Bites of My Life

Whole30 is still kicking in per-usual Annie fashion. 90% Whole 30 10% weekend freebies. The highlight of last week was getting to hold my nephew Jack for the first time. He is such a little cuddle guy and after 7 weeks in the NICU it was so special being with him in person. I had a relatively relaxing weekend, but as I’m writing this on a Monday morning I can’t help but hold my eyes to keep them open. 😴

-Long story short when I first got the Starbucks app I set my birthday as the next day to get a free birthday drink, the day was September 7th. So now every year on September 7th I get a free drink and it’s truly the most fun mid-year non-birthday free treat.
-Did a riff on these bowls for lunches last week. I swapped the ranch for mustard. Team mustard for life.
-Pizza night in Austin, TX. We love the Ooni in my family, both of my BILs have one. We made three different Gjelina recipes and all were amazing. Also p.s. it’s called whole30ish ;)
-Finally got to meet and hold my sweet baby nephew Jack. It was the perfect quick trip to see this little peanut!
-Insaaaane Banana Bread Nutella stuffed cookie from Thoroughbread in Austin. My sis has challenged me to recreate!
-Had an errand to run in Fort Worth, so I treated myself to a smoothie bowl from the newly opened Mamaka Bowls, and shopped around some FW boutiques. I love Fort Worth!
-A new york minute visit from our big city girl was just the best Saturday happy hour.
-Since my “birthday” latte last week, I’ve been on a latte kick. I can’t get enough of a creamy almond milk decaf latte. Doesn’t matter where it is from. Anyway I mobile ordered one from Starbucks and they made it iced. They remade my order and sent me home with both. Good thing they were decaf.
-The Defined Dish Spicy Cilantro Wings and grilled pineapple for a Sunday Whole30 meal.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week was nice! A relatively chill and a nice slow week after the holiday. Followed by a fun weekend with brunch, drinks, and lots of pool time with friends. In addition, we had some exciting family news hit mid week that has the Tucker’s praying and thanking God!

-Green green and more green after the 4th of July chip bender.
-My “Best Things I’ve Bought on Amazon” post went live last week. Did anything catch your eye? This trucker hat, tank and pop socket are in my everyday rotation!
-I can’t with this picture LOL! Had a private training session with my friend Kate and let’s just say while I love Obe, I feel pretty out of shape for a bootcamp style training….
-Fun pant alert! These are a favorite recent rental. Broke them out for a happy hour with friends!
-Tik Tok pasta chips were my contribution for dip night with friends! Have you seen this trend?
-The new Gossip Girl. I’m here for it, have you watched yet?
-Alamo Club is one of my favorite spots in Dallas and now for brunch! I split a carafe of mimosas and had these delicious chilaquiles all for a $16 tab. Cannot beat it!
-Trader Joe’s soup dumplings!!! Don’t sleep. The pork and ginger flavor are legit. A new staple purchase.
-Sunday spread set up for an afternoon by the pool!

Annie

Bites of My Life

I’m full on family and an unhealthy amount of potato chips. But might I say it was just what the doctor ordered. How great has this year been that our holidays have been able to return to normal? Lake time, cookouts, s’mores (and s’more cookies), and fireworks! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

I’m equally thankful that this is a short week. Just a few action-packed work days and then I’m headed to OKC for a full week of major Tucker hangs!

-I love to order the California Turkey or Chicken Salad sandwiches “protein style” at Bird Bakery. I recreated the Cali Turkey last week and it was a great weekday lunch. Turkey meat, red onion, tomatoes, avocado, and gluten-free crackers over arugula. I was missing the raspberry chipotle mayo, but made a little mustard dressing to pour over it all.
-After being damaged in the 2019 Dallas tornado, the Preston Royal Central Market reopened last week. A trip to see the new store doubled as a birthday lunch date for my friend Ellie!
-Whizzed up some frozen banana and frozen pineapple in my mini food processor for a crazy good little ice cream situation. It couldn’t have been easier!
-Have you seen the wave of popularity Crumbl Cookie has received from Tik Tok? Whoever their marketing director is must to be laughing all the way to the bank. The lines at some Crumbl locations are wrapped around the building. The flavors rotate weekly and I couldn’t resist treating myself to the fan-favorite Cornbread Cookie that was available last week.
-A Sonic Happy Hour Route 44 water with mango and blackberry has been a mid-afternoon mood lately! It tastes like a snow cone!
-It ain’t a summer holiday without my S’more Cookies. I even made a Tik Tok how-to because I was feeling sassy.
-Lake time with Baby Joe! My honorary nephew looks more like my child than his parents!
-Big holiday people for these two littles who are proud to be Americans!
-Seriously good 4th of July eats.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Twenty-seven, an age I didn’t want to turn. I was pretty vocal about how I did not want to turn 27 last year. There was a list of internal reasons why I didn’t want to get older last year, but add a pandemic on top and I was not in the headspace to “age.” Come this year and I felt confident going into 28. The week shook out a bit different than originally planned, but I’m still holding strong to confidence in year 28. It’s not a novel idea that birthdays make you think and reflect, but this past week was a glaring reminder of how incredible my friends and family are. The people I’ve somehow tricked into my corner of community are the best, bias but very true.

