Oh, Tonight, We’re Gonna Set The World On Fire

August 26, 2011 by Mellie Dee 1 Comment

That song has been stuck in my head for a good week now. It’s such a sweet, sweet song. I LOVE duets!

Anyway, I broke my own promise to not buy books for a while. Books like non-school related books. WHOOPS!

I ended up buying 13 books for $48.55. Not too bad if you ask me. It said I saved $50.93 meaning if I had bought these without the sale from Borders, I would be dang poor.

I have realized I’ll rather buy books than clothes. Eeep. That’s not too good. I think people are starting to notice my closet is only t-shirts that you either get for free or from school activities. Embarrassed smile

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I opened up a Baked Flatbread crisps: Four Cheese as a snack. I had a feeling this would be my least favorite out of all the other ones. It smells very cheesy which gets me very queasy and it tastes super cheesy! Surprisingly, it’s not bad at all. Quite delicious! The queasy feeling is gone.

You don’t even need dip for this!! It has enough flavor to hold it’s own!

So far, everything about Flatout Bread has got my heart!

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There’s a pool party at my apartment going on right now. And I live right next to the pool … like I can see the pool from here. Bleugh! They have speakers everywhere! I don’t know how Jenny sleeps through this!

A Package? For Me?!

August 26, 2011 by Mellie Dee 2 Comments

When I got home last night, there was a paper stuck to my front door.

Sadly the office was long closed for the day. Crying face

So I tried my hardest to go to bed.

Woke up and went to my lab. The whole time there all I could think about was the package! I knew it can’t be books because I already have all of them. But I did win a few giveaways.

I knew those won’t come anytime soon since they probably JUST sent them.

Therefore it only leaves me with Lauren from Team Giles with Flatout Bread!

Class ended early … like 30 minutes early! So I ran to the shuttle and got home to pick up my package!

And I was correct!! FLATOUT FREAKING BREAD!!

This is jammed packed! Ah … excited!

Look at all that stuff!!

Here’s what’s inside:

Baked Flatbread Crisps: Four Cheeses, Sea Salt, Garlic Herb, Multigrain
Fold It Artisan Flatbread: Rosemary & Olive Oil, Traditional White, 5 Grain Flax
Flatout Flatbread: Multi-Grain with Flax, Light Italian Herb, The Original
Miscellaneous: A spatula, water bottle, cutting board, recipe book

That is A LOT of stuff for that little box!!

I told my mum I was going to share some with her but uh … is it selfish to say I want it all to myself?! I hope not. I’m a poor college student. I need my bread! Smile with tongue out

I did what any normal person would. Open these bad babies up and ate it!! I made a little wrap … but not really.

I used the Flaout Flatbread The Original. Put it on my crepe pan. Added cheese, mushrooms, a piece of ham and a little Ranch. Got the cheese hot and melted and there you have it!!

It’s sooo good!! I feel like I’m in heaven. My tummy is so happy right now.

Because I heated up the bread, it became crispy … the right kind of crispy. Not the crumble in your hand kind. Does that make sense?

But if you don’t like it crispy and instead like it soft all you do is put things in! Simple!!

I love it both ways! Mmm … maybe this is a bad idea because I want to try them all NOW! Disappointed smile

I cannot wait to try all the other ones!! Ahh! And make little flatout bread pizzas! This is going to be so exciting!!

Thanks Team Giles and Flatout Bread!! Rolling on the floor laughing

The Front Porch

August 23, 2011 by Mellie Dee 2 Comments

************ Not sure why the whole formatting is weird with the pictures but sorry! I can’t fix them! 🙁

Tomorrow’s my first day of school!! Exciting! Maybe … my first class is Finance and I already want to throw up knowing that. Smile with tongue out

I never knew how many blogs I’ve been following until these last few days. Given a handful are Tumblrs, therefore they update constantly, but even without those, I have 50+ unread posts every time I open my Google Reader. And I log in at least twice a day now.

