goals + accountability + a link up

Unless you live under a rock, you know that at the beginning of every month, Ashley posts her goals for the month along with an update on the previous month's goals.

Clearly I LOVED the idea, because I totally copied her in January. I thought that putting my goals on the good ole' internets would make me be accountable to them. As usual, I was wrong. I need more than just putting them on here, I need friends to keep me accountable and to join with me in having some goals each month. And yes, it reallllllly does help. I can't tell you how many times Ashley and I text each other about our goals! Mainly the no shopping one...that is HARD to go at alone.

So, Ashley had an amazing idea to turn this into a link up. (She's full of amazing ideas, that one!) I've been having mixed feelings towards link ups lately, to be honest, but this one is not just a link up to link up one, it's ALL about linking up to find others that want a little extra push and encouragement to knock out their goals. I plan on using twitter to help me encourage friends who link up...or maybe a little snapchat action, too. Those are fun :)

On Monday, please grab the code/button and join us in encouraging each other!

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<a href="http://www.andourstorycontinues.com" title="Link Up"><img src="http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a490/arhagg/921b6d7d-d19a-4471-8106-378b4b2e233c_zps241c20f6.jpg" alt="Link Up" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

taste of tuesday :: how to keep a man

This pasta has a name already, and it's most definitely not "how to keep a man," but I changed it when the first word out of A's mouth was "WOW" after one bite. Also, it has champagne in it. So, yea.

EVEN IN PASTA. Wait - scratch that - especially in pasta. Also, Meg sent me this GIF on July 11 and I am just now using it. That's insane. It describes me to a "T."

 

 

Your mission today is to go run to the store and buy a bottle of champagne - it doesn't even have to be the expensive stuff - and everything else in these recipes and MAKE THIS NOW. Words cannot even describe how good this dish was, well - I could try - but it wouldn't do it justice. The best part is how SUPER fancy it is, but it doesn't take a seasoned chef hours slaving over it. I now have my go-to dinner party dish. Now I just need some people to come over for a dinner party...anyone?

 

 

I know my strengths, and recipe writing/posting/picture taking is not one of them, so I'm just going to link you to the original recipes. Just take my word and make these. And then pour yourself the rest of the champagne and watch your man's non-stop smiles.

 

Lemon Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells in a Champagne Cream Sauce

...are you excited yet?

 

Ricotta recipe here and full dish recipe here.

 

YES - it does require to make homemade ricotta. But y'all - IT WAS SO EASY. I am never buying store bought ricotta again. And I plan on using the extra ricotta as a spread to put out while we are getting ready for my best friend's wedding on Saturday. Double the fun!

 

 

 







Linking up with Ashley and Jessica.

a realization and a recipe

It's no secret that I haven't been blogging much lately. And when I have, yes, I can admit this, they're less than stellar posts.

I was cooking this recipe last night and started thinking. Sometimes I do my best thinking while I'm cooking, it relaxes me and lets my mind flow. I've been in a blog funk ever since we moved back to Houston, and when I realized that, the light bulb went off.

Lafayette was a great city, and if we had to move back there, I wouldn't be upset. Ok, as long as we could transport our house there I wouldn't be upset. But it's a hard city to make friends in. A had tons of friends, but that's because he was born and raised there and went to college there. So of COURSE he has tons of friends! That's also the reason why I didn't...pretty much everyone in Lafayette grew up there, so they've had their friends for life. It's not that they are mean, but when they already have a set group of friends, why make new ones? Sure, I had friends, but not the type that I could call up on a Tuesday to go see a movie with on my own. Obviously, I had a lot of free time in Lafayette.

Sidenote - how does one make new friends these days? It's so awkward. I miss college and classes where it was easy to make new friends! What am I supposed to do...walk up to the normal looking girl at HEB and ask if she wants to hang out sometime? The awkwardness of that is making me cringe right now.

Enter moving to Houston. The city I am from, so of course I have my friends here. Add these to the new amazing friends here I've made from blogging (aha! that's how one makes friends now-aw-days. And to those who find this weird, I say HUSH, people are meeting their husbands online, what is so wrong with meeting friends online???) and all of a sudden, I have plans all the time. We're having a dinner party tomorrow night and then Thursday night Meg and I are going to a blogger/book signing event.

In Lafayette I spent time writing posts at night because I had the time. I don't have that time in Houston...and that's not a bad thing to me. Also, in Lafayette A was home with me all day long, so we talked a lot during the day. Enough that I didn't feel bad staying on my computer all night. Now, he's at work all day and we're lucky to get two texts to each other all day long. Gone are the blogging sessions at night because I spend my time catching up with him and spending time with him. That, or out with friends.

