InstaFOOD Friday

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Friday!

Come…join me, the weekend is fine! 😀

So yesterday, I kinda left you guys with a bit of a doozy, didn’t I? After taking a look at my photo library for the last couple of weeks, I noticed I haven’t taken many food pictures lately…and the ones I have taken, I’ve only shared on Instagram. Since I have a bad habit of forgetting that not EVERYONE has access to the best app ever created, I figured today would be a good day for all you squares to catch up on the latest and greatest! 😉

Greek Yogurt with Chocolate

Yesterday’s tease was a dessert breakfast of plain Greek yogurt (it’s under there…somewhere) topped with cinnamon apple chips (which I’m now out of and cursing Amanda for ever having turned me on to them!), coconut chips, CHOCOLATE chips, maple almond butter, and the star of the show…chai-spiked cocoa sauce! All I did was mix this chai latte powder with cocoa powder and a bit of water! Bam!

Kabocha Greek Yogurt & M&M's

Keeping up with the dessert-y (yep, totally making that a word) meals, this bad boy was dinner a couple of weeks ago…steamed kabocha (because I was too impatient to roast it) topped with Greek yogurt, cinnamon, almond butter, annnnnnnnd CAKE BATTER FRICKIN’ M&M’S!!! Oh yes, I went there…and I died…and then I came back to life, took another bite and died again. I am now typing this post from an alternate universe. Wrap your mind around THAT, folks!

Cookie Dough CupcakeWhen I haven’t been using all my energy to resuscitate myself, I’ve been having a full on love affair with my boss…I MEAN WITH HER BAKED GOODS! 😉 Man oh man, you guys, this woman can make a MEAN cupcake…dense yet fluffy cake topped with sweet buttercream icing and chocolate chips with a surprise inside…

Cookie Dough Cupcake - Inside

For the love of all things HOLY, what’s a girl gotta do to get another one of these?! Oh yes, that is most DEFINITELY a lump of creamy, gooey, irresistible COOKIE DOUGH inside that innocent looking cupcake! Seriously…I had a moment…a When Harry Met Sally moment that is! 😉

Avocado & Banana ToastThere’s also been some #strangebutgood action going on…because you guys know I can’t go long without a good dose of weirdness. I’ve introduced you to the avocado/banana combo before, baaaa-UT? Slap that shit on some toast and sprinkle on some Trader Joe’s cocoa coffee grinder (if you have some that you’ve been hoarding for two years like me) and cinnamon and you’ve got yourself a winner winner stranger dinner! 😉

Fajita Nachos

Of course, with all the ups, there has to be at least one let down, right? A friend and I decided to beat the crowds for Cinco de Mayo…so we went on the FIRST! Lol. I had a MAAAAAD craving for some nachos, but unfortunately, Casa Blanca’s fajita nachos left me wanting. Guess I’ll just have to stick with my beloved El Bracero when it comes to Mexican…where I know I can also order a margarita the size of a small child! But damn, would you look at that CHEESE?!

Texas Roadhouse Leftovers

On Cinco de Mayo, I actually went out for American food….but not just any American food…American COMFORT food! I had a bit of time before work, so I met up with a friend at our new Texas Roadhouse. I ordered the grilled chicken with sautéed onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a side of veggies. While we chatted and nibbled on some rolls with the most AMAZING cinnamon butter, we kinda lost track of time…we actually ended up waiting nearly 45 minutes for our food! When we mentioned something to the waiter, it sounded like our order got misplaced. Just when we were thinking we were gonna have to leave (so I wouldn’t be late to work), our food came out with a manager saying our meal would be comped! #winning

Plus, I ended up with enough leftovers to make THREE meals! The first two escaped photo-documentation, but I certainly saved the best for last…

Mashed Potatoes with Egg

I’m sorry, you don’t top your mashed potatoes and gravy with a fried egg? Because I most certainly will every time from now to the end of my days! Oh my GAWD! Yeah, totally patting myself on the back, taking a bow, and blowing kisses to my imaginary audience for this combination!

And well, if you guys know me at all, then you HAD to know this was coming…

Yolkporn

#yolkporn #drool #slapyomama #peaceoutbitches 😆

What’s the BEST thing you’ve eaten lately?

Any big plans for the weekend?

Posted in Randomness, Restaurant Review, Strange But Good | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Thinking Out Loud: Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot!

Good morrrrrrrrrrning, Vietnam Blogworld! 

And yes, I’m fairly certain that I’ve aged myself with that greeting, but I don’t really care because it’s Thursday (which is my Friday) and you know what that means…time for another round of Thinking Out Loud!

First and FOREMOST, I want to say a big thank you to each and every one of you who left a comment on last Thursday’s post on Dieting PTSD. Like I said, that was not an easy one to publish but the amount of encouragement, support, and empathy you guys gave leaves me feeling empowered, humbled, and teary-eyed.

Oh my gosh, I love you guys!

Tulip Poplar Flower

You know what else I love? Pretty flowers! Last weekend, I went on another hike…this time on the trails over near my house. You know, the ones I always get lost on? Well, this time I did NOT get lost…exactly. I knew precisely where I was when I came out in the middle of a nearby neighborhood…that was four miles away from home!

