Hi, Peru
Hey friends! How’s your weekend treating ya so far?
After some shocking baby news this morning –little nugget is actually a she-nugget!- I’ve been a little scatterbrained and distracted.
I did hit up the mall to exchange baby clothes and be offended by the saleslady at Motherhood (it was my first time in that ‘hood, and I wasn’t a fan), and had a snack that I haven’t had in forever:
Jamba!
When I first started teaching at the dance studio back in the day, Jamba Juice was a short walk away, so many of the other instructors and I would stop there everyday. I used to get the Chocolate Moo’ed, today I got the Peach Perfection 🙂 Times have changed, but the Jamba was just as delicious as I remembered- a lovely afternoon snack.
Despite my distractedness, I got some house organization done.
I usually just keep my bulk bin flours and gluten-free flours in the bags, but wanted a more organized setup for the new casa, so I hadn’t put them away yet. They’ve been begging for me to do something with them and get them in the pantry.
Problem solved:
So much better!
World Market is my favorite non-clothing store, and I found the awesome chalkboard jars for $4.99 each. See the tiny container with the scoop on the right? That’s the xanthan gum 🙂
I also organized some drawers since a lot of the cooking gadgets were just thrown in there during unpacking frenzy:
Silverware separators FTW 🙂
Instead of grocery shopping for dinner stuff, we decided to try out a cute, little Peruvian restaurant we’d heard great things about: Inca’s.
It was my first time trying Peruvian food… and I have found a new ethnic food lover 🙂
To start, they bring out crunchy Peruvian corn with sea salt, and the Pilot ordered a Chicha Morada (which I shared with him)
From Wiki:
Chicha morada is usually made of ears of purple maize (choclo morado) which are boiled with pineapple rind, cinnamon, and clove. This gives a strong purple-colored liquid which is then mixed with sugar and lemon. This beverage is usually taken as a refreshment, but in recent years many health benefits of purple corn have been found.
Our server said it’s very high in antioxidants and promotes healthy blood pressure. It also tasted like foodgasms: almost like a POM juice, mixed with pineapple and cinnamon.
For my entree, I enjoyed a salad:
(it had a light mustard dressing)
and the quinoa to my heart.
Cooked in broth and spices- it was sooooo savory. It looks like a lot, but it was the perfect amount.
SO good! I can’t wait to go back 🙂
Hope you’re having fun tonight! I’m going to walk on the wild side and choreograph two Zumba dances before tomorrow’s class 😉
xoxo
Gina
Something to do:
August Schweaty Cardio Workout! I’ve LOVED the feedback so far- let me know if you give it a whirl 🙂
Something to talk about: Any handy home organization tips to share?? I have a few up my sleeve (which I’ll be posting as we get the house put together), and I’d love to hear what you do in your casa.
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Seriously obsessed with Jamba Juice, so good!
Peruvian food is so good (and they eat so much quinoa)! In fact one of my favourite restaurants back in Portland is a Peruvian tapas restaurant which has the BEST ceviche in the universe along with amazing quinoa, and a salad with hearts of palm and cotija cheese which is to die for
Can you share what restaurant that is? I’m in Portland and my mom is dying for some good ceviche! Thanks!
Probably not traditionally gluten free, but the classic Peruvian cookie, alfajore. Sooooo good. I went to Peru with my best friend and her family for our 15th birthday. It was the trip of a life time!
amazing!
That quinoa looks incredible! It looks creamy …?
nope, it was brothy! but there were HUGE kernels of peruvian corn in it… so good…
I love kitchen organization! We’ve lived in our casa for 2 years now and I was telling my hubby that I’d like to have a organization day and re-organize it all!
i love having everything in the pantry in jars or containers so they are visible and neat. I need to reorganize my pantry so bad though!
Semi-related story about gender and birth: my mom just kept saying (through tears), “No it isn’t! You’re lying!” when they delivered me and told her I was actually a girl, not a boy. I have two older brothers, and they misread the sonogram soo… Yeah. She was apparently traumatized by all that testosterone. Needless to say, she was STOKED to have a girl. 🙂 Yay me. Haha.
World Market = amazeballs! I love those jars with the chalkboard labels. I am going to have to look for those at my local WM!
Gina, any time you want to come to Milwaukee and decorate my house and take me shopping for clothes, you’re more than welcome 😀 Love your style, girl!
