Thanksgiving + Wedding Weekend

Two of the reasons we came home were Thanksgiving and my cousin’s wedding. These events made for a pretty marvelous weekend and, even though I’ve said it 100 times already, I’m so glad we could come home for it.

Leading up to Thanksgiving was pretty great too; we had dinner with friends last week and went to hang out at their house afterward. You can tell I’m not used to the cold weather anymore because as soon as we walked in, I stole her warmest clothes. And then she handed me a glass of sparkling wine.. that’s a good friend right there!

Yep, that glass says “She Said Yes!” Ha.

I did a pretty poor job of actually getting pictures of Thanksgiving festivities, but I did get a picture of some of my prep and a little post-turkey day lunching.

My favorite homemade dessert!

Roasty veggies are the best leftovers!

I got some more quality time with my little girl.. it’s so fun now that she’s really starting to recognize me!

Lap time is pretty much my fave.

“Ok, I’ll stand still for about 3 seconds so you can take a picture.”

And of course, there was the wedding which was almost as beautiful as the bride!

Kirk is one lucky guy!

I love this girl; she’s not a cousin that I grew up knowing too well, but when she moved to Baltimore a couple of years ago, we really got to know each other and she’s fantastic. And her shiny new husband, Kirk, is such a perfect match for her. I miss hanging out with them.. it’s always such a treat when we come into town. Kirk, by the way, had the best reaction when she walked down the aisle. Quivering lips and all.. it was so sweet.

Wish I got a better shot of his expression!

I also wish I got more pictures of the night, but hey, that’s what happens when you’re dancing like crazy! [I totally smacked the photographer.. whoops!]

What a weekend! And now it’s time I get my body used to eating a normal amount of food again. I’m thinking this card describes my thoughts..

Our meal plan this week isn’t so exciting in terms of actual cooking, but I’m sure we’ll find some pretty exciting food to eat when we meet up with our friends!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Carry out Thai
Monday – Grilled feta chicken with Israeli couscous salad
Tuesday – Out with friends
Wednesday – Out with friends
Thursday – Jilly’s first birthday!
Friday – Out with friends
Saturday – Out with friends

Food for Thought

How was your Thanksgiving?
Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?

We’re Home!

It was a pretty uneventful weekend after a looong week last week. Saturday we caught up on some much-needed r&r and got ready to hit the road.. or sky. Whichever you prefer. It was a laundry, packing, eat-everything-in-the-fridge kinda day.

Yesterday was more relaxing than a typical flying day too. Our flight wasn’t until 4:45 p.m. so we actually got to sleep in, hit the gym, and have a quiet morning. It was nice to be able to take our time and not get up and rush out the door. That said, we landed in Baltimore at 1 a.m. EST. Nathan and I didn’t mind so much because it was 10 p.m. for us. My parents, on the other hand, are the best. They dragged themselves out the door to pick us up dark and early! Let’s be honest though.. it wasn’t so much dragging as it was bouncing from excitement 😉

I couldn’t be more excited for this trip home. I can’t wait to see some of my favorites..

The sweetest picture ever.

I’m looking forward to stuffing my face with my entire family on Thanksgiving.

There will be LOTS of deep fried turkey carving!

I’m so, so happy to be able to be there when my cousin gets married on Saturday!

My favorite picture of the 4 of us..

And, of course, I can’t wait to celebrate my little bean’s first birthday.

Look how teeny she was!

Can’t believe it’s already been a year..

Ironically enough, we’re going to be celebrating our 1 year in California while we’re back in Baltimore.. but I’m ok with that. It’s going to be a good 2 weeks, my friends. And it’s a great way to start my week, for sure. No meal planning this week.. it’s a play-by-ear till Thursday. Fine. By. Me.

Food for Thought

If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, are you able to be with your family?

Five Things Friday {9/19}

Yesterday was wonderful. It was a quiet day off from work and was able to just relax and take my time getting things together in hopes to grow my personal training business.

