Stephen has drill, so I decided to spend this weekend at my parents’ house. Thus far, it’s been a relaxing weekend filled with my mom’s cooking and some mother/daughter shopping adventures. Let’s first begin with a rewind to Friday though.
Friday
Breakfast was a Marmite experiment brought to you by Tamzin.
The other day, I received this parcel from England.
Inside was a pretty pink box.
Filled with goodies!
I was the lucky winner of Tamzin’s Marmite giveaway. She was kind enough to throw in some extra treats too! But I think my favorite part of the package might just be the Hello Kitty stationary.
I hold a special place in my heart for Hello Kitty and her friends.
So, on Friday morning, I thought I’d do a marmite taste test. According to Tamzin, marmite tastes good with almond butter and tahini.
I spread the thick, tar-like marmite on Ezekiel bread. (I tried to think of a more appetizing adjective than tar-like but to no avail.)
And there it is. I spread almond butter on one piece of toast and tahini on the other.
The verdict? Tamzin was right. Marmite has a very strong taste! It’s not bad though – just different. It tastes a lot like very salty, thick soy sauce. Overall, I liked it. I think I will be doing some more Marmite experiments in the days to come.
Side note- It’s so interesting to think that although this food is foreign to me, some people in England probably eat it every day!
Fast forward a bit to Friday after work. I ran a quick 3 miles on my apartment complex’s treadmill, showered, and hit the road to my parents’ house.
When I arrived, I was greeted by my beloved Beatrice.
Click video to watch.
Beatrice is a sassy thing, isn’t she? Curious about why Beatrice is so rotund? Click here.
After I gave Beatrice a substantial amount of attention, my mom served dinner.
One of her famous homemade pimento cheese sandwiches, lightly sautéed kale, and beets. This meal hit the spot!
As usual, Beatrice joined us on her perch for dinner.
After eating, my mom and I watched some television. We caught up on a couple Episodes of You Are What You Eat and then called it a night.
Does anyone else watch this show? Are you not appalled by the close up shots of Gillian’s victims in their undergarments? You can see everything, if you know what I mean.
Saturday
My mom and I had plans to hit up a few food and clothing stores. But before our shopping excursion, the family sat down to breakfast. Breakfast in this house is always a free for all.
Check out my dad’s meal.
Aspartame sweetened yogurt and sugary cereal. Now my father is a trim man with a clean bill of health, but sometimes I just have to laugh at what he consumes. He is the only member of my family whom I cannot influence the eating habits of. My mom drinks green monsters and my sister eats mung beans, but my dad continues to subsist on Tab and eat Cheez Its.
Hmmm….I wonder where my past love of artificial sweeteners and processed foods came from?
On to shopping…
It was long past due for a trip to Amazing Savings. I had never visited the fair grounds location. And boy, oh boy was I in for a treat!
This is what it looks like on the outside. What an ambiance!
Amazing Savings was the highlight of my day, but we also hit up Dillard’s, TJ Maxx, and a local Asian grocery store.
Today’s shopping damage totaled $35. With the exception of the La Tourangelle Grapeseed Oil and shredded coconut, I purchased everything pictured at Amazing Savings.
Let’s take a closer look:
- Maranatha Almond butter
- Health Valley and Pritkin canned soups
- Mary’s gone Cracker’s (herb flavor)
- Guylian Dark Choclate
- Dagoba Chai Chocolate
- Clif Bars
- Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour
- Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye Flour
- Ghiradelli white chocolate
- Hodgson Mill Gingerbread Mix
- Vanilla Hempmilk
- Solixir tea/juice drinks
- Cherry licorice
- Grapeseed Oil
- Shredded coconut
After a long day of shopping, neither my mom nor I felt like cooking, but we managed to make an absolutely scrumptious dinner.
Browned cauliflower pasta served with broccoli 
We chopped up some cauliflower, sautéing it in grapeseed oil and a tiny bit of butter. We also added some basil.
Then we served the cauliflower with whole wheat pasta noodles and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
This meal was perfection, and I think what made it so delicious was the grapeseed oil. If you’ve never tried grapeseed oil, you must!
We ended the meal with a slice of lemon cheesecake.
I’m not a huge fan of cheesecake, but I loved this. It’s made with both cream cheese and ricotta. Awesome combo!
***
I’m going to end this post with some pictures of Irvin, the sometimes forgotten cat. Irvin is so relaxed, he is often overshadowed by the feisty and needy Beatrice.
Irvin is obsessed with this chair in my mom’s art room.
He perches on it.
He stretches on it.