All that was a VERY long way to say that I am just busy living life over here. I'm trying to get a balance of everything. Yes, I would like to post great posts everyday again, but I'm not going to stress out about it anymore because I'm too busy having fun.

________________________________________________________

 

About that recipe I mentioned earlier...

 



I don't have much to say about this one besides YOU BETTER MAKE IT NOW. I am still dreaming about it. The best part? It's one of the easiest recipes I've made. Ok, that wasn't the best part. The best part is how healthy it is. Healthy, easy AND affordable...why is this not on your weekly list yet?

Panko-Crusted Tilapia
Ingredients:
1 T coconut oil
2 Tilapia filets
1/2 C panko
S + P
How to:
Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium-high. Pat the tilapia dry. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Coat with panko, press down slightly. Don't worry if some falls off, it's supposed to be lightly coated. Cook in the pan 2-3 minutes per side, or until cooked through and crispy.

Coconut Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 small sweet potatoes
2 t coconut oil
1/2 t cinnamon
Salt
How to:
Chop the sweet potatoes into even cubes. Place in pot and fill with water until the water is about one inch over the sweet potatoes. Season with salt and boil 10 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain the water. Mash with a potato masher until the texture is how you like it. Put the coconut oil and cinnamon in and whisk until combined. (A likes them as is, but I add in salt to make them sweet and salty!)

I still can't get over how good the coconut oil made the fish taste. I'm looking for new ways to use it now, if you have any good recipes to share, send them my way!

taste of tuesday | turkey parm mini meatballs

Lately I have been spending hours and hours on Pinterest trying to find new recipes. I have a huge collection of great ones we have made before, but cooking the same things every month gets pretty old. Unless it's Avocado Pesto Pasta, that will never ever ever get old. 

If you also spend hours in the "Food and Drink" section of Pinterest, you already know this fact. 99% (or so it seems) of the recipes are deliciously bad for you. Ten pounds of cheese and butter sure sounds good, but I personally am wanting my backside to shrink, not grow after one meal. Hence the spending HOURS on Pinterest - it takes that long to find some good healthy recipes!

Not that this recipe is the best thing ever for you, but I'd like to think it's better than the deep fried mac and cheese that was right above it. 

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Turkey Parmesan Mini Meatballs

inspired by this recipe by the hilariously amazing BevCooks

Ingredients:

1 cup panko

1/2 cup parmesan cheese - split

1 T+ olive oil

1 egg

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

5 cloves garlic (those not obsessed, lessen to two) minced

1 T dried oregano

7 fresh basil leaves, torn/chopped/cut

1 pinch salt + pepper

16 mozzarella balls or cubes 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put 1 cup of panko and 1/4 cup parm into a small bowl. Starting with 1T EVOO, drizzle it over the mixture and mix with hands until fully coated. I added a few more drizzles because most of it felt dry still. Set aside.

Place the egg in a larger bowl and slightly beat. Throw in the bell pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Mix with hands.

Place a couple of tablespoons of the mixture in a greased (I use the Coconut Oil spray from TJs) mini muffin pan. Punch down a little area for the cheese.

The original recipe calls for cubes, but I balled up some fresh shreds because that is what we had. Place the balls in the cheese area, and then cover up completely with the meat mixture. I pushed the cheese down and this was easier. 

Place the panko mixture on top of the meat mixture and pat down slightly. I used lots as you can tell!

Place in oven for 25-30 minutes. Don't get scared if the cheese bubbles out.

Serve over sauce + pasta (we use the organic veggie noodles from HEB) and enjoy!

Linking up for Taste of Tuesday with Ashley and Jessica.

keeeeen-WAH pizza bites

You know what is yummy? Pizza is yummy. I've discussed before that I am a pizza-snob. If I'm going to eat it, I want the best. So what if that makes me a snob?

I'm a meal planner. Every weekend I plan the menu and I shop for the week on Sunday. This SAVES me throughout the week. Also, it saves a ton of money! 

Last week I decided we needed all new meals - the same things every week kind of get old. So I headed over to - what else - Pinterest and found some yummies. One I stumbled upon was these Quinoa Pizza Bites. Pizza in a healthy way? Sign me up!

