San Francisco Recap, Day 1 & 2

If you follow me on instagram you’ve already figured this out, but {surprise!} I’ve been in San Francisco for the past week.  Adam had the last two weeks of November for vacation again this year so I took the time off as well.  We spent week 1 on the West coast and now we are headed off to Ohio for Thanksgiving family time.  So far it’s been great!

I have a ton to share from SF – we basically walked and ate all day, every day – so I’m going to try to keep myself from being too wordy, but I’ll still need to split this up into three posts…

We had non-stop flights each way which was awesome.  Monday we flew out around noon so we had a little time at home in the morning and then with the time change a full afternoon of vacation. Plus there was free television and movies on the plane which was basically the most exciting thing ever.

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Plane food.  Coffee, plus a white cheddar and pumpkin butter sandwich and tasty pretzel sticks.

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The time flew by and before we knew it we were struggling up super steep hills on our way to dinner.

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We had a late reservation so we stopped for bubble tea first.  Brown sugar ice milk with egg pudding and grass jelly.  Apparently I love egg pudding.  And grass jelly.

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And we got to keep our cool bottles.

Dinner was Waterbar, a sustainable seafood spot right near the Bay Bridge.

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I got a cocktail with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Heering cherry liqueur, Benedictine, and orange zest.

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We split a leek and parsnip soup with smoked trout that was very yummy (I had lots of good trout this trip).

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And for dinner I did pan-roasted sablefish – caught in Fort Bragg, CA – with globe artichokes, butterball potato, grapefruit, nicoise olives, and chervil.

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I adored the artichokes, but sadly didn’t like my fish at all.  This was the only meal that I didn’t love on the trip.  My food was practically floating in a watery sauce and I hate that.  Adam, on the other hand, thought my dish was great and basically licked his plate clean.  He enjoyed his ono with uni butter so much that I still definitely consider the meal a win.

And we did have brown sugar brioche bread pudding, with butterscotch pecan ice cream, for a fabulous dessert.

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’twas a great first night.

Tuesday morning we headed out for a run in the neighborhood around our hotel.  We ended up happening on the Palace of Fine Arts.  It was beyond gorgeous.

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I am so glad we got to see it.

We had a beautiful morning exploring Fisherman’s Wharf.

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Including a stop for a fresh bowl of crab chowder.

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We took the ferry for a tour of Alcatraz.

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Then we spent the afternoon at the Ferry Building Marketplace.

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We loved it there and went back almost every subsequent day.  I was crazy jealous of people buying fancy mushrooms.

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We shared a greens 2 juice from Pressed.

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An iced coffee with milk and sugar from Blue Bottle.

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And a Duck Yeah sundae – vanilla ice cream on duck fat pecan pie – from Humphry Slocombe.

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I thought the ice cream was great, but not as good as Ample Hills.  Adam looooooved it.

We also hit up Slanted Door’s Out the Door for Vietnamese iced coffee and buns.

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Chicken bun for me.

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We had dinner reservations at SD later in the week and this first taste got us very amped up.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the piers and staring at the sea lions.

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Snacks included salt water taffy,

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chunks torn off a loaf of sourdough from Boudin,

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and a very lackluster drinking chocolate from Ghiradelli.

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The chocolate was literally the only dish that didn’t knock our socks off all week, a pretty good track record if you ask me.

We were exhausted from walking around all day so we did Mexican take-out and hotel room cable tv for dinner.

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Mushroom nachos for me.

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It was a great first two days!!

Wednesday and Thursday coming tomorrow…

Apples All Around; Long Week Wrap-Up

We have been enjoying the heck out of my apple picking haul.  There were a few days last week when I ate an apple with all three meals!  Too bad my husband’s a doctor, I don’t want to keep him away!

I haven’t blogged a recap since last Sunday so I’ve got quite a bit to share…

breakfast

An apple and a latte.

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Round 2; this was homemade cold-brew with Hint of Honey Almond Breeze.

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Then the next day I did skim milk and maple syrup.  Also delicious.

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An almond croissant with more coffee.

