Tag Archives: cheesecake

A Cheesecake Lunch (or Still Keeping Up With An Annual Tradition)

Posted on January 26, 2023 | Comments Off on A Cheesecake Lunch (or Still Keeping Up With An Annual Tradition)

Going out to the Cheesecake Factory around the new year has been a long-running tradition with my birthday twin. We used to go closer to Christmas or New Year’s, but the last few years have been more about just getting there at some point in January instead of worrying about going during the holidays. It is nice going during the holidays since the outdoor mall we go to has some really nice decorations, but I also like going outside of the holidays since it’s not as crowded. This time, we also decided to go on the weekend for lunch instead of going after work one day. That allowed us to have a bit more flexibility with how long we were there and we didn’t feel tired after having a full workday.

I was surprised when we got there and we were able to be seated immediately. We are used to having a long wait, but we must have gotten there at exactly the right time because they were able to seat us at a table outside with no issues. And I wanted to sit outside since I’m still a bit hesitant about being somewhere inside without having a mask on. It was cold, but they have a lot of heat lamps on their balcony so it was actually warmer outside under the heat lamps than it was just being inside. Plus, it’s always nicer to sit outside where we can people-watch while we eat.

Because we went on a weekend for lunch, we had brunch as an option for our food. I was seriously considering getting something different that I’ve never had, but I ended up getting the same salad I always do. I was trying to think about what I would enjoy plus trying to have something that is at least somewhat healthy considering how bad the meal could be.

As soon as we placed our order, it was time for our catch-up. We always have a lot to catch up on when we have our meals together. She filled me in on the renovation she had to do to her condo, which had been something happening for the last year. And I told her about my crazy date, which was the day before, and some of the things I want to still do to the condo. I think both of us going through renovations at the same time has made her the perfect friend to bounce ideas off of when I have had moments where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do something or not. Or to be someone who understands how stressful it can be to have to make so many decisions.

And of course, we got cheesecake. I think we confused our server when we asked if each piece could be cut in half so we each would get half, but he understood and we each got half of the flavors we ordered.

With my new medication, I’m not eating as much as I did before, but I still was able to enjoy this meal. I just had a lot less of my salad than I normally would and I ate probably half of the cheesecake I normally would. I rarely finish the food we get since it’s so much, but it was still interesting to see how much less I wanted to have this time. But that’s not a bad thing so I’m not mad about it.

And since we were there for lunch instead of a later dinner, we had some time to wander around after we were done eating. I think we both needed to walk a bit before getting back into our cars after that meal. We did a little window shopping at a few of the stores while walking around and then we went into Cost Plus since I wanted to see what they still had on sale since I know they normally have things on sale after Christmas. I ended up getting a couple of random things that I didn’t really need but would look nice as decor around my condo. And nothing was very expensive or elaborate. But I am trying to be better about either getting things that are cute that catch my attention or noting them somewhere to buy later. I want to make sure my home has things in it that are nice and make me happy.

After shopping for a bit, we both had to head back to our cars to get to other things we needed to do. But it was a nice change to our tradition to be able to spend more time than just eating a meal and then leaving. Maybe we’ll continue to do lunches for our cheesecake meals so we don’t have to feel as rushed as we have in the past. But even if in a year we are back to doing dinner, it’s still a tradition I look forward to each year and I’m so glad that we fit it in this year!

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A More Normal Cheesecake Outing (or Still Savoring In-Person Hangouts)

Posted on January 19, 2022 | Comments Off on A More Normal Cheesecake Outing (or Still Savoring In-Person Hangouts)

It’s been a tradition for a long time for me to go out to dinner with my friend Joanna to Cheesecake Factory around the new year. Some years we are closer to January 1st and other years it can take us a bit of time to plan when we can meet up. But just like our birthday dinner tradition, this is one that we have been able to keep up for quite a while.

