Solo Weekend Things

Extended title for this post would be:

Solo, Snowed In, Watched Every Episode of Girls in 3 Nights, Haven’t Seen Another Human Being All Weekend Things.  And that last part is only a slight exaggeration.

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Joey has been at “work conference” in Vegas (that just so happened to coincide with March Madness — how odd!), so I was flying solo all weekend.  I still can’t decide if I really loved having so much alone time — and I mean really alone because it snowed all weekend and I left my apartment…hmmm… about twice the entire time — or if I was just crazy from lack of human interaction.

I took up watching Girls on Wednesday night thinking that would hold me over till Sunday.  Saturday morning I finished the second season, so that plan didn’t really work out.  I know the end of season two got weird –really weird — but I really loved the show.  Having watched it all in one giant chunk, I don’t even think I could put all my thoughts on it into words.  Or into one post, so I’ll just say that I already want to make Joey watch it.  Partly so I can re-watch it…

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I celebrated Friday by picking up the new JT CD at Target.  And maybe left with an armful of stuff I swear I had not planned on buying.  Can I just ask why they need to make it so difficult to open a CD?  It’s only a $10 item!!!  Clearly I was frustrated, but not as frustrated as when, after 10 minutes of struggling with the CD wrapping, my arm caught the top of our olive oil cruet and dumped the whole thing on the floor.  Sadly this was not the first time I have spilled olive oil all over my kitchen floor.  I proceeded to ignore the spill and watch and episode of Girls before calling my sister to complain.  She suggested I pour cornmeal over the spill before wiping it up and it worked!  For future reference…

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I woke up to this scene on Saturday.  I was less than happy to be pulling out my winter coat again.  I had really hoped we were done with this whole winter and snow thing, but this is Colorado and there is a chance of snow all the way into May.  I often give Joey a hard time for wanting to “do nothing” on the weekend.  I don’t know how to “do nothing.”  And I especially don’t know how to “do nothing” when I have plans to do something.  But this weekend I had absolutely no plans to do anything and dare I say it was kind of nice.

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I didn’t have an agenda, or a to-do list, or anything in mind that I “needed” to accomplish.  I didn’t feel guilty for sitting on the couch and watching TV.  Way too much TV.  And I didn’t put any pressure on myself to “be productive.”  And you know what happened?  I was kind of productive anyways.  I mean, I made honey beer bread!  That’s all the productivity a person needs, right?

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I found this recipe earlier this week and when I decided I wasn’t into cleaning off my car or finding out if the roads were bad or not on Saturday, I pulled up the recipe and was delighted to find I had all the ingredients on hand (oh the beauty of being a homebrewer — beer is always on hand!).  I didn’t have a loaf pan so I went with the pie dish but who really cares what the shape of their bread is anyways.  This turned out fabulously!  I ate a buttery slice hot and fresh from the oven and thought I was going to die of happiness.  Seriously one of the best pieces of bread I’ve ever eaten.  Gah!  I also fed it to my sister (along with some cheesy chicken and rice soup) last night and she concurred that it was phenomenal.

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On Sunday I trounced around in the snow with this little girl.  My parents took a trip to Santa Fe so I’m helping out with their dogs.  I stopped by their place yesterday after my usual afternoon yoga class (which was so sweaty and amazing) and took both dogs out.  Huni proceeded to hop into the snow and then stand there totally confused and probably really cold.  It was adorable.

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I also made life revelation #549784541: the answer to all things is caffeine.  For all sleep-deprived, motivation-seeking, must-get-through-the-workday, or just because times, caffeine is the answer.  I also happen to be super sensitive to caffeine, therefore one measly cup of Earl Gray totally has me buzzing and feeling like my brain is minutes from slipping into either brilliance or insanity (same thing, right?) for the rest of the day.  So fun!

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And what’s caffeine without a side of chocolate chip pancakes anyways?

I think I’ve rambled on long enough, Happy Monday!

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Are you still getting snow where you live?

Can you go to Target without buying at least a handful of stuff you don’t need?

When was the last time you spent a good chunk of time by yourself?

Weekend Things: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

This weekend I…

Got a special package delivered straight from New Orleans. <— Thanks, Uncle!

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My mom said I shouldn’t have shared with everyone at work.  I argued that then I wouldn’t be able to brag that I have family in New Orleans or see the look on people’s faces when you say “don’t accidentally eat the baby!”

Enjoyed Friday evening Happy Hour.

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We tried a new place in Louisville.  It was cute, affordable, and the pizza was delicious but it just wasn’t the Med.

Cooked a delicious Saturday night dinner.

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Beef stroganoff, mustardy brussel sprouts and red wine.  I’m on a mission to become a wino but I currently know nothing about wine and am paranoid that liquor store employees are suspicious when I wander around the wine section for so long before finally making a decision.

Had dinner and well, more King Cake at my parents’ on Sunday  night.

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My mom found the baby, continuing my streak of not finding the baby.  FYI this is a Mardi Gras tradition.  You hide this plastic baby inside the King Cake and the person who finds it in their piece is in charge of hosting the party the next year.

Other weekend highlights would include…

An outdoor run, seeing Gangster Squad (Ryan Gosling, you so cool), me pretending to work on the puzzle but actually just watching TV instead while Joey comes up with some systematic way to finish all the sky parts that are left, coffee with Hannah, bottling our beer and booking a trip to Vegas for my sister’s 21st birthday!!  I think I’m more excited than she is.

Oh!  and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce!

Last week we made “the lazy man’s quiche” aka a fritatta, with ricotta cheese.  It was delicious by the way, but we had leftover ricotta that I didn’t want to waste, so ricotta pancakes were born.  Lemon and blueberries are the obvious pairings for such pancakes and they turned out to be really delicious.

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

For the pancakes:

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2-2/3 cup milk (enough to get batter to the right consistency — you want it slightly thick)

For the blueberry sauce:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • juice of half a lemon
  1. In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda baking powder and sugar.
  2. In another bowl, combine ricotta, egg, egg white, milk and lemon juice.
  3. Add ricotta mixture to dry ingredients, mix until just combined and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Heat a griddle, and drop batter by the 1/4 cup once hot.  Once bubbles start to form, flip pancakes and cook on the other side.
  5. While pancakes are cooking, combine blueberries, water and lemon juice in a sauce pot.  Bring to a boil, then mash blueberries, reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
  6. Top pancakes with blueberry sauce and devour!

Now what to do with the 1 cup of ricotta that’s still left over.

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What did you do this weekend?

Do you know what a King Cake is?

What’s your favorite weekend breakfast to indulge in?