This post is starting on the March 5th and that feels forever ago, maybe because of the pandemonium of the coronavirus and everything going on with the world at the moment. I hope everyone is staying safe. Social distancing isn’t going to be that tough for me since it’s like an everyday routine for me, haha. Then again, I’m being told to do so. In that case, I’m rebelling! Only kidding. I still have the choice, but it’s definitely wiser to distance myself to keep everyone safe and do my part.
Stephen ordered Inchin’s for lunch and intended to bring my box whenever he got off work, but he left it at his work so I ate leftovers or some noodles that night. The next day, he remembered my meal and I heated it up and it was all right. We both ventured out and tried something new. I ordered the Paneer Manchurian. Stephen ordered the chicken version.
I honestly had no idea what Paneer was or tasted like when I first ordered it. I probably shouldn’t have since I’m not a huge cheese fan, but it was an okay dish. The cheese taste kind of threw off the initial sauce taste for me. Stephen didn’t like his as much, but I thought his tasted better than mine.
Stephen made these cool coasters too.
On Friday, March 6th, Alexis stayed over with me and we had a girls night because we were going to the Dan + Shay concert on Saturday. She arrived after work and I made my Homemade Orange Chicken for her!
It turned out just as good, if I do say so myself.
I was going to make this dish for Haley and Reece when they were originally planning to visit us this weekend before the virus was discovered. Sadness, but there’s always a next time!
We popped some popcorn and enjoyed some sparking juice with raspberries as we watched some shows.
The Bachelor ended last week but she and I watched The Women Tell All episode and it was a drama-filled one, of course. How ironic to have a bullying segment, yet the drama was pitted against the girls during the season by the producers.
I’ve already expressed my sadness about how I feel about this season in my latest What I’ve Been Watching post and I wasn’t that impressed with the way it went. The Bachelorette has been postponed as well, but I don’t have high hopes about that either. Alexis and I watched one episode of Love is Blind and it’s interesting. I haven’t watched more episodes, but I’ll definitely have to. Plus, all the memes that I’ve been seeing will actually make sense.
Exploring on Saturday
We didn’t go to bed until after 1:00 AM, so we didn’t wake up until 11:00 AM or so. I was craving some sushi, so we tried a new restaurant called Sakura. There was a Sakura in Kingsport, and that’s like an old drive-thru restaurant that was turned into an Asian restaurant. There were lots of reasons why we never went to that one.
This one had better ratings than a sushi restaurant that was in Green Hills, so we tried Sakura instead. Stephen ordered the house soup with his meal, while Alexis and I ordered the miso.
Alexis ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box. Their Bento presentation was unique. She ordered the fried rice but thought it was a bit buttery, but the rest was pretty good.
I ordered the Bugolgi Bento Box. I was craving sushi, but I can’t dedicate a whole meal to it. I need other foods!
I was pretty happy with my meal. The meat and sauce were so tender and sweet. I’m always up for some tempera as well. Stephen ordered some type of Sushi Bento Box. I was super amazed by the price of his box for the amount of sushi he got. It didn’t quite fill him up, but he said he had enough of it.
After we ate, I wanted to look in Dress Up, a boutique around the Green Hills area. I didn’t buy anything during this trip, but I’ll have to come back and do some shopping since their clothes were really cute and reasonably priced.
The little area was pretty cool and there were so many trendy places. There were some cute murals as well to take pictures. First, we had to find some coffee, so we tried Revelator Coffee. I’m so bummed I didn’t get a picture of the interior because it was modern and cozy looking. Then again, there was a person at every table so that probably would’ve been awkward, but it was definitely a place to work!
This mural was super cute and we had to take some pictures. The not so cool part was that this was an alley way and cars kept crossing to interrupt the photo session. It was a little weird for cars to be able to drive by since it was a hot commodity for everyone to gather around.
I half-jokingly posted on Insta that it looked like a crying monster with an underbite, but evidently other people didn’t get it. After thinking that, it’s all I can see now.
We explored for about an hour or so, we headed back to the apartment to rest up before the concert. We watched a few episodes of Catfish to see some craziness going on. I’m on the final season already. Max has left and I’m sad. We made our way to Bridgestone Arena around 5:30 PM since the concert started at 7:00 PM.
Concert Time!
