Kirsten who?

Adios Caroline, hello Sen. Gilliweed.  Ok, ok, that’s not her last name…it’s actually a Harry Potter reference, but it’s kinda close?  Sen. Gillibrand is her real name.  I’m liking the recent fad of appointing female politicos to power (minus the near VP disaster). 

As for non-red/blue conversation, I had a pretty solid gym day, which consisted of 60 mins ellipticaling on the random setting (levels 9-15) and 15 mins of spinning (escalating intensity).  No abs/arms – it was a day of rest for the mat work :)  The random setting on the elliptical can be hard when you aren’t paying attention!

Post-gym/PM snack was none other than my newest fave (figs), along with a few friends. 

A cute little dried fruit spread, no?  I LOVE dried fruit, I think I go through phases with my favorites (figs being my latest obsession), but dates will always be my true love.  That coconut date roll is a serious front runner today, though!

After snacking, I got all dolled up for a night out on the town.  It was my BFF’s birthday so me and 2 of my girlies had big time celebration plans (with a strict no boys allowed policy).  I even wore a dress that’s how much I love this girl.  Granted I had some etoh to help warm me up, but still, braving the 40 degree weather in nothing but tights to keep my legs from freezing off is not something I plan on repeating.  That said, Jess is seriously my soul mate (aside from Kyle); we’ve been inseparable since she moved to the Bay Area in 7th grade.  Even after high school, we went to college together and now live only blocks apart in NYC.  She’s like my BFF/sister/lover.  Here’s a pic of us from college graduation (I’m left, she’s right). 

So we decided to start the night with dinner and drinks at Blossom (a vegan restaurant in my ‘hood).  Jess is vegan, and although our other friend is not, she’s very open-minded, so she was game.  I’ve been to Blossom before, and knew exactly what I wanted this time. 

We started the night with a bottle of Pino Grigio for the 3 of us to share, then moved on to appetizers.  Our waitress recommended the Crostini Tapas, which was perfect for sharing.

I came with six toasted crostini breads with hummus, spinach walnut pesto and tomato basil bruschetta mix dressed with kalamata olives – and it was AMAZING.  The hummus alone could have been my dinner, I literally had to use all self control to not shovel it in my mouth.  I think I may return to Blossom just to order 5 of these appetizers for myself!  The tomato bruscetta was good, too, but a little too onion-y for my taste.  I don’t like pesto, but Jess said it was her fave on the plate, so it must have been good.

For dinner I got the Porcini Rubbed Tofu with celery root puree and charred Brussels sprouts.  Last time I went to Blossom they were out of this dish, so I was so excited to get it.  It was really really good.  The tofu rub was a bit spicy, definitely had a kick at the end of each bite that I wasn’t prepared for, and the celery root puree tasted like a twist on a mashed potato dish (with a vinegar flavor to it).  So good.  Also, the brussels made up for my oven nightmare a few days ago. 

Hannah got the seitan scallopini (which I had last time) and is SO good.  It actually might still be my favorite…shhh, don’t tell the tofu.  Anyways, Hannah seemed beyond impressed that her meal was vegan.  She definitely enjoyed each and every bite.  A new convert?  Prob not, but still good that she could appreciate a fine non-meat meal. 

Jess got the walnut crusted seitan cutlet, which looked like a Thanksgiving dinner!  She definitely was blown away by this.  I can’t believe I got to take her vegan restaurant v-card (she’s been vegan longer than I have and has yet to take advantage of living in NYC)!  Looks like I’ll have to drag her around the city with me to conquer all the other amazing vegan places…something tells me she will be more than on board, though.

For dessert we got the birthday girl a slice of “cheese”cake (which we all split).  YUM!!!!  I heart vegan desserts and this one was so decadent, thick and rich.  I want to get desserts from this place every night from now on. 

After dinner we went to a couple of bars for some innocent fun, gin & tonics and dancing.  Cheers!  The rest isn’t PG enough for HHH 🙂