Spanish Heat

Gazpacho: my new BFF of summer soups.

  Sunset in Sevilla.

Royal Palace in Sevilla.

Oh hi Mediterranean, so nice to finally see you!

Brews + beach

I spy a mojito pop :)

 Alhambra beauty in Grenada.

Mmmmanchego!

Happy Friday + Five Things

Cake for breakfast! #whocaresitsfriday

SF peeps: treat yoself to Smitten's TCHO dark chocolate this weekend. It's a game changer.

Where I'll be loungin' this weekend..

Looking forward to farmer's market strolling + berry ogling

Last but NOT least, for all you NYC ladies and gents out there, get your bootys to Murray's new Cheese Bar!!

**Recipe for the peach cake pictured above here

Euro Travels, Part I

28 days of butter, bread, cheese, wine, croissant, younameit galore, later...
I'm back! I'm back in the land of iced coffee to-go and real, working, legit air conditioning :)
I've left behind a land of 2 hour espresso respites and even longer lunch breaks, red wine that makes a wino out of me, cheese that makes..wait I already was a cheesemonger but you get the picture, and an air of simplicity that makes me want to pack my packs and set up camp over there.
And so before I detox for the next, um, lifetime, I want to share what the heck I was doing and seeing EATIN' for the past month...
(sparing you a picture-sharing overload we'll do this in installments)

SPAIN

 Hola! I have arrived.

Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain.

Vinoteca, yes plz.

I found mecca!

hello little meringue puffs!

Spanish olives>all other olives.

and then I found the churros con chocolate...!!!!!!

Ominous skies?

Tapas o'clock- chorizo cooked in white wine and honey. hollaaaa.

Five Things

Happy Friday! 

Five things from around the house making me happy this week...

Now What?

Rewind. 

A mere 3 weeks ago I was just a college kid mindin' my own business, hangin' with my pals, eating and drinking the days away.. and then it happened. 

I graduated.

whaaaaaaaaa?

I have spent the past week pin-balling from one extreme emotion to the next-

It almost feels like one massive life hangover, if that makes any sense?

As always, the folks at The New Yorker get it.

For the sake of humoring my severe case of college-nostalgia-blues, here are some snapshots from my last weeks as a Tulanian!

Happy May!

Happy May from Pine&Oak :)

Weekend Roundup

With just 3 weeks left till graduation, I am throwing all inhibitions to the wind and all babysitting money away in the name of good eats.

 This weekend I kicked off Operation Indulge with some awesomely affordable and DELISH spots...

Taceaux Loceaux has THE best tacos in the city. I realize I am making a bold statement here and I totally stand behind it. $6 gets you two drool-worthy tacos.  Check it.

Newbie Restaurant award goes to Maurepas Foods in the Bywater- Stop by here for some out of this world grilled shrimp with german potato salad.

Bacchanal may or may not be heaven on earth...in the form of a lantern lit patio/outdoor wine bar with live music and suuuper tasty small plates.

nice lil' cheese plate with heaping pile of toasted baguette.

:) when can I go back?

Last but not least...I had the chance to stop by the Crescent City Farmer's Market this weekend and I am already counting the days until the next market day! Fresh tomatoes, pesto, baguette, hummus, and flowers were among the spoils.