Recipe Box- Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

The summer of new recipes continues!  I will admit, I used to be pretty terrified of using my crock pot/slow cooker...the idea of leaving something "on" in my house all day while I was gone instilled enough fear in me to hardly ever use it besides on the weekends.  But my friends all assured me that crock pots were in fact designed for just such a use, and I had to give in a little...I mean...people wouldn't keep buying them if they burned houses down on the regular, right?


so anyway...this recipe is amazing!  I love chinese/japanese/thai food...anything with and Asian flair and I'll probably eat it :)  so this seemed like a great alternative (cheaper, healthier, etc) to getting take out...and it was a winner! We made some rice, and I sliced up some seedless cucumber to put with it...a perfect summer dinner!

I found the recipe via Pinterest, but you can get the original post here from the blog, Table for Two.

(I borrowed her photo, because I ate the dish too quickly!)

30 day ab challenge

since my knee is out of commission...which is unfortunate...because this would have been the first full week we have been home since mid-June...and I was so ready to be on my gym schedule, finally making it back into my regular routine...but enter sprained knee...and most of my gym classes require the use of said knee...

so I had found several workout routines on Pinterest...and I thought I'd give this one a try...for some reason I saw the 300 (which is the number of reps per workout) and in my head made it a 30...so I'm going to try and do this for 30 days...and see what the results are!

here's a photo from day 1...hoping that I can shrink my stomach...and I guess clean off my bathroom  mirror ;)

the great outdoors

I feel like I fit somewhere in between an outdoorsy girl, and an indoorsy one...I love being outside, but I'm not really into the whole exploring the wilderness...I do like our annual camping trip we take with B's hockey team every year though, and this year was no exception...

sitting by the fire at night, cooking dinner, eating s'mores, playing washers and throwing axes at a tree...yup, a good old time...

this year we added a new activity...white water rafting...was tons of fun, minus the falling out of the raft with the exception of my foot, which was caught under the cushion...so this is how I'll be spending the next few days:

10 days of ME :) : 9 loves

day 2 of 10...of all about me...9 things I love :)

I could go with the typical family and friends...but they all know how much I love them...so this list is 9 things, besides those people who are so important to me ;)  (just in case they were worried they didn't make the cut!)

9.  New York City...the City where I always thought I'd live...the lights...the people...the food...LOVE.

8.  Dr Pepper...my favorite drink hands down...

7.  black cats...we have three cats in our house..two are all black and one has cute white feet...they are our furry loves!

6.  the beach...if I'm going to be hot and sticky, I want to be at the beach...that is one place where the heat doesn't seem to bother me...I'd rather be cold on most days...but at the beach, it's all good

5.  thunderstorms...as long as I'm at home, I LOVE listening to the crash of the thunder and seeing the bolts of lightening...recently we've had a few really bad storms tear through Maryland but thankfully we haven't lost power!

4.  fine point markers...I love drawing and sketching with really fine point markers...I have a set of BIC markers...in 36 colors...that I carry with me every where

3.  glitter...this should be self explanatory if you've ever seen any of my work...I love the sparkle of glitter...and I know, I know...it gets everywhere, it never goes away...but it just makes me so happy :)

2.  snow...if it is snowing, and I can't sit somewhere and watch it fall...I'm not a happy camper...when it's winter, I want to see the ground covered in beautiful, white, fluffy goodness!  So you can imagine how much I loved the year of the many blizzards...I don't think I left my house for two weeks!

1.  CHRISTMAS!  it could be winter and the Christmas season 12 months a year and I'd be okay with that...not necessarily the day of Christmas, but just the feeling that goes with that time of year, gathering with family and friends, the decorations, the great food and drinks, the spirit of giving...

Monday Inspiration

this is a quote that a friend of mine from growing up always used to say...and she was/is totally right...being a first year teacher in such a discouraging area, with little to no support...has made me realize just how important it is to fight for what you want...

it also taught me that the things in life that are most rewarding are not always going to be easy, and not always going to be on the road you are used to traveling on...


hopefully this can be some words of inspiration on this Monday morning!!

10 days of ME :) : 10 Secrets

somewhere in the magic of the Interwebs I came across this 10 day challenge...all about you...or in this case me :)  I thought it might jump start my creative writing juices...so here goes...day 1 of 10...10 secrets about me :)


10.  it's not really a 'secret'...but there are a few occasions where I have opened, and eaten an entire jar of pickles in one sitting

9. I love organizing...but I spend so much time planning the organization, I usually run out of time to actually do the organizing.

