Sweetest Day

Wow.
When I woke up yesterday morning, I thought the biggest news of the day was that I was going to darken my hair color. I went to work, then left at noon to go the the salon. While I was at the salon, a car crashed through the window in the front of the salon! I was in the middle of having my hair colored at the time, so I'm pretty amazed that it came out alright. :) The lady who crashed her car ended up being my colorist's next door neighbor who actually had an appointment with my colorist! She had a cast on her right foot and apparently hit the gas instead of the break as she was trying to park. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
After my hair appointment, I was apparently a little distracted, because I accidentally locked my keys in the car when I got home, along with my purse and phone! I ended up making friends with my new downstairs neighbor because I had to wait until 5:30 for Benjy to get home. (Yes, I am departing from my usual pet name for my sweetie, for reasons that will become apparent....)
After that, we had some cheese and crackers (I'd locked my snack in the car too) and got ready to go to the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. When we left, I called my friend Anne, who was going to be at the bar, and said "You won't believe the crazy stories I have to tell you about today!" Little did I know!
Benjy had been saying all week that he was really excited to go see the hotel because it is a historic New Orleans hotel that has just been reopened. (Benjy is really into New Orleans history and culture.) Apparently Huey P. Long, a noteworthy New Orleans politician, spent a lot of time there in the 20's and Benjy told me that they had restored his old suite on the 10th floor and marked it with a plaque with an "H" on it. We were supposed to meet everyone at 7, but we got there about 10 minutes early, and so Benjy said "Let's go see if we can find his room!" We went up to the tenth floor and Benjy led me down the hall saying "You're supposed to go left, then right, and the room is at the end of the hall." I was gamely walking down the hall thinking it was cute how much he loves New Orleans history. Well, we got to the end of the hall and I was looking around for the plaque, and feeling kind of confused because I didn't see one. Benjy took out a room key and said "I lied!"

He opened the door into a beautiful suite with rose petals scattered on the floor and a table with roses in a vase and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket...He sat me down and then got down on one knee and proposed!!!!! I'm engaged!!!! I was so surprised and happy! (I cried, of course.) :)

The set up

When Benjy proposed, he gave me a beautiful round diamond that belonged to his mother. Today, we went to Symmetry Jewelers and I chose a design for my ring. It is so beautiful!! Symmetry Jewelers is known for their hand crafted rings, especially those designed by Tom Mathis. Each ring is individually manufactured in their shop, and all of their designs were gorgeous. It was really hard to decide which one to get, but I am so happy with the one I chose! My ring will be ready on November 20th! I can't wait to wear it!

Of course, all my friends were in on the surprise, and after I called all my family and Benjy's family and out of town friends, we joined them in the Sazerac bar. I was talking to my friends when all of the sudden, Mom and Dad walked into the bar!! I was so surprised that I started crying again!

Calling everyone!!

Benjy had also gotten a chocolate and raspberry cake from Sucre that said "Happily Ever After" so we all went upstairs and had cake and champagne. My parents called it a night after that because they had to drive back to the coast, but the rest of us ate at the Sazerac Bar restaurant then hung out in the bar for a while after that.

After we went to bed, I couldn't sleep very well because I was too excited and happy. I kept waking up and thinking about everything that happened! I think I got about 4 hours of sleep, total. So I am pretty tired today. :) This morning we ordered room service and sat around enjoying the suite- it was lovely.

The view from our room this morning

After breakfast, we went home, walked the dogs, and went to pick out my ring.

I keep feeling like I should pinch myself because everything was so wonderful and I just can't believe it's real. It was the best day ever. :)

