Author: Lauren @ ihadabiglunch

thanksgiving 2013

clever title, huh?

Well it’s been an interesting week. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, but it was overshadowed this time by an infection. Lung infection, to be exact. I’ve barely left bed this week because it’s hard to breathe and painful just to bend. The official name is pleurisy, but my doctor recommended that I treat it like a pneumonia because she’s positive she caught the infection just before it turned into that.

I thought that one week of no activity would cause my active spirit to be screaaaaming in frustration, but to be honest I’ve been fine. My body clearly needs to focus on my lungs right now, not on getting a bikini body. Gotta stay smart when you’re sick. I’m hoping that with antibiotics, inhalers, and rest this will all be cleared up by Monday. Fingers crossed that life goes according to my plan (jinx).

Luckily the pain pills made me loopy enough to still enjoy the turkey day feast. I even left the house once this week for a magical trip to TJs! Yesterday was a great day filled with cranberry goat cheese, scalloped butternut squash, and mimosas (virgin for me and my friend oxycodone). We also surprised my dad with his 60th birthday present — tickets to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game this weekend! He had no idea and is so thrilled! It was fun to pull of such a huge surprise. We all ended the day like we always do–passed out on the couch. Success!

How was your turkey day?

random thoughts friday

Vacation dreaming

I love to travel. I have a lot of favorite cities depending on what kind of trip I’m looking for. Feeling patriotic? DC all the way. Beauty in nature? Sioux Falls, South Dakota. International adventure? Prague Prague Prague.

But the one city that I think has it all…is Austin, TX.

I’ve been there twice in the past year and a half and it. has. everything. From paddleboarding to live music to breakfast tacos and everything in between, I’m head over heels in love with Austin. Now that the weather is getting colder and colder I can’t stop dreaming about frozen margaritas overlooking Lake Travis while the sun goes down. It’s a cheap trip and definitely worth it if you just want a few days away to escape to a land where there’s music in the streets and food trucks abound.

Food for thought (literally)

It makes me so sad that my beloved Mars company is up there. M&Ms, I’ll never give you up but man, I just don’t feel good about looking at this chart. I hate thinking that very few corporations have so much control over what I eat. I’ll never be fortunate enough to go totally organic, but this kind of thing makes me step back and really think about what I’m buying. There’s a reason why no conglomerate can get their hands on apples, you know? Whole foods FTW.

Why I love to write

There’s something special about writing. Until I started this blog, I had pretty much stopped writing for fun, an activity that took up much of my life before I left for college. I’ve always been a million times better at writing than I am at speaking. There’s just something about a pen and paper that helps me get out exactly what I mean, with no fillers or things that can be misconstrued. I’ve also always valued the fact that I can write down how I’m feeling and look back on it in retrospect. It’s almost as if with everything I’ve ever written I can get a better picture of who I was at that time, when all that I have besides my written words are pictures, and those don’t say much. Most people who write aren’t writing for the sake of it, but because they have something to share that they just can’t muster up the words for. Even food bloggers, who don’t seem like they have anything important to say, are usually sharing some parts of their personal life through their blogs. People like me who have spent years trying to figure out the “right” way to eat and have come out on the other side just want to share their love for food and fitness to the world. We have something to say. And while some people can read blogs like mine and think “what’s the point?” others read it and can relate.

Thanksgiving is almost here!

Thanksgiving is on the way! It’s no surprise that this is my favorite holiday of the year. I’d imagine that for many food bloggers it’s the same. And it’s funny because it’s not the food itself that gets me so excited for this day. I’ve always been in love with the process of making food. The family all jammed into a small kitchen, each calling dibs on different stovetops and oven temps. I love having football on in the background while we prepare mashed potatoes or set the table. The rituals are what I look forward to the most. The idea that it’s not about giving/getting things (which can be stressful) but just about being together to eat at one beautifully filled table once a year–that’s why I love turkey day! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is the recipe I made for the big meal last year. If you’re struggling to think of something to bring to your celebration, definitely consider this (minus the mushrooms because that’s just gross).