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Latte from David’s Tea while we walked around Park Slope.

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Cream of Earl Grey is the best.

lunch

Sandwich and salad day.  I think this is the largest lunch I’ve ever packed.  A pumpkin spice English muffin (<– oooh!) with pumpkin butter, roasted turkey, and sharp cheddar.

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Spinach salad with blue cheese, dried blueberries, sweet and spicy pecans, and honey mustard dressing.

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Oatmeal and an apple.

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I’ve decided that I hate that line of Quaker instant oatmeals but it was already waiting in my pantry so I gussied it up with chia seeds, butterscotch chips, and dried cranberries.

Pumpkin yogurt bowl.

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Pumpkin Chobani with TJ’s Pumpkin O’s amd butterscotch peanut butter.  Plus an apple, of course, though that was actually a SweeTango from a grocery trip before I had my orchard haul.

Cafeteria day.

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Salad bar and baked onion rings.

Sunday brunch at Talde.  There was pickled ginger in my Bloody Mary.

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We also shared a French Press of Illy.

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Fried avocado bao to share.

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And Korean chicken wings with waffles for me.

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With coconut brown butter, yum!

snack

An orange selection.

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Sweet stuff.

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Pumpkin Noosa with butterscotch peanut butter.

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Duh.

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TJ’s Cookies and Cream Butter.  <– ahhhhhhhh

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This jar lasted Adam and me less than a week!

dinner

A roasty fall meal.

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Squash with cinnamon and smoked paprika.  This was our first try roasting kombucha and it was good, though not quite worth the hype in my opinion.

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Asparagus sautéed with Bone Sucking mustard sauce and sliced almonds.

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And a big slice of my cheesy eggplant bake.

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We made this version in a pie dish and with mozzarella instead of provolone but it still ended up being delicious.

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With Naked Flock pumpkin cider to share.

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My co-worker brought me back the cider from the orchard where she went apple picking!

Leftovers night.  Eggplant bake side-by-side with tuna casserole, topped with additional cheese and crushed Cheez-its.

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I know that looks like a giant bowl of melted cheese, but I swear the layer underneath was mostly veg.  Plus we did salads for some green.  Spinach, chopped carrots, and edamame with sesame soy ginger vinaigrette.

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And a totes amaze apple cocktail.

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Honeycrisp cider with Apple Pie Moonshine.  I also did a splash of Goldschläger.

Chipotle.  Let’s be real, we got rice bowls two nights in a row.

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We shared some pumpkin brews to keep things fall-ish.

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Soup’s up.

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The TJ’s pumpkin soup was too thin and basically inedible.

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But my sides were awesome.  Three cheese grilled cheese = sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and blue cheese on wheat bread.

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And sliced apple.  I’m sure you’re not surprised that I ended up dipping my slices in melted cookies and cream butter.

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Mac and greens (and cheese!).

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Standby spinach salad – with dried blueberries, blue cheese, lavender salt, evoo, and honey – on the bottom.

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And mac and cheese – Pirate’s Booty aged white cheddar mac with tons of spinach, extra cheese, and Sriracha – on top.

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Adam hates when I pile things on top of one another but mac and salad go together really well.  You should try it!

What was the best fall flavor you had this past week?

Apple Picking; Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend I got to cross something major off of my fall bucket list – apple picking!

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I drove upstate to Lawrence Farms with some girlfriends and we came home with pounds and pounds of tasty apples.

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I also snagged Adam and I two pumpkins for carving next weekend.

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Check out my gorgeous haul (this is only a portion of it, the rest went into the fridge) –

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So far, my favorite variety is the Candy Crisp.

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Yum!  We had a ton of fun and I definitely want to repeat this activity next fall.

I don’t have much to share for this post, just three things.  I’m a bit under the weather and I spent almost all of Sunday tucked in bed.

Breakfast on the go.

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A smoothie  – water and meat from a Thai young coconut with canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, frozen banana, and maple syrup – and a Clif Maple Nut bar that I shared with the husband.  The bar was much better than the smoothie, which did not emulsify at all.

