Housesitting

In honor of Matilda, Neyal sent me a link about a monkey rescued from a thrift store, just like Matilda! well except the whole sadistic monkey thing like Copernicus. I read the post while at the library and had to leave because I was crying from laughing and fear of peeing my pants at the library.

And I know, there’s been a lack of Matilda lately (which you may be happy about since some think she is creepy) Although South Florida is a mecca for retirees, she doesn’t like the humid, hot climate here. While I’m in the pool each day, she just sits yearning for a dirty martini.

Maybe her shenaningans will ensue again, who knows.

 

Not a lot going on here though, I housesat for one friend this weekend. It was great-I got to enjoy HBO, wireless and be by myself again. After living alone for so many years, I’m used to silence and doing my own thing. I can handle other people but sometimes a girl needs her own space you know? I’m housesitting/dogsitting today for another friend while she is away for the day. She is coming back tonight but I get to hang with her cute pups who I am wining over with string cheese.

And she even gave me a nice gift for doing this.

She really didn’t have to but I will never turn down a bottle of wine.

Also, it’s been avocado madness lately!

The avocados my friend gave me are finally good to go so I’m starting to use those bad boys up. I made a salad yesterday topped with Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken. It was on sale for $6.99 at Winn Dixie and I had a $1 off coupon so this was the perfect time to buy plus I haven’t had any since I used to make pasta salad.

Then at night I made a Mexican casserole with pork, black beans, onions, peppers, black olives, mushrooms, cheese and enchilada sauce. I was so excited to find El Pato since I haven’t been able to locate it at the grocery stores down here. I found this huge can of it at Big Lots so I used some in this recipe then froze the rest for future use.

I didn’t have enough tortillas to crisscross for the top layer but I made due. I then topped the vegetable, black bean and pork mixture with enchilada sauce and cheese and let bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees

Avocado was the perfect topping for this! I mean really, how can someone not love avocados? The flavor, the richness, the fat—oh yeah!

There were still avocados to be consumed so today I made a guacamole knock off. I didn’t have my recipe with me so I just mixed the avocado with salsa and sour cream.

I’ve seen this chips before but I must go to Target and find them stat! Maybe all this Mexican food will boost my memory?

I finally finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest today.

I felty like I’ve been reading it for awhile but it’s only been a week and a half, if that. If you haven’t read this serious, please go out and get the three books! This was the best series I’ve read in a long time and I can say each book was a true page turner.

I went to the library today to pick up some Italian cds I’ve been waiting on—holy crap-in just about a month I will be going to Italy! I need to learn the basics stat! I found this gem while perusing the titles in the new arrivals aisle:

Yet another reason why I love the library here. In Charlotte, it would have taken me months to get this book but here I can get it right away but only for two weeks. Perfect motivation for me to read it quickle! We’ll see how this book is. I wasn’t overly impressed with her last book but who knows, this is a different take so it may be worth reading.

I’m trying to limit my workouts at the YMCA since I can only go a limited number of times each year, instead of month but had a great workout yesterday

I’ve also been swimming which is going quite well. I’ve been doing anywhere from 50 to 60 laps on my swimming days along with some breaks to tread water for two to three minutes. I’ve also been doing lunges in the water and that has been kicking my butt. The best part is that I feel no pain in my knees which is a welcome relief since I always have pain in my knees after a workout.

And of course, hanging out with my pups

Linky is way dirty. I need to get him in the tub and give him a bath, especially since one of my parents dropped ketchup on his nose but they won’t tell me who did it.

Sigh, I love my dirty dog.

So yeah, that’s about it. Not a lot to write home about but just waiting for the days to pass until it’s time to fly off to Europe. One of my friends is a recruiter here so I’m hoping she can help find me some part time work……if not, maybe I will try some more housesitting?

Read any good books lately? Please share with the class!

Do you ever housesit for friends/family? I love how it seems like a mini vacation, even if I am just down the block!

Home cookin’

So, I’m home alone.

(source)

Sans red bib, although I’m not opposed to it. Thankfully I’m not fighting off burglars (and hopefully no peeping toms). When I got home on Friday I thought my parents were going to be there that evening from traveling to the west coast of Florida. But then they told me they wouldn’t be in today and was instantly elated. I had the house to myself, could do whatever I want, throw a party (not so much) and just have some me time. After living alone for five hours, I’m used to being alone and have my own schedule. However the last month has thrown a wrench in my normal schedule since I’ve been crashing with my friends the entire time. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but love for them but by the end, I just wanted to get back home, to somewhere familiar and have some me time.

