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Our Second Date

Yup, the boy and I had another date!

This one didn’t involve a meal, unlike our first date.

SSH usually works all day. (It’s a summer job. More about that later.) But he took off a few hours (just for me!!), and we went down to the beach. Don’t worry, y’all: as romantic as it was, there were other people around. I’m not dumb enough to go down to a deserted beach with a guy I’ve only seen a few times, no matter how much I like him!

cherries

Spending the afternoon at the beach left little time to cook dinner. I came home to make something lightening-quick: leftover barley salad (cooked the night before), a succulent bunch of mighty-cold cherries, and sautéed veggies with almonds. Before anyone asks this time, if I sauté with oil or water, read: my thoughts on “cooking with oil.”

Back to the boy for a sec: I’m in  quandary regarding SSH. I so want to tell y’all more about him (and especially post a photo!!). But the fact of the matter is that while it’s ok for me to get personal about myself on my blog, I don’t feel right sharing personal details about someone else who didn’t choose to put his own information out there publicly. I have to respect his privacy by not talking as much about him as I’d love to do. (This is also why I don’t post many blog photos of my friends, in general. Unless I’ve explicitly asked for their permission, I just don’t feel right sending their photos out into the world without their knowledge.)

Plus, how creepy would SSH think I am if he accidentally stumbled upon my blog and discovered I’d been sharing all the details of his life with thousands of strangers?! I don’t want to lose his trust like that. It’d be easier if I knew we were in this for the long haul; then I’d probably suck it up and just tell him about the blog. But my feelings right now are: Why bother, since we’re going to be saying goodbye soon anyway? Other bloggers: Do you ever feel awkward posting photos, on your blogs, of your friends who don’t know about your blogs?

Ok, end rant about boy. Now about this barley salad… Like I said, I cooked a big pot of barley the night before. Then, for dinner, I added a dash of salt, a squirt of lemon, and about a tablespoon of  a secret ingredient: vegan Nayonaise. The nayo reeeeaally makes it creamy!

Question of the Day:
Do you ever feel awkward posting photos, on your blogs, of your friends who don’t know about your blogs?

OR: Have you ever had a summer fling? OR: What’s your favorite way to use mayo/nayo? I’m betting my mom’s answer would probably be Mayonnaise cake! 😕
Ewwwwww!

Published on August 11, 2010

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55 Comments

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  1. sarah says

    Hi Katie, HUGE fan of your blog here!
    I was lucky enough to receive some artisana nut butters recently, most notably the coconut butter and cocoa bliss. I know you are a fan and I was just wondering if you had a minute if you could give me some tips and your fave uses for them?
    Thanks!

  2. Katharina says

    I totally get what you mean about respecting someone’s privacy. That’s partly why I don’t post everything about my life. I want to share! BUT I also realize that maybe not everyone is as comfortable as I am with sharing on blogs. Gotta respect 😉 And I respect you for your respect lol. I’m so glad that you found a guy, even if it may be short-lived. You never know! I’ve had weekend flings lol! Clicking with out-of-towners can be magical but sad too because they had to leave super soon :\ Oh well, c’est la vie… sometimes!

    XOXO

  3. Michal says

    I commented on your other post!
    I think that is so sweet that you went on a second date with the boy. But your totally right, you have to respect his privacy. As for posting pictures of my friends, I have only told a few people about my blog (i like to keep that part separate) but all of my closer friends know. I usually dont post pictures of all of us together, but it happens sometimes and im sure they would be fine with it anyway since they upload their pictures all over the internet!

    Happy wednesday to ya girl!

  4. *Andrea* says

    glad things are going well with the boy! i totally understand and respect you for not sharing too much without his consent.. i am not a fan of mayo at all. when i was little i used to eat it by the finger/spoonful and one day my mom warned me not to but i took a ginormous spoon and ate the mayo then proceeded to vomit it all up yuck. scarred me for life lol. that’s why i’m afraid to try vegan mayo. do you like it???

    i am loving cherries this summer! they look so tasty and colorful on your dinner plate

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Since I write/schedule most of my posts in advance, I’m not always in the place where it says I am on that day’s post lol! I could be anywhere. For example, I still have to write my NYC posts. Who knows; it might be Christmas before I write that I’m “in NYC this week.” There’s just so much about which I want to write!

  5. Jennifer - jcd says

    Katie, you are so sweet. I think it’s great you are keeping some things private, and rightfully so. I had a horrifying experience with someone posting my photo (altered in an offensive manner) on their Facebook without my knowledge. Granted, you are super nice and wouldn’t intend to harm anyone. Still, posting information or photos about other people shouldn’t be done without their permission.

