The Happy Dash

need ideas of what to do on this rainy Saturday??

2012-02-11T12:55:00.000-05:00

Keep voting for Ricky Mast!!!

He has made & added videos to his youtube channel: Ricky Mast Baseball

fill in the blank Friday ...

2012-02-10T09:07:00.002-05:00

1. I started my blog because .....  I hate talking on the phone, so this is the best way for friends to know major things going on in my life. Plus, it serves as a great reminder for me as to what goes on in our life.

2. One thing I love seeing on other blogs.... depends on the blog, but mostly life. I love seeing how others live & are inspired, be it the fun: fashion, DIY, photography, interior design or the daily: chores, organization, recipes, etc. I love that glimpse into another person's life.

3. Something I love about blogging.... the creative outflow of ideas I receive!

4. A favorite blog post of mine is... any of our trips.

5. Something my real life friends know about me that I have never mentioned on the blog ... oh, hmmm - I don't keep secrets from you all, but I'm sure there is a lot I forget to share because I don't think it's exciting or essential. ha. My college decision was based on the weather; yep on the same day it was rainy & depressing when I toured NC State, and sunny & inviting when I toured UNC. I chose UNC much to my dad's disappointment (I was raised an NC State girl).

6. My favorite blogs to read are... so many thanks to Google Reader. I love finding new blogs!

7. Some things I avoid doing on my blog are...negativity. I'm not a very negative person in real life, so I keep it off here too.

recipe post

2012-02-09T12:41:00.000-05:00

oh my, sorry for the blog post overload yesterday! I thought I had scheduled them to be other days this week. oops. sorry. and thanks to all of you who have voted for Ricky, you can keep doing so by clicking here! oh, and let's just not talk about that game last night, it will be better for everyone involved. I still love my Tar Heels - I mean, there is nothing better than Chapel Hill.

As I mentioned in one post yesterday, we've been cooking some things off of Pinterest.

Last night we had Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken. It was delicious! And easy. I did accidentally add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes instead of 1/4 tsp, but it was not too spicy at all. I also only used 1/2 cup of honey instead of 1 full cup since I know we don't love overly sweet. So pin it, try it. It's probably in semi-regular rotation now.

Two weeks ago, I made this Broccoli-quinoa casserole. It was pretty tasty, though it kind of took a while (you have to cook the quinoa, cook the broccoli, and then cook the casserole). I used only about half the amount of cheese it called for. I liked the change, but probably not a regular in our meal rotation.

Tonight, I'm making this Black Bean, Sweet Potato, Quinoa Chili. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Have you been cooking off Pinterest??

MLB Fan Cave Vote!

2012-02-08T17:03:00.001-05:00

Ok friends, there comes a time when we all ask a little favor on our blogs, and today I need to ask a favor of each of you. Rob's cousin (I suppose my cousin-in-law) Ricky has been chosen to be one of 50 finalists in the MLB Fan Cave contest!! Apparently 22,000 people applied, so this is an awesome accomplishment in itself, but Ricky has a chance of fulfilling a dream.

All I am asking you to do is vote for Ricky Mast. You just have to click here and find Ricky Mast (it may not take you to Ricky every time), then click the red vote. You can vote as often as you want, but even just once will help out! In advance, I thank you!!

***************
From Ricky himself:
"Hey there everybody! So I have a big opportunity to fulfill a HUGE dream of mine and I NEED YOUR HELP! Here’s the deal: I’ve been selected as one of 50 finalists for the 2012 MLB Fan Cave contest. For those of you that don’t know, the MLB Fan Cave is “a first-of-its-kind immersive fan experience which takes place in a vibrant location in New York City's Greenwich Village that hosts the winners of the MLB Dream Job.” And what does this ‘Dream Job’ entail? To paraphrase from MLBFanCave.com, “the winners of the MLB Dream Job will inhabit the Fan Cave every day for the entire 2012 MLB season where they will watch all 2,430 regular season games plus every Postseason game while chronicling their experiences and sharing their viewpoints on baseball and pop culture through Facebook, Twitter, MLBFanCave.com, and regular appearances on MLB Network.”

BUT, that’s not all…

“The MLB Fan Cave, located at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Manhattan, features interactive fan activities; hosts regular visits from MLB players, baseball personalities and celebrities. The Fan Cave venue also hosts parties and musical performances, as well as other events throughout the baseball season.”
MLB Players that are already confirmed to appear this year include Bronson Arroyo (Reds, P), Jose Bautista (Blue Jays, OF), Jay Bruce (Reds, OF), Tyler Clippard (Nationals, P), Ubaldo Jimenez (Indians, P), Josh Johnson (Marlins, P), Matt Kemp (Dodgers, OF), Evan Longoria (Rays, 3B), David Ortiz (Red Sox, DH), Hunter Pence (Phillies, OF), Brandon Phillips (Reds, 2B), Michael Pineda (Mariners, P), David Price (Rays, P), CC Sabathia (Yankees, P), Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies, SS), reigning American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (Tigers, P), and Shane Victorino (Phillies, OF).

The celebrities and musicians that visited the Cave last year included LMFAO, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, Rob Dyrdek, Jesse Eisenburg, Lisa Kudrow, DJ Pauly D, Judah Friedlander, O.A.R., Alice Cooper, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth, George Thorogood, Rev. Run, Tyrese, new Found Glory, Boys II Men, Bill Burr (who is probably my favorite comedian in the world right now0, Robert Kelly, Weird Al Yankovic, “Mike and Molly” star Billy Gardell, Los Lonely Boys, Sublime with Rome, Less Than Jake, and Michael Ian Black.

So here’s where you come in: The 50 finalists have been posted on MLBFanCave.com where you can vote for your favorites. The amount of votes that each contestant receives will play a major factor in who ultimately wins the MLB Fan Cave contest.

TO VOTE, GO HERE:
http://mlbfancave.mlb.com/fancave/index.jsp?content=vote#fbid=Wz8YNg9HvU-

AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT SO PLEASE KEEP VOTING FOR ME!!!

If you are on Twitter, make sure to Tweet @MLBFanCave and tell them to put @RickyMast in the Cave!" **********************

His entry video (can also be viewed on the vote page), but seriously ... he deserves this and sounds like an awesome experience for our cousin Ricky!

Go vote for Ricky Mast!!! please please please

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rd0ntZgp31U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Thank you & GO HEELS!!!

Love Story

2012-02-08T15:27:00.002-05:00

We're nearing the corner to Valentine's Day, and while I never really understood the hype surrounding this holiday I do love all of the pink & red, and love in the air ... just not the heart boxes of chocolates, 100s of ads for 24 roses, or the mandatory reservations for restaurants that are never busy. So today, I'm linking up (a tad late) to From Mrs. to Mama's Love Story link-up

So, here's our story for those that don't know (or want a little refresher around this Valentine's day):

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Since January 2004. I was a sophomore & he was a freshman at UNC.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

We were introduced by a mutual friend, Thomas. Thomas was Rob's fraternity pledge brother, and my suite-mate-next-door. He invited a large group to a basketball game, Rob & I chatted over our then-dislike for Rashad McCants (he was a bit cocky of a player at the time and just pushed some wrong buttons). We then met again later in the week at their fraternity party and it just went on from there to include him forgetting my name on our first date, and me being convinced we were just friends for a long time.

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

We have been married for almost 3 years - it's crazy! Our three year anniversary is March 28. If you want me to do math for you, we have been "together" for 8 years.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married at my home-church in Wilmington with a reception at the local country club. I would say it's a medium to big-ish wedding with 250-300 guests.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Nope; sorry to disappoint, but nick-names are just not something I can handle without laughing, so our names are what we call each other.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

First & foremost, he puts up with me and the way I like things done! Seriously though, he's patient, fun & makes me laugh. He's also incredibly smart and hard working I knew from the beginning he would be successful in life no matter what he chose to do.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

Oh my it was an adventurous day, and I think I totally ruined his plans due to a dead car battery, but I think it was perfect none-the-less. After I arrived to his condo in Winston-Salem (I was living in Augusta, GA at the time), he informed me he had made me a present. He handed me a photo album full of pictures of us together. The last photo was one of him on one knee with the ring. Thanks to me flying through the album, he wasn't able to get down on one knee in time before I finished, but did as soon as he could get the ring out. We celebrated together - tried to call friends & family. My parents did not answer my calls that night, so Saturday morning made for an interesting one. I finally got in touch with everyone (including my dad on the golf course), and we celebrated with friends in Charlotte on Saturday!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Neither, but probably because I'm not big on either. I'd much rather just hang out, enjoy a nice dinner, and spend time together than waste money on those kind of things.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

I think there are times when sunset dinners on the beach are nice (i.e. our honeymoon or vacation), but in general I think a movie and couch night are wonderful.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I would love to just pack up and travel for a year. I'm talking put our stuff in storage - go to Europe (all over - any where) and travel as leisurely as possible, but I would like the flexibility to come home as we want (i.e. not crazy expensive airfare) because we love to hang out with our friends & family.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We were just talking about that last night, but probably not much. Maybe nothing other than our standard routine: gym & dinner. Though I did get a little something for Rob, maybe he'll get me something ... hint, hint love :)

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nope.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Each relationship is individual & unique so don't compare it to others. You never really know what is going on in someone else's relationship, so comparing is just dangerous; spend time focusing on each other rather than other couples.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Big day & Wednesday brain dump

2012-02-08T07:51:00.002-05:00

UNC plays Dook tonight at home. We'll be watching it out with friends in Wilmington, and I can't wait to cheer on the Heels.

In other news:

I caved and ordered a Diet Coke at lunch on Saturday because I wanted it after 3 weeks without it. It was terrible. I had one sip and had to get a water. No more Diet Coke for this girl.
We're back on the wagon with house hunting. We've decided not to settle this far out; hello full-time job.
It's been 17 months since my last haircut. Need to get on scheduling one, though I'm really not interested in getting rid of the length ...
I ran 2 miles without stopping yesterday on the treadmill with no problems at all! The first at 6.0mph, and the second at 6.5. This is big seeing as normally about 15 minutes in, my knee starts to kill me ... not yesterday. Here's to hoping this stays this way!
I forgot what I was suppose to cook for dinner last night, and ended up not having enough time to cook it, so we went out to dinner at Copper Penny.
We go to the same restaurant once a week because I have an infinite love for salads during the week, but hate to make them. Copper Penny lets me get a delicious salad & Rob gets some sort of sandwich - it's really good bar food, his favorite. Last night I decided to have the Greek Salad as the Veggie Pita - it was delicious.
Did you watch Smash? I did. Will keep recording it, but not sure how this is going to go. I am however, loving all of the new House Hunters on HGTV because I have seen the reruns multiple times!
I really want to return to normal blogging, but life has been bland lately. I'm really loving Pinterest & all of the recipes I am trying. Will share those soon.

GO HEELS!!

i'm it (again)

2012-02-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by A Texas Gal, and since I don't have any real exciting news from our house hunting adventures other than we saw 4 properties: 3 nos, and 1 maybe but I'm not yet ready to commit! We shall see. However, since I did play as well a few weeks ago, I'll spare you another 11 facts about me and just get to the questions :) Feel free to join in!

1. How do you begin your day? (What is your morning routine?)
I wake up to my blaring alarm, shower, get dressed, eat a bowl of cereal (or oatmeal or waffle) and a cup of coffee while watching the Today show, then brush my teeth/do my hair/finish getting ready. It's pretty boring, but effective.

2. What is the one beauty product you couldn't live without?
I'm not sure I have one yet - I do love my EOS egg (chapstick) ... I'm fairly low maintenance and pretty easy to convince to try new things. I love Bobbi Brown though.

3. Are you a coffee or tea person?
Coffee for hot drinks and tea for cold drinks.

4. What is your favorite board or card game?
I love Scrabble. Total dork, but yep, I love it.

5. What is your favorite spice to cook with?
Ginger. Hands down, I love ginger. And garlic. Fresh is the best.

6. I'm always curious if I take longer than the average woman to get ready - from shower to out the door, how long does it take you?
Oh my, I have no idea. If I'm just showering and out the door - 15 minutes??, but I'm drying my hair add at least another 10-15 & straightening is another thing too ... I rarely straighten my hair though. I'd say for daily morning 25 minutes, but special occasion probably less than 45 - it's all about the focus.

7. Of all the places you have travelled to, where would you recommend others go?
I loved Ambergris Caye, Belize (San Pedro). I also loved Italy. Two totally different vacations. Charleston, SC, San Francisco, CA, and Denver, CO are my favorite US cities ...