First off, I made this marinara sauce. Verdict? I will NEVER buy the jar kind again. I am not a marinara person, but I could drink this. The fresh basil at the end really kicks it up. I used the sauce for dipping sauce for the pizza bites, to go on stuffed zucchini, and as a sauce over whole-wheat noodles. Three meals and it only cost about $2 to make? That is a winner!

I used this recipe with the following changes:

Omitted the onion, because onions on "pizza" is just disgusting.

More garlic. Is there ever such a thing of too much garlic? NO.

Sprinkled parm cheese on top prior to baking.

Used three egg whites, no yolks.

Verdict was that we LOVED these. They will be made again, and you should make them, too! They are an easy alternative to that greasy, cheesy, (but so yummy!) slice of pizza. I'd never had quinoa prior to this, so don't let that scare you away!

spinach feta turkey burgers :: taste of tuesday

I've always wanted to link up for this, but that would require taking photos of the cooking process. And to be honest, that's not really at the top of my list when I'm cooking at night. But I said I would blog every day this week (I've got to stop saying that) so here I am. With what I cooked tonight! 

Woah that's a large picture. Moving on. Simply put - you need to make these. I found the recipe here and I am so glad I did. I added an ingredient here and there, but stayed pretty true to the original recipe. We served ours with zuch fries and corn. And on summer plates because it just screamed a summer meal to me. My mouth is still watering over these, y'all. MAKE THEM.

You will need:
1 lb. ground turkey (super duper lean)
Spinach - I prever to use fresh because the frozen is WAY too watery. Two handfuls of it.
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
4 garlic cloves
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup crumbled feta
Salt + Feta

Let's review how to make these, shall we?

SUPER fine, so when you eat the burger, you aren't just eating clumps of spinach. trust me on this.

mince your garlic. mincing garlic is therapeutic for me. yes, I am aware of my oddness.

so yea, it says half a cup. but who actually pays attention to recipes when they list amounts of cheese? oh, that's just me?

Not much salt is needed because feta cheese is pretty salty as is. when recipes say that about any other cheese, they are lying. only feta, but then again I could eat salt so you probably shouldn't listen to me on that one.

I started with a half a cup and added more as needed. I did not use the full cup, though.

mix just until it all comes together.

I got 6 patties with this list of ingredients.

Then grill for about 5ish minutes on each side and serve! My dad and A LOVED these, as did I. My mom said they were too salty, so if you know people who don't like salty things (HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE) just reduce the feta...or actually just use 1/2 a cup. Whatever, if you don't like good things, that's your problem.

But basically, you need to make these and perfect them for yourself and then put them on the 4th of July menu. Trust me. People will be like "what beef? I don't need no stinking beef burgers!"

I probably should stick to blogging in the mornings.

linking up with ashley and jessica

feel better soon whore

I'm not going to lie. I may have shed a tear or two when I thought I couldn't link up to this because the google search thingy didn't work for me. 

And then I realized how big of an idiot I am. This is a daily thing.

So I present to you...those weird people who google something and then go through all 3498609 pages. How ELSE could they have landed on my blog?!

1. The top search is boring - "put a bow on it blog" booooorrringggg
2. "mugged" + "my purse" - that's easy, comes from this post. I hope whoever found it learned that you should kick them in the balls.
3. "the best part of kissing" - UHM. bless your heart. 
4. "cleat chasers" - I may or may not have been one
5. "katherine webb necklace" - preeeeety sure I just called her a whore. I don't remember anything about a necklace
6. "feel better soon whore" - this makes me sound really mean. and I'm really confused as to where it led them
7. "bow stress ball" - clearly this led them to my stressed out post. but someone was actually looking for a bow shaped stress ball? wait, do they make those?
8. "coach purse making me nauseous" - I can't remember mentioning anything about coach. but this makes me laugh so hard because I think it's true
9. "foot popping kiss princess diaries" - well duh. sidenote - i'm starting tho think I should have changed the names of the guys. if you found this via twitter, sorry guys.
10. "cute names for college blogs" - JUST BECAUSE I LIKE BOWS DOESN'T MEAN I'M STILL IN COLLEGE. uhhh...
11. "love your short hair" - was someone trying to figure out a way to love their short hair? answer: put it in a pony tail until it grows. or blog about it and it will make you love it
12. "a woman is never too old to wear bows" - hey friend, I love you. hope you stayed around.
13. "www.puta.jped photo sex.com" WHAT WHAT WHAT?!

This was fun, and I can't stop crying because I am laughing so hard at everyone else's. 

