Lunchtime Links for September 6th, 2022

• Table for Two: Baked chicken spaghetti.  
• The Kitchn: Asian sesame seed garlic dressing.
• I Heart Naptime: Coffee cake. 
• Creme de la Crumb: Homemade Buffalo sauce.
• Just One Cookbook: Shio Ramen.

Lunchtime Links for December 3rd, 2020

• The Kitchn: Carla Hall's stovetop mac and cheese. 
• Food52: Kabocha, olive oil, and bittersweet chocolate cake.
• Cookies and Cups: Fudge recipe.
• I Heart Naptime: Christmas Chex mix.
• Table for Two: Gingerbread man cookies.

Lunchtime Links for August 12th, 2020

• Dessert for Two: Chocolate chip banana muffins. 
• Love and Lemons: Cucumber tomato salad. 
• Crazy for Crust: Pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
• Apartment Therapy: Pop culture quote candles. 
• Creme de la Crumb: Chicken tacos. 

Starbucks - "The Gary" Drink

If you're a fan of Brad Goreski and his husband Gary Janetti like I am, you probably have seen a million photos of an iced Starbucks drink on social media linked to the two of them, haha.  Brad recently posted a montage of Gary ordering the same drink at Starbucks at a bunch of locations while on vacation, and some versions of the drink seemed to fare better than others based on Gary's reaction.  Of course I wasn't the only one that went out and tried "The Gary" shortly after seeing these posts!

Based on the videos, "The Gary" is:
- Starbucks Grande Iced Mocha
- 2 pumps of Mocha
- Almond Milk
- No whipped cream

I got the Tall version of "The Gary" and I loved it!  I like almond milk to begin with and I think it adds a little extra flavor to the drink as well.  I love that this fun and silly social media post got so many people to try Gary's Starbucks drink of choice :o)  I also posted on Instagram that I wondered if my pre-order of Gary's book (Do You Mind if I Cancel?) would come with "The Gary", and he replied that it sadly does not, haha!

Sunday Morning Bakehouse - Pastrami Croissant

A few Saturdays ago, Sunday Morning Bakehouse had a delicious special croissant for a great cause.  The Pastrami croissant has house made Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, pastrami slices, and a little pickle to top it off.  The proceeds from sales of this croissant went to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of Anthony Bourdain, which was fitting with Bourdain day being a few days prior.

I loved the smooth dressing with the tender pastrami slices, and the big, flaky croissant to bring everything together.  Of course I always enjoy sweet pastries, but it's great to try savory versions like this to switch things up a bit - especially if they're going towards a great cause!

Lunchtime Links for April 8th, 2019

• The Kitchn: Chrissy Teigen's French toast.
• Damn Delicious: Roasted leg of lamb.
• Crazy for Crust: Banana pudding. 
• Serious Eats: How to make a paper piping bag.
• How Sweet Eats: Bacon roasted carrots.

Lunchtime Links for March 18th, 2019

• Love and Lemons: Matcha baked doughnuts.
• The Kitchn: Chrissy Teigen's chicken pot pie soup.
• Oh Sweet Basil: Banana pudding Bundt cake.
• Creme de la Crumb: Chicken and broccoli stir fry.  
• Damn Delicious: Ham and cheese drop biscuits.

Lunchtime Links for October 25th, 2018

• Kirbie's Cravings: Chocolate yogurt loaf cake.
• Damn Delicious: Pumpkin cake doughnuts. 
• Picky Palate: Cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole. 
• How Sweet Eats: Sweet and spicy Brussels sprouts.
• The Kitchn: Ina Garten's triple chocolate loaf cake.

A Star is Born Soundtrack

Clearly as a big fan of Lady Gaga, I knew that I would go see the remake of A Star is Born, which came out here on October 5th.  But even if you're not a fan of Lady Gaga and think she'll ruin the movie (which, how dare you, haha), it was really such a great movie that everyone should go see it!

The concert performances throughout the movie were especially done really well, and the sound quality adds to the feeling of being at a live show.  There's so many different layers to the story between Jackson (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) that I think everyone will be able to relate to some aspect of it.  While technically it is a remake that has been done a few times before, the original music and the way the story has been adapted by Bradley Cooper and his fellow writers was done really well, in my opinion. 

