Farmer's Market Finds & Garden Fun

So, I opted for slumber over Zumba this morning.

There's a tint of fall in the air so I opened some of the windows and it's delightful. However, Scotty growls and barks at every noise he hears in the mornings so I was up at 6:30am to take him for a walk which really turned into him trying to catch up to our neighbor and his dog. 

Not cool dude. 

So I fell back asleep and woke up at 9:36. I got up and headed to one of the local farmer's markets. I was hoping to get some nectarines and peaches but they had slim pickings. It's ok because I got all of this... 

...for $15. Score.

So. My plans are to make

-Lavender cupcakes with honey buttercream frosting

-Baked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto stuffed with rosemary goat cheese drizzled with balsamic vinegar

-Peach, balsamic, mozzarella, basil pizza

-Grilled tomato, mozzarella, basil sandwiches

YUM!

Then I did some cleaning around the apartment. It was still feeling cool so I took Scotty for a nice long walk. I changed my outfit because it started to get hot (Bummer. I was wearing a light sweater and loving it. Soon enough!). 

Then I headed to Brookgreen Gardens.

I haven't been here yet and everyone and their mother has told me to go. So go I did!

It was pretty cool. It used to be a rice plantation. 

The grounds are BEAUTIFUL. Acres of gardens, trails to walk, sculptures, and a zoo. I didn't make it to the butterfly display today because the man who gave me my ticket said they hadn't been out all week due to the rain. The ticket is good for another week so I might pop in next Saturday after work. 

Anyway. I enjoyed myself. 

Visiting the gardens made me really excited to go home for Christmas. I am planning to visit the beloved Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I love art. I thank GP for that, and my humanities classes in college for my appreciation of, admiration of, and love for art.  

One of the four original rice plantations.

I LOVE these trees.

"Pegasus"

It's the biggest sculpture there and I can vouch, it's HUUUUUGE. It took 9 years to complete. It was also my favorite. The facial expression of the rider is one of pure bliss and hope. Rightly so. Did you know.... Pegasus is the ancient symbol of inspiration? Now you do. AND the sculptor (Laura Gardin Fraser) purposefully designed this to symbolize a person born with vision and imagination soars with Pegasus (aka inspiration). Clever, no? 

 

Also I liked the reflection caught in the pool. A lot of the sculptures were like that.

Then I walked to "The Visionaries" garden and passed this IN-credibly fragrant bush.

I don't know what flowers these are, but holy catscans!!!, they are scrumptious smelling. I may or may not have picked one. Mmm! 

 

Please note the GIANT tadpole (circled for you convenience)

The description of this said he was a handsome lion. I agree. 

Look at that tucked giant and posture. Also his mane. Just like mine!

I LOVED this one. 

Exiting through a canopy of trees. How lovely.  

Then I had to stop at Fresh Market to get prosciutto because I can't wrap my asparagus in prosciutto without...prosciutto. I found some! As I was waiting in line to check out I spotted this and almost jumped for joy in line. 

My all time favorite gelato flavor ever, ever, ever is gianduia (second is pineapple basil, followed by sea salt caramel, in case you're curious). 

AND THEY HAVE A CANDY BAR OF IT!!!!!!?????!?!?!?!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!

Yes I bought it. The small one. They had a big one too, but I decided to exert some self-control. 

  Oh buddy it's yummy!

Now I might read for a bit and then Scotty and I are watching "How to Train a Dragon." 

Ciao!

3 Day Weekend

I've been anticipating this weekend. I'm in need of a vacation, but that won't be until the beginning of August, though it's for another wedding and I'm actually in this wedding so I'm not sure I would entirely call that a vacation, but it should be fun. I'll take an extended weekend though. My colleague and I have had a rough couple of months being short-staffed. The workload ebbs and flows but lately it's been flowing generously and basically we're getting burnt out. You know the feeling right? Every day around 2pm when we still have 6 patients to see and all of our notes to type up and our blood sugar dips, we just become crazy. Mostly it's amusing, sometimes we have vent sessions, and usually we talk about how much frozen yogurt we want.


