Life Lately

I know, I know. I haven't written a post in over a week. Sorry! But I'm back now. In my defense, I was busy spending time with my only number one blog reader, Chris. We had a very full four days while he was in DC and I pretty much didn't get much done blog-wise (or workout-wise) while he was here. I did do some marathon HGTV watching and bar/party hopping though and am actually pretty exhausted from my full weekend.

But let's do a quick recap of some things happening in my life lately:

Party time- Everyone is feeling very festive and I keep getting invited to house parties. Which is great, because these affairs tend to have free food and all I have to do in return is bring a cheap bottle of wine. It's like $12 for an entire evening. Done.

Clearly chambray and red are in.

Free Money- My dad sent me a very cryptic email asking me to send him my address in order to receive a special surprise (I moved a few months ago but I guess he still didn't have my new address). Then I got this in the mail a few days later! What a nice daddy! I used it to buy some new pants and shoes for work.

 

Cha-ching!

Cheesecake- Ok, I know that this blog is called Coastal Crunch, but I also have an affinity for the Midwest. My parents are both from Wisconsin and I still have a lots of family back there. I say the word "Wisconsin" with a slightly Great Lakes accent. I'm also a Packers fan. But don't take the term "fan" too much to heart. I can name like maybe two people on the team. However, I did go watch the 'Skins v. Packers game on Sunday and brought this cheesecake as a sort of tongue-in-cheek celebration of what I (correctly) predicted would be a Packers win. I used this recipe but made some substitutions (I used pre-made crust, added more lemon juice, and baked it for way less time since the pans were so shallow). Despite being surrounded by Washingtonians, this cake was very well received. I actually made these cakes last weekend. I shared one with my sister and froze the other for the game. I had been sneaking pieces all week and eating them with frozen raspberries (thawed) or chocolate chips on top. It was delicious, but I think my waistline is happier now that it's gone!

They tasted better than this photo looks.

Taco Salad- This is my go-to meal. I am eating it at least once a day for either lunch or dinner and will not stop until I have run out of ingredients. I pretty much always include beans and corn but this time I also added avocado, cucumber, and tomatoes. Finish it off with a salad dressing of half ranch (or caesar) and half barbecue sauce and a sprinkling of crushed tortilla chips. It's good enough to make someone like me (read: person who hates salad) eat salad once a day.

Roughage (that word looks weird spelled out)

Subscriptions- When I was in college I had it in my head that real adults received subscriptions. Real adults had enough disposable income to justify spending $20 a year on useless (but wonderful) magazines or $10 a month on makeup. Well, college me would be quite proud because I am now a person who gets subscriptions. In fact, I got my Birchbox and Real Simple today! I am excited to try out all my new goodies from Birchbox. Separate post to come! As for Real Simple, I haven't cracked it open quite yet but how cute is that kitty? I anticipate enjoying a nice magazine sesh later curled up in bed with a cup of tea.

I'm going to be so pretty and organized...

So that's what's been happening with me as of late. What are you up to?