It’s amazing how we move forward in life and not noticed the things we probably need to notice,  You know, the little things.  However, if you just take a step back and observe on a daily basis, you may start to acknowledge those little moments that most of the time pass us by.  Many little moments of reflection and wonderment hit me today and I thought I would share.

1.  The hazelnut I requested for my daily latte was so amazing!  Keep in mind, I get a flavored latte once a week but this was the first time in a long time that I was really excited about!  As soon as I took my first sip, I knew my day was going to be okay.

2.  The beautiful “winter” sunrises.  Because I get up so early, I have the pleasure of seeing the sun rise almost every day and here in the mountains, it is absolutely fantastic!  This morning was no exception and really wished I had snapped a photo.

3.  The spontaneity of little ones.  Another teacher came into our class today to play his banjo for the kids and within in minutes they were out of their seats dancing!  So amazing to watch.  They had no inhibitions, they just dances because clearly that is what you are supposed to do when there is a banjo playing.

4.  Today was not only the 100th Day of school but Groundhog Day.  If there is anything “special” about any particular day, children just celebrate it.  As you should.

5. Favorite Tunes.  My musical tastes cross many genres but with running, I’ve welcomed some hip hop into the mix.  Which is why every time “Good Feeling” by Flo Ride hits my ears, I just have to dance, in the car, with the whole world watching me.  You have seen me early this week singing along with Irene Cara to “What a Feeling.”  On another note, I’m headed out tonight to see Ani Defranco in concert.  I told you, many genres.

All and all, I’m glad I took today to step back.

What have been your favorite little moments?

I hope you had an amazing day!

Hello Readers!

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Happy February!

Thanks to my friend, Nina over at Peace, Love and Good Food for alerting me to February Photo of the Day!  I do hope you will join in the fun!  I will be tweeting my photos, the hashtag is #FEBphotoaday and you can link up your blog here.

To follow my #FEBphotoaday please link up with me via:

Twitter:  @AdriennePomeroy

Happy Thursday!  Depending on when you are reading this, I am either on route to Houston, TX or already there!  My dear bloggy friend Nina from Peace, Love & Good Food agreed to do a guest post in my absence .  She has been a champion of my home here pretty much since the beginning and I have been so blessed to get to know her.  I hope that we will meet someday!  

Hello, friends! I’m Nina and I have a little blog called “Peace, Love & Good Food” where I share my love of food and snippets of newlywed life. Adrienne and I met a few years ago through our blogs and have been friends ever since! I do hope that our paths cross in real life someday.

When I got married and moved to Illinois I was most excited about opening up my new kitchen gadgets and having someone to cook for every night! What I didn’t realize, was how much work goes into planning meals each week.  My husband and I both work from home and while our daytime schedules are fairly flexible, I also don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen after a workday channeling my inner Giada (this is saved for weekend feasts!). When making our weekly menu, it’s mandatory that our weeknight dinners are healthy, made from fresh ingredients and can be on the table for us to enjoy together in an hour or under. Another thing I take into consideration? What we will enjoy leftover and given a little makeover for our lunches. Cooking for two people always ensures leftover food so if I cook things we will enjoy leftover, it ensures that no food goes to waste!

So, for you readers today, I’m going to share with you a 5 day dinner plan (recipes included!) that you can also turn into some fantastic healthy lunches throughout the week with the leftovers.  All recipes can be downloaded by clicking:  Peace, Love & Good Food- 5 Days of Weeknight Favorites

MONDAY

Perfect Roasted Chicken

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Baby greens salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

TUESDAY

Salmon with Lemon & Garlic

Citrus Orzo

WEDNESDAY

Garlic & Herb Dijon Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

THURSDAY

Chicken Fajita Lettuce Wraps

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Avocado Mousse

FRIDAY

Neopolitan Pizza

Now, for lunchtime. Keep in mind that I am a total foodie, when I say that when I eat, I want to sit down, enjoy and savor it. I like to mix my meals up and don’t like to eat the same thing two meals in a row. I only make enough salad for the night we eat I, because no one likes soggy salad. I do, however, make extra dressing to keep on hand during the week for lunch salads. Roasted chickens are great to make at the beginning of the week because you can eat off of it all week! Here are some creative ways to remix your dinner leftovers and turn them into fabulous lunches.

