Friday's Letters

Dear roommates,

It melts my heart to see you welcoming me home after a long day of work.

Dear job,

I kinda love you.

Dear Chuck,

You + sunroofs make me laugh.

Dear parents,

Thanks for coming to visit us and for helping us out during our pre-paycheck nearly homeless days.

Dear Josh,

Why do I have to lose a bet for you to let me record you singing?

Did you know that it is rude to keep all your talent hidden from the YouTube and Facebook world?

Dear view at work,

You've got me craving some mountains.

See ya next week, Wyoming.

Dear best photographer in America,

Thanks for taking my favorite photo of all time.

Dear frisbee,

You have become a staple in our household.

Dear Cesar Millan, 

You are a liar.

Dear America,

This is nuts.

What has the world come to?

Happy Friday!

Our weekend is going to be filled with quality time with our favorite peeps, and I couldn't be more overjoyed!

We are published!

Yesterday we finally received the edition of The Texas Wedding Guide that we are featured in!

After winning their engagement photo contest last year (thanks to Charles, of course) we were interview about "our story" and they featured our photo in their latest issue!

If you live in Texas, it should be available at most Barnes & Nobles!

It truly is a great magazine, with great wedding ideas and tips, as well as some awesome vendors, so go check it out :)

Tunesday: Beirut "Nantes"

Beirut.

Maybe my favorite Take Away Show of all time.
Is that too bold of a statement?
Sorry, Bon Iver.

Our Little Diet Makeover

Now that I finally have a big kid job (and a big kid paycheck) Josh and I feel that we can afford to improve our diet by eating organic whenever possible.

I've been reading the book Wheat Belly, which has really changed my perspective on the potential damage genetically modified foods like wheat can do to your body.

Without getting all hardcore and nutso, I'll just throw some fun facts your way.

Did you know going gluten free has been shown to cure autism, many GI diseases like ulcerative colitis, and also type 2 diabetes and hypertension?

For this reason (and Josh's obsession with all things Mark Sisson, Mr. Paleo himself) we have decided to attempt to go gluten free with a bit of paleo mixed in between.

Basically, we want to just cut the crap.

No more processed, unhealthy foods.

I'd rather feel good physically than enjoy a few seconds worth of a great taste. 

We started last week off by easing into the whole gluten free lifestyle by taking advantage of Sprinkles's buy one cupcake get one free day.

Gluten free red velvet.

Later that week we decided to blow wisely invest in our health some a lot of my first paycheck at the paycheck thief itself: 

Whole Foods. 

Conveniently (for our wallet) the Plano Whole Foods is right across the street from Trader Joe's, so when we didn't find what we needed, we just made another pit stop.

Now, we aren't perfect, in the week we have been "wheat free" we have cheated once or twice, and it was crazy how we immediately felt bloated and sick.

Going wheat free has definitely made us feel more energized already.

Finding new recipes and strange substitutions for many pantry basics is kind of an adventure in itself.

Some of our staple late night snacks as of lately are:

Frozen grapes sprinkled with sugar free jello powder

Chocolate peanut butter sludge

Recipe here

Gluten free cheddar jalapeño crackers

Recipe here

Paleo double chocolate peanut butter ice cream sandwiches.

Recipe here

If y'all have any wheat free recipes you think we should try out send them my way! 

Our rather eventful Pecan Lodge experience

This past weekend was my first weekend on call so we didn't really have many plans other than staying nearby.

Side note: Being on call was a bit stressful.

I'm the type of person that requires constant plans and a schedule.

Just the simple task of washing my hair was scary, because I was constantly worrying things like "What if I get called in with wet hair? I can't scrub in with wet hair!"

Anyways, we braved the conditions and went downtown to the farmers market.

. . . but not because we wanted fresh produce.

I had heard stories of the infamous Pecan Lodge and their "Hot Mess" sweet potato stuffed with brisket and buttery, cheesy, bacony, chipotle sour creamy goodness.

. . . I had also heard stories of their infamous waiting line.

I had to give Josh a good pep talk on the ride, so that he would be prepared to wait at least an hour in line for the "best BBQ in Dallas"

 When we arrived he panicked, but after overhearing experienced people in line talking about how it was well worth the wait he let us stay.
Thank goodness, I was worried.
We quickly made friends with the sweet retired couple in front of us in line, alllllll the way from Alaska.
They formerly lived in Dallas, and we ultimately ended up trading numbers because they had plenty of good advice on local real estate and dentists.
Important folks to know, right?

The anticipation was building (I mean what else do you have to think about during an hour and a half wait in line, other than the actual food you are waiting for?) and we grew nervous that they would sell out of what we were craving (which often happens at Pecan Lodge, I read)
Anyways, during the wait Josh joked "Watch our new friends be the lucky ones to get the last Hot Mess"
 He's never been more right.
The kind lady who was practically my new Dallas BFF ordered the last Hot Mess.
When the cashier told me they were sold out and marked The Hot Mess off of the chalkboard behind him, I just knew Josh had played this elaborate prank on me.
. . . and then the kind soul behind the register offered me a tissue, which I was seconds away from accepting (so that I could wipe the blood from Josh's nearly busted lip)
I was pissed.
So I settled for the pulled pork sandwich and their infamous boneable mac and cheese
(Did you see the review above? Is boneable a word?)
Meh.
 I was no longer hungry.
This was not the hot mess.

 . . . so I grew a pair and went to ask my new BFF if I could have a bite of her Hot Mess.
True story.
I'm not ashamed.
I needed to know what it was like.
In my defense, she told me that she was honored that I felt close enough to them to ask them to taste their food.

. . . and this one teeny tiny bite was well worth the 90 minute wait.

Magical.

The farmers market was cool too.

Fresh eggs!

If you are in Dallas (on a Thursday-Sunday from 11-3) and get the chance to go to Pecan Lodge, no matter the length of the line, do it.
You won't regret it one bit.
. . . and make friends with the people in line in front of you, ya know, just in case.