Weeks 27 and 28, I'm not so late!

I am actually getting this post up relatively on time! Not that that means I'm caught up with work. I don't think I will ever be caught up, but at least I feel like I can breathe a little bit now.

But my mind is so preoccupied that I missed several days this week and honestly, can't even remember if I ate some days, although I know I did. It's all just a blur. But the photos that I do remember to take will be a nice reminder of what I managed to do when I tore myself away from the computer. (Although you will see that at least 4 of these photos were taken while I was working at the computer, and there were many more meals in front of the screen this week.)

183: Made it into the city to watch some Euro cup and have a ridiculously huge plate of nachos. I was supposed to go back to work afterwards, but that didn't happen.
186a: Completely missed Monday and Tuesday as I was being paid back for taking a little break on Sunday. Luckily, having Wednesday off helped me catch up, both on work and photos. Had a protein-rich breakfast and followed that with a run, yoga, and then a swim!
186b: Big salad post-workout and the computer
186c: Plum chutney and chicken, sort of in the Independence Day spirit with the color combo.
187: Leftovers and a fantastic brew called Winterwit from Almanac
188: Friday lunch in front of the computer. A banh mi sandwich from my neighborhood Pho Garden and some boba tea.
190a: Somehow missed Saturday. I actually took a leave from the home and office and went up to Sonoma for the day. Such a welcome distraction. Sunday, I dug into my plum cake from last week, which was luckily still edible.
190b: A pork and tofu stir fry, just like my mom would make
192a: Missed Monday. I think Mondays are pretty much spent eating in front of the computer these days. Breakfast of an egg white cheese omelette with salsa is pretty much what I have most mornings.
192b: Met up with some friends for dinner at some local Japanese place. I don't think cheesecake qualifies as Japanese, but it was still tasty
193: Sushi heaven
195: Another day missed. Friday evening in front of the computer again. The Signature salad with steak from Jeffrey's and onion rings. Plus a gallon of water afterwards from the major salt overload
196a: Working on Saturday. Pork belly banh mi and a Vietnamese iced tea. (Sorry Piglet!)
196b: Called it quits and went up to the city and tried out Canela. Really tasty tapas and sangria. I had a lot of sangria, it was fantastic!

June Mood Board

Wha???? It's July 8, and I am again behind in posting my mood board. Life is so busy that I'm wondering how long I can keep up blogging. Not even blogging a year and I may have to end it. I can barely keep up with my 366 days of food, much less a whole blog. But it is a nice departure from everyday life, so I may just keep it for that reason.

Alas, June brought to bloom many roses...

The dahlias and hydrangea are starting to bloom. Unfortunately, my hydrangea has never fully bloomed in the past 3 years, I'm not sure why.

The fruits and vegetables are popping up everywhere, or rather dropping everywhere. I have so many plums, and it's been a challenge trying to use them.

I made a plum tart, tastes great with ice cream!

And a plum cake. Thanks Martha Stewart!

One tomato has ripened, I was so excited! July will surely bring much more, I can't wait!

I gave myself a Top Chef challenge, trying to use up just the ingredients from my garden. I think I did a pretty good job!

Week 26, it's been a lot of pics!

I thought I'd post another 366 today, 1) to catch up and 2) to mark the mid-way point. It's been 26 weeks of food shots! Another 26 to go! Woohoo!

176: Made a trip to Ikea the day before and picked up some Swedish treats.
177: Bi-rite toffee crunch ice cream for dessert
178: Salmon salad from the gym, where I went to work off the ice cream. Good to hit the gym again.
179: I cooked. Finally. Nothing extravagant. Some pasta with scallops in a mushroom sauce
180: Liquid dinner
181: Bun at a Vietnamese place near my office. I've been to this place a dozen times now since moving to my new office.
182: Dinner at 31st Union, which just opened up in my neighborhood. Farm to table concept, wonderful decor, something our area needs. Looking forward to eating here more. Turns out my friend knows the owner (she didn't even realize this until we were in the restaurant and she saw him walking around the tables)! It was fun to hear about all the things he did for the restaurant opening, in case I ever want to live my pipe dream.

Wow, 182 pics. And another 184 to go, if I can keep up with this for another 26 weeks!

Week 24 and 25, I'm still alive!

So here I am this morning, thinking I'll be right on time with my 366 posts. And then I realized I'm a week behind. Ah vell. The new business opened two weeks ago, and I'm just trying to keep my head above water. Food always helps.

162: These little guys are called taiyaki. Super cute and filled with something sweet. The Nutella ones were much too sweet for my taste, but the cream ones were a hit. From Sweet Breams.
163: A salad for dinner, simple and quick
164: A few berries picked from my garden and a chocolate popsicle for dessert
165: Sushi for dinner
166: Store-bought soup and a quick salad for dinner. Not much real cooking going on in my house the past few weeks
167: Pasta and sauce from Whole Foods. At least I brought out a pan and turned on the stove
168: I baked! My friends helped me out today so I thought I'd reward them with some homemade banana bread, blueberry coffee cake, and coffee bacon.
169: Father's Day dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant
170: 1st day of the new business, late dinner at the desk
171: Same salad, different day
172: My friend felt pity on me and made me dinner. Gobbled it all up before I could take  a photo. Got one of dessert instead. She made an insanely good mango rummy colada cocktail thingy
174a: Lost a day. Realized this the next morning at 5:20 am as I was brewing coffee.
174b: Brewed another cup and made an egg scramble
175: End of a crazy week. Still not cooking much. But luckily my friends are. Saturday brunch (and a few hours of watching fútbol, although I had a computer on my lap the whole time).

May mood board

Ok, so it's almost two weeks into June, and I have yet to post my May mood board. Better late than never. Last month's mood board will be brought to you today by Instagram.

A few roses are blooming. The bushes are quite old so they either produce faded blooms or massive ones that don't last very long. Probably should pull them out and start new.

I still think I pull my carrots too early, but the tops start getting really fat and they just don't seem to want to grow long.

Or they get kind of mutated.

I have a patch of sweet peas that is just heaven to walk through. Love the fragrance!

I kept cutting the flowers but I finally stopped cutting and the pea pods are coming out. The berry bushes are starting to produce, although not much. Maybe next year, I'll get more than a dozen!

As it's already two weeks into June, I'm seeing some more peas and maybe even a few dahlias. Stay tuned!

Come on by to Instagram and see more regular postings of my garden. @ailoves