Seven Things

Hello blogettes!  So today marked the beginning of my second semester of graduate school.  I had two classes this evening and I am utterly flabbergasted at the amount of work they gave me for the semester!  I am taking 5 courses (16 credits), two mornings a week at an internship, and working 25 hours a week at my job (gotta have the $$).  I honestly am scared to see the amount of work for the other three courses, and I have no idea how I’m going to balance everything.  I’ve had a lot of work and semesters in my time, yet I feel like this is the most work I’ve had yet.  Oy.  Keep me in your thoughts and send me some motivation…I have some, but seems like I’ll need an abundance!

The lovely Kara,  a great friend both in the blog world and off (girl we need to meet! ) tagged me in the Seven Things post that has been circulating the blog world.  I’m flattered to be tagged, so here are some random facts you may not know about me!

1. I have a lame obsession with some guilty pleasure TV shows…America’s Next Top Model, Secret Life of the American Teenager, What Not to Wear, Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezillas, and….Jersey Shore, of course

2. When I was in elementary school I contracted Lyme Disease, but have not had any issues with it since then

3. My best friend of seven years is also my semi step sister!  Our parents live together! Cool, huh?

4. Above mentioned best friend just got engaged and I’m the maid of honor   My first time in a wedding and I’m SO EXCITED!

5. I have a couple of food aversions….celery, regular or spicy mustard, grapefruits, and olives are some food I will. not. touch. Yuck

6. I haven’t been single for more than 3 months since I was 16.  Now is one of those times.

7. I LOVE to write, and have notebooks filled with short stories I’ve written.  Too bad I don’t have much time to write for fun anymore

Hope this gives you all some insight into my wonderful life haha.  Let’s see…consider yourselves all tagged but here are some special ladies I’d like to call out:

Holly

Miss GC

Lizzy

Shelley

Ms. Page

Rebecca

Anais

You ladies all rock!  But, and I truly mean this, you all are fabulous, wonderful women (or men if that be the case!) and I truly extend this to all of you!  All the blogs I have the pleasure of reading are wonderful, so consider this a giant hug for you all!

Have a wonderful night!

NYC Blogger Lunch

Hello my pretties!  I hope life is treating you all fabulously!  Love catching up on all your blogs!

Last Sunday I was invited to a blogger lunch in New York City (which I live within train distance from) with some awesome girls and fellow bloggers!

The day started with Rebecca picking me up at a pre-specified location, and then hopping the train to the city!  Not without a Grande Passion fruit iced tea lemonade from Starbucks of course   My first time trying this beverage and it rocked my face off!

The train ride to NYC was great, especially getting to know Rebecca better!!  After surprisingly not getting lost, we met up at Peanut Butter and Company (yes they have a little cafe!!!) for lunch!  After taking pictures of the entire place, we waited for our fellow bloggers to arrive!

After trying to decide what I wanted for a verrrry long time, I made my decision!

This was a Cookie Dough Surprise sandwich on wheat!  It had Mighty Maple PB (my favorite…by request!), vanilla cream cheese, and chocolate chips!  Mmmm such a decadent sandwich, I couldn’t finish it all!  Which pretty much never happens!  Maaaaybe I was also a little hungover from the night before….but I’ll never tell

The sandwich came with carrot sticks and some all natural potato chips!  Quite good…see?

Pretty good dent into it!

Well heeeeey ladies   Bloggers in action!  Rebecca and Leslie!  It was a really fun time getting to know these other ladies!  I hope we can plan more blogger meetups soon!

All of us!

After Mel and Leslie left, Rebecca and I wandered around NYC for awhile, and then made our way to…

Red Mango!

My first Red Mango experience!  Good suggestion Rebecca! Plain yogurt with pomegrante arils and kiwi! A-mazing.

Yum-O!

Have a Fab Thursday (or Fab Friday if you read it then!)  Ps…I have a date tonight

Enter Shelley’s giveaway!! You can win some awesome stuff!  Thanks girl!

Blogger Meet Up!

I hope everyone is having a fab 2010 so far!

Did you know…there’s a blogger meet up in NYC this Sunday!  Are you interested in attending?  Shoot me an e-mail if you want the info; the more the merrier!! I’d love to meet you all!