And another thing I was looking forward to? Some home cooking! When I pillaged through my parents kitchen, I saw not only was the entire thing a complete wreck with items in random places and no real order but there was also no food. My parents are notorious for going out to eat just about every night so I wasn’t surprised. I already told them that we are going to have a talk about that and then told them we are going to take about the organization or lack thereof of the kitchen space. But I soon realized that I’m now in South Florida which means I don’t have my go to supermarkets that I had back in Charlotte. I did a search online to see what we have here and then soon realized that none of the stores offer double coupons. I’ve heard that before but figured that there has to be one right? Um, no. None of them do, thumbs down friends.I scanned the weekly ads and ended up at Winn Dixie since they had a decent BOGO sale going on. I saw that they also offer Fuel Perks just like Bi-Lo in Charlotte, so for every $50 you spend, you get $.05 off your gas bill. Doesn’t sound like much but it definitely adds up after awhile. I picked up a bunch of groceries including my staples such as chicken, cheese, tortillas, frozen veggies and greek yogurt.

Ok and some new-to-me beer

All my parents have on hand is Baileys and other after dinner drinks. I’m sure I could make some kind of interesting concoction but when it’s near 100 degrees and humidity like no other, I just want a cold one.

The first thing I made was black bean and spinach enchiladas. But of course I forgot the key ingredient-enchilada sauce. Perhaps it was because I was distracted by the fact they didn’t carry El Pato enchilada sauce and I didn’t want to pay $2 for Old El Paso sauce. So like I do with anything, I winged it.

I mixed chopped onions, black beans, cooked spinach, jalapeno seasoning, salt and pepper with shredded cheese

Then I nuked half a block of cream cheese and added the melted goodness to the mix

Spread on a tortilla. I usually dunk the tortillas in chicken broth but, surprise, I forgot that as well.

Due to the lack of enchiladas sauce, I spotted some diced tomatoes in the pantry. I added garlic, red pepper flakes and pepper to them then spread over the enchiladas and topped with cheese.

13 minunutes later, my belly was growling and I had an audience that was apparently hungry as well

Sorry Lincoln, you are half Chihuahua but no enchiladas for you!

Ah, how I miss a home cooked meal!!!

Saturday night I made bbq chicken with shelled edamame and roasted red potatoes

I had a coupon for Stubbs BBQ Sauce and being the bbq lover I am, was excited to see if it lived up the much heard hype. I tried a bit before I smothered the chicken in it and I really like it. It has a tangy kick to it that gave it a little bite but also a bit of sweetness.

I marinated the chicken in that for three hours then cooked on the stovetop while the roasted potatoes cooked in the oven. I made a random little mix of pepper, salt, ground mustard and jalapeno seasoning to coat the potatoes with and it was excellent! The best part is I have leftovers of both throughout the week to nosh on instead of going out for something and spending more money than I need to.

So, yes, even though the last few months has been restaurant fest, you are going to start seeing less on here. I’ve been spending way too much money on going out and we will see if I can change my parents spending habits at all. I love to go out to eat but it is not doing anything for my figure. Plus, cmon, who doesn’t love a home cooked meal?

Do you make meals at home or go out to eat the majority of the time?

What gives?

I’m staying with one of my friends until tomorrow and I am in love her house. Houses like these make me want to settle down someone and buy something that I can call my own but we all know that’s not happening any time soon. My old place was right outside the city and her place is the opposite-in the country. Ok, not really, but country to me. It’s in civilization but there is tons of land, trees and nature all around me. And you know what, I kinda dig it!

Bonus points because I get to play with her cute pup (Lincoln’s girlfriend Monet)

I met up with some of my sorority sisters for dinner on Friday night. We went to Chili’s and I honestly can’t tell you the last time I’ve been to a Chili’s since I’m not a huge chain food person. However, while perusing their menu ahead of time, I saw they have a 2 for $20 deal where you can get an appetizer and two entrees for only $20. Works for me! We got the guacamole and I ordered the Grilled Margarita Chicken with beans and rice

After a few bites, I was done. I had a margarita (house margaritas only $3.49—wha what???!) and was full from the chips, salsa and guacamole.

 

I’m gonna miss my friends but I know this isn’t goodbye.

This morning I woke up semi early and found the nearest YMCA to go to. I did 35 minutes of HIIT on the Precor Crossramp. I went in not wanting to do a damn thing but I hadn’t been to the gym in a few days and wanted to do something to up my heart rate. The ones where I plan on doing nothing usually turn out to be the best ones for me. This time after 20 minutes on the elliptical, I didn’t want to stop. Then the 30 minute mark hit which gave me a five minute cool down and then I had to stop since there’s a 30 minutes time limit when people are waiting.

The Y facility I went to was really nice but I wasn’t quite sure about the whole wiping of the machine system there. A few of the machines had a spray bottle on them but with no towels. The Y I normally go to has machines and towels on all the machines so you know that’s what you’re supposed to wipe with. I tried to watch people as I was working out to see what I was supposed to do but some of them wiped with a paper towel while others with their own towels-what gives?

