Stuffed Zucchini

My parents have an amazing garden in our back yard; my Dad grows everything. Tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, peppers, eggplant, berries - and I got to eat so much fresh food the whole time I was home. Before hoping in my car my Dad handed me a huge bag filled with zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes - more than I know what to do with! I've eaten tomato and cucumber salads with feta cheese the past two nights, which is such a simple yet delicious meal. I needed to use up the zucchini, which led to several Google searches and taco stuffed zucchini from the blog Skinnytaste. I love Mexican food. I love zucchini. I love cheese. What else could you want? 

Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal

I have somewhat of a love affair with baked oatmeal. About a year ago, I hated oatmeal. Just hated it. Thought the texture, smell, everything about it was gross. Then, as I became more and more into food blogs and "fancy" recipes, I discovered several interesting recipes on one of my favorite blogs for simple, delicious and cheap recipes, budget bytes. The first one I made, apple pie baked oatmeal, smelled and tasted AMAZING. It requires no complex ingredients, is so easy and comes out warm, filling, and bonus was that making it on Sunday allowed me to eat it for breakfast the whole entire week. I think I made this recipe every Sunday....for probably 4 months straight. I am not one who complains about eating the same things, at least for breakfast and lunch!

After it became spring/summer, I decided to try some different variations, including lemon raspberry (also good). This past weekend, once I unpacked and reorganized my life, blueberry banana baked oatmeal was made (recipe still courtesy of Budget Bytes). I've gotten so many of my friends and coworkers to try baked oatmeal and be converts like me. You'll be surprised at how easy this is - it takes less than 10 minutes to mix it all together, and about an hour in the oven. Enjoy (and please ignore the fact the photo isn't all that great, its delicious!)!

Nashville

If I were to win the lottery tonight, tomorrow I would book myself a flight.. really to anywhere in the world. While I haven't been to Europe since I studied abroad in 2008 I've come to realize, that while yes, Europe is absolutely amazing and beautiful and full of culture and history, the U.S. is too, and I should be taking full advantage of our 50 states and everything it has to offer. As such, I've been slowly (as time and, more importantly, finances, allow), checking off places right here. Luckily, I have some wonderful friends who are always on board for an adventure, sometimes even spur of the moment.

I always get airfare alerts, just in case a deal pops up that you just can't refuse - you never know! Last February, I got a deal alert for flights to Nashville. A GOOD deal. $200-300 LESS than normal cost. I love country music. I love BBQ. Why not Nashville? I immediately texted my friend, somehow got on board right away, and I booked us flights to Nashville for a long weekend in April less than an hour after getting the alert. Our other friend ended up booking a flight as well. Yes, we did it 3 months in advance. Yes, it was impulsive, but before we knew it April arrived. 

The trip was wonderful. We wandered the city, ate tons of food, heard live music everywhere we went, did the whole bar scene, went to the Grand Ole Opry (and now have since become obsessed with Lennon & Maisy), toured gardens and plantations, saw Taylor Swift's guitar, ate some more at the Pancake Pantry, walked Vanderbilt's campus, ate pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes, and I even got to see my beloved Detroit Red Wings play the Nashville Predators (totally not planned). I'd never been to another hockey arena other than my Wings, so that alone was awesome (and we won!). If you love country music and amazing food, you will love Nashville. It's a very small city, much smaller than I thought it'd be, and easily walkable. Every place you go has live music, everyone is friendly, the food was just unreal (and cheap). It really doesn't get better.

Something about traveling - the excitement leading up the trip, the planning and reading trip advisor/books to figure out where you want to go, packing, going to the airport. The idea of going somewhere completely new to you, and trying new things. Nothing quite beats it. I can't wait to plan my next adventure soon. Where should I go next?

Reality Awaits

By the time this posts, I'll be leaving my parent's house and amazingly relaxing vacation; leaving a little bit of paradise, and heading back to reality (and a long long long car ride). Spending a week at home, with no real responsibilities allows me to think of new goals/priorities for myself over the next few months, see things in a different perspective, and just think about what I want for myself. Coming home, being around my married friends always does this to me, thinking about my future and where I want to be. I love DC, the freedom, my friends, and my life there. But, I still think about that "someday," and settling down in a small town. 

Until next time lovely Michigan (which may be a lot sooner than I think!). Away from this:

....and back to this!

Bar Carts

Living in my very own studio apartment has been a great experience so far, allowing me to really decorate however I see fit, with everything I bring into my apartment reflecting my own personal style. It's a work in progress, slowly building my gallery wall, buying vases and picture frames, and just making the place me.

