The Chic Life

The Weather Outside Was Frightful

I decided to make good use of my Oat Bran bread with a breakfast I haven't enjoyed in awhile:

Oat Bran toast with Barney Butter with Gingerbread Coffee and a banana. Ahh...breakfast of champions!

Lookie what came in the mail already! My Eat Smart scale, purchased from the Kath Eats Open Sky. Fast shipping!

It even came with batteries! Sweet!

I tested the scale out with the only thing I had around quickly - my bread from breakfast. The scale was nice and easy to use. I love how compact it is!

The weather outside was frightful. It was cold and rainy. Ick!

Perfect night for pizza!

We started with an organic arugula salad with sunflower seeds and a balsamic dressing.

Slice of pepperoni with real coke. I love coke with my pizza (and hamburgers) but I can never finish a whole can. That's just too much soda for me! I usually split a can with hubby if we don't have any mini cans on hand.

Slice of cheese. Don't mind the blotting papers in the background.

Decaf coffee + Bailey's Irish Cream = special dessert treat

The Bailey's I picked up came with free samples of Smirnoff Vanilla and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur (I've always wanted to try that stuff!).

Trader Joe's Decaf Smooth & Really Mellow - a nice, affordable blend.

I add a little less sugar than normal and stir Bailey's in as my creamer (and bit of sweetener)...no milk/cream required!

One for me, one for hubby.

Topped with whipped cream = extra yum!

After drinking about half my mug, I went back for extra whipped cream...heehee. I couldn't resist!

Currently watching So You Think You Can Dance. Mollee rocked out her first couples dance...you go girl! That "dangerous" routine by Legacy and Eleanor was awesome, too!

House Update

Also currently very irritated with my curtains. We finally have curtains and rods, but haven't had time to install the darn things (just got the rods on Sunday), but decided to try tonight. The curtains we bought were only available in 84" and then 96" tall (two closest to what we need). I want them to hang floor length. When we measured, the frame of our window was right around 84", so we got the 84" curtains, but now that we've got the curtains on hand, we're realizing we're going to have to hang the rod at the bottom of the top wood piece of our window frame. It looks STUPID! If I get the 96" curtains, they'll puddle on the floor, which I've heard is ok but not good for pets.

I guess we could also get the ring attachments, but I kind of don't want to. Oh well...guess we'll either have to bother doing some massive returns (we got the voiles for almost every room) and let our curtains puddle or we'll have to buy attachments for the curtains we have. Oi!

Houses are hard!

Tidbits

• Can you believe the average American consumes around 3700 calories daily - Why Americans Are Fat
• For those asking about my Gingerbread Coffee - I got mine at Cracker Barrel, but I also spotted a can at Trader Joe's (when I was buying my decaf tonight)

I feel like sewing something...maybe I'll dig out my sewing machine since I can't hang curtains?

Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner

Just Another Manic Monday

I think I've used that title before, but oh well...such is life...

I hit a new record with my phone conferences. I had 8 scheduled hours! That's an ENTIRE DAY of phone conferences! One actually got cancelled (re-scheduled)

I fueled up for zumba today with some Kashi crackers and some Fruit Snacks (10 pieces).

I also had an Raw Organic Food Bar in chocolate coconut (won free via Twitter)

Loving my zumbawear!

Love how me and my zumba friends accidentally coordinated tonight. I'm wearing my new zumba samba pants and new yellow "join the party" zumba top in yellow. I'm also wearing my hip scarf...woot woot!

I did my Slave 4 U choreography tonight for the class and got a nice compliment from a regular. It made me so happy because the regulars are extra particular about what they like to see in class and she told me the choreography was "different" and "refreshing." Ahh. :) That's what I was going for!

I also got a request for my song! My first request. Hooray!

Miso soup and salad with ginger dressing

tempura zucchini

Cali roll with masago

Check out my heart-shaped ginger!

Is anyone taking a big vacation this year for the holidays? Doing anything fun?

Dinner, Exercise, Snack

Butterscotch Pumpkin Oats

I made a delicious concoction of oats this morning - Butterscotch Pumpkin Oats.

Sipping coffee whilst cooking stove top oats.

Organic "soysage" - some savory to balance the sweetness of the oats.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Oats

Stove top

Bring to boil:

• 1/2 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp flaxseeds
• 1/2 tsp agave

Once boiling, add:

• 1/4 cup canned organic pumpkin
• 1/4 cup rolled oats

Cook for 3-5 minutes till thick to your liking

Top with chopped butterscotch chips and pecans. Enjoy!

Breakfast, Recipe

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

After our shopping trip, I made a quick and easy dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.

Directions:

• Bake Trader Joe's turkey meatballs following package directions
• Cook spaghetti per package directions
• Heat marinara sauce in microwave till warm/hot
• Place drained pasta in bowl, top with sauce, top with meatballs
• Serve and enjoy.

So easy! I was trying to conserve time so I could decorate our tree and we almost caved and got pizza, but decided to eat in instead. I was so glad we did!

After dinner, we got started on the tree.

We started with lights and tinsel.

My tree decorating strategy is

• Put up tree
• Put up lights
• Put up tinsel
• Put up our faves and unusual ornaments first, ensuring they get a great spot on the tree where people can really see them.
  
• Fill in the tree with the standard rounds, distributing evenly

Here are some of our faves:

Our new Pottery Barn 2009 silver snowflake ornament, representing our first year in the house.


A 2008 Hallmark ornament with penguins (we love penguins!), representing our first Christmas married.

A glittery starfish ornament we purchased at the Atlantis in the Bahamas on our honeymoon.

A shabby-chic ornament I got from a blog friend.

A glittery heel, representing the shopaholic in me.

A glittery, turquoise-y snow(wo)man. I made these in 2007 - they were a fun project!



Bailey Claus made an appearance.

Ta-daaaaaaah! Christmas tree has been decorated!
Bailey was hanging out with me when I finished our tree. I cuddled up with him and we sat and enjoyed looking at our decorated tree for a bit. I couldn't help but think how awesome it was to have our first Christmas tree in our first house and feel blessed.


More holiday decorations went up. I broke out some of my fave turquoise, holiday, kitchen towels.


A festive holly apron draped on our makeshift pantry.

A day of Christmas tree decorating wouldn't be complete without some hot chocolate and chocolate.


I couldn't resist trying some of these Trader Joe's chocolate truffles. Boy were they good! I managed to only eat two of them and savored every tiny bite (I like to take itty-bitty bites of foods - especially desserts so I can really take my time enjoying them).


Quick + Healthy Hot Cocoa (adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe)
Ingredients:

• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp agave syrup
• 1 cup skim milk
• whipped cream, optional (I used the Cabot version from TJ's)

Directions:

1. Microwave water in mug for 30 seconds. Add cocoa powder to water and stir to mix (make sure cocoa powder is completely mixed in). Add agave and stir to mix.
2. Meanwhile, (after removing water from microwave) heat milk in microwave till hot to liking, about 1 1/2 minutes.
3. Add milk to chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
4. Top with whipped cream.

