TGIF

• This week flew by.  Awesome.
• I am actually, really, for real going to start a paleo/primal blog.  It will not be fancy and I'm not paying anything for it.  If enough people start reading and like what I cook/post, we'll see what happens.  I had a name all planned out but now I am second guessing it.  So, once I figure out a name and get some content ready to post, I will let you know.  Based on my past performance, this will probably take six months. ;)
• We are actually, really, for real going to remodel our kitchen.  I think.  We have one contractor that's given us some quotes for different options, and they all seem a bit high.  We have also come to the realization that we will not be removing the wall between the kitchen and living room.  {sad face}  We will never get that money back, and considering everything we're putting into our house this point is negative equity (thanks, housing market!), it's just not a smart move.  But, we are changing the layout a little bit... it will be much more efficient and also provide bar seating for four.  We are waiting (and waiting) for a quote from our neighbor contractors who I am pretty sure will do the job.
• We were thinking of ordering unfinished cabinets and having them painted, but the first quote we've received for that was $5,000!  To paint cabinets!!  The cabinets themselves don't cost much more than that.  Sheesh.
• The incomparable Capella Kincheloe will be once again making up for my severe lack in design ability.  We've hired her to do the design for our kitchen, living room, dining room and foyer.  I'm super excited to have a house that is decorated and doesn't look like we just moved in... two years + after moving in.
• We're hoping (pending our neighbors' bid) to get this party started late next month, but again, we need their bid so we can start ordering everything!!!!  SEND ME YOUR DAMN PRICING!  In their defense, they are awesome and a two man shop.  They do almost all the work themselves (which adds up to lots of cost savings), so they only have time to do estimates in the evenings and on the weekends.  But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to go knock on their door this weekend and tell them to give me something... now.  :)
• Is it just me, or is everyone pregnant?  Or just had a baby?  Seriously.
• Speaking of pregnant, Jenn and I went to Florida this weekend for one of my best friend's baby showers, hosted by another one of my best friends.  {We're the four best friends that anyone could have and we'll never ever ever ever ever leave each other.}  The shower was awesome... Dai is definitely the hostess with the mostest, and it was so good to spend some QT with some of my favorite people in the world.  We walked on the beach after dinner, and it was amazing.  What was not amazing is that I, along with many others, got the speeding ticket of all speeding tickets on the way down.  Oops.  I honestly had no idea I was speeding at all or that the speed limit was 60.  I don't speed through construction zones, and I typically don't go more than 10 over.  I was just driving along with everyone else, and apparently we were all doing about 20 over the speed limit... in a construction zone (where there was absolutely no construction... the project is DONE with a capital D).  Can't wait to call and find out how much that is going to be... my prediction is at least $500.  Eh, it's just money.  {vomits}

Dai, Jenn (+Davis), Meg (+Kate), and me

• On another note, I should really avoid standing next to friends that are 7-8" taller than me in pictures.  When will I learn?

It's What's for Dinner

Meatloaf, that is.  Specifically, this recipe for turkey meatloaf with feta and sun dried tomatoes from Giada de Laurentiis.  I believe I saw it on a blog this week, but I don't remember where.  All I know is that when I saw it, I knew I had to make it.  Matt and I are both fans of the loaf of meat, and I have made many different recipes.  This one is my new favorite.  I was going to make it paleo by leaving out one egg, the milk (I used half and half) and the breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs and dairy being non-paleo, of course), but last time I attempted a paleo meatloaf, the texture was off (I totally made up the recipe), so I didn't want to mess this one up.  Also, 1/2 c of breadcrumbs to a pound of meat isn't going to kill me (shhhhh, don't tell the paleo nazis).  I used fresh basil in place of parsley, since I have a lot of it from the CSA this week, but I did add about 1 tbsp of dried parsley.  I also upped the garlic since I bought regular sun dried tomatoes. 

For the side dish, I threw together a zucchini saute, again with CSA goodies.  This was inspired by a trip to Bonefish this weekend down in Florida, as they served a zucchini and tomato side that was quite tasty.

Zucchini and Tomato Saute
3-4 zucchini, quartered long ways and diced to 1/3-1/2" chunks
1 small Vidalia onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
~1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a saute pan, bring EVOO to heat over a medium to medium-high burner.  Add onion and zucchini and saute until amost tender.  Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Serve with freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano.  Mangia!

