Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. First order of business… I’m sure you guys are dying to know who won the box of Quest bars from the giveaway I announced last week. Well, the lucky winner isssssss….
Congratulations, Kim! I’ll be e-mailing you for your contact info and I’ll get your bars out to you, asap!
2. Second order of business… have you checked out my latest recipe over on Savory Style?
It’s a deeeeee-lish Chocolate Chunk Orange Bread that I kind of incorrectly labelled as banana bread in yesterday’s post. Oops. But if you’re looking for chocolate chip banana bread, then I have a recipe for that too!
3. Since we’re talking baked goods, let’s talk about the umpteenth batch of soft and chewy protein granola bars that I whipped up yesterday morning…
… because I didn’t already have enough sweet treats lying around, right? Actually… I’ve been having some pretty good luck with managing to pawn things off to family, friends, and coworkers lately so there wasn’t too much hanging out in my kitchen. And these bars are probably one of my favourite recipes here on Spoons — I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve whipped them up already.
4. I’ve also lost count of how many times I’ve accidentally started filling out my password in the website field of comment boxes…
… but it’s kind of an automatic reaction for me to start typing my password as soon as I finish typing out my e-mail… as if I were logging into my account. I think I’ve managed to catch my mistake every time, but one of these days I have a feeling it’s going to get me.
5. Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of the Spoons household…
What’s that? You were expecting a puppy or kitten? I wish. Instead, we have Spike the Aloe Vera Plant. He was a gift from my mom, who apparently has more faith in my plant-keeping abilities than I do. I’m going to try though, you guys, because I have enough plant blood chlorophyll stains on my hands, and Douglas could really use a baby brother.
6. I, on the other hand, could really use an eye mask… or a nice set of blackout curtains. I don’t know how thing are over in your neck of the woods, but up here in mine it’s still pretty bright out at 10 PM…
… which makes going to sleep at my regular bedtime a little more challenging. Summer… I like you, but you exhaust me. Then again, I have been enjoying a fair bit more energy lately, which I’m totally crediting to the fact that I’ve been eating a whole heck of lot more of what I feel like… which oftentimes includes dessert twice a day 😉 But again, more on that in my upcoming post body image, which should be going up on Monday.
7. So the other day I was sitting in Starbucks, when I overheard the most fascinating exchange… A lady was at the till about to order her drink, and when the barista asked her what she wanted, she simply replied: “surprise me.” This is either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid — I haven’t quite decided which, but I have to admit that I’m tempted to try it myself. Should I? Would you ever do it? I have no idea what she ended up with, but she seemed happy. Not a bad way to spice things up a little, eh?
8. The surprise I got, on the other hand, was not a pleasant one… I was munching on dates the other day, when I bit into one that tasted a bit off. I was tempted to just shrug if off and keep eating, but I’m so glad I cracked that sucker open and checked it out because…
… oh.em.gee… double-you.tee.eff! Don’t even tell me. I don’t want to know 😯
9. And in case you want to know what kind of Disney hero/heroine you are, or what classic Disney movie your life is most like, you can find out here and/or here, respectively. This is me…
And this is my life…
Two of my favourite movies. And I especially love the bit about being willing to be imprisoned for food 😆
10. And last but not least, you guys rock my socks off… Almost exactly one month ago, Spoons hit 1000 likes on Facebook, and just the other day I noticed it was over 2000. Mind = blown. Thank you guys so much for your continued love and support — it really means a lot to me.
No questions… just tell me whatever comes to your mind! 😀
More places to find me!
E-mail — [email protected]
Twitter — runwithspoons
Facebook — runningwithspoons
Pinterest — runwithspoons
Instagram — runwithspoons
Bloglovin — runningwithspoons
Along with some normal food prep, today is definitely going to have some baking! Both of those recipes sound oh so good!
I hate it when my dried figs have sketchy, bitter black holes in them! *shiver*
I got Woody from Toy Story for the first survey and Snow White for the second one. I love how the summary for the Beauty and The Beast story says, “or be internet famous.” Because you are. 😉
Holy moly…
Congratulations on 2,000 likes, lady! That’s insane. You deserve every single one. 🙂
I’ve had a good handful of customers pull the “surprise me” card. I don’t know how I feel about it, because if they don’t like it I will make them something else, but it’s a waste!! HA. So far no returns, but I’m a drip coffee gal so I’m not good with suggesting the foo foo stuff. CONGRATS ON THE FB LIKES!! So excited for you and the blog.
