Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Today is Fat Tuesday. There was a time in my life when I had spent the past weekend on Bourbon Street, collecting beads and chugging hurricanes with the Phi Delts (Ah! Who am I now??). I did get to live vicariously through some friends via Facebook who have been partying in NOLA for the past few days. I wouldn't be opposed to making that happen again sometime...probably should be sooner rather than later. I'm not getting any younger! Anywhoooo...it's that time when people give something up for Lent. I'm not a Catholic, so I remember growing up this being kind of optional for us Lutherans but I do think about it every year. I did a little Googling to find out with the hip kids are giving up this year. Here are some of the top things that Twitter users are giving up for 40 days (and my consideration for LR's Lent - 2103):

1. Facebook: I mean, I COULD do it...but I would rather not. I hardly ever post anything, but that is my main news source. (Using "news" loosely...baby, engagement, break-up, vacation, etc.)
2. Chocolate: I like chocolate, for sure...but this is something I could proabaly handle giving up.
3. Alcohol: Ha! Not likely, sorry Jesus.
4. Pop: I'm not a big pop drinker, so this would be easy but easy would also defeat the purpose.
5. Coffee: For the safety of others, I'm going to say NO WAY!
   
6. Meat: I could give up red meat, but not my chicken.
   
7. Swearing: I should clean up my mouth a bit...I will put this one on the short list.
   
8. Sweets: I LOVE CANDY.
   
9. Fried Food: I could do this and I should do this. I don't eat much fried food, but I really should NEVER eat it!
   
10. Work: Wait. Is this fer real? Giving up work, must be nice for ya!
    
11. Smoking: I don't smoke...so I can't give it up! OR I could give it up and it would be an easy one. Is that cheating?
    
12. TV: I don't watch much TV, but the season finale of Downton is next Sunday. Will not miss.
    
13. Shopping: Ok, I know that No Shopping was one of my goals for Feb and I have failed. Not to an extreme, but I have shopped. Also, I'm taking a trip to the Lululemon Outlet next weekend, before it closes in March. Can't pass up a good Lulu sale!
    
14. Sex: If I was getting any, I wouldn't be giving it up...but I'm not. Still not giving it up, though...and keeping my fingers crossed.
    
15. Pancakes: I could DEFINITELY give up pancakes.
    

To sum it all up, I will be giving up chocolate (to my best ability), red meat, fried food (exeception: Fish Fry during Birkie weekend) and pancakes.

xoxo,
l

TGIF -- Thank Goodness It's FEBRUARY!

First of all, let me just say that I am so glad January is over. PEACE OUT, J-DAWG! I think it's the hardest month to "get through". The holidays are over, it's dark when I leave the office, it's often gloomy and bitterly cold and Spring isn't quite within reach. February has some fun things coming up...but most importantly, my beach trip is closer, Spring is closer, my Nashville trip is closer and Summer is closer!
I have decided to document some monthly goals...attainable in a realistic timeline. It's my attempt to set myself up to succeed -- GOOO ME! Also, I cannot lie, I LOVE a good list.

• Workout five times per week.
  I have been good about this so far this year, but I want to make sure I stick to it! I'm heading to the beach at the end of March and I want to feel good!
  
• Complete my Plank Challenge!
  I suck at planking. Hopefully this awesome calendar (that I made up, on a whim) will help me strengthen my core...that bikini is calling...aw, crap.
  
• No shopping.
  One exception -- a new winter coat. They are all on sale now and I have been sporting the same one for three years. I have been looking for a while and I think I will make my purchase this weekend. Other than that, no buying random crap for myself, ALL MONTH LONG!
  
• Stick to the envelope system.
  I could not, for the life of me, use this strict budget over the holidays! And now I'm broke ;) No, this has really worked for me in the past and it's time to start really buckling down and saving some CA$H MONEY!
  
