Back
when I was in college (said in old person voice), when the sun rose on Gameday,
we would put on our best Mountaineer t-shirt or hoodie and jeans and take the
PRT (or walk) to tailgate.
Years
later, some genius female was all like “I’m going to create shirts that fit
girls better.” Then Victoria’s Secret Pink line came out and made sports
apparel “cute.”
Then
you have southern football. Girls were cute dresses to the games in their team’s
color.
So
for my ladies out there, if you want to add some girly touches to your gameday
attire, here are some fresh suggestions.
1.
UGA Apparel –
LOVE this line from a WV-based company (I’ll ignore the Marshall and VT items).
It was difficult to pick favorites here, but I love the ruffle
hoodie and baseball t.
2.
VS Pink
– I’m getting a little old for this line. Not a lot of the stuff appeals to me
this year, but this hat
is super cute!
3.
Meesh and Mia
- Cute, sparkly, but please stay away from the shirt with cut out arms. Of
course I adore the ruffle
top.
4.
Pennington
and Bailes – super.preppy.pants. I kinda need these, but I feel VS is too
young, these may be too old. Maybe the hubs will get the matching
men’s version #familypicturetime!
Honorable
Mentions
· Haute Threads – this designer
makes a customized dress out of the college t-shirt of your choice!
· Ketch The Spirit – has cute
dresses, BUT they NEED to add WVU!
· American
Eagle – has college apparel (I got a WVU hat last Christmas), but NO WVU
stuff this year. Too many Pitt grads working at the headquarters!
· Studs N Stuff – Obviously I own
something from this site. She will customize a shirt for you with some sparkle!
Sometimes Reader Danielle was a candidate for Miss Mountaineer of WVU - and let me tell you, this girl was ROBBED! She deserved the title. As a native of Wierton, she bleeds blue and gold.
So when Danielle discovered this cocktail recipe while visiting Las Vegas, I thought - I MUST post it! A bartender informed Danielle and her recent husband Will of the Mountie Dewy - a combination of Mountain Dew and Blueberry Vodka...um, YUM!
Of course the #1 drink at any tailgate is beer, but this is a great compliment to some Rocky Mountain Keystone Ice! (I kid...sort of...)
We’ve
covered the tailgating food and supplies. Tomorrow we will dive into drinks and
on Friday the fashion. So today, we will cover the FLAIR!
Whether
you are hosting a tailgate in a parking lot or in your driveway or in your
apartment, here are some items to add some school spirit to your party.
Oh,
what’s that? You aren’t a West Virginia fan? By all means search these sites
for your school! I just hope this provides some inspiration for your party!
Now that we have the tailgating food covered, let’s take a step
back and think – what do you need to make your tailgate successful?
- Chairs – Bag chairs have been a staple in my family for more than 10 years now. They are PERFECT for tailgates!
- A table – You need a place to put all the food and your trunk just won’t do. Shot of Mom purchased this table as a shower gift for former Reader Bubba. It folds up so that it can fit in your car and it’s cute!
- Accessories – my list of random must haves includes koozies, toilet paper (take some sheets with you to that stinky port-a-potty OR for an emergency pop-a-squat), flask (with funnel) wet wipes, paper towels, plastic shot glasses
- Cooking supplies – if you are like my parents and want to serve hot food, a propane crock pot is a MUST.
- Garbage bags – It’s a proper tailgating rule to clean up after yourself, so garbage bags are a must. Walking through Target, I spotted these pop up trash bins from Flings. You can even divide your recyclables!
And
for future tailgates, I think the Smithkowski’s need this tailgating
bar and beverage
dispenser!
Next to Fashion Week, The Oscars and Halloween, one of my
absolute favorite “holidays” kicks off this week – FOOTBALL SEASON!
I don’t know about you, but I’m super pumped for the college
football season to start! The hubs and I are proud grads of the almost unanimous
#1 Party School – West Virginia University. In addition to a B.S. in glitter, I
feel that feel that I have an unofficial doctorate in partying!
