Good Tidings And Cheer

by Emily

Is everything I have to share this week celebratory in nature? Yes! Thankfully I have a lot to celebrate.

In ongoing goodbye festivities… Some coworkers and I went out for a very dietitian-y lunch at Roots. I had a kale salad topped with miso chili tofu, eggs, and other goodies.

And some coworkers and I went out for a much more on brand happy hour at Vitae – in addition to our cocktails we also got to taste-test some marshmallow simple syrup!

My cousin and her fiance hosted an absolutely fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. There were 14 people in attendance but the platter of nachos I made for our appetizer was probably a still bit excessive!

Most exciting morning of the week? I had eggnog Greek yogurt, cranberry seltzer, and a peppermint mocha.

In yogurt bowl fun… Vanilla bean Greek yogurt with cranberry sauce and granola. And a holiday cheer kombucha on the side.

Wegman’s eggnog Greek yogurt with cinnamon Chex and a banana.

25Nov2019

Fluffy GBS

by Emily

I don’t have a ton of photos to share from last week because I ate a bunch of celebratory meals sans camera. By the time I leave for real next week it is going to feel fairly anticlimactic!

A work friend and I went out for drinks at Vitae {highlights include a maple cinnamon sour with smoked rum}.

A big group of co-workers took me out for lunch at Asado {highlights include a smoked chicken quesadilla}.

And my team took me out for dinner at Junction {highlights include a rum and coke with allspice syrup and charred baby carrots with goat cheese and carrot top chimichurri}.

Other highlights include…

Eggnog and coffee!

A vanilla coffee can with a peanut butter chocolate chip Perfect Bar.

The cortadito from Gaurijos is excellent.

Vanilla bean yogurt with maple pecan granola and cranberry relish.

S’mores pie and a cortado at Pie Chest.

An orange creamsicle IPA my family brought me back from Maryland.

Hardywood has released their Fluffy GBS – a toasted marshmallow gingerbread stout!

My cousin took me out for excellent Thai food. My drunken noodles were super spicy and loaded with veggies (including cauliflower!).

Have a great week (and a happy Thanksgiving, all of my American readers)!

15Nov2019

Thankful For Nachos

by Emily

Do I have zero chill? Yes. And did I fully lean in to all things holiday/Thanksgiving flavored in the second week of November? Also yes. I couldn’t help myself, I was ready for cranberry and eggnog and cozy cheer!

Holiday highlights from this week include…

Eggnog in my coffee!

Cranberry seltzer.

Pumpkin pie marshmallows.

Thanksgiving nachos. Trader Joe’s turkey and stuffing kettle chips / swiss and gruyere cheese / turkey andouille sausage / roasted green beans / poblano peppers / cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving totchos. Tots / swiss and gruyere / poblano peppers / green onion / brussel sprouts / cranberry sauce.

Upcoming highlights? I am heading to New York this afternoon to visit ~~Milk Bar’s Thanksgiving croissants~~ my loving husband and dog.

11Nov2019

Pumpkin Oolong

by Emily

Cold weather fully hit Charlottesville this weekend so I kept things pretty low-key. I did talk a walk around the neighborhood to stretch my legs on Saturday but then I spent the rest of the night huddled under the covers!

Amazingly, my food highlights from the weekend were not soup and hot chocolate…

Still loving plain Greek yogurt bowls with cupcake almond butter, MadeGood granola, and loads of fresh berries.

I also enjoyed a bowl with this new Chobani flavor, caramel mocha.

Whole Foods hot bar with a side of journal reading. Best bites were the popcorn chicken and Spanish-style brussel sprout salad with sherry vinegar and yellow raisins.

Pumpkin oolong milk tea(!) with boba and Oreo.

I made the best sheet-pan hash. Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit / prep a sheet pan with foil and baking spray / bake chopped Japanese sweet potato for 20 minutes / add chopped bok choy and green onion and bake another 25 minutes / top with smoked salmon candy / add kewpie mayo and Sriracha if desired.

Candy break.

8Nov2019

Bunnies And Bears

by Emily

My Ohio trip was absolutely perfect! My grandma had a great 90th birthday and it was fantastic to spend time with my family!

