Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow


This week is the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. We are lucky to have the nicest friends in the world that take us with them every year. I wish I had more pictures of our trip the first year but that was when cellphones were completely banned. They have eased up a bit on that.
This year we can't do our Saturday trip with them so they kindly gave us tickets to use for either today or tomorrow. It looks like the rain is going to ruin most of today so I am hoping tomorrow will be nicer!

The only bummer of missing today is the Pro-Am day is one of my favorites. You can still bring in a big camera (Cameras are not allowed starting Thursday) and I love to try to get shots of all the stars. 

John Fox with a huge smile and his Denver gear last year

Close up of Bubba

Pic of Rickie for my nephew

The Course at Quail Hollow
We first went to the tournament when it was the FedEx Cup. Our FedEx rep at the company I worked (Thanks Eric!) gave passes to my boss and since he couldn't use them he gave them to me. M and I headed out there and hung out in the FedEx hospitality tent, drank free alcohol and kind of kept to ourselves. We walked around the course and followed a few players but didn't really have a "ball" because we didn't have any friends out there.

The next year our good friends invited us to come out with them and that was an incredible experience. I had a 1 month old but said what the heck and away we went! 
I will say that if you have access to the Clubhouse it makes it much much easier with kids. You have an easier way to change diapers, access to LIQUOR, and places to breastfeed. Saturday with these friends is so much fun because the men can be all into the golf, and the moms can have a few margaritas, chase kids and enjoy girl time. (And follow Adam Scott)

Speaking of breastfeeding....guess who whipped it out right off the 3rd green (in the woods at a picnic table with a nursing cover).  THIS GIRL. Too bad that didn't make ESPN.

But I digress..

The Tournament is such a fun experience. I mean, you have day drinking, people watching and Sports. 
Two years ago we went with my son's girlfriend's parents from daycare (we call her his girlfriend) and they introduced us to the Quail Hollow drinking game. 

The short version is:
 Drink for every attendee in cleats. It is unreal how many dudes dress like they are going to tee off. 
Drink for every Master's hat. 
Drink for every Master's shirt. 
2 Drinks for girls in high heels (seriously ladies..WTF). 
 1 drink for inappropriate attire... AKA jeans or hoochie dresses.

Are you  headed out there this year? Here are a few of my favorites since there is no Bubba this year!

Rory McIlroy (with fiance Caroline Wozniacki)

Local Charlotte Golfer Webb Simpson

 Adam Scott. DUH.

 Right?

 And good ole Phil Mickelson. I have liked him ever since he wore a beeper waiting for his wife to go into labor.

But my real favorite golfer is this guy:
xoxo
K

Monday, April 28, 2014

Rewards Style Conference

Where all the fun was being had this weekend. 

Did you notice a good percentage of the blogs you read were all in Dallas this past weekend? They were all attending the Rewards Style Conference and having cocktails, taking pictures, being girly, staying in a nice hotel...pretty much all the most awesome things you can do. 

To say I was a tad jealous would be an understatement but I do not belong with those ladies because:

1. I am not stylish. Clothes get a pretty low priority around this house...

2. I blog as often as married couples with kids have sex.

That being said it still looked like a lot of fun! Two takeaways from stalking everyone on Instagram

1. There were lots of pictures of adorable girls in gorgeous clothes (i.e. Brighton Keller, Caitlyn from Southern Curls and Pearls) but they are just too young for me. I'm not sure about y'all but I find it hard as a 34 year old working mom to associate with the blogs of pyt's (Pretty young things). Not that my mom blogger friends aren't drop dead gorgeous, but I can relate to moms much much more than girls in their 20's. Example: Brighton's Kate Spade Tiffany Blue dress....I want it but have absolutely NOTHING to wear it to. As someone who works from home I'm frumpstargalactica 5 days out of the week. And my weekend wardrobe is pretty pathetic too.

2. Caycee KILLED it in this red dress. I'm sure she will give an outfit recap this week. Check her blog to see! And look how they are all glowing, tan and beautiful. I think we could all use a weekend with our friends at a pool! Right?!

