Today I drove a little ways to take my morning walk with Sadie outside of our neighborhood.
Hello, Freedom Park!
Ryan and I had such a nice time walking around Freedom Park during our first visit to Charlotte and I wanted to check it out again. I had a feeling Sadie would love the park as well, mainly because of the super-brave ducks.
The ducks at Freedom Park are clearly fed all the time because they know no fear. This obviously drove Sadie bananas and she tried her best to “hunt” from the end of her leash. If I would’ve unclipped her harness, I’m 99 percent sure she would’ve bolted into the water.
We circled the park and meandered around the nearby neighborhoods in an effort to get to know this part of Charlotte a little better. I’m still not sure where we’ll end up living and while we really like the feel of this part of town, living here may not be conducive to Ryan’s commute. We shall see! I’m trying to be patient when it comes to finding a place to live (we’ve only been here two weeks and I was gone for half of one), but I am hoping we find a more permanent place to live sooner rather than later. The good news is that there are a handful of areas that appeal to us, so that is a good problem to have, I suppose.
Sadie and I walked for a little more than an hour and stopped about halfway through for a water break.
A quick side note for the dog owners out there: If your pup is anything like Sadie and is super weird about drinking a stream of water out of a normal water bottle, I highly recommend the Gulpy! It’s a water bottle with a long bowl attached that flips up against the water bottle when you’re not using it. Sadie loves it and we bring it with us on all of our walks or hikes with her in the warmer months.
During our water break, I sat down in the soft grass while Sadie drank her water. When she was done, she licked my face and then decided to make herself quite comfy…
The “Velcro dog” nickname for vizslas could not be more true.
After our walk and a chat on the phone with my friend Kristen (whose wedding is in a week and a half!), I drove home to fix myself lunch and spend the rest of the day on the computer working on some blog-related stuff.
Lunch
Lunch today was weird and basically a super fail.
I topped a bed of kale with avocado, tomato, cottage cheese, ground pepper and garam masala. As I type that out, I realize I should’ve known it wouldn’t taste the best, but I wanted to use up some stuff we had in the fridge gave it a shot. I ate about 3/4 of that bowl because I was hungry but I couldn’t stomach much more.
At least the apple was delicious!
About 30 minutes after my first attempt at lunch, I made myself a tuna salad sandwich which was much better.
Hope you’re having a great Tuesday! (And goooooooooo USA!!!!)
Question of the Afternoon
- What was the last major fail you had in the kitchen?
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i fail all the time in the kitchen and that’s what makes the successes even sweeter ;). yesterday i spent a good 15 minutes making a delicious spinach-apple-carrot-lemon juice and then spilled the whole thing on the floor. YAY!
Oh no!! Hope you were able to recreate it!
haha, i wish i had time! in my rush to work i decided to just leave it on the floor and eat kashi cereal out of the box on my commute instead. 🙂 if your husband ends up with a long commute, this method is great for portable, post-fail breakfasts…
Chicken meatballs…I’ve made them before but decided to switch it up a bit with pineapple…WAY too moist!!! Epic fail!
One morning I accidentally made the coffee with too much water, so it was really hot. Too lazy and tired pre-coffee consumption to get up and add a bit more milk or some cold water, I added a bit of a bottle of Fresca that was on the table, thinking it was a light flavor and I would add just a tiny bit to cool down the coffee.
It tasted, as you might imagine, like half diet grapefruit flavored soda and half coffee. It was so gross I just had to throw it out and try again. Learned my lesson, though.
We got my friends one of those dog water bottles when they got him as a puppy and we see they still use it on road trips which is nice. I assume if we still had a pup, we’d use one too!
Last fail was a basil pesto fettucini with berbere shrimp. The timing was all off and the sauce clumped on the noodles and the shrimp overcooked so they were a rubbery mess. Wah wahhhh. 🙁
I had a lunch fail just yesterday actually. I do Sunday food prep for the week and opened up my lunch to eat at work in the breakroom between clients yesterday and one bite in, I realized I hadn’t flavored my creation at all. It was basically plain chicken, quinoa, spinach with NO taste. I downed it quickly, but didn’t enjoy it. And will not make that mistake again in the rush to get out the door in the morning.
