Of tropical drinks and simple pleasures...

As I'm typing this, my dear husband and half of SI are probably lounging in their summer outfits, sipping mojitos and enjoying their buckets of insanely fresh seafood while listening to the rush of the ocean by the beach... That, apparently, is the perk of having a conference on Sanibel Island, FL. I wish I were in Florida with Jude- it'd be a far cry from the increasingly chilly cold here in Ann Arbor- the heat's up, I'm walking around in my woolly socks already, and the forecast says it's going to snow on Tuesday! And what does my husband pack in his luggage? Swimming shorts for the beach! But as crazy envious as I am of him being in FL, I'm also really happy he's getting this little break. He's probably going to be working hard while he's there, but at least he'll be enjoying the nice sunshine and balmy breeze. It's been a tough semester for him, and he deserves these simple pleasures :)

My simple pleasure? Spending the evening grocery-shopping at Trader Joe's. I'll be having an insane week and the idea of cooking just for myself on a week like this week doesn't seem fun or therapeutic at all... And so on the shopping list was a bunch of cooking essentials, old favorites, and what I like to call "emergency meal helpers"- those TJ frozen entrees that are always so interesting and yummy too. Haul for the day:
- vanilla & almond granola
- milk
- several boxes of cake mixes (for those occasions when you just have to bring a cake somewhere...)
- green beans
- garlic oil (a little goes such an awesome long way)
- orange juice
- frozen veggie lasagna
- tilapia citronette (doesn't the name just scream, "Delicious!" It was being offered as a sample and one of the yummiest frozen entrees I've tasted from TJ's)
- zucchini
- pesto
- Havarti cheese
- mushroom risotto
- Thai lime and chile cashews (Jude loves to snack on cashews- these flavored ones are really good)
- trail mix bar (breakfast on the run- always important because I'd rather sleep an extra 10 minutes than wake up to make toast)
- carton of chicken broth (a.k.a. lifesaver of all lifesavers)

And now, I'm going to grab a blanket, curl up on the couch to read, and dream of "tropical drinks melting in (my) hand..."