To market, to market to buy a new poodle cut

I had big, ambitious plans for today.  Nothing panned out quite the way I had pictured it in my head, but it was a pretty good day nonetheless.  

I started out with breakfast: nonfat vanilla yogurt with homemade granola (from Mother's Day) and dried blueberries.  It was great!  Pictured in one of my new bowls from Target.

I originally wanted to start the day riding our bikes to Soulard Market to pick up some produce, but I woke up too late and it looked like it was going to rain.  It was CHILLY today!  So, instead we waited until 10:30 to go to the market, because we had to drop our standard poodle, Ollie, off for his grooming appointment in the Soulard area at 11:00.  This is what happened with that:

before after

before after

Funny story at the groomer:

Groomer: How do you want him cut?

Me: Puppy cut, all one length

Groomer: Do you want his face shaved down more?  Like this? (points to a tiny PINK toy poodle in a cage)

Me: Yes, but NOT pink (giggle)

Groomer: That's my dog (the pink poodle)

Me: (embarrassed) Well, it's just that Ollie wouldn't look good pink, your dog looks great pink (white lie).

That groomer is really nice, she did a nice job with both Wembley and Ollie.

After dropping Ollie off, much to his dismay, Chris, Wembley, and I went to Soulard Market.  Chris had to hold on to Wembley while I went through the stalls to buy some produce, because dogs aren't allowed in the market area.  I really meant to take pictures of the market, but it's really hard to deal with handing the vendors money, maneuvering the crowds, picking out produce, and putting it into my bags while taking photos.  I'll do it when I can go during the middle of the week . . . when school is out . . . in ONE WEEK!!!!!  But, I did score some goods for under $10!  I got 1 pineapple, 1 cantaloupe, 3 red peppers, 1 bag of Spring greens, and 1 bunch of asparagus.  I would have gotten more but it was irritatingly crowded and it's more fun when Chris can shop with me.

After the market we went to my parents' house in NoCo to let Wembley play with their dog, Jackson.  Then, we were going to go scope out the Biggest Yard Sale in History all around Ferguson.  Unfortunately, it was pretty picked over since we started at 1:00 and it ended at 2:00!  I did make 1 purchase for $1: Don't Spill the Beans (for the kids at work) and a book about deserts (for the kids at work).

Then we went to Bread Co. (Panera, for those of you not in the StL).  I got 1/2 mozzarella and tomato panini and 1/2 sesame chicken salad -- YUM!  I didn't take a picture, sorry.

My mom sent us home with some gifts: a vase of peonies (one of my favorite flowers), and a Columbine to plant!  I love Columbine, and they actually grow in the shade, which is all we have in our back yard.

Unfortunately, my camera was more focused on the grill than the flower, maybe my camera is a foodie too, and was trying to tell me something . . .

For dinner we ate our leftovers from last night's excursion to Pho Grand (Vietnamese food):

I got some kind of noodle/tofu/vegetable dish, which was good, but not as good as my usual.  I almost ALWAYS get tofu with lemongrass and chilies with pearl rice.  Now THAT is absolutely fabulous.

I had some kind of ravenous tick tonight that made me eat a $hitload of crap!!  What the hell?  I was doing so well until the bag of Doritos leftover from a school party called to me . . . Melissa, eat me.  I didn't want to hurt their feelings, so I obeyed to the fullest extent.  Then, I even went so far as to eat a bowl of Samoas ice cream.  

I'm gonna go give myself a whooping for being so naughty, tomorrow's a new day!

PS -- On the upside, I have lost 9.5 pounds!

Last, but not least . . .

The Flavor and Fiber Gnu bar!! It was really good! I loved the texture, chewy with a hint of crunch. They only carry one flavor of these at Trader Joe's (maybe it's their only flavor), but it was delicious. It tasted like real orange zest with the occasional burst of a dried cranberry. Yum! This bar only had 140 calories, so I ate it with a piece of fruit for breakfast and I was good to go! TMI: it will keep you regular! ;)

BTW: I checked out their website and they do have other flavors!! They have banana walnut, chocolate brownie, cinnamon raisin, and peanut butter. Their website only shows Trader Joe's carrying them in St. Louis, and so far I've been to two Trader Joe's and they both only had the orange cranberry.

Mother's Day gifts and Blueberry Bars

In addition to some wine glass steaks and a couple other little presents, I gave our moms some homemade granola.  I used the granola topping from the blueberry bars and added dried cranberries and yogurt-covered raisins.  Yum!  