Anyway, I’ve been busy catching up on blog posts and I’m loving each and everyone of them! Yes, I read them all!! Not much of the Tumblrs though because there are SO much pictures but blog posts, check!

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Today, I woke up at 7am, showered, got ready, and headed on campus. It was our second day of FTK Leadership Challenge Retreat!!

I got to school by 7:45am. In hand was my OOIAJ … just in case the breakfast they serve was not good enough. Winking smile

Luckily they served breakfast tacos from Bill Miller’s. Mmm … I ate my OOIAJ (because who wastes such good food! plus I’m pretty sure it’s better for me). I couldn’t resist though so I took one Potato, Egg, and Cheese taco. They did a horrible job on wrapping these babies with cheese everywhere. Gross to cheese like that but mmmm to the potato.

We then headed into our room and sat in a circle and had reflection.

They gave us a notebook they had made filled with blank papers. They were even personalized with our names!! I covered up my last name. Winking smile

This is where we write about our thoughts and answer questions that have been asked. And anything else we want to reflect about goes into there.

Questions such as: What gives you spirit? What would or does kill your spirit? What other questions are on your mind? etc. etc.

The title to this post The Front Porch goes along with something we learned today. I’m not going to bore y’all with it but seriously, I love the saying and would love to incorporate that into my home in the future.

Then went into little groups and listened to lectures.

I love when they print out all the slides so I know how close we are to the end.

Is that terrible? Whoops.

One of the advisors for Leadership Challenge/FTK co-wrote a book with a friend of his about leadership.

He gave us our own copy to keep and read if we liked. And he even autographed it!! How sweet!!

I for sure will add this to my list of reading materials.

Why not?

For lunch, they ordered us Papa John’s. Not too healthy but what can you do? Free food is free food. I made sure to pick the ones with the most vegetables! That has to count for something right? Smile with tongue out

I learned a lot from those 7+ hours of retreat today. Though it was long I can pertain everything I learned to real life things. Stuff like running and staying healthy. It’s going to be a long journey to find my balance with those things and other things in life, but if I sit down and really think about the path I lead and plan it out, I can get there. Slowly but eventually.

I learned so much more, but I won’t bore y’all.

I just really want to remember this day that gave me great memories. I cannot wait to work with everyone to make a difference.

FTK: For The Kids Dance Marathon at UTSA with pediatric cancer. Together we can make a difference. (Cheesy words? … But so true!)

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Time to relax … then bed. I’ll let you all know how it goes sometime this week. Peace and love! Open-mouthed smile

Survey #3

August 21, 2011 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Hi! I’m from the past. Right now I’m moving into my new college apartment so I did a post about myself. Enjoy!

I got this off of Abz n Oats!

[A] Apples or Oranges: Apples. I love Fiji and Pink Ladies … with a little bit of PB&Co.

[B] Beans or Lentils: Beans, beans, they make you fart.

[C] Cereal or Oatmeal: Cereal! Unless you count OOIAJ as oatmeal .. I’m not a fan of oatmeal.

[D] Dates or Raisins: Um … neither. Sorry. I just don’t like that they are rubber outers.

[E] Eggs or Milk: Milk! I’m not a big fan of eggs. I’ll eat them but not as much as I drink milk. I might start making a lot of hard boiled eggs though.

[F] French toast or waffles: Belgian Waffles!! They are soooo good! French toast is too sweet!

[G] Garlic or salt: Garlic salt .. duh.

[H] Honey or maple syrup: Neither. But I guess honey if I have to pick since it’s healthier than maple syrup. Unless I’m incorrect.

[I] Ice cream or frozen yogurt: Neither .. but I guess if I have to pick .. froyo since it’s better!!

[J] Jam or toast: What is up with these questions .. neither. But I guess toast.

[K] Kale or spinach: SPINACH!! Nom, Nom, Nom!