1. Speaking of personal training, I ordered my business cards and I’m pretty excited about how they turned out!
   
2. I also got my official business license in the mail. It’s so weird to me that I’m now a business owner. Whoda thunk?! Now I just have to make that baby business grow!
3. I made a really delicious snack. One of my favorite things about staying home during the week is playing with my food, especially when I want a snack. Instead of reaching for a bar, I check out my fridge and throw together stuff like this..
   
   I microwaved 1/8 cup quinoa with 1 tbsp almond butter for 10 seconds, stirred that together and added 1/2 cup greek yogurt, then topped it with a little NuNaturals cocoa syrup. I’ve had the syrup for probably 2 months now and hadn’t opened it until yesterday. Why did I wait so long?! That was a really tasty snack!
4. Wedding pictures came in from Jessie and Adam’s wedding a few weeks ago. Let’s just say I win.
   
   It’s really a shame I had such a terrible time. Don’t Stop Believin’ is my jam.
5. And speaking of wedding pictures, our album proof was emailed yesterday [I know, it took us foreverrr] and I’m in love!
   
   This was one of our favorite pictures and they made it into a full 2-page spread. I can’t wait for the real deal to come in!

The weather’s been gorgeous here lately and I’m looking forward to soaking up on sun this weekend. Happy Friday, friends!

Food for Thought

Any fun plans this weekend?

Happy Father’s Day!

Really, if Father’s Day could have just waited another 2 weeks, I’d be home to celebrate with my dad!

I know, Dad, I’m excited too! 🙂 I’m also excited for my brother to be celebrating his very first Father’s Day with my his little nugget.

I’m gonna squeeze and smooch that little girl so much when I get home! Hard to believe we were little once too..

And of course I can’t forget these guys..

It’s going to be so great to spend time with my grandparents too!

And while I can’t be there today to celebrate Father’s Day with them, I will be there in 2 weeks celebrating at an Orioles game with one of my favorite baseball partners.

So for now, let’s just imagine a big Father’s Day hug..

Wishing you the best Father’s Day ever, Dad! Can’t wait to see you in 2 weeks!

Link Love #18: My Top 5

Happy New Years Eve!! Wow, I can’t believe the year is over.. it seems like it just began. It’s time to wrap this baby up and look forward to creating new goals [and achieving them!], new experiences, and new memories. I usually use my link love posts to share some of my favorite posts from the blogosphere, but in the spirit of wrapping up this year, I thought I’d share my top 5 most popular posts and my top 5 favorites from this past year.

Most Popular

5. What I Ate Wednesday #4 – 5 Day Slim Down Edition!

That’s a tasty pineapple protein pancake!

I most certainly have some Tone It Up ladies to thank for this being up there in numbers! People seriously want to know about that slim down. It’s no joke.. you need to be really dedicated and if you are, it really works!

4. Spaghetti Squash Kugel

Definitely making this again soon!

Between Passover and all of the Paleo and low carb diets, it’s no wonder this recipe was a hit! And have you ever had kugel? YUM! Give me my kitchen!

3. Recipe Remix: Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Ooh baby! I almost forgot about these.

I love my sweet breakfasts and anyway I can sneak a little veggie in there makes it that much more perfect.

2. Foodie Friday: Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Everything is better with peanut butter!

My first attempt at protein bites and they were a delicious success! I definitely recommend this recipe.

1. Minty Irish Powerballs

The perfect mix of chocolatey, nutty, and minty!

How do you make a protein bite better? Use your homemade nut butter 😉

My Top 5 Recipe Posts

Eggy Quinoa Stuffed Squash
Coconut Flour Pancake Variations
Homemade Cashew Butter
Buddha’s Feast
Chipotle Lime Sweet Potato Tofu Burgers

My Top 5 Life Posts

Hitched
Dealing With Doubt
I’m grateful for…
The “S” Word
Baltimore Bucket List and Big News!

My Top 5 What I Ate Wednesday Posts

#44: Wine in Italy
Quick Honeymoon Update
#45: The Wedding Food
#59: Ten Years Gone
#64: The First Weekend

Food for Thought

Do you have an all-time favorite post from this past year?
Any big plans for NYE?

