Fave Friday Five - K'town Dining

If you read my blog ever you know that I am a HUGE fan of dining in Charleston. The cuisine is some of the finest in the South (in my oh-so-very-humble opinion.) You can get some great local cuisine served in such a style you think you're eating at a 5 star restaurant with 3 star prices (in most cases.) However, it has also come to my attention there are restaurants in Knoxville which I cannot eat at in Charleston. So, in no particular order, here are my five favorite (and most missed) Knoxville restaurants.

1. Trios Cafe - 2 words: Blueberry Balsamic. Also candied walnuts. Truly the world's best salad dressing and served only at Trio (that I have found.) Also, from a girl who would eat steak or sushi every night of my life the fact that I order a salad with not meat on it here says something. They put all the ingredients in a bowl and toss them with the dressing so every bite is perfect.

2. Krystal - Yes, I know this is a chain. Yes, I know they are gut bombs. Yes, I miss them. I traveled to Dallas in February and flew back into Charleston at 11:30 PM. Yes, that is 1.5 hours past my bedtime and I had been up for most of 40+ hours at this point. Anywho, after I deplaned, got my luggage, I was about to chew my leg off starving. And I wanted a Krystal burger (or two.) And this is when I realized that I live in a city of 5 star restaurants with 3 star prices that do not offer small, square burgers 24 hours a day. Depression set in and I seriously considered driving to Savannah, GA, or Myrtle Beach (yuck), SC, the following weekend just to eat a small, square burger. But alas, I am cheap (sometimes) and did not want to waste my Saturday nor my gas in search of a small, square burger.

3. Calhoun's - I do not like most bar-b-que. But I love Calhoun's. Steak Calhoun is a nice sized steak grilled with bar-b-que sauce and is simply divine. Throw in some spinach maria, some cinnamon apples, or steamed broccoli and you have one happy person. Or their char-grilled shrimp over rice pilaf. So good. Dear, S.S. Scotts, next time I am in town we may need to forgo our normal dining options and go here.

4. Chesapeake's - This was a favorite for a nice alternative at lunch. I must admit I never ate here past noon, but what I was served at lunch never failed me. I tried as many unique, fresh fish dining at Chesapeake's as I have had in Charleston. Their lobster bisque paired with a side Ceasar salad was also the perfect lunch during the cooler Winter days in downtown K-town.

5. Downtown Brewery - Man, oh, man. They have some of the best pork chops I have ever eaten at a restaruant. Paired with their mashed potatoes and cinnamon apples and it was divine. If you do not know how perfect pork is paired with cooked apples, then you need to remedy this quickly. Also, at lunch you could get a half order of chicken nachos and they would happily leave off the items you did not want and the cheese was perfectly melted across the top. You cannot go wrong with anything at this place. It's a definite winnter.

So, there you go. The 5 places I miss the most. Please note I did not include Litton's burgers because frankly I was not impressed. Nor did I include the Italian place in Alcoa that everyone loves (Little Italy maybe?) because again, not impressed. I could have easily made this a top 10 though and added in Wasabi's, Connor's, Puleo's, Copper Cellar (where you can get a good burger), and Silver Spoon (another chain, but again, not in Charleston.) Possibly next Friday will be these 5 and I'll call it Fave Friday Five - Outside the Lunch Routine Knoxville Dining.

Fave Friday Five - Chick Flicks

Today let's talk about the 5 chick flicks I could (and do) watch over and over and over. It's sad, actually, but I do love these movies. In no particular order here we go.

1. The Wedding Date - I believe I have seen this movie at least 150 times... ok, it's more than that because I can quote most of it. My favorite scene is when they get to the home they'll be staying at for her sister's wedding. They are shown their room, jump on the "big bed" and the following conversation takes place:

Kat Ellis: You know what pisses me off? I've been spilling my guts all weekend and I don't know a thing about you.
Nick Mercer: [pause] I'm allergic to fabric softener. I majored in comparative literature at Brown. I hate anchovies. And I think I'd miss you even if we never met.

That last line gets me every single time.

2. Sweet Home Alabama - Perhaps Reese Witherspoon's finest work outside of the Legally Blonde franchise. Throw in some Josh Lucas and Ethan Embry (who I fell in love with when he played opposite Reese in A Far Off Place) and you have the makings of a great movie. With classic lines such as "You have a baby. In a bar." and "What do you want to be married to me for anyhow?" "So I can kiss you anytime I want." it continually entertains me. Especially when Melanie's dad says "Praise the Lord! The South has risen again."

3. 27 Dresses - Perhaps I love this movie because I could have a closet like hers full of dresses. The only problem is that I could not fit in 97% of them anymore so I got rid of them. I have worn the Gone With the Wind style dress in a wedding. Thankfully the Beverly Hills Wedding and underwater weddings have never been an issue. Two weddings, one day, one couple, two states...yes, I could write the book on that. But I digress. I think the dynamic of Jane and how she is infatuated with her boss is a scenario I have seen played out with my friends over and over again. And yet there is the perfect guy waiting in the background just waiting for them to notice him. When Jane is registering Tess for items and finds out why Kevin has such a sour taste for weddings, I could totally see myself pulling the line "Wanna go find the ugliest stuff in the store and register Tess for it?" with a friend and not feeling guilty about it. I also love the scene where they dance to Bennie and the Jets because again, I could see it in my own life.

4. The Notebook - It's only fair this movie get a spot on my list as I have not only seen the movie a few dozen times, but I also read the book. Over and over and over again. I rememer my mom telling me if I were to read the book I needed to make sure I could finish it the day I started it. Once again, Mama knows best. I believe I read it while we walked to dinner (roommate guided me like a good roommate would) and into the night. I then read it outloud to her that weekend while she cooked our dinner and did all our laundry. The movie stayed fairly close to the book and did not disappoint.

