On Tuesday afternoon I got together with Marla! It had been 8 months since we last met up and I had really been looking forward to seeing her, and yesterday was the lucky day!
We met at a Starbucks in the Carlsbad Outlets. Same place that we met last time, except this time neither of us had kids with us! Uninterrupted, focused, adult conversation is a beautiful thing. And boy, we covered a lot of ground in two hours. It’s amazing what two adult women can get done when no one needs a snack or their butt wiped.
We sat and drank coffee at Starbucks, we talked blogs, the blogosphere, blogger trips and events, cameras, photography, husbands, kids, and more.
I savored an extra hot cafe misto with the bold coffee blend of the day, and the barista made it perfectly. The foam on top was thick and the drink was extra hot. I have to have my coffee extra hot or it tastes like lukewarm dishwater to me.
I could more than overlook Avery rather than Averie because the drink was so good. And it was real dairy, and I didn’t have a tummy ache. Yay!
As I said in my post about our meetup last time, Marla is truly an awesome woman! I look up to her so much for all that she has accomplished with her blog, her photography, her fitness, and how she has balanced her life, career, and family.
As a human being, Marla is such a kind, generous soul. Last time she brought Skylar a huge bag of her daughter’s hardly worn designer clothes and Skylar wears something from her “Marla Stash” almost every day. Marla’s so energetic, fun, and just a great girl!
It was a wonderful couple hours and I was sad when we both had to get going. We could have sat and gabbed for hours more. Can’t wait til our next meetup, Marla. It better not take us 8 months to coordinate our schedules this time!
After the meetup, it was time to think snack options and Vegan Banana Nut Muffins (Gluten Free, Soy Free) came to mind.
So did a No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter & Oat Snack Bar
Ready in 5 minutes
After thinking snacks, it was time to think dinner.
Something fast, easy, light like Raw Pasta Salad with Creamy Lemon & Herb Dressing
Followed up with Chocolate for dessert. But of course.
Vegan Chocolate Macaroons (dehydrator or oven will work)
From my last post about the Sweet & Sour ‘Shrooms, I’m glad you enjoyed that fast and easy way to jazz up raw mushrooms. And I’m glad that some of you really love your ‘shrooms. I really like them, too. Nothing wrong with a little plant based iron and fiber.
Questions:
1. Have you met anyone from the blogosphere? Or has anyone recognized you because of your blog? Or have you spotted anyone because of their blog?
I went to Food Buzz and met tons of bloggers <—check that post out for pictures with 50 or so other bloggers!
Also, Madeline and I used to have weekly coffee dates.
And I’ve had meetups with Jenn of Girl Heros, Bekah of Beek Eats, Nicole of Fitness Freak, Jackie of Peaces of Earth, and more.
I have also been recognized in San Diego here and here, and also in the Aruba airport!
Blogging, blogs, and the internet is so powerful! It’s truly a small world and a global village, all in one. And I’ve made some great, amazing friends along the way!
2. Who was the last person or friend that you talked to that the time just flew by?
I have been on quite a roll with friends and meetups lately…
My post on the importance of having friends
And yesterday’s meetup with Marla
I could have talked for hours with either of them. Time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go.
3. Favorite Starbucks drink?
I used to just get drip coffees because I am cheap, but I do love lattes. Cafe mistos are nice because they are cheaper than lattes and the milk is heated so you don’t have to dump cold milk or cream into hot coffee and cool the whole thing down. As I said, I like my coffee drinks hot!
If I wanted to drink a meal’s worth of empty calories, a Carmel Macchiato is hard to beat. But it’s like liquid sugar!
And anything flavored with vanilla is great.
Have a great day!
It has been awhile since we have done a blogger meet up. We have been catching up with our best friends lately, we all live in different areas so it has been nice talking with them. Makes me miss them more though :( but nice knowing that with the world today it makes it easier to stay connected no matter how far away someone may be.
What a fun meetup, so lucky you got to do another one! Marla sounds like an awesome person.
1. Not since the Foodbuzz fest sadly, my work schedule and limited vacation time has been a hassle. :-(
2. Probably catching up with my grandma, I need to arrange another lunch with her.
3. It’s been so long since I’ve been to a Starbucks, I usually go for a vegan late.
yay for no belly ache! and you are so sun kissed – i am extremely jealous!
thank you!! I love the sun and my skin shows a life well-lived, outdoors…oh well :)
Back in my fatty days, my go-to drink was the peppermint mocha. Deeeeeear Jesus. White chocolate was good too. I’ve heard they have a sugar-free peppermint mocha they tested last season. Hopefully this year it’s full-scale.