8. What is your favorite alcoholic drink?
Wine - red (cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir)
9. What is your favorite book?
The Great Gatsby

10. What is your favorite movie?
Steel Magnolia's

11. What is your favorite indulgence?
Key lime pie from Sweet & Savory (a local bakery)

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

2012-02-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from Clean Eating magazine, and as I mentioned yesterday, I almost threw it away before even trying it because the cottage cheese didn't dissolve/melt as I thought it would, but I didn't even notice the cottage cheese! I would also probably add some kind of broth (vegetable or chicken) to the potatoes to make them a little creamier.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil cooking spray
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
1/2 lb redskin potatoes, scrubbed well and chopped
1 cup dry brown lentils, rinsed (I used green because couldn't find brown)
3 crowns broccoli, florets only (4-5 cups)
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 large carrots, peeled & chopped
6 stalks celery, trimmed & chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried thyme (did not use see below)
1 tsp dried sage (note: I used 2 tsp Italian seasoning b/c I didn't have dried sage)
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400*F. Coat an 8x8 inch or 11x7 inch dish with cooking spray. Set aside
Fill 2 large pots halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and redskins to 1 pot. Cover & reduce heat to medium-high. Add lentils to remaining pot and reduce heat to medium-high. Let both pots simmer for 10 minutes.
Add broccoli to lentil pot & simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, drain potatoes, return to pot & add cottage cheese. Sit in egg & use a potato masher to mash until smooth.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt thyme and sage and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lentil mixture. Season with pepper. Spoon mixture into baking dish, spreading evenly over bottom. Drop large spoonfuls of potato mixture over top and smooth with back of spoon. Bake for 40 minutes, until edges of crust begin to turn light brown.

I think based on my initial reaction, Rob was a bit skeptical, but he said he would eat it again! I think I would make it again - it was easy; I may just eliminate cottage cheese (maybe use Greek yogurt?). Enjoy!

life is busy

2012-02-01T23:16:00.001-05:00

Same old excuse ... I've been busy, but it's just the truth. Life happens. The Happy Dash takes a back seat so I can cook, get to the gym, and sleep. I wish I could say I've been on crazy fun outings and adventures, but nope - just everyday, ordinary life.

Here goes my brain dump:

I did have an overnight with the kiddos next door (3 girls: 7, 4, 14 months), and it made me question whether I want to nanny full-time in Chapel Hill. I have an interview with a family this weekend, but I'm not thinking it's what I want to do - full-time (50+ hours/week) for a 6 year old & 16 month old, not sure even I can handle that, but we'll see! It's nice to have options already for the move.

We tried a new restaurant in town, The Kitchen. We went (with two of Rob's guy coworkers) in thinking it was just another pub like the last restaurant that was there, but we were pleasantly surprised. A great bar, great service & really delicious food (other than the beets in the salad, but it's only because I don't like beets). If you're in town looking for a new restaurant, I recommend it!

Miss B & I have been battling sickness this week - I've had a cold, she's had fever (as did I briefly). But, I think we're finally on the up & up!

I cooked a new recipe tonight from Clean Eating Magazine, Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. I was really concerned about it because it included cottage cheese in the potatoes that thought it would combine more than it did. Seeing as I hate cottage cheese (I nearly gagged just putting it in), I knew for sure it would be a bust. We almost went out to dinner, but Rob forced me to try it and it was really good! Recipe to come soon ... yay for trying new things :)

Because I'm proud of it ... I'm 2.5 weeks free of DietCoke! Woohoo. I have had 3 real sodas total in those few weeks, and a cup (or two of coffee each morning) to get my caffeine fix. My plan is to get rid of sodas completely starting next week. I mean, I'm pretty close ... La Croix, my water cup, and green tea have become my friends during the day. Fairly certain I'm more hydrated than I've ever been!

Oh, and on the gym front: I've been running on the treadmill a lot! Alternating treadmill and elliptical, running & walking ... I run/walk intervals ranging 4.0-7.0mph for varying periods of time, but my "long" run is normally at a 6.5mph for about 15-20 minutes. I've slacked on weight lifting - gotta get back to it .. I'm adding this to my routine for the month of February (right now it's pretty easy, woohoo).

We're heading to Chapel Hill this weekend to look at a couple of houses, meet with the family to interview and watch the Heels game! We'll be back Sunday for Super Bowl, though we don't have any crazy plans other than watch it with some friends. We both have Monday off, so we still get some sort of weekend at home!

I'm sure life is busy for you too .. what's been going on??

I'm loving

2012-01-21T11:31:00.000-05:00

This week has been full of things I'm loving ...

Tazo Green Tea (I know many don't love it, but I do) ...

Green tea on ice in my straw tumbler (or Tervis) ...

These two new (to me) Chobani greek yogurts: Blood Orange & Apple Cinnamon ... really wish I had bought more of these when on sale at Harris Teeter last week!

Miss B was precious this week ... how could I not love her :)

I'm also 5 day free of Diet Coke! It's a step to rid myself of fake sugar, but I'm closer thanks to coffee :) I'm loving being able to actually accomplish this!

Anything you're loving this week???

(all images via google)

meal 2

2012-01-20T08:28:00.000-05:00

I was very ambitious this week with our meal plans ... 3 of the 4 were new meals, and the one non-new meal is just beans & rice (I'm working so it's easy to make for Rob to eat). Last night, I made Cooking Light's Bacon & Butternut Pasta ... I should have read reviews first because I would have saved it for the weekend - it took a while to get it all cooked & ready, but it was soooooooooooo yummy! I definitely think you should try to make it; I will add this to our list, but will prep it on the weekend, then throw it in the oven during the week.

via

Bacon & Butternut Pasta

Ingredients:

5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (I bought already-cubed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cooking spray
12 ounces uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta), campanile, or other short pasta
4 cups chopped kale
2 bacon slices
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt, divided
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I accidentally used ground red pepper, but it worked)
1 cup crème fraîche
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese (I used Swiss because I couldn't get a small enough chunk & it was just crazy expensive the way it was)

Prparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine squash and oil in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange squash mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
3. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Add kale to pan during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta mixture.
4. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
5. Bring 1 3/4 cups broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to broth. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in crème fraîche.
6. Combine squash, pasta mixture, bacon, onion mixture, and sauce in a large bowl; toss gently. Place pasta mixture in a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned.

Tag, you're it ...

2012-01-19T07:56:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by the lovely Amber at Long Distance Love Story to play along ...

Rules

[01.] You must post the rules.

[02.] Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

[03.] Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

[04.] Tag eleven people and link them on your post

[05.] Let them know you've tagged them!

********************

Facts about ME!

1 - I haven't had my hair cut in 16 months, it's the longest it's been in over 10 years!

2 - I am the oldest of 3 kids, and true oldest child that always had to be in charge :)

3 - I love cooking, seriously.
4 - Prior to being married, the extent of my cooking dinner was Ramen Noodles or Macaroni & Cheese.

5 - Costa del Mar sunglasses are the only ones I wear.

6 - Tequila is my favorite liquor.
7 - I want a garage so I can have tools & build things; pretty sure that scares Rob.
8 - I love clean sheets, but loathe changing them.
9 - I love home decor & design, just wish I could actually create spaces I save on pinterest.
10 - I bought my first car when I was 23 years old; yep, I never had a car prior to that, but sufficiently bummed rides until that time when I bought my Toyota Camry!
11 - Even though I was super excited about buying my mom's Acura TL, I was kind of sad about letting my first car go (at least we're keeping her in the family for a while as my brother is going to drive it for a bit).

********************

My questions!

1 - What's your favorite t.v. show? Oh, I have so many: Private Practice, House Hunters, Parenthood, New Girl ... the list would be easy if I could just cut & paste our DVR list

2 - Are you living in your dream town/city? If not where would you move? I love the city I live in - it is the beach after all, but I'm not convinced it's my dream city (I'm not sure what is!). I am really excited to move back to our college town this summer.

3 - Sweet tooth or a lover of saltiness? I love all things salty, but not too salty & throw a bit of sweet in there too and I'm in heaven.

4 - Favorite vacation destination? any beach - tropical if it's off-season here; Charleston, SC is a close runner up for the fall or spring.

5 - Do you believe in love at first sight? Can't say I do (I've never experienced it), but if someone says they've felt it, then I suppose they're right

6 - Hobby? working out, reading, cooking

7 - Do you like to cook? (Fave recipe please!) I love to, but during the week it gets crazy with our gym schedule, so meals aren't very exciting. Click on that "recipe" label to the right for my favorites.

8 - Coffee or tea? Coffee & tea ... I'm now a drinker of coffee in the morning and a green tea (hot or iced) in the afternoon.

9 - How many kids would you like to have? 4 though I'd actually prefer to be pregnant with 0 ...

10 - Is your hair color au natural or colored? 100% natural (never been touched with any kind of color other than natural sun highlights) ... not sure I'll ever touch it, I think I'd rather just be grey but we'll see depending on when they start coming in (other than the 6 I've had since middle school)

11 - Biggest pet peeve? Oh I have a lot, but right now people that don't know how to drive really annoy me ... and those that smack (food or gum) - aghhh

**************************

OK, so I'm suppose to tag 11, but I tag all of you ... if you play along, comment below & I'll be sure to stop by to read it :)

clean eating meal 1

2012-01-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

My first night back from Alabama, I whipped up a little something from Clean Eating magazine: Vietnamese Pork & Noodles with Ginger-Lime Sauce ... it was so delicious! I told Rob it tastes a bit earthy (I think it's the sprouts), but I am fairly certain I could eat this regularly. It was pretty easy to make (especially when compared to what I made for dinner tonight - coming soon after we eat it).

via

I highly recommend popping into the store & buying/subscribing to this magazine - I think I will have to add it to my subscription list as there are a ton of recipes I want to try ... it was the best Barnes & Noble purchase I've made in a long time :) Enjoy!

Vietnamese Pork & Noodles

Ingredients:

8 oz whole-wheat linguine (I used Hodgson Mill whole wheat fettuccine)
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 lb green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
2 oz broccoli sprouts
1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed of visible fat & cut into 1-inch cubes
juice 1 lime
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Add linguine and cook according to package directions. Drain, return to pot & set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp oil on medium for 1 minute. Add onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add cabbage and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until vegetables soften. Add onion-cabbage mixture, carrots and broccoli sprouts to linguine and toss well.
Return skillet to medium heat. Add remaining 1 tsp oil and pork. Cook, stirring often, until largest piece is opaque in center, about 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove pork and add to linguine mixture. Toss to combine.
Return skillet to stove top and heat on medium-low. Add lime juice, ginger, salt & 2 tbsp water. With silicone spatula or whisk, mix well to create a smooth sauce. Simmer for 1 minute, until thickened and slightly reduced. Add to linguine mixture and toss to coat.

Nutrition (per 3 cup serving): Calories 399; Total fat 6g; Sat.Fat 1g; Mono.Unsat.Fat 2.3g; Poly.Unsat.Fat 1; Carbs 59g; Fiber 11g; Sugars 8g; Protein 33 g; Sodium 352mg; Cholesterol 74mg.

I'm alive

2012-01-17T08:02:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you were all worried (ha), so I just wanted to pop in and say I am alive & well. But a lot has gone on. I'll be back with more later. For now, here's what's been going on ...

Jellybean is so close to crawling, and she's so smart - she's already reading :)

I got a new (to me) car!!!

Oh, I love it.

I hopped in my new car, drove to Winston & then flew to Alabama to go to the farm with my favorite kiddos ... meet Pete:

All of the kiddos on the gator ...

and my bubs just chillin on the farm ... he was in heaven

It's a busy life these days: work, cooking, gym (I'm finally starting to see the scale budge, so it's ever inspiring!), but I will be back soon as I have several great new recipes to share!

new year, baby goals: teeth & sign language

2012-01-05T17:22:00.003-05:00

We're 5 days into the new year. Time is flying by, and I'm just now really getting started on my goals/intentions/resolutions for the first half of 2012. Often, I am busy just reminding myself what it is that I intend to do (thank goodness I posted it on the blog to refer back to), but I'm getting there via baby steps.

Speaking of babies, my little Jellybean set some goals for her new year ... cutting her 1st tooth! And, boy oh boy, is she teething this week.

She's a lot grumpier than normal, but she's just so darn cute (even when dressed like a sailor boy) that I just give her love and try to take her mind off that silly little tooth coming in!

Another goal that her mom & I set for her: baby sign language. Just some basics (eat, all-done, milk, more, night-night) are all we're doing with her, but it's amazing how quickly she is responding (in attention, not action yet) as I just started it Tuesday. Have any of you done this before?? If so, any other "important" words to learn after these 5?? I have done baby sign language in small doses, but never started from the beginning. I have a method to my madness, and maybe if it works I'll share. There are flashcards, videos, etc. out there, but I think we're just going to stick with the basic sitter/mom to baby interaction with signs and talking! We'll see how it goes - hopefully in a few weeks I'll have a signing, one-tooth wonder Jellybean rolling around the work week.

