lil suzy homemaker

Working for the Weekend

2013-02-04T23:39:00.004-05:00

Today was my first day back at work and I'm wiped out! I feel like a little kid after the first day of school. In other words, Jesse had to pick my face up off my plate halfway through the meal. Okay, maybe I made it through dinner, but it's 9:00 and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. It probably doesn't help that we had a pretty full weekend of going out to brunch, homemade surf & turf, plus a Super Bowl party!

Starting from top-left: the architecture at Chadwick's (where we ate brunch) is amazing, my stuffed grilled cheese sandwich, enjoying the commissary (for the first time!) with my neighbor, our surf & turf dinner, intense football watching at the SB party (I forgot to take pictures of the pulled chicken I made. Fail.)

Since I don't have projects or meals to write about tonight, I'll tell you about my first day back at work, which turned out to be a lot better than expected. I wasn't really looking forward to going back to work, mostly because I had gotten so used to my routine of getting up around ten o'clock, making eggs and toast for breakfast, easing into my work day and snuggling up on the couch with Rooney and my laptop for the afternoon.

Now that I'm back at work it means eight hours in an office with no windows and the same chair. All. Day. The worst part is hearing my alarm go off at 6:55 in the morning. I hit snooze once this morning and Rooney curled up next to me just as it went off for the second time, making it that much harder to put my feet on the floor and get out of bed.

Knowing that it was my first day back, I wanted to make a good impression so I rallied and got ready with just enough time to grab a Lara bar and a yogurt. Tangent: I went to the store with Jesse for the first time since my surgery and I felt like a kid in a candy store. Two new things I got were the cherry pie Lara bars (thanks for the recommendation, Kelly!) and the new Chobani coffee with dark chocolate chips mini yogurts. I highly recommend both items!

The unexpected highlight of my day was arriving to work and opening my office door to find a small stack of presents, cards and notes. The presents were Christmas presents that were given to all employees, but since I wasn't there for the Holiday party, they left them in my office. I got a nice fleece jacket and an umbrella. As for the notes and cards, those were from my birthday ... which was in November! One of the notes was a promise to take me to Chipotle when I got back, so I plan on redeeming that ASAP.

To top off my belated birthday celebrations, one of my co-workers and I had already scheduled my birthday lunch for my first day back in the office, so I got to enjoy a little Kung Pao Chicken and a Fortune cookie for lunch. Not too shabby for 2+ months late!

All in all, it was a good day, but I was ready to pass out by two o'clock. It's a good thing I'm only going into the office part-time right now because I'm not sure I'd be able to do this again tomorrow. It'll be nice to have a day to recover before I go back for round two. :)

Well I'm off to bed, but I'll try to write about something more substantial later this week. I hope everyone else had a good start to the week!

Hey, Macklemore! Can we go thrift shopping?

2013-02-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

When my favorite bloggers over at Young House Love (YHL) called out to their readers about a little challenge, I couldn't turn a blind eye. And when said challenge included Macklemore, my new music crush, I jumped right in. Ok, that last part is a lie. I waited until the last day because I'm a procrastinator.

The challenge was inspired by Macklemore's hit song Thrift Shop. Here's the music video so you can see where YHL's inspiration came from. And here's the official unedited video for those that want the full experience (as YHL put it, it's a bit, um, saltier).

Now that we're all in the mood for thrifting, here were the rules of the challenge:

1. Go to a thrift shop with – just as the chorus of the song says – “$20 in your pocket”and take a picture.
2. Spend that $20 any way you’d like and photograph your spoils.
3. Find one item (or more) referenced in the song and snap a pic.

It sounded easy enough to me. I like money, shopping and scavenger hunts ... what could go wrong? Famous last words.

Here's what went wrong with this challenge. First of all, I didn't have any cash on me, which meant I couldn't complete step one. Fail.

Instead, I had to wait until Jesse got home, which was well after I was done shopping, and ask him for $20. I guess I didn't have to admit that part, but this post is quickly becoming a therapy session.

My second failure began when I entered the first thrift shop. As soon as I walked in I remembered why I never go ... they make me all itchy. They're a great idea in theory, but all I see when I walk in are racks upon racks of smelly clothing, piles of chipped dishes and cheap vases everywhere. There's just so. much. junk.

I'm sure I sound pretentious, but let me just say that I want to like thrift shopping. I see some bloggers write about outfits that are almost entirely thrifted, and they're cute! And then there are the bloggers that find sweet little nick-nacks and all I can think is, why don't I see that when I go thrift shopping? It's straight up jealousy over here as I'm sifting through janky Walkmans and Garfield memorabilia. Not kidding.

I'm beginning to think the real problem is that people around here aren't very good donors. They need to step up their game so I can have a better thrift shopping experience.

I'm probably getting the stink eye from every DIY blogger right now because I don't know how to thrift. I can feel the rejection through my computer.

That's the end of my tangent, so let's move onto step three. I know I skipped step two, but I'll come back to that. Step three was the scavenger hunt where you had to find items mentioned in the song and photograph them. I felt a little shady, but I managed to get a few good pictures.

Starting on the top, left to right (song lyrics included):

1. John Wayne ain't got nothin' on my fringe game

2. The sneaker heads would be like “Ah, he got the Velcros”

3. Dressed in all pink except my gator shoes

4. I bought a skeet blanket, then I bought a knee board

5. I’m digging, I’m digging, I’m searching right through that luggage

I found so much crazy stuff at my first stop that I thought about working my way through the whole song, but I had to get out of there before I broke into hives. I left the store empty-handed. I was pretty deflated at this point and considered giving up.

On my way home, I remembered the Habitat Re-Store and figured I'd give it a try. While it's not a traditional thrift shop, they carry some secondhand items. The best part is that they don't carry any clothing, and I'm coming to realize that's the part that makes me feel a little blerg about the whole experience.

I was hoping to come out with a new lamp or maybe a few of my own nick-nacks to display, but I found something that was much better. As I perused the aisles, I came across a bamboo coffee table with tons of potential, but a) it wasn't in my price range, and b) I had nowhere for it to go, so I left it behind and kept looking. (I wonder if the chairs came with it?)

Just as I rounded the corner, I came across the cutest little chair, but it looked too good to be true. It had a nice, dark stain that was worn down in all of the right places, turned legs and very unique spindles. As people passed by I could feel them staring me down, wishing they had gotten there first. (Thrifting Lesson #1: The moment you start protecting a chair like it's your first-born, you know you've found something good. Don't set it down.)

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but I fell in love. It's actually a really petite chair, but it's hard to tell without anything nearby for comparison.

I stood there for about five minutes, shaking it and checking every spindle. One of the spindles was a bit wobbly, but nothing that jeopardized the structure of the chair. I couldn't believe that I actually found something good.

My next worry was the price. There was no tag on it, so I was nervous that it would blow through my $20 budget. (Keep in mind, I have very little experience with thrifting.) I took the chair up to the register and asked the cashier for the price. She pointed to "the guy in the green apron" and told me to ask him. I asked for the price and then held my breath as he inspected the chair ... that was my chance ... "this spindle right here is a little loose" ... he shook it to check my accusation and replied ... "six dollars" ... done. Not only did I not break the budget, I still had $14 to spare. I'm pretty sure I was grinning from ear to ear as I ~~skipped~~ walked out of the store with my treasure.

I quickly decided that my chair would look great in our guest room. We have a full-sized bed in there, but only one nightstand. It would be nice to have a flat surface on the other side of the bed to give guests someplace to set things (i.e. glasses, jewelry, cellphone, etc.). With the nightstand idea in my head and fourteen imaginary dollars in my pocket, I headed over to TJ Maxx in search of something cute to set on the seat. $35 later I was walking to my car with several great options, a gift for a friend, cleaning spray and a hole in my pocket!

Here's what it looks like in our guest room. I may choose to paint it down the road, but for now I'm enjoying the worn down look. As YHL taught me, live with it for awhile before making any drastic changes.

Let's take a closer look at that chair ...

That's right, it's the Young House Love book for the YHL challenge. It was too easy to pass up. :)

And with that, my dramatic tail of thrift shopping has come to an end. Is anyone still reading? It's alright if you just looked at the pictures and skipped over the words. I didn't intend to say so much, but I guess my story was more traumatizing than I realized.

I'm off to go see what everyone else bought with their $20. Who's coming with me?!

You can read about my first, less traumatic thrift shopping experience here. Secondhand furniture is my jam. Do you like thrift shopping? If so, what kind of things do you shop for? Any tricks you can share to help me get over my fear?

Sunday Dinner: Stuffed Shells

2013-01-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

You know life is getting back to normal when Sunday dinners are back in motion. And with a dinner like stuffed shells, I'd say I'm well on my way to a full recovery! *fingers crossed*

I never got the chance to write about my hiatus, but after enduring migraines for most of November due to another spinal fluid leak, I had my third surgery in December. Third time's a charm, right?

Another surgery meant I was out of commission for about 6 weeks, which also meant Sunday dinners weren't happening. Who wants soup ... again? Apparently, I was the only one.

While it's nice to be waited on, and the idea of handing over responsibility for our weekly meal planning is even better, I sure did miss my kitchen.

I'm trying to get back to my regular routine in the kitchen, but it's slow going. I'm not allowed to look down for very long or bend forward at all. So now imagine trying to cook an entire meal or get anything from the bottom cabinets. It's hard work, I tell ya.

That being said, I've managed to pull out a few winners with a little help from Jesse. The most memorable have been chicken cacciatore, tacos, shrimp fried rice, Reuben sandwiches, and stuffed shells. Oh stuffed shells. Those were my favorite on the list. The shrimp fried rice and Reubens were a close second and third, respectively. :)

Let's jump back to the stuffed shells though, since that's how this post started.