I also made the above sugar cookies decorated with royal icing.  They didn't photograph very well, probably because of the packaging.  I was kind of disappointed in the colors, I wanted them to be more realistic, but I couldn't seem to use enough dye in the icing to get the colors dark enough.  :(
I made Martha Stewart's Blueberry Bonanza Bars last Sunday when I was in a big baking mood!  I got the recipe out of Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook (which I love), but you can get the recipe by following the link above.  They were really good, kind of like a shortbread cookie bottom with blueberry preserves on top and finished off with homemade almond-coconut granola.  

Un-Mother's Day breakfast

I made Chris and myself breakfast for Un-Mother's Day, as I am not YET :( a mother.  It was really tasty!!  After seeing Kelsey's french toast from her blog, I was inspired to pick up a nice loaf of Raisin-Walnut bread at the farmer's market.  

I used one egg, 1/2 cup soy milk, a splash of vanilla, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.  I topped them off with powdered sugar and some organic pure maple syrup $$$$ and went to town!  They were delicious.

PheMOMenal

Chris and I are extremely lucky when it comes to our parents for MANY reasons.  One being that they are wonderful, caring, fun people that we love to be around.  Another really big bonus is that our parents love to hang out with each other, which really makes holidays so much more enjoyable and relaxing!  We are all so close and get along so well that we were able to take an AMAZING trip to Europe together.  Above are our moms, Peggy and Marsha, in front of the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
Hey hey we're the monkeys, walkin' down a Parisian street.

Peggy (Chris' mom) and I at a Parisian cemetery.  What can I say, we can have fun ANYWHERE we go!

Peggy, Chris, and me at the Tower of London.

My mom is always there for me, even when I need someone to keep me calm as I assemble my first wedding cake.  She put on the gold balls, a very important job!

Chris and Peggy on a Parisian picnic.  If I haven't said it before, our moms know how to picnic!!  We've become pros at picnicing together!

Haufbrauhaus -- Peggy peeks through as Chris picks out a German coo-coo clock.

Our bike ride through the Holland countryside. . . down the country road . . . wait, Marsha's always on a country road.  :)
Mom and Chris as we walk along the ritzy area of South Kensington, London.  That's not a typical Marsha expression, she must have been tired of waiting for me to snap a picture!

Maybe she's worried because of the skulls lining the bathrooms of this medieval pub in Prague.

Our moms are awesome.  Thanks Peggy and Marsha for being who you are!  We love you whether you're a country road or a highway.

Pure-ly delicious

We have almost reached the end of our bar-eakfasts.  Friday morning Chris and I took our respective Pure bars for our quick grab-and-go breakfast.  Mine was really good!  Again, like the Larabar, it was simple ingredients all mushed together to become a delicious, convenient meal.  I liked the texture of the Pure bar, it was similar to the Larabar, but maybe with a little more crunch.  Actually, a lot more crunch, because I think I got a piece of pecan shell . . . but I won't hate.  There was a good balance of tart and sweet in this bar.  I would buy it again!  Maybe I'll buy more today -- I think a trip to TJ's is in my future anyway!  But, we still have a Gnu bar to try!

Breakfasts of Champions!

This morning I tried the Cherry Pie Larabar.  The impressive thing about this bar is that there were only THREE ingredients in the bar!!  Tart dried cherries, dates, and pecans.  I really liked the texture of this bar, it was almost like a thick fruit leather bar, but with a little more crunch to it.  The flavor was a little harsh for my taste buds first thing in the morning.  It was SUPER tart!!  I would have liked a little more balance of sweet and tart.  Chris said his was really good.  He tried the Cashew Cookie Larabar and said that it tasted just like cashews!  Yum!  We would buy these again.
Yesterday I started out my morning taste-testing the Chocolate Fudge Think Thin bar.  My first impression upon visual inspection had my hopes high because it was covered in chocolate! Well, it must be good!  However, I was sorely disappointed after the first bite.  The texture was gritty and grainy, I needed some texture variety.  The taste was bland, either that or my allergy medicine hadn't kicked in yet enough to clear my sinuses.  ;)  But, no, I think that it was just plain tasteless.  I probably won't be getting these again.  Chris didn't like his Think Thin bar either.  Bummer!  Maybe we just didn't get the right flavors or maybe we are just too texture-sensitive?