One Year Ago Yesterday...

 

I married my best friend. I absolutely cannot believe it's already been a year!

We enjoyed a low-key weekend together at home. No trips or anything fancy, just some quality time together. We slept in, went to the farmers' market, had a picnic, watched baseball, went hiking, had some wine, and enjoyed a candlelit dinner at home- perfect. I look forward to many more years together!

Summer Chili

For as long as I can remember, I've loved the summer. What kid doesn't? Combine that natural love with the fact that I grew up 10 minutes from the beach, I just about lived for summertime. I have always had a soft spot for that first brisk morning in September as well, but it was always overpowered by the melancholy of a new school year just begun.

All that love for the summer began to fade when I was in college. My school had an all-year-round, four quarter system as opposed to the traditional two semesters set-up. Summer wasn't nearly as wonderful while spent attending classes in a sweltering city as it was while lying on the beach with nothing to do. Go figure.

But enough nostalgia. Now, as a full-fledged grown-up, I no longer live near the beach, nor do I have a good 2 month break in responsibility during the summer. And that, dear friends, means that fall has officially emerged as my absolute-favorite-I-totally-live-for-this-time-of-year season.

And after the unusually hot and oh-so-humid summer we've had this year, I'm even more completely ready for fall now than I usually am. And although I love cooking with the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies we have available in the summer, there are so many things I look forward to making in the fall. One of those things is chili. Man oh man, do I love the smell (and taste!) of chili cooking away in the crock-pot on a chilly day.

So, when I found a recipe for "summer chili," which combines the chili I love during the fall with the vegetables I love during the summer, I knew I had to give this a try. And what do you know? It has zucchini- even more perfect!!

Summer Chili

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb Italian sausage

2 (28 oz.) cans of diced, fire-roaster tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1(8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 (12 oz.) bottle of beer- I used Samuel Adams Summer Ale

2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
1 large yellow squash, halved and sliced
1 package of frozen corn
1 (10 oz.) bag fresh spinach, chopped

1 1/2 cups kidney beans
1 1/2 cups pinto beans

2 Tablespoons chili powder
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
black pepper

Directions: Brown sausage and turkey in saucepan until cooked through. Drain, and place in crockpot. Add rest of ingredients to crock pot, set to low, and allow to cook for 8-10 hours. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!

This was really good- it's still a little heavy (it is chili after all!) but the vegetables were a great addition. Adapted from a la carte kitchen.

I've Been a Bad, Bad, Blogger... And a New Recipe Review

I've been a very neglectful blogger lately. I've been in a bit of a funk, I suppose.

It's a combination of a few different things. We've been really busy lately, for one. Busy with mostly good things, mind you- great times and celebrations, with wonderful friends and family. But combine that with stress and extra hours at work, life has felt very GO-GO-GO recently, and we've had little downtime. And downtime, for me, is quite the necessity.

Another thing that has been bringing me a down a bit lately is that sometimes it feels like we work and work and work on our house, both inside and out, and still don't see any real progress. It may be a case of not seeing the forest through the trees, but nevertheless, it eventually takes a toll on my motivation.

And finally, all those "great times and celebrations with wonderful friends and family" mentioned above usually include an abundance of good food and drink. And so, my "healthy eating objectives" has been, ah ... suffering, shall we say. And since I tend to be a bit hard on myself, that's contributed to my funk more than it's motivated me to work harder.

But now that all that is out in the open, let's move on. 

And let's start with something easy to get back into the swing of things- a new recipe. One of the new recipes I tried last week was Farmer's Market Potato Salad from Cooking Light magazine. This one caught my eye because I'm so used to the standard potato salad- mayo-based with potatoes, celery, and hard-boiled egg- you know, the classic. This one was something different, and a lot healthier. AND it called for fresh corn on the cob, which had just become available for the summer in our area and I was craving some like you wouldn't believe. 

It turned out really well! I didn't really make any changes, except instead of roasting the corn in the oven, we grilled it with some butter and Cajun seasoning. Also, I added asparagus to the salad, since there was some in the fridge that needed to be used up. I served it with Honey Mustard Grilled chicken, from allrecipes.com, which was also really good and went perfectly. Man, how I love grilling weather!!

Officially on the Bandwagon...

I've officially jumped on the bandwagon. The bandwagon of 101 tasks in 1001 days that is. I was reluctant at first; I thought I'd never be able to think of 101 things I wanted to do and I didn't think I'd really have the motivation to finish them all. But once I started writing the list just to see if I could, everything flowed. I actually had to edit it down by the time I was done! The categories helped, it was easier to think of things I wanted to do in specific areas than just in general. And perhaps I'll lose interest, or not finish, but I'm going to try. These are things I truly want to do so that will definitely help me with the motivation. My deadline is October 10, 2012- just before our third anniversary.

Here we go!

