Tag: Base Coat

Weekend Things & GABF 2018

LaurenLeave a comment

What can I say about this weekend except that it was the very best because: after two years, we were back at Great American Beer Fest!  Saturday was low key and plan-free and Sunday involved a last-minute manicure and baking (because it’s fall now, ya know??).  I’d relive it all again in a heartbeat!

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In truest Lauren form, I was EXTREMELY prepared for GABF — you do not even know how thorough my list making was — and my excitement level was OFF THE CHARTS.  Pretzel necklaces and Illegal Pete’s burritos are my favorite pre-fest rituals but this year was even better because Hannah and Mason dropped Josh off and I got to see that little babe crawl and bounce on our rubber cow and make only the best of faces ♥

The line to get into the fest was HORRIBLE (I think it wound the entire way around the convention center), but once inside, I forgot all about that ordeal.  Highlights included being the last group to taste Zombie Dust from 3 Floyds, a DEEP purple barrel-aged sour from Une Année, the Blazed Orange Milkshake from Hop Butcher for the World, a guy playing the saxophone on top the Melvin bus (who knows!) and get this… A SPAGHETTI GOSE from WeldWerks!  It smelled like spaghetti and tasted tomato-y in the most interesting way.  You’re probably thinking “EW!” but let me ask you this, do you like a Bloody Mary??  It’s not so different.  Mostly though, this was just the best night with the best people and I feel so happy about it.

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Joey got up the next morning and ran 5 miles (HOW??) but I needed an iced oat milk latte to revive me.  It worked, thankfully!  I realized I’d put ALL my energy into preparing for GABF and forgot to plan anything for Saturday or Sunday, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it made for a real laid back couple of days.  I hit up the grocery, bottled some orange-vanilla-honey kombucha, napped, excitedly snapped a picture of my little library once Joey got it set up (♥♥♥) and then we made tacos and watched Set It Up (which isn’t going to win any Oscars but we laughed).

Oh and I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, bringing my HP re-read to a close and it is so so bittersweet.  I think I cried like 100x during that last book, starting on the literal first page which said something like “And now we bring you the final installment of the Harry Potter series.”  HA!

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Sunday started with a run for both of us (TEN MILES for Joey and five for me) then breakfast together before we split up for the afternoon.  I booked myself a manicure and walked over to a surprisingly quiet Base Coat and on my way back, I peeped that little library and it made me so happy.  I tackled lunches before sitting outside to read for a bit.

Once Joey got home from watching football (really needed him to get our mixer down for me :P), I got to baking because it’s fall now and we MUST.  This recipe for Whole Wheat Applesauce Loaf is one of my very favorites and I hadn’t made it in years so obviously that had no change.  I always make em into muffins (same temp, just 30 minutes less to bake) and then Joey and I each ate one sitting on the couch in the dark because having the oven on without AC is still tough (but worth it for these!).  Hope your weekend was wonderful!

Weekend Things

Lauren2 Comments

So out with June and in with July!  This month is a celebratory one, what with a wedding, 4th of July, birthdays galore (including mine!) and just that peak summer spirit going on.  I’m all for it!  We had no plans for Friday and I’m not going to lie, I was VERY into the idea of cooking dinner at home, vegging out on the couch and probably falling asleep early.  We did all of that and I loved every second!

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Orzo Salad from The Kitchen made thee biggest bowl of food and we will have leftovers forever!

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Saturday started with a trip to the Farmers’ Market but I’m happy to report we finally invested in bike helmets so our brains were nice and safe on the way there.  Shh, don’t think about how many times I told you we biked someplace now that you know we weren’t wearing helmets till now.  We grabbed breakfast tacos at a stand in the market and I was NOT impressed.  But I went home with peaches and shishitos and feel only happiness about that!!!

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The rest of the day was spent preparing for and enjoying (or if you’re my mom and sister, SUFFERING THROUGH) the Shakespeare Festival.  Friday was in the 90s, Sunday was in the 90s and Saturday was seriously in the 60s.  WHY?!  I think my sister referred to my insistence that we still picnic before the play as inflexibility, but I’m calling it perseverance, okay?  We had a spread of sausage, cheese, crackers, dates, figs, cherries, shrimp, potstickers, marcona almonds and olives that was only slightly excessive for three people.  And we maybe ate our macarons in the car because we needed a quick warm up before sitting outside for 2+ hours.

I seriously loved the production of Love’s Labour’s Lost but my sister’s review was “just a bunch of old men spitting” (and okay, all the male actors did seem to be emitting a bit too much spray while delivering their lines) and my mom thought it was dull.  To each their own!

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And now, a representation of Sunday via every meal I ate.  Ha!  We made our very favorite egg-free French toast with miso-date butter, using some challah we bought at the Farmers’ Market and it was amazing!  Between that and my lunch salad, I got my hair cut and returned a bunch of things at the mall, then my parents came over to pick up Andi.  They’re watching him for a couple of days while we stay in Lyons for Bobby and Becca’s wedding and Joey and I very dramatically fake cried about letting go of him.  Also, I took my dad to American Cultures to fill up growlers of kombucha and I was very happy to hear how much he liked the place!

Got a mani/pedi later on and then, since my hair was nice and curled, my nails were pretty and pink and it felt like holiday weekend time, we went out to dinner at Bamboo Sushi.  They have a lovely shaded patio out back and is there anything better than fresh sushi on a hot summer evening?  I say no.   The Green Machine is a veggie roll but it is seriously my favorite ever.  Between Cart-Driver last Sunday and Bamboo Sushi this Sunday, I could get used to this chill Sunday dinner out thing ♥  Last but not least, major shout out to Joey, who whipped the backyard into shape this weekend so it feels like our little oasis again.  I am so very thankful for his hard work!