I’m sure you’re all waiting with bated breath to see how I’m doing with my menu plan, or Eat in Month…or what recipe I’m posting next. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to disappoint you. It seems working from 8am to 8pm is simply not conducive to blogging (or having a life…or sleeping).

As I try to shake away the work-induced zombie-like state I’m feeling at the moment so I can go to bed, let me share a teaser photo with you. I had a reader request a slow cooker beef stew, so I played around with one on Tuesday. I think I browned the beef a bit too much (stupid multi-tasking!), but overall, the stew came out pretty good.

Hope you’re all having a great week!

By the way, does anyone have any easy, weeknight recipes you’d like to share with the Eat-in-Monthers? Please leave a link to the recipe (or the recipe itself if it’s yours and you don’t have a blog), even if it’s to your blog or someone else’s blog/site.

How did you spend New Years?

I definitely feel like I must be getting old because my desire to go out partying on New Year’s Eve has turned into me not wanting to deal with crowds, overpriced NYE parties, overpriced drinks, or the heightened possibility of encountering a drunk driver. Yup, just one step away from the old folks home, guys. I sound more and more like my parents everyday. Anywho, hubby and I kept things low key and just headed to a neighbor’s house for NYE. I wasn’t in pajamas like last year, but I was pretty casual and comfy nonetheless, and we certainly had a safe commute home.

The neighbors were cooking ribs and wings, so since they had the main courses covered, I offered to bring an appetizer and dessert.

I made these no-cook artichoke-parmesan crostini that I saw in Martha Stewart’s Holiday Handbook. They were so easy, and I thought they tasted pretty good, too.

At the neighbor’s house, they also had blacked eye pea salad, Italian-cheese-bread, and the aforementioned wings and ribs. Everything was fantastic. I’m lucky to have a neighbor who can cook!

For dessert, my neighbors taste-tested my Peppermint Snow/Dough Balls, and we all enjoyed some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from a recipe I’m playing with.

We hung out, enjoyed eats, and watched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve. We didn’t last long, though, because hubby was feeling under the weather and wanted to go home before midnight. I was a-ok with that since it meant I could wear pajamas and that we could watch the ball drop with Bailey.

Farewell 2011! Welcome 2012!

***

A couple years ago, I made cinnamon rolls and mini frittatas for the first meal of the year. I was thinking that could be a fun tradition, but ultimately, I decided that sleeping in was more important. So, instead, I made one of these much-faster Individual Egg Bakes (subbing parmesan and parsley this time) with some buttered whole grain toast.

Post-breakfast, I headed to the grocery store to stock up for Eat in Month (are you playing along yet?). And since hubby was still feeling sick, I whipped up a batch of Mom’s Get Well Soup for lunch.

And so we could have a relaxing first day of the year, I also prepped Mom’s Pot Roast for dinner. The cozy meal really hit the spot.

With the addition of some simple collards and black eyed peas, we enjoyed a real Southern feast. The only thing missing was the corn bread (which we actually had leftover from the poker party! Doh!).

Ok, these photos are making me hungry and we have leftovers to enjoy. I’m off to dig in!

What are your New Year traditions? Did you eat anything special this year to celebrate the new year?

I’d be lying if I said that 2011 was one of the best years of my life. The more appropriate word is probably “challenging.” Yes, 2011, you challenged me in ways that had me crying like a baby. Unfortunately for TCL, I’m not comfortable discussing those exact challenges here on the blog. Nothing truly extreme is going on, I just need to work through some things. The soul-sucking nature of my challenges, however, left me feeling a little less than human. I felt like I let those challenges get the best of me, letting it rob me of my energy and enthusiasm. I feel like I pushed people away, lost some of my mojo, and often accomplished things by forcing my way through the motions and sometimes running off of auto-pilot.

