Responsible consumerism

My friend Lauren recently brought to my attention that I never wrote a follow-up report on the goods that I purchased on a whim a few weeks ago. And really, what good is mentioning them if I don’t also provide some sort of useful commentary? (Oh let’s not answer that question—it challenges the whole foundation upon which this blog is built.) In case you, like Lauren, had any lingering curiosities about the wares available at Target these days, I beg you read on!

Thin is the New Happy – An entertaining read that had me nodding my head empathetically with every turn of the page. Will my copy of the book occupy a special place on the shelf for years to come? No—it’ll probably eventually end up in a donation bin or on the shelf at Half Price Books. It might not be an instant classic, but it’s definitely interesting poolside fare (think lighthearted and fun, not bitter and brooding) for anyone who’s ever dealt with body image issues.

Sabra Spinach and Artichoke Hummus – This was underwhelming in a just-like-regular-hummus kind of way. It wasn’t bad by any means, just not as special as, say, the Roasted Red Pepper variety.

Oikos Organic Chocolate Greek Yogurt – My hope was that this would be tasty enough to replace my after dinner ice cream sandwiches, and truth be told, it actually plays the dessert role quite convincingly. It’s creamy, not super thick, and surprisingly chocolate-y. However, it also possesses an impressive tang characteristic of Greek yogurts that didn’t offend my desensitized dieter’s taste buds, but completely repulsed my normal-paletted fiancé. (However, he did enjoy repeating the yogurt’s vaguely naughty slogan every time I ate it.)  Also, it’s expensive. Like, over $1.25 per serving expensive. The cheapo in me is not prepared to pay that much for something not as good as comparably priced Weight Watchers ice cream sandwiches. The cheapo is, however, open to replicating the concept in my own kitchen, because when you get right down to it, all the stuff really is is plain fat-free Greek yogurt and a tablespoon of chocolate syrup.

Sunday Funday

My parents spent all of yesterday moving the youngest into his new house in the Promised Land. (Don’t even get me started on how jealous I am of his return to college. I may be 1.5 years a post-grad, but that doesn’t make me any less heart-sick for the glory days. Heck, I was even jealous of the elementary kids who were waiting for the bus when I left for work this morning—all those wonderful years of schoolin’ ahead of them that they won’t even appreciate until they’re standing in the break room on Monday morning, waiting for the coffee to perk, jabbing plastic forks into their eyes, and hoping they’ll come down with something—rabies, Ebola, leprosy—to keep them in bed until 5:30 on Friday. That’s how I’ve heard it works, anyway…)

As I was saying, my family left me to hold down the fort yesterday, so I spent the better part of the morning putzing around in my underwear (J/K! Brain bleach, anyone?) before paying (boy did I!) a visit to my therapists, New Dress and Work Jeans, at Nordstrom Rack. Two hours later, I returned home for a little bit of this:

(You can probably tell by the pear that I’m trying to stay healthy.) My one and only stopped by during pool time for a surprise visit, and the two of us proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon lazing around the empty house baking a pie (me), recovering from a booze-soaked guys’ weekend (him), noshing on homemade quesadillas, watching whatever we wanted on my dad’s sacred television, and trying to contract malaria so we could do it all over again today.    

A living, or something like it

Ever since I was little I've been prone to saving most of my pennies for a rainy day (it was monsoon season in April, y'all) but after my equally stingy fiance and I contributed handsomely to our new online, high-yield, hey-we-might-want-to-be-homeowners-in-the-future, joint savings account today, the time seemed ripe to blow some of my leftover funds at Target. (Also, Friday was payday, and nothing makes working 8:30-5:30 worth it quite like frivolous spending.) Mind you, I walked into Target with the intention of only buying new headphones, but somehow I came out with two bags of random treasures, including:

Clockwise from top left:
1) A great movie made even better by virtue of being only five measly dollars.
2) I'm suddenly ravenous for memoirs, and hey, the last one I read was about eating, so why buck a winning trend?
3) Hummus and Spinach Artichoke Dip are two treats I'll probably never tire of. I'm waiting until tomorrow to find out if they play well together, but I'm betting the combo will make my carrot chips explode.
4) Greek yogurt is one of my new favorite things. Chocolate is perhaps my oldest favorite thing. Combining the two could be a recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, but (again) I'm waiting until tomorrow to pass judgment.