Waaa Haaaa Haaaa

I NEVER thought I'd say this, but 91 degrees? Come to mama.

Currently Dreaming Of ...

This ...

Perhaps it's because when SSG woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. and her house was 85 degrees inside despite all the windows being open?

Somehow 85 degrees seems so much more bearable when you're floating in a swimming pool ... and sipping an ice cold lemon drop. I wonder if the cube farm could hook a sister up today ...

Please Excuse SSG

If anyone needs her she will be the statue sitting on the couch in front of the fan holding a glass of lemonade.

$40 Foodie & Menu

(Alternate Post Title: SMUG NO MORE!)

SSG has been feeling pretty darn good about herself over the past couple of weeks. Coming in under budget, eating meals out of the freezer. Her confidence in this $40 Foodie business was increasing. So she decided to double down. And add not one. Not two. But THREE new recipes to the mix this week.

The problem when SSG does this, is that she shops for new ingredients and isn't always familiar with the prices of said ingredients.

So folks, SSG is over budget. Waa waaa. By a lot. Like, government spending over budget. It came in at $61.97. Which is almost $22 over budget. Which is OVER 50% OVER budget.

That's a lot of overs.

I'll try and make it up next week, but if I don't the biggest lesson learned is try no more than one or two new recipes a week.

There is also NO WAY I can eat all of this food, so my freezer will have a nice collection.

Oh yes! And one more thing. I bought some staple type items--rice, lemonade mix and coffee. I'll need to take those types of things into consideration when I'm meal planning. I have no idea how to do this exactly, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

So! All that said, away we go!

Target: $10.90 and er ... yes, SSG has a sweet tooth. But for the record! I still have a ton of Hershey Kisses and Mike & Ike's left over from last week. But who wants to run the risk of running OUT? Not this SSG. Uh uh.

Altbertson's $51.07 (Not pictured a $3.99 GINORMOUS jug of vinegar for mah cleaning stash and $1.49 in ice that um ... SSG just realized is still at the store. Oopsie. Good thing she lives close.)

Meals for the week:

Sunday Night Slow Cooker: Cuban Ropa Vieja

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner (mini frittatas, potatoes & muffins)

Tuesday: Slow cooked chicken dish (this is from my sister, maybe she can do a guest post and grace us with her recipe)

Wednesday: Pepperoni rolls

Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas

And um ... remember when SSG said she had no food waste? She was totally telling the truth. And then she opened up her fridge and saw this.

Hello wilted parsley.

I think I can save it by turning it into a pesto with some basil from my basil plant, walnuts from the freezer and a miniscule chunk of parmesan that's been rolling around the deli drawer of mah fridge. Wish me luck.

But DON'T WORRY those two bottles of champagne will NOT be going to waste.

Tootles,

Fashionably Late Food Waste Friday

Food Waste Friday ... on Saturday ...

SSG had ZERO food waste this week peeps! She realizes this has MUCH LESS to do with her being savvy than it is with the fact that she's only spending about 4 cents on groceries each week.

Menu and photos will be up later this weekend. It's supposed to be in the high 90's for the next week. Um, can I survive on iced tea and lemonade? Because that's about as much effort as I like to put in the kitchen with temps like that.

Hope you guys have hawt (not HOT) weekends.

Smoochies,

What Would SSG Do

This morning I got a call from my credit card company.

You might imagine my surprise as:

A) I pay my bills on time.

B) I haven't used the credit card for almost a year.

C) The credit card was snuggled up next to its ATM card friend in my wallet.

Credit Card Rep: Hi, can you verify some charges for us?

SSG: Sure. There should be zero.

CCR: So the purchases in Florida?

SSG: I've never been to Florida.

CCR: So you didn't buy gas today?

SSG: Uh, no. I'm currently sitting at the cube farm sipping my iced Americano which is where I've been all morning.

CCR: So you didn't go to three different Shell gas stations in Florida this morning?

SSG: No. BUT WHO DID?!

SSG has been thinking all day about the little bastards who were filling up their cars with gas and using her credit card in sunny Florida all morning.