The soundtrack mixes together songs from the movie, songs that didn't make it into the movie, and key dialogue that sets you up for certain points in the story.  I love that it's almost like seeing the movie again in a different way.  Lady Gaga is obviously an amazing singer, but Bradley Cooper's extensive voice training is really impressive here as well.  Everyone go see the movie (multiple times if you're like me) and get the soundtrack ASAP!  

Mean Girls Day

Happy Mean Girls Day everyone!

Lunchtime Links for October 2nd, 2018

• The Kitchn: Chrissy Teigen's Parmesan waffle breakfast.
• Averie Cooks: Pumpkin chocolate chip brownies. 
• Cookies and Cups: Brownie batter Krispie treats.
• The Pioneer Woman: Sourdough 101. 
• Handle the Heat: Brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Recent Book Purchases

Read any good books lately?  I already have a stack of books that I've been meaning to get to, but I couldn't resist using a gift card on these books to read as well.  So far I have finished Call Me By Your Name, and just started China Rich Girlfriend a few days ago.

Call Me By Your Name was a great movie, and I liked how the original story was compared to the movie version.  It was a quick read for me, and I loved how well the author describes the long and lazy days of summer in Italy.  If anyone has read Crazy Rich Asians, the next book in the series is China Rich Girlfriend, and it's again filled with LOTS of characters, delicious-sounding food, and extravagant name-dropping throughout, haha.  Finally, I haven't read too much about The Actor's Life by Jenna Fischer previously, but I always enjoy reading "behind the scenes"-type books about Hollywood and actors.  I think it'd be unfair to automatically compare it to one of Mindy Kaling's books, but I hope there's some The Office tidbits in this one as well!

2017 Christmas Tree (with Andy Cohen)

I'm not sure if there's any sort of "official" time to start decorating for Christmas, but since my tree is tiny and takes about 5 minutes to decorate I figured I might as well start now, haha.  When do you all put up your holiday decorations? 

As you might notice from the photos above, there's a general sweets/food theme to my Christmas tree, and over the years it has started to look like a big advertisement for various brands, haha.  Some of those include my favorites, like Shake Shack, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts. 

After decorating my tree last night, I realized that I had a Facebook memory from 2012 and realized that I was basically doing the same thing 5 years ago - hah!  I'm glad that Andy himself enjoyed this Christmas moment with me too :o)

11/27/2012 - Andy on Watch What Happens Live:

 11/27/2017 - Andy on the RHOC reunion part 2:

Mean Girls Holiday Shirt

Anyone that is a fan of the "Mean Girls" movie will love this holiday shirt at Target! It's one of the most popular lines in the movie (in a movie FULL of popular lines, haha) all decked out in a festive holiday theme.  We may never actually see Glen Coco in the movie, but this is a fun twist on the usual festive holiday clothing that comes out around this time of year.  As an extra bonus, it's a slouchy and very soft fabric!  Target also has a ton of other quote t-shirts and holiday tops, so be sure to check them out soon! 

Shake Shack - Pickled Jalapeno Burger

Shake Shack burgers are delicious as is, but then add on some fried goodies and it gets about 293847374 times better, haha.  The Dupont Circle and F street locations in DC are currently offering a Pickled Jalapeno burger in honor of the 10 year anniversary of Every Day with Rachael Ray!

The tribute Pickled Jalapeño Burger ($6.19) is a cheeseburger topped with crispy marinated shallots, Gordy’s Thai basil pickled jalapeños and sriracha sauce.

I can personally attest to both the crispy marinated shallots and Gordy's Thai basil pickled jalapenos being AWESOME, as I've had them separately in burgers/hot dogs at Shake Shack in the past.  Be sure to head over to the Dupont or F Street Shake Shacks soon, because this burger is only available until this Sunday (10/18)! 

Mindy Kaling - DC Book Tour

Back in September, Mindy Kaling made a stop in DC on her book tour, and I was one of the lucky fans that was able to buy a ticket!  And I say really lucky because the tickets sold out online REALLY quickly, that I have no idea how I was able to snag one.

