Memorial Day Weekend Recap...

Kicking off the summer with...

Strawberry-basil chicken burgers...

For real...

Strawberry pickin'...

Girl's nights/mini-baby showers, which led to Katie's favorite gift:  ALL THE TISSUE PAPER...

(this went on for an hour)

Family weddings...<3 p="">

Parade watching... 

A too-tired to cook Memorial Day trip to The Pour House for good ole short rib cheese fries & pork nachos... 

...and a "Sweet Cheese" burgers (topped with blue cheese, cheddar & maple-mustard) ...

...and of course, ICE CREAM...

...as only the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (now in Philadelphia) can do, with an "American Gangster" (vanilla cone coated in chocolate covered pretzels & a chocolate dip + dulce de leche)... 

In short:  I'm exhausted & ready for a salad.  Hope you guys had a fabulous long weekend and are set for the week ahead.  Have a good Tuesday!

As well as Santa Claus & the Easter bunny...

*PS- My "Journeys Near & Far" page has been completely updated...mostly with Jersey eatsJ 

Morning, ya'll!  How are ya guys doin?   Like I said, Monday snuck up on us so quick that I didn't even get my bearings to be able to post yesterdayJ  I can't even believe that this summer is winding down already and that FALL is flyin right at us.  It's almost too fast for ME, and that's sayin A LOT!  Summer used to be a complete DREAD, with my counting down the days to FALL as soon as spring/April hit.  August was actually spent going "This time NEXT MONTH we can be apple picking/sweatshirt wearing/crisp nights loving."  Sighhhhh.......so much has changedJ

MEMORIESSSSSSS....

Let me digress before I summon the humidity gods and have them give me a reminder of my non-favorite summer attribute and why I'd be happy to see summer on its wayJ  (I should mention that those gods have been staying FAR away from us, which is 99% major reason for this 2-year old love of summerJ) 

BUT ANYWAY, back to the weekend and back to the 'so much has changed' comment, given that THIS was how we spent our Saturday morning:  

Thomas the train is one of Katie's absolute favorite...people...things?? on the planet and YELPS in happiness every time she sees him....

....buttttt, unfortunately, the 'visiting' with Thomas proved to be too much reality and he went about as well as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny...

...would now be a good time to mention that I waited in line over an hour for us to get up & close with Thomas????     

Nah...I won't even mention it.

...at least the rest of the Please Touch Museum went over a little better, preventing the day from being a total bustJ

And after 4+ tiring and LOUD hours at the museum (which was CRAZY busy on a Saturday, obv!), neither of us felt like fighting Philly/weekend traffic and decided to head out of the city for dinner.  And when we got home, I just wanted SIMPLE PIZZA.  NOT thin-crust, fancy toppings or any of those things I usually ADORE.  NO, I wanted OLD SCHOOL pizza and I got just that at Scotto's Pizza in Yardville.  

I hadn't been to Scotto's in YEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS, but it was everything I wanted at that very momentJ  SIMPLE, CLASSIC and PERFECT.

Plus it helped that Scotto's shares a parking lot with Carvel, where we were finally able to try their Nutella ice cream...

Which, as you can imagine, was simply divine.  It tasted like frozen chocolate milk kissed with hazelnuts...and let's not even discuss the level of YUM that those CHOCOLATE CRUNCHIES addedJ  

And then it was back to my 'reasons I love summer' when we packed up Katie, our niece and about 85 bags to take down to my Mother-in-Law's 2-week beach house rental in Manasquan on Sunday...

And it was actually the FIRST time all summer that the ocean was slightly warm enough to take a swim.  Emphasis on the SLIGHTLY, cause it was still pretty darn cold!  I guess here's the only place I can chalk up a 'bummer' in the 'nice & cool summer' department.  Not that Katie cared...she was out of the ocean for about 20 minutes the entire day...

And when we got back to the house, it was time for our 'classic shore dinner':  Lobster tails, baked potatoes, salad & 'corn & beans'...

Katie even sampled some shrimp tails, like the proper summer-lover that she isJ

So yeah...usually after an indulgent weekend, Monday is usually met with a 'clean sweep' of health.  This was NOT so yesterday, folks (sometimes the call of a tuna hoagie is just too much to take...even on a MondayJ), so I'll try to clean it up today in the attempts to have a healthier recap for you tomorrowJ 

Have a great Tuesday!

Garlic-lovers fantasy come true...

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a fun one.  I'm trying to run off to the gym a little earlier this fine morning, so here's a quick recap of the weekend...

Friday started with a stop here...

...with a fabulous delight known as the GARLIC BOMB!

...a cheesesteak topped with garlic spread and DEEP FRIED ROASTED GARLIC!

"DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN" is the only way to describe this garlic-lovers fantasy come trueJ

Oh yeah...and there were also a little number known as FARM FRIES... 

...which were fries topped with pork gravy, provolone and BACON!  Oh yes!  The more gravy, the BETTER on these babies!

Then it was time to walk off ALL that goodness by spending the rest of the day at the Philadelphia ZooJ

...which was an obvious HITJ

And then we tried to reel it ALL back in, with an early morning stock up at the farmer's market for the week ahead (complete with THIS adorableness...)

...power yoga + a GREEN SMOOTHIE BOWL (which I WILL admit, was not as appealing as their pretty pink counterpartsJ Green Smoothies in a GLASS from here on outJ)....

..and some GREEK NACHOS for a "light bite" dinner...

Baked pita chips...or, since it's all we had on hand, 100 calorie multi-grain sandwich thinsJ...sliced & baked at 350 for about 10 minutes...