Yum!

What are your traditions for Tree Decorating?

Dessert, Dinner, Doggie, Holiday, Life

More House Shopping

Hubby and I have done a little house shopping:

A week or so ago, we hit up Pottery Barn with a "move in" 10% off coupon. We got some curtains...(but no RODS so we couldn't put them up...grr)

A beautiful duvet cover and pillow case (second pillow case on backorder, but how fab would those colorblock pillows in the background be all monogrammed up?!) in Painterly Paisley. Hubby and I have had the hardest time finding a good turquoise comforter/duvet set we liked. This was the best of the bunch so we pounced on it!

We also got an ornament to represent the first year for our house - 2009! The middle part spins around. It's a lovely ornamnent.

Hubby and I picked up a new down comforter in medium weight. We got mega discounts at Macy's thanks to some coupons.

We picked up a couple hand towels from the Martha Stewart collection. We're surprisingly short on bathroom towels so we put them on our Christmas wish list, but we need some NOW!

I also drooled over the Martha Stewart blue collection of kitchen gadgets - hand mixer, food processor, and blender. They are soooo GORGE! I WANT I WANT I WANT! But alas...I will wait.

After our Macy's trip, we hit up Tar-zhay or Tar-jhay (Target).

Window cleaner - LOVE this brand!

We also got this mini rug at a STEAL. Originally $29.99 - our price - $7.99. Score! I think it's super pretty but the price is just icing on the cake.

We're having to buy TONS of these little rugs - one for each door. Who knew!? It's great to find a good deal because these little babies add up fast!

Lots more shopping to do, but we're getting there!

Shopping

Christmas Tree Shopping

Hubby and I set out late morning to get our Christmas tree.

I've wanted to establish a traditional weekend for getting our Christmas tree, and since we're always out of town Thanksgiving weekend and I don't like to get into Christmas before Thanksgiving, the weekend after is our first opportunity. That would be this weekend!

I decided we should hit up the tree tent where our local farmers market is held. The farmers, Horse Creek Tree farms, use less pesticides than many other tree farmers, which I appreciate.

Hey Frosty!

We had a fun time tree shopping, but boy was it cold outside!

The funny thing about Christmas tree shopping is that the more you shop, the more all the trees start looking the same!

I wanted to get a 6 foot tree, but hubby suggested we go 5-6' this year and up next year. I accepted his proposal and we found a great tree in no time!

They trimmed the lower branches for us...

...and pushed the tree through some netting, which made it waaay easier for us to fit our tree in our car. We actually got it in the back seat! (with the very tip top sticking out the window just a wee bit.

We got our tree setup in our stand (with some cardboard to protect our hardwoods) but I had to wait all day to decorating! Boo!

Before Christmas tree decorating, I had lots of to-dos:

• 2 loads of laundry
• organizing in my changing room
• putting up/folding clothes
• emptying boxes
• lunch
• house shopping
• dinner

Phew!

Have you gotten your tree yet (if you celebrate Christmas)? Have you put up any decorations yet?

Holiday, Life

Breakfast in Bed + Upcoming Challenges

Hubby woke me up this morning with a lovely surprise:

Breakfast in bed!

He put everything on a baking sheet since our tray is packed away somewhere. Very inventive!

Scrambled eggs with cheese and spinach along with oven-broiled Great Harvest honey whole wheat toast. Yum!

Gingerbread Coffee!

Lots on the agenda today:

• Clean house
• Organize house
• Unpack in house
• Get Christmas tree! (think we're gonna make the weekend after Thanksgiving our official tree-getting weekend)
• Shop for house

Man...is everything revolving around the HOUSE or what?!

A head's up on a couple challenges I'm going to host in the upcoming weeks:

Holiday Food Challenge (December)

• Just like the Thanksgiving Food Challenge but for the December holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, etc)
• Make over a holiday dish for your family dinner, work potluck, etc.
• Change one ingredient or make over the whole dish!

Eat In Month Challenge (January)

• I'm going to attempt to eat in for every meal for the entire month of January
• I'm hoping to have prizes to give out for anyone who wants to join in on the fun
• It will be a great way to save money after all the holiday spending
• It will be a great way to eat in and healthier after indulging over the holidays
• It will be a really tough but awesome challenge!

What are you doing today?

Breakfast, Food Challenge

Holiday Movie Marathon

Today, hubby and I headed over to hang out at Kate and Nate's house, along with Caitlin, Jason, Amanda, Justin, Kath, Matt, Michelle, and Ben, for a Holiday Movie Marathon.

I don't remember the whole schedule, but starting from when we got there, we had on the agenda:

1. Elf
2. Christmas Vacation
3. Love Actually

I was so busy with the CPR/AED/First Aid certification, grocery shopping, and cookie baking, I forgot to eat lunch. Doh! So I had a bunch of snacks at the party for a late "lunch".

The Eats

Chex Mix, Pita Chips, Mini Quiches

The Sweets

Ooey-Gooey-Butter Cookies (or something like that...what were they called Kate!? lol)

My Quick Chocolate Chip Cookies (thanks Great Harvest!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate cups.

Drinky-drink - red wine

Oh how much did I LOVE the cozy fire?!

I got cozy on the couch with my plate full of food: pita chips + hummus, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, mini quiche, pig in a blanket.

Round #2

Dessert round

I think these desserts deserve some close-ups!

Oh yea!

I enjoyed my eats with Elf! Hubby and I saw Elf for our first date, so the movie holds a special place in our hearts.

After Elf, we turned on Christmas Vacation.

Later on...

Pizza time!

While the pizzas cooked away, I let my friends test out my macro lens...

I think they took some great photos! Perhaps they will get lucky and Santa will bring them a macro lens for Christmas! ;)

Salad

Pizza

Time to eat!

I had plenty of salad and 2 small pieces of pizza - one of each flavor (Margharita and cheese).

I also had another one of those butter cookies. They were so good - like little pillows of deliciousness!

I also enjoyed a little Hot Apple Cider with dinner. Yum! Such a great festive drink!

Love Actually!

Gilbert made a guest appearance!

I totally want some of these cinnamon-scented pine cones for my house! They smell awesome and are pretty, too! Kate said she found them at Target if anyone is interested.

Ahh...so cozy!

A little Prosecco to end the night.

Check out Kath's recap here.

Thank you soooo much Kate and Nate for having us over! We had a great time and are hoping to see another movie marathon next year, if not sooner!

Dessert, Dinner, Holiday, Life, Lunch, Snack

Quick Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got back from CPR/AED/First Aid Certification around 2pm and planned to head over to a friend's house later for a holiday movie marathon around 3:15pm. Unfortunately, we were out of butter, so a grocery store trip was a must.