My wonderful fiance

Foodie Week and a Great Weekend

I wanted to share a few recipes I tried out this week that were really good. I mixed things up for breakfast by replacing my standard Greek yogurt/honey/fruit/and granola with baked oatmeal. I made a big casserole dish of baked oatmeal with blueberries, almonds, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla and it lasted me for 3 days. It was really good- my advice is to use a lot of spice because otherwise it can end up tasting a little bland.
My dinners this week have been especially tasty. I tried out this recipe for spaghetti with Kale and my dear boyfriend and I both loved it! I also adapted this recipe for shrimp scampi by using scallops and adding broccoli. (I've also actually used it to make some fantastic shrimp scampi too.)
I also made a couple recipe free dishes that turned out very well. I made artichoke hummus by combining 1 can of chick peas and 2 cans of artichoke bottoms (drained) in my food processor with a couple of cloves of garlic, a little lemon juice, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
For lunch, I made a baked bean bowl by putting a can of baked beans over brown rice and topping it with chopped tomato, chopped green onion, cilantro, sprouts, and a little BBQ sauce. It was really good! I find beans and rice to be very filling, but you can always beef it up with some shredded cooked chicken if you want more protein.
This weekend has been absolutely wonderful. Friday night, my dear boyfriend and I saw Opus at the Southern Rep Theater. We both thought it was a great play. The tagline is "Sex, Drugs, and Chamber Music." It's about the dynamic between the members of a string quartet as they get ready to play Beethoven's Opus 131 at the White House shortly after adding a new member (a young woman) to their group of middle aged men.
Before the play, we went to Iris and had drinks and appetizers. Iris is officially my favorite place to go before a play because it is within walking distance of both the Southern Rep and Le Petite Theaters. The bartender is also known for amazing, creative cocktails. My first cocktail, for example, contained elderflower liqueur, basil, and a pineapple balsamic reduction. My second one contained bourbon, vanilla, ginger liqueur, and Thai tea. My dear boyfriend had one drink that contained scotch, gin, and a plum/cardomom syrup. His other cocktail contained Rye, bitters, beet juice and apple juice. They were all amazing. As for food- we split a cheese plate, 1/2 a dozen oysters, and some short rib rolls that were wrapped in lettuce. It was all delicious!
I also got to wear the purple ruffled shirt that I bought last week. I paired it with black pumps and a pencil skirt. I'm glad I got to wear it because a cold front finally rolled in on Saturday.
On Saturday, I started the day off in a terrible mood because the chance of rain was 75% on and off all day. However, it never really rained! I really wanted to go for a run, but was convinced that the second I got out there, the bottom would fall out. Finally, I decided to just go for it. (I brought my phone with me so I could call home for a ride if I got trapped by rain.) I am so glad I did because I had the best run ever! I was a little nervous because of my horrible 8 mile run, but I shouldn't have been. Clearly, the 78 degree weather played a big part- but I had tons of energy and had a great time! I was also thrilled with my pace. I ran a 9 minute mile pace all the way through mile 6 (54 minutes, compared, for example, to my Crescent City Classic time of 62 minutes), and didn't slow up very much for my last 3 miles. I finished the run in 84:16!
On Saturday evening, we were supposed to have a picnic in the park and listen to the LPO, but that got cancelled due to rain (although it never rained!), so instead my dear boyfriend and I grilled out. We had chicken kabobs, mango chili chicken sausage, and sweet Italian turkey sausage (we cooked a ton of meat so we'd have leftovers to eat this week) along with a side salad. I had blue cheese on multi-grain bread for dessert as well. I really love the amablu Gorgonzola. It is a fairly mild blue cheese that is really creamy. It's great spread on bread or alongside a sliced pear.
Today I have been being pretty lazy. I am about to get up, clean the kitchen, and wash the dogs. Later, I am going to go over to Sarah's house to carve pumpkins, eat pizza, and watch Hocus Pocus. I loved that movie when I was a kid!
All in all this weekend has been just what I needed. It's been so nice to relax and spend some quality time with my dear boyfriend. :)

Western Wear

Our trip to Oklahoma was very nice. I really enjoyed spending time with my dear boyfriend's family this weekend. It was a lot of fun!
We got to Tulsa around 11 pm on Friday. We got up bright and early on Saturday to go buy my dear boyfriend a cowboy hat. He's been wanting one and found out that there was a sale at a local store. I think he looks pretty sharp. :)
After that we had brunch with his family, then hung out until dinner which was at Elements Steakhouse in the River Spirit Casino. It was really good! I very rarely eat beef for a number of reasons (I don't consider it to be a very healthy meat, and there is so much amazing seafood available in New Orleans that I don't miss it when I am dining out), but I figured that since I was in Oklahoma, I should get the steak. It was medium rare, served with gorgonzola cream sauce, and very tasty. We ended the evening by gambling. I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually gambled,but we all got $15 free dollars to gamble with from the casino (a combination of $5 for signing up for a player's card and $10 certificates given to us by my dear boyfriend's aunt- I'm not sure about the deal behind that) and I ended up spending no money of my own, and winning $4. High Roller! :P
On Sunday we had brunch at the casino, which was also very good. I had chicken fried steak and a roll, both smothered in white gravy; along with some macaroni and baked beans. I also had several chocolaty things for dessert. So yes, I ate enough food to power me for a week over the course of 2 days. Despite this, I later had a bbq pork sandwhich at the Memphis airport during our layover. I am a machine. :P
My dear boyfriend ate his weight in donuts and fried balogna (okay, he only had one piece of balogna, but I'm not kidding about the donuts!) at the buffet and was full until breakfast on Monday.
Speaking of Monday morning, the cat decided that he was too bored for us to hit the snooze button (since we got home around 9:30 on Sunday night and went to bed not much later) and woke me up by biting my hand. He then jumped on my dear boyfriend. He was playing- but being pretty rough. When we shooed him off the bed, he sat down and started howling! Poor kitty was ready for someone to pay attention to him! I spent yesterday referring to him as Cat the Ripper.
As for this week, I am just getting back into the swing of not eating like it's my last meal, getting back in my runs (I didn't manage to work out at all, unsurprisingly), and getting things done at work. I'm hoping I'll have a very low key weekend because the last few weeks have been so busy- it's been a little overwhelming.
Tonight I am driving to pick up my schnauzers! I've missed my little furry boys. :)

Fall is in the Air!