It's been a good 1st week of 2012 for our house, I hope the rest follow the trend!

in 2012 I intend

2012-01-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

It's January 2nd; we're six months from our next move - part 2 of our resident's life where Rob gets to focus on his specialty and hopefully actually enjoy work. We love where we are, he enjoys those we works with, and the hospital, but the internal medicine is just really not his thing (I am so glad that he chose a specialty, as he was close to choosing IM with a specialty fellowship). I know he is looking forward to moving to CH where he will get to focus on his specialty. I'm looking forward to the change: new home, new job (hopefully I will find one), new friends. The "new" life is six months away, but we have six months left to enjoy the current moments and life.

I've been thinking about ways to enjoy life more here while preparing for our move, so I'm creating some goals/intentions/resolutions for the new year in Wilmington and then will recommit/make changes after the move.

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My intentions for making this a great year (or at least 1/2 year) ... de-clutter/simplify our home (closets and all - I hate junk). be proactive & committed in friendships (old & new, far & near). do a daily devotional. cook new meals. go to church more often. read at least 12 new books. get off the fake sugar (goodbye Diet Coke). enjoy time with my family. run (1/2 marathon in March or at least a true 5K). soak up the beach. try new foods. get in shape (loose 10-15 pounds). eat more whole foods. find more creative outlets. create & stick to a budget. travel. focus. love. enjoy life.

What are your 2012 intentions??

we brought in 2012

2012-01-01T21:53:00.001-05:00

Happy twenty-twelve everyone!

We had a grand New Year's Eve affair last evening at my childhood friend's wedding! It was a great event and a fun way to enjoy saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. My entire family attended, so we enjoyed some fun times together (especially the photo-booth, pictures will surely come).

Jimmy, mom and Robbie enjoying the evening.

Dad & mom

Me & Rob prior to leaving

And I just had to include my bestie (also known as my getting-ready-assistant and rescue-ride since there was a 2 hour wait for cabs home, and the 1 mile walk is challenging in heels in the cold)

Rob & I at the wedding

Happy New Year! (yes, beer, hats, noise makers & glow sticks may have been a large part of our celebrating!)

It's 2012!

We had a great time ringing in the new year with friends & family, and celebrating the marriage of great friends! I'm welcoming 2012 with open arms and hoping it brings nothing but great things! And so far, it has not let me down.

I spent my new year's day at an auction - Big South Auction here in Wilmington. I had my eye on this rug (it is much pinker & colorful in person), but sadly got outbid after reaching my maximum that I went in with even though it was still a steal!

I spent all day at the auction waiting for that rug, but ended up with this beautiful painting instead!

I'm not quite sure where it is going, but it sure makes me smile just sitting on our floor :) (And totally made sitting at the auction all day while it was 70 outside worth it!)

Happy 2012! Hope your NYE celebrations and new year's day festivities were filled with fun & joy - the only thing mine is missing was black eyed peas (let's hope I can make up for my lack of tomorrow!)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

2011 has been a busy, but good year!

The Happy Dash's year in review via highlights:

January: Rob found out he matched in his specialty at UNC!
February: We put our condo on the market and had 3 showings
March: (busy, busy) We had a kiddie sleepover with Whittie-pie & Ben; enjoyed some time in Chapel Hill with great friends; celebrated the real match day with all of our friends - we matched in Wilmington for Rob's first year of residency; and enjoyed our 2nd anniversary
April: We officially sold our condo!; saw Zac Brown Band live; stayed & relaxed at the Grove Park Inn; started our packing for the move; I enjoyed GW2K11 with some great friends
May: We vacationed with friends; I went to Seaside with the kiddos; Rob became a DOCTOR!
June: We moved to Wilmington; we took a great trip to Italy; weddings!; we joined a gym; Rob started residency at NHRMC
July: I started work (nannying again); living a great life at the beach with friends visiting (Anna & Catherine)
August: I found a full-time nanny job (Miss B); we hosted our first resident cookout at our house; I started my workout with a trainer and actually using the gym!; we attended more weddings & had more friends visit (Hillary); I turned 28 (edit: I turned 27, not 28 - at least I know someone is reading this thoroughly enough to catch my mistake!) during Hurricane Irene!
September: we soaked up the last bits of summer with friends visiting; I participated in a 30 day blog challenge (so recalling what we actually did is harder!); I started running/training for a 5K
October: I road-tripped to DC to visit Bethany; beer fest with the fam; Rob & I took our first vacation of residency to Charleston
November: Rob turned 26; we enjoyed UNC Homecoming with friends; Rob's parents & brother came to visit us in Wilmington; I ran my 5K (almost all of the way despite my knee); we celebrated Thanksgiving in Wilmington with my family since Rob was working
December: we adopted a kid for the angel tree; enjoyed the season's festivities: Enchanted Airlie, tree buying & decorating, cookie & ornament decorating; spent Christmas in Wilmington (Rob was working), a few days in Raleigh of Rob's vacation, then New Year's in Wilmington for a wedding

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown: 6 months of residency in Wilmington down, 6 months to go before we move again. A new year with new changes are surely heading our way.

Good bye 2011 (we'll miss you), hello 2012 (we hope you're good to us)!

(Image found via pinterest)

2011-12-26T23:06:00.001-05:00

me oh my we've grown ...

All 23 Bryans in one place may just be a Christmas miracle!

We're off to Raleigh to have Christmas with Rob's family tonight through Friday, then back for some fun New Year's Eve festivities (a friend of mine is getting married!)!

Christmas with the Bryans

2011-12-26T13:28:00.002-05:00

This year we started off Christmas the weekend before with the lights show at Airlie Gardens, called Enchanted Airlie. It was a great kick-off to the season and a perfect excuse to start a picture overload!

Rob's first Christmas living at the beach, so he enjoyed the lights of sailboats in the "water".

My favorite part of the lights was the bottle trees ... they were so fun & pretty. I think I may have to recreated these at our home in the future!

There was also an awesome Lego display ... the ski slope was so fun - kind of made me wish we were going skiing this year.

Sadly, Rob had to work Christmas Eve & day, but he was able to join us later in the evening prior to 11 o'clock service Saturday night. That is when he opened his gifts with my parents & brothers.

My parent's tree has the cool-white LED lights, after stringing them on we decided we are not a fan of them, so this year will be their last year of appearance. Their tree was huge & beautiful though.

As much as we discussed it, we never got a picture of my dad, brothers & Rob in their Christmas Vineyard Vines bow-ties & ties that I got them all for Christmas.

After Christmas Eve service on Saturday, Rob & I returned home to do our own little Christmas. It was Christmas day after all (12:30am)!

Since we "adopted" an Angel Tree kiddo this year, we kept our gifts small.

Rob surprised me with this Rachel Roy bracelet that I had pinned on Pinterest a while ago. He had some serious bad luck with gifts being cancelled this year, but I'm glad this one somehow came through! I love it.

In addition to his bow-tie, I found this 6x6 square of the floor from when UNC won the 2009 National Championship. I think it will be a great addition to his UNC wall once I get it framed!

Christmas morning Rob was working, but I went over to celebrate with my brothers & parents. We all received some great new clothes & shoes (what we all asked for), but my dad surprised my mom with a new car!

We all took it for a spin (and cleaning since I parked it under a tree - oops) before heading to Fayetteville for Christmas with both my dad's family & my mom's family. (And Rob got off super early, so he was able to travel with us and spend most of Christmas day with us!)

We do a Chinese Gift Exchange at my dad's family, and Rob & I came home with a great gift (actually that my dad brought ha) ... a bucket of beer with these great coozie's on two of them called Freakers. They fit on any size bottle or can, are made in NC, and started by some guys my brother is friends with.

They were the most traded/stolen gift of the year, but since I was #1 I got to go again and was able to steal them and take them home :) We love our Freakers! (and the beer came in handy at my mom's family's Christmas haha)

We are lucky enough to continue Christmas celebration through the week, since we are going to Raleigh to do Christmas with Rob's family on Wednesday evening through Friday. I'm excited for Rob to finally have a few days off then, since he's had to work so much over Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Hope yours was wonderful & Santa was good to you :)

purchase during the holidays

2011-12-23T17:22:00.001-05:00

I'm sure most of you are out there in the hustle & bustle of the season, but today in my last minute shopping & errands (remind me next year to get my every day errands done prior to the days before Christmas!) I spotted this owl lamp at Home Goods.

I purchased him, and brought him home. I don't love it in the wood color he is now, but think maybe spray painting him gold (or white) then recovering the shade (or finding a new one) would make him really cute and a great lamp for my bookcase. He was about $30, and while I am typically scared of birds this owl doesn't scare me and in fact intrigues me ... would you try to spray paint him or do you think I should just return him? Oh the decision that probably won't be made until after Christmas!

All of our presents are wrapped, cookies are baked, and I'm officially on vacation for the next week. Sadly, Rob is working until Wednesday, but we'll sneak in some holiday enjoyment in between his work shifts!

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!!

what we have is enough

2011-12-20T07:57:00.003-05:00

found on pinterest

great read

2011-12-18T08:53:00.003-05:00

Before the holidays get in full swing and the new year walks through the door, I highly recommend reading this article: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. It's not anything new, but a great reminder of ways to really increase your overall happiness!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T18:20:00.001-05:00

I'm assuming our cards have finally made it to their destinations via snail mail,

so I wanted to send it to each of you! Our photos were from three fun events this year: Rob's medical school graduation (picture after the hooding ceremony), our trip to Italy after graduation, and our trip to Charleston this fall. It's been a great 2011, we can only hope for the same in 2012.

Sending you love & joy all season long!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Kelly & Rob

new equipment

2011-12-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

This week out gym took the old, constantly breaking cardio machines and replaced them with new, iPod docking equipment! After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out how to increase the resistance, I am in love with the new elliptical - it's so effortless it's almost hard to believe I'm actually working out until I look at my heart rate and calories burned (and sweaty-ness of myself).

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The new machines are similar to this one (I'm assuming the ones at the gym are the ones originally made for the club, but who knows), and I'm now trying to figure out how I can convince Rob that we need one of these in our home when we move ... $3,500 though is going to take some serious convincing :)

The gym was closed for 2 days to replace these (well the cardio room only, but what's the point of going to the gym if you can't get on a machine for a bit ha), and I think it was totally worth the two days off ... until I went to the weight room and realized I hadn't lifted weights in three days - my muscles hated me!

day off

2011-12-15T11:47:00.002-05:00

Random day off = random jumble of a post ... sorry.

Lice has broken out in the school of one of the older kiddos I nanny, thus I am off today in effort to prevent from getting lice (note: I was at said contaminated house yesterday). Oh my, itchy!

This little jelly bean is growing & fitting into the most fun Tea (12 month) outfits.

And other days we have to recover from projectile vomit (tmi, sorry) hood-rat style because we don't want to ruin said cute outfits (see above).
I had fun activities planned for the kiddos this afternoon, decorating Christmas tree ornaments ... glitter glue, sequins, pom-poms and felt trees are ready, guess I'll save it for a later date!

I just had to try it out (to make sure it would work) when I was notified of my day off ... I also needed something to do while I was washing my sheets on the hottest water & longest cycle possible!

Yesterday (at the infested home), we decorated sugar cookies. It was so much fun, and they turned out so cute, but you have no idea how many sprinkles were on the floor post-decorating. Pretty sure we'll be finding them sticking to our feet still at Easter! (See those two at the top, those were the only two they let me decorate!)

Just to prove we did have a pig-picking in which my brothers cooked a pig (and drank bourbon & smoked cigars), see the two Robs (my brother & husband) and the cooker ... (Note: I spared you the picture of the pig on the grill)
And because Christmas is upon us, we are breaking out the Santa Claus dresses (for special occasions, like our cousin's first birthday) and looking oh, so festive :)
Last note, I went clothes shopping at Costco last week - yep, Michael Kors pea coats were $50, yes please. Only there weren't any mirrors, so I made Rob snap my picture so I could see if it fit. It did, and it's now mine because I needed it (I own many wool coats, none of which were black or really any color of neutral!).
Random picture overload brought to you by lice-day-off (and crossing fingers it does not infest my house or head!)!!!!! Happy Thursday friends :)

'tis the season

2011-12-11T08:21:00.003-05:00

We kicked off our Christmas season this week in full force (sans pictures)! Thursday night we attended an open house with my parents and brothers at the Surf Club - food & drinks were great, but we definitely brought the age range down by about 25 years.

Friday night was Rob's resident hospital party. One of the residents outdid herself in hosting at her home, but it was nice to meet more of the residents and even a couple of the attending made an appearance!

Saturday was our day to relax and enjoy the season: breakfast with my mom and brother, a bit of Christmas shopping, and then a dinner & movie date with Rob & my brother and his girlfriend. We saw New Year's Eve, which was cute - made me laugh & cry, totally cheesy at points, but glad we went to see it.

Most importantly on Saturday we dropped off our Salvation Army Angel Tree kid's presents! This year we decided to scale back our Christmas gifts to each other and dedicate more to our angel tree kid, Julian.

