Bites of My Life

Wait…it’s still January? No way.

-I cooked from Camille Styles 5-day Plant-Based meal plan last week and loved the recipes. I only made it through 2-3 recipes, but I’m carrying them over and making a few more this week. Last week was the lentil salad with roasted vegetables and green smoothie, this week is the black bean tacos and sheet-pan curry.
-New Colleen Hoover! Didn’t have much time for reading last week, but can’t wait to dive into it this week.
-Gosh I just love friends. Friends are the best, especially these 4!
-Is that you I see celery juice?? Welcome back old friend.
-Friday lunch at my new obsession Trova Wine Bar. I had happy hour drinks here last week and the best veggie sandwich for lunch this week.
-Night in with my mocktail and Jess Mariano. Quickly followed by popcorn and binging the whole season of Maid on Netflix.
-Name that restaurant. Not pictured: a round of cosmos.
-Sunday morning granola baking had my apartment smelling amaze.
-Sunday mahjongg with my fellow crack dragons 😜!

Annie

P.S. come back for a fun post tomorrow :) Hint Rom Com….

Bites of My Life

December has really kicked off and started running toward Christmas. So many fun events and parties and dinners on the docket for December. In typical Annie fashion, looking ahead at my calendar I started to get overwhelmed at what the month held. However, I know that it’s a blessing to have a full schedule, especially after last year, and that the memories made and fun times had will outweigh any preconceived stress or worry of not having enough downtime.

I always write the captions for each photo below before I write this opening section. And to my point above this month has already hit the ground running. What a treat to have my Sunday night routine of writing out my bites post and getting to reflect back on the week. Because what a good one it was! And if not for this time, I’d easily have my eyes only turned to what is on tap for this week and forget to say my thanks and prayers for a a great last 7 days.

-I was lucky to get to do a sponsored post with Kodiak Cakes, and boy do I love this brand and these pancakes. More details here.
-Fun evening bopping around the Something Navy pop-up with Jordan and Sarah!
-A Rom Com Holiday! Have you listened to my *perfectly* curated holiday playlist?
-A holiday must if you’re in Dallas is drinks or dinner at Hudson House while they are fully decked!
-ABPA Holiday Home Tour with my festive friend Jordan. Each house was stunning but this one took the cake and the Christmas decor was spot on. You can watch a tour of the house from a few months ago with The Potted Boxwood.
-Friday favorite things party with some of my favorite people! Walked away with some fancy shampoo and conditioner that I used for the first time last night and wow. I took my tried and true lip stain.
-Sweet Green is finally in Dallas. I waited in a line out the door for this Curry Cauliflower Bowl. But worth it!
-First time trying cutie Yo! Lobster in Highland Park Village. After a tour of Christmas lights, Pete and I feasted on oysters, lobster bisque, fish tacos and lobster rolls.
-Started Prolon again yesterday. I was not its #1 fan the first time I did it, mainly because of the price, so I purchased a box on Black Friday to save a few dollars. I’ve been feeling bleh and wanted a jumpstart before I turn into a Christmas cookie.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Daylight savings sneaks up on you woof! It was bright as day at 6:30am this morning and sadly so dark by 5:30pm last night. I had a relatively lazy week after a run in with being sick and then proceeding to lay low after that. Lot’s of naps and couch time, which who am I kidding, I’m not mad about. I’m obsessed with the fact that the past two weekends have not been jam packed with plans. It’s so nice to just chill before the holiday hooplah. Fingers crossed for something similar this week/weekend!

