Good morning y’all!  I am so excited for today and tomorrow because I get to relive this past weekend and it was entirely worth reliving!

**A few warnings**

1. Before I get started, I want to point out one more time that I realize nothing I ate on this trip was Engine 2 Diet approved.  I’m back to my regular diet now and eating within the realms of the challenge.

2. Both of my re-cap posts will be quite lengthy and full of pictures!

Back in September, Nick and I were going to go up North for Meg’s wedding and I was REALLY looking forward to it!  Unfortunately that was around the time that Nick’s dad ended up in the hospital for open heart surgery so our plans got derailed unexpectedly that week.  Ever since we missed that trip, I knew I wanted to visit Meg as soon as possible!  We decided that Martin Luther King weekend worked with everyone’s schedule so we made the plans!  To help break up the trip though, we decided to stop in Atlanta for the night on Friday.  When we arrived to Atlanta, Joel and his girlfriend, Charlotte, had started prepping sushi for us to make together.  I made my own sushi back in August when I went to a free Sushi Class at Whole Foods so I was very excited to give it another try!  They really pulled out all the stops – tons of veggies, tempura fried shrimp & asparagus, real crab meat, the legit sushi rice & seaweed – so many different options for your sushi and it was wonderful!

I don’t like big bites of sushi, so I cut mine twice as small as the others.  I really want to learn how to make the rice so I can try this at home for myself!

I finished my sushi off with panko bread crumbs and eel sauce drizzled over top.  It was absolutely delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with some good friends!  They kept asking us when we’re moving to Atlanta haha, honestly – I would LOVE that, but we’ll see what happens when Nick finishes grad school.

We woke up super early Saturday morning to finish our drive to Charleston and we arrived just in time for lunch!  First on the agenda was a cute place called Five Loaves.   They had a really great menu and it was easy to determine what was vegetarian (which is always appreciated!)  I decided on the Mediterranean Garden Burger on a baguette with a cup of Potato Broccoli Soup.  Everything about this meal was wonderful and the soup was the most flavorful soup I’ve ever tasted!

After lunch we headed over to Charleston donuts for individually crafted donuts where we chose the icing & topping we wanted.  I could have come up with a million different combinations and I’m determined to try chocolate w/ fruity pebbles next time!

Mine: Caramel Icing w/ Oreo Topping

Nick: Maple Icing w/ bacon topping

Meg: Smore’s – Chocolate Icing w/ graham cracker crumb & marshmallow topping

Mike: Banana Icing with no topping (I was shocked too!)

Once we polished off our donuts, it was time to head out to the driving range for a little lesson!  I will be the first to tell you that I have NO idea what I’m doing when it comes to golf.  Meg & Mike on the other hand – PROS!  Seriously, their form was really beautiful.  It looked like it was an art to them and I really enjoyed  watching from the sidelines.  Nick did a really great job too!  I think the golf clubs were a little smaller than Nick was used to because he didn’t seem as comfortable with them as what I’ve seen the last few times we’ve gone to the driving range, but Meg & Mike provided him with a few tips and I think he especially enjoyed that part of the trip!

After the driving range, we chilled at the apartment for a few hours before heading out to dinner.  On the menu Saturday night was Desano Pizza!  Nick and I each picked our own pizza and then I gave Nick the leftovers. of course.  I ordered the Verdura pizza with broccoli rabe, mushroom, cherry tomato, garlic, and buffalo mozzarella.  I also got a grapefruit beer which was absolutely fantastic!

The dining area was right next to the open kitchen where we could watch them prep the pizzas and put the pizzas in the oven.  It was a really cool experience!

Once we finished dinner, we headed out to the pier, but unfortunately it was closed, so we walked to a local bar and had a beer with some live music in the background.  We firmly believe the place started hopping because of us.  There were only 2 people when we arrived, and a few minutes later a group of like 20 showed up!

We finally decided it was time to get comfortable and headed back to the apartment, had some wine, and played some games!  Nick and I learned how to play a new card game that I cannot remember the name of now.. oh well!  The most important thing to note though is how interested Shadow was in taking pictures with me!  I know… you can totally tell, right?!

That about sums up our Friday & Saturday last weekend!  Man I really miss them already… thank goodness for snap chat and texting and face book (and of course blogging!) to keep us all connected.  I’m so glad that Nick hit it off with Meg & Mike too, I think we all really enjoyed each others company and had a fantastic time together.  There is plenty more to still share though, so I’ll be back tomorrow for the rest of the recap!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and just remember, one more day to go until the weekend!

• Have you eaten at Five Loaves or Desano in Charleston?
• If you could pick any icing & topping flavor on your donut, what would you choose!?
• Do you make sushi at home?  What do you typically put in it?