But even though all this was going on the in the background, I think it would be unfortunate to not recognize some of the good things that happened in 2011. The year may have been a struggle, but it wasn’t a loss. Let’s look at the bright side…

Here are some of my favorite highlights from 2011:

January

January brought the announcement of a fun style of cooking/baking for TCL – Not So Sweet. I have nothing against sugar. You guys know I am a major sweet-tooth. But sometimes, some recipes turn out overly sweet in a way that gives me a headache instead of a happy smile. Not So Sweet recipes feature desserts that are enjoyable and just sweet enough. Some of my favorite Not So Sweet recipes include: Irresistible Coconut Macaroons, Healthy {Oatlicious} Zucchini Bread and Muffins, and Vegan Coconut Cream Pie.

February

In February, I got my first gig being “hired” as a photographer. Ok, so I actually just trade my photography skills for brunch, but I was still the “official photographer” for a fun event and I enjoyed a fabulous meal, too.

March

In March, I kicked off Project Get Glam. I described it saying, “It’s not about being superficial, it’s about having self-pride.” It was also excuse to wear more glitter, and I’ve been enjoying wearing bright eye make-up to Zumba (yes, still), and glitter every once in awhile.

I also went on an epic 13-hour bar crawl where I learned how to play spin-the-bottle-dance-off. It’s fun. You should try it.

April

In April, I kept up an Earth Day tradition.

May

In May, I tried Masala Bhangra for the first time and even got to meet the founder – Sarina Jain!

June

June was a busy month. I enjoyed a crazy-fun beach trip with friends, went to the lake with hubby’s family, and initiated one of my favorite challenges – Project Veg-Up (and my mom even played along!)

July

July – two words: Zumba and Convention. Zumba Convention was one of the most unique, most fun, more colorful, and most wonderful experiences of my life…honestly. If you’re a Zumba instructor, it is worth saving your money up to go. Do ittttttt!

August

August brought one of my most life-changing challenges to date – Project Think Positive. As a normally negative thinker, I was very surprised by the results of this challenge. Positive thinking can work!

September

In September, I began fashion blogging again right here on TCL.

October

I celebrated my birthday a little late, but in a very cool way. My friends planned a bar crawl just for me and two of my friends from college visited me to celebrate!

November

November brought a lot of great things: QT with my extended family, meeting Anthony Bourdain & Eric Ripert, Foodbuzz Festival, one of the best meals of my life, and meeting Tyler Florence. It was the foodiest month of the year for me!

December

And I enjoyed three Christmas celebrations in December – one with my family, one with hubby’s, and one for ours.

***

2011, you may have kicked my a$$, but we had some good times. Now, let’s hope 2012 is the year I turn things around! Time to channel my inner warrior queen and take charge. Here we go!

{Click here to check out my year in review for 2010}

We enjoyed a slow morning with family the day after Thanksgiving. No Black Friday shopping for us.

Rose had pancakes, bacon, and coffee waiting for us when we woke up.

And she even made me some of her special oregano elixir since I’m feeling a cold coming on.

{Heidy, Mario, Sis, Rose, me, Ben}

We bid adieu to the family, and a smaller group of the young crowd headed out for our favorite Atlanta tradition – dim sum.

{Leo, Lindsay, and Sis}

We trekked over to the Oriental Pearl (where Sis and I went somewhat recently) in search of dumplings and other deliciousness. The last time I came here with cousins, a few years ago, the restaurant had converted from the amazing dim sum restaurant to a run-of-the-mill buffet. We were so sad to think our tradition had disappeared. It wasn’t until Sis and I made our trip to the OP in May that we discovered the dim sum was back in action! Hazzah!

The restaurant was far less busy and had a smaller selection since it was a weekday, but the carts were swinging by within just a couple minutes, and they proved to have most of our favorites.

We quickly snapped up some har gow, steamed BBQ pork buns, and shui mei.

We got one of the long shrimp dumplings (and a beef one – not pictured).

Crispy shrimp balls.

Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.

Love their plates by the way!

