On Saturday, I had the pleasure attending my second Poplar Ridge farm-to-table dinner as the official photographer.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a farm-to-table dinner is a meal that is created using ingredients (vegetables, herbs, etc.) straight from the farm you are visiting. It doesn’t get any more local than that, folks.

As a serious locavore, I get extra excited about amazing events like this.

And since I’d been to a Poplar Ridge dinner before, I knew the menu and food would be spectacular.

Upon arriving, I headed straight for the pool house to put down my camera bags and purse and see who was in the kitchen.

I was so happy to see Jaime and Courtney who had been the chefs at the first farm-to-table dinner I attended in September of last year (click to view that post). The two are not only a dynamic duo in the kitchen but really great people. I was worried last time that I may be in the way of the busy chefs (since I was shooting photos in the kitchen while they were preparing the eats), but they really made me feel welcome.

Jamie is the Executive Sous Chef at local restaurant Barrington’s. I’ve never been to that restaurant, but after experiencing Jaime’s kitchen skills first-hand, I really want to go!

While Jamie and Courtney prepared for the dinner, I headed out to take pictures around the flower garden and pool area.

The guests were served Poplar Ridge’s famed Pimm’s punch, which is a refreshing, fruity concoction.

And guests were free to roam the pool area…

…the yard…

…and the flower garden.

I loved wandering around the pool house and flower garden. They were both so peaceful and beautiful.

Soon enough, it was time for the dinner to start.

I headed back to the kitchen to take more food photos.

Courtney was plating the first course.

First course: Chilled Cucumber Soup with Spicy Gazpacho Gelee, Maine Crab Salad, Micro Cilantro, and Edible Flower Petals.

I had so much fun talking food with the chefs who both patiently answered my many foodie questions. Thanks guys!

Second Course: Curried Summer Bean Salad, Bacon, Caramelized Shallots and Cobra Tomatoes.

Third Course: Roasted Carolina Grouper, Braised Fennel, Spinach and Beet Emulsion.

Fourth Course: Blueberry Financier with Candied Lemon and Sour Cream Ice Cream

I didn’t sit at the tables during the meal, but I was lucky to try at least a bite of each course. Wowee, was it good. Chef Jaime (and Courtney) are very talented!

One of these days I’m going to have to partake in a farm-to-table dinner…as a guest! I just need to talk hubby into it. I think it would make a fantastic date night.

Thank you Poplar Ridge for letting me behind-the-scenes at your farm-to-table dinner! Click here to check out the PRF web site and learn about upcoming farm-to-table dinners, as well as CSA memberships.

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Have you ever been to a farm-to-table dinner?

If you went to one, what vegetable or fruit from the farm would you most like to see the chef prepare?

Hi from my parents’ house! We’ve had a relaxing but busy weekend so far.

Bailey always loves a good trip to visit “grandma and grandpa”.

I love the area behind their home. There’s always so much growing.

My mom took me on a tour of their garden to show me updates from the last time I saw it.

Baby okra.

Zucchini.

Baby bell pepper.

Eggplant.

Yellow bell pepper.

Green beans

And quite the assortment of tomatoes.

After a simple breakfast of bacan and egg sammies on WW rolls, we headed out for some more home-grown food adventures.

First up – the farmer’s market.

They had quite the assortment of dried beans, most of which I believe are local.

Mom and dad did the shopping and I just wandered around scoping out stuff.

Sis bought boiled peanuts for us to snack on as we headed out to our next destination – the peach farm!

My parent’s found a place that grew Red Haven peaches.

The farm was pretty busy with people picking their own fresh peaches.

Squashed peach.

The weather was perfect for being outdoors – warm but not too hot and with a slightly cool breeze. It felt like heaven outside.

Unlike last year’s blueberry picking adventure, it took us no time to fill up a basket with farm-fresh peaches.

And then we headed off the farm for lunch.

Not before checking out at the peach stand of course.

Have you been to a local farm this year? What did you get?

Happy Earth Day!!

What are you doing to celebrate?

Hubby and I decided to start our vegetable garden today using a combination of Square Foot Gardening and tips learned from Don of Instant Organic Garden. I worked from home today and since I had phone conferences non-stop after 11:30am, I took my “lunch break” in the morning to help hubby get our first box set-up.

The process was a little quicker today thanks to hubby having put the box together earlier this week and him finishing up the last few steps when my phone conferences started.

I’ve been scouting out the sun in our yard for the last couple weeks and we actually didn’t have many options to choose from when it came to garden location. But, we finally settled on a spot and placed our box.

