MIA - Cambodia Here We Come!!

I have been MIA, I am aware of this. An over-packed calendar with no ambition to type is all I have to blame it on, however it's a poor excuse, I know.  However, it probably won't change in the near future as my family is leaving town tomorrow A.M. (after having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with my Mom, Dad, Dan, Doc, Preston & me) and I will be off to Cambodia on Thursday!  How crazy it is that time has flown by so quickly!  I can't believe the end of 2009 is here!

If you would like to follow what happens in Cambodia please follow us here...

Please keep us in your prayers!!

Granola Squares

I have been working and working on making granola that doesn't have much raw sugar / honey and are full of very healthy, very yummy ingredients.  I had a few recipes that I pulled together as well as a few items that I pulled out of my own hat to make these.  Don't get me wrong, they are still very high in calories (if you make 16 squares they are about 190 calories a square), but you could easily decrease the amount of dried fruit to make them less calories.  Or at least a little less :) 

I also found that they taste better on the second day, after being in the fridge and letting the banana really sweeten them up.  Also, I love to freeze them and have them a few weeks later.  Heck, I like to do that with any food!


Granola Squares

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)
5 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seed
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×12-inch baking dish with cooking spray (you can use a 9×13-inch pan if you want) and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon, wheat bran, flax, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  Then, transfer the oatmeal mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

While the oatmeal mixture is toasting, smash the banana with a fork until liquid and then add the honey and mix well.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

While the mixture is still warm, stir in the banana/honey mixture, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares — your best serrated knife is great for this.

What's new with me...

Well, yesterday I taught Preston to roll over!! Woo hoo!  I have been working with him since I got him on the command.  It took time but it was fun teaching him.  I am so proud... like a proud parent!  Ha!  He is super excited too that I am super excited.  LOL!!

In other news, the artichoke dip that I just posted was for Jennie's Birthday Party.  She lives in my building and had some friends get together on the roof of the building... we all made food and/or brought wine and hung out and ate.  I ate waaaaay too much food yesterday but I had a blast!

Last week we had our Admin Retreat at work.  The entire division went to Browns Bridge Church for 2 days and went thru the book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."  There were 7 groups and each group presented a habit.  It was a blast.  I even got to work on my fear of microphones.  I did some public speaking!  Next to tackle... my fear of basements...

Last Friday I made dinner for my friend Ryan.  And she brought her dog over so our puppies could meet.  Preston was a little too aggressive... I will have to work on sharing with him.  He didn't want to share his space...  But, we Ryan and I had fun eating dinner, taking our dogs for a walk, and watching Cougar Town.  Jennie even stopped by for a while.

On Saturday, I met up with my Cambodia trip group for some Cambodian food at Phnom Phen in Tucker, GA.  I am even more excited now about the trip as I LOVED the food!!  I also had a blast with the group.  I foresee us getting along really well!

Tomorrow should be ladies night with my friend Lynette, Shannon, and a few other ladies.  We keep planning our meetings but sickness, travel, and miscellaneous issues keep getting in the way of the fun! 

Then on Thursday night Mom comes into town!! Woo hoo!!  I can't wait!

Cheese-Free Hot Artichoke Dip

If you are like me, lactose intolerant, and love artichoke dip you want an alternative that won't leave you hurting.  And the fact that I made it yesterday and no one noticed the missing cheese (I didn't tell them it was made with tofu) and no one even batted an eye!!

Hot Artichoke Dip

Ingredient List

• 1 12-oz. pkg. light silken tofu
• 2 Tbs. reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
• 1/4 cup white onion, diced
  
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
  
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
  
• 1 15.5-oz. can artichoke quarters in water, drained, rinsed, chopped
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• Paprika for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Purée tofu thru red pepper flakes in blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to bowl.
2. Stir artichokes and spinach into tofu mixture. Spoon into 8-inch glass pie dish or casserole. Bake 20 minutes. Dust with paprika; serve.

Slow-Cooker Stew with Beans, Sweet Potatoes and Corn

Woo hoo for the beginning of fall!!!  I love this time of year because I get to create lots and lots of soup.  Whats better than curling up on the couch with a warm bowl of soup while watching Wheel Of Fortune?  The answer is... nothing!

So I needed to do a quick post for the latest creation that I made last night for small group.  I found the slow-cooker recipe here and barely changed it up.  I put it all in the crock pot before going to work Wednesday morning and when I came home it smelled magical!

