Happy Birthday!

Birthdays are starting to sneak up on me. Didn’t I just turn 26 yesterday? Sheesh.

My actual birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but Derek’s parents were kind enough to invite us over for an early birthday dinner tonight. I was flattered they even thought of me, I guess this means I’m really part of the family now – official birthday dinners and all.

We all sat around and drank wine and nibbled on shrimp and cocktail sauce while Derek and I filled them in on our New York and Vermont adventures. For four people, those little shrimpies went incredibly fast.   

Dinner was delicious. Derek’s Dad grilled salmon on a cedar plank while his mom prepared a lovely salad, wild rice, and veggies. It was the perfect birthday meal.

However, the real treat was the dessert.

When we were in Key West last month, Derek’s Dad told me he could make a mean homemade key lime pie. Of course, I told him he had to make it for me the minute he had the chance. So he did. Last night he squeezed 24 fresh-from-the-farmer’s-stand key limes and made a birthday key lime pie just for me. I had a slice with a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie that Derek’s mom made.   

The pie was tart, sweet, and the best homemade key lime pie I’ve ever had. He did an excellent job and I can’t wait to dive into the leftovers he sent me home with. There may be breakfast dessert in my future.

Present time!

My future in-laws know me well. I was gifted with a travel pillow (I sooo need this), a sport towel (also need this), and….

a new lunch box!

How cute is that? It’s the perfect size to hold decent sized tupperware, there’s a side pockets for napkins, and my name is on it. I may just pack my lunch tomorrow and take it to park just because I can.

Thank you Hilda and Steve! Dinner was wonderful.

Now I’m stuffed and ready for bed. Here’s to my last night as a 26 year old – it’s been fun!

Good Night!

This morning I had an excuse to visit one of my favorite coffee places in Tampa – Buddy Brew Coffee.

The hours are pretty funky and they’re all the way across town, so they always seems to be closed or about to close whenever I think to go there. Everything is roasted fresh on site and the storefront always smells amazing. Luckily their coffee beans are served in various other coffee shops around Tampa (Infusions Lounge and The Library just to name a couple) and can be purchased fresh on site.

A couple of weeks ago Stacey emailed me asking if I would meet her Tuesday morning for coffee and my mind immediately went to Buddy Brew. It had been far too long since my last visit.

(Ignore the wet hair – I was running late :/ )

Stacey is an absolute sweetheart. We met via the blogworld this past year and have sent a few emails back and forth on various things. She’s in town for Social Fresh, which is a great social media conference I volunteered at last year (as seen here, here, and here) but was unable to attend this year due to my NYC trip that carried over into Monday. She gave me a little insight into this year’s event, which was appreciated.

I ordered a skim cappuccino to sip on as we talked.   

After Stacey left I stayed behind and got a ton of work done. I don’t know what it is, but coffee shops really encourage me to churn things out (minus the 25-30 minutes that were ate up googling wedding photos – see below).

When my stomach started yelling at me after 1:00, I knew it was time to go home and make lunch.

Thomas English Muffins were BOGO at Publix this week. I stocked up on the whole wheat ones and kept one out on the counter and froze the rest. The muffin makes an excellent sandwich when pressed in the george foreman with mozzarella cheese, turkey, avocado, and mixed greens.

Leftover chickpeas and mixed veggies on the side.

Style Me Pretty

Our wedding venue (Birdsong Barn) was featured on Style Me Pretty today.

Which inspired me to check out the original post created by the featured photographer.

And a few other posts by other photographers who have photographed weddings at Birdsong Barn.

• Kt Crabb Photography
• Stephanie Abeles Photography
• Amanda McMahon Photography
• PhotoArtWorks
• ThunderClap Photography

Which got me really excited about this venue.

#Tip: When venue searching make sure to google the venue’s name plus wedding photos (ie Birdsong Barn Wedding Photos ) for inspiration on how other couples utilized the venue on their big day. It’s also a good way to discover local photographers who have already photographed and are familiar with the venue (and see their work).

