Last day in Stockton!

I just have my half day (plus interview No. 3) to clock in at work today before I head back to the condo, clean up and [pack my life away]. Not really, I'm only packing for two days, but I have too much stuff in tow pretty much my whole life.

J.D. and I are leaving tonight for the East Bay. Our first stop will be at Fleet Feet to pick up our runner's packets with free goodies, then it's off the the parents' house for two days. I'm definitely bringing my new swim suit and Atonement - because I still haven't finished the book in time for our June 1st date.... ooooops. At least I've seen the movie, twice. Except, the book really meanders from the film, or vise versa, since I guess the book came first.

Ready to tackle the last big day of the week before Sunday's race (5K this weekend, 10K waiting in the wings later this summer), I started the morning off with a refreshing and cool smoothie hybrid. I'm all about the hybrids this week. Could it be due to the fact that I want a Ford Fusion Hybrid? No. I'm just super ADD and can't make up my mind, so I love mixing things together.

The leftover melon and pineapple fruit salad I froze earlier this week was the basis of a tropical smoothie that came together this morning. Last night for dessert, J.D. and I attempted to eat and orange, but it dried out in the heat pretty quickly. Luckily, we were able to salvage a cup of juice, so into the smoothie it went.

I poured a heaping glass for J.D. and then went to work on my smoothie parfait creation. In the bottom of a parfait cup I added some plain Greek yogurt and then layered Special K lowfat granola on top.

On top of that went my smoothie -- which wasn't really chunky enough to pull this off, but still tasted legit -- before I repeated about three more times. I definitely need to work on my parfait layering and textures :)

The final addition to my parfait is something I've been searching for a VERY long time now. I think I first heard about it on Kath's blog. We don't have a Whole Foods in Stockton, and Trader Joe's doesn't carry this wonderful treat. Little did I know it was under my nose this entire time!! You heard my love for Nutella, the hazelnut chocolate spread, but now feast your eyes upon dark chocolate almond spread:

And if you can spot the other hungry member of my household, you win. Rest assured he didn't wind up with any chocolate this morning. On a more serious note, I desperately need to repaint my nails!

The final product (his and hers split again to show you the different ways J.D. and I prefer to eat/drink):

DELICIOUS and a great start to the day!! I'm still getting used to almond butter, it has a very distinct, chalkier taste than peanut butter. Nonetheless, I'll use any excuse to add chocolate to my meals. Fun fact, I enjoy reading all of your blogs in the morning before I head off to work :) Thanks for the daily entertainment!

Oh yeah, did you read about my Mexican meal last night??

Crêpe-inspired breakfast

What's your favorite food of all time?? For me, it's the first thing I really learned how to make. When I was really young, my French grandma always used to make sugared crêpes and I quickly figured it out on my own. Then living in France I used to find crêpe stands all over the country.

Needless to say one of my favorite foods, for both taste and nostalgia, are crêpes.

(Source)

J.D. and I made a batch a few months back, and for some reason I had a hungering for crêpes last night. The desire inspired an idea for breakfast I'd been envisioning for literally over 12 hours.

Let me introduce my Crêpe-inspired oats:

The idea came from the delicious pairing of Nutella, strawberries and bananas in most of the typical dessert crêpe menus.

First I chopped up some strawberries and a banana, since both are running on their last legs (fruit doesn't last too long in this valley heat):

Next up, prepped some quick cook oats on the stove and topped them with the fruit plus a large dallop of low fat Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's (love that store!!):

And now the fun part: NUTELLA!!!! (Plus a little bit of peanut butter for some protein):

Once I was satisfied with my creation -- except for the lack of actual crêpe haha -- I washed it all down with some vanilla soy chai tea.

Yum, yum. I loved playing around with crêpe toppings and just might have to do it again!! ...Or I just might have to make some crêpes soon to satisfy my craving for them.

So why am I on such a French kick lately (well, minus the obvious fact that I am French)??? It all started with the new tablecloth I donned for last night's dinner post. Check it out if you haven't yet!