Spinach Smoothie

Hear me out on this spinach smoothie, I promise this is not your average green drink. My BFF Ali shared this recipe with me last summer while visiting her in AZ and it has become a weekday breakfast staple for us. And sometimes a Sunday night treat as well. It's so incredibly simple, 3 ingredients!!! Not to mention very healthy, ~210 calories per serving. And it is soooo good. I can't stress this enough, IT IS REALLY GOOD. I even trust BD to blend this up, it's that easy. Did I mention that it tastes really good? And that it's healthy? I've shared this recipe with lots of friends and family, even my young women, and they have all loved it. Don't let the bright green color throw you.

Spinach Smoothie

• 3 oz fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup pineapple coconut juice
• 1 banana

Blend juice and spinach together. Add banana. Optional: add 1/2 cup ice. Makes one serving.

Smoothie Tips:

• always add your liquid first
• use frozen bananas for a creamy texture (slightly defrost before blending)
• yep, the Blendtec is worth every penny 
• get yourself some bendy straws for more drinking pleasure

10 Year Reunion {in the works}

lanning high school reunions sounds like oodles of fun...when you're 17. All kidding aside, this is a public service announcement regarding the Class of 2000 10 year reunion. It will happen. That's all I know. For now.

If you're even the slightest bit curious about your old classmates, join the FB page. And vote for what time of year you'd most likely attend. 

P.S. anyone else miss spellchecker in Blogger? I might need to repeat the 10-12th grades.

When BD cooks

hen I got home this evening BD and I decided that we'd stay the night in. Sometimes Friday nights are just better at home, don't you agree? Plus, it saves money and I really like being in my pajamas. BD offered to cook us a pizza while I struggled with my first attempts at Facebook.* A few minutes later the oven is smoking and I look over to see BD standing over the source of the flame. All he said was "Ohhhhhhhhhh. Mmyyyyy. Gosssssh" very slowly as he realized what he had done. Apparently this is what happens WHEN YOU COOK A PLASTIC CUTTING BOARD.
We laughed. BD asked, are you going to blog about this? Um. Yeah. I love this man, even when he cooks.
Cafe Rio it would be. Oh, and honey, why don't you pick up some oven cleaner while you're out?

*You heard me! This 10 year reunion thing is just not going away. More on this tomorrow. Wanna be friends? {gag}

New Life

uess who's back? My gorgeous purple orchid that dropped all it's petals last November! I was devastated at the time. But she has totally redeemed herself. Just a few months later and she's sporting two gorgeous blooms on a brand new stem, one bloom just about to burst, and two other buds...budding. She's pretty much the Rock Star of all orchids ever to live, ever. Some people have kids. Some people have cats. I have an orchid. and I love her...

Speaking of love, I really loved this bullet list from Kami. There is so much cute valentine goodness out there right now. Like this and this and this. Whether you love or hate Valentines Day, you have to admit, it's pretty dang cute.

My favorite thing to eat, ever

• 1 piece whole wheat toast
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• salt and pepper

Soundtracked

am certainly not a music aficionado, by any means. Believe you me, I cannot carry a tune, and therefore am the most unqualified person to discern the good from the bad. Case in point, I love watching American Idol (top 12 only) but think all of the contestants are amazing and deserve to win. Hence, my music tastes are broad. By that I mean everything from George Strait to Janis Joplin. Bob Marley to Celine Dion. Dolly Parton to Dave Matthews. I've gone through more music phases than Lady Gaga has costumes. What can I say, I like what I like.

This year I've added Keane to my music repertoire, and in a big way. This is the band that will define my later twenties. Three decades from now their music will take me back to this exact moment in life and I'll think about sailing in Belize with my family, BD pedaling his commuter bike, Sunday afternoon naps, and the crazy unexpected adventures we're having with starting our family. Keane is very much the soundtrack to our present. Music has the uncanny ability to transport you to a specific time and place. Fascinating.

There was a time when I would listen only to The Beatles. I took it upon myself to memorize every word to every song on every album. True story. I also went through a Grateful Dead phase, which I'm actually still in. Ahem. Jr. High was an awkward mix of Nirvana (R.I.P. Kurt) and TLC. Come to think of it, Jr. High was just awkward, period. I partly blame Eddie Vedder and flannel for that. Megan Turek had MTV in her basement and we spent countless hours waiting for "Waterfalls" (R.I.P. Left Eye) to come on. Those three girls dancing on top of the water blew our minds. By the time I was in High School I had been baptized by fire with Garth Brooks and country music has had a pretty solid showing ever since. The Dixie Chicks were a staple among my tight little group of girlfriends.

