The Makings Of Deliciousness.

I have for you, thanks to Lisa, a way to successfully recreate

Chai Tea

It is the closest recreation that I have ever tasted without being expensive or impossible to find the ingredients.

The steps are as follows:

1. Heat water.

2. Place tea bag into cup and pour in water.

Let the bag seep in the water for Four minutes.

3. Take out tea bag scoop in desired amount

of sugar.

4. Pour desired amount of milk.

5. Stir and top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

(1) I use a tea pot so it's only a matter of minutes before my pot is screaming that the water is ready.

(2) Seriously, if you let it seep for too long there's a bite from the spice and if you don't let it sit long enough you wont taste the chai tea at all.

(3) I usually do about a tablespoon and a half.

(4) I use either skim or organic milk.  It gives it a sweeter taste.

I'm not kidding as close as I've ever gotten and it's simple!

Manageable Chaos.

Like I have stated before, Moms are awesome!

A few weeks ago I took the girls I babysit out to CiCi's for dinner while their parents finished packing their old house.

I was excited to get the chance to go out to eat, but, I wasn't thinking about feeding four girls, having to run back and forth from the booth to the line to grab them more slices, making sure they didn't get anything on their cute winter dresses, as well as feeding myself.

Almost impossible!

Luckily these girls are a lot of fun and always know how to make something that can be super stress full into something very entertaining.

I can take these girls anywhere and know we will come out alive and laughing.

Of course this was the highlight of the night!

The girls loved the cinnamon rolls but the gooey, hardly cooked, brownie is what we kept returning to the counter for.

A Brewery You Can't Say No To.

Just as promised!

Today's brewery:

beerreviewdude.com

 "Good People Drink Good Beer" - Hunter S. Thompson

Although I love Rogue, you really cannot go wrong with a Flying Dog beer.

Every beer that I have ever tried from this brewery I have loved.

They all encompass the smoothness that one would normally look for in a beer, yet they don't always finish off smooth, which is a nice surprise if you ask me.

thebeerista.wordpress.com

George Stranahan

Founder of Flying Dog.

The mastermind behind it all.

By simply noticing a picture of a flying dog that just didn't seem to fit, Stranahan did what most of us wish we could do, he created an amazing company out something some people saw everyday.



 Hunter S. Thompson

An amazing man alone, played one role in Flying Dog, introducing the man above (Stranahan) to the man below (Steadman).

*Won't allow me to add. Picture via flyingdogales.com

   

zimbio.com

Ralph Steadman

Illustrator for Flying Dog.

A genius really.

Illustrated many of Thompson's articles and books.

 Road Dog Porter was the first beer label that he illustrated for Stranahan.  He added "Good Beer. No Shit." and Stranahan liked where Steadman was headed, they even fought the American Civil Liberties Union to keep the phrase on the label.

Onto the beers.

First up:

umicit.com

Gonzo
Imperial Porter.
A part of the Canis Major Line-Up.

This was the first Flying Dog beer I ever tried, thanks to my friend Amy Buechler, it was love at first taste.
Gonzo has a very bold taste with notes of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla.
Very smooth with a bite at the finish.



As most of you may know, Gonzo was made as a tribute to Hunter S. Thompson soon after he died.
For those of you who don't know who Hunter S. Thompson is, he is widely known for his story Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The awesome, and at times confusing, story of a journalist (Thompson) and his attorney traveling to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race....among other things.




jandlventuresllc.com




In-Heat Wheat
Hefeweizen

Yum! I have become a big fan of hefeweizens.
You really can't go wrong if you are looking for a beer with loads of flavor.  Some may turn with disgust because of the tart/bitter taste of most hefeweizens, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that this beer is lighter than most hefeweizens and easy to drink.


To keep with the three beers a brewery that I have already done, I introduce to you another of my favorite's out of the Flying Dog selection:



clubplanet.com


Doggie Style
Classic Pale Ale
Don't let the name turn you away!

This pale ale is neither heavy nor light but does lean more towards the thicker side.  Contains a sweeter beginning that leads into a slightly bitter finish. 
I'm not usually a fan of beers that have a citrus flavor in the mix but it doesn't stand out as much which is nice.

Great beer to order if you're looking to try something new that's darker than the go-to lager.

*Background Information Found at Flying Dog Ales.

A Kiss. Some Laughs. And Food I Did Not Make.

Alright so here comes the part where I admit a fail from this weekend:

I did not cook at all!

Oops!

And now, here comes the part where I come up with excuses why, although I think they are good:

1. Ryan did not show up to my apartment until 12am Sunday night/Monday morning (depending on how you read the time.  I believe it is the later.)  So all I wanted to do at that time was sleep.

