159 days!

For you, Jul, since you think I don't update it!

What will I title my posts once the wedding is over?? I think I'll probably have some sort of PWD (post wedding depression). What will I do with all my free brain time when there's no more wedding-related things to do? Ahhh!!

Looking over past posts I realized that most of them cover the same 3 topics:

1. What I've been cooking/eating lately.

2. What I've been doing lately (other than the norm)

3. What I've been reading lately.

So... here goes!

What I've been cooking/eating lately:

Baked my second to last TJ's baking mix. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it smells right now.

In the oven

Finished product

A close up of these babies

And on my plate. YUM. This was definitely the easiest mix (just add water and mix around with a fork) and SOOO tasy!

I guess this doesn't count as "what I've been eating/cooking" but, we love this beer and its only 15.99 for a 12-pack.

Blood oranges. YUM. I cannot get enough of these. I also squeeze the leftover into a glass with seltzer and ice.

This was new in the dairy aisle of Key Foods yesterday so we tried it, its actually really good!

It seems way better for us than even the organic half and half, so I'll probably start buying it more.

One of the best breakfasts I've made in a while... sauteed turkey bacon, onion, broccoli and peppers in a pan with a little bit of olive oil...

Poured about 6 beaten eggs on top of it....

Baked at 375 for around 15 minutes. I couldn't help myself and had to have a piece as soon as it came out!

Definitely one of the more indulgent meals I've eaten lately on Marvin's Bday: Rice & peas, stewed pork, stewed curry chicken, stewed chickpeas, roti, scalloped potatoes, macaroni pie, cornbread pie, green beans.... aaand missing from pic: carvel ice cream cake!

Another one of the more indulgent things I've eaten... breakfast at Perly's Jewish Deli in Richmond VA over Lesley's wedding weekend. This was actually Marvin's plate... Challah French toast with some sort of brown sugar, banana, pecan thing. It was absurd(ly good).

What I've been doing lately:

Lesley & Adam's wedding at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond Virginia

Last weekend we drove down Richmond for Lesley & Adam's wedding! It was an exhausting weekend but SO good to spend time with some of my BC favs. Here's Lesley  Kelly & I the night before the wedding at Penny Lane Pub.

Kelly, Lesley Alex & I at cocktail hour at the Jefferson Hotel

Pretty much the only pic of Marvin & I from the entire weekend!

Marvin's 31st Birthday

Here's an adorable pic of Marvin with his beer tasting at Dinosaur BBQ

And the AMAZING mud pie they brought over on the house!

The carvel cake I got for Marvin... we just ate the leftovers Friday night!

Marvin tickling one of his smallest (and cutest) nephews, Mathias.

What I've been reading lately:

This book is amazing but seriously is making me DEPRESSED! I honestly don't understand how Joan Didion keeps going on every day after all of the things that happened to her and her family. Despite that, this book has taught me more about grief and grieving than I ever knew.

Hi

I've been trying to wear my fitbit more... the new colorful bands definitely help. It's just crazy how many steps I take in one work day!!! It helps me feel a tiny bit better about being sore and exhausted every day when I get home from work.

(Calories burned not accurate, obviously)

I joined the 30-day yoga challenge today! This is a little strange for me because generally I "hate" yoga and refuse to do it, but for some reason I felt curious today. I went on youtube and searched "yoga" and the challenge was the first result. It's pretty cool & completely free. You get one video sent to you per day and they are only between 10-20 minutes. The first one was pretty low-key and I didn't really feel like I got a workout, but was definitely relaxed and my muscles feel oddly, kind of sore.

OK. I made the best drink EVER last night! Marvin's dad makes us home made sorrel every now and then because I am obsessed with it. Sorrel is a type of flower from the caribbean. The leaves are dried and then boiked to make a sort of... tea. This is what sorrel looks like in plant form:

The leaves are often boiled with cinnamon sticks and cloves. Marvin's Dad (and lots of others) adds simple syrup to make it sweet. It comes out a dark, deep, beautiful red:

YUM

And now the fun comes in. Last night I was thinking how much it looked like red wine. So I thought hmm.... how would sorrel sangria taste? I mixed half red wine (cabernet) and half sorrel. Squeeze some orange into it, added tons of ice and mixed it up. It was one of the best sangrias I've ever had and I'm so proud of myself for making it!

