The Potluck: August 2016

My goodness. It’s already September. I don’t know about y’all, but August was a fragmented month. Mostly because Lady Baby and I were sick a few times. (More on this in a bit.) Back-to-school came and went, and our sweet girl went off to Mother’s Day Out for the first time.

Before we get too far into the month of September, though, let’s do August’s potluck.

To recap, my potluck, as defined by the folks at Merriam-Webster is:

the regular meal available to a guest for whom no special preparations have been made… a communal meal to which people bring food to share —usually used attributively <a potluck supper>; whatever is offered or available in given circumstances or at a given time.

Around the end of every month, I write up a list of my (current) favorite things. While this list might not be a traditional “meal,” I hope to bring some unique products/entertainment/links/etc. that I’ve recently loved in the hopes that y’all will enjoy them, too.

Here’s my love list from August. It’s short and sweet:

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1. Ginger ale: I drank this stuff like it was going out of style. Not because I’m a huge soft drink fan, but because a nasty stomach bug tore through our family in August… and ginger ale made my sad tummy feel a little happier. And as an added bonus of ginger ale being in my house, I could make as many Blackberry Mint Spritzers as I wanted!

2. Iced coffee: It was a mainstay in my life for the month of August. Any day that I went out of the house, I’m fairly positive I picked one up. In fact, I could probably use this iced coffee maker to make it at home.

3. Yumbox Bento Lunchbox: I purchased this for our daughter to bring to Mother’s Day Out with her this fall. Not gonna lie – I kinda want one for myself! Since I work from home, getting my own bento lunchbox *might* be a bit of a stretch.

4. Ray-Ban Women’s Erika Sunglasses: It’s been really sunny in Dallas these days. I’ve been loving these shades, which were a Christmas present, all summer long.

5. The 2016 Summer Games: (I’m prefacing this and saying The Speckled Palate wasn’t a sponsor of the Games. I’m just a fan. Just in case anyone was uncertain.) We watched these like they were going out of style. Whenever our television was on, it was tuned to the various events being shown. My love for volleyball, as well as track and field, was renewed. I adored watching the swimmers and the rivalries. The marathons were thrilling, and the women’s triathlon, in particular, was a blast to watch. I was introduced to sports I’d never watched before, like kayaking and eventing. Seeing stories like the U.S. and New Zealand runners helping each other after both fell was inspiring. There was so much good at this year’s Games, and I’m so glad I was able to watch it.

6. Javier’s Birthday Dinner: It’s a yearly tradition to celebrate my cousin’s birthday at Javier’s Gourmet Mexicano. The restaurant is a Dallas institution, and we may or may not have seen Cindy Crawford one year when we were leaving. While there were no celebrity sightings this year, the traditional appetizer of tortilla chips, butter and salsa made me so incredibly happy. (You dip the fresh tortilla chips into the butter, then into the salsa. It’s heavenly and oh-so-decadent.) So did the steak I devoured. As did the Cafe Pierre, which we all enjoyed as a liquid dessert. We only visit Javier’s once a year, and every trip is well worth it!

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What did you love in the month of August?

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Curious about other things I’ve loved? Check out my other potlucks:

2014: October | November| December 

2015: January | February | March | May | June | July | August | September | November | December

2016: January | February |March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 

2017: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

2018: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

2019: January | February/March | April | August