We first put a layer of newspaper down. Not sure why…because we also…

…put a layer of weed control fabric down.

We mixed our compost…

…And then the rest of our soil ingredients.

We filled our box.

We watered.

All 3 times per the directions.

And soon enough our box was full.

Hubby was a doll and put the top grid together.

Fast forward to after the work day and it was planting time! I read somewhere that you should plant the new plants later in the day so the sun doesn’t stress out the newbies too much.

I gathered our materials.

Some seedlings – they’re looking a little wilted since I bought them on Saturday and was just now getting around to planting them. Come back little plants!

Stakes for the tomato plants. We got two kinds: plain wood stakes and more expensive spiraled ones. I’m going to test them out to see how they work.

Marigolds – a natural pest deterrent.

I got a tip to plant the tomato plants very deep so the soil actually comes up about 4-6 inches above the soil level of the seedling. I tried to use my hands for a visual. This is supposed to build strong roots.

We planted two kinds of tomatoes:

• Heirloom
• Cherry

We also planted green peppers…and of course the marigolds.

The planting was my favorite part. It was so serene in our yard with little birds chirping all around. What a relaxing way to end the day!

I got everything planted and we even have room for more plants! What to get next!? Maybe jalapenos? We may even build another box or two!

Oh, I did try planting one tomato plant in another area of the yard…I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out, but I’ll keep an eye on it.

I just had to water the new plants an d we were DONE-ZO!

I hope my wilty seedlings come back ok. Can’t wait to see how the garden turns out. I’ve been wanting my own vegetable garden for the last few years and now I finally have one again. Yay! So excited!

BIG thanks to hubby for all his help. <3 I hope we’re able to cook many delicious meals with the food from this little box.

Reader Question: What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?

PS Remember to enter my contest to win a tofu press from Nasoya! Click here to enter!

Earth Day is later this week, on Thursday, and what better time of the year than now to go green? As you know, I may not be the greenest person in the world but I think every effort, even the small ones, makes a difference in the greater good for our planet.

Here are some simple ways you can go green this week to celebrate Earth Day:

• Go meatless (or even vegan) for one day this week. You can check out my Meatless 4 Lent Guest Post series for some great meat-free ideas. You can also check my vegetarian and vegan blog tags. If you can’t commit to a whole day, why not try even just one meal?
• Recycle something. Maybe you recycle religiously. Maybe you never recycle but have good intentions to. Either way, the next time you’re getting ready to toss a can in the trash, why not think about recycling it instead?
• Get a (or use your) re-usable water bottle (just added to my OpenSky!). Why toss (or recycle) plastic water bottles all week when you can just keep refilling a prettier aluminum one? It’s greener and more cost-effective. Look for BPA-Free (just because the bottle is aluminum doesn’t mean it’s BPA free – check the label)
• Buy organic. Maybe you never buy organic, or only once in awhile? Try to go out of your way this week to buy as much organic as possible.
• Buy natural cleaning products. Try to replace even just one of your cleaning products with something more eco-friendly. Method, 7th Generation, and Mrs. Meyers (plus countless other options) make it easy to make the switch.
• Use recyclable bags to go grocery shopping. Dont’ have one? Then, this is the week to pick up a couple. They’re very affordable and some are even easier to carry than the plastic and paper ones traditionally offered.
• Shop a farmer’s market. Support your local farmers and buy local fruits, veggies, and maybe even other goodies like honey.

Imagine if every one did just one green thing this week. How awesome would that be? Though you can’t make everyone do something green, you can control your own choices and actions. Try to make at least one small change this week to go green. I promise it makes a difference.

You can check out my Green page or Go Green blog tag for more green inspiration.

Cheers!

How are you celebrating Earth Day this week?

Our Meatless for Lent Guest Post series continues with the fantastic Tasha of The Clean Eating Mama!! Tasha shares some tips and a great vegan recipe perfect for your next Meatless Friday meal. Take it away Tasha!
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Hey lovely Chic Life readers!

My name is Tasha, aka The Clean Eating Mama. Diana contacted me a few days back asking me if I could write a guest post on her blog; I was so excited! I have been reading TheChicLife for a while now and absolutely love her, her blog, her healthy lifestyle, and of course Bailey. =) I can see why she has so many fans!

She wanted me to write about my experiences eating a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle, as she and many others have given up meat for Lent. She thought it would be a perfect time for me to share some experiences and tips – thanks for this opportunity, Diana!