#sorryimnotsorry

<center> <a href="http://putabowonitblog.com"><img src="http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag89/pearlsandcurls/sorrynotsorry_zps8070535b.jpg" /></a></center> Hey friends - happy hump day! Wednesday is such a great day - halfway there to two days of freedom. Annnnd today is an even better Wednesday because it's host to a super fun link-up that I better see on all of your posts. Subtle enough? 
The premise is easy - just tell us all the things that you will never ever, ever apologize for. Like, ever. I'll get you started...

I really don't like Kate Upton. And no, it's not because she has some belly action on her, I just think she looks a bit girl-on-the-corner. #sorryimnotsorry

Nothing drives me crazy like OBVIOUSLY fake purses. They aren't even cute! Go to target and get a perfectly adorable purse for the same price. #sorryimnotsorry

Condiments are the most disgusting things in the entire world. Ketchup, mayo, mustard...GROSS. #sorryimnotsorry

I don't find Brad Pitt attractive. Jusssst can't see it. #sorryimnotsorry

Erin Andrews, no thanks. #sorryimnotsorry

There is nothing sexier than a man with an accent. Not talking from London - I'm talking Southern. There's just something about that twang. #sorryimnotsorry

I don't see how girls wear four inch heels on the reg. How do you people walk in them? Flats for the win. #sorryimnotsorry

I have no tolerance. If you feed me shots all night, I might throw up on you. #sorryimnotsorry

If you run into me on the street, there's a good chance that I'll have at least one monogram or bow on me. #sorryimnotsorry

When someone gets into the self checkout line and they don't know what they are doing slash take forever, I want to punch them. #sorryimnotsorry

If my house ever caught on fire (and we all made it out safe), I would cry first over all of the books I just lost. Nerd alert. #sorryimnotsorry

I get really into March Madness. Super competitive and I will cut you if you beat me in my bracket. #sorryimnotsorry

I could do on and on and on about our wedding. I have a HUGE major wedding obsession and I just want to dream about them all day long. #sorryimnotsorry

#ireallylikehashtagsapparently

I'm sure that a week down the road I will think of about a hundred more things I could add in. That always happens to me and I hate it! Like that really good comeback that you think of...five minutes after you've already left the situation. 

And for reals for a second: If you ever REALLY truly believe in something, don't ever apologize for that. We don't all have to agree on everything, people.

Now it's your time! Grab the button and link up with me, Staci, Sara and Katelyn.

i am a terrible liar + a giveaway

I am probably the worst liar ever. Andre' can take one look at me after a lie slips out and he will know that it wasn't the truth. We're talking little things here, people. Like who took Bowden out last.




So it's a really good thing that this link up is over the internet instead of face to face, because y'all would know for sure which one is the lie. 

1. My dad helped arrest Carl Lewis.

2. I went on a cruise through Greece and Turkey for my 8th grade trip.

3. The first time I went skiing, I broke my leg on the bunny slopes on the first day.

So which one do you think it is?! Number THREE is the lie! While I have been skiing before, I never broke my leg. (Actually, I've never broken anything...knock on wood!) There was that one time that I ran into a tree and got a concussion, but we're just going to pretend that little tidbit never happened. I went back a few years later and didn't fall once, so I think I more than made up for it!

Carl Lewis was an Olympic runner if you didn't know that, and in the 90s he was arrested in Houston for a DWI. My dad was DWI task force for HPD my whole life and that night must have been his lucky night! But not really because Mr. Lewis ran from the police station after they brought him in. And you just don't catch an Olympian when he runs away from you!

A history teacher at my middle school sponsored the best 8th grade trip known to man-kind. We flew into Athens, Greece and stayed there for 2 days and then took a cruise around the Greek Isles and Turkey for 10 days before coming back to spend another night in Athens. Santorini stole my heart - we actually thought about Honeymooning there but then we looked at the flight prices. Bahamas looked a lot better after that! But we WILL get back there one day so Andre' can experience it. Ever seen sisterhood of the traveling pants? You know the part where they ride the donkeys up to the house? It's 100% real. And those donkeys are MEAN!

On an unrelated note, I'm part of a really great giveaway over at Heavens to Meighan, you should check it out and maybe win some fun stuff.

here's a sneak peek of all the gifts you can win!

the facts of me

If you didn't already know this, Whitney is a genius. She's doing a facts of life/me/you link up today. I'm super nosey a fan of getting to know all you pretties better, so I am loving this link up. Hope you guys do too!

