Fresh summer dinner

Made this recipe from Real Simple's blog, Simply Stated, for dinner tonight.

Quick Summer Pasta

I substituted yellow summer squash for the zucchini and shredded mozzarella for the parm.  I also added minced garlic, halved cherry tomatoes and a splash of dry white wine during cooking.  It's a winner!

- CAR -

Worst pickup lines ever

Heard last night in Uptown:

3.  "Oh my God are you ok?  Your arm..."  Apparently, I was standing in such a way that it appeared my arm was broken and in a sling.  No, I was actually just clutching my beer close to my person and standing in an off-putting way to deter you.  And yes, I'm fine.

2. "Are you a maniac?"  This wasn't even followed with a traditional pickup remark like, "Cause you're driving me crazy!"  A guy actually came up to M, who was howling like a hyena with laughter, and asked if she was a maniac.  With a start like that, at least the conversation can only go uphill from there.

1.  "I have a friend that wants to know, have you ever tasted shit?"  Turns out "shit" is a shot they wanted to buy for us.  One that we never tried because I'm pretty sure I screamed and tried to run away.

Before becoming victims to offensive and moronic pickup lines, M and I had the greatest dinner at Campania.

One word: BYOB.  We split a pizza; half carnivore (prosciutto, arugula, tomatoes and mozz), half herbivore (mountain of veggies).  Delicious start to what was a strange but spontaneous and fun night.

Just found this picture I took in Cabo with my PHONE with the Camera+ app.

Bonita.

- CAR -

Good morning

Thought I'd do something healthy for my body this Saturday morning so I made Crunchy Oatmeal with Blueberries and Bananas.  Just whipped up some oats, mixed frozen organic blueberries in at the end of cooking then added sliced banana and this new cereal I found at Kroger the other day - Uncle Sam cereal.  It's made with whole wheat oats and flaxseed so there's lots of protein and fiber.  I didn't even sweeten it which is a big deal for me.


Yesterday, after doing some work from home, I thought I would go to the HP library and then lay out at the pool.  I got to the beautiful library...

...found my books and tried to open up a card when I was checking them out.  Well, it seems like they've amped up "security" in HP public places because, long story short, I wasn't allowed to open a card with the electric bill I brought that is in the name of the girl we're subleasing from.  OK, I get that.  Made a note to next time bring a copy of our sublease with the real renter of our place.  Then I got an invite to go to another pool so I got over the library fiasco pretty quickly.

When M and I were working at the kitchen table yesterday we noticed that our arms are looking pretty identical these days (besides the tan)

Same ring, hairband, rubber bracelets (hers were a gift from moi!  Paper Source sells these Made With Love bracelets singly for 95 cents each).  It's like when couples have been dating a while and start to look alike.

Last night did not go as planned - no Ghost Bar even though we heard from an insider that Rihanna and Cee Lo Green would be there.  If only we could have pooled $800 to reserve a booth and get bottle service.  It was a night of firsts for me - first saki bomb and 5-Hour Energy!  Hence, the oatmeal.

- CAR -

Love this idea

I was doing some research for work today and I came across this wonderful idea from Shutterfly: A customized Recipe Photo Book

I want to do this for my dad, the chef, for his birthday.

- CAR -

Poor Viv

Gigantic venomous spiders form nightly resting spots on her roof, she roasts in a parking lot in 108 degree heat all day, and in that parking lot, other obnoxious and monstrous vehicles back into her poor little rump and give her volleyball-size dents.  It wasn't easy living up in Ohio where hooligans smashed out her back windshield during a blizzard and she sat abandoned in the Sunset lot for months over breaks but now this?  Maybe I just have really bad luck with this poor car... WHICH I saw a commercial for for the first time ever last night!  In searching for the right Venza commercial, I stumbled across a couple other ads I had never seen before... all of which market the car to a 30-something trendy black male.  I'll leave it at that.