Yesterday a cold front passed through New Orleans and it is glorious! I had a wonderful run last night, slept with the windows open, and I didn't get all gross and sweaty walking the dogs this morning. I'm loving the cool weather!
This weekend was a lot of fun. We went to Oktoberfest on Friday night and I feasted on 3 different kinds of cabbage (cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, and purple stewed cabbage- divine!). After Oktoberfest, we went to the Balcony Bar and I also ate part of a fried appetizer with hot wings, fried mozzarella sticks, and jalapeno poppers. So bad, but so so good. :) On Saturday, I was worried about the weather, so I postponed my run and instead tried the Piyo (Pilates + yoga) class at the Reily Center. It was better (i.e. much more challenging) than I expected, but I thought the music was kind of cheesy (it sounded like 80's aerobics music). Saturday night I went to my friend Anne's birthday party. I also bought a sweet pair of dangly silver earrings while I was supposed to be shopping for a gift for Anne. Oops!
On Sunday I finally got around to tackling my 8 mile run around 2 pm. It wasn't very humid, but I guess it was hotter than I thought outside because that run was brutal. I felt really slow and tired the entire time and couldn't snap myself out of my negative thoughts about how lousy the run was. Sometimes my head just isn't in the game. But the important thing is that I pushed through it and ran further than I have ever run before! I ran my usual 4 mile run last night and at first, I felt like I was really slow and I felt the specter of my crappy run just hanging over my head. Fortunately, after a mile or so, I got warmed up and started to just enjoy the run and the weather and ended up with a pretty fast pace overall. I was so happy to have a good run! This week is my "cut back" week and I am supposed to only run 6 miles this weekend. I am not sure that I'll get to run at all this weekend because I upcoming travel (see below) but hopefully I'll at least get in some time on a treadmill.
I am traveling this weekend because I am going to Tulsa to celebrate my dear boyfriend's grandmother's 80th birthday. Of course, I spent Monday night having my semi-annual "I hate my clothes" pity party (which seems to happen every time the seasons change) and decided to go into work early, so I could hit the mall after work and before my run. I speed shopped and picked up 2 dresses (sadly I can only find a link to one of the dresses- the other has a maroon abstract floral print, a deep V in the front and back, and cap sleeves. Super cute!) and a cute purple shirt with ruffles on the front from Macy's, and a pair of light pink chinos from Jcrew (they were on sale for $19!!). I feel better now. :) One of the dresses and the pink pants will definitely be a part of my Tulsa wardrobe this weekend. I'm also really hoping to wear my trench coat because it will actually be cool in Tulsa!!
While I was shopping I also tried on this tunic and thought it was really cute, but I just didn't see myself wearing it that often. I tend to find it difficult to translate "trendy" items into something that looks realistic on me. Maybe if I find it on sale later in the year I'll pick it up but $40 was a little steep for something I'm not sure I'd actually end up wearing.
Other than that, I finished reading The Wide Sargasso Sea (which I loved) and have started reading Anathem, and am really enjoying it so far.

Bookworm

My bookclub meeting/ Tea party last night was a lot of fun. Everyone liked the food I made, and Sarah had a really good list of discussion questions about the book. Now that it's over and done with, I'm going to go ahead and review the book (before I forget that I meant to).
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a murder mystery that features Flavia, an 11year old girl, as the narrator and main character. Flavia lives in an old English manor house and has to solve the mystery of a stranger she finds dying in her cucumber patch. Armed with her love of Chemistry and her trusty bike, Gladys, she is able to solve the mystery, acquit her father (who was arrested for the murder) and save the day. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick, and generally light-hearted read. Flavia is a very compelling protagonist- the book club decided that she was equal parts Harriet the Spy, Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, and Angela Lansbury. She is precocious, opinionated, and appealingly bratty. I have to admit that she reminded me a great deal of myself at age 11. This book is written for adults but would also be suitable for older children and teenager. A bonus is that there are supposed to be more Flavia books in the works!
Since I hosted this month's book club meeting, I got to pick the book for next month. I chose Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil because I recently watched the movie and really enjoyed it. We all also thought that the voodoo element to the story would be appropriate for October, especially since our next meeting is going to be close to Halloween. I went on a bit of a shopping spree today and bought not only that book, but also The Wide Sargasso Sea (another one I was considering for next month) and Anathem (which I've been meaning to read but don't know if I would subject my non-sci fi nerd friends to). I love books. :)
Also, I did make it to the black light party this weekend, although I didn't stay very long. Here is a picture of me with my dear boyfriend for your entertainment. We're glowing!

