Fun Packed Weekend!

Looking forward to another fun weekend!  Going to see The Old 97's at George's tonight.  Tomorrow I'm starting the launch of the new Body Combat series at my gym, heading to the lake with D, Mel and Jer, and then having a mega-organizing spree at D's house! If you know me well, you know I'm most excited about the organizing!  And super excited about lazing around in an organized house on Sunday. 

Life Among Giants

Had a great time at Rob's Bright Shade

show at George's last night! 

It was a little scary at times
being among giants,
but overall a great time.

Veggie Sandwich

I have a bunch of veggies that I need to quickly eat before they go bad since I've been out of town for about a week.  So, last night I put together this veggie sandwich.  

I had some tzatziki sauce leftover that I made with a recipe last week, Greek-Style Pork Chops (also one you should try).  So I toasted a Bagel Thin, and spread on the tzatziki sauce.  I sliced some cucumber, red bell pepper, orange sweet pepper, zucchini, red onion, tomato and basil and parsley from my garden, topped the bagel with the sliced veggies, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and smashed down with the bagel topper. 

It was so filling, tasty, healthy and colorful! 

This is the kind of weird recipe I have to try alone first so I don't suffer D through too many bad attempts at creative cooking!  This one turned out well and is one I'll definitely make again for the both of us. 

Love Shack Baby

Had a fabulous time with LK and Steve at Joe T's and Love Shack in the Stockyards.  I wish we could hang out more often.  Next time I'd like to see D in cowboy boots and hat.  

5 Weeks!

Time to get crackin' on Europe planning.  Only 5 more weeks!

Rick Steves will entertain me on the drive this weekend.  Good thing it's his book and not the actual man.  Have you ever watched his shows?  He has a lisp and is such a goofy man.

Exciting Fort Worth Weekend Plans!

Looking forward to spending time with family, seeing Laura Katherine, eating at my favorite restaurant, dancing with D, and shopping at Nordstrom Rack and IKEA this weekend!

Retro Humor

These retro designed things always crack me up!  I just got so many gift ideas on this website...

Anne Taintor

How to avoid runaway corn kernels

Here's a tip:  When cutting corn off the cob, like for Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa, the kernels often go haywire, scattering all over the place.  You can keep them all contained by using a bundt pan.  Simply place the tip of the corn cob in the center hole and shave away.  The kernels will fall inside of the pan instead of the floor.

Work of Art

On my "What's Cookin'?" page I talk about how much I love colorful, freshly washed produce.  Here's a shot I took this weekend when I got home from the store.  Isn't it beautiful?  There aren't any grapes or blueberries in the shot because I was eating them in background. 

It's the small things that make me happy!

Grilled Pork with Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa

I made a colorful, flavorful dinner last night.  The recipe was from Cooking Light: Grilled Pork with Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa

Instead of corn tortillas I served it with grilled corn on the cob, yellow squash and zucchini and salad. 

The corn was a happy accident.  I had some extra minced jalapeno, lime juice and lime zest from the salsa, so I mixed it with a little bit of melted butter and cumin and slathered it on the corn while it finished grilling.

Veggie Bowl

Saturday night I was craving the delicious veggies I purchased that morning.  Grilled summer vegetables are my favorite side dish.  This time I made them the main dish by mixing in some chickpeas and serving it up as a big Veggie Bowl.

                                                      

I grilled slices of yellow squash, zucchini, sweet peppers, and red onion and sprinkled them with red pepper, cumin, brown sugar, and salt.  When they were almost soft I tossed in some chickpeas. 

Meanwhile, I mixed tomato slices with olive oil and fresh cilantro.  When the veggies were finished grilling, I chopped them into bite size pieces, tossed it all together and dug in!  Delish!

Thanks Mom!

I didn't get to go to the Farmers' Market Saturday morning, so my mom surprised me with these beautiful flowers!  They just keep getting prettier as they bloom. 

Thanks Mom!

WakeFest

We'll be out on the boat this weekend relaxing and getting some sun with good friends! 
http://www.blwakefest.com/

Short Term Roomie

I'm looking forward to some good sister time over the next 3 weeks!  Alyssa is moving in until Rush.  My mom wishes she was.

Sofia

Today I thought I'd share with you something I discovered on our trip to New Orleans in February.  Little pink cans of champagne that come with a juice-box-style straw!  What a brilliant idea!  Makes me feel fancy.

A Can and a Plan- MSNBC Article

Keep Calm and Carry On

I saw this poster in a magazine and ever since then this phrase has kind of been my motto.  I found the poster at Riffraff last week and was so excited.  I think I'll get a big white shabby chic frame and hang it in my guest bedroom.

So much to daydream about today...

"Everything starts as somebody's daydream." Larry Niven

"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse." Walt Disney

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." Edgar Allan Poe

"There is nothing like dream to create the future. Utopia to-day, flesh and blood tomorrow." Victor Hugo

Hostel Planning

Like I said, I want our trip to Europe to be planfully spontaneous.  So this week, we are researching hostels and narrowing down the ones that sound the best.  I don't think we'll make reservations, just in case we hear about a better option when we get there.  We'll just have these in mind so we have some sort of direction to head when we arrive in each city.

We have a book that we've been cross referencing with this website: Hostels of Europe and our top picks' individual websites.

So far, we've chosen our top picks for Prague:

Hostel Elf

Hostel Tyn

Travellers' Hostel

Summer Reading

There are so many books on my "To Read" list this summer! 

I already told you about The Other Boelyn Girl. I highly recommend the book...not the movie.