I love ricotta. I also love stuffing food with food, as evidenced by the stuffed peppers I once wrote about. And who doesn't love Italian food? I know it's at the top of my list. And when you combine those three things, plus a few key ingredients, you get an amazing dish ... Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells.

I served mine with a side salad, but the shells were the star here. If you wanted to stretch this dish to ensure leftovers (which are equally good - tested and confirmed), you could throw in some garlic bread.

I made 23 shells for four people and there were six leftover. We were trying to save room for dessert (thanks to our guests for bringing cannoli* ... very appropriate!). Otherwise, I think we would've polished off the last six shells.

I hope you get a chance to try the recipe, and if you do, please let me know how they turn out. My recipe is a combination of a few others, plus my own flair, so I'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

*Did you know that the singular of cannoli is cannolo? I had to look it up because it looked weird when I added an 's' to the end. Thanks to Wikipedia for the lesson of the day!

Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Servings: 4-5
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

23-25 jumbo pasta shells*
2 hot or sweet Italian sausages, crumbled (about 6 oz.)
3/4 bag baby spinach (5-6 oz)
15 oz. ricotta
1 egg
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup Italian cheese blend or mozzarella, plus extra for topping
1 jar (26 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce

1. Begin by removing the sausage from the casing, if needed. Fry it in a medium size pan and crumble it as you go. When it is fully cooked, transfer it to a bowl and save about 1-2 tsp. of the grease (optional) for the next step.

2. Steam the spinach in the leftover sausage grease until wilted. Add the spinach to the sausage and chill in the refrigerator or at room temperature until ready to use.

3. Boil large pot of water and cook shells for 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain the shells and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

4. While pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, egg, cheese, and seasonings in a medium size bowl. When the sausage and spinach are cooled, add to the ricotta mixture.

5. If baking right away, preheat oven to 350 degrees at this time.**

6. Pour 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish and spread evenly to coat. Stuff about 2 Tbsp. of ricotta mixture into each shell*** and fill the pan. Once the bottom layer is full, create a second layer, placing them in between the shells on the bottom. When all the shells are stuffed, pour pasta sauce over the top to cover everything. Sprinkle Italian cheese over the top.

7. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

*Doubling the Recipe: If using an entire box of shells, double all ingredients except spinach and pasta sauce. For spinach, use one full bag. For pasta sauce, you can probably still use one jar, but have a 2nd jar available, just in case. Doubling the filling means you can fill each shell pretty full. After first layer of shells are in the baking dish, pour a thin layer of sauce before adding the second layer, or place extra shells in a new pan.

**Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare recipe as directed, but do not bake. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 2 months. Remove plastic wrap; replace foil. Bake: refrigerated jumbo shells at 350 degrees about 40-50 minutes; frozen jumbo shells at 350 degrees about 2 hours or until hot and bubbly. (times given are approximate)

***I dried inside of shells using a paper towel before adding filling - not sure if it's necessary.

Wingbacks, Poufs and Pillows

2013-01-28T22:52:00.001-05:00

I've been eyeing a chair at World Market for the last few weeks and I can't get it out of my mind. I check their website every couple days to see if it's still available. So far, so good. They've marked the price down once, but I keep hoping that they'll mark it down even more so I can somehow justify it.

Elliott Wingback Chair in Pacific Blue

There's one problem with my idea ... we have a huge sectional in our living room, which doesn't leave space for any other seating. It's something that drives me crazy for a few reasons: 1) Additional seating would provide more variety to the room, allowing more design options for me, 2) Sometimes I want to rest my bum on something else ... I don't always want to get swallowed up by our large couch, and 3) It would be nice to have a variety of seating to provide our guests so we don't all have to pile onto the same piece of furniture together.

The seating situation has driven me crazy ever since we started buying furniture for this house, but with such a long, narrow living room, we aren't left with any other options. That being said, there's still one open corner in our office and a wingback chair would be the perfect solution to the emptiness. We currently only have a computer chair in the office, so a second chair would be a nice addition. Yes, this is me justifying a future purchase ... please let the price drop even more ...

While going through my chair dilemma, I did a little online window shopping and came up with a few alternatives that might look good in our house.

{1} Elliott Wingback Chair in Nutmeg - While I would really like the Elliott Wingback in Pacific Blue for our office (pictured above), the Nutmeg version would look great in other rooms of my house. The deep, rusty orange would complement the earth tones of the living room, while the Pacific Blue option would provide a splash of color against the gray and white decor in the office. And I think either chair would be a nice surprise in our Wedgwood Gray (bluish gray) and Chartreuse sunroom. I. Need. This. Chair.

World Market

{2} Crenshaw Light Grey Modern Club Chair - The coloring of this chair is a bit too neutral for my taste, but I would love to dress it up with a black and white striped throw, a fun accent pillow and a fancy little pouf. And while I would love it in our living room, I could really see this being a great choice for the corner in Jesse's office. I can already picture me curled up with my iPad while Jesse sits at the computer doing "computer work" aka paying bills.

Overstock

CB2

Ikea

{3} Arianna Stationary Occasional Chair in Aegean - While the upholstery of this chair is a more muted tone than my crush at World Market, I really like knowing it's a La-Z-Boy. The La-Z-Boy brand has been around forever, so I would feel good about spending a little more money to get a better product. The simple lines and muted color would allow me to mix in some fun accent pieces, like the pouf and pillow below.

La-Z-Boy

Nordstrom

All of this online shopping is fun, but it sure does make me wish I could buy a few of these items for my house. Have you guys been scouting any good deals lately? It seems like January is a good time of year to find some of the best discounts and deals ... especially on clothes! But that's a post for a different day. :)

I know my posts were pretty sporadic in 2012, but I'm hoping to finally be done with all of the health issues I went through last year! I'm still being restricted quite a bit by the doctors, so it may be awhile before I have any projects to post about, but a girl can dream, right?

Where did the last 7 months go?!

2012-11-28T12:35:00.002-05:00

The first sentence of a blog post after taking a 7 month hiatus is perhaps the biggest hurdle to writing again. But I finally decided it's time to buck up and get started. I have a few ideas swirling in my head and blogging holds me accountable for making those ideas reality. I also have a lot of updates health wise -- too many for one post.

I'm pretty sure I'm down to two readers (Hi Kelly and Carol!), or maybe even just one (Hi Kelly!), but I've felt so lost lately and I couldn't quite put my finger on it until this week. I'm missing my creative outlet. I've still been cooking (don't worry, no one was starved by my lack of blogging) and working on a few home-related DIY's here and there, but I miss sharing the back story, how-to, and/or experience surrounding each project. While I know I can call my bestie at any moment and she'll listen to me ramble about even the smallest details of my day, something has been pulling at me to write again. So here I am ... and I'd say you're stuck with me, but the decision to read this is really up to you. :) Is anyone still on board?

A lot has happened since I've been gone, but I'll spare you the gory details for now. Here is a quick summary to catch you up on my life since April:

May: I traveled home to KC to visit my family for the first time in a year! I use FaceTime with my nieces and nephews whenever possible, so they definitely remembered me, but I sure did miss them! I also traveled to Chicago on a business trip and let my sister and one of our friends tag along to enjoy the perks of a free hotel room.

my mom and me in KC

spending time with my sister in KC

FaceTime with Jack - singing Kermit the Frog

June: I had one business trip to Salt Lake City in the middle of the month and then I spent the next two weeks stuck at home with some of the worst migraines I've ever experienced. After a few tests, it was determined that my spinal fluid leak was back. On the plus side, Jesse and I managed to get away for a long weekend with two of our friends down at a riverside house in Virginia. I couldn't indulge in all of the fun (i.e. boat rides and adult beverages), but I had a really relaxing weekend and was grateful to be out of the house!

view flying into Salt Lake City

view from the river house

July: Half of this month was spent with migraines and the other half was spent coming to terms with the fact that I'd be having another surgery in August to fix the spinal fluid leak again. It would be the same surgery I had in February, but with a few minor tweaks to see if the doctor could get the packing to hold better. I tried to work ahead as much as possible so my colleagues wouldn't have to take on too much of my work in my absence.

August: We started out the month with a weekend trip to Virginia Beach for Jesse's soccer tournament. It was a really fun weekend and it was nice to have a small break before my surgery. Once we got back in town, my parents drove out to be here for the surgery. The rest of the month was consumed with surgery and post-op recovery. It was really nice to have my parents here to take care of me and to spend so much uninterrupted time with them. Once they left town, Kelly came to visit me for a long weekend. I was so happy to see her and she definitely helped with the healing process -- they say laughter is the best medicine. :) Jesse and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary at the end of August (despite the actual date being July 25th) by going to Totem, a Cirque du Soleil show that was live at National Harbor.

relaxing at Virginia Beach

before surgery (x marks the spot)

after surgery

check-up appt. with my dad

enjoying time with my parents

besties!

Totem for our anniversary

September: September really flew by! I had a conference in DC at the beginning of the month. I stayed downtown for the duration of the event because I was working really long shifts, but I felt so odd staying at a hotel in my own city. It was actually really nice to enjoy the city views and a few nice meals all without worrying about traffic, money or getting home. After the conference, we went to a 10-year anniversary party for Jesse's work and had a really nice time staying at National Harbor for the night. The next weekend was Jesse's birthday, which meant a full weekend of sports, friends and food!

Nats Bash for Jesse's birthday

DC United game for Jesse's birthday

Birthday party at our house

cornhole

bocce

October: Another really busy month for us was October. We spent the first weekend in NY for a family member's memorial service, which was bittersweet. It was really nice to see and meet some of Jesse's family, but the main reason for the reunion was not forgotten. The second half of the month was spent with back-to-back house guests. Hosting our friends is a lot of fun, but it was around this time that my headaches returned, making it a bit more exhausting than expected. I did manage to put up a few autumn decorations this month, which seemed to make the season much better!

driving to NY

Enjoying time with Jesse's family

VA Brewfest (with friends)

Port City Brewery Tour

autumn gourds

Happy Hallow-rooney!

