InstaFriday

This week has been a mellow one. It has been atleast 100F everyday so I have spent lots of time inside trying to stay hydrated.

1. Check out these watermelons! Someone I know could make some killer helmets from these. 2. We opened some of our wedding wine on the weekend to celebrate our first anniversary. It was delish. 3. The beautiful blue sky = excessive heat. It might be nice to look at but it means more time inside hiding. 4. It was crazy humid last weekend after it rained... then our windows steamed up!

5. This week I have been loving peanut butter on seeduction bread from Whole Foods. Obsessed. 6. Dinner on Wednesday was my fave sandwich (brie, spinach, turkey, and fig jam), vegan cookies, and a lavender drink that was weird. 7. Did you hear this big announcement?!? The Spice Girls are doing a musical. It opens in London on Dec 11. I am trying to figure out a way to make it to a show. Anyone want to join me? I just watched the media video and sang through the entire thing! It makes me reminisce about going to the reunion tour! Yes, I am that excited. 8. I reunited with iced chai. It was amazing.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I hope mine is filled with productivity, sunshine, and loads of water.

Carrot harvest

Although it has been hot this week, it has not been overly humid. The lack of humidity gave me the opportunity to harvest my carrots! Its surprisingly nice outside when it is 101F and only 34% humidity!

We have a shallow garden bed so most of them were very short! The hummus came out last night and I think we devoured about a quarter of the carrots. They were delish! 

The garden is mostly complete for the season (except tomatoes) which will give the soil time to regenerate once we pull all the weeds and mix in some compost. Here in Louisiana you can do a spring garden and a fall garden. I plan to plant more vegetables for my second garden of the year including more beans, lettuce, zucchini, and hopefully some sweet potatoes!

Strawberry french toast

I was really feeling french toast on the weekend. I planned ahead and defrosted some strawberries and got to work!

ingredients:

1 loaf daily bread at Whole Foods

3 eggs + 1/2c egg whites

1/3 c skim milk

2t cinnamon

2t Mexican vanilla

2c sliced strawberries with sugar

Canadian maple syrup

Mix together eggs, egg whites, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Soak each side of bread in egg mixture and cook in a skillet, flipping when golden brown. Enjoy with strawberry topping and maple syrup.

Simple? Yes.

Delicious? Yes!

Summer pinspiration

Pinterest is such a wonderful invention. So it wifi at sports bars. Together... genius! Here are some of the things that are inspiring me this summer:

pink running shoes - a campfire in a terra cotta pot - cute and comfy sandals - hydrangeas - tomatoes and goat cheese in a mushroom cap - striped dresses - mozza and tomato pita pizzas - pink dresses

Other thoughts for this summer include:

a haircut - still trying to find a way my manage my curls in this humidity

a trip to the beach - with some amazing kids, I might add

pool time with pals

a couple trips

This summer will be very different living in the south. It is already 102F and humid today! I may be spending more time trying to stay cool than I am used to but we will still have lots of time to have fun. How has the first week of your summer been?

Healthy potato salad

The was a request for potato salad with sunday dinner. I was not willing to make something covered in mayo... Pinterest and Tastspotting to the rescue! I found a great recipe that turned potatoes into more of a real salad... and with 2 blue cheese lovers in the house, it was an easy choice.

1kg red potatoes, quartered, boiled, and chilled

100g pancetta, diced and cooked until crispy

70g blue cheese crumbles... okay, we may have used more

6 roma tomatoes, diced

1 bunch parsley, chopped finely

2T balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper

3T evoo

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl. Chill in fridge for 3 hours. Serve on a Sunday with chicken and broccoli... or any time with anything!

 

InstaFriday

Good morning! Happy Friday to all!

This week has gone by quick. It was filled with studying, a couple wonderful dates, some working, and lots of sunshine.

1. I ended up being on campus Monday around lunch for a meeting. After, B and I went to Serrano's for some fajitas. It was delish. I also love their artwork. I think it looks great against the brick walls. 2. Great coffee deserves great food. Currently, I  am obsessed with the SB veggie and monterey jack breakfast sandwich to go with my usual iced coffee.  3. A date at the bookstore, our fave. 4. One day it rained so hard I could barely see where I was driving. Luckily the interstate was not moving so I had a chance to take a photo of the sideways rain. As I took this I heard there was a 50% chance of rain that day. I would say more like a 50% chance it will rain so hard you cannot see where you are driving and should have stayed home.

