Whole 30- Beginning stages

Thursday. Nice to see you :)

Today  I am going to share a little about this hot topic...

Whole 30.

Now PSA here.... I am in just the beginning stages of mentally and emotionally getting myself ready to start this whole 30 journey.

Few reasons why Whole 30:

1. Clean Eating

2. New Recipes

3. I can do it

Why emotionally preparing? I have to say goodbye to some of my most BELOVED food and drink items.

1. No Peanut butter

2. No chocolate 

3. No cheese

4. No carbs

5. No wine.... NO WINE!

Jen Hatmaker who is by far one of the best authors, women powered people I followed posted this on her facebook last week:

"This is not hard. Having cancer is hard, losing a loved one is hard. No cream in your coffee? That is not HARD!"

Amen.

What she is saying is beyond True.

It isn't hard. It will be different and new and trying. But Whole 30 is not hard.

Now coming from the MOST dramatic person I know... (myself)

I probably will say this is hard. But I will turn to Jen's quote every time I say it is hard.

Now of course I have done my research. Two of my friends have recently done Whole 30, and one has even done it TWICE!!!

So they have been great resources.

I also have stumbled upon cook books, blogs and instagram accounts that have been powering me try new recipes. 

Even this week I made a cauliflower fried rice with veggies!

Pat and I both LOVED it!!! 

(recipe next Tuesday) 

1. Danielle Walker 

Against The Grain Cookbook

I have found so many YUMMY things I want try! Homemade ranch? Sign me up!

2. The Whole 30 recipes Instagram account 

3. Alex 

The Defined Dish- blog 

http://www.thedefineddish.com/

Just a little insight to what my brain and tummy have been busy with this week :)

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!!!

xo

Easter

Hello Wednesday! Good to see you!

Today I am sharing a little bit about our Easter weekend!

It was a long, enjoyable, family filled, beautiful weather weekend :) 

So here we go!

Thursday I took my mom to our favorite Polish Deli and you would have thought I was taking a kid to a candy store! My mom had so much fun picking up items for the Easter weekend and we delighted in all the delicious items they had!

We picked up the best sausage and pierogi's.

All were DELISH!

Friday we slept in, ran errands, worked out and enjoyed the beautiful day!

That night we headed to our friends, Joe and Jess's new place!

They got engaged recently and we were so stoked to head to see their new place and enjoy a great meal.

Good food, good wine and good convo.

I wore this BEYOND adorable kimono type top with some little booties and my favorite go to Park Lane Rose necklace. 

Saturday we headed to Blessings of the Baskets at our church. This is a tradition my family and I have been doing since forever. It has been even more enjoyable to share these traditions with Pat and his family as well over the past few years! This year we all made it to Holy Family and got all of our delicious food blessed.

After, everyone headed back to my parents for a DELICIOUS spread of sausage, pierogi's, potato pancakes and so much more! Beautiful weather and good food... THE BEST!

My parents and I then headed to Willow Creek for their Easter Celebration.

I always enjoying going to WC for their holiday celebrations. They always put on AMAZING performances and I love the music!

Sunday morning we headed to Pat's parents for an amazing Easter brunch! We had everything you could think of! First round was soup, sausage, bread, blessing food and much more!

We enjoyed the beautiful weather and went on a family walk.

Round two was all the meats- chicken & ribs, potatoes, fruit, more bread, more sausage and dessert 

:) 

all the heart eyes <3 

SO much good food in one weekend!! How lucky were we?

Sunday night we relaxed with all our windows open and watched the BULLS pull of their first playoff game WIN.

THANK GOODNESS I was off Monday. I spent time cleaning, organizing and doing laundry! 

Awesome weekend spent with family and friends :)

See you tomorrow!

Table Talk Tuesday- Spring Rice Pilaf

Hello hello!!! So good to be back after a super long 4 day weekend!! WOO!! Totally buzz kill going back to work but the countdown to summer is on!!

Tomorrow I will be sharing all things about our Easter weekend but today is Tuesday and that calls for some good Table Talk :)

Today I am sharing my Spring Rice Pilaf/Orzo.

I created this SUPER easy and delicious meal with some search of different recipes.

The original called for risotto, which I am not opposed to, BUT this combo from 

Trader Joe's was convenient and easy!

Here is what you need:

- 5 cups chicken broth or stock

-2 T olive oil

-2 T butter

- 1 zucchini, quartered

-10-12 asparagus, chopped 

- 1 shallot, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 box of Trader Joe's Rice Orzo Pilaf Mix (or any of  your choice! don't add seasoning)

-2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

-1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Here is what you will do:

1. Bring about 5 cups of chicken stock or broth to a light boil. Then reduce to simmer for the
remainder of your cooking time.

2.Melt about 2 T of olive oil and 2 T butter in your skillet

3.Chop your asparagus, and quarter your zucchini.