I also pulled some Ezekiel bread dough out of the freezer (I had put together about a month ago and froze).  When I got home from work I baked the bread and both Teesha and I thought the bread was better after it was frozen then the loaf made without freezing it. 


Slow-Cooker Stew with Beans, Sweet Potatoes and Corn

1-28oz can of unsalted whole tomatoes, including the juice
3 cups sweet potato chunks
2 cups cannelini beans (I used dried that I sat in water overnight)
2 cups lima beans (I used frozen, but thawed them first)
2 cups frozen corn kernels (that I thawed with the lima beans)
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Dump the tomatoes into slow-cooker and crush with your hands or the back of a wooden spoon. Mix in the remaining ingredients, cover, and slow-cook until everything is tender.  (for me it was 9 hours on low and then a few hours on warm - until we were ready to eat).

Quick Update

Hello all!  Just a bit about me.  This past week there wasn't too much new or exciting to report but here is what was the top of the week for me...

• My boss and friend Rachael had her work baby shower.  It was a lot of fun to watch her open her gifts, the food was amazing and I had a great talk with another Rachael who was also there.
• I went to my mentorship group Tuesday night.  We have read the book 'Spiritual Friendships' by Mindy Caliguire and we are talking about spiritual friends.  Its great to hear others perspectives and to realize we all struggle with so many of the same / similar thing when it comes to close, spiritual, female friendships.
• I just read the book 'Julie and Julia' by Julie Powell.  It was a fun read and I would love to now see the movie so I can see what is the same and what they changed!
• Today I am relaxing and cooking, my favorite kind of day.  Preston is watching me, of course.
• Tomorrow I am going to my mission trip 'retreat' where we will get to do something (not quite sure what, it is a mystery) and it will be for team building and getting to know each other better.  And it will be within the city limits of Atlanta, I think...
• And then tomorrow night I am going to Lynette's birthday party.  Super excited to be able to celebrate with her.

Well, onto life.  My muffins just came out of the oven and I need to do a little house hunting online today too.  Wish me luck, I only have until the end of November to find and purchase a place if I want the first time home buyers tax credit!

Ciao!!

Morning Glory Muffins

So, I decided I wanted to bake something this morning and have it for brunch.  So, I pulled out my trusty cook book (What the Bible Says about Healthy Living Cookbook) and found a recipe.  Of course, like every other recipe, I changed it up a bit.  I used mostly all organic ingredients but use what you have on hand.

A quick hint... I can never eat a full jar of applesauce before it goes bad so to save money, I buy unsweetened applesauce in individual containers when they are on special at the supermarket.  Then I can keep them in the refrigerator until I need them for a recipe or until I want to eat on plain!!  Do unsweetened, you can always sweeten them if you want.

There are a ton of ingredients however its really easy, it smells fabulous, and we will see in about 20 minutes how good they taste!!

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 C walnuts
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C whole smelt flour (or you could just use whole wheat flour again)
1/4 C wheat germ (you could use old fashioned oats instead)
3 Tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C dried unsweetened coconut
1/4 C pumpkin seeds

Wet Ingredients:
1 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C maple syrup
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla

Ingredients to Shed:
3 small unpeeled carrots (or 2 large)
1 unpeeled apple (I used Braeburn)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. Chop walnuts and combine with other dry ingredients in a large bowl
3. Combine wet ingredients in glass measuring cup and mix well to incorporate.
4. Shread carrots and aples and add them to the dry mixture.  Stir to incorporate.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and combine well.  The batter will be very thick.
6. Use a 1/4 C measure to scoop, divide the batter into the muffin cups and spread into the cup.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into several of the muffins comes out clean and the muffins begin to brown slightly, 25 - 30 minutes.

Instead of baking all of them now, freeze some of the batter for a quick muffin later.  Also, the muffins freeze well, so put them in a freezer bag and eat later!  Yummy!!

It's not all about ME...

Really.  Seriously.

My mom just emailed me a link I think you may all want to check out... its the pictures from my Dad's recent adventure hunting with Dan.  I've only had time to look at a couple but they are amazing.  Dan just got a new camera recently and, I have to say, I think he is mastering it well!

Me!!

We had to take some pictures for our ministry services division retreat that is coming up and here is the one taken of me...

 

I love it!!  I had a lot of fun taking the picture and thanks to Rachael Stanley's amazing camera it made a really good still shot of my jump!  Fun times!!

