Lunchtime Links for July 31st, 2015

• The Kitchn: Thai grilled steak salad.
• Crazy for Crust: Peanut butter cookie fudge bars. 
• Damn Delicious: Cheesy garlic bombs.
• Cookies & Cups: Triple chocolate Oreo bars.
• Gimme Some Oven: Pasta salad recipes.

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....!!!

Lunchtime Links for July 30th, 2015

• The First Year Blog: Snickers bar ice cream cake.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Grilled steak fajitas.
• Crazy for Crust: Peanut butter ice cream brownies. 
• Brown Eyed Baker: Chocolate cake with whipped mocha ganache frosting.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Cookies and cream ice pops.

Nordstrom - Cupcake Pouch

I came across this cute little pouch at Nordstrom recently, and couldn't help but snap a photo of it!  It's a cute little pouch that would be perfect for makeup, or storing smaller items in a large purse - my eternal struggle with my Longchamp bags, haha.  Unfortunately, it looks like this pouch is not currently available on Nordstrom's site, but there's also a bunch of other cute and quirky sayings as well, and they would make a super cute gift! 

Lunchtime Links for July 29th, 2015

• The Comfort of Cooking: Thin chewy chocolate chip cookies. 
• Averie Cooks: Lemon butter garlic shrimp with angel hair pasta.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: S'mores ice cream pie.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Dulce de Leche brownies.
• My Baking Addiction: Peanut butter cup pancakes.

Co Co Sala - Dessert for Dinner

My friend R and I recently enjoyed a great Dessert for Dinner at Co Co. Sala, which they had as a special for a week in July.  If all of the pretty dishes weren't enough, the Dessert for Dinner set was only $22.00!  And yes, it really was a multi-course meal consisting of pretty much all desserts - well except the cheese course, haha.

I of course loved all of the chocolate courses, but I appreciated the sorbet and cheese to switch up the flavors a bit.  As always it was a delicious night of food at Co Co. Sala, and I hope they do specials like this again!

AMUSE SUCRE

CHURROS

SOME MORE CO CO.

chocolate crème brulee / toasted marshmallow / graham crumble /

chocolate brownie / chocolate malted shooter

INTERMEZZO

SORBET OF THE DAY

FROMAGE

FOUR CHEESE FRITTERS

gruyère, parmigiano reggiano, roquefort, & cheddar / 

 chipotle chocolate tomato cream sauce

PETIT FOURS

CHEF'S SELECTION

Lunchtime Links for July 28th, 2015

• Creme de la Crumb: Cake batter smoothie.
• The Kitchn: Pad Thai spring rolls.
• I Heart Naptime: Chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches.
• The Pioneer Woman: Chicken kale pasta.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella stuffed French toast pancakes.