Knowing I was short on time, I at least had the foresight to pick up some Chocolate Chip Cookie mix from Great Harvest, while I was there picking up bread for the week. I figured using a mix would help me make some cookies quickly. Hey, cookies don't have to be made from scratch to be good, and with great ingredients like the ones in this mix, they're pretty close! I read the ingredient list and it looked pretty darn clean.

I was attracted to the package because of the price ($4.95) and the whole grain goodness!

I also picked up some more Trader Joe's Organic Butter. So very good.

I almost picked up some Earth Balance while I was at Trader Joe's, but I'm very skeptical of margarine-type products. I read the ingredient list and it seemed decent, but does any one know for sure one way or the other?

It was 2:45 by the time I got back from the grocery store.

Luckily, hubby helped me out by lining the baking sheets with parchment paper while I got the oven pre-heating and the cookies mixed up.

Get in that oven...quick!

Guess this is what happens when you rush through baking - it's a uni-cookie!

After letting the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, I quickly transferred the cookie-covered-parchment paper to wire racks to attempt faster cooling.

By the time the cookies were cooling, we were already running past our anticipated arrival time of 3:15pm, so I was starting to feel anxious about getting on the road.

After letting the cookies cool some more, I finally loaded them up, slightly warm and all. I used parchment paper I baked with to do the lining between layers of cookies.

Hey, I know I like still-warm-from-the-oven-cookies, so other people must, too, right? Right!

I dunno, I was too busy rushing to get going that I didn't get to taste test.

Cookies ready, we set off for our holiday movie marathon. Time to spread more holiday cheer for my Christmas Cookie Challenge! Tally-ho!

Dessert, Food Challenge

CPR/AED/First Aid Certification (How to Be a Real Life Superhero)

I did it! I passed my CPR/AED/First Aid Certification and once I receive and send in my form, I can be completely AFAA Certified (they require a separate CPR certification in addition to their Primary Group Fitness Certification).

My friend Megan stopped by to pick me up for CPR certification. She's an instructor and needed the certification to complete her AFAA (which we did together) too.

First things first, we needed coffee. I had a cup of coffee at home, but not food. I had good intentions of having breakfast at home, but I was running short on time and decided since we had already planned on an Sbucks trip that I could get food there, too.

I love this sign at Starbucks - "I wish everyone could see how much we all have in common." I do.

I got a spinach feta wrap...

...and a grande soy caramel brulee latte.

I enjoyed breakfast on the car ride over.

I wasn't really sure what to expect of the certification. I didn't know if it would formal or casual, rigid or relaxed. I was worried the class would be stuffy and the tests would be difficult ones where you had to demonstrate CPR in front of the entire class, etc. It turned out to be much better than I thought it would be and definitely an overall positive experience.

I did my training through Caskey CPR led by Grace Caskey. I thought Grace was very personable and did an excellent job of taking (sometimes) boring material and making it interesting. She kept my attention and added some good personal stories to add examples. Grace also seems to be quite the real-life-superhero. She told us stories in between lectures about people she had helped over the years - from car accident victims to acquaintances. She is quite literally a real life saver!

Our training went from 8am to almost 2pm and featured videos, lectures, and hands-on practice all mixed up during the day, which all led up to a 50 question multiple exam.

Here's me and my dummy-friend Ralph.

And Megan with baby and her Ralph.

I enjoyed this Yummy Earth organic lollipop in razzmatazz berry as a pre-exam snack. Picked this up at Jason's last night.

After we were done with our exams, Grace even stayed after to grade our tests so we could find out our results right then and there. How nice!? Turns out...I only missed 1 question! Woot-woot!

I have to say after having taken the exam, it would seem beneficial if more people would get CPR and/or AED/First Aid certified, even if you aren't required to do so for your job or for a certification. The material we learned is truly practical to real life and you never know when the knowledge would come in handy and possibly even save someone's life - including a loved one of yours! What if one of your family members, heaven forbid, had a stroke or heart attack or was choking? With this training, you would know some steps to possibly help save their life. I'm thinking of asking hubby to get certified (though I haven't actually asked him yet).

We actually did our certification at the biggest church in the southeast (ok, I made that up, but it's HUGE and totally could be!)

I loved the little Christmas trees up at the front.

I've always wanted to go inside to see what it looked like. It was so spacious and even had side seating like a (broadway not movie) theater!

Neat!

Reader Question: Are you CPR or AED or First Aid certified? Have any personal stories from when your training came in handy?

Breakfast, Exercise, Life, Life

Food Day + Zumba Christmas Jam

Food Day

After my most-awesome breakfast, I was ready for a long day of phone conferences and my company's Food Day!

Food Day is the day each of my co-workers brings in a food item to share with the rest of our group. Most people cook things, but home-cooked foods are not required...just food.

I decided to make today a grazing day, but didn't get to graze very far thanks to being locked down at my desk with phone conferences.

I started my grazing around 9am with a Chick Fil A Chicken Mini and a Dunkin Donuts glazed donut hole.

I baked Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies last night for Food Day and my Holiday Cookie Challenge. I went ahead and got my cookies out on the Food table so they'd be available for my co-workers.

Around 10:30 am, I went for some home made banana bread...yum!

We had quite the array of options today!

In the mix: meatballs, macaroni and cheese, rice with bacon and chick peas, salsa and tortilla chips, sausage balls, pecan tassies.

I had a 20 minute break in my day (yes, only 20 mins from 10am-4pm) from my phone conferences and it just so happened to line up perfectly with when we hit up the food table!

My plate: salsa and tortilla chips, bacon rice with chick peas, macaroni and cheese, chili (was looking for this since I enjoyed it so much last year), empanada (a Food Day staple for me...LOVE!).

Seriously, these empanadas as the shiz-nit!

I wanted to go back for seconds, but after overeating last night, I knew I wouldn't be happy if I stuffed myself too much again. Plus, I had to save room for dessert!

I had a little ginger ale with lunch.

My dessert plate: apple slice with caramel, lemon meringue pie, oreo white chocolate ball, pecan tassie.

All the desserts were awesome, but I am a big fan of pecan tassies - some of my fave flavors.

The Oreo white chocolate ball was a nice surprise...so decadent but good.

Zumba Christmas Jam

My new zumbawear arrived today finally! I ordered this when it was on sale this past weekend and couldn't wait for it to get here!

I decided to go ahead and wear some to tonight's Zumba Christmas Jam party! We were supposed to dress Christmas-y, but I didn't really have much to wear and didn't want to spend money buying something for the party, so I decided my zumba pants with a red tank top would suffice.

I'm like a big kid when I get new stuff. I have to tear into it and check it out, play with it, wear it, use it, whatever! I put on as much zumbawear tonight as my body would hold.

I wore my new Samba pants with silver tassels. The tassels were fun because they whipped around when I was dancing. I knew I was moving my hips right when I saw the flashes of silver. lol

I also wore my new zumba hoodie. It was slightly tighter-fitting than I expected and not quite as stretchy as I would have liked, but it was super cute! Check out the "LOVE" with the zumba logo!

