Refreshing Weekend!

Happy Friday dear readers! Don't hate me for saying I feel really refreshed today. In fact, for the first time in several weeks, I felt totally relaxed and "together" all week! The credit must be given to a little plan of action Chris and I took to be more organized.

Lately it seems like I barely scrape by to get through the week and save all the cleaning, organizing and house chores for the weekend. But who wants to spend their weekends doing that? I certainly don't! So we came up with a manageable way to tackle a little bit each day and it has worked brilliantly!

This weekend, instead of stressing about getting it all finished, I can actually relax with my husband, finish painting and recovering my green chairs via this inspiration , enjoy a lovely date night at The Melting Pot and take a trip to Crate and Barrel to purchase some of the Normandy bakers from yesterday's post! And given my deep desire to bake lately, it might also be neccessary to use the overripe bananas sitting on my counter to whip up some of our favorite banana bread!

Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Currently Loving

Just wanted to share a few fun things I've had my eye on lately! You know, some kitchen additions I would love to have, but certainly don't need anytime soon. Sometimes I think those are the best!

To put it mildly, I love Giada! I have two of her cookbooks and often browse them when I want to make something absolutely stunning and decadent! This is her brand new book, Giada at Home, and besides being filled with delicious looking recipes, it is also full of the sweetest pictures of her family, including her precious baby girl. In my opinion, a girl just can't have too many good cookbooks!


Chris and I have an amazing waffle iron that makes the sweetest heart shaped waffles, but I think it would be nice to change it up with the occassional belgian waffles. I love this waffle iron by Krups!


I adore the simplicity of these Normandy bakers from Crate and Barrel! I've been very pleased with the rectangle baker (it's perfect for making cinnamon rolls!) and I would love to add that deep casserole dish to my collection. I imagine using it for a yummy baked pasta!

How about you? Any fun kitchen items you've got your eye on?

Dinner Last Night: Chipotle Bean Burritos

As you might know, I am a big fan of quick and healthy meals and these bean burritos are just the ticket! They are all together delicious with an interesting combination of black and kidney beans and a smokey hint of chipotle. And because they are super filling (and spicy) my husband doesn't even mind going meatless every once in a while!

Chipotle Bean Burritos
adapted from Cooking Light

1 T canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t chipotle chile powder (word to the wise, this stuff is really potent!)
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt added black beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt added kidney beans, drained
1/4 cup refrigerated fresh salsa
6 (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
6 T thinly sliced green onions
6 T light sour cream

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Enjoy!

I Need Your Help!

Well, it's happened. I am officially out of my favorite body lotion. You may remember this time last year when I realized Origins had discontinued their Shedonism line. It was a sad day. Though my husband did temporarily ease my pain by tracking down five bottles from local stores who hadn't shipped them back to the manufacturer. What a man!

But even with my best efforts to savor every last drop over the past year, I scrapped clean my last bottle this weekend. I had secretly hoped that my supply would last long enough for Origins to realize they had made a horrible mistake and bring it back. Obviously they did not get the message!

Knowing this day would come, I've searched high and low for a new moisturizer I find equally amazing, but to no avail. Nothing quite compares to its subtle tahitian gardenia scent and remarkable ability to keep my skin feeling rich and creamy all day long!

I would really like to find a replacement (and soon) but I need your help. Any suggestions or favorites of yours would be much appreciated!

Blooms and Baking

I certainly hope your weekend was delightful!

Just a few things of note this weekend. About once a month (sometimes more if I really feel the need to splurge)I like to buy fresh flowers for the house. I just love having them around and now that it's Spring it happens more frequently because our own potted plants are producing beautiful blooms! While my favorites tend to be on the more expensive side (ie: lilies and peonies), I also love the ones that go a long way while being a bit less pricey. Like these for example~



I have four more vases of them scattered throughout the house! And at $5 for the bunch, that's what I call getting the most bang for your buck!

On another happy note, I baked this weekend! While baking is something I absolutely adore, it occured to me last week that with the exception of this coffee cake, I haven't actually baked since early February. I suppose my six week dessert fast paired with being crazy busy are the culprits, but nevertheless, this baking hiatis needed to come to an end, and soon!

So I made this blueberry angel food cake~




And it was delicious! In fact, my intent was to enjoy it after our lovely halibut dinner Sunday night, but after pulling it out of the oven around 3pm and being utterly tempted by it's sweet aroma, we decided to have a piece before dinner. Actually, the conversation went something like this:

Chris: Mmm, honey, that smells delicious!
Me: I know, don't you wish we could have a piece now?!
Chris: Why don't we?
Me: Hmm...(thinking). Okay! (I am much too easily persuaded!)

And that is why I married that man. Ha, and of course for countless other reasons!

Merry Monday!

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday! I don't know about you but I am so happy the week is finally coming to an end!

Any fun plans for the weekend? Chris and I are going to see The Back-up Plan tonight! I love that he is willing to see the occassional chick flick with me!

The rest of our weekend holds these whole wheat blueberry pancakes (YUM!), working on my yoga certification, finally tackling this project , cooking a lovely meal from Giada's cookbook (love her!), and of course, my husband will be occupied watching the NFL draft. I so love a relaxing weekend with my husband, especially after such a hectic week!

Have an amazing and fun-filled few days!

What a Hoot!

Do you remember me posting these adorable owl pitchers last month? Well just my luck (and possibly your too!) My Sparrow is giving a pair of them away in honor of Earth Day! Crossing my fingers!

Check out their lovely site here!