Tag Archives: food

Our New Arrival.

11 Jan

Nope, it’s not a baby. Nope, it’s not a puppy. Nope, it’s not a loaf of sourdough bread from San Fransisco (though I certainly wouldn’t turn the FedEx guy away if he was carrying that box). It’s our new camera. Christian and I splurged on something special this Christmas (with help from a wonderful Best Buy Gift Card from my old boss at HuebnerPetersen). We’re so excited to welcome our new Canon Rebel T3i to the family. There was some initial discussion over whether this camera or Charles is the most expensive family member, but Charles certainly won out with his manic health emergencies and pure bad luck. Needless to say I’m super excited, even if I’m still figuring out how you actually take pictures. Thank you Pioneer Woman, for putting some of that crap in layman’s terms.

I aim to be the next Ansel Adams — or just, you know, document my culinary creations, travel adventures and Charles sleeping. Life is all about having big aspirations.

My Favorite Things – December.

12 Dec

I love the month of December… I look forward to it all year. Really I enjoy May – December. January – April, not so much. So many wonderful things happen in December. People care, they take time to share cookies with their neighbors, tacky sweater parties and Christmas. Some people also go a little crazy, but I choose to keep the freaks at bay.

So while I enjoy a month of gaining back each one of the pounds I lost prior to the wedding (gingerbread cookies, cough, rum cake, cough), here are a few of my favorite things this month:

Big Bang Theory. I cannot get enough of Sheldon, there has never been a better played TV character. Swoon.

Bio Oil. Mix a few drops in with your lotion and voila moisturized skin.

Barefoot Contessa Chocolate Chip Cookies. Crispy, salty, chewy goodness.

Living Room Bootcamp. A solid workout without having to head to the gym. Particularly helpful on days like today when it’s 9 degrees outside. Brrr.

Dreyer’s Peppermint Ice Cream. Something about those crunchy little peppermint chunks gets me every time. Every Christmas my family would order a bucket of peppermint ice cream from the Schwan man, and each evening we would get a precious scoop of creamy goodness. Each bowl is chalk full of memories.

Twinkle Lights Everywhere. I love the way they can make even a simple tree or a boring staircase feel magical. I wish they could be around all year long.

*photo credit

What are your favorite things this time of year?

20 things to be thankful for.

1 Dec

I’m not very good at, you know, getting posts out on the actual holiday… but I figure being thankful is being thankful and whether it happened last Thursday or happens this Thursday doesn’t really matter. Right? So here it goes, 20 things that I’m thankful for at the start of this holiday season:

1.) A husband that loves me, shares a love of cheese and pineapple, will let me watch hours of Diners, Drive In’s and Dives and who happens to be one of the greatest people I know. I heart him.

2.) Days where you just have to eat your feelings — and friends/family that are more than happy to join in.

3.) The most ridiculous, ill-mannered, sweet dog ever.

4.) Cheese. What else is there to say?

5.) A glass, or 5, of good wine.

6.) The best friends in the world. Ones who repeatedly remind you of all those times you laughed until you peed your pants.

7.) Knowing that rum cake is less than a month away. Oh, yes. Holiday desserts.

8.) The ability to spend a night snuggled in blankets watching movies from the 90′s (Ahem, Father of the Bride 2).

9.) A house, while needing immeasurable amounts of duct tape & love, to hang Christmas lights on.

10.) The best family a girl could ask for.

11.) My health and the health of those around me.

12.) Christmas – I just love it. Christmas trees, twinkle lights, joy.

13.) Pinterest. The amount of things I’ve learned and the amount of time I’ve wasted are both astounding.

14.) Red shoes because they can inevitably make any outfit glamorous.

15.) *Fingers Crossed* That we’re done car shopping for several years. Two new cars in less than 1 year is a bit much.

16.) Chapstick. My chapped lips live for you, and my addiction to you means I couldn’t go more than a day without you.