My lunch was a major fail today as well. I tried some new veggie burgers that just weren’t my cup of tea. Oh well. Thank goodness for pita chips and hummus!
Last week, I made a smoothie, and took it to work without taste testing it. It had mixed fruit (mango, nectarines, berries), spinach, and almond milk, and had NO flavor at all. It tasted…green. I couldn’t stomach it. Breakfast ended up being pop tarts from the vending machine. #DietFail.
So silly but I was making some steamed carrots and burnt them to the bottom of the pan! I’ve made them 100x before but was distracted making the rest of my meal and all the water steamed out. I felt pretty silly after that!
I will definitely be checking out the Gulpy. Our boy Lando is very picky about drinking out of anything but his normal water dish so maybe he will like this one for our walks.
That dog water bottle is such a great idea!
When we still had our dog I used to have a bowl in the trunk of my car just for Bailey, so when we got back to the car and I had brought water for me, I could pour some in the bowl for Bailey too.
Oh, we have a Gulpy for Matilda too! She loves it. It’s a must-have for long walks/hikes in warmer temps.
Last major fail was when I was making chicken marsala. I had to buy a different brand of marsala wine (they were out of my usual brand) and the color was very yellow (never knew that marsala wine could be different colors depending on the manufacturer). I forgot to set the timer and by the time I realized it the sauce and butter separated (not a pretty site) and what was left of the sauce was a dark brown goo. The chicken looked like it was burned and the angel hair pasta I made was cooked too long and was very mushy. I ended up throwing the whole thing out and putting a frozen pizza in the oven. Epic fail.
“fix myself lunch” …. I’m an Alabama girl living in the Midwest, and that just made me super homesick. No one “fixes” meals here.
The other day I made a casserole with zucchini noodles as the base. The flavors weren’t a fail, but I didn’t rid the noodles of excess liquid, and I kept having to drain the dish as it baked. Woops!
(In case you’re wondering, —-> http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/ is what I made. Cannot recommend it enough. Seems like something you might like)
I LOVE that recipe!! It’s a quick and easy go-to that tastes so good. We usually use spaghetti squash, and I cook the squash a couple days ahead of time, which makes the dish itself come together really quickly. Yum.
My last kitchen fail was when I tried to make these healthier banana raisin walnut cookies. They tasted soooo blah. And I burnt them. No more healthy cookies! I’m gonna stick to the real deal from now on 🙂
I tried making a peanutbutter banana ice-cream yesterday after my triumph in making a strawberry banana ice-cream…it was bleh! I hate it when I use ingredients I buy and try creating a recipe and it screws up 🙁
Tuna salad sandwiches are like THE BEST. Love them <3
Thanks so much for sharing about the Gulpy! My dog hides when I try to give her water from a bottle. Haha!
It’s been a great find for Sadie! Hope your dog likes it!
My latest kitchen fail was last night/this morning. I was asked to bake a cake/sweets for today’s World Cup game (my boss is super cool and told us all we could watch it in the conference room.) I was going to make a recipe off of Pinterest – a red/white/blue ice cream cake…… white cake tinted blue, with vanilla ice cream, and red frosting. Total. Pinterest. Fail.
Not only did the blue cake turn out turquoise (I added a lot of food coloring but it didn’t get a deep enough hue), but the cake stuck to the pan (I must not have greased it well enough….I rarely have baking fails like that!), and then only half of the cake came out.
So, early this morning, I tried to turn my mistake into something better – cake pops! Well, except I added too much frosting to the cake and it was just a gooey mess. I had to say “Adios” and throw it into the trash.
I ended up bringing in brownies and ice cream which turned out great! Haha. 🙂
Aw! It was sweet of you to put in that much effort!!
I had cottage cheese for lunch today too!
My latest fail was making a smoothie with arugula. I’m not a big arugula eater and figured it would be just like kale or spinach. Nope!
