I’m so happy that it’s fall (and Friday)! The cool, crisp mornings and sunny afternoons make me feel so alive. I feel so peaceful, but energized at the same time. Does that make sense? It’s such a nice feeling. Anyway, not sure where that came from, but onto breakfast!
Breakfast was my usual favorite: oats with oat milk, banana, ground flaxseed meal, and Barney Butter (2 scoops like always).
… from above with the newest edition of Real Simple, which is easily becoming my new favorite magazine. It’s so smart and definitely makes life more simple!
Breakfast also included a mug of coffee brewed in the office. Our office Keurig machine is where all of the coffee magic happens! Keurig makes single cup coffee makers for the home and office, and they brew a wide variety of gourmet coffee and tea, one cup at a time in seconds. I love this little machine! 
More than a year ago, Mal and I attended a bridal event where we learned all about these Keurig coffee machines. We really, really, really wanted to add one to our wedding registry, but when we thought about how much we’d really use it (Mal only drinks iced coffee and occasionally espresso), we decided against it.
However, I decided that it would be fantastic to have one at work in our office. Our office is small-ish (9 people), but we all have different tastes in coffee. So, I did a ton of research on these machines and wrote up a proposal (including a cost analysis and recommendations) for my boss to consider. When I crunched the numbers, it turned out that each cup was a fraction of what it would cost to buy a regular fresh cup of coffee. My boss loved that! She also liked the idea of having so many coffee options. For instance, she likes dark roasts, but can’t stand flavored coffees like some of the other people in my office. After seeing all of the benefits of the single-cup coffee machine, she was all about it, and we ordered one! I’m a dork, but when I really want something, I can usually make it happen!
We have a number of coffee, tea, and hot cocoa selections to chose from. The flavors change every other month or so… and I do the ordering, so sometimes I will pick flavors that personally interest me!
Today’s pick was “Rainforest Espresso.” Exotic-sounding, huh?
I added soy milk and agave nectar to my brew, which made the end result dark, intense, and a tad sweet.
And while we’re talking about my office, the first ever healthy treat passed through our doors this morning! A lovely bowl of apples was leftover from a meeting yesterday afternoon, so a coworkers brought them to our office. I already snagged a couple of them to take home and my boss was talking about making some into apple sauce for the office. Yay to healthy office snacks! The true, sweet treats are soooo tough to avoid, but you guys had some great tips for avoiding office temptations that I utilized quite often!
Question of the Day
I’m headed to a “Pamper Party” hosted by my sister and her friend this evening. I don’t like showing up to a get-together empty-handed, but I didn’t make anything for it last night… mostly because I didn’t want to truck-around a dish all day since I am going to the party right after work. I’m planning to bring a bottle of wine, but I also wanted to bring a simple, easily-transportable, and crowd-pleasing appetizer. What would you bring?
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Hey Tina!
Shrimp cocktail would be easy to pick up, plus it’s healthy and you don’t have to do anything to it once you get there.
Or maybe stop by a place that has a good olive/cheese bar type of thing and get some crackers/cheese/olives – antipasto platter kind of thing?
Have fun – it sounds great!
Definitely feels like autumn here as well!!
I love Real Simple magazine!!
A crowd-pleasing appetizer?? How about some bruschetta or a vegetable & dip tray??
I agree with VeggieGirl, I think bruschetta or a veggie and dip tray would be really easy and definitely crowd pleasing!
I totally understand what you mean about fall! This morning I had the best run I’ve ever had, I blame it on the fabulous weather! It was crisp and chilly but sunny. Awesome!
I second the cheese and crackers idea.
And I need to convince my office we need one of those. Although I think there are only 3 or 4 of us who drink coffee anyway!
I would go with something along the cheese and crackers route, but a little fancy. Maybe goat cheese/cream cheese/farmer’s cheese with either a fig jam or hot pepper jelly would be good. Or just a wedge of brie and some grapes or sliced apples on the side.