I've been desperately wanting to purchase and style a bar cart for my "dining" area, and every time I go to any sort of home goods or furniture store, I keep my eye out for the perfect cart. (I found my dream one at Cost Plus World Market, but unfortunately $300+ is out of my budget right now!) I can't wait to style said future cart with bar tools and pretty glasses.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite carts I've seen around the blogosphere over the past few months. Where did you find your bar cart? 

(via)

(via)

(via)

Royal Infatuation

This melts my heart

I honestly didn't think it was possible to be more enamored with Prince William and Catherine more than I already was.. until I watched the preview from the upcoming CNN special interviewing Prince William...and saw the photos that her DAD took for them to release.

  

I think its the combination of the royalness + their desire to be normal + the fact that he married a "commoner" that makes me even more interested. And the fact that royalty just doesn't exist in the U.S. Either way, the clip above has convinced me to set my DVR to watch the full interview in September.

Currently reading: White Teeth

I'm not one to give up on a book once I start it, I convince myself it will get better, that I'll start to enjoy it, the plot will suddenly change.. anything to force myself to finish it. This is one reason I love love love Goodreads - its such a great little site full of avid readers like me, who love to share their reviews. Plus if you're OCD about lists, like I am, I thoroughly enjoy being able to track all the books I've read over the year, how many pages I've read, authors I read the most, etc. It's just a great site for readers. In fact, I just converted my 14 year old cousin (who is an avid reader, which I LOVE), to the site during our family dinner. Highly recommend it.

Part of my mission during my "summer vacation" is to just read. I picked up White Teeth, by Zadie Smith, which some pretty mixed reviews; but I downloaded it to my Kindle via my library anyways. Sadly, it's a book I cannot wait to finish - I find myself skimming pages just to hurry it up. I know I'm being stubborn, but I won't let myself put it down. I'm about 80% done, and I can't wait for it to be over. It's all about religion, cultural differences, generational differences, which on the surface is something that really interests me. But, I just can't get into it.

Does anyone else feel guilty when they start a book and don't end up liking it? I just want to like every book I read, and then feel bad when I do not. 

Summer "Vacation"

I honestly cannot believe that August is halfway over, football season starts in two weeks, and fall is almost here. While I'm eagerly awaiting the crisp cool days of fall, going to the alumni bars on weekends, wearing boots, and spending time outside without sweltering, it's always sad when summer starts to come to an end. Luckily, it stays warm in DC through September at least, so I have time more time to adjust.

On Friday, I packed up my car and drove the long nine hour drive to my hometown, where I'm spending the next week eating my parent's amazing food, spending lots of time with family, and just soaking up the beautiful August weather. No work. No emails. Just lots of reading books, catching up on TV, and of course watching the Tigers. I know the next six weeks will be quite busy at work, so I'm treasuring this downtime while I can!

Last night, we had a family dinner with my aunt and uncle, and my two youngest cousins who I never get to spend time with. It was so nice to sit out on the porch, as the sun went down, watching baseball and catching up. Sometimes its the really simple things that are the best.

Watching the Detroit Tigers is a necessity while I am home.

Even though I've long since graduated from college, I still love my summer "vacations."

Bauble Bar Love

I am a huge fan of Bauble Bar, and while I don't have a ton of extra funds for splurging on "fun" items, I tend to look at this site pretty regularly and lust after all the a pretty items that could fill my jewelry box and dress up my outfits.

About a few weeks ago they were having a sale on necklaces, and I picked up this, and this. I couldn't wait to receive them - I thought of it as an early birthday present to myself. 

I got a ton of compliments on the gold love necklace, but the silver one, I wore for all of 5 minutes and then the clasp fell off. Like this:

I was upset, but I quickly emailed BaubleBar's customer service, sent them a photo, and they immediately mailed me a replacement necklace. BaubleBar's customer service people were very responsive and friendly - which isn't always the case when you talk to someone in this field. I appreciated it, and now my necklace is good as new, getting me a ton of compliments. Sometimes a truly great site/company deserves a shout-out; any girl looking for great, unique accessories should really look at BaubleBar. It will not disappoint!

And now I will spend my Saturday morning scouring their site, look at this, this, and this while cleaning my tiny apartment and getting ready for my best friend's birthday weekend. Happy weekend!

 

Thought of the day

Sometimes you just find a quote that completely "gets" you. This was it today.

Ricotta, Ricotta

A good weekend for me will typically include some sort of baking or cooking - I find it relaxing after a long work week, and then of course I can enjoy the food afterwards. Cooking for one can have its downsides, but I can easily cook one batch of something and have it last for a week's worth of lunches.

This weekend, I discovered my love for ricotta cheese - it's sweet, it's savory. I can use it in desserts, in lasagnas, on pasta, eat it plain. Why hadn't I ever discovered its amazingness before?