    As for Nayo, I’ve never been a big mayo/Nayo fan, not even in salads or sandwiches. But my mum’s biscuits use mayonnaise (or Nayo when I’m around) and they go great with kebabs. Mmmm…. barbeque!

  6. Fi says

    Hey! I defintely get nervous posting photos, just in case someone might stumble on, my blog! i might be mortified, wait, i WOULD be mortified. Thank goodness it hasnt happened to me yet! 🙂

  7. Alisa - Frugal Foodie says

    I think it is best that you don’t post a pic of him and keep his privacy. I don’t post personal pics in general, but when I do, I make sure to ask first. Well, I don’t ask my husband, but he doesn’t care 🙂

    A question – My husband loves wontons, but he really shouldn’t have eggs (he is a bit allergic to egg whites). Do you know of a wrapper brand that doesn’t have eggs?

  8. sarah says

    Thank you katie!
    I will definitely be taking your advice and eating it straight up(coconut fudge- YUM!).
    And iv bookmarked your macaroon recipe, looks delish!
    Thanks again.
    Xxx

  9. Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says

    I will take down photos of my friends if they ask me to….but EVERYONE knows about my blog. I’m just a very open person I guess. Since moving to Austin, I often get introduced as “the blogger” so it makes life easier that way. 🙂

  10. Jackie (Peaces of Earth) says

    I totally agree with you. I don’t think it’s our place as bloggers to talk about our friend’s personal lives, or post pics after we’ve talked personally about them. As much as I want to see this SSH, I think you’re doing the right thing! 🙂

  11. Jess of Midwest Vegan says

    I don’t ever share photos on my blog, mostly because I would feel obligated to tell people their photo would be on my blog and only like, three people know I have one. I sometimes mention my boyfriend but never by name. I’m not really overly concerned with privacy or anything it’s more habit.

    As for mayo, I’m kind of a veganaise girl and I like to make fancy sandwich spreads with it. I have a chipotle mayo recipe that’s pretty much awesome. And since, I answered two out of three questions I might as well answer the last, lol. I’ve never had a summer fling. I’m much too shy. By the time I got up the nerve to smile or say “hi” summer would be over!

  12. erinsloves says

    Back when I was in a freshman in high school I met a guy in Panama City, FL….and found out that he actually lived only an hour away from me in TN. He was my “first love” aww. HA, but we ended up dating for a little over a year and still talk every now and then to this day!

    Ok, my fav way to use mayo, is in my garlic aioli sauce, that I make to go with crab cakes. Not to toot my own horn, but I make some mean crab cakes w/ aioli (:

    And I am so excited about you and your boy!! You seem so happy girl!

  13. Lauren (Clean Eats in the Dirty South) says

    you are so cute 🙂 SSH is a lucky boy!
    i’ve never had a summer fling (i’ve only ever had one relationship anyway, and it was long distance and 1 month long haha) but if it was super cute and romantic and involved BEACH getaways… i’d consider having them every season. fall flings, winter flings, spring flings…. 😉

  14. Angela says

    I never feel awkward posting photos of my friends because I know they are comfortable with it, but I am definitely awkward with posting photos of family. My family knows about my blog and some read it (I have 10 brothers and sisters, 8 in-laws, and 16 nieces and nephews) but I’ve never felt comfortable posting their photos, which make me sad because they are so great and I would love to include them more often.

    As for the other q’s – I had a summer fling that lasted every summer of high school, and even into college. Is it weird that I still dream about him? He’s the complete opposite of my BF so maybe that’s the draw.

    Favorite use for mayo, well I don’t really like mayo in general, but I can’t eat tuna plain. So my favorite might be the most boring – in a tuna salad.

  15. Vanilla says

    I never post pictures of myself, even less of my friends. I don’t ever want them to discover my blog!
    I hear ya on the Boy picture dilemma…BUT I must admit, I’m very curious about how he looks like xD

    xoxo

  16. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    I totally understand not letting him know about the blog ’til you know you’re in it for the long haul. That’s why I waited a while to tell Michael. Otherwise it’d be one of those “too much, too soon” kinda things, ya know?

    I posted a few photos of my friends that still dont know about my blog yesterday morning. I felt a little strange but I knew they’d be cool with it if they happened to stumble upon it, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. Plus..the blog world most likely doesn’t know them, so the chances of them being recognized and seen as more than a face are pretty slim.

  17. Iris says

    I was wondering if he knew about the blog…always tough to know how much to talk about other people in your life on the blog, but I’d say for a new relationship, you might want to keep it on the DL until you know more about him and his feelings on this. Of course, it’s so much fun for all of us to read about though!