On the foodagenda for the rest of the week (which now runs from Tuesday dinner - Tuesday lunch since I pick up my CSA bounty on Tuesdays after work)...

-my hacked version of Zoe's coleslaw (thanks to that beautiful cabbage and leftover scallions from last week, plus feta leftover from the meatloaf)
-roasted beet and herbed goat cheese salad (die over the deliciousness of this, beets and lettuce from CSA)
-cucumber and tomato salad with dill (all from CSA)
-basil pesto (will freeze and use on chicken, fish and/or grilled veggies when needed)
-turnip puree
-homemade pickles
-zucchini "hummus"

I don't think we'll be eating out but once this weekend.  Can't waste all that fresh, local, organic deliciousness I've got in my fridge and on my counter.  I've also been blanching and freezing my hardier greens (collards, kale, spinach, etc) to save for later, since we typically cannot get through a whole week's worth of veggies unless we are eating at home 5-6 nights per week and bringing lunches that include said veggies a few times per week.  I typically bring leftovers for lunch, but Matt tends to be more of a sandwich guy.  Speaking of, I'm absolutely stuffed after eating last night's leftovers and I wish there was more!

Ah Paris...

Oh Happy Day! is hosting a giveaway for a 7-night trip to Paris.  For real.  But, you should not go enter, because I must win this.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

P.S.  Oh Happy Day! also has great (P)inspiration.

Pinned

I finally got my long awaited invitation to Pinterest, and I'm officially obsessed.  I'm always saving photos from the interwebs for inspriation, especially for the house, and now I have a place to keep them safe, instead of having folders on both my home and work computers (of course I don't surf the web at work).

Here are a few things I'm pin(n)ing over (hardy har)...

Black bannister... remember when I was going to do that?  Yeah, me neither.  (Repinned from Jenn - original credit houzz.com)

  

It's the weekend... cocktail time! (Repinned from Erika Powell - original credit entrenous.typepad.com)


 

Painted cabinets with pretty, feminine island (Repinned from Erika Powell - House Beautiful)




Pretty (Repinned from Jenn - Southern Living)

 

I love lamp - I pinned from younghouselove.com.  Anyone that knows me knows I'm a sucker for a quatrefoil just as much as I am for an elephant.

Food for Thought (or Chew on This)

Or, "Ew, gross."

Credit: Huffington Post

I've said it before and I'll say it again (and, I am far from a conspiracy theorist), if you haven't seen Food Inc., watch it or at least educate yourself on the "food production industry" in the USA.  See also: Michael Pollan.

P.S.  FYI - nothing on that food subsidy list is good for you in large quantities.  I have yet to find anything that tells me that fruits and vegetables (corn is not a vegetable, neither are legumes) are anything but good for you in large quantities.  Now, you might have some stomach issues if all you eat is fruit (see: The Grapes of Wrath), but I don't think anyone reading this here blog is starving.
P.P.S.  This is why animals like cows and chickens are fed grains (like corn) when they should be eating grass or bugs.  The government subsidizes these crops so other farmers buy corn for less than it costs to grow/harvest. 

Stuff White People Like

Winning Yard of the Month...

A few quick iPhone shots of some of the foliage.  You'll notice the grass isn't looking so hot.  Funny that we win YOTM when our grass looks like this (the sign was delivered the day after we Matt cut the green off the grass, so it was probably green when they picked us... ha!).  Apparently, for the last almost two years, Matt has been mowing it too high (we have zoysia in the front), so there's all this dead stuff underneath that needed to be raked out.  So, he had to put the mower way down and cut all of our pretty green grass to get to the dead stuff.  See how it's green around the edges?  That's because I guess he cut those areas short enough with the weedwacker.  Anywho, project green grass is underway and it's already greening right up!

Useless musings

• I have an irrational fear of not playing the lottery and my numbers hitting. I don’t play all the time, and when I do, I play one set of numbers and a quick pick. This is why you should just do quick picks… if I ever saw my numbers hit and I didn’t play, I would likely cause myself substantial bodily harm.