First, a little about me: I am a mama and a wife, living in the beautiful Seattle area, and also a lover of Mother Earth and all that she provides for us. Being a hippy at heart, I appreciate and celebrate my existence on Earth each and everyday. I recycle, compost, garden and tread as lightly as I can. I admit there are plenty of actions I can improve on but I know that even thought the small steps I am taking right now has a huge impact on Her.

So this post is not about Going Green - but I wanted to share those thoughts with you because they directly impact why I eat the way I do.

I want to start off by saying I am not here to preach that everyone NEEDS to be vegan or vegetarian. While I am very passionate about the way I live, everyone is different and leads lives to fit their personalities and beliefs; and you should never feel guilty about that. This is why I am not a fan of PETA, but I will save that for another day.

Let me just say for the record that I am very new at being vegan, and while I am learning to perfect this way of living, I am not perfect. An occasional slip of cheese here or there has made its way in my mouth, but I made that decision and I don’t feel too guilty. But I am 100% vegetarian, and have been for a while now. It has been a long road of transitioning but I feel wonderful about my decision and know that I am not only doing my own body good, I am also doing Mother Earth good, too.

I first started my blog last summer, and just like most, I once started reading healthy living blogs in my free time. l was learning to live a healthy lifestyle and was amazed by the support of others in this HUGE blog-o-sphere. I had my son in October of 2008 and wanted to lead a healthy lifestyle for not only myself but for him.

I had always perceived food as the enemy. I was an over weight child, due to the lack of nutrition and poor food choices that I was around. This led to teasing in school, low self esteem and a horrible self image problem. As I got older and was able to make my own decisions, I lost that weight and felt great! However, I wanted to keep losing and I was never good enough for myself. Spiraling out of control, I resorted to binging ad purging, diet pills and a mindset that ALL food was the enemy, except if it was sugar free, low fat or fat free. I hardly ate fresh food yet for some reason I thought I was eating healthy. I was so low that I avoided all social gatherings that involved food and would not eat in front of other people, other than family.

What was my turning point? My son. I did not want him growing up in a house that had candy, junk food and soda. I wanted him to learn at an early age that eating healthy, nutritious food is important for our bodies and mind. So I started making small changes and educating myself.

I was a nutritionist at a local hospital here in Washington a few years back; long before I had Jordan. I learned so much while working with the Registered Dietitian, and seeing helpless adults infected with diseases and health problems made me realize that food has such a dramatic impact on our lives. I am a firm believer that our health is directly linked to what we eat. Over the past few years I have learned a vast amount of information, but believe me – you never stop learning and there is always something to research. I am a huge advocate on Childhood Obesity, too. As adults and parents, we need to be leading and teaching the youth, our ONLY hope for a good future, what is best for us as humans, our health and what is best for our environment.

When I first started my blog I was neither vegan nor vegetarian, but my eating had cleaned up and I was enjoying eating fresh produce and thought I would be a great asset to the blogging community, and clean eaters alike. I am sure most of you have heard the term Clean Eating – it has become very popular. Clean Eating – to me – simply means “To eat from the Earth”. That’s it. I eat food with ingredients that I know what they are, AND ones that are the most nutritious for my body. Sure, we all know what sugar and white flour are BUT nutritionally they are pretty crappy for our bodies. I enjoy finding alternatives to the current staples that are so popular in our Western Diet, and making healthy, nutritious YET delicious meals.

I started to become aware of what I was putting in my body, seeing how I reacted to certain foods and how they changed my mood. The results were AMAZING! Less bloat, no headaches, digestion was great and I had an overall sense of well being that I had never experienced before. I looked at life and eating in a completely different light.

The more I researched, the more passionate I became. Then I watched a movie that forever changed me – Food Inc. It was then that I decided I wanted to make a difference for not only myself, but for Mother Earth AND innocent animals. I was never ignorant of the fact that animals were being violently executed for our own enjoyment and food cravings, but I never really KNEW how bad it was. Or how bad it was on our environment – water, air, soil and so on. And it does go beyond meat; dairy and all animal bi-products are treated the same way.

I feel GREAT about eating food that was not murdered, or treated inhumanly. True, there are morally conscious farms that do an AMAZING job by treating animals with dignity and respect. And I have respect for those farmers and farms. But I simply see no need for meat in my life, or animal products.

Transitioning my diet has been a a very smooth trail to follow. I don’t believe drastically changing the way you eat over night is healthy, and it only leads to frustration. This is why I DO NOT believe in diets. Eating healthy is a life style change, a change for life. I have finally mastered my brain into realizing that I need to eat this way for life and there are no “cheat days”, guilty eating or feelings of failure. I have chocolate and non-dairy ice cream on a daily basis and I love it! I enjoy eating now and I enjoy seeing the positive outcome it has made not only on my physically, but mentally.