After reading Stephanie’s post on Dunkin Donuts coffee  (which you should totally go over to her site a wish her an early happy birthday!), I was in the mood for an iced coffee from the DD.

I went to a DD location I’ve never been to before and it was pretty gross inside. It was early but crawling with unruly ankle biters. When I got to the cashier to order, the girl looked at me like I was an alien. I looked at her for a few seconds then I said “Hi” and again, she just looked at me. I followed up “How are you??” and then she finally caught on to the whole let’s have a conversation and get my order concept.  To quote Principal Rooney in Ferris Buellers Day Off “I weep for the future” What gives?

Once I was clean and looking like a lady again, my friend and I went out to run errands and go to lunch. Of course I had a Groupon because that’s how I roll. I am not leaving this town without going through every single one I can! It was for Topz , dubbed “The Healthier Burger Grill”

My pet peeve with going to new places is if I don’t know the deal is. Meaning, is it sit down, waiter service, do you get a number or just wait around for your food? What gives?  At Topz you order but my friend and I didn’t know if we should just stand there or what so we sat and hoped that someone would bring us out our food. Our magic worked and we soon got our food. I got their turkey burger with a side salad.

Nothing like a burger hot off the grill! This was so juicy and the grilled onions added even more flavor to it. They offer all of their burgers with pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and 1000 Island dressing but I went without the the dressing because that just sounded nasty. Plus, on their condiment bar they had garlic ketchup—I’ve never heard of such thing! So I grabbed a mini cup of that and topped my burger with that and it was delicious. I love how they offer turkey burgers, veggie burgers and a few salad options in addition to angus burgers, hot dogs and fries.

We some errands afterwards and I finally picked up a reusable cup for my cold bevvies I enjoy in the summertime

We all know a Saturday afternoon isn’t complete without a trip to Target!

Um, when did these books come out??? I MUST FIND!!

As I’m a firm believer in “no coupon left behind”, we had one last stop to make

Free cupcake? Why the hell not?? SAS Cupcakes is right across the street from Target and absolutely adorable inside

It was like a magical. sugar laced candy land full of cupcakes and other goodies! I was torn between the Cookies N Cream and Chocolate S’more cupcake but once the employee told me that the S’more was filled with marshmallow crème, game was on!

Well, until they made a major cupcake faux pas….a cupcake to go served in a bag? Really SAS-what gives?

I handled the cupcake with extra care on the right home so it would be almost pristine condition when I got to enjoy it but one side was a little smushed.

The frosting was a graham cracker crust frosting and absolutely delightful. The actual cupcake, even though filled with marshmallow crème, fell flat. It was dry with not a lot of taste to it. After eating one half of it, I gave up for someone else to enjoy it.

Sigh, at least it was free.

Have you had any “What gives?” lately?

Hello gypsy!

Wednesday was a day to go play and run errands. I had a Groupon to get my eyebrows threaded and let me tell you, it was much needed. The caterpillars above my eyes were back with a vengeance!

Ah sweet relief. The girl who did my brows was so quick, it took less than two minutes. That’s what I’m talking about! Then my friend and I went to my beloved Three Amigos for lunch.

Pretty sad that this will be my last trip there since it’s become my favorite Mexican restaurant in Charlotte. I mean come on, with guacamole like this, what’s not to love?

We ordered the lunch portion of the enchiladas verdes and soon were greeted with this

Yeah, that’s the lunch portion.

Good thing we split it because there was no way in hell I could have killed it. Plus since I am now homeless, I don’t have anywhere to keep it.

Later that night, we went to Solstice Tavern in NoDa for my going away party.

(source)

NoDa is my favorite neighborhood in Charlotte due to it’s funky eclectic vibe. Add a decent mix of people including hipsters, hippies, urban dwellers, preps and more, it’s my favorite place to be. While walking down Davidson Street, you will see all kinds of art.

 

Solstice has a great, spacious patio that’s perfect for summer time drinking. On almost every wall outside there is a mural and I just adored the one we were sitting next to.

Woof woof indeed!

Beers were flowing and we started off with the mini corn dogs

These should be illegal. I’ve never heard of mini corndogs before but I will be keeping an eye out at restaurants for these. I wonder if they will make a hit like fried pickles are doing lately?

I got some kind of sandwich with roast beef and turkey, it was pretty unmemorable.

It was great to hang outside, drink some beers and be with friends before I leave

Hmmmmm, where will life take me? Screw that, I wasn’t pondering life, I was pondering what my next drink would be!

 

 

 

Add that plus a late night run to 24 hour  Amelie’s for some sweets, it was a fabulous evening!