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/11/lightened-up-fresh-green-bean-casserole/

Burned out

I’ve worked out once this week. Oh well. I’ve been burned out. My days this week have been spent looking like this:

I also have a pretty bad cold and this weather makes my asthma go nuts so nothing about waking up each morning made me want to exercise. The funniest part is that even though I’ve barely worked out all week, the world is still spinning. Weird, right?

Luckily New Girl has kept me great company. Until this passes, it’s just me, my couch, and Schmidt.

Happy Friday, everyone!

WIAW + it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas

I’m officially in the holiday spirit. Sure, I have a bad cold thanks to the lovely winds and quick weather changes that the Midwest so graciously provides each and every year. Yeah, I’m still working doubles almost every day this week. But you know what? It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Starbucks transported me into a winter wonderland yesterday, where I got a lot of my work done. Breakfast was enjoyed with a cappuccino in a holiday cup, surrounded by Christmas jazz, and a background of mini Christmas trees.

No room for Scrooges here–I’ll get my work done with a smile and enjoy the holiday season as it approaches. After all, it’s always gone before I know it.

Lunch was basically breakfast part two. I think I have an egg addiction…even though my doctor warned me about my cholesterol (successfully making me feel like an overweight, middle-aged Italian mobster) I just can’t get enough.

Lunch was a two egg omelet filled with green and red peppers, onions, cheddar cheese, red pepper flakes, and served alongside veggie sausage patties. I really need to update my meal rotation.

I had more work to complete throughout the afternoon but of course I made time for snacks:

Homemade ginger lemonade (to help fight the cold), no sugar applesauce with tons of cinnamon, and a peanut butter english muffin (sprinkled with chia and flax seeds. i love me some omega-3s).

Serving was busy as I was up in the bar, but the fact that people seem to get friendlier as the holidays approach helped a lot. I wish people could feel that warm and fuzzy all year long, especially towards their servers 😉

Dinner was eaten at the restaurant while I closed up shop.

Vegan chili (black beans, red beans, chickpeas, and tons of veggies topped with avocado, red onion, and tomatoes). The fact that I made it through this meal without adding cheese or corn bread astonished me too.

I got home just in time for Modern Family to start. I cuddled up on the couch with some cheese, crackers, apples, and peanut butter and called it a night. ((I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m always hungry))

I hope you’re all enjoying the holiday cheer! It might not be time to turn on the Christmas music station, but the feeling is in the air! Have a great Wednesday and eat lots of goooood eats.

Question:

Is it too early to listen to holiday music?

Thought for the day:

Not Your Grandma’s Banana Bread (recipe)

Banana bread is one of the most classic comfort foods. With a short ingredient list that often includes flour, sugar, eggs, bananas, and oil, it’s easy to put together with the staples you most likely already have in your kitchen. It’s basically the Channing Tatum of dessert breads–you’re always in the mood for it, it makes your mouth water, and the smell of it is intoxicating (okay so I’ve never actually smelled CT but I bet you it’d be intoxicating).

This banana bread, however, isn’t your typical recipe. One of the things that helps me stay on track with eating a relatively healthy diet is upping the protein whenever possible. I don’t think you should ever restrict foods, but instead make foods as nutrient-dense as possible. That way, you’ll fill up faster and stay satisfied longer. That’s why I changed around some of the ingredients of this old standby and made a banana bread with a protein-packed punch. I adapted the recipe from this girl, and it came out just as delicious as expected, just with multiplied staying power.

So since it’s that time of the year for comfort food, enjoy!

Not Your Grandma’s Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 mashed bananas (very, very ripe)
1 tbsp vanilla
6oz container of banana Chobani yogurt
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup walnuts

First, preheat your oven to 350. Prepare your pan by lining a 9-inch loaf pan with foil and giving it a spray of Pam. This helps with a quick cleanup and also ensures that your bread comes out nicely when you slice it.

Next, mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon).

In a separate medium bowl, slowly mix together your wet ingredients (egg, egg white, bananas, yogurt, vanilla, and coconut oil).

Once you have both bowls set aside, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing just until incorporated. Over-mixed batter leads to dense bread (and this bread will already be pretty dense thanks to the almond meal substituting for some of the flour).