Best monologue goes to Noah's character: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've lead a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived. I've loved another with all my heart and soul and to me this has always been enough.

5. The Holiday - Iris's monologue to open this movie touches me in places I don't write about on this blog or talk about with my friends. But as she talks about her desire to be loved by another earthly being I can't help but think of my own life at different stages.

I've found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual.

But then her adventure begins, my dislike for Jack Black is turned into like, I fall in love with Jude Law's charm as a single father, and want to walk away from it all like Cameron Diaz's character. The charm of the English countryside along with the relationship Iris strikes with Arthur are all so magically and draw me in each and every time.

So, there you go. A really long post but I have seen each of these movies more times than I care to admit. I own them all on DVD and will watch them on TV (including tolerating the commercials) just because I love them. And they take me away to another world where people say funny things, survive crazy life events, and fall in love with their own version of the boy next door. It's the modern day fairytale. Glass slipper excluded.

** All quotes and links provided by www.imdb.com ***

Fave Friday Five - Home Interior Websites

Truly I need to be a much wealthier person to afford decorating the inside of my house upon reviewing this list. It also probably explains why my dining room contains two dog kennels and boxes full of my office supplies because my tastes far exceed my income and I would rather save for what I want them spend my money on something I don't want. Anywho, I digress. In no particular order here are 5 of my favorite websites to shop from drool over.

1. Restoration Hardware

I fell in love with Restoration Hardware when I was in college. At that time they sold my dream headboard. Flash forward to 2009 and they no longer carry that headboard but they do a have a presence in my current house. I love the seersucker shower curtain in my guest bath and am thankful they offered one when it was exactly what I was looking for.

2. Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn never lets me down when it comes to items I would love for my bedroom, dining room, or living room. Their style always matches mine and thanks to the outlet in Georgia I scored the roman shades I wanted: 2 for less than the prices of 1. I also am a big fan of their towels because they hold their shape and have a great texture.

3. Ballard Designs

Once I've spent a small fortune fake buying all the furniture from the above two companies, Ballard would be my go to for decorating. Their art work and space organizers are always the best. I did splurge on some fabric before Christmas which I hope to have made into a skirt for an endtable in my living room and some additional throw pillows. I like that you can get fabric samples from them and that they offer a wide range of furniture which can be upholstered.

4. Brookstone

I am a gadget girl. Another reason I have no furniture: I'd rather spend my money on gadgets. So, if I had the money my house would definitely have some of the nice gadges from this catalog. I do have a nice hammock (actually two..oops) from this company. After much research their hammock package could not be beat. However, I need to return that second hammock so I can get my hammock cover. Oh, and their customer service was exceptional. (Oh, and I know a hammock is not interior decorations, but it currently resides on my living room floor because I don't want to leave it outside to get wet.)

5. Frontgate

Frontgate has great furniture and home interior gadgets. I have bought a few pieces from their outlet. including a great cookie jar that looked like Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3. It came with the mix to make the frozen hot chocolate and was cheaper than me buying the hot chocolate mix from the Serendipity 3 website. I was able to give the cookie jar as the tackiest gift at a white elephant exchange at Christmas. Awesome. I also have a great mini-blender from there that is similar to the Magic Bullet but much better.

So there you go. 5 websites I could easily spend my whole paycheck at monthly for a year and still be drooling over more items. Now if only you could win the lottery without playing it I might be set. I guess I will just continue to drool and save.

Fave Friday Five - TV Shows I'm Missing

If you stopped by the blog this week you saw me mention that I wanted to start something new this Friday. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, but I thought it would be something do for a few weeks. On Fridays I'm goign to pick a category and give you 5 things that fit into it. No order necessarily, just five items on Friday. I'm going to start out this week with 5 TV shows I am missing now that EVERYTHING I watch is in summer hiatus.

1. Gossip Girl -- Let me tell you how happy this season made me. Well, at least the storyline with Blair and Chuck. The first episode of the season Blair tried to get Chuck to say "3 little words." All season we watched them battle back and forth and the season ended in the greatest way. I know this means that next sesaon will be all kinds of difficult, but I'm pulling for those two like I pulled for Joey and Pacey all those years ago.

2. NCIS -- My love for this show could be summed up in one word: Jethro. However, I'll give you more. The chemistry the actors on this show have with one another and the storylines keep me coming back week after week. From the quirkiness of Abby and Duckey to the underlying chemistry between Tony and Ziva this show is constantly putting more mystery in the storyline while keeping the interest level high.

3. Ugly Betty -- I love this show. I love that although they are making fun of the ugly duckling, that the character perseveres and does not let the rude comments get her down. Throw in the humor of Mark and Amanda, and the neverending adventures of Daniel and the scheming of Wilhelmina and it never gets dull.

4. How I Met Your Mother -- This show has some of the greatest one liners. Some of the funniest episodes of this show include the time Lily moved into Barney's apartment, the introduction of Robin Sparkles, and the episode where Ted tricked Barney and Marshall into thinking he had a crush on one of them. I look forward to when we find out exactly who the mother is, but in the interim it is fun to watch the group live and love in NYC.

5. LOST -- Only one season left. And honestly I think that is the only reason I miss it. I feel like I have invested too much of my life into this show to quit it, so I miss it because I want the next season to get here so it can be over. I know that sounds lame, but I'm team Sawyer and the time travel gets on my last nerve.

So, there you go. I can't promise the list will always be this long, but I'm going to try it for a few weeks. Have a great (and safe) weekend!