17.) All the amazing things that happened in 2011 – engagement, wedding, travel, new house, and the list goes on.

18.) A safe, warm (though Christian and I differ greatly on the definition) and nice place to call home.

19.) Truffle oil – on french fries, on burgers, in mac n’ cheese, in anything really…

20.) Snowflakes. But only when they’re falling. Once they’ve hit the ground they might as well be the scourge of the planet.

I truly am thankful for everything I have, all the friends and family in my life and so much more. Hope you had a fabulous Thanksigving (only a week late)!

*Image by: jessicaNdesigns

Let them eat cake.

5 Aug

Let’s talk cake here for a second. I love cake. There are a lot of people out there that don’t really care for cake (ahem, my father) and would rather settle of a DQ ice cream cone. I am not one of them. Me + cake = heavenly love forever. So as I mentioned earlier that we were going to be doing cake tastings I was nothing but ecstatic about the venture. Think this through with me, free cake, lots of flavors of cake, free, I get to try them. Um, hello, why have I not thought of this before?

So, last Saturday Christian, my mom and I embarked on our Colorado Springs cake tasting spree. We first stopped at Boonzaaijers Dutch Bakery… their vanilla raspberry cake blew my mind. It was delicious, sugary, and so so good. However, the rest of the flavors didn’t really jive with my high cake expectations. But don’t worry, it wasn’t time to fret because we had two more stops before we were going to throw in the cake tasting towel.

Next up Marvels Cake Boutique. Now, not to sound too high maintenance, but I was instantly thrilled that we each got our own bites to taste as opposed to sharing a small piece among the three of us. More cake for me, heck yes! We love, love, loved the spice cake (and what could be more perfect for a fall wedding, nothing you say? I agree). My mom got chills up her spine when we tried the almond (hello, yum). We decided that the chocolate and red velvet were winners as well. By the end of the tasting I was so full that I honestly felt that if I had one more bite of anything I might explode, or die. Do you ever get that full? On top of the immense fullness going on in my abdominal region the sugar coma, must nap now stage of the afternoon was in full swing.

Though I was borderline catatonic, the decision couldn’t be made just yet. While Marvels upped the ante, we had to be certain that there wasn’t another cake out there with our names on it. So, that’s just what we did.

Little London Cake Shoppe here we come (if not a little more haggard that when we started out). They handed us a box full of cake. Not a few slices, but a box, which I promptly forgot to take a picture of. At any other phase in my life I would have been overwhelmed by cake joy, but the thought of having to try 14 more cake flavors and two frostings had my hurl meter beeping at high alert. I never thought I would say it, but I couldn’t fathom putting another piece of cake into my mouth.

But, I bet you can guess what I did. I put 14 more bites of cake in my mouth, followed by 2 more bites of frosting. It was delicious, or as delicious as cake can be after eating it for hours on end. From there I proceeded to swear off cake for life and try to talk Christian in to serving a veggie tray with sprinkles at the wedding in place of the sweet, debilitating cake we ate all afternoon. It was a no go, but worth a shot anyways.

After some long and hard discussion, we’ve made the decision to go with Marvels — but the flavor combinations? Top secret. On another note, my birthday is next week and I feel deeply saddened to think I may not be able to eat cake… I’m crossing my fingers that my cake appetite returns in the next few days. Not that I’ll complain if we end up eating Strawberries and whipped cream — my new addiction.

I don’t have a problem.

10 Sep

Choking down celery.

I love food. Almost all of my posts make some reference to food, my love for it, going to get it, not being able to move because I ate so much my pants won’t zip and I have to be in a horizontal position so I can suffer less than if I were standing.

Sometimes I spend time thinking about Anorexia — and how there is no way in hell, even if the only thing available for eating was mushrooms, would I be able to not eat. Maybe for about an hour and then my hunger would take over and I’d devour the mushrooms, gagging them down the whole way. Barf, makes me want to barf thinking about it. Mushrooms… and raw tomatoes happen to be two of the things I don’t want in my mouth. Ever.

