grocery store | One Girl's Taste On Life

So…you may have noticed I’ve basically missed the entire month of February! Whoops! Something has happened in the last several weeks that has taken my attention away from the blog. Oh wait…it’s called LIFE. Obviously when presented with the choice between real life and virtual life, I choose real life. But how could you ignore this sweet face?

If you were around last month, you might remember my meal plan for February. I am the first to admit that plans, schedules, and tastes change, so my plan is extremely adaptable. It’s honestly more like a list of options for the month.

Since I am a retail manager, my schedule is never the same week to week. Some days I open (7:30-5), some days I close (1-10:30), and some days I’m off. I don’t know a month of schedules ahead of time, so I just pick what sounds good to make for the month and hope for the best. When my schedule and the meal planned for that day don’t coincide, meals change. I either move a different meal to that day or figure out a different option altogether.

Last month, not only did schedule conflicts arise, but I got sick with the stomach bug! Then Jeff followed soon after. Obviously I wasn’t going to cook if I felt like I might…you know…any minute. Enter Dominos.

Here’s what my “real” meal plan resulted in:

The red ones (if you can’t deduce for yourself) were the meals I ended up not making. And the dates for the meals I did make were way off. For instance, I made the General Tso’s Chicken last night! Whatever works, right?

I like my way of doing a meal plan because it feels very customizable to our lifestyle. I can’t wait for the day where my schedule is predictable, but until that happens I will stick to this method.

Here’s the next month of meals:

I’m trying a few new categories this month. Sandwiches are coming in to play more simply because I want to start using my panini press again! I’ve also added Casseroles back into the mix. We end up eating probably one a week anyways, so I thought a category for it would just make sense. I’m also trying out Side Dishes. I have an entire board of side dishes on my Pinterest account that I never use, so I thought this would be a good way to do that. I’m pairing the sides with a basic, easy to make entree.

I had a question about what I serve with these entrees most of the time. Typically, I grab a prepared veggie dish out of the freezer (you know, Green Giant, Steamfresh, etc). They are so quick and easy, plus require no added concentration. When you have hungry husbands and toddlers milling around the kitchen like vultures, you need to be able to concentrate on the meal and get it to the table quicker than Usain Bolt. If I have some time and the ingredients onhand, I might roast some veggies instead. Asparagus, green beans, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash are my favorites. I also like to add a fruit of some sort to Jake’s meal. He is still in love with blueberries and grapes. We also keep little fruit cups in the pantry just in case. In a pinch, I’ll pull out an old stand by.

He still loves them!

I hope you guys enjoy this post. Please let me know if you tried any of the meals from last month and what you thought. Also, if you want the recipes I included in this month’s post, check out my March Meal Plan 2013 board on Pinterest!

Continuing on our Louisville journey (a week later) brings us to a place that only exists for me in my dreams…Sister Bean’s Coffee House. Well, OK, not really just in my dreams, but not in reality until I make the pilgrimage back to Louisville.

As you probably know, I love coffee. I have a mega slight addiction to Starbucks and usually cannot function in the morning until after at least one cup of coffee. (Slight side note: picked up Whole Foods’ City Roast coffee while in Louisville and am now addicted. What gives?) When Carolyn mentioned there was a place in Louisville that made Starbucks look like “a short, fat, bald man” (Friends anyone?), I was all in.

The drive to the coffee house took us past Iroquois Park, one of Carolyn’s favorite places to run in Louisville. In fact, the location of said coffee house was right across the street from the park! We both decided that would be great motivation for her to go running there on days she had time. You know…run a bit, get a coffee! Sounds like a winner to me!

Carolyn mentioned the frappuccinos were amazing and, since it was 90+ degrees outside, I decided a frosty, cold beverage was the way to go. They had tons of options from which to choose.

I went with the Coconut Mocha Frappuccino.

Oh. My. Amazing.

Indeed as I was slurping this bad boy down, I was picturing short, fat, bald men running around the store holding Starbucks coffees while sneering. (The little men do not like being replaced.) Starbucks doesn’t hold a candle to Sister Bean. The smoothness of my beverage was remarkable. Starbucks’ frappuccinos have bits of ice in them, almost as if they didn’t spend enough time on the blender. Sister Bean’s frappuccino tasted like a milkshake.

The shop was so cute, with lots of great artwork hanging around.

They also had an extensive amount of baked goods (some vegan!) and ice cream! What more could you ask for?

Comfy chairs? Check!
Fireplace? Check!

I could sit here and read my book for hours. It’s definitely going on my list of Must Visit places when I go to Louisville. At this rate, I’ll have to start going for three or four days at a time just to fit all the places in!

Another place I fell in love with was The Fresh Market.

After seeing Carolyn’s post, I knew I had to go. This is a foodie’s paradise. Well, sort of. If you want to talk about places a foodie could live in for years at a time, you need to mention Jungle Jim’s. Carolyn and I ventured there a few months ago and it was so huge I felt overwhelmed. I will definitely have to do a review on this place!

Anyhow…Fresh Market. It’s similar to Whole Foods, but it just feels different. It feels more cozy, like you’re in someone’s home. Don’t ask me why I felt like that…I just did.

The minute we walked in the store, the smell of these cinnamon scented pine cones smacked us in the face.

I loved the lighting combined with all the wood in this store. Like I said…cozy.

And orchids are my favorite flower, so seeing them upon entrance was a nice little touch.

Then I saw it. Barrels and barrels of coffee beans! I stood in the same spot for several minutes inhaling the sweet, wonderful fragrance. (Man, if this store doesn’t play on your senses!)