feeling lucky?

Today was a really good day. {I don't find myself saying that enough.}

The sun was shining. 

I worked from home. 

Had a yummy lunch outside. 

Took an extra hot shower.

No to-dos loomed over me.

Went for a walk with hubs after work 

and found these:

today must be our lucky day.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

{For the record, Mike is a profesh four-leaf clover finder but me.. not so much. 

This was a first without cheating}

breakfast scramble ramble

I grew up skipping breakfast. Cold cereal just never appealed to me. So, I chose the go-hungry route {much more appealing, right?}. I just found it boring and work I had to do if I wanted something elaborate. No, thank you.

Then I met Mike. Mike LOVES breakfast. The idea of grabbing a banana to-go or skipping it all together is like finding a group of manly-men painting their toenails together. It just does not happen.

Ever since Mike and I started doing our thang I have been spoiled at breakfast {and actually every other meal too - his mom is Betty Crocker so he cooks and bakes..  score!}. The weekends involve him slaving over the stove conjuring up some delish egg mixture, cutting up fruit and flippin' jacks while I so sweetly do nothing  helpful. Not sure if I'm mentioned this yet but he's pretty awesome.

My {new} favorite breakfast is crepes. They are versatile and delicious. For our wedding we got a crepe pan, and we are obsessed. I love them. Oh, yes I do. Now that we are off our detox... our weekend are back to monster breakfasts and CREPES!

Crepe must haves:
egg concoction
fruit - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, apples
toppings - powdered sugar, chocolate, honey, whipped cream, peanut butter, hot sauce
lemon juice

  I recommend for the egg concoction -  eggs, onions, tomato, spinach and those little gold yukon potatoes. 

 Top the egg mixture with black beans and salsa and you have a little tex-mex crepe.

 My favorite sweet crepe is bananas, strawberries, peanut butter, honey, chocolate sauce and honey drizzled and whipped cream. Heaven. 

A tasty yet simple crepe requires squeezing a lemon over a plain crepe, sprinkle sugar, roll up and eat it!

What does your fav breakfast consist of?

Here's the crepe mixture recipe that we use. If you don't have a crepe pan, you can use a griddle or any other relatively flat pan {the lip needs to be low}.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-crepes/

bon apetit!

fancy pot

For my indoor herb garden, I wanted to spice up the pots a bit. I chose to go with the chalkboard look so that I could identify the plant and change it up, if needed. here's the how-to:

1. Buy your pots and plants

I purchased these at Home Depot for $1 and some change each.

We purchased our herbs from Logans {a local nursery}.

2. Grab your spray paint of choice and make a work area 

I used a box to protect the ground and our driveway.

3. Place pots top down and spray according to directions. 

Let it dry and re-coat several times. 

 I left the lip {see next photo} the reg color. I liked the hint of color. 

4. Pot your plants after the paint has dried 

give them a little  h2o

5. Name 'em. 

I recommend purchasing the chalkboard pens {which I have not done yet}. It doesn't rub off and makes a nice thick line. You can purchase them at Michaels or other craft stores. I think it's around $10 for a pack. 

Now you've got cute pots and won't forget what's what. 

Happy planting!

get your herb on

herbs, herbs, herbs

Last weekend, Mike and I had a super industrious weekend. He took this big project {building a desk} and I took the smaller project {building an herb garden}. Both of these projects were on our to-do list in 2012. YAY! I love marking things off my to-do list. 

Choosing what type of indoor herb garden was really hard. I wanted this:

but after doing some research - this idea just wasn't the best for growing herbs. Herbs need good drainage. I suppose if you have the tools to drill holes in the jars, that would work. Some places recommended rocks in the bottom but most 'experts' seemed to conclude it still had a high chance of root rot {no beuno - you don't want this}. After a semi-breakdown {because my heart was set on this style.. I mean, look at how good looking that is}, I went back to Pinterest and found this:

it looked doable

seemed to meet herb gardening guidelines

and it was cute!

so to work I went {with a few modifications}

1. buy wood and shelving - Mine is 3ft {ish} high by 20in {ish} wide

 I bought these puppies at the flea market a few weeks back for $1 a piece. Perfect.

 I purchased  one-  1x4x8ft,  one - 1x6x4ft and two - 1x3x6ft pieces of wood. The 8ft piece was cut in half and then shaved down to desired length. the 4ft was used for shelving, and the 6ft pieces were cut into 13in pieces for the backing.

