My Favorite Things

Let me tell you about my newest addiction. It's bad, I waste too much time on it and it causes me to take on projects that I can't really do or can't finish anytime soon... it's Pinterest! Holy smokes, if you use it, you know exactly what I'm talking about! I don't know what is more fun: finding new ideas for my home, fashion, and the children that I don't have yet, or seeing the number of my pins getting bigger and bigger, like it's some accomplishment! Either way, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things I've found recently. You'll notice they're all ideas for my home, many outdoors - I may be getting cabin fever.

I'm loving teal right now and would absolutely die if I had a table like this one in my front room!

Pop of color which is great in a home like mine that has so much brown & beige!

Love the ruffles that are going on here - I could totally pull this off with twin sheets

If you ever come to my home, you'll see that I like antiques - I'm dying over this cute 'coffee table'

In the process of making something like this right now!

I can't tell you how many dressers I saw on Craigslist for free this summer that looked like this - it's great to see how much a couple coats of paint can do!

I love the look of the flowers in an antique box - I found an old cheese box at an antique store just the other day that would be darling all dressed up

Utility sink - yes please! 

Source: Uploaded by user via Jessica on Pinterest

Prioritizing - My 5-Step Plan

Generally I only blog about things that involve my home life, but it's important to me that I share what I learn and use throughout every aspect of my life. This is what balancing is all about, and as a working woman, I understand that it can feel like a balancing act at times. 

I'm sorry, how many hats am I going to wear today? 

This is where prioritizing comes into play; it helps so much at work (and home) and keeps me sane!

Take today for example; I had a few things on my plate (to say the least). I found myself first thing in the morning getting flustered which was then causing me to be demotivated. What do I do when I get flustered and demotivated you ask? Well, one of two things could happen; I could either get organized and prioritize my day, or I could mentally check out and resent the world (sounds like a teenager now that I think about it). Naturally going with the first (although I will admit, I can fall into the slump of the second at times) I was able to get on track and be ready to face the day after about 20 minutes of personal prep time. 

There are five steps that I go through to get prepared for the workday:

1. Pull up all of my 'systems' on my computer that I'll need in order to face the day (in addition to job specific programs, I use Outlook and OneNote obsessively often)

2. Review my daily calendar and reschedule any conflicts. I also print a copy to have on hand throughout the day.

3. Go through e-mail and sort by category (see below)

4. Type up any notes on my desk that are left from the day before (OneNote is a great program to learn and live by)

5. Create a prioritization list and print a copy to have on hand throughout the day

When it comes to prioritizing, I find that I do best when I write down a list. This way I can keep track of what I need to be doing throughout the day (my memory is horrible), and it's extremely gratifying to see so many lines highlighted as you go.

One more note about my e-mails; I mentioned that I use a 3-category method. I go through each email and I will either trash it, file it away in a folder, or categorize it. These are the categories that I use:

1. Reply - These emails will take some research 

2. Delegate - I will need to get assistance with this 

3. Reply Immediately - I can respond within 2 minutes or less

I cannot tell you how effective this is for me in getting through my 75+ emails a day! My goal by the end of the day is to have 10 or less emails in my inbox. This little system is also very helpful when you've been out of the office and need to catch up on your emails. 

Until next time... 

Lunch Staple - Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Day 8 of my diet and it's going great! I can't tell you how important it is to plan your meals ahead of time, and prepare your food. There have been multiple times that I've failed on this diet after just a few days because I am rushed to get out the door, don't grab food, and then refuse to eat anything because there are carbs in abundance when you work downtown and only have fast food joints nearby. This means I don't eat, and when I don't eat, I get hangry! The moral of the story is plan and prepare, if not for yourself, for everyone around you. Trust me, they notice!

One of the things that I love to eat (and is super low in carbs) is Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Yes, this is another South Beach recipe! I can't help it, they have fantastic recipies; I just love their food! This recipe is great to make on the weekend, and lasts me throughout the week. Did I mention it's fast and cheap too? You have to try it!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

1 (2 lbs) head cauliflower
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp salt
4 Cups water
1/4 Cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried parsley flakes to garnish

 Directions:


Cut cauliflower and stems into 1/4-inch pieces

Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat

Add onion & cook until softened (this takes about 5 minutes

Add cauliflower & 1/2 tsp salt; cover & cook for 5 minutes

Add water, cover, bring to a simmer, & cook until cauliflower is tender

Puree vegetables and cooking liquid in a blender or food processor until smooth, or use a hand blender (I
use a blender and pulse, but please remember to put a dishtowel over it to protect yourself, the steam can quickly build and soup can come flyin' out and burn you if you're not careful!)

Return to pot and whisk in sour cream and nutmeg. Season with salt & pepper, top with parsley, and serve

 Enjoy!

Dinner, South Beach Style

Okay, so like I said before, one of my New Years resolutions is to lose weight this year. One thing that you have to know about me is that I like love bread and sweets. Really, it's my downfall because I swear, my body converts it to fat faster than you can say "mmmmmm, doughnut." That being said, I found the South Beach Diet years ago, and I swear by it. Really it's not a diet, it's a way of eating, and I get to eat yummy food, which is a total plus! When I was about a year away from getting married, I stared Phase 1 and was completely commited. I lost a little over 10 pounds in 2 weeks, and was able to keep the weight off. Let's not talk about the cliche' of post wedding, being lazy spending all your time hanging out, eating bad-for-you food! Let's just say, I'm back in the position where I need to clean up my diet, get active, and get back in shape.

Back to my excitment of being able to eat good food, we tried a new recipe from the South Beach Diet cookbook yesterday: Warm Beef Salad. Oh, was it tasty! We added in some slivered almonds, but beyond that everything was just as it was in the recipe. One thing to keep in mind is that the dressing tastes bright right out of the bottle, but it really complements the salad once on.

