My afternoon began with a text from Tommy asking if I wanted to grab dinner out and go to the piers. The piers are at the top of my favorite places in the world, so saying yes was a no-brainer.

We grabbed some food at a nearby supermarket and had a little picnic in the park. I have a sushi brown rice and quinoa bowl, which was delicious.

After we finished eating, we (literally) hung out in the playground, walked the piers and just enjoyed the warmth and sun.

Can we please just hit the pause button on the weather and have the opportunity to enjoy it before the heat and humidity of the summer hits? Here’s to hoping there are many more days like this ahead.

What is your favorite place in you city/town?

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Next is my attempt at poached eggs. Tommy and I were watching Rachael Ray while trying to decide what to have for breakfast and she was showing how to make poached eggs. I always thought they were super difficult to make, but she made it seem really easy. I gave it a shot and they came out surprisingly well.

Next is one of my go to lunches, or actually a variation of it. A while back when I was still at my previous job, I was in the city for work related things and I stopped in for lunch at a deli with a hot bar. They had all sorts of salads, and I tried a tomato, avocado and egg salad. Super simple, but so good. Since then, I have been making different variations of that salad. This one is just egg and avocado and a smidgen of mayo to make it creamier.

This is my fav summer salad. Arugula, watermelon and feta topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It seems like a weird combo, but it is really tasty and refreshing.

Quesadillas are always a favorite of mine, especially when I come home hungry and want to eat NOW. These were made with Mexican blend cheese, tomato and avocado and a side of salsa for dipping.

This is just my tried and true Greek Couscous Salad topped with grilled lemon chicken.

And last, but not least, sushi. Because sushi always makes everything better. The roll in the back was a New England roll and probably one of the best rolls I’ve ever had. It was an eel avocado topped with snow crab. It was a weekly special roll at the place we go to and I am really hoping they will be able to recreate it next time we go.

That’s all I’ve got for today, but I do have some yummy things planned for the rest of the week that I plan to share soon!

What’s the best thing you ate this week?

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We started dinner with drinks. I definitely needed a drink after two days of studying. The Wasabi Margarita caught my eye right away. The margarita itself wasn’t spicy, but the glass was rimmed in sweetened wasabi which did had a bit of a kick.

We were pretty hungry going into dinner since we had only eaten breakfast that morning, so we started with some appetizers. Being a huge fan of tuna, Tommy immediately suggested the Tuna Tartare Tacos. This was probably the most interesting presentation of Tuna Tartare that I’ve ever seen. The tuna was served in a crispy shell

and topped with Wasabi Guacamole.

We also ordered the Korean Style Chicken Wings. I had read in multiple reviews that the wings were great and I since couldn’t remember the last time I had wings, it struck a major craving. The wings were spicy, but not too spicy and hit the spot. The chili flakes on them make the eating process a little messy, but wings are always messy.

We also split a sushi roll – the Smoke Stacks. Spiced tuna, avocado, kani and oshinko in marbled seaweed topped with tobiko.

Finally, for my entree I went with the Pan Roasted Chicken Breast which was marinated in Sake Teriyaki and served with a side of Chinese broccoli and pineapple fried rice. I don’t usually order chicken when we go out to eat, and I was this.close to getting the salmon, but the pineapple fried rice caught my eye and I couldn’t say no. The chicken was very moist and the teriyaki gave it a great flavor. The rice didn’t disappoint either!

Tommy went with the Soba Noodle Stir Fry with chicken.

Overall, we had a great dining experience. The food was very good, the service was decent and the views were amazing. I definitely recommend it!

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Friday

I got an e-mail confirming my registration for the upcoming Fitmixer Bootcamp which is starting in January. I am so excited to get my booty kicked and try their products!

After picking Tommy up from work, we headed out to sushi for dinner. Amazing as usual. Munchkin is starting to get the hang of using chopsticks and it was a lot of fun to watch him pick up a piece of sushi and get super excited.

After dinner Tommy suggested we stop for something sweet, and who am I to say no to desserts. We stopped at Cafe Riviera in Greenpoint and to my surprise, they had a new item for sale – macaroons! You have not lived until you’ve tried a coffee macaroon.

