High Five for Friday #37 | Jerry & The Heckler

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 18, 2015 // 32 Comments

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!

Don’t forget! The next H54F Hangout on September 24 at 9:30PM EST! That one will be all about blogging! Do you have any questions about blogging you’d like us to chat about? Any tips you want to share?? We’re all learning together, right? Let me know down in the comments below!

This week’s featured blogger is Kelly at Familiar Joy! She’s a wife, mamma to 4 adorable kiddos, and a teacher! Her posts feature all kinds of fun her family has, like the fair recently! I love a good fair. I was also loving her “5 people to have over for dinner” post! She picked so many fun people! I’d definitely agree with having Duchess Catherine over. Wouldn’t that be tons of fun?? Swing by and say hi to Kelly today!!

This week was kind of fast! It was busy and full of fun, but nothing really “H54F” worthy… you know?

Last week I mentioned my husband and I had an epic date coming – going to see Jerry Seinfeld LIVE! And it was such an epic date night, it warrants its own post. So bear with me!

First we headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, Dos Perros. It’s “fancy Mexican food” and oh so good! We both ended up getting vegan enchiladas (but we also added real cheese. Can’t eat enchiladas without cheese).

Date night off to a yummy start! Vegan Flautas with Salsa Verde and cashew Creme for sauce! Delicious! ? thanks for a yummy meal Dos Perros! #datenight #dosperrosdurham #bullcity #bullcitybites #durhamnc #triangleeats

A photo posted by Katie (@ktcupoftea) on Sep 11, 2015 at 3:41pm PDT

Then we decided to walk down just a few blocks to the performing arts center. Along the way, I convinced my hubby to snap a few date night OOTD pics, which he was surprisingly ok doing it! I’m trying to convince him to quit the whole medicine thing and just commit to being the full time blog photographer.

I think this was my first time walking in this part of downtown Durham, so there were lots of neat things to stop and look at!

And then it was off to sit in our seats!

Seinfeld was just hilarious!!! We had seen him live in Vegas about 7 or so years ago, so we expected similar jokes and content. But it was all new, which was perfect!

About halfway through the act, this man, one section over, stands up and starts shouting over the laughter “Jerry! Hey Jerry!” And then I thought he asked “Do you know what time it is?”.

Now…. me being FULLY engrossed in the show, just assumed it was all part of the show! Let’s face it – how many scenes in Seinfeld involve a shouting “Hey, Jerry!” line? Many.

But after Jerry’s attention was caught, and all got kind of quiet, the random man shouted again “Do you know what DAY it is?”.

Oh. Gotcha. So you’re not part of the bit?

So now the entire hall is silent. We are all watching Jerry to see what he will say. Because… last Friday was September 11. A pretty solemn day of remembrance. Jerry, no doubt seeing where all this was going, quietly says “September 11”. And Random Man launches into a “shame on you for not acknowledging a national tragedy” routine.

Now, I would have a hard time heckling a heckler in general. I assume that’s a cake walk for a comedian. Hecklers are part of the gig! But a heckler who is heckling about 9/11? How do you bounce back from that???

Thankfully, Jerry didn’t really need to. The audience by this point was so riled up that the shouts of “go home!” or “sit down!” drowned out both the Random Man and Jerry! In fact, at one point, a second Random Man stood up, enraged, and started shouting at the first Random Man, saying he was from NYC, and first Random Man had no idea was he was talking about, so sit down before I make you sit down”

At this point Jerry is on stage, making a few jokes, but what kind of jokes can you make to a heckler that’s upset about 9/11?

Security finally shows up (after a few awkward minutes) and tries to escort Random Man out. But once he breaks free of his row, he bolts for the edge of the balcony! And continues heckling!

They finally get the guy out, everyone settles back down, and Jerry continues on. And it was a great show!!!

So there you go! One of the most epic date nights ever. AND I’m sure Jerry Seinfeld won’t be forgetting Durham, NC anytime soon.

If you ever get a chance to see Jerry Seinfeld live, do it! You won’t regret it.

So what were you up to this week? Let me know! Or better yet, link up!

Fellow bloggers – ready to join in the link up? Just write a blog post about 5 things that made this week awesome! Add your link to your blog post down below (make sure it’s your blog post, not your blog home page!). And then grab the H54F button to add to your post! And go visit at least 3 fellow link uppers AND this week’s featured blogger! It’s just the nice thing to do.

And be sure to tag your posts/pics on social media with #H54F! We really do try to make the rounds and like, comment, retweet, etc! It’s so much fun to support one another, isn’t it?

I’m also linking up with Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre, 5 on Friday & Diary of a Real Housewife

Menu Monday #54 | Back At It!

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 14, 2015 // 15 Comments

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?? I may or may not have fallen asleep on the sofa Sunday afternoon while watching Netflix. Which is a sure sign of a fun weekend. Between church, co-hosting a baby shower and a kid birthday party, we are all tired but happy!

It’s nice to be back in the groove with menu planning after almost a month off that schedule. Between traveling and doing a little pantry/freezer clear out, it’s nice to be in the menu planning routine again.