Ouch. They burn! They burn! My abs burn!

Have you been participating in the Tone It Up Toned in ’12 challenge? I haven’t, but I saw their Toned in ’12 Abs Circuit floating around Pinterest and after hearing Britney rave about the workout I decided to give it a shot.

Ideally you’re suppose to repeat the circuit 6 times and follow up with your ‘fastest mile ever.’ One set in, I was already feeling the burn. Three sets in, I had to call uncle and take an extended break. Five minutes later I went back for part II and was cursing the Tone It Up girls for deciding 6 was the magic number of sets. Man, that burned.

I tried the ab circuit after my 5 mile run, so I didn’t take off for a mile after the circuit, but I can see how that could have added to the challenge. I need to find a way to build this circuit (and variations of this circuit) into my weekly routine. Hurt. So. Good.

My run before the ab circuit was just ok. I’m currently in the ‘I’m so not ready for this race on Sunday’ panic mode, but I’m trying not to let it get the best of me. What happens, will happen and I’ll just have to re-evaluate and move on from there.

Breakfast was the return to an old classic.

Why, hello cereal. Long time no see.

In the mix:

1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crisp

1/2 cup Cinnamon Life Cereal

Plain Chobani

Strawberries

Blueberries

Walnuts

Nothing out of the ordinary, but that didn’t stop it from being delicious. My walnut kick and still going steady and holding strong.

What’s the best circuit workout you’ve discovered lately via the web? Please share!

Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day!

Clearly a day that needs to be celebrated, especially when the promise of free yogurt is being thrown my way.

I discovered Yogurtland’s National Frozen Yogurt Day freebie happy hour via Facebook (thanks Callie!) and couldn’t pass up a chance to score some free frozen yogurt on my way home from the gym.

Surprisingly the place wasn’t packed. There were a few families and about as many workers on hand to usher everyone in and out. I asked if there was anything special that needed to be done for the free fro-yo, but was simply instructed to fill my cup up with yogurt as normal, add the toppings, and grab a spoon.

The cups were about half the size as normal ones, which meant they were the perfect size. Why don’t self-serve yogurt places carry the smaller size year around? I would be a fan.

I filled my cup with a mix of yogurts that looked good then topped it all with strawberries, blackberried, chocolate candy pieces and a frosted animal cracker.

The fro-yo made for an excellent snack, and you really can’t beat the prize. Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day to me, indeed.

Lunch was a fun combo this afternoon of what we randomly had on hand when we returned from our trip.

I heated up a steam-in-the-bag bag of mixed vegetables that I added to a bed of mixed greens with some canned chickpeas, walnuts, and a homemade dressing. It was a 5 minute lunch that was actually served pretty hot thanks to the steam-in-a-bag veggies.   

I did some work at home before heading to the gym in the later portion of the afternoon. It was packed, but I was still able to grab one of the ‘good’ treadmills to get a run in. I started at 6.5 before moving up to 7.0 and 7.5 for 5-ish minutes at a time. I ended up completing 3 miles ins 26 minutes.

After my run it was time for NROLFW 6B. Today was 4 sets of 4 at a slightly higher weight. I think I’ve just about maxed out on weight for this stage. I was really struggling pushing and pressing 25lb weights over my head. Burn, baby, burn.

Dinner was one of my favorite post-trip meals: roasted vegetables with pasta sauce.

I roasted sweet potato, parsnip, and brussels sprouts at 415 for 30 minutes then topped the mix with marinara sauce, roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

When ever Derek and I are are in our ‘What should we have for dinner? I don’t know – what do you want’ funks, this meal is always his first suggestion. It’s definitely an easy favorite of ours that please both parties.

Good Night!

Are you tired of hearing about venue shopping yet? This is the last one. Pinky promise.

