Bowling, Buns, & Boba Fun!

Heyy yaaa heyyyyy yaaa! (anyone set it to the tune I did?). I have a short, teeny tiny recap to wrap up loose ends before taking off for MI tomorrow. My type A angel (or devil) on my shoulder would be severely bothered with smushing (apparently smushing isn’t a word?) this recap in with my Michigan one a week from now… soooo here. we. goooo!

^^ Was that not the most scattered, rambling intro you ever did see?

On Saturday the 14th, I attended the big bowling bash of the year for DJ’s work. It was such a great time, and a fun way to get to know his coworkers a bit better too!

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Deej and I shared a lane and alternated turns. We did horribly the first round, but didn’t do too bad the second. Guess it was the practice we had earlier in the week?! (nah, for me it was just dumb luck, lol). (We are “D” on the screen).

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Once we finally came home around 11:30 pm, we binged The Staircase and were up wayyy past each of our bedtimes.

On Sunday the 15th, I went to Church while DJ unfortunately had to go to work bright and early. After Church I met my friend, Tammy, downtown in San Jose for some vegan eats!

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I grow more and more fond of downtown San Jose every time I visit!

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I actually discovered this place through a fellow San Francisco blogger! I saw the Buddha bun in her post and couldn’t get it out of my head.

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This place is in an obscure spot in downtown, pretty easy to miss, but one you won’t want to! The inside decor is alll about that hippie life with earthly tones, calm music, and overall a general ode to nature.

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The moment of truth finally fell upon us… *pause for dramatic effect*. This magic bun cost less than $4 which is a STEAL in these parts. It’s pretty big too (there is a picture later on for reference). It is a rice flour bun (Bao) stuffed with sautéed mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, jicama, peas, and carrots. Served with a house sweet savory sauce.

img_7949In enthusiastic Kate mode I feel like there is only one way to express my excitement over this bun….

Guys!

Guys!!!

Guys!!!!!!

This is one of my FAVORITE morsels of food I have tried since moving to the Bay Area. Since EVER. Not sure what they use in this “house” sauce, but I would sell a kidney for the recipe. I told Tammy I want this for my birthday, and she joked they would just put a candle in it (My hopes are officially up 😉 ).

I have never had bao before then, and I loved it. I’ve never tried Dim Sum, but I have a feeling it would be a new favorite thing! *Cue Whole New World*

I also tried the sampler platter with Thai yellow curry, Jamaican jerk “chicken” and spicy basil tofu with quinoa. I brought back leftovers for DJ and he loved them too.

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Tam had their jackfruit pulled “pork” tacos, and let me try a nibble. They were phenomenal. I might get these next time!!

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We also split a local cider (with a fascinating history) & a rose lemonade.

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The rose lemonade was the definition of refreshing. And the cider was the greatest ale/cider/beer equivalent I have ever tasted. I want to take DJ back just to try this!

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We finished the whole smorgasbord with a piece of delicious vegan pumpkin pie over a chocolate crust.

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When I say I can’t stop thinking about this meal… I seriously cannot stop thinking about this meal! Winner winner chicken vegan dinner.

Next, Tammy noticed Tea Alley was across the street which is a place in SJ that sells boba in lightbulbs (leave it to the Bay Area to channel our inner Thomas Jefferson).

Tam made me laugh when she looked them up and exclaimed, “I just really want to drink out of a lightbulb!”. #overheardinSanJose

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It was a neat little place with super cute decor!

The moment of truth….

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It was adorable, but unfortunately luke warm- liiiiiike WHO DRINKS BOBA LUKE WARM?! Fun experience, and tam got her lightbulb. Lol. <3

This week has been more communicating with grad school trying to make sure all my classes are going to be scheduled okay, tons of cleaning, working on a present for my Grandpa’s birthday, laundry, and food prep since I’ll be gone! Per DJ’s request I whipped up the bison tacos again.

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I have one chapter of Harry Potter left- are y’all proud?! One more to gooo!

Any big weekend plans coming up?!

xo <3

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Friday Favorites #13

Uhhhh should I be concerned…..  A Friday Favorites #13 on Friday the 13th?! I best not walk under any ladders today.

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But anywho wowzahs! It has been a while since a FF! I have a lot of things I am just luh-ving lately, so it was hard to narrow them down to just ten. I guess that makes next week even easier to write!

Here we go… !

  1. Have y’all seen the latest Aerie campaign?! For a few years they have been doing Aerie Real, and now they’ve broadened the campaign to include women with disabilities and medical conditions…. it is absolutely beautiful, these women are BEAUTIFUL. It nearly brought me to tears seeing these pictures. <3

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2. Wear This One! To say I’m excited about this would be an understatement!! I mentioned briefly in a previous post that my mom-in-law created a website and app called Wear This One. You know when you cannot decide what to wear for a wedding, work event, just a regular date? This is the solution all of us have been waiting for (men included!). You simply create an account, download the app (or use the site), post pictures of what you are debating between, and then people vote on which they prefer for the event. You can vote on looks too and there is even a “get inspired” page. It’s super easy, and you can also opt to keep it private if you want to create posts only your selected friends can vote on. Check. it. OUT!

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3. San Pedro Square Public Market. Honestly- I am baffled how I haven’t been here yet. It is now, in my opinion, the best place to eat in San Jose from an atmosphere perspective. DJ, Amy (SIL), and I went here a couple days ago. I was shocked by the number of food options alone.

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We grabbed our food (I tried some fresh to death sashimi from Blush) then found a spot outside to enjoy the live music. We will definitely be back!

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4. Plain Fage. I have been living for just some plain Fage with either Shakeology protein powder, maybe on toast, with oatmeal or with some fruit. I love how thick it is in consistency. I used to love the flavored Dannons, but this just keeps me full much longer with a bangin’ 18g of protein.

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5. TJ’s Spray Sunscreen. This is wayy cheaper than what you will find in the drug store and works very well! No sunburn yet for me this summer!

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6. R + Co Detangler. I have been attempting to keep my hair nice and healthy, but one of my issues has been finding a good detangler. My hair gets too knotted, so usually I end up having to use an absurd amount of detangler and then have greasy hair (no. bueno.). This stuff is like magic. Just a tiny little bit works SO well.

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7. GOOD SEED Hempseed Burgers!!! These are dang yummy. Maybe one of my favorite vegan burgers out there. The thing I particularly love about this burger is the unique flavor- it reminds me of stuffing at thanksgiving- mmm mmm!

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8. So you may remember back when I went on the cruise with Rachel, we made some good friends. Tiffany, pictured below was one of them! We met on an excursion and I hard core encouraged her to start a blog, raving about how amazing blogging is and how great the community is. Well y’all, she started one and it is magnificent!!! I hope you will give it a look over at www.justkeepbreathing.org ! 🙂 She is one of the most genuine, kind, warm, encouraging, and inspirational people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!

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9. The Staircase. Oh. my. lanta. Y’all- DJ and I haven’t finished this yet because we are watching it together so naturally it will take us at least another couple months haha, BUT we are a few episodes in and it is gripping.

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10. Reading Chillout Playlist. This is my new favorite chill playlist on Spotify for reading. I love a little white noise and this is reading perfection!

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What are some of your weekly Favorites?!

xo <3

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