Things I'm Loving: July 2015
I would have had this post out a few days ago, but my computer decided to go a little nuts. It's currently at the computer doctor, but thankfully I have access to another computer to use in the meantime. It feels a little weird though, like wearing someone else's pants. I forget how much my computer becomes personalized to me with all of its settings and whatnot until I have to use someone else's for my normal everyday routines. I'm looking at being without my own computer for about a week (which kinda blows), but at this point I'm just hoping that all of its problems are solvable in a way that doesn't involve me just buying a new iMac.
In other news, July has been jam-packed. We've been doing a lot of traveling (see below), with some quick trips to Philly thrown in there as well. Our CSA has been going crazy, and with all of our travels we've been finding ourselves struggling to eat all of our produce each week and throwing together crazy salads for weekday lunches on a Sunday. I always enjoy the challenge our CSA presents by giving us a random smattering of seasonal vegetables and forcing us to figure out what to do with all of them. But here are some other things I've been loving this month:
MAKING
Smoothies - I've been on such a smoothie kick lately. I was never all that into smoothies, but I think that's because I hadn't figured out what worked for me yet. Something clicked recently and I've found my groove. I like to go with a green smoothie to lower the sugar content and to give it a little nutrient push, so my current go-to has been something like spinach + cashew milk + banana + other frozen fruit + almond butter + water. When you look at all of those ingredients together it sounds kind of gross, but it's not. Trust me. I've also been doing a variation of this one by Minimalist Baker when I want something that tastes more like a chocolate milkshake than a smoothie, and I need to try this chocolate coffee one from Floating Kitchen. The other thing I love about making smoothies for breakfast is that I can throw them in my favorite thermos and just drink it on my way to work. They also make me feel great, so that's a plus. Let's take bets on how long it takes for me to get sick of smoothies ...
VISITING
Seabrook Island, SC - I recently spent a week on this island with some of my best friends. We were fortunate enough to stay at a house owned by my friend's parents, which was really generous of them. I hadn't been on a vacation like that with friends since senior week after high school, and the experience was MUCH different. Ha! I was feeling how much we are all creeping up on the age of thirty by the fact that we were going to bed at reasonable hours, waking up fairly early (many of us did so to work out), making smoothies and fancy eggs for breakfast, cooking real dinners together, geeking out over cocktail creations, and keeping a VERY clean kitchen. We really bossed it, in my opinion. It was wonderful.
Charleston, SC - It was only a 45 minute drive from Seabrook Island into Charleston, so we spent the majority of one day visiting the city while we were down there. Most of us being "foodies" of some sort, it seemed like a shame to be so close and not go. I thought Charleston was really cute - not HUGE like some other larger cities, just large enough to seem lively and have a good feel to it. My friends Dave and Kelley did all the grunt work for figuring out what we should hit up while we were there, which was nice for the rest of us who could really just go along for the ride. They picked some amazing spots, and we ended up spending a solid 11 hours just eating, drinking and shopping our way through a portion of the city. Here's where we went:
• Market Street Sweets - Known for their pralines (they ARE really good). I picked up some candy for snacking. Very tasty. Free samples!
• Blind Tiger pub - Laid back place, some fun cocktails and good sandwiches.
• SNOB (Slightly North of Broad) - A slightly fancier Southern restaurant. We sat at the bar for drinks. The bartender was great, and the drinks were strong.
• Savannah Bee Co. - A cool shop selling different kinds of honeys and honey products. I bought a bag of their honey-roasted coffee (which I'm really excited to use for cold brew), and a 3-pack sampler of the beeswax wrap, a plastic wrap alternative. Their honey skincare products were really tempting as well.
• Nick's BBQ - Part of our group stopped here while a few of us were shopping nearby. I wish I would have gone in there with them because the little bit of ribs, cole slaw and mac and cheese that I tasted when we met up with them was possibly the best food I ate all day in Charleston.
• King Street Cookies - LOTS of cookie flavors here. Get the one called "turtle chip" or something like that. Definitely good cookies, buuuttttt not the best I've ever had or anything. Maybe I'm a cookie snob. (I'm a cookie snob.)
• Closed for Business - Long list of fun beers here, but not so great for cocktails. We had a roasted garlic caesar salad that was pretty out of this world.
• The Belmont- One of the best bars I've ever been to. It has a very classy, old-fashioned feel, and they project black and white movies on the back wall. Our bartender Joey was a true gem, making us killer cocktails while answering all of our annoying questions about making well-crafted drinks. I had a coffee cocktail made with cold brew, sweetened condensed milk and tequila shaken with ice. SO GOOD. Joey made my friend some kind of amaretto whiskey sour drink that changed my world. Amazing attention to detail at this place.
• Leon's - Known for their oysters, which I don't eat. The rest of the food I can vouch for, though. Hush puppies with honey butter and interesting salads, avocado toast, etc. Worth a visit for sure.
• Jeni's Ice Cream - DUH. This was our last stop, squeezing it in shortly before they closed. I had the brown butter almond brittle ice cream with the salty caramel sauce AND the extra-bitter hot fudge sauce. To die for, of course.
As for what I would highly recommend? Nick's BBQ, The Belmont and Jeni's.
MEETING
Renee from Will Frolic for Food - Meeting blog friends IRL is the best!!!! Renee became one of my first "blog friends" after I started this thing because we initially connected over the fact that we were both [freaking out about] planning our weddings. Plus she's basically my spirit animal because she and her husband are working on building a bean-to-bar chocolate company AND roasting coffee beans specifically for cold brew. For real: Spirit Animal. We drove to and from South Carolina for our beach trip, and I realized that stopping in Charlottesville, VA on the way home to visit (and finally meet) Renee would be a great stopping point. We had so much fun!
For dinner we went to MAS tapas, an amazing Spanish tapas restaurant. I tried my first mint julep and it was awesome. Then we stumbled upon a tiny hole-in-the-wall crepe place that was just a little window on the side of a building (????) before hitting up a really cool speakeasy in what initially appeared to be a creepy dark alley. That was fun because I picked the "dealer's choice" where the bartender just makes you something based on your specifications, so I had a tequila cocktail with cointreau, watermelon juice, lime juice and some other stuff. In the morning we had an epic waffle with brie, apples and honey and then an epic toast with goat cheese, apricot jam and pistachios (so much cheese!) at Milli Joe's, and their iced almond milk mocha kept me VERY well caffeinated for the final leg of the drive back home. Needless to say, we had an amazing time, Renee is so lovely and we were able to geek out about bloggy stuff together, and I hope we get to hang out again VERY soon. Come visit us, Renee!
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Illustration at top created with pen, watercolor and Photoshop.
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