2.  I didn't cook for myself because my old roommate, Amber, was in town and we all decided to go out to eat for dinner.

3.  I worked till about 4pm on Monday and then had agreed to meet at my old roommates, Christina and Alex's house (you remember them from before? They just got married!), for a cookout.

4.  I was at my internship till 12pm on Tuesday and we met with Ryan's mom and grandpa for lunch!

and last but not least,

5.  Ryan left around 5:30pm, which was not long after we went to lunch.

So yes, I fail. But there will be many other opportunities so "to be continued" on the previous post.

........................................................................................................

We did, however, take the opportunity to try out an abundance of different beers while he was here.

Monday, after I returned home from work, changed, and caught up on some homework, I decided to show Ryan the new Taco Mac on University.

Can you guess which is mine?

We stopped long enough to grab a plate of their fiesta chicken nachos and a beer before running over to Total Wine & More, building our own

6-pack, and driving to the Boyd's home.

It was great to hang out with old friends, try new beers, and spend the time that Ryan and I had together.

There will be more and I promise I won't fail (or lie rather) again!

Which Which Will It Be. Peek At The Next Brewery.

Happy Saturday!

Apparently when I talk about weddings to much it begins a frenzy of questioning so I am going to talk about something that won't get me into trouble:

Food.

Ryan is coming tomorrow and who else better is there to try my cooking on!

I have decided that as I said before I will try to attempt the bruschetta!

I will definitely let you know how that turns out!

But

I have more than one night to cook and so,

I have decided I am going to cook one of the four variations of sloppy joe's I have picked out for Ryan to choose from.

www.food.com/recipe/taco-joes

www.squidoo.com/sloppy-joe-recipe

http://www.grilledcheesesocial.com/

http://lacucinadilauren.blogspot.com/

I hate sloppy joe's, always have, but I'm willing to try it either taco, philly cheese steak, grilled cheese, or a very close version to the original, style.

One of these has to be good right?

I will be sure to let you know which which he chooses and how the process went.

I'm a little scared but excited all in same!

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 I will also be picking a few beers for my attempts at being a chef this weekend.

There are no questions here as to what I will pick, only Ryan will be venturing out from his usual Yuengling and trying something a little different!

Hopefully he likes it!

Ryan's Beer:

Flying Dog 

http://www.blogbier.com/

We will discuss Flying Dog later this week!

Ande's Beer:

Rogue



http://www.aleheads.com/



My Wedding Inspiration.

Ever since I randomly fell upon this song a few days ago I just can't get enough of it!

For those of you that don't know me, I am not a fan of country but for some reason The Band Perry is an exception.

Their song all your life depicts exactly the type of theme I want at my wedding and the words are to sweet to ignore.

Don't you agree?

I love the idea of a photo booth so everyone can goof off and remind us (and themselves later on) what a great time I hope they'll have.

Not to mention the various vintage items;

I find it beautiful.

I absolutely love this line:

I just want to be the only girl, you love all your life.

Gets me every time.

What is inspiration, or had inspired you, for your wedding?

Do You Take This Man? This Woman? I Do.

About a week and a half ago I drove out to Wilmington to attend Christina and Alex's, my old roommates, wedding.

I arrived to Ryan's (my boyfriend) house Thursday night, beat from a full day of work, school, and driving.  So once Ava arrived about an hour later we decided to stay in and watch a movie.

Friday night Ava, Ryan, and I met up with my old boss Jessica Chandler, her husband and Ava's friend Elizabeth, at El Cerro.

After turning 21, I don't believe I have ever gone to eat at El Cerro without ordering a Margarita Pitcher, so of course that's what we did.

Once we went home to change we all met up again downtown and that's where I found my all time love, Pabst Blue Ribbon.

 Don't we look good together?

A few drinks and a bar or two later, we ended up at Level 5 where we danced the night away.

It was such a fun night and and really enforced how much I miss living in Wilmington.  But I washed my hands of that long ago.

Once Saturday had finally arrived, we took over all of the bathrooms in Ryan's apartment, getting ready, running back and forth between each bathroom, asking one another what went best with what.

It wasn't until we entered the address into the GPS that we realized it would take an hour to get to Southport, not 30 minutes like we had heard.

Although we missed the first ferry that would take us to Bald Head Island, we caught the next!

   Instead of waiting for the tram to return we decided to walk to the chapel.  We kept hearing it would be a long walk, but it really wasn't that bad. 

We showed up just in time to watch Christina and Alex say their vows and exchange their rings.

The ceremony was beautiful and the church was adorable.

Very elegant and quaint.

Afterwards we waited for a tram to take us to where the reception was to be held.  Definitely could not have walked that distance.

We had an amazing time, everything went perfectly, and I wish them all the happiness and luck as they embark on this journey together.

I love you both!

 

Once in awhile, Right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives us a fairy tale.- Anonymous

*Thank you Ava Gorman for the use of her photos.