Thursday Thoughts

I’m finally off the ipsy waiting list. Yey! Apparently, all I had to do was allow them to connect with the FB and it jumped the “wait list” (and then I quickly un-allowed that connection once I got confirmed that my ipsy order is going through!). I was thinking of getting my sister a subscription for Christmas since I have no idea what to get her, but they don’t have any gift subscriptions left, boo. (She just started getting Birchbox which is what I was going to get her since I heard her talking about wanting it, but she went and signed up herself so that gave me the idea to maybe get ipsy since it’s the same price)

A cold front came through (in Florida, that means we dropped into the 50-60’s!) so I was able to wear my boots and leggings yesterday and again today. I was super excited since I just got some new leggings and boots! Although, the temps for the weekend are projected to already be back in the high 70’s and I’m bummed that there is a 60% chance of rain. IT BETTER NOT RAIN!! I NEED to have the outside utilized for EM’s party on Saturday. I’ll be pissed if we can’t use the bounce house, plus 60+ adults and 20+ kids are not going to be able to fit into just the inside of my house (well they will fit, but not comfortably!) It hardly ever rains in November so I didn’t even think about it being a problem, yet looks like it may be a reality, boo!

So remember a few days ago, where I mentioned I listed some items that I found in “the box” on eBay? Well I sold one of them for $50! (obviously will be less after fees/shipping, etc) but not bad for something that has been sitting in my box for two years (well it was actually the box to my Garmin GPS that was in the box, the Garmin itself has been sitting unused in my car for 2 years) I’m pretty sure I only paid around $80-90 for it originally more than 2 years ago.  

My cube mate at work introduced me to these great little pre-made salad bowls byReady Pac. They come in a handful of varieties and the two I’ve tried so far have both been great! They have just the right amount of dressing and most are around 210 calories (there was a few more that were closer to 300 calories so I didn’t pick up any of those) They were BOGO at Publix this week making them $2 each (sale ended yesterday- boo! and don’t think they are worth the regular price of $4 each). I will however keep my eye out for sales on these in the future! They even come with a plastic fork so you can really grab and take them on the go! These are the two I tried that were both delicious. I know they aren’t as healthy as making them yourself, but when I make salads myself I put so much CRAP on them that this is much better for me. This was the Cranberry Walnut, but I also tried the Asian Style Chicken. Can't wait for them to go on sale again!

Visit Orlando's Magical Dining Month

It's September and in Orlando that means it is Visit Orlando's Magical Dining Month. For those of you who don't know, Magical Dining Month is a month-long program where participating restaurants feature three-course, prix fixe dinners at the exceptional value of $33 per person. One dollar from each meal sold will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Central Florida. (That's straight from their website) Bottom line, it's a chance to eat at typically more expensive restaurants at a cheaper price! I first learned about MDM two years ago, at that time it was only $30/per person/per meal and G and I went to Charley's Steakhouse. This year we decided to go to Ocean Prime. I had only eaten here once before and it was for a work function and the food was amazingly good. I've been dying to go back but at around $50/meal (assuming you get a soup or salad or appetizer and a meal) it's pretty pricey to go for just any reason. Ironically, the MDM menu for Ocean Prime had the same items on it that I had at my work luncheon (plus additional choices) which is probably why I picked this place over the other restaurants on the list. 

Off the MDM prix fixe menu, I chose: 

• Ocean Prime House Salad (Romaine, Spinach, Granny Smith Apples, Goat Cheese, Walnuts, Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette)  
• Regular Menu Price: $11

This salad was absolutely delish! It was perfectly dressed and all the flavors of the ingredients mixed so well together. I ate every last bite of it!

• 6oz Filet Mignon with Creamy whipped potatoes, cabernet jus 
• Regular menu Price: $30 (estimated since the menu doesn't have a 6oz filet and the sides are al la carte - I estimated the per oz value based on the 8oz filet and assumed a side of potatoes would feed approximately 3 people) 

I ordered my filet medium, as I do whenever I get steak/filet. When I took my first bite, I thought it was a little more on the medium rare side, which would have been OK for me. Then I cut into the filet a little more, and in my opinion I thought it was closer to rare than medium-rare. Now, I'm not a steak connoisseur or anything, and don't eat at these fancier type restaurants often so when I summoned the waiter back over he asked if it wasn't cooked enough for me, and I said no, and he said he forgot to mention this was "traditional steakhouse" medium. I never knew there was a difference. Needless to say, I sent it back, cooked a little more, and it was great the 2nd time around. The potatoes were nice and creamy and the cabernet jus that was atop the steak just made them taste even better!

• Peanut Butter Torte (Peanut butter mousse, bittersweet chocolate ganache)
• Regular Menu Price: $9

Not much to say about this, other than ahhhmazing! So yummy!

So for $33 I received an approximate $50 meal! Score! 

