the perfect alternative

Thank you for all the positive feedback on my dinner party last night – and yes, to Missy’s question, I am too hard on myself. It’s a trait I have always had, and I doubt I will ever get past it!

Most Sundays, you’ll find the Husband and me lounging around the house, preparing for the week, doing paperwork, and hanging out. Today was busy, but with fun activities – it was the perfect alternative to our weekly lounge session.

This morning I roused myself out of bed around 6:30 because it was sunny (so early!!!!) and I think I fell asleep around 10 (well, actually 11, but I set the clocks back last night). I kind of wanted oats, but I knew I needed to break out of my oats rut. The perfect alternative? Pancakes… an oldie but a goodie.

Yup, these would be Cran Apple Pancakes – I haven’t made them since the first time I made them about a month ago, and figured it was long due.

I topped each pancake with a shmear (technical term) of NuttZo, and a combo of warm pumpkin, maple syrup & pumpkin pie spice.

It truly was divine. When I was taking my pictures, I looked around and got a little sad that almost all of our leaves are gone off of our trees.

I got over it when I stopped to think just how close we are to the holiday season! I love the month in between Thanksgiving & Christmas. It is so magical and special.

After church, I found the Husband’s socks in the most interesting spot: my car’s cup holder.

You may remember when I found them on the kitchen counter. What is it with this boy & socks? But really he had a good reason for them being there. At church today, our pastor had us (willingly) leave our shoes for a non-profit organization which brings shoes to people in need. We both had a pair of back up shoes in the car, and his back up shoes were flip flops.

After giving away his shoes, the Husband literally had 3 pairs. So, we figured a shopping trip was in order. We went into Kohl’s with a pair of gym shoes on the mind and left with a whole lot more… Nothing like a little shopping spree with the Husband!

Shopping left us hungry – it was already 1 PM and I hadn’t eaten since 7! I was definitely ready for some food. The only place near us was Giordano’s – great for the pizza loving Husband, bad for the gluten free vegan wife. They have a great chopped salad, which I got, but I knew it would leave me hungry in a few hours.

I also had a side of broccoli & marinara sauce (am I the only person who does this?).

We had a great time catching up and talking. We have both been so busy lately and it’s been hard to find time for each other between the house & work. We talked about Christmas, when we thought the first snow fall would be (he thinks right before Thanksgiving we’ll have a dusting, but it won’t stick until after Christmas. We shall see!), and dogs.

We hung out around our old hometown (where our church is – only about 2o minutes from our home) all afternoon because my mom and her business partner were holding a wine tasting at Wine Styles for all of their clients. My mom is a realtor – so if you’re in the Chicago land area and looking for a great realtor, she’s the best! You can check her team out here.

  I feel like I go through phases with wine – sometimes I like it and other times I am repulsed by the thought of it. Obviously I am in the “liking it” phase right now.

Thanks to Mommasita & Kara, we were able to come home with a bottle of free wine! I chose Aldesso – it is a very sweet red wine & pairs perfectly with chocolate. I know this because I ate a few TJ’s Cacao Nibs as I drank it!

When we got home, we unloaded the loot:

& a pair of unpictured boots (UGG style, light brown – yay!).

I set out on cleaning the kitchen & making the Husband his weekly batch of cookies when hunger struck (of course).

Can I just tell you I have been secretly loving on Angela and her recipes lately? Tonight was Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad. This was to die for – I smothered it in some Bone Suckin’ Sauce and promptly stuck half of it in a Tupperware container for tomorrow’s lunch in fear of me wanting to eat it all.

If this meal doesn’t convince you that you don’t need to be a gourmet chef or use 1 zillion ingredients for a delicious meal, I don’t know what would.

Now I’m snuggled up on the couch, ready for a nighttime snack and some good blog reading.

Today may or may not have been pretty perfect – I love when that happens.

Question: Do you have any “perfect alternatives”?

Tagged as: cinnaman sweet potato chickpea salad, cran-apple pancakes, Peak Performance Team, perfect alternative, perfect sunday, shopping spree, the perfect chicago land relator