Here are a few shots from the weekend...as part of our bedroom makeover, I purchased a beige vase from ikea. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted to put in it, so I decided to make it. I found some branches in the woods at my Grandparents, and my Grandpa had the perfect color to spray paint them. We painted 2 coats and they look perfect...just the idea I had in mind!

Before:

After:

This is going to sound like a silly story, but I was super excited about it so I am going to share anyways. Jay and I made it onto the wedding wall at my Grandparents home! Growing up and spending summers at Bunny & Papa's, I can't tell you how many times I raced up these steps to my room, pausing to look at these photos EVERY time. A wall of generations and weddings that tie the family together. I always thought it was a really neat idea but the thought never crossed my mind that one day my picture might be up there someday...so as I was running our stuff up, I stopped abruptly and was surprised to see our picture up there. (Check out my parents underneath us...nice glasses Dad!) When I asked Bunny about it she told me that her family didn't stop at her children- and of course we would be up there..her first Grandchild to be married :) I love it!

The family wall:

We spent the weekend talking, watching movies, doing a puzzle, shopping, crafting, planting pots/seeds and spending quality time together. It's so great to be able to relate to my Grandparents and have such a strong bond with them. They are some of our favorite people and we are so lucky that they love to spend time with us- just as much as we do with them!

Over the meadow and through the woods...

Jay and I drove down to my Grandparents home for the weekend to get away...and we are having a great time. Right now we are sitting around the table with a bottle of wine (and a laptop!) and making chocolate chip cookies...mmm :) We've been sitting here talking and catching up for hours. There is nothing better than this! Just thought I would blog a quick update because I've been falling behind. More to come later...I hope everyone experiences something that fills your heart with joy this weekend!

master bedroom makeover

I've been alittle depressed with the weather lately and needed a little pick me up. I got off work at 1 pm today, so with the ok from the hubby, I set out to finally tackle decorating our master bedroom. We painted when we moved in, but didn't really get around to finishing the room. We have hated our bedspread since the week we got it, but it's all we could afford so it had to make-do. We've got a little budget, but lots of creativity and resources to work with! (aka ikea and Marshalls, my two favorite places to shop for home). So tonight I trudged through the snow and started collecting items for our new room....and surprisingly enough, I was excited to be out!! Here is the inspiration board I created and have been working with. We love the clean, cool, crisp tones and modern vibe. The cream/white shades bring a sense of calm. So I am off to begin the makeover...more to come later! Drive safely in the blizzard!

Spring fever!

This winter is getting a little long. For some reason I don't remember feeling this way last winter....maybe it's due to the frigid temperatures and snow dumpings we've endured this season. Or maybe it's because we're anxious to get to a Twins game. Either way-it's getting on my nerves. I need to turn my mind to something green. We've decided to be ambitious and start a vegetable garden this spring/summer.

Jay has been fully warned that my thumb is no where near any shade of green-in fact he is probably a better gardener than me. But we are going to take a stab at it anyways. Both my Grandma and my Mom are fabulous gardeners and lovers of nature. How I turned out so differently, God only knows. I've done my research and decided that a raised-bed garden will be best for our yard. Last year when we transplanted my Grandma's peonies (which will be the extent of our "flower" garden), we found that we don't have the best quality soil for planting-we are still praying our peonies will pop back up.

Anyways, my vision is to build a 6 inch "platform" bed, surrounded by rocks to enclose it. That way we can bring in our own healthy soil and create a healthier home for our veggies! Lucky for us our development was not fully finished when we moved in, and there are hundreds of perfect sized rocks in the common area of our townhomes. Now if I can only get my darling husband to steal a few....;) I think it will make a great garden in our yard! Now we just have to figure out a location where the sun will hit it for at least 6 hours a day. I read a helpful article from Martha (of course!) that gave me the information we needed to start planning. The best advice I took from it was to start small, you can always expand. This applies to the size of the garden AND the number of vegetables you plant. Too big of gardens, and planting too many varieties can be overwhelming and create more room for error. This totally makes sense. She says to start with 3-4 varieties of vegetables until your garden gets established and then add more. There are certain kinds that do better in cooler weather and are easier to produce than others. We've decided we want to try tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, peppers and spinach. Yes, I know there are 5 items on our list, but I cut that down from 8! And I'm sure one or two is bound to not grow under my hands :) We are also going to plant asparagus. I'm not counting this one because they tend to be harder to grow, and take up to 2 years to yield results. So we are starting them because it takes a while for them to establish-they'll get a whole section of their own in the corner of our garden. This little garden planning session is just what I needed to kick my winter cabin-fever. I'm excited to see where it takes us! I really hope God gives me the patience (yes only me, because Jay's got plenty of it!) to raise a garden, and the ability to manage it. I think it will have lasting benefits once we start to be able to produce our own vegetables and eat our crop. Usually in the summers we only buy from the farmers market, so it will become a little farmers market of our own! (pictures from martha)

Make your own Red Velvet Cake Rounds!

I originally discovered these delicious treats from bakerella a long time ago, but I've substituted my own recipe for the Red Velvet Cake and the frosting because she used a box cake and canned frosting...and I wanted to make everything from scratch. Here is my recipe!

