Crazy Stupid Love

I know that it is a little late to be recapping this past weekend, but it must be done since mine was spent in Dallas with two of my ALL TIME favorite ladies.

My sister, Hannah, and our cousin, Beth (who is basically our sister and who we call Combo...long story), are the self-acclaimed "Cousroomskiis". 

"Cous" is short for cousins and "Roomskiis" for roommates. This name came about when we were all roommates in college, and it stuck.

Every year, we have "Cousroomski Weekend", and I think this year's topped them all.

 Seester Love

 Combo Love

 Me Love :)

 After arriving in Dallas on Saturday afternoon, we shopped for a few hours and then grabbed dinner and drinks at Iron Cactus. I ordered the shrimp tacos which were very impressive.

We were all pretty whipped from the day and headed back to our hotel fairly early.

We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Dallas even though Bethy Boo lives in Dtown. Staycations are my fave.

 The next morning consisted of shopping, brunch at Cafe Brazil, and tats! Beth has wanted one for a while now and I have wanted a second, so we decided to make it happen during Cousroomski Weekend 2012!

 Hot scraping needles, Batman!

 Yay!!! All done and so cool! Hers says "I don't need music to dance" in Arabic. Fits her perfectly :)

 I have been wanting to get "Run the race, finish the course" in French running down the side of my foot since my last tattoo this past January. I am SO pleased with the way it turned out!

 Yes friends...they are addicting.

 Dinner that night was at Tillman's Roadhouse! This is easily one of my all time favorite restaurants. ALWAYS amazing.

I ordered the Pepita Crusted Salmon and ooohhmaaahhgoodnnesss. I could have eaten 3 more platefuls. Mmmhmmm.

 Then we found a random dance party in the middle of Bishop Arts and YOU KNOW I dropped it like it's hot :) We jumped in on The Wobble, where some EPIC white girl moves were shamelessly seen by all.

 Ohhhh man. Good times. I can't stop smiling every time I look at this picture. My sister held her mouth open like that the whole time while she danced. Greatness :)

We ended the night with a few somersaults, headstands, bed jumping, and flying back at the hotel. Typical.

I hope that you had a fantastic weekend and wobble better than I do :)

Be silly, dance daily, eat vegetables (and cupcakes), help your parents, hug your puppy, snuggle more, and LOVE PEOPLE! 

Have you ever wished that you did less of any of these things?? No! You want to do them MORE! So DO IT! 

You are loved! Good night!

Lunch of My Dreams

 Sunday morning began with my favorite simple breakfast: Great Harvest Cinnamon Raisin Walnut, toasted and topped with Wild Squirrel Sneaky Cinnamon, and a few apple slices.

After a few hours of being lazy and letting my food digest, it was time to get ready for one incredible lunch!

 Some friends of ours invited us to join them for lunch today and I had NO idea what a treat I was in for!

The home where we lunched was incredible. Think art museum meets cozy library meets a jet setter's palace meets a culinary school. Got it? :)

 I had to limit the amount of art pictures I included in this post. There was an impressive piece around every corner. Loved.

 Around 2:00 PM, lunch was on the grill!

 Beef kabobs cooked to perfection!

 And chicken breast marinated & basted in this chipotle sauce, which I wanted to hook up an IV to after tasting it. A steady stream of pom & mango chipotle sauce can't be THAT bad for the blood stream, right??

 My oh so handsome lunch date. Swoon.

 

 His mildly handsome lunch date :)

 I took a few swigs of this guy. Not bad. Still not a beer fan.

 Time to eat! Asparagus, beef kabob, chicken breast, avocado slice, rice topped with chopped bbq brisket, and rolls. 

Contentment.

Then it was time for dessert! 

Vanilla cake with a chocolate mouse filling and chocolate fudge icing. 

Ummm, yes. 

I almost went back for seconds on this bad boy, but then decided against it. 

You know when you eat a big lunch and you go from "I MIGHT be hungry for dinner tonight" to "OMG, I SWORE my skirt fit when I left the house this morning" to "Ouch this hurts. I MIGHT be hungry for breakfast tomorrow"?? I was between "...dinner tonight" and "...swore my skirt fit" when I almost went back for cake round 2. 