Friday Scotty got me up at 5:45am. I can't get too upset with him because it is technically  a weekday and usually I get up at 6am so we can go for a nice leisurely walk in the mornings. I took him and out and then went back to bed and woke up at 9am. Lovely. I had big plans for my Friday. And it involved some...shopping. Dun. Dun. Dun.
First, I went to Old Navy to get some shorts that my mom and friend Jen raved about. I admit I was very skeptical. Old Navy and I had a good thing going a few years ago and then all of the sudden the quality and fit of their clothing took a hard nosedive and I haven't been impressed, or a customer, since. But I am in need of good shorts so I thought why not? I went, I saw, I tried on. They fit. Oh my gosh and they are cute. And comfy! And on sale! Sweet! I bought sunshine yellow and khaki/beige. They did not have orchid (below) or aquamarine in my size so...I ordered them online. I'm pretty excited.

Photo from here

Next, I went to the beach. It was a bit overcast yesterday, which is my favorite beach weather because it's hot but the sun isn't beating down on me. It was wonderful. I read for a couple of hours, I swam and floated and dove and body surfed in the water for an hour or so. I am definitely a fan of warm beach water, but not the idea of lurking sharks. I got burned on my legs. Ouch. I am a walking radiator. I have been studiously applying aloe vera lotion to my legs, which feels great, and then Scotty comes along and licks it off (one of his quirks, he loves to lick lotion). Oddly enough, it feels good. True to "good" sunburns, I'm not feeling so great today so I'm thinking it's going to be a very lazy day. 

Then I met up with my pals Jen, Allie, and Marissa and we went shopping at the Tangor Outlets. It was my first time. Let me just tell you, I love a good bargain. Our first store was the Gap Outlet. I walked it, saw a pair of "watermelon sorbet" shorts, tried them on, loved them, and bought them for a whopping $12. Score #1. Next we went to Banana Republic. Now let me just tell you I love lounge wear because basically it's what I live in in the winter. And I'm all about comfort. There was this darling "lounge wear" top on sale, like 70% off!!!, and I put it on and had a big grin appear on my face dreaming of winter, curling up with a mug of hot chocolate to watch a flick or read a book. Bought it. Saved myself $50. Score #2. Gosh I love a good deal. 

After a couple of hours of walking around, we decided to end our successful shopping day with....frozen yogurt!!! Who's surprised, I mean really? We went to Sweet Frogs and marked off another one of our froyo places on our list. 

This place was good. I got cookies 'n cream, choc/PB swirl, and cupcake (basically what I always get). The cookies 'n cream was the best I've had so far. Their choc/PB was not that great. Bust. Their cupcake was really, really good. Their toppings were excellent: good variety (and they had cookie dough!! Yum!!), chopped up nicely, AND they had Nutella topping. +++++ points for that! However, they rank a close #2. I stand by Orange Leaf as my #1 choice.  

Then we headed back to my apartment and watched "The Artist," which I hadn't seen before. I was very impressed. It definitely deserved the awards it received. 

I went to bed around 1:30am and since I took Scotty out late last night I was hoping he would sleep in. Nope. He started doing his obnoxious fake sneezes, which are his way of telling me he wants to go out and trust me...they are AH-nnoying, around 5:30am. I was not a happy camper. I told him we were not going out at 5am and that I needed to sleep. And the sweet little guy that he is, he let me sleep in until 7:30. Thank you Scotty!!!  I'll take it! I contemplated going back to bed when we got back from his walk but it was already 8 so I tidied up a few things and then crawled back into bed and e-mailed, pinterested, facebooked, ordered a new bathing suit, foodgawked (this website is like Pinterest but better and only for recipes. Go check it out now. I'm serious), and (obviously) decided to do a little blogging. Also, my friends and I are throwing a "S'mores party" next week: s'mores bars, s'mores pops, s'mores rice crispy treats, and maybe s'mores cupcakes. Oh HECK yes. 