• Shredded chicken wrap or lettuce wrap with sweet potatoes, tomato and avocado slices
• Shredded chicken on top of baby greens with sweet potatoes, veggies and champagne vinaigrette
• Salmon with baby greens and veggies and champagne vinaigrette
• Citrus orzo with shredded chicken added
• Pork tenderloin wrap or lettuce wrap with veggies
• Pork tenderloin salad
• Fajita salad with chicken tenders, roasted onion and pepper leftovers, topped with avocado mousse
• Pizza doesn’t need to be re-invented. Just throw it in the oven at 350 degrees and enjoy for Saturday lunch!

Thanks, Adrienne for allowing me share a week of recipes and remixes. Happy meal planning to all of you and please visit Peace, Love & Good Food where I share my passion for the palate and so much more!

xoxo,

Nina

Hello luvs!

Just a quick post to say hello and wish you the best for this week.  As mentioned earlier, I am currently the slated President-Elect of my local Junior League and am headed to the great state of Texas tomorrow for the AJLI Winter Conference.  I am excited and nervous at the same time.  I haven’t flown in almost four years (after being a champion flyer since a wee age) and frankly overwhlemed by the path a head of me, in a good way.

But a big part of me knows I need to go and take this trip.  I haven’t traveled in ages and it’s an opportunity for me to visit a state I have never been before, get to know the incoming President and experience this organization on a much bigger picture level.

I’ve scheduled my Pinterest link up for Friday and my dear blog friend, Nina from Peace, Love and Good Food will be guest posting tomorrow.  I hope you tune in and I’ll be back here on Monday!

Have a beautiful rest of your week,

So let me be frank, my attitude on Friday for my weekend ahead was bad.  I went into it exhausted and stressed and all I wanted to do was get in bed for three days.  And yes, I probably could of used the sleep.  I have a lot going on at school and with leaving for Houston, TX to attend the AJLI Winter Conference on Thursday morning, I have been very stressed out.  I spent most of Friday grumbling and really dreading the weekend a head.

Saturday morning I was up by 7 and in the car by 7:30 to attend my local League mid year retreat.  A Starbucks Hazelnut latte later and I had a smile on my face.  Hazelnut makes me smile.

I was happy to see the cheery faces of my freinds and fellow League members.  That morning I got the pleasure of hearing George Fleming of Insightful Action speak.  I really needed to hear what he said, he spoke so passionately about being ignited about everything we do and not just doing it to do it but doing it for the experience that could come out of it.  Even as simple as going to Starbucks.

I needed to hear what he said and at the end of it, he asked us all to make an affirmation.  Mine was this:

I want to be real and authentic about everything I do.

Here’s to an amazing week!

So first off, I can’t promise I am going to host this every Friday but a blog I follow used to and I miss it.  Feel free to participate and I hope that you will!

As many of you have read, I am embarking on my new solo event planning business.  Any event planner needs plenty of inspiration at a momen’t notice and I am so thankful for Pinterest and my online inspiration boards.  I really hope to be hired to do a few Children’s Birthday Parties because you can do so much with those and keep it fairly inexpensive.

Decorations can make or break and event and really need to be iniviting especially when their are children involved.  I love the below idea for housing a gifts table or a place for children and/or adults to store their belongings.  It is bright, cute and cheery.  There personalization of the birthday girl’s name is a nice touch as well.

Source: trendytree.com via Adrienne on Pinterest

I am swooning over this Pancakes and PJ”S idea! This is perfect for younger children and is perfect for a late morning start time which is ideal for little ones. And you can just bring them in their PJS! I love everything about this!

