GIRLS WHO EAT 1.8

Karyn's Cooked 

why do i say never to things and end up doing them? 

i mean don't get me wrong. i'm a super open-minded person…especially when it comes to food but there are just some things i truly believe i won't like. 

vegan food is one of those things. (or so i thought)

i've been told there is an age that we all hit were we say no to something and no one fights you on it? is it 30? please be 30. 

now i'm sure from past 'girls who eat' posts; you have gathered…i'm so not vegan. well i'm still not but i'm definitely very very open to having vegan food every now and then after visiting this awesome place…karyn's cooked. my friend lauren came to workout with me one saturday morning at indigo studio. karyn's is literally one block away from the studio; so lauren suggested it. i immediately rolled my eyes (as i do) and of course made some sort of disapproving grunt noise. she quickly told me to suck it up and remember my 2013 resolution of "think outside the box!" (why do i tell my friends these things? it always comes back to bite me in the butt) she quickly pulled me by the arm and dragged me the one block to karyn's. 

we walk in and i'm quickly put in my place; when i see a kid no older than four years old…chowing down on what i can only assume is tofu. at that moment i realized i was being such a baby. i had just thrown an adult temper tantrum over food. lordy!! 

we are shown our seats and handed a one page brunch menu. i start to browse and start spotting out words like "soy textured vegetable protein" and "tofu". i quickly closed my eyes, took a deep breathe and pulled my big girl panties on and under the guidance of my sweet sweet friend; selected the "rainbow mexicana." sounds safe enough right? 

what's in this you ask? why i'll tell you..."taco meat"(cue the textured protein), tofu scramble, onion, red pepper, yellow pepper and jalapeno with a side of tortillas, soy cheese and chipotle sauce. now that i look back…this did not sound good at all. 

minutes later….

the waiter comes back to the table holding two plates of "food" that look oddly similar; even though lauren and i ordered different things. (i quickly learned that all scrambled tofu dishes look the same) i stare at my plate for about a minute and mentally start to organize my plan for tackling this meal. i first seek out the recognizable foods. 

peppers. check.

jalapenos. check.

onions. check. 

(worst come to worse i'll eat these three and order a pizza when i get home. no wait. sushi.) 

mmm….sushi. 

i digress. 

lauren taps her fork on the table to bring me back to attention. clears her throat and says; "get at it!" while pointing to my food. 

i decide to balls it up and start assembling my "taco." i close my eyes and take a bite. 

AND….

of course it was amazing. 

how can this be? there's no meat, cheese or eggs in this dish. well ladies and gents…i was proven wrong. vegans clearly know what they are talking about. it actually tasted like a taco. a really really amazing one. who knew! (clearly millions of people) needless to say i cleared my plate. the only things left on it were a lot of peppers. ha!

sooooo good. 

dear karyn…

i don't know you but…

you are one smart lady. brava!!! 

there is now one less vegan disbeliever out there. 

(i eat my words…never say never)

until next time...

FRIDAY'S LETTERS

ignore the red eye

dear chicago, man o man have you kept me busy and exhausted this summer. don't you worry though…i have loved every minute of it. dear tinder dating app, i fought you and i fought you and now i have to say. you're pretty rad. who knew? dear forty-five lbs lost, don't think i'm writing this to say i miss you guys but could you be so kind and send a letter to twenty more of your friends and tell them to get the hell out of here!! thanks.  dear indigo studio, i love you so much and you don't even know it. thanks for keeping this chick motivated. dear mom, don't you worry…i'm still trying to get you steve harvey tickets. dear amazing friends of mine, i know i tell all of you individually how much i love you guys but seriously…i.love.you. dear toyota solara, you finally sold! we had some good times didn't we? but…i do not miss you and your payments. as lightning mcqueen from the movie cars would say, "ka-chow!" dear scandal, why aren't you coming back on until october 3rd? do you not care about my mental health? oh and did i mention i'm kind of mad at you for making me root for a cheating married man and his amazingly dressed mistress. but i still love you. 

xoxo

LIFE IS IN SESSION: PART II

and now for more photo dumping…

my best friend chantelle aka: tooty was in town earlier this summer for about 48 hours; so of course we had to jam pack those little hours…and pack we did. 

naturally i completely spaced on taking any pictures and only ended up with a few from this awesome cooking class we took at bespoke cuisine 

have you ever been to a cooking class? well if you haven't i highly recommend this one! oh and did i mention is BYOB. yep. so you know what that meant for me the tooty… lots of bottles of wine. (but don't worry. we shared. a little)

we went from just a nice civilized group of friends to full blown chaos, dancing and smart car amazement (i just can't get over how little these cars are. what happens when a strong wind blows or you pass a semi on the highway? hmm.) 

oh yea. my friends and i are those people.  

now onward…

so i'm not sure if any of you remember but earlier this year i made a pact with my friend becky about being more social. well part of that pact was agreeing to friday evenings spent at millennium park. when i first agreed to this i was thinking in the back of my head…oh this won't last long. no one can meet every friday and just sit and listen to music. FAIL. I WAS WRONG. we have hit up millennium park more times than i can count and i'm not complaining at all. i had no idea that you could go and make a picnic and just sit for hours. there's something i can't quite describe about this amazing park smack dab in the middle of the city. its become one of my favorite places in this city. if you get a chance to come hear a concert or two you totally should. you won't regret it! 

can you see the "Go Hawks!"
(Yep…that's how old this pictures is…sorry)

i'm pretty sure you are rolling your eyes by now so i'll stop.

for now…. 

i actually have so many more pictures but i guess i'll spare you. unless i decide to do a throwback thursday series on here. hmm. there's a thought. 

when does summer officially end? i never thought i would say this but…i'm exhausted. 

stay tuned my fellow tangled bunnies…there will be more social butterflyness (not a word. i know) to come! 

oh and can i just throw out one more thing…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY... OH DAD OF MINE!!! 

yep. i threw it back to 2007. that's what happens when... every other photo we have our eyes closed. 

xoxo till next time

LIFE IS IN SESSION: PART I

hello hello hello...

can we please just talk about how fast time goes. 

as you can see I have been totally slacking and haven't blogged in a bit but i promise it's only due to my life being in full blown session. 

last year this time i was still feeling very new to the city and didn't take advantage of all the amazing things this city has to offer. this year i made a promise to myself and my friends that i would jump in with both feet and do any and everything possible. and as you can see...

I'M KEEPING TO MY WORD!

so buckle up…this is gonna be a doozy of a post!!

(excuse me while i photo dump all over the place)

this summer i got the chance to hit up the festival circuit…totally recommend hitting up mayfest: great bands and food. oh and if you can…check out 16 candles band. AMAZING

nothing feels better than the first day you can wear sandals. am i right or am i right?

who knew… rooftops were all the rage around here! 

yep…i took a photo of beer bottles. (i don't even drink beer…but aren't they pretty?)

oh and clearly…I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! 

PART II…..COMING SOON!

happy hump day!