Get busy living.

Thanks Morgan Freeman, for the title inspiration.

The past few weeks have been a little bit (a lotta bit) crazy. We’ve been on the go pretty much non-stop, with little time to stop and cook dinner! Our little lady friend, Chris was up to her tiara in grad school stuff, I had some later nights at the ol’ j-o-b, and we managed to sprinkle in a good bit of fun in between.

Last weekend, I went up to camp for a Work Weekend with some of the greatest folks I know. We worked on a new porch and fountain that was built last summer in memory of a former camp gal, Jessica Foshee. We planted, pressure washed, cleaned, hammered, sawed, and everything in between. 

 Then after we worked, Brice made us Low-country boil (gluten-free in disguise…shoulda taken pictures). We spent the rest of the night laughing. It was great to be at camp; I’d been really missing it. I think it’s safe to say we all had a fabulous time, and I’m so happy I know such awesome people.

This past weekend was the Inman Park Festival. Unfortunately, I had to work most of the weekend at Wall Crawler Rock Club (which was still super fun), but I snagged some pictures of the parade from my friend Haley. 

After I was done working, I met my friends there for the evening, so all was not lost. But I’ll be making it my business to be there next year.

Piedmont Park

Last fun thing to mention: the other night, we changed up our Monday grocery shopping routine, and headed over the Piedmont Park for a fun little cook-out with the Georgia Conservancy, complete with free food from New York Butcher Shoppe, good company, a little entertainment from the Packway Handle Band, and fabulous weather. I forgot how much I love that park

So anyway, I thought it might be a good idea to share what a gluten-free person who is too busy to cook does for food. Aside from making a few of our regular meals, like stir fry, red beans & rice, and (gf) pasta, we haven’t had the time to venture too far out of the box.

We’ve also had various dinner plans that didn’t yield leftovers, like going out to dinner and whatnot, so I’ve been leftover-less at work. Luckily, my friend Dawn saved the way when she told me about Amy’s gluten-free products!  I’ve always known about the brand, but I had no idea their GF prodcuts were so good. Dawn said she accidentally got one of their GF burritos, and loved it! Maybe more so than the non-gf one. So, on days when I know I won’t have leftovers for lunch, I’ve been trying Amy’s frozen stuff. I have to say, they’re not bad, not bad for you, and they’re not very expensive! Nothing is over $4 from what I’ve seen. So far I’ve tried the Sweet & Sour Asian noodle bowl, and a spinach and cheese enchilada. 

Both great, but the enchilada was my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on being a frozen dinner for lunch person, but in a pinch, its way better than eating out for lunch (although sometimes, why not).

I also HAVE to mention our latest Sunday dinner with Dad experience. Thanks to my sweet friend Bethany’s recommendation, we tried an Italian place in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, called La Tavola. I, of course, was a little hesitant because Italian = pasta. Pasta = gluten. To my pleasant surprise, they have a gluten-free menu, and we were lucky enough to have a gf server! What are the odds?! I mean, really. They have a wide selection of pastas with amazing-sounding sauces that can be put over polenta instead of pasta!! You should have seen my face when she told me that. Priceless I’m sure. We started out with the grilled calamari, then I ended up getting the steak, because Bethany recommended it, and I’m really glad I did! 

Grilled Calamari

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

My brother got the pork cheek ravioli, and my dad got the manicotti. For dessert, dad and I got the flourless chocolate cake, and Arlo got the marscapone cheesecake. 

Flourless Chocolate cake

Its definitely one of our new favorite places!

Anyway, there are exciting things happening at our house. We’ll be back in the kitchen soon, but until then, I’m Bahama-bound!!