Author: Lauren @ ihadabiglunch

Brunch at Le Grenier (Washington D.C.)

We did lots of food crawling while in DC. One of the best places that we stumbled upon was a little French spot near Capitol Hill: Le Grenier

We wanted to celebrate my friend Amanda’s birthday, which had been the weekend before. Luckily my other friend, Jully, is one of the sweetest girls ever and planned a little brunch celebration. I actually didn’t know where we were going to eat so when I saw the name of the restaurant and realized it was French food, I was so excited! Let me tell you–the French know their way around breakfast.

Before we even sat down to order, all we could do was marvel at how beautiful the interior decorating of the restaurant was.

The birdcages were my favorite. Such a creatively designed place!

Our waiter walked over nonchalantly and placed his hand on his hip (as only the European men can get away with). Without cracking the slightest smile, he recited the day’s specials and brunch deal. If this guy was an American I’d be irked over the service (as a server myself I have high standards), but because he was clearly from the restaurant scene in Paris, I think we were all simply impressed by his manner. Tres chic 🙂

After looking over our options, we all decided to get the brunch special: mimosas, appetizer, and entree. I started out with a chilled strawberry and beet soup. I was trying to be adventurous and try something new. Plus, beets seem to be a “blogger thang” so I figured I had to try them.

Blech. It tasted like a smoothie with a dirt aftertaste. But hey, the color was gorgeous! I love when real foods create bright colors like this!

In between appetizer and entree, we feasted on pieces of warm, crusty baguette, handed to each of us individually by our server.

I sprinkled some salt on my bread and butter and the flavor went through the roof.

For my entree I chose (what else?) an omelet. While some of my friends were a tad more risky and ordered the house special (blood sausage) or eggs benedict, I KNEW that I had to have a French omelet. They always use the best cheeses and serve a simple leafy salad on the side. This one did NOT disappoint.

Somewhere in between all the food we toasted Amanda with one of my favorite drinks: mimosas!

I love the combination of dry champagne and bright, fruity orange juice. It’s a good thing these ones weren’t bottomless, because I’ve heard of brunch spots like that and I’m telling you it’d be bad news bears for me!

The end of our meal came with a surprise birthday dessert: profiteroles!!

These pictures are deceiving. There were actually two plates of this dessert, and we absolutely demolished them. The chocolate was so thick and warm that I wanted to swim in it. If it wasn’t such a classy establishment I definitely would have licked both plates clean.

All in all, Le Grenier was a beautiful restaurant and I would recommend it to anyone in the DC area. I will definitely be visiting again!

What to do when you’re having a bad day

Here’s the world’s best advice to getting over a day that just isn’t going your way. This is totally fool-proof, I promise. No gimmicks here. Just follow my guide step-by-step and everything will turn around!

(Disclaimer: I in no way can actually guarantee a total overhaul of a bad day. I just happen to respond very well to lots of jumping around and sugar).

1. Go for a run

4 miles before work. My knees were achy all day! Must. foam. roll.

2. Drink lots of caffeine

Ps I know red bull is bad…it gave me a terrible stomachache and I only made it thru about 1/3 of the can

3. Text your friends and talk about how you wish you lived in a different time. Then laugh about how silly your college-educated best friend can be (love you, Meg!)

4. Restock your fridge with tons of staples so you feel organized and ready to take on the week in a health-conscious way.

5. Take time to create a nutritious, hearty, delicious meal. Cooking is a form of meditation and relaxation for me.

Grilled bbq chicken, spring mix salad with homemade dressing (dijon, balsamic, olive oil and garlic), and sauteed zucchini

6. ………to make room for FROYO!

Too much in that cup to even describe. The most important part was that they had puppy chow as a topping.

7. Jump around for an hour until your head is pounding and your hair is all in knots.

Karate chop the blues away

Zman had the brilliant plan of going to Extreme Trampoline and bouncing around until they closed. It was fantastic. Endorphins are real, people.

Life is crazy. Sometimes people let you down–sometimes you let yourself down. Trying to get started in a career is one of the most challenging things in the world. But the more time I take to complain and dwell on it I might be missing out on more opportunities that could be just right for me. So tonight I ate chocolate and bounced around like an 8-year-old, and tomorrow I’ll wake up and try this whole grown-up thing again. I’ll be testing out a new recipe soon so keep an eye out for that!

