velvet taco

Velvet Taco and The Chopping Block

As usual, there’s only one excuse for not blogging in three+ days (Saturday and Sunday count as one day, by the way): I was too busy living to write about living.

I feel like I didn’t sit still this entire weekend, which is always a welcome feeling (unless, of course, you’re doing things you don’t want to do. I don’t let this happen too often, however, so usually when I’m “busy,” I’m busy doing fun things. It’s a nice problem to have). Ever since I made a conscious decision to be a “yes” person, my days and nights have become filled with one adventure after the other. So what have you guys been up to these last few days? You all feel like strangers to me. Let’s change that.

On Thursday night I met my mom for dinner at Velvet Taco, a new taco joint located just around the corner from where I work. I’ve been wanting to go for awhile now and luckily she agreed to be my date.

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YOU GUYS.

This place is the BOMB.

I tried two tacos: The WTF Special (lobster salad, avocado, sea salt and arugula) and the Tikka Chicken. The Lobster was pretty freaking delicious but the Tikka Chicken was out of this world. Crispy chicken smothered in spicy pepper sauce, buttered cilantro basmanti rice, raita crema and thai basil. It took me to the moon and back. I’m in love.

Afterwards I met Colleen for drinks at Havana, a Cuban hot spot located downtown. Margaritas ensued – always a great idea.

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Pretty soon we met up with Spencer and a few other friends at the House of Blues to see one of our favorite high school bands. You know the kind. The ones whose songs come on your “Best of the 2000s” Pandora playlist and immediately transport you to that Friday night when you were about to get your first kiss and had a container of Vaseline in your coat pocket (not Chapstick, no, you weren’t cool enough for that) that you kept frantically putting on because you were so nervous (that’s not a true story or anything…..) But yeah. We saw Motion City Soundtrack.

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We also clearly got the most sober person in the room to take our photo:

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Friday was a pretty chill day and night — I went in to the store and then I got to see my college girlfriends who I realized I hadn’t seen in a month (!!!!). Never letting that happen again. Time can slip away from you if you’re not careful.

Saturday I woke up bright and early for a yoga sculpt class at CorePower. I know I’ve said it before but if you’re in the area and can get into Ariel’s class, do yourself a favor and get there. It makes my weekend.

That afternoon my dad came into town and we headed to The Chopping Block for a knife skills class!

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I’ve been trying to go to this class for more than a year. My brother got me tickets for Christmas LAST year and I ended up cancelling at the last minute. Thankfully time flies, and this year I managed to clear my grueling schedule for a few hours to take this fun class with my dad.

It’s no surprise that just being in an ornate kitchen for a few hours was paradise for me. And at the end of the day, even though the class itself wasn’t revolutionary, I learned how to properly chop an onion so I’m calling it a success.

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Sunday I somehow convinced more people to go back to Velvet Taco with me because once I get a restaurant stuck in my brain, I go there waaaaaaaay too many times until I’m sick of it and can never go back. Also, you know you’ve been someplace too many times in one week when the manager comes up to your table and when you introduce yourself, he mentions how he recognizes you from the “many” times you’ve been in. Yiiiikes.

It was a blast of a night. I met and chatted with some of the staff and ended up spending the better part of three hours there. It’s such a warm, welcoming spot that I felt so comfortable just hanging out with my friends there after work. This time around I tried the fish taco and buffalo chicken taco and was once again not disappointed. That Tikka Chicken still holds the #1 spot in my heart, though. And because I couldn’t possibly love them more, the kind managers treated us to two orders of their signature tater tots as well as their homemade red velvet cake. Shoutout to Cory and Rory for making it their personal mission to make sure their local lululemon girls won’t fit into their yoga pants come June.

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I’m really excited for this week! Tomorrow is the first day of the Girls on the Run season so I’ll be meeting my girls. I’m also starting a new fitness challenge for the month of March that I can’t wait to share with you. Let’s just say, good thing I fueled with those tots. It’s gonna be a burner.

Questions:

  • Tacos: what’s your favorite kind?
  • What was your favorite band in high school?