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Dining with Chip and Dale around the Garden Grill

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Nothing like enjoying the day exploring Magic Kingdom, riding Big Thunder Mountain or visiting your favorite princess; but after all of that walking, you are going to need a filling dinner. Well for us we ventured to Epcot and dined with Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto at The Garden Grill. An all you can eat fare dining with some of your favorite characters is a perfect way to end the day.  Nestled in The Land Pavilion located right above Soarin' Around the World sits Garden Grill; a rotating restaurant that serves your meal "family style" all while dining with Mickey and some of his farm friends! Upon walking up and checking in, you take one look up and you see Mickey and his friends walking around saying hi and snapping photos with diners (and if you are like my twin sister, you are bouncing up and down waiting anxiously to meet Chip and Dale). We were fortunate enough to be greeted by David and walked to our table. He had a great personality and was one of the many outs

Dancin along to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue

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Ah.. the joys of booking your Disney vacation and planning every detail down to the fast pass times, dining locations and even what time you need to catch the bus back to your resort at the end of a busy day. Well if you want to make your trip interesting.. plan a surprise dining location (which is what happened on my latest trip) to start your vacation off on a good note. My twin sisters boyfriend booked our first night dining at Fort Wilderness Lodge at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue! A location I have heard so many great things about, it was an awesome surprise to start our week long vacation. Nestled in the depths of Disney's Fort Wilderness and sitting along Seven Seas Lagoon, you will find the Pioneer Hall where you will sit and enjoy a countrified feast. If I can give you some advice, be prepared to sing, clap and stomp along to some good ol' rustic country tunes. But i bet you are really interested in the country fare that we dined on.. well keep reading and I will share

"Drawing" up another Charleston Restaurant Week

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Another year and another Charleston Restaurant Week in the books. Y'all know how much i love Charleston and its food, so let me tell you the place I dined at this time was out of bounds good!  Nestled down near Waterfront Park in the Historic District of downtown Charleston sits the Vendue Hotel. With a perfect rooftop bar and even better restaurant downstairs, this is a location you can't miss! Sitting off the main lobby at the Vendue Hotel is the Drawing Room. An elegant, quaint restaurant, this is one of Charleston's best kept secrets. Now by taking one look at this place, you would think you needed to dress up, but let me tell you that you don't have to and consider this "Charleston casual."  Now the three of us were seated at a table and handed the special Charleston Restaurant Week menu and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. To start the meal off, we were presented with an amuse bouche or in the english version appetizer. Served on a crack

"Crusin" home from our Bahamas adventure

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Honestly, I can't believe we hit day three so fast! I feel like I was just walking onto the ship and soaking in the sunset views. Now the last day at sea was nothing short of awesome and I would give anything to have one more day. Our last day at sea was filled with more "Kiss on the Lips", Strawberry Daiquiri's and playing the Quarters game in the casino.  I bet you are wondering how i spent my last "day out to sea" before arriving home. Any guesses? Well it involved a lounge chair, music, Kiss on the Lips and some sun. Since the boys wanted to stay in the shade and have nothing more to do with the sun, Meredith and I adventured out and picked our spot and soaked up more rays.     For lunch, we dined at Guy Fieri's Burger Joint and it was definitely a good choice. it complimented our favorite cruise cocktail and made sitting outside by the pool on the Lido deck perfect. After spending a few hours out in the sun, we went inside and got ready for din

"Crusin" into Nassau, Bahamas Day 2

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So Day 2 and we have found ourselves in the port at Nassau, Bahamas. Arriving into port early in the morning, the sunrise was beautiful and the views from our balcony were spectacular. Now Matt and I decided to not venture off the boat (since it was our first cruise) and what a smart decision that was. Literally everyone got off at the port and we basically had the whole ship to ourselves. After indulging in the Lido deck buffet for breakfast, Matt and I wandered around the ship and really got to explore (since during days out to sea, the ship is crowded). On the Carnival Liberty you will find: the Casino, The Fun Shops, The Venetian Palace (the place where Matt and I scored big during Bingo!), the Serenity deck (for those of you 21+), and so much more.  After really walking through the ship, we decided to go out on the Lido deck and enjoy the nice day, grab a drink and watch the on-board movie (the new Beauty and the Beast)! Now many of you would think I went right for my classic dr

"Cruisin" out to sea with Carnival Day 1

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Ahh the joys of being on the open sea, just seeing nothing but waves in the ocean and getting a front row seat to beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I am very excited to write these next few posts, because my adventure was nothing short of amazing! Since I have never been on a cruise, a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas on the Carnival Liberty was the perfect start (and if your like me, before I was off the boat I was planning my next cruise). Yes, there are tons of great stories to share, but here I am going to talk to you about the awesome food and drinks I had while out to sea! I had set expectations and the Carnival team just blew them out of the water! So ready to hear what I had? Sorry for little to no pictures, seeing how this was a tech-free trip and taking pictures during dinner was kind of a no no. So after going through check in, etc. the moment we boarded the ship we headed for the bar (and we only did that because we could not go to our room yet). I highly recommend buying the dr

Classic Bruschetta with a touch of Tuscan Truffle

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Looking for a quick appetizer? How about something to bring to a party? Just a quick snack to hold you over till your next meal? Well I'm about to share a recipe with you that will be a crowd pleaser. Bruschetta is one of my all time favorite snacks to have and when i can, I always try to keep the ingredients in my pantry and fridge. So you ready to cook?!  Ingredients you will need: French Baguette  Tuscan Spice Blend (1 TBSP) Truffle Sea Salt (2 TSP) Tomato Paste (2 TSP) Tomatoes (4-6) Garlic Powder Mozzarella  Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Basil (2 TBSP) So you maybe wondering about the Tuscan Spice Blend an the Truffle Sea Salt. Well I found this really awesome Spice and Tea shop in Savannah and they make all of their spices, teas, etc. and this store smells amazing! When I immediately walked in, I didn't know where to look and the nice sales associate told me all about their Tuscan Spice Blend. She told me it was good to add to olive oil and dip bread i