And today? Today I feel n to the asty. I only had five beers last night, what the hell is going on? Maybe it’s because I haven’t had beer in a couple of weeks? How am I hungover still at 6pm at night? This getting older thing just sucks. But I think I need to keep it at a two to three drink limit whenever I go out drinking because nothing good ever comes out of five drinks. On the other hands, four drinks is when things start to get difficult. Ugh, priorities…..

And you know what you shouldn’t do when you’re hungover?

Move.

Never ever am I moving again in the summer, I am so over it. Luckily, a lot of my things were out of the house but I still had some random stuff laying around and had to do a final cleanup. I better get my $800 deposit back because I busted my hump cleaning today. Clorox and a hangover are not an ideal combination by the way.

Goodbye home.

Hello gypsy!

So now I sit here at my friends place catching up on Real Housewives of New York. Oh how I’ve missed the shrillness that Ramona brings to the table! Her voice doesn’t help me in the state I’m in and neither does her drama. I swear every time I watch RH of NY, I want to confront one of my friends or talk about pecking order. For dinner, I grabbed some sushi at Harris Teeter

Do you have an art district where you live?

Do you have a lot of restaurants/coffee shops that are open 24 hours?

A good start to the week

Mondays are blah. But I had a good start to the week

*Went to Lowe’s

*Was amazed by how many hot men are there are 9am

*And how many hot men work there. Perhaps I should go to Lowe’s more often?

*Went to Dunkin to get my free Wifi on.

*Was disappointed since it wasn’t working and I just spent $1.08 on an iced coffee

*Asked the DD employee if something was wrong with the Wifi, she said “No, it’s working” and pointed over at a guy and said “See, he is on” I looked over and replied “Ummm, he isn’t even on a computer”!”

*Thought I was being punk’d and decided to leave

*Wondered if Punk’d is still on? Probably not with Ashton going to Two and a Half Men

*Thought about what my favorite Demi Moore movie is, still going with One Crazy Summer

*Went to old faithful, Starbucks, to get my free wifi on.

*Met up with a friend for lunch at Table 274, a new restaurant in Cotswold.

Like I would actually pay full price for a meal!

I’ve been curious about this place since it opened a few months ago but heard mixed reviews. I figured I would wait a couple of months to check it out so they could work out their kinks. Because they are working out their kinks and what works and what doesn’t solely for me.

I ordered the Roasted Vegetable Wrap-Roasted artichoke and tomato, sautéed mushroom, goat cheese and arugula

All of that for only $7! The wrap was tasty as is anything with goat cheese. But I was expecting it to be hmmmm….not soggy. The inside was good but a tortilla was definitely not the ideal way to hold it together. It would have been better on a pita or focaccia, something to hold it better together because it started falling apart after awhile. The sweet potato chips were a bit of a disappointment, most of them were limp and soggy. But then when sifting through them, I would find a good, fresh one in the mix.

*Visited my second Starbucks of the day. Apparently, I will pay full price for the Bucks

*Wondered what David Lee Roth is up to these days

(source)

*Didn’t bother to look, somehow I was assured that he is alive and well

*Went on a mile and a half walk with Lincoln. There were a few minutes were I didn’t think he was going to make it since he was dragging and panting in search of shade and water.

*Noshed on leftover tacos but this time added some Spicy Wholly Guacamole to them, always a welcome addition.

*Flipped through magazines and went to bed by 10pm. I don’t feel like I did that much but I was ready to crash.

Oh I left out one major thing I did on Monday:

Booked a trip to Italy!

Like you even have to guess what the question of the day is…..

Have you ever been to Italy?

PS, I miss you.

Sunday was the day that wouldn’t end. Maybe because I woke up at 6am and didn’t go to bed until 1am that night or the fact that we are approaching June 21st.

I don’t know why I woke up so early. I was tired the night before so I thought I was going to sleep in late on Sunday. I was up until 1 or 2 the night before but not due to anything crazy

(source)

Well not too crazy. Just something Samantha Who? I completely forgot about this show but used to watch it religiously when it was on. There *poof* one day it was canceled like a lot of the witty shows out there. Ok, maybe not as witty as Arrested Development (RIP I miss you) but I always got a kick out of it and loved the cast. After watching it for a few hours (on a Saturday night because that is how I roll), I realized how much I miss it. It’s great to be able to watch all the episodes on Netflix.

I went to Starbucks for three hours in the morning to catch up on emails, blogs, internship, etc. It was weird for a Sunday morning because of Father’s Day. when I first walked in, I was amazed at how serene it was but then hoards of family with misbehaved children would come in then again, it would empty out. Then this one obnoxious family came in to meet another family. The mother was looking around in amazing and shouting “WOW, IT’S SO QUIET IN HEEEERRRRREEEE!” I wanted to claw her eyes out because of her volume and because of the irony. Homegirl would not shut up and I pondered the thought of going to say something. But then I didn’t want to be the one who ruined Father’s Day for their family, because I am nice like that.