Right now is the best time to be a vegetarian or vegan. There is pretty much an “alternative” to every kind of ingredient imaginable – faux meats, cheeses, spreads, desserts, milk… And with organic and sustained farming methods on the rise, it has never been easier to eat healthy, meat and dairy included. Because my diet revolves around mostly plants, buying the freshest is very important to me. Who wants to eat a salad with no taste, biting into a juiceless tomato or finding out your apple is mealy? Not me.

I continue to learn each and every day. I am far from perfect but strive to be the best person I can. There is a wealth of information out there right at your fingertips. I challenge each and every one of you to do a little research about food and nutrition. If nothing else, it will bring awareness and help you understand a little about why we should strive to eat healthy.

I hope that you are able to see just how passionate I am about eating as healthy as possible. You have one body, feed it well!

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I want to share some simple ways to start transitioning to eat less meat and animal products. Again, my goal is not to turn everyone into a vegan, but to bring awareness and show that it is quite simple to do. Even if it was simply one meal a week, that is a huge step! And these steps can be used to simply clean up your way of eating to a healthier one.

• Start slow. Like I just mentioned, make small adjustments. It can be as simple as buying organic apples rather than regular. Or ordering a veggie burger instead of a bacon cheeseburger.
• Get organized. You come home from work and your fridge is a mess, your pantry is out of sorts, your STARVING and all you want to do is grab the phone and order take out. Plan meals, prep ahead and make it easy on yourself! If you are starting slow with Tuesday nights dinner being vegetarian, plan it out. Have the ingredients in front of the fridge so it’s easy for you.
• Let’s cook! Visit a vegan/vegetarian website and print off the best looking meal you can find, then START COOKING! People just do not understand how simple vegetarian cooking is, nor do they realize how scrumptious it can taste!
• Educate yourself. Chances are if you have never looked into a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle, you probably have a lot of questions, concerns and comments. Google is your friend! Start typing away and let the links take you to your answers. I did my fair share of research before taking the vegan pledge – years and years I had dreamed of being vegan but never knew how to start. I needed answers to my questions. Knowledge is a powerful thing!
• Get veggie friends! I’m not saying to dump your old friends but make friends with someone that is a vegetarian or vegan. They will show you an entire world of eating and it will get you excited to try new things. Spend the evening together cooking a meal and enjoying each others company. Meetup.com is a great place to start. Search for groups that are focused on veggie diets and healthy living.

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I wanted to share a recipe that is not only vegan but I guarantee the meat eater in your life will also love it – my husband really likes it and he is far from vegetarian!

Vegan Lentil Loaf

Ingredients

• Ketchup or homemade tomato topping (see below)
• 1 1/3 cup plain oatmeal
• 1/2 block firm tofu
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms, button’s are fine
• 2 tablespoons tomato mixture or ketchup
• 3 tablespoons corn meal
• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning, or a combination of thyme, oregano and rosemary
• 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Sauce Topping

• 1 6oz can Tomato Paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of salt

Cook lentils – I always have leftover lentils, but I love lentils so I don’t mind! Be sure to rinse and sort lentils as they could have stones or debris in them. Add 2 cups water to one cup of lentils in a pot and turn burner on high. Once boiling, turn heat to medium low and let simmer for 30 – 45 minutes. The lentils should still be whole yet mushy.

Make tomato topping while lentils are cooking. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with a spoon. Taste to see if it may need more salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. In a large skillet add one tablespoon olive oil and put on medium heat, then add chopped vegetables and a pinch of salt. Stir and cook until onions are soft and transparent – about 5-8 minutes.

In a food processor, pulse oats for a few seconds until oats are small.

Drain tofu well and press between a towel or a few paper towels until all moister is gone. Place in a large mixing bowl and break up with a fork. You want to make sure they are in small crumbles.

In the same mixing bowl, add oats, lentils, vegetables, 2 tablespoons of tomato mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Mix until it is all combined – if it is too dry you can always add small amounts of water. You don’t want it too wet, but it should be able to stick together nicely.

A note about the spices – I know there are a lot of spices but I just took what I had in my cabinet and threw it in. You really do not need to add ALL of my suggested spices, but since there is no meat flavor you want to try to make is as flavorful as possible. I found that the poultry seasoning tasted great in it! Taste the mixture before you put it in the pan, making sure it tastes good and is seasoned to your liking.