 5. Obsessed with iced coffee. I really like making instant via into iced coffee. They were on sale at Target... a box of 8 for $6... I picked up 6 boxes. Obsessed? Its cheaper than going to SB everyday! And healthier because I can use almond milk in it at home. 6. I was working in B's office this week for a bit. We really need to hang his cardinals flag because it is taking up my desk space! 7. Currently, I am really into my green No2 pencil skirt with my mint tee and brown accessories. 8. Still knitting. I cannot show you more because I know the recipient will be reading this!

In other interesting news. Want to read about a study I participated in? Here's the link. Remember, I got a gift card to Lulu and B got one for Crate & Barrel!

Also, I found out yesterday I got accepted to present at Neuroscience 2012! It is my first international conference so it is quite an exciting moment for me.

Time to tackle my to-do list. We have a visitor for the next 5 days and I have lots to get done before he arrives.

Recent eats

We try to eat at home most days of the week. It is more cost efficient, healthier, and gives us the option to cook together. Here are some things we have been eating lately:

a veggie filled salad with sweet potato fries and some mandarin oranges

  sunny side up eggs and tomatoes on homemade scones

taco salad with ground turkey and homemade salsa

 teriyaki salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, and cucumber

poached eggs on spinach with yogurt & spiced butter

Tsunami

For our first anniversary dinner, B and I went to Tsunami. We love sushi and used to have it frequently in Edmonton so it was nice to get back to an old tradition. We also had some great recommendations from friends! Conveniently, Tuesday nights have lots of drink specials and discounts on sushi rolls. We figured we could not go wrong being this close to the gulf... we were right!

The view from Tsunami is amazing. It is downtown Baton Rouge on the 6th floor of the Shaw Center for the Arts. They have a patio with a view of the river and lots of places to lounge. It was fun to take a moment to watch the boats on the river before starting dinner... even with the crazy wind!

We each had a couple drinks to celebrate and shared a couple amazing dishes:

combination tempura: mixed vegetables and shrimp tempura with tempura sauce

seaweed salad - our fave!

don tuan: cream cheese, tuna, crunchy shrimp, cucumber on inside, snowcrab and avocado on outside with spicy graham cracker served with kazan sauce and siracha

dynamite roll: diced tuna, yellowtail, fresh salmon, avocado, and spicy sauce

vegetable roll: cucumber, pickle dikon, avocado, yamagobo, kanpyo

atmosphere: check

food: check

service: check

 

It all ended with some cupcakes we picked up earlier in the day to eat in lieu of cake. Unfortunately, our cake is still in Canada in my parents deep freeze so we had to improvise!

We will definitely be back to Tsunami on future Tuesdays for some great eats and a great view. Anyone want to join us next time?

1st Anniversary!

Today is a special day! One year ago I married my best friend.

We've had a crazy year! We went to San Deigo, San Jose del Cabo, Paris, Baton Rouge, and Houston, moved 4000km to a new country, B started working, and I took a break from the working world.

I cannot wait for many more years of traveling, quiet nights at home, and everything else the world sends our way!

P.S. Still working on the name change. I did not think it would take this long! Can I please send a big shout out to CAOT, United MileagePlus, and the Louisiana DMV for being on the top of my list of easiest places to change my last name. I appreciate you.

HBD

Happy birthday to my brother... K!

Wow. This week has been full of birthdays!

You may be getting old... but will always be young at heart! I know you may not read this but maybe mom will send it to you. Have a wonderful birthday weekend!

InstaFriday

Its been a rainy week in the south. That means I have been spending more time inside... wait, I think I spent the last month inside hiding from the excessive heat and humidity. Atleast I have kept busy all week so it went by quick!