But for our cheesecake outing at the beginning of 2021, we knew we couldn’t go in person. It just wasn’t safe for either of us, especially since neither of us were vaccinated at that point. So we decided to each order delivery food and we ate together over Zoom. It wasn’t the same as our normal dinners, but it was a way for us to keep our tradition going.

This year, it’s debatable if things are better or worse. And as I’ve said before, it can be tough to know which risks are acceptable and which ones are just too much to do. So we tried to find a way to make our cheesecake dinner happen but be as safe as possible.

Instead of going to dinner, we went for lunch. We knew it might still be crowded, but we thought lunch would hopefully be better. We also agreed we would only be willing to eat outside. We normally sit outside, but we were going to let the host know when arriving that we would be willing to wait for an outside table instead of being seated inside. And of course, both of us are vaccinated and boosted plus we had our masks for when we weren’t eating. I also had forgotten until we showed up that you also have to now show proof of vaccination in order to eat there, so we know the others there were vaccinated as well.

And I think we made some smart choices. Normally, we do have to wait a bit to be seated when we go, but this time we were able to be seated immediately. And even though it was right as lunchtime started, the patio didn’t have too many people on it. I also think they reduced the seating on the patio so the tables weren’t as close as they normally are. While these are all good things, I also know I was a bit more on edge than I normally am when we’ve gone to get cheesecake. I have rarely gone out to eat in the past 2 years, and it has gotten a bit easier each time. But it’s still something that makes me nervous and I know that feeling will probably last for a while.

But even though I was a bit nervous, going out to hang out with a friend made me so happy! I know Joanna and I try to see each other more often, but it usually doesn’t happen (even in non-pandemic times). So having our traditions twice a year are really special for us. And I also just enjoy any time I get to see someone in real life instead of on a screen.

We both ordered a lunch special (instead of me getting my usual salad) and then we had a lot of time to catch up on life. Both of us are going through renovation stuff with our places (although hers is due to a leak at her building), so we shared stories of what we’ve both been going through. And this was the first time we had hung out since I bought the condo, so she wanted to know all about it! And because we were seated outside and the Grove had quite a few people there, we also had a great time people watching and noticing all the interesting things happening around us. I never realized how much I could miss something as simple as people watching, but it’s something I haven’t gotten to do much in the last 2 years.

And of course, any outing to Cheesecake Factory has to include cheesecake. Normally we get 2 slices and split them in half so we each get half a slice of both flavors. But we were both full after lunch so we only got one piece to split (which honestly is more than enough).

I know I’ve said this almost any time I’ve seen a friend in real life, but I needed this time. I want to try to be better about seeing my friends, but it’s not easy. It’s not easy in normal times when I’m tired after work, but it’s that much harder when we have to consider how safe certain things may be to do. But I am trying to be better about it and I’m glad Joanna and I were able to schedule our cheesecake outing so we got to have this time together.

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A Virtual Cheesecake Dinner (or Not Letting Anything Stop A Tradition)

Posted on January 14, 2021 | Comments Off on A Virtual Cheesecake Dinner (or Not Letting Anything Stop A Tradition)

As I’ve written about for several years, I have 2 traditions with my friend and birthday twin, Joanna. The first is our birthday dinner at Truxton’s. And the second is our cheesecake dinner around the new year. We turned our birthday dinner into a picnic, but we still got food from Truxton’s. While it didn’t feel exactly the same as what we normally do for our birthday, it was still fitting into our tradition and it made me happy.

When we were together for our birthday, I think we both thought by now things would be a bit more normal. So we assumed we would be having our cheesecake dinner the way that we are used to doing it. But as we all know, we are still very far from normal and it’s even more dangerous to be out with others now. We had decided to order from Cheesecake Factory to have our dinner, but we decided to not have a picnic. It was just safer for us both to be eating at our own homes. But we could still video chat so we could be together.

