Happy Monday, everybody! I hope you had a lovely (possibly long) holiday weekend and are starting the week off feeling nice and refreshed. But before we really get into the week, let’s talk about the weekend. See, I have some confessions…
A couple weeks ago, I backed into a parked car in a too-small parking lot.
I barely scratched the other car, and the owner was just about one of the nicest people ever. I did manage to damage my bumper, though. So after work, lunch, and a rainy dog walk on Friday, my dad and I went to go pick it up from the shop. It’s good as new. Or, as good as before (the car has over 100,000 miles on it and is still in really good shape).
I really like P.F. Chang’s.
I’m very aware that it serves very Americanized/inauthentic Chinese food. I don’t care. Whatever it serves, it’s tasty.
{Crab wontons}
My mom and I went on a dinner date while my dad played poker on Friday night. We shared crab wontons, kung pao shrimp and brown rice, and flourless chocolate cake. Honestly, we were proud of ourselves for going to a sit-down restaurant. Whenever we have dinner together, we talk about all the dine-in experiences we could have… and then usually grab Chipotle or Panera and take it home to eat on the couch. 🙂
I slept in on Saturday.
And by “slept in”, I mean that I slept until 6:15 am. Hey, I’ve been waking up before 5:00 am recently. It was a nice change of pace.
The grocery store samples on Saturday were excellent.
The salmon at Giant Eagle Market District made my mom and I wish we weren’t grilling brats and hot dogs for dinner on Saturday. It was so tender and flavorful! And the double fudge brownies? Uh, we actually bought some. They were bakery quality and insanely fudgy.
I took a nap on the floor of our rec room.
I nap best on the floor.
I crafted my perfect hot dog on Saturday night.
A grilled hot dog with mustard, onion, and dill pickle relish on a soft white split-top bun. I rounded out the meal with some Sun Chips, Rainier cherries, grapes, blueberries, and blackberries. And a double fudge brownie. I promptly forgot all about my earlier desperate desire for salmon.
I didn’t see any fireworks this weekend.
Honestly, I’m not a huge firework person. I get bored with them really quickly. Also, when I went upstairs to go watch them, I noticed Pippa was kind of freaking out over the noise. I decided to forgo them entirely and sit on the floor and try to comfort her. My parents assured me I didn’t miss much.
I baked. Again.
We still have leftover treats from my last round of baking, but I totally have the baking bug. I’ve had coconut flour in the pantry forever, but I had only mixed a little of it into Greek yogurt before. I changed that yesterday by making Monique’s coconut flour chocolate chunk bars. They’re so fluffy and delicious! I officially love the texture coconut flour adds and I can’t wait to use it more. I also made Averie’s salted caramel peanut butter chocolate chip bars. They’re heavenly. I used 1/2 cup of Jif Whips peanut butter & salty caramel instead of 1/3 cup of the Skippy salted caramel peanut butter and they turned out beautifully.
I finally got a pedicure.
I’ve been letting my nail polish chip off for well over a month now, and my mom and I keep putting off getting actual pedicures. Usually, I just let her paint my nails, but occasionally we do the whole pedicure “thing”. I love the outcome, but I was so tense while the pedicurist was scrubbing my feet. It’s some terrible combination of tickling and burning. *shudder*
I think Jessica is a genius.
I have her cookbook, Seriously Delish, and whenever we make a recipe from it, we can’t stop raving about how fantastic it tastes. Last night, I made the chili-garlic roasted salmon and it was completely perfect. Easily the best salmon I’ve ever made – a little sweet, a little spicy, a little salty – and super simple!
What’s your favorite chain restaurant?
Do you like hot dogs? What does your perfect one look like?
How was your weekend?
Fun weekend! I backed my car into our neighbors car a couple months ago and it was the same story 🙁
My favorite chain restaurant is probably Chipotle, but as far as sit-down places go, probably the Cheesecake Factory.
I do like all-beef hotdogs if they’re made with high quality meat and I’d top mine with ketchup and relish!