Chicken and Spinach with Mushrooms

I found this recipe recently and thought I really needed to try it... it sounded great, I mixed it up with the ingredients I had on hand but I still think it was missing something.  So, I am writing the recipe as I think it should be... not as I actually made it.  

 

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups (1 lb) diced chicken
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz baby portabello mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tsp kosher salt
6 oz baby spinach
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2-1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp coarsely chopped rosemary
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tsp chilli powder

Directions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F. 
• In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and diced chicken.  Cook until almost all pink is gone, then add onions. Cook, stirring until just soft, about 4 min. 
• Add mushrooms and 1/2 tsp salt and continue stirring until softened, about 4 min. 
• Gradually add spinach and stir until completely wilted, about 2 min. Transfer to a large bowl and add chicken; wipe skillet clean.
• Whisk together flour, broth, lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt and add to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk until mixture is boiling and simmer until just thick, about 2 min. Add to chicken mixture with spices, then transfer to a 2-qt baking dish. 
• Bake until golden, 25 to 30 min.
  

You could add something as a top... maybe rice, biscuits, or phillo dough.  Enjoy!!

Mango Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps

I found a recipe for beef wraps but thought it would taste just as good with the chicken sausage (since I already had that at home).  I had this recipe in the back of my mind for a while and when Miranda decided to come over for dinner on Wednesday I knew just what to make.  We had a lot of fun getting dinner ready (I made this and she made a yummy salad). 

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
 2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
8 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
3 mango chicken sausages, cut into pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup bean sprouts
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
whole wheat flour tortillas


Directions:

• In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. (Do not let oil smoke.) 
• Add chicken sausage and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
  
• Add red peppers and scallions.  Cook for 1 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and cook for 2 more minutes. 
• Add soy sauce and cook for 1 more minute. 
• Place bean sprouts in center of tortilla.  Top with chicken-vegetable mixture.
  
  

Enjoy!!

September All Staff Note - Joshua

I wanted to take notes of our staff meeting.  And I thought the talk that Andy Stanley gave was so amazing that it needed to be shared.  I probably won't do it justice here but here is my take away:

• None of us know in the moment when we are making our mark.  We only realize the significance of the moment when we look back.
• God's greatest concern for us is that we will become so successful that we will forget the Lord.
• When Jesus prayed 'give us our daily bread' he was referring back to the time God fed the Israelites daily manna from heaven. 
• What do you do when you don't know?  When I am waiting for God to decide how He is going to use me? How do I position myself to be used for God's glory?

Joshua was 110 years old and reflecting on his life when he said the following statements :
Joshua 23:8 - 'Cling' to the Lord your God...
Joshua 23:11 - Take diligent heed to 'love' the Lord your God...
Joshua 24:15 - As for me and my household we will 'serve' the Lord.

What set Joshua up to say this at the end of his life?  Joshua 5:13-15

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

• There were usually guards & laws preventing someone armed in the presence of Joshua.  This man would have been considered an assassin.
• Essentially Joshua asked "are you for ME or against ME"
  

 ¹⁴ "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord ^[a] have for his servant?"

• The literal translation of 'neither' is 'no.'  Joshua asked the wrong question.  The question was not big enough. 
• When he said commander - that was actually Joshua's title.
• Joshua had authority over the Israelites & he was considered their greatest authority.  Joshua realized the angel had more authority than he did.
• There are 2 question you can ask:  

1. Do I have authority?
• are you for me or against me?
2. Am I under authority?
• Who am I for?
• What side am I on?

• Joshua demonstrates he is uner authority by bowing down.
  

 ¹⁵ The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

• The angel didn't answer any big question or give any big instruction.  He didn't tell him the future or how to handle any major issue.
• Instead, Joshua was tested to see if he would surrender/submit to God.  It was more about making God's name great.

My takeaways:

• Live as a women who is under authority.
• Obey God, trust him with the outcome.
• God takes responsibility to the life that is fully submitted to Him.
• It doesn't matter who is for me or against me.  It's about who I am for.
• It's not about who is on my side but who's side I am on.
• If I win I win.  And if I lose I win.  Because I trust God with the outcome.

We never know our defining moments until they are long gone.  Position yourself so God will make his mark thru you.

Christmas In Cambodia Blog

So, I wanted to give you the link the new blog for the mission trip to Cambodia that I am going on.  I am still very excited about the trip and I am looking forward to it so much!!  I will still post some things about the trip on this blog but the other blog will have information from all of the trip participants!!  Please keep us in your prayers!!