So we set it up so our food should arrive around the same time. It didn’t quite work out like that, but it wasn’t too bad. My food was to me sooner than Joanna’s food, but I ordered a salad so it was ok to wait a bit. And her food arrived at her house soon after.

It was a little weird to be eating on Zoom, but we both found it easier if we turned off the self-view on our screens. I don’t think I could have eaten while watching myself eat. I knew that Joanna could still see me eat, but somehow that’s different. We both also tried to do a little bit of nicer lighting so we could see each other, but it was nice to be a bit more casual than we normally are when we go out to dinner (for example, neither of us dressed up).

And while it wasn’t the same as being at dinner together, I’m so glad we did it. It was so nice to get to see Joanna and catch up like we normally do. And even though it was a bit odd to eat while on camera, it’s been a while since I’ve had a meal with someone else. So even virtually eating with someone so I wasn’t alone was nice and felt like I wasn’t as alone as I am.

Our conversation was like it always is. We both had a lot of random stuff to catch up on with our lives. And I love getting to catch up and hear all the crazy stories she has and I’m sure she loves my crazy stories too. And because we weren’t at a restaurant and felt like they needed our table or something, our virtual dinner was much longer than our dinners normally are! We were on Zoom together for over 3 hours! But I think we both needed the social time and I’m glad that neither of us needed to rush to something else.

Normally, I take a photo of our cheesecakes because we split cheesecake. We order 2 different slices and have them cut each slice in half so we each get half of each type. But that wasn’t possible for our virtual dinner. We both joked that we should order 2 slices to make it almost the same, but neither of us did (we didn’t need to spend the money or eat 2 pieces of cheesecake). We didn’t discuss our cheesecake choices before we ordered, but we both ended up getting tiramisu cheesecake. And we took a photo over Zoom to be our photo for the dinner.

Even though having a virtual dinner is better than skipping our dinner (we never would have skipped our tradition!), I still wish we could have had dinner together. We both are trying to be hopeful that by our birthday, we will be able to be having a meal in the same place. I don’t know if restaurants will be open (and safe) by then, but at least feeling safe going for a picnic with our food or maybe eating at my house. Just something so we can be in the same space.

But even if we have to do another virtual dinner together, I know we will not let anything stop us from our traditions and this proved that we are both as dedicated to make them happen as possible!

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Time For Traditional Cheesecake (or It Can Still Count As Celebrating The New Year)

Posted on January 17, 2020 | Comments Off on Time For Traditional Cheesecake (or It Can Still Count As Celebrating The New Year)

I don’t have a ton of traditions that I do every year, but the few that I do have are very special to me. And one of the few traditions I have are dinners with my birthday twin. We have our (almost) free birthday dinner and we have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory around the new year. The birthday dinner is usually done very close to our birthday since we have to go during our birthday month to get our discounts. But our cheesecake dinner is a bit more flexible. Sometimes we go before the holidays and sometimes we go after the new year. But whenever we go, we have been pretty good about making sure we have our dinner even if it’s a month or so late.

This year, I decided to be proactive in making sure we got our dinner in as close to the new year as possible. I knew both of us are busy so it might be tough to figure out when we could make dinner plans. So I reached out Joanna right around the 1st to say we needed to plan our dinner. And we were able to find some time this week that worked for both of us after work. Since the restaurant we go to is closer to my side of town than it is for Joanna, I let her decide the best time for her to meet. We had to be a bit flexible with each other because our schedules ended up being a bit busier than we expected, but we managed to arrive within minutes of each other and we were quickly seated for dinner (which was a miracle since there is usually a 30-minute wait).

We actually had decided on our cheesecake choices before we decided on our dinners, but we wanted to get the food ordering out of the way first so we could eat and get to our catch up talk.