• Cook a healthy dinner twice a week.
  This is another thing that I have been doing more of lately and I want to stick with it. Since I am only cooking for one (womp wooomp), my leftovers last a little longer so cooking twice a week really means at least 4 meals.
  

I will post again at the end of the month, telling you about how I ROCKED all of my goals. You know, lost 15 lbs and became a millionaire. I'm sure I will be back before then, with a recipe or something awesome like that. Until then...

xoxo,
l

2013 Intentions.

I'm back! Here to share "intentions" for myself in this new year. There are a lot of them. Most of them are vain and some of them are lofty, but I'm sick of the same same. 2013 brings a milestone birthday for me and I would like to end this year better than any year yet. It's my only option.

• Life.
  be better at my job
  be a better blogger
  sew more
  take more photos
  start dinner club
  visit Nashville
  
• Bank.
  more saving
  less shopping
  envelope system
  take the bus
  do not touch the savings account
  do not use the cc, ever
  
• Body.
  more veggies
  less dairy
  eat breakfast -- carb free
  cook dinner
  pack lunch
  no food after 7pm. 8pm at the very latest.
  exercise -- 4 times a week
  hit the gym at least 12 times per month
  get into Yoga
  limit booze -- max of 2 nights per week
  

"If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got." - Mark Twain

I said it last year and I will say it again, because it has to be true -- the best is yet to come for me, no doubt.

xoxo,
l

Holiday Follow Up

Well, I survived yet another awesomely busy holiday season. Although it IS my favorite time of year and I adore the jam-packed calendar, I'm ready to have more time to relax -- hit the gym, cook fresh and healthy meals, plan a vacation or two and take care of ME!

Here are a few highlights from December 2012...

FAMILY BAKING DAY!

Me, Christine and Hannah making Lefse!


The ladies and some of our tasty treats!

---

OUR CHRISTMAS COSTUME PARTY!

A few costumes from the evening...Delicious Dish, "Sisters" from White Christmas"

Aunt Bethanny, Clark Griswald, Grinch characters, Ole the fence builder (??) and SANTA!


The dessert table. YUM!


My lefse bar! (It's a little dark, but you get the idea :)

---

LIMO LIGHTS TOUR!

All the ladies with Santa and his elves...I wish I would have gotten a picture of us in front of our white stretch Escalade!

---

XXX-MAS DINNER AT WA FROST

Clockwise! Me, Lisa, Lily, Greta, Catherine and Cailin -- after an awesome dinner. Love these ladies like whoa!

---

No resolutions for me again this year. I'm sticking with the "New Year's Intentions", just like last year. I have written a few things down that I would like to focus on...maybe I will post about them, maybe not. We'll see. BUT -- I have a good feeling about 2013. Mostly because I have to, because that's who I am.

Peace out 2012, CHEERS! to 2013!

xo,
L

Weekend Recap!

Welcome to Monday!

This past weekend was a great mix of fun and relaxation. It was my last low key weekend before all the holiday celebrations begin, so I tried to be as productive as possible!

On Friday night, I went out for HH and dinner with two of my favorite co-workers (and friends). We had a drink at Crave, then went to Seven for a yummy sushi dinner. After dinner, we headed to Kierans for a Crispin before calling it a night. I was home, all tucked in by 10:30pm. In my opinion, that is a great Friday night! (Old lady alert, old lady alert!)

Saturday morning I got up, packed up my "getting ready" stuff and headed to the gym for Zumba class. Zumba is one of my favorite workouts, so what better way to start a Saturday?! Then I grabbed a coffee and headed over to Grand Avenue for Grand Meander. I met up with my mom and some of her friends for Bloody Mary's, shopping, soup tasting, more shopping, then lunch at The Lex. My grandfather did all the interior woodwork in the bar and restaurant, so we love going there whenever we have the chance! On Saturday evening, Greta came over and we worked on our costumes for the Christmas party...did I mention it's a costume party?! Oh. Well, it is!

Sunday I did laundry, watched football, went to the gym and made a Target run. I also made shortbread cookies for the first step of these bad boys: Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies. Don't they look delicious?! I knew it wasn't something I could tackle all in one work night. So, I baked the cookies on Sunday and put them in the freezer. Sometime this week, I will do the caramel and chocolate drizzle. Yum...love Christmas!!!

Gearing up for another busy week of work, gym time, baking and other general holiday fun!

xo,
L

Baking Cookies: Round 2

I have just set a record right here on SMoM -- blogging 2 days in a row, look at me go!

My roommate and I are hosting a Christmas Party in a couple of weeks. We are very excited to have friends and family over to the house for some rocking around the Christmas tree! I even ordered a Fireplace DVD for the basement TV, to give it a homier feel ;)
The savory party food has all been decided on and my mouth starts to water when I think about all the delicious food we will have! I also know I want to have a huge dessert table with lots of sweet, sweet options. I started looking at my social calendar and noticed that I do not have much extra time to bake these necessary party treats! So, I started last night with a new recipe that could easily be frozen until party time. The pictures I saw online looked festive and the ingredients seemed simple, yet different -- so I gave it a shot!



Christmas Crunch Cookies
From: Blue Eyed Bakers

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup M&M's
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Beat the butter, vanilla and egg.
Add the sugars and cream together until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Slowly stir it into the egg mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until blended.
Drop rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies

I used my handy cookie scooper, so mine are a little small and I ended up with more than 2 dozen. I have found that people are more likely to have a cookie if they are a smaller size, so that is fine by me.

I did sneak a cookie or four and they are delicious, if I do say so myself. In order to stop myself from consuming any more, I split them up into 3 rows of ten, wrapped them in cling wrap, tinfoil, then pit them in a ziplock bag...too much? I just want to make sure they don't taste like freezer when I pull them out for the party in two weeks! I will be sure to taste test before I serve them to guests!

Now I will push on through this day and finish off the work week with Happy Hour and sushi with two of my favorite co-workers! Happy Friday :)

xo,
L

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! ...plus rosettes!

Good News -- the Christmas Spirit is officially in my heart this year! In fact, my lack of spirit from 2011 may have rolled over into 2012, thank goodness! The house is almost fully decorated, Christmas tunes are pumping and my calendar is full of holiday goodness. My "plan" (put in quotes because I'm obviously extremely inconsistent in keeping up this little blog...I digress...) is to document all the ways I'm celebrating the season this year.

I have already started my Christmas shopping, celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, done a little Black Friday shopping and attended a Holiday Sip and Shop Benefit for Gigi's Playhouse with my mom at Pinstripes.

Yesterday, Mal and I attended a Christmas cookie baking class. Last year, we learned how to make lefse. This year, we learned how to make rosettes! The class also made krumkake, pizzelles and sandbakkles but we were determined to master the crispy deep fried, powder sugar dusted goodness of the rosette! (Plus, our moms and aunts tried to make them a few years back and it was a flop so to be successful at rosettes is family bragging rights as well.) Now, I won't say that we were immediately naturals at the frying part. It took quite a few tries to get the right amount of batter and the right temperature for the right amount of time...but I think we have a good grasp of it now and I have the burns on my hands to prove it!
Here is our first tray of perfectly browned and sugared up rosettes -- Joyce and Virg would be proud! (Mal and I have identical twin grandmothers, we like to think she and I are a lot like them:)



Aren't they beautiful? Unfortunately, we had to disperse all the perfect ones to the entire class so we only came home with about 5 rosettes each (and all sorts of other Scandinavian cookies too). Mal and I do have plans to make a big batch on our own for parties, friends and family...most likely in her garage with a box of wine. Apparently the local grocery stores charge a dollar a piece for these bad boys. We are considering a side business...anyone interested in investing?

I will be back soon, re-capping more Merry Jolly Happy Holiday FUN! Until then...

xoxo,
L