I’m
so excited for football, I wanted to theme things up here this week by devoting
every day to tailgate season. I’m plan to cover what to eat, drink, wear and
tips for throwing a good party out of the back of your car.
Today,
let’s start with the food. My parents like to go all out and make warm dishes
on site, but for me, I tend to keep things simple right now and just make
things that 1. Won’t spoil too quick and 2. Don’t need to be heated. So here
are my suggestions (with help from Shot of Mom!).
1. Pasta
Salad with WVU
Noodles! Shot of Mom’s recipe is a variation of the one linked here – but she
uses pepper jack cheese and pepperoni
2. Taco Dip – shout out to my Chi
O’s with this dish. Shot of Mom would make two batches – one for the tailgate
and one for the late night snacking. Sue’s recipe = 1 jar of taco sauce mixed
with 2 cream cheese blocks. Then layer with lettuce, diced tomatoes and Mexican
cheese.
3. Jell-o Shots – of course in
blue and yellow! Shot of Dad’s trick is to NOT use water. He replaces water
with vodka. Yellow = pineapple Jell-o with pineapple vodka. Blue = blue
raspberry vodka or regular vodka with some blue curacao. People in Pittsburgh –
you can get mini cups with lids for shots at Mike Feinberg in the Strip!
4. Say Cheese – my go to is always
a cheese plate. I basically just raid the cheese aisle and add some nuggets to
my awesome state of West Virginia tray. My current fav is Robusto from Whole
Foods.
5. Baked Potato Dip – a new one
from Shot of Mom, she’s made this for some recent tailgates and it’s gone over
super well. See below for the full recipe!
Loaded Baked Potato Dip
·
1-package
fully cooked bacon slices ( I did not use the pre-cooked--I fried my own bacon)
·
1-8oz
cream cheese
·
1-16
oz sour cream
·
2
cups freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
·
1/3
cup sliced fresh chives
·
2
teaspoons hot sauce
Directions
·
Fry
bacon (if not using the pre-cooked) and drain on paper towels.
·
If
using the pre-cooked, microwave according to package directions until crisp.
·
Cool
and then crumble.
·
Add
cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives and hot sauce,
·
Cover
and chill at least one hour before serving.
·
Serve
with a strong potato chip. Sue used Ruffles Ridged potato chips, but if you are
making this for an at home party, you can use waffle fries.
There
are SO MANY MORE recipes, but I wanted to just share my fav today : )
(source)
Earlier this year, the hubs and I (along with Reader Trish) pulled into a church parking lot for a wedding, only to find that we were the only car there.
A few thoughts went through our heads - did we have the wrong address? Were we late?
Luckily I had the invitation with me to see that we were indeed 30 minutes early (I skipped over the "half past" part...). Like any West Virginia grad, we immediately found a bar to pass time.
Now that we are in the middle of wedding season, I tend to either misplace invitations, read the wrong or forget to bring them with me to the wedding. I sometimes wish I had the information on my phone...
Problem solved! I now take a picture of the invite, so that I always have with me a copy of the information! No more worrying about the reception time or address of the church! Such a simple idea that can come in handy!
Last weekend I flew to the northwest for a quick trip to
attend the Bite of Portland on behalf of a client. Ironically, I attended this
same event several (scary) years ago for another client.
When planning a summer vacation, Portland may not be on
your list, but maybe after this post, it will!
From Chicago, it’s just a little more than a three hour
flight to Portland. I found out that Seattle is just less than three hours
away, SO you could totally rent a car and hit up two northwest cities in just
one trip!
Portland reminds me a bit of Pittsburgh. Some areas of
the city shut down after work hours, but there are little nooks of streets with
cute restaurants and riverfront trails.
Unlike the ‘burgh, Portland deserves huge kudos for its
awesome shopping right in the middle of the city. There is the Pioneer Place Mall which offers a great mix of
high and low end stores (think Louis Vuitton and Gap). Across from this mall is
a fantastic Nordstrom – which is expected due to the chain’s northeast roots!