Aaaaaand I just commented on your Family post but congrats again on your surprise girl!!! So awesome!
i’d totally be down for that!
thank you, lovely! excited to see you next weekend 🙂
Holy Moly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t believe the crazy baby news!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow!!! I was so excited for you when i heard boy…but I am a little biased that I have a girl so I am squealing with delight for you right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So lucky you found out now…I hear so many stories that they were wrong..nursery all set up and wardrobe. Crazy. As long as the babies healthy but it can put you through an emotional rollercoaster! Girls are amazing though. I am seriously grinning so much right now for you!!!! I remember your 5 year plan post(?) about waking up to make breakfast for you, Pilot and your little girls. So happy for you!
Anyway…you have also inspired me to attempt to organize my gadget drawers
I love those chalkboard jars, and what a good deal they were! The look so nice.
Pregnancy definitely can bring out the nesting instinct!
I’m excited along with everyone else for your happiness and joy. Very exciting!
I love my two layer turn table filled with all my herbs and spices and such. I also have a single layer on the next shelve that I put my vinegar’s and stuff. Mason jars are what I use to store my flours and seeds. Only 10 bucks for 12. Sounds like you are having fun organizing you new casa. Congrats on the baby girl. A little fitnessista. I hope the Pilot is ready for this. I can see the future. Lucky baby for sure.
What happened that offended you?
she said hi and was kind of snooty, and i was friendly and told her it was my first time in the store and i was excited to see what they had. then she asked what size i wore before i was pregnant and overshot my size by… 5 sizes. when i told her what size my shorts were that i was wearing, she laughed. it was awkward
Um, ew. I never understand why people without people skills get customer service jobs.
Those chalkboard organizers are genius! Definitely getting some as soon as I have my own place 🙂
wow, those jars are great gina! and i did notice that little scoop on the right.
re: peru…i LOVE peruvian food! i actually lived in peru for research work (for 3 months) back in 03! it was so fun! also climbed up machu pichu. they have some of the best food around! when i went to buenos aires back in april, seriously…had.some.of.the best, peruvian fish dish ever! and their famous dessert…forgot what it’s called but translated “the sigh of a peruvian woman” isn’t that lovely?/ super yummy as well! so glad you posted this! :))
I have major jar envy. I have always wanted my pantry to look like that. I like large bins!
$4.99? What a deal!
I love, love, love the Chocolate Moo’d at JJ, but than I saw the nutritional value and kinda freaked out. It’s been a few years since I’ve had one 🙁
yeah the nutrition stats are a little scary! it tastes like a milkshake though 🙂
I went to Peru in may, they have the most amazing food there!! I want to go back just to eat.
You look so organized– way to go, lady! Everything looks great 🙂
I saw those while at Wmarket the other day– love the chalkboard containers! Have a great weekend!
You guys find a lot of great restaurants! I wish we had a better selection in my area. 🙁
I miss World Market… They took it away from Omaha. However, my husband might think that’s a good thing. 🙂 So now I work out at the gym they built where World Market used to be. Haha.
And that’s super exciting about the baby! I would have been shocked beyond belief, but at least now you know! I have one friend with two girls and one friend with two boys, so it’s always an interesting adventure comparing the two. 🙂
Peach perfection is my fav jamba drink. I love the all fruit ones 🙂
I am thinking that Indian food better move over a little bit b/c that Peruvian food looks RIGHT up your alley. That has Gina written all over it.
And not being impressed with Motherhood…I always felt the same, if I’m being totally honest. But gosh, you were offended too…yikes. Sorry girl!
Being a little scatterbrained? Hardly! I think after the news you got, that EVERYONE would understand 🙂
My boyfriend, Will, is Peruvian and has been trying to get me to eat Peruvian food with him for a while now. Now that I’ve seen a positive review– I might just have to give it a try 😉
I am so surprised about your bump actually being a girl… how AMAZING! 😀 I am so so happy for you…all over again! <3 Just madness, having everything reversed and turned up on its head like that, lol! 🙂 Organising is so cathartic and fun…I cannot wait until the Kiwi and I have our own place to make our very own like that…all our own things, and special touches etc. Your cupboard and drawer look awesome! <3 Happy zumba-ing on Saturday! xyx
I recently did the same thing with putting all my grains/flours in glass jars and I love how much neater my pantry looks! Plus all my problems with spilling stuff out of the bags have been eliminated. 😀
Ah!! I need those jars!! I keep my grains and flours in jars…but they don’t have labels, so sometimes I forget what’s what!
