your last chance! Good Luck!

I'm a Copy Cat... Tumblr!!

I saw Jaime's post earlier here about Tumblr, and thought I'd try it out myself! It seems like a more fun Twitter with more of a bloggy feel. I also already got the iphone app... yes! A lot of times I take funny pictures on my phone but they never go any further than a text to Brice or my friends. Also, sometimes I have random little thoughts... or stumble upon a funny video on youtube, a great recipe, or a cute outfit! Now I can share right away with everyone, while leaving my longer posts for the blog. You can follow me here! -----> SHRIMP & GLITZ

Weekend Recap: GO COCKS!!

My weekend was in limbo all day Friday since Brice wouldn't know until later that afternoon if he would have to work over the weekend or not. Which would mean we wouldn't be heading to Columbia for the Carolina vs. Georgia game. Not to my surprise, he texted me and told me he had to work on Sunday. So we quickly made weekend plans to make up for it! We had a nice (yet horrible service) dinner at Off the Hook Friday night ($25 off coupon... yes please!) on Sullivan's Island for some fried seafood! yum :) We started off with a fried calamari appetizer then both got the fried flounder basket. They give you a ton of food! And I felt like a balloon after eating all of that seafood. We planned out our day for Saturday since we knew it would be an early one! (12 pm game time...)

Brice's room mate Hunter stayed in town too so we made an early Saturday morning trip to the grocery store. (Hunter proceeded to let us know that he "loves Saturday morning shopping!" so we waited instead of getting it done on Friday night) We made sure the fridge was stocked...

I decided to still wear the same outfit I was planning on wearing to the tailgate, minus my game face of course.

 We decided to grill steaks & asparagus... one of our standard combos at the frat house (not really, I just call Brice's house the frat house)

Brice, adding the seasonings!

MMMM MEAT

asparagus... ready to be grilled!

Brice did a great job of manning the grill, my steak was cooked to perfection! :)

We also attempted to "Ice" Hunter. He claims he didn't see this when he went to get a glass of beer from this mini keg.

HAHA! Hunter, you must have been blind... oh well, he eventually gave in!

Down on one knee!!

 For the part that really matters... Gamecocks won!! WooHoooooo! I was so excited! Sad I wasn't there to celebrate with everyone, but I'm glad I had a more low key weekend! It helped me to get some things accomplished today! Designs, grocery shopping (ps. I bought groceries at Wal-Mart... holy half price of Publix! This may be my new place for "basics") I even made it to body pump at 3! Go me! :) I am all ready to start a new week tomorrow, and getting excited about my trip to Auburn next weekend :)

Well, the VMA's are about to start (pre-show) so I've gotta watch this craziness... but I have to leave you with my favorite pic from the weekend. Brice won't allow me to put it on Facebook because he claims he looks like he has a moustache... I just think it's funny!!