SELF
1. fill up a journal
2. take boudoir pictures
3. rock a strapless dress
4. see a movie by myself
5. watch the sun rise
6. keep a dream journal for a month

7. get a psychic reading done

8. learn to speak French again
9. buy an awesome vintage handbag, piece of clothing, or piece of jewelry
10. clean and preserve/donate/etc. (whatever I decide to do with) my wedding dress
11. make a new list of 101 things

MARRIAGE
12. write H a love letter

13. choose photos for our wedding album

14. continue monthly date nights with H (20/33)

15. spend a night in the hotel we got married in

16. eat dinner together in dining room, no distractions for 2 weeks straight

FRIENDS / FAMILY
17. call my mom at least once a week for two months

18. host a cocktail party at our house

19. host a game night at our house

20. host a holiday meal for one or more sides of the family at our house
21. adopt a dog (wasn't sure where to put this one, but I figure he'll be part of the family so it works)

HEALTH / FITNESS
22. become CPR certified
23. reach and maintain my goal weight (0/20 lbs)
24. wake up at 6 AM to exercise for one (work) week straight

25. go on a bike ride through our neighborhood

26. enter and run in a 5k

27. enter and run a 10k

28. enter and run in a half-marathon
29. eat vegetarian for a week

30. take a Pilates class

31. take a ski lesson
32. go ice skating three times (1/3)

HOBBIES
33. take an art class
34. take a baking class
35. learn to knit
36. create a scrapbook
37. sell something homemade on etsy
38. make a piece of art (collage, painting, etc.) for our house
39. make our holiday cards instead of buying one year

ENVIRONMENT
40. decrease my use of non-environmentally friendly cleaning products

41. buy mesh bags to use for produce instead of plastic bags

42. get into the practice of unplugging appliances/devices while not in use

43. replace all light bulbs with low-energy bulbs as needed
44. ride my bike somewhere I would normally drive three times (1/3)
45. go to a farmers' market for produce instead of the grocery store at least 5 times per summer (10/15)

46. set thermostat at 2 degrees warmer in summer and colder in winter than it is now

47. maintain a vegetable garden every summer (2/3)

48. plant a flower garden

ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT / CULTURE
49. read at least 50 books (my book list)
50. see all Best Picture winning movies (my movie list)
51. visit the Guggenheim
52. visit the Met

53. attend 3 concerts (3/3)

54. see a play on Broadway

55. attend four Phillies games (3/4)

56. join the local public library

57. attend a community festival

FOOD / COOKING
58. try one new recipe per week

59. try five foods I've never had before ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

60. make homemade gnocchi

61. maintain an herb garden

62. buy whole coffee beans to grind in coffeemaker

63. make and bottle five different healthier salad dressings ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

HOUSE / DECORATING
64. paint downstairs media room
65. spray paint old table lamps for media room
66. find end tables for media room
67. paint upstairs bathroom

68. paint exterior front door

69. clean all baseboard trim
70. repaint all trim and molding

71. landscape our backyard

72. have the series of B & W photos I took in my college photography class professionally matted and framed

73. redo master closet (paint, shelving, new lighting)
74. decorate computer room
75. decorate master bedroom
76. go to three antique shops (0/3)

TRAVEL / ADVENTURE / NATURE

77. go river tubing

78. go sky diving
79. go star-gazing

80. have a picnic in the park

81. travel out West

82. take a unplanned "where-ever-the-road-may-take-us" road trip
83. visit three states I've never been to before (1 2 3)

84. go tent camping for a weekend

85. visit a town in NJ that I've never been to

86. go to the driving range with H

FINANCIAL / LEGAL

87. create a will

88. pay off half of remaining student loan debt

89. start to and continue to contribute to company 401k plan

90. pay off all credit card debt

91. increase emergency fund to 6 months worth of combined income
92. put $10 a week into savings, in addition to what I save already

PROFESSIONAL / WORK / COMPUTER
93. clean out, decorate, and bring some cheer to my cube at work

94. get a raise/promotion

95. create a fully functional, professional level website using CSS and not tables

96. really organize iTunes music

97. import all my CDs onto computer
98. maintain my blog (at least one post per week)

FOR OTHERS
99. volunteer my time 15 times (1/15)
100. give a compliment to a stranger five times (0/5)
101. pay for someone behind me in line

It's Been a Busy Decade...

I've heard so many people say "I can't believe it's 2010 already!!" Well, I can't believe it either...kinda. I can certainly believe it's a new year; they fly by fast enough now that's it's not exactly a big deal. A whole new decade though... I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around that one. I was 15 when the last one started and I cannot believe how much has changed and everything I've gone through in the past 10 years.

I went to prom / got my drivers' license / graduated high school / had my first real, "grown-up" boyfriend / started college / lived in and explored a city of 1.5 million on my own / traveled to Europe / lived through being completely and totally broke / got over the "just a friend" stigma to start dating the most perfect man in the world / fell in love / went to Vegas (haha, not what it sounds like there) / graduated college / traveled to Hawaii / created a portfolio of work I put my blood, sweat, and tears into throughout college (literally, I've cut my fingers with xacto blades more times than I can count) / saw my little sister start high school / watched my brother go away to college / landed my first full-time, real-world, adult job / rented my first apartment on my own / helped one of my best friends look for apartments in NYC / got engaged / got laid off / used professional connections and a revamped portfolio to score a new job / became a home-owner / was a bridesmaid for one of my best friends / became someone's wife / had a kick-ass wedding celebration with all of our friends and family / had someone I truly loved pass away / celebrated our first holiday season as our own family...

I've met so many incredibly people and learned a lot about myself and those around me. I've become so much more confident and sure of myself. I am so grateful I gave a "friend" a chance and ended up marrying the most perfect person for me. I've developed a whole new love and appreciation for family, I've become closer to my siblings, and I am so proud of the amazing adults they've become.

I can't even begin to imagine what the next decade brings. But whatever it is, I'm ready for it!