 1. Date night on Saturday included drinking wine and baking B's fave oatmeal cookies. It was a great combo. 2. One of my besties is pregnant. I have brought out the knitting to make something special. I am know for not getting baby gifts done... but this time I will. Maybe I need to make some toddler gifts for some other wonderful children I know too! 3. The flowers here amaze me. Every month a new flower appears where you would least expect it. This month: pink flowers all over lots of trees in our neighborhood. 5. My other bestie likes to show me her cats while we chat on FaceTime. I am stealth and take screen shots with my iPhone then instagram the pic. I was then told by someone that her cats are much cuter... little did she know it was her cat and I would giggling about it all week!

5. 99 cents for a small waffle cone at TCBY on Wednesdays. I choose orange sorbet and honey greek swirl. It was delish! 6. More garden tomatoes to complete my turkey and hummus wrap for lunch. 7. Studying is so much better when you can watch every single episode of Grey's Anatomy. I am really enjoying the Netflix and apple TV combo! 8. I attended day 1 of the semi annual sale at Victoria's Secret this week. It was nuts but I came home with some great finds!

This weekend we need to cut the grass when it stops raining. By we I mean B... the grass has been growing like crazy. I also work all weekend so that should keep me busy! Have a great weekend!

Wish List

The newest pieces from J Crew came out this week.  Although I am not supposed to shop, I still have a wish list of items I would love.

perfect shirt in chambray polka-dot - ink dip popover in persimmon - stripe linen open stitch sweater in sun driftwood - cafe capri in tropical aqua - no2 pencil in fresh kiwi circle eyelet - navy bubble necklace - crepe knit sundress

I also love these black loafers and the tippi sweater in neon fuchsia!

Happy shopping blog friends!

Fusilli with Goat Cheese, Peas and Prosciutto

I cannot believe I forgot to share this recipe with you! It was delish! It was based off a recipe I found by Whole Foods... made more budget friendly (no, I did not need to buy the most expensive goat cheese in store) and what we had at home.

1 boxwhole grain fusilli pasta
2 cups frozen peas
4 ounces goat cheese
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. Three minutes before the pasta finishes cooking, add peas. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta and peas well.
Place cheese in a large bowl and crumble it into small pieces. Add orange zest. Stir in drained pasta and peas and toss until cheese has melted and evenly coated the pasta. If cheese doesn't melt completely, add a few tablespoons of reserved pasta cooking water and continue tossing. Stir in prosciutto and serve.

This was an amazing and quick weekday meal that we will make again. Things we loved about it:

1. leftovers! B loves things like this for lunch the next day.

2. The creamyness of the goat cheese with the crispness of the peas and saltyness of the proscuitto!

3. The cost per serving when you are selective with your ingredients. Just because Whole Foods tells you to use $10 goat cheese does not mean the $3 herbed goat cheese will not be delish!

Risotto

On Sunday, B made risotto. It was delish. It also involved stirring for over an hour... luckily wine was involved so I was happy to sip and stir!

The risotto had roasted mushroom (my fave) and sauteed Louisiana shrimp since they were on sale!

I would share the recipe with you, but honestly, we just follow this recipe by Jamie Oliver every time we make risotto! The instructions are great and it seems to be fool proof for us. One thing I love about this recipe is that it makes leftover for lunches for the week. Because who doesn't love gourmet risotto as their mid-day meal?

Back to my busy day!

HBD

Happy Birthday to one of my besties... E!

Though I may be in a different country, that does not stop me from mailing you random items in a box which I like to call a gift... or being your friend!

It also does not stop me from instagramming your cat! I promise to post the photo on Friday!

See you soon?!? I hope your birthday is wonderful and full of sunny weather! Turn up the heat, drink some iced coffee, and pretend you are in the south with me!

HBD

Happy birthday to my long time bestie.... C!

We may have been in different places since the ripe old age of 8, but distance does not stop friendship. Thanks for being my friend for so many years!

P.S. This photo is terrible of me... but since it is your day I wanted to use the best one of you!

InstaFriday

This week was a great week. We had a visitor on the weekend and visitors during the week! I am so excited for our new friends to move to town later this summer! 

 1. We has a weekend of foodie adventures with our weekend guest. He really like to see new places and will try anything. We went to Fat Cow and had an amazingly lean burgers... B ate my bacon. They had an innovative menu and delicious food which means we will be back! 2. We went to The Ritz... well just the lobby to cool off in NOLA, how sophisticated. 3. I am still obsessing over my organic margarita. It was delish... and I am still convinced it was good for me. 4. We finally made it to Magpie Cafe! I had a ham and cheese croissant and iced coffee. I really liked the food and atmosphere but the prices are a little steep IMO.

