Friday, December 21, 2012

keep on dancing till the world ends

I wrote and scheduled this post in advanced
in case the world actually does come to an end
and I am not here to write a post on the 21st

If I am in fact gone...
thanks for reading!

to all those Dooms Day Preppers out there
major props if you have survived.


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Is that your chick...pea pattie?

Another
semi - successful dinner

Chickpea Patties
from

(get the full recipe by clicking the link above)

Drain and rinse 2 cans of chickpeas
then smash with fork or food processor and set aside


 Shred a cucumber and let drain for 10 minutes
then mix together all ingredients for the sauce
1 cup Greek yogurt
cucumber
2 Tablespoons of scallions
1 Tablespoon of cilantro
salt


Toast the breadcrumbs
(I burnt the first batch)

 Mix all of the patties ingredients together:
Chickpeas
2 Teaspoons of garam masala 
2 eggs
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
scallions
3 tablespoons of cilantro
salt
Make patties and fry in pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil


 voila!
(once again I hate my camera)


I loved the meal but need to try it again to perfect it 
they were a little dry to me
not sure if I made them too thick or not


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Conversations with Floridians

A recent conversation with a Publix Cashier

Cashier: I am not in the Christmas spirit.

Abbie: Yeah, it's a little hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is 80 degrees outside.

Cashier: I KNOW! This year I have to go up north for Christmas and I am going to be sooooo cold!

Abbie:  Really? Where are you heading?

Cashier: Ocala... It is going to be freezing.



Monday, December 17, 2012

Sunday, December 16, 2012

We Bought a Boat!

... ok not a boat
we bought a kayak...

an inflatable one...
which I wasn't too thrilled about to begin with
but Abbie insisted that I would love it
so we bought one for a shared Christmas gift

Today was its maiden voyage
that started out with us turning back because it was deflating

After fixing the problem though, we were good to go
and had an amazing time out
I didn't bring a camera because I didn't want it to end up in the water
but we pretty much looked like this:

Next time I'll be sure to capture the action.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Quick and Easy Meal

I am all about quick and easy meals.
Here's my latest favorite:

Cook kale with garlic

 chop up roasted red peppers
beat 6 eggs
layer red peppers
 kale
feta cheese
and pour eggs on top
bake for 25 ish minutes

Boom!

I also LOVED these recipes

Cheesy Cauliflower 
and Golden Brussels Sprouts

My picture clearly does this no justice.


Monday, December 10, 2012

Sunday Runday

The sky BEFORE my run

 the sky after my run

and 20 miles in between

it felt amazing accomplishing such a long run
and if felt even better that I didn't hate every minute of it

My time on here is a little deceiving though.
I was out of GU before my run
so around mile 10
 I literally ran to Publix and bought the Gatorade equivalent of GU 
(I stopped the Garmin while doing this)
I also stopped to snap these pictures as well...



I love lit palm tress.


Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Crossover


So it's the 4...
but it was FREE!

I love a good deal on a new shiny apple.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Christmas Exchange

This past weekend was Abbie's company holiday party

I was inspired to create a holiday treat to share
voila!
 


So this was supposed to be a post about the company party and the gift exchange
but I am so pissed that these GD pictures won't flip!
and it is all because of this stupid ass camera I have

Maybe Santa will read this post and buy me a new one for Christmas... or my birthday... or just because ...

anyway. 
more on the party another day

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Ring

Did I tell you that I recently became engaged?

I did?

Did I share THIS VIDEO of it?

Oh... I did that too?

One thing I haven't shared.
is my oh - so - beautiful
ring
and I haven't for two reasons.

For one,
On that beautiful night Abbie proposed
one of the side diamonds fell out while we were camping
which looked terrible in pictures.
so we sent the ring to be repaired and re-sized
(btw- I wear a 3-3/4 sized ring)

It took about 3 weeks to finally get this ring back to its rightful place... my finger
problem is...
my hands look like they are 1,000 years old.
Every picture I try to take of the ring I hate because my hands look so terrible!



they have always looked this way.
even as a kid I was picked on for my "old lady hands"

Now I at least I have something to jazz them up a bit

(Btw- while writing this I was totally reminded of the episode of Friends where Joey finds his "hand twin" now "this hand is your hand" is stuck in my hand)

(bbtw- wouldn't it be awful if I had a hand twin out there?)

(bbttww - some would say my hand twin would be my grandmother)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Consignment Store Win

While shopping at a new consignment store
I came across a beautiful purse
but didn't want to pay the $45 price tag

I couldn't get it out of my mind though

Which ended up being the only proof I needed
that this purse should be mine...

BEHOLD

Not a scratch or mark on her anywhere...
Isn't she beautiful?

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Turkey Day!

I hope everyone had a great
Thanksgiving!

Abbie and I just got back from a great Turkey Day break
with lots of food


dogs

and all around ridiculousness 

The Fall List is complete.... 
Winter list to follow....

Friday, November 16, 2012

Cookies and Coffee

I'm not going to say this is my absolute favorite thing about having 
my friend Anna come and visit from Sweden...

But it is pretty damn close.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Lucky Me

This time last year
we were on an amazing 


and now we are planning a wedding




It just keeps getting better and better...

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Planning a Wedding

I've been planning my wedding 
wayyy before I actually became engaged.

Say Yes to the Dress
Four Weddings
David Tutera

If there was a wedding show on TV- I was watching it
With every episode I was
picking out and deciding what things I wanted to do for my own "big day"

Now that I am actually engaged
and actually planning a wedding

things are way different. 
Like that little thing called a budget
funny how little $10,000 can get you
and ALL those things that I wanted so badly 
have now been quickly crossed off my list.

I think I am creative though
and can work around the budget
because really
we just can fathom spending more than that at this point in our lives.

To help keep me sane, I've picked up this book for some pointers.

For my readers,
there are bound to be some Bridezilla moments
that will make for some good blog posts
I'll keep that in mind as I go along as well.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Baby Girl

I voted today...
did you?

I stood in line for 45 minutes
in conversation with a terrible woman
who didn't even consider that I might not be voting for the same person she was
(I wasn't)
and she proceeded to vomit out a litany of terrible rubbish.
I wonder which one of us will be happy with the results of the vote tonight.
***
Today is not only 
election day
but it also the birthday of my sweet baby girl



who is now 7 years old.

I love her more than anything in this world
and I am so grateful to have her in my life.





Sunday, November 4, 2012

Ice Cold

Today's miles
totaled a
Sweet 16


A milestone in my marathon training-
I ran further that I ever have before
and I only keep going up from here

I actually felt pretty damn good for the majority of the miles
definitely coasted through the first 8

and then got a little sore miles 10 and up

But I didn't stop
not once

not because I didn't want to though
I just couldn't
I felt like if I stopped then I would permanently freeze up for good

So I channeled my inner Forrest Gump
and 
I - WAS - RUNNING!

Afterwards was another milestone in my marathon training
my first ice bath

Freezing
but fantastic at the same time.


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Worth the Wait

After almost 5 years together

he popped the question...


I am over the moon 
happy
in love

The proposal was obviously a surprise and totally worth the wait.
I can't believe I get to share the rest of my life with this amazing man.

Now it's time to plan a wedding!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Ashley Meets Vegetables

I'm back on track eating healthy again!

Loading my plate with all kinds of veggie goodness
(shrimp and vegetable curry) 

 (Salads)

 (stir fry)


The best way to get tasty veggies for little money
is the Whole Foods buffet

$5 for all this!
boom!