We had so much fun picking out the toys & clothes, I only hope he likes it! He asked for a Nerf gun and legos, so we purchased the Nerf Dart Tag (similar to this, but ours has all of the stuff for two players so he can play with a friend), extra darts, and the Lego Technic Off-Roader. We also picked out an outfit and a winter jacket to keep him warm and cozy this winter! Of course with all of it, we included the gift receipts so hopefully if it doesn't fit or work out to be what he really wants they can exchange it. I'm so glad we were able to help this family out, hopefully it will be a tradition that we continue!

Today, we're continuing our relaxation & celebration of the season with church, lunch, gym and then a Pig Pickin' at my parents' house that my brothers are throwing. They decided this summer they wanted to roast a pig, so they're doing so & we're celebrating my baby brother's 23rd birthday (a day early)!

Hope you too are enjoying the season!

2011-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

this post is hilarious - I highly recommend it for a laugh:

15 Things White Girls Love to do on Facebook

Pretty sure I'm guilty of many ...

oh Christmas tree

2011-12-06T07:46:00.004-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here .... our tree is up, decorations exploded, and Christmas music is a constant! Hope you're starting to enjoy the season!

gift ideas?

2011-12-02T07:59:00.002-05:00

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It's that time of year of buying presents - yes, I wait until December to really start thinking about what to buy, unless I see something ahead of time. This year I'm just now starting, thanks to Rue La La I knocked 4 of my gifts in one purchase!

Anyway, now I'm in a slump when it comes to two of the gifts we need to purchase. See, we do this gift exchange in Rob's extended family, where we draw names at Thanksgiving, then purchase a gift for around $50. This year we have two of his girl cousins around my age, should be easy right? Nope. We're not convinced they like similar things to what I would like; we don't know really anything about them at this point other than they live in the country in Virginia. Last time we saw them was last Christmas, in fact I had one last Christmas and purchased a really nice baking set (I do know she likes to bake), but I'm not convinced it was a real winner.

So my question to you (and plea for help), is what would you get a mid-twenty something for Christmas that you really know nothing about for $50 or less??? I'm fairly certain a cash gift card (like visa or amex) may be in our future, but that's just so boring. Help!!

oh Wednesday rambling

2011-11-30T09:18:00.004-05:00

We're half-way through the week and one day away from December (thank you google calendar reminders).

Every day this week since my last post I thought oh that'd be great to blog about, but now we're here, I can't remember anything, and I of course didn't want to leave you hanging.

Saturday we went to Chapel Hill to look at one property (back-up potential, but would only be suitable for a year or so as it's tiny), drive by a few others (have you ever met a company that requires you to drive by the property to make sure the location/neighborhood/outside of house meet your needs? yeah, well we have now), and meet up with some great friends & watch some football. It was fun, but we took 0 pictures :(

Sunday, we enjoyed 70 degree temperatures with a walk on the beach - sorry to all of you with snow. You will be glad to know that the cold front has made its way here.

Then, came the work week. My "off" weeks are no longer "off" and empty - they are FULL of multiple families, many kids, and lots of carpools (meaning driving around town)! I shouldn't complain, but I really did enjoy a day off every other week given I'm so busy on the weekends. Oh well - at least it's money.

One day this week we'll get a Christmas tree, buy gifts for our Angel tree kid, put up Christmas decorations, and get our Christmas cards out in the mail ... oh boy we have a lot to do to get ready for the season!

non-professional photo shoot

2011-11-25T08:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, also-known-as the last day to get a decent Christmas card picture (seeing as we had yet to take one all year). Cue the non-professional photo shoot by none other than my dad & my non-fancy digital camera after lunch at the country club.

First: behind the club facing the sun to eliminate shadows = very squinty eyes for a family that already has squinty eyes when smiling

Second location: inside "formal" according to my brothers & husband = a bit cheesy because we just couldn't take ourselves seriously
Third shot: in front of the club = darker coloring
Fourth: back inside for serious formal = cue "Adams Family" theme song
Which was the winner? One of them was with a bit of editing, and I'll share once my parents cards are sent out ... yes, I immediately went home, uploaded, chose the winner and created & ordered the cards for my mom. Otherwise, they would never get ordered.

And even though we have already completed our Christmas cards, I decided a photo was necessary to document our Thanksgiving in Wilmington this year. I leave you with the only normal shot of me & Rob :)

When do we officially get too old for this???

Happy Turkey day!!

2011-11-24T10:18:00.003-05:00

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Happy Thanksgiving friends!! We're staying put in Wilmington to enjoy the day with my family, then off to Chapel Hill over the weekend to watch some football and enjoy time with some friends.

Today I'm thankful for so many things: my friends, my family, Rob, my health (I ran the 2.5 mi Turkey Trot ((our Thanksgiving tradition)) this morning and finished in 25ish minutes, a big task given my ankle & knee!), a job, the beach, books, and just life in general! I'm looking forward to our lunch, and while I like the turkey, my favorites are the sides - mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, dressing ... what else could a girl ask for?? :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Chapel Hill | Our State Magazine

2011-11-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

Sharing a little taste of my heaven: Chapel Hill | Our State Magazine

new love

2011-11-20T09:44:00.003-05:00

I've found a new love at the gym ...

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the elliptical. Yeah, yeah - it's nothing new, but I'd always been intimidated by it. Yesterday the cardio room was empty other than some old men on bikes in the front, so I gave the elliptical a go. It was easy (to figure out) and a great work out in a short amount of time ... I think it's my new favorite cardio machine! See I've always been a walk on the treadmill-er, as running on a treadmill is just terrible to me (I only run outside). Hopefully it will help kick start this plateau I've been on since my ankle & knee have been anti-running lately :)

Do you have a favorite cardio machine or activity?

2011-11-17T19:42:00.003-05:00

Last week, a sweet little package arrived from my bff ... a (totally unnecessary, but completely loved) thank you of sorts to add to my collection*: a cookbook. In the Small Kitchen is by the ladies of Big Girls Small Kitchen blog, and let me tell you - if you are in need/want of a new cookbook, go purchase this one!

I have made two things this week from it, and they did not disappoint. Cara & Phoebe take you from basic scrambled eggs to dinner parties and everything in between, all in a small kitchen. I made the beer beef stew (not this one, but they talk about it in this post) on Monday night and I am fairly certain Rob was in love; tonight, I made the saucy tomato orecchiette (only I used penne) since Rob was at a working dinner, I was in love.

I now can't wait to eat my way through the cookbook and blog, let's just hope it doesn't make my waistline grow!

Have you discovered any new cookbooks and/or blogs that are worth checking out??

*I've decided that cookbooks are my thing that I collect. My dream is to have a huge kitchen with bookshelves full - one day.

Monday

2011-11-14T16:26:00.004-05:00

This weekend we ventured back to Chapel Hill to do some house hunting. Well our plans were squashed by a huge wreck on I-40 West in Raleigh ... our 2.5 hour drive turned into well over 4 hours! Luckily, we stayed with friends who did some house searching recently and we have been able to narrow down the neighborhoods we're interested in - now if we can just find a house for rent & available with the timing we need :) I know we have time, but I'm telling you places are flying for June/July 2012 already, so keep your fingers crossed for us since I'll have to go back up and view properties soon!

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Even though we missed house hunting on Friday, we were able to meet up with friends to watch the Carrier Classic! What a cool experience - the only thing I would change is to involve military personnel that cares for the two teams so the stands are loud :)

Saturday we drove down the road to Raleigh: Rob played golf with his dad & I visited with my Winston kiddos! I was also able to see my friend Anna's new place. We met up with Rob & our friend Cton for dinner at Buku, which was so very delicious and much appreciated after not eating dinner the night before. We ended the night with drinks at Fox's before calling it an early night!

While I wish we had been able to look at some houses and get a better idea of where we want to be, I'm glad we were able to get away easily and visit with friends & family. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about my visits to Chapel Hill during my house hunt, maybe even share some of the properties with you as we go through them!

How was your weekend?

family tradition

2011-11-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

We'd like to say hi ... and Miss B's presence is becoming quite a tradition. I mean, she's got to make ya'll smile like she does me? right? Sadly, I was unable to attend her baptism on Rob's birthday, well because it was Rob's birthday & his parents were in town. But I hear she was quite cooperative and even gave a few smiles for the pictures (we had been practicing with cameras for a while before, so I'm glad our hard work paid off haha).

Saturday, Rob's parents & brother came to Wilmington to visit us! We took them to our favorite spot for lunch & some (unfortunate) football watching, Copper Penny. Rob's mom & I went shopping a bit at Redix, per her request, while the boys watched the second half. We spent a good part of the afternoon post-football browsing through Ivy Cottage searching for a headboard for Andrew.

Everyone gathered at our place for drinks & appetizers before dinner at The Bridge Tender. Fresh bread, cheese, almonds & Italy olive oil - yum.
Post dinner, we gathered back at the house for cake ... Rob's favorite, cheesecake from Apple Annie's - a delicious bakery in town.
I'm fairly certain this youngin' had a great 26th birthday with his family in town!
Sunday we ventured to our favorite breakfast, Dixie Grill, wandered around downtown, and said goodbye as his family went on their way home to Raleigh & Richmond.

Halloween - old kid style

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

As an adult, Halloween has never been my favorite. In college, Chapel Hill had a huge Halloween event on Franklin Street where thousands of people would cram onto the street parading up & down, in & out of bars. It was great people watching from the side, but I never enjoyed being a part of the madness. Post-college, we've had some fun in Winston with friends, but last year Halloween fell on our friends' wedding weekend, so we missed it & I did not mind one bit. This year - it was on a Monday & festivities were over Homecoming weekend.

We took the adult route and went to my parents' house to eat chili & pass out candy with my parents, brothers, and some of my brother's friends.

These little monkeys dressed up for school on Friday before Halloween, and since I was taking them to school I snapped a picture of Buzz Lightyear, Wolverine, and a puppy dog!

I've got big scary eyes and big scary hair ... I wish I could say it was part of my costume, but I can't - it's just the way my hair goes if I don't do anything to it ... sorry -

My mom & dad on Halloween night. My dad usually sets up shop & passes out candy on the porch, this year he had a bit of company (all of us) ... I was impressed by the number of kiddos that came out despite the on-off, rainy gross weather.
Just to document Jimmy's gross mustache ... I'm fairly certain 100 comments were made that evening regarding it. Here, I wish I could say it was for no-shave-November, but it's not. It's just because he's Jimmy & he can.
Yep, Halloween was rather boring around these parts. But to keep you happy I'll give you a cute baby picture of Miss B during a morning stroll one day last week! I could just eat her up she's so freaking cute ...

... stay tuned for birthday weekend festivities

we're going back

2011-11-11T08:17:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since uploading pictures, my initial post was crazy long and overwhelming. I decided to spare y'all and break it up. I also realized that I am a terrible writer when I write on the spot (aka blog) ... back in the good ole college days I actually loved writing - hmm, thanks for sticking around.

Today, we have Homecoming 2011 - yep we're going back to the last weekend in October (also known as Halloween weekend that we did not partake in Halloween festivities).

For those who missed it, Rob & I both graduated from UNC (it's where we met). It is safe to say that we love anything and everything about Chapel Hill, so a chance to go back "home" is always welcome. (And yes, we will be moving there in June 2012 (can we say excited?!)) Homecoming gives a great excuse to get all of our old college friends together, and while this year was boy heavy (most of Rob's friends returned), it was a fantastic reunion.

My bestie & old college roomie, Bethany, popped down from DC for the weekend - I've been so lucky to see her so much this fall! (One of the perks of being from the same hometown) We put on our best attempt at our blue & staying warm because it was cold, so my outfit went from cute to being covered up by my north face jacket as it was the only one I brought!

One of Rob's best friends flew down from NYC and we all enjoyed some tailgating in the side yard of their fraternity house with beautiful fall foliage as our backdrop.
Somehow UNC doesn't have quite the tailgating presence, but the boys at Rob's fraternity have a great event - even if the rain took it indoors for Homecoming. We still ventured out when peaks of sunshine smiled!
Ryan, Katie, me & Rob in the side-yard.
Y'all it was freezing at the game - most of the girls left slowly throughout the game, but I stuck it out with Bethany to see the Heels beat Wake Forest! Somehow we ended up with a great group in the student section since our tickets were spread out through the stadium.
Sports are full of tradition. Rob & I have a football tradition - it involves a picture of us with Kenan Stadium in the background at any football game we attend. There are several printed & framed throughout our house. Somehow the blue scarf has made an appearance in each photo :)
Kenan from our seats in the wind tunnel ... it was seriously windy & cold!
Kenan from the student section looking at the Blue Zone at the end of the game.
And for all of you that don't know - this is the Old Well. An iconic image of UNC.
We enjoyed old friends. We visited our old stomping grounds (and even new ones). It was a great reunion - Homecoming 2011.

easy dinner

2011-11-09T07:40:00.003-05:00

Since I'm too lazy to find the cord for my phone, I'm going to share a recipe today and hopefully pictures of a great weekend with family tomorrow!