Frog

Yep, one day I’ll learn, but until then, I’ll just keep losing my direction while picking flowers and stalking adorable little tree frogs! 😉 You guys should know that this pic was taken with my still NEW iPhone on FULL zoom…that little guy was about the size of a quarter!

Fan - Hot

We had some amazing weather last weekend and it has continued on into the week…every day it’s gotten up to at least the high 70’s…and it only took until last night for me to finally realize that the ceiling fans were NOT cutting it and turned on the AC! The deciding factor may or may not have been me sweating while trying to put on my makeup for work…oh yeah, all my ladies know what I’m sayin’!

Homemade KombuchaAs warm as it’s been, you’d think it only would have taken a few days for my homemade kombucha to finish brewing…but at day seven, a taste proved to still be too sweet for my liking. Baaaaaa-UT? At day ELEVEN she’s PERFECT!! Now it’s time to get to flayyyyyyy-voring!

*fist pump*

Another fist pump moment…I’ve been sleeping like an absolute ANGEL! Perhaps it’s because I’ve finally been feeling like myself again after two weeks of being “off”, perhaps it’s because I’ve been busier than a one-armed bandit at work each night, or perHAPS it’s because I’ve come to the realization that if you stack the liquid AND pill forms of Benedryl, you end up in pure slumber BLISS!

Gym Selfie

After a WHOLE MONTH of dedicating all of my sweet sweat time to my yoga mat, last Saturday, I made it to the gym for the first time! Endurance? What’s that?! Five minutes on the elliptical and I was already dripping from head to toe! And I totally went back yesterday for more!

Oh and I had a proud (non-masochistic) moment yesterday! After being kinda how-hum on the veggie front for the last week or so AND being that it is the time of the month where the only color I want to eat is brown CHOCOLATE, how about I ran to store for lemons and came out with…

Veggie Love

Snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes…and bonus points for not forgetting the lemons! 😉

Greek Yogurt with Chocolate

But don’t you worry, I made sure to balance out all that healthy shit with a bit of “summer” indulgence! 😉

Thinking-Out-Loud

Now hop on over to Spoons and see what everyone else is thinking about today!

Tell me, what’s on your mind this week?

How’s the weather been?

Posted in Randomness, Thinking Out Loud | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Will Work for Wine!

Hey hey HEYYYYYYY!

I hope you guys had a fantastic weekend! Mine was full of a little of this and a little of that, but the highlight? The most MARVELOUS part was most definitely getting together with the besties for A Toast to Tennessee Wine Festival on Saturday!

Wine Fest - Besties

We got all gussied up and made the trek to Nashville for a day of fun in the sun that started with wine glasses hanging from our necks (seriously, whose brilliant idea was THAT?!). The event was held at Nashville Shores waterpark and with over TWENTY Tennessee wineries represented, we knew it wouldn’t be long before…well, I’m sure you can guess! 😉

Wine Fest - Toast to Tennessee 2014

Wine Fest - Me & Cheryl 1

Wine Fest - Me & Sherri

Our sweet, angelic PRE-buzz faces!

Wine Fest - SamplesWhat goes well with wine? Cheese and crackers of course…even better when they’re FREE (samples)!

Wine Fest - Wine on Tap

Yup, totally need one of these at my house!

Wine Fest - Drink Up BitchesWine Fest - Besties Selfie

This was right after we found the tent serving up the “healthy” pours…and then proceeded to taste everything they had on the table! 😉

French Fries & Wine

Break for food!

French Fries

My French fries were obviously so good they deserved a close up! 😆

Wine Fest - Selfie

Wine Fest - Besties Dancing

And what happens when you get a bunch of winos together and a DJ puts on The Cha Cha Slide? Yeah, you better BELIEVE I was right there next to those girls after I stopped long enough to secure some future blackmail snap a picture! 😉

For the record, we DID have a DD (thanks Ms. D for putting up with all our crazy drunken antics!) and also for the record, we are already planning our trip for next year! Oh and check it out, I actually practiced some restraint with my “souvenirs”…

Wine Coasters

Wine Fest - Wine

Let’s just hope the Cajunfest is as good as I “remember” it being 30 minutes before we closed down the park! Lol

The day was absolutely perfect…warm and sunny with just enough of a breeze to keep us cool while we were shaking our groove thangs! So many laughs and even MORE memories made with my two favoritest women in the whole world! This is seriously going down as one of the best days EVER!

Oh and I just have to share one more little snippet from the day. A conversation bestie #1 (the blonde) had with a complete stranger:

Bestie: “Oh wow, I really love your dress!”
Stranger: “Oh, thank you!”
Bestie: “I’d totally get one of those if I had the boobs to fill it out.”
Stranger: “Oh, well, /mine are fake”
Bestie: “Seriously?! But they look SO real!”
Stranger: “You bet! Wanna feel?”

And the rest folks, is Facebook friend history! 😆

Have you ever been to a wine festival?

When was the last time you boogied down? 😉

Posted in MIMM | Tagged , , , , , | 34 Comments