RT(rent)R(ichardson)

We had a busy weekend, so I'll take it one day at a time.

First things first. Saturday. We headed down to T-town to watch the Tide roll, tailgate with some out of town friends and see the glorious new Bryant Denny.

The twins - all the way from New Orleans, and Jacq! All the way from NYC!

Notice our pins? Saban is sexy. Because it's true.

It always feels like football season when I'm sitting in the motor home drinking a mimosa (light on the OJ) with these two. No, we aren't triplets. But I appreciate being always welcomed into the family!


Enjoying the blazing weather. About to enjoy some delicious simple carbs. Can you tell yet how much I miss them?

I like to tailgate. I like pork. I do not like seeing the full pig on a rotisserie.

And then we decided to walk around campus. And the bottom fell out. It wasn't miserable. Not AT ALL.

The following images speak for themselves.





Besides a little rain and some screaming feet, (wedges sounded like a good idea that morning), we had a great time in Tuscaloosa. After four years in college of lackluster football seasons, it is pretty sweet to see the well oiled machine that is the Crimson Tide. Number 14 is sounding pretty sweet too.

Kicking Off

In my mind, Thursday nights kick off the weekend. This one also kicked off the football weekend since the other team in the state played Thursday night.

While I flipped between the game and Real Housewives,(Good Lord when does Grey's start back?!) across town these two stayed steady on ESPN.



He couldn't quite pull the Bulldogs through.

We're ready for Tuscaloosa and all the amenities - Big Bad Wolf, yellowhammers and stadium dogs. Cheat day, here I come.

Roll Tide!!!

Signed, Sealed, (almost) Delivered

Last night the living room turned into invitation station. My mom, being a former 2nd grade teacher, graciously addressed all the envelopes with perfect cursive and had them ready to go. I snagged some envelope sealers, picked up some wedding ring stamps at the post office and we were ready to check this off the to do list.


Sidenote: They also carry "love" stamps that feature candy hearts. Juvenille? Perhaps. Tempting? Yes.


Luckily, there was Man vs. Food marathon on. I might be making this diet a lot harder watching shows that encourage you to gorge yourself. Exhibit A: The Grilled Cheese Challenge -




Nonetheless, we finished.





Now, if I can just make it to the post office.

Wordless Wednesday - Carbs I wish I were Eating

Sorry for the blurry Blackberry pictures - taken when I ate my way through Chicago last May.

Change of Season

Isn't amazing how a change in weather can put you in a whole different mindset? It's still hot enough to hit the pool, but it's cooled off just enough that it feels like football season. Cool or not, the games started Thursday, and by Saturday, we were ready for Alabama football.



We watched the game with some friends and my job was to make cake balls. Have I mentioned our engagement pictures are Sunday? And after months of eating whatever I wanted I picked the kickoff of football to try to lose the couple pounds I've put on? And volunteer to make one of my favorite desserts? That involves lots of interaction with cake batter and icing? If not, I'm mentioning it.

Here's the recipe. Because everyone should experience cake balls in some form or fashion.

It really gets your hands dirty if you don't have a melon baller (more on that later), so my apologies for the lack of pictures for every step.

You'll need:
Cake mix (and the ingredients to actually make the cake)
Frosting
Almond Bark
Sprinkles

These are great because there are a million combinations you can make. For football, I made red velvet cake with almond bark. For obvious reasons.

Make your cake in a 9x13 pan following the package directions.

When it's done, let it cool. Cut the cake out of the pan, eating discarding the edges. You don't want the crispy parts of the cake in your mix.

Break the cake up in a bowl. Like this:

Then add the icing. I used cream cheese. If you know me in real life, this is also an obvious choice. Here's where its hard not to just sit on the couch with a spoon and the bowl and watch episodes of Teen Mom. But keep moving forward.

From here you make balls out of your batter. Here's where a melon baller or a small cookie scoop comes in handy. Red velvet is especially messy. Melt the almond bark. Yes, you will use the whole package. And then some. I put a little vegetable oil while its melting to make it creamier.

Dip your cake balls in the almond bark, place on a greased and foil lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle. With sprinkles.

To tack on to Friday's post, another lesson: The $3 tiny box of bakers white chocolate that you have to buy two of and totally ruin your Publix total for the week does not work near as well as the almond bark.

They were a nice sweet to complement all the salty food on the spread. See that near empty dip bowl? That's the buffalo chicken dip I've mentioned. It's totally diet friendly if you use celery as a dipper.

Is there any other way to watch football in the South?

Roll Tide!!!

Living and Learning

They say you learn something new every day. Here's a few gems from this week.

1. While Fiber One products are delicious, more than one a day, especially when running in 90 degree heat, is too much of a good thing.

2. While I'm on the subject of food, this might be a new favorite snack. Pair with sliced cucumbers, it's healthy and refreshing. Did I mention it's BOGO at Publix this week? I love when a plan comes together.

3. Sitting at a desk all day and increased workouts makes for tight muscles. This thing has proved fantastic. If you've never heard of a foam roller, which I hadn't up until a couple of weeks ago, you should google it. It does exactly what they say.

4. You should double check the emails you send out rather than forwarding things all willy nilly. Enough said.

Wordless Wednesday: This is the Beginning