Happy Monday!

wordless weekend: DC edition

All in all, an absolutely rejuvenating weekend full of great friends, sightseeing, and even better conversation. This weekend was nothing short of blessed.

Questions:

Which store has your favorite iced coffee? The iced coffee from “Baked and Wired” in D.C. (next to the cupcake) is in the running for me!

If you could take a weekend trip anywhere, where would you go?

Currently

Good morning! You made it to Friday!!! Is anyone else as excited as I am?!

Today I’m going to start a weekly post called “currently”. It’s just a little idea so that you can get to know me better instead of just looking at pictures of what I eat each and every day. Gotta switch it up every once in a while! I’m currently en route to Washington D.C. so I’ll be back Sunday for a weekend wrap-up. It’ll be a good one since vacation=tons and tons of pictures. TGIF!

Currently…

Current food: cherries

My dad has been scouring the farmers’ market the past few weeks and each time he picks up a HUGE (I’m talking $40) box full of cherries. Then at night he takes the pits out and leaves them in a bowl in the fridge. I never knew I liked cherries so much! They’re oh so sweet and go great in yogurt, oatmeal, over ice cream or just popped in your mouth like I’ve been doing constantly. You have to get some before they go out of season!

Current song: “Counting Stars” by One Republic

One line from this song really resonates with me during this time in my life: “Old, but I’m not that old; young, but I’m not that bold”. I do feel like I’m in limbo at this point in my life…no longer a kid but also not yet an adult. I feel like the expectations of both identities are put on me at different times and that can be frustrating and confusing. As usual, music always helps when I’m feeling out of sorts, and I found this song to be a very powerful reminder that I’m not alone in the way I feel.

Current purchase: Cate & Chloe earrings.

June “Youthful” Studs. Normally $89, now $14. I haven’t worn earnings in years, but these silver studs stood out to me when I saw the deal pop up on Groupon. Plus, what a steal! They match my necklace perfectly, and since I’m trying to be little miss grown up and all I figured one more professional-looking accessory would be a welcome addition.

Current person: Mom

I’m so proud of my Maja. She just started a new job and is absolutely kicking butt at it. Not only that, but every day I can tell that she’s happier, more passionate and challenged than she’s been in quite some time. She is growing as a human being and gaining back her confidence as a professional woman. It’s a beautiful thing!

Current wanderlust: Washington D.C. Good thing I’m headed there now!

Since I interned in DC two years ago I haven’t been back to see my roommates, who now live scattered all over the country. By some crazy twist of fate we all decided to book a flight to DC this weekend and have a reunion! I’ve been so busy this past week that it hasn’t even hit me yet that I’ll soon be on a flight to see them, but I know this weekend is going to be loads of fun. DC is one of my favorite places in the world (I’m a politics geek).

Current show: Suits

Harvey Specter. Enough said.

Current obsession: Carmex chapstick

No, it doesn’t smell like peppermint or lemon meringue pie, but this stuff works. My lips have a tendency to get incredibly dry when the weather makes a quick and drastic change (my skin does the same thing…lucky me), so I grabbed the first chapstick I saw at Walgreens before work on Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised—it goes on like a gloss but doesn’t just sit on top of your lips and make a sticky mess. It really felt like its moisture was sinking in to my lips the moment I put it on.

Current read: “6 Ugly Truths You Need to Accept to Pull Yourself Out of a Rut”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/in-a-rut-pull-yourself-from-rut_n_3672206.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

I found myself nodding furiously to each and every point made in this article, especially the “you already dreamed the dream” advice. It’s sobering to have it thrown in your face that hey, you actually DO know what you want to do you’re just afraid to do it because your 22 year old self doesn’t believe in yourself the way that you did back when you were 8.

Current excitement: FALL!

Anyone else excited for boots, leggings, infinity scarves, and pumpkin-flavored everything?? Get at me, Autumn!

Have a great weekend!

Question: what’s one of your current loves?

