Weekish Wrap-Up

by Emily

The title is sort of a pun! Because this post is pretty weak. Get it??

I’ve been all over the place with my posting schedule lately but it just feels right. Especially this two-day “week” because I’ve been total snack monster so I’ve eaten a full post’s worth of food. Here we go…

Cold-brew coffee with low-fat chocolate milk.

Oh, I noticed you admiring my nails {just go with it}, here’s a better shot –

I know they aren’t perfect – and I cleaned up the edges a bit after that photo – but I was so flipping proud to have managed them at all. My hands have made me happy all week.

Onto pictures you’ve actually asked for… welcome to my office at work!

It is never as messy as my hair is in that picture {yikes!}.

I haven’t done much decorating, but I have a few touches to make it feel like home (mostly reminders of Webster).

But back to my mocha, that did not make me happy. I bought a jug of chocolate milk and made a week’s worth of coffee… but I used the butter rum flavored coffee from Target and ultimately it is just too nasty to drink. I ended up throwing out my whole batch!

I had this Dannon pecan drinkable yogurt on the train.

I was really impressed with how creamy it was.

Work lunch.

An apple,

and leftover shrimp pad thai from the weekend.

I still can’t believe we were able to make it taste so good/authentic.

Another lunch. This one not nearly as photogenic.

Pumpernickel with miracle whip, grape jam, banana peppers, sharp cheddar, and smoked turkey.

A red pear.

And a mini Honeycomb chocolate from Chuao.

Snacks at work: Lots of tea from my Numi samples.

Haribo liquid center fruit gummi candies.

And a bag of Somersaults.

Snacks at home: A packet of tuna salad.

A ridiculous peanut butter fudge mug cake.

And a mini Firecracker Chocolate from Chuao.

I don’t know how they keep the pop rocks so fresh when they’re enrobed in chocolate but this bar had crackle!

Last night’s dinner was rice noodles with bean sprouts and tons of broccoli cooked in peanut sauce.

Normally this is one of our favorite meals but this dinner felt very meh.

And that’s all she wrote! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

25Feb2014

Loves Of Late

by Emily

Here are some of the things I’ve been obsessed with lately. Missing from the list? Coffee. Still coffee. Always coffee. ❤

{1} My Sugar Paper desk calendar.

I picked it out primarily because I liked the way it looked (polka dots!) but I love that it has lined space for notes along the side and a full year’s calendar on the bottom of each month.

My day planner is from there as well – more dots! – and I’m a big fan of that too.

In the life of a list-maker, a good quality planner is very important.

{2} The web comic series “Girls with Slingshots” by Danielle Corsetto.

It is the funny, racy, comic version of my weekly soaps. I read all the way through the archive and now I’m enjoying seeing what happens to the main characters from day-to-day.

{3} NBC’s Parks and Recreation.

How on earth did I wait so long to get into this show?! I’m actually not watching it in real-time yet, but Netflix instant-streaming it is rocking my face off. I love (love, love) every character and the story lines are intensely funny and sweet. My only regret is that I watched the first 2 seasons without Adam, who has now grown to adore it as well.

On a related note – when I thinking about how much Parks and Rec has been making my life lately I started thinking about other shows I loved. For funsies, I’ve got another post coming this week with a comprehensive list of the other shows that have stolen my heart.

{4} Comedy Central’s Key and Peele.

The sketches are smart and funny. The substitute teacher one embedded above is my favorite, but “Office Homophobe” is also amazing.

24Feb2014

Weekend Wrap-Up; Winter’s Gone And I’m Not Sad

by Emily

Winter is not gone for good, obviously, but it took a much-appreciated hiatus this weekend. It was so warm yesterday that we could walk the dog without coats!

Oh spring, you cannot come soon enough.

Stream of consciousness style, here is some of what I ate this weekend…

Thursday’s lunch.

The new Key Lime 2% Fage is so ridiculously good. I stopped on my way home that same day to buy more!

Plus a Lady Alice apple.

And a Strawberry Lemonade Cascade Ice.

I bought the drink with my own money after enjoying my samples, but something in this reeeeeally made my stomach hurt so I probably won’t be buying it again.

Friday’s lunch was a delicious sandwich of 1 slice of pumpernickel topped with Miracle Whip, fancy blue cheese, banana peppers, and Applegate Farms Roasted Turkey.