We usually talk about the same few topics whenever we meet up. We catch each other up on what’s happening with our families and acting careers. But the main thing we usually talk about is the craziness about the dating world. We both have had a lot of random stories to share over the years and I love that we both have stories so it’s not just me sharing them. And as always, we both had lots of dating updates to give each other. And since both of us take screenshots of the profiles of the guys we meet (it’s a safety thing), we could show each other who we’ve had dates with. I’m waiting for the day that she and I (or any friend I know who is dating) discover that we have gone out with the same guy. That hasn’t happened yet, but I bet one day it will happen.

Both of us have had some good and bad dating stories to share, so it wasn’t all crazy stories. And I think hearing a friend is going through the same ups and downs that I am helps me feel like I’m not alone in my random journey with dating. And we can also support each other which is another positive. We both have recently had situations that hurt a bit, so it was nice to get some in-person support. And even though I know dissecting what happened on dates doesn’t necessarily do any good, sometimes it’s nice to go over things and have someone else confirm that the situation was weird or that I didn’t do anything wrong.

And of course, being at the Cheesecake Factory we had to have cheesecake! We did our usual tradition of ordering 2 different types and each getting half of a slice. Things are so much easier now that we know we can ask them to cut each slice in half. 2 halves of a slice are so much cheesecake, but it’s so good!

After our dinner and cheesecake, we were both very full. Since the restaurant wasn’t crowded we didn’t feel too bad about hanging around there for a while. And also, our service was a bit slow so we had to wait a very long time to get our dessert and the check. We ended up being there much longer than I expected, but we had a great time being able to hang out and catch up. And it was nice not feeling rushed that we had to get out of there. But since we both had to work the next morning, we didn’t stay out too late because we both wanted to get home to get to bed at a decent hour.

Every time Joanna and I meet up, we say that we need to hang out more often than our 2 traditions. But our schedules don’t always work that way and before we know it it’s time to have one of our traditional meals again. We do make efforts to see each other more than twice a year, but at least I know we will have our birthday dinner in August for our next catch up if we don’t have one sooner.

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An Evening Of Cheesecake (or Just A Calm Dinner With My Birthday Twin)

Posted on January 15, 2019 | Comments Off on An Evening Of Cheesecake (or Just A Calm Dinner With My Birthday Twin)

With my birthday twin Joanna, we have 2 traditions. The first is to do our free (or almost free) birthday meal. We’ve been going that for pretty much as long as we’ve been friends. The other tradition is to get cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. We try to do this around the end of December or beginning of January since that is almost around our half birthdays. Sometimes that cheesecake dinner is a bit later, but we try our best to do it around the new year.

We usually go to the Cheesecake Factory at the Grove which can be crazy around the holidays. We tolerate the crowds since we made the choice to go there, but it’s always nice when it’s not as bad as we expect. And since we delayed our cheesecake dinner until this past week, we were hopeful that the crowds would be much less than they are when the Grove is still decorated for the holidays.

We planned on an early dinner to avoid the dinner rush and I got to the Grove first so I went to put our names on the list. We are used to having to wait 30 minutes or an hour, so whoever gets their first puts their name down and we know that we will have time to kill. Usually, we use that time for a lot of our catch up since we are just sitting there. I got there first this time and I was shocked when the host told me it was only a 5 minute wait! I texted Joanna and she said she was parking, but I still managed to be seated before she got there!

Joanna arrived only a few minutes after I sat at our table, and we decided to focus on our food first and then our catch up. I went with my usual salad and Joanna got a salad as well. We figure that we should save room for the cheesecake we knew we’d be getting. Then it was time for our catchup.

I had seen Joanna somewhat recently when we were doing our self-tape auditions, so it wasn’t as big of a catchup as they have been in the past. But of course we both still had a lot to talk about. I was updating her on my job situation and the random stories I have from online dating. She’s been taking a break from online dating and I totally get it. It can be really depressing and demoralizing when you meet so many bad guys or keep getting ghosted or stood up. I think the thing that is saving my sanity is thinking of all the bad dates as good stories for my book. My stories are usually pretty entertaining and I was messaging with someone while I was at dinner, so she was getting a play by play of what was going on.

