Weekly Wrap-Up: Food, Fabric and Fun (in a stick-shift car)!

This week, I ate a lot (per usual), bought fabric at the swap meet (yay!), learned how to drive stick shift (finally!), and was a very good consumer by visiting a shopping mall (yet again).

Precap: (I thought I just made this word up, but I didn't!)

• Sights: Gushi, Spaghettini, The Attic
• Eats: Swap meet finds, learning stick shift, crafting with a friend, shopping errands for Europe!

Wednesday

I found myself in my old college neighborhood just before 10 pm, and I couldn't resist grabbing some food for a late night dinner/next day's lunch.  Gushi is probably the most hole in the wall place that you could ever find.  Strictly a plastic chair kind of place where you order from a window that's practically on the sidewalk.

The kitchen is tiny, the seating area is tiny, the parking is nonexistent, and the food is enormous!

There's a reason why they stay in business even when college kids are fickle and could easily deem a place "over."  It seriously looks the same and tastes the same, but costs about twice as much.  Totally worth it for a bit of nostalgia!

Side note: While I was waiting for my food, the police handcuffed a rowdy homeless man who was bothering the college kids.  That's L.A. for you!  They looked so young and scared when they cleared us out of the area, it made me feel super old compared to them because I didn't bat an eye.  Ah, youth and innocence...

Friday

It was the end of a very tiring week, so the whole family headed out to dinner at Spaghettini.  For some reason, I hadn't eaten lunch and I was famished.  I had a delicious Cioppino to start.  My man said it was the best he's ever had!

Other people at the table had Calamari and Sweet potato fries as appetizers.  Yum!

My entree was the Tomato Vodka Cream Penne.  I used to order this dish all the time, but never had it with pulled chicken before.  Pretty, pretty good!

I'm glad that I'm not scared of carbs, because we ordered the Gorgonzola macaroni & cheese for the table to share.  I know I had pasta, but I couldn't resist!

No room for dessert tonight!

Saturday

For a few hours, I went to the swap meet to buy some fabric and notions for the Black & White challenge and get a watch battery replaced.  I was lucky right off the bat and found a black knit and white knit that would work perfectly!  I also found a black & white houndstooth fabric that could work, depending on what I make, as well as fabric covered buttons.

I thought I was done, but then I found a new vendor with a bunch of fabric that I really wanted.  Ugh, I am going to run out of space soon!

A rainbow of soft, comfy knits!

Then, I found an interesting table of deadstock vintage garments, which I bought for $4 apiece!  They were all completely new with the tags still on and held up well after a spin in the washing machine.  They will definitely be reconstructed into something new (removing the shoulder pads first!), but not sure into what yet...

And a pair of bird scissors for a few bucks.  They're so cute!

Next up for the day, was something I was dreading...  learning stick shift!  I attempted to learn once with my boyfriend a few years back.  Most of the time I stalled, and I could only get the car into first gear while rolling down the hill in the parking lot.  I couldn't figure it out AT ALL.

This time was waaaay different!  Out of about forty starts, I only stalled twice!  I even drove back home from the parking lot.  I was totally scared about possibly stalling at the stoplight.  Success for sure and hopefully I can handle driving in Ireland, especially on the other side of the road!

To celebrate my driving success, we went out to dinner.  Oh wait, we were headed out anyways!  The Attic is my kind of restaurant.  Fancied up comfort food with fresh ingredients, served in mason jars?  Yes please!

We split a Farmer's Market salad to start, with apples and other yummy stuff.  I can't remember!

I ordered the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and turnip greens.  Yet another dish that I used to order all the time when I was a kid.  This weekend was certainly a blast from the past!

My guy had the turkey meatloaf with a sweet glaze!

A couple of other people had the buttermilk fried chicken.  It's honestly some of the best fried chicken I've EVER had.

For dessert, my sister was totally gung ho for the Bananas Foster bread pudding.  She already knew she was getting it before we even sat down!  It's a terrible picture, but it was delicious.

I got the Lemon Curd dessert.

Soooo good with a scrumptious crust on the bottom!  It was tart and sweet, but not too sweet!

Sunday

It was a pretty lazy day, probably because of the last few dinners and a major food coma!  My friend came over with my new walking shoes for Europe.  I'm hoping they'll be as comfortable as my previous ones, or else it will be a long, long trip.

Afterwards, we did some crafting and I have a new project to share with you!  You'll have to have some patience though, because I scheduled for it to publish in the middle of my Europe trip.  You will definitely love it!

Lastly, we finished the last of the Ireland planning, figuring out our driving route and booking hotels/B&Bs along the way.

Monday

A day to rest and get catch up from a busy weekend!

Tuesday

Just a couple of errands at the mall, but it turned into a bit of shopping.
#1 - Returned my Europe walking shoes in the bigger size at Nordstrom (I ordered two and kept the better fitting pair). $0!
#2 - Removed the security tag on the Banana Republic skirt at the non-Factory store. $0!
#3 - Went to the Apple store to get an iPad camera connection kit for Europe.  $29
#4 - Stopped at Forever 21 for a bit of Black & White challenge inspiration.  Look what I found!

I also bought a few items...


Up for this weekend?  Las Vegas!

Anyone else have any exciting plans?