I actually DID fill out my password in the website box once – and I pressed “submit”. Whoops!!
Wow is it actually that light at 10 pm? That’s crazy! My problem is the mornings when the birds start chirping between 4:30 to 5:30 – they’ve been waking me up lately and it’s driving me nuts!
Ditto to the birds! Which is actually exactly what happened to me at 4 AM this morning 😡
Aladdin!! HAHA!! Well you have a magic carpet and a pet monkey so that’s pretty cool if you ask me!!
I need to try that at Starbucks. I’s definitely weird and a bit worrisome, especially considering I’m not really a coffee drinker, but I think I’d have to try it at least once!
Luckily the comment box issue has yet to happen to me – and hopefully won’t – but there are several other accounts where my fingers are tpying fast than the shift key works. Meaning I’ve written out both the mail adress and password in the same field dozens of times before. I don’t know how to fix that issue.
I’m a serial basil plant killer so I’m keeping my fingers tightly crossed for you 😀 . Feel free to return the favour for my orchids, haha.
Last but not least congrats on the Facebook success! Maybe you should start taking guesses on when you’ll hit 3000 – soon!
Oh those breads look absolutely DELICIOUS and would be perfect for a quiet morning with lots of coffee of course…Congrats on the 1000 Likes on Facebook!
That bread looks delish! Aloe is the only plant I have yet to kill, so trust me, it takes A LOT to kill an aloe plant. Yours is so pretty!
I’ve been having such a hard time making it to my early workouts because going to bed early is nearly impossible these days. I guess the longer days are worth it, but I’m with you on the sleep thing!
Congrats on the addition of Spike. We have a tall plant that’s hung on for about 6 years, but he’s only got about 4 leaves left on him, so I’m not sure what will happen. I have no idea how he lasted this long considering I’ve never watered him…
😆 Never? That reminds me… I should probably water mine 😯
Story time. Freshman year I’m at my university’s café, grabbing a quick latte before class. They call my name and I get my drink, only to realize it’s not a coffee drink but a chai tea latte. I had never had a chai tea, and assumed I wouldn’t like it because I hate tea. But I was running late, so I had no choice but to take the drink and run out the door. As I hurried through the frigid air, I decided to at least taste the mystery drink I’d paid 2 dollars for. I was pleasantly surprised with a warm, cinnamon-y, delightfully spicy and sweet drink that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling all over.
Looking back, I can’t believe I was so stubborn in trying Chai tea before! It is one of my favorite winter drinks now, and it all started with that random coffee-shop mix-up.
I’m not typically one to go for surprises, but I think you should give it a shot!
I’ve heard people asking for the barista to surprise them with their drink as well! That sounds like a ton of fun, but I would also have to add no tea, no peppermint flavors, hot, and a few extra million shots of espresso. Not exactly freeing ;). And a big WOOHOO for the Facebook page! Exciting bloggy gains!
Congratulations on becoming a plant parent! 😛 Best of luck to you — maybe you’ll surprise yourself! I bought a couple cheap-o houseplants from Home Depot at the end of September 2012, and the last one just died a few weeks ago! Normally I have a much worse track record than that with plants, but this definitely gave me more confidence haha.
Oh goodness, I would never ask a barista to surprise me! Being from Seattle, I am naturally a coffee snob and I’m picky about my coffee! lol
It has never occurred to me to ask to be surprised at Starbucks, but I’ve done it at a bar before! Interesting idea though…I feel like the barista’s here in NYC would scoff at that though and act like I’m wasting their time, so I’m kinda afraid to do that haha.
I still have emotional scars from a time when I was 15 and asked for a bagel recommendation at a bagel shop and got torn apart by not only the person behind the counter, but everyone who was in the shop as well. So embarrassing!
Whaaaat? That’s so mean! Then again, I feel like us Canadians are a little more easy going and friendly, so maybe NYC wouldn’t be the best place to try it.
I have never thought to have someone surprise me at Starbucks. I love variety in life, but there is one thing that I don’t do: anything but plain black coffee.
Loved the new plant! I keep a Basil plant on my kitchen windowsill and funnily enough call it Basil (I forget names too easily) 🙂
Well done on the 2000 likes! Brilliant! I love following your blog and your facebook too.
Just like [email protected] above I can concur that here in Glasgow there is much light! And as for the totally tropical weather we are currently having as opposed to rain, rain and more rain, well that’s another story.
As for dates, well I’m going to be much more careful opening up the Christmas box of them I normally get given!