Last night I made Baja Pork Stir-Fry. It was really easy to make, but I have to say it could have used some more spice. I think I would add more jalapeno and maybe some red pepper flakes next time. But, if you're looking for an easy meal this is it - it only took like 25 minutes!

Ingredients

1/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth $
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch $
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces $
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided $
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided $
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided $
1/2 red onion, cut into wedges $
1/2 cup julienne-cut yellow bell pepper $
1/2 cup julienne-cut green bell pepper $
1/2 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper $
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves $

Preparation

1. Combine first 4 ingredients.
2. Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; toss. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil; swirl. Add pork, and cook for 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
3. Heat pan over high heat, and add remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil, and swirl to coat. Add onion, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers and jalapeño; stir-fry for 1 minute. Return pork to pan, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in tomatoes. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Joanne Weir, Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2011

they say it's your birthday!

2011-11-05T09:13:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday love!!

Nothing like being short & sweet, but we have in-laws to entertain today so I have to get ready!!! Let's hope the Heels show up & beat the Pack :) Go Heels!

easiest & maybe yummiest

2011-11-04T09:49:00.000-04:00

Now, I thought this was going to be just an-okay meal, but it well surpassed my thoughts and I didn't even use the "right" ingredients haha. And best part - it was so very easy. So I highly recommend this recipe of all of them - though they are delicious :)

Roasted Chicken Breasts and Butternut Squash with Herbed Wine Sauce

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds), skinned
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (2 1/4 pounds) - I totally took the "fast" way & bought it already chopped
1 teaspoon fine herbs - okay, so I didn't have fine herbs so used Italian seasoning instead. I realize they're not the same, but it still worked!
3 tablespoons dry white wine

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Place chicken in a large roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Place squash in a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, and sprinkle with fine herbs, remaining salt, and remaining pepper; toss well. Add squash to pan. Bake at 450° for 38 minutes or until chicken is done. Transfer chicken and squash to a serving platter; keep warm. (I served at this point because we went to the gym & didn't have time to make the wine sauce, but I am sure it would be equally as delicious if not more so!)
4. Add wine to pan drippings; bring to a boil over high heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; cook 2 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Place 1 chicken breast half on each of 4 plates. Spoon 1 tablespoon sauce over each chicken breast. Serve with squash.

risotto is cooking

2011-11-04T00:43:00.001-04:00

So, it isn't exactly the summer, but I decided I wanted to try this. And it is delicious, but it takes forever as risotto typically does seeing as you have to constantly stir it - good thin I've been working out :) If you're a fan of risotto and don't mind the constant stir this one is yummy & completely filling!

Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto (July 2011 Cooking Light)

Ingredients

8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (8-ounce) zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 (8-ounce) yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 3/4 cups organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add asparagus and peas; cook for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add zucchini and squash to pan; cook for 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. Bring vegetable broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook until liquid is absorbed (about 30 seconds), stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reserve 1/4 cup broth. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 22 minutes total). Stir in vegetables; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in reserved 1/4 cup broth and remaining ingredients.

what's cooking?

2011-11-03T16:31:00.002-04:00

Well, sometime last week I said stay tuned for a new recipe - nothing like keeping you hanging for nearly a week! It's just life folks :) At least I have 3 new recipes to share with you over the next couple of days.

I have to say that I did not prepare or cook this recipe, as I ended up working late the night we had planned this for dinner, so Rob did it. Some steps were accidentally left out (mainly cutting the pork tenderloin into cutlets), but it still turned out delicious - just took a bit longer! I can't say how long it actually takes/if it is worth the time, but the magazine says ready in 40 minutes - it sure is yummy, so I recommend trying it out when you have a bit of extra time!

Crispy Pork Medallions with Roasted Root Vegetables (via November 2011 Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 8 medallions
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450*
Rub mustard evenly over pork medallions. Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Dredge pork in panko mixture. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork; saute 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn pork Place skillet in oven bake at 450* for 8 minutes or until pork reaches 145*. Let stand 3 minutes.

For the roasted root vegetables: Preheat ove to 450*. Combine 8 ounces quartered small red potatoes, 2 thinkly sliced carrots, and 2 thinly slices parsnips in a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly group black pepper, and 1 minced garlic clove; toss well to coat. Arrange vegetable mixture on a rack placed in a broiler pan. Bake at 450* for 28 minutes stirring after 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

yes!

2011-10-26T18:22:00.002-04:00

I'm on track ... gym 3 days, running 3 days, 1 day off (sometimes 2 depending on the week). But I'm doing this. I love this pinterest inspiration:

Source: motivationintohabit.tumblr.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

And because of it, I completed my 20 minute run today! Not a big deal to most, but 8 minutes was the longest I've run in my couch-to-5K program, so the jump was a bit scary ... but I did it. Just over 2 miles in 20 minutes :) Woohooo!! (And I fingers-crossed, still haven't had any knee/ankle problems since running & working out!)

we headed south

2011-10-24T08:20:00.008-04:00

Thursday, we headed to Charleston for what turned out to be one of the best vacations in a long time - we toured around, ate well, enjoyed some drinks, and slept like it was our job. The weather could not have been more perfect - days of 70s and nights of 40s. Perfect.

Thursday early afternoon we arrived, checked in to the hotel & walked past rainbow row and down to the Battery.

Rob even posed for me ...

We made a stop at Hom for a bacon-infused bloody mary for Rob and a Fig-infused gin & tonic for me. This was a fun bar with ping-pong in the back lounge!

We freshened up, then grabbed drinks on the rooftop of Henry's (across from the market). We wandered until we were hungry and sat at the bar of Pearlz for a surprisingly good dinner, then more drinks at Social (which still remains my favorite bar in Charleston).

Friday we slept in (10 hours of sleep is good for the body), checked out of our hotel (long story), then drove out to Boone Hall Plantation. It was beautiful, and the weather didn't hurt our abilities to tour :)
In front of the house ... we toured the inside, which was a great history tour of the home, but were asked not to take pictures.
Rob & I in the gardens.
On the drive in/out of the plantation ... I would give a lot to have a driveway lined with live oaks (we have streets lined like this in Wilmington, but not driveways!)
And on creek.
The Dock House was setting up for a reception, and Rob & I agreed it would be a fun place to get married - especially with a view like this!
We had lunch at Black Bean Co. per a friend's recommendation ... and she was right! It was delicious - I highly recommend it, but it is out of the typical downtown Charleston area (we stopped on the way back from the plantation). We checked in to our new hotel, and decided that our happy hour location of choice was at Charleston Beer Works.

Friday night we had reservations at Magnolia's. It was delicious. Everything our waiter recommended was delicious - even the pecan pie, which I am typically not a huge fan of (but Rob is).

I had fried chicken that melted in your mouth served with cracked pepper biscuits, mashed potatoes, collard greens, cream style corn, and sausage her gravy ... yum.
Rob had the Parmesan crusted flounder over jasmine rice and creek shrimp pirloo with sweet

corn, tomato, and asparagus salad, lump crab, and a sherry beurre blan. He said it was delicious.

We had planned to workout Saturday morning, but scrapped those plans when we decided to continue vacationing as we were really good at it (i.e. being lazy), so we walked down to the waterfront park after venturing through the farmer's market in Marion Square.

We watched the UNC game at King Street Bar & Grill after showing up to Midtown Bar & Grill 10 minutes before game time and no one was there from the Carolina Club. King Street was fun, but the game was not so much of a good thing for us :(

We spent the afternoon shopping and "window shopping" for houses :)

After a bit of rest, we ventured back out to the Vendue Inn Rooftop for drinks, followed by dinner at a Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale (yes, we did quite a bit of walking seeing as we always wanted something that was far away).

We finished the evening with a stroll back to the Market Pavilion Rooftop bar, and a pedi-cab home because my feet (even though in Toms) couldn't take it anymore! Our pedi-cab driver gave us some great recommendations for next time, which I think we'll have to try: Midtown Bar & Grill, Theatre 99, and a few others I can't remember. Good thing we're only 3 hours away!

If you've made it this far - thanks. While I'm sure y'all would prefer an abbreviated edition, I have to document our trips for my own sake! It was a great vacation - I wasn't ready to come back to reality, but we had to. Fortunately, next weekend we're off to Chapel Hill for Homecoming, so this week should go by quickly.

Stay tuned this week - we're trying out some new recipes that I hope to share later in the week.

oh la la

2011-10-19T16:11:00.001-04:00

Y'all know I love a good giveaway (and if you really know me, then you know I want this one because I am planner-obsessed) .... From Mrs. to Mama is hosting an Erin Condren giveaway, so hop over and enter, even if I do secretly hope I win!!

oh goody!

2011-10-18T17:36:00.002-04:00

A couple of months ago, I won a giveaway hosted by BonBon Rose Girls! I was so excited, but I wanted to wait until I chose my "prize" as I won a $100 giftcard to Joss & Main. Well, a couple of days turned weeks turned months. But, today I finally decided on my "purchase" ....

This print above jumped out to me and since I'm always on the hunt for new art to add to the house, I purchased it. It's funny to me that of all of the prints this is the one I loved, seeing as I'm not a fan of "chores" but a huge lover of all things beachy ...

I can't wait to receive my new piece of art in a couple of weeks, so then I can fret over how to frame it. I'll be sure to share when it finally finds its' place on the wall (I'm thinking my bedroom, but we shall see).

vacation

2011-10-17T13:31:00.001-04:00

Watch out, here we come, Charleston!!

Yep - Rob's officially on vacation and I'm 100% jealous as I head to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, even if I know he deserves it & needs it 10 times more than I do! And as soon as we can wake ourselves up we're off for a road trip to Charleston.

On my to-do list while vacationing:

visit one (or more) of these plantations: Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation, Boone Hall Plantation, Drayton Hall
tour a few of the house museums in downtown (like Edmonston Alston House)
walk along the battery
convince Rob to walk the Cooper River Bridge
head to Sullivan's to eat at Poe's
drinks at Vendue Inn Rooftop Bar
shop at city market
Dinner at at-least 1 fabulous restaurant (to be determined as I've made reservations at several)

... and of course: watch the UNC v. Clemson (edit: I was confusing our vacation weekend with Rob's birthday in November - oops) football game because we can't go a weekend of vacation without UNC football :)

It looks like we're going to have some great fall temps & sunshine for our vacation weekend. Do you have any must-do's for our vacation?

twist on lasagna

2011-10-17T08:45:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite foods has been lasagna, specifically the frozen Stouffer's kind. Sadly, Rob does not join me in my love for lasagna thanks to his fraternity cook's version that resulted in copious amounts of melted, greasy (probably not real) cheese. So in our house, we don't eat lasagna. Until I decided that this cooking light recipe was not lasagna. In fact it is called: Italian Beef & Polenta Casserole. I made it, crossed my fingers it would pass, and served it for dinner ... and Rob liked it!

Whether you like lasagna or not, I say try this easy recipe out - I assembled it earlier in the day and then baked it when we got home from the gym. And the leftovers were tasty the next day!

Italian Beef & Polenta Casserole (from Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast: Weeknight Meals)

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini
1 (17 oz) tube of basil & garlic flavored polenta (found in produce section of grocery)
olive-oil flavored cooking spray
1 pound ground sirloin
1 (24 oz) jar fire-roasted tomato-garlic pasta sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Italian blend cheese (I will say that I probably used less than this out of fear of scarring Rob)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, cut diagonally crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Cut polenta crosswise into 8 slices (I think I had 10); coat both sides of each slice with cooking spray.
heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices; cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Arrange polenta slices in an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Reheat pan over medium-high heat. Add beef to pan. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring to crumble; when cooked, remove from pan, and drain, if necessary. Add zucchini to pan; saute 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add beef, pasta sauce, and pepper; cook 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Spoon beef mixture over polenta; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 375* for 18-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese melts. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1/6 of casserole)

is all about the Bs

2011-10-16T07:58:00.003-04:00

Life this week has been all about the Bs ... babies, battleships, and beer. Let me explain.

It was my "on" week with baby B. She's a cutie.

Friday we took an adventure downtown with Rob. We saw the Battleship, and even though baby B looks asleep, she was just talking to her friend the mermaid. I am totally loving this sunshine, warm-ish temperatures (70s & sunny are my idea of perfection).
Saturday was family-fun day at the Lighthouse Beer Fest. Sadly, the Robs (my husband & youngest brother had to work), so it was just Lindsey (my brother Jimmy's girlfriend), Jimmy, me, dad & mom.
We had a great time ... my new favorite beer is New Belgium's Belgo. It's yummy. We ran into a ton of friends while at beer fest ... like Jon - this was the photo we texted to Rob saying "the weather is here, wish you beautiful" (a Jimmy Buffet quote that was on at least 3 of their fraternity formal shirts).
Mom & dad left a bit early, and since beer fest was only a mile away, us kids stayed and walked home.
Good times were had by all I think. It's been a good week sponsored by the "Bs" ... now it's time to clean, do laundry, and bring out those fall clothes ... Rob starts his vacation tomorrow & then we're heading to Charleston on Thursday!! Woohooo!