I came home, took Lincoln for a mile walk then went to the gym.  I was hoping the gym would be dead but it was like a normal Sunday on crack. I really wasn’t in the mood to do anything so I did 13 minutes on the Precor AMT, 17 minutes on the bike then did upper body:

*Shoulder Press (12.5 lbs 13 reps x 3 sets)

*Reverse Fly (12.5 lbs 13 reps x 2 sets)

*Row (12.5 lbs 13 reps x 3 sets)

*Front deltoid lift (12.5 lbs 13 reps x 3 sets)

*Fly (20 lbs 13 reps x 2 sets)

*Chest Press Fly (20 lbs 13 reps x 2 sets)

*Compound Row (80 lbs 13 reps x 3 sets)

*Lateral Pulldown (65 lbs 13 reps x 3 sets)

By the time I got home I was so hungry but didn’t know what I was in the mood for. I’ve been craving noodles lately so I made spaghetti with spray butter, garlic, red pepper flakes and grated parmesan.

How is it that something so simple can taste so good? I measured out my spaghetti portion and this is a single portion. I could have had two more bowls and been happy.

And more packing, I won’t even spare you all the details. I’m going to Atlanta on Wednesday or Thursday for a night sans Lincoln . I’m meeting my parents to give them a bunch of my stuff to take to Florida. Other than that, I’m giving away everything or taking a few boxes and packing up my car once my lease is up on the 30th (less than two weeks left in this place—eeks!) I hate giving everything away but at least I can write it off on my taxes. Also, I wish I had my SUV still so I had more room because a Corolla just ain’t cutting it.

I stopped by Harris Teeter for some produce since I didn’t get a chance to go to the farmers market. They had buy one, get two free blueberries so I stocked up. I figure what I don’t use in the next few days I can freeze (right? I hope so)

 

Then I started dinner. I chopped up a green pepper and half an onion, added drained black beans, garlic and red pepper flakes then warmed up on the stovetop

One thing I forgot? Salsa. Usually a key component in tacos but thanks to my friend Texas Pete, I had the heat on hand.

 

With some fresh dessert afterwards

I completely forgot to announce the winner of my giveaway!

Sophia from Burp and  Slurp—congratulations! Please email me your address—simplyshaka@gmail.com

What show do you wish was still on? For me, it’s definitely Samantha Who?, Arrested Development and  Lost (at least we got some closure with that one)

Taste of Charlotte

 

Friday was a big food day thanks to Taste of Charlotte! I went last year so I was stoked to see what the lineup was this year. I made the big trip Uptown to go since I had some free food coins coming my way courtesy of Yelp. Big trip, it is not, it’s only 10 minutes away however I never go because I’m cheap and don’t want to pay for parking. And in regards to the nightlife, it’s a bit douchey and more of a college crowd which I’m not into. I took the bus in and the first stop of the day was the Starbucks in my old building. I went to this place almost every day for six years so it’s like a second home to me. But then I started to freak out, what if the baristas I know and love weren’t there? What if they didn’t recognize me? Well, neither happened since a few of them were there—it was so good to see them again! I texted a few of my ex co-workers and let them know I was downstairs. Most of them were swamped or in meetings but I got to see one!

Would you believe that’s my first picture in front of a Starbucks? Mental note, I really need to buy stock in the Bucks.

Afterwards, some members of the most recent team I was on told me I should come up to see their new area they moved to. I was up there for maybe 10 minutes when management kicked me out. I told them I wasn’t stealing customer information ( a) that’s wrong and I would never do that b) I wouldn’t last a day in prison) and I was just there to say hi but they weren’t having any of that.I was going to make a remark on how one of the guys who left came up to our old floor when I worked there and how this was sexist but I just left quietly instead.

One of my old co-workers and I grabbed our coins and started to walk around. And just like last year, it was a scorcher out. They set up Taste of Charlotte along Tryon Street, the main road that runs through Uptown, so we walked up and down checking out who was there. Of course we found the cupcake place to stop, I’ve never been to Polka Dot Bake Shop so this was the perfect opportunity to try them.

They had mini red velvet cupcakes for one coin so that was the first thing to try. I was even good and took two little bites instead of popping it in my mouth. The cream cheese frosting? Holy smokes—it was great! However two bites doesn’t have me completely sold on Polka Dots so I will have to stop by there sometime. I love justifications

It was so hot out,  I started to get a bit lightheaded and felt like I was going to faint. Hello horrible timing—it’s a food festival, it’s my happy place! I think it was a combination of the heat, dehydration and number of people crammed into one street. I sat down and got some water and was ok for a few minutes but continued to feel “off” all day. Thumbs down.