Derek and I picked a venue over the weekend. After meeting with the people at Cross Creek on Wednesday, it was really the only thing we could talk about this weekend. There was a lot of going back and forth, a lot of last minute emailing and chatting with other venues, and a lot of talk about finances and our future. It’s crazy how planning a wedding really makes you and your fiance step back and talk about the important things like your future, especially when you’re putting up a good chunk of change out of your own pocket for it.

Cross Creek is gorgeous, there is no doubt about that, and it would be nice to have everything wrapped up in a neat little package where you basically show up on your wedding day and just enjoy it, but the more we thought about that, the more we realized that wasn’t for us.

It was more than just the money. If we got our guest list under 125, went with the cheapest food option, and cut back on the dress, invitations, favors, etc. the wedding total would only be $1500-ish over our original budget and still well under what ‘the norm’ is for weddings out there. BUT – now this is a big but – there were other things to consider.

We didn’t like that it was their contracted vendors or nothing. I really have this dream of my grandmother making her famous red velvet cake for our wedding and filling the rest of the table with an array of homemade desserts like chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, cupcakes, brownies, etc. That wouldn’t be possible at Cross Creek. We would have to get our cake (or any other dessert) through them and pay a premium for it.

I didn’t think food was important to me, but it is. Going with the cheapest catering option just wasn’t something I wanted to do. If Derek had pushed the venue I would have been all for it, but that was a big reason why I wasn’t pushing for it on my end.

Alright, maybe it does have a little bit to do with money. Spending $1500 over our intended budget would mean cutting back on our honeymoon. With the other venue we’re able to include our honeymoon in our original budget (and not as an addition) and go on a really kick ass one.

And I know people asked about saving at Cross Creek, but everything is set at a locked price. We were given an off-season discount and there is no difference in price between a Saturday and a Friday wedding. Trust us. We tried.

So, where does that leave us? Oh, yes. Birdsong Barn.

It’s not official until Derek sees it next week, but I’ve already spoke with Luanne to lock down our date. (p.s. Cross Creek already booked up on January 5th – which was my sign that it wasn’t for us and proof that wedding dates book up FAST).

What it comes down to with Birdsong is the FREEDOM we have to do everything we want to. Yes, it’s a little extra work, but saving over $6000 (!!) when all is said and done (yes, I’ve already contacted vendors for price quotes and added in wiggle room just in case) is worth it. I’ve spoken to a highly recommended caterer who is flexible with the menu and handles table set-up the day of, the contact at Birdsong will help with decorations and has given me free reign to everything she already has on hand, and I have no problems with hiring a coordinator to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible the day of.

The total venue fee includes the space for 24hrs, chairs and table, access to all the decorations on site (actually that’s an additional $50), onsite parking, onsite bathroom (with running water – some people asked), fire pits with sticks, and linens (china place settings can be rented for $2 per head, but I struck a deal with the caterer to have them added-on on her end for no charge).

We just need:

• caterer (I have one, just not officially booked yet)
• photographer (my cousin is doing Kelly’s wedding and I would love to book her for my own)
• chairs for the ceremony (contacted the rental company already)
• officiant (Derek and I need to discuss this)
• DJ
• Cake (Grandma?)
• Bar Tender + Alcohol (I can get a licensed bartender through my caterer and alcohol for cheap from BJs)
• my dress (we’re shopping in March)
• invitations and save the dates
• favors
• heaters
• flowers
• bridal party gifts
• hair and make-up
• tux rental for Derek

What am I missing?

We also have a larger space so that 150 people shouldn’t be a problem (the space can hold 185, but I’m sticking with 150 – sorry Mom!). Weather is still at the top of my mind, but my Dad is already coming up with ways to close the barn in if weather is an issue. This means I get to spend 335 days crossing my fingers for warmth, but we’ll cross that boat when it gets here.

I never thought I would like the idea of getting married in my hometown, but the more I think about waking up in my childhood room the morning of my wedding and going on a quick 5k run with my bridesmaids before we start to get ready, the more I like it.