  18. melindard says

    This is precisely why my husband is rarely spotted on my blog. I always ask permission of my friends and family who end up in my pictures. If someone entirely random gets in there, then that is their bad 🙂

  19. Jessica says

    I had a summer fling…which was a complete fail if the thought was it would be just a fling and only lasting that summer. Our brief summer together lead us to a year of long distance. Hopefully I will be moving in a few weeks to get back in the same city (we finally got back to the same continent!).

    Sometimes the original thought changes after you get to know them… and realize that they are worth the distance. Good luck with whatever happens with this boy, may it be a week or lifetime. Glad you are having fun with it!

  20. Bianca- Vegan Crunk says

    I’m super un-private about everything in life, and my friends pretty much know that if they’re friends with me, their lives are also an open book. I have a big mouth, and I can’t keep a secret to save my life. So … to answer your question, I don’t feel uncomfortable posting their photos. But most of my friends/boyfriend have been my friends/boyfriend for ages, so that’s different than the case with you and your new guy. I can see where you might wanna respect his privacy at first. 🙂

  21. Danielle says

    I completely understand about not wanting to post photos/spill things about other people on the blog. It’s not like facebook where you can “untag” or there’s privacy settings lol

    I have some leftover veganaise from a recipe and I know just what to do with it now!

  22. genahamshaw says

    I don’t think there’s any reason why you should rush to share! But I am SO glad to hear that there is a worthy man in the picture.

  23. Ash says

    I don’t have a blog (maybe in the future?), but in general, I won’t post much about others, at least not in detail, as I wouldn’t want to lose their trust or make them uncomfortable, even angry, if they found out about it.

    Besides, you should be able to enjoy your moments with the boy without having everyone know everything, haha. 😉 Although I am curious to know more about him! I’m so excited for you!

    That dinner looks delicious! I want to eat barley and cherries now!

  24. kelsey@snackingsquirrel.com says

    any guy that takes off time to be around you is worth keeping around for a while!! its so sad how many guys will say to a girl “uhh kind of busy, but i like you.. so ummm how about later.. when i can get some time..” haha doesnt make me feel special AT ALL!

    ur dating adventures give me hope.. one day that’ll be me.. one day katie 🙂 haha

    im so proud/excited/gitty for you all at the same time!!!

    xoxo <3

  25. BroccoliHut says

    Truthfully, I really didn’t plan on telling Seth about the blog until much, much, later…but he found it anyway through some Google stalking. After that, I asked him how he felt about future “treadmill buddy” posts, and he said he was fine with it, as long as I didn’t reveal his last name.
    That’s how I roll with my blog–I won’t post pictures of people unless I ask first.

  26. Megan @ Healthy Hoggin says

    I had a brief summer fling in high-school (obviously, not very serious since it was HIGH SCHOOL!), but it didn’t last long…

    I definitely feel weird about putting photos of my friends or family up on my blog, too! I’ve really only shared a couple pics of my REALLY close friends who DO know about my blog, otherwise I try to stick to food– food can’t really get upset about it, you know? 😉

    Sounds like you’re having a great time with the boy!

  27. ecogrrl says

    yes, yes, and yes! enjoy the romance and get lots of kissin’ miss CCK. that’s what summer (and winter and fall and spring…) is all about! go have fun, enjoy every moment!

  28. vegetalion says

    I feel uncomfortable putting anyone’s name on my blog–and in fact, I’ve only ever mentioned my first name on it once! Sometimes I feel bad about this because “vegetalion” is much longer/more of a mouthful than my name… but mostly I like being able to keep my online lives (facebook, blog, forum memberships) separate from each other and from my offline life.

  29. christina says

    most of my friends ASK if they can be on my blog, haha! but if it’s a group of us that have done something, i tend to ask before posting pics..bc you never know! most people totally love it. i want to see a pic! i’m so excited for you hehee. i’m a dork finding new love too!

  30. Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) says

    I think it is awesome that you are respecting the boy’s privacy! Very sweet and considerate!

  31. Frankie @fitnessfrank.net says

    i’m so new to this, i’m even feeling a bit goofed out about having this little profile pic up, and feel ever-so-slighly insecure about my cooking and crockery floating across the web…

    having said that, nervous goofery is always gonna lose out in my life to my inability to shut up. no doubt i’ll end up oversharing here there and everywhere 🙂

    to all you seasoned bloggers out there: any tips for putting your “about” page together? i never realised how tough putting myself out there would be!!

  32. Anne @ Food Loving Polar Bear says

    Oh, those cherries look so good!

    I often feel weird about posting pictures of friends on my blog who don’t know about it, that’s why I try to stick to the food pictures 😀

  33. Marianne says

    I don’t post photos of my friends or family on my blog, simply because I respect their privacy. If they know about the blog, and don’t care, then it’s fine. But I personally don’t think it’s right to post pictures without their knowledge, because people need to be in control of their own online presence.

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