{California} Citrus Salad

Alex BrosSo, let me tell you a story. It’s about how I’m bad at Twitter. But it’s more interesting than it sounds, I swear.

(<—Alex and his bros. This is important to the rest of the story….)

It happened one day when I was watching late-night Cooking Channel TV, and this new show, Rebel Eats, came on. The host reminded me of someone, and I couldn’t pin it down… and then it hit me. HE WAS OUR FRIEND ALEX. But not really, of course. He just talked like him and acted like him and even sort of looked like Alex and his brother.

Justin shots(This is Justin… some similarities, right?)

So, what did I do? I sent this tweet to Alex:

JustinTweet1And then, I went calmly to bed. Until, that is, when I woke up at 5:30a.m. for my morning exercise class and saw a little twitter notification… it was this:

Justintext2And, I almost died. I forgot the cardinal rule of twitter….. anyone can find anything. And, the gig was up. I had insulted a Food Network star. Actually THE Food Network Star. Publicly. I frantically texted Alex to commiserate, but he wasn’t much help:

Text salad 1And then this. This was my pitiful too-early-in-the-morning attempt to salvage the situation:

justintext3Yep. Facial hair. That’s all I got. But, in my defense, you can see that the Green’s have the corner on the market. But, Justin and I can never be friends. So, now you know how truly communication-inept I can be, and how NOT to make friends with a celebrity. The end…

Oh, and the salad connection? Alex is actually an awesome experimental chef when he’s not too busy being a Law/MBA student in San Diego, CA. And, he’s a great friend of the family (remember when we visited his family’s home in Canada?). Well, this is his creation… And it’s a darn good one. Enjoy!

Citrus Salad

California Citrus Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • Spring Mix (1 lb.)
  • Lemons (2)
  • Strawberries (10-15)
  • Dates, Frozen for easy chopping (10)
  • Avocados (3)
  • Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Salad Dressing – Feel free to substitute another favorite if you don’t happen to have a TJ’s nearby… like me. *Sob* (3/4 cup)

Directions:

  • 1) Cut lemons into thin, 1/8 inch slices; remove seeds; quarter the slices (The juice mixes with other ingredients as you cut, adding bright flavor!)
  • 2) Cut strawberries into quarters after removing tops
  • 3) Cut dates in half; remove pit; quarter them, then rough chop into small, quarter-inch pieces
  • 4) Cut avocados in half; remove pit; cut the fruit of each half by rough chopping into pieces that are about an inch long and half an inch wide
  • 5) Place spring mix into a large salad bowl
  • 6) Add additional ingredients
  • 7) Pour salad dressing over top
  • 8) Toss salad and serve
  • Enjoy!

So, have you ever met or insulted a celebrity? Do tell… it would make me feel better. Plus, Justin is probably somehow reading this now and disliking me even more ;)

What we’ve been up to…

Wow. Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter came and went.

And the 4th of July.

I missed this, but we’ve had a fabulous rest….

Though time is speeding by, we’ve filled it with everything from home projects to vacations, dinner parties to volunteering. It would take way to long to totally catch you up so we can get back to some fun stuff, so instead, here are a few pictures:

Volunteering with Service League for the Mazza Museum – a really magical place.

VolunteerMazza

Super Bowl Paleo fun with homemade cauliflower pizza crust (you know you’ve Pinned it, too…), and coconut-coated baked chicken nuggets. Verdict? We ate it allllllll. 

CauliflowerPizza

Our spare room (aka, the really-nice-storage-space-with-a-desk) actually turned into a real room. With a bed. That my mom and I refinished. And a mattress. Come visit?

Bedroom

The Husband’s parents got visit and sleep on a real bed. Made the whole redecoration totally worth it. That, and always being able to walk into a room with a bed that’s made. That’s pretty great, also.

TheParentsVisit

And there was the local chili cook-off. It’s a big deal. And mostly delicious.

ChiliCookoff

We dressed up like Superman and Lois Lane for a charity gala… and didn’t enjoy it at all (obviously… ;) JK – best thing we’ve done this year! And doesn’t the Husband make a dashing Clark Kent? Oh, that curl...

Lois&Clark

I got the chance to visit my Great-Grandmother. And, THIS is her wallpaper. A recent visit to Anthropologie made me realize how much I love it, and totally wish I could copy it or frame it or something… grandmaswallpaperI flew from cold, cold Ohio to bright blue California for a little family get-away. What a difference a few hours makes!

flighttocali

…I saw these mountains.

calimountains

…and walked along streets like this.

Cali

..and stuck my toes in an icy desert oasis.

California13

Celebrity encounter #1: Saw the Author of “The Language of Flowers”, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, talk about her New York Times Best Seller. She signed my book, “To Rachael, with Tulips…”

LanguageOfFlowersI got glasses. For the first time. Luckily, I just have to wear then when trying to see a ppt presentation or driving at night… or when I want to feel nerdy-chic.

glassesWe went home for Easter, and both wore fabulous footware.

Easter

…and mom made pies.

Easter Pie

We joined the County Club, and I’m learning to love golf. Or, attempting to. At least this place is totally lovely and we get to hang out outside and say, “let’s go to the club for dinner….” I’ve sort of always have wanted to say that…

Country Club

We’re super active in our local Young Professionals organization. It’s lots of fun, and has a ton of neat activities that we have the opportunity to lead. From around here? Check it out!

FYP

We saw BOB DYLAN. Just look at that silhouette… the hair.

Dylan

We went to Traverse City, Michigan and Camped. And ate.

Traverse City food

And my little sibs came to visit while my parents went on a 30th Anniversary trip. And we canoed, tie-dyed, watched a drive-in movie, swam… And ate.

Donuts with kids

Then we went to Cincinnati. And watched baseball. And ate.

FindlayMkt.

So, lots of fun. Lots of adventures. Lots of food…. and I’ve missed sharing it all! So, though we’ve got a full calendar, and plenty of relaxation penciled into our summer schedule, I’m going to do my best to keep up… And, the Husband wants to write a post about his theories on the best way to get a deal when garage sale-shopping. I’m serious.

So, I had to catch you up, first ;)

P.S. I also ate lots of this – my new favorite concoction: Oatless oatmeal. Packed with protein, perfect for smothering with fruit and nut butters. Recipe to come!Oatless oats