Swanksgiving

On Saturday my friends, Katie and Lyle, hosted Swanksgiving!  A spin on a Friendsgiving where a bunch of friends get dressed up and eat and drink! 

Gimme dat turkey!

I offered to bring a few appetizers since the Thanksgiving staples were taken care of.  They included a turkey (of course!), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mac & cheese (with avocado and basil), crescent rolls, brussels sprouts salad and sweet potatoes.  A feast!  I've already emailed Katie to rave about her brussels sprouts salad and beg for the recipe.

Anyway, for appetizers I made a jalapeno-cranberry cream cheese dip which I thought was good, not great.  But the real show stopper was the amazing artichoke-olive spread I made.  It was a huge hit and I'll definitely be making it again.  I've said it before but Smitten Kitchen never lets me down!

To wash everything down I brought a few bottles of wine.  I also made a big batch of Cranberry-Ginger Cosmos to share.

3 parts vodka
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part lime juice
1 part Cointreau (or triple sec)
4 large pieces of ginger

I muddled the ginger a bit and poured the rest of the ingredients in my carafe, then viola! 

The evening was a huge success!

Happy Birthday, Eli!!

My little brother turns 28 today.  We've joked about getting past our 27th years which were both wild for us and he's finally made it.  He moved to California earlier this year and I miss him!  

Happy birthday, Eli! 28 will be your best year yet!!

At Sidebar a few years back.

Christmas 2013

Molly's wedding in 2012.

Grandparents

These photos of my parents with their first grandchild melt my heart.

Read, Watch, Eat: Volume 2

Read
I pre-ordered Lena Dunham's book, Not That Kind of Girl, and I'm liking it.  Like, not love.  I haven't devoured it like I thought I would but her essays are interesting.  Very much like her tv show, GIRLS, I can't stop but it's nothing I'd re-watch or re-read.

Watch
I don't subscribe to any cable service, I'm a Netflix and Hulu gal.  So, I'm throwing things back to one of my favorite tv shows of all time. Gilmore Girls!  I'm currently on a casual binge of the entire series.  It is so witty and fun!  The best part about watching it for the second time through (aside from no commercials!) is discovering some guest stars.

Like Jon Hamm.  Helllloooo, Mad Men!  Another series that I've watched twice.

And Nick Offerman aka RON SWANSON of Parks and Rec fame.

Eat
I hit up Kenwood with my sister and her bebe today and we stopped by Maggiano's for lunch.  This was the first time going somewhere nice to eat with Charlotte.  It was... different. Bebe was great but it was a tiny bit hectic. Related: I tipped 30%.

Gratuitous pic of Bebe and me!

Anyway, we restrained ourselves today but we love love love their fried zucchini.  It's so good! I make a version for myself in the summer when fresh zucchini is aplenty so yeah, it's a favorite.  So, I was excited to try Trader Joe's Zucchini Fries.  Verdict: I was impressed!  I kept them in the oven a bit longer to ensure optimal crisp and ate them with my favorite go-to marinara. I'll be adding it to my TJ list!

Halloween Weekend

I never look forward to falling back for daylight savings but I do love this time of year.  Halloween! Fall! Football!  And, randomly, my parent's 33rd Anniversary!!  Here's to 33 more, Mom and Dad!!  :)

Last Thursday I traveled to Louisville for the Florida State University vs. Louisville football game.  This game was a big deal!  And although UofL didn't pull off a win it was still fun.  Maybe a little too fun!

All the Betas before the game.

Friday I was back in Newport!  That evening was Halloween and I went out for my friend Nate's birthday! Last year we went to Below Zero and I've been looking forward to it again all year.  Mr Louisville dressed up as a nerd (um, not really a stretch for him ;) and I pulled out an old favorite, California Mountain Snake from Kill Bill!  The dance party was so much fun!  I could have closed it down but Thursday night's shenanigans caught up to me eventually so Mr L and I headed home around 1am.

Leyla finally met Mr. Louisville!

Becky creeping, Leyla, Hillie (who KILLED it as Red from Orange is the new Black, Kelly as My Little Pony and me.

