1. On Friday I attended the grand opening of a brand-new Trader Joe’s location at Patriot Place… yep, right next door to Gillette Stadium where the Patriots play! There are probably 10 TJs locations within a 20 mile radius of where we live, but this one is now the closest mileage-wise, as well as the largest!
Silly me thought that a weekday opening would amount to a modest amount of customers… but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was nearly impossible to navigate the aisles without bumping into at least 3 or 4 people, and furthermore the Patriots’ mascot & a handful of cheerleaders offering photo ops and signatures were drawing a crowd. At least the kids & dads were entertained while the moms shopped ;).
2. On the way home, I stopped by Dunkin’ on a whim. I haven’t drank regular coffee in over a year and I stopped drinking decaf early on in my first trimester as the mere aroma of coffee caused my stomach to lurch.
I naively ordered an iced decaf pumpkin coffee w/ skim thinking it would taste like… pumpkin. You see, I haven’t missed drinking alcohol all that much, but as we draw closer to fall I’ve found myself mourning the loss of my favorite autumnal beverage: Southern Tier Pumking. I thought I’d be able to fill the void with a pumpkin coffee, but… no. I guess there was a pumpkin flavor, but it was quite obviously of artificial origin. I drank about 1/4 of it before pitching the rest.
Oh well.
3. We had a couple of friends + their sweet dog over to our new house on Saturday, which gave me an excuse to finally make some homemade dog treats.
Alas, I had no bone-shaped cookie cutters, so stars it was.
Both Shelby and Walley give two paws up for these Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits!
4. Speaking of dogs, I couldn’t help but snap this pic of Shelby lounging in the early evening sun coming through the window.
LOVE this dog so, so much =).
5. My friend Lauren from Keep It Sweet Desserts has been nominated and chosen as a finalist for the Martha Stewart American Made Awards!
Please take a few seconds to vote for her and her amazing desserts =).
6. I relished in what was probably the last handful of fresh organic raspberries that I’ll buy this season to make this Raspberry Grilled Cheese for The Back Burner.
We’re talking crisp bakery-fresh whole grain bread, tangy goat cheese, melty brie, juicy raspberries, and sweet honey.
Oh. Yeah.