What I Ate Wednesday #46: We Drank Too Much

Have you entered my Chobani giveaway?

Asheville, NC is awesome. Nathan and I went down a few years ago for a friend’s wedding and were psyched when my cousin said that’s where she would be getting married. Immediately we started looking up restaurants and breweries that we wanted to try.. turns out there were far too many for the 2 1/2 days that we would be there, but we certainly put a nice dent in ’em!

The wedding was on Sunday so we had planned on leaving Saturday morning around 7 am so we could get there around 3 pm. We wanted to have time to explore and relax. When the groom sent out an email about a brewery tour on Saturday starting at 12 pm, our plans quickly changed. Up a 4 am and out the door by 5? Done.

And so began a weekend of beer.

Saturday

[Breakfast]
On the go! Friday I made 2 batches of my favorite oats and threw one in the fridge to grab and go for the ride. Best decision ever. I topped it with some nut & seed butters and we hit the road.

[Lunch]
We powered through our drive with just a couple of rest stops and made it to Asheville for lunch! Chai Pani was calling our name; we love Indian food! I got the Tandoori Chicken Salad and Nathan had the Kathi Kabab Roll. The salad itself was pretty good but the chicken stole the show. Nathan’s wrap was full of flavor.. I pretty sure he liked it because I only got one little taste.

[Brewery Tour]
First: Wedge Brewing. I had the flemish style brown ale and it was delicious. Nathan had the witbier and enjoyed it equally as much. We quickly learned that we should be ordering samplers.
Second: Pisgah Brewing. A flight of their finest, of course. Not as good as Wedge, but still quite tasty. The barleywine was my fave!
Third: French Broad Brewing Co. They had a huge selection to choose from! We got another sampler but I forgot to snap a picture of this one. I did, however, get a picture of their Eat Bertha’s Mussels bumper sticker on the wall. BALTIMORE REPRESENT!
Fourth: Highland Brewing. Yet another sampler and a blurry one at that! It may have been a little telling of how I was feeling at this point 😉 Good thing you can’t see it on our faces, right……?

The tour ended at Barley’s Taproom where we met up with the rest of the crowd and everyone had dinner. Nathan and I, however, had other plans for dinner. We do our research 🙂

[Dinner]
We were totally stuffed from all of the drinks [and snacks at Barley’s.. whoops!] but we made our way to The Market Place Restaurant for a very tasty dinner. We split an appetizer not on the menu; an assortment of fresh mushrooms baked with a crispy topper. Delish! I had the ahi tuna appetizer for my dinner and Nathan ordered the parpadelle pasta with braised lamb. Both were extremely tasty, I just wish I was hungrier so I could have ordered a full dinner!

Sunday

Clearly after the first day, I needed to get in a workout. Luckily the hotel had a gym.. it may have only been one elliptical and one working treadmill, but how many machines does one person need? No drinking till the wedding. Seriously.

[Breakfast]
Eggs Benny. The beauties in the picture actually had to be sent back though.. they were practically hard boiled eggs! No worries, I got a new order and they were awesome! Served over a homemade english muffin, sauteed swiss chard, and country ham.

[Lunch]
Ok, so we lied. We ended up at Wicked Weed Brewing and had to get a sampler. I was most excited for the Coolcumber and for good reason. So good! I had their smoked turkey sandwich with grilled mozzarella, arugula, and cranberry. It was quite tasty and definitely hit the spot.

[Dinner]
Wedding! Like a bad blogger, I didn’t take any pictures, but there was a buffet of chicken, beef, asparagus, salad, and more. Plus cupcakes for dessert! Yum 🙂

Monday

Again, I had to hit the gym! We had a big day of traveling ahead of us and I wanted to start off on the right foot.

[Breakfast]
Sunny Point Cafe. And more poached eggs! It came with 2 veggie sausage patties that tasted just like regular sausage and a nice flaky biscuit.

Before lunch we took a nice drive along Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful and I wish we had more time [and better weather] to hike, but we had to get to work the next day!