Photo from here

Photo from here

I'm supposed to go to a BBQ tonight and then hit up a Pelicans game later and maybe get some pizza at this great place called Mellow Mushroom afterward. It's our new "thing" after we go to a Pelicans game. For now, I'll stay in bed and bask in the laziness (and medicinal relief of aloe vera lotion). 

Lazy Saturdays are the best.

Weekend Bust

I'd like to tell you I had another fabulous weekend but, I didn't. It was actually a complete bust. Well, maybe not complete but nearly a complete bust.


I worked my first weekend and it was insanely busy. I'm nervous for the first weekend that I'm by myself without an experienced dietitian there to help me a long. Huh. But I acknowledge the fact that we were busting through patients because we both needed to be out by 1:45 and trying to see 26 patients between 3 people in really a space of 3 hours is not easy, but we did it. 


I headed up to Columbia this weekend with some friends for a conference thing. I'm not going into the details of the conference because I'm quick exhausted but needless to say I was less than impressed by the company I was in. Not the girls I went up with or the other girls we met up with and stayed with, but a substantially large number of people we interacted with were much less than impressive. It's baffling how people have forgotten simple manners and courtesy. I really am blown away by it. I think that's why I like older people better--and by that I mean those who are a generation or two older than me--because my generation and the generations following mine pretty much are generally, perhaps this generalization is unfair though not entirely untrue, inconsiderate, selfish punks. We make substantial progress in so many areas yet it shocks me how many other areas suffer. You know what gets real old? The stuck up snobby girl whose nose is so high up the air I can see all way to her brain and who dances like a slut because she things it's hot. It's not. It's sad and disgusting. All I could do was shake my head unimpressed and in embarrassment and disgust. And not to sound hypocritical, I love to dance to a good Flo Rida, Chris Brown, Usher, or Timbaland tune as much as the next person and to shake what my momma gave me but please, I know the limits before it becomes straight up nasty and suggestive. Plus, that kind of dancing was haaardly appropriate for the conservative environment we were in. You know what also gets old? Guys who really have no idea how to treat woman and I mean at a very basic level of common respect and courtesy. I think that if perhaps more moms and sisters threatened their sons and brothers that why I did with my brothers, that if I ever heard they had been disrespectful or unkind in any way to a woman they would assuredly endure the wrath of their sister, the world may be a slightly better place :) Just sayin'.And there was a super, wicked, incredibly lame dance and the DJ suuuuuuuucked. Next time, that is IF there is a next time, I'm kidnapping the DJ, duct-taping him to the wall of the utility closet and taking over. I mean really, it's not that hard to do. If no one is dancing, clearly the song sucks and you should switch. And limit your techno remixes to 2 the entire dance.


And Columbia, at least the parts I saw were uuuuuuuuuugly. The drive up was ugly. The drive back was ugly. Shacks, nasty mobile homes, run down homes and neighborhoods, dirty streets. It was depressing. It was gloomy. And I swear if I see another freaking sign for all you can eat chicken and biscuits or fried whatever, I'm going to freak. All I wanted to do was be in New England. Not that New England doesn't have sketchy streets and neighborhoods, but at least the main roads I drove were prettier. The neighborhoods filled with old homes, antique stores, Ma and Pop country stores, villages with history just oozing from it. It's delightful. Oh, I was hoping to be able to go home this weekend since I have Friday and Monday off but that's a negative. Flights are too expensive. Bust. 


Here's to a new week and hopefully a better upcoming weekend. 

It's Friday??? Already??

Wasn't it just Friday? This week flew by! Wow! I'm done with my official training. Dun dun dun. Monday I fly solo. Actually today I flew solo and it went pretty well so here's hoping Monday goes well (and every day after that!).