Once you have your batter mixed together, add a cup of walnuts to the mix, because, why not?

Pour your batter in your prepared baking pan and put in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Ta-da!

By adding the Greek yogurt and almond meal you’ve automatically added 28 grams of protein to your bread. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Question:

Do you often “healthify” your baked goods, or are you an all-or-nothing person?

ghirardelli, girls night out, and friendsgiving

I stayed at work pretty late Friday night which meant I left for the city Saturday morning. First things first, when I got off the train I beelined to my favorite deli for a bagel sandwich. Recycled photo but I always get the same thing:

Everything bagel with a fried egg and cheddar cheese. If you had told me a year ago I would be absolutely head over heels in love with everything bagels, I would have laughed in your face. But they’re so great–especially the onion/garlic breath you get.

Storms ruined our plans to go ice skating and do some sightseeing, so we ended up having a movie day instead. Zman, Spencer and I all watched Hunger Games–perfect timing since the sequel is coming out this weekend!

Afterwards we braved the cold and headed to one of my favorite spots in Chicago.

I went in wanting a simple hot chocolate and this is what happened

Why is it that the holiday season brings out the sugar monster in all of us?! Zman and I split a classic hot chocolate as well as their Ocean Beach Sundae, aka a hot fudge sundae with salted caramel sauce.

That night I had a GNO (girls night out), complete with Ke$ha radio and black/white ensembles (thank you, winter).

Sunday morning started with a healthy breakfast thanks to a sugar-overdose the previous day.

Two pieces of toast with crunchy peanut butter and a grapefruit. This held me over until the best part of the weekend:

Friendsgiving!

I know this isn’t a novel idea and many other groups of friends do this, but I love that the people I’m friends with celebrate Thanksgiving as a group. Growing up Thanksgiving was always only about family, and while family is incredibly important, I love that as we get older we start to think of our friends as family too. Also, when are multiple Thanksgiving dinners ever a problem?

I left stuffed to the absolute brim with sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, apple cider sangria, mac and cheese, and stuffing. It was the most beautiful set-up too…straight out of Martha Stewart Living. Thanks, Kenna, for hosting!

It’s already happening that the weekends are full of holiday activities, and I love it! I can’t wait for the weekends to come: the tree lighting in my hometown, going to see the Macy’s Christmas display on State Street, and ice skating in Millennium Park.

I hope you all had a fun weekend and that your Mondays are off to a great start!

Question:

Do you start doing holiday activities before Thanksgiving?

stuffed shells (recipe)

Stuffed shells is one of those recipes that comes out looking like it took tons of time and attention, when in reality it’s so simple to make. Even better, you can store it in the fridge until you’re ready to pop it in the oven. Plus, you have a lot of freedom with what you want to put in your shells–personally I’m just a cheesy gal so I like to stuff them with mozzarella and Parmesan, plus some spinach. You can’t even taste the greens but they add so much nutrition to an otherwise indulgent meal.

Now that winter’s right around the corner, bookmark this for your next night in.

First, start off with your ingredients:

Ingredients

1 box of jumbo pasta shells OR manicotti (I find shells to be a lot easier to work with)
1.5 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 (packed) cups fresh spinach leaves (approximately 1/2 a standard bag that you find at the grocery store)
15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp milk (optional)
2 cups marinara sauce (I always end up using more because I love lots of sauce)
pinch of salt/pepper

Before you start the filling, cook the shells/manicotti according to directions on the package. It’s always easier to stuff shells if they’re cooled off when you start to work with them. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 375.

First, start by mincing your garlic.

Once your garlic is ready, heat up the olive oil in a medium pan. Wait for the oil to be hot before adding the garlic. Stir the garlic around in the pan for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and let it cook down in the pan, about 1 minute.

Set aside the garlic/spinach mixture.

In a medium bowl mix together your three cheeses. Add a pinch of salt/pepper to the bowl and help it all come together by adding your egg and 1 tbsp milk (optional–only if it seems too thick).

Once your egg is stirred in (30 seconds to 1 minute), add the spinach to the cheese until it’s all combined. Now your filling for the shells is complete!

