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September: A Bookworm in the Pumpkin Patch

Posted on September 30, 2015 by kissmybroccoli

Good morning, broccoli bites!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday morning…and if not, well at least we’re halfway to Friday, right? And I can actually be excited right along with you becaaaaaaaause I don’t have to work this weekend! The girls are on fall break so we took the weekend and plan on smothering them in hugs and kisses.

BUT before we head off to go pick up our little beauties, I thought I’d pop in with a “Currently” post and let you guys in on what I’ve been up to for the last thirty days…you know, since I’ve been MIA for umm…twenty-six of them?

Well, first off, I’ve still been rocking the jewels and even coming to the realization that yellow gold? Well you ain’t so bad after all. Sorry I’ve been dissing you for all those years. Also, I’d like to give a big shout out to “Chrome”, my photo filter extraodinaire that made my hair look so ravishing red! 😉

Current Book:

I’ve definitely been flying through some pages lately! From my book haul earlier this month, I’m already on my fourth book. Summer Sisters was amazing…I laughed, I cried, I wanted to punch a fictional character in the face. One Day was just as maddening as the movie which I hadn’t realized I’d already seen until after I started reading. Dogwalker was a mind-blowing…or possibly warping eclectic mix of stories, and finally Warm Bodies is holding up to my expectations and kinda making me fall for a zombie.

Current Music:

RahBERT DEEEElonnnnnng!!

I was in love with him before but after seeing him perform at Loufest and then finally getting my hands on his latest album, I am now obsessed. So much so that my friends and I are driving up to Kentucky next month to see him live again. My favorite song is “Jealousy” isn’t available on the web yet so I’ll leave you with Jason’s favorite. All it takes is 45 seconds…and then he’ll ♫ make you fucking dance! ♫

Current Guilty Pleasure:

I keep thinking that one of these days I’ll grow out of my pumpkin addiction, but I just don’t see that happening any time soon. So kiss my ass, Huffington Post!

Current Entertainment:

Well, other than having my nose in books, Jason and I have been hitting up the Redbox hard over the last week. We’ve seen Mad Max…INcredible, Cinderella…sadly underwhelming (I really wanted Helena Bonham Carter to have a bigger role), and Age of Adaline…so sweet I almost cried.

Current Wish/Needs:

To magically wake up and now all the ins and outs of interior design. I’ve decided this house needs an overhaul in a bad way so what little bit of time I’ve had this month, between movies, books, and time with my loves, I’ve been click, click, clicking away through window treatments, accent tables, wall art, and bedding sets. To make matters worse, I visited a friend the other day who instantly made me jealous with her house that looks like it came out of a West Elm catalog…and she’s only been in it for a few months!

Current Food:

Cheese. Plain and simple. But more so when not so simple like with these mouth-watering nachos that I enjoyed with my friends on the way back from Loufest a few weeks ago. Also, I’ve been whipping up some tasty dips left and right lately. Just hand me a few blocks of cream cheese and watch me go! Lol

Current Drink:

And speaking of pumpkin, I might as well be drinking it too, right? Mark my words, I have found the KING of all pumpkin ales. I tried it at a bar in St. Louis and then lucked up and found it at Publix when we got home. No weird spicy taste that burns your tongue. Nope, this shit tastes like pie!

Current Triumphs:

Helping Jason successfully stack eight bags of mulch, one bag of garden soil, and two bags of daffodil bulbs in Lowe’s garden center, then shoveling 193586 buckets of rock out of the backyard, and planting eight pots of ground cover that has so far made it through the week and remains green!

Current Bane of Existence:

Apple. They just HAD to go and change shit! I was already having enough problems with my laptop and then they had to go and force me to update my IOS, photo library, AND iTunes. I can’t figure out anything! Hence the reason for only popping in four days this month. Grumble.

Current Blogger Crush:

Do you know ~~the muffin man~~ Lindsay? If not, you are definitely missing out. She is…well, she’s pretty much the shit. There, I said it. I’ve known her for a while now – almost as long as I’ve been blogging actually – but a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to meet her in person. She truly is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. And? Along with being an ace at anything gluten-free, she has some KILLER food photography! Oh, and let’s just say she has a way with balls. 😉

Current Indulgence:

Arriving to work early just so I can paint my nails in the car! I made sure to squeak out the last few days of summer with my pinks but now I’m moving on to fall neutrals. And HELLO? How about I finally got my nails back?! Just took some patience…and about four coats of polish. 😉

Current Blessing:

I know I’ve gotten pretty gag-worthy sappy on you guys dozens of times already, but I just have to say that Jason is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Not only the way I feel when I’m around him, but how he makes me feel about myself. And how I can make a complete ass of myself and HE’S the one who does the apologizing.

Current Outfit:

In an effort to whip some motivation into my lazy ass, I got on tjmaxx.com a few days ago and went wild in the workout leggings section. I ended up ordering five pair of some pretty crazy patterns. Three of them fit. While wearing this pair to the gym last night, I struck up a conversation with a girl who is going to buy the other two from me! Score!

Current Excitement:

Everyone, I’d like you to meet Tom…Tom the Toolshed. Jason and I adopted him on Friday of last week and the ~~stork~~ delivery man will be arriving with him tomorrow night! His arrival only precedes more good news, but well, you’ll just have to wait to hear more on that…we only have space for ONE excitement per month. 😉

Current Link:

My new comforter set! <- What do you guys think?

Current Mood:

Anxious

Are you riding the pumpkin palooza train with me? What goodies have you found?

Anyone want to come over and fix my computer? I’ll pay in food!

Posted in Currently | Tagged books, cheese, Jason, jewelry, pumpkin, Robert Delong, workouts, yardwork | 13 Comments

Flamingo Friday

Posted on September 18, 2015 by kissmybroccoli

What up, peoples?

