Blogger Dinner!

I woke up this morning and immediately had to grab my sweater and slippers.  I had the windows open in my back room where our computer is – had to shut those – its 52 degrees this morning!   Our summer weather has been so weird.  We’ll probably have 80 degree days in October!

Tony and I went out with friends on Saturday night.  To a little bar in Gilberts, IL called The Point.  When I told my sister where I was going she said she’d never even heard of Gilberts!  That’s because she doesn’t live in the sticks like me!

I not only put makeup on, I also put on jewelry!

And then I sent this klassy picture to my sister:

It was a gorgeous night!

Tony makes me laugh in this picture – he would not cooperate!  I you!

Our friends raved about the food at this place.  They said the chef had a special every night – they’ve had duck breast pasta, blackened fish tacos over a corn relish.  So when the special that night was fried shrimp – it was described as hand beer battered fresh gulf shrimp – that’s what I ordered.

First though, we started off with the jalapeno poppers – these were unlike any I’d ever had and they were amazing.

Tony got a burger – I had a bite of it and it was awesome – super flavorful and juicy.

The special shrimp?  Um, nothing special about them.  I ended up eating only three of them and a few of the Parmesan chips – those chips were good!

It was a nice night – fun to catch up.  Although as it got closer to 9:00, the crowd started getting about half our age and the music was so loud at the end we could barely hear each other talk – we are officially old!

Tony and I came home – he grabbed a jacket and I grabbed a blanket and we sat outside and had a night cap by candlelight.

Yesterday I baked bread for my SIL – I normally make two loaves and we keep one for ourselves, but lately we have been burnt out on that bread so I ended up giving Jody both of them.  I was just getting back from the grocery store when she came to pick up her food – we didn’t talk long but when I got in Tony said she brought me something:

She works part-time at Carson’s and all their Paula Deen stuff was on deep discount – can’t wait to make beef stew in this!  Thanks Jody!

I got some fruit loot too – check out all the blueberries and bananas I got for $1 each!

On the menu last night?  Grilled turkey breast with potatoes and carrots.  We love doing turkey breast on the grill – I got this 2 pound breast for $4.11 cents.  I simply sliced lemon and put that and fresh rosemary under the skin. then rubbed it with a little olive oil and used some Greek seasoning and salt and pepper.  Like most meat, we grilled it on top of our cast iron skillet.  Once the breast hit 140 degrees, it was ready to rest for 15 minutes before cutting.  Super tender, juicy and delicious!

I used my new thermometer that Karli sent me – pulling meat off at just the right temperature makes all the difference.

So yesterday began Day 1 of my second round of Insanity.  I was proud that I was able to do the whole thing 100% with no modifications.  If you followed me on Instagram (biz319) you would have seen my first Instagram video!

I had Tony take a full body picture of me yesterday – here is a comparison from June 1 to August 4 – 10 pounds lost and 6.5 inches lost – I can definitely see a difference.  It helps that I wore a sports bra in the second photo – you’re welcome.

I am so excited because tonight I have a blogger meet up dinner!  Who’s coming to dinner?

Christina from My Dinner At Christina’s.   Christina and I go way back as blog friends – before she moved back East I had the pleasure of going to her house for a blogger lunch and we’ve had dinner together AND I’ve had her Dad’s awesome homemade sausage.   She’s back in town for a family event and drives back home tomorrow.

Sophia from Burp and Slurp.  She and I have “known” each other since probably 2009.  One Christmas she sent me the best granola.  She’s a recent graduate of USC in Journalism and has been working at The Chicago Tribune all summer. 

Check out some of her articles – she’s extremely talented!!

• 5 more ways to be a Cool Chicagoan
• Korean dishes to beat the heat
• and her Taste of Chicago recap

And my twin sister – who just went to her first food swap – you can check it out here.

We are going to Maya del Sol in Oak Park – I’ll be driving there straight from work.  So I’ll be skipping Day 2 of Insanity today, but I plan on working out at lunch – today will just be my rest day for the week!

Alright – time to put all my food together for the day and pack my gym bag – I don’t think I’ll be swimming outside today unless it warms up – a lot!

What was the highlight of your weekend?  Make it a great day!