Hopefully they're taking a trip down to the Keys.

And get there in time for this.

And maybe a little of this.

Because that's what SSG would do if SHE were to use HER credit card.

What Do You Wonder Wednesday

SSG gets a lot of e-mails with questions. Until people get sick of her and stop asking, she will be posting answers to some of those questions here each Wednesday. Have a question for SSG? Send it to sometimesserendipitousgirl@gmail.com.

Why are you still single and what are you looking for in a guy?

It has taken me a LONG time to admit this, but I am still single because I want to be. Plain and simple. I have given EVERY OTHER REASON under the sun--haven't met the right guy, am too busy with work, I want to wait until I lose 10, 15, 20, 25 pounds, I'm a better friend to guys than a girlfriend, that guy is lame, too short, too tall, drives weird, orders his hamburger well done, has girl hands ... you name it I've said it.

But what it boils down to is relationships scare me so much that fight or flight isn't even a response anymore. It's just flight. SSG is working on this by currently dating lots of lame, too short, too tall, drives weird, orders his hamburgers well done girl hand having guys right now. One wonders how far she's come however as she currently is talking to a potentially great guy who happened to mention he travels a bit for work and her first response was to e-mail her Work BFF as follows:

SSG: So do you think this travel business is just a sham? And like really he has a first wife and kids in some other state?

Work BFF: Uhhh ...

SSG: And the only way I'll find out is when our son goes to college, meets his half sister without knowing and they want to get married and then I'll be on 60 Minutes saying "I had NO idea, he said he just went to Tulsa for work."

Work BFF: You really are way too trusting of people.

So what I'm looking for is someone who flies so far under my radar that I don't even notice we're dating until it's too late and I'm wondering who that guy is watching Sports Center on my couch and if that's his Right Guard in the bathroom.

In a nutshell ... the stealth bomber of boyfriends. So did you have someone in mind or?

Are you crazy?

Yes.

What's up with the grocery lists? I liked it when you wrote about your neighbor getting arrested in his underwear.

So are you saying my grocery lists are less interesting than an episode of Cops being filmed in my suburban neighborhood? What if I put handcuffs on my grocery lists? Trot my groceries out in their boxer briefs?

My neighbor has managed to not resist arrest recently, which I think we can all agree is progress. I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with the fact that he no longer has his car and gets rides home daily from a MYRIAD of people who enjoy parking diagonally in his driveway. If I can figure out who each of them are and why large boxes of Amway products get delivered to his house on a regular basis I'll keep you posted.

Confessions of an SSG has always been about what's happening in my life at the moment. And right now I have an odd fascination with living frugally and seeing how low I can get my grocery bill. Last year at this time I was getting ready to go to Paris. This year, I am getting ready for chicken breasts to go on sale for $1.88/pound! Who says boring?!

Oh wait, you do. That's right.

I live in Nigeria, will you help me cash this money order if I pay you $200?

Hmmm. $200 CAN buy a lot of groceries ...

Good Award Hunting

Work BFF and I are STRUGGLING right now. We each have huge, high profile deals going on at the moment and a fair amount of time over the past week has been spent commiserating over structure and information and just the general sense of pressure that the ball is in our each of our court and we're trying desperately to do the right thing with it.

He wanted to structure his deal a certain way, but got talked out of it. He wrapped up his report, writing it up the way a senior manager wanted it and then once it was sent up the chain, word was handed back down to rewrite it. The way he originally wanted to.

He sent me an instant message saying how PISSED he was and rightfully so. It was three days of work that he was going to have to start over from scratch.

SSG: Dude, it's so not your fault.

Work BFF: Whatever Good Will Hunting.

SSG: It's not your fault.

WB: I know.

SSG: It's not your fault.

WB: I. Know.

SSG: It's not your fault.

WB: Come on man.

SSG: It's not your fault.

WB: Cut it out!

SSG: It's not your fault.

WB: WAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAA. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Academy, we'll be expecting our nominations for what is, if SSG does say so herself, a phenomenal translation of screenplay to instant message.

