Dream BIG

While I'm here in Austin, my 'hostess with the mostest' DOES have to keep working while I'm playing.  It all isn't running around and site-seeing... a new thing for me.

Generally when I'm on "Vacation" its non-stop moving from dawn til... I drop.  (Sounds relaxing huh?)

The weather here has been really really pleasant.  Cool (60s) and breezy with the right amount of sun.  During this downtime of work, I am trying to figure out what else my life is supposed to be about... deep stuff.

So this "downtime" is actually really relaxing.  I took a nap my first day here... can you believe that Mom? A Nap? While on vacation!

I was just outdoor playing fetch with Molly with the sun shining and thought to myself... I do NOT want to sit at a desk for the rest of my life... Therefore I'd say that I did my day's amount of career self discovery. I'll just add that to my career vision board!

Miss Molly

And I've had this mini poster sitting on my desktop for a while, waiting to be blogged.

Holy BBQ Batman

Dinner #1 included... some authentic Texas Barbecue!

We went to a spot called The Salt Lick in Round Rock.  

As soon as you walked through the doors, you're hit with the pit on the right hand side of the restaurant.  Not to mention the intoxifying essence of slow cooked meat and a slathering of sauce... YUM.

 

After a new minutes of studying the menu, and I studied it like an exam, I opted for the Pork Ribs Plate (it was a head to had race between that and the pulled pork plate)  The 3 huge ribs were accompanied by potato salad, cole slaw & beans along with some bread, pickles and onions.

I mean, come on. Check out my end piece with all that fat!

This little piggy went to the market, and did NOT die in vain.  I could have knocked off a few more ribs.

DONE

 

Austin Terrier

My first meal in Texas...Austin Terrier

I mean, come on. It was the most perfect lunch spot around.  Especially cause its right down the road from where I'm staying.

The inside is all Boston - I mean, Austin Terrier themed.

Along with these amazing TRIO OF FRIES which was made up of:  

Sweet Potato, Truffle & Parmesan, and Paprika & Mustard

I indulged in the Scottie... Sadly, I did not take a picture of it.

SCOTTIE  - Bacon, organic greens, and marinated tomatoes with avocado in a lettuce wrap (to make it gluten free)

Crispy crispy bacon strips, fresh lettuce and creamy avocado, it was Delish!

Escape from LA

If you are a terrible flyer, but want to get used to the experience, may I suggest a trip from LA to Las Vegas.  But the time you reach cruising altitude, look out the window to see the desert, you are already strapping yourself in, closing your trays, and bracing for landing.... Its pretty amazing.

And if you're from LA and have never NEEDED to see the inside of the Las Vegas airport, here is a glimpse...

After getting a quick snack from a food vendor, I lined up like a kid in school in number order to board the plane (Gotta love Southwest) where they told us that the plane holds 175 passengers, and there was only 77 people on the flight....

Needless to say, I (along with about 76 others) had their very own isle!

I got a little nap in, but not before snapping a terrible photo of Lake Mead...






And a part of the Grand Canyon (the tail of the Southern Rim)



This was the best flight I've taken in a long time. Roomy and relaxing.

Pre-flight snack

perfect snack, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

I seriously never thought that I would ever get excited over a piece of fruit and some ground up almonds... but here I am... excited for the 'treat'. I'm sitting at my gate ready to board my flight to Vegas and boy did this hit the spot, and it certainly kept me away from the dangerous gift shops filled with crap chocolate and chips!

Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat

Yup! This is what I watched last night at 10:30 PM in my bed with my ear buds in my ear while B slept like a baby on the other side of me.

I always get anxious before a trip. Fun trips are NO exception. I could not sleep. So I surfed my Netflix queue.

This documentary is pretty much about obesity (especially childhood) in America and how there are many layers as to WHY kids and adults are obese.  A lot of finger pointing as to who is to blame. It was interesting and when it comes to food, propaganda and advertising dancing around pharmaceuticals, I am a huge conspiracy theorist!

This is available for streaming on Netflix and you can download it on demand from Amazon and probably a bunch of other places.

3-3

I have entered into my 33rd year of life. YAY! I feel like its gonna be a fantastic year!

