FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

An HLS Reunion!

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So… I’ve never actually seen snow fall for reals. Frozen rain in action and the aftermath of a snopocolypse, yes. Legit snow, no. Let’s just say it was a super nice breakfast surprise.

I finished with the presentation team just in time for lunch, so I parked myself at Barry’s until Lauren was able to meet up. I don’t know much about snowy weather, but espresso under a gloomy sky sure did seem like something one should do.

Oh and cookies. Lemon finger cookies for dipping. Those should be done too.

When Lauren arrived we ordered some super tall sandwiches and tried to cram six months of catching up into a lunch-hour. Impossible, but we did our best. We both left the table amazed at how incredible the blogging community is. If it wasn’t for blogging, Healthy Living Summit, Facebook, and Twitter… Would we ever have met? Would we have been given the means to keep in touch? Luckily, we don’t have to go there because we were given the means and we did keep in touch. And as excited as I was for HLS was last year, I’m looking forward to HLS 2012 even more (like a million times more) so I get to see this lady and my other roomies again!

After lunch, I got back in the rental car for the inevitable road trip back to Portland. I dreaded another two-hour drive, but I made the most of it by soaking up the mountainous views and catching up on phone calls with Florida friends.

And you know, of all the drives I’ve driven, I have to say that this drive was the most scenic. If only I had brought my good lens, a couple of spare hours, and someone else’s patience, I would taken a few detours and had myself a photographic adventure!

Oregon Shenanigans

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Surprise, I’m in Oregon!  I drove back from Dallas (in my pajamas) bright and early Sunday morning, replaced the contents of my suitcase with business attire, fixed myself up a bit, flew from Austin to Oakland to Portland, and then drove two hours to Eugene.  I was holy moly exhausted when I arrived at my hotel in the wee hours of the night.

Thankfully this was the good type of time change where I felt fully rested when my alarm buzzed at 7 AM.  I snacked on an Odwalla bar and slurped on some hotel coffee while I was getting ready and then headed downstairs to a conference room full of strange men strangers.

It was really weird sitting in a room with another construction company helping them with their strategy for an upcoming presentation.  I felt like I was eavesdropping behind enemy lines and I suspect they felt the same, at first.

But after two meals, one beer, and 14 hours together staring at two projection screens, two iPads, and six laptops, well… we were far from strangers.

Let’s hope tomorrow isn’t nearly as intense so I can meet up with Lauren for dinner or coffee.  I will be so so so bummed if I’m in my HLS roomie’s town and we don’t get to see each other!

Busy Bee Weekend

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Saturday was jam packed with the good stuff.  I woke up bright and early with a task from my favorite 5-year old cousin:  Star Wars Legos.  We poured millions of teeny tiny pieces on his bedroom floor and went to town.  I didn’t think we would actually be able to put the thing together, but Nick always ended up knowing exactly where the hard-to-find pieces were hiding.

After finishing up QT with the cousins, I headed to brunch with Phil and Ginnean & Co.  The three of us were big time brunchers when I lived in Dallas, so our time together at Penne Pomodoro felt much like it did back in 2008.  Well, with one happily welcomed addition!

From brunch I headed straight to the mall to meet Nathan.  Meeting Nathan to go shopping always goes somewhere along the lines of meeting at Barney’s for a quick hello and then going our separate ways so we can power shop in our respective departments.  We each found a few gems (mine will be posted in tomorrow’s Cure For The Common Monday) and headed home to get ready for dinner.

We swooped up Morton and Jonathan for our reservations at Oak, a new hip spot that the boys have been dying to try on a non prix fixe occasion.  We slurped on some amazing cocktails while we waited for our table and then ordered, what seemed like, everything on the menu.

Nathan and I started out with the Potato Dumplings and then split the Rhode Island Monkfish and Rack of Lamb.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.

Everyone at the table passed around bites of their deliciousness and, I have to say, that EVERYTHING exceeded expectations.  The one clear winner at the table was the Moroccan Octopus & Pork Jowls, but I would be beyond happy ordering anything we sampled again.  And then there was dessert…  We ordered everything but the bread pudding and were amazed with each and every sweet treat.  Oak may be my favorite dining experience in Dallas to date!