3. Breakfast in bed is underrated. So are huge bathtubs. Neither of those happen in this house. 

Congrats to all the girls I know that went. It looked like an awesome weekend!
xo,
K

Friday, April 25, 2014

Pimento Cheese Hierarchy

From the amazing Thesis by Emily Wallace quoting Remembering Bill Neal....
"Neal served pimento cheese with crackers as an appetizer on the menu at Crook’s Corner. Of that item, he wrote, “Pimento cheese is the pâté of the South, a moveable feast that goes to picnics, 
football games, and beach weekends. A grilled pimento cheese sandwich is a Southern 
drugstore classic that evokes as much debate as the topics of jambalaya and juleps. 
Everyone is fiercely loyal to one version or another; this one pleases the patrons of 
Crook’s Corner." 

The first time I had Pimento Cheese was in  my sister-in-law's family home in Winchester, Kentucky in 1996. We were up there for Wedding meetings and her friend Andrea looked at me and said, just eat it. I was perplexed by grated cheese and mayonnaise on 2 slices of white bread but IT.WAS.HEAVEN. (This could be coupled with the fact that I was chasing it down with an ice cold Ale-8.)

Fast forward a few years and the Fresh Market in Asheville started carrying two flavors (Jalapeno and Regular) in their outstanding appetizer/side dish case. We became fast fans of the Jalapeno Pimento Cheese and it was permanently added to the Boylan repertoire of hors d'oeuvres at parties and tailgates. I wrote about our Fresh Market obsession last year HERE.

One year while at Pawleys Island we noticed something called Palmetto Cheese at the cute gas station market at the corner of 17 and the South Causeway (This little market is no longer). Well being the traditionalists we were we didn't get it. We actually had 3 TUBS of our tried and true Fresh Market Pimento Cheese in a cooler that we traveled with so why change? Two days later a few friends stopped by the beach house and brought some of this "Palmetto Cheese" with them and we were done for. It has been our favorite ever since. Again the Jalapeno is our favorite flavor but the Bacon is something worth trying!

The last lucky dairy contender is the white cheddar pimento cheese that my sister in law found at Kroger of all places. She tweaked the recipe but it is delicious if you want something a tad different!
White Cheddar Pimento Cheese
-Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
-Jar of Pimentos
-Mayo
-Shred the cheese, wash the pimentos (so the cheese doesn't turn orange) and mix in mayo. Tada. It is that simple. Mayo/Cheese ratio is up to you. I have heard you could add a dash of Worcestershire to spice things up but don't trust me...I add that to everything.

Local Runner Ups:

I tried this once at the Southern Women's Christmas Show (yes, I'm crazy and attend it) and I thought it was quite good. I always opt for Palmetto or Fresh Market but maybe I should give this local gal a chance again.

 I think I sampled this in the Teeter but don't remember my reaction. Anybody a fan? Did you know the founder went to dental school at UNC and was the Ram mascot!

I love their Gooey PC Sandwich on a cold day with tomato soup. I haven't even been to the Tupelo here in Charlotte yet! Since Asheville opened their South location it has been much easier to hit them up for my favorites when in town. Can't say I have ever bought it packaged though.

Never tried Callie's but I do love her biscuits. 

Do you have a favorite? A secret family recipe? A crazy food you add it to? (That ham and pimento cheese looks out of this world)
NPR did a great story on Pimento Cheese HERE
Emily Wallace (who I do not know) wrote a BRILLIANT Thesis on Pimento Cheese HERE. Read it. I read the whole dang thing.

photo via John Auken via Garden and Gun April/May 2010
And of course my Southern favorite Garden and Gun wrote about it HERE.
xoxo
K

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Shit Not to Buy from J.Crew

You have my professional permission to buy this.

My stylish blogger friends can tell you when the best sales are and when to buy what on which day.

Today I'm here to tell you that J.Crew is smoking their rolled up magazines.