Getting in my green before a dinner of orange hues.

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Spinach salad with sweet and spicy pecans, dried blueberries, and buttermilk blue cheese, dressed with honey, evoo, and lavender salt.

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The oil came home from Italy with a friend and it was fantastic.

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Our main course was tuna casserole that I made and froze awhile back, so I don’t totally remember what was in it.  Definitely tuna, barley, spinach, green onions, peas, water chestnuts, roasted garlic and mushroom condensed soup, cheese, and crushed Cheez-Its on top.

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Plus carnival squash that we roasted with salt, smoked brown sugar, liquid smoke, and maple syrup.

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Dinner was delicious.  Sweet and smoky squash with cheesy casserole?  You can’t really go wrong!

Best bite of the week goes to dessert from Ample Hills.

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I got a kids’ cup of pistachio and honey and the flavors went together perfectly.

Hopefully I am over the hump with my sickness now.  The temperatures are finally dropping here and I really don’t want a cold to go with the cold!

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Three Day Weekend Wrap-Up

I give the last three days an A+!  I had a very inconveniently timed doctor’s appointment on Friday and it made more sense to take a vacation day than try to fit the travel time into a work day.  Serendipitously, Adam had switched some shifts with a coworker who was going to a wedding and he had most of the three off as well.  Yippee!

I’m going to do this post old school, stream of consciousness style, though there are some holes as this definitely does not show every single thing that I ate…

Friday, once I had finished up with the dermatologist and Adam had rested up from his overnight shift, we headed into Manhattan.

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Our destination was Krispy Kreme, and these limited edition Ghostbusters donuts.

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I ain’t afraid of no donut!  They were filled with marshmallow crème and were actually kind of amazing; maybe my favorite donuts I’ve ever tasted.

We wandered around Penn Station, then did lunch in Koreatown.  We had a(n impulse-bought) Groupon for food and booze at Boss Lounge.

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I ordered a Pinch Me, which had Grey Goose, lychee, and grenadine.

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Adam and I shared a kimichi and cheese roll.

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As well as seaweed and tofu salad.

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The tofu was silken and strangely sweet.  The husband loved it.

Afterwards we explored Koreatown a bit more.  We split a kimchi bun from a food court we want to go back to asap.

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Tried whatever the heck this was?!

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The top is mango and red bean but we couldn’t identify the white – chewy and gelatinous – stuff.  Neither of us could bring ourselves to swallow it!

And had a coffee popsicle from Tous les Jours for dessert.

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Every single thing we’ve tried from TlJ has been awesome.  Adam took home cheese buns that he adored and I’m kicking myself for not buying a milk bun.

For dinner, we made our way over to Hardings’s.

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Whiskey sour made with fresh lime, cane sugar, and egg whites!

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Adam had yummy, crispy salmon and I did a fun combo of appetizers.

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Pumpkin pie soup with spiced whipped cream.

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And kale salad with chickpeas, Marcona almonds, shaved sunchokes, and lemon vinaigrette.

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Ahaha, I didn’t realize until I reread the menu to write this post that those white shreds were sunchokes and not really stale parmesan.

Afterwards we trained it over to Lexington (and Dylan’s Candy!), then walked back to our car across the Queensboro Bridge.  It was a lovely nighttime walk but my calves are sooooo sore now!

We were parked in Long Island City and we stopped at The Baroness for a nightcap on the way.

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We want to go back for a cheese plate immediately, but for now we shared a cute beer sampler.

Saturday was supposed to be spent at Smorgasburg, but yucky, rainy weather scared us back to Long Island.  Instead we ran local errands – groceries were shopped and both of our cars now have changed oil.

We had baked potatoes for brunch.

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I swear that there is a potato under there.  Topped with butter, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, leftover kale salad, jalopeño, sour cream, and a fried egg.

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We poked the yolks into our buttered potatoes and it was pretty great.

We spent the evening cuddled on the couch with GIANT plates of nachos.  I also ate this licorice mix.

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We are now completely caught up on new fall tv.  The Chicago’s (PD and Fire) are my favorite so far.

