Weekend Recap

Friday night, we kicked off the weekend by heading to Speakeasy, which is a classic 1920's inspired bar, complete with Prohibition-era cocktails, fine wines & rare ales. It opened a while ago but this was my first time going. They had a variety of cocktails to choose from and I liked the atmosphere. We stayed there for a few drinks before heading to Main Street. It has been a while since I've been out on a Friday night in Sparkle and it was fun to see everyone. 

Saturday morning, I decided to branch away from my normal breakfast and I made fried eggs with sauteed kale and tomatoes. It was the perfect breakfast to eat before heading to the barn to ride a few horses. I was full for most of the morning. 

Saturday night, we headed to a coworker's house for dinner. We had the best time just being together and playing Heads Up. Two of my favorite moments were when we were acting out Stop, Drop, and Roll and Receiving a Shot. If you haven't played this game, you need to download it asap.

Sunday morning, I pulled out my crock-ette to try a new recipe. I was only slightly afraid of catching the apartment on fire but thankfully Sara kept an eye on it while I went to the barn. This crock-ette was a wedding present to my parents 30 years ago and doesn't even have an on/off switch or a high/low setting - all you do is plug it in. Now that I know it is safe, I can't wait to use it again.

Colleen was coming over for dinner so I decided to make Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life's Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken. I halved the recipe and subbed red wine vinegar for the cider vinegar but kept everything else the same. I served the chicken on a sandwich thin with a broccoli slaw mix and homemade sweet potato fries. This is a meal that I will definitely make again.

We had an event yesterday so it was not a long weekend for us but I enjoyed being home without too much going on. 

The Friday Five

1. What I'm Reading:

From Amazon: The acclaimed, award-winning author of the national bestseller The Financial Lives of the Poets returns with his funniest, most romantic, and most purely enjoyable novel yet. Hailed by critics and loved by readers of literary and historical fiction, Beautiful Ruins is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.

2. What I'm Watching:

Meredith and I started watching Season 1 of Homeland. It is intense but I am enjoying it.

3. What I'm Listening to:

"XO" by Beyonce
I may or may not have Shazamed this song during Zumba last week.
 

4. What Recipe I'm Bookmarking:

source

Beer Braised Duck Tacos

These sound really good to me. I wonder if you could sub pork for the duck.

5. Things I'm Loving:

This article about Sugarless Gummy Bears

Happy Friday!

Thought on Thursday

source

Girls Night

On Friday night, Sara, Ashley, and I had a girls night at our apartment. Sara and I always say that Ashley would be our third roommate if she wasn't married, so it was the perfect time for the three of us to hang with her husband being away. I'd pinned a few recipes from How Sweet Eats that I wanted to try and the two of them were happy to indulge in my finds.

We started the evening with chips, salsa, and gauc. Normally, I make my own guacamole but Publix had a premade variety on sale that we doctored up with some onion powder, salt, and lime.

For the main dish, we made Jessica's Brussel Sprout Tacos with Caramelized Shallot Salsa. We pretty much followed her recipe to a T, other than leaving out the cilantro in the salsa because I forget to buy it and subbing regular paprika for smoked. This may be my new favorite way to eat Brussel Sprouts!

We washed everything down with her Pomegranate Margaritas. We ended up using Pom-cranberry juice instead of straight Pomegranate. Don't be turned off by the use of simple syrup. It is really easy to make! We also took her advice and bought lime juice instead of squeezing a bunch of limes.

For dessert, Ashley made this Skinny Brownie Batter Dip that we dipped Teddy Grahams in. I had forgotten how much I like those bear shaped graham crackers!

We had the best time just chatting and playing Cards Against Humanity. We only had to Urban Dictionary a few things. My favorite by far was "pixelated bukkake" which means casually checking urban dictionary while playing CAH. Clearly we are not the only ones.

It really was the perfect way to end the week. I wouldn't mind having a girls night every Friday. 

What I Baked on Sunday

Crunchy Quinoa Granola
     Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 Tablespoons flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 cup raisins

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine all ingredients except raisins in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet then bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown stirring halfway through.
• Let cool. Stir in raisins then store in an airtight container.

Serve with yogurt or milk or just eat by the handful!

Fun Facts Friday

1. Good thing blogging more hasn't made it on my list of goals for 2014. Maybe next week I will catch you up on everything that has been happening over the last few weeks. Thanks for continuing to read in my absence.

2. Speaking of goals, I'm not usually one for new year resolutions but I want to make a list of things that I want to accomplish this year. Nothing earth shattering or life changing but things like experimenting more in the kitchen, actually going to the gym, and being more in the present.

3. Even though I worked Thursday and Friday of last week, I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things on Monday. Turns out it was Blue Monday aka the most depressing day of the year.

4. In order to get out of my funk on Monday, I tried my first Zumba class and absolutely loved it! My dance skills are certainly lacking but it is a fun way to burn calories. When was the last time you have laughed all the way through a workout?!

5. I have been in such a nesting mode since I have been back. I don't know if it has anything to do with being away for so long over break but I have loved spending time in the kitchen and cleaning our apartment.

6. This week, I am experimenting with growing my own green onions. I had some left over from a recipe and have seen multiple posts about it on Pinterest. We will see if it actually works.

 

7. The office is participating in intramural dodgeball this month. So far, we are not off to a good start. I'm hoping we can recover for the rest of the season.

8. I am furiously trying to catch up on season three of Downton Abbey now that season four has officially started. Never mind the fact that I've owned it for over a year.

9. 2014 has started with remarkably few plans on the weekends and I am loving it. Last weekend was spent dining with friends and riding and I can't wait to do the same this weekend.

10. Happy Friday!

Thought on Thursday

Happy 2014!