I love home.
I love home. This weekend was just what I needed – we celebrated my birthday and my parent’s 27th anniversary, and I was able to play some golf and take a much needed break from school. I have just two weeks left, and in that time I have 2 tests, 2 presentations, and 3 papers - but now I’m geared up and ready to get it all over and done with so I can finally yell and scream “IT’S SUMMER!!” like everyone else 
While I was home, I enjoyed this breakfast everyday:
It was quite possibly the biggest bowl of oats ever (this picture doesn’t show it, but that is a serving bowl, not a regular one!). It’s also got a more solid consistency – which I know VeggieGirl will appreciate 
– and it was microwaved so it took much less time. Doesn’t get much better than that! It was instant oatmeal – 2 packets of Quaker’s Banana Bread instant oats – plus some frozen blueberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Heavenly!
My mom and I also went out to lunch one afternoon to celebrate my turning 21 with some margaritas! It is her ultimate favorite drink, so of course it was only fitting to have it be my first one with her!
We also went out for a birthday/anniversary dinner one night. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant near our house called Constantino’s. It was too dark (unfortunately) to take pictures of all the delicious eats, but I did manage to get a candlelit picture of a very special birthday treat!
Tiramisu!! The most amazing tiramisu in the world! I’ve had my fair share, and nothing quite compares! I would have eaten the whole thing myself, but I was in a sharing mood so I let my family dig in too
Finally, my dad also made us a yummy dinner one night: chicken marsala, ginger shrimp, mushrooms corn, and spinach.
It was all very good, but the chicken marsala was definitely the best part. I’m currently awaiting the recipe (ahem, nudge Dad) for the sauce, but when I have it I will sure to post it!
So those are the highlights of the trip – besides the obvious one of getting to see my family! The good news? I’m going back again once school is over! The bad news? In the meantime…I’ve got a lot of work to do! I got one of the tests out of the way today, but there’s still a long way to go!
I should be back to regular posting tomorrow. Oh, and did everyone here about Oprah’s 21-Day Cleanse? She’s going vegan for 21 days. What do you think of that idea? It’s definitely nice for her, since she has someone to cook her those delicious meals! Speaking of challenges, however, I am taking Carmen from The Oatmeal Experiment up on one of her own – The “Breakfast all day, everday!” Challenge. You can read about it more in her post here, but we’re basically going to have breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for five days, starting this Saturday. Should be exciting!!
Sweet dreams all
Being home + birthday + parents’wedding anniversary + no more school + delectable food = PERFECT time for you!! :0)
I say, kudos to Oprah for embarking on a journey to better health – hopefully she’ll stick with it, and inspire others to do so as well.
Can’t wait to see the results of your and Carmen’s breakfast-food challenge!! How fun!!
Sounds like a FANTASTIC weekend!! 27 years?! That’s such a long time! My many congratulations. My parents have been married for 41 years, oh boy, I wonder who can last that long.
Good luck with all your assignments, you are going o be a busy girl!
Oh I forgot to add.
Your cake is SO cute!! I need to find a way to veganize tiramisu, because I miss it dearly! And how cute is that that it says “Happy Birthday” in Italian?!
Glad you had a good time at home–I am such a homebody, I love being at home!
That oatmeal looks amazing! I am like you, one packet of oatmeal is never enough for me:)
The breakfast challenge sounds interesting–keep us updated!
i really want to try the breakfast challenge hehe… i’ll wait to see how you guys do first
i looooooooove the dessert plate – amazing
Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had an awesome birthday weekend! The chicken marsala looks delicious! Does your dad have a particular recipe he uses?
Wow~action packed weekend! Happy belated birthday!
Quaker’s has BANANA BREAD flavored oatmeal?! How have I not seen this before?
Good luck getting through all your work!
I think I’m going to OD on sugar and oats during this breakfast challenge :p
Happy belated birthday! All the food looks fabulous- esp the cake!
VeggieGirl ~ I agree with you, I’ve been following Oprah’s blog about it!
Romina ~ Wow! 41 years?! That’s VERY impressive!!
Caroline ~ I will let you know how the challenge goes!
Lindz ~ If all goes well, you should definitely try it!
Erica ~ I will post the recipe soon!!
Carmen ~ Quaker DOES have Banana Bread flavor! I don’t always see it in the grocery store, but it’s very good! And I definitely think I will OD on oats by the time we’re through!
Cassie ~ Thank you!
everything from this post is making my mouth water! Tiramisu is def on my mind for the rest of the night now..
Happy (late) birthday! I swear I’ve already subscribed to your blog- I’m sorry I lost you!