November: We spent the first weekend of the month up in PA for an annual Fall party that my sister-in-law and her husband host. I had such a great time seeing Sunny, our newest nephew, and catching up with them. I was supposed to go to KC the following weekend, but after an eventful appointment with a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, I was advised not to fly because he was worried that the change in pressure might lead to more migraines. Not only that, he mentioned that all of my recent headaches might be due to another spinal fluid leak. He scheduled more MRIs and CT scans, which took place the week of Thanksgiving. After an awful sinus infection took me down in the middle of the month, I haven't been able to do much since. My headaches have gotten worse as the month progresses and the test results were inconclusive. Womp womp. The doctor scheduled another test for next Monday, which scares the bejeezus out of me ... it involves a spinal tap! Oh, on the plus side, my birthday was yesterday and while the celebration was very low-key, I had a wonderful time. I celebrated once with my in-laws while we were there for Thanksgiving and again with Jesse last night. He brought home Thai food from my favorite place and I got to open my presents! I feel so grateful to have so many friends and family members that love me! :)

The food at Corina and Neil's party

hanging out at Corina and Neil's house

Evan's baptism

I spent way too much time here this month

Thanksgiving dinner in PA

all gussied up for Thanksgiving

birthday loot round 1

Birthday loot round 2

blowing out my candles w/ my niece, Emily, via FaceTime.
Her birthday is one day before mine. :)

So there you have it ... that's my life as of today. It's been a long year, which I suppose is a good excuse to take a blogging break, but I really miss writing. I hope that I can post a little more frequently than every 7 months and I'll do my best to keep you guys updated on my health status as things continue to progress. Is anything new going on with you? Are you gearing up for the holidays? I'd love to hear if you have any plans! And really, I'd just love to hear from you if you're reading this. :)

Sunday Dinner: Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

2012-04-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Something about a good home-cooked meal makes me giddy. I get a feeling of joy in preparing and eating something so wonderful. I've also found that I get the same sense of joy when I can share my home-cooked meals with others. (Anyone want to come over for dinner?)

I host a Sunday dinner every weekend for my husband and two of our friends. I've learned over time that I really enjoy cooking for them and seeing the enjoyment that everyone gets from a home-cooked meal. While a majority of my weeknight dinners are on the healthier side, I break the rules on Sunday. The rule for Sunday dinner is 'There are no rules!'

That being said, sometimes I get lucky and find a dish that not only warms the soul, but keeps my waistline in check too. The recipe below is a great example of one of those meals - Southwestern Stuffed Peppers. It's a simple concept that yields amazing results. It's basically like eating tacos, but instead of a tortilla you eat it in a pepper. And you don't miss the taco shell at all. Promise. It might help that I served the stuffed peppers with a big ole dish of cheesy corn casserole (see, no rules!), but as far as I could tell everyone really enjoyed my new take on tacos.

I wrote out a few tips/recommendations at the bottom of the recipe, so check them out if you have any questions about quantity. I hope you get to try this recipe, and if you do, let me know what you think in the comments section. Oh, and if you make as much filling as I recommend below and only buy 5-6 medium peppers, you'll have enough leftover filling to make some amazing nachos later in the week!

Broiled nachos with leftover taco filling,
cheese and fresh tomatoes

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers
Serves: 6-8
Original recipe proportions
can be found at Simply Love Food

6 bell peppers, halved and seeds/stems removed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1.3 lbs. lean ground turkey breast
1 cup chopped onions (optional)
2 tbsp. of homemade taco seasoning (or an entire package of store bought seasoning)
2 cups of cooked rice (I used instant brown rice)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of frozen corn
1 (12 -16 ounce) jar of salsa
Shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish for 20-25 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.

Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey until cooked through. (If using onions, sauté them for about 5 minutes prior to adding the turkey to the pan.) Drain any remaining liquid from the pan.

While the turkey is cooking, cook the rice according to package directions.

In a bowl, combine taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.

If the peppers have any cooking liquid or oil in them, drain into the baking dish prior to stuffing. Carefully spoon the turkey mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheese.

Cook the peppers for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way through and the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices and/or sour cream just before serving. (I didn't use any toppings and we didn't miss them!)

The original recipe is written for 4 servings, but I increased it to ensure we'd have leftovers for later in the week. Plus, I buy ground turkey in 1.3 lb packages, so I wanted to use an entire package. I used six peppers for my recipe and I had enough taco filling left to contribute to a Choose Your Own Adventure night (aka leftovers). If you don't want any taco filling left, I would recommend buying 8 peppers, depending on size.

Back at 'em

2012-03-20T17:40:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends! After a much longer than expected hiatus, I'm back in action. I'll keep today's post short and sweet, but just wanted to let everyone know that I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I had every intention of posting right after surgery, but my recovery took a little more time than expected. And, by the time I felt better, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of a computer and rehash my surgery experience. All that to say I am feeling much better now and almost completely back to normal! I'm hoping to follow-up with a more complete post-surgery recap soon, but I can't make any promises. So in case I fail, here are a few photo highlights to fill you in. (don't worry, nothing graphic)

In typical Susan fashion, I went into surgery smiling and came out smiling. No surprise there!

I was rocking a pretty sweet outfit after surgery ... thank God I packed a robe!

I got so many wonderful gifts from friends and family, including cheesecake! Rooney was probably more excited than I was - I'm pretty sure he's licking his lips in this picture.

And the worst part? All of the freaking pills I had to take! I'd be happy never taking another pill again ... ever.

Like I said before, short and sweet. It's good to be back and I'll try to get another post up soon!

xoxo,
Susan

Back in the Kitchen: Southern-Style Chicken and Dirty Rice

2012-01-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

Hi, friends! Can you believe I'm back for the third week in a row? I'm pretty proud of myself! It's a lot less than I was posting this summer, but better than once a month. I'm hoping to keep up the once a week post from here on out. But I make no promises.

Let's start with updates first, and then we'll get into the chicken and dirty rice. My TOMS arrived yesterday! Holla! (I hope the exclamation points adequately display my excitement!!)

Aren't they adorable? I am sooo ready to bust these out this spring. Bring on the warm weather!

In other news, Jesse and I went to Johns Hopkin's for the day for my pre-op appointment. We heard about what to expect the day of my surgery, I filled out a bajillion-page packet about myself, and gave some blood. Everything went pretty well, with the exception of the wait times between each part of my appointment (we were there for nearly 4 hours!), but the scariest part was finding out that I'll be in the neuro-critical care unit for the first night after my surgery. I guess it's good to know that they'll be monitoring everything so closely, but I have a feeling it means I'll be in a lot of pain. Boo. On the bright side, I'll have Jesse, my parents and his parents all there taking care of me. I feel very lucky that I'll have so many people nearby!

Enough of the scary stuff, let's talk about chicken and rice. I love that there are so many variations of this combination. When my mom was here a few weeks ago, she not only made my favorite chicken and rice casserole, she also made an amazing chicken and wild rice soup. You would think that two chicken and rice meals would be enough to satisfy my cravings, but as you can probably tell by the title of this post, I still wanted more.

In an attempt to ease back into the kitchen, while also getting more of my chicken and rice fill, I decided to try a slow cooker recipe for southern-style chicken and dirty rice. I found the recipe in the cookbook Slow Cooker Revolution, which was a Christmas present from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (thanks, Corina & Neil!).

This recipe takes a little more work than some slow-cooker dishes, due to the fact that you brown the kielbasa and vegetables before adding them to the slow cooker, but it's definitely worth the effort! Sautéing the kielbasa makes everything smoky, meaty and deep in flavors. YUM!

I was really happy with the results of this dish and I'm excited that I have one more recipe to add to my slow cooker repertoire!

How about you, do you think you'll give this version of chicken and rice a try? Do you have any go-to slow cooker recipes? I want to add more slow cooker recipes into the rotation, so I'd love to hear about some of your ideas!

Southern-Style Chicken and Dirty Rice
Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution

Serves: 6 to 8
Time: 4 to 6 hours

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8-12 ounces turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper**
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth***
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
salt and pepper
2 cups instant brown rice
2 scallions, sliced thin (optional)

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown sausage well, about 3 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps.

Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker. Pour the vegetable and kielbasa mixture over the chicken, stir, cover with a lid and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.

Break-up chicken into bite-size pieces using wooden spoon (or two forks). Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook on high until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

*The original recipe called for 8 ounces of regular kielbasa sausage, but I substituted with the Trader Joe's 12 oz. turkey kielbasa and couldn't tell the difference.
**Cayenne pepper adds spice to this dish, but we found that 1/8 teaspoon wasn't enough for our liking. If you like mild dishes, I would leave the recipe along. Otherwise, I recommend adding another 1/8 teaspoon to the recipe.
**The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and white rice, but I used brown rice. I noticed that the rice absorbed all of the cooking liquid before the 20 minutes was up, so I wish I would've used more chicken broth. If using brown rice, I recommend adding another 1/4 cup chicken broth to the mixture.

Checking-In and TOMS!

2012-01-19T17:27:00.000-05:00

Let's start with the exciting news ... I got TOMS! I've been dying to get a pair for more than a year now, but after months of agonizing over which pair to get I decided to ask for them for my birthday. Jesse did the smart thing and rather than picking out the wrong ones, he told me that I could pick out whichever pair I wanted. I originally planned to get Gilded Herringbone in the classic style, but the more I looked at them, the more I worried that they'd be too fall/winter-y. Rather than splurging on them halfway through winter, I agonized for yet another month-and-a-half about which pair to get. I went to four different stores looking, and narrowed it down to Ash or Olive, but couldn't decide between the two. Oh the agony!

