Prepping for the Week

I now have another reason for not liking the rain.  Our clamming adventures stopped before we even made it out the door.  See, clams filter water and when it rains they filter rain water.  Rain water is not very clean - gross huh?  When it rains too much the Clam Association closes all of the clam areas because they are not safe to eat.  Well, last week there was a lot of rain and thus when we called the clam hot line (don't laugh, it is very helpful) they said all areas are closed.

Instead I got this done. 

Pretty nails make me happy.  I went to a new place and it was fantastic.  I left with not only pretty nails but smooth legs and relaxed muscles.  This is definitely a splurge for me.  After today though I can see why people go much more often. I would like to go much more often.

I also was able to cut up all sorts of veggies for next week.  I try to do a bit of this every week but honestly it just doesn't happen.  I am not big on chopping things up to begin with.  I would much rather spend my time in the kitchen baking.  Thus, after baking, regular meal preparations and dishes, chopping veggies and fruit for the coming week is just not high on the priority list.  

Wtih extra time on my hand I was able to make carrot and celery sticks for easy snacking, prep cucumbers for salads, and dice strawberries for breakfast. 

All in all this probably took me maybe an extra 30 minutes.  I am hoping it will save me some serious time this week, especially in the mornings when I need it the most.  If nothing else I won't be washing the same cutting board every day.

I am off to get ready for work, counting down the days till the weekend, the LONG weekend for 4th of July one of my favorite holidays!

Weekend Edition: F.U.N.

You know the weekend is going to be good when Friday night starts out like this...

A group of us got together for dinner at The Place.  Yes, the name of the restaurant is called The Place.  The subtitle on the sign is an unusual dinning experience.  I don't think you could explain it much better than that.  As you can see the chairs are tree stumps.  

The menu is a huge board in the back.  And you bring all of your own side dishes. 

We had quite the selection of dishes to pick from.  I am pretty sure everyone was full from just our own dishes. 

But that didn't stop us from continuing to feast.  Some of us planned ahead and brought real wine glasses.  I wasn't so prepared and Mr. J ended up with this classy glass for his red wine.

My favorite item ever at The Place is the roasted corn.  It is so good.  I could probably order 5 and call it a night.  I was lucky enough to not be caught in a picture eating.  Kari has her own blog and was more than willing to be photographed.  They smother the corn in butter so it gets to be quite messy!

The menu consists of a variety of seafood dishes, chicken and rib eye steak all served up on the big fire pit.  I got the mussels.

Clearly they were a hit!

The night ended with dessert.  I talked Mr. J into splitting a Peanut Butter Mud Cake.  He tackled the whip cream and I devoured the peanut butter topping.

Everyone had a fun night.  On a side note, this is a restaurant Martha Stewart frequents but no one believed me.  I did a bit of research and found the last time she visited here. 

Saturday Mr. J and I did a bit of exploring and ended up at this mini golf course.  I hadn't been mini golfing in years.  The course itself was not fantastic but we had a fun time. I got to see Mr. J in action after all of the weekends he left me to play golf.   

I got a hole-in-one, but then Mr. J got a hole-in one on the same green.  He completely stole my thunder and made my victory dance not as enjoyable.  In the end he won by one shot.  We were both really over par.  I think the holes were a bit messed up though.  I cannot tell you how many balls jumped out of the holes. 

Up next today is a clamming adventure.  We are hoping to catch our own supper.  This weekend would have been like a mini vacation if it weren't for the laundry, dishes, and vacuuming that needed to get done. 

This is going to be the best day EVER

You know it is going to be a good day when breakfast consists of the most perfect smoothie ever. 

I don't know why I never thought of it before. Adding shredded coconut to a smoothie.

Coconut Green Monster

Ingredients:1 c spinach
1 frozen banana
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/4 c rolled oats
3/4 c plain yogurt
1/2 c milk

Blend till smooth and top with granola.  Yum!