Monday, September 24, 2012

currently.

Reading.  The Wicked Years series.

[via]

I had Wicked on my list after seeing the Broadway show back in April.  It was really different than the show, but I definitely enjoyed it.  I started on Son of a Witch but haven't heard near as many good things about the book.

Watching.  NBC must-see TV Thursdays.

[via]

Parks & Rec. The Office.  Up All Night.  30 Rock.  Ron Swanson.  Enough said.

Thinking.  Life is good.

Source: imgfave.com via Kristin on Pinterest


I am happy with myself, my relationship, my job, my life.  I'm grateful for D and his willingness to help me and let me do things that make me happy.  I'm a lucky girl.

Eating/drinking.  Lots of eggs + pumpkin beers.


I literally eat a variation of this almost daily when I eat breakfast at home (gym days are smoothie days).  Then I supplement with egg salad over greens from Whole Foods for lunch.  I can't stop eggs.


Duh.  I have no problem with the pumpkin beer obsession.  Punkin is my fav, but Pumpkinfest is a close second!

Working.  On running.


While I'm suffering through rocking out the mileage, my pace has much to be desired.  It's a bit disheartening because usually I'm quicker outside.  I'm trying to transition to more outside runs; I think that's where the long run difficulty/slowness is coming from.  I need to get it together.

Wishing.  I lived closer to CPM, so I could see her and the new baby!

Obsessing.  A new camera.

[via]

I want this baby so badly.  That price tag is hefty though.  I've been trying to save some money, so I'm hoping that between my saved money and maybe holiday money I can purchase it.  I'm just dying to take quality pictures when we are traveling.

Hating.  A particular situation at work that is making every day difficult.

Loving.  Our booked Mexican vacation!


We booked out all-inclusive in Riviera Maya (or Puerto Morelos to be exact) for December!  Last year we went to the Bahamas, and we're making a tradition of a Christmas-time vacation alone.  I'm so excited to have a trip to look forward to!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Food & Beer Friday :: A beer from the "gang."

I've had this little pretty sitting in my fridge for a bit.  Unfortunately, D was not in town to share it with me.


While I know of Ommegang Brewery, I'm not too familiar with their beers.  I honestly picked this up based on the name "harvest ale."


Ommegang has dubbed the Scythe & Sickle a harvest ale as it's their attempt to honor the harvest season.  It's brewed with all things harvested: barley, oats, wheat, and rye.  According to Ommegang,
"Farming is about precision, time, and care.  At Ommegang we place the same emphasis a farmer has for his crops into the creation of our beers.  Scythe & Sickle is a testament to the craft and care of farming, from which our farmstead-brewed beers benefit greatly."
This is one of Ommegang's limited edition beers.



Let's talk about color and taste.  The beer is amber in color, and had a very heavy head.  I assume the head indicates the high carbonation I tasted.  The smell reminded me a lot of last week's farmhouse ale.  The only way I can describe the flavor was "bready."  I imagine this is fitting considering it is brewed with so many grains.


There's not too much hops going on here. In my opinion, it's a good balance of hops and malt.  I wasn't over the moon for this beer.  While it was by no means bad, it didn't sell me on the special factor.


Cheers!
 

I'm still interested in starting this as a link-up.  You could link beer or food posts from any day of the week.  Should I move forward with a link-up?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Living out Raleigh :: Hopscotch Festival.

One of the perks of D's job is that we get to do all kinds of awesome things in Raleigh.  Once I get myself a fancy camera (oh one day...), I'll get better about documenting these events.  For now, let's check out the iPhone documentation of Raleigh's Hopscotch Festival.