Sooo, no cake was probably a good choice :)

After the lunch of my dreams, it was back to reality. I spent the afternoon doing laundry, cleaning house, and making lunches for this next week. Waah-waah-waahh.

Hunger struck around 8:00 PM, so I fixed a simple bowl of broccoli, sweet potato, and scrambled eggs.

Not sure why I love this combo so much, but I crave it all the time! So weird, and even weirder when I douse it in ketchup. Mmmmmm, keettchhuuuppp.

I hope you had a spectacular weekend! You are loved! 

Goodnight!

Colombian Food & A New Love

 What a weekend this has been! Full of amazing friends, exciting moments, incredible food...and it's not over yet!

Friday night, we went over to a friend's NEW house that they purchased recently. It is in BlackHorse Ranch and is INCREDIBLE. We had a blast hanging by the pool, eating Papa Murphy's (first time for me...so good!!) and drinking Skinny Girl margs. Many congrats to the happy couple and your new digs! Such a fun night.

 Saturday morning began bright and early for another friend's graduation from law school! Another amazing accomplishment! I settled my growling breakfast tummy with a Clif bar and skim milk latte on the way there. Not an ideal breakfast, but it did the job.

 After the graduation, we attended an amazing reception at the Hilton.

I have never been to a graduation that hosted a reception like this afterwards. Such a treat!

I was rather hambre and dominated this cheese and crackers plate before diving in to the main dish.

 Beef tenderloin, spanish rice, veggie pasta, and rolls. YUM!

A few bites of strawberry cheesecake were also ingested. Mmmmm, sugggaarrrr.

Our afternoon was spent at another friend's house shooting a commercial for a new product that they have created. It is on the DL until it is ready for purchase, so I am sworn to secrecy :) But it was SO FUN being a part of the adverstising process! It's not every day that you get to be in a commercial! We are so incredibley excited for our friends and their new product. It's a pretty spectacular idea.. :) 

After adding Hollywood Film Star to my resume, we met up with our graduation friends at a little Colombian restaurant in Houston called La Pueblita. This was my first time eating authentic Colombian food and OOMMMGGG, more please.

The atmosphere was so vibrant and accommodating. I ordered the Tamal, which is essentially a giant tamale, but with more of a rice/corn mixture than your traditional corn tamale. It was stuffed with pork, chicken, beef, hard-boiled egg, and veggies and wrapped in a banana leaf with "corn patties" on the side. AMAZING. We will be regulars at this place, going forward. I can tell :)

Now I leave you with a new love/obsession/total girl crush that has come into my life recently. Her name is Kimbra and she is pretty amazing. You may recognize her from Gotye's recent hit, "Somebody That I Used To Know".

 Here is her official "Settle Down" video. So much talent. Love love love.

She will be touring with Foster The People (!!!) and The Kooks this Summer and will be in Austin on June 5. If you are in the area and will be there, holler! I will most definitely be there.

Off to get ready for a lunch event with great friends, food, and fun! Hope you had a spectacular weekend!

Love people, eat well, shake your booty, and live your life!

Fast Food Salad & Homemade LaraBars

 Sooo, I had this for breakfast again. I TOLD you I would! This new nut butter is going to be a problem. 

A wonderful, creamy, crunchy, blissful problem.

Yesterday and today's overnight oats included: 

1 container Chobani vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

sprinkle of cinnamon

Refrigerated overnight and then topped with CRACK Wild Squirrel Chocolate Sunflower Seed Almond Butter.

 Lunch today was surprisingly wonderful, as well! A few of my coworkers and I decided to go to Culver's, and although they are known for their "ButterBurgers", I opted for the Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad with Grilled Chicken.

For a fast food salad, this was LEGIT. I topped it with their Raspberry Vinaigrette and proceeded to lick.my.bowl.clean. So rare. I will be back for this salad very soon!

 More salad for dinner tonight. Just a repeat of last night. No big.

 I must say, this Goat Cheese Mac is still rockin'. I made way too much though. 

It's freshness is becoming questionable... :(

 Let's backtrack a bit. Before dinner, I decided to make a batch of homemade Larabars!

 Today, a friend of mine mentioned that she saw a recipe for them on Pinterest. Before I knew it, I was buying a bag of dates at the store and beating it home to make these babies!

These are my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars, and boy are they good!

I'm just going to say it. I like these much better than real Larabars. Sorry, Lara.