5770

Sarah's Rosh Hashanah dinner party was so much fun. Sarah and her boyfriend Jon made a wonderful meal for everyone!
We started off with apple slices dipped in honey, for a sweet new year. Then, we had Matzo Ball soup. (I am officially obsessed with Matzo Ball soup now- probably because I have come down with a cold and it was the most delicious comforting chicken soup ever. I want more, but don't have the energy to tackle a new recipe today. But seriously, I can't shut up about soup today.)
Next we tried Gefilte fish. Sarah warned us that it is an acquired taste- but I didn't think it was too bad. It reminded me of eating canned sardines with mayonnaise on saltine crackers which was my grandmother's favorite midnight snack. (But based on that description, I guess you can see why it would be an acquired taste!)
Next we had a yummy salad with greens, olives, cherry tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
For the main course, we had potatoes in an apricot glaze (that tasted kind of like bbq sauce, actually, but I think it was apricot preserves and soy sauce for the most part), along with brisket and chicken in the same glaze. Everything was delicious!
I made Smitten Kitchen's honey cake to bring to the party, and it was served for dessert. The caked turned out great! The recipe has a pretty long list of ingredients (upon seeing me buying orange juice and whiskey for the cake when we went to the store last weekend, my dear boyfriend was like "What kind of cake is this again?") and a long baking time, but it was really easy to make. It turned out to be a really moist spice cake. It reminded everyone of carrot cake without the carrots (and we actually smeared cream cheese onto slices of it today for breakfast). I would totally recommend making this cake because it was really easy and the flavor profile is perfect for fall and winter.
It was a great dinner and I'm looking forward to celebrating with Sarah and Jon again next year. :)
Today my dear boyfriend helped my friend Steph move a TV she's giving to Goodwill and then we went to Mcalister's for lunch. Other than that I've been resting because I have a lousy cold. Hopefully I'll feel well enough to make a cameo at the black light party tonight because I have a great costume!

LPO

Holy Cow, it's Thursday again! When did that happen?
I had an unintentionally busy weekend last weekend- when I all I wanted to do was stay in and hide from the world. Work was crazy last week (and has been pretty busy this week as well, hence the lack of blogging) and I just wanted to chill. However, it was my dear boyfriend's golden weekend (a weekend that is guaranteed to be free of work during his rotation schedule) and so we ended up going out on Friday and Saturday. All was not lost though, I did manage to eat takeout pizza from Slice (goat cheese, spinach, roasted garlic, and basil- so good!), run 7 miles (the furthest I've ever run!) and watch both Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Swingers.
On Tuesday, I joined the Tulane gym. I have a family membership with the dear boyfriend now which lasts a semester and costs what a month at the JCC costs. I don't love the Tulane gym (because I feel weird around all the college students), but I can afford to join both a gym and a yoga studio this way. Next week I plan to start shopping around for a yoga studio, which should be lots of fun!
Tonight I'm going to see the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Their Season Opener tonight is Romeo Meets Rachmaninoff. It should be lovely.
This weekend is also going to be very busy. Friday night my friend Sarah is having a Rosh Hashanah party. I am attempting to make a honey cake. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen. If you haven't checked out her blog, do so- the recipes are great! I made her roasted tomatoes and cipollini on Sunday night (using some of the divine garlic bread from Whole Foods that I am currently obsessed with) and it was amazingly good.
Saturday my friend Graham is having a black light themed birthday party. My costume for the party is a white t-shirt worn over a hot pink bikini top from American Apparel, black leggings, neon green leg warmers, and a white pair of those really obnoxious Kanye glasses. It should be hillarious! I also plan to run 8 miles on Saturday morning- wish me luck!!
Sunday I plan to run 2 miles in City Park with Steph. Other than that I plan to spend the rest of the day getting ready for Monday because I am hosting the first meeting of our new book club. We read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and I am serving a high tea because the book is set in England. I really enjoyed reading this book and I can't wait to talk about it. (After the meeting I'll post a book review.) I also get to pick the next book we read, so I have to brainstorm for that as well.

My menu for Monday is as follows:

Tomato Basil Soup
Cucumber, Ham, and Chicken Salad Sandwhiches

Scones
Raspberry Chocolate Tart

A Selection of Decaffinated Teas
Punch (Sprite + White Grape Peach Juice=my favorite!)

I'm very excited for all this baking! I actually went out and bought a tart pan and a springform cake pan on Friday.
Okay, now that I'm all caught up, I'll wrap this up with a promise to post more frequently. Hopefully I'll have a goofy picture or two from this weekend's black light party for the entertainment of my dear readers.

Thursday Already?

