Hoppy Friday

Happy Friday to you!

My Friday night treat.

Love this beer. I'm definitely not a beer connoisseur, but I've discovered that I really enjoy beer. I'd love to learn more about it! I like medium- to full-bodied, hoppy beers. To me, this Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale has a nice coffee aroma and flavor, a little malt sweetness, and just enough hops to balance it out so that it's not cloyingly sweet.

FYI: A "malty" beer tastes sweet and rich. A "hoppy" beer tastes spicy, pungent, and even a little bitter (in a good way).

Here's another random, lazy dinner for you.

Hummus, cottage cheese, crackers, and veg.

See my computer screen in the background? I've been working on categorizing all of my food photos and putting them into folders. If you can believe it, I've been photographing my food since I started reading food blogs about 3 years ago! Looking through all of my early pictures brought back a lot of memories!

I'm also doing a little background work at Crave and Create. Writing posts in Google Blogger has been taking forever. Last night I had a minor meltdown after I spent an hour editing my post, and the feed was still messed up. I've been hearing great things about Windows LiveWriter and I'm going to try it out. I'm hoping that when all is said and done, it will be faster and easier to write posts, and I'll post more often.

Someone else enjoyed a Friday treat today, too. Say "Hi!" to Grandma Angie. Dad took her to Dairy Queen today and text-messaged me this picture. Grandma's turning 87 years young in December, and this was her first-ever banana split! Dad said, "She loved it. She ate the whole thing!"

Here at Crave and Create, we're all about trying new things, so I thought I'd share. Grandma's actually very tech-savvy, and she reads the blog regularly. Hi, Grandma!

TGIF!

Cat Got Your Tongue?

One of the things I really struggle with is finding ways to unwind during the work week. Since my day job started up in August, I feel like I've been continually on the go. Rushing home from work so I can get to they gym or go for a run, back home to throw dinner together, running errands, taking care of my house, working on the blog...and the list goes on.

I was chatting with my mom yesterday (OK, more like I was having a major meltdown and she was being a good, patient listener). Maxine the Bean has been behaving weirdly lately, and when mom suggested that Max might just want some attention, I went over the edge. "I don't have time to sit on my couch and pet my cat!" I shrieked. "I don't sit on my couch and pet myself! I don't sit on my couch and pet a man! I don't even sit on my couch!"

Whew. I think that means it's time to get a grip.

Incidentally, the part about not sitting on my couch is true. Unless you count the nights that I crash there, under the pretense of watching Top Chef, and then awake fully clothed and bewildered at 4 am. In that case, I guess you could say I sleep on my couch.

All in all, I think I do a pretty good job of fitting it all in. But when I keep it all up without allowing myself a break, I invariably start to feel like I'm missing those quirky, humorous little moments that make life life. It's as if life's just whooshing past me and I'm totally missing the point. And then, I bug out (see above).

I didn't really intend to unwind tonight, either. I planned to go to the car wash after work, rush home to write for an hour, go to the gym for back-to-back cycle and yoga classes, and then come home to write some more. Seriously? Are there that many hours in an evening?

Somewhere between work and car wash, I surrendered my plan, and I ended up having a--dare I say it--dare I say it?--relaxing night.

It all started with a drive along Columbia Parkway, through Mariemont, to Froggy's Car Wash.

Last week, I rhapsodized to my friend Kelly about how much I love Columbia Parkway, and I really do. Every Tuesday night, I take Route 50 home from work, just so I can drive the stretch of Columbia Parkway that runs between downtown and Delta Avenue. It's become a little ritual that I use to unwind and gear up for Wednesday morning.

Other times when I need to chill out, I pamper myself. But my baby's entering the geriatric stage, and she needs a little TLC, too.

So tonight, the car wash it was.

I had a totally trippy ride through the wash.

 

There were frogs everywhere! I whipped out my camera and snapped pictures all the way through. I'm sure the guys working there thought I was off my rocker!

While I waited for my car, I checked out the coffee shop.

Wait. Stop. Back up. What?

That's right, this car wash has a full coffee shop right inside. Being a coffee fiend, I had to check it out.

I went for broke and ordered a small iced coffee. It was pretty good! I asked the woman behind the counter if people come in just for the coffee, and she said they do.

There's my baby, getting a little love.

Spotting this sign capped off my evening. So glad I was able to slow down and enjoy the moment tonight, even if it was just at the car wash!

Dinner

I say I love to cook, and I do. I love to spend time creating delicious, interesting food. But I rarely have the leisure time to do this during the week, so I don't bother. Instead, I like to throw together creative salads, sandwiches, breakfast-for-dinners, or random plates of crave-able stuff.

I write a lot about going out. I love to go out, and the posts are fun to write! But if you only know me through the blog, it looks like I go out all the time, and I don't.

For a change of pace, I thought it would be fun to show you a few more of my easy, random weeknight meals. Because we're all human, right?

Tonight, I had a massive salad topped with cottage cheese, hummus, and avocado (AKA the holy trinity).

On the side, I had some stale crackers that I crisped under the broiler a la Grandma Angie, the most frugal lady on Earth. (It worked, Grandma! Just like fresh!)

Now, I'm stuffed. I'm off to bed! Or maybe the couch....

Have a wonderful day tomorrow!


How do you unwind?

Random Rant and (c)Rave

Sheeeesh. What a day. It went something like this.

It's nights like these I plan to cook, but by the time 8:30 rolls around and I've just finished taking care of things at home and prepping for tomorrow, this begins to sound like a perfectly reasonable and delicious dinner.

Carrot sticks, apple slices, and sweet potato chips, with hummus and cottage cheese for dipping.

Only I didn't eat it at my dining table, where I took the picture.

I ate it at my desk, in front of this...

(That's selzer water with Naked Carrot Orange Juice in my glass, by the way.)

and this...

and this.

Yes.

What do I have to say for myself? Yum. That's what.

And this: Get thee to a Trader Joe's, and buy a bag of these sweet potato chips. 

No, buy 3 or 4 bags. Because if you don't get them, I will. Seriously, I'm coming for them. Now.


Who's your favorite Top Chef-testant? Bonus: Pick your Top Chef final four.

I'm liking Tiffany, Ed, and Angelo right now. They'd be in my final four, along with either Kevin or Kelly. Ready for Alex or Amanda to go home anytime now. (Yes, I realize I'm being a hater--obviously, all of these people are amazing chefs.) Really, I'm still in a little bit of denial about Season 6 being over. I miss Jen, Kevin, and the Voltaggio brothers!