Derek and I are really excited about our decision and can’t wait to dive into the little details.

Let the nitty gritty planning begin!

Hello from high in the sky!

Derek and I caught a super early flight this morning and are currently on our way home to Tampa from NYC. Waking up at 5:00am and catching a cab by 5:45am was a pain in the butt, but landing before lunch time and having the whole day to play catch up will be worth it.

I had just enough time before we boarded to grab a Mango Peach Topper from Jamba Juice with an added scoop of peanut butter.

Jamba Juice has a great granola. It’s really nutty and full of flax and sunflower seeds, it’s the perfect airport breakfast on the go. The added peanut butter also gives the smoothie a little more lasting powering through the flight.

A hot tea was added to wake and warm me up.

We’re back on JetBlue and I’m learning to appreciate that they don’t have WiFI on board. It’s great to disconnect, but still have access to my computer to work on a few projects. I feel more focused with less distractions and have been cranking things out. Maybe I need to turn the internet off when I’m working on deadline projects in the future more often?

Inflight snacks.

Inflight sleeping fiance.

[insert photo that was mysteriously deleted from my camera]

My legs are antsy to run.

Are we there yet?

We said good-bye to the beautiful house in Vermont and our amazing group of new friends this morning with one final blow-out meal. We broke out the leftovers and had steak, eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and pancakes galore. Everyone contributed and the results were delicious.

One final mountain photo before we bid adieu.

And we’re off.

We made great timing leaving Vermont and making our way back to NYC. 3.5 hours with just one stop for gas and one one-hour nap for the girls.

Because of the late breakfast and odd timing of our trip (1:00pm-4:30pm), lunch became a random nibble fest of leftovers we had in the car. I had an apple

Some of the passed macaroni and cheese (that we ate cold with our hands – super classy)

And we used the left over shredded brussels sprouts from Friday night as a dip for the rest of the chips. Random, but actually pretty tasty. There was also a brownie in there somewhere.

We arrived back in NYC just in time for the Superbowl. I’m not a huge NFL football fan in general (college ball all the way), but I can always appreciate a good Super Bowl game.

I can also appreciate good Super Bowl food. We ordered some extra spicy wings from a local wing place to split. I had two and my lips are still burning from them. These babies were HOT!

And we made a big batch of nachos for the group.

A layer of chips topped with chili, jalapenos, bell peppers, and mushrooms, baked for 10 minutes at 350, and finished off with fresh salsa, non-fat greek yogurt, and guacamole.

It. Was. Epic. Probably the best homemade nachos I’ve had. I think it was the chili. Can’t go wrong with good chili on nachos.

The boys destroyed it.

I can’t tell you what went on in the actual Super Bowl game, but I’ve been super impressed with this year’s line-up of commercials. The Chevy Sonic “Stunt Anthem”, Chevy “Happy Grad”, TaxAct “Free to Pee”, and Budweiser “End of Prohibition” were just a a few of my favorites. What were yours?

And we can’t forget Madonna.

Awesome, awesome, awesome half-time show. It MORE than made up for the lackluster shows of the last couple of years. She kept it classy with her outfit changes, showed off how strong she is with crazy acrobatics (53? She’s 53?!?!?!), and stuck to her best music. Way to go Madonna, way to go.

Derek and I have a super early flight in the morning. This has been a fun trip, but it’s time to return back to reality. We have a busy couple of weeks coming up – including my 27th birthday on Wednesday (!!!) and my brother’s wedding on the 18th. We also officially booked a wedding venue – but I’ll get to that later.

Good Night!

The boys did it again.

Another meal of epic proportion.

Country style bbq ribs

Collard greens with salt pork

Homemade macaroni and cheese

Cornbread (made by the girls)

Feta, corn and tomato salad (made by the girls)

And the crazy shenanigans that went into the preparation of it.