The Simple Things

This weekend was full of small, simple pleasures. It wasn't anything to write home about. No huge parties, no lame dates, just nice and easy.

I found myself constantly wondering "should I DO something?" Only to realize I HAD been doing stuff, it just wasn't making me feel spent or exhausted.

I stayed home Friday night and caught up on the stuff on my DVR and went to bed early. Saturday morning I was up early to meet a friend at my local farmers market which I LOVE. It was the first time I had been there but will be heading back for sure this coming weekend to take some pictures and get some fruit because ohmahgah PEACHES and CHERRIES and GORGEOUS BERRIES. Oh my! I bought some dahlias, which are my favorite flowers and now they're scattered in small vases around my house. Happiness for the small price of $4.

I ran some other errands on Saturday, did a few projects around the house and then went to bed early again. I spent Sunday morning at a cafe reading and doing some writing before coming home and sitting out on the deck talking to my neighbors. I was able to catch up with some fun peeps over the phone (thanks Winner, Spleen & Digs!) and cooked a GREAT dinner. If you like any kind of Indian/Persian/Moroccan food, you've got to try this recipe. I made it yesterday in the slow cooker and ate it with some cous cous and it was wonderful.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine

I had been working on a big deal at work all last week that will HOPEFULLY be done by the end of the month (if not sooner!) and I must have needed to just take a mental vacation this weekend. It's nice to be heading into the week well rested and oddly satisfied.

Hope you had great weekends too!

xo,

$40 Foodie & Menu

Menu for the week:

Sunday Night Dinner: Slow Cooker Chicken Tangine & Cous Cous

Monday: Breakfast for dinner (eggs, blueberry muffins, potatoes & bacon)

Tuesday: Barbecue Beef Sandwiches & coleslaw (slow cooked & stuck in the freezer a few weeks ago)

Wednesday: Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers & Carrot Slaw

Thursday: Mini Potato & Rosemary Frittatas & salad

Lunches are leftovers from dinner the night before. I'm usually okay eating something twice, but any more than that in one week and this SSG gets annoyed. Breakfasts will be a combo of cereal I have hanging out in the cupboard from a few weeks ago, muffins, yogurt and fruit.

Onto zee groceries!

Target Total $12.10

**Okay, a note about the Mike & Ikes. If you've been hangin' out around here for a while, you may remember my Chewy Spree infatuation? Yeah well we broke up. And I started hanging out with Mike & Ike. And now I love Mike & Ike. The little store at the bottom of my building sells Mike and Ike's for $0.90. Work BFF and I run down there everyday, which works out to $4.50 a week. These HUGE boxes, one of which has almost 4 days worth of Mike & Ike's sell at Target for $1.35. Ummm??? Hello? I LOVE when that happens. The rest of the stuff? Well that's just PMS talking I think.

Albertson's Total: $19.10

(Not pictured: $1.99 5 lb. bag of potatoes)

Total for the week is $31.20. I'm going to have to start thinking about what to do with this left over cash. $5 from last week and $8.80 from this week ... Le Creuset maybe you and I WILL be getting acquainted by this winter!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Food Waste Friday

This poor little lime.

It has been rolling around in the vegetable crisper for a WHILE. It had been zested, partially juiced and I had hoped it could hold on for ONE MORE DAY for some fish I'm making tomorrow. But alas, it was too far gone.

All was not lost however! I cut it up, threw it in the garbage disposal with a little salt and ice and now my garbage disposal is nice and clean.

We almost had a major catastrophe this week though folks. I had defrosted my chicken tortilla soup that I made a couple of weeks ago but then I realized the dinner I made on Sunday was more than I could eat between two meals despite halving a recipe for four people. Something was going to have to be tossed.

OR WAS IT?

I decided to throw the chicken tortilla soup back in the freezer with the corn cakes I had made to accompany it and that's one less meal I have to make this week. I braved overcooked cabbage rolls as leftovers for TWO meals. I think I deserve a medal.