Saturday, it was more Halloween fun!  But first, another birthday.  We met up with Mike and Abbey to celebrate Ab's birthday at Dewey's Pizza.  One of my favorites!  Then, it was off to Brett's for a party.  Mr. Louisville has quite the 'stache and after some contemplating we decided to go as a little girl and pedophile! I think we pulled it off!  The lollipops were a nice touch.

Finally, I don't think I can complete a Halloween post with out a picture of my niece on her first Halloween dressed as a little ladybug. I love her!

Podcast love

I spend a lot of time on the road;  for work, Louisville for the weekends, roadtrips...
I love music but I don't have an insert for my iPod in my car, I'm not fond of trying to find radio stations and I get tired of the few CDs I have.  So, in the past year I've been getting into podcasts.  I suppose my love of talk radio started with Terry Gross and Fresh Air but here are a few of my other favorites.

Savage Lovecast

This was the first podcast I started listening to and now I'm a regular.  It's basically an advice column.  People call in with questions about love, sex, relationships, etc. and Dan Savage answers.  He's funny, articulate, thoughtful and open-minded.  He's changed my life, honestly.  My perceptions about relationships, monogamy, bi-sexuality, transgenders and more have been challenged and I've learned so much.  I really think that everyone should listen to this.

Dan Savage (on the right) with his husband, Terry.

Serial
This is a new podcast and I'm obsessed.  A true story unfolds week by week.  The first season is about a murder that took place in Baltimore, back in 1999.  A high school senior was strangled and her ex-boyfriend was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.  The way it unfolds reminds me of the documentary, Staircase. I flip back and forth.  He did it!  He's definitely innocent.  He's guilty!  There's no way!  It's riveting, well told and juicy.  I've listened to each episode twice through already.  It's so good.

The Dinner Party Download
This is a nice, fluffy podcast that I tend to listen to on long walks.  The podcast is played out like so.
Icebreaker - joke
History Lesson - something that happened around that date is history
Cocktails - a drink to accompany the history lesson
Playlists - music for the dinner party
Guest of Honor - special guest celebrity, writer, actor, etc.
Etiquette - questions answered usually by said guest of honor
Dinner time - some food related content like an emerging food trend
Anyway, I enjoy the tidbits of unconventional news and culture which provide excellent (you guessed it!) dinner party conversation starters.

Kevin Spacey was a guest on the show.

And a few more that I listen to:
The Moth
Death, Sex & Money

What are your favorites?  I'd love a recommendation!

What about me?!

I swiped this from mi amiga! I do love a good survey.
1. What’s a nickname only your family calls you? My dad calls me Rosie-Os.  The Rose.  Or simply, Laura Rose.

2. What’s a weird habit of yours? I swish drinks in my mouth before I swallow.

3. Do you have any weird phobias? My phobia of crickets and mice is often debilitating.  Otherwise, I'm quite fearless!

4. What’s a song you secretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you’re alone? Right now, It's all about the bass.  Florence and the Machine.  Or some old favorites from high school, like Blink182.

5. What’s one of your biggest pet peeves? I'm an aggressive driver so all other drives generally annoy me.  And noisy eaters.

6. What’s one of your nervous habits? When I'm nervous or anxious I can't sleep.

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Whatever side I want!  When I'm alone, I sleep in the middle.

8. What was your first stuffed animal & its name? I don't remember being big on stuffed animals.  I had a stuffed soccer ball I slept with for a long time but I didn't personify it.

9. What’s the drink you ALWAYS order at Starbucks? Grande non-fat chai tea latte.  Sometimes extra hot.

10. What’s the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice? I'm bad about moisturizing.

11. Which way do you face in the shower? Away from the water.  But if I'm feeling sick or cold I'll face the water and crank the temperature to super hot.
*Edited to note that I actually face towards the water!  After I answered this I thought about it every time I showered and was shocked to discover that I actually don't face away from the shower most of the time.  I learned something about myself!!

12. Do you have any ‘weird’ body ‘skills’? My elbows are double-jointed.  It's hard to explain but people often comment on it.

13. What’s your favorite ‘comfort food’/food that’s ‘bad’ but you love to eat it anyways? Pizza.  

14. What’s a phrase or exclamation you always say? Coolio.

15. Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing? Normally just underwear but I'll add sweats as it gets colder.

Cheers!