Book List

2011-10-08T13:53:00.002-04:00

So over the last few months I've been compiling a book list based on recommendations from blog friends, in-real-life friends, and goodreads friends.

For now I am reading the Harry Potter series. I tried reading it when it first came out, and didn't enjoy it so much. I'm one book down and I'm finding that I actually enjoy it now. On to getting book 2 from my parents' house and I'll get back to reading :)

These are books on my list of to-reads:

The Glass Castle- Jeanette Walls
American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld
Uncharted TerriTori - Tori Spelling
Sundays at Tiffany's - James Patterson
Room - Emma Donoghue
Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life - Bethenny Frankel

It's not as many as I thought it was, so I'm sure I'm missing some & I always add to based on what my mom hands me :) For now I have 6 Harry Potter books to finish ... better get back to reading (or house hunting for Chapel Hill rentals - as I've been doing all morning since work!)

Happy weekend :)

Finally Friday!

2011-10-07T19:18:00.003-04:00

Friday Brain Dump:

I definitely bought new sunglasses this week because mine broke last week & I can not see without sunglasses when it is sunny out. It's been super-sunny this week. I love it. I love my sunglasses - my first black pair of Isabela's. Yep, I've always been a tortoiseshell girl, but decided since my others would eventually get fixed I should have one of both!
It's been my "off" week, but I was 100% on-working this week, especially these last 3 days - mom of 3 girls (7, 4, 9 months) was out of town so I filled in during the day 7:30-6! The girls were so good, but still it is hard work trying to get everyone home from school, to activities, homework, dinner & baths ... we rarely made it to bath time before the dad came home, but we tried!
And it's the weekend now - woohoo. Only, I've been convinced to work Saturday am for a few hours and then again Saturday afternoon/early evening for a few hours (different fams). I can't complain because at least I'm keeping busy :)
I've been a gym rat slacker! My trainer isn't going to be very happy the next time he sees me. In my defense, I have been running outside! Just not strength training, and it totally shows when I tried to do some light arm work tonight at home. Ooops. It's Rob's fault because he's been sick with a cold and skipping the gym, so I did too :)
Rob & I have decided to start over on a new foot Sunday ... our gym schedule for the new week: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday (as in every day he's not on call). I also have to figure out when to run 3 days (per my Couch-to-5K app) too. Maybe it will be nice & I can run with the baby ... hmmm.
I have been getting faster & running longer - I start week 4 next & I'll be running 5 & 3 minute intervals with 1.5 & 3 minute walking. I'm feeling good as my 85 year old knees have not been bothering me. I think it's partly thanks to the strength training - no seriously, I've never done leg strength training as I've been scared about my knees. This is good.
Wow that was 3 bullets re:working out. Sorry.
We are going to Charleston for 4 days in 1.5 weeks ... I can.not.wait!!!! The only person more excited than me is Rob ... he actually gets the entire week off; I just took Thursday & Friday.
I've started making reservations and planning some fun things that we haven't done together - plantations, tours, yep we're totally going to to soak up being tourists in a town that we both know well & love :)
Do you have any favorites or must-dos for Charleston?? I'll be sure to share what we end up doing after - no worries.

Now that I've probably lost 99% of you - I'll leave you all to enjoy your weekend.

wedding eye candy

2011-10-04T09:35:00.003-04:00

I love wedding blogs. Style Me Pretty is one I've enjoyed forever.

It's even better when you know the wedding that is being featured, like this Wilmington wedding!

So hop on over and check it out for some great wedding eye candy!

and I was off to DC for a hot minute

2011-10-03T15:44:00.005-04:00

On Friday, I hopped into the Camry (after a $200 oil change on Thursday - yes there was a little bit of fixing to get her ready for the road), and took off on the road. I managed to avoid traffic & the rain storms the entire way to make it from Wilmington to DC in 5.5 hours (including a much needed stop at exit 33 in Virginia for Starbucks!

This sunset really helped me enjoy the last couple hours of my drive to Bethany's house in Arlington:

It was a tad bit gross on Saturday, but we made the most of it by bundling up and heading into DC to the Eastern Market where I purchased the cutest coasters. We met up with our friend Thomas at Ted's Bulletin for brunch, but after waiting an hour we headed next door to The Chesapeake Room for a delicious lunch! Next time I visit I will have to get a poptart & adult milkshake at Ted's :0

We drove through the mall, but decided not to hit any of the museums as they all looked busy & we had an itch to shop! Thus, we headed to Georgetown where we did some damage at JCrew, Madewell, and Anthropologie:

Then, had a late snack back at B's apartment - feta cheese, red pepper, basil (from Eastern Market), and olive oil ... served with crackers/chips - it was delicious! I will have to make this again, yum.

I took my first paying bus ride to the metro station since it was raining (yes, I had never ridden a city bus outside of Chapel Hill, which doesn't count because you don't have to pay haha), so we clearly had to document - we were the only ones on the bus & the driver gave me a senior citizen discount seeing as I only had dollar bills!

We metro-ed into the city, then cabbed it to the UNC bar in Adam's Morgan: Ventnor's, to watch UNC beat ECU. We weren't expecting much as far as food, but were pleasantly surprised by our dinner. And the UNC crowd & win didn't hurt :)

Bethany & I finally met up with Matt & Elizabeth (my friends from med school who live in Maryland) at Buffalo Billiards for a great late evening of drinks and darts!
It had been way too long since I saw M & E, I only wish Rob could have been there too!
Sunday brought on omelets at home, and some good-ole TJMaxx shopping. Sadly, the only thing I bought was a plate. Then, we headed back into the city for some shopping, Smithsonian American Art Museum browsing, and happy hour dinner at Ella's.

We were brought into the city to see Parade at Ford's Theater. It was great. Before our show, we grabbed drinks at Zaytinya's ... we had the Clean Monday. Yum. (I may have had 2).

On our way to pick up our tickets, Bethany & I realized 10 years ago we went on a high shcool field trip to DC & toured Ford's Theater during the trip! Parade was a great show. I'd recommend it.

It was a busy weekend, but so much fun! I am excited Bethany is coming home this weekend, so I get to see her 2 weekends in a row :)

And now we're back to reality - the gym and a run are in my very near future, then laundry & cooking dinner. I love weekends!

Day 30: Share a picture you love

2011-09-29T22:53:00.005-04:00

By day 30, you probably have figured that I don't follow directions well on these kind of things (in real life, yes), but I do like to add my own flair on these posts. So for the last day, would you expect any less? Instead of one picture I love, I have a couple-few.

First, this may not be the best picture (as I look absolutely exhausted), but these lovely ladies surprised me with an engagement brunch on our girls weekend! They are some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for (though a couple couldn't make it) and we are in one of the greatest places on Earth - Chapel Hill (specifically Carolina Coffee Shop - yum).

This picture has made it's way on the blog several times, but it's a favorite: our wedding, our greatest med school friends, I love it.
Third: Rob - the last night of our Italian vacation. Enough said.
And then lastly, it's me. It is a terrible picture of me, but it's delicious gelato in Italy. Could you ask for a better thing to love??

I could go on and on, but I'll leave you with those as I'm off to take lots of pictures with one of my favorite loves: Bethany, in her city - DC (where it will be much cooler and less shiny than this picture in Austin, TX in August) ... here I come!!

Day 29: 3 Favorite Things

2011-09-29T07:23:00.004-04:00

These are a few of my favorite things:

my iPhone - I am obsessed. It gets me through the day & even has an app that somehow forces me to start running :)

Diet Coke - about once a month, I say I'm going to give this stuff up, but it's just so good - I am fairly certain I'm addicted.

Pinterest - it is taking over my life. I love pinning, I love browsing others' boards & pins, I love the inspiration that it provides! I wish I had my computer during the day, it is probably the only thing that is a lot harder to do on my iPhone.

The Beach - is there anything better??

What are some of your favorite things??

Day 28: Favorite books

2011-09-28T07:50:00.003-04:00

I love to read. I go through spurts when I read a ton, then not at all. When I find a good book, I can get sucked in until I finish it.

My favorite books from over the years are The Giver and The Great Gatsby.

Recent favorites are: The Girl with Dragon Tattoo trilogy, The Help, and Water for Elephants. I really enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, but didn't care for Cutting for Stone.

And now I am starting to read Harry Potter. I finished book 1, and will start 2 as soon as I get it from my 9 year old friend (yep, that's right - she's who convinced me to read them!).

As soon as I get an evening I am going to create a list of books I want to read over the next year, but you can also find me on goodreads I try to keep a record of books I've read & ones I want to read.

What are your favorite books??

Day 27: 3 Wishes

2011-09-27T01:04:00.000-04:00

3 Wishes for today

via

I wish I could find a sofa that I love and is actually attainable/affordable (one-in-the-same)
I wish all of the creativity I had when I was younger would come back to me!
I wish I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up :)

Day 26: Best Concert

2011-09-26T01:59:00.000-04:00

Oh my, I love going to concerts, sadly in the last few years I've probably only been to 1 - Zac Brown Band. It was a lot of fun!

In college I used to go to concerts at Cat's Cradle all of the time! And then, a bunch of us bought the summer country concert series tickets at Walnut Creek (or whatever it is actually called now in Raleigh). Talk about fun times :)

My first concert was The Beach Boys during Azalea Festival with my family at UNCW - I think I was in 4th grade. That was followed by Hootie & the Blowfish in Raleigh at Walnut Creek with my girl scout troop. And then many (too many) Dave Matthews Band concerts in high school, along with Weekend Excursion & O.A.R. in late high school/early college (I can't really remember).

What was your favorite concert?? I'm hoping when we return to Chapel Hill, concerts will be easier to go to, maybe even this fall/spring some bands will come to Wilmington?!

Day 25: iPod shuffle

2011-09-25T01:49:00.000-04:00

I put my iPod (well, really my iPhone because it's what I use these days to run), and these are the first 10 songs (of 91) to pop up ...

Heart to Heart - Holiday Band (this was our first dance at our wedding!)
Red Ragtop - Tim McGraw
Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Back Where I Come From - Kenny Chesney
How Bout You Don't - The Lost Trailers
Let Her Cry - Hootie & the Blowfish
Best Days of Your Life - Kellie Pickler
Things that Never Cross a Man's Mind - Kellie Pickler
Country Boyz - Nappy Roots
Macon - Jamey Johnson

and I found my iPod, so here are the first 10 that pop up on it (of 615)

Only Wanna Be with You - Hootie & the Blowfish
Patiently - O.A.R
Crazy Game of Poker - O.A.R.
I'm Tired - Pat Green
Tuesday - Chairmen of the Board
If I Was the Devil - Pat Green
Way Down Here - Kenny Chesney
Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not - Thompson Square
Raining on Sunday - Keith Urban
Honey Bee - Blake Shelton

Of all of the songs that could be chosen, I'm not sure this fully displays the music I actually listen to, but I do at least like all of the songs! (And somehow Christmas songs did not show up!)

sweaty, baby, UNC

2011-09-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

Let's see what kind of search traffic that title will bring ... but really it's just what's going on in life these days!

Just in case you thought you sweat a lot ...

... I mean seriously? Who does that after just 2 miles of running? Me. That's right. Sorry. It's the unfortunate result of all of this working out in my life these days.

To make up for that grossness ... meet cutie Ms. D. cutest blue eyes ever

This week was full of fun surprises (well we purchased them, so not total surprise) ...

a miniMove (yes in hot pink - no we're not 14 year old girls) so we can listen to music out on our porch ... Rob says we need a way to camo it - not going to happen. embrace the pink!

Our fall NC hats arrived thanks to State Traditions ... mine is white, Rob's is blue

... I'm think we'll need to at least stage a photo opp at this game?! Because our Homecoming tickets arrived the same day (in which I had a photo but realized it has our address all over it and I'm just not ready for that kind of stalking yet!)

I'm definitely wearing mine tomorrow to dog sit while the Heels play Ga Tech! Go heels!

Day 22, 23 & 24 - bullet list

2011-09-23T23:56:00.004-04:00

Rob & I were able to sneak out of town for the night & day, thus I slacked off with the 30 days of blogging challenge :( Sorry! And to make matters worse, I just watched the 2 hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy on DVR & bawled my eyes out, so my brain may not be working fully!

Day 22 - Hobbies

reading
crafting
most recently - working out (if that's a hobby?)
I should have more and probably do, but can't think of them

Day 23 - favorite blog hop

Here is where I become the lamest blogger ... I am fairly certain this is the closest thing I've done to a blog hop? Maybe I have done another before, but I can't remember right now! Sorry, but I do love this one :)

And for good measure, I'm going to go ahead and do Day 24: Favorite Places to Shop

First - I am a bargain shopper and will rarely buy anything unless it is on sale (and pretty good on sale too)

In our little overnight adventure to Ocean Isle (to stay with my parents who had rented a house for the week), we went to Myrtle Beach Tanger outlets ... I love these outlets (or really any outlets) because JCrew & Banana Republic are there - and they are typically great! Today, BR was a miss, but JCrew was a hit. Definitely worth the 30 minute drive on a what we thought would be a cloudy day.
I love TJMaxx & Marshalls. You have to pick through things, and I believe you have to be willing to return things (I often buy something when I'm unsure, and bring it back if I don't like it because you never know if it will be there when you return).