Wow. It seems like time has just flown by since Sunday!
I had a fun day off on Monday that started off with me eating delicious steak and salad for lunch, then taking down two cookie-bars and a small serving of blueberry cobbler with ice cream at lunch. Somehow that degenerated into me having a daiquiri, beer, and potato chips for dinner. Zapp's Tobasco flavored chips will be the end of me. :)
Tuesday was notable because I went to Phiddippides during my lunch break and got new shoes, body glide, and some goo. Three cheers for new running accessories! I was, in all honesty, still sore as heck from the race on Sunday (I was actually still sore yesterday too, but I'm fine today!), but I couldn't resist going for a run to try my new shoes out. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty brutal because I'd had a long day at work (work has been insane this week for various reason- not bad, but busy busy) and in addition to my soreness, I had very little energy. Nonetheless, I'm happy that I went because it kept me on schedule and helped me maintain my good running habit.
I got two different brands of goo at the running store: Power Bar Gel (Rasberry and Apple flavors) and Gu (Margee gave me an espresso gu for my birthday, and I also picked up strawberry bananna, berry, and chocolate flavors). I look forward to comparing the brands and flavors to see which tastes the best and to see how they affect my energy levels during my long (over 6 miles) runs.
A really funny thing happened after I went to bed on Tues. My dear boyfriend woke me up around 4am saying "I think the dog is under the bed." When I asked, still mostly asleep, why he thought that, he replied "Because I hear scratching and whining." I got down on the floor to look under our very low platform bed. Sure enough, Bernie, the larger of my two miniature shcnauzers (who technically needs to lose weight b/c he gained a pound this past year) had somehow gotten under the bed and was too big to get out! I kind of suspect that Hereaux had a hand in putting him under there because when we went to bed, Bernie was in his spot on a blanket on the floor next to my side of the bed. When I looked under the bed, Bernie was basically scooted over about a foot from where he was before, and Hereaux was in his rightful spot, trying to look innocent. I had to tug Bernie out from under there! Fortunately, my tubby little pup was just fine and hopefully he won't go under the bed again.
I've eaten a lot of delicious food that is considerably healthier than my Monday night dinner this week. Highlights include Cornish game hens stuffed with dried figs, onion, and garlic and baked in a cast iron dutch oven with dried rosemary, red wine, worchestershire sauce and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar for 40 minutes at 425 F (so easy!) for dinner (along with mashed sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts); my attempt at this pasta dish from the blog TravelEatLove (I used feta instead of mozarella- also so easy!) for lunch; and a really yummy snack bar called Bumble Bar. I've had the chai and chocolate flavors and both are super tasty. I like them b/c they have rice crisps and lots of sesame seeds so the texture is really crunchy and satisfying- sort of like a really dense rice crispy treat. (The packaging is really cute too!)
So that's how my week's been going!
Also, congratulations are in order to my friend Amanda, who gave birth to baby Liam on Sept.1 (I'm so negligent for not posting this sooner- please forgive me!) and Amy, who gave birth to baby Josiah this morning! I also just found out that my friend Janette is expecting baby #2! Congratulations, girls!

Fun Trip to Mississippi

So my top secret trip this weekend was to Jackson, Ms. My cousin, Kaley (pictured), decided to throw a surprise 50th birthday party for her parents (whose birthdays are in Aug. and Sept.). I had a great time at the party on Friday night. On Saturday, Kaley and her hubby got up early and went to the first Mississippi State game of the season, so my dear boyfriend and I had breakfast with my Aunt and Uncle. My uncle also took my dear boyfriend skeet shooting for a little while, so I hung out with my aunt and took a little nap on her couch. (We were up late at the party the night before!)
After that, we drove to Gulfport to pick up my dogs from my parent's house (they dog sat for me for about a week and a half due to my farm trip last weekend). We had dinner with my parents and made a quick stop at the outlet mall where I basically bought out the new JCrew outlet and stopped at the Nike outlet for a new pair of running shorts. I am very excited about them b/c they are tight (which will hopefully prevent my legs from rubbing together) and have a zip pocket in the back. I'll never understand why most women's athletic shorts are made with no pockets. It's such a pain!
Besides the running shorts, I got 2 button down shirts (one is a bright purplish pink, and the other is dark purple- I'm really into purple for fall), a light weight v-neck sweater (bright pink), a plain white t-shirt (it was $7), a navy hoodie, a dark purple tissue tee, and a cool cream and black headband. I'd call that a spree! :) We finally got home around 10 last night. It was fun little trip!
Today I am going to clean up my house and run the Crescent Connection Road Race (it's less than 7 hours away!) Wish me luck!! :)

Buffalo Shrimp

Last night, I tried my hand at a meal that my dear boyfriend usually cooks and I am proud to say that it turned out very well. It is a quick, tasty meal for a busy weeknight- so I'm posting it.

Buffalo Shrimp

* 1/2 bag of frozen shrimp, shelled and de-headed (not the most precise of measurements, I know, but it doesn't really matter b/c you can make as much or as little as you like)
* Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce
* 1 Cup chopped onions
* 1 Tbsp butter

Defrost shrimp, then add enough Tabasco sauce to generously coat all of the shrimp. Marinate for at least 15 minutes, but longer is better. Cook chopped onion over medium heat in butter, stirring frequently, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp and sauce and cook until shrimp is done, about 2 minutes. Remove shrimp and reduce sauce until it is very thick. Drizzle sauce over shrimp.