When my mom was in town, we went to their website for one more round of browsing and came across one of their newer designs - Burlap Triangle - which caught my eye. I was a little hesitant about the woven soles at first, but ultimately decided that they'd be perfect for spring.

I'm not sure why buying a pair of Toms feels like such a big deal (it's not a new car or anything!), but just to be sure I was making the right decision I slept on my decision before clicking purchase. I woke up yesterday morning, started working, and then had one of those "OH YEAH" moments when I remembered them. Once that moment happened, I knew I was making the right decision, so I went to their site and ordered my very first pair of Toms. I sort of love them. Sigh.

In other news, I got another update from the doctor. At my last appointment, there was talk of surgery, which was quickly shot down because the location at which he would need to operate is very difficult to access (where the skull base and inner ear meet), and he's not sure how to fix the problem once he gets there. (Background: my brain lining is herniating into my inner ear, creating a gap for infection to enter my brain. Hence, meningitis.)

The solution last week was that I needed to become a vigilant hand washer, stay away from sick people and germ-y kids, and watch for any signs/symptoms of meningitis. My doctor was hopeful that scar tissue would build-up and cover the gap, but since nothing else has gone according to plan, he wasn't confident that it would work. Understanding that surgically fixing the lesion wasn't an option, I had to deal with the doctor's short-term decision, knowing that he would be meeting with the rest of his skull base team to develop an alternate plan. (Side note: I'm very fortunate to be seeing a doctor at John's Hopkins who runs the Otolaryngology (ear/nose/throat) Department and specializes in skull-based surgeries)

Not expecting to hear anything else from him until my next MRI in April, I was really shocked to get a phone call from his resident last Thursday. She explained that he'd been talking to the rest of the team and they all agreed that a new plan would be better than leaving it alone, and ultimately came to the decision of entering via a different route and protecting the lesion by creating a barrier in my middle ear.

First I had to come to terms with the fact that I might have surgery, then I had to settle with the fact that surgery wasn't a possibility, and now here I was coming to terms with surgery again. Can't they make these decisions before sending me on a roller coaster of emotions?! That being said, it's been about a week since I got the last call, so I'm definitely more comfortable with the idea of surgery now. As one of my friends said, I'm especially comfortable knowing that a bunch of doctors sat in a room talking about my case, working up a plan to fix everything.

While the last month has been full of unknowns, I'm trying to keep a positive outlook. I found a saying on Pinterest that seems perfect for my situation, so I used it as inspiration for the print below. It's a good reminder to stay calm and not worry about the things I can't control, so I'm hoping it will help me get through these next couple of weeks as I prepare for surgery.

Surgery is scheduled for February 10th and the recovery time is expected to take about 10-14 days. I'll try to keep everyone posted leading up to the surgery (and hopefully right after), but if you don't hear from me for a few weeks, now you'll know why. I know it won't be too much of a change since I haven't been the most faithful blogger lately, but at least this time I have a real excuse! :)

Happy 2012 and a Few Projects

2012-01-11T23:24:00.002-05:00

Happy 2012 friends! I know I'm a little late to the party, but I hope you can forgive my absence. After going through meningitis and then finding out that there's an underlying health issue at fault for everything, it's been an exhausting couple of weeks. I'm pretty much on the mend now, but I have two more doctor's appointments to get through this week. One of which involves shots. No fun.

But let's move past the un-fun part and talk about something totally fun ... I updated the header on my blog! If you're reading this post from a feeder, you'll have to click over to my blog to see the update. :) I'm really proud of the new header because it's something I did all on my own. I used Picnik and Pixelmator to create everything, and I found the amazing background at Sprik Space.

In addition to the new header, I switched the body around so that the posts are on the left and all of my information is on the right. And since I was making so many other changes, I decided to add my Instagram feed as well (keep scrolling down to see it right below my Pinterest link). It's a good way to see what I've been up to, especially when I'm slacking on the blog!

On top of all the blog updates, I recently finished another artsy project. My good friend, Meredith, got married on New Year's Eve (how fun, right?!) and I wanted to do something really special for her. (I was supposed to be a bridesmaid in her wedding before all of the meningitis crap started, but that's neither here nor there.)

I was brainstorming ideas with my boss and she told me about a wedding gift she recently ordered from Etsy -- it was a funky print with her friend's wedding details. I thought it was a really neat way to remember such an important day and a perfect idea! I considered buying one for Meredith, but decided to take a stab at creating my own first. It took several drafts to get it right, but the end result is just what I was hoping for!

Once again, I got the background from Sprik Space and used Picnik to create everything. After I was happy with everything, it was time to print my project. I thought about using a photo site like Shutterfly or Snapfish, but ultimately decided that a canvas would look best. I wanted to print it in a size that Meredith could easily hang somewhere in her house without it overwhelming the space, so I ordered it in an 8x8 from my favorite canvas site, Canvas on Demand.

This canvas was the first time I've printed my own work, so it was a proud moment when it arrived in the mail. In fact, I think I was just as excited to open the box as Meredith was when she received it as a gift. :)

Real Life: Monday, December 12, 2011

2011-12-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

I know my posts have been few and far between this fall, but when I do write, I try my best to balance house projects, recipes and real life. Most recently I showed you the (finally) finished buffet and a few pictures of our dining room, now that it finally feels put together. And while I've got about two or three other things I am dying to show off, including our Christmas decorations, my quick-fix for a disheveled liquor cabinet and the "new" nightstands in our bedroom, life interrupted to tell me it's time for another "Real Life" moment.

Part 1 - The Beginning
Last Monday, December 12th, I woke up around 6am without an alarm (which is not something I make habit of) to a soreness in my neck that I've never felt before and such tenderness around my lower jaw that I couldn't open my mouth all the way. My husband was out of town for an extended weekend and my best friend was in town to keep me company. She was getting ready to leave that morning, and Jesse was arriving back in DC around lunchtime. I laid in bed wondering if I should call the chiropractor or doctor, when I realized that I was getting feverish chills. I grabbed the thermometer and when the screen read 99.9, I decided to call the doctor. As I started moving around, the pain lessened just enough to get me through breakfast and out the door. I drove Kelly up to Baltimore so she could catch her flight and then drove an hour back home as the pain started to return. I had an hour to nap until I had to pick Jesse up from a different airport (closer to home), so I laid on the couch for a quick nap. When my alarm went off, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Luckily, the airport that Jesse flew into was only 20 minutes away, so I rushed to get him and greeted him with, "I feel miserable! You have to drive home. I have a doctor's appointment at 2:00." When we arrived back at the house, I returned to the couch where I spent the next hour in misery. 2:00 couldn't come fast enough!

Part 2 - The Doctor's Office
I made Jesse leave early for the doctor's office, so we would be there right on time. Of course, the office is closed for lunch from 12:00 - 2:00, so it did us no good. Instead, I got stuck hiking it up the (outside) flight of stairs twice before they opened the doors. After what felt like an hour (but was probably only 10 minutes), they called my name. By this point, I was certain that I had the flu, and that I never wanted it again! Why did I skip my flu shot this year?! After just 5 minutes in the office, which included a thermometer reading of 101.3 and me telling the nurse that my neck hurt, we were summoned out of the office and over to the ER across the street. I remember the nurse saying something about neck aches and meningitis, but she was hopeful that it was just the flu. My nausea was through the roof at this point, so I couldn't imagine making another trip in the car to go to another waiting room, but we had no choice. Jesse dropped me off at the door (Thank God) and went to park the car. By the time he got inside I had signed in (and dropped the words meningitis and nausea to the lady at the desk) and found a seat in a corner, where I tried to close my eyes. The nausea kept getting worse and they decided that in my condition, I wasn't doing anything for their waiting room crowd. Once again, I was ushered through a hallway, only this time Jesse and I were left to wait on two hard, wooden chairs until they were ready to see me. I knew I looked pretty bad, but I didn't realize it was bad enough to remove me from other patients. I guess they didn't like the idea of someone getting sick in the waiting room.

Part 3 - ER
After what felt like another hour (again, probably only 10 minutes), the nurse took my vitals and immediately got me into a wheelchair and back to a room. Next thing I knew, the room was swirling with doctors and nurses who were asking me a billion questions, sticking me with an IV, and drawing blood. They told Jesse that we would start with the simple stuff and move forward from there. They checked me for the flu, along with an array of other illnesses/conditions. Every time they moved me, a wave of nausea took over and the world came to a halt. After none of those tests returned anything, I was sent over to radiology for a CT Scan of my neck and head. Nothing.

While it sounds like this all happened really fast, it was over the course of about 2 or 3 hours. With nothing coming up as a hit, I was handed two options. Option 1 - I could go home and see if I started to feel better in a few hours (in hopes that it was a virus). Option 2 - The doctor could do a lumbar puncture (aka spinal tap) to test me for meningitis. He initially held off on that test because there are several risks involved, but when I heard the option of going home, I decided that they would have to drag me out of that Emergency Room if they wanted me to leave. I forgot to mention that by this point the only "words" coming out of my mouth were either uh-huh (yes) or uh-uh (no). Jesse had to get my attention and ask if I wanted to go home ... uh-uh (no). So the next question was, "Do you want them to do the lumbar puncture?" ... "uh-huh." I'll spare you the details, but let me tell you that a spinal tap is one of the most painful procedures I've ever been through, and I've been through my fair share. While I wasn't exactly hoping for meningitis to be the cause of all my pain, I was desperate to find an answer.

