Love Is In the Air-Part 2

Check out Shannon's video he made from our Valentine's Party on the 12th. He did an amazing job, such a professional! Thanks Shannon!! 

Well February 14th was a lot of fun. I started the day in my Trekking Class that I am so addicted to and love. Saturdays at 7:45 am aren't ideal, but atleast I'm done early and have the rest of my day to play or relax. Valentine's Day is a special day for more reasons that the obvious. Tony gave me Lennox for Valentine's Day 5 years ago. Lennox was the best present ever! Most of you know the story, but Lennox was a total surprise and a Pit Bull!? I never would have thought I would love him and his breed so much! 

 That afternoon we went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. The commercials are on all the time as you know and Tony kept saying, "Isn't that the movie you wanna see?" Well it seems like one I'd go see with the girls, but he agreed and went. In the theatre looking around Tony noticed the 3 other guys in there. "Well...???" I know Tony was wondering what he got himself into and contemplated a nap. The movie was cute and not that girly. It was a love story and very funny. I enjoyed it more than the last chick flick. It doesn't hurt to see all the wonderful fashions. Isla Fischer is just so cute too! 

After the movie we came home and changed to go downtown. I have been reading about Silly Goose. I explained to Tony that Swig used to be in its spot, so he kept calling it The Swinging Goose. I was hoping it was good, bc that is where I chose to eat. Tony's OSI coworker and his wife were in town. They met us for a drink before their reservations at Encore. Tony and I split a flatbread (the bbq chicken) and each had a panini that were delicious. He had the Italian and I had the club. Good drinks, great atmosphere. An awesome lounge-type place for Memphis. We both really liked the Silly Goose.

Better food and cheaper stronger drinks than the old Swig. They had one nice flat screen hanging from the book shelf. We got to see some of the NBA All Star dunk contest.

Not as good this year as in the past. My favorite dunk of all time I think was Vince Carter circa 2000 (same year I met Tony) We met Vince in Cancun that year and he was a super nice guy. 

After Silly Goose, we headed over to Majestic for dessert. By this time I couldn't drink anything else, neither could Tony. He opted for coffee and I got the 'shot' of Strawberry shortcake. The bill was all of $4.30. I"m a cheap date I told Tony. I wanted to eat at a bar for Valentine's..I'm so low maintenance! :)

He's just NOT that into shooting at Panera, but Bistro Beignets, yum!

Last Friday a group of us went to see He's Just Not that Into You. I'm trying to catch up on my posts. We started a happy hour at Wasabi, yes it's back open. They haven't really skipped a beat, and they actually were not closed but a little more than a week I believe. I don't know the story behind their opening again, but its as good as ever. Same $2.50 Plum Wine at happy hour and yummy Chicken Fried Rice. From there we walked over the the movie theatre and saw the movie. There were 8 of us in the group, but we still managed to get good seating on opening night and a sold out theatre. I enjoyed the movie..not as light and humorous as I thought. Pretty serious topics actually with Memphis's own Ginnifer Godwin being the narrator and star. Justin Long, the Mac guy, plays the male lead. I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I thought, but I do think it's one to see this month. I guess seeing so many Oscar nominated films, you start comparing. And I know how silly women can be and how awful men can be, I guess I don't have to see it in a movie. After dinner, we headed over to Thai Bistro for dessert. Tony and I actually discovered the  Bistro Beignet Bites (say that 4 times fast)  a month ago and they are one of the best desserts in the city if you ask me. Tony and I actually had a photo contest after a bottle of wine. Who's picture is best?

Tony's Picture

My Picture

 The portion is huge and can be shared by many. That's what we did Friday, 3 of us split it and then Loren's son Trent finished them off. What is so strange is little did we know 2 shopping centers over, someone shot a man over a parking spot. The story varies, but basically two men pull up to Panera one in a Yukon, one in a Hummer. One with his wife, one with his kids. Some words were exchanged, some say the son urinated on the man's car. The man with his wife pulls a gun on the other and shoots and kills him. I know it is an isolated incident, but nonetheless its scary. Two white men in their 50's. Not your stereotypical gun violence in the city. No young guys in the 'Mound or North Memphis. Just two men with a lot of testosterone, well at least one. It was just so close to home. Panera is about a mile from our house and I Jazzercise in the same shopping center. Makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it. 

UT Recruiting Celebration

Coach Monte Kiffin signs autographs

Coach Orgeron tells recruiting stories

Coach Lane Kiffin gets the crowd excited

Go Vols! Kelly and I went to a UT Recruiting Celebration at the Hilton East last week. Lane Kiffin and some of his staff (Monte Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Lance Thompson and Frank Wilson) were in town to celebrate our recruiting class that we signed. Looks like we got some great prospects. I used to love following recruiting when I was a Vol Hostess, I really was into which guys we signed and where the others went. 

