malagao: The Perfect Mix ? thedishbytrish

Hi friends! How was your weekend?! I hope it was great! Mine was the perfect mix of work and play, with a little bit of relaxation to boot.

To be perfectly honest, my whole week was a pretty great mix of all of those things too. In the restaurant industry, we don?t really get what you call a ?traditional schedule?. I do get to work more day shifts now that I?ve?transitioned from serving and bartending to full-time management and event planning, but weekends and holidays are still work days for me. On the positive side of things, I get random weekdays off to take advantage of less-crowded stores, take care of normal business hours errands (bank, post office, etc.), and well, sleep in and lounge around while the rest of you are at work. And let me tell you, staying in bed for FIVE HOURS after my husband leaves for work on a random Tuesday doesn?t suck.

Also, working weekends means the case of the Mondays isn?t nearly as bad as it is for most people. Whether you?ve been working all weekend or not, Monday is still a bit of a downer, but not nearly as bad as it could be.

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This past week I was off Wednesday and I was lucky enough to see my parents! My dad actually had an eye surgery here in town so I waited with my mom while he was under the knife, then hung out with them in recovery until he was ready to go home. Hoping to get to spend some quality time with them soon, preferrably not in a hospital.

I had plans to meet up with friends for lunch at Marigold Kitchen afterwards, but a miscommunication of time meant I sat and waited for about 40 minutes until I decided to get a salad to go. I knew I?d like this place from the moment I walked in, I?m a sucker for any place with chalkboard signs and menus.

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Marigold specializes in creative, healthy food and I?m told their breakfast is simply the best. My salad was pretty good, even if I had to skip the toasted rustic bread and champagne vinaigrette in order to stick with the program. I was left with arugula, frisee, pine nuts, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted chicken, and black currants that were pretty much undetectable. Each staff member that I encountered at Marigold was absolutely, positively, incredibly friendly. They definitely made me feel welcome while I waited and waited. I will for sure go back some day soon!

I worked Thursday and then lucked out with a whole Friday off too. It was Restaurant Week again so we met up with friends for dinner at Eldorado Grill. As it turned out, celebrating was in order as one of the couples got engaged on earlier that day!

So for that reason, as well as celebrating my ten pound weight loss, I had a margarita! I know, I know, never celebrate weight loss with food/drink. Psshh, food and drink is pretty much my favorite thing ever. That?s just how I celebrate and always will. One night of indulgence just means getting back on the wagon the next day.

I tried to be as smart as possible and went with the ?Tito-rita?. Handmade Vodka on the rocks with a splash of Patron Citronage and fresh lime. Lower sugar and lower calorie than your regular ol? marg, that?s for sure. You see those chips hanging out by my ?rita? Yeah? Don?t they look good?
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You know who has two thumbs and didn?t touch a damn chip? Yep, this girl right here. You guys. You have no idea how difficult this was for me or how proud I was of myself for not eating them. I usually make a meal out of chips and salsa alone when I?m at a Mexican restaurant. And then proceed to eat an entire meal, of course?

In case you don?t recall, each restaurant participating in Restaurant Week offers a special three-course menu for $25. You get your choice of three items for each course. I started with Texas Torpedoes (which I totally forgot to photograph): Pickled jalape?o peppers stuffed with shrimp and Monterey Jack cheese, wrapped with smoked bacon and grilled to perfection. Served with pico de gallo, sour cream, and fresh lime. AKA, my first dairy in nearly three weeks! So SO good.

My main course was the Seasonal Vegetable and Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Chile.
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A smoked poblano pepper filled with garlic infused quinoa and roasted seasonal vegetables. Served over salsa Nortena and garnished with guacamole and queso fresco. I hardly touched the rice, and since there wasn?t much queso fresco IN the chile, I hardly broke the rules on this one!

And for dessert (which is also when I finally turned on my flash):
Spicy Chocolate Strawberries
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Fresh strawberries dipped in chile-infused dark chocolate served alongside an agave and red chile infused tequila taster. Let?s see, what?s the positive in this? At least it was fruit? This was definitely the most diet friendly of the options, as the others all included either ice cream or custard in the form of key lime pie.

Such a great meal! I only felt the tiniest bit guilty about breaking my diet rules. But you know what? You gotta live a little, even when following a program.

We stopped for one more drink on the way home to celebrate the engagement (I had water). The bar of choice was Le Tigre Lounge. I can?t even find words to explain this place. Tigers. Everywhere. It also hasn?t been updated since the 1970s, smells a bit like an ?adult novelty store?, and doesn?t accept credit or debit. I took a few photos myself, but it?s so dang dark in there none of them turned out. So Google helped me find a couple.
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This place is a freakin? hoot. But don?t get caught saying anything worse than freakin?. Says on the door ?NO SWEARING? and they mean it. People legit get kicked out for swearing. In a bar. Love it! We stop in every few months or so and it NEVER changes. I hope it never will!

When I got home, I had a major mirror sesh. You know, checking out your eyebrows, picking at your pores, etc. Don?t tell me you?ve never done it. I?m so torn. I actually love my hair right now. It sort of created it?s own ombre (AKA outgrowth, which people pay good money to cover up), and it?s longer than I?ve had it in years. Maybe ever. But the ends are pretty ugly and I?m obsessing over photos of how dark my hair was last winter. What?s a girl to do?! Here?s a side by side. What do you think?
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Go darker? Shorter? I asked my Instagram friends and there was a unanimous ?DON?T CUT IT!!!?, but I didn?t ask about color. The photo collage on Instagram shows the ombre-ish-ness (totally a word) a bit better too.

I worked 8-5 both Saturday and Sunday, and we met up with friends again Saturday night. After work tonight, the hubs and I went grocery shopping and then recreated the Texas Torpedoes we had at dinner on Friday night. Yeah, that means I had more dairy. And turkey bacon. Oops. It was worth it.

I also threw together some brown rice, shrimp, and Rotel. I ate my torpedoes + shrimp and rice over spinach with some avocado. Sooooo yummy!

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Hubby is going strong on Insanity workout and has now decided to try to eat a bit healthier too. We have some healthy meals planned for the next few days and he?s even showing a bit of interest in the AdvoCare products I?m taking. He thinks he might try a Meal Replacement Shake tomorrow, as his breakfast normally consists of a Nature Valley granola bar, leaving him famished an hour later due to the high sugar/low protein ratio in those bars.

I?m trying to explain to him that AdvoCare is not necessarily for weight loss, but for energy and performance enhancement too. I think he?s finally opening up to the idea that these products could help him a little bit too.

I?ll leave you with one last thing. A co-worker of mine is going through some tough stuff right now. His dad is in poor health and his family had to make some decisions over the weekend that are just not fair. He?s missed a few shifts and will continue to, as being with his family is of utmost importance right now. A few of my other co-workers decided to take up a collection for our friend so that he can continue to spend time with his family without stressing too much about missing work. In one night, they collected $258 from co-workers. I found this in the safe this morning at work and my heart melted a little bit as my eyes filled with tears.

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I am surrounded by so many great people.

Have a great week, blends. Speaking of, are any of you going to The Blend Retreat this year? I think it would be so much fun! I don?t have plans to attend, but the thought has certainly crossed my mind and I?ve checked airfare a few times for sure.

Have you ever met any blog/online friends?? I?ve made online friendships both here and through a few different message boards over the years. I?ve been fortunate to meet a few of my online buddies and as luck would have it, they?ve all been just as fantastic in real life as in computer life!