 Saturday

I woke up on Saturday to the pleasantly surprising news that we were heading to the AT&T store to upgrade our phones. I am now the proud owner of a sexy white iPhone 5. After turning to twitter for some advice, I decided on the Incipio Stowaway case and am patiently awaiting it’s arrival so I can take the stupid plastic off my phone.

Since Saturday was also the day of my mom’s 50th Birthday party, I had to run a few errands associated with the party. Picking up the cake was my favorite! My dad and I stopped in for a cappuccino and cannoli break! (Judging by the desserts in the post, Fitmixer Bootcamp can’t come soon enough!)

After that it was come home, shower and get ready to party! My mom decided that it was her birthday, she didn’t want to spend hours cooking and prepping the food, so she had it catered. This pineapple tree was my favorite!

Sunday

After the fun of Friday and Saturday, Sunday was very low key. Just some kombucha and corporations. Even though it’s the holiday season, it’s still finals season! :/

Other than cleaning up the house after the party, my whole Sunday was spent in the books. Not the best Sunday, but in two more weeks I’ll be free from the books for a month, so I can’t complain!

What did you do this weekend?

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First on deck is something I threw together after work one day. I was hungry, hungry, hungry so I just basically threw a bit of everything in a bowl, stirred and ate. Totally yummy and veggie and protein packed. Win-win!

This baby was inspired by a recipe in my Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine and came together super quick to make a yummy, Mexican Chicken dinner on a red of avocado and arugula. I wish I had leftovers!

Quinoa egg bowls have made a return! This was Trader Joe’s tri-color quinoa with corn, black beans and white button mushrooms. When the yolk breaks on a bowl like it, I swear it is magic!

This dinner brought back memories of my summers in Poland. Strawberry pierogi topped with a lightened version of the typical polish heavy cream topping. Instead of heavy cream and sugar, I used plain Chobani, a splash of skim milk and a bit of brown sugar. Y-U-M-M-Y!

This baby is Zucchini Cacao Nib Bread. The recipe will follow shortly, but I can say this is short of heavenly.

When I topped it with Coconut butter it was heaven on earth. Sorry for the blasphemy, but it is that good!

Last but definitely not least, my birthday surprises! Tommy had told me not to buy or bring lunch on my birthday, but I didn’t know what he had up his sleeve. He showed up with a huge cooler filled with sushi and a homemade cake, which he made! So sweet!

And as if that wasn’t enough, I came home after class to be surprised with a little party with some of my best friends, ice cream cake

and champagne, all organized by Tommy too. Is he amazing or what?

That’s all I got for this week! We are hitting up Hershey, PA this weekend, so expect to see lots of CHOCOLATE in next week’s WIAW!

What’s the best thing you are this week?

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I shall start with my favorite thing of the week – Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash. It was so good that I had seconds and ate it for breakfast the next day. No shame!

Numero dos on the list is this watermelon, arugula and Feta salad. Light, refreshing, tasty…the perfect summer salad.

Sushi is my year-round staple. I could eat it every day, but my wallet prevents that from happening. If I ever win the lottery, I’m hiring a personal sushi chef.

Dippy eggs are another S4L – staple for life! Luckily, I make a mean dippy egg so no personal egg chef required.

Let’s move on to the indulgent snackage. I couldn’t resist the Salted Caramel Sauce that I got in this month’s Foodie Pen Pals package. It was calling my name from the pantry, so I gave in. I had it with apple slices, so it basically cancelled out the caramel sauce, right?

And you can’t call it a good week if there is no fro yo involved. End.of.story. There were actually two fro yo trips this week, so you know it was a goooood one!

Lastly, I leave you with an inquiry…

Has anyone ever tried coconut milk yogurt? I only bought one on my last trip to Whole Foods and it took me about a week to try it, and when I did it was chunky and kind of weirdly textured. I wasn’t able to make out the date on the back, so I’m not sure if it’s just an acquired taste, or did I eat expired yogurt. Help?!

What’s the best thing you ate this week? What’s your favorite fro yo combo?

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Friday night, we tried out a new sushi spot. We had all the intention of going to our usual place, but Atami has caught our eye time after time because along the way to the other place we go, and Tommy actually pulled an illegal u-turn to get us there on Friday.