So last week I was wondering through Costco, and I stumbled upon something I’ve always wanted but never owned – cast iron skillets! (Shocker – I know! 8 years of marriage and only now buying one!)

I was asking a friend, who I consider a good foodie, what sorts of things she cooks in her skillet. She had some great ideas! So we’re diving head first into skillet land with a few different recipes.

In other news, I wandered into Aldi’s last week on a whim. Oh Aldi experts – what does one buy at Aldi’s? There is no doubt prices are pretty cheap! But what’s good? What are the must buys?

As always, for more information on how I menu plan, look at this.

Monday:
Grilled Cheese (in the skillet!)

Tuesday:
Stovetop Mac & Cheese (in the skillet!)

Wednesday:
Thai Pad See Ew

Thursday:
Baked Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

Friday:
Summer Minestrone Soup

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Homemade Pizza (in the skillet!)

Need more ideas for dinner?
Follow my Pinterest board – it’s where I save all of my dinner ideas!

Follow Katie | Cup of Tea Blog's board Good Eats | Dinner on Pinterest.

Linking up at Menu Monday with Org Junkie

High Five for Friday #36 | So ashamed!

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 11, 2015 // 20 Comments

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!

Don’t forget! The next H54F Hangout on September 24! That one will be all about blogging! Do you have any questions about blogging you’d like us to chat about? Any tips you want to share?? We’re all learning together, right? Let me know down in the comments below!

This week’s featured blogger is Chelsea from The Perfect Catch! She’s a super stylish mom of a toddler AND is in the final weeks of pregnancy with #2! Hooray! And hurry over to her blog NOW! She’s hosting a Fall Scarf Swap! It looks like such fun! What better way to get in the festive Fall mood (even if it’s hot and sticky!) than to get to know someone new and get a scarf? Deadline to sign up is September 15! I totally signed up when I saw that. And you should too. And you don’t have to be a blogger to join in. So don’t forget to say hello to Chelsea!

Here’s what I was up to this week!

1. Friends – I’m so ashamed. I had every intention of bouncing back from the Labor Day weekend with a full blogging week… but other things called… like finding season 5 of Dance Moms online. jk (sort of…) But this week was such a whirlwind! I had plans in the beginning of the week, but then it all just sort of spiraled out of control. Ya know? Kind of felt like…

2. Elizabeth had her 2nd week of Mommy’s Morning Out, and this time it was the full 3.5 hour slot. And she did GREAT! Her teachers said she did so well, and didn’t shed any tears… that is until I walked in the door to pick her up. Why do kiddos do that? But she has a favorite baby doll, and apparently doesn’t let it go the entire time. Mommy’s Morning Out is turning into Mommy Training!

3. Speaking of Elizabeth and school, I needed to find her a little lunchbox since they do lunch time there. If the world were perfect (which it isn’t), Elizabeth would really love to have every meal be a Bento Box. Basically a variety of foods in little containers, all separated. That doesn’t happen at home, but I thought it would be fun for school! So I picked her up a YumBox! She is in love with it. She gets so excited to see what I’ve packed for her lunch, and loves helping me put it in her backpack. They are a little pricey, but they are great quality.

Photo from YumBox

4. It has been super sticky here! Anyone else? The heat and humidity makes it really hard to get motivated to decorate for Fall. I’m quickly getting into the same predicament as I did last year. I didn’t decorate my house for Fall until early October, JUST in time for Elizabeth’s 1st birthday. And then I only got to enjoy it for a short time until it was time for Christmas. I’m determined to not let that happen this year! I love my Fall decorations.

5. Speaking of Elizabeth’s birthday, we are exactly one month away from her 2nd birthday! I’ve settled on a Daniel Tiger theme, and have already procured a red cardigan sweater and a white shirt for her to wear. #priorities There are so many cute ideas out there for a theme! Here are some of my fav ideas I definitely want to try!

Source – I mean… come on. Little trolley banners? Adorable!

Source – I think I could totally do this cake!

Source – this whole post has so many great ideas! And who doesn’t love brunch?

And for a #6, my husband and I have a hot date tonight! We’re going out to eat and then off to see Jerry Seinfeld LIVE! We’ve seen him once before, in Las Vegas, but one should never miss an opportunity to see a comedy legend live, right?

So what were you up to this week? Let me know! Or better yet, link up!

And be sure to tag your posts/pics on social media with #H54F! We really do try to make the rounds and like, comment, retweet, etc! It’s so much fun to support one another, isn’t it?

I’m also linking up with Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre, 5 on Friday & Diary of a Real Housewife

High Five for Friday #35 | Sleeping While Typing

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 4, 2015 // 12 Comments

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by Katie, Tif, Della, and Caitlin! If you want to know more, read about it here!

Can we talk the next H54F Hangout on September 24? That one will be all about blogging! Do you have any questions about blogging you’d like us to chat about? Any tips you want to share?? We’re all learning together, right? Let me know down in the comments below!