The openers were Ingrid Andress and The Band CAMINO. I loved Ingrid’s song “More Heart Than Mine.” I didn’t even know she was with Dan + Shay initially until we arrived. She sang the song a couple of times — one with Dan + Shay, and that was lovely. I hadn’ heard of The Band CAMINO, but I knew by the first few notes that I would like them, so I’ve played their album several times already.
All the bands were super entertaining and I love that they sound great without autotune. It’s always super disappointing to hear a band and realize they don’t sound as good live. Dan + Shay played so many good songs and I loved their visual effects.
I don’t know why my videos aren’t compatible to upload, but I am unable to on do so on here. Until I figure it out, here are just pictures of the fun time.
They sang “Speechless” — how could they not? I had to record that whole song because it’s what I walked down the aisle to for our wedding, so it was a sweet song to think back to.
It really stinks the coronavirus has affected the world. Dan + Shay, and other bands and sporting events, had to cancel their tour dates and events until a later time. I’m so glad we got to go to this concert before the next phase of the end of the world commenced. Okay, not really, but I would’ve been bummed to miss this concert. Still bummed about how devastating this virus is, but a major eye roll to the people who are over-buying.
On Sunday, we mostly hung out and I managed to sell one of my old and beloved Fossil purses to a lady. I started getting sad and sentimental about it, but it means I can one day get another one, so it works out in the end.
Stephen’s Birthday
I bought Stephen a weighted blanket for his birthday. It’s the 20 pound one, and he didn’t believe that it was legit 20 pounds because he felt like it weighed more than that, so he took it up stairs and weighed it. You’d be surprised with how heavy the blankets really are! He wanted to spend his birthday by eating at P.F. Chang’s, mainly because it’s in proximity of a Bilmuri concert.
They changed their menus from the looks of it. We started off with the Handmade Pork Dumplings, and they were super good. I wish we would’ve ordered another one of those.
I have a live video of him stuffing his face with one of these, but those don’t work on here either, ugh.
Stephen ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen but didn’t fancy it. Weirdly enough, he ordered it the last time we ate there in December and I don’t remember his opinion of it. This time it can with an egg, so that was slightly different.
I stuck with ordering the Hokkien Street Noodles, but I will really venture out the next try and try a rice dish. The presentation looks a lot better than last time where it looked like they dumped it into the bowl, plus the portion was larger it seemed.
Stephen took the concert pic, as you can probably tell by the height of the photo, haha. The place was packed and it was a little toasty.
I suppose around Thursday the coronavirus was announced, so that halted all other activities and our hardcore adventures.
Saturday was a super lazy day for us both. I spent it watching a lot of Catfish and Tiny House Nation while loosely working on my blog series, Yearn to Learn. I did manage to paint my nails and they’re still on, which feels like a new record for me.
Also, I can proudly say that this was the best success of me painting my nails. I actually got it on my nail and not all over my fingers for once! It’s the little things that make me happy.
We had Chick-fil-A for dinner that I forgot to document. We let a neighbor borrow our vacuum right when we were about to leave to get the food and we waited for a bit for him to return it before we went for food. I was getting hangry after 40 minutes or so. Stephen was kind to get food for us because it started to rain and driving in the rain still frightens me. I watched All the Bright Places on Netflix and I want to read the book all over again.
On Sunday, I got a bit bored and wanted to go out for some food. We went to HoneyFire because I was craving some barbecue. This was Stephen’s first trip here. He ordered the Pork Shoulder Tray with the potatoes and cole slaw with a Coke to drink.
They were out of the original flat fries, so I was slightly sad but I’m not picky with their potatoes in all forms. Stephen probably would have preferred the flat since he’s not a huge fan of thick cut fries. They have some sort of sweet ingredient, [brown sugar?] that adds a delicious flavor to them.
They didn’t have the Burnt Ends sandwich available, so I wanted to try the Beef Brisket, and it was wonderful as well. I’d been really craving their beans and this meal just hit the spot for me.
We played Pokemon as well, and then I dropped Stephen off and I wanted to drive around and wander for a bit after being cooped up all week. Just driving around counts as social distance, minus the quick trip to Dunkin’ beforehand, but it went successful for the first week from this craziness.