Joanna updated me on a really amazing acting class that she is currently in plus her trips to see her family. Even though she and I are very similar people, we have had very different journeys and our lives are in different places right now so it’s always fun to see the randomness that she has been involved in. I know my life is random and crazy, and so is Joanna’s. But I think that is part of what makes life fun and exciting at times. I wish that some of the randomness regarding work would calm down for me, but I’m working on it.

And even though getting to hang out with an awesome friend is one of the main reasons we do this dinner every year, the highlight for us is the cheesecake! And ever since we learned they can cut each piece of cheesecake in half for us, we’ve loved it even more! We always get 2 slices cut in half (so we each get half of each slice) and it’s become a tradition to get the red velvet cheesecake as one of them. For the other slice, we change things up a bit. I recently had seen a silly quiz online that said it would tell you what flavor of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory you were. I sent it to Joanna and told her it told me I was Dulce de Leche cheesecake. We decided that had to be the other piece that we got.

Even though we ate light with our salads, we were so full after cheesecake. But it was worth it! We walked around and looked at some shops around the Grove after dinner, but it was more just to window shop than to actually look for things we want to buy. I think we both needed some time walking around before getting back into our cars with how full we were.

But after a little window shopping, it was time to head to the parking garage. I know that we both had such a fun time for dinner and I love how chill and relaxed this dinner is. Traditions don’t have to be stressful or over the top. Sometimes just a nice dinner is exactly what you want to help keep your friendship strong.

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Holiday Cheesecake (or Birthday Twins and Twinkle Lights)

Posted on January 9, 2018 | Comments Off on Holiday Cheesecake (or Birthday Twins and Twinkle Lights)

The last few years it has been a tradition for my birthday twin, Joanna, and I to get cheesecake around the holidays. We haven’t always been successful with our timing, but we have been pretty good about at least doing it eventually between our birthday adventures. But this time, I wanted to make sure we were on top of it and I texted Joanna before around Christmas to find out when we could get cheesecake. Somehow, we both ended up being free right before NYE so we made a date for our cheesecake outing.

I was totally looking forward our hangout and then of course it ended up happening right as I was starting to feel my worst. But I wasn’t going to miss this tradition so I took some painkillers and hoped for the best. Fortunately, Joanna is such an amazing friend and understood that I wasn’t feeling so great. So she probably took charge more often in the conversation and I’m so grateful for her for that! We knew that it was going to be crowded and that there would be a wait for a table, but normally when they tell us it will be an hour it’s really just a fraction of that. But this time, we ended up waiting almost 90 minutes for a table. But we were determined to get our cheesecake and figured this just gave us more time to catch up.

We both have been having adventures in online dating so we were sharing stories about that. And she had just been to visit her family so she was updating me on how everyone in her family are doing. It was a pretty chill hangout and catch up but I’m always so grateful that we get to spend this time together. She and I both have weird and sometimes crazy schedules so we don’t get to see each other that often. More often than not, the only times we see each other are for our birthday and for the cheesecake. So we need to maximize each hangout.

Once we finally got a table, we ordered pretty quickly. We’ve both been to Cheesecake Factory enough to know what we want (although the flatbread that Joanna likes was just taken off the menu) and we got to looking at the menu at the cheesecake which was the most important part of the meal to us. I ordered a salad for my dinner and we decided on red velvet and tres leches cheesecake to have. We’ve learned that we can ask the server to split each piece of cheesecake in half, so we each get half of each slice.

Somehow I always have room for dessert even though I was still feeling pretty awful. But I knew I ate too much so we decided to walk around a bit after dinner. All of the Christmas lights were still up at the Grove and it really was beautiful. It was the first time this season that I had seen the lights and I’m glad I didn’t miss my chance to check them out!

We also went to check out the tree, but it’s so big that it’s almost impossible to get a photo of the entire tree!

