Tee-Gee-Eye-EFF

Happy Fridayyy buttons! How are all of you on this dreary Friday night!? It has been raining nonstop around here today.. blehhhh... making me sleepy & cold but I'm attempting to amp myself up (yeah--I just used "amp") for a night out tonight...

I'm definitely not going crazy or anything mostly because:

A. I gots tings ta do tamar-uh!! Its going to be a pretty nice little Saturday... errands galore, gym session, & baking/preparing for my brother's B-Day Party tomorrow night!! :)

AND

B. I've already spent my alcohol allowance for the week on Magic Hats at the Benefit... I'm a classy broad, as you can surely tell. ;)

BUT... my absolute best friend in the world is in town which is a reason for celebrating! However.. he's training right now for a body building competition of sorts, therefore... no boozey for BFF-y. Which may just make it easier to turn down delicious Shocktops and/or chardonnay tonight!

Sir BFF Steven & I this summer...

Plus... game 2 of the Red Sox series against the Angels is on (hollaaaa! gonna kick some arse!) so I can surely be distracted also by that...

Soooo... in other much more interesting news... Lo's having what very well might be the most fun & exciting giveaway event I've ever come across haha. I love Fall. I love scavenger hunts. And I love giveaways. Ummmm... hello perfect idea!! Very Halloween themed and fun! So check it out... the more people that participate in it the more fun video/photo recaps there will be! :)

So I got a good workout in today:

~Walked/Ran on the treadmill 3.8 miles; 45 minutes (I got a saweeet charlie horse in my right leg last night while sleeping so the run started off a littttle slow... once I got it stretched out more I was good to go!)

~15 min/3 min cooldown on the Elliptical

Came home to make lunch...

Rainy day = SOUP day

Luckily I had this baby in the cabinet which I had been waiting for a rainy day to try (what a surprise, right?)

Yum yum yum... just what I wanted.
How can you have soup without grilled cheese? Answer. You cannot. I forbid it...


I made a Grilled Chez a la Allio with:

~12-grain Nature's Promise bread
~1 slice reduced-fat American cheese
~Sliced tomatoes
~1/2 an avocado sliced

Grilled to perfection and ohhh so warm & melty inside...

I think I'm in love.
This is by far my fav sammie creation when I want something warm & comforting!

Snacked on an organic Gala of sorts later in the afternoon...

And I DID indeed end up participating in Cookie Friday after I discovered our stash of Nonni's biscotti... Oh Nonni, girl you drive me crazyyy with this goodness...

Dipped in my coffee ;)
The only way to enjoy it.... I ended up with melted chocolate around the rim of my mug.. not to mention a rich, chocolately flavor in my coffee after dipping. Ugh. Heaven.

Once my belly was growling for dinner I had absolutely NO idea what to make. And I haaaate that more than anything. Oh... no... scratch that. The only thing I hate more than not knowing what to make is having nothing to work with in the kitchen!!! It's definitely time for a grocery store trip because I have only the most random things in the fridge & cabinets right now.... Like this creepy white eggplant.

Sooo weird... Albino Eggplants? You serious?

So I took some of my leftover WW penne... added some extra Tomato Basil pasta sauce... & some sauteed mushrooms...


It was good....enough. I guess. I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to eat so I had to settle for whatever came into my head and was then created for my eating pleasure afterwards.

Followed by a salad with uhhh...sauteed squash?

With some Annie's Honey Mustard...

I had about 3 bites... then gave up on it. Not quite a successful night for creative cooking and/or happy eating!


Fortunately I DID know what I wanted for breakfast tomorrow.


Breakfast Cookie!!!



This was my first time making one and I chose to go with the pumpkin theme (I'm just all Autumn-ed out and sooo excited about it!!!) that and the fact that there's finally Libby's back on the shelf at the grocery store. Can I just say I almost had a panic attack when I heard there was a possible shortage of pumpkin. WHAT would we all have done without pumpkin pies, breads, & muffins to bake!?!?!?! :(


Is it just me or does that sound like an absolute nightmare?


I'm pretty sure I would declare it the worst Fall ever if that were the case...


So I whipped up this baby with:


~1/2 cup Oats

~1/4 cup Libby's pumpkin puree

~Tbsp or so of pumpkin butter

~Pumpkin pie spice

~Tbsp of Real Maple Syrup

~1/2 a mashed banana


I'm soooo excited to try this tomorrow!! I'm not sure how I feel about COLD oats so I guess this will be the determining factor... plus I'm going to be thinking of it like a cookie too, and who wouldnt want a warm cookie over a cold one? Ehhh.... but still, I'M EXCITED! Everything's worth a try & I have a feeling I'm going to love it :)



So this overnight breakfast cookie "recipe" called for 1/2 a naner... leaving me with 1/2 of a naner still.


No problem ;)




Hope you all have a fantastic night and are able to wind down after what was, I'm sure, a crazy week for all of us! Whether you're going out, staying in, traveling, sleeping... enjoy the Columbus Day weekend!!



I'm off to watch the Sox dominate & catch up with BFF on his ultra crazy life :)