Thursday, March 31, 2011
Overnight Oats.
I've been reading a bunch of fitness/healthy eating/healthy living blogs recently and so many of these girls seemed obsessed with overnight oats, and last night I decided to try them. In a lot of the recipes I've seen, they use greek yogurt, peanut butter, mashed banana, chia seeds...you name it, they throw it in there. I didn't have much of that stuff, and I've seen recipes that just use milk (sans yogurt) so I kept it simple and combined 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, cinnamon and sweetner to taste. When I got out my oats this morning, they looked so unappealing that I knew immediately I wouldn't be eating them for breakfast. One tiny taste confirmed my original thoughts. They were gross. It was basically just cold oatmeal. What's wrong with warm oatmeal? Maybe I did something wrong or maybe I just don't get it? I'm not sure. After the one nasty taste, I decided to stick with my trusty combo of Light Vanilla Activia yogurt and Kashi Go Lean. Tasty and full of protein, fiber and calcium to break my fast. If anyone actually ever reads this that does love overnight oats, let me know your secret. I'd be wiling to try them again.
Saint Ann Restaurant & Bar
Last Thursday after work, I headed over to Saint Ann Restaurant and Bar (http://www.saintanndallas.com/) to meet a couple of my girlfriends for wine and a much needed catch up session. Somehow, it had been 5 months since we last got together! Crazy how time flies! Anyway, it was a gorgeous, sunny, warm Dallas day, and we chose Saint Ann for their terrific patio. As I turned onto Harwood and saw the cars lined up for the complimentary valet, I knew that everyone else in Dallas had the same idea as us. It was packed! Luckily, though, only 1 rude lady cut me off in the valet line, and the valet group had a great system going so it wasn't long before I was out of my car and at the bar. At the bar, they had a pretty good, reasonably priced wine selection. However, I'm not too picky as long as it's red. :) We probably had to wait a good 30-45 minutes before we were seated because we requested to sit out on the patio (just like everyone else). If we had wanted to sit inside, we could have been sat immediately, and the inside was actually very nice too with lots of open windows. But we came for the patio, and by golly, we were gonna get the patio. :) Once we were seated, we started with the hummus which was pretty tasty. It doesn't stick out in my mind as one of the best hummus's I've had, but we ate it up just the same. For dinner, we split a Neopolitan style pizza with grilled chicken and mushrooms. It was tasty and plenty big for the 3 of us to split, especially since we started with the hummus. I don't really have much to say about the food because it doesn't stick out in my mind as much as the atmosphere does. In fact, I could probably say that about most places that I go. Luke and I were talking about this just the other day. When I go out to dinner, it's usually more about the atmosphere, the people and the drinks (no, I'm not a complete wino!) so as long as something isn't nasty or the service isn't just scream in your face terrible, I'm probably going to like it. Anyway, the layout, the decor and the PATIO at Saint Ann's were fantastic, and it was a great place to catch up with friends. As the night progressed, it turned more into a bar like atmosphere, and I probably wouldn't go back for dinner/late night drinks. It was the typical uptown Dallas scene, which isn't always my cup of tea. To put it more specifically, one of my friends commented how her boyfriend would have hated it because of all the dbags (am I allowed to say that?) running around or something along those lines. We also met a few questionable characters. I won't elaborate too much, but if I were you, I wouldn't vote for http://judgecarloscortez.com/. When he and a group of his friends/co-workers first approached our table, he started off with a completely inappropriate joke to tell a table of strange girls, and it got worse from there. Oh yeah. They also had a bathroom attendant, which is just awkward for everyone involved. I can pump my own soap, grab my own paper towl and I'm not going to give you a dollar to do it for me. Unnecessary. I would definitely go back to Saint Ann's on a sunny afternoon to take advantage of the awesome patio if someone invited me, but it probably wouldn't be my first choice. And that's the truth.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday Morning You Sure Look Fine