I can't stand odd numbers - the only exception being 5. If I'm turning the volume up, it has to be on 10, 12, 15, 18 or 20...and so on. If someone else puts it on an odd number, say 17, I have to grab the remote and change it or else it will bug me for the rest of the TV watching time.

I have to sleep with socks on. This stems from the fact that if something is touching my left foot, something has to touch my right foot with equal force. This goes for every part of my body - if I scratch my right leg, I have to scratch my left one. Sensing a theme here? I'm sort of incredibly a little bit OCD.

I think condiments are disgusting. Yep, I eat my sammies dry. Mayo, mustard, ketchup...get that grossness away from me.

I am the slowest drinker EVER. You'll likely finish two drinks at the bar while I'm still working on my first one. I'm a sipper...as in my sips are little drops of said drink. Unless it's champagne. Woah, big gulps, huh? All right! Welp, see ya later.

I once thought it was OK to dye my hair myself in college. I was going for a chocolate brown.

It clearly didn't turn out that way. Note to all people with dark, DARK hair, you likely have red undertones. This was a terrible stage in my life and it took me way to long to realize that it looked like crap. Then one day I had enough and dyed it black (again, by MYSELF, dumb) and it took about a year to fully grow out and let me have virgin hair again. 

Fun fact - I ended up marrying that guy.

I had no clue who he was when we took this picture. I cannot believe I am willingly putting up MULTIPLE pictures of myself during the terrible hair stage.

I go to one FSU game every year even though I didn't end up there. (Long story for another blog post one day). During the 2008 Miami game I met Graham Gano and fell out of love because he looked like a guido. What is that shirt?!

And after every trip I come home with around 20 or so pictures on my camera of my sister's and families names all over Ken's. I really don't know why I feel the need to take the same pictures every single year, but I do. 

I once climbed the Eiffel Tower. 

...in Paris, TX. That's a fun fact in itself, did you know they had an Eiffel Tower? With a cowboy hat on top and all.

I got grounded a lot as a kid. My punishment?

haha I'm kidding. My dad was a police officer my whole life and we thought rides in the cruiser were the best things ever.

I had an almost-unibrow until 8th grade. Thanks, mom!!

Also under the thanks mom category, I had a middle part until college...some girls can rock this but I, sadly, was so NOT one of them.

I have to eat all of one food on the plate before I move onto the next one. And if any part of the mac and cheese touches the peaches...forgetaboutit. Mac and cheese and peaches? I clearly am a five year old.

I had bangs for a month last year. Man, they require a lot of work.

I get bored with designs/decorations really easily. So that means this blog design will get tweaked a lot. Also means that I've had over 5 cases for my iPhone that I've had for less than a year. 

Annnd that's it for today's completely random facts about myself. Now I'm off to read all about YOU! Can't wait :)

it's okay...

Linking up with Neely and Amber today.

It's OKAY...

...that I was tweeting like a crazy person about the Sugar Bowl last night. Anytime the gaytors lose it's HILARIOUS and I will cherish while I can. 

...to postpone my half marathon training one more day because there's no way I am running outside in 40 degree weather. Or forking over money to get a gym membership. I like shopping too much for that.

...that I want to take the GRE and go back to school - mainly because I want a new career but also because I miss studying, and taking notes, and making test reviews. Yep, weirdest person ever right here. (And on that note, anyone have any good GRE study recs?)

...that I already started decorating for Mardi Gras. The place was too bare without Christmas decorations. And yes, Mardi Gras is a LEGIT holiday that people celebrate down here. We get Fat Tuesday off work.

...to stay in my PJs and not shower until noon (or 6pm) pretty much every day. Perks of working from home.

...that I'm pretty sure I should blog right before going to bed. That's when I get all of my good ideas - which means it takes me over an hour to fall asleep some nights. A falls asleep in about 2.5 seconds and I hate him for that.

...to sometimes laugh at other people's mistakes. Best Friend's ex-boyfriend's mugshot from his DWI on NYE? Yep, perrrrrfectly fine to laugh at.

...to have a bad fashion day every now and then. In fact, even a perfect Princess does every now and then. (And it's a McQueen, so she spent a loootttt more on her mistake than I did on mine.)

via

...that it's taking me FOREVER to get back into the swing of things after so many days off. You mean I have to meal plan again? And actually work? Ugh.

...that I turn 25 in 17 days and I still have ZERO idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. I'm glad I got a job in the exact field I majored in so I could learn that it's a field I HATE - but now I have no clue what I want to do. Cue the stress.