On Monday, I ran to Kroger because I needed a few ingredients for a new recipe I want to make soon — what a terrible time for that ambition, haha. I managed to buy the meat that I needed though! I’m hurt that people took almost all the ramen noodles as their last resort foods. That’s my go-to food choice! Although, the soy sauce flavor was still available, so that was a little funny. Also, I’m happy to see that people don’t sway towards buying Screamin’ Hot Veggie Straws, so I definitely bought a bag! There are definitely perks to liking odd foods.
Luckily, we’re stocked on toilet paper and the other essentials that have ran out because those aisles were cleared. I went the week before this happened for those items — thank goodness! It’s just insane. I hope everyone is staying well during this frantic time.
- How are your stores looking?
- Are you worried about COVID-19?
- Do you have enough toilet paper right now?
- Tell me something good that’s going on in your life in the mist of everything!
Happy Birthday to Stephen!
That orange chicken looks so good I wish I had some in front of me right now.
I haven’t been to the grocery since the 13th so I’m not sure, but I’ve heard the shelves are pretty bare and that people from larger cities are coming to OUR little town to look for stuff they’ve run out of!!!! Hey! STOP that!
No, I am not worried one bit about the virus. Just the dang people panic buying!!!
Yes, we have enough t-paper. I bought 2 4-packs and 1-6 pack, I think, on the 13th and we already had another 4-pack and a few individual rolls. So, I think we’re good for awhile.
Something good that’s going on…well, I can’t really think of anything, but the fact that nothing BAD is going on is my something good. Knock on wood.
He says thank you! I absolutely love the orange chicken recipe, and it’s so simple to make. I hope people do stop panic buying, I think that’s a lot of my worry. Although, it doesn’t seem like a lot of people are taking social distancing either, but I’m cooped up at home.
I’m certainly glad you have enough toilet paper. You’re definitely set and hopefully by the time you need more, the frenzy buying will cease. One can only hope, that is. I suppose there’s nothing to exciting to report if we’re all trying to say inside, but glad that nothing bad has happened to you and your mom! Enjoy some shows and read some books during this time too 🙂
Never heard of Paneer lol. If it’s a cheese sauce dont think I would be into it as much despite the fact that i like cheese lol.
You know, I don’t watch much reality TV, I feel as though producers of American TV always have to pit people against each other for entertainment and I don’t like that. Like back when I used to watch reality shows, people would actually get into fights and hardly ever did the producers or camera crew jump in like????? Idk if they do that anymore or not but I hated those aspects of it. Currently watching Love Island and even the people who are in the cast go about resolving conflicts in a much more respectful manner lol. And one more thing, I watched Love Is Blind and really liked it so I ended up binge watching it as much as I could lol. So good!
Ooh those bento boxes look so cool but too bad I dont eat sushi lol.
And the mural looks pretty cool!
Lucky you, you were able to attend your concert before everything kicked off. I had a show in May that I’ve been waiting for since last summer, and unfortunately, I dont think it’s going to happen 😭😭
Oh wow I’ve never been to a PF Changs, but I’ve seen the restaurants around town. There is another place here with almost the same name, Chang’s Mongolian Grill. It’s very popular. You basically grab the food you want and they cook it on this huge round griddle. Anyway, sucks the ramen wasnt as good, but those dumplings look amazing!!!
Happy belated birthday to Stephen!
I have All The Bright Places on my to watch list! Didnt know it was a book either lol. The title reminded me of a book I recently read, All The Little Lights. What a great book that was, wish they made it into a show or movie.
Our stores are not looking good. And yes I’m worried about this virus because the people I live with ALL have to work, they’re essential…so our chances of getting sick are very high. The only ones staying home for good are my son and I. 😪
Paneer is actually the cheese blocks that you seen in the picture! The sauce had a really good flavor. I absentmindedly thought it was tofu, haha, but nope. Straight cheese, which made the sauce taste funny to me.
I think the production putting the cast against one another has definitely been showing up more and I’m not a fan of it! That sounds refreshing to know that Love Island seems more mature at handling conflict. I just finished Love is Blind this past weekend!
That’s so sad to hear that you won’t be able to go to the show, I’m sorry to hear that! Have they rescheduled or said they’ve planned to?
Ahhh, I love Mongolian grills! There’s one in Clarksville and I adore it. It’s so cool to see them cooking it like it’s not problem. Stephen says thank you very much! It was a good one for him.
I’ve never heard of All the Little Lights, but I’ll have to check it out and read the book! Maybe they’ll make it into film in a few years, even though I’d be eager to have it made now, haha.