It's Monday morning, and the whole cycle is starting over. But what a good, low-key weekend we had! Our last couple of weekends have been really relaxing, and it's good. It leaves me feeling rested and refreshed instead of feeling like I need a few days to recoup from the craziness of the weekend. Friday night, the Call brothers spent the night with us. We devoured some delicious Tex-Mex at Mattitos, and then watched the Kentucky Wildcats upset Ohio State! Woo-hoo! Because of that upset, I'm now in first place in the bracket pool we've got going here at work. Now I just need Kentucky to beat UConn to call it a victory. Go Wildcats! On Saturday, I got up for early morning bootcamp and then came back to lay by the pool. We decided to have an impromptu family cookout at our house. Dad, Mom, Jeff, Meg, Shelby, Coleman, Anna and Stephanie headed over, and we cooked out hamburgers and had a nice little evening. The food was fine, but the company was better. Sunday morning we woke up to cloudy skies and much cooler temperatures. It felt more like Fall than Spring, but it was perfect for a lazy Sunday. Everyone but Mom and Dad spent the night with us on Saturday night to avoid a late night drive back to NRH, so Luke made chocolate-chip pancakes for the whole gang. Shortly after breakfast, the Pecks packed up and headed home, and we proceeded to have a very lazy day. Finally around 3 o'clock, I found the motivation to do some quick straightening/cleaning so that we wouldn't start the week with a nasty dirty house, and Luke helped out by folding 3 baskets of laundry that I'd been putting off for at least a week. Then we headed out for a Sunday evening church service. This is the 2nd time that we've attended Watermark and so far we're liking it. Last week, we went to the 9 am Sunday service, but it's nice that they offer the 5:30 pm service for those Sundays when you can't make it out early for whatever reason. Last night they just showed a video tape of the early morning service. It's not always like that, but last night the pastor needed to be at home with his family and was unable to make it. Anyway, it was still a good service, and we were glad we went. Finding a church where Luke and I both feel comfortable has been really heavy on my heart lately, so I'm hoping that Watermark is the answer to my prayers. Hopefully, we'll continue to go and enjoy it and find a worship "plan" that works well for our little family. After church, we went to eat dinner at a Spanish Tapas restaurant called Si http://sitapasdallas.com/. It was really good and cozy and perfect for a cool Sunday evening. We shared some vino tinto and munched on olives, Spanish tortilla, croquetas, empanadas and roasted red peppers. Luke called most everything that we had "soothing," kind of like Spanish comfort food. It was a great cap on the 'ken. After dinner, we were able to catch the last few minutes of the OKC Thunder game and then turned in early. And that brings us back here to Monday morning. I'm starting a new session of bootcamp tonight and praying that my back holds out for the whole four weeks. That's about the only thing going on for us this week other than the regular day-to-day stuff, but we're looking forward to a golf tournament/girl's day next weekend and more warm Spring weather.
Friday, March 25, 2011
I'm doing it too!
I've thought about starting a blog for a while now. The thoughts got stronger and stronger since starting a new job where I (sometimes) have a little more downtime at work. They block facebook. They block gmail. So I started reading numerous blogs to pass the time. Now I finally gave in and created my own. With the help of my super amazing sister at http://abushelandapeckfamily.blogspot.com/, I got a pretty background and header, and now I'm all set! But what to write??? When I first called my blog Matthews, Table for Two, it didn't even occur to me that it kinda sounded like a restaurant/bar review blog. Then when I whined (via email) to my sis that I didn't have anything to blog about, she said "I think a DINK in Dallas blog with reviews of all the places y'all go and eat and stuff would be fun to read." And I think that's a pretty good idea. I mean, we're not hoity-toity, high flying, Dallasites, but we do like to have a good time. And we love to go out to eat or for drinks at new places that we've heard about. So sometimes I'm going to write about the places that we go and what we thought about them. And sometimes, I'm going to write really random things and share pictures (if I ever start using my camera) because it's my blog, and I can use it however I please! That's the beauty of a blog! You own it (kinda).
The other cool thing about my blog name is that it can grow with us. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to change it to "Matthews, Table for Two and a Highchair." Then "Matthews, Table for Two and a Booster Seat. Then, well you see where I'm going with this. It will grow with us all the way up to "Matthews, Table for 30" when it's filled with kids, grandparents, sons/daughters-in-law, cousins, great grandparents, etc. Now that's a long, long way off, but it kind of makes me feel all sentimental and silly thinking about that.