Chipotle is definitely my favorite, too. I could honestly probably eat it every day… but I restrain myself 🙂
That salmon looks delicious! I might need to get my hands on that cook book because I lovee love love when there’s a great combination of flavors :). And hooray for all the baking! I think I’m going through a dry spell when it comes to baking and really need to get back on the sugar bandwagon ;).
Also, love that nail color! You are a girl after my own heart. My nails are painted just about the same shade right now- which reminds me that I really need to get them done haha.
Definitely get the book! Everything is pretty simple, but the flavor combinations are insanely creative and I get a ton of new ideas every time I make a recipe from it. I hope you find your baking mojo soon 🙂
Thanks so much! It’s so nice to have them done again 🙂
What yummy eats, and I totally get you about the whole dining experience. While it really does make it more memorable and mindful, sometimes all you want is something chill thats ready to eat. Also, why do you have to get up at 5 :o? Sleeping in for me is 8:30, I cannot fathom having to get up so early!
Haha I don’t *have* to get up at 5, that’s just when I wake up :/ I wouldn’t need to be up until around 6:30 to get to work! I’m a bad sleeper.
My mom and I are the same way. Our girls’ nights include pasta from a box and a sappy chick flick. But we love it all the same. It gives us permission to be lazy in pajamas, and I cherish that time greatly. 🙂
Favorite chain restaurant: In N Out
Have a great rest of your Monday, Ellen!
I love chill time with my mom, too. I’ll take as much as I can get before I go back to school!
I soooo want to try In N Out. I love a good burger.
Thanks, Julia! I hope you had a lovely day.
We’ll have to look into an In-N-Out when we’re in San Francisco.
Yes, please!
That salmon >>>> I want that when I get back to Florida (I barely have ingredients for cooking here. Oh and I rarely cook haha). I finally got a pedicure last week after an embarrassingly long time. We got a similar color too!
I hope you get your salmon soon 🙂 And yes, it’s so nice to treat yourself to a good pedicure!
I’ve had very little sleep this week (although I know it’s nothing like your sleep issues!), and I tried to take a nap on Saturday afternoon because I knew I’d be up SUPER late, helping our pyro friend tear down after the local show. I kept wanting to lay on the floor to nap, and I kept telling myself that that was silly, and my bed would be much more comfy. Now I wish I had tried it…maybe I’m the same way you are!
I really need to paint my toenails…they’ve been unpainted for a couple weeks now after my old color grew out. I feel like it’s such a shame to have unpainted toenails in the summer time, when you can see it the most!
I can’t stand hotdogs…sorry! This was made worse after seeing a show on how they make them…that was so gross, and scarred my hotdog life forever! 😀
Aw it was nice of you to sacrifice sleep for a friend 🙂
I feel the same way… but I’m usually a little too lazy to actually paint them. 😛
Hahaha I might feel the same if I saw that… so maybe I’ll just live in blissful ignorance. Is that bad? 😉
Yay to you being able to sleep in!! Know what that’s like…
I don’t really care about fireworks on TV, but we have a friend who is a pyrotechnician, and my siblings help him set up a show at a local park. Because our family is part of the crew, we get seats pretty close, where you can feel the clap from the fireworks *right in your chest*! It’s SO awesome, and the best way to do fireworks, IMO!! This year, I stayed at home all day with our dogs, but my mom dropped me off at the park so I could watch the show. I usually am busy taking pictures of the fireworks, but this time, I just wanted to enjoy it. So I laid on the ground (for *extra* sensory experience and better viewing! 😉 ), and watched it with my siblings and dad. Which was extra-fun because they’d helped set-up. 🙂
We don’t go out to eat much, though I really do want to try Chipotle’s! I’ve only had endless lemonade (yummers!) and dessert at Applebee’s, but I have a feeling I’d like their entrées too…is Papa John’s considered a chain “restaurant”? Because I <3 their pizza! 😛
I don't like hot dogs, but your toppings sound very much like the sort I like! Lots of yellow mustard for sure!! 😉