 5. I tried to take some photos of the rain on Wednesday. It poured! 6. I think this was the best photo I got. I think it shows the best representation of why I spent the day inside. 7. Though I like the monochromatic look of this one. 8. Then I went on the computer and saw that during this pouring rain they "expect dry conditions over the next 6 hours". Right.We really needed the rain, my garden will be much happier now.

9. A SB date. Our fave place for a morning pick me up. 10. We continued with the summer tradition of Whole Foods pizza on Thursday nights. For $9.99 you cannot go wrong! 11. What an exciting moment! Except it was forwarded to me where we already have a J Crew. It officially opened on Thursday! Edmonton friends... go check it out. You will not be sorry...okay you might be because you will love everything. I sure do! 12. A new blend exclusive to the USA. I could not tell if it was just a different blend repackaged or something new!

Chelseaism of the week: our weekend guest logged into his Netflix account on our Apple TV and said we can use it. B was of course watching Star Trek and they were talking about the cardassians. In total seriousness I asked, "Are the cardassians the same as Kim Kardashian?" Wow. You should google it...

Have an amazing weekend! We have the usual planned... study, work, yardwork, & eat delish food!

Oatmeal cookies

I am a big fan of oatmeal cookies. I am also a huge fan of oatmeal cookie frozen yogurt. When we walked into Yogurtland last night and I saw that Oatmeal Cookie fro yo was back I knew my day was complete. It actually tastes like the real thing but is cold and refreshing!

At 30 calories per ounce I don't feel too guilty about the sweet treat either!

Back to my busy day! See you tomorrow!

 

NOLA #3

This trip to NOLA was a bit different. We walked lots, wandered the flea market and farmers market in the French Quarter, and ate way too much yummy food! Here are some highlights:

is a margarita better for you if it is organic? - this was delish!

of course on a foodie trip we went to Cafe du Monde - iced cafe au lait and beignets for me

Acme Oyster House - a NOLA staple - soup and boo fries (their version of poutine)

The Camellia Grill - pecan pie

What a foodie trip! This is my commitment to be at the gym every day this week!

Making It Right

Have you heard of Making it Right? I had not heard of it until a friend came to visit and he requested we go on our trip to New Orleans. What an experience! Take a peek at the link to learn more... it is such an amazing program that really seems to be making a difference. Here are some of the photos I took of the area:

all of the homes are safe, sustainable and affordable with modern architecture

the little free library - we learned about this on the news a few years back, it was great to see they have implemented this in the neighborhood - I like my reflection in the photo

more photos of the program information site and some local gardens

I love this photo I took! What a great representation of a great program. I am also surprised at some of the photos I can take with my iPhone.

Take a peek at the Making It Right website to learn more. It was really moving to walk through the neighborhood and see all their hard work. They have posted photos of the flooding and point out exactly where you are standing in the flood. If you are every in NOLA you should check it out or send your support!

InstaFriday

I worked... I worked out... I cleaned... and I researched. Yup, another typical week in this household! We have various visitors staying with us this next week and I have a long to-do list so lets get right to my photos!

Oh, I just realized it is June 1! Where did May go?

1. My new skirt from Target! It is comfortable while still looking stylish... exactly my style. 2. My fave snack is a sliced banana with peanut butter on top. Great portion size, added protein, and slightly sweet! 3. Check out this orange heirloom growing in my garden this week! I already ate it and it was amazing. 4. When we were at Central Market in TX, I purchased some parchment muffin liners. What an amazing idea! I used them when making baked oatmeal earlier this week and nothing stuck to the cup! I need to find these in Baton Rouge.

5. Bodypump... how I missed you! I cannot wait to fit more classes at Bally's into my schedule. 6. Are we at Jason's Deli again? 7. The most amazing sign at Whole Foods. It is true, you know. 8. Last evening after it rained it was only +22C in Baton Rouge. It felt cool. I cannot believe I just said that. 

Have an amazing weekend!