The Pump Room

Last night I had the pleasure of dining at The Pump Room inside the Public hotel in Chicago. Zman and I had been planning a fancy date night this weekend but since we gorged ourselves on pizza for lunch, we wanted to save this restaurant for a day when we could really appreciate it. I’m so happy we did because this was a meal to remember.

The minute we walked into the dining room we knew it was going to be an exceptional experience.

I absolutely love lanterns and think it’s so cool when people incorporate them into decorations, so walking into a dim room full of these orbs was a pleasant surprise. Zman requested a booth when he made the reservation (the man knows he has a high-maintenance girlfriend…such a sweetheart) so we had a half-circle booth made for at least five people all to ourselves. It was so nice to sit next to each other and look out on the gorgeous dining room.

The menus were handed out on clipboards. Such a pinterest-esque thing to do!

We started with a Raspberry Lychee Bellini that we shared simply because we both feel guilty going to fancy places and not drinking. To be honest, Zman and I aren’t big drinkers. Sure we go out, but at meals you’ll never see us ordering beers with our burgers or wine with our pasta. I’d much rather save room for more food!

The cocktail didn’t blow us away. It was a mix of La Marca Prosecco and homemade raspberry-lychee syrup but it just wasn’t sweet enough for what we were expecting.

After we had placed our dinner orders, the server brought out a cutting board with slices of freshly baked bread, high quality olive oil, and a dish of sea salt. As an avid bread eater I’m used to seeing bread with parmesean cheese in this situation. But surprisingly I really loved the addition of sea salt on top of the bread. The salt and the oil seemed like they really brought out the flavor in each other. Who would’ve thought?

Our food came out pretty fast for such a high-class place. We were expecting to be waiting an hour or so but everything was out in less than 20 minutes.

Zain liked his burger, but I know he would have liked a Five Guys burger just as much if not better. He only goes to fancy-pants places like this for me (AND for the dessert—which we’ll get to in a second!)

I had researched The Pump Room and was initially excited for the crab toast and baked lobster. Sadly, the waitress explained to us that their suppliers from the East coast had said the product wasn’t up to quality so they had to temporarily keep it off the menu. At first I was disappointed, but then I realized how amazing it was that this restaurant stood by its standards. If the fish wasn’t going to blow me away like it normally would, why would I want it? They were totally upfront and honest about the issue and I really respect restaurants that do that.

We looked to our server for other suggestions, since my research was thrown out the window. She recommended the organic fried chicken, something I have never had in my life. I would never have considered it normally, but she explained that it wasn’t actually fried the way I was thinking. It was two pieces of boneless chicken, a breast and a thigh, that is flash fried so it only retains 2% of the oil and still retains its natural moisture and health qualities. The intensity of the heat and the quickness of the exposure to the oil made it unlike anything “fried” I’d ever had. It tasted crunchy but not dry or greasy whatsoever. I would have never ordered this entrée without her input, and served over creamed corn and a sweet chili puree, it was delicious.

Ok…now dessert. Sweet mother of GOD was dessert good.

Deep dish cookie filled with chocolate and topped with chocolate malt ice cream.

We finished this dish in three minutes. The minute I cut into it and the hot chocolate poured out of the cookie I let out an audible groan. It was such beautiful chocolatey goodness. I almost ordered another one.

We will definitely be returning to The Pump Room. I can’t wait to try the crab toast and baked lobster, and I absolutely want to try every dessert that they have to offer. Maybe one night we’ll forgo dinner and just order one of each! We left the restaurant full but not overly stuffed, and it made our mile-long late night stroll full of conversation about how satisfied we were with the experience.

on the go: adventures of the 13 hour work day

Luckily today went a lot more smoothly than yesterday. I’ll just attribute it to first-day jitters 😉

I stayed in the city last night to avoid another hefty train ticket (I’ll be buying a monthly pass on Sept. 1 to save some money). Last night I was ecstatic about not having to make the commute, but this morning I realized it left me feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. I forgot to pack any food for the day, left my mascara at home, and only brought my work shoes (and while they’re cute, they certainly aren’t made for the 50 minute walk that I had to take to get to the office this morning). Because of the whole situation I was left to buy all my meals today; so much for saving $$, right? I really have to get it together if I’m going to make this whole living-in-two-places, working-two-jobs, and posting-on-a-daily-blog thing work.

