Weekend: The Cutest Mini Golden Retriever + Sunday Dinner Guests

There’s no better way to start my weekend recap than with this photo.

One of our teacher trainees got in a bind between getting home from travel, picking up her pup and making it to teacher training on time…so she brought him! This is Benny and he is a mix of dachshund and golden retriever and the cutest stinking thing. He got LOTS of love and attention.

I was going to stay at the studio and practice on Friday night after teaching but then I decided to get a polish change and then veg on the couch with some wine. It was a good call. I picked up two new flavors of dark chocolate from Chuao Chocolatier. The Firecracker flavor has sea salt, a dash of chipotle and popping candy crackle. The Salted Chocolate Crunch featured toasted breadcrumbs dusted with sea salt. I highly recommend both!

I actually needed to spend some time on the computer listing my rental house. My current tenants just purchased a house of their own and inquired about getting out of their lease a few months early. I was happy to help them out because they have been such wonderful tenants.

While I was working, dinner was cooking. I picked up some pre-stuffed chicken from The Fresh Market and served it along with a lemon quinoa blend and roasted asparagus. We ate when Tanner got home from TT around 9:15.

I spent Saturday morning at home until it was time to head to the studio to teach at 11:15. I had to laugh at these two enjoying a relaxing Saturday morning.

Tanner and I stayed after class to eat lunch at Namastay Kitchen and per usual, I had a salad. And just like last week, I topped it with a beet burger.

Virginia texted while I was eating lunch and asked if I wanted to join her for FlyWheel at 2:45. I figured why not since I was already so close. I have to say I don’t recommend FlyWheel with a belly full of salad and beet burger but it wasn’t the worst ever. I did have about an hour buffer between. I really prefer not to workout on a full stomach if possible.

The weather was GORGEOUS on Saturday so I took these two for a long walk around 6 p.m. We walked for an hour and I let them off leash for about 30 minutes of it while we were on the trails. I was nervous about having them both off but they were super well behaved. Zoey listened like a champ and followed every command I gave her. Sullie, not so much, but she has better sense than her sister anyway so she didn’t do anything too crazy.

They literally just ran butt to butt exploring the entire time. It was so sweet.

Tanner was home from teacher training when we got home from our walk. We grabbed a glass of wine and hung out on our patio soaking up the weather until about 8:15 and then ordered Thai delivery from Postmates. (You can use my referral code EZ81N for a free delivery on your first order, it’s about a $10 value). I ordered from Thai Orchid for the first time. I have been wanting to try if for years but unfortunately, it kind of missed the mark. My favorite Thai spot in Charlotte remains Monsoon on South Boulevard. Local readers, I’d love to hear any other suggestions that aren’t Thai Taste or Deejai.

We ended up streaming the Trolls movie and I loved it! What a great message that happiness comes from within. We totally love watching the kid’s movies. (I am dying to see the new Beauty and the Beast.)

I made his and hers purple smoothies on Sunday morning before meeting a friend to run. We covered 5 miles.

After the run I headed over to my rental house to show it. While I’ve been over there quite a few times to drop things off, pick things up, meet plumbers, get tree work done, etc…I hadn’t actually been in the house since my tenants moved in over 18 months ago. They have taken such great care of the house and it looked so cute and nice. I showed it to three couples and had it rented by the end of the day. The Charlotte market is just so crazy right now. There are so many people moving here! Also, my house is in an area of town that is changing and growing quickly and is a hots spot for 20somethings.

I have to say it was a little emotional to walk though it after so long. It is a house full of memories and growth for me.

I helped Tanner out with TT for about an hour and then came home to make a late brunch of scrambled eggs with sauerkraut, buttered sourdough toast and grapes. I spent most of Sunday afternoon cooking and cleaning up in preparation for dinner guests with a quick break to teach from 4-5.

(I love this slate cheese board with rope handles. You can write on it like a chalkboard to label the cheeses. It would be a great gift if you have bridal showers coming up!)

We had Tanner’s brother and sister-in-law over for dinner. I figured we’d start with family when it came to entertaining in our new space since we still have a some settling in to do. It was a nice push to get things situated in the main living areas though. I set out this cheese plate for everyone to snack on. It featured three different goat cheeses along with grapes, two types of crackers and honey. The honey was the star of the show. A friend gave me a trio of Cloister’s infused honey and we all went crazy over the flavors. We had salted, cinnamon and bourbon and all three were incredible.

Cloister is a local Charlotte business but their honey can be found all over the city and you can also shop online. It’s GOOD stuff!

I kept dinner simple and served the PaleOMG sphaghetti pizza pie along with a spring salad from the April edition of Cooking Light called All the Green Things. It was a nice evening and so good to catch up.

What’s the craziest dog mix you’ve ever seen/met? Do any of you have a dog with a fun mix?

Favorite thing to add to a cheese board?

Do you enjoy entertaining?

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