1. Have a break to look forward to -Yesterday was my last day of school and work before fall break! I still have some work to do while I’m off, but it is really nice to have some open-schedule days.

2. Find something new and awesome. Or something old and awesome. I’ve tweeted about my search for a good Greek salad. I got spoiled living in Florence, because I could always count on a big Townhouse salad. You’d think it would be pretty easy to put together, but for some reason lots of places just get it wrong. I got one from the No Name Deli in Columbia, S.C., last week and I was really hopeful since they advertise it as the best Greek salad in town.

But meh. The chicken was dark and chewy (Ok, I’m not a huge meat eater, but it seemed like dark meat? I don’t know. Either way, it grossed me out.) and the salad dressing might as well have been a cup of olive oil with a few herbs tossed in. I also went in during the lunch rush, and even though the service was quick and friendly, I felt like I was standing in the way of all the business people crowded in while I was waiting for my to-go order.

BUT! Yesterday, I found a good Greek salad in Columbia. I’ve driven past Pitas on Taylor Street in Columbia a few times, but yesterday I finally decided to give it a try since I was in a rush from class to work and wanted something filling and healthy. I like the atmosphere because it was a very open, casual space with an open kitchen and a selection of Mediterranean foods and fresh baked pitas for sale.

I only waited a few minutes for my order, a Greek salad with a side of tzatziki and pita chips. It was so good, especially the tzatziki. Everything tasted really fresh and the chicken wasn’t gross.

Ok, so it might not look like much after being squished on my way to work, but it made me happy.

I may have eaten most of this while in traffic on the way to work.

3. Eat cupcakes. Kat brought vegan chocolate cupcakes over to celebrate Carla passing her boards. Kat, Carla, Lily and I all went to the S.C. State Fair on its $1 opening night, so we met at my apartment first.

Bloggers are weirdos.

Carla also gave us all vegan zucchini pumpkin bread. It is sooo good. Really. I had to slice it and freeze the rest of it so I wouldn’t eat zucchini bread for my next three meals.

4. Take a walk. We decided to avoid the traffic by walking. I live about a mile from the fair grounds, and it was nice to get out and move after sitting all day.

I love walkable cities/neighborhoods.

Also, we didn't get stuck in this traffic.

5. Re-live childhood memories and hang out with new friends. My family always went to the state fair when I was little, and I don’t think much has really changed since then. It was fun going with the blogger ladies, catching up and gawking at all the food offerings.

It was pretty crowded.

Yay! Fair time. Yay! Non medical jobs that require wearing rubber gloves.

Carla may have been the only person ready for my picture taking.

Lily and Carla were brave enough to go on rides.

We ate a mountain of fried potatoes. Carla dubbed this our health blogger "rumspringa."

I wanted to try something different at the fair, and I spotted a stand called "Dr. Vegetable" that was surprisingly not busy. (Sarcasm) Dr. Vegetable's state fair prescription was battering and deep-frying a mixture of broccoli, sweet potatoes, pickles and cauliflower. We didn't finish this. It was like, a not-as-good vegetable tempura. But, it was something new!

6. Take pictures of chickens. Ok, maybe this doesn’t normally factor into a good day, but after looking through my pictures, the birds were the only good animal pictures I took.

Cockadoodle crazy.

Sleeping baby birds.

An impressive figure.

But, seriously, it is always nice to get together with these girls because they are fun and funny, but also to dish about blogging stuff. We don’t all have the same perspective or opinions, favorite dishes or favorite bloggers, but that makes it more interesting.

:)