There's also a logo on the hoodie head part.

So much fun dancing the stress of the week away!

I worked up quite the sweat and got down to my new zumba short top. I love the fit of the top! So comfy and I love the V-shape across the chest.

I also adore the LOVE and zumba logo on the back. So cute!

I had some more of those Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies baked up, so I took them to give to some of my zumba friends. They were a BIG HIT! Yay! :)

Dinner Time!

After class, I went with my zumba friend Kat (Hey Kat!) to grab dinner. We hit up Jason's deli and I couldn't resist my new fave combo: turkey reuben, steamed veggies, and French Onion soup.

You know, I used to not like French Onion Soup because I thought the swiss cheese smelled funny, but Jason's Deli uses provolone, which I love. The cheese is mild and gets uber-gooey all melted down. Yum! I even made Kat try some (even though she said she didn't normally like French Onion soup) and she admitted she thought it was pretty good, too, and would consider ordering it in the future.

I got a mini ice cream swirl sundae with dark chocolate syrup.

Ahh...so nice having some good quality girl time!

I came home to a happy puppy who wanted to cuddle. He was pretty sleepy.

After settling in, I decided to have a wee bit more chocolate - 2 Trader Joe's dark chocolate wedges with some warm milk. I think warm milk is so comforting.

Ahh...feeling pretty good about my Holiday Cookie Challenge! I managed to share one batch with two groups of people to spread cheer:

1. My Co-workers
2. My zumba friends

I think my zumba friends are really loving this cookie challenge because they almost always end up with some! lol

Tomorrow, I'm doing CPR training so I can be 100% AFAA certified. Then, I'm headed to hang out with The Blog Stalker, Pinky, the Hungry Wanderers, and some more friends. Can't wait to see Elf and my friends!

I'm hoping we'll pick up our Christmas tree this weekend, too! Maybe we'll even put up curtains! ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Dessert, Dinner, Holiday, Holiday, Lunch

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

With my company's Food Day happening on Friday, I knew I had to cook something (no matter how tired) Thursday night. What better to make than cookies for my Holiday Cookie Challenge?!

I didn't know what to make, so I just went to the grocery store and picked up semi-sweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and figured I'd surely be able to bake something with them.

After some browsing on the web, I settled on making Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies (click for recipe) . I made a halved the recipe and used organic butter.

The cookies mixed up quite nicely.

After reading some reviews, I decided to bake my cookies at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes.

I got quite the variance in my cookie doneness - must have been the different pans! Look how much darker the cookies are on the right!

The cookies smelled amazing! I had forgotten how yummy butterscotch smells and tastes!

Perfect with some skim milk!

Oh yea! I had to taste test a couple...you know...to make sure they were ok to give out to my co-workers and friends. They were faboo - nice and chewy! I may play with the recipe a bit...I think it could possibly use some more flour or something, but the flavor was quite nice.

I used the parchment paper I baked with to line a large tupperware and keep my layers of cookies separated.

Ahhh...all ready to go for Food Day!

Food Challenge

Perfect December Breakfast!

Good Morning! I think I'm currently enjoying the most perfect December Breakfast ever! Pumpkin oats and Gingerbread coffee.

Mmm...

Gingerbread coffee is the perfect accompaniment for breakfasts this time of year. The spiced and festive flavor makes me think of Christmas!

Ever tried pumpkin oats? If not, do you want to? They're so easy! If you can make regular oats, you can make these! Just stir some canned pumpkin into your bowl pre-cooking. The flavor is light and subtle like a tea.

Pumpkin Coconut Oats

Pre-cooking ingredients (put in bowl and stir):

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• pinch flaxseed
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (I used organic)

Microwave for 1 min, stir, 1 min again

Post-cooking:

• pecans on top
• unsweetened coconut flakes
• drizzle of maple syrup (yup, this was my only sweetener)

Enjoy!

Today is my company's Food Day! So, I'm driving to my home office to see my co-workers and eat their yummy food. I'm going to be on phone conferences all day and won't really be able to chat with any one, but I'm hoping to break away long enough to chat some during lunch.

What am I bringing? Do you even have to ask!? ;)

Breakfast

Brixx for Dinner

After working a 10 hour day today, I didn't feel like cooking dinner. Luckily, hubby and I had a coupon for a local pizza joint - Brixx.

The more I eat at this restaurant, the more I like them. I've even used them for catering before!

In my sampler:

• Highland Gaelic Ale
• Highland Cold Mt Winter Ale
• Bell's 2 Hearted Ale
• Fat Tire

Yum!

Hubby and I got bruschetta. I had about 3 of these.

Hubby and I also split a Mediterranean salad.

Hubby and I also shared a BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Look at all that fresh cilantro! It totally makes the pizza!

I had way too much of this pizza. All the flavors were meshing oh-so-well together. The tender chicken, spicy red onion, gooey cheese, tangy BBQ sauce, fresh cilantro, and crispy crunch. Love!

Fabulous dinner! I probably should have stayed in and cooked. Something like this would have been perfect, but I couldn't resist a delicious meal at Brixx!

Dinner, Restaurant

Beautimous Breakfast - Banana Coconut Oats

Had to share some photos from breakfast - they're so pretty!

Banana Coconut Oats (Stovetop)

Bring to boil on stove:

• 1/2 cup
  
• pinch flaxseed
• tiny pinch salt

Once boiling, add 1/4 cup rolled oats

Once oats are cooked:

• stir in sliced banana (organic)
• 1 tsp coconut flakes (unsweetened organic)
• top bowl with extra coconut flakes and sliced almonds

Short on time in the morning? I had these delicious oats and soysage cooked up in 10 minutes! I even had my coffee ready in that 10 minutes. I know...I timed it!

Breakfast

No Fuss Dinner: Tortellini Pasta Bake

Ever have one of those days where you come home exhausted from work starving but not in the mood to cook?

That was me yesterday. I had worked a long day and totally zonked. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the grocery store or COOK! I wanted to relax on the couch and watch SYTYCD and Glee.

Luckily, I was prepared. I had plenty of food in my freezer and pantry to throw something together. I decided to cook up the frozen tortellini I had in the freezer to make a yummy dinner:

No Fuss Tortellini Pasta Bake

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen ravioli
• 1/2 jar Marinara sauce
• 2 cups baby spinach and/or arugula (I used a baby spinach blend)
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Pre-heat broiler. Grease/butter a small casserole dish (broiler proof).

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Heat sauce in separate pot (doesn't need to boil, just needs to be hot)

Once tortellini is cooked, add greens to pot with marinara sauce.

Add tortellini to sauce pot.

Stir

Add to casserole dish.

Top casserole with cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Place bread on top of cooling rack (helps bottom from getting soggy) and top bread with cheese (about 1/4 cup)

Place both in oven and broil until cheese is melted (careful - broilers burn food easily!)

Done...