Have a great weekend lovelies!

$40 Foodie will be at it again this weekend with groceries and my menu for the week. Cabbage rolls will never be on it again, I assure you.

Edited to add: The bag was sent home with me a few weeks ago with leftovers in it. I try not to use plastic bags very much. Regardless, it will be washed out once again and used for something else! So not even THAT is going in the trash today. Thanks for the reminders ; )

What Do You Wonder Wednesday

This SSG has been getting a lot of questions sent her way lately. I'm pretty good about responding ... I think? I hope? But I decided to go ahead and post a few of the questions I get frequently here in case some of you out there are wondering about the same things.

1) What do you look like? Why don't you post a picture of yourself? I have a cousin/brother/friend/Starbucks barrista that I want to set you up with but he wants to know if you're hot. You don't mind if he lives in South Dakota/Alabama/Arkansas do you? He's really nice.

First of all, THANK YOU for thinking of me. If you're anything like me when reading blogs I often wonder about the person writing them and I love that you wonder about me! I wonder what shows you guys have on your DVR's, if your purse (or man purse!) is as messy as mine and what the street you live on looks like. That's not stalker-y is it? Well too bad. I want to know. Please e-mail me immediately. I promise not to show up unannounced. And I'll bring Predo with me so we should come bearing lemon drops. Oh but wait ... this is about me, isn't it?

The truth plain and simple is that I keep my anonymity on this site so I can feel free to write about what I want to write about. Judging by the flurry of activity that came my sister's way with people stalking her to get to me on Facebook, I worry about attaching my name to this site. There are just some doors that need to remain shut. This is why SSG is not on Facebook. There are a handful of people who know me in my real life that also know about SSG yet we rarely talk about it. They stop by here each day to see what I'm up to and then go about their days wondering how on earth I ever roped them into becoming my friends.

And YES, I'm totally hot. Please pass that around.

What's so funny?

2) OHMAHGAH WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR BEDDING/ ILOVEYOURBEDDINGOHMAHGAHWHEREDIDYOUGETIT/Bedding! Must have! Spill it!

Isn't it preeeeettty? I love it too. Every night I hop in and tell Fisher how cute she is and then tell my bedding how cute it is. Did I mention the flip side has POLKA DOTS?! You know how much SSG loves polka dots!

I got this at a very, very exclusive store only located in Portland. BUT!

Because I love you all so much, I've arranged for this same set to be sold in Target stores everywhere.

You're welcome! Cuff me, I'm a giver. Lock me up!

3) What kind of dog is Fisher? And why does she have a boy's name?

The Fish, Pupalah, Puppers or Princess Puperlah is half Golden Retriever and half Australian Cattle Dog. In other words 100% snuggly, blonde haired bundle of 40 pound CUTENESS.

She was named after M.F.K. Fisher, one of my favorite writers. You can read more about her here.

Have a question for SSG? Send it my way at sometimesserendipitousgirl@gmail.com!

xo,

Teeter Totter

When I was little, one of my favorite rides to go on at the park was the teeter toter. Something about the sensation of flying up and then being slowly let down, knowing all the while that you'd get a chance to go up again.

SSG's weekend was quite the teeter toter.

Friday night I met up with a friend and a friend of hers that she had been wanting to introduce me to. The three of us ladies hit up the town and were having a great time dishing purses, cocktails, food and boys. We started talking about the roller coaster that is online dating and SSG was joking that though she has gone on some dates, so far she has only met a friend ... and not even really a friend but a POTENTIAL friend.

A month or so ago I started communicating with this guy. We had a lot in common in our work life, but he leaned toward the outdoorsy and SSG just wasn't sensing a whole lot of chemistry. So I sent him an e-mail letting him know that he was cool and that I WISH I were outdoorsy, because DUDE, Portland would be SSG's oyster of outdoorsy boys if she were into that sort of thing, but that this SSG likes outdoor CAFES and hiking maybe a mile to a waterfall for an afternoon spent picnicking and dipping my toes in the water. He responded that no worries, he was always looking to expand his social circle and become friends if nothing else. We exchanged numbers and I told him I'd call him next time I was planning on being in his 'hood.