Moments after extracting the sample of my spinal fluid, the results were in. The doctor rushed back into the room to let us know that from his visual inspection of the sample that I did, in fact, have bacterial meningitis. Once again, the room was swirling with doctors and nurses. There were more questions to be answered and antibiotics being given to me through the IV. From there, I'm pretty sure I blacked out (or maybe I just fell asleep), but the next thing I remembered I was arriving to my hospital room and being switched into the bed where I'd be spending the next several days.

clear liquids ... yum!

Part 4 - My Hospital Stay
Over the next few days, I was greeted by a few different doctors and several different nurses. I was told that I'd be staying until the end of the week, so I should settle in. Jesse also settled in and took the entire week off of work to stay by my bedside and take care of me (I've heard that I'm a little needy, so it was really nice to have him there). At my weakest point, he was holding my water cup while I drank, and by the end, he was there to offer sarcastic remarks and loving jabs, which I'm pretty sure was his way of telling me that I was doing a lot better. I was also very fortunate to have all of my friends and family texting, calling and sending me flowers throughout the week. Without everyone's thoughts, prayers and support, I'm sure my hospital stay would've seemed like an eternity.

a sampling of the flowers I received :)

The only crux of the whole thing was that the doctor still couldn't figure out how I got bacterial meningitis in the first place. Bacterial meningitis is more rare than viral meningitis, and apparently the worse of the two types to get, so they make every effort to make sure that other people are not impacted. After several appointments with the infectious disease specialist and an MRI, we found out that I contracted it from a lesion in my skull base (which we were already aware of) that was leaking spinal fluid (which we weren't aware of) and causing my body to fight back and start the infection.

I've never been so happy to take a shower!

Part 5 - Going Home
After hearing the news that this lesion was causing such difficulties, I was shocked to hear that they were still sending me home on Friday, but the doctors have a plan. At this point, I am spending the next 2-3 weeks on bed rest, receiving IV antibiotics twice a day from the comfort of my couch. Once I am done with treatment, they will switch me to an oral antibiotic for a week before sending me back to John's Hopkins so they can begin working on the lesion. I'm not sure what the final plan is yet, but I'm hoping that they'll spend a portion of the next few weeks figuring it out.

All of the medicine for my home care

Part 6 - Bed Rest
When all of this started, my mom knew that she had to get out here. I'm very fortunate that she arrived on Saturday, so she could be here to help Jesse with my home care. Jesse's been on nursing duties, responsible for administering my medicine, while my mom has taken over my usual duties of cooking and laundry. She definitely has the upper-hand in the kitchen, so it's nice to have a full week of her wonderful meals. We've already gotten to enjoy homemade chicken and rice casserole, pot roast with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots, and beef vegetable soup. Today she made the most wonderful apple crumble muffins, and tonight she's preparing pork medallions with stuffing!

I feel so fortunate and spoiled to have her here with me while I go through this. The best and worst part is that she'll be staying through Christmas. I say best and worst because I couldn't be happier to have her spend Christmas with us, but worst because it means that I am too sick to travel to see the rest of my family and that she won't be able to spend Christmas with my dad, sisters and 11 nieces/nephews. When we were talking today, she said that this year is the first time she and my dad have spent Christmas apart in their 39 years of marriage. I am so grateful to have such a supportive family who told her to leave town and come be with me, and thankful for a mother that loves her baby so much that she flew out here and then changed her flight to stay with me even longer. While I know that Jesse and I would get through this week and the holidays on our own, there is something comforting about having your mother around.

chicken soup and crackers from the couch - thanks mom!

We often lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas, but this year has been a great reminder that it's not about all of the presents and food, but it's about family, good health and giving. I am so thankful that I am on the mend and hopeful that the New Year will bring me positive news as far as my health is concerned. I hope that all of you are able to spend Christmas with your loved ones and that you all are fortunate enough to be alive and healthy.

I'm hoping to be back tomorrow to show you all of the Christmas decorations that I put up a few weeks ago and the amazing transformations that my mom has made since she arrived! We've never spent a Christmas in Virginia, but I think we're just about ready for our (unexpected) first Christmas at home.

Operation Buffet: Complete!

2011-12-02T16:39:00.004-05:00

Holy buckets, can you guys believe it's already December?! Depending on where you live, you might be thinking the same thing I am - it's been way too warm to feel like winter is coming! This week alone we had two days in the upper 60's and two more in the 50's. Today is actually a little cooler at a rough 47 degrees. I'm not sure what to make of it all, but I'm hoping that whenever winter does get here, it doesn't come with a vengeance. Unless there's snow ... lots and lots of snow ... enough snow to close down the city. I could deal with that.

Oh, you didn't come here to read about the weather?

Silly me.

I guess you were hoping to see some pictures of the buffet.

And you're probably hoping to hear why it took me so long to finish it.

{spoiler alert: I have no good excuses, except that I like to drag out projects until Jesse starts getting gray hairs ... and let's just say he's got a few floating around on his head}

You might also be a little curious about the little details ...

Oooo-ooooo-oooohh

aaaa-aa-aawwww

Alright, I'll quit teasing. Let's get to the meat and potatoes of this post!

To get started, let's take a quick look back at the buffet from when I first brought it home. It wasn't in horrible shape, but there were a lot of scratches across the top, as well as a few nicks around the drawers and doors. I also didn't like the color of the wood next to everything else in our dining room.

{Here's the story of how I found the buffet ... 8 months ago}

I actually finished the buffet in ~~November~~ ~~October~~ September, but I wanted to get it into the dining room and do a little decorating before the big reveal. And, while decorating was my first priority, filling it with our stuff seemed to be Jesse's. So, before I could start buying cutesy little owls and stealing pictures off of other walls in my house, I had to do some reorganizing in the kitchen and drawer/cabinet filling in the buffet.

But alas, I finally finished everything on the to-do list, and after three more weeks of delaying, here are the final results!

Are you curious about what's sitting up on top? I hope so, because I'm about to tell you.

Starting from the left, I have a few Halloween/thank you/birthday cards that we received last month, a picture that I bought from Target a few years ago (it was previously hanging in the upstairs hallway), an owl that I just picked up at TJ Maxx, a pumpkin spice candle, and a miniature cake pedestal that we got as a wedding gift. I also laid down two place mats to act as a runner until I find something more permanent.

Enough of the close-ups, let me show you how the buffet looks next to the table. It seems to blend perfectly with everything in the room.

I couldn't zoom out enough to fit the entire dining room in these pictures, but I hope you get the idea.

{note to self: add fancy-schmancy camera to the Christmas list}

Thanks to everyone who voted when I couldn't decide what to do, and thank you for sticking around long enough to see the big reveal. I know eight months is much longer than it should have taken, but I think my next project will be much quicker, especially now that I've got this one under my belt.

P.S. I already started typing up my thoughts/opinions about the products I used for this project, as well as a few tips that might be helpful for other newbie painters, all of which I'm planning to post before I lose momentum.

Warning: I have my birthday party, Jesse's soccer game, a birthday dinner for a friend, and a few dozen cookies to make this weekend {I'm hosting a cookie exchange party for a bunch of my girlfriends next weekend!}. Oh, and I also want to put up our Christmas decorations ASAP. And did I mention that my VERY best friend is coming in town on Friday? In other words, it might be a little hectic at my casa for the next week. Either way, I'm determined to keep up with this dang blog, so I will do my best to come back with Part Two very soon! Promise.

P.S.S. You can read more about the infamous buffet here, here, here and here.

P.S.S.S. Isn't this owl the cutest thing you've ever seen?? I carried it around TJ Maxx for about 30 minutes, trying to decide if I should buy it or not. At just $12, I don't know why I was ever wavering!

Have a good weekend and I'll talk to you next week!!

P.S. This post is linked up to

Wordless {ha!} Wednesday: The Rooney Files

2011-11-23T12:06:00.001-05:00

I constantly have my ~~camera~~ phone in-hand to capture pictures of my day (thanks for starting that one Instagram!), so when I get behind in blogging I get a back-log of pictures that I want to share on here. I usually use my Photo Friday series to share all of my random musings, but with this week being Turkey Day, I don't trust myself to think about anything on Friday, except maybe what we'll do with turkey leftovers! :) So with that in mind, I decided to do Wordless Wednesday (which isn't turning out to be very wordless) to share what I've been looking at recently. As I started sorting through my pictures, I realized that I have quite a few of Rooney, so I think he deserves a day in the spotlight!

I hope you enjoy the Rooney Files and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberries and family! :)

"you said no counters, but i heard nothing about the window" {11-22-11}

handsome man {11-11-11}

wide-eyed {11-10-11}

can I help? {11-7-11}

bookshelf accessory {11-7-11}

no laundry, please {11-1-11}

paparazzi attack {10-16-11}

mother ~~theresa~~ rooney {9-29-11}

flat tire after the vet {9-23-11}

birthday boy {9-21-11}

lounging {9-14-11}

sweetheart {9-4-11}

If you made it to the end of my "proud mama" post, then you're in for a treat. I caught this hilarious Rooney moment on video and I've been dying to share it! Consider it the pumpkin pie of this post ... but if pumpkin pie isn't your thing, then consider it something that is, like apple pie? Or maybe chocolate pecan? Alright, I'm officialy on a tangent now ... Happy Thanksgiving!

so much for wordless Wednesday ... next time I'll stick to Photo Friday! :)

I Fancy Myself a Bartender (sort of)

2011-11-04T17:23:00.002-04:00

It's Friday! Let's talk alcohol. That seems timely and relevant, right?

