A Prestigious Affair

Well hello darlings :) I apologize for being so mum lately. I’ve had a lot going on and I always feel bad when I blog about my blue periods. I know they’re common with artists and creatives..but who really wants to read about the blaaah stuff?

I’m so excited! This week is my birthday week :) The perfect excuse for me to do whatever I want..okay I do that anyway..but that’s besides the point.

I’m a HUGE horse person. Probably the only one in my state who actually watches the Kentucky Derby. This year for my birthday I scored a parking space on the infield at the Carolina Cup in Camden, SC. It’s literally the social event of the season around here. There is this fabulous culture that goes along with it as well.

I’ve been prepping for two weeks and thought I’d share some of my ideas and things I’m making to take. My favorite fella will be home from med school on break and it didn’t take much asking to get him to agree to tag along! (SCORE!) I’m excited to see him :) I have seen him since he was home for Christmas break and we grabbed coffee. My cousin, Shelley, is also tagging along for the day!  I beat her into this world by 3 months and 7 days :)

The Food:

Last night I made pretzel chocolate chip cookie bars..oh my gracious y’all! They were sinfully delicious. I stumbled upon the recipe on Kelly’s blog, Just a Taste (click here for the recipe!). They are the perfect marriage of sweet, salty and crunchy. I put a layer of crushed pretzels in the bottom of my pan and spread the batter over it. Topped it off with some more crushed pretzels. I did forget to drizzle chocolate on the top though..whoops!

While they were filling my kitchen with a heavenly aroma, I attempted to make my first peeps bouquet. LOVE IT! So easy! All you need is a pack of skewers and a couple of packs of Peeps. I discovered that running the skewers under water helped them to slide through the Peep easier.

Tonight’s project, the tortellini skewers. Cheese tortellini tossed in Italian dressing, cubed Swiss cheese, salami, baby tomatoes and black olives. Pretty sure I can handle it :)

What does one wear to the cup? I’ve been researching what to wear (the dress code is dresses/hats for girls, bow ties/jackets/khakis for the boys. Here are the outfits I loved..

I love the history behind the cup :) For those of you who think it’s only about drunk college kids..nope. You’re wrong :) It’s a prestigious affair for most South Carolinian’s. The Carolina Cup has been in existence (to my knowledge) since at least 1932. That was the year that a brave little scrap of a horse would carry the pink and blue colors to victory. How befitting that his name was Trouble Maker :) It’s tradition for many families.

I am beyond excited! I went and picked up my hats today on my lunch break. I’m having a little trouble deciding which outfit to wear..so yes I have two hats.

There’s so much preparation work that goes into the Cup when you’re the parking space host..I’ve literally got three lists running right now. But! After it’s all said and done..I get to spend the weekend with my favorite guy, Shelley and what more could a girl ask for on her birthday? Oh..for her favorite horse to win the race!

XoXo!

One Floppy Hat Wearing Lemon