Friday Faves

Last weekend I cashed it all in and headed to the sunnier climes of Las Vegas.

We raced to the desert to spend some Q-time with my mom, dad, mother-in-law and my man for our 16th annual Vegas NASCAR race.

Full disclosure, I may have missed a year or two after Smudge came on the scene, and I don’t follow it nearly as closely as I used to, but that’s probably all a good thing.

The weather was perfect, the scenery tropical. Hey, is that Tom Selleck’s chest hair on the right? Bradley Cooper he ain’t compared to this celebrity chest hair hall of fame. RRRaaarr.!

I was my dad’s lucky charm at the 21 tables and my mom and I spent some gal pal time spaaaah-ing and cocktailing. I’m totally making these for a future post.

Like every event for us, it’s all about the food.

And doesn’t food always taste better when there’s the smell of motor fuel, smoking tires and a fried brick of french fries permeating the air?

Forget fried bricks of simple potatoes, we were in search for high brow fare. Like Tater Tots with a heaping mound of fresh lobster and topped with salsa. Thanks to Cousins Maine Lobster Truck, we were in luck.

But the day wasn’t complete ’til we got back to the hotel and met this guy who drove to the race all the way from Canada. I mean, he’s one of the regular folks at NASCAR. Hey friend, thanks for the selfie!

And now, let’s dig into our Friday Faves…

Happy Friday the 13th! There are three Friday the 13ths in 2015. What are the odds?

Why didn’t I think of this before? How to cook rice like pasta.

I’d say it’s “time” to celebrate day light savings with these Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas. Ha! I’m so punny.

With this salad dressing, why would you ever buy store bought again?

A TRIPLE coconut cream pie? My jeanie just leapt out of her bottle.

Slurp alert: Spicy Korean Clam Chowder, with real clams!

Lemon AND cinnamon rolls? Smudge, get ready, we’re baking these!

Italian meatloaf. Take me home country road.

The 10 best ramen shops in the U.S. Honey, grab your chopsticks, let’s go!

I’ve been trying to avoid Target lately but it’s like a frigging magnet I can’t pull myself away from. I bought this happy new doormat above at Target last week and can’t find a link online to share. Of course.

I always scope out the ends of the aisles for deals and found this body lotion on closeout, so bought it. I LOVE IT, and went back to buy more and it’s GONE GONE GONE! Hello Amazon.

Leave it to the NY Times to come up with some amazing—and totally useful—tips on how to reduce food waste that I’ve never even dreamed of. Far from your average list.

Apple announced the new iWatch this week (will you be getting one?) and now I discovered you can customize your watch band with your favorite Instagram photo. Game changer all around.

I’m totally into podcasts and this podcast with one of my favorite people was a fave of the week.

With three dog beds to choose from, Zoee has found her comfy spot. Maybe we should do some laundry?

I’ve always loved JCrew’s swim suits for their look and wear, but their online swimwear shopping site just flipped every girl’s nightmare into a mix and match game of, dare I say, fun.??!!

Hey, you talkin’ to me? The best curvy girl tricks to look amazing in photos. Tip #3 is a goodie no matter what curves or sans curves.

Whodathunk? 36 things you “obviously” need in your new home. I may have to redesign my whole kitchen so I can get that built in drying rack, why isn’t that just standard?

YOU have the control to make it happen, or not → the 5 things happy people do.

10 wardrobe classics for spring. Those sneaks are so on my list and I love the flirty skirt.

Overalls? Really?

Real life style: 60 real New Yorkers en route to work and looking stylishly sassy on the subway.

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Finger Lickin’ Luck o’ the Irish

Green-inspired Irish recipes have been floating about the www all week. Along with this super cute Printable Pot O Gold Rainbow Box (how cute for the kiddos!).

Here are a few more lucky recipes I discovered this week.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Pop in the slow cooker, set on low and 5 hours later, you’re the lucky one.

Get the recipe | Sweet Phi via Baked by Rachel

Irish Beef Stew

Red wine AND Guinness make this stew extra saucy (in all the right ways.)

Get the Recipe | Simply Recipes 

Corned Beef Hash Breakfast

Here’s your solution for leftover corned beef: Put an egg on it.

Get the recipe | Running to the Kitchen

Guinness Stout Cake with Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting

I’d make this just to lick the frosting bowl.

Get the recipe | Blogging Over Thyme

Classic Irish Coffee

My aunt used to make this for us every Christmas, but I think Sunday it needs to make a return.

Get the recipe | She Wears Many Hats

If you’re in need of even more inspiration, check out my round-up of 30+ Lucky St. Patrick’s Day recipe links.

Have a great weekend and cook something good.

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