P4: Periwinkle, Park, Pool, and Potatoes

Happy Saturday!  Today has been a fabulous Saturday here at the Confessions house.  We decided to start with a trip to Old Town Rock Hill.  (FYI, for those of you who aren’t local, Old Town is our downtown area!)  We couldn’t decide what we wanted for breakfast, but we ended up at the Periwinkle Cafe and Bakery.  I’ve been wanting to try it out for a while.  I’ve been here before when it was Rock Hill Roasting Company, but haven’t been inside since it changed to Periwinkle. 

It ended up being a great choice!  I started with coffee—Autumn Spice!  DELICIOUS!  Loved this flavor.  It didn’t even need creamer, it was that flavorful!

I decided on a yogurt parfait.  Ryan opted for a breakfast sandwich.  Sadie wasn’t very hungry and just enjoyed her juice. 

  

Afterwards, we hit up a nearby park that has been redone and is fabulous! 

I cannot believe that it is already Labor Day weekend.  That means that most pools are getting their last weekend of use!  So sad.  We decided we wanted to head to the pool today to enjoy the sunny weather and relax. 

It was such a great day.  We thought about eating out, but decided to continue with our outdoorsy day and grilled out instead.  I had salmon in the freezer, but I couldn’t decide on a side dish.  I had potatoes, and I thought about making oven-fried potatoes, but then I thought… why not grill them?  I’ve never grilled potatoes, so I Googled it and got this recipe from Paula Deen.

This recipe was super-simple and pretty quick!  I only made one change—I didn’t use the House Seasoning.  I used this blend that I’ve been meaning to try.

It was on sale for 50 cents a few weeks ago and I thought, “What the heck?  I’ll try it.”  It was perfect on these potatoes!  VERY flavorful!  I think it would be great on all sorts of meat!  So glad I have this in my pantry!

The potatoes really were the star of this meal—maybe it was the butter… maybe it was just the flavor from grilling.  But we’ll definitely do this again!

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday weekend!

Breakfast and the Mailbox Dilemma...

I am the kind of person who has a hard time letting go of things.  You know how sometimes something little will happen and it sort-of bothers you at the time, but then a little time goes by... and you get a little more irritated... and then a little more time goes by... and you get even MORE irritated?  Well, that's how I am feeling this morning...

On Friday, my next door neighbor emailed me to tell me that she heard a loud BOOM outside and she ran to the window to see what it was.  Turns out it was the people who live across from us, backing into our mailbox.  She said she watched, and one of the people got out of the car, "straightened" up our mailbox, and then drove off.  I kind of laughed it off.  I told my husband, "I am curious to see if they say anything to us."

Now, the mailbox is definitely damaged. It was about 10 years old, and it isn't anything fancy.  In fact, it was going to need to be replaced.  This incident just sped up the timeline. 

But now it's 2 days later, and it's getting under my skin a little.  I mean, like I said, it's not like we had some fancy-schmancy mailbox.  But to not even say anything to us?  That's the part that's under my skin.

I am curious... what would YOU do in this situation?  Leave me a comment below by clicking on "comments."

On to other things, this morning is the coldest we have seen so far.  It was 33 degrees when I woke up!  Hello Fall!!! 

I started the morning with some freshly-ground coffee!  This is one of the greatest features of the Magic Bullet.  It does so many different things.  The infomercial is totally true!

Then I made a batch of pumpkin muffins... this time I left out the chocolate chips, just to make them a little healthier.  And I really like them without the chocolate, too! 

I topped it off with fresh raspberries (Yay for raspberries being in season!) and a perfect hard-boiled egg.  None of that yucky gray color!

Have a great day, everyone!  I am headed to see some special people this afternoon...

NOT a Lazy Saturday: Party In Pink Zumbathon

When I got up this morning, I wasn't sure what I would be doing today.  As you know, I got up VERY early this morning.  I was craving steel-cut oats, so I made another batch of apple-cinnamon flavored oats.  (Click here for the recipe.)  Check out this picture I got right when I filled my bowl...

Yes, that is steam!  It was chilly this morning, but this (along with some fabulous coffee that I won a few weeks ago) was the perfect warm-up.  I LOVED this coffee!  It was bold, but not TOO bold.  It made the whole downstairs smell like a coffee house!  I am going to see about getting some more!

I was trying to decide whether to go to my regular Zumba class at 10:45 OR to attend a Party In Pink Zumbathon benefitting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I went back and forth, but finally decided on the Zumbathon.  I was hesitant because it was taking place at McHales (a locar bar and grill in Fort Mill, SC) on "the beach" (aka a sand pit).  I wasn't sure how I would like Zumba on sand.