8.  I call my family at least every other day...sometimes every day...sometimes more then once a day...I just love them so much, and because we don't live in the same state, I need as many phone calls as possible so I don't have to miss them so much :)

7.  Not that I should, by any means...but I can eat a whole pizza...when I was younger, and playing multiple sports, I had an enormous appetite...and now, 12 years out of High School, I still have the appetite...but not the metabolism for it...teaching myself how to eat less has been much tougher then I thought!

6.  My secret dream is to write and illustrate books for children...I'd love to be able to write and draw every day :D

5.  I love playing games...but I will admit...if I've played Words With Friends with you...I probably did a search online with my letters to see what my longest word options are...for shame :p

4.  My family is obsessed with the Peanuts...Charlie Brown and all his friends...we watch all the holiday specials every year, even though we've seen them every year...when I had a sick day in school, and even now as an adult...Charlie Brown Christmas is the first on my movie list to watch while I am sick :)

3.  Even though I live in Maryland, I am not really a fan of seafood...I didn't learn how to eat crabs until I was 24...and now I limit my seafood intake to crabs (and crabcakes) and shrimp...and even then not that often...

2.  I really like going to bed early- like 10ish- even on Friday...and getting up early...never was really a night owl...somehow I made it through college, but I'm back to my usual "hours" now that I live in the "real world"

1.  Going to Virginia Teach is one of the best decisions I ever made...the experience of going to a big school with such an enthusiastic population of students...football games that could convert anyone into a sports fan...and a group of friends I couldn't imagine my life without...including meeting a special someone ;)...the night before we got in the car to drive down for my freshman year, I had a total and complete meltdown...honestly I don't really remember why, mostly I think the shock of living 8 hours away from my family and with strangers probably finally hit me...but my wonderful parents knew just how to handle my freak out, and the next morning we were off...

so thanks again Mom & Dad :)

Photo Saturday

the beach in Wilmington, NC

Friday Funny

haha...Happy Friday friends!!

Illustration Friday- Lost

When I first got the topic for this week's Illustration Friday, LOST, my mind immediately went to the show that infuriated me for 7 long seasons...but I wasn't quite sure how to illustrate it...

so I just saw down, with a spiral notebook no less, and just started sketching...and came up with this:

it reminded me how much I love just mindlessly sketching, and I need to do it more!

A-Z of me

I found this ABC's of me while I was browsing Ambrosia Clark's blog, People Say I'm a Dreamer...I think I got there via Pinterest...I'm sure many of you can relate to getting lost in the Internet and can't remember how you ended up on a certain site...but I liked her list, so I thought I'd give it a try!

A. Age: 30

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore that you hate: vacuuming...always have, probably always will!

D. Dogs: love dogs!  always asked for a puppy for Christmas growing up

E. Essential start to your day: COFFEE!

F. Favorite color: Purple & Blue...not to be outdone by Maroon & Orange ;)

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'9"

I. Instruments you play: Piano

J. Job title:Art Teacher

K. Kids: 3 furry cat children...Eddie, Jack & Kevin

L. Live: Baltimore, MD

M. Mother’s name: Irene

N. Nicknames: Jersey, Laurs, Laur

O. Overnight hospital stays: Appendectomy in 2007

P. Pet peeves: people who drive without using their turn signal...or don't wave thank you when you let them in on the road...basically just general unfriendliness or unkindness

Q. Quote from a movie: "What is this?  A school for ants?!" -Zoolander

R. Right or left handed: Right for drawing...left for eating...I multitask :)

S. Siblings: Brother!  2 years younger, 8 inches taller

U. Underwear: not sure what this is asking...I have a whole drawer full though...

V. Vegetable you hate: mushrooms

W. What makes you run late: trying to finish one last 'to-do' before I leave the house...or looking for something I need to bring with me

X. X-Rays you’ve had: legs in High School, hip when I fell down the stairs in my house, back, and most recently lungs for when I had bronchitis

Y. Yummy food that you make: I make an awesome lasagna

Z. Zoo animal: penguins.  obv.

DIY Wednesday - spray painted votives

I love candles...and when I saw this tutorial on how to create striped pillar candles, I had to try it for myself...and when I was home in NJ with the family I had the most room to attempt this project...

I added my own little spin on it...instead of the frosted glass spray paint- which I do want to try next- I used a glitter spray paint!  yup, they make glitter spray paint! 

the tutorial from Polish the Stars is here...but here are a few of my notes :)

make sure you work outside, and I put the candles in a cardboard box so the spray paint didn't get everywhere...I got it all over my hands, but I think wearing gloves, or using something else to prop up the candles would eliminate that...and I had a hard time spraying too thick of a coat in some spots, and not enough on others..I'm not so skilled with the spray paint can...but I think I'd get better with practice.

here are some photos of the steps and the results:

Recipe Box - Creamy Orzo with Parmesan & Asparagus

I have a ton of 'go-to' side dishes that I rotate through, most of them simple, many come from a bag...and in the interest of eating healthier, and trying to make more things from scratch, I decided to try this recipe for Creamy Orzo with Asparagus Parmesan from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.  as many recipes that I try and like...this was really easy, and very tasty :)

image from Sugar & Spice by Celeste

Photo Saturday

me and brother at the winery tour for Bonnie's surprise party!

friday funny...

have a great weekend everyone!!