Last fall I discovered a new cocktail at one of my favorite bars, Spider Kelly's (affectionately nicknamed Spider Kittens because I can't ever remember the name). SK's is a sports bar located in the popular/trendy neighborhood of Clarendon, in Northern Virginia. Regardless of the uppity feeling at some of the surrounding bars/clubs, SK's has figured out how to accommodate just about every type of patron. They have tons of TV's surrounding the bar, as well as pool tables, shuffleboards, video games and pop-a-shot nets scattered throughout. To balance out the sports theme, the interior is setup to feel more like a lounge – with dark lighting, loud music and comfy couches staged to look like a living room.

Ok, I wanted to give you a clear vision of the bar, but now that this sounds like a review for Spider Kelly's, let's get to the point of this post – the drinks you see in the picture above.

Spider Kelly's has an amazing cocktail list that is updated throguhout the year to feature seasonal favorites. I usually prefer a good beer over any cocktail, but their happy hour special, which just so happens to feature $4 cocktails, is too good to pass up! They make really good mojitos in the summer, but the drink that stole my heart is one of their fall specials called Spider Cider.

It's not something that I want year round, but it's nice to have a seasonal favorite to fall back on. When October rolled around this year, and we threw our Bocce Party, I wanted to offer a variety of options to our guests. We were already planning to have several types of beer on hand, and I've always liked the idea of offering a signature drink, so I thought Spider Cider would be the perfect addition to the menu.

Best part? It met all of my ~~novice-bartending~~ hosting requirements: it's really simple to make, the ingredients scream autumn, and the chunks of honeycrisp apple mixed in make it classy enough to serve at a party!

I also liked the fact that aside from the apples, I only needed three ingredients - spiced rum, ginger ale and apple cider (if you're like me, you'll want a shot glass too).

With most of November left to go, there is plenty of time to make this drink for your friends and family, or just for yourself! You could even bring it to a Thanksgiving gathering - especially if you want to make new friends. :) Either way, I hope you get to enjoy it before fall is over. It snowed here last week, so I'm a little worried about how much longer we'll get to enjoy the season before Old Man Winter takes over!

But enough with the small talk, let's get to the recipe for my version of Spider Cider .....

Susan's Spiked Cider

Inspired by: Spider Kelly's Spider Cider
Servings: 1 (or as many as you feel like making)
Prep Time: 5 minutes

1 (generous) shot of Spiced Rum
2 shots of Apple Cider
splash of Ginger Ale
1 Honey Crisp Apple, cored and diced

Core and dice the apple (if you can't find honey crisp apples, any sweet variety will work). Add a handful of ice and apple pieces to a cocktail glass. Pour one shot of spiced rum and two shots of apple cider into the glass. Top off with a generous splash of ginger ale. Enjoy!

Notes: I pre-chopped the apples and put them in a bowl with a little bit of lemon juice and water to keep them from browning. I also made the drinks one-by-one, but it would be just as easy to pre-mix the cider, rum and apples, and then just add a splash of ginger ale to the top of each glass as you serve them. And one small recommendation, we had a group of 8 people, but a gallon of cider was wayyyy too much - I would opt for the half gallon. :)

Blogging Fail and Apples

2011-10-17T17:31:00.000-04:00

By this point, you would think that I would know myself well enough to know that I'm not good at juggling life. Let me take that back. I can juggle life, but I always hit a point where I think I can throw one more ball into the mix and then they all come crashing down.

This time around the crash wasn't exactly a negative thing, but I definitely couldn't figure out how to make everything work together. It's been about 2 months (give or take) since I last posted and in that time I've gone out of town twice, painted the buffet (finally!), quit my job, got a new job, had a few weekend visitors, spent hours at Ikea, bought a new car, threw a party, and painted/decorated the office. Phew, reading everything makes me tired all over again!

So, I know it's no excuse for my absence, but I thought I should at least catch you up on my life.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about Fall.

Last October, Jesse and I went to a pumpkin patch called Cox Farms. We had a great time seeing all of the baby animals, picking out pumpkins and enjoying the fall weather.
Here's a quick snapshot of our afternoon at the farm.

We haven't made it out to any pumpkin patches this year, but we've still found several ways to enjoy the season. This past weekend we hosted a post-season bocce party at our house, which was full of fall treats. I made a big batch of chili, spinach artichoke dip, an apple dip and a nice fall cocktail for everyone to enjoy. We spent the afternoon watching football and playing bocce outside. Everyone seemed to have a great time, but more than that, they all loved the food. :)

Since everything was such a hit, I wanted to share a few of the recipes here on the blog. I especially want to share the apple recipes while there's still plenty of time to enjoy the fall bounty. (Yes, I just used the word bounty ... it sounds so mature!)

So let's get started!

The first recipe is for an amazing fruit dip that I discovered on, the one and only, Pinterest. I didn't know I'd be throwing a party when I came across the recipe, but I pinned it anyway because I figured it might come in handy. Boy am I glad I did! People were a little skeptical at first, but as soon as the first person dug in, it didn't take long for everyone else to follow suit. I'll definitely keep this one in the arsenal for any upcoming potlucks!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip

Servings: 8-10

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hrs. - overnight

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 Tbs. heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 small jar Caramel sauce

1/2 cup Heath milk chocolate pieces

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

2-4 Granny Smith or other crisp tart apples, sliced and soaking in
lemon juice and ice water until ready to serve

Line a six inch cake pan or springform pan with plastic wrap. Use enough plastic wrap to hang over the sides of the pan about 2 inches.

Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar, mix well, until smooth. Place half of the cream cheese mixture in the lined pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. (If you dip the spoon into warm water before you start to smooth the cream cheese, it will be much easier to spread.) Spoon on a layer of caramel. Sprinkle with a layer of chocolate chips and the Health pieces.

Place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. This will help the caramel set up a bit and make topping it with the remaining cream cheese much easier.

Scoop the remaining cream cheese on top and smooth out using the back of a dampened spoon, like you did for the first layer. Add another thin layer of caramel, heath pieces and chocolate chips on top. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate for at least two hours, but up to overnight for best results. Pull back the plastic wrap so that the top of the cheesecake is exposed. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and invert. Remove the pan and the plastic wrap. Spoon caramel sauce over the top of you cheese cake and top with more of the Heath pieces and chocolate chips. Place the sliced apples around the dip and serve.

*Note: If you want to throw this together super fast, just spread the cream cheese mixture on a serving platter and top with the caramel, Heath bits, and the mini chocolate chips.

I'm not sure if I have any readers left, but ~~hoping~~ assuming I do, what have you been up to? Does anyone have any good fall recipes to share? I'd love to hear any updates, if nothing else so I know you're still here!

I missed you guys and it feels good to be back! :)

Vacation Pictures and Upcoming Recipes

2011-08-01T23:58:00.000-04:00

As promised this morning, I'm back with pictures from the last two weeks. I've been trying to figure out a better way to share pictures on my blog, so I'm trying out a new photo collage program tonight. Let me know what you think of these photo spreads as opposed to scrolling through the post one picture at a time. I think I like it, but I'm still trying to decide.

Either way, putting together all of the pictures from my vacations really makes me miss Myrtle Beach and the lake. Summer isn't quite over yet - I still have one more beach weekend in Virginia Beach, a tubing trip, and my BFF, Kelly, is coming to visit - but August always flies by. It's nice to capture all of these wonderful summer memories in one place.

I spent most of this trip on the beach and the boardwalk with my sister Lisa, her husband Justin, and their kids. Elizabeth is the oldest and she's holding the boogie board in the center picture. Alexis is the next in line and she is in the picture with me in the top right. As for Evan, he's just now 15 months and he's going to be a little heartbreaker - such a sweet boy!

Lake George was a very different pace from the beach, but oh so relaxing! We spent the week in a cabin with Jesse's parents, enjoying the breathtaking lake views and walking around the nearby shops. Jesse and I enjoyed our second wedding anniversary while we were there and spent most of the week celebrating. We went out for a couple of nice meals, one of which was at Friend's Lake Inn where his uncle is the sommelier. On Friday, we took a day trip to Vermont, where we spent the day with one of his mom's college friends. She was such a great hostess and made the best. chocolate. cake. ever. I'm planning to make it later this month, so I'll share the recipe soon!

I have a few other recipes that I want to share before the chocolate cake recipe -- homemade potato salad, squash and goat cheese orzo, tomato-basil-mozzarella salad and eggplant ricotta linguine -- so keep an eye out for them in the coming weeks.

Just thinking about a few of these dishes makes me sad that we only have another month or so to enjoy such fresh produce and wonderful summer salads. I know, I know ... most of the US is experiencing horrific heat, including DC, but I still can't help but love summer! How about you, what is your favorite season? Are you a seasonal cook like me? I tend to enjoy different foods more (or less) depending on the weather and time of year.

Summer Fun

2011-08-01T11:39:00.001-04:00

I know I've been MIA the last few weeks, but like everyone else, I've been busy enjoying the fun of summer! A few weeks ago, I got to enjoy three days at the beach with my sister and her family. I flew down to meet them in Myrtle Beach and had such a good time catching up and playing with my nieces and nephew!

Myrtle Beach

When I got back in town, I played in my first Bocce game. Jesse and I joined a summer Bocce league so we'll be playing Bocce and drinking beer every Tuesday night for the next four weeks. I haven't been on a sports team since I was 12, so regardless of the fact that Bocce is more of a game than a sport, I'm looking forward to the challenge. We're currently 2-0 and our next game is tomorrow night ... here's hoping it goes as well as our first two games went!

As soon as I unpacked from Myrtle Beach, I had to turn around and pack for our week long vacation in Lake George, New York. Jesse and I (and his parents) spent all of last week in a cabin on the lake. It was a relaxing getaway and we enjoyed lots of good food!

View of Lake George from "The Top of the World"

We just got back in town Saturday night, so I spent most of yesterday unpacking and doing laundry. I promise I'll be back tomorrow (or maybe later tonight) with pictures from the last two weeks, and I also have a few summer recipes to share ... coming soon!