-I don’t have a lot of love languages, but a surprise decaf latte is definitely one of them. Bonus points for a latte that comes in a cheery yellow cup with an uplifting saying.
-I thought Crumbl Cookies were just a Tik Tok trend, but boy was I wrong. These bad boys showed up on my porch and were everything of the sort. I cannot stress enough how yum there were. SB, I owe you!
-Celebrated Mary and Charlie with a send-off party before they are NYC bound. Can’t wait to visit these Upper West Siders!
-The early stages of getting to this final cake masterpiece were documented on Tik Tok by Olivia and now have 2.1 million views….incredible!
-A chill night with a ton of cheese the most epic homemade cake and some of my closest friends, was the best way to enter my 28th year!
-My very own Park Cities Petals :) The best in the Dallas flower game!
-What was meant to be an hour visit while stopping through town, turned into the best 24 hours hanging with my sis and brother-in-law at their new house in Austin, Texas!! #StateMates! Claire has been in New York the past 12 years and by a twisted fate, we are now in Texas together.
-There were some big talks about these breakfast tacos from The Carpenter Hotel. Homemade tortillas, eggs, green chorizo, and housemade tomatillo salsa. The tacos lived up and were the perfect fuel post-Lady Bird Lake trail walk and pre-drive back to DAL.
-Pulled back into Dallas Saturday, just in time for the first pool day of the season!
-Had to cut out a few to make it fit in the square. While I think we may have been the only few in town, just glad it was us. This expanded group of our college besties are just that, the best! Spent the cloudy and cooler Sunday at Katy Trail Ice House, sipping on one too many summer beers and playing an extensive round of Cheers Govna’. that after two hours I’m still not sure we finished.
-A hot dog was 1000% necessary for Memorial Day weekend and the kick-off to summer.
-The Green Goddess Salad with Paleo Popcorn Chicken from Origin Kitchen is the most craveable salad. Made for a happy lunch with my bestie Carol girl!

Annie

Meal prep bites: I made a batch of my Whole 30 Tahini Chicken Salad for lunches this week, and I’m now officially counting down until lunchtime.

Bites of My Life

It was a short week in Dallas before heading up to Oklahoma City for the weekend. I was back for work and a wedding shower for a friend. I hadn’t been since the holidays and it was great to be back with my family and very best friends. It’s been a wild (in a good way) and dare I say “blessed” start to 2021 for the Tucker family, so getting to be with them and count our blessings was just what I needed.

-I first tried Blender Bombs back when they got their start a few years ago. They are little “bombs” full of superfoods and essential amino acids to power pack your smoothie. I’ve been bloated and uncomfortable (tmi?) the past few weeks, so I’m giving BBs a try again to see if I can nourish my body while also helping out my gut. I shall report back.
-Love Shack Fancy clothing is sometimes a bit too girly for me, but their Dallas store opened last week and it is simply the cutest thing ever. An instant mood booster when you walk in.
-Turning my mousey hair back to bright blonde. Lucky for me I won (yes actually won) one of those Instagram giveaways for a full set of free highlights by Nick at Charlie + Co. He did such a good job, I may be a convert from my box kit… the verdict is still out.
-Back in OKC means working from The Social Order office. It’s always good to be back at this place.
-We are opening our 8th Fuzzy’s location in less than a month. Got to walk through the newest location and it may be one of my favorites.
-When in… you know the drill.
-Giddy up gal pals. Had the best afternoon getting to shower cowgirl MaryKate (and Connor)!
-I didn’t go to OSU for many reasons, but after having Stillwater’s signature drink, a “Limey,” I’m not sure I would have made it out alive if I had gone. Don’t get me wrong they are delicious!! But after one small drink, my eyes were starting to cross!

Annie