The event took place at Sixth & I, where I have also seen some of my other favorite celebs like Andy Cohen and Bethenny Frankel, and waited in a looooooooooooong line outside with a million other Mindy fans before we all flooded in to the building in a flurry of brightly colored accessories, haha.  

While Mindy was not doing a signing at the event, the ticket included an autographed copy of the book.  So far, the book is super funny and all Mindy fans will love it :o) 

This is obviously a horribly blurry photo, but I just wanted to show how CLOSE I was to Mindy as she walked in to the event - haha. I loved her dress! 

The discussion between the moderator and Mindy was awesome - lots of questions and a mix of funny and thoughtful responses from Mindy, for both professional and personal topics.  You could tell that everyone in the room really was a big fan of Mindy, and it was such a fun night! 

Lastly, I just wanted to share the first page of the book - I love that Mindy included a page basically made for her autograph, haha!  Be sure to pick up a copy of her new book if you're interested, and check her out at a book signing tour stop if she's coming to a place near you! 

Dashboard Confessional - July 22nd, 2015

"Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember..."

On July 22nd, while I was in Seattle, I had the chance to see Dashboard Confessional with Third Eye Blind again (I saw them in Philly back in June), this time with a Dashboard Confessional VIP package!  The VIP package was totally worth it, with an early pre-show meet & greet with Chris Carrabba, acoustic performance of a bunch of songs, signed pass, and a poster that I still need to go to IKEA to get a frame for, haha.  

Despite my brain short-circuiting the minute that Chris Carrabba said "Hi" during my turn at the meet & greet, I managed to take some photos and mostly just take in the fact that he was singing literally an arm's length away from me. He played a bunch of songs that they would not be playing at the actual concert, and it was such a great opportunity to hear some old favorites, as well as some covers/different songs. 

The concert was held in Redmond, WA, at Marymoor Park's concert venue.   It's an amazing venue with food trucks, real bathrooms (yes this is a major bonus for outdoor venues, haha), lots of alcohol vendors, and plenty of tables/seating for people to chill out in before the concert or between the sets. I was seriously impressed with how nice this concert venue was put together, and I would love to come see another show here soon if I am in town for one!

I mainly went for Dashboard Confessional, but I was once again very impressed with Third Eye Blind's live performance- so many great songs, and everyone knew all the words it seemed like.  Also, Stephan Jenkins is 50?! He seriously looked pretty much the same as he did in the "Semi-Charmed Life" video, with slightly longer hair, haha.

What a fantastic night with two amazing live bands! I love that they went on tour together, and now this makes me really want Dashboard Confessional to go on another tour immediately!  Over a week later, I'm still a little overwhelmed by the fact that I finally met Chris Carrabba....!!!

Ben & Jerry's Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream

Who wouldn't love an ice cream based on one of the greatest movies of all time, Anchorman??  I saw this at Wegmans and immediately picked up a pint to try it out.  Anyone that has seen the movie should recognize the name immediately, haha.

I love the Anchorman-themed description on the side, haha

As you can see there's lots of gooey butterscotch swirls throughout the butterscotch ice cream.  As anyone that has had butterscotch before knows, it's very sweet and can be overwhelming at times.  This was just the right amount, especially with the creamy butterscotch ice cream being the majority of the ice cream.  I hope Ben & Jerry's does more movie collaborations like this one! 

It's Gonna Be May

Today is one of the best days ever, especially if you're a fan of N*Sync/Justin Timberlake!  I saw this online a few years ago, and ever since then I've had my own "It's Gonna Be May" photo on my calendar every April, haha.  I wonder if Justin knows about this holiday yet... 

Lunchtime Links for March 27th, 2015

• Handle the Heat: Soft and chewy M&M cookies.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Spicy smothered chicken Flautas.
• Cookies & Cups: Chocolate hazelnut cake mix bars.
• Buzzfeed: Mindy Kaling Tweets as motivational posters.
• Warm Vanilla Sugar: Chipotle cheddar cornbread.