I am so happy that we tried it because I think I like it better than the other two placed we’ve been going to lately. Atami is a buffet style sushi place, where you get a piece of paper, write down what rolls you want and pay a flat rate at the end regardless of how much you order. What makes Atami different from the other buffet places we’ve tried is that there is an actual buffet in addition to table service. Even though I didn’t get much from the actual buffet, Munchkin was able to have a full meal, instead of just a few bites of sushi, as usual.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the rolls when our order came out. The three of us ordered a bunch of rolls to share and they were all delish.

Munchkin’s favorite part was the dessert – ice cream!

On Saturday morning, my boys woke up and told me they wanted pancakes for breakfast. What was I supposed to do? I was outnumbered 2-1, so I got my butt to the kitchen. Since I’m not a fan of doing anything easy or plain, I decided to spice the pancakes up a little. I bet you’ve already noticed my affinity for the white chocolate and cranberry combo, as seen in my Cranberry Bliss Bar and Cranberry Bliss oatmeal, so what better to make for breakfast than Cranberry Bliss Pancakes?

Cranberry Bliss Pancakes

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup craisins

Have a great Monday!

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Since it was absolutely gorgeous on Friday, we couldn’t stay cooped up in the house. Munchkin and I headed out to the park a bit after breakfast wearing shorts (him) and sandals (me)! I love going to the park on Friday mornings because it’s a school day and the park crowd is mostly toddlers.

Munchkin even climbed the biiig hill in the park all by himself. That’s him on top with me still only halfway up. The little guy is a brave and adventurous soul and I love it!

Saturday started out with a trip to the supermarket with my dad. No trip in my dad’s car is complete without a backseat photo shoot.

I picked up a bunch of new things to try at the supermarket like wheat berries, a kabocha squash and kale! I have some recipes planned for this week, if I can find the time to make them.

Saturday night was Hunger Games Date Night! I bought the tickets for the movie on Friday and could not wait for Saturday evening to arrive. We picked up our tickets in the theater before heading out to dinner at Shiro of Japan which is in the same mall as the theater. When I first looked up Shiro, it reminded me a lot of Arirang in PA because it was also a hibachi place with a separate sushi area in the restaurant. I was excited to try the place since it had good reviews.

We started out with Incredible Tuna and a Salmon Sundae for our appetizers.

The Incredible Tuna was tuna tataki with spicy tuna tartar served with ponzu and miso sauce. It lived up to it’s name – it was pretty darn good. The tartare was very spicy which I liked. The Salmon Sundae consisted of crunchy, crusted Peanuts and layer of fresh Spicy Salmon, topped with Avocado, sliced Salmon, and Balsamic Vinegar. I liked the Salmon Sundae even better than the Incredible Tuna, but I prefer salmon over tuna any day so it wasn’t really a fair fight.

Since it was out first time at Shiro, we didn’t really know what their portions were like. For our main entree, we shared the Sushi/Sashimi Combination for 2, which turned out to be bigger than we had expected.

Along with regular soy sauce, our waitress brought out two more kinds of dipping sauce and recommended which fish to dip in which sauce. The fish was super fresh and tasty and we ate it all up. Needless to say, we weren’t going into the Hunger Games hungry.

Even though there was still almost an hour left until our movie, we headed over to the theater, where a line had already formed.

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait for long because we were let into the theater fairly quickly. We snagged some great seats and waited patiently for the movie to start. I really enjoyed the movie, and Tommy did too. I read the books last summer while on vacation in Mexico and totally fell in love with the story. I thought the film was very well-made and Jennifer Lawrence kicked major butt playing Katniss. Even though I knew what was going to happen next, the film kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the story to unfold. Even though it was over two hours long, it really felt like it flew by. I tend to suffer from popcorn brain and get bored during long movies, but this was not the case at all.  It really did the book justice in my opinion and I cannot wait for the next one!

Sunday was spent with Tommy’s family for their family Easter party. There was lots of good food and great company and Munchkin left with 40 chocolate Easter eggs because Tommy’s aunt is nuts and spoils Munchkin whenever she sees him. Luckily for me, Lent is not yet over, otherwise I know I would’ve broken into his stash already.

This weekend is definitely one of the best I’ve had in a while. Hope yours was great too!

What did you do this weekend? What’s the last good movie you saw?

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