...and done!

Enjoy!

Maybe even get seconds! (I saved some of my cheesy toast to enjoy with Round 2 - they pair so well together!)

If you're like me, you'll probably save room for dessert, too! Martha's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread cookies! Yum-O!

Dessert, Dinner

Martha's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I was later posting my blog about my Holiday Cookie Challenge than I expected, so my timing is poor. Buuut, I actually baked my first batch of cookies for the Holiday Cookie Challenge this past weekend. I baked up Martha Stewart's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies.

Here are some photos from my baking fun:

Boy, did these babies make my whole house smell like Christmas or what?!

I love chewy cookies. I love gingerbread cookies. I love chocolate chip cookies. Therefore, I love chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies. Yummers!

What's a girl to do but take some of the yummy cookies to sushi night with my fave zumba girls!?

One for each of us (yea, one for me, too!)

I had intentions to give more of these away, but my plans didn't work out. I'm hoping to make up for my missed cheer-spreading with my next batch!

What kinds of holiday cookies are you baking?! Are you in for the Holiday Cookie Challenge?

Food Challenge

Spiced Shrimp Quinoa

I made a super yummy dinner last night - Spiced Shrimp Quinoa! So faboo...even hubby loved it!

It wasn't the fastest dinner, but it was easy. Here are some photos from the cooking:

Quinoa simmering away

Shrimp saute

Toss in frozen peas

Shrimp go on top

Stir together

Top with toasted pine nuts

Enjoy!

Note pretty yellow color. I added this with spices! I added cumin and chili powder for flavor...I added turmeric for nutritional benefits, color, and of course, flavor. You can read about my previous turmeric challenge with tidbits by clicking here.

Seconds!

Spiced Shrimp Quinoa
by me

serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2-3/4 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• dash red pepper flakes (or more depending on how spicy you like it)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• toasted pine nuts, to top and for garnish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a medium pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and cook till translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, lower heat to simmer, cover pot, and cook for 20-25 minutes, until quinoa is tender.
2. Meanwhile (near end of quinoa cooking time), pre-heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add other tbsp olive oil to pan. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to pan and saute till shrimp are cooked through, about 3-5 minutes (give or take depending on size of shrimp used).
3. When quinoa is done, add peas to top of quinoa, then cooked shrimp, cover and let cook for 1 minute.
4. Remove lid, stir.
5. Serve topped with toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy!

Dinner, Recipe

Choco-Coconut Oats, Encore

*GAHHH - How embarrassing, but I actually re-used the previous day's photos when I first blogged this! Doh! Guess that's what happens when you blog in the AM sans coffee! lol I've updated the post with new photos. Phew!*

Told ya I'd make these Choco-Coconut Oats again soon! Here's breakfast from yesterday:

To this bowl, I didn't add almonds, but I did add just a few non-dairy chocolate chips. Yum-O!

Breakfast was enjoyed with some new Cracker Barrel Gingerbread coffee...yummers! The flavor was much more mild than I anticipated, but really appreciated. I thought the flavor was perfect for this chilly winter-ish morning we had today and it went well with my steamy bowl of oats.

I meant to post this yesterday but I couldn't freakin figure out how to use Ecto to "Send Draft to Server". Grr...I spent at least an hour trying to research the issue. I'm nearly certain I'm missing something super obvious and will feel stupid when I find out how to do it. I even remember seeing the option to send to server, but can't find it now (when I need it...of course!)

Busy day ahead. I'm in the zumba mood but have so much to do. I know I'm going later this week, so I may have a house-work-night tonight. We'll see.

Have a great day everyone!

Breakfast

Healthy Ashley's Bake Sale for a Good Cause!

Healthy Ashley is having a Vegan and Gluten-Free bake sale fundraiser for Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Here are the details:

- All baked goods will be vegan and some will be gluten-free.

- All funds will go directly to Team in Training/LLS- http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/dipihalf10/asickles

- Bidding for the bake sale will be held Wednesday (12/2) from 2:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. EST

- Anyone with a U.S. shipping address (blogger or not) can bid by emailing healthyashley@gmail.com

- Bids can be emailed to healthyashley@gmail.com early for those who can't make it to a computer during that time frame.

- Highest bids will be updated frequently on main bake sale page.

- The funds from winning bids must be posted to my TnT fundraising page (http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/dipihalf10/asickles) within 24 hours of winning confirmation email or next bidder automatically wins.

- Winning bidders can expect to have their product shipped out within three (3) days of the bake sale as long as shipping address is received promptly.

Oh, and did I mention...I'm baking Chocolate Chip Blondies for her fundraiser! So go bid on my item pretty please! ;)

Let the bidding begin!

Good luck Ashley!

PS I made the badge...woot woot! :)

Holiday Cookie Challenge 2009

Holiday Time!

Ahh...December is here and with this time of year, we find ourselves amidst a sea of holiday madness: gift searching, shopping, cooking, traveling, card sending, and all that other fun stuff we do around the holidays. If you're like me, you also look forward to another holiday pastime: baking!

Holiday Baking

When the holidays arrive, I love to experiment with new recipes so I can bake up a storm and give my friends and family sweet treats to spread the holiday cheer and let them know I'm thinking of them.

This year, I've decided to challenge myself to try at least one new cookie recipe per weekend through Christmas. I thought this would be a fun way to make sure I don't procrastinate and actually do the baking I want to and will also give me the opportunity to try out some new recipes.

Now, what happens when you bake? You create batches and batches of sweets that you (and your family/SOs/etc) don't need to be eating all by your lonesome. Sometimes you bake with the intention of giving all or a portion of your baked goods to someone. Sometimes, you bake for yourself and don't know what to do with all the sweets you've created (which sometimes, sadly, end up going bad if you can't finish them yourself).

Spread the Cheer

Well, this year, why not spread the holiday cheer by vowing to gift some of your sweet treats to someone deserving? Save all or a portion of one of your weekend batches to give to that co-worker who did you a favor, your family member who is always there for you, the nice clerk at the store who is always so helpful, your veterinarian who always takes such good care of your pets...the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Holiday Cookie Challenge 2009

Who can play in the Holiday Cookie Challenge? Anyone! YOU can!

How do you play in the Holiday Cookie Challenge? Bake a new cookie recipe every weekend through Christmas (or just one time this season). Gift all or some of your cookies to someone to spread the holiday cheer. Leave me a comment with what you baked and who you gave some (or all) of your cookies to (and why you chose the person you did if you'd like to share). Links to blog posts with the details and photos work too. And if you don't have a blog but want to share a photo, you can email that to me at thechiclife at gmail dot com. Photos of what you baked and/or who you gave them to (if they permit their photo being published of course) would be awesome!

Yup, it's that easy!

I've even created this nifty badge in case you'd like to use it on your blog template or posts.

