Pictures from my phone that may or may not be of interest.

Because pictures supposedly say 1000 words, and I’m not feeling super chatty, here’s some fun stuff that came off of my phone as of late.

 

My sunglasses broke this week. As I was wearing them.

 I was sitting on the train, reading and minding my own business, when all of a sudden it felt like something hit my sunglasses. I look up an a lens falls out. After inspection, I realize it’s the EXACT same thing that happened a few months ago. The frames cracked. Just like that.

 

Seriously H&M – pull yourself together.

 

Want to hear about another rip?

 

These:

 Stupid Nature Valley Granola Thins. You entice me with the chocolate. And the sale at Walgreens (I should have known). But the package is misleading. The fantastic treat I’m expecting when opening it is drastically smaller than the packaging and way thinner than the normal Nature Valley granola bars. The chocolate sticks to the cardboard it’s on. Crumbs fly everywhere before it’s even out of the package.

 

If there are mice in this office, my desk is where they party all night. 

 

A disaster on all levels that leaves me hungrier than I was before. Dislike.

 

But I should stop being negative. Here’s a like:

 

My happy hour plans involving pizza and beer were cancelled earlier this week (oops- that was a dislike, too), but I was comforted by pasta.

 

It’s white pasta that has been hanging out in my house for some time now (the box is never-ending) , and even though whole wheat texture is preferred, it was fine because I overloaded it with brussels and mushrooms and red sauce. I also added chipotle seasoning to give it a smoky flavor. For added sassiness. A pleasant “win”.

 

A pleasant surprise would be the massive box of goodness I received from Chobani this week!

 I was unfortunately not able to make a dinner they held for some of the Chicago bloggers last month, however, they still insisted on sending me fun Olympic-themed goodies!

 

My favorite part? Other than the coupons for free food, I am absolutely in love with the beach bag that has speakers built-in. You know what I’ll be rockin’ out with in the upcoming weeks along Lake Michigan! Holla’!

 

And this may be the book I’ll be reading while rocking out on the beach:

 

I just started “If You Were Here” this week. So far it’s ok. But being as how it’s “loosely” based on things that have happened to her, and she’s changing names of places in the Chicagoland area that I know of, it has me all confused. I love every single one of her memoirs she’s written (that I’ve read- there’s one I haven’t gotten to yet). This novel? I’m underwhelmed so far.

 

However, I will continue to read it because I not-so-secretly want to be Jen Lancaster’s BFF. CALL ME, JEN!

 

And there you have it in this episode of “pics from my phone that my friends sometimes flip through and call me weird for”.

 

You’re welcome.

 

Happy weekend!

TV Night Comfort

May is a wonderful month. In Chicago, it seems to be the time when people start clawing their way out of their caves to participate once again in outdoor activities

We’re happy to have survived the 7-month winter. Happy to dine al fresco with friends. Happy to expose our glow-in-the-dark skin in hopes of absorbing a little vitamin D. Happy to run outside versus inside the funky-smelling gym alongside the meatheads and cardio queens.

We’re so freakin’ happy.

However, with all this activity going on outside of the home, it’s only natural there are consequences.

Like season finales.

This was the first time I’ve ever tried to make zucchini “pasta”. Or ribbons. Whichev. Either way, the vegetable peeler was involved and it slightly terrified me. I don’t do well with bloodshed.

The last two weeks have been devastating. All my shows are slowly drifting away. And I do not like it. What am I supposed to do all summer without Marshall and Lily? Sheldon? Jess and those three crazy kids she lives with?

It also doesn’t help that many of my finales this year have been absolutely heart-wrenching.

There’s no need to show raw chicken cooking. So I didn’t. But then I took the same pan (sans chicken) and sautéed the artichoke hearts. It’s all about the flava’, ya know?

Seriously- what is that about?

Turns out I had more zucchini “ribbons” than originally anticipated. Lucky for me, they shrank down a little in the pan with the artichoke hearts that had already been cooking up for a few minutes.

I’m not even going to get near what happened in Grey’s last night. Heaven forbid I ruin it for anyone. I’m also a bit embarrassed to admit my groupie status on this one. Thankfully, I wasn’t in it alone because my girls Kelly and Laura sat through it with me via text.

A new wine I tried from Trader Joe’s. Broke it out during the cooking process. Because after my horrid commute, there was no way I going without. Had two sips and realized there was a bad cork and the wine was ruined. Sadness. Thank goodness I had plenty of backup!

But I will tell you viewing the episode required this:

Pretty, yes? A combo of whole wheat pasta, zucchini ribbons, chicken, artichokes and black olives. Plus a little too much parsley. That was an accident…

Pasta and alcohol.

Comfort food and drink. They helped soften the blow. Sort of.

Guys. I am so distraught.

This really was good. And not too different from when I normally make pasta- with fewer calories because a lot of the pasta was swapped out with zucchini!
Too bad I had to enjoy it between waves of nausea. Thanks, Grey’s…. ugh!

Thanks ABC. You’ve RUINED MY SUMMER.

Alright, fine. That’s maybe a bit dramatic.

Thanks ABC. You’ve RUINED MY WEEKEND.

That’s better.

Luckily, I saved some of that pasta for lunch today.

I still need it.

Too bad the wine bottle didn’t also fit in my lunch bag.

What tv shows are you sad to see go for the summer?
Also, if you do watch Grey’s, PLEASE don’t give away too many details. I know a few people who are saving it for the weekend and I don’t want to ruin it for them!!