Rainy Day Weekend

Well, I am exhausted. At work I have been working hard on upgrading the bookstore inventory software and I have to say I am disappointed on how un-well it is going. I just keep working and praying and I know that it will all work out. And, I guess we learn a lot from things going wrong so I have had a lot of practice this week at learning. Hopefully next week I can implement the lessons that I have learn and make it go a little bit better!!

On a better note, Preston and I are having a ton of fun!! He is an excellent walker and we love to play around. Thru our first (and so far only) fight he learned that I am alpha! Ha! He loves sitting next to me and will follow me all around the house. I have learned that he doesn't like baths (I think this is typical for dogs) and he doesn't like wearing the cone around his head (he has had to wear it when I am not around as he got fixed about 10 days ago). But, he does like the food and dog bones I bought, getting petted, sitting on the couch, but toys he is pretty indifferent about!

Last night Lynette came over and we watched Kiss Me Kate, ate dinner and had Pink champagne. I usually am not a huge champagne fan but Pink was amazingly good! It was fun to drink while watching old moves! Now I need to go antique shopping and find a few old champagne glasses to drink them out of. We just drank them out of my big red wine glasses... just not the same! Ha!

For dinner I made the Baked Thai Corn Fritters but this time I doubled the recipe and added edamame and peas. We had thme with brown rice mixed with Biryani (curried rice with peas, red pepper, apples, raisins and spices) that I bought from Trader Joes and chicken apple sausage. Lynette brought over Stacy Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips and Mint Oreos. I over-indulged with the pita chips and I did have a (couple) mint oreos. Totally broke my general ban on dessert! But, after the week I had I really just wanted some good junk food! Ha!! I also loved Kiss Me Kate and had a blast chatting with my good friend. It has been a while since we been able to get together. We keep making plans but schedules and sheer exhaustion have kept us apart!

Tailgate Tuesday

Last week Tuesday the I.T. team for all of North Point put on a grill out lunch in preparation for the upcoming football season. Well, it wasn't the only reason... we also wanted to get together with staff so we could get to know them better and they could get to know us better. And, this was such a great idea! Thanks to everyone in the I.T. team I had a blast and I had a ton of fun setting up the event! Big props to Elizabeth for coordinating everything, to Rachael for being the person I got to spend the day with setting up, and to the guys for all the grilling!! Here are a few pictures from the event...

Do you see Ellen and me in the background?!?!?

If you could say a quick prayer for me today... I have been managing a project at work and today is the first day of implementation. I have never managed a work project before (I have always been the one who works tickets out of a queue) so I have been blessed to learn a lot but I am nervous as all get out! I know God is leading and directing me in everything and I am not to worry but I still do. I have said a few prayers myself but I figure the more the merrier!

Baked Thai Corn Fritters

I found a recipe for Baked Thai Corn Fritters on Vegan Dad's blog today and knew I had to make them right away. I, of course, changed up the ingredients a bit so here is my tweak. And I loved the way it tasted!! I made it for just me, but if you are making it for a couple people I would double it, at least!

Makes 4

- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed

- 1/2 tsp red curry paste

- 1/4 cup smelt flour

- 1 egg

- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried, unsweetened, coconut flakes, chopped

- 1/2 tbsp cilantro
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- pepper, to taste

- chili powder, to taste


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I used an iron skillet to cook in.

Put thawed corn in a bowl. Mix in curry paste. Add in flour, egg, garlic, ginger, cilantro, basil, coconut, and hoisin sauce and mix well.

Dip a 1/4 cup measure in water, then scoop out 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet. Sprinkle pepper and chili powder on top.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, turning once in the middle, until golden brown on top.


I loved this and will make it a few more times!! Yummy!!!