Spray a loaf pan or small baking dish with non-stick spray. Spoon mixture in dish, then spread the rest of the tomato topping on top evenly. If you are using ketchup, use enough to cover the top evenly.

Cook for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and cook for another 10 minutes. Let cool, slice and serve.

This loaf makes a great meal when pared with a green salad or sautéed kale, and a baked sweet potato.

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I have many more recipes that you can view here, and I seem to update my list more and more frequently now that I have been cooking and baking everything from scratch. I basically live in my kitchen!

I hope you all have enjoyed my (long) guest post and I hope it has inspired you to try going meatless more often. I love hearing feedback and answering questions so please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime!

And again, thank you so much Diana, for allowing me to open up to your readers! You are such an inspiration to so many people out there! xoxoxo

Healthy eating,

Tasha

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You are too kind! Thank you again Tasha for sharing your story, tips, and recipe with us!

Click here to view the other Meatless 4 Lent guest posts for more meatless meal ideas and tips!

Sorry for not posting last night but I was entertaining having a blast till MIDNIGHT!

Monday morning I made a quick 3 bean salad using this recipe I found on Simply Recipes. I intended to make it Sunday but…well, I didn’t. So Monday AM it was! No cooking required, so it was quite quick.

I’ve been enjoying my CinnaChip breakfast casserole but thought the last couple times it was just a tad too sweet. I love my sweets and all, but I don’t like when my sweets are too sweet. So, I thought I’d try something new. Something like the Celestial Sauce from Eat Drink and Be Vegan!

It was PERFECT! Even hubby liked it! The sauce reminded me a lot of the sauce I enjoyed on Bread Pudding at Hell’s Kitchen in Minneapolis, MN.

I topped my bread pudding with sliced almonds for a little crunch.

I’m DEFINITELY making this again!

Then, it was back to work after my stay-cation. I was actually feeling really ready to be back.

I had lots of goodies to take to work: my frozen emergency lunch meals, emergency canned soup, meal bars, a bowl (for the canned soup), and lunch for Eat in Month.

I brought my new BPA-free Green Bottle to work too. Isn’t it beautiful?! I LOVE it!

I also brought a Dilbert calendar – got this half off at Barnes & Nobles.

Lunch was really great: a toasted chicken sammie (Earthfare oven roasted chicken, Earthfare havarti cheese on Great Harvest Flax Oat Bran), my 3 bean salad, and some apples (leftover from the apple topping on that casserole).

For an afternoon pick-me-up, I made some Pomengranate White Tea with sugar (need to get some honey to keep at my desk at work!)

I had an afternoon snack to fuel up for ZUMBA: an Odwalla Berries GoMega and Kashi crackers. I got the bars on sale at Earthfare. I thought it was quite tasty and I liked the chewy texture.

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Let me take this moment to say that my zumba friends are the BEST! When I told them about the Eat in Month Challenge, I was worried we’d have to give up our Monday get togethers or that they’d have to go without (since I couldn’t eat at restaurants). Buuuut, you know what? They joined in on the challenge! Oh yes, they ROCK! Thanks ladies!

Soo…what’s a girl to do when you and your friends can’t eat out together? Have them over for dinner!

Our house is a total wreck and I was terribly embarrassed that they had to see it in the state it was in, but our Mondays are too fun to give up because of a not-set-up house.

I decided to make lasagna! Here’s a recipe you can use to re-create this beef and spinach lasagna.

Hubby helped me out by making some meat sauce while we were busy wrapping up zumba class so I’d just have to assemble the lasagna when I got home. Thanks babe!

I snuck some frozen spinach in the mix so we’d get some extra veggie serving.

We used our dining room for the FIRST time for our zumba dinner. What a great way to kick things off in there!

My friends brought yummy eats with them, including salad, which we topped with some of that 3-bean salad. It was a nice combo.

I lucked out while I was making our beef & spinach when I had a total “doh!” moment when I realized that one of my zumba friends was pescatarian!

The lucky part was that thanks to my well-stocked pantry, I was able to put together a last minute mini-veggie lasagna…yay!

Dinner is served!

Stacy + Kat!

Stacy + Kat also brought some yummy rosemary olive oil bread, which I toasted under the broiler and brushed with a garlic-y butter-y topping.

They even brought over a yummy dessert – tiramisu! (to stay in the Italian theme) It was the perfect ending to our Monday dinner together.

Thanks Stacy + Kat for coming over and bringing over some tasty eats!

Now…what to make next week???