Baked BBQ pork buns.

With a plate full of my favorite eats, I was one happy eater.

So was Leo.

And sis and I tried a new dessert – a sort of mango jello-type dessert with evaporated milk poured on top.

(I believe this is a photo from a dim sum trip from the early ninties – and do you recognize the girl to the far right?! )

As I mentioned earlier, we made many trips to visit our cousins over the years. Each trip ended with a family trip to the Oriental Pearl for dim sum.

The adults were busy this trip, so the new dim sum crew held down the tradition for this adventure. It’s interesting to think about the transition that is already under way – from the old crew to the new crew. And it’s fun to think about this table being filled in a few years with our children, who will be the next future dim sum crew!

sometimes the food is the best because of the context

The trip reminded me of something Anthony Bourdain said in that show I saw recently. When asked about finding the best food, Anthony said that sometimes the food is the best because of the context. He’s so right! I mean, the food at the Oriental Pearl is delicious, but what makes it so special is the company, the familiarity, and the sentimentality of the experience. We’ve been eating at the Oriental Pearl for about 20 years now, and I hope we get to enjoy at least 20 more years together.

I didn’t grow up with a lot of family nearby. Most of my dad’s family lived in the North and most of my mom’s family lived in the Philippines.

(photo from the family album)

Our closest family members, who we referred to as “cousins”, were somewhat distant relatives. I believe the mom of the family, Rose, is my mom’s third cousin.

(photo from the family album)

It never really mattered to us how they were related – they were simply family, and they also lived in the South, just a couple hours away.

(photo from the family album)

We spent many holidays together when I was growing up and grew quite close over the years. I actually like to think of my cousins, Leo and Marlon, as the brothers I never had. Over the college years, the trips to see our cousins grew infrequent, but we visited when we could.

***

This year, for the first time in many years, we decided to visit cousins for Thanksgiving. Hubby and I left Thanksgiving morning from Charlotte and were meeting my parents and sister in Atlanta.

I thought this text message conversation with my mom (sent during our road trip) was particularly hilarious…and telling.

After about 4 1/2 hours in the car, hubby and I were greeted by Rose and some surprise family members – Rose’s sister, Amy, and her family, Rose’s brother, Ben, who came all the way from the Philippines, and Ben’s daughter, Joy, and her family. We were also greeted with a kitchen full of delicious Thanksgiving food.

We had a bit of a Filipino-fusion style Thanksgiving – many of the traditional Thanksgiving fare paired with some traditional Filipino eats: turkey, mushroom gravy, macaroni and cheese, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, plus pancit…

…avocado popsicles…

…and a Filipino dessert I’ve always wanted to try – suman.

Suman is a sticky rice made with rice and coconut milk that is wrapped in coconut leaves and steamed. When it’s ready, you unwrap it and eat it with sugar.

It’s a wrapped version of the “sweet rice” dish that I love so much. It was good, but I think I like the sweet rice dish better because you cook the coconut milk with brown sugar and the flavors really develop together.

Anywho, as we were finishing up our first round of Thanksgiving eats, Rose, Amy, and Joy decided to whip up a giant batch of lumpia, which is like Filipino spring rolls.

These were made with pork, garlic, green onion, and water chestnuts.

After finishing up dessert, I headed out with the younger crowd to go visit my cousin Leo who got stuck working on Thanksgiving. Boo! He’s a bartender, so it made it easy for us to visit him and have a couple drinks. We also brought him some Thanksgiving eats.

After relaxing for a couple hours, Sis and I headed back to the house for more Thanksgiving food: turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pancit, broccoli salad, and lumpia…

And more dessert: suman (with brown sugar this time), pumpkin pie, a piece of my sister’s chocolate chip/oatmeal bar, fruit, and flan.

Leo came home shortly after with the rest of the gang, so we could enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving day all together. We had plenty of food, laughs, family, and friends, which is exactly what I love on Thanksgiving.

