Posts Tagged "Pumpkin"

Island Feast

Posted on Nov 23, 2012 | 3 comments

We’re having an amazing time here on the island. It’s chilly, but the clear blue sunny skies make up for it.

A margarita kicked off the vacation and then we spent most of Wednesday afternoon catching up and showing Matt’s family around the island.

Thoughts from a Tuesday

Posted on Nov 6, 2012 | 7 comments

• After all the talk of tea in the comments [thanks guys!}, I had a hot cup of peppermint this afternoon! I have kind of a big problem with hydration and tea helps with that too
• There’s something very attractive about white haired men…
• I know there are tons of hurricane Sandy fundraisers/donation options out there, but consider donating something from this Amazon wish list for students at a Monmouth Beach, NJ school that’s expected to be closed for 5+ weeks due to damage. Reader Lindsay grew up in Monmouth Beach and went through a similar experience when the school was flooded from a storm back in ’92 – she and her fellow classmates organized the wish list as they were in the very same situation 20 years ago.

Source

• Thanks for reading even when my content is boring:)

Soup’s On

Posted on Oct 15, 2012 | 4 comments

Gloomy, rainy days sure go well with Mondays. But at least something exciting happens this week!

I had a training that started a little later this morning, so I knocked out a workout at the Y. It was great because after work I definitely didn’t want to go out in the rain. The afternoon kind of dragged on, and so I was quite excited to get to go home to complete free time. I made by first batch of pumpkin oats for tomorrow’s breakfast. I tried to delay opening a can as long as possible, because last year, I was hooked on pumpkin oats until MAY!

And I made soup. I bought some chicken drumsticks and went ahead and boiled the chicken for shredding, so it would be all ready to go into this mix by dinner time. I can’t remember exactly where I got this – maybe a Great Harvest Bakery gift from my mom?

Anyway, it was super quick and made a ton of soup for the week. And I loved how chunky it was with all that chicken.

I think our little party at the lake made me extra tired today – who gets sleepy at 7 pm?

I’ve noticed that since living in Atlanta this summer (where I had no cable or basic/local channels), I’m much less interested in TV at night. Part of this is just because I find the internet more stimulating and staring at the TV has actually become boring. Sometimes I do wish I could just settle down and enjoy a show without any distractions – I do find it more relaxing than being on the internet because it’s less interactive. But the most relaxing night time activity for me is reading. I rarely make it through more than a chapter, but I know it helps me unwind and get sleepy. To the point that I never finish any books! But, I am planning to get in bed and finish my book right this minute. I’m looking forward to starting a new one – maybe State of Wonder? Not sure what it’s about, but it’s been on my side table for a while.

Goodnight.

Mystery Brewing + Mystery Risotto

Posted on Oct 7, 2012 | 6 comments

Man, I love fall weekends. Except when it’s freezing and rainy and there’s a leak in my bedroom! But really, I have no complaints about the weekend. Friday, I barely made it out of the house, but we ended up grabbing dinner at Six Plates wine bar. A friend of ours got a major job offer and invited us to celebrate with a bottle of champagne! Of course I didn’t have my camera because I didn’t know I was going to eat, but we ordered pretty much all the plates we enjoyed the last time I was at Six Plates.

Saturday, after my usual spinning class and procrastinating going to the grocery store, Matt and I headed to Hillsborough to redeem a Living Social deal at Mystery Brewing Company. Being a big beer person, I am very proud that my little town opened a craft brewery and I was very excited to visit. There was a huge crowd there too.

Animal House

Posted on Oct 31, 2011 | 7 comments

Whew. The past couple of days have been a whirlwind. In fact, the whole month of October has been a blur and it continues this weekend when I head to the west coast for Foodbuzz. I’m trying to savor all the fun events, but time is moving so fast.

As my post last night alluded to, my friends and I had margaritas and dinner on Friday night. We then headed to a funky community space/bar called Pinhook for Scaryoke. We had a blast, although it took two hours for our group to be called to the stage and we were the last song of the night. The computer system froze and we didn’t know many of the words except for the chorus. At 2am though, I’m hoping no one noticed .

Saturday, was rainy and cold, so we headed to Elmo’s diner for a hot breakfast. I shared the huevos rancheros as well as pumpkin pancakes and then had a nice nap while my guests assembled their costumes. My dining room was transformed into a sewing shop.

A friend of a friend who traveled all the way from Chile made homemade guacamole for the party!! I did some simple cooking of my own.

Not a party without a cheese board.

We had Anne’s pumpkin dip, which was a hit and an unpictured black bean and white cheddar mexican scoop.

And dogs, delicious dogs.

Halloween punch! This was my mom’s recipe and I thought it was delicious. Mostly pineapple and orange juice, lemonade, lemon-lime soda, and rum – topped with orange sherbet.

My parents were nice enough to come over and help me get everything ready and then they enjoyed cocktail hour with us.

All the party animals:)

…with Justin Bieber!!

Lots of fun Fuqua friends joined the festivities and everyone had amazing costumes.

With a little coaxing, Justin even performed for us!!

And I was like baby, baby, baby oh

A brief dance party ensured before we headed out to another Fuqua Halloween party at a local roller rink.

So.much.fun. Thanks to my party animals for traveling all the way to Durham for a fantastic reunion!