But we decided that the tree was the perfect background for us to take a photo together!

It wasn’t as crowded by the tree and decorations as it was near dinner, so it was nice to be able to walk around and not feel totally squished. The crowds are the main reason why I rarely go to the Grove, but whenever I go there I’m reminded about how nice it is there and how fun the holiday decorations are. But I think that it will probably be a once a year type of adventure. Plus, most of the stores and restaurants there are places I can go to somewhere else so I’m not always that motivated to drive over there. But it makes a perfect place to meet for our annual cheesecake dinner!

After checking out the decorations, it was time for us to head back to our cars. I really was trying to keep a smile on my face and ignore the pain I was in, but I knew I needed to get home to get some more painkillers in me (I ended up missing a party I was supposed to go to after dinner because I was feeling so horrible). But even though I wasn’t feeling that great, I’m so glad that I went out for cheesecake. It’s an important tradition for us and also it was a nice distraction from how I was feeling!

While I know that Joanna and I have good intentions to try to hang out again before our birthday, I know that there’s a good chance that the next time we will see each other will be for our birthday dinner. But at least we both know that we try to hang out more often and when we do get together we maximize the time that we have!

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Cheesecake Dinner (or A Half Birthday Outing)

Posted on February 24, 2017 | Comments Off on Cheesecake Dinner (or A Half Birthday Outing)

I’ve written about the traditions that my birthday twin, Joanna, and I have been doing for a while. It’s tradition to go to Truxton’s for our birthday and then we started doing Cheesecake Factory around the holidays. But lately, we’ve changed our Cheesecake Factory dinner to be more of a half birthday thing. And since it was just our half birthday, we made an effort to do our dinner close to the right time.

We ended up going this past Monday after I had my screening. Joanna was actually at the screening the week before at my film festival, so she didn’t have to go to this screening. But the timing worked out really well between us to go to dinner after my screening so I was excited to get to discuss the screening with her. I was so nervous going into the screening and still feeling a little bit anxious after, so it was nice to know I would be able to talk it through with a friend to calm me down.

So many times when we go to Cheesecake Factory, it’s so crowded that we have to wait forever for a table. This time, I got there just before Joanna did and our table was ready a few minutes after she got there. For some reason, we always get seated outside on the patio (thank goodness they have heating lamps), and we were seated out there again!

I knew what I was going to order right away. I always get the same salad because it’s delicious! It also isn’t too massive (like many of the items there are) and the calorie count isn’t too bad since it’s on the skinny menu. But it is so good and a nice balance to getting cheesecake so it’s the perfect thing to order. I know that there are recipes to make this at home, but I like having this as something special that I get when I go to Cheesecake Factory.

Over dinner, Joanna and I did a bit of catching up. I had just seen her the week before so there weren’t a ton of new updates in our lives. We did discuss my surgery and Joanna was telling me about some awesome trips that she’s got coming up this year. And we also started to plan what we wanted to do for our birthday this year. We said we should do a combined birthday party since then we don’t have to worry about having parties at the same time. And we have a couple of ideas for what that party could be.

And of course, because politics and current events are unavoidable right now, we did discuss some of that. We pretty much are on the same side with everything, but there are a few things that we aren’t 100% together on. But we are able to have some really amazing and respectful debates and I know that I learn a lot from those. Most of the time, we do agree on everything. But when we get to play devil’s advocate regarding something we disagree on, it’s always interesting.

But as always in our Cheesecake Factory outings, the highlight for us wasn’t necessarily getting to hang out but getting cheesecake! I love getting to hang out with Joanna, but I know we both are thinking about what types of cheesecake we are going to get as soon as we plan our dinner. I learned recently that you can ask your server to cut the slice in half before bringing it to the table, so that made things so much easier for us. We each had a half slice of the red velvet cheesecake and a half slice of tiramisu cheesecake. It’s a lot of cheesecake, but it’s so good and worth being a big splurge!