We had more to-do’s to check off on Sunday, and headed back into the city so I could buy a winter coat.

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Train fuel = toasted everything bagel with jalopeño-cheddar cream cheese.

We considered getting Chobani but the line was too crazy, so instead we got froyo.  Pumpkin pie and praline topped with caramel, toffee, Butterfinger, yogurt chips, and mochi.

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Our bowls were tasty, and even better, free.  The last time I was at Yogurtland I was a hot mess and I dropped my credit card into my yogurt and the cashier felt so bad for me that he gave me a handful of vouchers for free yogurt.

I had several coffee this weekend (duh!), but the best was actually from 7-11.

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Cinnamon coffee with pumpkin pie creamer and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I ate fruit salad while I prepped a batch for the upcoming week.

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And we made big, hearty bowls for dinner.

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Sprouted red jasmine rice // frozen spinach sautéed with bbq sauce, browned mushrooms and tons of onions // red lentils cooked with cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, curry powder, and more sautéed onion // sour cream and Sriracha on top.

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We ate our warm meal while we worked on the winter-y activity of swapping out our summer wardrobes.  I still don’t have a ton of cold weather gear but I am excited to have my boots back out.

Back in the “old days,” blog posts always ended with a question:

Have you swapped out your summer and winter wardrobes yet?

Weekend Wrap-Up; We Had Visitors

On the excitement front this weekend – Adam’s parents came to visit!  We are going to see all of my in-laws soon for Thanksgiving, but it was good to catch up with the parents now before the craziness of eleven of us under one roof.  We had them Friday night through Sunday afternoon and we got to show off LI.

lunches

Packed for Friday – an AriZona Oak Tea and 2% Fage with a big baggie of pomegranate arils and chopped fruit punch plucot.

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I also bought mac and cheese and some greens from the cafeteria.

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Heartbreakingly, I think this was my last yogurt bowl with plucots for this season, the produce sections have all seemed to have moved on.

We had so much fun last weekend that we did a repeat this Saturday and drove the husband’s parents up to…

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Montauk!

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We went to the beach, the lighthouse, and of course, Lunch.

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Adam and I shared a buttery hot lobster roll,

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and a bowl of lobster chowder.

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My favorite part is the whiffs of sherry.

And that’s not a foamy beer head,

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we drank a chocolate egg cream for dessert.

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You could tell that it was made with Hershey’s (a true EC has U-Bet), but Adam was still a fan.

We kept things low-key before goodbyes on Sunday and hung out around the house.  Take-out from Luigi’s fit the bill.

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I had a side salad, a buffalo chicken slice, and a Magic Hat Wilhelm Scream that I split with my m-i-l.

snacks

Breakfast at my desk on Friday.  An iced Americano (with skim milk and cream) with a sticky-sweet Dark Chocolate Peanut Larabar.  –Ummm, and I just noticed on the site that Lara has new Pumpkin Pie and Gingerbread flavors!!  How do I find those immediately?–

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Sweet = Haribo Licorice Wheels plus some of the Mini Gold Bears that my s-i-l sweetly sent us.

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Salty = TJ’s pea crisps.

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Coffee from 7-11 is kind of amazing.

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Adam and I are embarrassingly into the Almond Joy Creamer they have there.  And our location has pumpkin coffee, pumpkin pie creamer, and (free!) pumpkin spice syrup.  What, what?!

dinners

Dinners were the least exciting meals of the weekend.  Friday night we kept thing simple while we finished our last-minute cleaning.

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A toasted sandwich of caramel apple swirl bread, herbed sliced turkey, light Havarti, and TJ’s sweet and spicy jalopeño jelly.

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With baby carrots on the side.

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Simple but good.

Saturday we went out to Tavern 18.

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I had a beer that was pretty good.

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And a Thai Noodle Salad that was pretty terrible.

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No veggies, no flavor, and I keep forgetting that I kind of hate Soba noodles.  I’m into pasta that is chewy, while Soba tends to fall apart in your mouth.

No complaints about dessert though!  The best thing about Tavern 18 is that it is spitting distance from Ralph’s Ices.