[Lunch]
Foothills Brewing. We’re the worst at avoiding beer but I’ll use the excuse that it was either there or McDonalds. I got an awesome portabello wrap with a little hefeweizen on the side. I had to continue the theme of the weekend.

[Dinner]
We made a pit stop in Richmond to meet up with Brittany and her shiny, new husband, Isaac, at one of their favorite restaurants, Mekong. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant that was named the #1 beer bar in America. I ordered the tofu clay pot and started with an Allagash Curieux. The food was great but the beer was better! And Isaac and Nathan were so cute talking about beer 😉

It was so great to see Brittany again and it was fun to catch up on both of our weddings and honeymoons. It’s a shame we don’t live closer!

After a long weekend of great food, great beer, and a great wedding, it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I’m sure this is why we stayed in so much this past weekend.. no complaints here though!

Food for Thought

When you’re traveling, do you go out of your way to find the best restaurants or bars?

What I Ate Wednesday #45: The Wedding Food

Nathan and I took the wedding menu very seriously. Very seriously. My family and friends always refer to us as the foodies so we knew that we couldn’t go with the typical “chicken or steak” option. We searched high and low for the right caterer [really.. ask my mom ;)] and decided on Chef’s Expressions. They were the most creative and had the most exciting ideas. It also didn’t hurt that we had been to a wine dinner they had a couple years ago so we knew the food was fabulous.

My dad said during the whole planning process, “all you really need is good food and good music.” And it’s true, the comments about how wonderful the food was were just flying in!

Butler Passed Hors d’oeuvres

Crispy Peking Duck Chopsticks
Thin spring roll wrapper surrounding five spice glazed duck with a smokey candied ginger hoisin.

Roasted Beets
Chopped with shiitake mushrooms and finished with a meyer lemon vinaigrette, served on a silver spoon.

Kimchee Dim Sum
Spicy napa cabbage and bok choy wrapped in a dumpling, steamed and served on a bamboo steamer with a sweet carrot and mirin dipping sauce.

Gunpowder Bison au Poivre
Tenderloin of bison, quick sauteed in green peppercorns and cabernet, served on a crispy crostini with a dollop of caramelized onion confit.

Grilled Tuna
Loin of tuna grilled and served on a silver fork with mache and sweet pickled cucumber.

Chicken and Waffles
Crispy chicken bites served in a thin waffle cone, drizzled with honey mustard dressing.

The beets and kimchee dim sum were definitely my favorites. They were full of flavor and so different from the typical vegetarian options you see. Nathan was all about the chicken and waffles. It was an idea that I’d seen on Pinterest [thankyouverymuch] and I knew it would be perfect for him!

Dinner is Served!

First Course
Poached pear filled with farmers cheese and orange segments, sprouting a mix of fresh baby greens, and a side of sweet spring pea and mint soup topped with creme fraiche.

Second Course
Roulade of Mid-Atlantic turbot filled with diced vegetable confetti, with roasted asparagus, coconut sambal sauce, and a tempura battered scallion.

Entree
Grilled black angus loin in a chimichurri sauce with a potato and herb rosette and broccolini and plum tomato brulee.

The poached pear and soup were incredible. We had so many comments about the pear in particular and I was more than happy to see that we had a few to take home with us 😉 The coconut sambal sauce on the turbot was also outstanding. It was chock full of flavor and, again, nothing like you would normally get at a wedding! The steak was perfectly cooked and deliciously tender. Overall, a fabulous meal and I would highly recommend Chef’s Expressions to anyone looking.

Cutting the Cake

Full Moon
Bourbon Madagascar vanilla and real vanilla beans.

Brownie Sundae
Brownie cupcake with vanilla bean and chocolate icing, topped with a cherry.

Apple Crostata
Apple pie a la mode in a cupcake.

Banana Pudding
Scrumptious banana cupcake with homemade vanilla custard filling and bruleed meringue frosting, topped with a mini nilla wafer.

