Purse Food and Other Eats

How’s that for a new head shot?  Nothing says sexy like getting a brand new set of highlights.  Especially when lunch is being consumed at the same time.

What?  You don’t think I was going to try to buy lunch downtown and waste money and calories did you? :)  Purse salad for the win.

This is the longest I have ever gone without getting my hair coloured in one variation or another.  My boring natural brown hair growing in was making me sad so today we welcomed back the blonde. 

Blonde hair, white pants, preeeetty new purse. NOW it feels like Summer.

1. Coffee with almond milk.  (note the missing water…doh)

2. Overnight oats with local raspberries.

3. Purse salad: red leaf lettuce, cucumber, raspberries, chicken breast, avocado, mango salsa with olive oil and sea salt.

4. Freeeeeee Starbucks Triple Grande Non-Fat 1/2 Sweet Hazelnut Latte.

5. 1/2 Pecan Pie Larabar.

6. Baby carrots.

7. Wee glass of white sangria.

8. Dinner out with the ladies: Polenta cake with black beans, rice, salsa and sour cream.

9. BC cherries.

Pretty good day if I do say so.  Hope yours was too!

Things…

This was my view from the gym yesterday.  There’s worse things to look at while sweating up a storm, no?

I swear I had plans for a recipe post this week.  I made this Quinoa and Bean Soup the other night and while it’s OK, it’s bland so I didn’t deem it good enough for a post of it’s own. 

To be fair, it was better heated up and it was really easy to make so maybe with some better seasoning I might make it again and tell you about it.

So far, my grocery budgeting has worked out exactly as I had planned for the week.  In fact I bought myself a happy little bouquet and still didn’t break the budget.  Huzzah!

Once a month I load my Starbucks card for buying coffee beans and occasional handy dandy coffees.  Yesterday I was happy to use up my last $3 just to get my hands on a cute Love cup!

I didn’t do it, but there’s an iPhone app you can use to scan the cup and the picture will magically come to life!  Starbucks…you are a PR machine.

UPS arrived at my door and I may have squealed with delight when I buzzed the guy in to deliver this package!!  I’ve been sitting, waiting, and wishing for a real food processor for years now (I only have a wee 2 cupper) so I finally gave in and ordered one.

Don’t worry…it didn’t cost me a dime!  As if a KitchenAid anything is in my budget right now.  Nope!  You can thank Airmiles for this one.  :)

This thing is enormous!!  I’ll probably be complaining that it’s too much food processor for me now.  Never satisfied you know. 

Now, what to make…what to make? 

Oh, and the third instalment from #CanadianBloggerSeries is up over on Heidi’s blog.  This time it’s my buddy Scott from Your Inner Skinny explaining what a giant pain in the ass it is to eat healthy living in Yellowknife. 

I hate to break it to you bud, but those organic eggs cost the same ridiculous amount here in Victoria.  You aren’t alone up there on that one!

Look Out World

Well, I think I can finally breathe.  I’ve got my bag pretty damn near packed, my Euros and Passport ready to rock, and I checked in for all of my flights this morning.  Look out Greece, we’re coming!!!!

Yesterday I broke down and ordered up Pumpkin Spice for breakfast.  I was thinking I would wait until I got back from vacation because I didn’t want Summer to end too soon, but the grey sky that showed up here yesterday convinced me to get into the pumpkin mood.

For lunch I was really just cleaning out the fridge.  Let’s see, the produce drawers had a wimpy bunch of green onions, a couple of random radishes, and like two leaves of lettuce screaming to be used.

Thankfully I also had half a carton of eggs and the remnants of a loaf of bread.  Egg salad to the rescue!

Blueberries, granola and soy milk for dinner.  A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

I cashed in a Groupon I bought for Om Nailspa months ago to get a mani-pedi before hitting the air.  Figured I might as well get Summery bright toes one last time for the season, and something dark and sharp on my fingers (don’t worry I bought the polish for touch ups).

After a whirlwind trip through my apartment doing a final vacuum, laying out my final clothing choices, and collecting up all of my camera bits and pieces for packing I was off to Michael’s to share up that Peach & Blueberry Cobbler.

Now I’m just finishing up loose ends for work, packing the dog up for her adventure to the other Jamie’s, and dealing with this pile of lovely.

That bag will be so organized, airport security won’t know what hit them.

Next stop: 430am wake up call. 

Twitchy

Morning everyone!  Happy Friday!  Here we are almost at the weekend and I’m finally caught up on blog posts for the week.  Say hello to yesterday!

