Harvest Napkins! Perfect for Thanksgiving!

Peas N’ Carrots Napkins. Spunky and fun!

Always nice to have a little extra time on your hands!

We’ve moved! It was a long 26 hour drive, but we are here, our stuff is here, and we are (mostly) unpacked! Doesn’t get better than that. I thought I would be more sad about the move, but actually I am just relieved to be here at this point. I was super stressed from everything going on, I didn’t even realize how stressed I was until we got out here and I started to relax a little. We got our stuff last Thursday and after a few days of pretty intense unpacking, we have been kind of taking it easy for the first time in a long time…and it feels good.

Don’t get me wrong. I miss all of my friends and family back home in Colorado, but for now I am glad we are here.

Photos of our glorious new home will come once we get a few more pieces of furniture (we didn’t have nearly enough to fill our giant new space – and still don’t) and complete the unpacking. Today, I am off to the Fairfax farmers market!

Happy Saturday!
KayleeAnn

It’s official! Starting May 15th we will be renting a (huge) townhouse in Chantilly, Virgina and on May 19th we will be leaving Colorado to make our way out there. For the first time since we decided to more across the country, it actually feels like we are going to do it. I’m a combination of hugely excited and very sad… and I suspect that it will be that way for a while – even after we move.

I am glad to be embarking on a new adventure though and I couldn’t be starting out with a better set of partners!

At least I know there will always be somebody to cuddle with.

And there will always be tasty sushi at Matsu.

KayleeAnn

After I “forced” The Boy to wake up at 7:30 am to go on a walk with me (he played nice even though I am pretty sure he wanted to kill me), we were rewarded with brunch at Root Down with my parents. We have met up with my parents for brunch for the past few weekends. Such a lovely treat at the end of the week.

I ate an oh-so-tasty breakfast burrito – eggs, a variety of potato types, zucchini and a tasty mole sauce! It was wonderful. You can also see The Boy’s eggs benedict in the back. He was also very pleased.

Last weekend we went to Duo. It was also very cute and very tasty. I got the spinach scramble while The Boy enjoyed the red beans and rice. After our tasty brunch we walked over to Little Man Ice Cream, and adorable outdoor ice creamery (pretty much the highlight of the morning for me).

As you probably know (see the title/tag of the blog), ice cream is my major weakness. For a very long time, I didn’t eat any ice cream at all. Now I have it occasionally, in greater moderation. And if you are going to indulge, Little Man is the best place to do it…so tasty!

As you can see, Little Man makes us all happy.

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend too!
KayleeAnn

 
I have always been intimidated by lentils and I am not sure why. I have cooked dry beans before (in fact I do it all the time), and I assumed that it was essentially the same thing. Truth be told, it is actually easier than cooking dried beans because you don’t have to soak them first. I guess I thought it would be hard to season them and make them taste good… The recipe I had, made them super tasty though!

Lentil Facts:
They are a flat, oval-shaped legume that comes in many varieties – brown, green, yellow, red, black, etc – and are often used in Indian food. They are rich in fiber and oh-so-good for you! I made the green ones for my first adventure!

Cooking:
Rinse the lentils first. Then take 3 cups of water per cup of lentils and boil for 20-30 minuets (until tender). Super easy!

I used my lentils to make these Ancho Lentil Tacos from The Post Punk Kitchen (same as the Risotto I posted). They were so delicious! You really should make them!

:: Photo Courtsey The PPK ::

I really like to take my own photos, but I had company and that has a tendency to make me a touch self-conscious about photographing the food :/

Anyway, I have big plans to make many more lentil dishes!

:: have a lovely weekend ::
KayleeAnn

As you know, I got married in March. We went to Vegas to avoid the stress and cost of a big wedding (mainly because that just doesn’t suite us). We managed to keep things pretty low-key, but a fair amount of stress inevitably peaked its way in – After all, I had to meet my mother-in-law for the first time at 11 PM the night before the wedding. Plus there is something extremely stressful about making wedding decisions, even if you don’t care much about it.

What you may not know is that while The Boy and I were getting engaged on New Years Eve, my father was being admitted to the hospital. He got a staph infection on his spine that spread to his heart. Initially he was in the hospital for 7 days receiving medication and then he was allowed to go home, with limited mobility because of the risk of heart failure. The doctors were waiting for his infection to subside before performing valve replacement surgery on his heart.

Three and a half months later, he is well oh his way to a full recovery from surgery! Our whole family is so relieved.

The amazing thing about stress is that it really consumes you. I just now feel like I am taking a breath for the first time in three months. I am just now getting back into my routines, doing the things that relax me and that keep me stress free. It’s funny that everything I do to keep myself in-check and minimally stressed are the first things to go when I actually get really stressed.

I ended up getting extremely sick and am finally recovering from that. I guess I have learned a valuable lesson about my body under stress – No matter what is going on in my life, I really need to make sure to prioritize my organizing, healthy eating, working out, and even my down time.

Do you find yourself abandoning the things that relax you when you get stressed?

:: thanks ::
KayleeAnn

I got the recipe for this from Post Punk Kitchen, so it is completely vegan and gluten-free. Pretty cool!

:: For the risotto ::
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups or so vegetable broth
3/4 cup pesto (I recommend Bestest Pesto, it makes plenty)
1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less depending on how salty your broth and pesto are, so taste for salt often)
Fresh black pepper

:: For the zucchini ::
1 lb zucchini, cut on a bias into chunky half moons
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced

:: Optional ::
Extra toasted pine nuts
Extra pesto for drizzling

1) Warm the vegetable broth in a saucepan. Keep it warm on the lowest setting possible as you prepare the risotto.

