I know I sound like a broken record here but sorry for that unexpected break again in the blogging. Really wanted to post more last week but a) my internet didn't get set up until 5 days after I moved in and b) my laptop unfortunately still continued to fail on me. Living without internet even for a few days was harder than it should have been as sad as it is to admit that. The good news is these issues were solved over the past couple of weeks along with some other adult-y things.


Went to the dentist.

Moved into my new apartment after just one little speed bump (a time scheduling misunderstanding with the movers I hired) with several trips up the staircase.

Unpacked, perhaps the worst part of moving. Or at least when you can't quite find a place for everything.

Put my KitchenAid to good use and tried out the spiralizer attachment for the first time to throw together a sweet potato and zucchini 'noodle' dish. Pictured alongside my video watching setup.

During those days sans internet, I was able to finish an entire book in a day--All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Something I hadn't in ages. Don't know if it was how quickly I read it or was feeling overly emotional but I even cried when reading, another thing I hadn't done while reading recently.

Having said that, got the internet hooked up. Yay for adulting!!!


Had my first overnight guest at my new place. My sister came over and we had a pizza night. I've been raving about our creation: TJ's whole wheat crust + chopped garlic + fresh figs + black pepper + goat cheese + a drizzle of honey. So freaking good.

Assembled my first Ikea furniture by myself after a trip to the store including a free birthday meal, which let's be real was the main reason I went there in the first place.

Did some yoga. Volunteered a bit.

Watched a movie (Ocean's Eight) by myself at the dollar theater because movies are waaaay too expensive for my life. Had never seen the an Ocean's film before and thoroughly enjoyed this one with an awesome cast!

Finally, finally, finally got a new laptop! Got it set up and all that jazz.


Tried to meal prep including:

• A vegan peach pie (pictured above!)
• Zucchini goat cheese loaf cake
• Lentil turned split pea meatballs
• Split pea soup
• No bake chocolate filled cookies
• Cashew yogurt

Went to not one, not two, but three friend's apartment parties. The first two in the same Saturday night --my introverted self was so exhausted that evening--and the last just this past weekend.

Questions:
What is your least favorite part of moving?
What books make you emotional? 
Do you have any go-to make ahead meals? Meal prepping tips?
Have you ever gone to the movies on your own? 

Another breakfast + book. This time a zucchini omelette stuffed with yogurt, topped with pesto, served with avocado and crunchy beet chips.




Questions:
Have you had eaten an arepa or gordita before?
How do you like your bacon? Crispy (<<< RIGHT ANSWER) or chewy? 
What are you planning to do in the last few months of the year?

• Went to the lake apparently in Oklahoma about an hour away from Dallas. Brought a picnic of foods for lunch! Carrot sticks, crackers, cheese, salami, fresh fruit, kombucha. Can it get any more summer than that?? 

• Won a couple more escape rooms, which made it three in the span of one week! Including one for my friends' combined bachelor bachelorette party.
• Joined in on the fun with my first Fab Finds Friday post! 
• Took a walk with a view of the summer sky whilst listening to a Modern Love podcast episode.
• Got my car cleaned and polished as well as my nails!

• Went to Dallas' Restaurant Week and dined on some delicious seafood dishes.
• Made these salted brown butter dark chocolate coconut cookies from Half Baked Harvest... 

• ..as well as this date sweetened ice cream after a headache of a process. After I opened it for the first time, I unfortunately discovered that the ice cream attachment doesn't fit my mini kitchenmaid mixer. Luckily, it fit my mom's older model and we were still able to enjoy homemade ice cream. Consistency is a little off but flavor is a 10/10. Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so my self. 
• Got a hair cut! 
• Attended the final musical of our summer season passes, School of Rock!! 
• Went to the wedding of aforementioned friend. AKA my 2nd wedding ever (the first being when I was a flower girl 15 years ago) and 1st adult wedding.

• Finally, just this past Saturday didn't totally suck at mini golf-ing. 

The first of three courses my mom and I split for our one super fancy meal. You may or may not know the Italian meal structure; not exactly sure how often this is truly followed but we decided to get an antipasto, primo and secondo alongside a glass of wine. To start was a sweet potato puree with anchovies. So much better than I make it sound.