Since this is ends up being nice and spicy, I like to serve this with something cool and creamy. I especially enjoy it on top of a Caesar salad (I just buy the kind you can get in a bag at the grocery store). The Tabasco garlic pepper sauce really tastes exactly like buffalo sauce, so this is a quick way to satisfy a craving for hot wings too. :)

Green Acres

I had a really good time on the farm this weekend. We relaxed, grilled, swam (in both a pool and a creek that we hiked to), rode 4 -wheelers, played Bocce Ball and Apples to Apples, watched movies, and shot empty cans and skeet (clay pigeons). It was definitely nice to get away from the city for a little while and hang out with my friends.
Jon's family's farm is so nice. It's in McComb, Ms, which isn't that far from my old home town- that part of the state is really pretty and quite rural. The property used to be an old town and it was very interesting to have Jon show us around saying "This building used to be a school house, and this used to be the general store." Now there is a big house, a pool, several fields for cows (which you can see in the picture of my dear boyfriend), horses, ponies, and mule; and a pecan orchard. The property is also home to at least 4 dogs and 4 cats. My favorite was a little Brussels Griphon named Sammy who was the friendliest little guy ever. He also looked like a gremlin and we all wanted to take him home with us.
Of course we brought lots of tasty food with us. Some of the highlights for me were the big boule of roasted garlic bread that Sarah picked up, and some pineapple mint juice she got from Beaucoup Nola. I'm officially adding Beaucoup Nola to my list of delicious healthy things b/c they specialize in making snowballs using fresh fruit juice rather than sugary syrup. Their juices are so fresh and delicious! I particularly like the pineapple mint and the mango chile. For this trip, we paired the pineapple mint with some Costa Rican rum (that Steph and my friend Shelby brought me when they went to Costa Rica this spring) which was incredibly refreshing.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend getaway!

Petit Dessert

Tonight I used my new Petit Pear Casserole Dish (a birthday present from my dear boyfriend's brother and brother's girlfriend) to make a peach crumble. I followed the same recipe as my semi-healthy blackberry crumble, but substituted frozen peach slices for the blackberries. I also topped it with Hagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. It was divine! And of course, the dish is so cute that I had to take pictures. (You can also see my pretty table mats that my parents got me for my birthday in these pics.)

I'm probably crazy

I've officially started training for a half marathon (aka 13.1 miles). And by officially, I mean I've made a training plan and put it in my google calendar. I am tentatively planning to run a half marathon on Dec. 20th, but if I don't feel ready, I'm going to wait and run the half marathon portion of the Mardi Gras Marathon in February.
This week was my official start to training, but it didn't feel real until I did my first long run (6 miles) this morning. I was planning to run 5 miles and maybe do 6 if I felt good- and it went really well. Of course, I got a nice break in the middle of my run b/c I had to wait for a train to go by so I could cross the railroad tracks and run up by the river, which may be where the energy to do 6 miles came from.
Right now, 13 miles feels incredibly daunting when I think about it, but I remember feeling the same way about 6 miles. Running 6 miles reminds me of how far I've come and gives me confidence that I can make it to 13! I am also really happy about having something to work towards b/c my workouts have been feeling a little mundane lately since I don't really have to train for the 5K races I've been running lately (I run further than that during my normal runs) and my Pilates teacher stopped teaching at the JCC. (Note to self, look into a new yoga place soon).
At any rate, I had a good run, then promptly went home, ate, showered, and took a nap. As a result, I feel pretty good (I usually have a problem with being wiped out for the rest of the day after a long run). Aside from that today, I have gotten frozen yogurt (1/2 cake batter and half cookies and cream with blackberries, crumbled oreos, and caramel sauce- sounds strange but tastes amazing) with my friend Sarah, and picked up some goodies to take to my friend Anne's house tonight and to Steph's house tomorrow. (I'm trying to stay out of my dear boyfriend's hair while he studies.) Right now I'm finishing up a bowl of cereal (I'm also looking forward to eating lots of food to fuel my runs!) and then heading to Anne's.
The picture, by the way, is of the cat looking crazy. :)