Saute both veggies in your skillet with olive oil and butter.

4. Remove veggies and place in a bowl. Put aside for later.

5. Chop shallot and garlic and saute in same skillet.

6. Add pilaf/orzo to the shallot mixture and cook together for about 3-4 minutes.

7. Slowly add one cup of stock.broth at a time to skillet mixture.

8. Continue to add one cup at time. Each time be sure most of the liquid has evaporated 

before adding the next cup.

9. Add your 2 cups of cooked chopped chicken to the mixture.

10. Next add your 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

11. Finally add your cooked veggies back to the skillet.

12. Give your giant mixture one BIG mix.

13. Serve and Enjoy!

DELISH!! Super easy and super spring!!

Enjoy!

xo

Friday Favorites

HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Today we are off due to Good Friday. We are so looking forward to Easter celebrations all weekend long with family and friends, and also celebrating the true reason. Christ has RISEN!

As always I am linking up with Momfessionals, TabandErika and Grace&Love 

Here are some favorites from the week :) 

ONE.

National siblings day was Monday and I shared this ADORABLE picture of my brothers and I to celebrate! I have not only been blessed with them as siblings but also as best friends. #sisterwithbrothersforever

TWO.

Ok I am just going to leave this right here..... I cannot get over all these funnies.

THREE.

Lots of free nights this week have called for lots of cooking at home in my kitchen! 

Here is what I made:

1. Mini Biscuit Pizzas

2. Spring time Orzo with veggies

3. Pesto Pasta Bake 

FOUR.

This week my acceptance for grad school came in the mail! This student ID makes it official! Grad school here I come!! Very excited but very nervous! WOO!

FIVE. 

THIS. THIS IS ME!!! How hilarious and true this is, makes it definitely a favorite :)

SIX.

How amazing has this week been for the CUBS?? Am I right?? I stayed home Wednesday night, snuggled in my sweats and watched the ring ceremony! They are GORGEOUS rings and so proud of those boys for all their hard work and dedication! 

SEVEN.

As I  am typing and working on the blog I am listening to old tunes from high school and college from my itunes! This amazing song came on and I totally rocked out to it!!! 

SADIE HAWKINS DANCE!!

(sidenote: I guess there is no music video for this song, but these kids made one to it LOL!)

Have a blessed Easter Weekend.

xo

Workin it Wednesday - Spring Cleaning

Happy Wednesday!!!! Yay! Today is like my Thursday due to no school on Friday! WOO! 4 day weekend ahead and I cannot wait!

Today I am linking up with MixandMatch Mama and A Little Bit of Everything for Workin it Wednesday!

Today's topic is spring cleaning! There is so much organizing, storing and throwing away that needs to be done in our house, I think to myself where do I start?

I have a few projects in the works I would like to tackle:

1. Organizing my closet by color. I have it now but style (long sleeve, sweaters, tanks, etc) but I am finding this is just not working for me! 

2. Storing holiday decorations. Each time a holiday rolls around I like to add little touches around our home. Even though our condo is not super large, I still like to decorate but I am need of storing all the little odds and ends.

3. Pictures and frames are always on my to do list. We love capturing the memories we share with friends and family but we need more frames around our home. I have a huge giant wall I want to create something fun on but just not sure what I want up :)

Here are a few of my tips and tricks I have been following the past few weeks.

1. Clean out the fridge. With two people in our home you would THINK our fridge would be empty. Well on most days its jammed packed with leftovers, lunches and meal ingredients for the week.

Throw out anything that is expired, smells bad, or is rotten. It is just taking up that free space for your leftover pizza :) 

2. Try it on. Does it fit? Do you still like it? Have you worn it in the past year? Ask yourself these questions as you go through your closet and decide what needs to be donated and what needs to be kept on the hanger. Free hangers doesn't justify a shopping trip. OR does it? :)

3. Counters. UGHH mine are light colored so at times it is near impossible to see spills, crumbs and a messes. Wipe down your counters daily. A little TLC every night will keep the mess away and have your kitchen smelling fresh.

4. Invest in cutting boards to keep out at all times. The amount of chopping, dicing, prepping we do is a lot. Always have an easy to wipe down cutting board out for your convenience. Wipe it down at the end of your cooking experience :) 

5. Vacuum or sweep or pick up each night. I have been using our vacuum like crazy lately. Again we have dark floors so you see EVERYTHING. I am a messy cook so I know every time I cook there are crumbs all over my floor. Sweep it up or vacuum at the end of the night. Our vacuum is light and easy to use. Invest in something that will help keep your home balanced and clean! Don't dread lugging out the heavy vacuum! 

6. 1 year mark. Any papers you have that are older than a year toss. Do you need it? Is it relevant in your every day life? Is is a keepsake or garbage? Throw it out! 

These are just a few I am finding work me :) What works for you? How do you keep your home clean for spring time?

xo