Now G on the other hand didn't order off the MDM menu. He doesn't eat soup or salad (and neither of us ever order dessert, but since it came with the deal, I of course got it!) so it doesn't really make sense for him to order off the menu unless the main course is more expensive then $33. He said he wasn't in the mood for steak tonight so he ordered the Teriyaki Salmon with Shiitake Sticky Rice, Soy Butter Sauce. He said it was great! I'm not a huge Salmon fan, but I did try it and it did have a good flavor. Oh yea, and they had some of the best table bread I've ever had! G and I polished off the entire loaf!

On Saturday Night, we went to Kobe's Steakhouse and I had forgotten they too were participating in MDM so when I saw the sign I had to check it out. We go to Kobe's kind of regularly (if you like hibachi/teppanyaki Japanese food, Kobe's is the place to go). Both of our phones had died so I don't have any pictures (and didn't know I was going to blog about it either, so did't plan accordingly)

Off the MDM prix fixe menu, I chose: 

• Shrimp Appetizer (Jumbo shrimp & mushrooms skillfully prepared by your chef at the Teppanyaki table)
• Regular Menu Price: $8
• Land and Sea Entree (Experience the best of both worlds with our 4 oz. filet mignon served with garlic red potatoes & lobster tail accompanied with sauteed mushrooms)
• Regular Menu Price: $37
• Fried Ice Cream (well I actually chose the Japanese Chocolate Cake, but they had ran out -- and it looked SO delicious so I was semi disappointed until I tried the Fried Ice Cream - wow it was ahhhmazing!) 
• Regular Menu Price: $5.95 (not 100% sure on this, but I'm sure it's around $6)

I normally just get the steak and shrimp combo with shrimp appetizer if it's on the summer special for $1.99 (which it currently is not), which would normally come to around $23-$25 (can't remember the exact price). So for $33 I received an approximate $50 meal! At Kobe's your meal also comes with clear onion soup, garden salad with ginger dressing, fried rices and noddles! And as always, Kobe's NEVER disappoints  The food is always plentiful (clearly, look how much you get) and yummy!! 

We normally only do one MDM meal, it was only by chance we did 2 as we would have dined at Kobe's regardless. Can't wait until next September, maybe we'll try a place neither one of us have been before! I obviously TOTALLY blew my diet over the last few days but so worth it! ahhhhmazing is also my word of the week apparently. I've been saying it over and over lol

Lee Farms Webster - Local Produce

My mother in law mentioned to me that she came found out about this local farm that you can buy produce from and that they have a pick up point near her office. She said she did it the week before and was impressed with the quantity and quality of what she received. So I decided to give it a shot. I tend to spend a decent amount of money every week at Publix on fresh fruits and veggies and they definitely aren't organic or GMO free. They also don't support a local farm family. I don't care so much about the organic/GMO thing because I'm too cheap, but if I can get it for the same price as I would pay at Publix, well then I'm game. (Yes, I know I should care what I'm consuming and it's better for me and whatnot, but I'm a hard sell) 

Lee Farms Webster has 2 sized baskets (well they get delivered in reusable shopping totes, which if I read it correctly, I'm supposed to bring back for re-use) and then each sized bag has a "green" or "purple" option. So the small baskets are $12 and the large baskets are 20. It appears the green option has everything in it and the purple is everything less one specific item (I assume a less popular item). I ordered the large green basket (I read the desciptions too quickly and ordered at a later time and I knew one of the baskets didn't have beets, and since beets are purple, I assumed that the purple basket would have the beets, so I ordered the green since I only use beets in one receipe and so since I screwed up looks like I'll be making my homemade tomato soup this week to use up the beets lol). 

I put in my order on Tuesday or Wednesday and pre-paid on PayPal and my wonderful Mother-in-law picked it up for me on Friday and brought it over. I didn't have time to go through it all on Friday so I just put the entire bag in the fridge but did try at least 2 peaches and a plum and all 3 were delicious and the bag was super heavy! Today, I finally got around to seeing what all was in there and I was more than impressed! Including what I remember eating, my bag had: 7 peaches, 6 plums, 5 sweet potatoes, 4 yellow squash, 3 zucchini, 2 onions, 4 tomatoes, leaf lettuce, and one bunch of beets - wow! 

all my goodies (minus what I ate and I chopped off the top of the beets when I took the pic)

I was so impressed with everything that I have actually gone and e-mailed the farm to ask them about potentially adding in another drop off point in my neighborhood (the point where my MIL picks it up is a good half hour away) and I posted in my neighborhood FaceBook group and several of my neighbors are also interested so I'm hoping they will consider us :) Otherwise, my MIL may be my produce taxi for awhile!

Check them out at leefarms.webs.com - it's so cool that it's a local farm family and that even the kids are involved in the growing of the crops!