I passed Dr. W in the stairwell today. He told me he had to report to my boss. I did not know this. Oh boy. Ooooh boy. Then he told me he was going to tell her he was very pleased with my work and that I had done a very nice job so far. My response, in true uper-excited Gabe form "REALLY?!?!" SCORE!!!!! He laughed at me, made a sarcastic remark about me being an iffy hire and then told me to have a good weekend and Go Patriots! On Thursday during our staffing meeting, Dr. W was talking about Kevin Youkilis, from my beloved Red Sox, and then mentioned something about the Yankees so I asked him if he was a Yankees fan. He couldn't the get words, "ABSOLUTELY NOT" out of his mouth fast enough. Once again, did I mention Dr. W is awesome? I'm a fan.


So let's talk about what's on for this weekend shall we?
Tonight: Date night. I'm going on a triple blind date! The other couples are my new friends Derek and Ashley, and Ali and Dave and they are some of the coolest people I have met and I'm a) excited to go on a date, and b) excited to hang out with them. I'm being set up with Derek's friend and old roommate. I suspect loads of fun and I'm wicked excited!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday: Sleeping in. Can I just tell you how wonderful is has been to sleep through the entire night the past 2 days? I am one very happy and well rested girl right here. Grocery shopping....yaaaah! Food :) Ingreds for pretzels and maybe homemade snickers bars, or I might just make more no back oatmeal peanut butter cookies since I'm currently on a wicked peanut butter kick. Dinner tonight was a toasted PB + banana sandwich. Oh yummmmmm. Cleaning. Running. Probably a visit to the library. THEN. I'm joining Ali, and maybe Ashley and Derek, to watch Dave's basketball team. Fun Fact. Dave played for Carolina Coastal and now coaches/plays. Another fun fact. I was torn between asking him what his position was and not asking because he's like 6'4 so I assumed forward. No, no Gabe. He was a guard. I forget that as you move up towards the pros, the centers/forwards are usually 6'11 or something. What? They look so small on TV!!! Anyway. Basketball? Friends? HECK YES! Again, I'm wicked excited. 

Picture from here 

Sunday: Church and then....SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been invited to cheer on the Patriots with my fellow dietitians and I'm stoked. 


Off to get dolled up for my date. Ciao! 

GO PATRIOTS!!!!

What's on tap Mac?

First of all may I once again reiterate how excited I am about my job? I am wicked excited. I'm so happy and so excited. I know it's only been 2 days and surely there will be days I don't feel this way but overall, I. am. so. excited. I have a purpose again and goals and challenges. I spent most of the day training with my manager and taking my competency exams. Side note: the exams were not that bad EXCEPT for the peds ones. Yikes. But I managed and learned a few new things. Good. Good. I love learning. Love it! Anyway, I'm wicked excited. Wicked.

Now, exciting things. I ran 8 miles today in under an hour, clocked at an average pace of 7min 30 seconds. I really can't tell you how blown away I am. Never in my lifetime did I think I would ever be able to run like this. I like to end my runs with Flo Rida's "Club Can't Handle Me." Great work out song. 

Another exciting thing. I love getting mail and packages. Who doesn't? Unless it's spam mail or junk mail or something but you know what I mean. Well, I ordered something a couple of weeks ago and I wasn't expecting it to arrive until Monday. Well friends, it arrived today. I'm not going to tell you what the contents of the package are because it will be included in my blog tomorrow. (EEEEEVIL!)

On tap for tomorrow (I can't wait): Broadway at the Beach. The aquarium. BEACH aka freckling. It's supposed to be in the 70s! YESSAH!

                      

I got his picture here

Now, I'm off to relax. Homemade popcorn and either "The Miracle," "Sabrina" (with Harrison Ford...oh Paris!), or "The Devil Wears Prada." I like Anne Hathaway. I think she's really pretty and comical. Did you see one of her latest flicks, "One Day?" I did. I liked it. The scenery is incredible. I was in love with the scenery and once again it tickled the strings in my heart that ache to travel. Also, Jim Sturgess and his accent weren't a bad touch either, at all. Well let's be clear, his character (Dex--I love that. Dex. Not Dexter because I think of Dexter's Laboratory, but Dex. I like it.) at the end of the film was very, very attractive. I thought.

Until tomorrow...Happy Friday!