Breakfast ended up being a surprisingly healthy instant oatmeal package at my desk.

Look at the ingredients! (Sorry for the blurriness…I still feel awkward taking pictures at work so I take them as fast as possible haha). Usually when I have to buy a prepackaged breakfast I’m horrified by what I read, but it seems like Quaker has their act together. Paired with coffee and a banana an hour later, it was a decent breakfast. I mean it was no homemade egg sandwich but it got the job done.

Work was a little slower today so I really felt like I had time to get myself together. Staying organized throughout all this has been a challenge. I’ve been relying on my Mary Poppins purse to carry my entire life, and between my snacks, makeup, extra shirts in case I stay the night, wallet, laptop and chargers, it’s a miracle the thing hasn’t snapped yet. I’ve been psyching myself out by convincing my brain it’s just an extra workout 😉

I left the office for lunch today and dined outside at the ever-fancy Potbelly.

Turkey on wheat with mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle.

It felt so so nice to sit outside, enjoying the sun and solitude.

I have to work at the restaurant tonight so I’m currently blogging from the train on my way home. I was hungry again so I picked up a Jamba Juice smoothie at the station. As I do so many times, I made the mistake of thinking with my eyes and not my stomach.

Blogging on the train 🙂

Original Mango-a-go-go + soy protein powder. Too big for the “snack” it was supposed to be! See, this is why I need to get back to my kitchen at home and pack my meals/snacks. I need to start saving money, plus I enjoy that kind of food so much more.

Sadly a workout probably isn’t going to happen today, but I’m in the process of organizing my life so that I’ll stay in the city every Wednesday night so I can enjoy “Yoga in the Park” with Megan a la Lululemon. Don’t you just love how they offer free classes like that?

The amount that my life is changing at the moment is insane—and I know it would be so easy to let my health and fitness fall to the wayside. That’s why it takes serious dedication and effort to schedule workouts just like any other commitment. I still want to workout 5-6 days a week, no exceptions. Like I’ve said before, I’m a better person when I take care of myself, and fitness is a huge part of this. Getting that daily sweat in is so important!

I’ll be back tonight with a restaurant review! It’s a good one and if you’re headed to Chicago soon you’ll definitely want to check it out.

I hope you’re enjoying your humpday! If not, go outside and soak up some sun! That never fails to brighten up my day.

if i die it’s because i ate the expired yogurt in the fridge

so yeah. there’s that.

Today was my first day commuting downtown for work! Exciting, I know, but to be honest the day couldn’t possibly have started out worse.

Minus this sunrise. I came out of a 5 am spin class and it was so breathtaking. The little things…

So my day started off on the wrong foot. I completely underestimated how long it would take me to get ready after the gym in order to make the train. After sprinting in the door, getting ready, and making breakfast (all without pausing for a second), I knew if I didn’t eat my cereal in the car I’d be late.

Kashi vanilla graham topped with peaches and almond milk. I am all about this cereal right now.

Sadly as I was running out the door I dropped the bowl on my foot (ouch). Not only did it shatter, but I was covered in milk. Lovely. No time to change though, otherwise I’d miss the train. So like the champion I am, I powered through, milky hair and all.

Bad luck #2: I still missed the train. We drove up just as it was pulling away. What a tease. Luckily my dad is a sweetheart and hung out with me in the car until the next train came ten minutes later.

Bad luck #3: Because I didn’t purchase my ticket at the station it was an additional $3–cash that I didn’t have. Luckily the woman behind me practically jumped out of her seat to help pay for my ticket, but it was still mortifying.

Well I eventually made it downtown, ready to start my first official day as a big kid.

The building where I work is awesome! You can tell it’s an old building that has been renovated–it has a cool hipster vibe.

I do solemnly swear to never ever take the elevator. The stairwells are awesome!

I settled into my “desk” (I’ll be moving around the office for awhile) and got the grand tour. It’s a small company and the building is no different, but that makes it incredibly low-key and comfortable.

Oh, and the best part? READING FOOD BLOGS (just part of the job, folks)

Heavenly.

I snacked a lot throughout the day, including this delicious 3-week-expired yogurt.

