I picked up this Bolthouse Farms drink at the local gourmet grocer aka Aldi. It has only 130 calories, 7 grams of protein and 30% of your daily value of calcium. Sounded too good to taste good. I was wrong. It is deliciously sweet - almost too sweet for me that early in the morning. But it was a much needed change that I enjoyed. Sometimes, especially in the morning, it's the little things.
I love free stuff. Free movies at the park, free parking on the weekends, winning tickets to go to a concert for free. I love free stuff which is why I don't like to complain about it. However, the past few weeks at work have been rough. See, we get free unlimited coffee at the office, which I love... usually. Out of the 6-8 flavors of coffee we brew, I only like one. So when we ran out of the Colombian a few weeks ago, we've been brewing all the bad coffee that no one likes. So instead of feeling really bad for complaining about how not good something free is, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I picked up this Bolthouse Farms drink at the local gourmet grocer aka Aldi. It has only 130 calories, 7 grams of protein and 30% of your daily value of calcium. Sounded too good to taste good. I was wrong. It is deliciously sweet - almost too sweet for me that early in the morning. But it was a much needed change that I enjoyed. Sometimes, especially in the morning, it's the little things.
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Mmmm... Creme Cupcake and Dessert is a great way to start off a Friday morning. The Young Professionals Connection hosted a Morning Meet-Up at the shop which is located in the Ingersoll neighborhood. This place does it all. They have donuts (even one with bacon which is delicious!) and cupcakes in store. Then after 5:30pm it turns into a dessert bar.. how cool! Every dessert is paired with a cocktail to make sure the flavors blend. I must try that out. They even cater for weddings and corporate events and have a wholesale branch too. Of course I grabbed a wedding price sheet.. I'm Highly recommend!
The title sounds simple enough. I wanted an iced coffee but didn't want to spend $3 on one at a coffee shop. I figured I'd just dump some freshly brewed coffee over some ice and call it good. Well, that seemed too simple so I googled it first. The Pioneer Woman Cooks was the first site that came up. Turns out the best iced coffee is an 8-hour process. No time for that! So I dumped my hot coffee over ice and added some chocolate milk. It tasted just fine until an hour later when it was practically water.
I turned one year older today. That means I'm also a year wiser, right? I would not say that is the case for every birthday or for every person for that matter. However, this year I do feel wiser. I've experienced a lot in the past 485 days thanks to My First Time.
That brings me to a bittersweet announcement: My First Time has come to an end. I've experienced something new every day for the past 15 months. This challenge served its purpose. I needed to get out of a rut. Check. I needed to make each day count. Check. I needed to make every day exciting and different. Check. However, the past few months the challenge has become more of a daily chore than something I look forward to. To me, that means it is no longer needed. When I posted my one year reflection back in March, I new this day would come. I didn't know when exactly, but that I would just know. Well, it's that time. Oh, don't be sad. I will continue to do new things and will continue to share them with you. It will just no longer be an every day necessity. Going forward, my blog as a whole will be more interesting, I think, because you won't have to read about every time I tried a new snack food or listened to a new CD. On the LAST day of the challenge, I cheated. I swear it was for a good reason though, I had to wake up at 2:30am to be at work by 3:30am and on-air from 5-7am. If I could do that without coffee, I wouldn't be human. So I had a couple cups of coffee; Man, did it smell amazing. Sure, for a split second I thought about just throwing the rest of the day down the tube and ending the challenge a day early. But a split second isn't very long, and sure enough I finished the day off right.
I ate a couple BTC (bacon, tomato, cheese) sandwiches. No mayo, no mustard. Oh! When I opened that pack of frozen local bacon, the beautiful aroma hit me in the face. I don't ever recall opening name brand bacon and smelling so good. I also think the bacon was less fatty. I ended the night out with friends for drinks. They kept trying to get me to cheat and have a drink, but I firmly stood my ground saying I couldn't have a Bud Light or grape bomb shot. It was my first time at the Grounds for Celebration location in Beaverdale. I went to the one in Windsor Heights a year ago. They are very similar in ambience. I also ordered a butterscotch latte for the first time. It wasn't bad, but it's not something I'll order again. I love butterscotch and coffee, just not together.
(4.6.12) Who's been in every store in Valley Junction? Not me, but I've got one more crossed off the list: The Lagniappe (which means "something extra" in French Creole, according to someone who works there). A jewelry, art retail store is on the first floor and a half, and on the top floor is a small cafe/wine bar with a great outside terrace. I enjoyed my large mocha for $4 on the terrace over the noon hour. It was a bit windy and brisk, but I managed to get sunburn on my neck (dam Irish skin). Seems like a trendy, off the beaten track for a small party. I also thoroughly enjoyed being asked if I wanted a glass of wine at 11:35am. Had I not just ran 6 miles, I would have said yes (I didn't have to work that afternoon).
After waking up at 2:30am for the second day in a row, my body was revolting against me. All that sounded good was chocolate. I met a friend for coffee/lunch at La Mie. I have been there once before, but this was my first time eating one of their pastries. I must say, this chocolate caramel tart was superb. The caramel was rich and sweet. I gobbled it down.
(3.16.12) UPDATE: I totally forgot about the other new thing I did this day. I went to my first YPC morning meet-up. This week it was at West End Architectural Salvage downtown. I enjoyed my mocha while chatting with friends, meeting new people and learning about the history of Des Moines architecture. I found out about the Iowa Architectural Foundation. I had no idea there was such an organization. I love architecture. In fact, I wanted to be an architect until I my dreams were crushed when my teachers told me I had to be good at math to pursue that profession. Why else do you think I'm a journalist!? We learned about the many different styles of buildings that make up downtown. I even took notes... Did you know the Principal Building is post-modern? Or that all skyscrapers mimic a Greek column? Intriguing stuff, I swear!
Friday was my first road trip with my man. He came with me back to Chicago to meet my family. He's already met my parents but still had to meet my sister, bro-in-law, and brother and three of my closest high school friends. It's usually a really boring five hour drive that I have to fight to stay awake during. That was not the case this time. The drive flew by. It was nice he drove for a few hours too. I hate driving long distances. While back in the Chi, I got to see my amazing friend Charu. I haven't spent a lot of time in the city since I grew up in the burbs and haven't lived there since high school. Charu and I got coffee/tea at Fox & Obel Food Market off N. McClurg and E. Illinois in/near the Loop. She says it's her favorite grocer in the city. That's a pretty high honor! Everything did look pretty amazing from the desserts to the cheese. My mocha was good. No complaints except I burnt my tongue on the first three sips. Think I can sue?
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