Milestone!

One year, one hundred posts!


I can't believe it - today is my one year blogversary. And, coincidentally, this is my 100th post. Who would've thought I'd have so much to say!?

I'm taking the rest of the night off to celebrate :) with a delicious pesto and shrimp pizza, some homemade cookie dough truffles, and a delicious glass of port.

I'll be back next week with a recap of my bridal shower (tomorrow!) a delicious bread recipe, and some eye candy I'm currently longing for.

Have a lovely Friday!

Cheesecake frozen yogurt

I have a confession to make. I love frozen yogurt. LOVE.

As in can't walk past a Yogurtland without going in to taste the new flavors - love.

As in, will drive 10 miles out of my way for Menchie's - love.

As in, won't finish my entire dinner, and will pawn leftovers onto A, so that I can stop and get some on the way home - love.

Except, I hate that I don't know what's IN it. Specifically, ingredients, nutrition facts? Don't get me wrong, I checked out the nutrition facts here and here, but, I have no idea if I am portioning out exactly 83 grams of the stuff (um, who am I kidding, most likely NOT!) nor can I remember which flavor I got, whether it was non-fat, low-fat, etc. TOO MUCH WORK. Especially for a dessert. And especially, when I can make it myself.

I know what you're thinking. "Cottage cheese? In frozen yogurt? Gross." I know, because I thought that too. And maybe you'll try it and STILL think it's gross. But not me. I am hooked. (P.S. It is WAY cheaper than $0.35 per ounce...and SO much healthier.)

Cheesecake 'frozen yogurt':
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp sugar-free almond Torani (you can buy this at Cost Plus)
1-2 packets of Equal (if you are a CRAZY sweet tooth like me)

Combine all ingredients in a Cuisinart or food processor (I would not suggest a blender - too hard to get it out.) Blend until consistency is smooth. Spoon into a bowl, and freeze for 40-60 minutes, to preference. Top with berries.

Now, tell me that doesn't taste like cheesecake filling.



Enjoy not ruining your diet, meeting your protein needs for the day, and saving $5.37 and a trip outdoors in your jammies :)

Nutrition Facts: Calories - 130; Fat - 1g; Protein - 23g; Carb - 5.5g; Fiber - 0.25g

3 more months

It's July 9th.

That means only THREE.MORE.MONTHS.

Three months! (Commence panic attack)

Three months to:
* Find supplies for our favors
* Start dress fittings
* Buy shoes to go with the dress
* Taste and pick food and wine for our reception
* Panic
* Nail down the ceremony
* Find the groom's suit, and shoes
* Meet with the DJ and pick music
* Get a marriage license (where does one get one of these, anyways? Does it take long? Am I behind? Ack.)
* Panic late into the night
* Run 340 more miles
* Collapse into heap of rubble

This wedding planning business is some time and labor-intensive, scary stuff.

But, I have no fear. I'll get it all done.

Tomorrow.

Because tonight, I am going to be preoccupied with THESE:


That's right. Figs are back in season! We got a HUGE 2 lb container at Trader Joe's last night and they are DELICIOUS. I think I've consumed about 10 of them already...

On tonight's menu:

(Image courtesy of Martha Stewart)
Yep, that's right. It is pizza friday after all.

Yum. I'll deal with the stress tomorrow.

Mango Milkshake

Hello summer. Meet my new addiction, the mango milkshake:

These days, I am seriously obsessed with all things protein powder (Designer Whey, specifically.) This stuff is delicious. And you can put it in EVERYTHING! It is the first protein powder I've found that actually dissolves. Easily! Like, with nothing more than a spoon in some milk.

So, I'll be featuring a few of my favorite Designer Whey recipes over the next week or so. But, my current go to is this one:

Mango Milkshake:


Frozen mango (about 15 pieces)
1/2 C non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 C soy milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Combine all ingredients in blender. (Because I like all my food ridiculously sweet, I also added 2 packets of equal to the mix.)