Warm Beef Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds flank steak, 1" thick

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups mixed greens

4 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 small red onion, thinly spliced and separated into rings

1/2 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions

Heat grill to high. Grill steak 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 5 minutes; slice thin.

Place lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, and oil in a jar with a lid. Close tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Place greens in a large mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the dressing, and toss to coat.

Divide greens among 4 serving plates, top with steak, tomato wedges, onion, feta, and almons, and serve!

P.S. I'm currently on day 3 and I've already lost a little over 2 pounds! It's the little win's you need to celebrate!

2012 New Year Resolutions

Oh 2011, where have you gone? I swear, it was just yesterday when I greeted you with lofty aspirations of moving to a new state (check), getting a new job (check), losing weight (is there an opposite to a check mark?), reading the Bible all the way through (nope, didn’t do that either), graduating from school (check!!!) and others I’m sure. 

Yes, the year has gone by quickly, and now I’m left sitting here at the end of the year wondering what will come in 2012. I have to say, I have VERY lofty ambitions for this year, some I dare not say in fear that they may not come true! It’s not like a wish though, if I want my ‘resolutions’ or ‘goals’ to come true, then I have to make it happen. So here it is, some of my goals for 2012.

·         Lose 50 pounds (yes mother, I have gotten that big since you’ve last seen me)

·         Gain some of it back... when we start a family :-) (yes mother, hopefully we get to the point this year when we’re ‘ready’ so that you can ‘finally’ be a grandmother) P.S. God, if we could have twins - one boy and one girl - and just get it over with, I’d be delighted. Thanks! Oh and never mind if Marty says otherwise, he agrees. I told him so! 

·         Payoff debt (school is too darn expensive these days!)

·         Stop drinking soda (well at least stop drinking it like water) 

·         Travel with family, and to see family (I know, it’s been some time since I’ve seen some of you... the pendulum goes both ways though. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.)

·         Explore Minnesota, which in essence means to get away from the television and do some fun stuff outside (I would love to white water raft and snorkel, even though I have a deathly fear of cold dark water. This ought to be a riot!)

·         Organize my home (having a bigger home means that there’s more space to stash stuff. True story.)

·         Decorate my home (new home = brown and beige, where’s the color?!) and work on landscaping 

·         Read the Bible all the way through (this year it WILL happen)

·         Collect all of the genealogy that my family has completed so I can say I finished my family genealogy (okay, I may give it a once over just to validate a little) 

I just realized that I have a couple comments on my mother in there, Freudian slip! Much love to you mom, take it as a complement! 

Okay, so now that my goals are out there for all the world to see, let’s make it happen! Well, maybe next week... 

Drumroll please...

It's official! We're buying our house tomorrow!! I'm so excited I could just squeal! Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points. Okay, so I don't have great photos, but here's what the front looks like.

The hubby is over there today taking a look, making sure everything is good to go and they put our sod in, and our cute little boulevard tree! I have to be honest, I'm a little scared I'm going to kill it all! I don't know the first thing about taking care of a yard. Guess I'll figure it out fast though, right?!

 I just can't wait to sign for it tomorrow and get the key! More photos to come!!

Couples Shower - Success!

One of my best friends is getting married (YAY!), and although her wedding party and family are out in California, I wanted to throw her and her fiance' a couples shower to celebrate. Things are too crazy to handle a bit hectic right now, but with a little planning and organizing, things went off without a hitch. I'll have to post some photos later on, but for now I'll just paint a mental picture for you. Their wedding colors are purple and green (so popular and cute right now!), so I stuck what that for the decorations - balloons, tablecloths, napkins, etc. 

Since we were planning on feeding a lot of people, we decided to make something easy something really delicious for everyone, our chicken enchilada recipe, spanish rice, and refried beans. Our co-host made a salad, we brought chips, salsa and guacamole, and cupcakes for dessert. Don't forget about the drinks though! To make it easy we bought pre-mixed margaritas, sangria, water, and a bunch of soda. Menu, check. 

For games, we wanted to do something fun for everyone, so we played some beer pong (in the living room since it was raining), the shoe game, and ended playing Bonsai. 

Mix that with some music and we all had a great time!

Now, what you've been waiting for - the recipes! Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Body For Life Cookbook. Yes, it's a diet food. No, it's not gross, in fact, it's delicious! The recipe says it serves 4, but my husband and I like to eat, it it easily serves 6!

1 pound chicken breast
About 4 TB. taco seasoning
4 green onions, slices
2 TB. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (we leave this out, ew!)
3 cans (10 ounces each) green enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tomato, diced
1 can sliced ripe olives

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the chicken and taco seasoning (don't measure, just eyeball it) in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Drain the chicken and let cool, then shred with forks.

In a skillet coated with cooking spray, add the green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno and saute for 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is heated through.

Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes, or until warm. Dip each tortilla in the enchilada sauce and fill with 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the baking dish.

Pour remaining heated sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Divide the lettuce among 4 plates, place 2 enchiladas on each plate and top with a spoonful of salsa, sour cream and tomatoes and olives. Serve and Enjoy!

Variation: If you like cheesier enchiladas, you can add cheese inside the enchiladas as well!

Super Easy Spanish Rice

1 cup medium grain rice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 can tomato sauce, small
5 cups water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic salt


Slowly brown rice in oil. When rice is browned, add tomato sauce and water. Add all seasonings next. Get rice boiling, then lower the heat to a slow, rolling boil. Cover and let cook for 30 mins. Do not stir.

Refried Beans

2 lg. cans refried beans
Queso Fresco

Heat up beans on the stove, top with crumbled cheese, hide the cans. Enjoy!