How to Throw a Stress-Free Dinner Party
Step 1: Prep your salad ahead of time.
I knew I needed that giant salad bowl.
Make sure to throw in anything and everything that needs to be used up. This includes carrots from the 5 lb bag you bought last week for no reason, the other half of the bell pepper that cost $2 (for one pepper, really?), the tiniest of basil leaves (because that’s all that’s left on your plant), and grilled corn, because you clearly have a corn grilling addiction.
Step 2: Incessantly take pictures of said salad while you impatiently wait for your happy hour date to show up.
I’m looking at you, Jenn.
Step 3: Slice up anything that needs to be sliced.
Tomatoes and fresh mozzarella? Check and check.
Step 3: Drink white sangria at The Med’s happy hour.
Buy pre-made pizza dough from Whole Foods.
Leave it to your boyfriend to finish the pizza.
Give yourself time to pre-bake pizza dough, then thank yourself for cutting tomatoes and mozzarella beforehand because all you have to do now is layer it on.
Step 4: Remember to put the basil on after you cook the pizza. This is key!
Step 5: Envision yourself accidentally dropping the pizza over the side of the balcony and hold on to the pan extra tight.
Step 6: Clean up while pizza cooks so all that’s left to do is layer some basil.
Holy melty marghertia goodness.
Step 7: And this is important.
Don’t even worry about dessert and escort your guests to Smart Cow instead. They’ll think it’s delicious and you won’t have to clean up afterwards.
One of these is not like the others.
I’m talking about the giant 1 lb. cup.
But I guess you could consider my candy-free spoon-less one to be the odd cup out.
First dinner party in the new apartment: accomplished.
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Do you ever throw dinner parties?
What is/would be your go-to meal if you do/were to throw one?
Any other weekend happenings to report?
Starting the Weekend Off Right
The other day my sister and I were discussing what kind of animal we think we were in a past life.
Clearly, my dad was a fish. I don’t know why, but that was the answer we both thought of.
Me: “So what was I?”
Beanie: “A crab!”
Not so far off, considering I’m a Cancer, but I’m pretty sure she was referring to my attitude and lately I have felt pretty crabby.
I may seem all sunshine and butterflies over here on the blog, but for the past few weeks, I’ve been tired, irritable and out of it.
I’ve decided to snap out of it.
Sometimes you just need a dose of cute pictures and some snapshots to remind you of the things you should be happy about.
And the fact that it’s Friday doesn’t hurt either 😛
Things That Make You Smile:
Grilled corn.
Congratulations, self, you grilled corn for the first time ever!
Without burning the apartment complex down <— I’m not the grill master in this household.
And it was actually DELICIOUS.
Let’s ignore this minor detail…
Making it halfway through a beast of a book.
Perusing Pinterest.
Aka baby leg warmers.
And baby zebras.
Baby zebras running, to be exact.
Wait, is that a zebra??
Attempts to decorate.
Taking an “artsy” photo = a way to disguise the fact that these shelves are not exactly straight…
More decoration attempts.
We wanted a big ol’ picture of New Orleans, but it turns out nice artwork is expensive. Whowouldathought?
So when we saw this framed picture of Union Station in Denver at Ikea (for $50, no less) we thought this would be a more realistic alternative.
Having an awesome entertainment center.
Please ignore the lack of organization on the shelves. I’ll get around to that eventually…
$8 coffee tables, nuff said.
Pedicures.
I could have done without the part where the pedicurist made me bleed (for the second time in a row…), but I’m digging this light pink.
Baby Mini eggs.
I guess all eggs are babies, right?
Someone at work gave Joey some eggs from their farm (where their chickens eat real grass (or whatever chickens naturally eat) and aren’t locked in cages), score! Joey cracked open a bigger egg and it had two yolks inside. Weird!
And if none of that makes you smile, there’s always Friday morning pancakes.
And Friday afternoon happy hour and Friday evening dinner party.
I don’t know about you, but it’s all smiles over here 🙂
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What is making you smile today?
What do you think of the new home furnishings??
WIAW: Long Run Day Edition
I was a bit iffy about yesterday’s post. In fact, I actually wrote it last week and just got around to posting it because I was nervous for some reason.
I suppose I should know better by now, because you all have only ever been supportive and once again you proved to be, by assuring me we all make mistakes and that negative self-talk is something many of us struggle with.
Here’s to continuing some self love with a party to celebrate all the good things I eat after a long run day. And let’s not forget that that long run turned out to be a mile longer than expected. I think I owe myself a celebration.
Thanks to the lovely Jenn for hosting the WIAW party every week and making Wednesdays a little brighter!
Pre-Run Fuel:
Toast with peanut butter and freezer jam.
This is my pre-run staple as of late. Okay, it’s just my staple in general. Yesterday, it was my post-nap snack and who knows where it will show up today, but I’m guessing it will show up.
Insert accidental 8-mile run.
Breakfast:
It’s funny, I remember having to wait for hunger to kick in after runs last year when I was training, but this time around, hunger has been showing up as soon as I come through the door.
And not normal hunger, like FEED ME NOW hunger.
So I oblige.
Overnight oats topped with coffee cake, granola, peanut butter and I think I spot some chocolate hazelnut butter as well.
I had to head to work soon after, so instead of resting like a normal person might do, I whipped up a quick sack lunch dinner to take to work, which I used up all my time on and ended up eating lunch in the car on the way. That seems to happen a lot lately.
Lunch:
Leftover veggie burger and sweet potato fries.
This picture looks a lot better than the one I took of the leftovers…
Afternoon Snack:
Chocolate Coconut Chew Larabar and my newest obsession: unsweetened passion tea lemonade.
So good!
Dinner:
I could show you the picture I took of what looked like just salad after I mixed everything up and all the heavy stuff fell to the bottom of the plastic container, but that sounds torturous. Let’s just pretend it looked exactly like this.
Soba noodles, greens, carrots, edamame, teriyaki tofu and sesame ginger dressing.
Except Saturday’s version had more noodles than greens and no peanuts, cilantro or scallions.
Post-work/pre-bed snack:
Okay, no picture but it involved dates and come chocolate chips. And maybe some more peanut butter.
Clearly, an alternate title for this post would be “How many times can Lauren in eat peanut butter in one day?”
Don’t forget to stop by the party!
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Do you eat differently if you’re had a hard workout?
What is your current meal/snack staple?
Lauren Loves Good Food 