After a little over an hour of shopping this afternoon, I drove home with a bunch of little gifts to give Ryan for Valentine’s Day tonight. I stopped into four different stores to find his treats, but it didn’t take me too long since I knew what I wanted to buy.
I spent the most time in TJMaxx, but that’s to be expected since I cannot help but browse the clothing racks when I am there. I ended up buying a black cut-out dress for $25!
(The cut outs don’t look quite as big when the dress is on.)
I’ve been on the lookout for another cut out dress ever since I wore a cut out maxi dress when we were in Hawaii. I think they’re so much fun!
I justified the purchase saying it is my Valentine’s Day date dress (to be worn at a later date since we’re having a dinner party for two in our pajamas tonight). I also have four bachelorette parties to attend this year and figured it would be great to wear for some party time with my girlfriends!
Lunch
Since I was driving through downtown Ocala on my way home around lunchtime and had my laptop in the car, I decided to pop into Earth Origins to take advantage of their salad bar and free wifi.
I also snacked on some hummus chips on the side.
While I was enjoying my lunch, I saw someone walk up to the silverware and seasoning station and spray their salad with something. My curiosity got the best of me and when I went over to check out the spray bottle, I saw that it was Bragg Liquid Aminos.
I’ve read about liquid aminos on a bunch of different blogs before and have always wanted to try it since it supposedly tastes like soy sauce. I sprayed a piece of tuna in my salad with the liquid aminos to try it out and it really did taste like soy sauce. Fancy that! Just in case you’d like to read more about liquid aminos, I found this article that might interest you: What’s the Deal With Liquid Aminos? Michelle also published an interesting blog post comparing liquid aminos, tamari and coconut aminos that you can find here.
Now I’m off to get a little more work done before it’s time to break out the markers for my homemade Valentine’s Day surprise. This should be interesting!
Question of the Afternoon
- Have you ever tried liquid aminos?
- Have you ever been inspired to try something because you read about it on a blog? What did you think?
Last weekend I bought a bottle of kombucha to try after seeing it on a billion blogs. I know some people love it, but I thought it tasted like butt. Ryan actually took a big swig of it without realizing it was effervescent and hilarity ensued. Let’s just say the Fagans will not be hopping on the kombucha train.
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I tried chicken sausage and chia seeds because of you! I hope your date night goes well, it sounds like soooo much fun!
I’ve always been curious about those liquid aminos as well!
hahhahaha your butt remark reminds me of my father in law. He’s extrrreeeemely picky with every drink/food out there, and he thinks that tea tastes like butt sweat. 😛 We’re like, how do you know what butt sweat tastes like?! lol. I think with kombucha it’s hit/miss. Most of them taste pretty good in my opinion, but some are downright odd.
So many thoughts after reading this post:
1. What exactly does butt taste like?
2. Not only have I never tried liquid aminos…I’ve never heard of it!
3. I have tried several new things I’ve read about on blogs including overnight oats, putting your oatmeal in an almost empty peanut butter jar and a couple of your exercises.
I love those liquid aminos. I use it instead of soy sauce all the time (it truthfully tastes just like it but healthier)
That cut out dress looks very pretty! The maxi one you have is so beautiful too. I’m on a mission to find a perfect cut out dress but it seems like it’s too early for “summer” dresses here in Denmark. I may have to do some online shopping…:)
The maxi dress cut-out and this dress is beautiful! You look great in the maxi dress. I love the colors. I don’t have a cutout dress but now I’m rethinking the need to get one 🙂
I’ve never tried liquid aminos but it looks great to have on hand.
I can’t believe the timing of this post! Just this morning I was prepping my lunch, and I used some soy sauce on there. I really don’t like using soy sauce because of the sodium levels. So this might be a good alternative!
What Kombucha did you try? I drink my Synergy Kombucha and I love the Multi-green, The original and Hibiscus.
I love liquid aminos! I picked some up after seeing it on so many blogs. It tastes exactly like soy sauce– I may even like it better because it has a bit more of a meaty flavor. Plus the amount of sodium you save compared to soy sauce is more than worth it. I’ve converted my co-workers that love chinese food but have high blood pressure to the liquid aminos!
I used to work in Nature’s Market at Wegmans and we had the opportunity to try a ton of different foods and drinks… Kombucha was one of them. YUCK! I don’t blame you for not liking it… nasty in my opinion. It was definitely a big seller though!
Love the dress! I’m not bold enough to wear cut-out dresses yet, but I want to find one I like! I feel in love with PB2 after reading about it on Undressed Skeleton. Though it’s not as wonderful as some good ol’ Jif, it’s a great alternative when you need a peanuty fix!
Which kombucha did you try? I always go for GT’s Kombucha.. the gingerberry, guava goddess, cranberry, and gingerade are really good! I’ve never had a plain kombucha though, they kind of scare me haha. Love the flavors.
I’ve tried so many different things that I’ve read about on blogs – starting with Larabars a few years back. That’s what makes blogs fun for me. Not just food, but workouts, books, and so many ideas for decorating..
Braggs is a staple in our house. It’s delicious mixed with EVOO on a salad or while sauteing veggies 😀
Double Ditto on the Kombucha. I was leery about trying it ever since I tried the coconut water thing everyone was talking about. The coconut water has a funky taste. I couldn’t do more than two small sips. It got poured out. The Kombucha was another thing. I tried one with berries in it. Of course I didn’t read the bottle = that said do not shake!! I shook to mix it up then proceeded to open it. I was covered. After I left it set for awhile I opened it complete and WOW did it stink. It smelled like fermented garbage. I did taste it and it was the strangest thing I have ever tasted. I took two or three more swigs and put it in the fridge for later. I thought maybe I could go there, but after another swig later on, it got poured out also. I couldn’t get past the smell of the stuff and the tingling on my tongue!! I’m glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t like it.
Thanks for the link on amino acids! I just learned a ton!
I tried kombucha after seeing it on blogs, too…. I hated it!
“…I thought it tasted like butt” ~ That made me laugh my butt off!
ok, i love everything about this post. I am obsessed with TJ Maxx, & I just bought this amazing cutout dress because I have been wanting one forever! Also, i put liquid aminos on everything.. my roommates make fun of me. My favorite weird snack is cold tofu dipped in a little bit of it. SO GOOD. I have actually never tried it on salads though.. maybe I should get to it!
I’ve never tried liquid aminos.
I do want to try coconut water/coconut milk after reading about it on several blogs. I LOVE coconut 🙂
Your blog got me to try egg and jelly sandwiches! They’re delicious!
Never seen anything about liquid aminos before today but I have seen and read much about kombucha. I saw it on sale at Earth Fare and got a bottle. I liked it a lot, but a few Google searches revealed that people have gotten really sick from drinking it (but I think that’s when they drank homemade kombucha). I was a bit alarmed to see that something that was supposed to be a major health promoter was something associated with death! That said, I personally thought it was great–the flavor was a bit unusual (in a good way) and was a nice change from the normal beverages that I drink on a regular basis. My wife didn’t like it much though.
Julie, I’m not sure where else to put this, so I’ll just write this here. I just love your blog! I stumbled across it on Pinterest and another friend of mine has told me about it. You are such an inspiration to me. I love your positive energy and all your posts. You motivate me to make goals and complete them, and you have amazing advice on meals and recipes and all around healthy and happy living. I just thought you should know! You seem like such a sweet and personable person A little redundant much? lol Anyways, I just thought you should know that you are making a difference in this girls life and I greatly appreciate you for it!