By the time I was halfway through it I noticed the expiration date. It was slightly chunky to say the least (TMI?) but I’m still here to tell the tale. If I don’t check in tomorrow you’ll know why.

I ended the day meeting up with Megan for happy hour, but not before stopping at Starbucks for some more snacks. PS there is an amazing looking bakery close to my work–I can’t wait to try it out!

Megan and I met up at Moe’s Cantina in the River North neighborhood for drinks after work. It was so nice to hang out just the two of us, spending a few hours catching up and talking about life.

Margarita for her, mojito for me.

Then we walked around a little more, exploring the River North neighborhood (which included stalking the Trump Tower and seeing if Giuliana Rancic or Ashton Kutcher would make an appearance).

So for a day that started pretty much as bad as it gets, ending it with my best friend on a gorgeous day in the city wasn’t a bad deal.

Question: do you eat expired foods, or throw them out the day the date has passed?

it ain’t easy being cheesy

I know, I know…there’s no such thing as too much cheese.

Until you’ve eaten too much cheese.

Between the ice cream, parmesean fries, and deep dish pizza yesterday, my body is in a dairy coma. I’ve gotten to the point where my body will tell me if I’ve had too much of something and I can realize it’s time to back off. Well today I decided to limit the dairy for a few days, and while I rarely drink milk, cheese is one of my best friends. Even though I fully admit there are few things better in the world than digging into a monstrous pizza, it’s just time to cut back.

I started the day with a 6am alarm to head to the gym before my first day of work. I worked from home today, but normally I’ll have to get up at 5am in order to squeeze in my workouts before taking the train to the city. I told you I was going to be busy, but sacrificing a good sweat before I start my day isn’t going to happen! I truly believe I’m a better person when I work out–it just makes me so happy! Anyone who says endorphins don’t exist clearly isn’t doing the right workout.

Long story short, I did a 30 minute interval workout on the stairmaster. My legs were so tight! I definitely need to stretch/foam roll more because this was next to impossible to finish. After I powered through I did my standard upper body workout that I’ve talked about before (3 kinds of curls, overhead tricep extensions, shoulder raises) and then finished the workout with 8 Minute Abs.

I came home and quickly drank some chocolate protein powder mixed with almond milk. Starting your day with chocolate is the bomb! For breakfast I kept my promise to myself by leaving out the cheese in my eggs. Usually I like salt and cheese to give eggs flavor, but today I added so much onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes that they tasted great without all that added fat and salt.

I made a huge scramble of two eggs and two egg whites mixed with an ungodly amount of vegetables: chopped spinach, green/red/yellow peppers, and onions. Also mixed in were two chopped up veggie sausage patties. Along with my coffee it was a hugeeee and satisfying breakfast that kept me full for a solid four hours (a miracle).

I had the busiest first day of work! I’m so happy because it seems like I’m truly going to be an integral part of the team instead of just a coffee-fetching intern, and it’s very similar to the health communication and social marketing initiative work that I worked on during my last semester of college. I feel well prepared and ready for my first in-office day tomorrow. The one down side to actual employment is that there’s no way I’m going to be able to cook nearly as much as I have been this summer, but hey, I’ll take employment over that luxury 😉

Lunch was made on a quick break from work. Thank god for the microwave.

Veggie corn dogs and broccoli. I’m glad I’m starting to get back on the broccoli train. I hopped off it for awhile but it’s great to be back together with the green goodness.

In the middle of my workday the best thing happen: the UPS guy came! Never did I ever think I’d be so excited to see a man in brown short shorts at my door. He had my SHOES!

Not to sound like a total girl, but don’t you love it when you find a great pair of shoes on sale?

$36 on clearance. Boom. Thanks Sole Society! This is my favorite website to buy shoes because they’re decently priced AND it’s always free shipping both ways. Can’t beat that!

This called for a snack celebration!

In totally unrelated news, isn’t it depressing when you realize how small 2 tablespoons of peanut butter actually is? Stupid serving sizes. Luckily I firmly believe in blissful ignorance so I scooped away with my big ol’ spoon. Apples balance it all out, right?

After I finished my work I went to job #2 at the restaurant. Oh boy it’s going to be a long few months, this whole two jobs thing. Luckily it was absolutely dead so I got home at 9 and was able to sneak in a quick dinner before heading to bed.