Haha yeah arugula is stroooong!
Kitchen fails make me so sad! I hate wasting food, but sometimes it just can’t be salvaged.
A few weeks ago I put greek yogurt in my overnight oats. I forgot when I popped them in the microwave the next morning and the yogurt curdled :/ YUCK.
SO many beautiful places!
This makes me want a dog even more than I did before!!
That park is so lovely and relaxing looking – great for a walk! That lunch combo is def a weird one, but sometimes you just never know. My last fail was a vegetable lasagna with cottage cheese – it was way too watery.
LOVE the gulpy!
Such a pretty park! I am always failing in the kitchen but too stubborn to toss things so end up convincing myself it isn’t that bad.
I have had more fails in the kitchen then I even care to share 🙂 Looks like you all had a great morning at the park!
I absolutely love the tennis shoes you are wearing in this post! Do you mind sharing what brand they are?
Reebok Skyscapes! 🙂
It’s so fun to see some of my favorite places in the city popping up on your blog! I go to Pure Barre in Birkdale as well – I work in Huntersville – so maybe I’ll run into you there sometime. I’ll be sure to introduce myself if I do, in the least creepy way possible of course. 🙂
Anything that involves raw kale is usually a bust for me, I just can’t stand it! Which is terrible, I know, but I try to eat lots of spinach to make up for it!
Haha Sadie glued to your lap cracks me up. Too sweet!
I just love all the pictures of you and Sadie on your walks and adventures. I swear that dog knows she is getting her picture taken to make all of your readers smile! What a ham! The last fail in the kitchen I had was of course when I thought it would be a great idea to participate in a Christmas Cookie Exchange and signed up to make some extravagant cookie that I never tried to make before but looked beautiful and delicious…Turtle Thumbprint Cookies. Oh and I had to make 18 dozen… don’t ever do that. I am totally signing up for Chocolate chips next year! LOL!
The ducks by my house are the same way and sometimes you can’t leave because they block you in! My last kitchen fail was a crock pot buffalo chicken something. I love buffalo but it was REALLY hot. I ended up turning it into lettuce wraps and it really helped with the heat. My poor dog never drinks water when we are out no matter what I put it in!
What a cutie, I love your doggie!! Looks like a fun day!
Oh no! I hate when I have a meal fail…especially when I’m hungry! Darn!!
I feel you on this one … I hate when I’m in “cleaning out the refrigerator” mode, create a “meal” with random leftovers and what’s left of the veggie drawer, only to absolutely dread eating my dinner in the end. Ugh … sometimes I think it might be better to just throw out the leftovers sometimes. Nothing worse than having to eat a meal that just doesn’t taste good.
I dumped an entire tray of baked BBQ into a sink full of dirty dishes last week. Yeah, not good (especially since I was starving!)
I once attempted to make an angel hair pasta with a spicy tomato and shrimp sauce. I cleaned all the tomatoes and chopped them up with no problem. Then, I got distracted by my roommates and rather than adding 1/4 tablespoon of red pepper flakes, I added 1/4 cup! Needless to say, it was a LOT too spicy so we ditched it and ordered a pizza instead. My good friend Brit kept adding ketchup to the pasta and said, “Oh, this helps! Not as spicy!” She was sweet for trying to save my feelings but even I knew it was bad!
I’ve been to Freedom Park! My fiance’s brother lives literally right next to it – such a beautiful area of Charlotte! Make sure you hit up the Greenway trail for a walk with Sadie 🙂
Myers Park/Dilworth are awesome parts of town – you get to be right in the middle of all the action and can walk to so many fun places. I lived there for several years and my parents still live just off Freedom Park. Y’all should consider it! Even if Ryan works out near the Lake, he would have a reverse commute – always going against the majority of traffic.
I attempted to make crock pot chili awhile back and something about the ingredients and amounts was off. It was not tasty. And of course I hate wasting food so I made myself eat a few portions of it before I could get rid of it.