...a layer of crumbled turkey breast seasoned with diced onions, oregano & Greek seasoning... 

...and assorted coooool toppings...

...oh yeah, and a layer of creamy & tangy tzatziki sauce which I whipped up in the food processor within minutes:

• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 shredded cucumber
• 1 clove of garlic
• couple handfuls of feta
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• salt & pepper to taste 

Nice & light, but BURSTING with flavor...I have a feeling these will be seeing their way to our plates a lot this summer, especially with the cool bites of cucumber & bright green onion... 

And Sunday followed up with a 'sample party' of doughnuts from Beiler's...because, even though Reading Terminal Market is FILLED with a gaggle of exquisite goodies, I JUST CAN'T HELP making a stop at my FAVORITE doughnut stand every time I'm there... 

Maple bacon, vanilla cream and a blueberry fritter joined the party.  Those pieces were actually even smaller than they look in that picture, I SWEARJ 

...because, TRUST ME, someone wanted to make sure they got their fair shareJ  She's just like Mommy & my Grandmom:  we LOVE ourselves some doughnutsJ   

 ...and the rest of Sunday was spent walking in honor of my Uncle at the annual NJ Kidney walk...

...and celebrating my friend's ADORABLE 2 year oldJ  (How CUTE is this cake & cupcake stand that she made???)

So yep, that wraps it upJ.  And since I loved that pilates class so much from last week, now I'm off to try to get there THIS morning.  Especially since the last few weeks I've been getting up earlier to get my workouts in...which Katie must have caught wind of and is NOW getting up at the SAME. TIME!  Sighhhhh...hopefully it's just a phare OR I'll have to start getting up even EARLIER to get in some "ME/EXERCISE" timeJ  Such is lifeJ  Not complaining...just laughing at the ironyJ

Hope you guys have a great Monday!

Doughnuts, squared....

Morning, all! (well, it was when I started writing this blog postJ)  Hope you guys are doing goodJ  It's been a whirlwind of celebration around here the last few days, starting with Katie's little birthday party on Saturday....

...complete with stolen bitesJ

(Kitty Cat Cake made by my amazing friend at Kim Cakes!)

And my birthday yesterday, which I was lucky enough to share with my favorite folksJ

Starting in one of my favorite places, Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  Made 'extra special' since it was our first time taking Katie thereJ

While Scott & Katie strolled the market, I made a pit stop at my ultimate 'birthday breakfast':  Doughnuts from Beiler's!

And even though they make one of the TOP cream doughnuts EVER (challenged only by our beloved Eet Gud), I just HAD to start my birthday with COCONUT, of courseJ

It was TOUGH to leave Reading Terminal without a DiNic's roast pork & mac and cheese (even at 10:30amJ), but we had other plans in the works for the day...more on that in a secJ

And we definitely managed to "work off the doughnuts" chasing Katie EVERY WHICH WAY here:

I'm not exactly sure who had more fun, me or her, because I found this place to be CRAZY AMAZING!

She had a BLAST 'digging up potatoes', driving the mail truck, shopping in the grocery store, having a tea party in a tree trunk, collecting rubber ducks at the water table, running through the Alice in Wonderland maze and steering a boat...complete with a saluteJ

I was in AWE of this place and couldn't get enough of Katie's hysterical laughter as she tore through that placeJ  Wish I could take her every dayJ

And after all that running, it was officially 'lunch/dinner' time...and I was SO excited once, after a wayward drive, we finally pulled up to:

"PYT" is KNOWN for it's CRAZY burger concoctions (bacon bun, anyone??) and boozy 'adult' milkshakes.  I mean, can ya go wrong with that combo???

And ready for one of those crazy combos????

I'm fairly certain a burger served on a grilled glazed doughnut (yes...more doughnuts...EEEE!), topped with cheese and chocolate covered bacon is ONLY approved on birthdays!  I mean...

Scott & I SHARED THIS for lunch, half seemed MORE than enoughJ  And as "novelty" as it was, the burger was DELICIOUS in its own right.  You oddly enough couldn't really taste the bacon, but the other bits of sweetness actually REALLY worked here.  I know...even I HAD a moment before diving into a burger mixed with CHOCOLATE, but it was sweet & salty deliciousnessJ

But I have to say my VERYFAVORITETHING we had was our "appetizer" (even BETTER we split the burger, huh??J)  of CRISPY waffle fries (and by God, who doesn't love a waffle fry???) topped with CHEESESTEAK!!!!

My love of fries + chopped meat knows no bound, and these can be added to my list of FAVORITES!  I loved that the fries were still SUPER CRISPY even under all that cheese "wiz", provolone and chopped steak...O.M.to the G!  Just. so. good!  

And of course I had to cap off the day with a Birthday cake shake!J  (Yup...that's topped with 1/2 a cupcake!)

I think since we ordered them 'to go' it was lacking the vanilla vodka as promised, but the excess amount of colorful jimmies made up for itJ

Was that enough sugar for the day??

Oh wait...there's moreJ

Katie & I stopped by my Mom's house after our trip, where she had gotten me a little coconut cake for us all to shareJ  Guess who enjoyed that too...

And after all of THAT, you best believe I already got myself to yoga today and am keeping it LEAN & GREEN today!J  I'll be back tomorrow to show you my pre AND post birthday days that I use to balance out...ummmm...2 doughnuts, cheese fries, a milkshake and cake.

Oh God.  Writing that out made it sound even worseJ hahahhaha (but it was gooooooooood!)

Enjoy the beautiful weather today, folks!  It's a GORGEOUS one in Jersey!!