Wonderful Birthday

I have certainly been a negligent blogger this week- given that my birthday was Sat. and I haven't blogged in nearly a week. Oops!
I was planning to download some pictures of everything, but I keep putting it off- so I will go ahead and write the entry then hopefully put some pictures up soon. (Edited to add- here's a picture of my birthday breakfast! I'll spare you the ones of me with both presents and terrible bed hair!) I've just been lazy this week!
My birthday weekend was awesome.
Friday night, my dear boyfriend and I met our friends Jon and Sarah at Dos Jefes Cigar Bar. Besides having lots of cigars, Dos Jefes features tasty drinks, live music on the weekends, and a very nice patio. We sat outside and I drank Prosecco, which I love. At midnight, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. :)
I woke up several times Saturday morning, starting at about 6:30 but kept making myself go back to sleep since I went to bed a 2 am. I finally got out of bed around 9:30. I'd noticed on Friday that there were two presents in the fridge, so I was eager to find out what they were. The first present was a bottle of Prosecco and 3 fresh white peaches. My dear boyfriend proceeded to puree a peach and make bellini's with it! The second present in the fridge was a delicious chocolate cake from Sucre. Best. Breakfast. Ever.
Of course, I had even more presents to open from my dear boyfriend and from his and my family members- because I am such a lucky girl!
My parents gave me lots of books and some beautiful navy blue woven placemats for my table.
My aunt sent me a really pretty copper wind chime that is shaped like a butterfly for my porch.
My dear boyfriend's brother (and his girlfriend) sent me a beautiful Le Creuset Petit Pear Casserole Dish.
My dear boyfriend's parents gave me a watermeter cover necklace (the watermeter cover is my favorite New Orleans symbol) and the Patagonia trench coat I blogged about last month!
My dear boyfriend also gave me two lovely bottles of Pinot Noir from Hopper's, my favorite Wine Shop (I'm currently enjoying the Frederic Magnien Pinot Noir- it's very tasty!), a pair of Lululemon yoga pants, and a Garmin Forerunner 305!
Like I said, I am a lucky, lucky girl. :)
After breakfast, I went to lunch at Little Tokyo with my girlfriends- Sarah, Steph, Ashley and Anne. We then went to the mall. I got some fairly mundane necessities- a bra, a polo shirt, and soap- but I also got a very cute top by Charlotte Ronson and a wide brown belt to wear over it at JC Penney's of all places. The I heart Ronson colaboration she's doing with Penney's is super cute and *very* affordable.
After shopping, I went home and got all dressed up to go out to dinner. My dear boyfriend and I went to Gautreau's and it was delicious! I had the gnocci with jumbo lump crab appetizer, the strawberry and spinach salad, the crisp duck breast, and the Creme Sophia. It was so good- especially the gnocci and the Creme Sophia.
After dinner we met up with Sarah, Jon, Steph, Ashley, and Anne at The Columns for drinks. Bedtime was again around 2am.
On Sunday, it was time to actually get organized. I tidied the house, bought groceries, and went to visit my friend Bonnie who is moving to California this week. She gave me lots of fresh rosemary, basil, eggplants, and jalapeno peppers from her garden. (Thus far this week I've made pesto, dried the rosemary, baked the eggplants, and used some of the jalapeno in cornbread.) It was nice to see Bonnie and her hubby Gabe before they move because I am really going to miss them!
All in all my birthday weekend was spent having fun with the people I care about and that made it really wonderful! It was a great way to start out my 28th year.

Best Thursday Ever

I just got a box of 12 gorgeous chocolate covered strawberries from my dear boyfriend's dear parents. It's a great early birthday present and a wonderful surprise at work! I ate two immediately. So good!!!

10 Days

I am turning 28 next Saturday. My birthday plans include an afternoon of sushi and shopping with my girlfriends then dinner at Gautreau's with my dear boyfriend. Now all I have to do is decide what dress I want to wear to dinner! (That may be decided while shopping, actually. Hehe!)

In car news, I'm waiting for my title to arrive in the mail. After that, because I now plan to buy my Forester through a dealer in Alabama, I have to wait until my registration has been issued for a year (that would be on August 11), despite the fact that my registration says I've owned my car since 2003. I can't blame the dealer though, for wanting to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed before submitting to Cash to Clunkers to make sure they'll get their money back from the government. So since it looks like CtC will be funded again this week (go, Senate, go!) I am planning/hoping/praying to get a new vehicle sometime next week. I'll keep you all posted.

Little Red Corvette

I don't have a new car as of yet, but I know the exact car I'm getting. I went by the Subaru dealership yesterday because I want a new 2009 Forester (because they are doing a 3.9% interest special on their remaining 2009's to get rid of them, and yes, I qualified for the low interest because my credit score is a beautiful thing to behold) and we had to order one from another lot. It was kind of funny because I had to decided what color I wanted, which is actually something I hadn't considered at all. There were three different colors on the lot in Alabama that we decided to order from- white (which I didn't want), dark gray, and red. Since my current vehicle is black, I decided that dark gray would be too similar and went with the red!!! This isn't a picture of the exact car I'm getting but it's pretty much what it will look like. Doesn't it look pretty?
After that, I went home, quickly wolfed down a bbq chicken breast and some brocolli that my dear boyfriend was kind enough to cook, then we went to see Harry Potter with Steph, Sarah, and Jon at the Prytania Theater. It wasn't my favorite of the series, but I definitely enjoyed myself. All in all, it was a lovely night.

Goings on

I had a very nice weekend filled with lots of time spent with my dear boyfriend and our friends.
On Friday, in addition to seeing White Noise with my friend Steph, I checked out the bar at Iris. Iris is one of a few bars and restaurants that are beginning to take part in the mixology movement. I forget the name of my drink, but it was delicious. It featured apple brandy, watermelon juice and crushed basil (which was actually replacing tarragon, because I'm not a fan of that herb.) Steph's drink involved strawberries, vanilla vodka (I think) and pine needles. We also split the scallop ceviche appetizer. It was all very tasty and the ambiance at Iris is cool and relaxing. I would definitely go there again.
On Saturday, my friends Sarah and Jon came over and we all ended up playing Apples to Apples until 3am. Jon bought a car earlier that day, so my dear boyfriend surprised him by going to Walmart and buying some truly hideous car accessories. I think they included a giant skull tattoo printed window shade, matching air fresheners, and magnetic racing flames for the side of the car. Too funny!
I slept late on Sunday, and had a pretty quiet day. Sunday evening we had dinner with our friends Bruce and Simone, and a few other friends of theirs at Simone's house. Simone made French cut lamb racks, asparagus, potatoes and salad. It was delicious!
Tonight I am going to Sarah and Jon's to celebrate Bastille Day and am using that as an excuse to pick up some two-bite brownies from Whole Foods. Let them eat brownies!!