After a much needed lengthy jaunt on the dreadmill, I came back to the rare full refrigerator because M and I went to Kroger last night.  I made a delicious Greek Veggie Wrap that I now wish I had taken a picture of.  Next time.  If you'd like to try it for your next Meatless Monday, here's what I did:

• Sautee chopped red onion, garlic, halved cherry tomatoes and zucchini with olive oil, white wine and herbs de provence.  After they were mostly cooked, I sprinkled some balsamic vinegar (my favorite condiment) over the veggies to let them soak it up
• Cook quinoa
• Mix cooked veggies and some raw sliced bell peppers into the quinoa
• Spread quinoa-veggie mix onto a tortilla with sliced cheese (feta or goat cheese would have been good, too)
• Spoon some tzatziki over the top, then wrap and scarf!

Ok so I linked tzatziki to a Real Simple recipe but I used the store-bought kind.  But the sauce is so easy I don't know why I haven't made it myself yet.  Meanwhile, M wrestled with what looked like an 8 pound bloody block of New York Strip and made beef fajitas.  Ehh...

Now for a quiet night of enjoying my last few days of my Netflix free trial.  Whatever shall I watch?  

- CAR -

Books glorious books

Long ago, I eagerly began a blog of book reviews on Tumblr.  It started strong (when I was home from college for winter break) but began to fizzle when the thought of reviewing Benito Cereno and Beowulf became unappealing - imagine that!  I am an avid devourer of books and although I'm immersed in the publishing world and fully recognize that written content is in the midst of a mass migration into digital space, I simply love printed pages.  I may be the only person under 60 who regularly visits a local library (haven't joined the Highland Park branch yet because I have received many books on loan so far this summer!).

The first thing I did when I got home from school though was traipse into the Waco library that has been newly renovated and rent two books for my week off and my Cabo vacation.

I read Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil (he also wrote Life of Pi, which is a fascinating read as well).  Finished B&V in a day.  It was really different from what I normally read, I typically pick strong female heroines, first person, realism, set in mid-century America, and this was kind of like that but the end was so creepy and you feel that ending creeping up and then out it comes - yikes!  It's a thriller.  Worth a quick read on the beach.

Then I dove headfirst into The Gravedigger's Daughter, by an author I had always heard of but never read, Joyce Carol Oates.  I had no idea when I was checking out my books that both had Holocaust themes but it was strange that two completely different novels by different authors set in different eras involved that.

I loved this book.  It was a coming-of-age novel that was depressing but hopeful by the end.  Also, this novel had the best ending I've read in a while.  Can't wait to read more Joyce.

In the airport bookstore, I convinced my mom to buy Emma Donoghue's novel Room.  Because I really wanted to read it.  I read essentially the entire book while I was on my flight from Dallas to New York on Friday, talk about a thriller!  I was totally enthralled and the four hours flew by.  It's been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for a while now.

I had stolen The Lovely Bones from Doyce but stopped reading it for circumstantial reasons.  I need a cheerful book. 

The rest of my summer reading list looks like this:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  Definitely not cheerful but all of my favorite books are slightly depressing (like my #1 White Oleander by Janet Fitch)

Also, Ishmael and Breaking Her Fall were recommended by a friend.  The HP "public" pool beckons - I call it the peasant pool because all of my fabulous Highland Park neighbors go to the pool at their club.

Speaking of the pool, sun, and lounging, I'm wishing I was here right now...

My family relaxing in the pool at beautiful Playa Grande, don't we look cute.

Fabulous place to unwind with a thick library hardcover.

- CAR -

Meet SpiderFriend

M has spoken about this little arachnid that enjoys making his home at night above Viv (my sweet yoloing vehicle). I've never seen spiderfriend because he packs his bags and skitters away by the time I leave in the morning. But for the last month, M has insisted he exists and I would nod encouragingly. Until tonight. M called me from outside and insisted I come out and meet our third roommate. He's huge. And if he ever comes in the house we wouldn't be able to kill him, not because he's spiderfriend but because he is just. So. Large. Texas varmints never cease to amaze me. Sweet dreams!


- CAR -