IKEA Assembly
Karen commissioned me to assemble her new entertainment center at the new house this afternoon. For an IKEA assembly, it went rather well! Didn’t take more than about an hour.
Overnight [and day] oats!
Post IKEA installation, it was snack time. I made overnight oats for Karen to taste this morning. She says she cannot do cold things except cereal for breakfast. No yogurt, no smoothies, no cottage cheese. She’s just too “gaggy” when she wakes up. So I made her a tiny taste test portion – one with just milk + chia and one with cottage cheese (she vetoed the yogurt altogether). She did not after all want to taste them at breakfast, but she tried it for a snack and said “I enjoyed it today but not enough that I’d ever make it for myself.” My mouth cannot comprehend! [I also put chopped almonds in there at her request]. I ate the cottage cheese one for a snack!
Which wasn’t enough so I also had a little yogurt + cereal to follow
Musical Numbers
We juuuuuust missed a huge performance of a song from Hairspray on the mall when we arrived downtown tonight! Bummer! I really want to see the show!
Art
Matt and I breezed through McGuffy to check out the latest art
A Speakeasy
Fellini’s opened the 9 1/2 Speakeasy above their restaurant and we had yet to check it out (because, um, cocktails aren’t on my to-do list so much anymore 
) But we were in the mood to get a drink so we found ourselves at the door ready to knock!
Sneaky.
Inside was cozy and well decorated – just like the 20s!
We are friends with the bartender, who served Matt a Manhattan and me a delicious non-alcoholic martini that featured an array of citrus, bitters, tonic and simple syrup. It was fantastic because it wasn’t too sweet!
When our glasses were empty, we headed back out into the heat for a casual dinner.
Pizza
Not wanting anything heavy or expensive, we stumbled into Christian’s Pizza for a hot slice!
We shared a tomato + basil, a Mexican, and a pesto + tomato. Matt ate about 2/3 worth. The black bean + avocado slice was awesome!
Music + Friends
And finally, our night ended with some grass sitting with Seamane and Rob, who we can always count on to brave the heat and celebrate Fridays with us! We chatted until the sun had set and then walked on home.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
They have avocado and black bean pizza?! Man, I totally thought it was a cheese or pepperoni joint. My bad!
Oooh that black bean and avocado looks fantastic!
My friday: homework, watch movie while doing homework, drink coffee and do homework…
Speaking of which….
BACK TO HW!
Ahhhh homework!
this is the exact definition of what a true summer night should be
so fun!
Looks like a fun evening! I couldn’t really do overnight oats for awhile there either. They work for certain occasions when it’s super convenient, otherwise, I do prefer my oatmeal hot and my yogurt at lunch with fruit and granola.
Ikea assembly is my worst nightmare! I hate furniture assembly… It gives me anxiety!
But that pizza looks divine. It looks so fresh and not at all greasy. Such a gorgeous Friday night!
I am no good at putting things together from directions- so way to go on the assembly! ….I make overnight oats—- and then warm them in the morning. I’m a fan of warm breakfasts so that is the way I roll (with rolled oats
)
That pizza looks out of this world!!!!!
1. I’m with Karen on the cold stuff for breakfast… especially if it’s early, I just can’t do overnight oats. “Gaggy” is the perfect word!
2. That pizza – heavenly!! Real pizza is just the bomb. Yeah, I said it!
I have never tried overnight oats. They just don’t look/sound appealing. But if someone made them for me I’d definitely try them and maybe I’d like them. Ive always wondered – are they mushy? I hate when my cereal gets soggy/mushy
They are sticky/ pasty
I always tell those new to overnight oats to think of rice pudding-ish consistency
or tapioca pudding. Puts it into context for those having trouble imagining the texture 
cathy b.
Oh my goodness. That Mexican pizza looks so good. What kind of cheese did they use? I want to recreate it!
Not sure… The white kind : ) mozzarella maybe
I was about to ask the same question!
I can’t wait to try and recreate it
I am IN LOVE with overnight oats! They have changed my breakfasts forever. I love trying new mixes of fixins’ and love reading about your overnight oats! I am definitely with you on the yogurt in the overnight oats – I like the “sticky” feel!
Wow avocado on pizza- need to try that asap!!
I might have to agree with Karen about overnight oats. After waiting a few weeks to be reuinited with my Vitamix (I was traveling for work) I tried doughboy smoothies twice this week and the texture is just too gaggy for me. Thanks to Karen for the perfect word! At first I thought it was the banana, but then I tried a mango version and it’s still just not my favorite. I do like cold things though. Yogurt, smoothies, and cold cereal are all great for me, just no oatmeal. Oh well, it was worth a try.
I hate overnight oats:( and banana soft serve. Two blog world inventions I cannot comprehend! E
My sister.
Overnight oats are gagifying to me and banana soft serve just tastes like cold overripe bananas. I also hate Greek yogurt, but don’t tell anyone.
I like Karen’s new entertainment center! It’s sleek. And I am diggin’ those unusual pizza toppings. Black beans and avocado sound really good!
I’d love to see Hairspray, if you need a date, haha!
I have two more girls interstates so I might send out an email!
Love the Hairspray cast member picture and the Rules of Participation. Speak.Easy. That could be repeated to small kids to teenagers to adults. Good one.
And Ikea assembly…just had a Hemnes piece delivered and assembled last week. Best $75 bucks ever spent (on a handyman!)
What a brilliant idea for a pizza – avocado and black bean. Yum. Always think how I wish our local town put on fun activities for a Friday night – your Friday nights always look so much fun.
The speakeasy looks like fun! That pizza looks incredible though. Now I want pizza!
My friend tried an overnight oats recipe from PB fingers and thought it was disgusting… haha I told her to try a few different ones before she gave up on them all together!
Avocado on pizza looks delicious. Well, avocado on anything looks delicious for that matter!
It once took me 3 days to assemble the most simple looking desk…. Ikea products are puzzles. Taking 1 hour to build something from Ikea is almost unheard of! Good JOb! haha
I love how you can walk to everything but aren’t smack dab in the middle of the city! I’d love to have that some day.
Avocado and black bean pizza? I need this.
what is the difference between overnight oats and muesli?
There are lots of variations of muesli – generally I think it’s served dry and not soaked overnight (although it can be). It also usually has dried fruit and nuts. It’s very european. I first had it in Paris as sort of an oat-yogurt-fruit-nut soup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muesli
Overnight oats are typically soaked in milk and yogurt overnight.
I would say overnight oats are a type of muesli
What a perfect summer evening! Love the idea of black beans and avacado on pizza!
Oh my goodness – that pizza looks incredible!
That pizza looks AMAZING!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Are you serious with that pizza? Gosh, it looks incredible. Also, that speakeasy is really neat! There’s actually an amazing Italian restaurant near my relatives in California that used to have a speakeasy in that back of it during the 1920s. Cool place!
Whoa that pizza looks gorgeous! I wish avocado came on pizza more often.
Those pizzas looks yummy! I love pizzas that have toppings a little different from the usual margarita.