[L] Lemon or Lime: Neither. I don’t like acid stuff.

[M] Muffins or Cupcakes: Cupcakes. They’re cuter. Plus I like decorating them!

[N] Nut butter or jelly: This is a retarded question. It’s obviously nut butter.

[O] Onions or peppers: Onions … raw or cooked. Yum!

[P] Peanuts or Almonds: Almonds!!!

[Q] Quick bread or yeast bread: Quick bread .. because it’s QUICK!

[R] Raspberry or blackberry: Neither. Not a fan of much berries.

[S] Sweet or savory: Savory. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.

[T] Tea or Coffee: Hands down. TEA. GREEN FREAK OF NATURE TEA.

[U] Udon or spaghetti noodles: Spaghetti. Udon isn’t my favorite. It has a bite to it though which isn’t bad. I guess I might not like the soup base it comes in.

[V] Vanilla or Chocolate: Swirl!!

[W] Whole wheat or white bread: Whole wheat. White bread is delicious but I’ve grown to love whole wheat.

[X] Xanthan gum or Guar Gum: I’ve never tried either but I really want to try Xanthan Gum to put into my smoothies.

[Y] Yogurt or Pudding: Yogurt. With fruit. In my smoothie. IN MY STOMACH!

[Z] Zucchini or Cucumber: Cooked zucchini in my foods. ALL my foods! Yum!!

Le Mistral | Houston, Texas

August 18, 2011 by Mellie Dee 5 Comments

***Caution: Long post but filled with pictures.***

Today was Mummy and Me day!

Ah yes, we are cool.

I have wanted to do Houston Restaurant Weeks for the longest time. I think I’ve done the dinner at a restaurant once or twice but I don’t remember it so I don’t count it.

For those that don’t know what it is, HRW is planned by volunteers so that 100% of the funds are donated to the Houston Food Bank. $20 for lunch where $3 per lunch is donated. $35 for dinner where $5 are donated.

Eating for a cause? Sounds good to me.

Since my Mum took the day off from work to hang out with me, I decided on lunch at one of the HRW restaurants.

Le Mistral
1400 Eldridge Pkwy
Houston, TX 77077
(832) 379-8322
www.lemistralhouston.com

Isn’t the front door GORGEOUS?!

The menu for HRW lunch is a 3 course.

Bread & Butter | free

It’s a special type of butter. Not the usual ones you get. It was very easy to spread. The bread was cold but so soft on the inside with a hard outer. Delicious.

I thought this was a trashcan.

My mum’s reply?

Why would they put a trashcan on the table in a high class place. Touché, mum, touché.

My mum and I each ordered something from ever single course and decided to try each other’s dishes. Mmm, six dishes total to try? I’m down! The first dishes of each course is my mum’s and the one following are mine. Just FYI. Winking smile

1st Course:

Crostini de Rillette de Canard {duck rillette crostini, arugula salad, extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette}

I was not a fan of the arugula salad. I don’t think I like arugula to begin with. My mum loved it though. I had half of the duck rillette crostini. Mmm … I wish I had more. It was delicious. The crostini was crunchy hard and the duck rillette was so soft and creamy. I would go back just to order this. My mum has asked me to go online and look for a recipe. That’s how good it was.

Carpaccio de Jambon de Parme, Melon et Mozzarelle {Parma prosciutto Carpaccio, melon, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, cracked black pepper}

There was a LOT of olive oil on this sucker. I think I could do with a little less. I rolled up the prosciutto with the mozzarella and melon inside. It mixed together so well! The melon was so sweet and the prosciutto was so salty. Such a good mix. The mozzarella made it so smooth and gave me the melt in your mouth feeling.