Bananas Foster Cake Topper
Bananas foster sandwiched between two layers of banana cake, wrapped in vanilla bean frosting.

Cupcakes won our hearts from the very beginning and Midnite Confections Cupcakery has the best. It was a really tough job choosing flavors; we were constantly trying new flavors of cupcakes and they were all so delicious.. what a life! It took us a good month to choose our final 4 flavors and then we had to decide on our custom cake topper, but after having the Banana Pudding cupcake, we had a pretty good idea. The cake topper was perfect; so much so that with a full mouth at the wedding I yelled “THIS IS AMAZING!!” I have no shame.

Everything was absolutely perfect. I can’t imagine a better menu or execution for my wedding and I’m so pleased with the way everything turned out.

Food for Thought

If you’re married, was food a big decision in your planning? And if you’re not married, do you plan on putting a lot of effort into your menu?

*All photos courtesy of Artful Weddings by Sachs Photography. Another highly recommended wedding vendor!

Hitched

WE DID IT!!

We’re finally married! It was an incredible day that flew by just as everyone told us it would. I couldn’t have imagined anything better but now it’s time to pack up and head out with my husband!

Enjoy the guest posts and I will see you in 2 weeks 😉 Au revoir and arrivederci!

No Big Deal

I know I’ve left you high and dry recently, but I promise it’s all for a good reason..

I’m getting married tomorrow!!

It’s true.. this cute guy and I are going to be walking down the aisle tomorrow evening and then jet-setting to France and Italy for two weeks. It’s a tough life we live, but hey, someone’s gotta do it! 😉

In the meantime, I’ve asked a few of my favorite bloggers to write guest posts while I’m gone. Hope you enjoy the tasty treats they’ve prepared and shared and I will see you when I’m a married lady!

Can you tell I’m excited?!

What I Ate Wednesday #43: Bachelorette Style

Whoa.. it’s definitely been too long! The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind and with the wedding in 11 days [holy crap!], I don’t see anything slowing down any time soon. My most recent whirlwind kicked off with my bachelorette party in New York City. It was so much fun and completely exhausting. But of course, I dove into some tasty treats while we were there!

Saturday

[Breakfast]
Protein oats and coffee. I was in for a long day on Saturday and I knew I was going to need something substantial to get me through all of the drinking excitement.. which promptly started at 9am with mimosas on the bus!

[Lunch]
I had planned to go to Green Symphony which was right around the corner from the theater where we were going to see Avenue Q [so funny!]. Fresh juices and smoothies, salads, wraps, sandwiches.. what could be bad? Except for the place being closed..

Sushi it is! And a large cocktail. I had no complaints on the change of plans!

[Post-Show Pit Stop]
Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes. These itty bitty bite-sized cupcakes were so cute and SO delicious! I got French Toast, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and Peanut Butter Cup [obviously].. 3 for me and 3 for Nathan. His barely made it home to him 😉

[Dinner]
Rosa Mexicano. Their guacamole, made table-side, is incredible. I couldn’t get enough of it! The skinny margaritas and grilled fish were fantastic also. The fish came with a creamy corn dish and beans on the side and some homemade corn tortillas. I was a happy camper!

Sunday

The next morning, a few of us woke up bright and early [like 6:30am early!] for a SoulCycle class. I had to.. I was in New York and I’ve heard so many awesome things about SoulCycle that I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity! It was totally worth the crack-of-dawn wake up call.

[Brunch]
Greensquare Tavern. I highly recommend this place! They have a la carte dishes, but most of us went for the pre fixe.. an entree, unlimited coffee, and 2 drinks of your choice [mimosa, bloody mary, or screwdriver]. It also comes with a bread/muffin basket which was promptly devoured. I’m talking seconds!

I ordered the Eggs Provençale and 2 mimosas.. it totally hit the spot! I can’t say no to a poached egg.

It was such a great weekend and I’m so glad my friends could make the trip with me! [And also let me steal some.. or lots.. of their pictures!] 😉

Food for Thought

Have you been to NYC? What is your favorite place to eat?