Next up was Chicken Satay from Namaste India

I just saw a huge sign reading “THAI FOOD” and I was there. I’m still a bit confused by the Indian place was serving Thai food. Hmmmm. I’m proud of myself for straying from my stand by of pad thai. I like to think I’m an adventurous person and want to try other thai dishes when I go out but I just love the pad thai so much I’m afraid I’m going to try something else out and it will pale in comparison. The satay was delicious….and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like peanut butter.

Last on the BBQ Slider from Outlaw BBQ. The meat was perfectly cooked and seasoned that I didn’t even need bbq sauce—unheard of!

It was fun to try things from restaurants I’ve never been to but Taste of Charlotte was a bit of a letdown this year. It felt like there weren’t as many vendors as there were last year and that there were more chains. Also, if TOC wants to play with the big boys, they really need to expand. You’re crammed in with people near cookers and it feels like hell. I don’t like sweating while eating much less feeling sweat run down my crack.

Later that evening, I went to Vida Cantina for my friends birthday. The reservation wasn’t until 8:30 as always, I was a bit early. I am perpetually early so one can only imagine how much of a pet peeve tardiness is for me. Luckily, there were other perpetually early people I recognized enjoying a cold one. I was trying not to try all week and if I did, I was going to have liquor or wine because I really need to cut down on how much beer I’ve been drinking. But the idea of a cold beer on a Friday night sounded too enticing to pass up so there I was with my Dos Equis Amber.

We had a big table in the upstairs area which is the more private dining area. There was only enough room for our table and the other big party there so it was as crammed nor did we have a lot of food traffic like downstairs. I love Vida but there is a huge wait staff and usually a line of people there so it seems like you’re always on top of someone else.

There were a couple of rounds of tequila shots but this girl sat out thanks to…..I just don’t like tequila. Even the quality stuff. No thank you.

 

Me and the birhday girl

I loved her rings! The one on the left goes on two fingers—I’ve never seen that before.

 

We noshed on lots of baskets of chips, salsa, guacamole and queso dip. Like lots of chips, we would start going through one basket, be done, wait for another, get it, devour it, repeat. I wasn’t feeling a huge meal so I order the appetizer of mushroom flautas

Gorgeous right? They were just the portion size I was hoping for and I could only finish one of them! I took the rest to go and hope they will be semi decent leftover….who am I kidding, Mexican food leftovers are usually better than the original!

Are you a big festival person? I love festivals! It’s more the crowd that hate dealing with so if I do go to one, I want to go in the down time where there isn’t a bunch of people.

Do you have a food festival like Taste of Charlotte in your city? If not, do you have other festivals?

Frugal Friday: It’s June?

Happy Frugal Friday! Um, I don’t even want to start the conversation on how it’s June already so we just won’t. I just need to ask-seriously- where has this year gone??

A couple of months ago, I was perusing Groupon for the deal of the day. I started to look around at other cities to see what they were offering as well. Indianapolis’ sounded interesting—$8 worth of Mexican food for $4 at Bajio Mexican Grill . I am all about the Mexican food but cheap Mexican food, si papi!

 

I had some free time last weekend so drove over and ordered the Pineapple Shrimp Salad.

Bajio was just like Qdoba or anything other Mexican fast food restaurant. I loved the number of add ins and when it came out, it was gorgeous. Looks tasty right? Wrong. There was too much juice from the black beans and the salsa so what should’ve been a salad turned into cold Mexican soup. No bueno. It would have been fine if there wasn’t so much juice, add to the fact that the lettuce was shredded lettuce as opposed to bigger pieces, I wasn’t a huge fan.

Tip: If you know you’re traveling to another city and  know what part of town you will be staying in or have a card with you, check out Groupon or other discount sites in advance. It’s a great, cheap way to check out local cuisine!

My sister told me about a Sparkling Ice Water they sell at Kroger for $.99/bottle. She said it tastes better than Crystal Light all while being calorie free. I went to the local Kroger and stocked up, they had a number of flavors and even though I didn’t have a Kroger savings card because we don’t have Kroger here, found out that I could use my Bi-Lo supermarket card since they are affiliates.

I also bought some snacks for the road since I wanted to get back on track with getting my fruits, veggies and produce in my life.

Tip: If you’re in need of food or drink while on vacation, go to the grocery store instead of the convenience store or eating out every meal. You will save tons of money and possibly discover new products like I did!

 

On Memorial Day, we went to the local Salvation Army thrift store. They were having a huge sale with all of their clothes half off! I found some wonderful tops and skirts for super cheap.