Well, this week has been pretty crazy at work with every day full of 6 hours of conference calls and a big deliverable due tomorrow. Oh and I have to present said deliverable in front of 25 of our project’s stakeholders. Yippee!

Anywho, I’m currently sipping a nice glass of Orvieto white wine, which I picked up on my way home from work at Trader Joe’s. *sip, sip sip* time to blog!

Due to my blogastrophe last night with my publisher deleting my hours worth of posting last night, I woke up running a bit late. Seems to be the norm lately!

I toasted up some Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat bread in our broiler (still haven’t gotten a new toaster!) and topped it with some Barney Butter. My chia seeds are, unfortunately, packed away soooomewhere, so I couldn’t add them as per normal. I also enjoyed the last of our Dunkin Donuts coffee. I liked it ok, but MUCH prefer my fave – Fresh Market coffees. That Larry’s coffee stuff is pretty good, too!

Early morning snack – Trader Joe’s Chocolate Soy Milk…oh so good!

Lunch: toasted turkey sammie and edamame. SOOO GLAD that I made extra edamame yesterday so I had a veggie to take to work.

Moi sans makeup with an afternoon snack – Raw Organic Food Bar in Chocolate Coconut (won free on Twitter).

These bars are addicting!

I FINALLY took a nice re-stocking trip at Trader Joe’s. I got all kinds of good stuff:

• frozen edamame, peas, green beans, mixed soybeans/red pepper/corn
• mozzarella cheese
• dark chocolate triangles
• truffle brownie mix
• rolled oats
• yogurt
• Orvieto white wine
• free range organic chicken broth
• organic free range boneless skinless chicken
• maple syrup
• organic celery
• organic baby carrots
• spaghetti squash
• gluten free marinara sauce
• organic butter
• parsley

So glad to have some veggies and food back in the house! I got almost all the ingredients I needed to cook dinner: Rachael Ray’s Chicken & Dumplings – perfect for the icky rainy weather we’ve been having lately.

Trader Joe’s didn’t have any biscuit mix, so I swung by Harris Teeter but I couldn’t find ANY biscuit mix that didn’t have TRANS FATS. wth!

I was going to cave and grab one of the trans-fatty boxes when I decided NO! I will not give in! I will make my OWN biscuits FROM SCRATCH. Take THAT trans fats!

I used this recipe (click) to make from scratch biscuits using the white-wheat flour I had from a previous Trader Joe’s trip.

Pictures from cooking:

I put my recipe on my phone so I wouldnt have to print it out. Go green!

While my dumplings simmered away, I got started on dessert…

Trader Joe’s Truffle Brownies!

I made a bit of a mess when the bag of mix EXPLODED all over the counter!

I placed the brownies in the oven just before sitting down to enjoy dinner.

You likey my new bowls!? I do!

Candle lit dinner

Orvieto – VINO! Yum!

Up close and personal. Just before my first bite. I think this is my favorite photo from the post!

Seconds.

Hubby brought me a brownie while I was catching up on last week’s Flash Forward on my computer. What a DOWNER last week’s episode was! So sad! He didn’t have to do that! (FF watchers, you know what I’m talking about – the Celia episode). This show is really getting good…I think I’m addicted! Oh and that last scene! Wow. I can’t wait to see this week’s episode!

Randomness

In other randomness, I got an email saying a friend had tagged a photo of me on Facebook. I went to check it out and was pretty shocked by what I saw. It was a photo from when I was in college and I barely recognized myself. This is me back when I still had my Freshman-20…or was it 30? I can’t remember, but here it is:

Then (college):

Now (Flaunting it for Flaunt It Week):

Thank goodness for zumba! So weird to see old pictures of yourself sometimes, no?

Flaunt It Week

Speaking of Flaunt It Week, we had some more most-awesome submissions on Twitter (use #flauntitwk):

• @serendipity85 Today for #flauntitwk, I taught my girls at work the importence of self-esteem. In a sense, girl power!
• @FlyinRedMermaid #flauntitwk dark dreary coldwindy day, countered with purple jacket, bitch boots, bright red and blue silk scarf, gold glitter eyeshadow.
• @JJsVinBlanc @FlyinRedMermaid #flauntitwk dreary day countered by stopping to enjoy the sound of my wind chimes & warm pizza for lunch.
• @JJsVinBlanc #flauntitwk scheduled apts for myself – yoga, massage, acupuncture, and hair cut next week!
• @serendipity85 For #flauntitwk, today I wil be working on my criminal justice homework. We need more strong females to kick criminal butt!

G’night!

(Please, ecto, I beg you…please don’t delete my post tonight!)

