Frida Kahlo salad
Hi friends! How’s the day going? I hope you’re having a great one so far. I’m off to take Livi to her first orthodontist appointment (what?) and meeting with a business partner later today. I’m hoping to catch an Orangetheory class in between editing the podcast episode for tomorrrow. I’d love to hear what you’re up to!
Today, I thought I’d share some pics and adventures from lately because it’s been a non-stop party over here.
This weekend was Kyle’s birthday! We went over to Kyle and Meg’s house for bean burritos and Mexican donuts. They set up a jumping castle for the kiddos, so the cousins and friends ran around and had the best time, while the adults all hung out and chatted. It’s funny because I feel like as we get older, birthday parties become so much more wonderful and low-key. Family time and good food is all ya really need.
After Kyle’s party, we met our babysitter at home and the Pilot and I took off to see La Bohéme at Arizona opera.
First time wearing this Everlane dress (on sale right now):
(the fabric is a dream come true. Shoes are here!)
I was familiar with a couple of songs from La Bohéme but had never seen it live.
It’s funny because after about 10 minutes, when Mimi comes over for Rodolfo to light her candle and loses her key, I was like “WAIT. This is so much like Rent!” Turns out that Rent was crafted to be a more modern day La Bohéme. I’m a giant nerd and had no clue. Anyway, it was breathtaking. The performances were incredible and we had a great time.
I like date nights with this guy 🙂
Sunday morning, I took the sweatiest hot yoga class and later that afternoon, the fam came over for Super Bowl fun. We made Frito chili pies, which is kind of an inside joke.
(I’d try to explain why it’s hilarious, but inside jokes are never funny when you spell them out.)
Basically it’s Fritos with chili on top, and then toppings like cheese, green onion, sour cream, avocado, whatever you like. In high school, we’d call these Traveling Tacos. You’d get a bag of Fritos, they’d pour chili and nacho cheese on top, and hand you a fork. 
I made a giant batch of chili – wish I would have measured everything but it came out AMAZING – and we had all of the toppings ready to go. We also set up our 3-bowl slow cooker with buffalo chicken dip (recipe coming soon!), spinach and artichoke dip, and Rotel. Lots of chips and veggies for dipping, and the best chocolate chip cookies. Mom brought over shredded meat and tortillas, and Kyle brought over salsa and rice. It was a feast!
The Frito chili pies ended up being huge hit. Liv misunderstood the title and when she asked for seconds, she requested more “Frida Kahlo… salad.” 😉
We LOVED the halftime show – say what you will but I think J. Lo and Shakira SLAYED – and called it a night.
Last night, I taught bootcamp and went to my first official choir rehearsal.
Here’s shortened version of what we did for bootcamp:
As far as choir goes, my first rehearsal was so challenging and so, so enjoyable. It feels really good to use my brain in a different way. We’re doing Mahler’s 2nd (which, according to the Pilot is in “the key of super sad”) and the finale is haunting, magnificent, and unlike anything I’ve worked on previously. (I’ve sang in German quite a few times, but the tempo changes and dynamics of this one are on another planet.) I’m really looking forward to seeing it come together.
I hope you have a beautiful morning and I’ll see ya tomorrow with a new podcast episode!
xoxo
Gina
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Is the Everlane dress true to size? I have the Day Heel that everyone raves about but I cannot stand them. The back falls off my heel and my toes are in extreme pain and verge of blistering. Granted these are shoes and not apparel – but I’m kind of scarred from ordering from Everlane again. I like the look of the dress for work or a date night. So I’m interested!
yes, it’s true to size – i’m wearing a 2. i got another dress from them and was super impressed with that one, too. the quality of the fabric is excellent
i haven’t tried the shoes but i’ll prob wait now 😉
Your family feasts look delicious! I always love trying a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. The recipe says 8 large cookies, but it looks like you made smaller ones. How many did you bake? And for how many minutes?
i make them half size, so i usually get about 16 cookies. i bake them at 400 for 9 minutes and let them sit on the cookie sheet for another 1-2 minutes before removing them to cool
Walking Tacos! I’ve had them with Doritos, but Fritos would be much better! Now I want them. Guess we’ll be adding Chili to the menu this week!
yesss it’s so good!
I remember telling my husband about Fritos pie and he was mortified. I am not quite sure why, I mean it isn’t that far off from nachos. Like are fritos 10x worse than tortilla chips? I guess it is mostly just that it is brand name. I know my family does worse, we do “chulupas” I have NO IDEA WHY IT IS NAMED THAT! Apparently she learned about this dish when she was in Pheonix Arizona, it is pretty much a mild pulled pork and pinto bean dish that you serve on top of doritos (or tortilla chips) with pretty much any nacho like topping, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, whatever. Totally not healthy, but they make it pretty much once a year (or less)
it sounds pretty tasty to me 🙂 haha
What? You sing, too? Tell us more! (I was an opera major before.. well.. life took hold!) XO
i do 🙂 i was a musical theater major before i switched to finance. i let that part of me kind of hide out for a long time but decided to get back into it this year.
Hi Gina! I’m planning on taking a trip to Tucson and Phoenix next month before it gets unbearably hot. I think I’ve seen you do a post or posts on this, but couldn’t find it. Do you have a list of ‘must do’s’ to visit/eat for Tuscon? Or Phoenix? If so, can you provide the link to it?
yes! i have a post but it’s definitely in need of an update:
tucson:
breakfast:
prep and pastry
brunch at loews ventana canyon
b line
best tacos: boca tacos
casual mexican: calle tepa
lunch: august rhodes, eclectic cafe
vegan: lovin spoonfuls, tumerico, charro vida
dinner: commoner and co, tito and pep, culinary dropout, renee’s organic oven, blanco tacos
hike: sabino canyon or tumamoc hill
the desert museum is lovely before it gets too hot or the botanical gardens, walk around the mercado and st augustin or the MSA annex
phoenix:
true food (a chain but i love it)
olive and ivy
butters cafe for breakfast!! <-- SO GOOD and worth the wait prep and pastry!
Are you singing with Tucson Symphony Chorus?? 🙂 I remember I offered you tix once when I was a soloist with them. Enjoy Mahler 2 it is SOOO LOUD and exciting when the choir comes in!!! Also LOL how did you not know that about Rent?! 🙂 Fun reading a more artistic and cultural blog post by a HLB!
I REMEMBER THAT! i’m so bummed i didn’t get to make it!
where are you singing now???
Curious what you eat when you make a big family-style feast like this? I know you have a lot of dietary restrictions that preclude you from eating a lot of things.
2 of the three dips were dairy-free (I used Kite Hill – my brother is lactose intolerant) so I had those with veggies and chips, and a Frito chili pie with almond milk shredded cheese on top. I minimize gluten and dairy for the most part because of my gallbladder situation, but we almost always have chips, veggies, fruit, salad, rice, and meat at family gatherings. it’s pretty much all you need 🙂