You can get the code here:

<a href="http://thechiclife.typepad.com/the_chic_life/2009/12/holiday-cookie-challenge-2009.html" target="_blank"> <img src="http://thechiclife.typepad.com/photos/sidebar/holidaycookiechallenge.jpg" border="0" /></a>

Who's In?! What's your favorite holiday cookie recipe? What's a recipe you'd like to try?

Food Challenge, Food Challenge

Choco-Coconut Oats, Etc.

Well kiddos, this week is going to be pretty brutal work-wise. I have phone conferences and meetings from 10:30am to 5:30pm straight-though tomorrow (the other days are looking pretty busy, too)! This means that I:

• will probably not be able to eat when I'm hungry (unless I have something in my desk because my phone headset doesn't reach the fridge and I will likely not have any breaks between meetings to go to the breakroom, thank goodness for snack bars like Larabar and Organic Food Bar!)
• will probably not be able to take bio breaks when I need (this just seems inhumane! I may have to sneak away during a call or two. A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do! All my co-workers are in the same boat and are pretty understanding, so I think I'll be ok)
• will be multi-tasking like a madwoman! (because people are always asking for things by EOD and if I'm on the phone all day, multi-tasking will be a must)

Since today was pretty long, I have another post ready to blog, but to keep things short (because I'm ready for bed!), I'm just going to share some food photos.

Breakfast was the shiznit!

Choco-Coconut Oats

Pre-cooking ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• pinch flaxseed
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp organic, unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tsp agave

Microwave 1 minute, stir, 1 minute again

Post-cooking ingredients:

• Sprinkle almonds on top
• Sprinkle coconut on top

Wow, this oat combo was fab! I think I have a new favorite! I'm already craving this for breakfast tomorrow!

Morningstar "soysage" on the side for extra protein so I wouldn't get hungry too early in the day.

Starbucks Monday - for Sbucks Monday, I got another Caramel Brulee latte with soy. Very sweet, but very tasty. I think Peppermint Mocha is still my fave holiday flavor (besides the pumpkin spice, of course) but I wasn't feeling cocoa in my coffee today.

A new healthy cafe opened up for another lunch option. I'm craving fast food less and less these days, especially for lunch, so its nice to have quality healthy options around.

I got the Popeye (roasted chicken, supposed-to-be-spinach-but-I-got-romaine, mozzarella, tomato sauce, on a spinach wrap) with a side of hummus and whole wheat pita and a green/peppermint unsweet tea. I decided to try the unsweet tea because the flavor sounded pretty tasty, but I don't like using artificial sweeteners and sugar just doesn't "melt" right in cold drinks. Turns out unsweet tea is pretty awesome. Why have I waited so long to try it? I mean, I drink my green tea sans sweetener at Dim Sum and all, but this was new.

Oh yea and the wrap and hummus were pretty awesome. I couldn't quite finish the hummus so I saved it for a snack for tomorrow.

This place would be a new favorite of mine if I ate out more. I'm hoping to make it more often because they have lots of yummy foods on the menu and I want to try them!

Zumba Debut

No, I didn't get a zumba class to lead as an instructor, but I did choreograph my first song! I did a belly-ish dance to Brit's Slave 4 U. I've been working with some fellow zumba instructors and our head instructor to polish the choreo, but tonight, I debuted my new dance TWICE!

I was sooo nervous. I definitely messed up the song the first time and a bit the second time, too, but I'm getting more comfortable with the choreo and leading the song, so it's all good. I'm just working out the kinks. ;)

I wasn't sure how the class would react. Would they love it? Hate it? Would they be able to follow the choreography...would they even want to try?

I don't know what the general class thought, but I did get some positive feedback from a couple of the "regulars" so I'll call that a win. One said she was getting caught up on one part, but was excited about practicing it so she could rock it out. I like her attitude!

Post zumba sushi dinner with the girls: miso soup, house salad w ginger dressing, cali roll with masago, tempura zucchini. This was just about the perfect amount of food for me. And pretty affordable, too! I like ordering small because it's easy on the wallet and I don't have to waste food (I HATE wasting food!).

A "secret" dessert ;)

I had about 10 things on my to-do list that aren't going to get done, including a recipe contest, but oh well, maybe I'll try out next time?

How was your Monday?

Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

The Thanksgiving Food Challenge 2009 Winner Is...

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my Thanksgiving Food Challenge this year!

I'll be doing another challenge in December for the holidays, so stay tuned for details on that challenge if you missed out on the Thanksgiving one.

I put the names of all the entries on a tiny piece of paper and then into a bowl.

Bailey wanted to help out, so I took him up on his offer.

He reached in...

...and picked our winner.

Can you see?

The Thanksgiving Food Challenge 2009 winner is...ERICA from Itzy's Kitchen! Congratulations Erica! Email me at thechiclife at gmail dot com to pick out your colors!

Thanks again to everyone who played and stay tuned for details on the Holiday Food Challnge 2009 (same idea as this Thanksgiving challenge, but for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other holiday you may be celebrating in December).

Food Challenge, Food Challenge, Holiday, Holiday

My New Stovetop Oats Pot

I don't know about you but when I get something new, I can't wait to break it out and play with it. This morning, I was super excited to test out the mini pot I got for making stovetop oats.

I eat oatmeal a couple times a week, on average, while hubby only has them once in a blue moon. I'd have to talk him into having oatmeal whenever I wanted stove top oats, which was not the easiest thing to do. The other pot I have was not non-stick and too large to make a single serving of oats, so I purchased this new one on Black Friday - a 1 quart non-stick just for stovetop oats for moi. The pot is a Simply Calphalon and was originally $39.99, marked down to $29.99 and around $20 after we used a Black Friday coupon. I love a good deal!

The pot proved to be the perfect size and made delicious oats to boot! It was even big enough to make a double-serving - 1 for me and 1 for hubby.

I brought 1 cup of lowfat organic milk to a boil over medium heat with a pinch of flaxseed and pinch of chia seed and pinch of salt.

Once boiling, I stirred in 1/2 cup of rolled oats and light drizzle of agave (about 1 tsp) and cooked about 4 minutes.

I poured 2 servings of oats into 2 bowls and added some toppings:

• dried cranberries
• pecan pieces
• toasted wheat germ
• drizzle maple syrup (for hubby)

Great cold-weather breakfast! I'm so glad I got my new mini pot...here's to many more bowls of stove top oats. Now I don't have to talk hubby into eating them for me to enjoy! lol

Breakfast, Shopping

Dinner at Basil Thai Restaurant

Some friends, Matt + Melissa, called Saturday afternoon with a suggestion of an impromptu dinner at Basil Thai Restaurant.

Since we hadn't seen them in awhile, we thought that sounded like a good idea.

We met our friends at the bar area where I spotted this giant container of pineapple soaking in (I believe) rum. Melissa told us the fruit and rum were used in the restaurant's signature pineapple mojito.

Upon sitting down, I knew I had to have one so I promptly ordered one of those pineapple mojitos.