Do you have any favorite places to shop? I love a good boutique when they have sales, but I'm fairly certain I can't rationalize $$$ for many of the items, though sometimes I can be convinced - I'm a sucker for good denim. I never believe it made a difference, but I have even brought Rob to the "dark" designer denim (though I still refuse to pay full price thanks to online sites like RueLaLa)!

Day 21: Stressers

2011-09-21T06:33:00.001-04:00

Ok, so y'all aren't going to believe me on this one, but I seriously don't get stressed out by stuff or events or deadlines or really much of anything. In my opinion: it will all work out somehow, someway. I'm very type-A when it comes to meeting deadlines, following the rules, and being of a competitive nature at times; just not in a stressful way. I'm very type B when it comes to being very relaxed, patient and easy-going in moving forward in life, meeting goals, and completing deadlines.

There are moments that I say I'm stressed, and it's really more of an anxiety type thing usually involving overcrowding! I love people, but hate being sandwiched among many or 100s of options. Those are my stressers, if and when they happen.

I know, weird, right? It works for me though, even if it drives Rob crazy sometimes because I just don't get stressed no matter how much is piled on my plate!

Day 20: Picture of Yourself

2011-09-20T08:47:00.003-04:00

We're back to Rob's computer - it's official that I just can't handle mine cutting off on me in the middle of things ... perhaps it needs a new battery? perhaps I should take it to the computer man? With Rob's computer comes very few pictures ... so today's post is brought to you courtesy of wedding photos as that is the only folder I can find a picture of me, just me.

My photog caught me waiting for my dad to get me & walk down the aisle ... I think it captures my nerves, excitement, and joy of the happiest day in my life thus far! If only I could get all of that pampering every day haha :)

Monday catch up

2011-09-19T08:34:00.002-04:00

I have finally gotten my computer to stay on long enough to upload some photos from my iphone (which for some reason won't do so on Rob's computer - weird), so I thought I would take the morning to catch you all up on life (put it on the blog so I can remember next week what we've been doing!)

Last week was my "on" week with this cute little Jelly Bean:

She's getting so big ... soon she's going to be rolling all around! I keep saying that this little age is my favorite, though I found out this weekend I love the big kids too :)
Speaking of big kids, Saturday I spent the day & night (and Sunday) with the most fun 4 kiddos I know. We went bowling, ate lunch at Moe's, played Sorry, Zingo, the Wii for hours on end, baked brownies, and watched Cats & Dogs on Saturday. Then Sunday, we all went to the park and took a friend with them ... they entertained themselves for hours on end (only to be interrupted with a pizza break).
And this little bugger even gave me some snuggle time since he's a big boy now at 4!
Rob has been working A LOT! I'm not going to complain because I know it's his job, but I was so thankful he finally got a much-needed & unexpected entire weekend (that would be all of Saturday & Sunday) off! Sadly, I was working Saturday so he was able to enjoy lots of sleep & football watching with the guys - I suspect he may have enjoyed that Saturday more since I was working seeing as I would not have watched football all day :) I'm okay with it.

He did come spend Sunday with the kiddos & I at the park and then lunch. Since the parents returned home around 1, we had the afternoon to ourselves - we went to the movies & saw "I Don't Know How She Does It" seeing as he watched football the entire day before I figured he could handle it. It was cute, but not amazing. Then we followed the movie with some student loan paperwork (fun, fun, fun). We decided a date-night of dinner out was in order, so went to one of our favorites: Copper Penny.

It's been a busy week or so for us, but I'm glad we were able to spend some time together & Rob was finally able to get some sleep! He has another 4 weeks of this grueling schedule, but then it's his week of vacation ... and then we're off to Charleston for 4 days :) Mini-vacation countdown is on!

Day 19: Nicknames

2011-09-19T08:08:00.002-04:00

When I was little I had a round fat belly that resembles Buddha, so my parents lovingly called me Buddha Baby or Kelly Belly.

Growing up my brothers thought it was funny to call me Smelly Kelly or just Smelly.

The little girls I used to babysit (and many other children over the years) called (and still call) me Kel-Kel.

When I was a live-in nanny, one of the little boys called me Ahnya. We never found out why he started calling me that, but it stuck for the year that I lived there. Now he laughs and says, remember when I used to call you Ahnya - I was just a crazy little kid. Ha.

And as far as nicknames from Rob, I am pretty certain he doesn't have any for me other than "love" as in like "hey love."

Day 18: Someone you miss

2011-09-18T13:35:00.002-04:00

I miss this little stinker like no other. It's been well over 2 months since I last saw his cute little face, but fortunately I get to see him in about a month if I can get my work schedule to cooperate (as in find someone to watch the baby for me). Apparently, he's now talking nonstop and full of personality! He calls me semi-frequently, but it's not the same as in person.

Yep, Baby Ben is who I miss :)

Day 17: Regrets

2011-09-17T06:39:00.003-04:00

I'm not one to hold regrets. I'm a big believer that each and every experience (good or bad) creates who we are today. Sure, there are times when I wish I would have made a different decision, but given I'm happy where I am today I think my decisions were pretty good throughout my life :)

I would love to go back in time and have the current me tell the younger me a few things - but mainly just that life is good and enjoy it!

5 blogs I check daily

2011-09-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

So, I should be ashamed to admit this, but I have 88 blogs in my google reader. Now, I don't read 88 blogs a day as most don't post daily. I'm going to share the 5 (or 7) that I look forward to reading every day they pop up on the reader, but I'm not going to lie - I like all of them when they pop up!

The Perks

Post College Working Girl

A Long Distance Love Story

I've also enjoyed finding new blogs through this link-up, and if your blog isn't on here, don't get hurt feelings, I most likely love it too but I'm in a time crunch to get to work - leave a comment to make sure I'm reading yours :)

Day 15: Tips for a New Blogger

2011-09-15T08:04:00.004-04:00

I can't really say I have many tips for a new blogger because I really only blog for me. I love all of the new folks I meet, but honestly if no one else read this blog I'd be okay with it. It's essentially my journal of things I want to remember, and occasionally I'll participate in blog hops/challenges. I definitely have brought people to my blog by just commenting & chatting with those blogs that I enjoy reading (probably yours).

So my tip would be: blog for yourself on your blog, find other blogs that you enjoy reading, and comment something other than "hey, check out my blog" - comment with content that will create a connection for the other blogger. Don't get discouraged if you don't have 500 followers, in my opinion it's not a popularity contest in the blog world ... it's about the connections you make in the people you "talk" to.

Oh, and for you non-bloggers - start blogging. I mean, I rarely have anything important to blog about, but you still read it :)

Ranting & raving

2011-09-14T16:46:00.003-04:00

-Rant-
I need to take a moment and just put my two-cents out there on the craziness that is known as Missoni for Target. I normally would just let this go, but it's a bit out of control. I mean, I understand the hype and getting excited, but today in my local Target while I was trying on non-Missoni items because 0 were left (unless you want a green corduroy jacket and there are several of those in an XS or XL) I think about 10 people asked the rep if there would be any more, every person I saw had at least 1 item in their shopping cart, and supposedly women lined up at 6:30 am for their chance at some merchandise. I'm guilty of buying a pair of socks today, in fact they are these:

Source: kaboodle.com via Kelly on Pinterest

They were $7 and I actually needed/wanted some new socks to wear under boots, and these just happen to have that famous pattern. I did a quick search on ebay.com ... $25 bid now. Please. If you desperately want these socks, I will go back & snatch up a pair for you.

Some of the stuff left was cute and obviously "Missoni" zig-zag pattern that the brand is known for, some of it was hideous and you wouldn't know it was Missoni unless I told you. But, I need to come back down to reality here - it's not the real thing! I mean, I understand liking the stuff, but really it's not like it's the $12,000 dress in Target .... it's the Target line. And I'm not one to knock you for wanting it or buying it because had I been there or been something left that I liked, like this blanket,

then I too would probably buy it ... but they are now going for $250 on ebay.com - it's a $40 blanket! Plus, I guarantee there is a Target somewhere that is not sold out of it ... I mean there was a lot of stuff in our Target (baby clothes, rain boots, socks, house-items) that say "sold out" online but are definitely in our store. So, I'm all for helping you out if you want something, let me know, just don't buy it off ebay.com and let those crazies think they really made something of themselves!

Were any of you readers there at 6:30am? Did you get any of the goods? Are you now selling them on ebay for 1,000% return?? Any thoughts on Missoni for Target craze??

-end rant-

Day 14: I am looking forward to

2011-09-14T08:19:00.002-04:00

Oh my today, is what we're looking forward to and man I think there is a lot in life to look forward to, but a lot of that is a mystery! Here we go with what I am excited about in my future:

hanging out with the 4 kids I used to nanny for an overnight Sat/Sun
getting to have Rob hang out with us on our adventures this weekend because he got a weekend off due to the constant tardiness of another resident
Rob's vacation week in mid-October (we're just going to Charleston for a few days of it, but boy I'm ready for my few days off and for his week of rest - he needs it!)
trip to DC in a couple weekends to see my bestest & where she lives :)
hanging out more with a friend from high school! we started with a 4.5 mile walk & catch up chat yesterday - it was great
getting to house search in Chapel Hill, then moving there
having babies of our own one day (in the not-near future) and making Rob a dad
seeing Rob become an actual doctor in the field he has chosen (finish residency)
figuring out what my role is on this Earth

What are you looking forward to?

Day 13: Verse/Quote

2011-09-13T22:18:00.003-04:00

I've always been terrible at memorizing verses (or even remembering ones I like), which probably means I need to get to church (and Sunday School & reading the Bible) more often!

One that always sticks out (it's my mom's email address) is Ephesians 4:29 (NIV): "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

My favorite quote that I used to have pinned up all over my room since high school, in college & when I was a travelling consultant is by Mark Twain:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Day 12: Year of goals

2011-09-12T09:46:00.002-04:00

So today, we are to share our goals that I would like to accomplish in the next year. Wow, that's a toughie given we have so much change going on in the next year it's always hard for me to set goals knowing that my life will be vastly different this time next year - we will be moving again in June.

Goals looking at various aspects of my life:

Stick with this workout routine I have going (trainer is definitely helping) to continue getting healthy
Cook at least 4 new recipes a month (that's 1 per week)
Get to church as often as possible (have to be realistic - every Sunday not going to happen given how often I am out-of-town)
Find a new couch so we don't have to move with this one
Find & rent a home that we will live in for 4 years
Discover & establish myself with what I want to do for the next 4-5 years after our move
Have 1 date night a week (even if it's just coffee)
Read the stack of books on my list - I think there are over 35 on it, so I better get to it ... thinking I will list all of them and then check off as we go

All very realistic, attainable goals - let's see if I can stick to it. Have you set any new goals?

Where were you?

2011-09-11T03:14:00.001-04:00

10 years ago today, I was a senior in high school sitting in the main classroom of Lyceum (college prep program within our public high school). Our social studies teacher turned on the TVs in every room, went to her office and started making phone calls. Her husband was piloting a plane out of NYC that morning; it had already landed, but we continued to watch the coverage of the first tower, then a second plane went into another tower. No one really knew what to think, but after about an hour we continued on with our class work and about our day. As information came about, class work went to the side and discussions started.

I remember very little about what we talked about, but I remember we all talked for days after. Our spring break trip abroad was cancelled (as was all school travel abroad) by the school board. I remember and though I do not know anyone personally that was directly effected, I am grateful for all of those that showed up and risked their lives to save others, and of course those that fight every day for our continued freedom!

PS - I am skipping Day 11: something you are afraid of. This would be something major, but everything else seems so little & unnecessary. I will resume tomorrow!

Day 10: Special Someone

2011-09-10T05:24:00.005-04:00

So, this is the guy that I fell in love with in college ...

And this is the man that I am married to ...
Yep, Rob is my special someone, and yep he lost a lot of weight post-college in effort to get healthy in medical school.

We met through a mutual friend January of my sophomore (his freshman) year (2003) at a basketball game. We bonded over a mutual dislike of one of the basketball players due to his cockiness, but it was definitely more of a friend thing. A week or so later he invited me to a fraternity cocktail, and I went since several of my best friend's would be going too. He forgot my name on the first introduction, but apparently that didn't deter me!

We dated through college, even when I graduated & travelling we made the long distance work, then got engaged in November 2007 at his condo in Winston Salem. We finally tied the knot at after 6 years of dating on March 28, 2009.