Sorrel Sangria

I also attempted to make parsnip fries last night. I just peeled and sliced a parsnip, tossed the slices in some olive oil and my new favorite Trader Joe's everyday seasoning:

I put this on everything.

Then I baked them at 450 for about 25 minutes. I don't know what caused me not to check on them.. but they came out really crispy... a little too crispy for me.

(I ate them anyway)

But alas! I tried again tonight, cooked them at 425 and flipped em halfway through. SO much better. I literally forgot they weren't french fries.

Dinner: Baked parsnip fries and homemade chicken noodle soup.

BRRR. This arctic freeze is seriously interfering with our daily walks. It is ridiculously cold out there.

-7 with wind chill!

But I'm definitely not complaining :-)

The cold never bothered me anyway.

Happy 2015!!! My first few days of the new year have consisted of LOTS of cooking and lots of relaxing. After all, we've approached the 6 month mark. It is now time for some serious beautification. 

Some of the cooking I've been doing....

His N Hers pizza! Can you guess which one is the veggie queen's? I have to admit, we used premade crust for these. We just couldn't wait 6 hours for the frozen dough to defrost!!!

Hers: mozzarella, olives, peppers, and kale. His: mozzarella and gouda,oeppers, onions, pepperoni!

Skinnytaste cauliflower fried rice. I am SO proud of myself for finally making this. It literally took 10-15 min from start to finish and tasted amazing. 

This is just how I currently feel about our plastic bag situation. Marvin refuses to throw out any unused bags and they are taking over my kitchen!!!!

Pumpkin muffins from trader joes Pumpkin Bread Mix with my adorable new muffin wrappers. 

This was the parking situation out front last week. Ridiculously amazing!!!

Trying to capture the first snow of 2015...

The fireworks at Prospect Park on NYE this year were outstanding. I am still convinced this is NYCs best kept NYE secret! Free, peaceful, not too crowded, and awesome. And because I don't know what else to do with these firework pics....

And...

And another...

Yes I was that girl taking pictures of fireworks...

Ok one more from the finale!

And that's it! But before I go, let's bring it back to 1991. No blogs, just good old paper diaries. What was my deepest darkest desire at age 6?

A pet horse, duh,

Sunset in a Cup.

Life in Pictures 

Homemade vanilla ice cream on Christmas Day

The newest addition to the Clement family... Kayanne

Christmas Day Dinner! YUM

Christmas morning - 30 years old and Santa still comes

Dennie and Adrian after Adrian's marble-in-nose scare

Mathias.. just chillin. On the floor

My funfetti cookies - a HUGE hit!

My first attempt at an Old Fashioned with our new bourbon

Homemade meatballs

Finished product

Homemade chicken soup

BUY THIS NOW. Its only at Trader Joe's for a limited time and.... is seriously...

The most delicious bread I have ever eaten.

I just think this pic of my mom and dad on her birthday is SO adorable.

And now... for some of my favorite Christmas gifts this year! (I am going to try to find all online pics, so here we go)

Anything to get me wearing my fitbit again! Love these wristband colors.

PJS and slippers galore! These are neither the slippers nor PJs I actually got, but I received a whopping 3 pairs of slippers, 1 pair of slipper socks, 2 pajama sets, 1 onesie pajama, 1 robe, and 1 pajama pants.  My God!

Yes I got this bake pan, but also a load of different all-natural Trader Joe's baking mixes! We've already baked 2 different breads and they were SO yummy.

This stuff is basically magic. I normally don't use any face lotion but I'm not kidding this makes my skin look awesome.

My new glittens! This is not my color but this is basically them in white.