Kiffin traveled from Knoxville, to Nashville and lastly to Memphis all in one day to get fans fired up about the season. If you weren't 'drinking the Kool-Aid'  before going to this, you are now. All three events were sell outs and the Memphis one was wild being so far from the campus. I didn't realize there were so many followers here. His father Monte and Coach Orgeron were especially entertaining with lots of enthusiasm and excitement. 

There is just such a different feeling with these coaches, they were cursing, loud and just going crazy! None of them have that old school tie to the school like we have had for the past several years. It was kinda strange for me know the previous staff personally being a Vol Hostess, then Tony playing under them. We really knew all those guys. Now, things are new, but I'm looking forward to it. Kiffin and his staff will be back on April 28th at the Hilton East for the Big Orange Caravan. 5pm Registration and silent auction begins, 6pm dinner and 6:30 speakers. $35 for this event.  The annual Orange and White game in Knoxville is on April 18th at 3pm. We plan to be at both events and share our support... GO VOLS!

Bar-B-Q Shop Birthday and our 9th Stop on the Tour

Well, its been so long since my last BBQ Tour post, but I was waiting for everyone's review. We are going to Gridley's tomorrow, so I figured I better get to posting about the Bar-B-Q Shop. Courtney's birthday was January 8th and she wanted to check out the Bar-B-Q Shop to continue our tour and celebrate her day. Brett even bought Courtney a souvenir t-shirt so she would always remember her day...

Regina's Review: I lived down the street from this place back in my 20's and never at there! Always wanted to. I had the bbq sandwich on Texas toast. Never seen that before but it was quite good. I don't recall any standout flavors but I enjoyed the slaw (could taste the bell pepper, mmm) and beans also. I loved the way the bbq bologna was seared on the grill! YUM! The bbq spaghetti was not my fave-it had too many flavors and I liked it best when kept simple. I was impressed that the current owner took so much time to keep the recipes from the original. He didn't mess with a good thing! 

Brett's Review: From the cozy atmosphere and the friendly staff to the bbq sandwich and the bbq bologna the BBQ Shop hit on all cylinders. Judging by the crowd I'm not the only one who thinks so. 

Diane's Review: I thought the barbecue was just average. I liked the beans and couldn't quite identify the secret ingredient in them.  We thought it was Coke but Eric, the owner, said it wasn't. Sandwich grade almost a 3.

Randy's Review: When in Midtown Memphis and looking for a fix of  "Q", my recommendation is the Bar-B-Q Shop.  Always reliable in both quality of food and service.  The present ownership has faithfully carried on the traditions of good barbecue started by the original owners, Brady and Lil.  I am not saying that the meat and the sides are blue ribbon championship quality, but they average and above consistently. I've always been a fan of the barbecue bologna, and I was quite pleased with the pork sandwich. I'd give everything a 3.5 .  If decimals aren't acceptable, bump my score to a 4. 

Courtney's Review: I had the bbq sandwich (as usual) and thought it was just OK. The meat was tender and flavorful and I liked the Texas toast instead of the traditional bun, but I didn't care for the sauce. Both sauces (mild and hot) had the consistency of tomato paste and the hot sauce

 was just too hot, too much red pepper not enough flavor. I also tasted the bbq spaghetti and thought it had too much brown sugar in the sauce. We talked to the owner and he was very friendly and polite and gave us a little history about the restaurant. We had great service from our waitress too. 

Kembree's Review: I had heard a lot about the Bar-B-Q shop and disappointed I couldn't

find more on their history online. All I know is that they have been in business around 50 years. Original ownership has changed, the second owner is Eric, we met him and he was nice and accommodating. We told him we were on a tour, so he posed for a picture. Not any enthusiasm like Adam at Tom's. I had the bbq sandwich on Texas toast, which I really liked, bc I could taste the flavor of the meat. The seasoned fries that came with the sandwich were better than Back Yard Burgers! Loved them. I got bbq spaghetti for the table to try, it was good, a little sweet, but pretty good. I would say it was a touch to oily too. The sausage, cheese and bologna plate was really good and I would recommend getting it to try for sure. Our server was great, very friendly and tried to help us out with our questions. I would give the sandwich a 4 out of 5. I didn't like the hot sauce at all but thought the regular was good. 