But really no matter where we go (Spain! more on that later) or what we're doing, we'll always be the Matthews. We'll always be a team. We'll always be together. And most times, we'll ask for a table for two. Nonsmoking. Now on to my first review. :)
Last weekend, we got up early and went to bootcamp at 8 on Saturday morning. After the camp, we bought a bottle of champagne (to undo the workout we'd just completed) and headed to a BYOB place called EClaire Texas Cafe http://www.eclairetexascafe.com/. Luke had eaten there several times at lunch with co-workers and wanted me to try it. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they're no longer open on the weekends so we headed off to find something new. We decided to go to the Bishop Arts District, which is one of our favorite little neighborhoods in Dallas. We stumbled upon Oddfellows http://oddfellowsdallas.com/, and it was ah-mazing. Just like every other restaurant in BAD, it was so uniquely, rusticly decorated. Oddfellows had kind of an old farm house feel to it, and I loved it! The restaurant was also "open air" and right next to the entrance, there was the cutest little bar where you could sit outside and order and eat at the counter. And we were right in front of where they make the coffee so we got to watch how they make it, which sounds really boring but they weren't just using the typical, automated coffee maker. They had a special, manual way of brewing it. In fact, there was one guy completely devoted to making coffee. Luke made some random joke about how he must get tired of making coffee. And then repeated it over and over the whole meal. (Love you, Luke!) There was also a bright yellow piano right behind us in an area that they plan to turn into a patio soon. It was really cool looking, and we got to enjoy a few tunes when a fellow restaurant patron started tickling the ivories. One more detail I loved. As you walked towards the restrooms, there was this huge curtain they'd hung to cover the entrance to a supply room, but it was so cool. It was HUGE and made of old potato sacks, burlap, bandanas and other rustic-y fabrics all sewn together. So neat!
On to the food. We were starving (remember the bootcamp!) so we started with the Avocado and Salmon Stacks. They were so fresh and yummy and huge. It came with two stacks consisting of a half an english muffin, a ton of avocado, a school of smoked salmon and a few raw red peppers. It was so good, but I couldn't finish mine because I knew I wouldn't have room for anything else, so Luke got to enjoy 1.5 stacks. Then I ordered the White Omelettte made with egg whites, tomato, spinach and squash. I was a little worried I wouldn't like the squash in an omelette, but I was too lazy to make my own omelette or ask for a substitution so I just went with it. Turns out, I made the right decision. When it came out, it kind of looked like a little pizza because it was baked. The baking gave it a little crunch that was delightful and gave it a little extra oomph because sometimes an egg white omelet just leaves you wishing you'd ordered something else. The spinach, tomatoes and squash were plentiful and fresh, and definitely helped me up my number of veggie/fruit servings that day. Also, I noticed there was no cheese on it but really it wasn't missed (and neither were the calories that cheese would have added). Luke ordered two breakfast tacos with potato, sausage, egg and cheese. The tacos were a lot bigger than we'd expected and after his 1.5 stacks from above, he could only finish one of the two. So we took the extra home, and when he ate it later that afternoon, he thought it was even better than the first time. Two quick things to note. Right now, they're only serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, but a new dinner menu is just around the corner. Also, I noticed they didn't have any alcohol on the menu yet. I'm thinking that will probably change once they start serving dinner and get all settled in with a liquor license and what not. All in all we were really pleased and loved our experience. Cheers to Oddfellows for a job well done!
I guess I picked up the hang of blogging fairly quickly because this turned out to be a really long post. I wanted to make it 2 separate posts, but after I had it all typed, I couldn't figure how to cut and paste into a separate post. Oh the learning curve of blogging! Anyway, check back soon because I plan to review Saint Anne Restaurant and Bar http://www.saintanndallas.com/. Best patio over. I just got told to go home, so I'm out of here. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend filled with sunshine and Spring-y things!
