Hey there, welcome to this Monday! 

I had to force myself to type that exclamation point because it made me feel like a bit of a faker. Truth be told, I am fighting exhaustion with all my might today and I can't say that I'm winning. Can I just get an espresso IV, please?  Or how about a nap?  Yeah, that's not going to happen...

I hope you are beginning your week with an extra dose of zip and energy.  I hope you are still high on the joys of the weekend, and bubbly with excitement for the the next seven days that lie ahead. Another bright, warm, and likely humid, August week awaits us, let's live it!  

....But maybe treat yourself to a coffee first so you can actually function.

Thankfully, my Monday morning stupor has by no means stolen away the joy that this past weekend left behind.  It was a good one.  

Friday evening the fiancé and I piled into the car with good friends and empty stomachs, and drove until we reached what we believe to be the home of the best burgers in this country.  They are, in fact, pretty amazing.  Fried pickles and shoestring fries are just a small part of their majesty.  It may not look like much, but this is where your greatest burger dreams come true. 

Saturday was filled with packing up boxes, filled with our newly acquired housewares from last weekend's bridal shower, and toting them out to my parent's garage for temporary storage.  We will be holding the keys to our new home in just three weeks!!!  Which means... I have a lot to do.

We bravely bore the heat of the August afternoon and painted furniture before making a much-needed slurpee run.  Did you too drag obscenely large cups up to your local gas station for Bring Your Own Cup Day?  I had not had a slurpee in ages, (like maybe 4 years?) and the near-instant brain freeze reminded me why.  

I countered the cold sugar with hot wings later that night.  Now I really, really do not like spicy foods... but put a plate of hot wings in front of me and it's gone.  It's totally worth having greasy fingers for the rest of the night.

Does it sound like all I did was eat all weekend?  Well, it's kind of true.  

My very sweet fiancé had surprised me with a bag of fresh cheeses and some locally cured salami flavored with, you guessed it, black truffles!!!!!  And it was not one of those "truffle infused" kind of deals either.  This salami was very generously speckled with tiny flakes of rich, dark truffles.  I think I have mentioned my truffle binge once or twice here recently (ahem... Truffle & Brie Macaroni and Cheese), which is pretty much the most pretentious binge ever, but this salami was the icing on my unmami cake.

Would you hate me if I made truffle popcorn?  I have had it on the brain for weeks now but I feel like that's pushing things to a whole new level of obnoxious.  But I do not know how much longer I can resist...

Happy, happy Monday!  Oh, and get your food processor for the super quick and super delicious frozen yogurt I've got coming to you later this week!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie