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Monday, February 11, 2013

KICKING IT OFF RIGHT

this weekend officially kicked off this years wedding season!

my bestie caroline -pennybrownpenny- is getting married this spring and her first shower was yesterday. she's the one glowing and grinning from ear to ear in all of the pictures and sporting the much coveted pink dress
the shower was hosted by her three best friends, they all grew up together and the pictures from over the years were priceless! the shower was simply beautiful and yelled caroline from start to finish. covered in poppy flowers, petifore cakes, pink champagne and all of her favorite people! and everyone showed up in amazing spring colors and looked beautiful!! 
(thank you dallas for the most perfect weather!)

here's to you caroline and an amazing wedding and marriage to the one and only kyle- he sure is one lucky man!

Friday, February 8, 2013

WAY TO YO-GA


you've heard me say this before, but i really do have the best friends and family. 
for the past month, my friend becky and sister and i had scheduled to toast with margaritas after completing my yoga training this past friday. 
while on my way to meet them at the restaurant i got a phone call from my sister that her car wouldn't start asking me to come pick her up. reluctantly (was only a few blocks away from sipping on that yummy marg) i detoured and headed to pick her up. when i pulled up, all of my friends cars were parked out front and waiting inside with champagne, food and a margarita machine!! i said hello to all the girls and then we went outside to say hi to the guys who were out by the fire pit. little did i know there was another surprise awaiting. as i said hi to all of my friends significant others, i started telling a very irrelevant story.. and my sister stopped and asked me if i had said hi to everyone... when i looked around, SP walked out of the dark!! he was hiding, waiting to surprise me for the best icing on the cake of a perfect surprise party!! becky and my sister had been in cahoots with him for the past month about making this surprise happen. he drove in that afternoon and i had no idea! 
shortly before leaving my house i had texted on of our mutual friends (megan!) to tell her i was headed to sip on some margs to celebrate with becky and sister, and included in the text how i wished SP was here to celebrate with me! she knew all along and kept a great secret too!

to everyone involved in making the surprise happen- thank you, you are the best! it was a perfect party and i loved being surrounded by all my favorite people! thank you for celebrating this milestone with me!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

PAGE TURNERS


good morning lovelies! 
today i need your help. for the last few months i have been countless pages deep in yoga books, articles and magazines. don't get me wrong, i loved every moment of it, but its time to flip the pages of something new (and non-yoga) for a change.
so i am turning to you for your favorite 'page-tuner' and most favorite current reads!

do you have a (new) favorite book you can recommend?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

SUPER SUNDAY



oh super bowl sunday... it truly should be a national holiday, with the following monday a day off from work. mainly because of the amount of amazing food consumed!

there are times i like to think i know how to cook, until dylan (my friend kristin's husband) takes to the kitchen and makes EVERYTHING from SCRATCH! 
on the menu were the following: 
--1 battered and fried Pheasant nuggets with Honey-Chipotle Aioli
--2 veggies and Hummus
--3 Greek Vegetable Dip with lightly toasted (and served warm) pita breads
--4 dylan's famous Sausage Queso and newly perfected Queso Blanco
--strawberries with sugar and powdered sugar
--freshly baked cinnamon rolls (recipe to follow soon!)

and lucky for you it just so happens that dylan was willing to share is AMAZING kitchen secrets!
lucky for me, dylan cooks like me: off the top of his head, whatever sounds good together and whatever is in the fridge/pantry- its the best way.
you can thank me later for asking dylan to write down this goodness for you- your next party or shared dish is going to be out of this world!!

1. Gluten Free Pheasant
If pheasant IS wild, soak in salt water overnight to remove gaminess.
-Cut into nugget or strip size pieces
-Soak pheasant in a mixture of milk AND eggs to help flour stick better.
MIX A TOTAL AMOUNT OF 4-5 cups: CREATED WITH an equal combination of almond flour, potato flour, and tapioca flour. (If not gluten free, use regular all purpose flour) 
-Mix in 1 tablespoon each of lawrys seasoning salt, kosher salt, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar.
*Always fry in small batches, TO CONTROLL COOKING PROCESS.
*Heat peanut oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot.
-Dredge pheasant in flour until well coated and Cook in oil until golden brown.
-Put on a plated paper towel to help absorb excess oil and add a pinch of salt while still hot.

Dipping Sauce- Honey-Chipotle Aioli
-1 cup Mayo
-1 cup sour cream
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-2 teaspoons chopped garlic
-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
-3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
-2 tablespoons honey
-1 tablespoon kosher salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until well mixed. Put in fridge at least 30 minutes before to help set up.
-altered FOR YOUR DESIRED TASTE OF spicy, savory, or sweet 

2. Hummus
- 1 x  160z can of garbanzo beans
- 3 tablespoons of tahini paste. 
(If not tahini paste, peanut butter actually works alright.)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I use Cholula)
-1 tablespoon salt
Blend in food processor. While blending, add extra virgin olive oil until desired consistency is reached.

3. Greek Vegetable Dip
- 1 x 16 ounce can of tomatoes
- quarter of a red onion finely chopped
- 12 kalmatta olives finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons feta cheese
- 1 large cucumber finely chopped
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, garlic salt
- half of a teaspoon of thyme

4. Sausage Queso
-  1 package either Jimmy Dean or Owens regular sausage.
-  1 large block of velveeta
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
-  1 tablespoon of hot sauce
-  1 can of rotel
- a quarter of an onion finely chopped
-  1 tablespoon each of garlic salt, garlic powder,
-  1 teaspoon of chili powder, kosher salt, black pepper
Cook sausage until done. Pour contents of pan, yes grease and all into a crockpot with the rest of the ingredients. Heat until everything is mixed. If crockpot is not available stove top or microwave work great.

Queso Blanco
-Pint of heavy whipping cream
-16 ounces of shredded Monterey jack cheese
-8 oz can of fire roasted green chiles
-4 tablepoons chopped clinatro
-1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt
Heat about half of the cream in a heavy bottom pot on low. DO NOT BOIL. Once cream is hot, add cheese in small batches stirring constantly. Once each batch is well blended add additional cheese. Once, cheese is gone add the rest of the above ingredients.

Monday, February 4, 2013

BEYOND PINK






valentines day is only a few days away? wow time flies.
planning on squeeze yourself in super skinny jeans or a red hot dress for your anticipated valentines day date!? or maybe your planning on eating a tub of ice cream and 5 chocolate bars on the 14th?! either way there is still time to get your fit and sweat on before valentines day. if you are in dallas be sure to do so at the BEYOND studios. they have pilates or pedaling, so pick your poison! 
after you've felt the burn and the sweat dripping down your face you will have earned a little treat for yourself... and it's just your luck that the studio is decked out in reds, pinks and glitter for the occasion!!