I had a wonderful day.  The husband and I both were not working, and the temperature in Southern Cali reached to 80 degrees.

My day involved:

Sleeping in

Coffee

Thai brunch

5 hours outdoors at the Arboretum

Hand in hand with my husband and my camera

A great birthday card from my love

Puerto Rican dinner for 2

Amazing birthday cake 

This is how my birthday cake was presented to me:

Check out B's headband and Lisa's glasses, 

My cake matched the shirt I was wearing!

33?! 

OHHHHHH J

If you stop by often, you'll know how much I adore glass jars, containers and canisters.  I could not resist dumping the carton of OJ when my little friend below became available. 

I think EVERYTHING looks better in glass.  I don't even drink orange juice, but I love to open up the fridge and see this cheerful liquid staring back at me!

Bring on the beets

Beet juice, mixed in with some celery, cucumber and carrots. I love how prominent beets are in their coloring! 

Juice and Lord of the Rings. Morning is DONE!

Co-OHHHHHca Cola!

oh boy, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

39 g of sugar in 1 can of cokes.

I love visuals.

This is a 1/2 pint mason jar.

Just saying

Tandoori Whole Wheat Orzo & Veg Bake

I truly feel most inspired when I just open up my pantry and fridge and see what I have to play with!

Tandoori Whole Wheat Orzo and Veg Bake 

Ingredients include:

Sauce
2 Cups Coconut milk (I'm new to it, trying to get more and more away from dairy)
2 Tbs Butter (TRYING to stay away from dairy)
2 Tbs Spelt flour (to make a roux)
1 Tbs Sarah B’s Tandoori Spice Blend (Scroll down the page after clicking on the link)
1/2 tsp. Turmeric
Salt

Everything Else

2 Cups of the pulp from juice-fest (celery, kale, carrots, apple, beets and cucumber)
3/4 Cups cooked red lentils
1 1/2 Cups of cooked whole wheat orzo pasta
Parmesan cheese

I first mashed the butter and flour together, and added it into the coconut milk that I had heating up on the stove.  

Then I added Sarah B’s Tandoori Spice Blend and some extra turmeric and salt.  When it thickened, I dumped the 2 cups of veggie pulp, the cooked lentils and the cooked orzo to the pot. Stirred to coat, then I put it all in my buttered oval pottery dish. 

I topped with whatever remaining Parmesan cheese I had in the fridge and baked for about 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.

OK, I had to eat it before taking its first photo... I was too hungry and it smelt too good... just saying

Saturday Breakfast

breakfast, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

Everything looks and tastes better out of a wine glass with a bendy straw... just saying.

Just Juicing

What did YOU do on a Friday night in your young 20s? I played with my girlfriend's boyfriend's juicer!

He has an Omega J8004 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer, White

She set it up for me and let me had some fun!

I can't really give you a recipe for what I juiced, I was having so much fun shoving things down the grinder shoot.

I made 3 juices with a few combinations of the following veggies and fruit:

Kale
Celery
Carrots
Beets
Cucumbers
1 teeny tiny Apple

The COLORS of the freshly masticated juice are truly spectacular. I've never quite seen a green or a red like that of the kale and beet. I wonder if painters have ever juiced because I seriously wanted to to dip a paint brush into the juice cup and paint Lisa's white walls... (Lisa, I refrained from doing this!)

And check out the pulp that I got from the remaining veggies!  I cannot throw this away! I'll make a soup stock out of it, but I'm also thinking maybe making some sort of veggie-latka-pancake-pie.

The juice has been in the fridge all night chilling.  I'm quite excited to drink some for breakfast!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

mexican stuffed peppers, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

These were gonna start off by being just some plain old cheese filled pasilla peppers, but since there was some brown rice that needed finishing up in the fridge, some fresh cilantro and a mini jar of pimentos in the closet, I could not resist!

I also added some cooked lentils to the rice to give the meal some more protein (besides the chicken that I cooked separately). I also added some cremini mushrooms for me, filled with a tomatillo salsa. Baked the whole thing in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes. Just at the end, I added the Mexican blended shredded cheese and put back in the oven to melt.