For all the pre-packing and pre-moving hubby and I did, moving day was one of the longest I remember. The day seemed to go on for eternity and we did end up spending a lot more of the day doing moving related tasks than I ever expected.

In a perfect world, we would have moved on or just next to a weekend, but when renovation projects ran over, we ended up just trying to push our move back as little as possible to save money on apartment rent.

On moving day, our little apartment was stuffed with boxes and packing materials.

Hubby picked up breakfast. I made coffee at home. With the coffee, I had a half bacon egg and cheese bagel and half blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese. I didn’t think I ate that much, but the food really held me over during the day.

Once the movers got to our place, we had to lock Bailey up in his cage. I don’t think he cared being stuck in there.

Check out one of the wonky boxes hubby picked up from the grocery store. To be cost-effective and green, we got all our boxes for free from our local grocery store and from my office.

Oh, and did I mention it was supposed to rain all day? Magically, around lunchtime, the skies cleared and the sky turned bright blue! The weather was nearly perfect, which made me extra happy.

You like my moving outfit? Oh yea…that’s hot, I know! I just threw stuff on…whatever I could find that wasn’t packed and was easy to move in.   

I wanted to move our stuff a la Pinque, but hubby insisted on movers. Luckily movers come with plenty of furniture padding.

Around 3pm-ish…I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch. Hubby picked up some marinated kale for me…

…and a sweet treat – some donut holes from a local bakery to share.

Yum-O!

After the movers were done, we still had TONS of work to do. I went ahead and cleaned the fridge in the new house to make way for our food. Then, we were back to the apartment to pack the last of our stuff (which there was a TON left in the kitche…where did it come from!?) and clean.

I picked up Moe’s for dinner around 9pm – the Joey combo with queso and chicken…

…and tortilla chips. The combo had way too much food, so I split about half of it with hubby. I had sweet tea for some caffeine to get me through the night.

Hubby and I also split a chocolate chip cookie for a morale boost.

After lots of hard work, we FINALLY finished!

Here’s me and hubby after we finally finished. This photo was taken around 2am. That’s right…we stayed up till about 2 am finishing our packing and cleaning. Ugh! It was a LONG day but we are done-zo!

After this, we headed to our new home to unload our last trip of stuff from the apartment.

We only had 1 piece that really broke on the trip – our coffee table (the leg was already wobbly when it was in the apartment). Unfortunately, this was one of the “nice” pieces of furniture we have. This move has made me realize that we really don’t have ANY nice furniture. We’ve been using hand-me-down and mish-mashed furniture for the last several years. I can’t wait to start finding furniture for our new home!

Here’s all the food had on us after the move…our fridge looks so sad and empty! I can’t wait to hit up the grocery store so we have food at home. I’m ready for a home-cooked meal!

Anywho, I gotta get to bed…I’m zonked! More house fun to come!

I had a fun 6 hours of conference calls today at work.

Luckily I had a delicious Raw Organic Food Bar (won for free) in Chocolate Coconut to get me through the day. There’s something about the chocolate chips in this bar that I just love.

After work, hubby and I swung by the house to check on the progress. Almost all the walls and trim are completely painted. It’s so exciting to see all the new colors in the house – ESPECIALLY in that SUNROOM! I picked light turquoise (my fave) for the sunroom because I think I’ll spend the most time in there (besides the kitchen, of course).

Then, hubby and I went by our new favorite shopping spot – Lowes. From Banana Republic to Lowes in a year…my how things change!

We checked out floor stains for when we re-finish our hardwoods.

After Lowes, hubby and I went to Noodles & Co for dinner. We called up our friends Justin + Emily who live near by and had an impromptu group dinner. It was really nice catching up over food. We’ll have to do this more often!

I ordered the trio and got chicken noodle soup to combat the chilly weather outside. I thought it was really good – especially for chain restaurant food, though it was a bit on the salty spot. Considering the cool temps, it really hit the spot. I would get this again.

For my entree, I got the Wisconsin Macaroni & Cheese with parmesan crusted chicken.

The mac and cheese wasn’t quite as good as I remembered it (from the time hubby ordered it), but the ooey gooey cheese was exactly what I was looking for. I think I prefer my dad’s recipe, but that takes some time to cook up.

Hubby got the stroganoff noodles with braised beef and a side caesar salad.

Justin was nice enough to share 1/2 of one of his ciabatta rolls – it was really good!

Kiwi for dessert #1.

After dinner, it was time to get down to business. I picked up again packing in the craft room and took a 30 minute break to watch The Hills.

