A Lovely Life

Hands down the best money we spent at the beginning of the pandemic as a New York Times Cooking subscription. When restaurants started to close and our financial situation took a bit of a hit due to COVID, eating out was clearly no longer an option. I've had a love for spending time in the kitchen since I can remember, but experimentation wasn't always my thing. C definitely brought out some adventure in me when it comes to cooking.  So, we've spent the majority of the last year reading the emails from NYT Cooking titled "What to Eat Tonight" and "What to Eat This Weekend" and we'd add things that sounded good to our virtual recipe box and plan accordingly. One of our unspoken guidelines is that the majority of what we made has to have as few ingredients and steps as possible. Something with over 22 steps better end with step 23 being "how to file for divorce"... I kid. We've loosened that rule a bit as we've added more staples to t...

1. Mac and cheese.  I prefer my own home made, but will KILL a box of Kraft.  Don't hate on that blue box, y'all. 2.   Potatoes in pretty much any form.  French fries are my #1, but I love them mashed, roasted, as pancakes, baked, as chips.  You get the idea. 3.   Sour Patch Kids.  We rarely go to the movies, but when we do I've gotta have my little yellow bag of kids.  And not the knock off version either.   4.   Broccoli.  Because I had to put something healthy on this list and because I've been in love with this veggie since infancy (or that's what my mom's told me).  It's my go-to veggie! 5.   Cheeseburgers.  Like, the good ones.  Well cooked, great cheese, perfectly toasted bun...yes!  I don't have a favorite place here in Atlanta, however, I am open to suggestions.

Food brings people together.  Think about it. Whether it be holidays, weddings, Sunday meals, funerals or reunions food most often than not is the focus of those events.  First thing I do when someone has had a baby or fallen ill: bring food (or wine depending on the occasion).  It's a common necessity that allows us to connect with another.   My family is big on food and while I wasn't always able to have big meals with my extended family, I still appreciate the traditions they've made.   We each have a favorite recipe that reminds us of "home" and I love sharing those recipes and experiences with others.  I've recently been trying to make at least one weekend meal more interesting than our typical nightly dinners.  I've been using hand-me-down recipes from friends and family and branching out by trying recipes that are completely different.  It's been fun to experiment with new foods and techniques!  There's nothing better than "slaving...

Since J and I started the new year with a better approach to eating and exercise, I've found myself even more conscious of diets, exercise plans, health food blogs, etc.  I see these things in my news feed on Facebook or in articles on blogs I read.  Most recently, I've heard more about this growing movement for women to embrace their bodies for what they are.  I hate that this is even a "movement" and not the norm, but I've gotta say I'm happy to see it. I listen to a local radio morning show on my drive into work and after I've gotten settled at my desk.  It seems like they've been doing more segments lately with weight loss challenges, interviews of women and men who are overly body conscious and most recently the No Body Shame Campaign .  They interviewed the woman who started this whole thing the other morning and she was really inspiring and lovely.  After years of struggling with weight and bouncing from 130lbs up to over 300lbs, she realized ...

I love celebrating all the people in my life whom I'm so thankful for and love so much.  Each year I get more and more excited about Valentine's Day because each year, J and I add a little to our traditions and I LOVE traditions! We've spent most Valentine's Day dinners at home with each other.  It's quiet and the relaxing feeling of skipping a crowded restaurant.  This Valentine's Day was no different, but we kicked it up a notch by making crab legs and mussels!  They were easy to cook and fun to eat, but I highly suggest against waiting until the same day to run to Whole Foods to get what you need -- MAD HOUSE, y'all.  Either way, it was delicious and a little messy and we had a good time together.  We spent the rest of the night on the couch with Frank watching movies.  Now THAT is how I like to spend time with my sweethearts. We really don't buy each other gifts on Valentine's Day.  There are 2 reasons for this: 1.  We...

I've mentioned before that I've been loving some green smoothie action lately!  I found this great website that has a ton of recipes and advice for getting a daily dose of green yumminess!  I love that they're super easy and don't take a ton of time.  I thought I'd post a couple of my absolute favorites because, why not?! Almond Butter & "Jelly" 2 cups of spinach or kale 2 cups of almond milk 2 cups of frozen grapes 4 tablespoons of almond butter Blend greens and almond milk until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again. Kiwi Strawberry Twist 2 cups of spinach 2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice (if I don't have enough oranges on hand, I do 1 cup of orange juice and 1 cup of water as a substitute) 2 cups of frozen strawberries 2 ripe kiwi, fuzzy skin removed 1 banana Juice of 1 lemon Blend spinach, orange juice and lemon juice until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. Both of these smoothies s...

I love food, y'all.  LOVE. IT.  I've said time and time again I'm convinced that God gave me a 6'1" frame because I eat like football player... Eating isn't my only favorite thing about food.  I love to cook it, too, and I find myself constantly searching for new and exciting recipes.  Since J and I started the New Year with the goal of eating better and getting healthier, I've found myself on an even bigger hunt for healthy food recipes that taste good and give me some variety.  I cannot eat the same thing over and over.  I can do leftovers only if they were just too good to be true for dinner the night before.  If they weren't, my poor husband is left to eat them. It's taken awhile to figure out what works for us as far as healthy eating and we're still trying to get it right.  Here are some lessons we've learned so far: 1.  Our house is usually void of any snacks other than nuts and fruit.  We love to snack in this house and thi...