All of this? $7 and some change. Can we say holla?  Where else can you find Nike and Adidas tops for under $.80? On another note, I don’t think I’ve ever had donuts for dinner but wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.

Tip: Retail stores have huge sales on holiday weekends but don’t forget your local thrift stores! They are usually packed to the gills with clothes and other items and have sales as well!

When I got back to Charlotte, I was looking through the circulars to see what was on sale. I saw Voskos Greek Yogurt on sale for $1. I’ve never tried that brand before but if I’m going to try something, it’s going to be when it’s on sale as opposed to regular price.

A possibility of winning a trip to Greece? Don’t mind if I do.

Tip: Some times you may not like the product you get on sale. I tried the honey flavor and wasn’t a fan at all. However, I refuse to let the other three go to waste. I like to throw greek yogurt in smoothies as a replacement for milk and for a little kick of protein.

Also while looking through the mail, I found this advertisement (with coupons!) for Einsteins’ Brothers

I don’t need a fresh baked treat but it’s good to know if I’m jonesing for one, I can get one for free at Einsteins in the afternoon with a drink purchase.

Tip: Don’t just throw out your mail, check out the advertisements. Often they are full of sales, discounts and coupons!

I went to Logan’s Roadhouse with my aunt and uncle last weekend in Indianapolis. When we sat down the server did their normal schpeal asking us if we’ve ever been there. I told them I’ve heard of Logan’s but never been to a Logan’s before. Before we were about to leave the manager came over and gave me this card for a free appetizer since it was my first visit since they hoped I would return. The best part is I can use it at any Logan’s location!

 

Tip: Sorry, I don’t have one this was total luck right here!

Do you shop for groceries while you’re out of town? Do you buy Groupons/ Living Social/ etc deals for cities you will be visiting?

Happy hour, hot babes and humidity

While hanging out here in Florida, I feel like I’ve been quite productive. Yes, the days have consisted of napping, hanging by the pool and beach and spending time with these pups

but I feel like I’ve gotten a lot done besides that.

I found the local YMCA branch in Boca Raton and dropped in the other day to see if I could work out there. I asked my local branch if they knew the rules when visiting Y’s in other cities and they said it’s at the discretion of the specific branch. So when I went to the branch here, I was pleasantly surprised when they told me I could visit 14 times in one month! woot woot! The place may smell like old people and they don’t have the latest machines like my Y in Charlotte but it is definitely useable. I went the past two days and had some decent workouts.

And holy hot babes at the Boca YMCA batman! I don’t know what these men do for a living but they are gorgeous—kind of like a toned down version of Jersey Shore-current and in 30 years. These men are out of control hot so it’s awesome to have some eye candy while working out.

The dbag wearing a wool hat to the YMCA when it’s 90 degrees outside? Dude, stop trying to be Colin Ferrell.

My mom really doesn’t cook that much anymore and my parents are always going out to eat. I am usually fine with dining on someone else’s dime however I do not want to be going out to eat every single meal since that just spells trouble. I told them instead of going out for every meal, let’s do one meal of lunch or dinner at home then go out to eat for the other. This has been working well except for the fact that my parents keep trying to get me drunk.

Don’t worry, they aren’t trying to take advantage of me anything. Or maybe they are trying to get me drunk so they can steal my car and my dog. Add the fact that I am unemployed to that and I’m a country song!

Ok, maybe not so much but Florida has happy hour specials whereas North Carolina doesn’t. So that means that here they do BOGO drinks from 4 to 7pm or whatever hours they do happy hour.  My parents keep pushing me to get a drink when I go out in a very ABC afterschool special kind of way. They don’t tell me that all the cool kids are having drinks but they are a step away from it. So, with that, more Blue Moons that normal have been consumed.

We went to The Quarterdeck on Tuesday night since we had a coupon for a free half rack of ribs

Yep, frugality runs in the family

We went in and sat in the bar area however once I sat down and saw the sketchers sitting at the bar, I asked the parentals if we could sit outside. I’m all for people watching however these guys were giving me the heebie jeebies! One of them had an eye patch on. I’ve never met a normal person with an eye patch so there has to be a story there, one guy was taking up three seats at the bar and looked like he brought his own pillow to sleep there and the others looked like they just got their sweet freedom from the Broward County Pen.

I ordered the fish and chips with a side of two Blue Moons.

When the fish and chips came out, I was stoked. Nothing like some fish and chips, especially when you’re near the beach but to put it nicely…..it sucked. I don’t know if the cod was past it’s hey day or what but it didn’t taste fresh and squeezing a few lemons and dousing it in tartar sauce didn’t even help. If I ever go back, I will stick to their conch fritters as I have in the past.

I met up with some of my sorority sisters on Wednesday for lunch at Rocco’s Tacos. Even though I went to college in WV, a few of them moved to FL after college and have been here ever since. I love getting to visit family and friends while I drop by.

