Burgers + Boston
Howdy. How are you?
You know it’s bad when you take two Tylenol PM and still can’t sleep. Talk about a zombie. Now I know why Michael Jackson kept upping his dose. Miraculously, I felt a billion times better when I woke up and got to work today. I’m really plowing through my to-do list and I will meet all my deadlines very soon! T minus 3 weeks to go!!!
After work, Matt helped me throw together a fabulous summer dinner!
Crostini
I can’t breathe! It’s been a while since I’ve had a cold and I forgot how suffocating it is! The upside is that I feel like all the sinus pressure that has been building up all spring is now being released, if ya know what I mean. The rest of me feels great though, so I’ve been itching to get out of the house. Luckily, Matt and I had a dinner date last night at the Italian sandwich shop, Toast. We’ve been making our rounds, saying goodbye to Fuqua friends, and it was nice to spend time time with Rachel + Ross over this fabulous meal. It’s so strange that we’ve gotten to know so many people in Durham who will be all over the country for internships this summer. Did I already say that? I’m excited for fall reunions!
I’ve obviously been really into soup these past few days, so I got a big bowl of spicy lentil. Lentil is always hit or miss, but this once was a hit. Kinda reminded me of refried beans.
My favorite thing at Toast is the crostini sampler – you pick three kinds with a big pile of greens. I tried the herb pesto, mozzarella, roasted tomato; the sicilian caponata, goat cheese, pine nuts; and the avocado with spring peas. All were totally unique and simple delightful.
Today has been simple – gym, babysitting, leftovers for dinner. And I’m aiming for a 9:30 bedtime. Sweet dreams.
Read MoreDinner for Mother
But I chose an easy spread of foods and did most of the prep work in the afternoon.
We had salad with strawberries, blue cheese, and walnuts with a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic, honey, and mustard.
Rice made with half basmati and half of Trader Joe’s lemongrass rice (so delish).
Naan from the Whole Foods bakery.
And chicken and vegetable curry from Kat’s fabulous recipe! I actually doubled it to ensure we’d have enough for the men. I didn’t quite have enough curry paste for the double though, so the flavor was a bit less bold than I would have liked. It was popular with the fam though!
Dessert was a sampling platter from Whole Foods along with some chocolate dipped strawberries I made. The samples included key lime pie, pumpkin whoopie pies, and an old fashioned cupcake. It was a very nice evening.
Today’s rainy cold weather has been perfect for nursing this cold and knocking out a lot of report writing for work. It felt great to get the hard work done this morning, so I’m debating a gentle gym session this afternoon. We are grabbing dinner with friends tonight and I’m looking forward to getting out of the house.
Happy Monday.
Read MoreOn Stress
Sometimes, I get tired of people (and Doctors) telling me that I’m stressed. I mean, I went to school – stress is that feeling when you have a million exams and tests piled up, right? I haven’t had that school-stressed-out feeling in a while, so I just assumed that I don’t get stressed much anymore. But lately, I’ve been re-thinking that. Perhaps stress just feels different now, especially because I stress about different types of things? I think I can finally identify adult stress as that ‘worked-up’ adrenaline feeling I get when I’m rushing and doing a million things at once. I used to think that that feeling of adrenaline was good because it motivated me to push past tiredness and get more things done. But if I’m not mistaken, adrenaline was designed for real fight or flight responses back in the day, not me attempting to shave five minutes off of my morning routine or speeding to get to a spinning class before its full.
So, the point of this rant? I’m just trying to slow down. Matt’s been telling me for years that rushing is bad for my health and yet I continue to rush to try to do it all. I obviously read a lot of lifestyle blogs with topics about ‘how to squeeze in a workout when you have 20 minutes’ and ‘how save time and money at the grocery store.’ I love the internet, but it stresses me out. I’m trying NOT to feel like I have to squeeze in that 20 minute workout and take a walk instead. I do a lot of passive relaxation (aka time on the couch), but I want to do more active relaxation, like making sure I have time to wind down at night before going to bed, getting massages every once in a while, listening to more calming music on my drive to work, and taking time to breathe.
And I need to use the time I save microwaving instead of cooking dinner to eat more slowly rather than woofing things down!
How do you de-stress?
Read MoreIt’s 5 O’clock Somewhere aka Naptime
It was one of those days were I just wanted to come home from work, sit on the couch, and eat. So I did! It’s ok to eat dinner at 5:05, right? I heated up some leftover sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. I swear everything we made for our fiesta tastes better days later. Yum.
I battled the urge to fall asleep for almost an hour, and finally let myself take a ten minute nap. I just crash after work and wish I could be like normal people (note: maybe the people I know who train for their half marathons after work aren’t actually normal and are actually super human). The good news is that I skipped over to the gym for 45 minutes of biking after waking up. I didn’t break a sweat, but it was nice to get moving. Especially since my legs are terribly sore after Matt made me do some workout from a men’s health magazine. I was limping through the halls today in heels. I do squats a couple of times a year and then never feel inspired to do them again.
The other good news is that I’ve finally found a doctor I like. I’m starting a new drug for, well, digestive issues, and finally having my hormone levels tested. Keep your fingers crossed that I’m miraculously cured of my terrible twenties tiredness and suddenly have the energy of a college student again (yeah right). Speaking of energy, it’s that time again – good night, sleep tight!
Read MoreBleu Burger
Happy Tuesday.
After a failed day of babysitting (kid got sick = I went home), I tackled my to-do list and got in some extra relaxation. Matt and I leave for Atlanta in three weeks, so we paid a visit to Hillsborough to see my parents and have dinner. I had also hoped to vote, but when I let it slip that I live in Durham now, I wasn’t allowed to vote in Hillsborough where I’m registered to vote (duh, should have known this). I caught myself when I started to state my address, but just couldn’t tell a lie when I realized my mistake. So sad.
We brought the leftover sangria to my parents house and finished off what was left. It tasted even better after 2 days. My dad ate every single bit of fruit from the bottom of the pitcher!
We walked down to the Saratoga Grill for the best burgers in the Triangle! They also have amazing scones.
For just $8.50 on Tuesdays, you can get a burger, salad, and beer and it’s a hellaofa burger at that. This guy is thick and the middle is stuffed with blue cheese.
It’s not always pretty, but it’s always tasty. This was Matt’s first time and he declared that the burger was definitely one of the best he’s ever had.
I wish I could stick around and chat, but bedtime comes so fast on school nights:( Tomorrow’s a big day and I’m really feeling the pressure of the end of the school year. Adios.
Read More
Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?