Pretty Cute

Way before I started collecting the Starbucks city mugs I somewhat collected the Starbucks pretty mugs.  They don’t really seem to produce many of the cute seasonal ones anymore…sad.

Oh look, more toast with almond butter and banana.  Shocker.

Lunch yesterday was light as I was heading out the door to get my hair done.  Cottage cheese with big, fat blueberries, dried cranberries, and a sprinkle of “salad crunchies” (soy nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc).

After my hair appointment I met up with Tiffaney to fill out some paperwork for booking our hotels and ferries for our upcoming vacation to Greece (!!!).  By the time I was done it was late afternoon and I was starving.

I stopped at Delicado’s for an early dinner.  Chicken Rollup with extra sauce and a small container of beet salad.  I ate it at home while catching up on work for the day and can’t remember the last time I felt that full.

American treat!  With dinner I sipped a Cherry Coke Zero.  Yet another coolio gift picked up during a friend’s trip across the border.  Sweet but yummy.

Not that I had room for dessert but dinner was early so snacking on this later in the evening seemed necessary.  Besides I don’t think I’ve ever made a trip to Delicado’s without getting a deli bar.

In an effort to drink more water and clean out the fruit bowl (damn fruit flies!) I sliced up lemon and lime.  It worked.

Of course, I had to pee about 356 times before I fell asleep but at least my water tasted good.

Three Course Breakfast

Chalk up another delicious Halifax food experience pour moi!

Yesterday was Tasha's Big 3-0! so we decided that rather than another dinner we'd like to take her for a fabulous brunch.  Lynn is our local brunch expert so Angie and I followed her lead to try out the Sunday brunch buffet at the Westin Nova Scotian...Elements Restaurant.

Beautiful historic hotel. 

The brunch buffet offerings are so plentiful some of the larger stations are in the foyer.  Omelette/waffle bar, pasta station, desserts (including chocolate fountain!!).

With soooo many options we all decided to work in different courses.  My plan was to try a little bit of as much as possible, but my rule was that I had to have either fruit or veggies on each plate.

Round one:  egg strata (with feta, red peppers, and tomatoes), bacon, fruit, cheese, mini lemon danish...and I did pick up a few cold shrimp and a slice of ham which I ended up not eating.

I think we all tried the strata and loved it.  Can't go wrong with feta cheese!!  The danish was excellent too (often in situations like this they can be a little hard or stale but this one was perfect).

Round two:  I really wanted a waffle but there was about a 12 minute wait so I decided on an omelette instead (the intent was to go back for the waffle, but who was I kidding?).  Tomatoes, ham and cheese in my omelette...super yum!!  With salad, fruit and a croissant.

 

I actually love omelettes and salad as a meal.  I need to make a note to include a few fun omelettes in my future dinner plans.

I didn't even get near a lot of the options...other stations included soup, roast beef & mashed potatoes, sushi, and things such as cold smoked salmon, etc. 

Round three:  was supposed to be the waffle but I really wanted dessert so I had to pass...the chef scolded me...haha.  In fact, when he saw us leaving he told me I'd better come back for a waffle.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I'm leaving town!  :)

Instead I went for an all chocolate tasting plate.  Eclair segment, some sort of dense brownie deliciousness with caramel sauce, and marshmallows and a lady finger that I grabbed mostly because I wanted to dip stuff in the chocolate fountain...

I ended up only eating half of the brownie (which was dense, moist and incredible!!), half of the eclair, and the marshmallows.  Didn't even touch the lady finger...way.too.full. 

Of course no birthday brunch is complete without prezzies!!!

Upon hearing it was Tasha's birthday, our server Jose offered to make her a flower... what a guy!

Speaking of the service, I should be sure to mention it was excellent.  Fresh coffee, tea and orange juice are included with the buffet.  Each time we got up for food, we would come back to our table cleared of the dirty dishes, our drinks replenished and even our napkins refolded.  And that Jose was a sweet talkin' man!  ;)

I brought Tasha some loot from DavidsTea.  Halifax just got a store in our shopping center and I've heard a few rave reviews by tea drinkers and thought it might make a good gift spot.  Sure enough it was! 

After we all complained about how full we were we took a quick walk around the hotel.  It's beautiful!  Lynn actually got married there so she showed us upstairs where she had her ceremony.  Of course, we decided we needed a few pictures!

Another fabulous overindulgence for us girls this weekend!  But totally worth it. Happy Birthday Miss Tasha!! This is your decade!

Waiting to Settle

I’m currently sporting a food baby in ma belly!  I think I just ate dinner for lunch.  It didn’t seem that big until I chowed it all down.  haha.

Twas just a weee salad…

Um, OK, with a wedge of sourdough (the lid from the bread bowl!) schmeared with Lex’s cheese dip and toasted in the oven until gooey…

Topped with tomato slices…

Deeeeelish.  Seriously.  Like, nom nom nom NOM!!!

But now it’s gonna take like 137 hours to digest that sucker, and I have a run on the agenda.  Whooops.

Thankfully breakfast was pretty light.

Half-caf ‘n’ nog…

FH mentioned egg McMuffins this morning which of course got me wanting one…so I made my own version…

No English muffins left, but Lynn left some burger buns here the other night…

Egg white done in the nuker…with a smidge of old cheddar…

Two crispy bacon slices…

Et voila!

With hashbrowns purple grapes…

I’m sipping on a festive mocktail now.  POM-tangerine mixed with diet ginger ale…fizzy deeelish!

OK, belly…digest, digest, digest!!  :)

The Date with no Date

Pizza and a movie?  Sounds like a cozy date night to me.  Unfortunately my date is still in Ontario playing soldier.  Boooo.

But my pizza was fab.u.lous!

After work I made a batch of Jenna’s Best Pizza Dough.  It’s super easy, comes together in no time, and only has to rise for about an hour.  I added Italian Seasoning and flax seeds for a little something extra.  Divided it into two servings…one for tonight and one for the freezer.

While it rose I finished puttering around the house, and then prepped my toppings.  I’ve been planning this all week.  My pizza was inspired by the veggie pizza we served at the cafe I worked at when I was younger.  The restaurant was a cool cappucino bar (long before Starbucks took over the world) and we served a mostly vegetarian menu of all homemade foods. 

The pizza was topped with carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, red onion and pineapple. 

With grated part-skim mozzarella and fresh parmesan.

Baked at 425 for 15 minutes and then broiled for about 3 minutes to make a crispy crust on the cheese.

Deeeeeeeelish!  and huge!  I ate half and saved the rest.  I was definitely courting a food baby in my belly after all that doughy goodness. 

The rest of my date night consists of a movie and popcorn.  Although I’m not sure where I’ll fit the popcorn…so we shall see.

Earlier today, lunch was the ultimate childhood comfort soup…Lipton’s Chicken Noodle.  When you want it, nothing else will do.  :)

I added a cup of frozen veggies to the pot.

And served with cheese and crackers.  Reminds me of Mom.  :)

For the 4pm pick-me-up I did a water chugging challenge and snacked on a chocolate Nature Valley bar.  A little hydration and sugar boost to beat the dulldrums of the first snow day of the year. 

Time for some Ryan Reynolds (*drooool), so goodnight all. 

Happy weekend!!