I love Freedom Park! I have a feeling you would like a neighborhood nearby called Chantilly (right between Elizabeth and Plaza Midwood). It’s very dog friendly, you can walk to a ton of restaurants and shops, and there are several parks nearby. And one of the streets in the neighborhood has a little trail that connects to a large field at a local elementary school – secret spot for dogs and owners to play on the weekend. There are so many great neighborhoods in Charlotte though, you can’t go wrong!
The first time I used my crockpot, I was making a roast and thought that it would burn if I didn’t add water. I filled that sucker to the brim. I had a soup when I got home, and a very blah soup. lol
I made banana bread the other day and forgot to add sugar, it was like eating cardboard. Of course I went the other way another time I did baking, I thought I would use a fake sugar stuff, not reading that it is extra sweet, and wound up with such sweet muffins, no one could eat them. hahahaha….I did burn rice in the rice cooker the other day, which I didn’t think was possible. I am an average cook most of the time, nothing spectacular out of my kitchen, but usually it’s edible.
We have the Gulpy and are usually a hit at the dog park, as stranger’s dogs will come up and help themselves to a drink too, which is totally ok, I have no problem with a thirsty dog having a drink. Owners usually ask about it, and it really is a product that sells itself!
I am selfishly so glad to read about other people’s kitchen fails! I’ve had a lot, but probably my most spectacular was when I attempted to make a Bobby Deen sweet potato dish. I apparently didn’t cook the sweet potatoes long enough because when I went to beat them, they were like rock hard still. I was in a hurry, so I kept trying, but all that happened was that my mixer completely died. I had to scrap the whole dish. I actually want to try to make it again, though, because I’m convinced it would taste great!
We’ll have to try the Gulpy! One of our dogs is a pro at drinking from a regular water bottle, but the other one just tries to bite the stream of water. It’s hilarious, but not very effective.
I LOVE that doggy water bottle. We also take it with us whenever we are traveling or taking our 8 month old husky/ridgeback puppy on a long walk. It’s also great to take in the car/truck because it doesn’t leak and saves the mess of trying to pour water in a bowl while driving!
Avocado egg cups! Who knew that cooking the avocado would completely change the taste! They were awful and I ended up just eating the egg and throwing the avocado away, which was a bummer because I love avocado!
My last cooking fail was using kale in a smoothie rather than spinach. I like kale chips just fine, but for some reason I can’t handle the raw stuff. And I thought the fruit (pineapple, mango and frozen banana) would mask the flavors…WRONG!
I had a cooking fail over Easter. I was making bacon-wrapped chicken bites, then dipped them into a mixture of cayenne pepper and brown sugar. I didn’t have a baking rack, so I placed them on a cookie sheet, not thinking.
Ten minutes later, the oven was smoking. The grease from the bacon bubbled over the cookie sheets and onto the coils of the oven. Total fail!
It might not be my most recent fail in the kitchen, but I tried to make homemade macaroni and cheese, and somehow parts of the melted cheese separated, and it was an epic fail… I obviously didn’t read some part of the directions correctly. This is probably why I try to stick to desserts … I’m a way better baker than cooker!!!
Long walks are always so fun! Especially with a cute partner!
My very limited attempts at healthy baking have turned into EPIC fails, ugh! I blame the high altitude… Thanks for the link to that water bottle! One of my heelers is water crazed and loves to attack sprinklers while the other is a big scaredy-cat and won’t get near spraying water. This will be perfect for her!
Wellll, I attempted to leave you (Alana) a reply about high-altitude baking, but I can’t tell if it actually went through as a response to you or just a comment on the original post…I’m so confused!
Have you tried Googling “[name of whatever you’re making] high altitude”? I moved to the Denver area a couple of years ago after growing up in Louisiana/college in Minnesota. The altitude here threw off my baking so much, which was a bummer because I used to bake a lot. I can’t manage my own tweaking of recipes and can never remember if you’re supposed to use more or less liquid or rising agent or whatever. BUT when I started searching for things like “banana bread high altitude,” I found recipes that are already altered and that turn out beautifully!