So as I'm talking to the ladies about this and a few more details are exchanged, it turns out that my friend's friend, super cool chick that SSG would want to be friends with, is DATING him. And HAS BEEN dating him for the last few months. Ohhh boy. Talk about AWKWARD. SSG literally had both hands over her mouth for fear of shouting "Kick that guy to the curb! Let's all go out and meet some new boys! You're AWESOME! If I were a dude I'd totally date you! Let's forget all about this CRAZY SMALL ICKY PIECE OF THE WORLD WE JUST FOUND OURSELVES IN!"

To her credit, she handled it REALLY well. And was incredibly gracious and went out of her way to thank ME. Which GAH made me feel even worse even though I didn't do anything wrong. But DUDE. I just felt awful for handing over a lot of pain, albeit unknowingly and unintentionally, to someone that I just met and really liked. I hope she's okay.

Saturday night I then found myself on a date with a total douche bag. Like I can't even pick out one positive thing. Okay, wait. He did clue me into a fun radio station that I had never heard of and that I do listen to now on a regular basis. And I suppose he DIDN'T pluck one of the hairs out of my head and use it for dental floss a la When Harry Met Sally. So there is that. But otherwise ... MAN. No manners, dropping F bombs, I could go on and on. My text message to Digs on my way home summed it up.

"Um, NO."

Sunday morning I woke up and decided to take myself out for the day.

I started at Starbucks and read The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz for an hour (which SSG can't recommend highly enough, it's wonderful). Then hit up Lowe's for some spray paint for my table. I made a few rounds at some other favorite stores before heading home, changing into some scrubby clothes and going out front to start spray painting my table.

And who do I see?

My cute neighbor. The one that I've lived next to for four years and didn't meet until I banged on his door to tell him to turn his music down and discovered he was cute and really nice and now I totally feel like THAT neighbor and have rarely seen him since. He doesn't see me when I'm dressed up to go to work. He doesn't see me when I'm dressed up to go on a date. No, no. He sees me (with his FAMILY no less) is a ginormous Padres t-shirt, faded black yoga pants, hair piled on top of my head and "pistachio" spray paint ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Can we say AWESOME?!

I finished one chair and was so mortified that I ended up stopping, shut the garage, went upstairs and holed up watching "Killer Hair" and "Hostile Makeover." Two Lifetime movies. Which I'm pretty sure solidifies my spinsterhood. Oh yes, and it RAINED outside. In JULY.

So needless to say ... this SSG is patiently-ish waiting for that teeter toter to go back up, returning her once again to the sweet life in Portland.

The $40 Foodie & Menu for the Week

Hey Peeps!

Welcome to the first week of the $40 Foodie. Away we go!

Albertson's Grocery Store

Total: $14.15

(not pictured a $2 magazine)

Trader Joe's

Total: $20.99

Total for the week: $35.14, or $4.86 under budget.

I do confess to having some items in my freezer that I'll be pulling out this week for dinners. BUT! Before I would have thrown leftovers away, so yay for me! I still consider that a victory : )

This week's menu:

Saturday:

Lunch: Fish Tacos

Dinner: SSG has a date ... I think he's paying? Let's hope.

Sunday:

Breakfast: Blueberry corncakes

Lunch: Fish Tacos

Dinner: Cabbage rolls and a spinach salad

Monday:

Breakfast: Fruit

Lunch: Leftover cabbage rolls & salad

Dinner: Breakfast for dinner (banana muffins, eggs, bacon & fruit)

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Fruit & yogurt

Lunch: Leftover breakfast for dinner

Dinner: Stuffed potatoes (spinach, onions, goat cheese & bacon)

Wednedsay:

Breakfast: Fruit & banana muffins

Lunch: Leftover stuffed potatoes

Dinner: Portobello mushroom pizzas

Thursday:

Breakfast: Yogurt and fruit

Lunch: Leftover portobello mushroom pizzas

Dinner: Chicken tortilla soup (from the freezer)

Friday:

Breakfast: Banana muffin and yogurt

Lunch: Chicken tortilla soup

Dinner: TBD (I usually like to go out to eat on Friday & Saturday nights)

Have great weekends everyone!