2. lay out your wood to desired look

when I want things done, I kind of look past doing it perfectly just to get it done. I just laid sides face down and the back pieces on top. I had no idea what I was doing but figured it should work.

3. screw it together

 big hint - pre-drill your holes. I put two screws in each side {1-1/4 in screws were used}

4. ta-da... halfway? {not really a step.. have a celebratory drink/break at this time}

5. stain/paint that sucker

 I chose Provincial 211 as my stain color. It gives it an old wood look. You can use whatever you want - paint, stain, both. I used a rag to paint it but you can also use a paint brush. Tip of the day: don't do this when it is below freezing like I did. I couldn't feel my fingers for an hour. 

6. hang it

I love these shelves. It gives it so much more character than using wood or regular shelves. 

 I don't recommend using silver screws for the shelves like I did. 

7. put your herbs on it

my shelf looks a little crooked {it's not} but you could probably be a bit more precise on the back pieces to keep it from looking that way {or maybe I was leaning when I took the pic-who knows}.

I love it. It looks great on the wall. And, with the coldish weather upon us, it gives our house a pop of  life!

 Oh, and meet Avi our avocado tree in the corner there {only 6 more years and he may produce some fruit!}

nostalgia

I've had my head in the wedding clouds today for some weird reason. And, I must say... our wedding was pretty cool {but what bride wouldn't think so}. Almost everything was handmade, from the invitations to the signs all the way down to my garter. It was the master DIY wedding {and I could't have done it without my awesome mom and many other helpful hands}. So here's your first sneak peak... our wedding video. This vid truly captures our weirdness goofiness with a side of ooey-gooeyness. I'd marry this kid all over again every single day if I had to. He's a pretty good catch. I think I'll keep him. {happy four month anniversary today to us - crazay!} Anyway, sit back. watch. and enjoy.

Mike and Celeste from Aaron Barnett on Vimeo.

p.s. need a videographer in the NC area? Aaron is awesome. Use him - you won't regret it.

under construction

This weekend we decided to tackle some of those things on our 'new years' list:

build a desk

make an indoor herb garden

$80 later

three hours at Home Depot

two big(ger) projects

and one weekend

was all it took

Oh, and our house slightly resembles a  construction site at the moment.

It's freezing outside so it's taken a bit longer than usual with paint drying and the every five minute occasional run-ins to thaw. BUT, I'll have a few fun how-to's for you this week, in case you don't have enough on your to-do list from Pinterest. 

bottoms up!

Today is the last day of super strict detoxing. Three-ish weeks is over and done with!

We decided to stop at lunchtime today so that we could celebrate over the weekend. Duh - you can't achieve something and not properly celebrate with a glass of bubbly and delicious treats!

So, tonight is the night!

Bottoms up {or perhaps, plates up is more appropriate}

The plan is to start with a dinner out {and a drink or two or three}

followed by a movie {which inevitably includes the most obscene size of popcorn available}

and end with the biggest, chocolate-e-ess dessert we can find.

{bring on the toxins, grease and sugar!}

YUM!

that's the plan. i've been warned we may wind up overdosed and passed out after the first course.

Oh, and don't forget we've got the entire weekend to celebrate.

Saturday calls for bringing out the big-daddy coffee press and crepes filled with all treats imaginable. I haven't thought past that course.. I'm sure at that point, I'll be craving a big heap of veggies.

...

here's to starting the night with

one of my fav cocktails: the fargarita

combine in shaker:

one shot of  1800 tequila 100% agave

juice of one lime

Diet Sierra Mist (or you can do soda water)

ice

.shake what yo momma gave ya.

.pour over ice.

.drink with style.

 {I should prob come up with a better name for a fake margarita, huh? suggestions?}

...

Despite my excitement to break all the rules from the past three weeks,

we do plan on sticking with what we've learned and eating 'clean' the majority of the time

{i.e., healthier portions; better snacks; less added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine; and more variety}.  

I think we will do just fine {as long as we can control that sweet tooth}.

p.s. i swear our life does not completely revolve around food. we do have other hobbies aside from eating.

mystery package

Last night, Mike and I got home from our marriage class at around 8:30 and on our doorstep was a little package. We haven't gotten a package in like for-ever {or that's how it felt to me}. I am a mail freak. I love checking the mail. I love getting packages. I love opening stuff {even if its not for me}. I am obsessed with surprises {but I usually ruin them because I am also nosey}. I had been spoiled by the wedding and Christmas. I mean it was like Christmas every day. Packages on our stoop all. the. time.  