Back to eating. I think about it. I remember being in high school, in Hawaii on vacation, and right after eating breakfast I wanted to know where we were eating lunch and dinner. Why you ask? Oh, because I wanted something to look forward to. As if HAWAII wasn’t enough.

I get to work in the morning and begin planning out my snacking schedule in my head — right up there with my to do list and checking all my emails.

9:17 – WALNUTS AND A TOOTSIE POP!

10:46 – APPLE WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND HONEY!

12:32 – LUNCH, It’s time for LUNCH!!

2:13 – COOKIE TIME!!

I really am that excited, but only in my head. So, when it comes time to diet or eat “healthy”, my whole being suffers. It’s hard for me to dream about celery or fantasize about dried peas. So instead I dwell on everything I can’t eat, like that cinnamon roll with the cream cheese frosting or a good ‘ol box of mac ‘n cheese.

Knowing all of this, I have to tell you that I’ve gain a bit of weight. I haven’t gained 50 lbs. or anything, but I’ve gained more than I would have liked. Damn all that delicious pizza and birthday cake I consumed over the month of August.

I weighed the most I’ve ever weighed mid-way through my senior year in college. I spent the next 5-6 months working out, eating little and building some unhealthy habits. But, I lost about 20 lbs and kept most of it off until this summer when I threw caution into the wind and ate like crazy. I’m blaming part of it on having a roommate and a boyfriend that throughly enjoy delicious food. Cheesecake anyone? The answer is almost always a resounding yes.

So, I’m trying to get healthy, again. Trying  get back down to where I was and then some, but do it in a healthier way. I’m nervous. Losing weight sucks because not eating french fries sucks. But, that’s not why I’m nervous.  I’m nervous because I’m telling you, and you, and you. And now I have to be accountable. I have a fear of failure… so be nice. K?

*Photo Credit: B Tal

One.

18 Jun

It's my blogging birthday!

Today is a big day. Meganastout.com is having a birthday. I’ve blogged for many years, but more privately… and not here. So for celebration’s purposes today is my Meganastout.com blogging birthday! Hooray! Cupcake anyone? Eh? I’m having one so you might as well cave… I’ll toss in champagne if you can say something witty? Eh, eh?

I have to say thank you to all of those that inspired anything I’ve written. My family for always being undeniably quirky and wonderful, my friends for their ever adventurous and changing lives, my dog for being so absolutely bizarre and for Furbys and peanut butter — because the number of searches that are generated with those two topics is absolutely shocking.

So to all of you out there looking for Furby’s, thanks for stopping by and making my day. Hopefully you find a Furby… and that will make yours! And to the rest of you… non-Furby readers thank you, thank you, thank you. I heart you all and if I could personally deliver cupcakes and champagne (if you’ve earned it) to you I would. But… in all honesty I’d probably eat each cupcake and drink all the champagne on the way over; so, my presence would have to suffice. Still interested? Thought so.

Some of my favorite things from the past year? Completing Nablopomo, making people laugh, being more honest with myself and my writing, keeping Charles alive, traveling (I know I’m behind on writing about it), crazy shenanigans with those I love, all the food I ate and cupcakes that met their maker… oh how the list could go on and on.

Again, thank you! And, here’s to many more blogging birthdays to come!

*”Birthday Cake” photo by Theresa Thompson.

I’m about to gain 10 lbs.

30 Apr

I'd consider selling my soul for one of these.

I’m in the great state of Pennsylvania this weekend. I’m certain that anyone who has come into contact or had more than a 10 second interaction with me over the past month believes I’ll be arriving in Philadelphia with a bib strapped on, fork in hand. When it comes to Philadelphia all I talk about is the food. And my friend Liz. Obviously.

