Dwight Schrute Bobble Head

I was so excited to give this Dwight Schrute bobble head to my dad for Christmas. We both love “the Office” on NBC. We both love the character of Dwight Schrute. This was the perfect gift.

The Dwight Schrute bobble head was such a perfect gift, that I was not the only one who thought so. My dad gave me the bobble head as well! I am so excited!

For your own, go to http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=8368.

Nintendo Wii

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had as wonderful a holiday as I did! I am still full of food. Yum.

For Christmas my little brother got a Nintendo Wii. Oh my gosh it is so fun! As Paul puts it, “instead of [Nintendo] spending all their money on making it realistic, they decided to spend money on making it fun!” That is just what they did. The graphics are reminiscent of N64’s Super Mario game, which I think is fine, but others do not agree with me. No matter what, playing it is incredibly fun!

The system uses a sensor that is placed on the top of the television and a controller that is a stick about the size of a hand. The sensor senses the motion of the stick when you move it. Simply move the stick where you want to go.

We have been playing a sports game. Included sports are bowling, golf, baseball, and tennis. What is marvelous about this is that when you play the bowling game, it is like you are actually in a bowling alley. Any number of people can play and, with controller in hand, you play by mimicking the motion of bowling. The same goes for the rest of the sports.

I know that these are impossible to get right now, but if you can somehow, go for it! It is a fabulous system and well worth it!

For more information go to wii.nintendo.com.

Vedue Inn -S.C.

After dinner our first night out, we went to the rooftop bar at the Vendue Inn. Judging from their website, the Inn itself is an upscale and reputable place to stay while in Charleston. However, the rooftop bar was our main focus that night.

On the rooftop you take in a 360 degree view of the city and the nearby waterfront. There are heaters scattered among the tables for people to keep warm on chilly nights. The night we visited was quite chilly and Dolly and I spent much of our time huddled around the heater to keep warm. We were very happy the heater was there!

The view and atmosphere was wonderful, but unfortunately, the drinks were not. I ordered a water as I had enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine at Meritage. The water, unfortunately, was the best drink consumed. My girlfriends each ordered a Malibu Bay Breeze, which arrived with grenadine in it! (Bay Breezes are a concoction of Malibu rum, pineapple juice, and cranberry juice, if I am not mistaken.) The grenadine made the drink so sweet, it made my friends sick.

I would suggest visiting this bar for the view, but either be very specific when ordering your drinks or keep to beer and wine.

Vedue Inn
19 Vendue Range
Charleston, SC 29401

www.vendueinn.com

Kudu Coffee-S.C.

Our first morning in Charleston, Dolly took Xan and I to Kudu Coffee for breakfast.

Kudu is named after the African antelope and provides a varied menu of African coffees. The atmosphere is peaceful and, not surprisingly, has an African-inspired design.

I am always looking to find the perfect cup of coffee. Not many coffees can balance on the fine line between too strong and too weak. If the coffee is too strong, it is hard to enjoy becasue the coffee is too overpowering. (I also get a stomach ache!) If the coffee is weak, well then, what is the point?

As Goldilocks would say, Kudu coffee is “just right!” This, however, was unfortunate for me because I chose a simple cappuccino instead of one of their specialty drinks in fear that it would be too rich. My friends, however, were smarter than I. One ordered the Meru Mocha (espresso, steamed milk, chocolate, and frosted mint) and the other ordered the Frosted Cricket (espresso, steamed milk, frosted mint, and Irish cream). Both were delicious and tasted rather similar.

Kudu Coffee
4 Vanderhorst St
Charleston, SC
29403

http://kuducoffee.net.

Charleston Architecture

I love the old architecture and brightly painted houses in Charleston! When I was little, I desperately wanted to live in a pink house. Look how wonderful this pink house is! On any other structure, this color would look tacky, but in Charleston, it is bright and cheerful!

If you visit Charleston, make sure you visit Rainbow Row. Rainbow Row is a strip of brightly painted homes built in the 1700s that once used to be the center of Charleston’s retail district. Although this house was not on the strip, it has a similar feeling. All the brightly painted houses together do make a rainbow!