Mike had ordered our books for our different Bible studies but that was on Tuesday. Ain't no way Amazon got them there in less than 24 hours!  I opened the box like a mad woman - no knife, scissors, just straight up teeth and muscle power. In it was a book.

Not just a book. This was the book I had been wanting since I heard about it like two or three weeks ago. I wanted it BAD. I was on the waiting list at the library but was 15th in line {I mean, really!}. I had already read as much as I could on Amazon and kept adding it to the basket but wouldn't buy it. I kept justifying that it was at the library, and I didn't need to spend the money - blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Initially, I thought- holy crap.. Mike you are so sweet - but, I could see he was just as confused as I was. So, then I thought - OMG I bought this book in my sleep -  that's how bad I wanted it .. that seriously could have happened. So, before even taking it out of the packaging, I'm rummaging through bank statements trying to see if I mysteriously ordered it one night. I even called Mal {who told me about the book}:

"You will never believe what just happened.

That book, One Thousand Gifts, magically appeared on my doorstep!"

As I was talking to her, I turned over the Amazon sheet and on it was a sweet note from the bestest friend in the entire world {who, might I add, lives miles and miles and miles and an ocean away in New Zealand}.  I was so completely overtaken with gratitude that I was stunned for the rest of the night. I've never had a friend do something so thoughtful and so sweet like that from a million miles away. It really is the little things that make the biggest difference. And after two weeks of a hardened, ungrateful heart, I literately felt it begin to melt. It was exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it. And, another reminder of how awesome God is and how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends.

haha, couldn't resist.. Lauren and I in college

Thank you, Lauren, for showing me time and time again what a true friendship looks like!



clean eats

Week two is over. {Whew! YAY! Hallelujah!}

Last week was bleeeech! Most of the recipes were straight up BORE-ING! The soups were bland {or maybe I'm a bad cook}. And, I had to choke down sardines {in a salad with clementines, might I add} for lunch one day. I'm sure my coworkers looooved me for that one.

Week two was interesting. Breakfast consisted of sweet potatoes, miso soup and tofu with collard greens. I discovered I really like tofu {on the to-do list, find a good cookbook for cooking with tofu.. suggestions??}. I've developed a love for cooking with recipes {although I still skim the directions and often miss something important like adding the beans to black bean salad... oops}. I also discovered I have NO willpower when I don't want to do something. Week two was really challenging for me. The food wasn't nearly as tasty as I expected so my first reaction was to cheat.. Give me a delicious, fatty smothered-and-covered burger; a huge mound of greasy, salty fries; and ten pounds of chocolate, please. By midweek I was determined to end the whole detox right then and there. My sweet, sweet husband kept me on track though {and let me cheat gracefully}. Now, onto week three renewed and ready. {I think..}

There were some tasty tidbits during week two, though {few and far between}. These are recipes we will def have again (click the name of it to find the recipe):

 grilled salmon and bok choy with orange-avocado salad

this was awesome - the citrus flavors with the fish and avocado were perfect. And, if you haven't had bok choy... try it. It's delish! We bought ours at the local asian market so they were super cheap.

black bean salad

I'm obsessed with Mike's salsa {I'll have to share his secrets later} which is similar to this recipe

Needless to say... one bite and I was hooked. All it needed was some tortilla chips to go with it.

oh, wait.. is that coffee I smell? Crap..  

a pre-meditated cheat

We did it... we cheated. Big time. {or, at least tried}

I've had an itch to bake lately. I received lots of fun baking tools for our wedding and Christmas and haven't gotten to use them yet. So after two weeks of no sugar, I was baking {sugar, sugar and more sugar}. My excuse for breaking will remain that I needed sugar  wanted to use my new tools. 

We chose two recipes that we could freeze leftovers {or else we would have eaten them all}. 

