About two months ago I finally bought Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend. Several of my food-loving friends had recommended it to me in recent months. As an everything bagel lover I'm not sure why I hesitated to try this, but I did. The short story is that it's a great blend of flavors that tastes great on just about everything.

​Below I'll tell you all about this treasure, what I tried it with, answer some questions, and share my favorite way to use it {recipe} Everything but the Bagel Fried Eggs.

Maybe you're feeling emotional or overjoyed because you've just sent your kids back to school. Maybe you can't wait to do so next week. Maybe you want to celebrate Thirsty Thursday (today!) or Labor Day Weekend. Maybe you have a watermelon that you don't know what to do with, like I did. Maybe you're reading this and have just decided for no reason at all that you can't live without a watermelon cocktail for another minute!

​No matter the reason you will surely enjoy this cool beverage. It feels so adult-ish to make a cocktail with real fruit, doesn't it?

While I love, love, love this Cool Watermelon and Cucumber Salad I've had it too much lately. There was one watermelon remaining from a Costco two-pack and I didn't know what to do with it. HELLO ANG, mix it with booze!

Summertime is my favorite season of the year. I love the warm weather, the long days, and the cool and refreshing foods. Cold ice cream, iced teas and coffees, and ripe fresh fruits at their peak of flavor all speak to my heart and taste buds.

This Cool Watermelon and Cucumber Salad is a unique combination of fresh flavors. Fruit, vegetable, cheese, and fresh mint marry for a refreshing side dish. Make it for yourself or bring a big bowl to share with friends at your next summer BBQ. This salad keeps very well in the fridge and tastes even better after a day or two.

It's December 27. How was your Christmas? How is hanukkah going so far?

There have been years where I've dreaded the holidays and been grateful for them to be over. This year, thanks to my family coming to my home in Seattle and the Advent project, I was excited, mostly prepared, and truly enjoyed Christmas. We visited restaurants, prepared and enjoyed home cooked meals, reheated leftovers, snuck snacks, and so on...

​Today we took my parents to the airport and I was ready for a cool, refreshing, and healthy smoothie. I knew I had a great idea, then I took it to the next level by adding a double shot of espresso! 

We've made it to day 18. It's officially time for questioning why did I ever commit to 25 days of activities and posts!? It's been mostly fun doing this Advent calendar/Christmas countdown but I'm feeling a wee bit like a South Pole elf as I'm taking food photos in the 7 am hour...

Regardless, here we are! Day 18 included making chocolate saltine bark. I'm too impatient to bake so this recipe for melting things is a winner. I made two pans: one with mint chips and chocolate chips, another with butterscotch and chocolate chips. The mint chocolate bark turned out great, while the butterscotch chocolate bark was a total bust! You'll see that we still picked at the butterscotch mess, despite it being a wreck.