As it turns out... I do NOT like Zumba on sand.  I tried the grass, too, but that wasn't much better.  It really made my feet hurt.  However, the weather was beautiful, and Zumba is always fun, especially with friends!

I am glad that I went.  I wore my BodyBugg, so I could see my calorie count, which turned out to be...

990 Calories!  Yeah!  I didn't think I had worked that hard at all... which is what I LOVE about Zumba!

Before I left, I bought an energy drink called XS. 

Now, I am not usually a fan of energy drinks, because sometimes they leave you jittery, and sometimes they are full of sugar.  However, this drink only has 12 calories.  I tried the Cranberry-Grape flavor.  Here's the nutritional information for the drink I tried.  Overall, I liked it.  The flavor was good and it gave me a "soda fix" because it was carbonated.  I did not feel jittery at all.  I had to go grocery shopping right after the Party in Pink, and as I was shopping, I thought, "Wow, I am not as tired as I would have thought."  So I think the XS helped.  This drink comes in all sorts of flavors.  It does have some coloring added and there are some ingredients on the nutritional information that I am not sure about, but going on taste and feeling alone, I liked it. 

If you're interested, here's the website where you can buy it.  You can view the prices on the web site.  It comes out to be a little over $2 per can if you order a case (12 cans).  You can't get it in stores-- it's sold through a representative.  You can contact Michael Sanders, a local sales rep, if you are interested.  His email address is msanders@bww.com. 

I came home and cooked dinner tonight: roasted butternut squash, fresh green beans cooked with butter and garlic, and split chicken breasts pan seared and then baked in the oven. 

What a great ending to the day. 

Tomorrow, I am trying my hand at spaghetti squash.  I haven't made it in so long!  Should be an interesting food adventure!



Rainy Sunday... Sandwiches, Turkey Burgers, and more!

So, did you guess that we went to...

last night?  If you did, then you were right!  We went with our friends Wendy and Kevin! 

On a ride waiting for take-off (about 5 minutes after this pic was taken, Ryan lost his hat!)

Wendy and Kevin

The hubby and me

How cute is this pic of Wendy and Kevin on Thunder Road?

We had lots of fun riding roller coasters at night, and seeing ghosts, goblins, and more jump out at all the guests!  (We LOVED watching the guy with the chainsaw scare everyone!)

This morning started with a fried egg, more fresh peach slices, and the last piece of the Morningstar "sausage".  Guess I need to restock!  I love fried eggs.  I love to poke the yolk and let all the yellow run all over the plate!  (Did I gross you out?)  My grandmother used to always cook "Sunny Side Up Eggs" for us in the morning.  It was always my favorite. 

Then Ryan tried to get the grass cut and bushes trimmed before the rain came.  We've really been needing the rain!  Ryan finished just in time.  Meanwhile, I did some much needed grocery shopping.

We had lunch with Ryan's family-- sandwiches!  I am telling you, I don't know how we survived before these round sandwich breads hit the shelves!  It's all we eat!  They are only one point!  (You may see them again today, as a matter of fact!)

I had to run some errands this afternoon-- Best Buy, Target, and I couldn't resist making a quick stop at Starbucks on the way home.  Can you guess what I got?  I bet you can...

A Pumpkin Spice Latte!  YUMMMMM!  It tasted so great with the weather being cooler and gray today.  Much more fall-like!

For dinner, we had some quick turkey burgers and some cheesy broccoli rice.  I LOVE these steamer bags of veggies.  I don't use them all the time, but they are awesome when you just don't feel like cooking. 

These turkey burgers were on sale about 2 weeks ago.  They were already formed into patties.  All I did was season both sides and cook them in a skilley for about 5-6 minutes on each side.  They were delicious!  I topped mine with lettuce, tomato, muenster cheese, a little light mayo, and some ketchup. 

Remember how I said this week I was going to have to do better about drinking water?  Well, I am doing better today!  I stocked up on lemons and mint.  This makes it taste so refreshing.  I've already packed lemon slices and mint leaves for work tomorrow!  Sometimes I like to make a whole pitcher of it, but I really like the lemon slices and mint leaves in the glass because it looks so pretty.  I think when it LOOKS refreshing, it makes you want to drink more of it. 

I do have an experiment baking in the oven... a peach crisp!  We'll see how it comes out... Hopefully yummy!