I'd like to say happy birthday to my friend Kristen and happy birthday eve to some of my favorite people! I guess this week is a good week for all sorts of people!!! So here goes!!
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I should really just start using Fridays to talk about Goodreads and books, haha. Maybe I will... that's a thought... Anyway, today I want you to check out this awesome page. I won the book Grace Grows from Goodreads and it's not going to be officially out until October. Until then, you can listen to the songs (referenced in the book) for free! I'm only about 100 pages into the book but it's really good so far! It's about a girl named Grace who seems to have a good life - successful fiance, good job, lives in NYC - but one day she runs into this guy Tyler. Tyler has just moved to The City to try to make it as a singer. He is the TOTAL opposite of Grace's fiance and kind of boyish and sweet, just struggling to be noticed in the music industry. Apparently, his voice is amazing and he starts to catch his break. Grace meets Tyler right after he gets to The City and he immediately falls for her. He desperately tries to win her over and keeps writing songs about her. These songs are actually written and sung by the author's husband. He has a very soulful voice and it's great listening! You should really check it out and buy the book when it's out! Though I'm only 100 pages into it, I'm loving it so far, and I got a note from the publisher claiming it to be one of her favorite books this year. (I'd say she says that about every book, but I got another book with a note from her and she didn't sing nearly the praises for the second one!). The publisher says this book makes her feel like she is curling up on the couch with her best friend watching a good chickflick. Just that description makes me want to curl up with a cup of coffee this weekend and finish the book!! This week I am thankful for an understanding boss. My new boss is so sweet and understanding and I love working for her. We are still adjusting to working together and, because of her different managing style from my previous boss, we are still learning each others's expectations. She has been so understanding throughout this adjustment period and I'm lucky to have that. Yesterday I was soooooo grateful for nice people at the airport. I had a stressful traveling situation yesterday when I ended up at the wrong airport for my flight. I had made my reservations to leave from a specific airport and apparently, the travel site I used did not alert me when it made my flight from a different airport. Yes, I should have looked carefully at my ticket, but I honestly didn't expect that it would schedule me from an airport I didn't choose. So.... needless to say, when I showed up an hour before take-off and I'm told that my flight is leaving from the airport across town, I had a major anxiety attack. I was leaving for a business trip to a place that has very few flights in and out of it. I raced across town to get to the other airport and find that there is no parking! Apparently, half of the airport parking garage is under construction! I was watching the clock the entire time and praying that my flight would be delayed! When I finally made my way through the maze that was the parking lot to find someone leaving, I ran to the airport security line to find that there was a 30 minute wait to get through security. My flight was scheduled to take off in 10 minutes! I frantically cried out to the TSA guy to see if I could get through early and, of course, he didn't let me. Instead, tons of incredibly sweet people started asking those in front of them if I could cut in line because I was going to miss my flight. It's amazing how nice some people can be! Luckily, my flight took off 10 minutes late so when I made it through the line and SPRINTED through the airport, I made it onto the plane! I was sweating and panting as I took my seat but I kept thinking about how I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for those 20 or so amazing people who pulled strings to make sure I could make it! I received 5 free books this week (2 others aren't pictured but I got these 3 on the same day!). It is like Christmas time when you open your mailbox and see 3 packages of brand new books! I'm so excited to read these, and the other two I won from Goodreads! I've developed a true appreciation for reading books and critiquing them. Secret wish: I'd love to be a book critic in the future!! This allows me to pretend I am for the time being :) My good friend Andrea asked me to be part of her wedding when we spoke this week and I felt so blessed. She and I haven't seen each other since the day this picture was taken over two years ago! After she graduated med school, she moved across the country for her residency and has been soooo busy that I never get to see her anymore!! She's getting married next weekend and I can't wait to see her and share her special day with her! She will forever be my soul mate (right, Adge?), even if I don't see her every day like we did back in college! I'm thankful to be in her wedding as well as to have her in my life! This recipe comes from the Whole Foods recipe bank and it's really easy to change up depending on what toppings you want and what you have on hand. I like this as a change to regular pizza and because it's a good way to add veggies to your plate! Pizza Potatoes INGREDIENTS: 4 medium russet, red or yellow potatoes 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 zucchini, sliced 1 yellow summer squash, sliced 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms 1 small yellow onion, sliced Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup marinara sauce 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400°F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork, brush with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil and arrange on a small baking sheet. Bake until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When the potatoes are almost tender, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Split open potatoes, transfer to a baking dish and top with zucchini mixture. Pour marinara over potatoes then top with mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to plates and serve. Nutrition: Per serving (1 potato): 340 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 670mg sodium, 53g total carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 11g sugar), 12g protein So I've been seeing these pins on pinterest that are descriptions of people and who they are and what they love. They come from a couple of different blogs. One is called Little Reasons to Smile and the other is called ...And That's Who I Am. My friend Sarah has been pinning them and put them on a board called "All About Me" so I thought I'd pick a few that describe who I am and share them with you :)
This weekend was my grandpa-in-law's 85th birthday so we went up to Husband's hometown to celebrate. We had a party for him on Saturday and then another mini-celebration yesterday. It was an eventful weekend, and I got very little sleep, but it was great to see everyone. Along with the birthday celebrations, we had an adventure during a thunderstorm yesterday! I thought I'd give you a good laugh for this Monday morning and share the adventure with you. First, there 8 dogs at my in-laws house. Most of which are extremely afraid of thunder!! Then, part of the gutters fell off on the back deck because of the heavy rainfall and wind! The gutters had a tarp covering some roof leaks so as soon as the gutter fell, two rooms started leaking! This is all happening while we have 18 family members at my in-laws's so it was a little crazy to begin with! After we got some buckets under the leaks and my cousin's husband was enlisted to try to fix the roof (he does this by trade), we saw the power lines outside swaying. Worried about what happened, my father-in-law opened the front door to see what was happening. Apparently a huge tree branch had broken and fallen on the line. As we congregated by the front door to look, we saw the line start smoking. Then, it caught fire and we watched a mini-explosion as the line blew! Then, we road was blocked by the power line and tree so we had to call the fire truck and the power company to clear the street because everyone was blocked in! Needless to say, we had an eventful and adventurous weekend. It was fun but I was definitely ready to get home last night! Think I'll be catching up on some rest this week! I made up this delicious dinner last night and it was so good I thought I'd share it with you all! Pork and Pasta with Herbs and Zucchini INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS: Cook your pasta while you prepare your vegetables. Mince the garlic and cook in a large skillet with olive oil. Once it has softened a little bit (and you can smell the garlic in your kitchen - a wonderful Italian smell :) ) add the zucchini and cook until softened. Halfway through cooking the zucchini, add the basil, thyme, and oregano to the skillet. Once your vegetables are ready (wait on adding the tomatoes until the end), take them out and cook the pork in the same skillet you cooked the zucchini in. I peppered the pork before cooking it. Once the pork is cooked thoroughly (roughly 4-5 minutes), take the pork out and add the zucchini back into the skillet along with the pasta that you have just cooked. Add some more olive oil and the tomatoes. Let all of the flavors mix together for about 5 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Then serve with the pork on the side (or on top)! |
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