What I’m Loving Wednesday Version 8.0

Geez, how many versions can I do? This could get to WILW Version 8 billion.

1. College football starts Saturday!!! Where is everyone watching the games?

2. Speaking of football, the first game I’m (probably) going to is the Clemson vs. Auburn game on September 17th. I’ll be wearing orange to stay neutral. I just bought three dresses online in preparation. Hopefully at least one will fit.

3. In other fashion news, my new blog friend Sierra @ Posh Meets Pavement sent me a picture of her “bracelet brigade.”

How cute is she? Sierra went to UNC, got married here in Charleston, and now lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Check out her blog!

4. In food news, Ashton sent me this picture message a couple days ago:

“You can now get your favorite ketchup packs at Harris Teeter. I am purchasing them because any true ketchup lover needs them.” Smart lady!

5. This Hello Kitty duct tape I found at Target. Of course I immediately sent a pic to Katie. But seriously, what can I do with this? It’s too cute not to use.

6. I’m still incapable of typing on my phone – touch screens are tricky!! However, I’ve been so amused with my typos. My new favorite? Instead of typing Christina Orso, I type Christina Oreo. YUM!

7. I was telling my coworker that I wanted to read this book that was mentioned in church on Sunday. He goes to the same church and knew exactly which book I was talking about. When I walked into work this morning, he had left his copy on my desk! :)

8. Tonight I get to hang out with Sarah!! I’m heading to her house after work so we can cook dinner and drink wine!

XO!!

Learning to Love Mondays

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I now work from home on Mondays. Right when I woke up I headed to the kitchen for some breakfast and realized, “Oh crap. I don’t have coffee.” Now a normal person would either a)suck it up or b)head to Starbucks. I am not normal. I drove across the street to Chick-fil-A. They have coffee and I’ll take advantage of any reason to go there. Loser.

I think Starbucks is kind of silly, plus their coffee makes me want to jump out of my skin. Apparently I can’t handle that much caffeine. Once back home, I sipped on this while I ate my breakfast of plain Greek yogurt topped with fiber cereal, a sliced banana, and honey. This kept me full until lunch time which was…

Mozzo with Rick! I hadn’t been in a while, so I was excited when he asked if I wanted to meet there for lunch. I had one of my favorite sandwiches, The Roma: prosciutto, ham, provolone, tomato, and balsamic vinegar on a ciabatta roll. Hellooooooo Italy!

While in line, Rick asked me, “You don’t eat chips right?” I responded, “I do if they’re pickle chips.” Right then I noticed these babies right below me:

Let me tell you, they are good. I was expecting much more of a vinegar taste, but dill was the most prevalent flavor. Grab some if you see them! What’s your favorite chip flavor? Anything weird?

A while back, Rick, some friends, and I entered a Homage t-shirt contest. We didn’t win, but we did score some t-shirts. Rick brought my prize to lunch:

Good thing I really like beans. And Boston, obviously.

Once I had finished work and was about to head to the gym, I remembered (for the 209862986th time) that I needed new sneakers. I refused to leave the house without ordering a new pair. I hopped on Zappo’s and found the newer version of my current sneaker. Asics Gel-1160:

They were on sale and I had an online coupon, so I snagged these for only $58! And they’re in my 2 favorite colors: lime green and purple. I’m now on my third pair of Asics, and I definitely prefer them over other brands. What’s your preferred sneaker brand?

****

I’d like to apologize if I seemed insensitive when I called Irene a “myth.” I understand that it affected millions of people, all of whom are in my prayers. I only meant to joke that my city made a huge deal out of it (cancelling school and government offices) when all we got was a little rain and wind. So, please accept my apologies!

****

Did you sign up for your free breakfast entrée at Chick-fil-A yet? Sign up now and then send me pictures next week!

http://chick-fil-aforbreakfast.com

XX!

Last Weekend of August

What the! Where did August go?

Friday: Oh, hurricane Irene. She was a myth, I think. Regardless, Matt, Mariah and I decided to have a hurricane party. Hurricane party = me cooking while the 3 of us got our drink on.

It was a bit breezy out (ha), so soup sounded perfect. I used Jenna’s recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup. Don’t let this photo of the ingredients fool you – the wine was for drinking, not the soup.

While the soup was cooking, I played with these fabulous slippers that Mariah found under her bed right before she came over. SWIFFER SLIPPERS!! How amazing are these. (Click to zoom.) I swept my floor AND cooked. Multi-tasking like a pro.

We also played with this giant sugar cane that Matt and I bought at WF. We didn’t really know why we bought this, other than to use as a weapon of sorts. We also gnawed on it. It wasn’t sweet, but it was taller than me. #shorty

After I pretty much smoked the house out because I wasn’t paying attention to the pepper I was roasting, the soup was done! We topped it with lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, and cheese. Delicious!