New Things for a New Year

I’m no exception for those out there currently making all their New Year’s Resolutions.  I know sometimes NYR get a bad reputation because we shouldn’t be unrealistic and vow to change everything we don’t like about ourselves on this one day, right?  Well I happen to love New Year’s Resolutions.  They offer a fresh start…a fresh outlook on your own life.  So I encourage you to all take a few moments, and reflect on yourself.  Who is that you really want to be?  And work from that.

So I pretty much wet myself today in the supermarket when I came upon this

PB & J Larabar!! With my blender in the background...hey Blender

I finally found them!  It’s been a long, tough wait my friends!  I had no qualms about ripping into one when I got home to just see what it tasted like…PB & J is an awesome combo so I was eager to see what the hype was about.  I had very high expectations…

…and I was sorely disappointed   This is just tasted like any ol’ Lara to me…and they are so tiny now!!  Seriously, did Larabars shrink? I though I was eating one of the fun sized ones.  Booo.  I even gave it a second taste, and nope, tasted just like all Laras seem to taste.  Very disappointing.  Not gross or anything…just not quite what I was expecting.  Too bad I bought three

I did find my love though

Mighty Maple!  My absolute favorite peanut butter in the world, and that’s saying something, because I’ve tried lots.  This one particular supermarket I go to always has it for a lot cheaper ($3.99 vs $5.49 a jar) so I snatched it up!  Got some other fun items too (Sunshine burgers, edamame, the usuals) and some Oikos for free!  4 containers!  I was given free coupons ages ago and realized yesterday that they expired tomorrow!  Whoops!  Good thing I know a store that sells them!   Score!

What are everyone’s New Years plans?  I’ve tried for a month to get it together with people to plan something, and where does it look like I’ll be ringing in the New Year?  At home, on my sofa, with movies and possibly takeout.  Could be a lot worse though!

On Top of the World

Hey everyone what’s shakin’?? I am in an awesome mood because as of 11 am today… I am DONE with my first semester of graduate school…done, done, DONE!  To be honest, it’s been quite the long road so far.  My program certainly isn’t everything I’d hoped it would be, and that’s awfully disappointing.  On top of everything, an audio recorded final exam I had was run over by my professor’s car and half the class had to re-do it!! Suckage!  But I’m done, so whatever!

Tomorrow is my company Christmas party, and I’m going apartment hunting!  Should be fun!

How are YOU all doing…that’s what I wanna hear about!  I’ve been eating the usuals, along with a bit more junk then I’d care to admit.  Mozzerella sticks, McDonalds…who am I!?  Gotta knock that off pronto!  I’d much rather be indulging in some tasty holiday delights instead!

What’s this!?

Zevia!! A big thanks to my amiga Kristin for the Zevia giveaway she hosted recently!  I won and got 24 cans of this all natural, calorie free, artifical sweetener free, Stevia sweetened soda!  Frankly, it rocks!  I’ve tried the Black Cherry, Cola, Natural Twist (Lemon Lime), and Ginger Ale flavors and have not been disappointed!  I wish stores sold this more commonly, because once you drink this on the regular, you won’t want to go back to Diet soda that’s artificially sweetened, that’s for sure!

It’s a lot less sweet than traditional diet soda, and the Cola flavor almost had a lemony taste to it as well.  But I really enjoyed them, and they didn’t give you that bloated feeling that traditional diet sodas sometimes do!  It’s a winner winner in my book!  Thanks Kristin! And thanks Zevia!

How’s everyone’s holiday preparations going?

If Only…

…a belly rub cured all!  My dog who I’m petting now sure seems to think so

So I’m back.

It’s been a difficult few weeks for me.  My (now ex) boyfriend and I are no longer together.  I won’t get into the details on here, but a very big thank you to those of you who offered me support, especially my bloggie FaceBook friends.  It means more than you know!  It’s better this way.  It has to be.

Enough of that; this is supposed to be a food blog, no?  So let’s do it.

No better way to jump back in than a grocery shop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know the baby oatmeal is kind of random.  I’m a huge fan!  My Mom used to serve this to me and my brother until we were about 10…and I eat it cold   This was the ONLY kind of oatmeal I would eat until college…and even then I brought this with me and would have it on occasion.  Now I love a good bowl of oat bran or pumpkin oatmeal but I saw this in the store today and couldn’t pass it up!  Call it a comfort food, but I love it

I got some good finds today!  I went to two different health food stores and really lucked out.  I’m dying to try those falafel burgers…I’ll definitely let you know how they are!