It’s so great to meet up with bloggers! Some of my absolute best times in London have been with bloggers. I’ve discovered some great places and had lovely day trips.
I’m glad the dairy didn’t bother your tummy! I’ve researched it a bit, as I’m a geek, and do have a bit of lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is very similar to gluten intolerance. In fact, one can cause the other (weakening the guts and whatnot). However, if you aren’t out-and-out allergic to it, sometimes the body simply repairs itself and is able to take it again. Maybe not full-on extra large milkshake, but some. Also, high fat dairy (butter, ghee, cream, etc.) is usually better tolerated than plain milk. That’s also why goat and sheep milk is easier to digest for some people. Fermented dairy too, because it’s sort of partially-digested. Oh, and raw milk is easier digested too. I can drink raw milk and not get a stomach ache whereas with plain milk I’m running to the bathroom. 75% of the world is lactose intolerant to some degree, but it’s a varying scale. I’ve discovered mine, so I stay away from cottage cheese (most of the time…it’s yummy) and anything more than a coffee’s worth of plain milk, but I’m fine with most yogurt, and of course the high-fat dairy. I never got the cheese craze though. I like it, quite a bit, but it’s something I could never picture myself eating gobs of at a time. Your cookies and doughballs on the other hand…;-)
Oh girl i have researched this TONS! Like over the past 10 years, you have no idea…there is milk protein intolerance and lactose intolerance. Some call these things allergies and other intol’s. So there’s protein, lactose, all’s, intol’s, and many times people get lost in the terminology.
Raw milk also has enzymes in it where as pasteurized milk does not. So that’s why many ppl find raw milk easier to digest.
Or why goat’s milk is better for babies than cow’s milk b/c the protein in goat milk are closer to that of human milk (which is the best but not always available for whatever reason)
so many variables but yes to everything you said. I dont want to bore ppl with all my little food trivia so i dont write about it all but could talk for hours!
A couple of hours with kids…excuse me while I dream a little dream!!
Fave drink at Starbuck’s: Iced Chai Tea Latte.
i want to read a lot more of your powerful writing style in the future.
as you may know very well than me these days blogs are cropping up all over the place.most people starting such blogs think,they can write anyway and anything on there blog which is definately not true.but your blog solely stands out for your writing style,it is actually quite engrossing.keep at it.
I like the Tazo Green Tea from Starbucks! I buy the same one but for some reason it always tastes better when I get it from the source!! :)
This makes me miss our coffee dates so much Averie! Some day our paths will cross again and I’m sure we could fill a whole 48 hours with nonstop gossip!
trust me, i cry sometimes just thinking about our weekly meetups…i miss you so much
xoxo
I have never seen any of the bloggers that I read in person. I probably would be way too shy to ever go up and say hi to anyone if I did!
well if you ever spotted me, come up and say hi :)
I just wanted to tell you that you have amazing skin! =) And you are lucky to live in CA and have a tan!!!! I’m currently experiencing freezing rain here in Michigan :/
thank you!! and i think my skin is very…just so-so. It has sun damage but honestly, I don’t care. I love the sun and my skin shows a life well-lived outdoors…oh well :)
I have only met a couple bloggers, actually. I wish I could meet more!
My favorite drink at any coffee shop is kind o f boring, the Americano. Its kind of nice, because it isn’t just drip or regular coffee that I can make at home, but I don’t like those milky foamy drinks. I used to work at a bagel/coffee shop in high school and had to make so many of them that I just started to hate them on principle.
i wish i would have been a barista in my former life..it’s one of those skills that would totally help me daily, now :)
My favorite drink is a Soy No Foam Misto at Starbucks – YUM!
Glad you were able to have an adult meet-up. It’s nice to have friends who you can meet up with and take up the conversation as tho you’d just seen them the day before, no matter how long it’s been :-)
Ooo sounds like you had a great time. Your drink does look perfect. It really is hard to beat real dairy in coffee. It just foams and froths SO much better. Which is my favorite part!
My fave drink is probably a cappuccino or a misto. I just adore milky foam.
yeah the dairy just foams…like nobody’s business :)
What a great blogger/friend meet up! Sounds like you both enjoyed some excellent quality time together. I have met a few bloggers and I’d love to meet more. There’s not too many in my area (that I know of) so it can be tough!
My fave Starbucks drink is a NF pumpkin spice misto, but most stores are out of the pumpkin syrup now so I’ve been rocking the chai tea mistos…