He's a hard working, God loving, UNC loving man. He manages to make me laugh and keep me happy. He's encouraging of whatever endeavor it is that I want to do. We both love the beach, playing tennis (though he's much better than me, so it's not much fun for him to play me), bike cruising, cooking & eating, socializing, reading, UNC basketball & football, travelling, and much much more together.

He's my special someone and I wouldn't change it, ever.

it's official

2011-09-09T13:34:00.002-04:00

well, semi-official ... my computer is dead. I mean won't stay on plugged in or not. I still have hope that the computer man can fix it, but until I can get it into the shop then we're a one-lap top kind of house :( Not that it matters too much, just means all of my pictures (which we better be able to get off) are out of my use for normal blogging and I may occasionally have to fight Rob for the computer, but given he's on-call every 3 days I think we're good.

so if there is a lag or delay or lack of pictures, I apologize. but I'm just not mentally prepared to buy a new one yet ... it's barely 3 years old!

Day 9: TV

2011-09-08T22:33:00.003-04:00

Day 9: Must Watch TV Shows

As much as I love TV, I'm not even sure to put on here right now as it's still summer TV line up and it's terrible.

Right now I semi-regularly watch: Jersey Shore, House Hunters, Anthony Bourdain, Drop Dead Diva, Flipping House, and thanks to Nick-at-Nite, I now have Friends on the DVR all night, so I have those at my will

For the fall: House, Glee, New Girl (kind of excited about this), Law & Order SVU, Parenthood, The Sing Off, Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice ... I have to say this seems like a lot of TV, but it's all on DVR, then I watch as I can.

Any new shows that I should add to the list?? Seeing as I DVR everything, I miss new shows as I don't see commercials - ha.

New Orleans help ...

2011-09-08T11:33:00.002-04:00

So, we're looking into a trip to New Orleans later this fall - it may not happen, but if we can swing it we have found some cheap flights & Rob gets a week of vacay in October, so we're trying to make it happen. Only, we have no idea where to stay!

Areas, hotels, suggestions ... send them our way please via comments or thehappydash@gmail.com. Thanks so much!

Day 8: Friends

2011-09-08T10:15:00.005-04:00

Y'all - I have friends everywhere. Seriously, Rob says that if I get it in my mind to make friends, then I will.

I have friends I talk to everyday. I have friends I only see once every year or two. I have friends since I was 3 years old. I have friends that I just met a week ago at Bunco night. I'm telling you, I love having friends so I make an effort to get to know people.

I've been great (best) friends with these two gals since freshman (and sophomore) year of college - we were roommates (Bethany on the left - co-maid-of-honor at my wedding) and suite mates (Maile on the right).

These gals I have known since I was little - think 3 years old & elementary school, Lauren (far right) was co-maid-of-honor at my wedding.

These guys & gals have been our friends since the start of medical school - they are our friends ... the first set of friends we made together as a couple. We all live so far apart now, but pretty sure we'll be friends forever.

These are some of my college friends at a wedding last summer - they (and 4 more) are my girls' weekend gals ... can't wait for next year!
And these are my friends that recently came to visit me: Anna (left) and Hillary (right).

It's so nice to have friends all over the US - now if I can only get weekends to visit them or convince them to come visit me. How about you? Do you keep in touch with friends all over the place? I pretty much send out my blog every so often & say read it. It's the best way to know what's going on in our lives :)

Day 7: Vacation

2011-09-07T01:12:00.001-04:00

Day 7: Tell us about your favorite vacation

Given we spent nearly two weeks after Rob's graduation in Italy, my immediate thought was hands-down favorite vacation is Italy.

But after much consideration, I've changed my mind. Italy is my favorite trip we've taken, but as fun as it was, I was exhausted upon return after all of the touring! (Don't get me wrong - it was perfect). But vacation exudes relaxation & total laziness. I know some love high action adventures for vacay, but I prefer lounge-like vacays.

Thus, I think for now, my favorite vacation is our honeymoon in Aruba.
I mean, sunshine, lots of drinks, my husband, and beach = best vacation ever.
Can someone please send me back??

Do you enjoy more action-packed, touring vacations or are you like me and just want to relax on your vacation?? I think a combo of both is perfect, or alternating the two. I wouldn't want to be total beach bum every week I take off, though that would be nice too!

Day 6: Favorite movies

2011-09-06T09:22:00.003-04:00

Oh my, I love movies, particularly romantic comedies (or chick flicks).

My all-time favorite movie is Steel Magnolias. Yep, since I was way too young to even understand the movie, it has been my favorite. I am fairly certain I can quote it all; Rob watched it once with me and will never watch it again as I just quote lines during the movie!

Other favorites: Shag, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing. Can we say hello child of the 80s?

I could probably go on and on, but think those 4 will suffice as my favorite movies for today :) What are your favorite movies?

love

2011-09-05T20:58:00.002-04:00

If anyone wants to splurge on a present for me in the future, feel free to head over to Paysage in Wilmington & purchase this Paule Marrot piece:

http://naturalcuriosities.com/node/63

For a full vision of what this could do to a room, check out this picture courtesy of Jamie Meares of I Suwannee. I seriously haven't drooled over art in a room in a long time ... I may have to work triple time to figure out a way to buy it.

PS - I've been trying to upload my accent vlog all day, but my computer is failing - I am pretty certain I will be on Rob's computer for the rest of the year if the computer man can't fix mine :(

Day 5: Share a picture of something that makes you happy

2011-09-05T14:12:00.002-04:00

Today is day 5. Something that makes me happy .... there are so many things, but I'll go with my top 2 right now and I'm pretty sure you all can guess based on what I do every day.

First off this man ...

at my favorite place ...
Is pretty much something that makes me happy any day, so living here makes for happy days every day!!

Labor Day weekend

2011-09-05T14:11:00.004-04:00

Well, we didn't do much laboring, just mostly relaxing, fun with friends at the beach.

These two galls (Hillary & Anna) visited and parked their little self on the beach with me all day Saturday & Sunday. Bethany joined us Saturday as well, but sadly we didn't take any pictures.
Rob joined us Sunday after spending all day Saturday working.
Saturday night we had a cookout at our house, followed by some fun out at Blue Post playing skee ball and dancing on the roof top bar at Reel Cafe. Rob will kill me, but this picture was too hilarious not to post from our dance sesh.
But, I figured I'd follow by a ridiculous picture of myself.
Hopefully Anna will send me some pictures from our cookout, but it was a grand time.

Sunday night we ventured downtown to the New York Pasta House for some yummy homemade pasta, then a little walk down the river walk.

It was a great weekend and I'm so glad these gals came down to have some fun with us!

Now it's time to get back to reality & lots of labor: cleaning, laundry & gym. Oh fun.

Day 4: family

2011-09-04T18:52:00.003-04:00

So today's topic is family. Sadly, I am short on time, so I can't go into much detail, but my family is crazy, fun.

I am so thankful for my family - we started out like this ... my dad, my mom, and my two younger brothers (Jimmy & Rob) on March 29, 2009.

Then we added a new member, Rob, later in the day.
He's fit right in (other than the fact that he & I are UNC fans, and my dad & brothers are NC State fans) and though we may be a bit crazy at times as we have similarly different interests, I think our family is pretty fun.

Day 3

2011-09-04T10:05:00.005-04:00

A bit late on this one. Friends in town & didn't plan ahead.

About my job:

I am a nanny. For the last two years before our move, I nannied the cutest little girl & boy in Winston full-time. It was great. I was able to take them places, explore & have fun at home.

Currently, I am a full-time nanny every other week to the sweetest little 3 month old. It is a great situation & love this little girl.

It's a great job for the short time that we are in Wilmington and I love the kiddos.

Prior to nannying, I was a leadership consultant for a sorority. I traveled all over the country to 27 chapters providing leadership training and risk management programming. It was an eye opening experience, but after one year I realized it was not for me as I rarely saw friends or family. Nannying was a great option when I couldn't find a job initially when moving, and I have continued to enjoy it!

Day 2

2011-09-02T07:49:00.002-04:00

About the blog:

So I started my original blog about 4 years ago while I was a live-in nanny. It was a way to keep in touch with friends (though I only let some know about it as it was so new and I wasn't so sure about it). Well, I blogged through my wedding planning, then after we got married in 2009 I changed my blog title & address to become more anonymous. Now at The Happy Dash I basically just update & share very non-professional quality pictures on all aspects of our life: residency, cooking, book recommendations, random DIY projects, the kids I nanny, and just general goings-on. We're not a perfect home, but I do admit I only blog about the "good" stuff (because who really wants to put the bad stuff out there?).

When I moved blogs, we were living in Winston-Salem, NC, which is referred to as "the dash" thanks to the hyphen in the name. In fact, the new baseball team is the Winston-Salem Dash. I felt that The Happy Dash could carry with us anywhere we go as a blog address/title, and Happy Day World (I suppose is the title on my blog) is just something that I use to tell/hear from the little kids I nannied when I first started blogging. So, this is my blog about all of our happy days in the world!

I hope you enjoy! I am always happy to answer questions, so feel free to ask or share suggestions.

(And again I am on my husband's computer without pictures, so I will be sure to bring my computer in soon to provide more entertaining posts! sorry)

back to basics

2011-09-01T23:38:00.005-04:00

Well, seeing as my blog has become boring day-to-day as I am just doing the same 'ole stuff, I'm hopping on Katie's Journey 30 Day Challenge. Hopefully, I'll keep up with it & maybe you'll even learn something new and exciting about little ole me :)

Day 1: Introduce Yourself

I'm on Rob's computer and this is the only recent picture I can find of me on it ... that's me & my husband, Rob on our recent vacation in Italy

Hi. My name is Kelly and I currently live in Wilmington, NC (my hometown) with my husband of 2.5 years, Rob. We moved "home" so Rob could complete his first (of 4) year of residency in internal medicine; we will move to Chapel Hill next June for him to continue his specialized residency. I am a nanny with a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill in Journalism & Mass Communication. I love kids, and realized post-college that I probably made a mistake in my degree choice, but feel fortunate I have found a job I enjoy. I recently joined the gym (and hired a trainer) for the first time in my life; it's time to get fit & healthy, and I secretly enjoy working out so far! I love reading, renovating furniture (or my home when it was ours), drinking wine and having fun with friends & family. The beach is my favorite place to be, ever.

We survived

2011-08-30T21:17:00.004-04:00

Wow. That Irene was something else. I know, I know; she wasn't as threatening of a hurricane as she could have been, but I'll take what she gave us as enough for the year!

That being said, we had very little damage. Less than 24 hours without power. An additional 12 hours without cable & internet (but do not fret - the iPhone 3G continued to keep my connected so I knew what was going on because we somehow lost all forms of non-cable technology - i.e. battery operated radio). The refrigerator stayed cold, so all food survived. A lot of limbs (from neighbors' trees), gumballs (from neighbors' trees), and leaves covered my parent's yard, which resulted in about 2 hours of yard work on Saturday afternoon; yes in the breeze & cloud coverage of the last "rain" bands. But, come Sunday, when the sun was shining, the beach was empty, and the waves were calling my name I was happy to have gotten the yard work done & took my little self down to the beach for the afternoon, and enjoyed the perfect beach day post-Irene.

(I'm not quite sure why this photo is so small, but we're just going to go with it.)

I've been sticking to my workout plan at the gym and just exercising at home (walking/running), and boy is it getting easier! I refuse to tell my trainer that for another week or so, just to make sure ha.

And on Monday morning, it was surely nice to be greeted by this little cutie:

It's nice to be back into the swing of things sans-hurricane preparations ... at least now I have 4 bags of ice, tons of water and a flashlight to get me through the next one! Hope each of you on the East coast weathered the storm well & are getting back to normal life.

they say it's my birthday

2011-08-26T11:02:00.002-04:00

Since Irene is crashing in on my day (closing restaurants early and forcing Rob to the hospital tonight), we started celebrating yesterday with a great evening workout and salad dinner & beers at The Copper Penny.Thanks to turning 27 we called it a night at 11pm and slept in until 9am (yep - happy birthday to me, day off for the both of us!).

Then, this morning Rob surprised me with these cute Toms wedges that he picked out all by himself. I'm just bummed it's already raining so I can't wear them to my birthday lunch.

We've ventured to Port City Java for morning coffee, and will meet my mom & brother for lunch assuming we can find somewhere that hasn't freaked out about the hurricane :)

Oh Irene, it's still my birthday and we will find ways to celebrate today even with your strong winds approaching! (and of course we will stay safe because I don't mess with mother nature).

I'm in love ...

2011-08-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

Oikos Honey Fig greek yogurt ... oh my yum! It's so delicious. I love to add Bear Naked Peak Protein Granola added to it. Delicious breakfast or snack!

Dove Dark chocolate mini ice cream bars. Perfect for the moments when I just need something sweet!
Yep ... I've found a sweet tooth lately and these are two yummy go-tos. In fact I had yogurt with granola for dinner tonight (Rob was on call late, late, late) followed by a ice cream mini when Rob got home and had his bowl of ice cream! At least they're small portions :)

All images via google