Bites of My Life

Last week was full of fun dinners, catching up with friends, and keeping cozy with all of the gray and rainy weather Dallas had. The weekend was bookmarked with a college friend reunion that still has me on a high. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky to have amazing friends in multiple sectors of my life, but there is something about the bond with your college friends that just takes the cake. Dallas is a central meeting spot for our crew, so we came together for a spontaneous weekend that was full of telling old stories, staying up later than any of us had in the past year, and drinking too many ranch waters to count. Hoping you all have a great week and use this as a reminder to phone a friend if you are feeling down. It always helps.

-Pantry pasta for Monday dinner since I hadn’t made it to the store yet. Cooked up the last bits of some red lentil pasta, then tossed with ghee, garlic, brussels sprouts, and a combo of parmesan and nutritional yeast for an extra cheesy flavor.
-I’m late to the game on this spot, but I was treated to dinner at Las Palmas, a vibey tex-mex spot in Uptown Dallas last week and I can confirm it is everything of the sort. The decor, mood, menu, and post-meal food baby are all worth you scheduling a visit immediately if you are in the area. Pictured is the drool-worthy Sopapilla Cheesecake.
-On that kale salad kind of a kick. Massaged the greens with TJ’s Carrot Ginger Miso dressing, added cooked lentils and quinoa for filling protein, sliced tomatoes, pickled red onions, sliced almonds, avocado, and lots of salt and pepper.
-My foodiest friend Ellie turned me on to Nounos yogurt and I can confirm it is as tasty as it is cute. Stirred a spoonful of almond butter, sliced almonds, and cinnamon into the original flavor. Found at Central Market.
-Starbucks announced their seasonal pistachio latte a couple of weeks ago. I’m a sucker for pistachio flavored things and had it on my list to try. I opted for just a decaf almond milk latter + a pump of pistachio syrup and I was a very sad at the outcome. Tasted like an overly sweet cinnamon dolce latte which transplanted me to overdoing it on them my freshman year of college. A taste I didn’t need to be reminded of.
-My house guests for the weekend arrived Friday late afternoon so my go-to snack board got whipped up quick for pre-dinner snacks. My snack setup of late: popcorn, Trader Joe’s Truffle Potato chips (iykyk), Trader Joe’s gluten-free pretzels (better than regular), and some kind of candy or chocolate.
-Not all pictured, but smiles ear to ear with my college besties.
-This pickle loving gal was in heaven at Dallas’ Pickletopia. Yes, a store dedicated to pickles. Left with bread & butters, pickled mushrooms, and giardiniera.
-Ended the weekend playing sous chef cooking burgers for friends with pickles from the Pickletopia loot, Elk meat, frozen french fries (honestly you cannot beat sometimes), and Perfect CCCs of course!

Annie

Pod bite: A friend turned me on to the Sunday Scaries podcast last week and I simply cannot get enough. It’s perfect for listening to while piddling around your house, working, or toting around town tuned into. Will DeFries the host, touches on three wildly relatable (IMO) topics in each ~30-minute episode. Give it a listen if you are looking for a new pod to add to your rotation.