Love These Girls

So last night was my aforementioned hot date with Chrissy and Callie. I love getting together with them because we always have so much fun and usually spend the whole time laughing. We met at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and after whipping through two or three baskets of bread, we each ordered a salad. I got the Fresh Vegetable Salad, which was: Asparagus, Green Beans, Tomato, Cucumber, Roasted Beets, Apple, Edamame, Radicchio, Romaine and White Cheddar - All Chopped with Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

I swapped out white cheddar cheese for goat cheese instead (because I can't get enough of the stuff!) and ordered the dressing on the side. The dressing was white with black specs, so I didn't think it was Pomegranate Vinaigrette, and decided not to use any. Some parts of this salad were good...the beets, the edamame and cheese especially...but overall I wasn't terribly impressed. It didn't seem like the flavors complemented each other very well, and the chopped pieces were too tiny (in my opinion). I also tasted cilantro, which wasn't listed as an ingredient, but even a hint of cilantro ruins a meal for me. Wow - I just went on quite a rant. Really, it wasn't that bad, its just that I was left wishing I had a plate of just roasted beets and goat cheese with nothing else...so I'll remember that in the future.

My less-than-stellar salad was very quickly forgotten when our dessert arrived. The three of us shared the Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. Yes, it was as amazing as it looks:

We dug in and barely talked for a few minutes as we devoured the cake. When we came up for air (with just a few bites remaining) the busboy came by our table and asked if he could take the dish away. The three of us all screamed "NO!" at the same time which was pretty hilarious...hilarious for us, I'm guessing it was more frightening for him.

I also got some great new loot from my friends for my birthday! Chrissy got me a new t-shirt from In-N-Out Burger since my old one is no longer with us, and she also got me a new cutting board:

It serves two purposes: you cut on it (obviously) and the edges turn up so you can easily transfer food to a bowl/pot without making a mess. I was so excited that I made some broccoli when I got home to test it out.

What a great invention!

Callie got me a headband to wear running. Its zebra material, so I'll feel fierce when I'm out on the road. I tried it on when I got home (don't mind the crimped hair, my hair was braided for most of the day).

These are called Sweaty Bands, and they're made specifically to be worn when exercising or playing sports...and they claim not to slip out of your hair. Well, I love stretchy headbands (the hard ones give me headaches) but don't wear them often because they always slip off! I decided to wear this headband to work today before I get it sweaty from running...I've been wearing it for 5 hours so far, and still no slippage!! I'm officially in love with this! I'm definitely going to order some more so I have some sweaty ones for running and some clean ones to wear other times!

Thanks for a great night and such thoughtful gifts! Happy Friday everyone!