catching up & new favorite finds

Disclosure: Some of the samples mentioned in this post were given to me free of charge and the trip I mention was an all-expenses paid event. I was not asked to write a post by any of these companies, nor am I being compensated for my time.

I'm not sure who said "Idle hands are the devil's play ground," but if it holds an ounce of truth, I must be growing wings out of my back. It's been a busy spring, which came right on the heels of a busy winter. There have been so many little things here and there that I've wanted to share on the blog. If you follow me on Instagram, some of these you've seen mentioned briefly. But they all deserve a little more convo than that, so I'm catching up by sharing them today. Let me know if you've tried any of these and what you think.

Califoria Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oils

As we head into summer with its abundance of produce for salad, salsas, etc., THIS is an olive oil you should invest in. I received these sample months ago and have been enjoying them with abandon since. Sure, they'd be great for dipping homemade bread, but the flavor is so spectacular, you must try them tossed with freshly roasted veggies or just fresh veggies. This oil tastes like how warm spring sunshine feels on your face. Seriously. So good.

Stichfix

Yeah, so this is totally not food related, but it's a must-share. Have you heard of Stichfix? This is the first top I received in my Stichfix shipment. 

I love it. Stichfix, I mean. (Well, I love the top, too) Or at least, I think I love Stitchfix. I've only had one shipment. But I love the concept without a doubt. Ironically, when I was a SAHM briefly after the birth of Boy #1, I told my dad that I thought a great business idea was to offer a clothing-mail service for pregnant & nursing women, where you could essentially subscribe to the service and be sent a wardrobe picked out especially for you. My idea, though, was that it would be almost like a rental... because let's face it. Who really wants all those maternity clothes hanging around after you no longer need them? Stichfix isn't exactly that, but it is a subscription type service where a stylist chooses clothes for you and sends them to you. You pick what you want, send back what you don't and voila! New clothes. No trip to the mall (which suits me just fine.) 

Roasted Radishes

There aren't many vegetables that I would outright tell you I don't like. English peas fall into that category and always will. I'm nearly 40 years old, and I believe I've earned the right to officially say I don't like English peas. There. But radishes, well... I've learned that although I "thought" I didn't like them, I'd never had them roasted. 

So. Good. 

Try it. You'll be suprised.

Wendy's Berry-Almond Chicken Salad

Okay. Stay with me here. I suspect a lot of you aren't probably fans of "fast food"... and frankly, neither am I. But I recently had the chance to visit Wendy's HQ in Dublin, OH and I'm gonna have to say, I was impressed. There's a lot about the chain that I never knew... from Dave Thomas' commitment to supporting adoption, to Wendy's history as the first fast food restaurant to offer salad bars. But the biggest WOW moment came for me when I learned about their fresh-food approach to what's offered in the restaurants. I know very little of the goings on in fast food world. I thought most everything was delivered frozen, across the board. Not so at Wendy's, and apparently they're really the only chain that holds true for. 

Why does that matter? Because it allows them to serve the more perishable fruits and veggies choices that other chains can't. See that salad above? It has fresh strawberries and blueberries, plus freshly grilled chicken (ie. not grilled then frozen, then thawed, then warmed... yuck), field greens that are actually washed and spun dry in the restaurant (ie. not the bagged salad with the wilted chopped up stuff you get elsewhere, which I find extremely undesirable) AND to top it all off, this salad has bleu cheese. I tried it while it I was there and was amazed. It was really, really good.

My only beef with Wendy's (pun intend) is the look of their stores, both inside and out. And I told them that while on site (Note to PR companies who plan to invite me to an event. I'm a feedback gal. I love to praise good work, but I also call out problems that I see. You've been warned). I immediately came back and ordered the same food at my local Wendy's that I'd had in Ohio.

Did it taste as good as when I was on site? Yes.

Was I dying to go back to my local Wendy's? Sadly, no. And that's purely for cosmetic reasons.

Maybe that makes me shallow and vain, but I think a lot of consumers are like that... and I hope for the Wendy's team's sake ('cause they were seriously some nice folks  and I think they truly do have a better approach to fast food), those updates to their storefronts come sooner rather than later. I'll definitely swing through the drive through to grab that salad again. It was that good, but I'm not gonna be hanging out inside unless we do a little facelift.   

Now, let's end on a really high note. 

Woodhouse Chocolates

I'm not sure if this one needs much explination? But it's a blog after all, so I'll give one anyway.

I met John, the owner of Woodhouse while I was speaking at IACP in San Francisco in April. Delightlful man, he offered to send me some of their handmade chocolates. I, of course, said "how soon can they arrive?" 

And if you think the box looks to die for, you should taste what's inside. I should have posted this before Mother's Day and begged you to share these with every mom you knew. But I'll do the dads of the world a favor and suggest that you order this for him instead. If he's worth a darn, he'll share it with his wife :-) 

Okay... so now I'm caught up. What about you? What's new in your world. Leave me a comment below!