I only have a couple for a small bedroom — I posted about it a couple weeks ago!
http://blondeonamission.com/2011/07/13/small-room-organization-tips/
I bet real Peruvian style quinoa is awesome. 😀
those jars are such a great idea! good find.
I need those jars NOW—cute and functional!
I’m going to Peru in September (trekking the Inca Trail. 25 miles in 3 days. Yikes!) and food was one of the things I was really curious about. While we are trekking, we are essentially camping out and they have porters that will be cooking our meals so what you get is what you get. I’m glad to hear that you liked the flavors! That eases my mind a bit 🙂 I also here that a lot of it is vegetarian so that is good too!
Hi I’m new here but LOVE your blog! My boyfriend and I live in an itty bitty closet of an apartment (500 sq ft to be exact) with no real pantry!!! I have an entry way type storage closet so I use an over the door ahoe organizer to stuff seasoning packets, boxed goods, snacks, etc in there and I love it. Plus its clear so you can see inatantly what you have 🙂
welcome to the little blog! 🙂
that’s a great idea for storage!
Congrats about the baby news! Either way, it’s a win-win, but girls rule!!!!
That salesperson at Motherhood sounds pretty awful. Next time you’re having a hormonal breakdown, you should probs have the Pilot run you over to her hood! But seriously, she sounds really poopy.
also: now you don’t have to deal with the big circumcision question! yet another bonus!
I love the jars for my flours too!
I always lust over those measuring cups at world market – it’s probably a good thing that I only get to go to WM when I head to Jacksonville to visit my man, otherwise my entire paycheck would be spent there!
Peruvian food sounds AMAZING! I need to try that out ASAP!
I love those chalkboard jars!!! I must have them. And that is a great price!
I can’t stand Motherhood Maternity. I bought one pair of pants there, and they were not the best. But I needed some… I highly recommend thrift stores for maternity wear. And congrats on your baby girl! My bff had a boy after being told she was having a girl… they didn’t find out about the mix up till he came out lol!
Stranger things have happened. Our technology isn’t always the best.
Organization tip: Get a nice stand-alone jewelry armoire, and put it by the door. You can hang all your keys in it, keep wallets in it, and you can set up your phones and chargers in it too if you run a power strip into it. Keeps all those important items accessible but classily hidden!
something like this maybe: http://www.amazon.com/Coaster-Jewelry-Armoire-Black-Mirror/dp/B004BHXT7Y
love it- what a great idea!
You know I’ve never had Jamba Juice. Guess I should get on the ball huh? lol
Gina, I’m so excited about your new pregnancy status! It’s crazy to believe that your dream is turning into reality 🙂 I wish you and Tom much happiness and health during this exciting time!
Those jars were really only $4.99? Wowza. I must head over to World Market ASAP. I currently have plastic containers for my flours/sugar, but those glass ones are really nice. Thanks for sharing!
amazing, right? at target, the plain ones (no chalkboard) were 10 and at home goods they were 11. world market ftw!
I was so tempted to buy those chalkboard jars the other day, too! I resisted but they look so cute in your cupboard that I might have to go back and get ’em 😉
Happened to me too! Its called an “indifferentiated penis” everybody’s parts grow on the outside, then if your a girl, they fold up inside and make lady parts:) I had a name and everything, then my doc told me “the penis fell off.” Shocker! But happy too. Now I have to baby girls, love it. CONGRATS ON YOUR NINA!
they thought i was a boy, too- until i was born!!!
thank you 🙂
Thanks for sharing the baby news! Exciting!!! Happy girl clothing shopping to you! I sometimes used to wander over the baby girl section just to see all the cute outfits. It’s funny because when we were making predictions I thought your craving sounded more like the ones supposedly with girls-salty food. Also you are only pregnant in your belly and slender everywhere else which I thought was another sign of girls according to “folklore.” Perhaps I’m just trying to find an excuse for why I puffed up all over when pregnant with my son and craved cheeseburgers which I have always found gross. Re:Motherhood Maternity..I got T shirts I liked there, but I think the salespeople were never that friendly and I live far away from you on the east coast.
Haha! She-nugget! We had friends who called their baby girl a nug-ette. 🙂
cute!!
Oh Peru how i miss you and your yummy food. Especially your fruit. YUMMY!!!
Congrats on the baby girl. She totally hit the parent/grandparent jackpot!
thank you- it still hasn’t really set in yet!
I have separate bins for dirty laundry according to colors. Helps me tremendously.
it feels so good to get clean and organized doesn’t it!? Cleaning high; gotta love it. 😀
looooooooove cleaning 🙂