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Dulce de leche and pumpkin pie for me.  I practically licked the cup clean.

I didn’t want my awful leftovers to go to waste, so I gussied them up into something moderately edible for dinner last night.

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+ roasted broccoli and cauliflower and loads of creamy Sriracha sauce (tons of Sriracha whisked together with smoked brown sugar, mayo, and a little canola oil).

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Hot sauce can hide a multitude of sins.

P.S. It is October first on Wednesday!  <– in other words, it is three days until I drink pumpkin beers and pumpkin spice lattes like crazy

Weekend Wrap-Up; October Came Early in Montauk

The husband and I had quite the nice weekend.  <– do I always say that??!  A day of errands and a day trip up to Montauk.  We got to stick our toes in the sand!

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We also had some tasty eats.

Here’s how most of the last two days looked…

Errands day opened with a late brunch bowl at home.

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Apple Cinnamon Chobani topped with toasted coconut and pomegranate arils.  There was also a big blob of Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter hidden underneath the fruit.

Snacks of the day included two types of goodies from Haribo,

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and a Honey Crisp Crispin that I shared with the husband.

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This is our absolute favorite hard cider.

I also hungrily tore off bites of pretzel roll on the drive home from grocery shopping.

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I went late in the day and Trader Joe’s was getting slammed. Probably because the shelves all seemed to be brimming with new pumpkin goodies!

Dinner was an Apple Month special (unlike what’s coming in the rest of this post!).

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A toasted sandwich of Applegate Farm Smoked Turkey, TJ’s Light Havarti sliced cheese, and TJ’s hot pepper jelly, on Pepperidge Farm Caramel Apple Swirl Bread.

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Plus TJ’s nacho kale chips and baby carrots on the side.

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This sandwich was so yummy; love the spicy-sweet pairing.

Our drive to Montauk was nice and speedy (only about 2 hours; a Montauk local told me that traffic to the Hamptons cuts back nearly 2/3 after Labor Day) but it did require a little coffee.

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We shared some Vanilla Chameleon Cold Brew with skim milk and chocolate milk on the drive up

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and we got more of the good stuff locally while we walked around a ritzy shopping area.

We did lunch at Lunch, a lobster roll place right on the beach.

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Adam was all about the hot lobster roll.

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He shared a few hunks of buttered meat with me (gah! yum!), as well as his cole slaw.

I know it’s only September, but there were two fantasmic sounding pumpkin items on the menu, and who knows when I’ll go back to Montauk, so I couldn’t pass them up.  Pumpkin and crab soup.

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And Post Road Pumpkin Ale with a cinnamon-sugar rim.

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OMG.

After lunch, a drive to the lighthouse, and a quick stop at the beach, we got more beer at the Montauk Brewing Company.

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Their tasting room was quite cheap – $8 for 4 pours – and you even got to keep your glass.

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I will definitely order their Driftwood Ale if I see it on menus in the city.

A final coffee for the road – I love Hampton Coffee Company

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and we were on our way home.

We did dinner in front of reruns of “Chopped.”  We went high-brow with the food so it would match up with the high standards of the Chopped judges.

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Pizza Hut pizza and Cupcake Wine Moscato.  Keeping it classy.

10 Things

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Long time no see!  My mini posting hiatus was not for lack of things to blather about.  The husband had a full day off on Saturday and we like to make the most of our time mooning at each other and eating mass amounts of cheese so I didn’t take any photos.  Then I spent Sunday eating more cheese and watching a truly horrifying amount of Netflix (more on that below!).

I picked ten things to share for this post, ranging from product reviews and beauty (ha!), to entertainment, to foodie.

{1} Let’s start with the best meal of the week, the best meal of the whole year, actually.

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Runner & Stone, down in the burgeoning area on 3rd Ave in Park Slope, is officially my new favorite restaurant.

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The space and the menu were beautiful and thoughtfully done.  The dishes are not too pricy, but this meal felt luxurious.  I don’t remember what was in this amuse-bouche, but it was complimentary and tasty.