Reader questions: how did you spend your Thanksgiving this year? What was your favorite food?

A week late, but I wanted to share some photos from our Halloween festivities…

Hubby and I love celebrating Halloween. There’s just something fun about the theme that makes me happy – maybe it’s the costumes or the unique way you can theme your eats. Who knows?

Unfortunately, with things being so hectic lately, I sort of dropped the ball putting any plans together, so we just invited a couple friends over for a casual night in.

Sis drove in from out of town to hang out for the weekend. She helped me carve pumpkins over BBQ take out from local restaurant Mac’s.

Friends – (left to right) Sarah, Shamecia, Talicha, me!

We actually stopped by one fun party at another friend’s house to watch them record a music video to YMCA. Oh yea…it was hilarious! They even had fake mustaches for one part…and they were all girls.

Anywho, we had some creepy decorations going on back at the Chic house – nothing crazy – just a couple things here and there. I really liked spreading this fake spiders all over the mantel, though. They reminded me of a photo I saw once in a Martha Stewart Halloween magazine.

For eats we made this slow cooker BBQ chicken again…

…mashed potatoes…

….slow cooker meatballs…

…steamed veggies.

I was trying to do red, green, and white foods to go with some Halloween colors. I thought about labeling the food to make it sound scarier than it actually was, but “blood and guts”, although entertaining, didn’t exactly sound appetizing.

We had mocktails with POM, and we also had some vino (moscato).

The eats were tasty…but I really loved dessert.

Sis helped me bake up some Depression-style cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and tombstone cookies. She did all the tombstone writing. The cupcakes were baked without any eggs or butter! The trick appears to be the vinegar and baking soda combo, which I think I’m going to play with to make some other baked goodies (I’m thinking cake and muffins).

I had a great time having a casual Halloween in and enjoying tasty eats. It wasn’t as crazy as last year’s foodie Halloween party, but it was perfect for this year. Who knows how Halloween 2012 will end up!

Reader question: If you celebrate it, how did you spend Halloween?

As soon as I found out Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert were coming to town, I knew I had to go see them. Since I don’t see concerts or shows very often, I decided to splurge on VIP tickets. Oh yea!

The show – Good vs Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert.

The show started off with Anthony interrogating Eric.

Some were serious, but many questions were funny.

Then, they switched places and Eric questioned Anthony. His turn to sit in the (very tiny) hot seat.

Then, they got cozy in two big arm chairs. Unfortunately, this was my view. But, I was able to lean over to my friend Erica’s side to catch better views.

See!

I didn’t think to take notes until near the end of the show, but I learned some interesting things.

Both Anthony and Eric purchase organic for them families. But they agree that people shouldn’t be looked down upon for not getting organic. They think you should just do the best you can.

Anthony really liked Julia Child because she lifted people up in the cooking realm. She inspired people to actually get in the kitchen and cook things.

They ended the show by taking questions from the audience.

I learned some interesting things here, too:

Their won’t eat foods:

• Anthony – doesn’t really like scallops, natto (fermented soybeans), and doesn’t care much for sweets (ok, not “won’t eat” but that was his answer)
• Eric – brains

Upon being asked if the Sandra Lee pseudo-food phenomenon was related to both parents working, Anthony said it makes you feel like it’s ok to be lazy. Eric mentioned that he was doing a new series called “Get Toasted – Avec Eric” which features videos with easy recipes you can make real time.

Anthony said sometimes the best food is due to context – where you are, the smell of the room, etc.

Their last meal of choice:

• Anthony – sushi (except he described it much more in depth and I didn’t get all the details of the description – it was really detailed!)
• Eric – country bread, shaved truffle, and a good bottle of Bordeaux

My favorite line – (I think I got this quote word for word) – “I don’t have to agree with you to respect you”. Well said.

After the show, we headed to the VIP after party at local restaurant Blue.

They had a buffet style serving of mini tasting plates.