Some other must do’s while in Portland….
·
Voodoo Doughnuts - Each and every person that I
met was talking about this place. I was expecting it to be mini-gourmet
doughnuts, but these things were the real, big deal. The line is rather long
(20-40 minutes), but well worth the wait. I opted for the maple bacon (why
not), while others I was traveling with sampled the ones below.
·
Food Trucks – like most major U.S. cities, the
food truck trend has taken off in Portland. There are literally parking lots
just filled with trucks and you can easily spot some while walking around the
city.
·
Pearl District – I was on the hunt for an Anthro
dress to wear to a wedding, so I made a quick trip to the Pearl District to see
if they had the frock in the store. They did not, but I discovered TWO awesome
places. The first, I’ll call the Boozy Mermaid. It was a Starbucks that sells
beer, wine and mini appetizers (in addition to being a normal coffee shop!). I
know Starbucks is testing this concept in other markets, like Chicago, but it
was the first time that I stumbled into one of these. The second find was House of Lolo – a cute little boutique that
ships anywhere in the U.S. online. They had a number of cute dresses – one of
which I selected! The Pearl District was filled with cute stores and shops (and
is walking distance away from Voodoo doughnuts – so you can walk off all that
sugar!)
·
While I’m not an outdoorsy person, Portland has
a lot of options for hiking and sightseeing outside of the city as well.
I’d love to go back to Portland to explore – when I have
more touring time to spare!
Recently I’ve had a lot to celebrate! Good friends getting married,
celebrating their bachelorette parties and showers. Typically this celebrating
involves alcohol – sometimes in the form of a shot.
Former reader Ramy has a signature toast – “To Health &
Happiness.” He also really enjoys purchasing shots.
But other than the typically “Cheers bitches,” I’ve been on the
hunt for a signature toast. While I haven’t found one that I love, here are
some popular toasts to share during your next round of shots.
Do you have a favorite toast? I’d love to hear it!
Oh and Reader Dana – don’t worry.
I’m not researching toasts for your wedding. That’s been done since last
year ; ) Bawahhahwha
During some daydreaming today, I started thinking about
confetti. Yes, confetti. The kind that you throw in the air to celebrate
something OR place in holiday cards to make the recipient angry?
I have a minor obsession with confetti. It would be a major
obsession, but confetti was also on the banned substance list at my parents’
house growing up. At first I would use a hole puncher to make it. Then I
upgraded to a spaghetti maker. Did you know that you could put an 8X10 piece of
paper into it and it would make long strips. THEN if you turned the strips
sideways, it would them make the most perfect square?
Moving on.
Ironically later today, I saw this invitation that included
controlled confetti and it got me thinking – what other type of confetti items
were on Etsy. I’m sharing my findings with you now. NOTE: all of this is TOALLY
makeable with the right hole punch, paper and patience!
Thank you to Lilly Pulitzer for notifying me that
today is National Use Your Agenda day. Ironically, yesterday I placed an order
for my 2012-2013 agenda to replace the awesome 2011-2012 one that I received as
a Christmas gift from Reader Sister-In-Law Amanda! And guess what – IT ARRIVED
TODAY. Seriously – Lilly Pulitzer gets major kudos/snaps from me for delivering
things overnight for the price of regular shipping!
For someone who is neurotic about her planner, let
me just tell you that I WORSHIP this
one. Here’s why:
- IT runs from August 2012 to December 2013 (I purchased mine early this year so I could maximize its full potential)
- In the front of the book, there are pages full of straight month calendars – so you can easily see the year in month form
- THEN in the back, you get a month view followed by weekly – EXACTLY what I LOVE.
- There are cute little sketches in bold colors throughout the planner
- Finally – there are STICKERS!
I was not paid for this post – I’m just really
passionate about finding the perfect agenda! Happy National Use Your Agenda
Day!
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