I wrapped them up individually and stuck them in the freezer. These will probably do just fine in the fridge or at room temp, but I was lazy and the freezer seemed like the most logical spot at the time.

Excited to nibble on one tomorrow morning during my dark drive to PUMP!

I hope you had an incredible Wednesday! Now make these bars (Well, no. It's late. Make them tomorrow) and LOVE YOUR LIFE!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip LaraBars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole dates, pitted
• 1 1/2 cups peanuts
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Place dates in a food processor and process until the dates are pureed (it will become one large, pureed date "loaf").
2. Place the pureed date "loaf" in a large bowl.
3. Place the peanuts and chocolate chips in the food processor and process until it becomes coarse crumbles.
4. Add crumbled peanuts/chocolate chips, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon to the pureed dates.
5. With your hands, massage the mixture together until it is completely combined.
6. Let mixture rest in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
7. Remove from freezer and mold into bars.

*To store, wrap individually with plastic wrap and place in freezer or refrigerator.

ENJOY!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

 #1. My Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake!

This cake was a big hit with the Mr. when I made it a few months ago, which is saying something considering the fact that he eats about 2 slices of cake a year. 

We average about 400 slices a year between us...soooo, yeah.

I decided to whip it up again for Mother's Day!

Just FYI, this cake is not a beacon of health, but it is perfect for special occasions and insanely delicious.

(recipe at the bottom of this post!)

 #2. Pasta!

Specifically salad and pasta together, like the one that was enjoyed tonight!

After a rather intense day of BodyPump, work, and then Spin, I was one hungry hippo once I got home tonight. 

I quickly assembled this simple salad (greens, carrots, tomatoes, honey mustard) and pasta dish to tame my roaring belly!

 This pasta is super simple and SO good. 

I have a serious obsession with Spinach Fettuccine Alfredo, but no one seems to carry spinach fettuccine anymore! 

I also can't seem to make myself purchase jarred alfredo sauce after reading the ingredients list, so this is my "healthified" version of it :)

 So that brings us to...

#3. Goat Cheese!

  Actually, let's call this Goat Cheese Mac (recipe at the end of this post!), because that is exactly what the taste and texture reminds me of.

Ok, moving on to my recent breakfasts and snacks.

#4. Clif!

 I am addicted to these mini bars. They are the perfect fuel for my 5:30AM Pump class, since my hunger normally has not kicked in yet but I still want to munch on something.

 And look what I FINALLY finished off!! Overnight oats were enjoyed out of my almost empty Wild Squirrel Curios Cocoa-Nut jar the other morning. Sad to see it go but...

 ...on to the next!

#5. Wild Squirrel Nut Butter

I busted out the Chocolate Sunflower Seed Almond Butter today and OOMMMGGGG...total bliss.

Plopped on top of overnight oats? Holy help me. I want this in my life every single day.

If you have not jumped on the Wild Squirrel train, grab a handle and RIDE. Amaze.

I hope your Tuesday was as fabulous as YOU are!!! Now make this cake and pasta and enjoy them with someone you love!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box French Vanilla cake mix (I like Duncan Hines Supermoist)
• 1 small box vanilla-flavored instant pudding mix
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 Tbsp creamy peanut butter, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and flour two 8" round cake pans.
3. Place all ingredients (except peanut butter!!) in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour evenly into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.
5. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pans and place on a cooling rack until cakes are room temp.
6. Spread 3 Tbsp peanut butter on top of each cake layer.
7. Frost with cream cheese frosting, spreading the frosting right on top of the peanut butter layers.

  Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temp
• 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese together until soft and fluffy.
2. Gradually add in powdered sugar and salt until fully combined.
3. Gradually add in cream and beat until smooth.
4. Mix in vanilla until combined.
5. Beat icing until spreading consistency (3-4 minutes on medium speed).
6. Frost that cake!

Goat Cheese Mac

Ingredients:

• 1 package spinach pasta (any shape will work)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 4 links spinach and feta chicken sausage, sliced into coins
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup roasted tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup marinated mushrooms, chopped
•  1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 8oz container crumbled goat cheese
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and sausage and saute until onion is soft and sausage is almost cooked throughout.
4. Add remaining ingredients and saute until heated thoroughly and goat cheese is completely melted.

ENJOY!