We went last year, when Widespread Panic was headlining.  This year's festival was two weekends ago.  It's a three-day event full of music at different venues in downtown Raleigh.  I don't think I could say it better than this,
"Now in its third year, The Independent Weekly's Hopscotch Music Festival brings 175 bands to 15 venues in downtown Raleigh. Intended to highlight the Triangle's music scene by pairing exciting local talent with notable national and international artists, Hopscotch offers choices in just about every genre imaginable—rock, hip-hop, alt-country, metal, dance, punk, classical, noise, drone, folk, and more. It is a festival that thrives on the variety and quality of its lineup, and this year, with roughly 35% of the musicians hailing from Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and other nearby locales, it's a testament to both this region's musical diversity and its national relevance." 
I didn't participate in any of the festivities until Saturday, but oh it was one hell of a Saturday.  I had just come off of being sick and may have jumped in a little too quickly.


Since I work with little ones all day, I don't get much chance to "fancy up" and look cute.  I donned curls (which fell out way too quickly) and lipstick!  Oh and this outfit.


One of the cool things about Hopscotch is all of the day festivals.  Terrapin (see all those taps!) sponsored this show at The Hive.  We literally got there at 11:30, which means a long day of drinking ahead.  We started with bloody marys in fitting fashion.


It was totally ok for us to spend almost all day at The Hive.  And that we did.  Side note :: what the hell is up with the uber poor quality of the front camera on the iPhone.  Whoa.


In between shows, we stepped over to the street party in front of the Raleigh Times.  Here's a peek at their new awesome expansion.  I'm over the moon about how much more room they're going to have in there!


With my fringe & leopard, we hit up another street party sponsored by AC Restaurants, Videri Chocolate, & Mother Earth Brewing.


If you're real fancy, you can get a three day pass to all events or you can get one that is just for certain shows all three days.  They're real fancy with those bracelets too!  I might even want to wear it again.


After all of our day partying, we headed over to City Plaza where the "big stage" was.  New Belgium always sponsors the city plaza parties.  I didn't even know it was going to rain, but the clouds started rolling in and the rain plummeted us.


We're big time, so we hung out in the VIP tent with food and "champagne bombs" for the boys.  I just enjoyed the champagne & food (duh).  What is it about Red Bull that the smell still saturates my senses with cheap college bars...and I never even had a "bomb."


And so even in the midst of the downpour & braving the destruction of my new loafers, we trekked into the hotel bar.  I'm going to say this is where things went downhill for me.  I won't go into details, but imagine this scenario...me rolling out of bed on Sunday, frantically searching for my phone.  I'm forced to enlist the help of Find my iPhone.  Fast forward to a queasy me & D literally tracking down our cab driver and finding my phone wedged in the back seat.  Whoa.  I'll just stop there.  Suffice to say it was a rough day at the bar (yes, the effing bar) watching football.

Don't worry, I did get to watch some of the headliner, The Roots, in City Plaza after the rain ceased. Hopscotch is a must-do in Raleigh!  Check out this year's line-up & keep an eye out!  They'll be posting their 2013 dates soon! 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Life lately :: It's pretty obvious I've recovered.

Since my last life lately post, I've kicked that damn sickness and am right back in the game!  I may have jumped in a little too hard though...but that's a story for another day ;)

 [So happy to rock out 6 miles in my new babies!]

 [After getting up early to run, I even made D breakfast...and I never make breakfast]
 [I graced us with these delicious carrot cake pancakes!  Use what you have at home...I subbed almonds for walnuts & buttermilk for almond milk, and they still turned out awesome!]

 [Thrilled to finally be reading this! Already over halfway done]

 [12 hour work day last week called for the usual morning run followed by a glowing green smoothie]

 [While I still drink my coffee sans sugar + cream, my latest obsession is this vanilla latte with almond milk from my local coffee shop]

 [Almost pale dinner, jalapeño cheddar salmon burger topped with an egg + pico + guac]

 [Based on advice from Kristin, I'm cutting out my tapered runs & getting in the quality long runs before the half in only three weeks.  Slow 8 is better than no 8!  I'll take it, and hope to improve my time for 10mi next week]

[Hung out with this little lovey this weekend while D was out of town.  I can't get enough of that little tongue sticking out!]