Plus an emmy’s dark cacao macaroon – my new favorite flavor.

And a pear.

The Somersaults you see in the background were swapped out for this Double Shot.

My coffee obsession accepts all forms.

We blended up a final round of our favorite smoothie.

That was the last of our chocolate peppermint soy milk until next holiday season.

I ate a bowl of sugar cereal(s).

Kid’s aren’t all wrong, this was fricking delicious.

I dipped sliced green apple in a blend of melted peanut butter and dark chocolate sauce.

I love green apples when paired with something sweet or cheesy but the thought of eating one all on its lonesome makes my lips purse up.

I tried another evolution juice.

The Essential Greens with Lime was much, much better than the variety I threw out the other day. Still can’t hold a candle to fresh juice though.

I ate a ton of ice cream.

The Ben and Jerry’s Cores are out of control. We’ve tried blondie salted caramel and chocolate hazelnut and both were great. Adam actually liked them more than I did, which says a lot because he claims not be into ice cream.

A friend and I met up at Bierkraft and shared this cider.

It didn’t taste like maple at all, sadly. But it packed some kick, apparently, because we went out for burgers afterward and it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until there was only one bite left on my plate.

I got an easy dinner from Trader Joe’s after I went grocery shopping at 8 pm on Saturday.

Along with my salad – which was delicious – I had cheesy bread. Aka a baguette baked with butter and sharp cheddar.

That was more delicious than the salad. Obviously.

We made shrimp Pad Thai. And it was good!!!

First, we had to turn this –

into this –

Making tamarind paste “from scratch” felt super badass, just fyi. And it was very essential to getting a good sauce.

Basically just rice noodles, carrots, bean sprouts, shrimp, eggs, and this sauce, cooked in canola oil and topped with lime, scallion, and crushed peanut.

It tasted legit! I can’t even tell you how proud I was.

Last night our dinner plans fell through and we ended up with turkey burger take-out from Bare Burger.

Not the original plan but certainly nothing to complain about. Mine had turkey bacon, peppers, fried onions, and smoked cheese.

Have you ever made Pad Thai at home? How’d it turn out?

21Feb2014

Around The Web

by Emily

Yay for the upcoming weekend, with highs in the 50’s (!!) in NYC! Whether you plan on spending your Friday night learning or laughing, this post’s got you covered.

things to make you think

– click on the text for the links –

Whole-wheat consumption is not linked to increased obesity in the general population. {study}

Myth-busting: 5 misconceptions about Registered Dietitians.

Hospitals’ use of infant formula for newborns increases rate of early breast-feeding cessation, even among moms who are to exclusively breast-feed. {study, abstract only}

Consumption of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids may help maintain brain volume with age. {study, abstract only}

Potential new “superfoods” from around the globe.

things to make you giggle

source

What are your big plans for this weekend? Any marathons planned?

20Feb2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Out Of Order

by Emily

A Sunday – Wednesday post? Why not! I’m a little out of sorts this week because I’ve been (just slightly) under the weather. Thankfully it hasn’t been too bad, but I’ve had: the sniffles; difficulty speaking as much as I need to at work; and insane, crushing exhaustion. I seem to be on the upswing though, and I’m posting today as a hopeful symbolic fresh week.

Thanks to my sore throat, I’ve been loving the tea. Earl Gray with skim milk and lots of honey.

Black tea with ginseng and honey from Arizona.

And I even tried some juice.

Ugh, couldn’t do it. I’m not a big (fruit) juice person anyway but this stuff was terrible.

Other things I didn’t like this week included.. A cinnamon dolce latte that was fully flavored because I forgot to ask for “half syrup,”

and emmy’s chai spice macaroons.

Both were too cinnamon-y for my tastes.

We also had a terrible meal at a burger place in Astoria.

My turkey burger was fine, but nothing to write home about, but the Fruity Pebbles milkshake we attempted to share – aka the entire reason we were excited about the restaurant – was horrendous. No flavor and very soggy.

We had much more success at home!

Like the croissant ‘wich I recreated from my brunch at Penelope’s.

A split croissant topped with scrambled eggs {cooked with red and green peppers and light sour cream}, maple bacon tempeh, and sharp cheddar.

