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Find Your Beer Soulmate event!

Ladies — have you always wanted to drink beer but can’t find one you love? Are you convinced that you and beer are caught in a bad romance? Maybe you just haven’t found your Beer Soulmate — and I’m here to help!

On the evening of Wednesday, May 29, me and Real Ale Brewing Co. will be hosting a divas-only beer course on discovering the brew for you — the Find Your Beer Soulmate event at The Ginger Man in Dallas.

There, you’ll learn from Real Ale brewmaster Erik Ogershock about finding beers that suit you, based on cocktails and wine that please your palate most.

We’ll sample four mini-pours of popular Real Ale beers, and you’ll get to pick your favorite to enjoy in a full pint. All will be paired with nummy cheeses as well as soft prezels with mustard to help you appreciate brews in all their wonder and complexity.

We’ll even have a swag bag giveaway filled with goodies from The Diva’s gift closet! An evening of fine beer, food and fellowship, all for $25? What’s not to love?

Wanna join us for an evening of tasty education? Reserve your happy butt a seat over here. I sooo hope to see your beer-curious face at The Ginger Man! XOXO

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Halfway point with My Fit Foods!

So I reached the halfway point of the My Fit Foods 21-Day Challenge several days ago, and I wanted to share my progress.

YES, I’ve noticed a slight difference in how my shorts fit, especially in my waist, so yay for that!! And the foods continue to tantalize, with fabulous eats from morning to night. My favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner thus far have been the B Tacos, two corn tortillas filled with fluffy eggs (5-to-1 white-to-yolk ratio), seasoned ground turkey and cheese; the Hawaiian Chicken, several planks of juicy breast atop brown rice tossed with pineapple and orange chunks and a hint of soy sauce; and the Better Beef & Broccoli, a super-low-carb portion of the meat and veg with an Asian-inspired sauce to dip the steak in (a close second is the Buffalo Chicken Salad (above) that I wolfed down in minutes). Yummmmm.

At the midpoint, I found I didn’t crave most of the eats that I normally would — they just weren’t nagging at me at meal times, and I actually quite looked forward to MFF’s delectable eats. So I’m really glad that they ARE really delicious!

Sooo, enjoying the MFF meals has NOT been an issue, but, chickadees — this foodie has been grateful for the three cheat meals the Challenge allows! How else could I have covered Iron Fork? Or enjoyed a sensible off-plan celebratory meal after my sister’s law school graduation? Thank heaven for cheats or else this dining Diva would be in a bind!

My only challenge amid the Challenge, in fact, has been in having to time and plan my outings. For example, if I want to hunker down for hours of blogging at a coffeehouse, I bring along my MFF snack and stick to ordering green tea with agave. And for a girl’s night sleepover, I packed a set of meals in the cooler bag MFF sends you home with and stocked my friend’s fridge once I arrived. So it’s infinitely doable, it just requires some forethought — not a bad thing to master whilst one is changing one’s diet, I should add. So thanks for the discipline, MFF — onward and upward!

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Weekend highlights in Dallas

The White Out Party

Tonight, local beer and liquor retailer Sigel’s is throwing a huge mass tasting of the finest clear spirits you can lay your taste buds on. The White Out Party will fill the Dallas Contemporary with more than 20 of the best brands of liquor: Hendrick’s Gin, Ty Ku Sake, Milagro Tequila, and Barsol Pisco are among the labels that will be represented. Snag your tickets here or at the door, and don’t forget to bust out the white attire!

Taste Addison!

As previously previewed, this weekend is the annual food coma-inducing Taste Addison, where dozens of restaurants of all stripes line Addison Circle Park with booths and serve up tasty eats and drinks while live and national music acts play. I went last night and had a blast — the weather, especially once the sun goes down, is gorgeous and forecast to stay that way all weekend, so get out there!

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Aftershock London wows with opening party

By Kyle Spencer

Fashion Correspondent

Pip, pip, cheerio. OK, so my attempt to sound British is pretty lousy, but what was far from lousy was Aftershock London’s opening launch party. It was a night filled with food, fashion and fine festivities — in short, Aftershock London opened its doors with a BANG.

The atmosphere at the Plaza at Preston Center import was vibrant as partiers dressed to the nines in their chicest summer attire gazed at whimsical gowns and bejeweled clutches, while snacking on deviled eggs and finger sandwiches from R+D Kitchen. Beautiful models showed off numerous costume changes throughout the evening, giving partygoers a chance to see Aftershock’s wide variety of women’s ballroom attire.

Ladies, if you’re in the market for a prom dress, I strongly recommend heading to Aftershock. The dresses achieve haute couture style at affordable prices. Fashionistas with a handbag fetish would be wise to check out Aftershock London’s clutch collection. These opera style bags are not only very trendy but versatile. Thanks to its fun, modern styles, I expect Aftershock to become a favorite of the Dallas fashion scene. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to see if they have a dress in a size 6.

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Taste Addison fanfare and free tickets!

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to serve as a judge for Taste: The Competition, an event affiliated with Taste Addison, where local restaurants were tasked with creating tasty, portable treats that’d make ideal street food. Of course I’ll judge that!

Fifteen restos were represented, and judges sampled delights ranging from Asian fare to Tex-Mex-inspired specialties. Among my faves were Thai Star’s Mi Kati (below).

And Buffalo Wild Wings’ Deep Fried Bread Pudding Bites made my day as my favorite dish of them all … happily it placed third, with the grand prize winner being Blue Mesa for its Chimayo Market Corn (top), coated in herbs, spices and cheese. Yurrrmm. Edited to add: Sadly, none of the sweet and savories made at Taste: The Competition will be available at Taste Addison OR at the restaurant that created it. Nuts!

But Taste: The Competition was but a precursor to this year’s big Addison food event: Taste Addison. The annual toast to good eats features dozens of area restaurants serving up samples of the best dishes they have to offer. There’s also carnival food for those who’re in a classic fair-food mood.

This year, the event has snagged some considerable talent as musical headliners: Reckless Kelly, The O’s, Blue October and Sister Hazel are among the acts that’ll hit the giant Dos Equis Main Stage smack in the middle of the festival grounds.

Wanna get out there this year? Your Diva’s here to make that happen … I have two tickets to give away to the first person who leaves a delicous comment here or under this story on my Facebook page — simply tell me what culinary specialties you’re most hoping to encounter and savor at Taste Addison. Good luck, chicadees!