A Pinterest-y Idea

Oh Pinterest, if only I could make things as cute as I see them!

Here is the link to this sweet creation.

And here is mine

Definitely not as cute but it was my first attempt at celophane, so I'm pretty proud.

Planned on sticking the spoons in the bowl, but didn't want to open them, so went with second best :P

I have missed many a wedding shower living outside of Atlanta, but living in Columbia and actively involved in a newly-wed Sunday School class definitely has its perks.

Baby showers are coming up!

We are definitely not looking to go down the baby road right now, but I am loving getting to be a part of new friends adventures and blessings :)

Italian Popcorn!

I know there are a million different ways to fancy up popcorn, but here is one way I tried last night and LOVED! Added some parmesan on top and it was SO good! :)

Happy Thursday!

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Photo Credit

I hope everyone has a very special Valentine's Day,

focused on the people most important to you rather than the things that accompany this pretty pink and heart covered day :)

Sushi Wednesday!

I have had seaweed wraps in the pantry just waiting to be used for way too long!

I had never made sushi on my own before, and honestly, it was a lot of work for lunch for one person, but in the end it was delicious!

I filled the rolls with brown rice, avocado slices, slivered cucumber, and matchstick carrots... mmmm!

Followed directions from this blog

I put too much rice on the first roll, but by the second all of the kinks were worked out!

Not trying to go pro or anything, but I'm pretty proud of it :)

This Crazy Life!!

This semester is flying by!

Here are the top ten things going on in our lives lately:

1. We have stuck to our healthy {mostly} eating routine. Both have continued to eat vegetarian and DJ has stayed away from sugary sweets completely. I have managed to keep my resolution and have planned at least two meals a week ahead of time. These Mexican Baked Eggs were my most recent accomplishment

visit here for the recipe:

http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/09/mexican-baked-eggs.html

2. I got a car!!! We made it through the first 8 months of being married with just one, which was not easy, but definitely worth it for how much money we saved,
and I love my cute little zippy car! :)

3. We are still at the same church and in the same Sunday school class, studying Song of Solomon right now, which continues to challenge us in our relationships with the Lord and each other everyday.

4. I started swimming... I was researching the most efficient way to get maximal resistance and cardio training at the same time and that was it, so now I run most days and swim 2 or 3 days a week.

5. Gross Dissection. Is exactly what it sounds like, we are dissecting a human body this semester, which I am surprisingly LOVING. There are so many things about the human body that I appreciate so much more now that I have seen it all in person! Our buddy was a 90 year old pilot who died of prostate cancer... SO interesting!

I am so thankful for the people who donate their bodies to science, we really have learned so much through this.

6. DJ has really enjoyed looking into getting more involved in politics, especially the Presidential race, which has given us some awesome discussions lately, and surprisingly enough, we have come out on the same side in almost everything :)

7. The bulk of my classes are based on orthopedics this semester. I have been focused on learning how to evaluate patients, use ambulatory devices (crutches, walkers, etc) correctly, and tons of really interesting information about injury and treatment mechanisms.

8. We still love taking Peyton for walks as often as we can {this is where most of our political discussion and plans for the future get talked out, which is always tons of fun (in my oppinion)}

9. We have started reading Frances Chan's book Crazy Love together. Which for those of you who are not familiar, it is about the crazy awesomeness of our God and how unbelievably amazing it is how and why He loves us. It really helps us keep everything going on in perspective and focused on what really matters

10. DJ still plays basketball pretty much every chance he can get, which works out perfectly for us right now because I study all. the. time.

That is the story of our lives right now. We went out to lunch with some friends after church Sunday and were asked how we manage things, with me living the student life and DJ being a grown up. Neither DJ nor I had any sort of answer. Our life is crazy and chaotic, but really, whose isn't? At the end of the day we just have to realize that everything happens for a purpose and the Lord is molding and shaping us right now for His master plan.

Some New Favorites

In my last few days before classes start I have been trying some new recipes to see what is possible and what is just too time consuming. Last night I made baked tomato slices and baked sweet potatoes. Not the best paired together, but I did want to try both and they were both pretty simple and very tasty :)

Baked Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
2 T extra virgin olive oil
dashes of rosemary, thyme, salt, and black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & lightly grease a baking dish

2. scrub sweet potatoee & remove ugly spots and ends

3. slice into ~1 inch square pieces

4. in a mixing bowl combine ingredients, stir until potatoes are coated with oil & spices

5. spread in a single layer along baking dish and place in the oven for about an hour, or until potatoes reach desired texture. Halfway through baking I flipped potato pieces and brushed tops with oil.

The recipe I began with I found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-sweet-potatoes/

But wanted to keep the skin on and ended up using different spices :P

Baked Tomato Slices:

Ingredients:

1 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 t "Italian seasoning" from the spice rack
2 sliced tomatoes
1 egg
1/2 cup mozarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a jellyroll pan

2. Slice tomatoes into rounds

3. You will need two bowls. In the first, crack and lightly beat the egg. In the second, mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, and seasoning

4. Dip each tomato slice in the egg and then the breadcrumbs, coating both sides with each, and then place the breaded slice on the jellyroll pan.

5. Place the pan in the oven for 30 minutes. Flip the tomato slices after 15 minutes. Sprinkle the mozarella cheese on with 3-5 minutes remaining.

Again, the idea for this recipe came from here, but was very modified: http://twofoodfuddies.blogspot.com/2011/07/farm-girls-baked-fried-green-tomatoes.html

Not the best picture, and DJ added some pasta to make his a little bit more substantial, but overall both recipes were absolutely delish :)

The Easiest Granola EVER

I started making this in high school using the Bread Beckers cookbook. My grandpa LOVED it, adopted the recipe, and always has a huge tub of it at their house. Anyways, there is not much bang to a bowl of fruit with unsweetened almond milk, so hopefully a 1/4 cup of this will liven it up a little bit:

The Easiest Granola Ever

Ingredients for base:

4 c. rolled oats
1 stick of butter
1/2 c. of honey

You can add whatever you want to this! I have tried adding nuts, coconut, cinnamon, raisins, even sesame seeds, and all are super good. This time I went with good ol' cinnamon & raisins :)

Bake on a lightly greased jelly roll pan at 400 until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

And THAT IS IT! :)

For more information about Bread Beckers visit here: http://www.breadbeckers.com/