Remind Me in the Summertime

I woke up this morning with minty breath. I'm 80% sure I fell asleep with gum in my mouth, because this sometimes happens. Don't judge me. But dozing in and out of sleep, my mind traveled back to this past Summer in ever-posh West Nashville.

   Linde and I went to the Strawberry Festival, a small, lively event held at a high-end neighborhood produce market known for selling local goods. There, we sampled foods from local eateries and manufacturers. I can't remember the name of the woman selling teas, but she made us one of the best tasting Sweet Tea Mint Juleps I've ever had. Slipped a bit of bourbon whiskey from her personal canteen (very cute, in its crochetted pouch!) into a couple of big cups for us, only 1/3 full of raspberry iced tea. I remember her smirking as she slapped and rolled freshly picked mint leaves from the potted plant on her display table into those two cups in one comfortable, effortless motion. No request for an ID, no formality, no permission to serve us a mighty strong cocktail at 11am... Just a nice lady hookin' a couple of girls up on a hot afternoon. She called the drinks "Kentucky Derby Mint Juleps."

     I miss the Summer, and I miss Linde. And I miss refreshing Surprise Mint Juleps. When Summer comes, this will have to be a drink special.

                                       I found this recipe online:

Refreshing Mint JulepMakes 1 cocktail
Adapted from Frank Stitt’s recipe for mint juleps in his book, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table:  Recipes and Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill.

1 cup crushed ice
3 ounces bourbon, preferably Maker’s Mark
1 1/2 ounces mint-infused simple syrup (See recipe following this recipe)
6-8 mint leaves
Mint sprig, to garnish

Fill mint julep cup, or tall glass, with crushed ice to the rim.  In a cocktail shaker, combine bourbon, simple syrup, and mint leaves.  Muddle being sure to break up the mint.  Pour bourbon mixture over ice.  Garnish with mint sprig and serve.

Mint-infused simple syrup:
1 part water
1 part granulated sugar
Mint leaves, to taste
In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar and bring to the boil.  Stir constantly until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and pour syrup over mint leaves.  Infuse for 20 minutes.  Strain and discard mint and store syrup in the refrigerator.

North Carolina- 12/11

We ended up being able to make a trip to North Carolina once more this year, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

We left Tennessee Friday morning and made it to Windsor, NC by 8pm. This is when the party started.

Blake and Randy picked us up in a limo... Think 1987's Senior Prom. I wasn't even alive in 1987, but I can guarantee this limo was the shit back then. We rode in the back with Luke, Katie, & Brent to Lasca's Restaurant, where I put the hurtin' on a Philly Cheesesteak. We met up with a few more of Mitchell's friends including Pat, Carlisle, & Warren.

When we left Lasca's, the limo wouldn't start. Luckily, Pat gave us a jumpstart. Then, we made it about half a block before it died on us. Pat came back and gave us another jumpstart. We didn't have far to drive, so it was okay that we didn't have any of the lights on.

Then we went to the Oyster Bar for drinks.
Everyyyyyyyyone was there! Mitchell caught up with all his friends, I met a lot of people, drank quite a bit, then we went home to sleep.

Mitchell, Kyle, and Blake!

The party followed us back to Blake's, and in thw morning,

people

           were

                   waking

                              up

                                   all 

                                        over

                                                the

                                                     house.

I found a note attached to the backdoor, and everyone had a good laugh at it.

We didn't hunt.

But Mitchell got a new truck!

(And it gets awesome gas mileage.)

Oysters, Anyone?

We're buying an Oyster Bar...                                          In Eastern North Carolina!            
                                                                          (Lord, help us.)

Llama vs. Alpaca

This morning, I complimented a lady on her gorgeous hand-woven alpaca parka.

Her response, "Whyyyy does everyone keep saying 'alpaca?!' It's LLAMA. But thanks."

Could you verbally roll your eyes any more sarcastically?

Jesus, take a compliment or shove it up your ass... Or is it a donkey?

Bang! Bang!

   VS.

White Nicki Minaj? Haha. Methinks so.

7 Month Update

I know nobody reads this, but I'm back from my long hiatus. A lot has happened since May, and I'm going to be quick in updating you in the happenings of my life over the past 7 (seven, really?!) months:

• June: We got a new puppy. He's half Black Lab and half Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We named him Cash, after Johnny. He eats everything from panties to bars of soap.
• July: I did a lot of fishing and kayaking in the creeks around Cheatham County. Got some nice color!
• August: Successfully avoided the Wilson County Fair.
• September: Discovered Wendy Ho and her song/video "Poop Noodle." 
• October: Realized juuust how old my boyfriend is when he turned 32. 10 years apart, we are. 10 years.
• November: Celebrated our 2 year anniversary with a trip to Taylorsville, KY where we spent a couple nights in a gorgeous cabin on the lake. Went to a couple wineries and some distilleries and tasted everything we could! I also celebrated my 22nd birthday on the 9th.
• December: Discovered a new cave about 10 minutes from my house. About 500 feet in, it's blocked off, so expect a lengthier post in the future when I figure out how to remove more of the bars.

Nachos

                                                                                                                                     I want some.