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Highlights from the week back home include…

La Colombe caramel oatmilk draft latte.

Adorable elderberry Wild Kombucha with adorable Trader Joe’s tiny gummi bears.

I had the best yogurt bowl toppings – Made Good Cocoa Crunch granola and Noosh cupcake almond butter.

So I made the best yogurt bowls! Plan Greek with almond butter, granola, and blackberries and blueberries.

A friend and I met up at Hardywood to celebrate the release of Gingerbread Stout and discovered their newest beer – Christmas Pancakes, aka GBS with maple syrup!

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11Oct2019

Breakfast Totcho Hash

by Emily

2/3 of what I have to share this week (yes, I did the math) is appropriately on theme for October! Other fun in fall includes… Pumpkin-scented sanitizers.

And an orange-y yellow nail polish (Urbanized by Cirque Colors).

Food highlights include…

The original bests in packaged cold brew – Stumptown and Blue Bottle.

Wegman’s pumpkin pie yogurt with blackberries and maple pecan granola.

Wegman’s pumpkin Greek yogurt with almond butter and honey butter almonds.

A hazelnut, coffee, maca bar and some surprisingly good chickpea-based cookie dough.

Two best pumpkin beers so far this season – coffee Pumpking and Schlafly Pumpkin Ale.

Breakfast totcho sheet pan hash! I baked sweet potato tots, with peppers, onion, cheddar, and scrambled eggs and it was delicious.

It was so yummy it was even good mashed in a container and served leftover.

7Oct2019

Pumpkin And Paw Paw

by Emily

I am headed to NYC next weekend so I kept these past three days especially low-key. I went out for drinks with a coworker, bought a couple of sweaters, and caught up on tv while eating take-out. And that was it! I didn’t even make it to the gym.

Highlights in TV so far include All Rise, Evil, SNL, and The Rookie.

Highlights in food this weekend include…

A paw paw margarita from Vitae.

I didn’t really care for this latte but I loved the new pumpkin pie Perfect Bar.

These seaweed thins are delicious and way easier to eat than typical seaweed snacks (less crumbly and less greasy).

Yogurt bowl perfection. Pumpkin Noosa with blackberries and vanilla almond butter.

Biggest wins so far in Pumpkin Month = Prairie Artisan Ale‘s Basic Becky (an imperial stout with pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, coriander, clove, and caraway) and Coolhaus pumpkin pie cheesecake ice cream (pumpkin and cheesecake ice creams with a graham cracker swirl).

23Sep2019

Quality Time

by Emily

It was the best weekend ever; my boys came to visit me!!!!!

The three of us had just the absolute best time. It helped that we ate and drank such yummy things but mostly it was great to hold Adam’s hand while Webster sat in my lap.

We really made the most of Charlottesville too, we went to our two favorite restaurants and our two favorite drink spots, walked a ton downtown, ran at Riverside Park, and even went to a polo match with a group of my coworkers.

Highlights (including some random things I ate on Friday) include…

An Apple Month breakfast, Trader Joe’s caramel apple yogurt with cinnamon cereal.

Brunch at Quality Pie. We split an egg and cheese biscuit and salmon with scrambled eggs and cream cheese on rye.

Also a chocolate chip cookie.

Hail Merry cookie dough bites.

Beers at Hardywood. Tropic like it’s Hot sour with dragon fruit, blueberry, passionfruit, and pineapple // Tropication IPA // The Great Return IPA // Raspberry Short Kate milkshake IPA brewed with milk sugar and fresh raspberries.

Cocktails at Vitae. S’mores = smoked rum, chocolate bitters, marshmallow simple syrup, orange, and a graham cracker rim.

Hawaiian take out from Mochiko. Mochiko fried chicken with cucumber kimchi, slaw, and rice. Plus a passionfruit shortbread bar.

A simple salad at home. Romaine with champagne vinaigrette, celery, cashews, and curried chicken salad.

Dinner at Little Star = the best meal of the weekend and also maybe the best thing I’ve eaten in 2019. We ordered all of the things but it was serendipitous that we overordered because now Adam has dinner for tonight after his long drive.