Mardi Gras!

Last night I got all the girls together for our monthly Girls Night Out. The only "rule" for the night: you must wear green, purple or gold! We had some masks, beads and crowns...and of course, jambalaya and king cake! We skipped the hurricanes and went straight for the blue bayou! So yummy! It was such a great night!

The Mardi Group: Me, Leanna and Remington, Nicole, Rachel and Chloe, Jessica, Jacque, Natosha, Laura and Molly, Brandy, Amie, Jackie, and Shayla

Fun Filled Weekend!

This was such a great weekend! Friday night I had all the girls over for a Fondue Night. I made a cheese fondue and we had homemade sourdough bread, veggies and apples to dip in it. Then for the chocolate we had marshmallows, pound cake, gorilla bread, strawberries and raspberries. Then, of course, I just had to make some other finger foods...so I put together a cheese tray, chips and dip, and pigs in a blanket with chimichuri sauce. And everything was mmm mmm good! Girls night out might have been an excuse to use all my Food Network serve-ware! But can you believe I didn't take any pictures of the food!? I was having too much fun chit-chatting and enjoying some wine with the girls.

But in true-Nicole-fashion....I did get a photo of all the girls!

I spent Saturday in the kitchen making a homemade ragu...and then transforming that into 18 stuffed peppers (halves.) Holy crap, that's a of stuffed peppers...but we only had 5 leftover! The in-laws came over for dinner, we had the stuffed peppers, salad and homemade Amish bread that Jacque brought over. Miley was super lazy and cuddled with everyone on the couch. She is so exhausted when we bring her home from daycare....and she got groomed too!

I need to step up with my picture-taking. Apparently I'm the only person who gets a new camera and stops taking pictures. Just wait until Disney...I'll need to bring an extra memory card for all the pictures I plan to be traking!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Why is it that Monday through Friday d-r-a-g but the weekend flies by. I swear the twenty-four hour rule doesn't apply to weekends...the universe knows that people are having fun so time is magically shortened. So, to the universe...please stop, I really like weekends!

You can add this weekend to the list of "great weekends." Friday night was supposed to be girls night, but it ended up being a group thing. And it was awesome. Ten of us went to the hibachi and had some good laughs and a lot of fun. Our chef of the night who calls himself Bob was awesome...and I've never seen so much rice in my life. Ten people sure can eat a lot of rice. I swear I had a large order all to myself.

The fun didn't end when we left the restaurant. My new friend Stephanie came over, so I chilled a bottle of wine...or three. Danny and Justin got some beer...and then the Gambizzles came! We stayed up all night drinking wine and chit-chatting. Three bottles of wine, thirty-six beers later, and a failed attempt to make the guys walk Justin home...it was finally time for bed.

Saturday morning the Gambizzle's had to be up early for a photoshoot. I couldn't believe it...but Miley actually let us sleep past 10:00. HOLY CRAP! And thank goodness for that...I wasn't feeling very human-like when I finally did get up. I think I took a long shower at 11 and then refused to get dress until 1. My head was pounding. It was definitely one of those "never-drinking-again" type of days.

Except we planned to go to the winery for dinner. It was probably a good thing it was closed for the night. Instead we went to Front Street Brewery...not for the beer, but for the amazing nachos! The four of us really showed our "old age" when we decided not to go bowling...but watch Toy Story 3 instead. So, that's how we spent our Saturday night. And I must say....I kinda loved it!

I didn't know Bojangles was a North Carolina place. We spent a good portion of our weekend talking about the "best kept secret" and how they should "share the goodness." The four of us had breakfast there this morning..and we were so under dressed. That's right...under dressed at a fast food place!! It's apparently the happening place to be after church.

While the guys played Black Ops (Danny can't wait for Christmas, he just had to rent the game....) me and Marie went on base. I think it's insane that things don't open until 11AM in the south. So, we paid Katie a little visit! It was nice to have a little girl time and just hangout. And I must say...I'm getting so excited for Katie's wedding. I can't believe it's a little over six weeks away!

And now...it's Sunday. I hate that the "daily-grind" starts on Sunday for us now. I also hate that I took one picture this weekend. I have zero proof that the Gambizzle's were even here! So, you know what that means? We are just going to have to do it again!

Edit: Just an FYI - Bojangles was founded in Jacksonville.

I'm a World Traveler!

Okay, not really...but this weekend I did hangout with people from all over the United States. In one weekend there was Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, and more places that we never discussed. Back in the day, before I married into the Marine Corps family, I never thought I would spend a weekend with people from all over the country. Call me a nerd, but I think that's pretty cool!

Friday night I gave my house to the guys for a poker night (Miley supervised!) and I headed out for a girls night. First, never under estimate how much pizza a bunch of girls can eat. Second, Apples to Apples is a great way to really get to know someone. Let me just tell you, my friends all have a sick sense of humor...and I love it! And I also I had my one-and-only s'more of the year. It was heavenly!

Saturday morning I did some early morning baking and headed to Katie's bridal shower brunch. If you know me, you know I love brunch, so I was thrilled when her sister said that's what we were going to do! We had delicious chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, yummy cookies, and my special strata. And we drank a lot of coffee. I was so excited to give her my gift, I had a panty bouquet made for her...and a lingerie cupcake. Seriously, the cutest things EVER! I can't wait for her sister to post the pictures..my camera apparently didn't like to take early morning pictures!