Saturday, the calm after the “storm”: Thanks for leaving with us a beautiful Saturday, Irene. It was absolutely gorgeous out. Amanda, Kira, and I laid out at Amanda’s friend’s pool that just happened to be on the water. Ahhh.We walked down the dock and laid out down by the water for a while too.

It was windy, but that didn’t stop us from making more friendship bracelets! Here’s my newest bracelet, in anticipation for Clemson football starting next weekend. Anyone want me to make them a bracelet? Let me know and I’ll send you one!

That evening, I met up with my friend Puja for dinner at the new Basil in Mt. Pleasant. We shared the Pad Thai and the Green Curry. I almost always order Pad Thai, but I really enjoyed her Green Curry. I might order that next time.

Sunday: Matt and I went to church and I was delighted to hear the preacher mention Chick-fil-A. He was joking about his inexpensive shirt being “worth only enough to feed a family at Chick-fil-A…with coupons.” I secretly wanted to jump out of my seat and high-five him for the restaurant name drop. Alas, I stayed put. I was in church after all.

That afternoon, Mariah and I ran some errands at my two most favorite places: Trader Joe’s and Target. As I had just gone to TJ’s on Friday, I was mostly along for the ride. I did pick up a bar of oatmeal exfoliant soap per Joanna’s recommendation. This ginger almond scented bar smells so good!

At target, I picked up laundry detergent (blah), dishwasher detergent (blah) and chocolate (YEAH!):

Have yall had these? Oooooh, they are good. I’m currently watching the VMAs and had to throw the bag under my bed so I wouldn’t eat them all at once!

Speaking of the VMAs, I almost peed my gym shorts (bummin’ it) at these tweets by Betty White. Goodness gracious, I love her.

Whose win were you most excited about? I loved the Britney tribute and was so happy for her!

What was the highlight of your weekend? Lots of friend time and oatmeal soap for me!

PS: I’m working from home on Mondays from now on, so if anyone wants to do lunch dates, let me know!!  

xx!

Technorati Tags: betty white,VMAs,mtv,chicken tortilla soup,trader joe's,hurricane irene,oatmeal exfoliant soap

How I Feel About Food, In Chart Form

True story.

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You already know how much I love ketchup.

Having as many bizarre cravings as I do, I find this chart pretty interesting:

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In other news…

I want to make this soup this weekend. Who cares if it’s still a thousand degrees out?

I’ve also been craving chickpeas like a crazy person lately. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and started eating them. What the crap? Anyone have any fun recipes?

Annnnnd…Do y’all have any suggestions for future topics you’d like me to post about? Your suggestions are always welcome and encouraged, so feel free to shoot me some ideas!

Have a great weekend!

PS: Thanks for all the Trader Joe’s item suggestions. My list is a mile long!

My Favorite Trader Joe’s Products

As you may remember, Trader Joe’s opened up in Mt. Pleasant last month. Amanda and I went to the grand opening, and I have been many times since. Many, many times. An inappropriate amount of times according to Wachovia. Here are some of my favorite products I’ve had so far.

Trader Joe’s Greek Yogurt + the Sugar, Chocolate, & Coffee grinder:

Spiral Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. For only $4.99, this wine is a steal. It’s much better than the 2 Buck Chuck. Go ahead, splurge a couple more dollars, ha.

I know soda isn’t the best thing for me, but sometimes I have my cravings. I don’t feel too bad drinking these:

Carrot Ginger Soup. It’s got great flavor, and for being low-fat, it’s pretty creamy.

Roasted Chicken Patties. These are incredibly convenient and are great on top of a salad or with a plate of veggies. I am really impressed with how much flavor they have.

Speaking of salads, this Champagne Pear Vinaigrette is awesome. It’s low in calories and fat, but it’s sweetness and chunks of gorgonzola make it an excellent salad dressing.

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle. I made a shrimp & broccoli recipe with this here.

Omega Trek Mix packets. For only 170 calories, these bags full of walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries are a great on-the-go snack.

Freeze-dried mango and banana slices. Holy heck, I could down an entire bag of each of these.

And on the sweet note, these Dark Chocolate Mints are a delightful treat.

I have bought a lot of different products, and of them all, I’ve only been disappointed in two. First up, this Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel & Black Sea Salt. These flavors are right up my alley, but unfortunately the 70% cacao was too bitter for me.

I was psyched to see these prepared beets, but they were much too vinegar-y.

How about you? Which TJ’s products have you loved? Any I should avoid?