Neither of us could finish our slices, but we enjoyed every single bite. It’s a treat for both of us and I know we both look forward to our cheesecake outing each year. It’s a good thing that we only do this once a year because it is such a splurge and we both probably go a bit overboard with the food. But it’s something nice that we do and great way for us to celebrate our half birthday!

6 more months to go before my next tradition with my birthday twin when we go out for our free birthday dinner!

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Very Belated New Years Cheesecake (or A Birthday Twin Dinner)

Posted on May 17, 2016 | 1 comment

My birthday twin Joanna and I really do try our best to have our 2 traditions each year. We always do our birthday dinner at Truxton’s together and we have also done a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory around New Years for the past few years. Joanna and I are both busy people, and somehow this year we missed our New Years hangout.

So Joanna and I were finally able to schedule a dinner this past week at the Cheesecake Factory. Because of where we were both working earlier in the day, we went to the one in Sherman Oaks instead of the one at the Grove that we normally go to. But that actually worked out well because my friend Kelly was our server!

Joanna’s been doing some pretty awesome stuff. She just went on a trip to Paris where her parents have a 1/8th share of an apartment. So they invited her to join them and she had an amazing trip! She’s also going to be an aunt soon so we were talking about that.

She wanted to hear all about the Kickstarter for the short film and the short film itself. We both had some crazy actor and audition stories and those are always fun to share as well! It’s just nice that even if we only see each other a couple of times a year, we always pick back up where we left off. And with social media, it does feel like we’ve been in touch more recently than our birthdays last year.

I’ve been working hard at eating better, but obviously I knew that going to the Cheesecake Factory that I would have to be ok with not making all the best choices. I’m glad they have a skinny menu where everything is closer to a reasonable calorie count (600 instead of over 2000 for a meal). I actually really like their skinny salads and since those are about 600 calories it wasn’t the worst choice possible. Joanna got spring rolls and we both were feeling like we had at least tried to eat properly before we indulged in cheesecake.

I think we have both agreed that the red velvet cheesecake is one of the most amazing things out there. It’s a total calorie bomb, but totally worth having it once a year. We have done a couple of other cheesecakes too, but since we’ve had a couple of bad tasting ones we don’t usually stray too far from what we normally order.

But this time we tried to find something new and we asked Kelly for her help. She told us some of the cheesecakes that she likes and that she notices a ton of people order, and we ended up deciding on getting the banana cheesecake and the red velvet one.

Before we split them so we each got half, I got a picture of our insane desserts (since I totally forgot to get a picture of my salad before I dug into it).

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Since we each get half of each piece, it’s still the same as eating one giant piece of cheesecake. We both made a good dent in our pieces, but neither of us could finish. It think that the banana one was a good choice to go with the red velvet since the red velvet is so heavy and the banana one reminded us both of a banana creme pie. We have thought about skipping real food and only getting cheesecake, but I think that I really don’t need that much cheesecake and at least I was filled up on a salad instead of a dessert.

After we were done at dinner, Joanna had a coupon for DSW and was going to check out what shoes they had on clearance. I decided to tag along and tried to help her find some really cute shoes. She ended up with some adorable blue suede flats that I’m thinking I might want to try to find in my size too!

After shoe shopping, we were both super full from dinner and knew it was time to say goodbye. It was awesome getting to hang out with Joanna for the evening and since our birthdays aren’t that far from now, I know I’ll get to see her again soon. We’ve said for a while that we want to add a fun fall and spring adventure so we get together more than twice a year. But I’m still just so happy that I’ve got these traditions with her and that even if we are very belated in doing them, we both love these hangouts!

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A Full Friend Day (or Cheesecake For Lunch And Drinks For Dinner)

Posted on January 6, 2015 | 1 comment

This past Saturday was full of hangouts with my friends. I had my usual morning shift at work, but after that was done, I was off to The Grove to hang out with my birthday twin Joanna!