-Started the week with a group of my favorite people having the coziest girls’ night with homemade butternut squash soup, a cheese board, and girl talk for days. The little group that has formed from my time at The Slate is my favorite.
-My Kindle came in and I love it! I thought I’d always be a book girl, but after using that excuse and not reading but maybe 1 to 2 books this year, I bit the bullet and got the basic Kindle.
-I woke up Tuesday with the most random spat of sickness. My symptoms came out of nowhere making me miss the Rolling Stones concert. A batch of buttered noodles on the couch is how my night turned out. And by buttered noodles I mean red lentil noodles with ghee and nutritional yeast 🤪
-Sick day uniform which has easily transferred into everyday uniform. My sweet Bailey sold me on this UO crop top (size large). It’s as good as she told me it would be, and I’ve worn it in some capacity every day since I got it. Paired with these little gold hoops from Amazon, and some basic gray sweats (I got a large) that are just it.
-Cheeres Marget aka Cheers Margaret! A Tom Thumb party fail but a good laugh nonetheless for Margaret’s bday.
-Birthday celebrash round 2 with ice cream and caramel cake. The most delish.
-Cozy Friday early birthday dinner for Morgan!
-Peter and I wasted zero time trying Mayer’s Garden. From our faves Alamo Club, it did not disappoint. We snacked on the meat & cheese plate and bacon jam deviled eggs for Sat. lunch.
-Best Sunday prepping bolognese all day. I’ve never made bolognese and it was the perfect meal for daylight savings and the Yellowstone premiere. We used ground elk meat because #Texas. Used this recipe.

Annie

Bites of My Life

In the midst of crazy plans and travel and feeling a bit all over the place, I’m starting Whole30 today. September is a randomly big month for Whole30. I have a post about it here. I’m starting a week early because I really just can’t wait to get started. It’s a personal preference, but I never feel better than when I commit to Whole30. My schedule is calming down a bit the next few weeks, and no time like the present to try and reign it in and get a little healthier. Does anyone else feel a little bleh after the summer? I’m loving the back to school back to schedules and routine energy, so I’m channeling that.

Outside of Whole30, last week looked like this: celebrating a best friend about to leave us in Dallas, getting back to cooking, very sad news of a friend from college passing after a long battle with cancer, busy work days, a quiiiiick trip back to OKC, more weekend celebrations, and sleeping like a darn rock last night after it all.

-Jazz night and martinis to kick off Olivia’s Dallas Farewell Tour.
-NYT Cooking never fails. This Ginger and Dill Salmon with Citrus Salad really turned a bad day around.
-Love getting to see my friend and hairdresser Nick. He brings good conversation and good hair. I got a toner this time in between highlights. I can luckily get away with only highlighting my hair 2 times a year.
-Pulled into OKC for a short stay, and pregamed dinner with cocktails by dad and a 10-minute Obé abs class. Chaotic energy at its finest.
-The abs class was washed away with this amazing peach tart from Frida.
-Back to back weekends for Anna! Her big day is officially a month away!
-Can’t wait to wear these Zara semi-flare jeans all fall. I wore them out Saturday, but oh buddy, I cannot with jeans until it’s at least 75 degrees outside.
-This little one kept me out so late, but worth every hour to celebrate some of her “lasts” in Dallas before she moves to Austin.
-A perfect Dallas Sunday is spent at Katy Trail Ice House in the afternoon.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week was a nice standard week. One of my last more chill weeks for a bit before a lot of travel, fun plans, and work trips. I get so recharged by spending time at home having the free time for spontaneous plans or spending the whole evening on the couch. While I truly enjoy being busy and having fun things going on, down time really gets my going the most.

-Picked up the most delicious strawberries last week. I normally opt for oranges and apples because they last longer, but I couldn’t resist these.
-You guys know I’ve been on a Cava kick lately. So, I picked up some ingredients to do a Cava style bowl at home. My bowl: cruciferous crunch from TJs, Right Rice, chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, hummus, skhug sauce, marinated tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers, and feta.
-A little make-shift charcuterie board for dinner with random fridge finds.
-Finally tried Loro! The guys behind Franklin Barbecue and Uchi brought their Austin spot to Dallas!
-Ain’t no better salad than a Macho Salad.
-Legs up the wall after a long walk is so necessary for me. Especially in this heat. My legs get so sore and swollen from summer walks and putting my legs up the wall for about 5-10 minutes helps rush all the lactic acid out of them!
-A grocery store treat is picking up these spring roll or cucumber-wrapped sushi rolls. I saw on Instagram one time someone post these and she said, “When you need a salad, but don’t want a salad, get this!”
-I had a golf-themed wedding shower Saturday night and channeled major 55-year-old country club mom vibes.
-Two weeks until we are all in Pebble Beach for SC and Carly!

Annie