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.

18Nov2019

Oreo Crunch And Apple Brandy

by Emily

This past weekend I took my last trip to New York — last because I am officially moving in 2.5 weeks!!! This move is super bittersweet – I am over the moon to get to live with Adam and Webster and I love NYC but I am really going to miss Charlottesville, and my family here, and my amazing job. I’ll have to really soak in the South the next two weeks!

Our New York weekend was fantastic as always. We had babka and creme brulee doughnuts and walked all over the place. Saturday we met friends in Williamsburg for a walk over the bridge and an afternoon in the city.

Highlights include…

Milk Bar‘s Thanksgiving Croissant. It’s stuffed with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

Drinks at Serra by Bierria. We tried four things from the holiday cocktail list – a buttered rum, a walnut Manhattan, a gin and blood orange drink, and an apple brandy drink.

Caffe Panna. I had peanut butter oreo crunch with fudge sauce! Also Adam got an affagato and I drank his last sip of espresso and it was genuinely the very best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.

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.

25Oct2019

Apple Pumpkin Chia Chocolate

by Emily

The eight best things I ate this week –

(1) Chobani pumpkin and spice yogurt with (2) pecan butter and (3) a Lady Alice apple.

(4) Siggi’s pumpkin and spice yogurt with (5) chocolate sunflower seed butter. <– the sunbutter was the best thing of the week!

(6) Vanilla chia pudding and (7) a SnapDragon apple.

It was a (8) sandwich week for dinner. Whole-wheat brioche buns with Kewpie mayo, smoked turkey, and Whole Foods’ plant-based smoked gouda.

27Sep2019

Superior Salads

by Emily

Fun things from this week: It’s Friday! // I have plans to see my boys again in less than 15 days! // Yesterday I went to Hardywood with a coworker for happy hour and free pretzels and pimento cheese. // I finally made it to the farmer’s market that sets up on the hospital grounds and had a really excellent iced mocha with macadamia milk. // The weather is starting to get a bit cooler but still isn’t cold yet.

Highlights included…

Local nitro cold brew with maple.

Nothing beats Stumptown.

Strawberry lingonberry yogurt with chocolate peanut butter is a pretty great combination. Plus a Pazazz apple.

Bars on bars.

I had some really excellent topping ingredients on hand so I made this a week of salads. Honey butter almonds and zhoug are fantastic on their own and even better when paired together. Especially with a fun variety of proteins!

Romaine / Greek feta dressing / zhoug / honey butter almonds / baby tomatoes / chorizo seitan.

Romaine / champagne vinaigrette / zhoug / honey butter almonds / celery / vegan chicken salad.

Romaine / champagne vinaigrette / zhoug / honey butter almonds / baby tomatoes / turkey pepperoni. <– pro tip: if you bake pepperoni at 350 degrees for 15 minutes it turns into pepperoni chips!

6Sep2019

Apple Of My Eye

by Emily

It was a good week in theme snacks, snacks in general, actually!

Today is National Coffee Ice Cream day and since I love coffee, and ice cream, and coffee ice cream (and dulce de leche!) I jumped at the chance when My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream offered to send me a box of samples to celebrate. My/Mo Dulce de Leche = coffee ice cream, wrapped in mochi dough, with a caramel core. I 10/10 loved them. Hands down the best mochi I’ve ever eaten. Now I’m dying to find their seasonal flavors!

Meanwhile, in Apple Month… I ate a bag of Trader Joe’s freeze-dried honeycrisp apples that I forgot to take a picture of but totally recommend. Also, pink lady kombucha and Siggi’s with apple.

Other snack highlights include… cold brew with salted caramel dark chocolate milk.

Black sesame cheese crisps.

Cookie dough Perfect Bar with a maple chicken jerky.

Birthday cake marshmallows (while reviewing glycolysis!).

I really loved my dinners this week, thanks in no small part to the fact that they were all smothered in Trader Joe’s zhoug sauce. Salads with romaine, baby heirloom tomatoes, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, TJ’s turkey summer sausage, tabbouleh, zhoug.

The best sheet pan hash I’ve made yet – summer sausage, potato, sweet potato, green onion, and cabbage.

23Aug2019

BLT FTW

by Emily

Life highlights from the past six days –

I survived my 2nd week without my boys. Adam has been super sweet about sending me a million photos of the most handsome dog in the world!
I’ve had a ton of TPNs at work lately and I realized the other day just how comfortable I feel managing them now – I will never stop being grateful for this job opportunity, I have grown so much as a clinician the past year.
I saw, and loved, The Farewell. Such a sweet, funny movie; I can’t recommend it enough.
I went to a free yoga class with one of my coworkers and loooooved it! I had forgotten about just how much I enjoy yoga. I haven’t been in several years and it seems my balance has gotten much worse but my flexibility has gotten much better – I got myself into camel pose easily and comfortably.

Food highlights –

All of the coffee.

Hey Day Cold Brew.

Black and white ~~milkshake~~ cold brew – Grady’s with vanilla bean powder and chocolate milk.

Still obsessed with this chocolate chip cookie dough Perfect Bar that seems to only be sold at Trader Joe’s and has no internet presence.

This mango and nut mix is perfectly spicy-sweet.

This yogurt bowl was amazing. Strawberry quark with pluots, maple cashew butter, and homemade chocolate chip cookie.

I had a great assortment of gummy candies for the movie, lots of cola options.

These s’mores mochi have graham cracker ice cream and and a marshmallow center and all three of us thought they were fantastic.

Raspberry Short Kate! Hardywood‘s newest IPA brewed with milk sugar and raspberry.

Whole Foods hot bar – kale salad, cabbage crunch salad, carrot and harissa salad, breakfast potatoes, chicken sausage – with a side of chicken and waffle chips.

A swoon-worthy sandwich – local heirloom tomato, turkey bacon, and kewpie mayo on a bun.

BLT salad. Sweet baby lettuce with champagne vinaigrette, heirloom baby tomatoes, bacon, Dubliner cheese, and hickory smoked peanuts. Plus spicy roasted okra that my cousin made.

Leftover salad with delicious crab cakes that my cousin made.

Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes with mayo, sriracha, and a side of roasted green beans.

22Jul2019

Life Updates, Part Deux

by Emily

I briefly shared some of our personal life excitement a few months ago but I am definitely overdue for an update! FYI:

{1} Adam is only a fellow for another 9 days and then he’s going to be an attending in New York. (Woo-hoo!)

{2} We move out of Charlottesville to the city next Thursday.

{3} Adam has a tiny window of break-time between his two jobs and we’re taking a quick vacation back home to St. Thomas!

{4} I’m actually not moving to New York… for the moment anyway. The time frame is still unclear but I’m staying in Charlottesville for a bit before I join the husband, my current job was just too good to walk away from yet!

{5} Our apartment lease was short and I am off of work today because we’re moving into a motel for the next week and a half.

Phew! You guys are all caught up now!

This past weekend Adam had his last weekend coverage call in Culpeper. I went with him for support/to hang out in the hotel and watch cable tv. We ate take-out and snacks, so I have a few exciting snacks to share…

Coffee!