I mentioned before that J got a 20lb turkey for 6 people for our Thanksgiving dinner and I have a funny habit of making enough food to feed an army.  That could only mean 2 things: 1.  Everyone went home with left overs 2.  We STILL had enough to have another turkey dinner the following night! We literally had just about everything again, but we added J's brother to the mix!  He flew into town and we were so excited to be able to spend time with him.  He even gave J some pointers on turkey 2.0 carving.  That sucker was big y'all.  And the funny part?  We had enough left overs for lunch on Saturday...we know how to make a meal for sure!   It was great having a repeat dinner and spending another night with loved ones.  <3 Here are a couple more pictures: "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -- Marcel Proust

I hope everyone had a great day surrounded by people you love!  We sure did!  J & I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year.  It included 6 people, 2 dogs and 1 20lb turkey.  I have to admit that I had a bit of anxiety getting ready to host what I considered our first adult Thanksgiving, but everything turned out beautifully. J and I really tag teamed dinner by splitting up the shopping, cleaning and food prep.  We asked our guests to bring a side or two and that really helped take the pressure off!  I seriously don't know how people cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner with one stove and oven.  Dinner was great and the company was fabulous.  We had a ton of pre-dinner munchies to hold us over until everything was ready to go.  I love that we're starting new traditions and are looking forward to hosting again next year!  We may even decided to do the whole dinner next year, too!  On one stove... A couple of pictures...

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I hope that today is spent with people you love.  I've spent so many Thanksgiving days with family or friends or a mix of both and every year, it's nice to be able to reflect on what we're truly thankful for. Today and every day, I'm thankful for the many blessings I have in my life.... "If you are really thankful, what do you do?  You share." -- W. Clement Stone "I'm thankful for every moment." -- Al Green "The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest." -- William Blake "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." -- W.J. Cameron

And it's ugly.  Tastes good, but REALLY ugly.  Oh well.  I am famous for repeatedly stating that, "I am NOT a baker."  While I've gotten better at it thanks to a chef-by-trade best friend, I somehow missed that trait in the family genes.  Especially the part where the baked good is a picture perfect creation.  Yeah...not my gift y'all. Anyway, I had a million peaches from my peach pickin' adventure with E, so I decided that I HAD to make some baked goods.  You cannot beat homemade pies and cobblers with fresh, locally grown peaches!  My first baked good was a peach pie which I have zero pictures of.  It tastes great but isn't so pretty to look look at anyway so you aren't missing out. My second baked good was actually inspired by an Instagram post by one of my favorite bloggers,  What I Wore .  You can see her pic here:  http://instagram.com/p/bwEp0Iqq7_/   I thought, I've got peaches to spare and haven't tried that, s...

Well, I can almost safely say that we made it through our little experiment of clean eating.  Tonight ends day 10!  We made it!  I didn't kill anyone.  I stayed away from the beer, chips, bagels and other goodies that are a constant in my bike shop.  I learned some new recipes.  And I feel pretty awesome I have to say!! I know that lots of people commit to 30, 60 and even 100 day clean eating and paleo "challenges", but I can tell a difference after our little 10 day stint.  First of all, I'm pretty proud of J and I for sticking to it.  We love LOVE LOVE food in this house and bad food at that.  Secondly, I've noticed that I'm in a better mood overall and have way more energy throughout the day.  I have to say that's the biggest improvement of all!  Lastly, when I say that I just feel better, I mean it.  I can't really describe it, but I just FEEL better.   J and I have decided that this is the way to go.  Not ne...

As I mentioned before , after the 1st day our 10 day clean eating diet I realized the importance of a good and healthy snack.  So, I Googled away.  There were 3 things that were super important to me: 1.  An easy recipe 2.  Something I could make ahead of time  3. Something with few, but healthy ingredients   I found two recipes that I wanted to make asap.  One was for lara bars which will be saved for another post and the other was banana chips.  I don't buy banana chips much if at all, but I love bananas and I loved how easy it seemed to be to make them.  I don't have a dehydrator, but there were plenty of oven baked chip recipes out there!  I used a variation of the one I found at Homemadesimple.com I did one batch earlier this week that didn't turn out so well.  I think it was because I was impatient (imagine that!) so I turned the heat up higher than recommended and cut the bananas pretty thin.  Needless to sa...

J and I have been talking a ton lately about eating better.  It's not even that we ate badly to begin with, but we wanted to tailor what we consume a bit more than usual.  Here's what our diet usually consists of: Breakfast: A piece of fruit or hard boiled egg with my favorite, coffee with cream and sugar Lunch: A salad and chicken breast  Dinner: Here's where we'd really mess up.  At the beginning of the week it was usually a protein and a couple of veggies with a glass of wine.  Towards the end of the week, though, if we didn't have something easy to prepare, it was usually left overs or take out. We don't keep pasta or bread in the house even though we both love it.  Before J, pasta was my ultimate go-to meal as a single girl.  We LOVE cheese.  Love.  And, although we don't keep a ton of it on hand, it sure is a weakness of ours. Now that we're more settled and in a time of year that doesn't involve a ton of celebration like Dece...