Food Waste Friday & The $40 er $50 (?) Foodie

Hey Peeps!

I snuck in a short blog post on you guys last night, sorry to those of you who showed up yesterday to NOTHING NEW on SSG. (SSG hangs her head in shame.)

BUT! Today I'm instituting a new Friday and Weekend thang around these parts. Do you guys read The Frugal Girl? I love her and the sweet, thoughtful way she goes about raising her family. She makes it look SO EASY. I highly recommend her site if you're looking for ways to budget and tips for saving. And SHE MAKES HER OWN BREAD. SSG bows down to the woman.

Anyhoo! She started doing a Friday food waste photo as she was trying to cut back on the amount of food she threw away.

SSG had a similar problem ... until she instituted her $40 er $50 a week budget for food. So in an effort to hold herself accountable and share any tips she comes across, voila.

Welcome to mah first Food Waste Friday post.

These bananas are actually going to be used, but confession. I threw away two lowly, shriveled up carrots last night before photographing them. Had I given it any thought I could have just peeled and shredded them and threw them in the muffins that I'll be using these babies for this weekend.

Coming up this weekend, SSG's grocery list for a $40 er $50 week and what ah'll be cookin'.

Off to work. SSG said she'd be there early ... which really now means 1/2 hour later than she usually is but since her boss doesn't come in until 9 a.m. ... tree falling in the forrest and all that.

You won't tell on SSG, will you?

Smoochies,

The SSG Summer 2009 Collection

So SSG SWEARS she does NOT collect things. SSG doesn't like STUFF. Especially since she just spent an entire season getting rid of the bulk of stuff that she does have.

But SSG miiiiight have a thing for dish towels.

Especially Martha Stewart's dish towels.

And um ... E Bay has a lot of them.

The Funniest Thing SSG Never Intended to Say

(On a conference call at SSG's very conservative employer.)

SSG to Accountant: So is all of this liquidity pledged?

Accountant: Yes.

SSG: We really don't need to hold that much as collateral. I'm surprised they haven't complained about getting some of it released.

Accountant: Yeah good point, I'll have to see what's going on.

SSG: Maybe they haven't had to tap those assets in a while?

(Cut to SSG throwing the phone on mute and laughing hysterically.)

The Things SSG Carries

Today is trash day in my neighborhood.

The end.

Just kidding.

So I was down in the garage getting the trash together and for the second week over the past month I've pondered not putting the trash out. There's just hardly anything in the trash can. My first thought was MAN, I need to get crackin' I'm obviously falling down on the housecleaning job.

But then I went inside.

And it looks okay.

I kind of forgot about it until I started getting ready to go to go to work. As I walked downstairs, I was carrying the following:

• Purse
• Reusable lunch bag filled with a cloth napkin, real utensils and reusable containers.
• Gym bag
• Reusable water bottle
• Reusable coffee cup
• Keys
• Eye glasses
• A package to mail
• Cookies for Fisher

As I was cursing my haul, I realized I'd be lugging this exact same load back upstairs when I get home tonight ... with the exception of Fisher's cookies ... okay and honestly maybe my gym bag because ... meh, it's too nice out to be stuck indoors. Since my admission and subsequent guilt over not recycling, I've tried to erase past mistakes and realized that I'm doing a pretty good job. (But I still maybe cursed a little.)

I'm also pretty sure this is exactly how sherpas begin their training.

Back to Normal

Oh. My. Internets.

Mark SSG's words. She will NEVER have more than one dog. Good LAWD taking care of my neighbors dog for ... let's count them, shall we?

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

EIGHT DAYS.

Do you know how many piles of poop that is?

Umz ... lotz i tinks?