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As was the house-made bread and butter.

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We started dinner with a round of drinks.  Vodka soda – with Industry Standard, a Brooklyn-distilled vodka – for me and a Gowanus – aka an extra dirty martini – for Adam.

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He went with two small dishes for dinner.  White bean soup with sherry,

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and the deconstructed duck pastrami.

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Both were delicious, but my dish totally stole the show.

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Rye pappardelle with smoked salmon, dill, and house-made crème fraiche.  I loved how playful this was, and more importantly, how tasty.

We obviously had to try dessert.

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An orange wine with their buckwheat tres leches.

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Runner & Stone, we’ll be back!  Soon!

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We ended our date night by stopping in at some of our favorite Brooklyn haunts for drinks, as well as dessert round 2 at Ample Hills.  What a night!

{2} I’ll be less verbose about items 2 – 10, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less exciting.  This homemade dinner looks God-awful, but it really was wonderful.  TJ’s Sprouted Red Jasmine Rice with curried lentils and Jenna’s Baingan Bharta, topped with plain yogurt and Sriracha.

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I didn’t love the eggplant – apparently I really do dislike garam masala – but I used to think that I hated lentils and I was pleasantly surprised by them.  I usually make lentils just to be nice to Adam, but now I want to make them again for my taste buds too.  They were soooo easy; we just simmered red lentils with water and a little salt, curry powder, turmeric, and smoked paprika.

{3} Another dinner success.

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Arugula blend salad with cave-aged blue cheese, sweet and spicy pecans, and a maple vinaigrette,

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topped with a Shallotta Salmon Burger.

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I had big plans for a salmon burger and egg sandwich but apparently the patties were pretty good because by the time I went to make my eggwich Adam had eaten them all up.

{4} This item involves a generous box of free samples from Numi Organic Tea and Nutiva.

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As I said, these items were provided free of charge.  I was no provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

They’ve teamed up to promote their genius mash-up recipe idea: chia iced tea.  Sounds good, right?  I haven’t actually tried the recipe yet – I’m getting on that this weekend – but I wanted to share it with y’all, along with my thoughts about the products in general.

Iced Tea + Lemonade and Chia Seeds

  • 1/2 tsp. Nutiva Organic Black Chia Seeds
  • 2 Tbsp. water, room temperature
  • 1 Numi Organic Tea – Breakfast Blend black tea bag
  • ½ cup water, boiling ½ cup lemonade Ice cubes
  • Lemon slices
  1. Add chia seeds to 2 tbsp. of room temperature water. Stir to combine, and set aside for 5 minutes, until chia soften. 
  2. Meanwhile, bring ½ cup of water to boil.  Steep tea bag in hot water for 5 minutes. 
  3. Discard tea bag and pour tea into a tall glass. Add lemonade and chia seeds and stir to combine. 
  4. Top with ice, garnish with a lemon wedge and serve. 

So far for the teas, I’ve only tried the Breakfast Blend so far.  The mint is definitely up next once I’ve thinned out my tea bag stash a bit; it smells insanely delicious.

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I can’t say that I adored it, but I have been hating most hot teas.  I’m excited to try it iced, a much better test for me.

Chia seeds are always fun.  I used the black variety in one of my favorite smoothies.

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1.5 Tbsp chia seeds + 1.5 cups frozen strawberries + 1.5 cups lemonade.

And the O’Coconut Snacks are great.

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They’re basically macaroons, with chia and hemp for extra flavor.

{5} Speaking of coconut, I made coconut iced coffee that rocked my face off.

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Cold brew with TJ’s coconut water and a big glug of Almond Joy coffee creamer.  Gah!

{6} A killer alcoholic beverage.  My strategy of choosing booze that sounds like dessert has never served me wrong.

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Does honey beer even need more explanation?

{7} Another product review.

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See disclaimer above.  Free item.  No other $ exchanged.  All my opinion.  Yada, yada.