So far in my life there are two great cities for eating — I know there are probably a million more out there, but right now I just can’t seem to wrap my head around anything but the deliciousness in San Fransisco and Philadelphia. They’re both like Las Vegas for eating… What happens in Philly stays in Philly. We won’t mention the 5,000 calories I consumed that day or the bottle of wine and cake I had with dinner. Which of course never happened. I’ve been eating “healthy” (cough, ahem) the past few weeks with full anticipation that it would all go flying out the window once I landed in the capital of Philly Cheese steaks and canned cheese. When it’s time to return someone will have to pry a sandwich out of my plumped up hands. But that’s where I am. In case you’re wondering. Full update on my Philly adventures to come.

‘Tis the Season.

14 Dec

The holiday season is upon (or up-on) us. Depending on whether you choose to clothe yourself in festive wear or not. I love the Christmas decorations, yule tide tunes, garland and twinkle lights. It doesn’t bother me one bit that KOSI 101.1 starts with the carols on November 1. I like it. I also thoroughly enjoy the cheesy songs that blast through every retailer’s speakers for the month of December. And maybe, just maybe, I aspire to like the mistletoe. We’re not there yet, but someday there may be hope.

Plus, with the holidays comes holiday food. Spiced nuts, peanut brittle, cookies, rum cake, snowman dip, kolaches, kringla, spiced cider, pumpkin spice coffee creamer, pies, and everything else.  YUM. Is it weird that I’m so focused on food? How some people think pay check to pay check… I think meal to meal. And the holidays just amplify that by a hundred.

All this being said, I’m having a little trouble boosting myself into the holiday season. I feel like giving, but shopping not so much. How blasphemous right? A girl, that doesn’t want to shop. The crowds and feeling like a herd of livestock in the mall is what is keeping me away. There is something not all that appealing about feeling like one of the herd in a stuffy, germ infested shopping mall around Christmas. I’m often tempted to squat down on my hands and knees and begin mooing – a cow costume would only add to the effect. If I wasn’t afraid people would think I was either 1.) giving birth or 2.) having some sort of episode I just might try it.

Maybe I need to make cookies and decorate them with festive sprinkles, or sleep with Christmas songs playing so they are engrained in my mind. Maybe I need to pay a visit to santa… though I’m not sure how high on the creeper scale that would rate. Maybe I need to buy a leotard and dance around to the nutcracker, or maybe I need to just give it up this year.

San Francisco, Day 1.

8 Nov

I’m back home and have settled down. That’s a lie, but it sounds better than, “I’m still in disarray trying to pull some semblance of my life together”, doesn’t it? I ate my way through the past 4 days and did enough walking to burn at least a quarter of it off. Or, so I tell myself. The trip, as always, flew by, but was packed with hundreds of hysterical moments, amazing food, and tons of sights.  Let’s start with day one.

After 3 hours squished on the plane we arrived in San Fran. P.S. Whoever devised the seating arrangements on planes was not 6’ tall… not only is the leg room abysmal, but also try typing with my gangly gargantuan arms. I had my elbow so far protruding out in the aisle I got hit by anything and everything that went by. [Checking for bruises now.]

Got off the plane, got our bags and found our way to the BART station. I thought we may lose my hearing due to the screaming noises it makes going through the tunnel, but alas we persevered.

Dim Sum was our first order of duty and we fitfully made our way to Chinatown. Ate some BBQ pork among an array of dumplings and sticky rice and headed on our way. Scoped out some of the wharf, hand a WONDERFUL sundae at Ghirardelli (made my heart swoon), slurped down and Irish coffee at Buena Vista and then headed back to Santorini‘s for dinner. Honestly, food was our #1 priority… so food we found. Here are a few photos of that first day…

About to burst.

6 Nov

So… I have so much to write about, so many things just dying to get out. But, I’ve eaten myself into a food induced coma and can barely function. It could have to do with the sundae I had here:

DSC00662

The bread I ate all day long:

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Or Fred, the crab we had for dinner.

DSC00786

Had to say which exactly did me in, but did me in they did. Hope you’re jealous… I’m going to go sleep this one off. Oy.

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