And he curls up for naps on it.
I think sleepy cats are so adorable. 
***
Well, I’m off for a run. See you all tomorrow!
Don’t forget to enter my Zevia giveaway!!!
Question: How do you all feel about springing forward?
Hehe I love all the pics of the cats on their perches, so cute!
Have a good run!
Marmite and AB..never thought of that! I’m not a marmite fan in the least, though it is good for cooking sometimes
Oh, and OOH I didn’t know You Are What You Eat is shown in the US!! Gillian is such a hideous woman, she’s so mean!
She is, but the show definitely cracks me up sometimes!
Ohh Marmite looks chocolaty (but I guess not lol). For a second I got it confused with vegemite and I was like “NOOO, don’t eat it! Terrible”
My dad likes sugary cereal too! It’s funny how grown men still love fruit loops. Beatrice is adorable
I would recommend that you try the marmite on french bread with butter!! My parents eat Marmite on a daily basis!!
Looks like a fun weekend! Any weekend that involves family and grocery shopping is definitely a winner
And Beatrice certainly is SASSY! I am a huge cat person, so I love all of the cute pictures in this post (especially Beatrice on her “perch,” hehe).
Thanks for the review of marmite. I’ve seen it on Tamzin’s blog but had no idea what it was/what it tasted like.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! xoxo G
I saw marmite at Whole Foods this morning and was wondering what it was. So funny you posted about it!
I like springing forward, I love the late sunlit nights
HOW FUNNNN! I LOVE SPRINGING FORWARD! the days are longer and its WARMER! whooo! thats a ballin grocery loop!
I want to snorgle Beatrice. She just looks so puffy and squishy and sweet! I’m ambivalent about time change, but it sure was a slap in the face when I realized last night I was going to bed at 3 and not 2 (not that going to bed at 2am is all that respectable anyway).
wow beatrice has mad balancing skills…my cat would def fall off of that perch. but then again he’s not very cat-like, just a dog trapped in a rotund cat’s body! nice grocery loot! enjoy
what a wonderful weekend with your parents…….your kitty is darling and love all your great grocery finds!
I’ve told Jason that the next time we go visit his parents, we need to go to Easley to go to Amazing Savings.
I love Springing Forward! It meas it will be lighter out later and summer’s around the corner
(kinda of) haha
You have me majorly missing my cats right now! We actually don’t participate in Daylight Savings here in Arizona!
awesome groceries you have there, Lily!! and that cauliflower pasta looks so good! I love beefing up pasta with LOADS of veggies!
umm can I have some of your dads meal
I love having more light at night but it makes it so difficult to get up in the morning…
Congrats on your anniversary! Its too bad you didn’t get to spend it together. Have a fabulous time celebrating next weekend.
Last weekend, Dan and I went to Lake George and while we were driving up there on the NY thruway, we passed an Amazing Savings manufacturer or warehouse or something like that. It wasn’t a store (I wanted to stop if it was, because Id never been to one before!) but I thought of you!
Interesting! I’ve never had marmite!
Looks like a fun weekend at home!
Sounds like a great weekend.
My dad is the only person in my family taht I can’t get him to change his mind about the stuff that he eats.. he eats way too much red meat…
I like Maramite…it is good!! I have friend from New Zealand who loves it. Apparently everyone over there eats it!
Haha, I love that your dad drinks Tab still. I didn’t even know they still sold the stuff! The “ambiance” of Amazing Savings is unique and I love that! The eats all look good, especially the coconut.
Not sure about that Maramite…I’m not a huge salty fan, so I’m not sure I would spend my calories on it, but I’d love to try it anyways!
Wow! I need to go grocery shopping with you!
that pasta with cauliflower looks yum, I want to cook some up now. only $35 for all that swag? awesome deal!
This is the first time I’ve seen Marmite in the blogging world, I’m impressed!
Hi!! I want to go home for a week and relax! look so nice. have you ever tried vegemite? ew.
gifts from england are fun!
that little shop cracks me up. looks like you’d need a gun or pepper spray before stepping inside. but glad you got lots of fun goodies!
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OMG. so much stuff to write about! First all your grocery finds are such a steal! Great job. Also, all dads eat bad..it’s like a rule or something. BTW soy sauce tasting spread? I’ll try it but prop not want a whole jar.
Glad you enjoyed your weekend. Is your bf in the military?
Yay to marmite and almond butter x x
Beatrice is a rockstar! I loved reading about her. We have a fat kitty too. Gracy, aka Chunka-Momma. LOL! You made out at Amazing Savings! How fun!