Weekend Update!

I had a glorious weekend at the lake, but it's making Monday and going back to the real world much harder today.  I always start my weekends on Thursday afternoons due to being a spring-semester 3L and thus having the Schedule of Dreams, so we're starting the weekend recap there.

I went to lunch with my friend S, which was wonderful because I feel like I never see her anymore.  We went to Noodles & Co. because I am sheltered and have never been, and boy was it amazing.  I was trying to be somewhat healthy, so I ordered the Bangkok Curry, which was delicious.  I was jealous of S's truffle macaroni and cheese though - the one bite I had was just to DIE for.  But the Bangkok was good too, and for less than 300 calories, you can't beat it.

But then of course that I-was-so-good-at-lunch moment did not matter at ALL, because we went to The Fresh Market in search of a king cake for S.  Well, Fresh Market certainly had some king cakes.  Along with every other kind of cake/muffin/pastry/pie ever invented in THE WORLD.  And y'all, I am seriously a sucker for dessert. I don't like chocolate, but put anything else in front of me and I am liable to gobble it down like a hungry bear.

See what I mean?  How was I to resist this?  I had to get an ultimate pecan cinnamon roll.  And also immediately snarf it in the car.  I mean, there was practically a gun to my head.

On Friday, we went down to the lake.  Even if it's not summer, the lake is still gorgeous.  It was our neighbor's birthday and they were having a party, so they invited us over to celebrate.  I wish I had some pictures, but all the preparation I really did was throwing some beer in a Bi-Lo bag, grabbing a jacket, and heading next door.  I especially wish I had some video though, because their friends from across the lake brought their yellow lab, Reina, and she played with Peggy Sue for HOURS.  Peggy looked like a rabbit on a rail running around their yard.

If you're wondering about the rest of Peggy's weekend, it involved a lot of barking at ducks and growling at the occasional jumping fish, eating sand from the beach, and getting covered in cobwebs from underneath docks.  I'm pretty sure it was epic by wiener dog standards.

Saturday was our much-anticipated low country boil.  Oh my goodness, it was so worth all of the anticipation.

It really isn't hard to put together, and it makes for an amazing meal for a huge group of people.  For about 15 people, you'll need:

• 5-10 lb. bag of red potatoes
• 24 frozen half-cobs of corn
• 5 lbs. of shrimp (frozen is fine)
• 3 or 4 Hilshire Farms kielbasas
• About 2 capfuls of Zatarain's Shrimp and Crab Boil concentrate

We do ours in an outdoor cooker/turkey fryer - basically just a giant pot with a gas burner.  Start the potatoes first (half them if they're on the bigger side).  Cover with water, boil until nearly cooked.  Add the corn, then the sausage, then finally add the shrimp for the last 5-10 minutes.  Drain out the water, which basically involves just pouring the liquid off the top and into the yard, and dump out on a big table lined with foil or newspaper.  Grab as much as you can and enjoy!  We didn't have a single leftover.

After we enjoyed our amazing dinner, it was time for the Carolina/Dook game!  Honestly, going into the game, I was a little nervous.  I just knew that the tar heels didn't have much of a shot.  I was shocked and amazed when we had a huge lead, and was giddy when we won.  

If you don't come from the Carolinas, you might not realized that the Dook/Carolina game is the biggest event of basketball season (or really any season), unless we happen to be in the final four or something.  I spent several nights of my college career out on Franklin Street after we beat Dook, gathering around bonfires, singing the alma mater, and yelling "GO TAR HEELS" until I couldn't talk anymore.  We were about an hour and a half away from Franklin Street Saturday night, but we cranked up our own bonfire, and I have to say it was an awesome victory celebration.

We finished up the night playing Things.  I'd never played this before, but it's an awesome party game.  It's sort of like Apples to Apples, but with a little more creativity.  One person reads a card, which might say something like, "Things you shouldn't say to get out of a speeding ticket."  Then everyone writes a response, gives it to the reader for that round, and then we go around guessing who wrote which answer. The object is to be the person who guesses the most number of responses correctly.  It sounds silly, but like Apples to Apples, it gets more fun as the night gets later.  I definitely recommend it for your next party!

Last night, PB and I came home and had a little date night at Ruby Tuesday - a salad bar and a glass of sangria was just what I needed to say goodbye to the weekend.  

All in all, a beautiful weekend.  What was amazing about your weekend?