I'm a little embarrassed to tell you I'm currently reading the fourth book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. I'm about half way through and think it's the best one so far. The movies are not so great, but the books are pretty good.  

I'm also reading The 5 Love Languages, recommended by Jayme.  It's so interesting.  A great book if you are married or in a serious relationship. 

                

Also on the list....

The Help- recommended by Amanda

Goodnight Nobody- recommended by Jayme

What Looks Like Crazy- recommended by Angela

Diary of Anne Frank- I'm going to the house she hid in in Amsterdam, so I want to re-read it so the visit means more

Harry Potter 1 & 2- Daniel was able to get me the whole series from work, so I think I'll take the first 2 with me to Europe.  I'm sure I'll do a lot of reading on the planes and trains.

Reading is such a great escape!

Check it out!

Check out Rob's new cd.  Pretty cool!  http://www.brightshadeband.com/

TGIF!

Oh my goodness!

Cupcakes, wine, and cool home decor on the square!  Of course I'll be there!  This town gets better and better!

Riffraff Grand Opening on the Square

Riffraff Website

Cute New Shoes!

I just bought these shoes for Europe.  The ribbon is holding me back a bit.  I haven't figured out the best way to tie them without looking like a quirkly little girl.  I'll figure it out.  They are too cute to return!

Beautiful Food

My goal over the next few months is to learn a little about shooting food so that I can post beautiful pictures of the food I make at home.

In past photoshoots for new product launches or recipes we've gotten caught up on photographing the food in the proper containers with the appropriate setting in the background. 

This McDonald's salad shot reminds me that food photography doesn't always have to be so literal. You would never be served in a ceramic bowl at McD's.  It's just about showing beautiful, appetizing food!

Healthier Fast Food Choices

I've posted the list of healthier fast food breakfast items before, but this list is a little more useful for me.  As much as we travel, there are definitely some inevitable fast food encounters.  Food Court Survival Guide

The Southwest Salad is what I always choose at McDonald's, and I eat it the way they describe here, no dressing with a squeeze of fresh lime. 

I never would have thought about the roast beef sandwich at Subway.  I always get the Veggie or the Turkey.  It's good to know there's another healthy choice there with so much protein.

I Poo in Blue

This commercial had us rolling last night!  This is just great marketing!

Huggies Jean Diapers

Love the tagline!

National Fried Chicken Day

It's National Fried Chicken Day!  I think I'll celebrate with this recipe tonight. 

Oven Fried Chicken

It's definitely one of my favorites that I've made many times.  Makes quite a mess, but it's worth it.  I'm making mine with chicken tenders which is faster and less messy...and preferred by the one I'm cooking it for.

And here's a tip that will keep you from buying a whole carton of buttermilk for the small amount you need here or in any other recipe:  For every 1 cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Thanks Coach!

Thanks to my new workout motivation coach!  My 8 weeks til Europe get in shape plan is off to a good start!  No big backpack is going to slow me down! 

4th of July Weekend BBQ

For the BBQ on the house boat tonight, I wanted to bring a side dish that traveled well, could be served cold or room temp, would appeal to the group, and was somewhat healthy.  So I made this: Marinated Vegetable Salad  Yum!

Inspiration is always lurking...

For a while, I had been bored of the painting over my couch, but what else could I put there?  One weekend of apartment re-organization, I found the inspiration lurking under my bed. 

Many supplies purchased for projects that go unfinished end up decorating the floor under my bed.  I found a wooden frame I had bought from Hobby Lobby a while back. I also found some empty picture frames and a few silver crosses.  In an "ah-ha" moment, I came up with a creative way to use all of these pieces together to decorate my wall.  

I spray painted the frame black.  Once it dried I realized it was too shiny, so I sanded it to give it a shabby chic look.  Then, as you can see I used the frames and crosses as "artwork" instead of a framed picture or painting.  Now I can change out the pictures for different seasons or any time I get bored.  An ever-changing work of art.

Fish Soup?

For dinner last night, I wanted to use up all the perishable ingredients I had in the fridge before we head out of town for the weekend.  I had diced up some carrots, celery, onion and squash earlier in the week thinking I would make soup one night.  I also had some tilapia I needed to cook before heading out of town this weekend.  But would fish soup be any good? I found this recipe, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Tilapia Corn Chowder

I made some tweaks of my own.  I didn't use any bacon and I subbed Italian Seasoning instead of thyme, skim milk instead of half and half (which made it more of a soup than a chowder), red potatoes instead of Yukon Gold, and onion, carrots, and squash instead of leeks.  I love recipes that are this flexible!

I had some croutons in the freezer (French Baguette Diced, sprayed with Pam, tossed with garlic salt and Italian Seasoning, then baked at 375 for about 20 min).  So I tossed those in each serving bowl straight from the freezer and topped them with soup.

It turned out really tasty and only took about 20 minutes to prepare.  My picky eater sisters even ate it!  The leftovers were even tastier at lunch today.

Ah, memories....

Looking forward to a weekend with friends on Lake Ouachita.  Let's hope we can relive some of the good memories from last 4th of July.

If only my helper was here...

I'm not very good at making desserts.  It takes exact temperatures, timing and measuring that I'm just not patient enough for. 

Had a few issues baking last night.  The mini cupcakes didn't turn out quite as planned.  I'm going to try to fix them tonight.  Too bad this little guy wasn't here to help me...

Can I live in Nelson's Crossing?

How exciting!  My favorite restaurant, boutique, nail salon, and spa all in one location...and now my favorite dessert spot too!  You'll know where to find me!

New Orange Mango Location