YUMMY!

new year gym attire

new year gym attire, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

gotta laugh. not that i look great myself. but my pants are pulled up.

Friday Night Lights out

After watching 76 amazing episodes, I am finally done watching Friday Night Lights. 

This series has A) taught me about football in a way the husband had never been able to...

 Ok, Taylor Kitsch really helped me (there I said it)

B) Showed me a nice example of what a "healthish" marriage could look like, or what I would want MINE to resemble but as always, there is room for improvement.

C) Prepared me for my upcoming trip to Austin!  WOO HOO. Bring on the big hair, country music and cowboy boots! 

This series is available to stream off of Netflix. I really recommend it. It came HIGHLY recommended, and I too in turn, highly recommend it.

Cutco

cutco, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

My babies are packed up and ready for a little trip to go get sharpened!

Safe travels, my knives!

32

32, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

Today is my last Tuesday in my 32nd year... just saying!

Carrot Pulp

carrot pulp, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

Not only did I get a jar full of carrot juice, but I was also gifted with the pulp of the carrots and beetroots! I wasn't sure what I would do with the pulp, but I had a few ideas!

The next night, I decided to make a soup with some beans and veg that I wanted to get rid of, and as I was pulling things out of the fridge, I grabbed the carrots and dumped them in along with the sauteed onions and garlic! It ended up becoming a carrot soup and it was much better than I expected.

So, note to self... nothing needs to go to waste when juicing!

Karl is BACK!

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!  YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! 

An Idiot Abroad 3! Saturday, January 19th! 9/8central

A Juice Bugs Would Die For!

Talk about an amazing way to start one's day!

Organic, raw carrot juice with a splash of beet root!

 

It was gifted to me last night. It made for a lovely nightcap and a wonderful start of the day!

Dear Victoria's Secret

Dear Victoria's Secret, 

Please stop making things that I want to buy and in colors that I love (PURPLE). Especially when my current jobs ends on Friday.

Your bff, 

Petunia

...Just saying

Kitty

I'm going to kill you!, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.

Ohhhhh. This is Patra... short for Cleopatra. She was once upon a time, a stray that wouldn't go away until my neighbor took her in.

She's probably the first cat that I came to like.

We never had cats growing up, more preferring the company of mice, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs alike.

Patra would routinely wait for B to get home so he could pet her while he was having his cigarette. I had my own special language with the kitty too,

Yesterday, our neighbor had to help Patra into that big cat condo in the sky filled with oversized yarn balls and catnip for as far as the eye can see.

I'm truly saddened by Patra's departure. She was a good kitty.

RIP

Juice!

I've watched countless food documentaries about the health benefits of juicing. I am fascinated with it all and am at the point in my life, that if I HAD a juicer, I would probably try a cleanse!   Alas, I do not, and as much as I can understand the juicing programs out there, I have a hard time "Swallowing" the costs. Not that they are not justified, but Today, I simply can not.

But check out this amazing color display for juicing... its to promote of course, high quality juicers. We had a juicer once upon a time, when I was growing up.  It was not high quality ($300+), nor was it from WS.  I do wish I still had access to it today :)

If you go to  Juicing 101 from WS here, you can see the photos and if you hover your mouse over each glass, it will tell you what each glass is made up of :). They also have juicing tips, additional recipes, and a plan for a 30 day juice cleanse.

Drink up!

Just saying

Ho Ho Honda Cargo Cover

For those of you 3 who are dying to know "what did Petunia get for Xmas from the husband" by seeing this photo...

I know, its not VERY clear what I got.  These will explain all the magic!

Through the magic of cover ups, I can conceal all the crap that I lug with me!  Granted the small pine Christmas tree is just there temporarily as I am schlepping things from the office back home into storage.

Food & Art

B and I got all gussied up last weekend and went to my girlfriend's art show. Delicious vegan horsd'oeuvre were passed out along with some bubbly here and there.

Spanokopita bites, Tempeh Croquettes and Crudites

Vegan mini cupcakes! 

My favorite piece on the wall

My pumps for the night!

The Star of the night, along with some gal pals.

Great art, great chats, great nibbles, and my hunky husband all dressed up!