What I Wore Wednesday

My new apron. Thank you to my best friend for bringing me this great gift all the way from Hawaii.

Work

Work

Work

Training for my 5k

Work

Work

Dinner with Family.

Casual Friday at work.

Lunch and Errands on Saturday

BBQ with Friends Saturday Night

Work....hmmmm I wonder what happened to Sunday's clothes. I'm pretty sure I got dressed that day. LOL

I got the idea for this blog from the blog http://danielleandmikeblissful.blogspot.com/

I decided to try it out in the hopes that it would cure me of my morning laziness. Normally, I get up so late that I'm in such a rush to get ready for work that I look like a frump. Hair in a ponytail, minimal makeup, comfy clothes and no jewelry. Well, the week-long experiment worked. I got up earlier and even changed purses a couple times. I'm hoping to continue the experiment. Maybe old bad frumpy habits will be destroyed. I can only hope. The only downfall, some of my clothes hadn't been worn in so long that I noticed a few were a little too tight. Time to stop baking cakes.
If you decide to try this out please check out the blissful blog above. She does a much better job than I do. I love that she lists which store her items are from. Honestly, most of my clothes came from either Old Navy, the outlets, as gifts/donations (I get a lot of donations from friends, I think they are trying to tell me something) or are so old I don't remember where I bought them. Can you sense I'm not a fan of clothes shopping? Oh, and if you feel really self-conscious about the photo taking part, it will pass. I was really nervous about it and felt quite shy; but after a couple of days it was fun.

Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday = Bean & Cheese Nachos with avocado, tomatoes and sour cream. Delicious.

Let's Eat Cake

Blueberry/Cranberry Buckle.
I made this for breakfast yesterday (well, actually lunch since I didn't get out of bed til 11) and served it with eggs and bacon. It was delicious. The top was crunchy from the streusel topping and the cake was moist and not too sweet. I loved everything about it. Plus there is lots left for breakfast for the week.

You'll need a springform pan to make it. I found a cheap one at Target.

Mississippi Mud Cake with Bourbon-Espresso Glaze. Oh My Goodness.......Fantastic Cake. Goal for next week: read the manual and learn how to properly use my camera. The photo does not do justice to this cake.

These cake recipes are found in this cookbook. I checked it out at the library and have now added it to my Amazon which list. It's a keeper.

What is your favorite type of cake?
Oh and I've totally been slacking on my 5k training. Motivation, where have you gone?

The Melting Pot- Fondue Date Night- YUM!

Have you been to the Melting Pot?

If you haven't, you must.

We brought our own wine. $15 corkage fee. Trivia question: do frog's really have teeth?

Cheese.....so delicious. This was their Feng Shui cheese. It was a little spicy since it has horseradish in it (which I love)

We each had a different salad. This is Cesar.

My House Salad (with extra croutons and dressing) Yes, I was super indulgent.

Mushroom salad.

Meat course- this is the French Quarter. We cooked our meat in the Vegetable Broth.

Delicious dips for our meat and veggies. I loved all of them.

Ying Yang Melted Chocolate. TOTAL BLISS!

Strawberries were the best with the chocolate but major recognition goes to the rice crispie treats as well.

Do you have a favorite restaurant that you go to when you want to feel pampered and indulgent? We spent 3 hours at the Melting Pot and the bill was about $120, not bad for a group of 4.

Sunday Cooking

Zucchini Nut Bread

Black Bean soup on the left for lunches during the week and Horchata (turned out nasty so I tossed it) on the right. Anybody have a good Horchata recipe?

Pasta with bell peppers, capers, parsely, pine nuts, proscuitto and EVOO.

After a week of eating out while car shopping I was desperate to get back in the kitchen. I spent most of Sunday cooking.

Plus I was able to get back to training for the 5k. I'm up to 2.5 miles with some walking when I get too tired. I'm trying to get a routine going but I'm too lazy to get up early and by the time I get off work it's really hard to find the motivation to run. Anybody else struggle with this? I know training on the weekend isn't enough but daily workouts are hard to fit in. Ugh, ok no more whining. Thanks for reading.

My New Car

It is my pleasure to introduce you to my new best friend- PT Cruiser. Isn't it cute? I've wanted one for so long and now I finally own one. yay!

I'm so glad I didn't settle for just any car and bought what I really wanted. It was totally worth all the haggling and stress.

Is there a car you have always wanted? Do you currently drive something you love?

A Quick Meal Before Car Rentals and Car Shopping

It's super early, I'm tired and I have to pick up a rental car so I can get to work. Thankfully, I had a new sample box of cereal to try- Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch. I really enjoyed it dry and had it with milk the next day. Easy, quick and nutritious.

That night, still in my rental, work day ends and I have to go car shopping YUCK! I picked up my sample of Buitoni chicken & mushroom ravioli at the grocery store for a quick meal before the dreaded shopping.

Delicious! You would never know this was frozen. I will definitely have a box stashed in my freezer for emergency meals.

Story time: I'm driving on the freeway in my beloved (but very old) car and "BOOM"- I thought it was the tire until I saw clouds coming out from under the hood. Pulled over, called my wonderful brother in-law to save me and turn outs my radiator cracked and it was steam that was billowing out of my car.
A tow truck and another inspection of my car turned out to be the end for it. I sold it as it was and said goodbye to my wonderful car. One of the reasons I had kept it for so long was because I HATE car shopping. There are too many choices, the salesmen are so pushy and somehow I always feel like I'm not quite getting the best deal.
However, today I prevailed. After many days of looking I finally bought a car. I was confident, stubborn and I got exactly what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay. This was not without a few rejections on the first cars I tried for but it was all worth it. I love my new car. My husband has named it the schmoopie-mobile. LOL He's too funny.
Can you guess what kind of car I bought? I'll give you a hint- I was adamant that I would not buy what I consider a boring car.