I got up during a commercial to get some milk and look who took my spot! Bailey!

Meeeee??????

Dessert #2: my last praline and some skim milk.

Btw, Kat said I can post one of her photo shoot photos (from yesterday)…yay! I LOVE this one! Isn’t she gorge!? Look at her beautiful curly hair!

Tidbits

• Ellie Krieger is coming out with a new cookbook! Title=So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week (now available for pre-order via amazon.com). I think I need to go pre-order mine now.
• Green Article: 6 Simple Ways to Save Energy at Home (via cnn.com)
• Larabar tweeted an awesome idea for healthy Halloween treats – mini Larabars!

Have a great week everyone!

Breakfast yesterday was so good, I decided to make it again today.

I’m getting much better at fried eggs…yay!

Coffee (with fresh-ground coffee beans) in my inspirational mug (featuring one of my all-time fave quotes: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?“)

Instead of kiwi, I opted for an organic banana today. The rest was the same as yesterday: 1 fried cage-free egg, and Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat toast, 1/2 with real butter and 1/2 with TJ’s pumpkin butter.

I swung by our house a couple hours after breakfast. We opted for a greenish color for the master bedroom.

Light gray graces our 2nd bedroom aka my closet/changing room.

For our 3rd bedroom aka guest room, we chose a light blue.

Our kitchen is a bit of a disaster zone. Thank goodness we decided to do all this work BEFORE we moved in!

I found some yucky mushrooms growing outside…ick!

My Bay Laurel plant seems to be doing ok. Please grow strong little one!

I can’t tell if these yellow and purple flowers are good flowers or just weeds with flowers. Anyone know?

I was feeling a bit blah today, so I decided some retail therapy was in order. I went to Barnes & Noble. Magazine shopping always makes me happy. I heart magazines…perhaps too much? I managed to only buy two: Natural Health and Body + Soul. I’ve been waiting to close on the house to start subscriptions on these two, so hopefully, I can sign up soon. I LOVE these mags!

I brought my magazines to Earthfare to have a quiet little lunch solo.

Since the weather outside was so cold, I decided a cup of soup sounded wonderful. I tried the Butternut Squash + Apple, which was nice and sweet.

My main dish: a salad with romaine, baby spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, purple cabbage, celery, sprouts, wheatberry salad with sesame goddess dressing.

I tried to eat the wheatberry salad separately, but ended up stirring everything together. They gave the salad nice texture.

I got more of that yummy iced Mate tea – the lemon version this time. Oh-so-good!

I had a whole wheat chocolate chip cookie for dessert. It was the PERFECT ending to this yummy lunch. The texture was awesome – slightly crunchy on the edges and tender on the inside. I loved the pieces of oats. This cookie reminded me a lot of the Clean Food version I made awhile back.

I noticed a quote from Sara Snow, one of my fave TV personalities, in my Natural Health magazine. Just another reason I love that mag!

I read an article in the NM magazine about a woman who beat breast cancer the natural way. The woman in the article was healthy and active but still got breast cancer. When she found out, she threw out all her products and foods with hormones, antibiotics, and toxins. She started using only organic and all natural products. She totally revamped her lifestyle and beat cancer! The article was very inspiring, but also was one of those things you read that makes you afraid of conventional products. It’s stories like this one that remind me to try to eat and use as much organic and all-natural as possible. If you can, check out the magazine – the article was really good.

Anywho, I’ve been eating a lot more organic and all-natural food products, but I’ve been wanting to switch over with other products I use: lotions, soaps, etc.

After I wrapped up lunch, since I was already at Earthfare, I decided to go ahead and do some grocery shopping. I picked up some organic veggies for the week, but I also headed over to their beauty section. I checked out some of the organic and all-natural lines of shampoos and conditions, but there were a TON!

I was going to try to google reviews etc. once I got home, but when I spotted the travel sized products, I couldn’t resist picking one out to try.

I decided to try the BWC (Beauty Without Cruelty) conditioner in Rosemary Mint Tea Tree.

On the bottle:

• paraben free
• 100% vegetarian
• organic ingredients
• 100% pure organic essential oils
• pH balanced

I also picked up a an Earth Therapeutics all-natural bamboo cleansing sponge. It’s uber-soft!

With all this tofu eating and organic/all-natural product preferring, I’m starting to wonder if I’m becoming a modern hippie?! Did I mention I used to be in the Earth Love Club in high school? Oh yea! lol

Does any one have any suggestions for organic and/or all-natural beauty products (shampoo, lotion, makeup, etc)?