What the fuck is this?
Feather Bow Sash Over $100

If you own this or think this is stylish I'm sorry. I really have no idea what is trendy or cool so you can totally trump me with your outfit featuring this awfulness. I'm sure you are right. I'm sure it isn't 80's vomit.

Surely this is a joke. I wouldn't wash my son's cozy coupe in this.

This poor model got there in the morning and was like....You have me posing in that shit?

That's it. Sorry for the lack of posts. Work has been nuts. And not pecans either. 

xo
K

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Boozing Moms


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I follow Maria Shriver for her fight against Alzheimer's so this popped up on my facebook news feed today. 

I fully admit to drinking at playdates. And I probably can name once or twice that I probably shouldn't have had that extra glass of wine. Thinking about that now makes me feel like a horrible mother and wife. I would NEVER endanger my son but two glasses of white wine is a no-no for this mom. I wasn't drunk, but I definitely have driven tipsy before.

Truth be told I should not drink white wine. It makes me drunk so much faster than red wine or bourbon. I will begin to limit myself to one glass at future playdates and daytime events.

But back to this story. Moms are binge drinking these days. Shocking? No. Raising kids is not a walk in the park. It is hard work if you are a working mom, and hard work if you are a stay at home mom. I know people think we make up the terms "anxiety" and "ocd" but if you have ever seen me in action off my meds you will completely understand. Trust me. Hell, I'm sure I can be unpleasant ON my meds. 

For me, wine or bourbon act as a soother. A baby blanket if you will. If I've had a hard day and my son is throwing his food, and my house is a mess, and there are dishes in the sink; a glass of wine takes the edge off. It takes my mind off of hyper-drive warp-speed and allows me to slow down and SMILE.

Do I have a problem? I'm not sure. Can I stop drinking if necessary? Yes. I've been to the rheumatologist and Urologist this past week and one thing I need to do is steer clear from my normal alcohol consumption for a bit to get a good baseline for my kidneys/bladder. It is hard for me not to drink but I can do it. 

I know I joke about it a lot, hell the title of this blog has Bourbon in it but I do love my drinks. Unfortunately the only other thing to put me in this good of a mood is exercise and you have to find the time for that. 

What do you moms think? I grew up in a family that has a drink every night. It never ever affected me as a kid (I did grow up in Asheville, not sure the same would be true if we had stayed in New Orleans). I never really started day drinking (except for gameday and bloodies) until we went to France. 

Ordering white wine with lunch is just so......wonderful. Warm weather is finally here and deck/yard/beach season is fast approaching which means the plethora of summer cocktail recipes is about to fill our Instagrams and Pinterest timelines. 

So I'm curious. How much do you think is too much?

xo
K


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Have You Heard of Tradesy?

Katie at the Perks posted a link to Tradesy and as you all know curiosity killed the Kat so I clicked the link and holy moly...

I used to be a frequent ebayer. The clothes were never as great as you hoped they were but it filled the gap when I needed something specific, and then when I wanted to sell said specific item. 
We also use it quite frequently for selling old devices. We currently have two iPhone 3's we are looking to ditch and will be posting them soon unless someone is interested.

Back to Tradesy. I would say it is much more user friendly than searching Ebay. To me it feels like taking a trip to JT Posh here in Charlotte. I don't see a million things I need to buy but it is definitely a place you could visit every other week just to scan the listings. And if you need DVF there are tons!!! I'm going to post a few items this week and see how selling goes. 

Here are some cute finds..

Really want this one!

Really want this one too! Anyone else have an issue with these exposing too much of the tatas? I think it is a short-waisted problem.


This is priced a little high but adorable



This doesn't look great on screen but I have a Fiesta dress and they fit perfectly! Easter option??

Overpriced but if you need a shift...

Again, priced a little high. I would alter this to fit but wouldn't pay more than $100. That damn unroll.me made me miss the last EM sale and I was devastated. 

And Dresses aren't all...


Obviously the insanely well-priced items sell out fast..

still want...

 See anything you like??
Here is your invitation! Not sure you need one but click on it anyways dammit.

xoxo,
Frugal K