Love Is In the Air

Tony and I hosted an Italian themed Valentine's Party Thursday Night. We had the best time, and I'm already contemplating making this an annual event. The whole idea started bc after running the House of Mews 5k last November, I bid on a Fazoli's Party for 10 and won (bought) it. Well, I cant ever do anything small, so I invited way more than 10, and even after some last minute cancellations we still had 24 people in our small living room. I ordered double what I got in the auction and added a pasta salad. We even managed to squeeze tables in for everyone to sit down. That was my main goal, Italian food is tough to try to eat standing around mingling. Diane made some delicious cheese straws that disappeared in about 10 minutes. We dined on salad, Broken Heart Pasta salad (made from a recipe Courtney gave me), Penne Pasta with meat sauce, Baked Spaghetti and for desert Courtney make cookies, cupcakes and brownies. All which were gone pretty quickly. I had rigged up a 'photo booth' in our bedroom and here is what we got! Tony and I didn't even take one, but maybe we will do one this weekend. These are some stuffed monkey's that I have saved from Valentine's past..Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! 

The Visitor

Now you are going to have to rent or buy this one, but it is worth it. I bought it if you wanna borrow it. The lead, Richard Jenkins, nominated for a best actor Oscar plays a very low key college professor. He seems to be yearning for something after his wife's death. He becomes friends with two illegal immigrants after he finds they are living in his second home in NYC. The Visitor is just a great story that shows the other side of illegal immigrants living in our country. After seeing this one I only need to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Tropic Thunder and Frozen River. Am I gonna make it before February 22nd?  Someone needs to have an Oscar party..hint, hint..

Chocolate IS my Fantasy

So Brenda, Kelly and I went to the Kidney Foundation's Chocolate Fantasy last weekend. I told Brenda she lucked up..what a prefect event for a pregnant girl! Kelly and I didn't have it so lucky, but we still splurged! There were 33 vendors from On the Border to Subway to Dinstuhl's to Kooky Canuck sharing their chocolateness! The event was at the Oak Court Mall and was an event I won't miss next year. Each vendor had their own version of Chocolate Fantasy ready for us to sample. We were given a paper bag to collect the items we wanted to save. I pretty much tried it all and saved only a few non-perishable items. I actually ate them for breakfast the next day! Breakfast of Champions.. At the end of the tasting we voted for our favorites. Brenda voted for Lucchesi's Chocolate Cookie, Kelly voted for the Crepe Maker's Nutella Crepe and I voted for The Cookie Florist's Dirt Cake (Mouse). Most all were amazing, we especially enjoyed speaking with the owner of the Crepe Maker in Collierville. He was showing us how to make these at home. I remember my Uncle Behrad making crepes all the time when he lived in Knoxville..so that brought back some memories. 

Benjamin Button

For some reason I was putting off seeing this one for while. Everyone that had seen this before me kept telling me that it was slow and very long. I didn't feel this way at all.  I was captivated the whole way through Benjamin's life. I especially liked when he got to his 30's I would say..he is such a good looking man. Cate Blanchett was great in the movie too and was so beautiful. I am surprised she wasn't nominated for any of the major awards. Nominated for 13 Oscars and I can definitely see why. Such an unusual story and a must see. 

Swagga Like Us

So much going on in the news and pop culture. The Michael Phelps thing is dead because really who cares. I think he should have done it in the privacy of his own home and not for someone to snap a picture of, but...A-Rod Roid use is now everywhere and so sad, but not surprising...all the Greats seems to have dabbled in a little somethin, somethin these days. But the worst of all of this is Chris Brown assaulting Rihanna. How sad is this? I'm a huge fan of both of their music. We saw Chris Brown last year in concert and it was fabulous. He was my teenager crush! I hate that this has happened to the both of them. What I really wanted to post was about the Grammy's. What a fabulous show, one of the best I have seen in awhile. I love music and it seemed like everyone I love performed. One of my highlights was the 4 best rappers of this time and always,  Jay-Z, TI, Lil' Wayne and Kanye West performing with MIA. I love Swagga Like Us, its in heavy rotation on my IPod. Great performance, the guys were dressed Rat Pack-esque but MIA, love her, but she looked horrendous! I understand that she was due to have her baby that day, but instead made this performance. She looked like a black and white lady bug or something. She almost detracted from this performance. Besides Kanye's 80's fro-mullet, who I could not find a picture of for some reason..the Rap Pack were on point.

Jay-Z and Chris Martin from Coldplay,...Jamie Foxx, Neyo, Smokey Robinson and the last living original member of the 4  Tops...Lil' Wayne and Robin Thicke (So glad Lil' Wayne won best rap album bc it truly was), Justin Timberlake and Al Green (reppin Memphis!)....Estelle and Kanye..but I think I have to say my personal fave was Justin Timberlake and TI performing Dead and Gone. TI is sooo talented! I hate that he was messin around buying some guns and is going to jail soon. He and JT were so in sync during that performace. I have to say that I like Katy Perry and what she's doing, she's a super cute girl, but her performance was boring and she just ran around the stage lost. I was one of the only people that watched the show from beginning to end I think, but it really help my attention, its still saved on my Tivo too!