Welcome to The Patio!

The Patio is officially open for the season! Derek's been working hard cleaning it up and perfecting the lighting, and we had our first guests out there last night. But first I had to make it through Friday. I just barely survived.

I was running a little late yesterday morning, and knew I had some fires to put out at work first thing, so I didn't make myself a Green Monster. Instead I just had oats at work.

I cooked 1/2 cup of oats with 1/2 cup of water, 1 sliced banana, a splash of whole milk, and stirred in berries.

Liz, Carissa, and I are really trying to make a habit of going out to lunch on Fridays this summer. We never take lunch breaks, and its so nice to get out for a little bit during the day. Even though we were all crazy busy, we still took the time to walk over to The Vault for lunch. But before our meals even arrived, Liz got a call that she had to come back to work immediately and deal with some drama, and I got the same call shortly after we got our food. So I scarfed down this veggie burger topped with lettuce, tomato, and avocado.

The rest of the afternoon was sort of a blur. Late in the day we decided to clean out our department's fridge, and I had some yogurt in there from earlier in the week. So I ate that with a chopped apple and some granola I found in my desk.  

Yeah, my desk probably has more food in it than actual paperwork. And the largest drawer is entirely full of shoes.

I was so happy when the day was finally over, and even happier that our friends Adam and Daisy were coming over for a little impromptu dinner party on the newly opened patio. After inviting them, Derek and I realized our apartment was still a disaster from having to empty out the closets for the plumbing work. We did a very quick clean-up job when we got home, aided by our beloved Roomba.
My mother got us this for Christmas and its awesome. She said she mainly got it for Derek because she knows what my housekeeping skills are like :)

When our guests arrived, I served them some snacks with their cocktails.

Blue corn chips, sugar snap peas and carrot sticks, salsa, and my sundried tomato hummus. I didn't get around to snapping this picture until we had already eaten most of it. For dinner I picked up some organic, whole grain pizza crusts - not homemade (gasp). I made 2 pizzas, 1 meat and 1 veggie.

The veggie pizza had mozzarella, garlic, green onions, asparagus, portobellos, and goat cheese. It was really tasty - the goat cheese was a nice touch. I ate 3 slices.

I can't attest to the quality of the meat pizza, but I'm told it was good. I topped it with tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami, roasted red peppers, and green olives. Pizzas are a great way to clean out the fridge! I just kind of threw on all the random ingredients I had.

The first night of the patio was successful! Everyone really enjoyed themselves.

This morning was Saturday, so of course that meant pancakes.

Strawberry banana oatmeal whole wheat pancakes. Yum! I had an eye doctor appointment this morning, then met my friend Heather at The Fireplace for lunch. Heather is my oldest friend - we've known each other since we were 5! And she's going on vacation to Prague next week - jealous! I had this fresh, seasonal salad for lunch.

It had a layer of golden beets topped with mixed greens, dried apricots, candied cashews, and fried goat cheese.  Along with a soft, warm piece of bread.

Across the street from the Fireplace is Athans Bakery, which has really good desserts and chocolates. I parked right in front of it, so I just had to stop in. And then I just had to get myself a small cup of tiramisu gelato. Didn't I?

It was very creamy with a nice coffee liqueur flavor. I'm now procrastinating doing the rest of this afternoon's chores. I have to clean the bathroom and do some work. Yeck. Hope everyone else is enjoying their Saturdays!