Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Things I Love Lately

~Nike outlet.  You can find amazing deals!  New running shoes for $40??  Yes, please!
~Contacts.  A new year, a new me!  I made the transition from glasses to contacts.  It was so, so, so hard to put them in and take them out at first, but now that i'm used to it, i love them!  I can see clearly and not have to worry about always having my glasses with it.
~My job.  I've been there for just over a year now and it's been such a blessing!  I've been given more responsibility, i'm making the most i've ever made, and there isn't a lot of office drama.
~Fresh fruit.  It's one of my favorite things about spring/summer!
~Rain.  Rain is my favorite and it's even better when it's accompanied with thunder!
~Going paleo.  I changed my eating about 3 weeks ago.  I've cut out all grains, dairy, and processed sugar.  Basically anything processed.  The first couple of days were tough, but I now feel amazing!!  I haven't had any stomach issues and i'm enjoying red meat again!  I've been experimenting with new recipes (some hits, some misses) and slowly getting the hubs on board.  Another big benefit I've noticed is my sleep!  I get such amazing sleep!!
~My contigo thermos.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I love it.  It keeps things hot for 4 hours and cold for 8 or so.  And it doesn't spill if it's knocked over!
~The library.  I can't remember the last time I was at a public library.  Ben and I have started going and I enjoy perusing the aisles.
~Summer bbq's.  The warm weather!  The lawn games!  Good friends and good food!
~Long weekends

Dinner Date Night

A few weeks ago Ben and I went to The Kitchen downtown.  It was delicious!  One of the best meals out I've had in a long time.  My boss gave me a gift card here as it's one of his favorite places.  We took full advantage of free money and went all out on this dinner! 

We started out with burrata bruchetta and it was so good!  I'm not sure what was on it, but it was amazing!  For the mains, I had pork loin with spaetzle (a German dumpling) and Ben had the lamb sirloin.  For dessert we split a tiramisu.  

We were completely stuffed by the time we left!   

Ben and I enjoying our night out

The door

The bruchetta

This is one of the light fixtures.  It was really cool! 

Our delicious dessert!  The perfect ending to an amazing meal! 

Needtobreathe

Ben and I went to the Needtobreathe concert on Tuesday at The Ogden.  It was amazing!!!  They are one of my favorite bands and they put on an awesome show.  They are so energetic and entertaining!  If you ever get the chance to see them, you definitely should.  Ben recorded a great video, but i'm not sure how to post it....stay tuned! 

Their opening band was Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors.  You should check them out as well! They've had 2 of their songs featured on the tv show Parenthood, which is also one of my favs.

 I didn't take this picture, but I LOVE it.  

 So great! 

Ben picked up this snazzy hat, but i think it looks better on me....

Things I Love Lately

~My kitchenaid.  I've loved my kitchenaid since my parent's gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago, BUT, did you know that it shreds chicken??  Yes!!  In like 20 seconds your chicken is completely shredded into perfect little shreds!
~Finger nail polish.  All the different colors!  It's so fun and sassy.  One of my current favs is NYC New York Color.  It's really cheap at Target and it lasts about a week without chipping!
~The Voice.  I love the new vibe and comradery between the judges this year.
~Cycling season has begun!  Ben is the one who got me hooked, but i think i'm more into it now than he is!  My favorite team is looking pretty strong so far.
~Instagram.  I love the different filters you can add to your pictures.
~Ribbonwick candles.  It smells delicious and looks really cool when it burns.
~Sunrise coffee walks.  With the occasional warmer weather Ben and I have been getting up early on Saturdays and go for a sunrise walk.  Of course we have to have the coffee to go with it.
~My new Garmin watch!  It's so complicated and fancy.  it tracks distance, elevation, heart rate, calories, and many other things that i probably don't even know about yet!
~Diet A&W Rootbeer.  It's so good and reminds me of growing up!
~Compression socks.  I've been putting them on at night after my runs, and they make my legs feel so good!
~My boatshoes.  They are some of the most comfortable shoes i have!
~Baseball season is back!  We made it to opening day this year and i'm excited to catch more games this year.
~Sliced bananas with honey and cinnamon.  Super yummy snack!

Gettin' Crafty

Sometimes I go through crafty spells- crocheting, scrapbooking, gift wrapping, cake balling...

The creative bug hit me again and it was quite the process! But, i love the way it all turned out!

It all started with this picture

I love everything about this picture. I knew I wanted to gift it to my grandparents for Christmas somehow. My first thought was to put it on canvas. There were several daily deals going around for canvas prints- however they were all for 16X20. A little too big for what i wanted and of course they didn't offer deals on a smaller size, which was pretty pricy. Next option i came across was a google offer for a home decor store. They had this frame that i loved, but the photo space was only 4X4. That just wouldn't do this picture justice. (My grandma used to sing us the "bushel and a peck" song all the time growing up. So, the frame was fitting.) I figured i could make something similar, but just do it bigger. I went to Hobby Lobby and got all of my supplies and was ready to go. I had it all laid out when my Hubs asked what i wanted the focus to be on- he suggested that the way it was laid out, the focus would be more on the words than the picture.

Good point. So i scratched that idea. and did some googling for bushel and a peck frames. I came across this lovely sight and my project took a whole new turn. I love her stuff. It's so unique and personal, but the focus is on the picture with the words just being a special touch. So i did my own version.

Here is the finished product. I'm so proud of the way it turned out!

Shrimp Pan Roast

Oh, the pan roast!  The first, and only, time i've had pan roast was almost 3 years ago at the Palace Station hotel in Vegas.  My sister had taken me there with some friends.  It was delicious!!  You can read about that trip, and the pan roast, here. 

For whatever reason last week i had a craving for pan roast.  I did a quick search and found a recipe that sounded easy enough.  I was super nervous to try it, just in case it didn't turn out.  But, it was delicous!!!  SO good!!  The hubs took some bread and scraped every last drop out of his bowl.  It was that good!  Highly recommended!