• Work is going pretty well so far. It’s weird to go from an office and managing analysts to a cube and basically being on the bottom of the totem pole. We have an intern coming soon though, so my status will change and I’ll move up a notch. Score.

• Being that I’m at a new job, I didn’t think it would be smart to start out coming in “late.” There are no set in stone hours or anything, but I figure I should be here around 8:30, which means I can’t work out at 6:45am. So, I started the 6:00am CrossFit class yesterday morning. Getting up before 6:00 is brutal, but I rationalize it by telling myself that getting up any time before 10:00 is hard for me, and I feel the same when I first wake up at 5:15 as I do at 6:00 and 6:30 and 7:00. I just don’t like to get up in the mornings… period. I could sleep for 12 hours every day, I think. I like to attribute it to being in touch with my ancestors… like the ones from thousands of years ago that slept that much, if not more. I was so meant to be a cavewoman.

• Speaking of sleep, Mother Nature, I'd sure appreciate it if you'd stop the middle of the night thunderstorms.  I almost drop kicked my sweet golden retriever at 2:00 am because of her thunderphobia.  I don't want to be a dog abuser, but I need my sleep.  Thank you to my husband who took her to the living room and slept on the couch, so I could sleep in peace (I hadn't slept well the last few nights and went to bed before 9:00... I couldn't take another night like that).

• Matt and I are going to see Ryan Bingham in concert tonight.  I am SOOOOOOOOOOO excited.  If y'all don't know who he is, check him out.  Except don't, because he's getting too famous.  We saw him at Smith's Olde Bar a few years ago with maybe 100 people there, and then we weren't able to get tickets to his last two Atlanta shows because they sold out so quickly.  I guess an Oscar changes things (he did the music in the movie Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges).  Hope anyone reading, hi Jenn, has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!!

CSA

I have been wanting to be part of a CSA for the last few years, but with Matt working out of town, it really didn't make sense for us.  Now that he's back, I knew this would be the year.  We bought a full share from Serenbe Farms, and so far, we're I'm loving it (I don't think Matt could give two hoots).  We are on week three of thirty, and the bounty so far has been full of greens, onions, turnips, radishes, various herbs and this week, carrots!  I knew we wouldn't get through all of the greens, so I blanched several servings of kale, spinach and collards to freeze for later.  Even though we're eating out on Friday night and will be at a wedding on Saturday night, I'm pretty sure we'll get through all of this week's share before I pick up next week's.

Last night, I made mustard dill salmon (fresh dill this week... yummmmmmy) and sauteed bok choi and spinach.  It makes for a great, healthy weeknight meal because it's so quick and easy (well under 30 minutes from start to finish).

Mustard Dill Salmon
-2 fillets salmon (adjust serving size accordingly), about 1" thick, skin on
-Dijon mustard
-fresh dill
-EVOO

Rinse and pat salmon dry.  Grease baking pan/dish with EVOO (or whatever you want) and place salmon skin side down on dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Squirt or spoon Dijon directly on salmon and "brush" with the back of a spoon to evenly coat.  Tear dill with hands and apply liberally to top of salmon.  Broil about 4" from burner for 8-10 minutes or until done.

Sauteed Greens
-greens of choice (again, amount depends on # of servings)
-minced garlic (again, to your taste/# of servings)
-EVOO
-red pepper flakes

Wash and dry greens thoroughly.  Rough chop if larger greens like bok choi, collards, etc.  Bring saute pan with about 1 tbsp EVOO to heat over a medium burner.  Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to release flavor (be careful not to burn).  Add greens and "toss" until they begin to wilt.  Add red pepper flakes (1/8-1/4 tsp for 2 servings is enough for most palates) and salt to taste.

So easy and yummy, especially with fresh, local, organic produce.  On tonight's menu is a roasted chicken (will probably make an herb and garlic rub and roast it with some onions from the CSA), sauteed dill carrots and mashed turnips.  I didn't even know I liked turnips, but mashed turnips are an amazing replacement for mashed potatoes.  I've got some gorgeous Swiss chard I plan to use in some omelets or sauteed with eggs and bacon this weekend (I really like sauteed greens with eggs for breakfast) and some Chinese cabbage and sugar snap peas that I will make on Sunday with some sort of TBD Asian inspired dish.