Cake balls and chocolate covered peanut butter squares.

cake balls 

 put one package of regular oreos through the food processor 

hand mix the crumbs with a pack of cream cheese

roll into balls and chill for an hour or two

 peanut butter cookie mix

 what detox??

 naked cake balls

after chilling, dip balls in chocolate and re-chill

After baking for hours {with a movie during chilling}, we were dipping balls at midnight and didn't even finish the peanut butter squares {we still have like four  more hours of work for those suckers.. ugh}. Our pre-meditated cheating wound up with us just licking bowls and utensils for the night.  Guess that's what we get! 

bon apetit!

fairy tale

stolen from my favorite blog Fairy Tales are True



Already have the fallin' in love part down.. but what I would give to do the rest.

crusty breads, amazing wines, olives, cheeses, yummy pastries..

oh, what I would give right now to be on an extended European vacation.

healthy-nut tips

We've gotten one week {out of three} out of the way. We've discovered a lot of new ingredients to cook with and different techniques for cooking/chopping. I'm having a harder time with cheating than Mike but luckily he's become my inspiration and motivator. He's got some SERIOUS willpower. We only cheated once when we went over for dinner at a friend's house {and BOY was it worth it... cuban pork, trese leches cake, black beans and rice, mmm!}

how about a few tips for a successful detox...

 choose snacks wisely

you will get hungry for something in between meals. make sure you have a variety of snacks that hit different cravings - salty, spicy, sweet, etc. find healthy recipes and make some snacks beforehand so that when the craving comes, you can just quickly grab something like you would a bag of potato chips or a jar of Nutella ;) here are 12 delicious, healthy snacks 

 think colorful 

yummy+ nutritious=color 

{think purple, orange, green, red, yellow}

if you're used to your plate looking the same meal after meal, mix it up. make it colorful!

think outside the box

..here's a fruit smoothie with mint in it.. foreign to me but very delicious..

 don't know what watercress is? neither did I. don't skip it - ask someone at your local grocery store where to find it. just because you don't know what it is - doesn't mean it is expensive or gross.

 focus on your food {we've all heard this a million times over}

eat the dinner table - no computer, tv or cell phone allowed

be sure to give your stomach time to process that it's getting food. 

i'm notorious for scarfing. aka i'm done before my stomach
even realizes it had started eating. bad habit. 

breathe, take sips of water, share your day with your loved one while you eat.

plan, plan, plan

not a planner? too bad. 

when it comes to eating better, you need to have some sort of plan... that doesn't mean it can't change but have an idea of what you are eating the next day so you know how to prepare/schedule. each night while we cook dinner, we are making our lunch and prepping for tomorrow, if needed. this could also mean, just chopping up some veggies and fruits at the beginning of the week. this way if you are in a crunch for time, you can make a healthy, FILLING salad in 5 minutes flat.

drink lots of water. 

if you are feeling hungry - drink a glass of water and wait 20 minutes.
still hungry? grab a snack

EAT!

if you are hungry, eat. have a snack or eat your lunch already!
 try to eat every 3-5 hours. 

bon appetit!

lovely day for a picnic

We are almost to the end of the first week of detoxing. Besides craving everything under the sun

 {hamburgers, ice cream, hot dogs, pizza, steak, and the list goes on} 

we've been feeling really good and super energized.

We've made it through all of week one's recipes,  {and I am biting at the bit to move on to the recipes of week two} so I'm sharing one of our favorites that we made today to take on a picnic.  

avocado with bell peppers & tomatoes

 Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• Pinch cayenne
• Coarse salt
• 1 ripe avocado, halved and seeded
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro, plus leaves for garnish

 you can cut up the avocado while still in its shell and then scoop it out - easy peasy

 In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lime juice, garlic, and cayenne. Season with salt.

Mix up the avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, scallion, and cilantro in a bowl.

Drizzle with dressing and season with salt. 

Gently stir to combine. 

Spoon the yummy-goodness into avocado shells. 

 Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

 Our picnic spot. I tossed all the extra goodness in the middle for us to eat. 

Drop some frozen blueberries in a glass of water for a hint a flavor. 

 Mike

all gone :)

bon appetit.

herbs, herbs, herbs

In the detox Mike and I are doing, we are eating fresh herbs in almost every dish (including our smoothies!). 

..I'm obsessed.. 

I really, really {really!} want an indoor herb garden now. Plus, how nice will it be to have some lush {edible} greenery around as the temps drop. Sounds like a DIY project for the month of Jan :)

Here are some ideas I am toying with

Any favs? 

Check back for what I finally choose.