We also ordered a couple apps to split among the table: chicken lettuce wraps

spring rolls

We also ordered a soup - Tom Kha Gai - Chicken Coconut (to split among the girls...the boys got their own soup)

The soup came out in a flaming silver dish. Luckily the waitress served us so we didn't have to risk burning ourselves.

The boys' soup looked pretty good, too (mixed seafood)...

...but us girls aren't big seafood fans so our coconut-y soup was perfect for us.

Group rice and Matt's whole fish dish with an edible flower.

I wanted one of my fave noodle dishes but hubby talked me into trying the Volcano Shrimp (served over wilted napa cabbage with steamed broccoli & cauliflower). They were quite tasty, but I still like my noodles best.

For dessert, I got something I haven't had in awhile - decaf coffee with a shot of Bailey's on the side. Oh wow, I had forgotten how good coffee with Bailey's is...YUM! I'm going to have to get one of these more often! I added a single pack of sugar and 1/2 the Bailey's per cup of decaf (two cups total). I love how the Bailey's is my creamer.

We ordered a couple desserts (they only had 2 to choose from!) to split among the table: fried green tea ice cream

...and a coconut custard. Two coconut dishes in one meal! That's different. I can hardly find a restaurant to get ONE! lol

The green tea dessert was ok, but the coconut custard was super yum.

My dessert sampler plate had a little bit of each. Well...a little of the ice cream and half the custard.

Such a great dinner with great friends and with a perfectly sweet ending to the evening!

Dessert, Dinner, Restaurant

Easy Afternoon - Movie, BBQ, Chocolate

Hubby and I enjoyed an easy afternoon with my dad and sister before heading out of town.

My dad and sister cooked up a delicious breakfast.

Blueberry pancakes (with blueberries from our blueberry-picking trip in the summer), scrambled eggs, home-fried potatoes, and some bacon leftover from the previous day.

I had my real maple syrup on the side with a dab of real butter melted in. I love dipping bites of pancakes into syrup.

Since we had some, I put whipped cream in me and hubby's coffees.

After breakfast, we all got ready (sans mom who was at work) and went out to see Ninja Assassin. My sister is black belt and loves these types of movies. The movie was waaaaaay more bloody than I thought it would be, but it was pretty good overall.

After the movie, we hit up a couple of my favorite things:

Henry's BBQ. I got my usual - the regular sandwich plate with fries and coleslaw.

Though this wasn't the healthiest choice...

I kept my portion small. I was only able to eat about half...of everything (see my "after" photo). Luckily, hubby helped me finish.

After lunch, we hit up another fave spot in town - The Chocolate Shoppe. We've been buying cookies and fudge here since I was a kiddo. Their chocolate chip cookies are some of the best I've ever had and their fudge is pretty awesome, too!

I got a free Snickerdoodle sample (yes a WHOLE cookie to sample!) when I went inside. I also got to try a pralined pecan. All so good, but I ended up leaving with 2 dark chocolate-caramel-walnut thingies (forgot the name).

My sister gave me a sample of the cookie she left with - Oatmeal (no chocolate chips, no raisins, just good ole chewy oatmeal). It was very tasty!

After our eating adventures, it was time for hubby and I to hit the road and head back home. See you next month, family!

Breakfast, Dessert, Lunch, Restaurant

Thanksgiving Leftovers to Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Tetrazzini (Healthified)

Ahh...the age old debate comes around again. What to make with all our Thanksgiving leftovers - especially the leftover turkey! My personal favorite use for leftover turkey is to make Turkey Tettrazini. I've tried a couple recipes over time but haven't really been 100% happy with any of them.

What's a girl to do but make up her own recipe? ;) I give you my take on Turkey Tettrazini - a healthified and from-scratch version.

I decided to add some extra veggies in addition to the norm mushrooms - celery and onion - two mild veggies.

Cooking up the mushrooms

Making the sauce.

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add lots of fresh parsley

Add the sauce.

Stir.

Add ingredients to a prepped casserole dish.

Smooth flat.

Top with breadcrumbs and fresh-grated parmesan.

Bake.

Enjoy with leftover Thanksgiving veggies...because you can never have enough veggies!

Maybe add a slice of leftover pumpkin pie to boot.

Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Tetrazzini (Healthified)
serves 4-6

NOTE: I searched high and low for the perfect recipe, but didn't find any I loved. This recipe is healthified than others I've seen by using whole wheat flour and less cream than traditional recipes. Add more cream for a richer flavor. This is also a healthier version than recipes that use cans of cream of <something> soups since you can control the ingredients and sodium levels better. Extra veggies are added through mild onions and celery.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups leftover turkey (dark and/or white meat) - chopped into bite sized pieces
• 8 oz dry linguine pasta
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
• 3 stalks celery, cleaned, chopped small
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• dash nutmeg
• salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook linguine following package directions, except cook pasta about 1-2 minutes less than recommended time (it will finish cooking when the casserole bakes in the oven). When pasta is done, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Add cooked pasta to a large mixing bowl when done.
3. Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium heat. When ready, add onions and celery and cook till veggies are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add veggies to large mixing bowl when done.
4. Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium heat. Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan. Add mushrooms and cook till mushrooms are tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add veggies to a large mixing bowl when done.
5. In same pan as mushrooms were cooked in, melt 2 tbsp in pan. Add flour to pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add sherry, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper (to taste), and cook till sauce is thick, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Add parsley to mixing bowl, then add sauce. Stir all ingredients together and pour into the prepared casserole dish. Smooth top flat. Evenly distribute the breadcrumbs (add or reduce amount of breadcrumbs to your liking).
7. Grate parmesan over breadcrumbs.
8. Optional step and ingredients - break small pieces of extra butter and spread out little pieces over top of casserole to help top brown.
9. Bake casserole for 30-40 minutes or until sides are bubbly (the top may not brown unless you do optional step #8 so look for signs of bubbling rather than the browned top for doneness)

The perfect use for Thanksgiving leftovers!

Dinner, Recipe

Black Friday "Fun"

Hubby woke up at 3am on Black Friday to buy some door buster items from Best Buy. Unfortunately, they RAN OUT of BOTH the items he wanted to buy (as if!) and had to return home empty-handed. I almost went with him, but thank goodness I didn't! My poor hubby had to wait outside in the cold for an hour and a half and didn't even buy anything. How "fun"?

We went back to bed and slept in till 10:30am! So much for hitting up Black Friday! lol We did wake up to a fabulous breakfast: oven-toasted Great Harvest whole wheat rolls, scrambled eggs, broiled bacon

We turned them into breakfast sammies (sans cheese - wow, I hardly even missed it!).

I went back for more. I really just wanted a roll with butter and honey, but the last bit of eggs was calling my name and I hate to waste food, so I ate them, too. I also had a banana.

Great shopping fuel!

Hubby and I did end up going to the mall afterall, but we didn't really buy anything. It was sort of a disappointment. We expected better sales.

