Another Week Gone

Already June 9? That is pretty crazy! Things are just fine around here. I had some really good social time the past few days, but the flip side of that was that I was not getting bar studying done at the pace I wanted to. On the one hand, it is not worth stressing about past the point where it will make me more productive, but on the other hand, I needed to use it to be more productive, especially since I am going on vacation for a week (next week!) and I don't plan to study much while I'm there. Luckily today was a good day for productivity. After NOT getting everything on my "to do" list done yesterday (the list provided by the bar prep company in the online course), I went ahead of the list today and made a plan as to how I can get a solid week of work in this week before I leave. I won't be that far ahead, but I won't be behind so much that I feel panic-stricken upon my return (I hope). Just tonight my big accomplishment was getting all of the various outlines onto my Kindle and downloading some lectures to my iPhone - I still really don't want to fit studying in while I'm in a lovely place with family and friends, but now I can use airport and airplane time to squeeze in some more work.

Other stuff happening - well for one, like I said, social time! One of my very very best friends from law school (who is also in a relationship with a military guy) got engaged on Thursday! It was so thrilling when she sent a photo of the ring. :-) Luckily we've had the chance to hang out in the past few days, and I just feel blessed to be able to experience such an exciting time with her after knowing that she and her fiance were ready to tell the world their plans to be together for the long haul! I also saw two other friends yesterday for a fun movie event (watching Gosford Park and drinking tea), and tomorrow I have a lunch and facials date with two friends for one of their birthdays! I have definitely been able to get myself out of the house a good amount, which is good for my sanity, less good for productivity. It is all about balance. Also, I am becoming increasingly aware of how close our move is, which makes me feel sadder and sadder about leaving all these lovely friends I've found. It is all very bittersweet, but I guess I would say I am really trying to savor the time I spend with them this summer.

Now a few phone photos from the past week or so -

Don't you just love when a recipe comes together easily and quickly, is delicious, and as a bonus might even be pretty good for you?  That was this pork dish for me. It's Pork Chops au Poivre from Eatingwell. I replaced light sour cream with Greek yogurt, and used some of my farmer's market shallots, which worked out well. A lot of the delicious flavor comes from the brandy in the sauce, which we just happened to have on hand, maybe from Thanksgiving gravies of the past few years. As you can see I paired this with some sauteed kale (with plenty of garlic).

Just a little experiment - confirming that yes indeed, oftentimes farmer's market eggs have differently colored yolks than grocery store eggs. I am not going to identify which is which, because if I have to do it for you, maybe they weren't as different as I thought. This is another iteration of my cheesy zucchini scrambled eggs, which I have eaten for breakfast about four times at this point.

I was fascinated by this SkinnyTaste recipe for vegan eggplant meatballs, so I made them just tonight (and promptly un-veganized them, because I heart cheese). They were pretty easy and I enjoyed the flavor. Much like many recipes to this effect, you wouldn't have fooled me into thinking they were meat of course, but if you accept that it was a tasty dish, and another one that I could feel good about eating.

Also after I went to a yoga class down south on Saturday, I couldn't resist stopping at Trader Joe's. I may have overdone it a bit on the frozen seafood, but hey, it lives in the freezer so using it up is not so super urgent! I also picked up some of their well-reviewed olive oil since I was running low, and decided to try some sunflower butter, which is fascinating stuff. So far I am a fan!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a happy Monday!