Seeing friends and eating Mexican food? Count me in! My parents told me their guacamole was out of this world and they make it tableside for you. When we sat down, I was secretly hoping that we would order it and my friends told me we had to get an order. Success!

I could have ordered a bowl of the guacamole and been happy. Seeing that it was $12, it could have been a meal itself! Instead, I went with the blackened mahi taco platter with rice and salad.

The mahi was fresh and flavorful so I was happy with the 180 degree change of fish from the other night. However, instead of little pieces of mahi, they give you one huge chunk so it’s not as messy as potentially could be. A good time had by all though, it’s crazy to think that I’ve known these girls for over 10 years.

Other random things?

*I am totally down for being a Cicada bug. I think I could sleep for 13 years!

*I have a new love and it goes by the name of Temptations by Jello Strawberry Cheesecake

Yes, it may be gone after only three bites but it’s absolutely delish!

*I’m started to develop an unhealthy habit for Dunkin Donuts.

I went to three different DD’s within a 24 hour time span.This can’t be a good thing for anyone.

*I had Cool Whip for breakfast the other day. But then the adult in me spoke out and told me not to have Cool Whip…..put some fruit under it to get my produce in!

*Ross sells Philosophy for only eight bones!

*I thought Charlotte had bad humidity. I was wrong. I forgot how bad it is here and am finally just starting to dry off after being inside for 20 minutes. Gross.

*And how is Charlotte out of eggplants when Florida is selling them for $.99? Why is the Sunshine State hogging all the eggplants?

*The Coconut Mocha frappuccino is a gift from the gods. I really didn’t need to know that something so delicious existed but oh well, at least I got it half priced.

What’s your favorite frappuccino?

Do your high school or college friends live in your hometown? A lot of my high school friends still live there but since I went to college 18 hours away, not too many of my college friends?

A couple of mayo’s

It’s around 5am and I’m supposed to be leaving for FL at 8am. Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I’ve been up since 3am and couldn’t get back to bed, which is just driving me crazy. Why does insomnia have to hit the night before an 11 hour drive??

So, we shall do a little recap of Cinco de Mayo and Yelpo de Mayo! I met up with some some friends for drinks at Three Amigos for Cinco de Mayo . Some of you may remember Three Amigos from my previous visits here and here—it’s officially my favorite hole in the wall Mexican joint in Charlotte.  The Cinco was a gorgeous day in Charlotte and I was all about getting a margarita in my system! But after three consecutive meals of Mexican food, I really wasn’t in the mood for a huge Mexican meal. So we just noshed on chips, salsa and guacamole instead.

Yep, works for me!

Oh, I didn’t mention the winner of the evening, did I?

Queso dip is proof from god that he indeed, loves us. Look at it spilling over—aw yeah.

On Friday evening, I went to Yelpo de Mayo sponsored by mi amore, Yelp. I go to Elite events every month but the cool thing about Yelpo de Mayo was that it was a free, open event to anyone with a Yelp account!

(source)

The nice part was that Elite members got to go at 7pm before the common folk. Love that since battling the masses was the last thing I wanted to do. The drinks were aflowing! Of course I had to try a margarita to properly kick the fiesta off with

Please disregard chipped nail polish

But then I said adios to the margarita and had the best drink I’ve tasted in awhile—Raspberry Truffle made with Whynatte Latte, vanilla vodka and raspberry schnapps.

I’ve tried Whynatte before at a local bar (they only offer them in bars for the time being, a little confused why only in bars) and that just had vodka in it and was good. But vanilla vodka and raspberry schnapps? Hello, this takes me back to college where I drank White Russians until I dropped (which could also be the reason I gained weight along with the discovery of ranch dressing with french fries freshman year) If your local establishment offers Whynatte, you should definitely try it out!

There were a number of local restaurants providing food. The first thing I tried was duck confit tamale from Roots, a new food truck rolling around in Charlotte!

Then tried chicken enchiladas from Three Amigos. After two visits in less than 24 hours, Three Amigos and I are as thick as thieves!

And then the cupcakes from Cupcrazed

*sigh*

The margarita mini cupcakes were the death of me. I heard a rumor that they were going to be giving to go boxes of cupcakes away if they had any left over by the end of the night. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see if that was true or not which could be a good thing. I really don’t need a to go box of cupcakes but want? Fo sho.

All in all, a successful end to my three day Mexican celebration. If I don’t have to look at any burrito or enchilada, I wouldn’t be sad.

What’s your favorite cupcake?

Any tips to help me fall asleep? I may just leave tomorrow instead if I can’t get back to bed soon. Driving 11 hours is something I don’t want to do if I’m not alert!