Just as good as the original. Adam liked his too.

We also made some turkey bacon carbonara with whole wheat linguine.

Recipe from Cooking Light.

Here’s the only lunch I managed to pack for work (other days I had total junk from the cafeteria).

Leftover tempeh with sharp cheddar on pumpernickel.

Seaweed.

Leftover bell pepper slices.

And a minneola.

For dessert this week we continued to adore emmy’s dark chocolate sauce.

And this combination of strawberry and cola gummies wasn’t bad either.

Either together, of course.

Is anyone else fighting a winter cold?

16Feb2014

Wrap-Up; Will You Be My Valentine?

by Emily

Hi there!

Long time no blog.

I know I’ve ~~bitched~~ blogged about this before, but Adam’s schedule is killing me. And he’s on a particularly busy rotation as of last week – with an insane commute – and I’m kind of losing my mind. So I apologize for missing a post, but I just didn’t have writing in me. I also missed many photo opportunities this week. However, my valentine and I did have some great moments, so, in no particular order, is some of what I did capture…

emmy’s

Emmy’s recently stepped up their efforts to be environmentally and socially conscious and they sent me a box of samples to help spread the news.

From the company – Emmy’s Organics is a 100% vegan and gluten-free food company that prides itself on the quality, creativity & sustainability of the products it offers. The company uses only the finest non-GMO ingredients in everything produced. All packaging is made from biodegradable and earth-friendly materials. All goods produced are made in a vegan & gluten-free kitchen. For more information visit emmysorganics.com.

I opened, and devoured, the mint chip macaroons pretty much the second I got the box.

And the dark chocolate sauce was stellar on coffee ice cream.

The texture was wonderfully thick and smooth.

work lunches

Yogurt day.

Yogurt topped with fresh blackberries and a crumbled macaroon. The macaroon was coconut vanilla, my favorite flavor thus far.

And the yogurt was Greek God’s Honey Salted Caramel.

That stuff is crazy thick and the smell is out of control.

Boxed to go.

Minneola,

Crisp Apple Cascade Ice that I bought with my own money because I enjoyed my sample flavors so much,

and a go picnic box.

I got a bunch of these on sale the other day and I’m pretty excited about them.

Cereal and milk.

An apple and a chocolate chili macaroon – the first flavor I didn’t care for, way too spicy. And blueberry cashew super cereal which was loaded with buckwheat groats and dried fruit.

I bought a milk cartoon from the cafeteria.

new things

Birthday Cake M&M’s.

Meh. The flavored m&m’s, while exciting, are all way too sweet.

Lady Alice apple.

Sweet! The flavor is sweet instead of tart and the skin feels so much like an apricot.

Rockin’ Nut Road Snickers.

Sweet! The marshmallow was great.

pizza pizza

Isn’t homemade pizza just the best?

We topped Trader Joe’s garlic and herb dough with pizza sauce, light mozzarella, sliced green olives, and tons of sautéed mushrooms.

Green olives are my favorite topping.

Morton’s birthday

The Morton Salt girl celebrates her 100th birthday this year and the company sent me a giant tin stuffed with goodies to celebrate.

In 2014 they are introducing the industry’s first Garlic Sea Salt as well as gourmet-style grinders for sea salt, roasted garlic sea salt, and black peppercorn. Also, be on the look out for a brand facelift and these limited edition birthday packages.

Manhattan meals

We had brunch at Empire Biscuit that rocked our faces off.

Best biscuits ever! My (all butter, aka no lard) biscuit was topped with pimento cheese and black grape jam.

And to drink we split an iced Blue Bottle coffee.

Good God, I love Blue Bottle so much!

Another amazing, local coffee was espresso with skim milk from The Bean.

P.S. That was one of 4 coffees I had that afternoon. My coffee addiction is still raging.

Puddin’, from Puddin’.

Adam and I shared coffee pudding and dulce de leche pudding with salted caramel sauce.

This stuff was insanely rich but so good. We recommended Puddin’ to the family that took our table at Empire Biscuit and we ended up all showing up for dessert at the same time! They loved it too.

Dinner with a Groupon at S’mac.

We shared the Buffalo Chicken and the Parisienne – Creamy Brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms, and fresh rosemary.