2nd Course:

Bavette de Boeuf en Persillade {pan-seared hanger steak en persillade, shallot confit, dauphine potatoes, garlic confit romano beans}

My mum loved the beans and wouldn’t share it with me. Crying face So I’m not sure how it tastes. Must be delicious! She was not a fan of the steak. She said it had a taste like the weird taste lamb has. I didn’t mind it and loved it. She got it well done but I think if it was medium rare, it would have been even tastier. The potatoes are to die for! TO DIE! Mushy insides filled with potatoes and the outside is crunchy! Mmmm … I love potatoes.

Gnocchis de Pommes de Terre {homemade potato gnocchi, pesto sauce, heirloom tomato coulis, shaved aged parmasen}

I have always wanted to try the gnocchi but always got scared that I wouldn’t like it. Verdict? It wasn’t anything special. It was mushy but good. I didn’t hate it and won’t be scared to order it anymore. My mum ate most of it since I took most of her beef. I really liked the coulis. I never like tomato sauce that looks like that because it feels so bitter so many times but this was very good and paired up nicely with the gnocchi.

3rd Course:

Truffe au Chocolat Valrhona {Colossal valrhona chocolate truffle, chilled espresso sauce, almond orange tuile}

Um, can I just say how cute the plate is?! I loved the tuile! I’ve always wanted to make it but it seems so hard. I heard it was easy to burn? The truffle was very chocolatey! VERY! My mum wasn’t a big fan nor was I because we’re not the sweets eating type of people but I liked it. It was very smooth, dark, delicious.

Fraises Matinées au Sauternes {strawberries marinated in sauternes wine, cracked Szechuan pepper, crème fraiche ice cream}

I told my mum to get this but she insisted on the truffle because of the espresso sauce. I ordered this because I knew she will love it. I was correct. When we got our desserts, she said that she was afraid because I had to drive and it had wine in it. She’s so cute. It was so good and she loved it so much I gave it all to her. The crème fraiche was smooth and creamy. The wine sauce was sweet. (I’m not a fan of wine.) And the strawberries, some were tart but it went all so well together.

I was so full after we were done which was surprising because our family eats a lot. So that’s how French people stay so thin! Little portions with lots of courses. CHECK!

It was $20 per person so I thought it was super worth it. My mum have already stated she wants to go to more of these places once in a while. Agreed!

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My mum already stated she wanted to go to Central Market after lunch so I looked up the place. It was our first time there and it was so much fun! It’s like Whole Foods!!

This is the loot we got back!

HOUSTONIANS!!

Read that sign! Buy One, Get One Free on PB&Co. Plus on 2 of them, it has a $0.55 off coupon! So 4 jars for $8.48. Go get yours!! It’s the one on Westheimer!!

They don’t expire til 2013 so I think it’s worth it. Plus I know I’ll finish them all way before then. I got one of every flavor. The maple one, honey one, white chocolate, and dark chocolate. Mmm.

On top of that we got 2 cake tester sticks, banana chips, wasabi peas, Stoneyfield Vanilla Yogurt, Beef Fajita Seasoning, some other kind of seasoning.

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A little while ago I met up with Nicole at Chick-fil-a. She was leaving to Lubbock later tomorrow for a wedding weekend and wanted to see me before I left for San Antonio.

Mmm .. fatass right here. I got a vanilla milkshake since I’ve never tried one here before, medium fries, and ketchup!

The milkshake was okay. I know now I’m not a fan. For the fries, I use to LOVE LOVE LOVE them but they’re just blah now. But I love the ketchup!! It’s so cute. Tear the top to squeeze, tear the side to dip. Genius to whoever invented this. Can someone snag me some? I want to have a handful at hand … always!

When we left, Nicole asked if we were going to take a picture together and I said that I looked gross. Then she made fun of me for taking pictures of the food but not people. So … here’s a really gross picture of me and the beautiful Nicole.

We’ll keep it tiny. Smile with tongue out

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I was suppose to wash and pack all my clothes today but … time got the best of me. Now all I want to do is rest. But I know I can’t. I guess I’ll clean the room up a bit before bed.

Night y’all!