Bites of My Life

I was in Oklahoma City for the second half of the week. It was a quick work filled trip, but great to see friends, fam, and co-workers. I turned right back around once Saturday hit to get back to Dallas. I gushed on it a little in my last bites post, but Dallas just feels really right lately. That being said, I’m hoping to be back in Oklahoma this coming weekend for the 4th, but fingers crossed their rain holds off so I can have a fun lake weekend, and not a wash out. Keep scrolling to the end of this post if you need some holiday recipe inspo!

-Easy and delicious summer dinner: TJ’s Chili Lime Chicken Burger topped with chunks of avocado and tomatoes, pickled red onion, mustard for dipping (always), and a quick pickled Asian cucumber salad.
-Pulled into OKC and quickly found myself taking sips of all the new coffees on The Jones’ summer menu rollout.
-Mom and dad’s new house is IT! My trip was fast and furious, but I can’t wait to be back in Oklahoma soon to spend an extended amount of time in that pool.
-Morning walk with these OKC besties!
-After dinner Homemade Brandy Ices !!
-Trips down I-35 deserve SNACKS! A mix of skinny pop, cheddar bunnies, and almonds did the trick.
-Back in Dallas, for a Bridgeton-themed birthday tea for the queen, Ellie!
-Bonded by espresso martinis and being Dallas transplants.
-End of an era as Royal Blue Grocery closes. So many coffee dates, afternoon work sessions, friend meetups, and bible studies on the patio. Going to miss it, but excited for what the RBG team has up their sleeve.

Annie

My 4th of July recipe roundup from last year still holds strong. Take a peek at the post for some inspo for your holiday weekend. God Bless America!

Bites of My Life

Happy first day of summer! I made a huge bowl of this red lentil pasta salad yesterday. Pasta salad screams summer for me! My mom used to make this bow tie pasta salad to have in the fridge during the summer when my sisters and I were out of school. Nostalgia at it’s finest.

I’m coming off a truly superb weekend with newer and some older Dallas friends that has me so confident of my location. In the benediction from church yesterday, the pastor said “ You go nowhere by accident.” I know it’s been two years, but I still hear and feel this reminder often that I am where I am supposed to be.

-Summer means copious amounts of salads, smoothies, watermelon, ice cream, and anything cold. Made my Del Corazon salad for dinners this past week.
-Sungold watermelons! They taste the same as a normal watermelon but are more fun to eat because yellow!!
-Started Stephanie May Wilson’s new prayer journal last week. Already so encouraging.
-Happy hour at Jordan’s to kick off the weekend! She’s the best host in the biz.
-Ellie and I took ourselves out for a boozy belated and early birthday lunch. We were there for almost three hours and could have stayed longer! I love this friend so much!
-Because the natural progression after a sushi and martini dinner is a late-night chips, salsa, churros, and Modelo move.
-Got to break out my new hat twice over the weekend. I’m obsessed with the monogrammed bandanna.
-Got into too much trouble with this girl gang over the weekend. See you all in Vegas ;) !
-Trendy martini but make it decaf!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Happy two years in Dallas to me! Can you believe? I actually can. I feels like it’s been 5+. I mean that in a good way. I feel rooted and established in Dallas, something I really strived to feel after initially moving.

It’s also mid June already. How? It is summer, like summer summer. And the temperatures are to show for it. I felt like this weekend was a constant state of sweat, shower, sweat, shower, sweat, shower. I went on a walk with two newer friends that I adore, on Sunday. We stopped for ice coffee first, then walked the Katy Trail in Dallas. By the end of the walk we were 1. sweaty messes and 2. famished. We stopped for lunch and I think everyone in the restaurant thought we had just jumped in a pool! Dog days are here.

-One of my go-to dinners in the ole single girl recipe bag. Just a Trader Joe’s Turkey burger salad. Pretty crave worth in the summer.
-I’ve been in a routine of buying a rotisserie chicken at the store to start the week to have for meals. I decided to try my hand at making homemade bone broth with the leftover chicken carcass. It’s so easy to make, and it yielded about a week’s worth of broth that I sipped on mid-morning. Bone broth has some great health benefits, but it really just made me feel like I was doing something good and healthy for myself!
-700 printed photos later and my photo albums are now up to date to document the past two years.
-Ventured to work outside on Friday, and was quickly reminded that it’s officially the dead heat of the summer. I lasted about 10 minutes working in the 95 degree heat.
-Bestie Taylor drove down from OKC for a quick 24 hour trip. We had dinner at Encina in the bishop Arts district and had the most delicious “Mokonuts” cocktail.
-Ordered about every app on the menu at Encina. The vibes, the food, the drinks were all good.
-Our favorite visitor!
-Prettier the cheeseboard, the easier it is to play mah jongg…or so they say!
-Spent Saturday afternoon learning the game of Mah Jongg from one of my good friend’s moms. What was supposed to be a 2-4pm lesson turned into hours of playing the game, talking, eating copious amounts of chocolate-covered almonds, and just an overall great day.

Annie

Bites of My Life

We love a short week. We loooove a short week after a long weekend. Can we do it again this week?

I wish I was sleeping in for one more weekend day this morning. However, I will say that “summer” gives each week a more easy going feel. Even when things are busy, they still feel more relaxed. I love having more sunlight to get things done and/or just enjoy more of the day! Yesterday was intended to be a lazy day, but I did some yoga, got two two walks in, a grocery trip run, some meal prepping, ordered a ton of photos to be printed, vacuumed, did laundry, and also watched a lot of TV. I didn’t mean to be so productive, but it just kind of happened. The long days of summer is one of my favorite parts of the season.

-Outtakes from the long weekend! Who knew Katy Trail Ice House had such good lighting??
-Obsessed with my Sleeper look-a-like dress I got for my birthday. Purchased from this Etsy shop.
-Another birthday treat post-birthday showed up last week. I’ve been bullying my friend Anna who lives in DC to go to Tatte Bakery since I saw they opened. It looks like what my dreams are made of. Until I can go on my own, Anna sent me some goodies to tide me over. Inside was the most delicious homemade granola and candied nuts!
-Belated birthday lunch at Rise! Go for the souffle, stay for the Nicoise salad.
-Another birthday gift came in and is now sized and ready to wear! I really wanted a vintage pinky signet ring with my initials, but of course, I had something in my head that I couldn’t find or was upwards $1,000. Kathleen found this little guy on a new-to-me site called Italic. I’m so happy with it!
-The summer ice cream, froyo, custard, cold sweet treat craving is unmatched. Treated myself to Friday froyo and an early bedtime post-happy hour!
-Protein pancakes for Saturday morning!
-St. Paul and the Broken Bones!!! After missing them twice at The Jones, I was thriiiiiled to get the invite to a mini show they had in Dallas at the new Thompson hotel. This picture is not of St. Paul, but a great afternoon with them too :)
-Still perfecting my Cava order, and I think we may have hit it. One more test run then I’ll share with the class.

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.