It was soooo good. All of it. Nothing like a true southern comfort meal in the heart of Vermont.

Brownies for dessert.

With ice cream. Can’t forget the ice cream.

A three hour dance party commenced.

Needless to say, everyone is moving just a bit slower today.

Good times. Good times.

Three cheers for the 2012 Stratton Mountain Ski Crew!

From singing in the gondola to speeding down the mountain – this group rocks. Derek and I can’t thank Bo and Ashley enough for inviting us up again – is it to early to reserve out spots for next year? Did we mention how awesome you guys are?!

The day started with another casual morning and a pre-ski breakfast of a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, jam, and granola with a side of apple.

Despite the causal morning approach, we still made much better timing this morning than the morning before. Instead of parking the car at 10, we arrived at 9. Big improvement. All the hardcore skiers were pleased.

As they should be, it was an awesome day for skiing. Seriously.

The conditions were still icy, but the sun was out and the temps were a bit warmer than the day before. The best part was I finally found my ‘ski legs’ again, apparently I just needed a day to warm-up. Yesterday was iffy but there was definitely no holding me back today.

Lunch break.

Friends that eat together, stay together.

Same restaurant, different lunch – Granny Smith Grilled Cheese with Waffle Fries.

This cheesy masterpiece of multigrain bread, cheddar cheese, Granny Smith apples, and bacon was amazing. The server referred to it as the perfect mid-day indulgence and she was spot on. It was rich and decadent, but small enough to be just right. I need to make this at home.

The waffle fries were worth repeating again today. I’m not sure what it is, but waffle fries are 10 times better than regular fries. No question.

The afternoon was when the real fun began.

We all wanted to stick together for at least one run this weekend.

And we learned that you can fit 10 people in a gondola. Good to know.

Don’t let Ashley fool you – she’s a skiing rockstar. Watch out!

I stayed out late with the big boys and felt comfortable enough to hit a couple double black diamond trails. The day went way too fast – I felt like I was just getting started! It’s always great to end ski trips on a high note – I’m already looking forward to next year.

It was worth it to get off the mountain and change out of my ski boots and indulge in some free hot chocolate

Gotta love a mountain that hands out free hot chocolate at the end of the day!

And free marshmallows!

They had a fire pit going in the village with free marshmallows and sticks for roasting. I think I like Stratton more and more.

Another successful day of skiing. It’s sad that’s our last one of the season. *sniff*

Until next year Stratton! It was fun using you while it lasted.

THIS is why I love coming up here.

Skiing is great and all, but really the best part about any ski trip is the downtime after you come off the mountain. Chilling by the fire, cooking with friends, and just enjoying your time away from the city – THIS is what makes the trip worth it.

Bo is an amazing cook and loves to take charge of the food situation every year. More power to him. It’s fun to have the boys take charge of the kitchen, while the girls sit back and drink wine.

Cheese and crackers and salsa and dip were served to nibble on while the food was prepared. I had three or four cheese and crackers, as well as a big glass of cab and a Magic 9 beer. This light weight was feeling just right.

What you don’t hear is the awesome 90s themed local radio station we found and the all out karaokee and dance party that came with it. You know you’re with friends when you can start belting the words to Alantis Morissette without a care in the world, and you’re not alone in doing so.

Standing on the counter tops? Totally normal.

Steak, salad, potatoes, and last year’s famous brussels sprouts. A feast fit for a king or queen.

Ice Cream!

A sampling of Vermont’s finest.

I had a bit of each (minus the sorbet) and I have to say my favorite was surprisingly the Cinnabon. There were chunks of cinnamon cinnabon dough that really popped.

The clean-up crew. Boys cook, girls clean. Fair enough.

Not going to lie. I was the first one asleep. I crashed on the couch with my ipad in my lap and people talking around me. Party. Animal.

Now I’m ready for round 2 on the mountain. It snowed a little last night. Cross your fingers it stuck!