My brother and his girlfriend (fiancé in a day or two!!!) laugh all the time at the fact they can never keep plants alive. My brother said they are testing the waters for kids and it isn’t looking too good hahaha.
And I am Peter Pan which is hilarious because I constantly say I am Peter Pan. My lack of a chest proves this. And the movie… snow white. I guess I should start looking for 7 cute little gnomies to follow me around.
I got Aladdin when I took that quiz too!!!
And OMFG now I’m freaking scared to eat any of my dates. Like I cannot even. Did you throw out the batch?!?!? Was that a bug? Like wtf.
Hmmm I am trying to think of something interesting to say. I can’t believe it’s almost the end of June. I feel like I just welcomed the New Year.
I opened up most of the other dates and they were fine, so I just threw out the one and kept eating the rest 😆 I’m still alive, so I guess they were fine.
I was def hoping for a puppy/kitten! hahaha but a aloe plant isn’t that bad 🙂 I love having aloe plants around since I can use it for my skin and it makes it nice and soft 😀
Don’t worry – I’ve done the password thingy from time to time too 😉
I had blackout curtains in college… they were the best investment EVER. But I used to sleep so late because of them!!
I desperately need dark curtains!
Haha! I love the idea of getting surprised at Starbucks with my order, but alas I think I’m too picky about my drinks for that to be any fun. You’ll have to give away your Cookies and Cream bars now too (or give them to me!) 😉
I feel you on the light at 10pm – but it makes waking up before 5am a heck of a lot easier, doesn’t it? 🙂
And, now I need to go make banana bread for breakfast.
I think I could use some blackout curtains too. Or any curtains really. (Yea I’ve been living in my place for 5 years and still don’t have curtains in the bedroom. We couldn’t get them to stay up and eventually just gave up). Last night we had a crazy thunderstorm and the lightning was so bright, it actually kept me awake for a good hour plus in the middle of the night.
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been living in my place for almost 3 and I have yet to hang anything on the walls. Heck, I still have boxes lying around that are waiting to be unpacked 😆
That date is making me cringe! Eeek!
Oh man, I’m not sure I could do the whole “surprise me” thing at Starbucks. I feel like I’d already have something set in my head, and then it’d most likely be totally opposite of what I was thinking. Ha! But, maybe one of these days I’ll be brave enough!
I think it is just going bad, but hardening……candifying? I’m the same way. I went processed food free, which was fine except I had way too much energy and wouldn’t sleep, and as much energy as I had, when it came to my workouts, it was like I didn’t that energy for that, so I guess I just wasn’t tired. I added my beloved clif bars back in, and magic! I’m back to sleeping great, and I have energy for my workouts = Happy Chelsea 🙂
Apparently I am:
Jack Sparrow
You are devastatingly good-looking, but that goes without saying. Your friends like you because you get the party started and love to have a good time. Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
And my life is most likely like:
Snow White
So, what’s it like being happy all the time? ::slow clap::
Haha I can definitely see me somewhere there or more like in between 😉
Btw I really needed to skip that cake/bread part – I can’t watch something so delicious looking close at the moment.
I could never do the “surprise me” thing at Starbucks but I admire anyone who could. 🙂 So it’s actually still bright out at 10pm where you are??? In the summer here in Pennsylvania, it starts getting dark around 8:30 but it is prob completely dark by 9pm. But in the winter time, it is dark by 5pm!
Yup! Still that bright! Good for productivity, bad for sleeping 😆
Yes! Definitely do the surprise me thing. Now I want to do it, too. Sometime this weekend, I’m on it haha. Schedule suddenly got busy, so I have a feeling I’ll be at starbucks more than once, so this will at least keep things interesting. I’m also about to take those quizzes, since I can never resist them, and those breads?? Got me jonesing for some now haha. Need to get my bake on soon.
I have the opposite problem with the long summer days, it wakes me up too early! I’m contemplated working out in the morning now since I’m up almost an hour before I need to be anyway…
Congrats on breaking 2,000 likes!! It’s growing like weeds, girly! 🙂
Still that light out at 10 PM? Holy cow! I guess I haven’t even paid attention to what time it gets dark here now…. I’m in bed by 9:30 regardless lol.
Aladdin is my faaaaavorite!!!
Awesome! Its such a cool feeling to wake up with more followers who like what your promoting, hopefully one day I’ll be at your level! 😉 Hehe. LOVE SPOOOOONS!!!!