This picture (c. 1999) surfaced the other night during one of my organizational fits. I fought back tears as fond teenage memories came flooding in. All I heard was "Cowboy Take Me Away" blaring through the speakers of the Sigma. More important than the music, I'm grateful to still have my high school girlfriends close by. They taught me everything my 17 year-old self needed to know about drive-by's, ear piercing, tweezing, kissing boys, and skipping school. We've been there for each others' big moments such as marriage and babies and jobs. Not to mention the little moments too, like birthday parties and potty training triumphs and lunch. All of it a far cry from the glory days of high school football games. But if I have learned anything this past year, it's that life throws the unexpected. Bad things happen, people make mistakes, and none of it is supposed to be easy. Turns out, my friends continue to teach me what my 28 year-old self needs to know about the hard knocks of life. Because we all have them. No exceptions. Somehow we find a way to love each other through the good the bad and the ugly. Hmmm, here I was writing a post about music that somehow morphed into something completely different, but all the more relevant to the soundtrack of my life. In true form, I wasn't expecting that.

28 for 28

he evening commute is usually one of two things. One, a total drag where I miss every stoplight and become yet another frustrated commuter annoyed by all the other frustrated commuters in my way. Or two, a quiet similitude of my mind shifting from work mode to home mode and somewhere in the middle I am able to think clearly. During yesterday's drive home I had somewhat of an epiphany. It had suddenly sunk in (way down deep) that I'm turning 28 this month. And there are 28 days in February. And I was on 2nd South near 8th East. So there it was, written in the stars that I needed to blog about 28 things this month. Since my life revolves around the number 28, the universe speaks to me in this way. Surely, in the last 28 days of my 28th year, I should have 28 things to say about life, love, and the pursuit of such. Past, present, and future. Whether they will be of any interest to you, I can't presume. I've had much to share as of late but haven't made time to write the important things. Hip hip...

Daily Drop Cap

Puppy Love

My neighbors have 11, yes E-LEVEN, Golden Retriever puppies who have completely taken over their home. And hearts. Puppy breath, puppy paws, puppy play=puppy LOVE. They are nearly all spoken for and will be tearing up and peeing in new homes later this week. These little rascals are so full of life; 11 curious little tails wagging in one room is happiness overload. Trying to snap a cell phone picture with little Hercules was...a challenge.

If you have a soft spot for puppies...proceed with caution.

Three Things

1) Happy New Year! Not be be shy, I'll tell you straight up that I didn't particularly care for 2009. I'll spare you the nitty gritty, just know that I was rather pleased to see it fade away. It's been a real hard year. And at the risk of sounding whiny, I'll stop there. In recent years we've hosted a big bash to ring in the New Year with our closest friends. Not this year. It almost felt as if 2009 just didn't deserve it, that naughty 2009! However, our New Year's Eve was perfect and looked a little something like take-out from Bombay House, 500 Days of Summer, a much needed back massage, and a bottle of sweet peach sparkly. I'm fairly certain I was carried to bed, asleep, before the ball even dropped. Hallelujah.2) My new year's resolution for 2009 had been NO FAST FOOD. That meant nothing with a drive through, no greasy cheeseburgers and fries, not even if I ordered a salad. Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, or Dairy Queen did not get one penny from me in 2009. Nada. And let me tell you, the first 4 months of no spicy chicken sandwich hold the mayo side of honey mustard almost killed me dead. Before I knew it I had gone 6 months without caving into a Crown Burger as the solution to a long stressful workday. It felt so good that I was able to keep it up the rest of the year. Let me repeat that: it felt so good. You know what also felt good? Breaking that resolution over the weekend with a big greasy cheeseburger from In-N-Out. I think it was the best thing I've ever eaten. I mean that.and 3) Run on over to Jessie O'Neal Photography and vote for your favorite picture of 2009. Hard to choose, I know! I may have voted for #32 my yummy little niece above. The wrinkly hands, the pouty lips, it's almost too much for me to handle {insert exploding heart sound effects}.