Valentia sent me their Even Glow Vitamin C Serum (sold exclusively on Amazon).  I have basically no makeup or skin care regimen – no wrinkle cream, no foundation, and I guiltily put sunblock on once or twice a month – so I am not the best judge, but I was a fan.  The serum smells like lemon meringue pie!  I haven’t used it long enough to discern any long-term, wrinkle-busting effects, but day-to-day it makes my skin look a bit glowy.  Photo-evidence straight out of bed, 5 minutes after application, prior to putting on mascara or brushing my teeth.

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Speaking of terrible selfies… I need to show you guys my hair.  My hair has been a hot mess ever since I dyed the whole thing brown after the purple to gray debacle.  It looked like it could be my natural color and was just inexplicably damaged.  I figured if I went blonde(ish) at least the damage would seem less sad.  So I went in for some highlights/ombre.

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I love it!  I couldn’t get a great picture but this is definitely an improvement.

{8} While we’re taking about hair… Who saw season 1 of “The Killing?”  Linden’s 90’s style, face-framing wisp bangs drove me freaking crazy!  In spite of my ceaseless Facebook ranting about the bangs, over the past week I’ve Netflixed my way through almost all 4 seasons.  I haaaaaated the season 3 finale but I’m hoping they fix things up in the Netflix-exclusive final 6 episodes.  Also, I’m thrilled that Jewel Staite makes some appearances, but she has rocked as both a badass space cowboy/mechanic and badass space doctor, why have all of her recent parts been the easy-to-please girlfriend?

{9} I never watched Chelsea Handler’s tv show, but I just started her third book.

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Her stories are hilarious.  The books are kind of terrible for my commute because I feel bad laughing so loudly on the LIRR.

{10} It’s Apple Month!!!  I’ve got a round-up post of important apple products headed your way tomorrow.  And yes, I’ve already started my pumpkin beer collection.

Do you think you’ve eaten your best meal of 2014 yet, or is it coming up this holiday season? 

Weekend Wrap-Up; Driving Me Crazy

This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind; I had a orthodontic emergency that sent me back to Buffalo at the last-minute.  That trip ate up a fair amount of time – I spent more hours in the car roundtrip than I actually did in Buffalo! – so I don’t have a ton to share.  My time in Long Island was pretty low-key.

Here are some of the highlights…

I am a big fan of Lindt’s “Hello My Name Is” line and Adam and I both loved this salted caramel bar.

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We got Chinese take-out for dinner that was only so-so.  My steamed broccoli with brown garlic sauce (and white rice) was delicious,

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but the soup that was supposed to turn that into a full meal was basically dirty water with raw veggies floating in it.  You win some, you lose some.

A much more amazing meal came out of our own kitchen.

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Sautéed cabbage and turnip greens.  I just cooked the veggies in some evoo and salt and they were delicious!

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Plus onion-packed eggs.

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Eggs scrambled with tons sautéed sweet onion and spring onions, sliced turkey, and cheese.

On Saturday we went into Brooklyn for Coney Island on Tap.

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There weren’t a ton of beers I cared about (minus two watermelon brews!) so I mostly stuck with ciders.

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Though I managed to drink just enough to later get into a hilariously intense fight with the husband over who would get to pee first!  Afterwards we had frozen yogurt,

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and Bareburger for dinner.

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I couldn’t get a very good picture but I had a turkey burger (no bun) with pepperjack, turkey bacon, sweet apple grilled onions, red piquante peppers, avocado, and smoked paprika mayo.  It’s my birthday next Thursday and I’ve already decided that I’m going to celebrate with Bareburger.

My road trip was a little ridiculous, like I said, I spent more time in the car than I did in Buffalo.  I basically mainlined candy and coffee for two days.

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But my orthodontist hooked me up, and even with gas and tolls I saved more than $1,000 by making the trip.  And I got to stay with newlywed friends and see their gorgeous new house.

And we went to Thai Orchid, which I had been severely missing.  My girlfriend and I both started with the soup special, broth with noodles, bok choy, tons of crabmeat, and great shrimp wontons.

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I went with my old favorite for dinner, Pad See Ew with extra veggies.

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It was fantastic, totally worth the whirlwind visit! 😉