In the meantime, checkout this little word collage I created on Picnik. I had fun coming up with words that make me think of summer. It happens to be my favorite time of year, so I wanted to capture all of the things I love about it!

Background Source

If you ask me, summer is all about being outside, spending time with friends and family, and enjoying fresh fruits and veggies.What are your favorite parts of summer? Would you add anything to this word collage? I actually thought of another one while I was at the lake ... stargazing. It's been a few years since I could sit and look at the stars (thank you DC light pollution!), so it was nice to sit outside the cabin and gaze up at the millions of stars above us!

I hope you're enjoying summer as much as I am. I'd love to hear what you've been up to, so feel free to leave me a comment or link back to your blog!

Monday Challenge: Junk Drawer Clean-up

2011-07-18T23:57:00.000-04:00

Writing this blog is motivating. It ~~forces~~ encourages me to continually improve our home, cook delicious meals and try new things (like sewing and gardening). I've had a few people ask me where I get my ideas, and the answer is pretty simple. A majority of my ideas come from the variety of blogs I read, along with my other new love -- Pinterest. Whenever I find an idea that inspires me, I either pin it to one of my boards or file it away in my memory (not nearly as reliable).

While my latest inspiration isn't exactly glamorous, it's something that I've needed to do for awhile. I was reading Young House Love the other day (one of my all time favorites) and they did an entry about cleaning out the junk drawer in their kitchen. I'll admit, I thought it was a little silly at first ... a whole post dedicated to cleaning out one drawer? And then I realized that our junk drawer could use a mini-overhaul as well.

The junk drawer in our kitchen is tiny, but we don't have many storage options on our main level. We continued to cram more items into the little space until it got to the point that I had to rearrange the drawer just to shut it. Not cool.

There are several items that I like to keep close by, so I needed a better solution than relocating everything to our basement or continually cramming everything into one tiny drawer.

I started by emptying the drawer in our kitchen and sorting it by category - tape, tools, writing utensils, rubberbands and miscellaneous items.

Once I sorted everything, I pulled out a few items from each category that we tend to use pretty frequently. I put those items back in the drawer -- this time much more organized than the mess we started with.

As for the rest of our supplies, I put them in this glam toolbox that I scored from Home Goods for $6.00. It was originally a photo box, but it just so happened to be the perfect solution to my problem.

All of my leftover "junk" fit so nicely into the compact little container.

The best part about it is that it coordinates perfectly with our sunroom. So well, in fact, that I decided to give it it's own little home on our desk.

I have to say, it's nice to still have everything at arm's reach without overusing our teeny-tiny junk drawer!

How about you guys? Do you have a junk drawer that is getting out of hand? Or do you have a creative way to hide your not so glamorous home supplies?

I'd love to hear about any other creative storage ideas you have because my next challenge is finding a way to hide my hand weights on the main level. I just scored a great set of 4, 7, 9 and 12 lb. weights from Drew's work for just $8 (total!), so now I need somewhere handy to hide them. I'll let you know what I come up with as soon as I figure it out.

Summer Lovin' Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

2011-07-12T00:14:00.003-04:00

Summer is by far my favorite season. I know a lot of people can't stand the heat and humidity, but I can deal. I actually kind of enjoy the heat as long as there's a pool nearby. And lucky me, there's a pool right down the street from my house.

My mom actually still talks about how when I was a little kid I always refused to take my swimsuit off after an afternoon at the pool. Now that I think about it, I still love lounging around in my swimsuit after I get back from the pool. It's like saying, "Yeah, I can go back whenever I want ... I still have my swimsuit on."

Speaking of things I love about summer, I love grilling. There's something about it that is just so wonderful. The prep-work for grilling is usually easy and it's very low maintenance once you start cooking. Oh and did I mention that cleaning a grill is much easier than scrubbing pots and pans?

Most recently, I grilled a fabulously flavorful pork tenderloin. It was super simple, which made it the perfect contender for the grill. By adding fresh green beans and a little rice pilaf you have an impressive dinner to serve to guests.

Here's how it all went down.

I whipped up a quick balsamic-garlic rub ...

Marinated the tenderloin for a few hours ...

And then grilled it until it got all crusty on the outside, while staying perfectly tender on the inside.

Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

recipe from Kitchen Confidante

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Inactive Time: 2-10 hours

Cook Time: 35 minutes

4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons canola oil

Stir garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl until the salt and garlic absorb most of the liquid. Rub the paste all over the pork and marinate for at least 30 minutes, but as long as overnight.

Heat the grill to medium-high (500 degrees) and sear the tenderloins on all sides. Turn the temperature down to medium heat (400 degrees) and grill for about 20-30 minutes over indirect heat, rotating every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Are you grilling up anything fun or interesting this summer?

I'm constantly looking for new ideas, so I'd love to hear what you've been up to!

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday at Beauty & Bedlam and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

3 Glasses Later ...

2011-07-07T23:24:00.003-04:00

I have a quick little story to share with you. I would write it all out, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, then these next four pictures will be the best 4,000 words you never had to read.

Trust me, it's worth it ...

I told you it'd be worth it. :)

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

(too bad for my husband, right?)

Let's just hope that today goes better than this little project. If not, you can bet I'll be enjoying three more glasses of ~~joy~~ wine tonight. Happy Friday!

Filling in the Blanks

2011-07-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

Remember this bookshelf that I scored on Craigslist for $35 (If not, check it out in this previous post)? When I brought it home, I wasn't quite sure where to put it, but I had a few different ideas. We moved it into the living room to start because that seemed to be the quickest place to set it down. It sat in the same spot for two or three weeks, but I didn't put anything on it. I liked having something to fill the space, but an empty bookshelf wasn't quite what I had in mind. The worst part is that the longer it sat in our living room, the more I got used to it sitting there empty.

When Jesse and I were getting ready for our friends to visit a few weeks ago, I realized that I needed to do something with the bookshelf. I could've moved it down to the craft room, but I had gotten used to it being in the living room. So once I brought in the persimmon side table and the new summery pillows, I started shopping around the house to see how I could fill the shelves.

Jesse and I got this seashell while on our honeymoon in Jamaica. A woman was selling them for $15 at a little market on our way back to the airport. I thought she was trying to convince me to buy it, so I told her that I was out of cash (and I pretty much was), but she told me that she wanted to give it to me as a gift. Once we got back on the bus, another traveler said we should check it for drugs (ha!). I freaked out for a second, but quickly realized that there was nothing wrong with it - she was just a generous woman. I've been keeping it up in our office because I didn't have anywhere else to put it, but now that it's down in the living room, I have a good story to share.

You probably recognize the 'L' from some of my other photos. It started out in the sunroom, but I put it on top of our wine rack when I started decorating the dining room. Now that I have an entire bookshelf to fill, I decided it would look better in the living room. I still need to find something for the wine rack, but in the meantime, we're storing our liquor up there. I know, it's classy! :)

See that blue frame in the background? It's actually a card that I got from my friend, Meredith. We work together, so she gets to hear plenty of my stories. After hearing "I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm crazy because .... " for the millionth time, she found the perfect card for me!

Not only does it sound just like Jesse and me, the design is adorable!

It took me awhile to gather a good variety of items for the bookshelf, but after a few weeks of treasure hunting around the house, I think I ended up with a great balance ... for now!

I originally intended to paint the bookshelf a light color, but now that I've filled it with several different sized items in a variety of different colors, I'm not as eager to whip out the paint.

If I ever finish the buffet, I might start dreaming about paint colors for the bookshelf ... or I might not. What do you think? Does the dark wood look alright, or do you think everything would pop more against a lighter backdrop?

BTW, if you're interested in buying a card like the one I got, you can find them on the Curly Girl Design website. They have so many cute cards, guaranteed to make someone's day!

4th of July + Grill Fun

2011-07-05T22:57:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend, filled with lots of free time, fireworks and food! I know we most certainly took advantage of the long weekend. Here are a few highlights from our weekend trip to visit Jesse's family. We got lucky that most of the I-95 travelers did their driving on Friday. Because of this, we got to visit with his parents for most of Saturday, and then spent the evening with a few of his friends. On Sunday, we went over at his sister's house where she and her husband hosted a fun little gathering! And of course, I couldn't wait to see my newest nephew, Sunny!

(thanks to Neil for these first three pictures!)

Look at how much hair this boy has - it's enough to make me jealous!

Jesse's mom made a blueberry pie that we all enjoyed! She used fresh blueberries and made the crust from scratch. What more could you ask for on the 4th of July?!

Since we were only gone for two and-a-half days, Rooney spent the weekend at home (no worries, we stocked him up with extra food, water and litter). He was extra happy to see us when we got back and followed me around for most of the afternoon. While I felt bad leaving him at home for so long, it was nice coming home to an extra loving kitty! :)

watching as I boiled water for deviled eggs

Once we settled in at home, I realized that I hadn't gone grocery shopping in more than a week. For being out of food, I managed to pull together a pretty impressive array of grilled kabobs. We enjoyed grilled shrimp and veggies, BBQ chicken and grilled potato rounds. Grilling potatoes was a new adventure, but they turned out really well!

I actually tried out the grilled veggies shortly after the 4th of July last year (it must be a seasonal thing), so be sure to check out the recipe.

For the shrimp, I cleaned, peeled and deveined them and then refrigerated until I was ready to start grilling. As I was warming up the grill, I strung the shrimp onto the kabobs and then seasoned them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the juice from half a lemon. Shrimp cooks really fast, so I only grilled the kabobs for 2-3 minutes per side.