This is just a cute house. I love that it is orange and the palm tree in the front. What a cheerful place to live!

Meritage - S.C.

Dolly, Xan, and I went out to eat at a wonderful tapas bar called Meritage our first night in Charleston, S.C. We ate seven tapas among the three of us which left us full even the next day!

We began with a duck confit and lentil salad. The warm duck and earthy lentils were served on a bed of fresh greens. Duck can sometimes feel rather heavy and leave a greasy taste on the palate, but in this case, it gave the salad body and brought out the deep, rich, feeling of the lentils.

Next, my girlfriends each ordered a satay kabob. One was with chicken and the other with shrimp. The kabobs were served on top of a block of sticky rice with thai peanut sauce on the side. Both satays were light and delicious! The peanut sauce was on of the better peanut sauces I have had. It was not too syrupy and a perfect blend of flavors.

After those three tapas, we were more than a little satisfied, but there was more to come! Xan ordered pesto stuffed pork tenderloin with roasted garlic sauce and boursin mashed potatoes. I am not a fan of pork, but I delighted in this dish. In fact, it was my favorite of the evening! Sometimes the flavor of pork or pesto can be overwhelming if the dish is not made well. However, the pork was tender and the flavors blended together perfectly. As for the mashed potatoes, they were creamy and a perfect accompaniment to the pork.

Dolly ordered a fried green tomatoes dish. Out came a tower of tomatoes and cheese and sauces piled six layers high. It was all of our first fried green tomato experience, and we enjoyed it! However, I do think that the cheese and sauce overpowered the tomatoes a bit. It would have cut the richness of the dish and brought out the flavor of the vegetable.

I ordered a duck and cheese quesadilla, which was good, but very much like every quesadilla I have ever had. I think that perhaps they could have substituted the duck for another meat because it just contributed to the greasiness of an already greasy dish.

We ended our meal with chocolate fondue with pound cake and fruit. The presentation was beautiful. The fondue was submerged in a hollowed out pineapple and thin sticks were used to dip the pound cake, pineapple, strawberries, oranges, and bananas into the rich chocolate.

We left Meritage happy and about ten pounds heavier! I suggest this restaurant to anyone in the city who is going out as a group! It is a wonderful way to taste a little of everything and enjoy a good meal with friends!

Meritage
235 E. Bay St. ,
Charleston , SC 29401
843-723-8181

South Carolina!

Good morning.

As many of you know, I went to South Carolina last weekend to visit my buddy Dolly. What an amazing city! Unlike Northern Virginia and Washington D.C., this city is friendly and not congested! The architecture is eclectic. You can walk down one street and feel like you are in New Orleans, L.A., Amsterdam; Newport, RI; or Key West, F.L.

I have pictures to come, but stupid COX has not fixed my internet yet. (This has been going on for over a week now. There is still no internet at my house. If this was a blog of things I disliked instead of things I love, I would add an entry about my hatred for COX Communications. However, I am trying to keep this blog upbeat.

Still, if you can avoid getting your service from COX, I would do so. This has been a headache. (Literally. I get a headache every time I think about this.)

So at lunchtime I will get my cord so I can upload my photos here at work. Then you will be able to read some wonderful entries about where to dine and play in Charleston, S.C. In the meantime, please enjoy this silly map of Charleston I found on the web.

That is all for now!

-Katie

Crumbly Top Cookies

Today is our Holiday gift/cookie exchange at work. I made my cousin Amy's favorite cookies called Crumbly Top Cookies. They are delicious and easy to bake! I like to dip the tops of them in sugar after they come out of the oven to make them sparkly crumbly top cookies! Here is the recipe:



Amy's Crumbly Top Cookies

Ingredients
¾ cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbl. Molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix all ingredients together. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar. Place two inches apart on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper (they spread.) Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Carrie Weston

I love this Diamond Silhouette Ring Pendant by Carrie Weston. The artist originally designed this piece for her brother to propose with, but I prefer how it looks as a necklace. However, can still purchase this piece as it was originally intended. All of her pieces are very clean and graphic with a touch of pop art. I love it!