Good Morning

Someday we may not wake up to floating mountains above a sea of morning fog. But for today, it's pretty awesome.

Christmas Make-up '09 Pics Only

Christmas Eve Ski

This year we spent Christmas Eve day skiing at Sundance with Tom & Todd, who have been hanging here for most of December. We feel so special when they squeeze a stop to Utah into their busy world travels, especially when it's Christmas time.The ski day was magical. Partly because of the super light, super fine snow that fell all throughout the day. The snow quite literally looked like swirling glitter in the sunlight. We felt as though we were playing in a picturesque snow globe. Like I said, magical. The snow itself was awesome, I don't remember skiing on snow that soft and dry in a long time. But, I don't get out much. My skiing skills aren't quite what they should be, considering I'm a local and all. But I manage to get myself down the mountain in one piece, albeit less graceful than the dozens of 4 year-olds zooming past. It also doesn't help that BD effortlessly dances circles around me on his fancy schmancy Telemarks. P.S. I only got lost once, thank you for asking.

'Tis the Season

Seems we've been hustling and bustling here and there and spreading cheer at holiday this and that. What a wonderful time of year! Seriously, I love it. Being completely and utterly exhausted from too much holly jolly season is a really good thing. However, you can bet that when we do have a free minute we're squeezing in a bit of this:As apartment dwellers, we dig the digital Yule Log which transforms our little condo high in the sky into a cozy cabin tucked in the woods.

Oh, and we've been invaded by a throng of darling elves. It's been nice having them around to blame for things that go missing. Like the Christmas caramels. Or toffee. Or chocolate dipped cookies. It may just as well break my heart to give them away. We've so enjoyed receiving your beautiful Christmas cards in the mail each day. This is the one time of year that I rush to pick up the mail before BD. I look forward to seeing cute families grow cuter each year. Thanks to those of you who included us in your Christmas card list. It means so much. And {sigh} I vow that next year we'll get around to it!

freshly

Remembering just how much I love having a Christmas tree up in my house. Explains why I usually don't take it down until February. ShhhhhhDiscovering the bulk-foods section at WinCo Foods. By far the best selection of bulk I've ever shopped. I'm obsessed with the fresh honey-equipped with real live bees inside. It's open 24 hours, which means I have access to giant lemon heads anytime I fancy.Baking Jim Lahey's no-knead bread and let me tell you, it really is as easy as they say. And not easy in the same way that cake pops are easy. This is fool proof. I've always been scared of breads and yeast, but this recipe has given me the confidence to keep trying. Gorgeous no?Ordering from The Community Food Co-op of Utah. We put in our first order in November and were blown away with the quality and overall value of the food we received. Totally worth it. And we are looking forward to round two this month.Mourning (still) the loss of a box which disappeared 4.5+ years ago when we last moved. Contains the best of my kitchen wedding gifts. Including, but not limited to, all of my bake-ware: items that I haven't yet been able to replace because I'm just sure it will turn up sometime. Reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Actually we just finished, and both of us absolutely loved this book. Somewhat chilling and really dark and twisty. I kind of have a thing for dark and twisty though. Nevertheless, highly recommended. The new movie looks good too. Chuckling at the LG Give it a Ponder beard campaign. These videos are killing me.

Thanksgiving 2009

We've had such a marvelous Thanksgiving weekend, and I gained 4 extra pounds just to prove it. We're so thankful for family, especially this time of year. I'm particularly grateful for my cute nieces and all their hugs and kisses and fashion sense.And they are super grateful for their cell phones :) Caught yaI'm thankful for these fine rugged gentlemen who carve the turkeys, take the pictures, sneak taste tests of the food-to make sure it's safe of course, and buy the popcorn at the movies. And I'm incredibly thankful for these beautiful women who make the pies, and the gravy and the sweet potato "brownies"-hence the 4lbs. I'm so lucky to have a wonderful mom and sisters who give me unconditional love and support.I'm also thankful for this little munchkin who endured no less than 4 hours of me pinching her chubby thighs, kissing her chubby cheeks, and blowing raspberries on her chubby stomach. She's the spitting image of her mom at this age, and I couldn't help but feel like I was 8 years old again and "babysitting."PS-I know that my pictures are grainy/pixelated. What I don't know is how to fix it. Blogger and I are not seeing eye-to-eye on this.