See that gorgeous smoothie presented to me before leaving Michael’s yesterday morning…it’s pretty exciting that his fridge always contains yummy almond milk!  Especially when he whips it up with bananas, egg, and blueberries.

I had to run off for a doctor’s appointment so I treated myself to Starbies on the way home. Half sweet vanilla iced coffee with milk and the only treat I seem to like there anymore…lemon poppy seed loaf.

When lunch rolled around I was happy to open up a can of Habitant Pea Soup.  I knew salad would be served with dinner and I’d been thinking about this soup since I bought it.

Yummy in my tummy.

As was my daily salted chocolate ration.  Take THAT chocolate!  You haven’t beat me yet!

Come late afternoon I grabbed another nectarine but decided to add a side of almonds.  My eye was twitching like crazy which can be a sign of not enough potassium (apparently) and since I don’t have bananas on hand I figured this was a good way to go.

Anyone ever get that twitchy eye?!  It happens to me all the time but the banana trick always works.  Probably an old wives tale but it works for me I swear!  (the almonds seemed to work too!)

There’s the dinner salad I promised.  I needed it to brighten up those beige leftovers!!  No big silver bowl, just a stack of lettuce, carrots, peppers, cukes, and blue cheese dressing.

To spruce up Wednesday night’s leftovers I added sautéed mushroom and onions to the pork, and sliced and pan “fried” the already buttery herbed potatoes.

Holy deeeelish potatoes!

After strolling Miss Chibi around the block and staring a two episodes of the dumbest show I can’t stop watching Big Brother 13 I settled into another bowl of blueberries, granola and yogurt. 

I hope it’s a sunny weekend where you are. I’ve had a busy week and am looking forward to an adventure with Michael tomorrow!  Have a great weekend!

The Day After Yesterday

It was tough to avoid the myriad of news stories, photos, and articles about last night’s chaos.  Thankfully much of the bad news was trumped by stories about the amazing people that showed up today to clean up Vancouver and show their love for the city. 

I don’t even live in Vancouver but it’s close enough that all of this truly makes my heart hurt.  It’s a reflection on all of us around here and I for one am glad to see the community rally to wash away the ridiculous of last night.

Derek Jory at Canucks.com summed things up here (again!).  His article (and many others I read today) brought tears to my eyes.

Enough…

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Chibi and I took advantage of a sunny morning to walk over to the mall for coffee and a treat. 

Fresh apricots.  Juicy and deeelish.

OMG raspberries.  Organic and amazing.  With bananas, granola, TJs almond butter and vanilla yogurt.

Toast with bacon jam and just slightly yolky egg.  Salad with spinach, pea shoots, cherry tomatoes, orange pepper, dried cranberries, olive oil and s&p.

The other Jamie and I got together for girl talk.  I discovered the Coconut Crème Frappuccino (!!) and scored a chocolate chunk cookie sample.

On the drive home I noticed the sky was looking pretty cool post lunar eclipse.

Stoopy says hi.  (Actually he says “why u must be takin’ my picture biznatch?!”)

Jamie bought me popchips.

Thank you volunteers.  Thank you.

Nervous Fan

Tick off another addition to the Starbucks mug collection.  When I tried to buy one on previous trips to Vancouver I either couldn’t find one or forgot completely. 

Coffee brewed at home like a good girl. 

Normal healthy breakfast with some of the most deeeelish grapes evah!

I was off to massage this afternoon and didn’t have time for lunch.  Just the rest of my breakfast banana and multiple handfuls of Ikea crack candy.  (x a bazillion)

After work it was time for Game 6.  Are you sick of my Canucks talk?  Don’t worry, one more game and it’ll all be over.

Wait.  ONE.MORE.GAME.  Yikes.  I’ve never been so nervous over sports in my life.  And I was once smashed in the face with a baseball so hard that I still have a gimpy scar on my tongue.  Baseballs make me nervous…

…Game 7 makes me pee in my pants a little.  Eeeeeeeek.

Tonight’s game was viewed in a super crowded sports pub/restaurant with a bunch of the girls (and one token boy).  Sliders was certainly hopping with extremely vocal and excited fans.

Too bad that by the time I got my pizza the game had slipped far enough that I thought I’d lose my appetite.  (hahahaha, as if that would ever happen!!)

It’s OK boys.  I really wanted you to win that cup at home anyway. 

Bring it home!!!