Friday Finds - Beachy

haven't done a Friday finds in a while!  since we are beach-bound for a wedding this weekend, I was inspired :)

this stunning red belted bathing suit by 1979 Swimwear

rocking these vintage sunglasses by Silver Saturation

hanging out on this cute beach blanket by Pattern Studio

pack a snack for the beach in this vintage wicker picnic basket by Epoch Co.

and of course you might need some fancy margarita glasses from Designs by Dia Ray

Happy Birthday to my Mini Me!

I still feel like you are my little neighbor...can't believe you are 27, married, and a homeowner!  I am so proud of you and so glad to be your friend after all these years :)

photo circa December 2004

Happy Birthday Dana!!!
xoxoxo

Once a Hokie, Always a Hokie

through the magic of the internet, twitter, etc...I came across a blog run by a fellow Virginia Tech grad, called Young, Married, Chic...I instantly bookmarked it, because if you are a Hokie you know, we all seem to have this special connection and unspoken friendship with other Hokies...so I knew I would want to browse through all the recipes for healthy eating, great ideas for hostess gifts, and then I found it...a cookbook, with recipes and stories from Blacksburg, called A Taste of Virginia Tech...so I pre-ordered it...and sometime in August I'll get it and I am SO excited to read it and try and re-create some favorites!

one of the things that I always loved about school, was definitely the food...there were so many great restaurants, not to mention the amazing dining halls...oh West End, my meal plan dollars were always well spent there!  

you can go order your very own copy here!  you know you want to :D

hair dilemmas

so.  this year I turned 30.  6 months ago exactly.  and the thing that is now on my mind more then before is my hair.  weird right?  well my friends the gray hair are fueling this obsession...well, I wouldn't call them friends...they are shiny, with a strange texture, they stick out of my hair no matter where I part it, and I. Don't. Like it!

back in college I did the obligatory, dye your hair blonde thing...even did it myself a few times...and while I don't think it looked terrible...I got TONS of compliments going back to my natural darker color.

 before

 and after

so the next big question is...what do I do to fix the gray hair conundrum?  dying lots of light highlights means lots of upkeep (read: lots of $$) and I don't know that I have the energy (or funds) for that...I found this photo on Pinterest, and I really like the colors...I think her base color is similar to mine...so I think I could pull this off, and it would be easier then light highlights.

 

I also really like the ombre style, darker roots with lighter ends, which has a kind of natural feel to it...but it might not fix my gray hair problem...not that the highlights would do that either....so I might be at an impass...but what do you think...which one would be easier to maintain?

 

wouldn't ya know...even though this is a semi-new trend...back in 2001 good old Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek rocked the ombre style!

DIY Wednesday - at home gel manicure!

so I am definitely a fan of nail polish...I think the obsession has grown significantly...I have a whole shelf in my bathroom that is bursting at the seams currently. 

for a while I wasn't using my own polish as much because I got a gel manicure, and it was amazing...six weeks without so much as a chip in my jewelry-making, art-teaching nails...I was sold!  except for the $30-50 price tag, depending on where I went.

fast forward to my new obsession...Pinterest..and I found this pin via The Small Things Blog that tells you how you can get the quality of a gel manicure at home...of course I was skeptical, but I had to try...if it could save me money and my nails could still look nice, I was willing to give it a try.

 photo from The Small Things Blog

I couldn't find the Nutra Nail 5 Minute Gel Polish, but I did find the Essie...so I just used that for the top and bottom coats- and it worked great!  you can link back to the original post here, but the steps are so simple!

2 coats of the Nutra Nail 5 Minute Gel Polish **this is where I substituted the Essie
2 coats of your favorite polish- any shade, any brand!
1 final coat of the Essie 3 Way Glaze


the best part is that you can use any polish you already own- it doesn't have to be anything special!  so all those nail polishes I had at home had new life breathed into them! 

Cheers! Pink Fizzy Recipe

by now, if you are a loyal reader of my blog, you will know that I love Pinterest...I have to actually try and limit the number of times in a given day that I check it...but it is the source of a lot of my new favorite recipes, and this one's for a refreshing summer cocktail!


we made this Pink Fizzy to cool us down after Home Run Derby at my Dad's surprise 60th birthday party...and it was soooooo good!  This recipe is courtesy of Sutter Home :)