My favorite was the braised boar shoulder over black kale farrotto with mustard di Cremona.

There was also a duck pasta…

…and pork belly slider. You may recall I had to channel Anthony the first time I had pork belly (recently), and this would actually only be my second time trying it. Not too shabby! I think I’m growing to like it.

Anthony and Eric actually sat so close to us. They were just one table away from where we were eating!

And soon enough, Erica and I jumped in line to meet them both.

I actually got kind of nervous before meeting them. I think I awkwardly said something to Anthony thanking him for inspiring me to try pork belly for the first time. I managed to request their autographs and get one photo. I only wish I had brought their books to be signed!

All in all, a fun time, though!

Do you own any books by Eric or Anthony? Which one is your favorite?

Hey guys!

Thank you so much for all your supportive comments on my post about being overwhelmed. You guys rock! I heard from a current friend, a friend from college, a friend from high school, and my childhood BFF. I heard from new readers, new bloggers, long time readers, and old blogging friends. I heard from stay at home moms and 80+ hour a week working women. No matter our backgrounds, we are all feeling overwhelmed now and again. I hope we can all figure out a way to balance our lives better. If you have any tips on balance, send em on over (or just leave a comment)!

Anywho, I’m currently sitting with my roomies in our hotel at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco, CA. I’ve had a couple posts queued up, and I want to post them before I jump into the Foodbuzz-related posts. I have a super-awesome post with the CEO of The Limited that I’ll be sharing soon (oh and did I mention it includes two $50 gift card giveaways!?), but I’m saving those for post-Foodbuzz. So, here we go!

***

I recently was invited to the very fabulous baby shower for new-mom-to-be Jen of Runner’s Trials.

Isn’t this diaper cake adorable?

Anywho, Caitlin planned an amazing Ironbaby-themed baby shower since Jen’s husband is an ironman and Jen is a fantastic runner. It was so unique and personalized.

I brought over a roasted butternut squash quinoa salad with a maple-dijon vinaigrette and fresh parsley. (I’m hoping to post the recipe soon!)

And check out this yummy pasta salad by Katy. Looove the arugula.

There was also a yummy cheese ball with crackers, zucchini tart, plus a bunch of awesome dessert.

Yum!

There was also a really cool chocolate fountain with fruit and marshmallows.

And of course we played traditional baby shower games.

I’m so excited for Jen and can’t wait to meet her little one! Congrats Jen!

Reader question: What’s your favorite baby shower game?

Warning: (I think) most of you guys read TCL for fun stories, recipes, and (perhaps one of two of you for) outfit posts. This post is random and rambling, so if you’re looking for the usual blog post here, you may want to skip this one.

I apologize for being a little MIA over the last several days. I’ve been feeling…overwhelmed…just with everyday life. I wrote the following when I was having a low moment last Monday morning. You know that feeling you get after spending a long period of time (weeks, even months, if not years) of running yourself into the ground resulting in you feeling so stressed and fatigued that you find yourself wanting to cry for no reason? I’ve hesitated posting this because it always seems to read much more dramatic than it actually is, but maybe I’m thinking about this too much? Hopefully, you don’t think I sound like too much of a drama queen…

Sometimes I wish I weren’t so stressed.
I wish I didn’t blog at midnight or 1 am because that’s the first time I’ve had all day to do it.
I wish I had more days with more than 1 hour of free time. Even when you’re doing mostly fun things, it can be stressful to not have any downtime.
I wish I didn’t leave my laundry in the dryer (or in the laundry basket in my living room) because I desperately need clean clothes but don’t have time to fold it once it’s done.
I wish I were better at saying “no”.
I wish I didn’t run around my house in between getting home and going to my next to-do, tossing things around like a tornado.
I wish my work weren’t so demanding.
I wish I had longer than 15 minutes of break time (yea that includes/is my lunch break) in my average work day.
I wish I didn’t cry at my desk at work.
I wish that I didn’t lay on the couch for just 15 or 30 minutes at the end of the day because it gave me a false sense of relaxing when I really should be heading straight to bed.
I wish there were more hours in the day. More days in the week. Or at least more days in a weekend.