2) Preheat the oven to 425 F for the zucchini, and have ready a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3) Now let’s make the risotto! Preheat a heavy-bottomed 4 quart pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion in oil and a pinch of salt until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.

4) Add the rice and use a wooden spoon to stir and coat with oil. Add the white wine and stir occasionally, until wine is mostly absorbed, 4 minutes or so. Add a few dashes fresh black pepper, and half of the salt. Turn the heat down just a bit to medium-low.

5) Add the broth by the cupful, stirring the risotto after each addition until the broth is mostly absorbed (6 to 8 minutes). After 2 cupfuls, add about half of the pesto and stir well, then continue to cook, adding broth by the cupful, stirring, and letting the liquid absorb.

6) At some point in there, your oven will be preheated. Toss the zucchini with oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Roast for about 6 minutes on each side, or until softened and lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

7) With your last addition of broth, add the rest of the pesto. Taste for salt and add the other 1/4 teaspoon if needed. Risotto is ready when the rice is chewy but still firm, and the sauce is very creamy. For a firmer risotto, just cook a few minutes extra to absorb more of the liquid.

:: To serve :: scoop risotto into each bowl, and top with zucchini. Drizzle with extra pesto and garnish with a few toasted pine nuts.
:: Recipe source :: The PPK

It turned out super tasty! I would definitely make it again, but it does make a ton, so I will probably cut the recipe in half. I served mine with a whole pear, but I think a spinach salad would have been a tasty alternative too!

:: enjoy ::
KayleeAnn

The last thing I learned about my exercise habits is that I try to workout too often.

As I mentioned before, I used to go though huge swings of working out and sitting on the couch. Basically, I used to have huge issues actually keeping a workout routine. I always thought that the problem was that I didn’t enjoy working out, so I just lost the will-power to force myself to do it. This was not actually the case.

While it is true that working out is not the biggest priority in my life (and never has been), I usually have the will-power to follow through on something that is good for me and that I have decided I am committing to. The problem was I was working out every day of the week – sometimes more than once a day. To take something I don’t necessarily love and have it consume my life-like that…it was a recipe for failure. I could usually keep up that routine for about 2 or 2 and a half weeks, but once I missed a day and I saw how nice it was to do other things with my time, I would pretty much immediately stop working out all together.

The Fix: Now I workout on designated days of the week for designated amounts of time. No less, but more importantly, no more than what is palnned. I have found that if I come out of the gate more gently, and start with a workout routine I can keep up with consistently, I am much more likely to stick it out. I know it seems strange to limit the number of times you workout in a week, but I am in this for the long haul. And I would rather workout 3-4 times a week for the entire year, than workout every day for 2 weeks, 2-3 times a year.

So now my workout routine looks like this: I workout on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then I give myself the option of Saturday or Sunday (not both) for a maximum of 1 hour per day. This week I did all my workouts in runs or walks for a total of 13.38 miles (plus a small amount of wight training). Next week I will probably mix it up and throw in some Yoga and Pilates just to keep things varied.

Also, sidenote, if you do any outdoor running, the website mapmyrun.com is a pretty cool website to keep track of your distances and times. Plus if you have an iPhone it automatically tracks your distance, elevation change, speed, etc. That is where I got the calendar graphic above. Pretty neat stuff!

In addition to my 4 weekly workouts, I also try to go on a 15-20 minuet leisure walk (with little Pedro) every day. It keeps my blood moving and stretches my body out so I don’t ever get too stiff in my back and neck from all the sitting at my job. I really enjoy it and so does Pedro – Such a majestic beast!

The tips in this series are not really designed to make you a “hard body” or anything. For me, working out is about feeling good, being healthy and being able to do the things I want to do (in real life) with greater ease. It is not going to give you an awesome 6-pack and huge guns, but it will help you to remain active on a consistent basis and keep your body in fairly good condition (which is more aligned with my goals anyway.)

Thanks for checking out the series. If you missed the first two, but enjoyed this one, take a look at the First and Second ones. As my workouts become more consistent, and I learn more, I may make further additions to this series. For now, nothing is planned.

:: thanks ::
KayleeAnn

Meal planning is key to my success in healthy eating. If I plan out a week of meals and go to the store to buy all the things that I need to cook, it leaves no room for excuses. In fact, I usually feel bad if I don’t make it (I hate being wasteful!).

So every Sunday afternoon I try to set aside time to come up with everything that I want to cook that week and time to go to the grocery store. In total it probably takes me about 2 hours (maybe a little more), but it makes my whole week go much more smoothly and it makes it easier to plan meals that use the same ingredients (so I don’t have to throw extras away). If you don’t already have a grocery day – I highly recommend you get one.

In related news, I found an iPhone app that I just love! It is called Grocery IQ. I use it to keep track of my ongoing grocery list (so I don’t waste/loose paper lists). I pretty much always have my phone near me, so anytime I use the last of something I just snap a picture of the bar code and it adds the product to my grocery list. You can organize all your products by the store you want to buy them from and the app automatically organizes products into areas of the store (like “fruits and vegetables” “spices and baking,” and “international & ethnic cuisine”) so I can get all the items in one area before moving to other areas of the store (without forgetting anything). It makes my shopping trips go much more quickly!

Plus, I am able to share my account with The Boy, so if he happens to be at the store without me, he knows exactly what we need (and vice versa). It’s free…so you should probably try it out!

Smart phones are amazing…not sure how I ever lived without one!

:: Thanks ::

KayleeAnn