Has your state issued for people to stay home or anything? Recently, a lot of places around here are required to stay or work from home the next two weeks because at least 100 people have been impacted by the virus. A lot of people from Stephen’s work is working from home, but his commercial department still has to go in. I cannot imagine the stress of this for you, but I’m hoping you all stay well and are getting the things you need!
Oooooohhhhhhhh haha it looked like tofu to me but I didn’t question it lol!! Yeah idk that I can eat cheese squares like that either. Cant really eat much dairy to begin with lol
Ah well thats a shame…I thought they would change their ways after many years of doing it but to hear it is still happening makes me hate it. Perhaps Americans really like the conflict and that in itself is really troubling 🤦🏻♀️
Dont get me wrong, they argue a lot and yell to try and get their point across but are big enough to apologize for their shortcomings after everything has cooled down a bit lol. But I guess what I meant is that they dont resort to fighting or anything.
Aahhh what did you think of Love is Blind?? Who was your favorite couple?? Or who were you rooting for?? Did you get to watch the reunion as well? I’m sorry for so many questions haha. I’m excited they got renewed for a second second.
They havent said ANYTHING which is super odd. Perhaps they are waiting to see if our governor lifts the stay at home order because so far, schools are closed until April 28th, but there is a possibility that that will get extended and if it does, that means that gatherings of 10 or more will not be acceptable…we can’t really have gatherings of 10 or less either unless it’s the same household lol
He is so welcome!! When is your* birthday??
And if you ever get a chance to read that book be sure to let me know what you thought of it. It’s a little suspenseful but not really because its YA, so mainly romance but I thought it was well done though it did seem to run on for a bit but really enjoyed reading it overall. But anyway, if you read it let me know. The ending or one of the plots kind of caught me by surprise but since I haven’t read many suspenseful or thriller story lines, I didn’t really see it coming lol.
I seriously thought the Paneer meal was tofu! Before looking it up, I even told Stephen it had a cheese taste to it, haha. I was so confused at first!
I’m definitely wondering now if we all just like the conflict between people to watch for e!tertainment. I haven’t really watched reality shows in other countries, but I thought the unnecessary drama was a common theme since I’ve watched it so much!
Love is Blind was so crazy! I couldn’t wrap my head around them getting engaged in like 10 days. I did like Cameron and Lauren and I’m surprised by Barnett and Amber! I’m baffled by Giannina and Damian’s relationship. I read that the second season will be filmed in Chicago? I’m wondering when they’ll start filming once everything is well. I’m not even sure of the school situation here, but it’s like a ghost town around here! I’m sad that seniors may not get a graduation, or a high school prom, but I’d hope they could reschedule them somehow.
My birthday is June 20th! What about yours? I don’t mind all the questions, I do like the conversations, especially now too! I’ll see if I can read the book on my Kindle! I’m a sucker for romance and suspense! Did you ever read the Nancy Drew books? I thought those were really cool mystery books.
Well I’ve gotten the chance to see Love Island, which is a show from the UK and just recently, Terrace House, from Japan. The differences are so great, and I definitely think Americans love that kind of drama lol.
Oh I knowww!! Not to mention they got engaged before seeing each other and before spending time with one another. Cameron and Lauren were my favorite, I’m so glad they have remained together since the show 🙂 and I feel the same way about Damian and Giannina.. but eh lol
I hope so too, it seems many things might end up rescheduling, fingers crossed, I had a show for May but it got cancelled and I was so excited because the band was barely coming back from their hiatus 🙁
Ah yay, I’ll take note of you bday then 🙂 you’re a Gemini just like Hunida?? 😀
I never read the Nancy Drew books, is that why I couldn’t figure it out as easily? haha I will need to look into them 🙂
I’ve never heard of Terrace House, I’ll have to look it up! I have seen Love Island on my Hulu recommendations. As long as one couple from Love is Blind stays together, I’ll have a little hope for the show, haha.
The band was coming back from a hiatus? Aw, that’s a bigger bummer then! I hope they’ll reschedule their show later in the year and you get to see them.
I am a Gemini, but I don’t feel like the sign since I was never a social butterfly growing up! Haha. Maybe I’m slowly growing into it more. What about your sign and birthday? The Nancy Drew books were so good to read growing up! They’re somewhat pre-teen books I think but they were a light mystery read!