Anyhoo, my neighbors got home late Friday night, so SSG took Wriggy (our pet name for him) home before Fish and I hit the hay. I woke up on Saturday and thought HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FOR SSG!!!

It was nice of the country to celebrate with me.

Did you all have good 4th's?

SSG stayed in her jammies for a few hours on Saturday morning, even DRIVING to the local Starbucks drive thru so she didn't have to get out of them. I'm pretty sure that constitutes a new level of laziness.

I managed to pull it together midday and headed over to a barbecue that this guy was at. Maybe you know him? We were so busy throwing back gin and tonics and getting caught up that NEITHER OF US TOOK PHOTOS. Bad bloggers! But he looked just as hawt as ever. And thanks to our fabulous host and hostess for a delicious barbecue and to the equally fabulous company!

I'm convinced that if I maintained a certain buzz at all times that I would be A LOT more receptive to getting out and doing more. Saturday night SSG was all about it. Marco's for breakfast! Drive in movie theater! Concerts in the park! Luckily this crowd knows me better and Predo had started hash browns on Sunday morning before giving me a quick call "we're not going to Marco's, right?"

SSG looked down at her pajamas, her cup of coffee and Fisher passed out on the couch and said "ummmm ... no."

So there you have it! SSG's weekend in a nutshell.

Oh! And I got a massage!

And for those of you keeping up with my Sunday night ritual. The movie was August Rush ... which was ... cute-ish. But I felt they were trying a BIT too hard. And the dinner was this slow cooker barbecue beef from All Recipes.

I cut the recipe in half since I didn't feel like feeding the whole neighborhood. And I just chucked the 2 pound roast in whole and then shredded it toward the end. It was good, but I want to play with the sauce a bit more. I like my barbecue sauce a little sweeter and tomato-ier (is too a word). Later this week I think I'm going to caramelize a bunch of red onions and tuck them into some tortillas with the beef, sharp cheddar and sour cream for a quesadilla. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Have a great week pretties!

Fantasy Fridays

I know we've been going to the islands on Fridays for a while. But now that summer is here, SSG's fantasy vacations are much simpler.

Popsicles.

A glass of iced tea.

Porch swings.

Cherry pie.

And fireflies.

SOMEDAY SSG will see a firefly in real life.

But for now she has to hijack this kid's memory.

Or the Duerksen's kids whose mom makes me want to live in Kansas. Check out this post from their cool mama, Meg Duerksen.

Hope you all have a twinkly Fourth of July weekend.

xo,

Dating Quote of the Week

Tuesday Evening

Potential Date: Would you want to get together on Thursday?

SSG: Actually I have plans on Thursday night but I'd love to next week?

PD: Sounds good.

Wednesday Evening (via text message)

PD: Hey the Padres are totally dropping the ball in the 4th. So how is tomorrow looking to get together?

SSG: Still have those plans.

Slow Cooker Sundays

I realize today isn't Sunday.

And for most of the country it probably isn't slow cooker weather either.

But SSG has a new Sunday tradition and it's days like these when she remembers how nice that tradition is.

SSG has always hated Sunday nights. Always. The only time she doesn't mind them is if she's on vacation. And even THEN they're still somewhat depressing because entire cities shut down early on Sunday nights.

So SSG stopped one Sunday and asked herself what, oh WHAT, could she do to enjoy them. Because Sunday nights come around OFTEN.

SSG wanted to feel warm, cozy and pampered on Sunday nights. To have something to look forward to at the end of her weekend instead of starting to dread it Saturday night.

And what says warm better than a slow cooked dinner? Cozy more than a fun movie while tucked away on the couch? And pampered more than a bath?

And thus a new tradition was born.

And SSG loves it.

And SSG almost wishes it were Sunday because today kind of sucked.

Anyhoo ... last Sunday the movie was Confessions of a Shopaholic which ... meh. But on the menu was this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup from All Recipes. It. Was. Awesome.

I made it just like the recipe said, with the exception of putting the chicken in raw and then shredding it at the end. It comes highly recommended. Just like SSG's version of Sunday nights.