Now.  I also made another interesting purchase this afternoon…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s right folks….Raspberry Rush Kombucha!!! This was a total impulse buy.  I’ve seen Kombucha on several blogs, but always felt pretty apprehensive about trying it.  I mean…what the heck is it anyway!?

“Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it’s not really any of these. It’s a living culture of beneficial microorganisms, and in Kombucha’s case, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts! Our Kombucha is delicately cultured – some liken it to fermentation – for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality. Kombucha has been used for hundreds of years throughout the world as a daily health tonic. The culture resembles a light brown, tough, gelatinous disk—and because it’s a living, growing entity, it can regenerate and create new cultures with every batch. In fact, GT’s Kombucha and Synergy are made from Kombucha cultures that are descendants of the original culture GT grew to create his first bottles.” Source

Hm!  I have to admit, the idea of drinking bacteria laden water from a growing mushroom really freaked me out.  I’ve heard you either love it or you really really don’t! So, what did I think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The verdict?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t love it or dislike it.  It smells like raspberry vinegar, which I was prepared for.  The taste actually wasn’t too bad!  It was fizzy (as it is carbonated) and I think I could handle it!  I think it’s more something I’d drink throughout the day, not all in one sitting.  Even my brother took a sip and said it was pretty good!  It’s expensive, at $3.99 a pop, but I was willing to try it out for the blog’s sake

The supposed health benefits are amazing, so I guess we’ll see!

How was everyone’s Thanksgiving and weekend so far!?

Later gators!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggies!!

 

I love and miss you all!

 

Be back soon, promise!

Source

Spoke too soon.

I’m going to be taking a break..not too long, but a break.

You can see by editing I’ve done in my last post that things have obviously drastically changed for me.

Those of you that are friends with me on Facebook I’m sure can tell.

 

I’m strong, and I’ll live, but I need a break for awhile.

 

I hope you all understand.

 

M

Changes

Hi everyone!  This post has been in the making for awhile now!  I have some fun and exciting things on the horizon for me, and I’d like to share them with you all!

First, I was sent some awesome Heart Thrive baked goodies to enjoy and sample for the blog!  I’ve seen these tasty treats around on some other blogs and I was given the pleasure of trying them for myself.

These little heart shaped lovelies came in lot of different flavors:  Lemon Poppyseed, Cranberry (shown above), Chocolate, Raisin, Date, Apricot and Apple. They were all really delicious!  The cakes have a very dense texture, and are surprisingly filling (the serving size is 1 heart, 2 servings per packet) which winds up being just right for a filling snack.  They reminded me a lot of oatmeal bars, but weren’t very oaty at all, just dense.  They were sweet enough to taste the flavor they were (Lemon, Chocolate etc) but not overly sweet at all. Here is a sample of the ingredients for the Lemon Poppyseed flavor:

OATS, BROWN RICE SYRUP, BROWN RICE FLOUR, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SOY FLOUR INULIN (CHICORY ROOT EXTRACT), DRIED PLUMS, DRIED APPLES, DRIED PEARS, POPPY SEEDS, NATURAL FRUIT JUICE, ORANGE PEEL, CALCIUM CITRATE, LEMON EXTRACT.

The site says that each cake contains Vegan ingredients which is awesome and the ingredient list is certainly pretty wholesome (and delicious!)  Overall, I’d get Heart Thrive snacks two thumbs up!  Definitely give these a shot if you are looking for a great snack (or dessert warmed up with your favorite nut butter )  Thanks Heart Thrive for giving me the opportunity to sample these tasty treats!

Finally, there is one more lovely thing I cannot WAIT to share with you…it’ll be exciting news for all of you as well…but I can’t yet. I didn’t want to hold up the rest of this post waiting for that news, so I’m just going ahead and posting it anyway…minus the awesome news.  As soon as I’m able to tell you all, I promise I will!

Later gators!

A Small Preview!

Hey everyone!  Hope everyone’s doing well!  No worries, I’m keeping up on your blogs!

I have some really awesome, fantastic, and amazing things that are in the works right now (alllllllllllmost ready to be released to the world! LOL) and I can’t wait to clue you all in!  But for now….a tease!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*And much more exciting news to come!*

My girl Kristin over at Kristin’s Nibbles is having a Zevia giveaway!  Ch-ch-check it out!