Source: bannerboutique.blogspot.com via Adrienne on Pinterest

Children’s cakes should be fun and easy for little fingers to manage. I perfer cupcakes for this reason. A lot can be done with cupcakes as you can see below:

Source: frostmeblog.blogspot.com via Adrienne on Pinterest

A party favor is esstential for a child’s party and it should be functional somewhat. That’s why I lvoe this idea of little lego sets to get out! It’s age appropriate and it will last!

Source: estudiedd.com via Adrienne on Pinterest

Can’t wait to see what you share today! Thanks for linking up fellow Pinners!

Have a beautiful Friday!

Post a comment with your link below and I will add it to the list

Thanks for linking up:

Peace, Love and Good Food: Winter Bling

I’ve always protected myself against love.  I know it sounds strange but I have.  I never dated anyone in high school and was never looked upon as the popular choice so I took all those insecurities to college and was so overwhelmed by the fact that guys actually flirted with me and wanted to date me that I didn’t know what to do.  So I played the commitment phobia card and went on my way…

And now single and 31, I’m so needy.  And of course those needy feelings stem from not allowing myself to be vulnerable and just fall flat on my face for someone because I was so afraid of getting my heart hurt.  But now that same heart earns for attention and love so bad that anytime a guy shows a remote interest even if he just wants to be friends, I jump all over it.

And then I feel pathetic and stupid.

I cry.  Get over it and move on.

But what’s the action step for this?  How do I fix it?

How do I become not so needy?

Between the Miss America Pageant and The Golden Globes this weekend, I was on TV overload.  I am so happy Miss Wisconsin won!  But I always love it when the brunettes win!

Anyways I was more excited about the Golden Globes and enjoyed sharing my thoughts on Twitter with some of the other bloggers and tweety birds out there.

A few favorites:

I enjoyed the show and really thought Ricky Gervais did a great job, I know some don’t view him in the best light but I have always found him entertaining.   I thought a great job was done by all the presenters and was happy to see some of my favorites win a few awards.  I am always struck though that sometimes shows and movies listed are ones that I have never heard of.  I saw both J.Edgar and My Week with Marilyn and really want to more than ever see The Descendants and The Iron Lady and who doesn’t love Clooney and Streep?  At the risk of complaining, I am no longer a fan of Kelsey Grammar and felt his win was undeserved.  And that’s all I’ll say about that.

I know some feel watching pageants and award shows are a waste of time but with the 3 day weekend I decided I could afford the time and being a couch potato.  I mean I did walk/run 3.1 miles yesterday!

Did you watch the Globes?

Who was on your best dress list?

Have a great day!

For those of you have followed this blog for a bit, you know I am passionate about teaching and working with our youth.  I want to keep doing that in any capacity for the rest of my life if possible.  But I have other passions that I want to continue to explore as well and I’ve been keep a few things under wraps until now.  I am very excited to tell you, my readers about it.  Especially since it’s a chilly Friday night and I’m finally finishing a blog post I started 4 days ago.  Clearly I am too busy for my own good but I love it in so many ways.  Trying to figure out how to keep the stress level at a minimum…that’s a work in progress.  Anyways, I digress.

1.  Junior League.  I will finish my 5th year as an active member in my local Junior League May 31st, 2012.  I have been passionate about serving the community since I was about 12 and haven’t stopped since.  The Junior League is a great way for women to train to become catalysts for change in their communities.  I knew after my first new member meeting that one day I wanted to lead my local organization and that day is here, for I am slated to be the President-Elect for the 2012-2013 year and to serve as President during the 2013-2014 year.  I couldn’t be more excited as this is something I have wanted.  It will be a lot of work but I am very excited for the opportunity.  I will be headed to the AJLI Winter Conference in Houston, TX in two weeks!

2.  Event Planning.  For years I have volunteered to host countless numbers of showers for dear friends, assist with events and the like.  In 2012, I am committed to trying to put the feelers out there to actually try to turn it into a business.  Please like Adrienne Pomeroy Events on Facebook and saving up for fabulous business cards from Minted.  But of course, to thrive I need clients.  See the AP Events tab on my blog and pass it along to friends and family in my area.

So as you can see so many exciting things in the works!  2012 is looking amazing so far!

Have a beautiful weekend!