Maine

Our vacation to Maine was absolutely wonderful. It was, unfortunately, flanked on either end by weather related flight delays, but the time spent in Maine could not have been more perfect.
The weather was amazing until the last half day of the trip (when it cooled down and rained)- sunny and 70 during the day, and cooling into the 50's at night.
On Saturday we drove from Portland to Bar Harbor. (We were supposed to drive up Friday afternoon but we didn't make it to Portland until midnight!)
Route 1 was very scenic, and we stopped and took some pictures along the way.
For lunch, we stopped in Trenton to eat at the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. We shared steamers, a lobster, and blueberry pie à la mode. Everything was wonderful. Once we got to Bar Harbor, we checked into our B&B, the lovely Coach Stop Inn. After unpacking, we drove to Acadia National Park to fit in a little hiking before dinner.
First we stopped at the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers, then we began to hike around the Jordan Pond and up a trail called the South Bubble Trail. We had asked a ranger for trail suggestions and she specifically mentioned that the hike to the top of South Bubble was "easy."
Apparently her definition of "easy" involves 500 feet of boulder scrambling up the side of a mountain. It was really fun, just not what I expected my first hike to entail! And we do think that there was an easier trail to the top that we must have overlooked because we saw a family with a toddler at the top, and there was no way they would have been able to come up the way we did!
We thought that the way down was going to be the easy trail that we had missed, but it was just as difficult as the way up. Ultimately though, I really loved that hike because I felt so proud of myself for being able to get through it. This entire trip, especially the hiking, made me feel so thankful for my strong, healthy body!
The next morning, we returned to Acadia and hiked the Great Head Trail. This trail was completely different. The Jordan Pond and South Bubble Trails had great views of the pond and woods and mountains, whereas the Great Head Trail had lovely views of Sandy Beach, the ocean, and sea cliffs. It was also a lot easier than the South Bubble Trail. The picture I've posted was taken as I'm lying on a rock above the sea cliffs listening to the waves crash below. It was amazing and totally relaxing. (We also took a million more pictures so feel free to check them out on my facebook page.)
After our hike, we went into Bar Harbor for lunch and wandered around the downtown area. We then drove to Portland to our second B&B the Pinecrest Bed and Breakfast. We ended our day with dinner and local microbrewed beers at the Sebago Brewing Company Brew Pub.
(We actually tried several different microwbrewery beers over the course of the trip. My favorites were the Bar Harbor Brewing Blueberry Ale, and the Sebago seasonal wheat beer.)
On Monday we drove around and saw a bunch of lighthouses in and around Portland, including the lights at Two Lights State Park, the Portland Head Light, the Spring Street Light and the Bug Light. We ate lunch at Duckfat (truffle ketchup is the bomb!) hen spend the afternoon wandering around the Old Port district. We ended the day by taking a sunset cruise in Casco Bay. Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out at the last lighthouse before Portland, so I didn't actually take any pictures of Portland or of the Casco Bay Cruise. It was very pretty though. Basically, we just got tickets on the ferry that services all of the small islands in Casco Bay. There was no description beyond the island names, but the 2 hour ride was beautiful and I was really envious of the people who get to live on gorgeous islands off the coast of Maine! The other notable fact about the sunset cruise is that it was windy and cold on the water, especially after the sun went down! After we got back to land, we warmed ourselves up with bowls of chowder.
On our last day it was cold and raining, so we spent it indoors as much as possible. We toured the Wadsworth Longfellow House and the Portland Museum of Art.
After a tasty lunch at the Public Market House, we drove to the airport because our flight was at 4. Unfortunately, we ended up having to stay in Washington D.C. over night and didn't get home until Wed. morning.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I would love to go back to Maine some day. I also want to continue hiking. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did!

Vacation All I Ever Wanted

I'm so excited! In less than 24 hours, I will be on a plane to Portland, Me!
Of course, I still have to pack after work, and I will be getting up WAY too early tomorrow, but I am extremely good at napping on planes. :)
After we land in Portland, we'll be driving to Bar Harbor for the first two nights of the vacation. We will spend the last two nights back in Portland.
I'm celebrating this fact by wearing my hiking shoes (And jeans! On a Thursday! Gasp!) to work today. I'm so bad!
(In all fairness, lots of people wear jeans every day at my office, although I typically wear them only on Fridays.)
It is really hard for me to sit still and focus today. Not only am I excited about my trip, I am also thinking of my dear boyfriend who is taking his boards for med school today. I'm pretty eager to hear from him once the test is over!