If you haven't already jumped on the CSA bandwagon, I highly recommend.  It's important to me to eat locally and organic whenever possible, and at $27 per week, I think this is a great deal.  I do have to supplement some things here and there (right now, fruit), but I don't think I have bought any vegetables at the store over the last three weeks.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't go to Publix, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and get the same amount of organic produce, let alone local, for that price.  I also love that it's making me try things I might not otherwise and think out of the box with my menus.

It was nice while it lasted

Today was my last Friday of (f)unemployment.  I bid thee fare well.  It was nice to know you these past three and a half months, but it is time for me to return to the working world.  I start my new job next week, and I'm moderately excited.  If I can be 100% honest, which I can, I would love to not have to work.  It's not the work that I don't like... I do like to work.  I just like to do it on my own terms.  Who doesn't, right?  But, yay for a paycheck and something a little different!

When did that happen?

That being the month of May.  Seriously, how is it already May 9?  I don't understand.  I have been unemployed for over one quarter of a year.  Slackerfest.  And, I would swear last month was February, yet we're already through March and April and onto May, just in case you needed a tutorial on the order of the months.

We've had a fairly eventful couple of weeks.  Two weekends ago, we made our way down to Jacksonville, because Matt was playing in a golf tournament for work.  Of course, this means we got to spend some time with my family, as well.  On Friday evening, James had a baseball game, so I was thrilled to be able to see him play.  He is so cute and told me he was going to hit a home run for me.  No homers, but two RBI's and a single isn't too bad.  Their opponent was really good and a lot bigger than them (the age for his division is 4-7... there is a HUGE difference between 4 and 7 year-olds).  But, this means he got a lot of action out in left field, and he enjoyed that.

On Saturday, we made our way down to Vilano Beach.  I realized that I am no longer a Florida girl through and through, because I was so excited to get on the beach.  While I've always enjoyed and appreciated the beach, growing up in Florida, it was old hat.  We went to the beach all the time.  I definitely have a finer appreciation of it now.  Vilano is awesome, because you can drive out on the beach and bring your dogs.  I don't think Max and Maddie knew what was going on, but they loved it.

On our way to the beach!

James on his boogie board.  Next up, surfing.

B Bear... little stinker.

Max was passed out.  Tired puppy!

Sweet boys.

He was thrilled with his seaweed.

On our way home... the back seat of an F-150 isn't big enough for two dogs and some luggage.  :)

It was a great weekend, and I almost forgot to mention that my mom and I got up bright and early to watch the royal wedding.  We are both saps and loved it.  I thought the message provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury was lovely, and Kate looked stunning.  I thought her dress and styling were perfectly princesslike.  I love that she and Prince William are trying to live a "normal" newlywed life and turned down the opportunity to have a maid, butler and cook.  Also, how awesome was it when they drove out of the palace in his dad's car?  So great.  It seems that they understand the pressures they will face and are doing their best to make life as "normal" as possible, you know, for a future King and Queen.

Last week, we decided to throw a very last minute Kentucky Derby Party.  I love any excuse to entertain and Matt loves an excuse to flex his BBQ muscles.  The man knows his way around a smoker, and his pulled pork was excellent, as always.  For deciding to have the party Wednesday night, it was quite a success.  The menu included pulled pork, our honey mustard BBQ sauce, the most delicious and unhealthy BBQ beans ever, mac and cheese, and cilantro-lime cole slaw.  And, of course, mint juleps!  I didn't take many pictures, and the one thing I wanted to capture was the bar setup for the mint juleps, but to no avail.  So, instead, I leave you with more gratuitous pictures of the dogs and a few people too.  Oh, we also drew horses out of a cup and Matt M. won $70.  And, he cursed the horse when he drew it.  Ye of little faith.

The ladies in our hats.

The loves of my life.

One too many mint juleps.

Oh, the amusement we get out of these dogs.

So, that's about it.  I think I will be back to work soon, but still not ready to share anything until it's a done deal.  I'm actually a little nervous right now so hoping to hear something soon.  I turned down another job offer, and that was scary!!!  But, I just don't think it was the right thing.  If I hadn't had any other options, I would have taken it, but in the long run, it would have just been a paycheck.  Which sounds really nice right now, but this other opportunity is better for the future (I think).  We shall see.  :)