Technorati Tags: trader joe's,lemon pepper pappardelle,vinaigrette,champagne pear,chocolate mints,dark chocolate,carrot ginger soup,spiral vines,wine,cabernet sauvignon,omega,nuts,beets,roasted chicken patties

5 Things Every Bitch Should Have In Her Kitch

Before you choke on my title, please remember that a B.I.T.C.H. stands for

Babe

In

Total

Control of

Herself.

Thanks for understanding that I am a bitch and you should be one too! Here we go.

1. A food processor. Preferably one by Cuisinart or Kitchenaid. Both have been around for a while and have good reputations. Choosing between the two is just personal preference, much like choosing between a Nikon or Canon. Do your thing. I have the Kitchenaid 7-Cup food processor (Model # KFP715).

Some of my favorite things I make with my food processor are hummus, whipped banana “ice cream,” smoothies, and almond butter.

2. A Silpat non-stick bating mat.

The Silpat mat can be placed right over a pan before baking cookies or roasting veggies. Cookies slide right off and you don’t even have to use grease! I don’t know what I would do without this.

3. A good knife.

This past birthday I was given my first really good knife, a Shun Santoku knife. This baby is sharp. It cuts things so easily that I’m a bit intimidated using it.

4. A kitchen scale. I think that accurate ingredient measurements are essential for baked goods. Cookies too crumbly? You might be using too much flour. Cookies spreading too thin? You might not be using enough. With a scale, you’ll always have the correct amount of flour which will yield perfectly textured cookies, cakes, bread, and so on. I use the My Weigh KD7000.

It measures in pounds, ounces, grams, and kilograms. It has a removable stainless steel platform and it small enough to sit on your countertop without getting in the way.

5. A cute apron! It’s important to a)look cute while you’re cooking and b)protect your regular clothing, even if it’s gym attire. Nikki gave me this Hungry Meets Healthy embroidered apron for my 26th birthday.

Bonus Item #1: A good friend to assist.

Amanda enjoys cooking as much as I do, so she is always of great help in the kitchen. It’s more fun cooking with a friend because you can relish over then end product together!

Bonus Item #2: A good friend to provide the adult beverages.

Cooking is also much more fun when you have a friend with whom you can toast to life! Be careful not to drink too much during the process though – you want to remember what your dinner tastes like! :)

What are YOUR kitchen essentials?

I’ll do a post on my favorite kitchen utensils soon, too!

Technorati Tags: lits,product review,food processor,kitchenaid,silpat,baking mat,shun,santoku knife,kitchen scale,apron

NYC Weekend Recap

Friday: Kaye met me at LGA and we took a taxi into the city, straight to Washington Square Park to hang out in the sun for a bit. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we wanted to sit so she could eat the Chick-fil-A sandwich that I brought her. Yup, I brought Chick-fil-A and chocolate chip cookies almost 700 miles just for her!

I was kind of jealous of her sandwich so she suggested we try to get into the NYU location. We walked over, only to find out that it was still closed for Summer break. I was 9 days too early! Maybe next time?

Later we met up with my friend Conor for drinks at Blind Tiger and dinner at Fedora in the West Village.

Saturday:

Conor and I rented bikes and rode all over the island. One of our stops along the way at Milk & Cookies, an adorable bakery in the West Village. They have cookies, ice cream sandwiches, brownies, and bars.

I got a s’mores cookie with mint ice cream. Although I didn’t love the combo, they were still good individually.

Conor got a massive ice cream sandwich with chocolate mint cookies and dark chocolate ice cream. Insane.

I also couldn’t resist buying their cookbook that features 84 of their recipes! I want to try all 84, I really do.

We picked our bikes back up and rode from Christopher Street all the way down the island. I saw the Statue of Liberty from really far away!

We continued riding around the bottom of the island, up around the Lower East Side, then back across to the West Village. It was really fun seeing some of the different boroughs. Surprisingly, I didn’t crash my bike once!

That evening, we had dinner at La Esquina. Mmmm…really good Mexican food. After dinner, we went to a bar called Brinkley’s.

Sunday: Before heading to the airport, I had brunch at Café Cluny in the West Village. Ahhh, this place was so cute! It’s a small, French style café with really good food and drinks. I think this was my favorite restaurant this trip.

I headed to the airport around 11 am only to turn back around 3 hours later…USAir cancelled all their Southbound flights due to “weather issues.” It wasn’t even raining!? Much frustration and taxi dollars later, I was back in the city for dinner at Otto. Pizza made me feel a lot better!

Monday: I finally headed home and am now catching up on my life! I had so much fun in NYC, but I love my bed and the heat. Will catch up on all of your blogs soon, promise!