Next, pour 1 cup of marinara sauce along the bottom of a 13×9 glass pan.

Take your shells and carefully fill each one with the cheese/spinach mix. There’s no real method for this except that if you use too much filling, you’ll run out of shells pretty fast. Fill the shells so that they still close, but just barely.

Place each shell in the pan in lines so the shells don’t turn over while cooking. Cover with the rest of your marinara sauce (1 cup or more, your preference). Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, take off the aluminum foil and sprinkle your shells with more cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, or both!) Place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes–just don’t let the cheese burn!

Ta-da!

It’s a delicious dinner that all comes together in 30 minutes! You can’t beat that.

Enjoy!

Question:

What’s your favorite cold weather meal?

thoughtcatalog overdose

I’m taking a break from food and exercise today and posting a quick commentary on something that’s been on my mind. I’m sure a lot of people can relate.

When I first started reading Buzzfeed and ThoughtCatalog articles, I thought they were extremely thought-provoking. First, they gave me this warm and fuzzy feeling of community, reminding me that the terrifying Alice-in-Wonderland falling-down-a-hole feelings that constantly swirl around my brain are “normal.” I mean, if people can write article after article with “10 Things You Should be Doing in Your 20s” and “15 Signs You’re in a Quarter Life Crisis” and people follow up with thousands of comments and demand more, I’m obviously not alone. That’s a great feeling that combats the loneliness that comes with graduating and moving into adult life. Secondly, some of the tips are great! “Get to know yourself,” “Get a job that you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” “Stop having unreal expectations about what love is supposed to be like”… I began taking mental notes of all these ideas that seemed to make so much sense.

But finally, and what has stuck with me the most about these posts, is that it’s all just too much.

My brain is overflowing with information, advice, and quirky sayings about surviving and thriving in your twenties. I finish the workweek, face the weekend, and suddenly I’m wondering if how I’m enjoying my free time is enough.

I’m not staying out until 5 am dancing on tables like no one’s watching. I’m not planning my wedding. I’m not planning a trip to one of the 800 places you must see before you die and I’m definitely not working towards the endless checklists of things that I have to do in my 20s before “real life” approaches and I’m “locked down.” This whole “If not now, then when?” mentality is great in theory, but it consumes every free moment of my life, moments when simply getting hot chocolate with an old friend seem like perfectly acceptable ways to spend my time.

How is what I’m doing now not real life? This idea that I’m paying my dues until my real potential can be fulfilled is not only frustrating but completely goes against what I think the premise of these articles is. Today, I am an intern and a waitress. That’s my real life. Of course I have goals for the future and I don’t plan on staying where I am forever, but the person I am and the life I live is fine. In fact it’s a dishonor to myself to say that it’s “fine”. My life doesn’t deserve an adjective. If I wake up tomorrow and I get a full time, well paying job downtown, then that will my life. But it won’t mean that I’ve finally arrived and that then I’d somehow be more worthy of putting my life on display.

We can never just do anything anymore. We have to make sure others know what we’re doing, whether it’s through Instagram or Facebook, or even FourSquare. I don’t need to know where you went to dinner last night…I just don’t. But that’s the world we live in. And it perpetuates this need to show everyone else how well we’re living our lives. It perpetuates this fear of missing out on life because we’re constantly bombarded with people’s highlight reel and compare it to our own intimate storyline. Even though we know better, we’re forced to constantly compare and wonder if we’re living our lives right.

We’re constantly told, “Life is wasted on the young” and warned that when we’re old and frail we’ll regret those times that we didn’t hop on a plane to New York City for the weekend just because we could. But I think the real waste is that we’re too busy worrying that we’re not living right. I’m tired of the cynicism and the inadequacy. How many seconds, minutes, hours, days do we spend worrying, trying to improve ourselves, trying to work towards the future, trying to live the life social media tells us is fulfilling. It’s exhausting. It brings on so much unnecessary anxiety. And finally, it makes us overlook the small things that actually make life great: the family dinner that you plan with a group of friends, the conversation you strike up with a stranger on the bus, when you run a 5k dressed up as your favorite Disney character, or when you have a spontaneous solo dance party because “Shake It” by Metro Station comes on the radio. It’s all so beautiful and so random. I just don’t want to drown in virtual expectations and forget how special these small moments are.

wiaw: hump day pancakes

I went a little nuts today. I made pancakes on a Wednesday.