Throughout my trip I was torn between trying my favorite dishes (carbonara, pesto, gelato) to authenticate the versions I've had in the past and tasting atypical Italian cuisine, dishes that I hadn't heard of previously.

Here are a couple of the latter:

Literally meaning pig in bread, maiale en pane was one of the dishes we made at the cooking class we took in Florence. It's essentially a herb crusted pork cooked in a loaf of  crusty bread. My friend reminded me that it is essentially a fancy pig in a blanket/kolache.

On the right, a lampredotto (tripe!) sandwich messily eaten while wandering the shops of Mercato Centrale again in Florence.


There was a couple of times that my hanger shown through. One night we ended up having dinner pretty late and I just couldn't decide what to get. Honestly, I was almost resigned to skipping dinner altogether. Instead, I go gelato for dinner. Can't hate that. Giant schools of yogurt and strawberry flavors this time around.

On the go on the streets of Venice my second time around, grabbed a vegetarian slice of pizza.  Honestly didn't have as much pizza as I thought we would, which surprisingly I'm okay with. There was plenty of other deliciousness to keep me more than happy.

• Enjoying some Thai food while coincidentally watching the latest Bachelorette, which took place in Thailand for the week. You can't say that that's not meant to be...
• Finished season 1 of the Good Place! If you need a light and fluffy show, be sure to check it out! 
• As mentioned above, packed and after a handful of car loads to my parents house, I'm about a full kitchen clean and one final car load away from moving out. 
• Finally got June's eats up on the blog
• Also watched Love Never Dies, the sequel musical to Phantom of the Opera. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't actually watched the original. 
  
  

• If it isn't already evidenced by the Thai food above, definitely missed all the spicy foods while I was away. So this bowl that I threw together hit the spot. Steamed sweet potato with black beans, green salsa, corn and cauliflower.
• Went for a swim for the first (and last time) at my apartment complex. I forget how much I love the water until I'm actually in there. T'was lovely. 
• Started a 1000 piece puzzle for funzies. Far from finished. Stay tuned for updates! 

• Booked a reservation for Dallas' restaurant week towards the middle of August. 
• Went shoe shopping Saturday afternoon with my friend--the bride--and fellow bridesmaids for her wedding that's happening in under 3 weeks! Such an exciting month ahead. 
• Then hit the outlet mall for shopping for more clothes to fill my work wardrobe. Snagged some pretty good deals including this navy blue coat which I am completely in love with.

Okay so maybe not so recent eats in this case as the end of July is upon us and another eats post is due soon. Forgive me for all the Italy food pictures and these are not even all of them for June; over 70% of these are from my trip because Italians sure know how to do food.

Before I go on any further, again, these posts are not meant to dictate how one should eat necessarily. This is merely a sampling of what I've enjoyed throughout the month. Each person is different so please listen to your body and your life's needs.








Questions:
What's your go-to summer meal? Gelato, ice cream or frozen yogurt? 

Though we're over halfway through June already, it's never too late for some foodie inspiration I hope. No themes but rather arranged as the day progresses--beginning with ways to break the fast then through lunch and dinner. Finally, will end things on a sweet note as my sweet tooth always does.
As usual this is merely a snippet of what I eat; these posts aren't meant to be a complete look of my meals. Nor are they supposed to dictate what you 'should' or 'should not' eat. Please take the time to listen to your own bodies' needs and what works best for your overall health in that particular moment. Also will be noting when I split something or when I didn't finish it just to keep it even real-er.

Blueberry and kale smoothie bowl with these coconut clusters I got from Costco. Dee-licious. Loving all these summer vibes in this.

Best way to start a graduation morning = brunch tacos!!! One with eggs, spinach, cheese and bacon!!! And the other with more eggs, pickled carrots and a fried breaded pepper.



Mango crepe layer cake with mango puree and more fresh mangoes. Mangoes on mangoes on mangoes essentially.

Makeshift strawberry shortcake with a leftover shortcake biscuit I had stocked in the freezer with strawberry and chia jam with yogurt in lieu of whipped cream.