Terrace House is on Netflix, just in case i forgot to mention it lol. And yeah, I’m pretty sure Lauren and Cameron will stay together, not so sure about Damian and Giannina to be honest LOL.
YEAH!! I know, it made me so sad to have to miss such a huge show that I’ve been looking forward to for nearly a year when they announced their comeback last summer LOL
Oooh interesting, Hunida is definitely a Gemini haha. Perhaps you have other signs in your birth chart? Like my husband is a Sagittarius but has some Aries in him LOL
I’m a Scorpio, with a little bit of other signs mixed in there, so I’m not a straight Scorpio lol. I don’t always feel like a true* scorpio either most of the time haha. I’m not secretive nor vengeful xD
ah I don’t mind reading teen books, I mean I read a lot of YA still because I was never fully into books when I was younger
That makes finding Terrace House easier then, thanks! I’ll have to check it out this weekend. I think because my birthday is at the end of Gemini and beginning of Cancer that I’m more of a Cancer since I relate a lot more with their traits. We’re probably all a little mix, and I definitely don’t see you being secretive or vengeful either! Haha. It’s pretty fascinating to look into. I haven’t pinpointed Stephen’s true sign because he’s a Pisces but I wouldn’t say he is one 😂
I think some people didn’t like to read because they were forced to read things that didn’t interest them in school, but I’m glad you enjoy reading now!
Shoot I pressed send and meant to keep writing lol. Yes our state has mandated a stay at home order that was put into effect earlier this week on Monday. A lot of people were not taking it seriously so now, they will be giving warnings and citations (class C misdemeanors) to those who don’t obey the gov’s orders… they had set a stay at home order like two weeks ago but again, people were not taking it seriously and still aren’t… my husband’s and my brother’s jobs gave them slips to show if they ever get pulled over. It’s like a permission slip to go to and from home. We are also allowed to get groceries and walk our pets but other than that everything is closing.
As of last night, 266 have it here in my state and 10 people have died. Its definitely worrisome, but I’m taking it day by day and trying to stay off the news on Twitter.
Haha, it’s all good! But oh wow, it seems like issuing citations and fining people would be about the only way to get some people to take staying home seriously. That’s so interesting that your husband and brother have to show slips of proof if they get pulled over! We don’t have any of those orders yet.
Goodness, I just looked up the total for us here and it’s 394 and 2 people have died, according to the article I’m reading. I’ve managed to stay off Facebook this week, so that’s a win for me! Hope your weekend is well! We binge watched Tiger King since people were talking about it and that was something crazy and interesting, haha.
Have things changed since we last talked? Here people are not taking it seriously….they don’t even care it seems like. Even one of our roommates leaves in and out of the house like it’s no big deal…
And at this point, we have about 1k cases and I think almost 30 people have died. According to the news, the amount of people who are going to the hospital for covid-19 related cases are decreasing, but I have no idea if that has changed. They have already tested a total of 10k people and many have come back negative. So who knows. I read some article that it’s no longer 2 weeks incubation, but more like 24 days? So it sucks.. This is getting dragged out much longer than necessary.
I wasn’t interested in Tiger King? It just didn’t appeal to me lol
I know some there have been more cases in my area and it doesn’t seem like they’re taking it seriously either. I know my friend’s relative is still going out and about. I did pick up food last week and the workers were super cautious though.
They’ve tested that many people in your state? Wow. As of this morning, my county has 1,034 cases with 6 deaths and 129 people have recovered so far. I looked at my last comment and that’s a huge number from a week ago. Same, I really hate how we can’t all just stay in for a couple of weeks for the virus to clear up. It really is being dragged out due to people not staying home and it’s making everyone else suffer. I’m wondering what kind of measures will be enforced to make us all stay in for nonessential tasks.
Tiger King was hard to stomach and definitely not something I would watch again. I don’t blame you!
I’m going to be careful with take out, at least for the time being. As much as I would love to support our local businesses I’m far too anxious to deal with it lol
Oh gosh yeah, it seems to keep increasing. At this point no one is safe, which makes me feel more anxious about it all, but on the bright side, it seems like a lot of people are getting milder versions of it, and while it’s still really rough and terrible, they’re all recovering.
I completely understand that. We’ve cut back and have been cooking at home for the most part too. I’m hoping we can all do our part and stay inside so we can somewhat return to normal. It’s such a strange time right now.