I did find a gorgeous couch and chair set that was on sale for being floor models but we figured by the time we got the set back home, we would have paid full price anyways. Bummer! Fare-thee-well gorgeous couch set that I can't have. :( Hubby and I have been having the HARDEST time finding furniture we like, so I was happy to finally find something I liked for the formal living room, but disappointed that the set wasn't feasible for us. (I'm hoping we get lucky by finding the same set back home).

I did end up buying a couple things:

• a mini 1 quart Calphalon pot (for stovetop oatmeal for one)
• Bobbi Brown hydrating face cream (the only face lotion I use - this after testing hundreds of products as a teen)
• Bobbi Brown eye make up remover (no sting!)
• Bobbi Brown lip gloss in Aubergine (my official Winter lip color)

I ALWAYS hit up Bobbi Brown to restock my face goodies because they have the "holiday sizes" (larger sizes) during the holiday months and they're much more efficient (and last me all year).

I got a mini makeover while I was at the Bobbi Brown counter. A makeup artist applied the new holiday palette to my eyes and lips.

I LOVED the colors! I also liked that the lip colors had shea butter for extra moisturizing.

I almost bought the set but managed to hold myself back. The palette wasn't cheap and we have other things we need to buy now. :( Who knows...maybe Santa will bring it to me? ;)

Family photo!

Too bad hubby wasn't in this picture...we could have used these photos to make Christmas cards!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday? If so, what did you buy? Any good deals?

Breakfast, Doggie, Shopping

Thanksgiving - A Healthy Indulgence

Before I even thought of the Thanksgiving Challenge, I knew I wanted to do something on the healthy side this Thanksgiving. I decided that this year, we'd make Thanksgiving a "healthy indulgence." I knew I wanted to make over as many dishes as possible erring on the healthy side, for the health of me and my family. I even proposed my idea to Foodbuzz for 24, 24, 24, but alas...I did not win.

I told my family about my idea for a healthy Thanksgiving and they were very supportive. My dad is on a strict diet anyways, so in reality, a lighter Thanksgiving was really good for him. Not to mention thanks to my health-freak dad, my family already eats pretty healthily anyways. :)

The Prep Work

My whole family got together to cook. We had a great joint effort!

Sweet Potato Casserole - a healthy recipe my sister found online at eatingwell.com.

Dad's dressing. My dad actually shocked me by using white bread (he is the biggest anti-bleached-white-bread person I know!) in the dressing. Luckily, we used plenty of veggies and fresh herbs from my parent's garden.

After the turkey was done, the casserole and dressing cooked away.

My parents picked up some organic kale for me to cook.

I couldn't help but notice how pretty the water looked welled up in the back of the kale leaves as I washed them in the sink. So sparkly!

I blanched my kale before sauteing it with onion, garlic, and chicken broth

Pine nuts - toasting away to top the kale

Buttermilk mashed potatoes with a dab of real butter for flavor.

Gravy separator.

We used whole wheat pastry flour to make our gravy.

Tofu pumpkin pie! My sister used a flat blade to ensure the pumpkin pie was COMPLETELY flat. The pumpkin pies baked away while we enjoyed our dinner.

The Feast

A little Beaujolais Nouveau to enjoy with dinner

Passing the torch

Bailey was very attentive, though we did make him sit to the side.

Turkey

Makeover - Basted with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter

The Gravy

Makeover - as much fat skimmed away as possible and whole wheat pastry flour subbed for AP.

Dinner Rolls

Makeover - got fresh-baked rolls from Great Harvest Bread Company in whole wheat (they grind their own wheat and don't use preservatives!)

Green Beans

Makeover - steamed green beans instead of creamy (and heavy) green bean casserole

Potatoes #1

Makeover - roasted with extra virgin olive oil instead of mashed potatoes with lots of cream and butter

Potatoes #2

Makeover - mashed potatoes made with healthier buttermilk and with small dab of butter instead of lots of cream and butter.

Dressing

Makeover - made with veggies and fresh herbs to boost nutrition

Veggie Side #1

Makeover - used superfood kale sauteed with chicken broth and topped with toasted pine nuts, easy on the olive oil

Veggie Side #2

Makeover - steamed in microwave

Cranberry Sauce

Makeover - no makeover here...maybe next year?

Sweet Potato Casserole (click for recipe)

Makeover - made with whole wheat flour, low-fat milk, heart-healthy canola oil and waaaaay-easy on the butter

Tofu Pumpkin Pie (click for recipe)

Makeover - used tofu instead of eggs/milk/cream/cream cheese/etc.

Happy Eaters!

The Portions

I took a little bit of everything (as much as possible) for my Round #1 (see Easy Ways to Make Thanksgiving a Healthy Indulgence). Everything looked so good, I wanted to pile my plate with food! Instead, I forced myself to take tiny portions (look at the corn...that's like only 1 tbsp worth!) but I was hoping my tiny portions would pay me back with seconds.

Turns out I'm better at portioning than I thought because I was feeling pretty full after Round #1 and decided to hold off on Round #2 for awhile.

After relaxing at the table for a bit, I decided to go in for Round #2, but this time, I had one target in mind - that Sweet Potato Casserole. Yum!

After letting a couple hours go by, I was ready for dessert. Tofu Pumpkin Pie! I enjoyed dessert (with a bit of skim milk) while catching a movie (the new Star Trek) with the fam.

Slice #1

Slice #2

Holy wow is tofu pumpkin pie good or what?! It tastes just like regular pumpkin pie!

Hubby saw our recipe laying out and got freaked out by the pie.

I talked him into trying a tiny slice, doused with tons of whipped cream.

He actually got seconds (albeit another tiny piece with extra whipped cream, but still....a WIN IMO!)

Summary

I'm so pleased with Thanksgiving this year! The food was lighter and I still got to indulge without feeling horrible afterwards. The best part...my family got to enjoy the healthy indulgence, too!

What a wonderful thanksgiving with family and great food! So much to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Dessert, Dinner, Doggie, Holiday

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun

Hubby and I got to my parent's house around lunchtime on Thanksgiving.

Hubby and I enjoyed a light soup lunch.

My dad insisted I try some new cheddar dip he got. I really just wanted to try the crackers! I've been wanting to try these Back to Nature Organic Stoneground Wheat crackers for awhile. They were very good! I'll have to look for them in the stores so I can diversify from the usual Kashi crackers.

The weather outside was beautiful! Sunny and cool.

I decided to stay inside and work on some zumba moves in my PJ's:

Zumbalicious! Oh yea! Working up an appetite for dinner! :)

Following one of my Healthy Thanksgiving Eating Tips, I also made sure to drink lots of water to curb any potential overeating.

Hubby, my sister, and I played with Bailey outside. Frisbee time!

Ok, mostly they played with Bailey and I took photos. ;)

After our fun time, it was time to get down to business! The cooking!

Up next, Thanksgiving festivities...

Doggie, Exercise, Lunch, Snack