But through all of this, I do my best to level set and reality check. I know there are many people struggling much worse than I am. I know this exhaustion is the sign of a gift because it means I have the ability to do (or at least try to do) all these things. It means I have a husband (and dog) to love, family to visit, friends who want to hang out with me, creative outlets, an exercise that is not a burden but a joy to do, the ability to teach Zumba, and a job…oh a job in this economy (no matter how stressful) is indeed a good thing. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am.

The more straightforward solution to the stress is the one that hubby keeps suggesting – downsizing. But, exhausted as I am, I love everything too much to let anything go (ahh, so stubborn…I know). Some people have suggested that the blog is what’s taking up so much of my time, but I haven’t posted in a few days now and didn’t post a couple days before the poetry post. And you know what…I don’t feel any less stressed. In fact, after I published that poetry post, I actually felt…better. So, looks like the show will go on here on TCL.

Things are a little hectic right now, but I appreciate you coming along for the ride.

Thanks for reading,
Diana

Reader question #1: Do you ever feel overwhelmed by everyday life?
Reader question #2: Have something to get off your chest? Fill in the blank: Sometimes I wish________________.

This weekend, I attended my first ever poetry slam. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen recently.

But since this blog has been a bit food sparse, let me show you some random eats photos before we get to the slam dets. Once again, a noodle bowl saves the day. This one served as lunch and was made completely with things I scavenged from around the kitchen – spelt soba noodles from my pantry and veggies from my freezer. Who needs time to go grocery shopping, right? jk

I also enjoyed my first pumpkin oats of the season.

I like candy corn around Halloween, peppermint around Christmas, but I like pumpkin around fall. And adding canned pumpkin to oats is one of the easiest ways I like to enjoy it.

This bowl was drizzled with maple syrup and topped with some sliced almonds. Yum!

Anywho, back to the slam. I was invited to the poetry slam with Slam Charlotte by my friend Talicha (click to check out her blog) who was competing in the event. Wondering what a “poetry slam” is? It’s basically a poetry competition where people perform their poems and are judged/scored. Higher scoring poets move on to next rounds of the competition till one winner is selected.

I actually used to write poetry when I was in school, just for fun (ok, as a creative outlet for deep feelings), so I was really looking forward to hearing from some new poets and seeing them perform live.

The event was kicked off by Jamaal St. John who was visiting from New York.

He shared a few poems, letters, and stories. The most memorable line from his performance was from his poem on loving thick girls where he said “a waist is a terrible thing to mind.”

Bluz is the current slam master, and he did a fabulous job keeping us entertained between the various performances and rounds. He’s also introduced me to my new favorite song, which I’d like to use for almost any occasion, but will most likely prove useful as an anthem to play during a particularly tough work day. I’ll have to share it with you guys some other time…or maybe just on my Facebook wall.

Of course, I was most excited to see my friend Talicha perform. She did a fantastic job, but did not end up winning this slam. Ahhh perhaps next time?

By the way, I got to be a judge along with my friend Sarah. Apparently, they like to offer the newbies judging roles. I felt really unqualified, but they told us to just vote for whichever poem made us feel good, which seemed simple enough. It was a little nerve-wracking, but we had a good time.

Overall, the slam was so impressive. I’d quote more of the poets, but I’m afraid of butchering their words. Instead, I’ll just tell you that they covered a wide range of topics – from sad, to mad, to happy and everything in between. There were poems about sex, Alzheimer’s, a cell phone, a kidnapped child, a hair stylist, and love.

I think I see more poetry slams in my future (from the audience…not the stage).

Reader question #1: Who is your favorite poet?

Reader question #2: What is your favorite poem?