This week’s featured blogger is Olya from The Siberian American! Olya and I are both in the middle of this medical journey – her husband is in his first year of residency. She’s living it up in Chicago right now, and it’s just having a ball exploring the city! And she just celebrated her One Year Blogiversary! So swing over there and say Happy Anniversary! 🙂

Alright! Who’s ready for a little H54F action?

1. Did anyone else’s week just fly by? How are we in September already AND at Labor Day weekend??? Just nuts. Doing anything fun for the long weekend? We’re headed off to Virginia Beach (along with every other Virginian. HAHA!) to spend time with my in-laws. I’m excited to see them and catch up! Although I’ll admit that a weekend at home sounds delightful.

2. Elizabeth had her first 2 days of her little Moms Day Out program. She’s just going 2 days a week. I’ll admit, I was SUPER nervous/anxious about her going. She is pretty quiet around new people, and I worried that she’d be a puddle of tears the whole time. But thanks to a lot of pre-school chat about what to expect, she did just fine!

After dropping her off on her first day, I went to the grocery store. It was so strange not having her with me, helping me count bananas. I also had to resist talking to myself, since I’m used to a little chatting buddy.

3. Guaranteed if it’s a quiet week here on the blog, it’s because I am swamped with consulting work. And that was definitely true this week. I’ve been knee deep in a project that was supposed to be fairly straight forward… but once I dove it, I kept thinking of all these variables that hadn’t been worked through. Such is life… nothing early mornings and late nights can’t cure. Which means I’m exhausted…. as this blog post’s title suggests.

4. What’s everyone watching these days on TV? My beloved Real Housewives shows are almost done (NYC ended last week), so now I’m on the hunt for something new. We just started Narcos on Netflix. It is excellent! Gritty – but really good. For my mommy friends, Elizabeth and I discovered a cute show all about Puffins (and they all have Irish accents!) on Netflix. She (ok… me too) is obsessed!

5. Did you see my one and only post this week?? I’m really excited about it! I’m a hopeless pie baker, and wanted to get better. So my mom offered to show me her sneaky tips AND let me record it! So if you’re hopeless at pie baking like me, head on over!

So what were you up to this week? Let me know! Or better yet, link up!

And be sure to tag your posts/pics on social media with #H54F! We really do try to make the rounds and like, comment, retweet, etc! It’s so much fun to support one another, isn’t it?

I’m also linking up with Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre, 5 on Friday & Diary of a Real Housewife

3 Secrets to the Perfect Pie Crust Revealed

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // August 31, 2015 // 10 Comments

I love to bake! But, I’ll admit it. I can’t really bake a pie. I don’t know what it is! Every single time I try, something goes wrong with the pie crust. It either falls apart. Or doesn’t roll out well. Or it’s too dry…

So while I was in Michigan at my parents’ house, I took advantage of the chance of having a Master Baking class from my Mom.

My mom is a fantastic baker! She doesn’t like to bake, ironically, but she makes such yummy things! She got some family secrets when it came to baking pies and I’ve never had the chance to learn them. And thankfully, she agreed to share it with you all!

Secret 1 | Everything must be cold!

I knew this tip already, but I think I didn’t realize just HOW cold things should be in order to have the perfect pie crust. My mom uses a combo of unsalted butter and shortening, and both she pulls right out of the freezer and cuts them straight in to the pie crust dough.

Secret 2 | The crust needs to rest!

My mom swears that once the pie crust dough is done, it needs to be in the fridge, resting, for at least 1 hour. This gets the dough nice and cold again, so it doesn’t fall apart while you roll it out. Again… something I’ve messed up each time. I’m not the fastest roller, so the colder the dough before rolling, the better.

Secret 3 | Use plastic wrap to ensure you don’t over-flour or over-handle!

This was a mind blower! I watched my mom line her countertop with plastic wrap, plop the dough down on that, and then top the dough with another layer of plastic wrap. Then she rolled it out into a disk. No extra flour getting incorporated into the dough, no sticking. Genius! And then, when it was time to transfer the dough to the pie plate, she just picked up the plastic wrap and gently dropped it into the plate. So smart!

BONUS Secret | Don’t stress out over the dough!

Maybe she mentioned this a lot because I was nervous, but my mom told me over and over again that it was hard to mess up pie crust dough if you’re calm and not fussing over it. She makes her dough in the food processor. She is rough with it. She doesn’t fuss over the ingredients. Basically, if you stay calm (ahem… Katie…) then you’ll be successful!

Now, because I’m a visual learner, my mom was sweet enough to let me record her teaching session so I could refer back to it. AND agreed that I could share it with you!

Now, a note: In the middle of this whole experience, my sister and her husband showed up, so the background noise picks up, and there are quite a few giggles! Plus, in all the excitement of catching up with my sister, I actually forgot to record the final product. HAHA! But thankfully I remembered to put it on Instagram.

My mommy taught me the secret to a great pie. Secrets coming soon to a #blog near you ? #pie #baking #perfectpie

A photo posted by Katie (@ktcupoftea) on Aug 23, 2015 at 12:03pm PDT

See, when all else fails, I’m loyally documenting on Instagram 😉

Are you as hopeless as I am with pie baking? Or do you have a secret or two to share? Please Share!

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