My mom is an amazing baker and cook; one of her specialties is the lemon ricotta cookie. Everyone loves them, including all my coworkers. They frequently request them, and my Mom mails them to me in big batches - they always quickly disappear. This past weekend,despite the pressure I was feeling to live up to my Mom's versions, I tried a recipe that she suggested to me use (link above). The cookies themselves turned out great, light and fluffy. My lemon glaze, while it tasted good, just didn't get as thick/glaze like as my Mom's - she said I probably didn't use enough powder sugar. However, for my first attempt making them, I was pleasantly surprised.

When I made these, I bought a HUGE thing of ricotta cheese. I'm going to be honest, I didn't even know where in the store to look for it, or what ricotta cheese looked like. So once I made the cookies, I had so much left I wasn't sure what to do with it. Did it go bad fast? How would I eat it? So, I turned to Google for "ricotta recipes," and found one for broccoli and cheese stuffed shells. And, I had most the ingredients already, it was meant to be.

These were easy, smell amazing - and I have enough for lunches for the week. Seriously, ricotta you can't do wrong. I am now on a mission to find more things I can do with ricotta, including a garlic chicken pizza recipe. Share your ricotta recipes with me in the comments!

My Best Food Week

It's not a secret that DC's food scene is hot right now, and also that I love food. Every week there are new restaurants opening in the area; so many I can barely keep track! While I love having so many great options of restaurants, it's also hard on my wallet so I have to carefully select where I want to eat, and pace myself, as I eat my way through the city/surrounding area. A further sign that I am neurotic - I have a spreadsheet where I track restaurants I want to try, and categorize them by "DC," "VA" and "MD." I update it any time I hear of a new place I know I must try.

This past week has been what I have to call the best food week of my life. My parents were in town, and it was my birthday = way too much amazing food. I must provide a recap of the best food week ever.

• Good Stuff Eatery - My parents are bigger foodies than I am; they love Top Chef so what better place to kick off our "food tour" than Spike Mendelsohn's burger place? I'd actually only ever had their shakes before; so we all got burgers, fries and onion petals for a very delicious meal.
• Nando Peri Peri - This is a chain restuarant, but it is my favorite. I live very close to one, and I 've eaten there way too many times since I've moved in. We had lunch here, but I must say, their chicken wrap sandwich with haloumi cheese and pineapple = to amazing.
• Kapnos - Mike Isabella's latest restuarant which just opened a few weeks ago. I had been counting down the days until I could try here, and it did NOT disappoint. Greek small plates, with a focus on spitfire roasted meats. This was my "birthday" dinner with my family, and every plate of food we ate was better than the last. We had an a smoked eggplant and feta dip, fried potatoes, goat, lamb, swordfish, it just kept coming. If you're looking for a nice dinner, please go here!

• Cantler's - Cantler's is basically a shack in Annapolis, with amazing seafood, water views, and just plain fun. My mom had never done the crabbing experience before, so we drove up to Annapolis for the day, walked the Chesapeake Bay, and had crabs (and of course,Summer Shandy). While its a lot of work for you food, it's a fun and yummy.
• Jaleo - Dinner on my actual birthday consisted of a group of my friends going to Jaleo for Spanish tapas, where again we stuffed ourselves on cheeses, croquetas, and tortilla espanola, and of course plenty of sangria.

• Bearnaise - Went to another Spike Mendelsohn restaurant with my coworker, his newest steak and frites place. The food = very delicious; however the restaurant was SO hot (we are in a heat wave, afterall), that it made the experience not as lovely as it could have been. However, french fries, and Bearnaise sauce were great, so were the roasted brussel sprouts.
• Cheesetique - Lastly, I went to a restaurant I've been meaning to try, literally for years. It's nothing but cheese, and what girl doesn't love cheese? I had a refreshing glass of white wine on another HOT day, a cheese board, and a pimiento grilled cheese sandwich. Heaven.

And that, my friend, concluded the best week of food in my life. What are your favorite restaurants in the DC area?

Back in the game

It’s been a long time since I've posted anything.  I’ve abandoned all my “creative" outlets, aside from Pinterest..which while it does provide me with great recipes and decorating ideas for my new apartment… it’s not exactly the type of creative outlet I need in my life right now.

I need to come back to blogging - for myself above anything else. I love writing, thinking of new ideas, expressing my opinions. I’m considering this a trial run - I haven't figured out if I want to use Tumblr or my blog - I love the freedom of my blog, but the network and ease of use of Tumblr. 

This will be a work in progress as I figure out what I want to do, so bare with me through the "construction" phase. I honestly believe it will be worth it!