Scrape sides with a spatula to get every.last.drop of goodness into your glass. (You may also want to reserve the spatula to scrape the sides of your glass when you're done drinking. No? Just me? Oh well then.)

Nutrition Facts: Calories - 245; Fat - 3g; Protein - 32.5g; Carb - 22g; Fiber - 2g

4 more months...!

Four months from today I will be waking up as "Mrs." I'm kind of in shock. We've been engaged for almost a year, I've run 559 miles, and, yes, I've set myself another wedding goal.

Hitting 1,000 miles on my treadmill last month was such a fun accomplishment, that I've decided to hit 1,000 miles on my wedding day. So, that leaves me roughly 441 miles to go before October 9. (Or, about 3.6 miles a day - not too bad.)

Motiviation is TOTALLY not a problem. I picked up my wedding dress yesterday. Remember this beauty?:

It's hanging over our bedroom door (concealed in a garment bag, don't worry) for at least the next couple months until I start alterations. So both the motivation and the means to my goal are sitting within 998 square feet of one another - and me.

In other wedding-related news, we picked a venue for the shower! The lovely Malibu Wines came highly recommended by a friend (Hi Kristin!) and was EXACTLY what I'd been looking for, but unable to find.

Check it out:


Naturally, being at a winery, there will be some sort of wine-tasting related activity - what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, no?


I visited the winery with my family over Memorial Day weekend. As we were leaving, the live band was just starting to get set up. I really think that if I hadn't had dinner plans, my sister and I could've just stayed there all night, and shared a bottle of wine.


I mean - seriously, this place has Adirondack chairs! Was it made specifically for me?


But, the real clincher, and what made me know deep in my bones that THIS was the shower venue for me? The swing.


I am a sucker for a swing. So much so that I forced my dad to build one in our backyard growing up (by which I mean, when I was in high school.)

So naturally, after a few minutes on this swing, the deal was sealed.

Now, I just can't wait to bake these to serve at the shower:

(Photo courtesy of Tessa at Handle the Heat)

Mine - all mine!

I love Pasadena. Maybe other stores in other towns were doing it too, but, Neo 39 has had a teaser window up for WEEKS, leading so many unsuspecting shoppers to think they already had the coveted Tom's Wedge in stock. And so, they painstakingly took down a waiting list, and called this morning to say, my shoes were in!

I just walked up there and picked them up, and they're so.dang.cute. I could BARELY restrain myself from wearing them home. (I didn't, in case you're curious, I put them in a baggu, and walked home AS FAST AS I COULD to put them on.)

Now if I could just complete the remaining pieces of my ideal summer outfit...

Milestone

Today my treadmill and I hit a significant milestone:


A couple weeks ago, I realized I was creeping really close to the 1,000 mile mark on my odometer, and decided, 'what the heck - I'm going to get it to 1,000 before June.' (Nothing like waiting until the absolute last minute eh?)

Kidding aside, this is a significant milestone for me, not just because 1,000 miles is A LOT of miles (and, does not take into consideration all of the outdoor miles I log) but because, never in my WILDEST dreams, did I think the chubby little girl who used to make herself so sick before school on gym class days, that she got to stay home from school just to avoid failing (again!) at chinups, situps, jog-a-thon, or whatever torture was on tap for the day, would become an accomplished runner.


Running has truly evolved into my hobby. I've been running for 234 days straight as of today, and truly, it no longer feels like 'an obligation' that I have to do, just because I set out on this crazy mission to run every day for the year before my wedding. My runs are something I look forward to every morning, something that feels as ordinary as drinking water, checking email, taking a shower. It is a part of my routine, that is so ingrained now, that I can't imagine ever stopping.

I am so glad I am not that intimidated little girl anymore, who didn't think she could do it. More than anything else (toned legs, cardio endurance, license to eat brownies...) running has given me that, and I wouldn't trade the confidence for anything in the world. Except maybe more brownies.