The crusts were the best part of both. Adam is very jazzed about our leftovers.

What’d you do to celebrate Valentine’s this year?

9Feb2014

All Of The Sads

by Emily

Frick!!! As I went to write my post wrapping up this weekend I accidentally deleted all of my pictures!

Including the picture of the brownie batter donut from Dunkin that I got to try – the filling was gritty like batter but the donut itself was boring.

And the really amazing burgers I made – Hawaiian Burgers with pineapple and macadamia nuts and pineapple bbq sauce.

And an adorable photo of Adam and I gearing up for the gym – yep, we finally joined a gym! I’ve been three times thus far and working out again is rocking my face off. On Saturday I ran 20 minutes, split up into intervals of 5 minutes with walking in between. Then on Sunday I did 60 minutes on the treadmill, 20 sets of 2 minutes walking/1 minute running. So fun. <– that’s not sarcasm

And the delicious salads we had with our burgers – a lettuce blend topped with yogurt blue cheese dressing, macadamia nuts, raisins, and Linwood Shelled Hemp.

And the banging cheese plate we made for dinner on Friday – green apple, dried apricots, green pepper, baby carrots, and three amazing cheeses: a cave aged blue, the goat’s milk cheddar we’re obsessed with, and a heart-shaped Neufchâtel.

Boo. I hope everyone had a good weekend!

7Feb2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lonely Island

by Emily

Let’s be honest – being married to a surgical resident sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of Adam that he’s such a smartypants and I love that he gets the opportunity to do something meaningful that excites him, but if I had my druthers I think we would both be beach bums working together at a part-time job somewhere.

We don’t have any time now. After 11 years together (and 6 years of marriage) we somehow still really like each other so living as two ships passing in the night, as I said, sucks.

It’s not great for blog content either. Adam was on night shifts all this week and I was home alone which meant I ate cereal and/or popcorn most days. Not a ton of healthy living to share! And it didn’t help that when I pulled up my photos to write this post half of them were horrendous and were promptly deleted. Here is what I do have to share…

Work lunch 1.

Fresh mango,

and a Passion Fruit Noosa.

This was the first time I had ever tried passion fruit not in juice form. I liked the crunchy seeds!

Work lunch 2.

Peach Noosa,

topped with fresh blueberries,

and Linwood Ground Flax Seed with Cocoa, Strawberries, and Blueberries.

The flax was part of a box of samples I recently received to review.

It was quite good; you couldn’t taste the berries but it had a nice hint of chocolate. I keep meaning to bring flax back into my life so the samples came at a great time.

Pink smoothie.

Chocolate peppermint soy milk with frozen strawberries. Adam is obsessed with this combination. The only plus to nights is that he is home with me in the morning for breakfast.

Zing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar.

This didn’t have the best texture but it did a great job of keeping me full.

Gummi Koalas.

These are Adam’s favorites but they couldn’t hold a candle to my new obsession with Haribo Juicy Bears.

Blissinger’s Dulce de Leche with Sea Salt bar.

Yuck! Way too salty. I’m hoping that the husband ends up liking it because it was quite expensive and I could only eat one square.

Santa Fe Salsa Somersaults.

This one I have no complaints about 🙂

Oven baked fries.

With evoo, truffle salt, and dried rosemary from my grandma’s garden.

Iowa Girl Eats’ Chicken Chili topped with extra-sharp cheddar, low-fat sour cream, and pickled jalopeños.

I skipped the brown sugar, doubled the onion, and added some liquid smoke. Adam loooooved this, and he says he hates chili.

Leftover chili stuffed in a baked potato.

With more cheese, sour cream, and jalopeños, and roasted broccoli on the side(s). This was ~~cheesy~~ amazing. We need to make baked potatoes more often.

Do you feel like you get enough time with your significant other or does work get in the way?

Eating Chalk

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Weekish Wrap-Up

Loves Of Late

Weekend Wrap-Up; Winter’s Gone And I’m Not Sad

Around The Web

things to make you think

things to make you giggle

Weekly Wrap-Up; Out Of Order

Wrap-Up; Will You Be My Valentine?

emmy’s

work lunches

new things

pizza pizza

Morton’s birthday

Manhattan meals

All Of The Sads

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lonely Island