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Friday, September 14, 2012

Food & Beer Friday :: Don't worry, it wasn't brewed in a barn.

I've got a little bit of a thing for farmhouse ales, so when I spotted this at Tasty Beverage, I had to pick it up!


I've mentioned farmhouse ales before, and there is something that draws me to them.  Great Divide's Colette did not disappoint!


Great Divide characterizes Colette as their "homage to saisons that Belgian farm workers have enjoyed for centuries."  I believe it's pretty characteristic of saisons and farmhouse to be on the dry side.  This beer is the same.  It definitely has a dry finish with some tart flavors going on there.  Don't get me wrong; it's not sour!  There's some fruitiness to the beer too, but don't think lambic-style fruity.  I would compare it to a less-sweet champagne.


I mean that foamy head and golden color!  Gorgeous.  At 7%, you don't want to go too crazy on a six pack, but it'll lend a nice buzz after a long day of work!  It's easy to drink which makes it a perfect warm weather beer.  As for food, try your basic sandwich!  The flavors are complex enough to supplement even the most simple food!

CHEERS!
 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I'm not really a big deal.

I'm obviously no fashion blogger, and hey, I'm not even trying to be.  This post is long overdue though.  Firmoo contacted me about trying out some glasses.  Obviously I love glasses, so I couldn't pass up the offer.

[Shirt | Target | Shorts | Old Navy | Shoes | Target | Glasses | Firmoo]

These shorts I scored from Old Navy for $10!  Boo ya!  You know those are the leopard loafers I scored from Target with my teacher appreciation gift cards.


I rocked this outfit to the Hopscotch festival in Raleigh last weekend.  The glasses were perfect!  I've worn them a couple of times now.  They don't seem as sturdy as my Warby Parker glasses, but they are much more affordable.  I feel a lot more comfortable rocking them when working with my toddler kiddies all day.  The best part?  First time buyers can get them for free!  Amazing!


Oh and these are prescription!  Firmoo shipped these to me super quick too!  I would definitely recommend Firmoo.  I'm so happy they contacted me, and I'll definitely order from them again in the future.  I've been wanting some Rx sunglasses, so I'll be looking to Firmoo for those.  Maybe I'll work on some better "fashion" pictures in the future!

Just in case you're interested!

I was offered and provided with glasses by Firmoo, but all opinions and reviews are my own.  I was not paid for any opinions I wrote about here.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Food & Beer Friday :: Finally! A NC local!

After posting so many California beers, I figured it was about time for me to show some love to the state that I now call home.


When we first moved to Raleigh almost three years ago, we were super lucky and scored a tiny, cinder block house for super cheap in the best location.  We were within walking distance to a legendary watering hole in Raleigh, Players Retreat.  The first time I can recall having this beer is during one of their $10 pitcher specials.  I've been in love ever since.


Lonerider's Sweet Josie Brown, in my opinion, compares more to a porter style beer.  Lonerider characterizes it as an American-style brown.  It pours brown with a creamy, light caramel head on it.  The flavor was a bit roasty with hints of chocolate.  This is fitting with Lonerider's description.  I think it is the chocolate and malts that remind me of a porter-style beer instead of a brown ale.  This is by far, my favorite brown ale.  It warms my heart that it comes from Raleigh, NC!


GABF, also known as the Great American Beer Festival, is a renowned festival for those in the beer industry (or just lovers of beer).  The competition is where it is really at, and it's a huge honor to win a medal there.  Sweet Josie Brown was lucky enough to come home with a coveted gold medal!  So you know it's good!


As for food pairings, I drank my Sweet Josie as my cooking beer.  We made some pretty delicious tofu, okra, & guac tacos.  I'd recommend complimentary chocolate flavors or contradicting salty flavors.


This chocolate peanut butter popcorn puppy chow would be my very first choice if I was going to combine the two. #yesplease

CHEERS!



I have a link-up list waiting.  If you give me the word that you're interested in linking up, I'll add it in!  

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