Searching for God Knows What

My small group just got done reading the book Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller and it was another great read. Here is some of what I found most interesting:

• After my friend told me 'reality is like fine wine, it doesn't appeal to children,' I started reading the Bible very differently. I stopped looking for the formulas and tried to understand what God was trying to say. When I did that, I realized God's message to mankind wasn't a bunch of hoops to jump thru to get saved and it wasn't a series of ideas we had to agree with; rather an invitation to know God.
• The problem with God-impostors is that they worship a very small god to validate their identities. This god falls apart as soon as you touch him.
• Man is wired so we get his glory from God. God's love is so pure that Adam & Eve felt no insecurity at all. But when that relationship was broken, they knew it instantly. All of the insecurity rose the instant they realized they were alone.
• What God must have felt, arriving on the scene just after the Fall, knowing all He had made was ruined. Meeting Adam & Eve's eyes for the first time. They are shaking, feeling the trustworthiness of their first love and wondering if He would love them again. Hearing Him speak for the first time as the One who had been betrayed. "Who told you that you were naked?"
• If you declare war against someone else you either have to handcuff them or kill them to win. But if you want them to be forgiven by Christ and live eternally in heaven with Jesus you have to love them. Declaring war in the name of an agenda, in the name of God, is what militant Muslims are doing in the Middle East, and we don't want that here.
• When we read the Bible for other reasons than text to explain God, it becomes a puzzle by which we test our knowledge against our friends, and the views by which we distinguish superiors from inferiors. Its is as though we believe when we die, Alex Trebeck will be standing at the gates of heaven leading us in a mad round of religious Jeopardy.
• Fasting is mourning Him, baptism is identifying with Him, Communion is remembering him.

I love the different viewpoint presented in the book. I never thought of what God must have felt like after the fall, or that God didn't design the Bible specifically for modern day America. But for everyone (yes, everyone) around the world to have a relationship with him. To give us the opportunity to live within the context we were designed and to know His love.

Pretty awesome, I have to say.

Dinner = Amazing!!

We had the most amazing dinner tonight!!! Jennie brought over a butternut squash, wine, and home-made kiwi sorbet and mango sorbet. I have never had better sorbet in my life!! Teesha brought over coconut flakes and chicken stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms. And I had acorn squash with the rest of the ingredients. All together, it turn out fabulous. And I had a great time chatting with them both!!

Maple Walnut Squash

1 acorn squash
1 butternut squash
1 1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 T maple syrup
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff (save the seeds for later). Put the squash in a 9 x 13 inch pan with the cut sides facing up.

In a food processor, combine the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the nuts and raisins are coarsely chopped. Scoop the walnut mixture into the scooped out sections of the squash.

Fill the bottom of the pan with water 1/4 to 1/2 inch high. Cover pan with foil and bake until squash flesh is tender (about 1 hour 15 minutes is how long it took for me).



Roasted Squash Seeds

Clean the seeds so there is no more stringy stuff. Let the seeds air dry for approximately 30 minutes. Then, in a bowl, I added 1/2 T olive oil, salt, pepper, and Spike (no salt added) seasoning. I then roasted the seeds in a greased 8 x 8 inch glass baking dish at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.


Umm, yea. Yummy!!

My new DOGGIE!!!

So, I am not officially a dog owner!! Wantta see pics of the cute little guy. Here you go...





He is 4 years old and weighs in at a whopping 8 lbs. Which is perfect for me. He sheds a bit more than I had expected however I think it will be completely handable. We have spent 1 full day together and I still love him, so that's good right? Now I am just showing him that I am pack leader (and I will always be leader)!

Today we went to the duck pond across the street from my apartment and he had a blast hanging out in the shade while I sun bathed. Then we went for a quick walk. Super fun day!!

Tonight Jennie (lives in my building) and Teesha (from small group) are coming over for dinner. I am going to make a maple-walnut-acorn squash dish that I have been wanting to make so I am excited about that. If it tastes any good I'll upload the recipe!!

For lunch, I made a smoothie out of unsweetened chocolate, cinnamon, soy milk, milled flax seeds, and mango. Put it all in a blender a blender with ice and it was tasty!!

Restaurant Review: Cru

So, apparently cru means raw or uncooked in French. However this restaurant wasn't a sushi restaurant (as I thought it should be) but a tapas restaurant. Britt, Andrea and I (Andrea is who Britt and I stayed with in Italy a little over a year ago) went there with a group of their friends. Andrea had stopped in Atlanta for a week before heading to graduate school in NYC. Can you believe it... I am so jealous that he is able to live there!!

We started with a glass of Sangria. Their house Sangria was only $5 a glass, which tasted pretty good! Then I got Lamb sliders for dinner which was also very yummy, in fact, everyone seemed to really enjoy what they got. The only complaint was that the food was a little pricey for a tapas restaurant. I generally like to try 2 items at a tapas restaurant but at $12 for my plate that was out of the question. But, if it tastes good that's what counts right!

Either way, I had a great night with my friends... And that truly is what counts!!