The other cool thing about my blog name is that it can grow with us. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to change it to "Matthews, Table for Two and a Highchair." Then "Matthews, Table for Two and a Booster Seat. Then, well you see where I'm going with this. It will grow with us all the way up to "Matthews, Table for 30" when it's filled with kids, grandparents, sons/daughters-in-law, cousins, great grandparents, etc. Now that's a long, long way off, but it kind of makes me feel all sentimental and silly thinking about that.
But really no matter where we go (Spain! more on that later) or what we're doing, we'll always be the Matthews. We'll always be a team. We'll always be together. And most times, we'll ask for a table for two. Nonsmoking. Now on to my first review. :)
Last weekend, we got up early and went to bootcamp at 8 on Saturday morning. After the camp, we bought a bottle of champagne (to undo the workout we'd just completed) and headed to a BYOB place called EClaire Texas Cafe http://www.eclairetexascafe.com/. Luke had eaten there several times at lunch with co-workers and wanted me to try it. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they're no longer open on the weekends so we headed off to find something new. We decided to go to the Bishop Arts District, which is one of our favorite little neighborhoods in Dallas. We stumbled upon Oddfellows http://oddfellowsdallas.com/, and it was ah-mazing. Just like every other restaurant in BAD, it was so uniquely, rusticly decorated. Oddfellows had kind of an old farm house feel to it, and I loved it! The restaurant was also "open air" and right next to the entrance, there was the cutest little bar where you could sit outside and order and eat at the counter. And we were right in front of where they make the coffee so we got to watch how they make it, which sounds really boring but they weren't just using the typical, automated coffee maker. They had a special, manual way of brewing it. In fact, there was one guy completely devoted to making coffee. Luke made some random joke about how he must get tired of making coffee. And then repeated it over and over the whole meal. (Love you, Luke!) There was also a bright yellow piano right behind us in an area that they plan to turn into a patio soon. It was really cool looking, and we got to enjoy a few tunes when a fellow restaurant patron started tickling the ivories. One more detail I loved. As you walked towards the restrooms, there was this huge curtain they'd hung to cover the entrance to a supply room, but it was so cool. It was HUGE and made of old potato sacks, burlap, bandanas and other rustic-y fabrics all sewn together. So neat!
On to the food. We were starving (remember the bootcamp!) so we started with the Avocado and Salmon Stacks. They were so fresh and yummy and huge. It came with two stacks consisting of a half an english muffin, a ton of avocado, a school of smoked salmon and a few raw red peppers. It was so good, but I couldn't finish mine because I knew I wouldn't have room for anything else, so Luke got to enjoy 1.5 stacks. Then I ordered the White Omelettte made with egg whites, tomato, spinach and squash. I was a little worried I wouldn't like the squash in an omelette, but I was too lazy to make my own omelette or ask for a substitution so I just went with it. Turns out, I made the right decision. When it came out, it kind of looked like a little pizza because it was baked. The baking gave it a little crunch that was delightful and gave it a little extra oomph because sometimes an egg white omelet just leaves you wishing you'd ordered something else. The spinach, tomatoes and squash were plentiful and fresh, and definitely helped me up my number of veggie/fruit servings that day. Also, I noticed there was no cheese on it but really it wasn't missed (and neither were the calories that cheese would have added). Luke ordered two breakfast tacos with potato, sausage, egg and cheese. The tacos were a lot bigger than we'd expected and after his 1.5 stacks from above, he could only finish one of the two. So we took the extra home, and when he ate it later that afternoon, he thought it was even better than the first time. Two quick things to note. Right now, they're only serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, but a new dinner menu is just around the corner. Also, I noticed they didn't have any alcohol on the menu yet. I'm thinking that will probably change once they start serving dinner and get all settled in with a liquor license and what not. All in all we were really pleased and loved our experience. Cheers to Oddfellows for a job well done!
I guess I picked up the hang of blogging fairly quickly because this turned out to be a really long post. I wanted to make it 2 separate posts, but after I had it all typed, I couldn't figure how to cut and paste into a separate post. Oh the learning curve of blogging! Anyway, check back soon because I plan to review Saint Anne Restaurant and Bar http://www.saintanndallas.com/. Best patio over. I just got told to go home, so I'm out of here. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend filled with sunshine and Spring-y things!
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