Followed by the world’s best popsicle:

Outshine Pomegranate. Buy them!

I’m trying to get a good night’s sleep for my first actual day in the office tomorrow. I’m planning on going to the early morning spin class at my gym before I catch the train so sleep is definitely necessary. Hope your Monday was cheery!

scenes from the weekend

Brace yourselves–it’s going to be a long post!

But isn’t it pictures of food that brings you to blogs like this in the first place? I guess I really shouldn’t be apologizing but instead accepting “thank yous” for posting the following glorious food pictures–try not to drool on your keyboard (I’ve heard that computer warranties tend not to cover food envy-induced drool).

The weekend started with my early Saturday morning ritual: SPIN!

As usual it was heart-pumping, music-blasting, sweat-dripping fun!

Breakfast was a new cereal–Kashi Vanilla Graham (with a banana and almond milk)

Verdict: it’s delicious!! I really love it and will definitely be getting this from now on. It’s a happy medium between the regular Kashi GoLean and Kashi GoLean Crunch, and with the banana it was the perfect amount of sweet.

I spent the ENTIRE day researching which type of laptop to get: a Mac or a new PC. It’s an impossible situation because everyone has such a strong opinion one way or the other. On the one hand, I would like a Mac because it seems like it needs the least amount of maintenance (and as the least “techie” person in the universe, I really need something that doesn’t need “cache cleaning” or “cookie clearing” or whatever the heck good computer maintenance requires). But on the other hand, $1200 is a lot of dough to drop in one purchase. I still haven’t decided for sure but I’m leaning towards finding another PC. We’ll see what happens.

Unlike many people, looking at technology is incredibly stressful and irritating to me, so as I did this I tried to create a new recipe.

It was supposed to be a frittata, but the potatoes were a little too overdone so I decided it would make a better side dish. Zucchini, onions, potatoes, and Herbe de Provence, all mixed with one tablespoon of butter and some salt. I wasn’t sure how it would taste (as you can see it’s not the prettiest dish) but man was it yummy! Definitely had a Thanksgiving-feel.

I had to work at the restaurant last night but luckily I was cut early. I was able to catch a train downtown at a decent hour and met up with Zman and his roommate, who just happens to be my good friend from high school (funny how that all worked out!) We decided that we wanted to have a quiet night in so we went to Walgreens, got some snacks and picked up “Django Unchained” from Redbox. We were all set for a movie night!

That movie–wow. While pretty cartoonish (thanks Tarantino), it was so eye-opening. It was such a fun night and I went to bed stuffed and on a sugar-high.

PS why has the world been hiding Pirate’s Booty from me? SO GOOD! It tasted like healthy Cheetos!

Today we woke up ready for a lazy Sunday. After mass we walked to the Hershey Store, Ghirardelli, Whole Foods, and Giordano’s. I think it’s safe to say where my interests lie.

Cupcake truck! Could there be anything better?

Garlic-parmesean fries

Surprisingly great side salad from Giordano’s with a lemon vinaigrette

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the Chicago River. It was a gorgeous day out and we were so happy to just spend some time together before we go back to spending our work weeks apart.

On my walk back to Union Station to catch a train home, I snapped this pic of the Sears Tower at night. I’m so lucky that I get to spend my weekends in the greatest city in America.

I start an internship tomorrow which will have me in the city even more often. I’m still going to be waitressing some nights in the suburbs, however, so I’m going to be a busy bee. Good thing that’s the way I like it! Here’s to a new chapter, starting with tomorrow 🙂

throwback friday

Today was a throwback! Why? I’ll get to that in a minute.

I woke up and went on a slow, scenic 5 mile run. The last mile of the run I did “that thing” where I sprinted during the refrain and walked during the verses of the song I was listening to. Does anyone else do that? It really pumps me up at the end of a run!

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful run.

Post-run breakfast was peach oatmeal:

Peach cobbler in a bowl. Yum.

Back to the throwback!

Megan and I went back to visit our high school today! It was a crazy bittersweet experience. It’s funny how you can go back to high school and your teachers seem so much more like your peers. Especially since some of our friends are going back and teaching there this year. It’s pretty bizarre!