Crashing the Anniversary

Hooray for the weekend! Actually, it's kind of depressing that I just started wearing hoodies to class at the end of this week. Fall is upon us. I love fall, but I always get a little sad as the summer fruit starts to sour and I can't wear dresses and flip flops all the time. 

Speaking of fall, here's a fun fact: many Aussies I interacted with exclusively use the term "autumn" and never "fall". When I first started dating Alastair, I was on the phone with his mum and talking about what I was going to do in the "fall". Later on, she told Al that she had no clue what I was talking about when I said that word. I thought that was funny, and then I met other Aussies who were just as confused when I said that. So, here's a message for all you Americans: NEVER say "fall" when referring to the autumn season with an Australian unless you want to explain what it means!

Now, the gnocchi! It's always the gnocchi that steals my heart. Yesterday, I cooked a batch of whole wheat sweet potato gnocchi for lunch. Again, I prepared it with vodka sauce and parmesan cheese. I also added Garlic Gold flakes. 

I was on good behavior and only ate half of the package. I had the other half for lunch today. 

Lunch was good, but the gnocchi actually didn't come close in quality to last night's dinner. Yesterday was my parent's anniversary (I forgot how many years- I am a terrible daughter!), and my dad surprised my mom (and me, since I was there) with a top notch dinner. I was staying home and working on my homework, and I was planning on leftover gnocchi or cookies for dinner. Seriously. I was shocked when I saw what my dad made. 

On the plate: salmon, mashed sweet potatoes and kale. I've never had kale in my life! The plate looked so beautiful with the pinks and the oranges and the purples with a hint of green. It's too bad that the lighting is poor in the family room, or I could have gotten a much better picture. 

This is usually how we eat our dinners during the week: plates of food in front of the TV and bottled water. The wine was special.  It was from Nicholson Ranch in Sonoma Valley.

I wish the kale photo turned out better. Wahhhh.  I really enjoyed it, though. My dad made it on the stove, but I really want to roast it. I bet it would be so good.

Of course, there were cookies. My mom brought a big batch of those chocolate chip cookies to work yesterday, and I am pleased to say that they were a hit. They are basically fat free with whole wheat flour (no butter or eggs), and "normal" people loved them. Chocolate Covered Katie, I am going to hit up your recipes more frequently!

Now, I'm in Chicago and chillin with my friend Libby. Remember her? 

I had a slightly annoying morning since I woke up at 7:30 am for a 9 am hair appointment and drove 45 minutes only to find out that they completely screwed up and my hair stylist wasn't there today. The good news is that I have my buddy Libby to cheer me up!

I'm also happy, because I get free hair coloring next week. They certainly made up for their mistake. 

Puppy love!

Have a great start of the weekend! I'm kicking mine off in Chicago, watching Libby while my brother is away. I also have to study for a microbiology exam on Monday. I bet you are so jealous!