No, it’s not a weekend and I’m not celebrating anything, I just needed to switch it up. As much as I love my eggs and oatmeal, it was getting a little old. Plus yesterday’s workout was the toughest workout I’ve done in years. YEARS. I felt like superwoman once it was all over. So I figured pancakes were in order 🙂

If you add it all up, it was 60 burpees, 60 goblet squats, and I ended up doing 314 total of the KB swings and the mountain climbers. This is the after picture:

Haha no one was in good shape after that.

Breakfast

I used Kodiak pancake mix, which I’ve heard mixed reviews about. The ingredient list is amazing– 100% whole grain wheat flour, 100% whole grain oat flour, non-fat dry milk, dry honey, leavening egg whites, and salt. Easy as that. I’ve read that some people find these to be less fluffy than regular pancakes, so I was prepared for these not to come out like a “treat” like most pancakes seem to be. But in all honesty I thought these were great! I followed the directions exactly and they came out just like regular pancakes (I also added sliced banana to my batter). Post-picture I drowned these bad boys in some maple syrup. Deeelish.

Lunch

As I’ve mentioned before, work has been crazy lately, so lunch came in two quick parts.

First was a mango-orange chia seed smoothie

I didn’t get to “second lunch” (I feel like a hobbit saying that) until just before my second job, so I ate it fast while watching the series finale of 30 Rock. It took me just over a month but I finally got through all 7 seasons. It’s such a great show. “Good god, Lemon.”

Very rarely do I make it through an entire day without getting some peanut butter into my life. It should be its own food group.

Dinner

I ate dinner at work once the kitchen closed to customers. Half an order of vegan chili (chickpeas, red beans, and black beans) topped with cheddar, red onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Plus one of my favorite treats from work: a jalapeno corn muffin. It tastes like broccoli cheddar soup in cornbread form. I go weak in the knees for that little guy.

In lieu of dessert I was a cheese fiend yesterday, so I had a snack before bed that reminded me much of my time abroad (the Parisians sure do love their cheese plates)

It was a pretty indulgent day. But you know what another word for indulgent is? Satisfying. I went to bed feeling perfect. Eating what you want when you want it is a nice lifestyle to live. It makes me shudder to think my world used to revolve around sugar-free this, fat-free that. That’s not a place I ever want to go back to!

Have a beautiful day!

Question:

Do you usually crave cheese/salt or sugary foods?

writer’s block

so, i took a little hiatus from blogging. five days to be exact. I’ve been blogging for almost six months and even though sometimes when I sat down to the computer I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, the words usually began to flow.

last week, however, I faced an incurable case of writer’s block. no new workout tips, no exciting recipes, no fun lunches to put together, nothing. so instead of force it, I took a few days off, hoping to come back this week revved up and ready to write!

Not much has happened in the past five days. I’ve worked doubles every day (internship and serving) so even if I wanted to write, finding the time was a challenge. A couple first-world middle-class suburban 20-something things that have happened to me lately include the following:

I channeled my inner 12 year old and got a ringtone. Yep, a ringtone. Does anyone with an iPhone even do that anymore? I just needed to hear my favorite song more often, so I decided to fork over the $1.99.

I also went shopping for new jeans. I decided it was time to stop wearing leggings and pretending that they were a step up from sweatpants and actually squeeze myself into some real material that will withstand Chicago winter.

I forgot how awful jeans are. Hence the sourpuss expression.

I got my first Starbucks holiday beverage. Newsworthy.

I had a coupon so I decided to get a massage. In other news, the woman asked me why I was skipping school. As in, high school. Yes, mam, I’m skipping third period geometry to go get a professional massage.

I got new running shoes because I’m itching to start running again and my old ones had a hole in the side that was only getting bigger.

These were $50 compared to their neon twins at $130. I tried and tried but just couldn’t justify almost tripling the price just for color. Does this mean I’m finally a grown up?