It was time for our tradition of going to The Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake around the holidays. We knew that we would have to wait until after New Year’s for this hangout, but I was fine with waiting.

While eating at The Cheesecake Factory could be a crazy calorie fest, I had worked out hard during the week and I knew that this meal was going to be the main meal for my day. I got to the restaurant first, so I put our names down and waited for our table. Joanna got there and moments later our table was ready. Good thing because we were both ready to eat!

Because I knew that the cheesecake was going to be extremely high in calories, I ordered my meal off of their low-calorie menu. I chose a salad that was under 600 calories for this entire plate!

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It was pretty delicious and I will probably order it again for future cheesecake hangouts.

Then it was time for what we came to The Cheesecake Factory for! The cheesecake! We decided that we would get 2 different cheesecake slices and then each take half of each slice. We decided on red velvet and tiramisu cheesecake.

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Neither of us finished our cheesecakes, but they were so rich that I don’t know if there was any way to do that unless we didn’t eat a meal first.

I was so full when we left, but I was so happy!

Then, a few hours later my friend AJ was doing a hangout in downtown LA. I hadn’t seen AJ since Krystle and I saw him in “Heathers” so I was super excited to see him again! The hangout was at the Yard House and it was very chill. There were about 8 of us and it was just a nice relaxing meal. I got a Dirty Shirley and had some dinner (I needed something to eat so I could feel safe to drive after having a drink).

Of course, AJ and I had to get a picture together!

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It was so great to see AJ again. He should be back in LA to visit soon and I’m hoping to make it out to New York in the fall.

Overall, my Saturday was the ultimate cheat day (my stomach actually hurt on Sunday from all the delicious food) and the best friend hangout day! Another great start to the new year!

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Cheesecake With My Birthday Twin (or Continuing A New Tradition)

Posted on January 6, 2014 | Comments Off on Cheesecake With My Birthday Twin (or Continuing A New Tradition)

In 2012 around Christmas time, my birthday twin Joanna and I went out for cheesecake. We decided then that we would make Christmas time cheesecake one of our new traditions (like us getting our free birthday meal).

Somehow, we both totally forgot that we said that this would be a new tradition until after Christmas. I texted Joanna to see how we could fix this, and she suggested that we get cheesecake right after New Year’s (it could still be considered holiday cheesecake then).

I was super lucky to have the day after New Year’s Day off so that ended up being our cheesecake day.

We went back to The Grove where we had cheesecake last time. But this time it was in the daytime so there were no holiday lights. And there were people taking down all the Christmas decorations so I didn’t take any pictures (you don’t want to see a tree coming down, do you?).

We got lunch and cheesecake this time. Since I’ve been working on being good with my calories, I looked at the low-calorie options that Cheesecake Factory had. Most of their regular dishes have about 1,000 calories in them and I couldn’t do that plus my cheesecake.

I’m normally not a fan of the low-calorie menus, but I have to say that this one was actually pretty good! Joanna and I both ended up ordering off of it. Joanna had a salad and I had a sausage and cheese flatbread (which was 460 calories if you were interested).

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Then it was time for the main event (at least what we both considered the main event). While I would have loved to have gotten the red velvet cheesecake again, my calorie budget did not allow for that. So I checked on MyFitnessPal to see which cheesecakes that I like fit into my calorie budget (it helped that I didn’t have time to eat breakfast that day so I had some extra calories to play with). I ended up getting one of my all-time favorite cheesecakes, the tiramisu cheesecake.

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Joanna got the plain cheesecake with strawberry topping on top.

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It was a great meal! And of course, any time I get to hang out with my friend Joanna is awesome (we don’t see each other as often as we used to). We had a fun chat discussing our day jobs, acting, and just having a catchup talk.

I’m so glad that I have this new tradition continuing. Hopefully this year we will remember to do it around Christmas time so we can see all the awesome decorations again.

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