I also thought it was worth posting her Sandwich Ring. For a person like me who is always looking forward to the next meal, this would be the perfect gift! She uses different colored metals to create this interesting layered effect. I prefer this design, but you can also purchase it only silver, which costs quite a bit less.

Other favorites:
-Hamburger ring
-Puffed heart ring in white gold
-Tulip silhouette ring in silver

For more information go to www.carrieweston.com.

Chalk Talk Glass Storage Canisters

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Last week got really hectic with the move and COX has been a problem for a number of reasons. I would have posted pictures of my new place, but they still have not connected my internet. But anyway…

I bought these Chalk Talk Glass Storage Canisters from World Market this weekend. I love that I can label the canisters with the included chalk. I hope that it will not end up annoying me when the labels accidentally rub off. I can already foresee certain friends of mine having a good time changing the labels on the canisters. I will have to hide the chalk! These canisters have an airtight seal to keep food fresh, so you can store anything from pasta to spices. I bought two medium canisters and one smaller one for my flour, sugar, and tea.

For more information go to www.worldmarket.com.

FiveTen Sirens

Let me just tell you about my new climbing shoes. They are the model called Siren from Five Ten. I love them!

These are actually my Christmas present from my boyfriend. The shoes I was wearing when I injured myself is great, but they are technical shoes. (Translation: They are tight shoes so I can climb on more difficult rock.) Now that I am healing, my ankle looks like an elephant’s ankle and my foot is forever swollen. Wearing tight shoes are a little more difficult for me these days.

I was not supposed to receive these beauties until Christmas (obviously) but my ankle healed remarkably quickly, so I got them early to test them out. They are phenomenal! The Siren is a comfortable shoe that is perfect for climbing all day but also works really well on more technical routes because of the design of the shoe. They work well on cracks, slabs, faces, and boulder problems. They were designed for intermediate climbers who are working on more difficult routes and are great all-around shoes.

I also suggest this climbing shoe as a holiday gift for the woman in your life who loves to rock climb. The shoe is so versatile that as long as she is not climbing harder than 5.12, you cannot go wrong.

Right now I am still a little weak, but knowing what this shoe is capable of inspires me to get stronger!

For more information go to www.fiveten.com.

Crocs

Guess who bought CUTE Crocs this weekend?

My boyfriend has been wearing the traditional Crocs in black for the past year or so and he LOVES them! He has worn them hiking, climbing, kayaking, and while working. He really is happy with them for work because he works part time for an ornamental plaster company, so he gets plaster all over his clothes and footwear. With Crocs, he can simply wash them off if he gets plaster on them, and they look as good as new!

Honestly, I always thought that Crocs were kind of ugly, but cool ugly. I almost bought a pair on a few occasions, but never succumbed to the urge.

But now, everything is different because Crocs came out with this cute ballet flat called Prima in one of my favorite colors! (Note: That would be magenta.)

I have since worn them to a bar at night (I am required to wear flats until August because of my injury) and then hiking and climbing the next day. The only problem is that they tend to be the same temperature as the air around them. Therefore, if you take them off outside when it is cold, they will be a frosty 10 degrees when you step back into them.

Still, I highly recommend this footwear. It would even make a splendid holiday gift for almost anyone!

For more information go to www.crocs.com.

D-licious

I found these dictionary definition necklaces at D-licious metal. The pendant is only 1 ½” which makes it tasteful enough to wear every day.The design is both delicate because of its small size and funky becasue of its content.

A word with its definition is enclosed in closed back sterling silver bezel. You can choose among the definitions for home, spirit, character, lovely, sauce, lucky, mine, balance, kin, happiness, mate, and spoon.

This would make a one of a kind, personalized gift for anyone in your life. I would give “home” to my mother and “happiness” to one of my girlfriends!

For more information go to www.d-liciousmetal.com.