I celebrated my friend Jordan’s 23rd birthday! The year of Michael Jordan is already being good to her 🙂

I ate fro yo. Because I’m a blogger and that’s just the kind of thing we do.

And I worked out to balance out the sprinkles

So yeah. Big things happening over here. 🙂

I’ll be back tomorrow with regularly scheduled programming to share a new recipe with you all. Have a beautiful Monday! It’s snowing here!

What I Ate Wednesday

As you might expect, meals during the week just aren’t as exciting as those on the weekend. As much as I’d like to, I just don’t have the time or talent to make as great of food as I’m blessed to eat when I’m in the city. Luckily I do a good job of still making dishes throughout the week that don’t bore me or make me crave grease and salt, the way I do on the weekends. Yesterday was no exception, and I think I did a great job of eating balanced meals throughout the day. Minus the cookies before bed. That was a little overboard

Breakfast

Breakfast was super filling thanks to a lot of different food groups being represented. I’m loving all the color! Whole wheat toast with raspberry jam, scrambled eggs with Parmesan cheese, and a glass of green juice.

I have a big project due tomorrow at work so I’ve been chipping away at that all week. It’s made for a lot of sit-at-the-computer-and-go-into-zombie mode. Definitely not my favorite way to live. If I could never stop moving and going places, that’d be my dream!

This breakfast was eaten pretty early after a workout, so I was hungry mid-morning.

I had this snack around 11 and it hit the spot. It’s been one of my favorites lately! A sweet potato with cinnamon and peanut butter. This is a great snack because It keeps me full for so long.

Lunch

Around 1:30 I started getting hungry for lunch. I was still swamped with work so I didn’t want to take time to prepare something fancy. You know what that means! Dig through the freezer and see what I can throw in the oven. The result?

Fish sticks!! Am I the only person who still loves these? I mean they’re pretty much just a vehicle for my ketchup obsession but I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for fish sticks. This meal reminded me of something we would have had for family dinner as a kid. Except then I’d probably never take that many vegetables willingly 😉

After work I plopped on the couch for some Keeping Up With the Kardashians action. There is nothing better than letting your brain rest by watching that irresistable nonsense. I was a communication major in college and I remember in one of my media classes we learned that often times people will choose media to find an equilibrium for how they spent their day. In other words, accountants might watch ultimate fighting (intensity) while chemical engineers might watch the weather channel (relaxing). Make sense? I always thought that was a cool theory!

I snacked on salted almonds and more green juice while watching KUWTK. It was so relaxing.

I met Zman at the store after he got off work and we picked up the ingredients to make stuffed shells for dinner. This is one of my favorite recipes so I’m not sure why I don’t make it more often! It’s really easy, extremely cheap, and delicious.

Shells stuffed with ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, spinach, and covered in sauce. Baked in the oven for 30 minutes or so. We ate this along with a salad with a homemade dressing (olive oil/balsamic/crushed garlic).

I ate this plate plus a two more shells. Then I ate a few Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies because they were there (it’s so so so hard to turn down cookies!). I was absolutely stuffed.

We ended the night by watching New Girl and The Mindy Project, and finally some Modern Family (thank you, USA, for always having this show on). It was a cold and rainy night so it felt good to eat some comfort food and watch funny TV.

Oh and I just had to share one more picture of Megan and Christina’s foster kitten, Samson! I went to visit them on Monday and he is the the cutest thing.

He’s like a little lion 🙂 He just sits and waits for you to settle down then he hops up and snuggles up on your lap. I loveeee this cat.

Question:

Do you eat a lot differently during the week than on the weekend? What’s one food you deem “weekend worthy” but don’t often think of having during the week?

i had a big lunch

Because dreaming about food and fitness was no longer enough

Author: Lauren @ ihadabiglunch

thanksgiving 2013

random thoughts friday

WIAW + it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas

Not Your Grandma’s Banana Bread (recipe)

ghirardelli, girls night out, and friendsgiving

stuffed shells (recipe)

thoughtcatalog overdose

wiaw: hump day pancakes

writer’s block

What I Ate Wednesday