After the shower me and Danny made a brief appearance at Oktoberfest. It was a bust. (Rachel, I should have listened to you.....) But that's only because Danny left his ID at home. Um, Oktoberfest with no ID? Not gonna happen! I took a picture to prove we were there, ran home to get his ID...and ended up having a sushi date night. When we got home there was a little concert going on in our neighborhood, we went up for a little bit but Miley didn't really like the crowd (can't blame her...there were some creeps!)

We had a family day today, went for a walk, cleaned the house, did the Sunday-haircut-routine, and watched a movie.Now I'm sipping on a pumpkin spiced latte and ready to enjoy the evening with my little family! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Weekend Fun!

This weekend was so great..and much needed after such a stressful (and rain filled) week!

Danny had duty Friday night. The original plan was "I have an empty house...I'm going to invite the girls over." But then, I was like "We have all been stuck in our houses all week because of this friggin rain...we are going out!" And I was shocked...ten of us went out to eat! TEN! On a weekend, when the guys were home. See why I was shocked? I honestly still can not get over it!

A lot of bloggers went out, some I was meeting for the first time. My awesome friends Katie, Carmen and Breanna were all there. Non-bloggers Natosha, Rachel and Leanna. Then there were some new bloggy-love-faces! Jennifer, Jacque, and Rachel (and Ariana!) I seriously had such a good time! It was sooo good to get everyone together and enjoy a night out with the girls. I think we're going to start making it a monthly thing. LOVE IT!

Me and Natosha spent all day at a LINKS class on Saturday (the guys golfed, of course!) If you have read Married to the Military, it basically covers the entire class. HOWEVER, it's just great hearing someone actually explain things to you, breakdown an LES, and hear questions that you might not have thought of. Of course the budgeting, moving, and volunteer sections were my favorite. I hate hate hate "getting to know you" games...so I could have done without those! I will say, it was extra special because it was just our MAG, so we all had the same issues and questions. We met some COs, FROs, Chaplains, and they all made sure we had a great time!

Saturday night was date night. Much needed. We had an awesome appetizer, stuffed portobello mushroom. Oh.My.Goodness. DELISH! I ordered the lamb chops. I knew it tasted different but I kept thinking "well maybe it's just the marinade." But, I know my meat! I knew it wasn't lamb! They gave me pork. FAIL!

This morning I had brunch with Katie. Did some wedding talk, life talk, and the usual chit-chat. It's so strange, I saw her more when I wasn't living in Jacksonville than I do now! I can't believe she is getting married in 3 months! Speaking of which, I need to pick up my dress from David's Bridal this week.

We still have the full day ahead of us, but it looks like crappy New England weather out there today. And Danny is playing X-Box repair man right now...so I can't even use it to watch movies right now! I'm thinking it's a good day to start a new book!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Such a Great Weekend!

This weekend has been so great so far, and just think...there's still a full day left of it!

Friday night me and Danny went on a fancy-shmancy date. We drove out to New Bern (because lets face it, who really wants to go out to eat in Jacksonville...on a payday) and had dinner at this random place I found online. The website was really nice, so I assumed it was a dress up place. So we put on some nice clothes, heels and all, and went out! And man am I glad we dressed up! Everyone had cute summer dresses on and guys had jackets! I love those kind of places! Anyway, we had a yummy bottle of red wine, blue cheese dip and of course...awesome meals. We will most definitely be driving out to Downtown New Bern again! Oh, and I must be looking pretty old these days...the girl didn't card me! Jeez!

Yesterday I had a little girls day with Breanna. Much needed. We went to a movie, laughed at the old ladies that sat near us..and got some food. Talked about stuff that I'm not yet ready to blog about and just enjoyed the girl time. We didn't get to do the Super Secret Saturday event...no girls were really interested. Too bad, we missed out on the Male Revue! BOO!

Hubby took me out for ice cream last night. Ice cream down here sucks. I want farm stand ice cream. Not something I can get anywhere. Does that even make sense to anyone? I know it does to the girls from Massachusetts. I.Want.Richardsons. What's better than getting ice cream and then looking at the cows that gave you the milk...ew, isn't that gross? I once saw a cow give birth while I was eating ice cream...most disgusting thing ever!

We had a slumber party in the living room last night with the puppy. Popped in a movie, got some pillows and got comfy! It turned out to be a little camping adventure! That's right...I saw a cockroach! EW!

And today is going to be amazing. Going out for my favorite meal ever..brunch! Danny so knows the way to my heart! Then coming back home and doing a field day on our little apartment! I might even get on my hands and knees with a toothbrush to make this place shine!

Secret Saturday Event!

Girls! If you're in the Jacksonville area this Saturday, I want to hangout with you! I don't want to give all the details out on here (don't want creepy people finding out where we hangout!) but just know, it will be a good time!

So, if you're in the area (or know of anyone who might be interested,) just leave me a comment and I'll get all the info to you!

Hope you can make it!