I have a BIG treat for your eyes today…besides my lovely face. Lol.

But before we began…well, umm, you may want to make yourself a little snack because, you see, this post could induce gnawing on mice, drooling on keyboards, or damaging other computer accessories due to uncontrollable Pavlov responses.

So it all started back in July when Jason took me to a little place in Paducah, KY for dinner called Flamingo Row. He’d been there before and said he knew I would love it…and he was right! I’ve wanted to tell you guys about it for a while but well, you know…life. Then we went again in August and I forgot to take pictures. THEN, on the way back from Loufest, we got the chance to go for the THIRD time AND introduce it to our friends. So now I’m basically bursting at the seams!

The first time we went, I swear it took me twenty minutes to pick something off the menu. In the end, Jason was a true gentleman and ordered the other item I was thinking of as my second option. Yep, that’s when I knew he was a keeper. Lol. Also, I went with the item that came with the bacon-chive potato salad because Jason had talked it up pretty big…I was in NO way disappointed.

He ordered the Monte Cristo Fillymingo, one of their famous hand-stuffed sandwich that are baked fresh daily. This one was stuffed with ham, turkey, Swiss, and Provolone cheeses, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a side of raspberry jam. But would you just look at that #cheeseporn?!

And if that wasn’t enough, my sandwich was over the top! I ended up with the Cuban Mojo: Panini Parmesan bread, roasted pork loin, Black Forest ham, Swiss, with spicy mojo sauce. I swear I wanted to lick that sauce off my fingers, the plate…if it had fallen to the floor, I may have checked to see no one was looking…you only THINK I’m kidding!

The second time we went, I only managed to get a picture of our appetizer, the Bamboo Stick: Bread stick filled with Muenster and caramelized onions served with butter, garlic oil and marinara. The caramelized onions weren’t very pronounced, but holy JEEZ that cheese was good…especially with that butter garlic sauce.

After that, we were a little disappointed with our entree selections as we both took a chance and ordered something other than one of their sandwiches. But they were edible AND when I asked the waitress about all the amazing sounding sauces they have, she brought a sample of most of them to our table! I tried the “Lizard sauce” (habanero pepper, raspberry preserves, and liquid gold), horseradish raspberry mustard, and the mango chipotle barbecue sauce. I was in heaven.

When we took our friends, I was so excited that they wanted to try the nachos. I’d seen them brought to a table on one of our other visits, but knew we’d NEVER be able to finish our meal if we ordered them. And split between four people, we STILL weren’t able to finish our meals! These things were amazing. Perfectly cheesy, not too spicy with the jalapenos, and the sour cream came spiked with some sort of spices that was insanely good.

This time, I ordered another of the Fillymingos, The Club. It was stuffed with ham, turkey, bacon & Colby-Jack cheese and I asked for a side of “Lizard sauce” for dipping. Also, I couldn’t very well go without the bacon-chive potato salad…even though I didn’t even touch it until I got home.

And Jason went with the Caribbean Dip, medium rare roast beef, jalapeno mayo, and melted Provolone on a toasted baguette with au jus and? bacon-chive potato salad! We both loved our picks and each others so it worked out perfectly that we were able to eat about half and trade leftovers later that day. 😀

What’s the best restaurant you’ve been to lately?

What did you order?

Posted in Restaurant Review | Tagged cheese, Flamingo Row, nachos, sandwich | 7 Comments

Music Monday: The Loufest 2nd Edition

Posted on September 14, 2015 by kissmybroccoli

Hey there, kiddos!

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m typing this up BEFORE heading up to St. Louis for my second turn at outdoor musical festivities. I’ve already reviewed the park map, made a mental note of some of the eateries I want to try from the “Nosh Pit”, and of course compiled a playlist for the trip.

Though I’m not as pumped as I was last time, I did find a few bands other than Misterwives that I’m excited/curious to see. Also, I’m happy to announce that there will be quite a few Nashvillians on the stages this year…none of which are country! Yee haw!

Robert Delong

It only took me about five seconds to I fell head over heels in love with this guy after hitting play on this song. The more I listened, the more my excitement grew and I just HAD to hear more. Then, without even realizing it, I was singing right along. And if he doesn’t completely blow your mind with his impressive combination of beats AND lyrics, just look at the boy go…he’s a one man band!

Milo Greene

And now on the flip side, we have a quintet with FOUR lead singers and ONE name! This was the first song that piqued my interest. Then, after watching this video followed by this video, I was convinced that they’re live performances are amazing and ready to witness it first-hand. The only curiosity that remains is…how WILL Marlana’s hair look? 😉

Colony House

This is one of the bands that I’m so happy will be representing Nashville. While the lead singer and the drummer are sons of Christian pop musician Steven Curtis Chapman, they definitely have more of a rock edge. I was introduced to them back in February when they performed before Sir Sly at the KONGOS concert and they totally seriously brought down the house!

Lord Huron

More like Lord Have MERCY! There’s just something about that voice. I tend to lean more toward pop and rock side of the indie spectrum, but these guys make me say, “FOLK YEAH?!” <- Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, this video is super cute…and perhaps some of you might recognize Pretty Little Liars’ own Shane Correy as the fool?

Young the Giant

The first time I heard “Cough Syrup” back in 2011, I loved it, but unfortunately, I never really took the time to check out YTG more closely until recently. Since I pretty much gave up radio listening a year or so ago, I’ve missed the stuff off their newer album so it kinda feels like Christmas over here!

Alright, so just like last year, I was able to come up with a 50-song playlist only this time it’s more of a wider range sampling. And if you scroll down a bit…yep, you’re seeing that right, Billy Idol and Ludacris are gonna be there! Craziness!

What is your current favorite song?

What’s your best guess at Billy Idol’s age? 😉