One of my favorite appetizers to bring is pinwheels. Home-made or store-bought, they are always a crowd pleaser! Here is an awesome recipe that I have used before, from http://www.recipegirl.com
Cranberry Feta Pinwheels Recipe
1 (6 ounce) package sweetened dried cranberries (chopped)
1 (250 g) container spreadable cream cheese (or regular w/a little milk)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 large flour tortillas or wheat flour tortillas or spinach tortillas
Chopped nuts
1. Combine all ingredients except tortillas, mix well.
2. Divide and spread mixture evenly among tortillas.
3. Roll up tightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.
4. To serve cut into 12 slices.
Just an idea!
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I have my Real Simple sitting at home waiting for me to read it – love that magazine! Since you are headed there right after work, I think the cheese/crackers idea is a winner because you could get a variety of cool crackers and different cheeses!
Theres usually have ready made bruschetta at stores. You could buy that and bread or those little toasty crackers.
The cheese idea is great because you normally wouldn’t make it yourself at home anyway! Also, pita and hummus is an idea…have fun at the party! Happy Friday!!!!
I’m going to have to look into that magazine as it seems to be a popular one!
I would bring cheese. Probably a small block of cheddar and some brie with crackers and some sort of jelly/chutney to go with the brie. Chips and salsa or pita and hummus would be easy to pick up at a store too!
My favorite go-to party snack is pita & hummus! You can slice the pita when you get there, or you could do pita chips instead.
Your oatmeal looks so fluffy – and I’m really enjoying that coffee maker.
Others have already suggested what I was going to say – humus, crackers, cheese, veggie tray. Dips always seem to be a big crowd pleaser.
Yay for fall and Fridays
My two favorites. I LOVE when we have healthy snacks at the office. For the party – I like the hummus and veggies idea – I am always so happy when people bring healthy snacks. You could also bring some trail mix, or some freshly popped popcorn. I actually don’t use the microwaved bags of popcorn because it’s cheaper and yummier just to buy a container of kernels and pop them in a brown paper lunch bag – then I sprinkle some salt on (you can spray some cooking spray first so the salt sticks), or they also have these cute little shakers with different flavourings that you can buy. Have fun tonight!
Roasted vegetable tapenade from Trader Joe’s is friggin’ phenomenal.
If you’re going past Back Bat at all, don’t forget it’s farmer’s market friday.
Love the keurig! We used to have one in our office but they took it away because the coffee line was so long.
I would get a yummy dip from whole foods and buy some pita chips. They have some really good hummus.
Best crowd pleaser ever (and SO EASY): Rosemary Roasted Cashews.
Rosemary Cashews (Ina Garten recipe)
1 pound roasted unsalted cashews
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread the cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until warm, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt, and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.
Seriously, people LOVE these, even if they say they hate rosemary. You can also scale it back if you don’t want to use a whole pound of nuts.
Oh I meant to add that I often buy the stuff for these and make them at the host’s house, because they’re best when served warm. Also makes them easy to transport if you pick up the ingredients on the way!
Yes yes!! I love the Keurig machine. My parents got one last year for their new house. I think it’s my favorite part of going home — second only to seeing my family, of course
My brother loves that it also makes hot chocolate!!
I hope you have fun at the party!! I definitely think crackers and cheese/dip is the easiest and most delicious way to go! I like Ann’s idea of making it fancier with some goat cheese or maybe some hummus. I’m sure you’ll find something yummy!
That coffee machine is so cool. I’ve never seen that particular one, and now it will be added to my wish list for the future!
I also agree with the cheese and crackers idea, it’s easy to transport at least!
ahh that is a sexy coffee maker. i like the shrimp cocktail and bruschetta! although i’m going to save that cashew recipe…
Hey I’m going to one of those parties tonight too! Its some beauty product…Arbonne?? Or something? Momentarily I thought it would be funny if it was the same party but I highly doubt it haha. I’m having the same problem too, deciding what to bring…I really don’t have time to do much so it might be some nice cheese, and a veggie platter with dip… the Josephs (the hummus company), makes an AWESOME spinach artichoke dip! Tastes just like the stuff you can make with the knorr packets. Its one of the very few dips I’ll actually buy.
Green Mountain is a great company to deal with .Trader Joe’s has a delish 3 layer bean dip. Sooooo good
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