As for the chicken, I cut one chicken breast into seven equal pieces, strung the kabob, seasoned it with salt, pepper and olive oil, grilled it for about six minutes per side and then brushed it with BBQ sauce. I grilled the chicken for another 2-3 minutes on each side to help the sauce caramelize onto the chicken and then served it with extra BBQ sauce. Maybe it's a Kansas thing, but I love BBQ chicken!

The potato rounds were also easy to throw together, but oh so tasty! This is a very simple recipe, but sometimes that's all you need to get the creativity going. It certainly helped me!

Grilled Potato Rounds

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Grill Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

2 large or 3 medium russet potatoes

2 Tablespoons olive oil

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Optional Additions:
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1 teaspoon thyme or rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 450 degrees).

Scrub potatoes, pat dry, and slice into 1/2 inch disks. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and seasonings until the potatoes are well coated.

Grill for about eight to ten minutes per side (until grill marks appear), and then flip every two to three minutes until the outside is brown and crispy.

Serve with grilled shrimp, veggies, and/or BBQ chicken.

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain, and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

How Does your Garden Grow?

2011-06-30T22:36:00.001-04:00

As you might recall, I'm not exactly known for my green thumb. I've written about my weak attempts at gardening a few times, but most of my attempts have ended in a big, fat FAIL. Regardless of my less-than-fortunate luck, I decided to clean out and redo the garden in our front yard. I originally wrote about the project in this post and then updated a few days later with these after pictures.

Here is what the yard looked like after I dug up the old shrubs and cleaned up the dead leaves:

After a weekend of digging, planting and mulching, I ended up with this:

It's been exactly one month since I last updated you, so I bet you're just dying to know if anything survived. You are? Well then consider this your lucky day! :)

Let's start with the Celosias. These flowers are amazing! I love their vibrance, and the best part is that their blooming season can last up to 3 months. Here's what they look like now - still going strong!

The new shrub that we bought - to replace the dead shrubs - is called Japanese Euonymus. I was worried that I didn't bury the roots deep enough in the ground, but it appears to be doing alright, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

The last thing I planted were the Impatients, which weren't quite blooming when I bought them. I knew I'd have to water everything pretty frequently if I wanted them to bloom, but I won't lie, I skipped several days of watering this month. If it weren't for a very rainy June, all of the Impatients would probably be dead right now. Thank you June for helping me water my needy little Impatients!

When I originally picked out the Impatients, I decided that I wanted all white so they wouldn't compete with the very vibrant Celosias. I was really happy to watch the white Impatients coming in, but one day when I came home from work, I saw this ....

Ummmm ... that doesn't look white to me! As it turns out, one of the containers had red Impatients. No big deal, right? I decided I was lucky that the red one was all the way in the back, making it much less noticeable.

So ~~I kept watering~~ it kept raining on the impatients and I kept watching the little white blooms pop-up.

And then just a few days ago, I looked over at my garden and saw this:

Doh! As it turns out, I also picked up a pack of violet Impatients. :)

So here's my best attempt at staying positive and making myself feel better about my mistake.

I'm lucky that all of these flowers have lasted as long as they have, and in most aspects of my life I live by the motto "the more, the merrier," so it looks like that will be my new gardening motto, too.

Bring it on multi-colored Impatients - the more, the merrier!

How does your garden grow? Do you try to coordinate everything to create a cohesive look, or do you plant everything before it blooms without much thought to the color? While I tried to lay out a plan for our front yard, I've had just as much fun finding little colored surprises whenever I come home from work!

This post is linked up to HOUSEography's Room-by-Room party:

Spicy Thai Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa

2011-06-28T00:11:00.006-04:00

I love Thai food. It's one of my favorite cuisines, second only to Italian food. The perfect balance of spicy and sweet lures my taste buds every time. My favorite dishes are the curry dishes - spicy curry, balanced perfectly with sweet coconut milk - but I also love the classics, like Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles and Pad See Ew.

As I plan our meals each week (I always plan before grocery shopping), I try to incorporate at least one new recipe into the cycle. By doing so, I feel like dinner is more of an adventure, and it allows me to push myself into new flavor profiles. Last week's adventure involved a lot of prep work, but the results were so worth it. In fact, even though I managed to use three-quarters of the dishes in the kitchen, Jesse said he would eat this meal again. (read: it was a hit)

But before I share this fabulous recipe, I owe a HUGE thank you (and hug) to my friend, Kelsey, for showing me the recipe. In my original post about Buster 2 (see his story here), I mentioned that I'm looking forward to a summer full of basil. Kelsey commented on my post and said that she had an amazing dish for me to try. As soon as I saw that it was Thai food and it called for basil, I was hooked. I went out to the store, bought all of the ingredients, and tried it right away. Now it's your turn ... go buy these ingredients and make this dish. You won't regret it.

I sliced up a mango for the first time ...

and used fresh ginger, too ...

And after combining all of these wonderful, fresh ingredients (along with a few more), I ended up with this amazing creation.

Spicy Thai Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa
Inspired by: Good Deal by David Lieberman & Can You Stay for Dinner

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Salsa:
1 mango, peeled and finely diced
3 scallions, sliced
5 basil leaves, julienned
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:
2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2–inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 lime, zested
1/4 cup coconut milk
Small handful basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 grinds pepper
1 lb. chicken breast, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced

Rice: (optional)*
2 cups Jasmine Rice, pre-cooked
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 lime, zested

For the salsa: Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make up to a day in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

For the chicken: In a mixing bowl, combine jalapenos, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, basil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Set aside a quarter of the marinade in a separate container. Add the meat to the remaining marinade and refrigerate both containers for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Use tongs or a fork to remove the meat from the marinade and place in an even layer in the pan. Flip the meat after about 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute peppers, mushrooms and onions until tender.

Let the chicken cook for another 5 or so minutes, until cooked through. Stir in the vegetables.

In a separate saucepan (I used the vegetable sauce pan), add the reserved marinade, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

For the rice: Pour the marinade over the cooked chicken or shrimp and serve with coconut-lime Jasmine rice*. Top the plate with the basil-mango salsa.

* If using pre-cooked rice (I use Trader Joe's Thai Jasmine Rice), cook the rice according to the directions, mix coconut milk and lime zest into the rice, and serve. If using traditional rice, cook according to the directions, using half coconut milk and half water with zested lime.

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain, and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

My Week in Photos

2011-06-27T12:10:00.001-04:00

This post might get a bit confusing, but today's "week in photos" is a compilation of the last two weeks' worth of fun. It's been busy around here, but in a good way. Summers in DC are the best. There are so many things to do and see in this city and everyone around here seems to be up for an adventure. On any given weekend, I'm trying to juggle plans to see how much I can cram in before Monday. Two weekends ago turned out to be no different than the rest. But before I get to the weekend, let's not forget that leading up to it, I had a 3-day work retreat (read: two days of hell and one day to "retreat").

Days 1 and 2 looked a lot like this:

Are we having fun yet?

However, being out of the office meant that I didn't have to pack my own lunch!

Crab Cake Burger from Bull Feathers

The best part of the retreat was Friday morning when we went on a tour of the US Capitol. I feel much more legit now that I can say, I live in near DC and I've been in the Capitol. Next on my DC bucket list is the White House. That one might take a bit longer, and a bit more networking.

Anyway, back to the Capitol Tour. Words can't describe what we got to see. An overwhelming amount of thought, planning and workmanship went into our beautiful Capitol's history. While these photos don't do it justice, here's hoping they at least give you a glimpse into the amazingness.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, right?

The next morning, Jesse competed in a Spartan Race. It's a 3-mile run with 18 obstacles/challenges interspersed throughout the course. The obstacles ranged from barbed wire covered mud crawls to scaling a 10 foot wall. I had no idea that it would be such an intense race, but all of the competitors seemed to enjoy it. I on the other hand, had a lot of fun being the cheerleader. Jesse did a phenomenal job, and I was so proud to watch him cross the finish line!

The completion of his first Spartan Race called for a Pinkberry celebration. Pinkberry is a newer frozen yogurt chain in DC. FroYo seems to be the newest trend to hit the east coast. I think we're only about 10 years behind the west coast on this one! But, better late than never, because this stuff rocks!

The last major event of the weekend was the soccer Gold Cup Quarterfinals on Sunday. USA took on Jamaica (and won!) and El Salvador took on Panama. Both of the games were at RFK Stadium (where the Washington Redskins used to play), so we went with another couple to watch the double header.

While I love watching Jesse play soccer, I quickly realized that watching people I don't know, play a sport I don't know much about isn't quite as entertaining. I might have slept through half of the game ... oops! At least I can say I was there, right? Oh, and the post-game tailgating was a blast! :)

After a jam packed weekend, last week was a bit sluggish. That being said, I did try out a few new recipes and work on a few projects, so it wasn't a complete waste.

I made a Fiesta Chicken Salad (get the recipe here):

I also made Spicy Thai Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa, which as it turns out, is delicious! (recipe coming this week ... hopefully!)

And from the Rooney files ...

We've started to let Rooney spend more time out on the deck. He loves to watch the birds and bugs and I think it's good for him to be outside. The only thing that makes me nervous is that he's getting braver by the day. His new favorite spot is up on the railing. Could he get any closer to the edge?!

Something in the picture below doesn't belong ... which one could it be? He knows he isn't supposed to be up on the counters, but apparently, the folded towel seemed like an open invitation.

The picture below is my favorite this week! After a rainy walk, Jesse and I left the umbrella open to dry out. Shortly after we got home, we looked over the ledge to see Rooney hanging out underneath it. It immediately made me think of my favorite childhood books, Winnie-the-Pooh, "Tut tut, looks like rain."

I hope you all had a good weekend! And here's to another busy, but fun week ahead!!

I'm working on a few projects right now, so I'm hoping to have more updates as the week progresses. Here's a teaser of something I'm hoping to start soon. The buffet is about to get spoiled!