Red Velvet Cake
2.5 cups of all purpose flour
1.5 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1.5 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk-at room temperature
2 large eggs-at room temperature
2 tablespoons of red food coloring (1 ounce)
1.5 teaspoon distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup) softened
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

Yum yum yum! let me know if you guys try this recipe and how it turns out!

Friday night I spent baking and relaxing. I made red velvet cake rounds for a friend of mine who just had a baby (her shower was Saturday). It was her 3rd baby and I figured she has gotten a lot of baby gifts so I wanted to give her a gift just for her! Plus she deserves the chocolate :) This is what they look like:

I made a two-layer red velvet cake from scratch. While the cakes were baking, I made the cream-cheese frosting. Here are a few fun pictures. I'll post the recipe later tonight.

After letting the cakes cool, I crumbled them into a big bowl and mixed them into the cream cheese frosting with my hands (this can get very messy!) After they were mixed in, I rolled them into quarter-sized balls and placed them on cookie sheets.

They need to be placed in the fridge or freezer for at least a half hour to set up. After they have time to set, I melted baking chocolate into a large bowl. When the chocolate melted into a smooth consistencey, I dipped the red velvet rounds into the chocolate and placed them on wax paper to cool. I then drizzled white chocolate almond bark on the tops of them. They turned out really good! Jay couldn't stop sneaking them from the kitchen...we'll see how he does weighing in this week for BL ;)

mmm yummy!

So I put together the cake rounds and completed her gift with a wine theme (she loves wine). I got her a bottle of chardonnay, some coasters with wine quotes on them, and a wine bottle stopper. I hope she liked it. I had fun visiting at her shower and meeting her precious Ethan...congrats Erin!! Saturday morning we went mini golfing at the new course at Mall of America....it was really fun! I'm usually not very good at ANYTHING we do together and I lose a lot...but the scores were pretty close this time. I think I got lucky. Saturday night we had another couple over and we went out for dinner to watch part of the wild game. After dinner we came home and played Partini. It was a fun game and we enjoyed ourselves and the company.

Sunday morning rolled around and we were ready for our Oscars competition! We had printed off official ballots from the Oscars website and voted on each category who we thought was going to win. Whoever lost has to take the other out for dinner this week at the winners place of choice. Of course who wins? Jay! He wins EVERYTHING! and he had no idea what he was doing, the only Oscar-nominated movie he saw was Slumdog Millionaire (fantastic movie by the way) so he picked them just about every chance he could....and if you watched them you know Slumdog Millionaire won about 7 Oscars. He only won by 1 but I'm still bitter ;) It was a fun little competition and it made watching the awards more interesting. By the way we thought Hugh Jackman was a great host and this years awards were much better than last. Here are our Oscar ballots...next year I'll kick his butt!

So the last half of my afternoon wasn't so bad :) I was in charge of booking the guys ski trip in March so that was fun. My Dad is taking Jay and my brother and his best friend to Salt Lake City, Utah for their annual ski trip (I know it will be cold out there, but they are still lucky to get away!!) Usually they go to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, so this year he wanted to try something new. They are going to have so much fun. Justin didn't have much experience with skiing until he joined our family and now he loves it! When I was a little girl we would drive to Steamboat every winter as a family tradition, so it's a major sport in our family. Of course he has amazing athletic ability, so he picked it right up and is a natural! I think it's a great bonding experience for all of the guys too. I love that Jay fits right in!!
Salt Lake City skiing!

tick, tock, tick tock....

Before I start complaining, I need to first say that I am very lucky because I really enjoy my job. It's (generally) stress-free, and a place where I can enjoy myself and my work at the same time. I have freedom, and the opportunities and leisures that most other's don't have at their jobs. I feel very blessed to have my job in such times of economic strife.

That being said...I'm having one of those days...the clock can NOT move fast enough! I am so anxious to get home and start the weekend. I have not felt like this for a really long time, because I enjoy my time at work. But today I have the itch! I have a lot to do, but the motivation is just not kicking in today. I'm so glad it's Friday!

It's also probably because we've got a full weekend of fun planned! Tonight we are having dinner together and then I am baking lots of goodies for tomorrow :) I'm not sure if Jay will stick around during my baking ( he usually does- to steal samples when I'm not looking or lick the bowl!) but he might slip off and hang out with his friends tonight. I'm just looking forward to spending a low-key night at home because this week has been a long one for me. It will be nice to relax with a glass of wine and bake. And speaking of baking (for those of you who enjoy baking/cooking)...check out this website. {Heavenly Hostess} They have the most ADORABLE aprons...I love all the cocktail aprons! I am going to look for a pattern to make one of these cute little things to wear in the kitchen. I love the black 'faith' polka dot one :)

Sooo I just got home from the gym and now I have way too much energy to wind down for bed...I got home late from dinner with a friend and I was craving a run (yes, I am crazy...) so I headed to the gym at 9:45! Now I am waiting for Jay to get home from hockey so we can catch up on each other's days before bed. We are SO ready for the weekend to be here. Thank goodness it's almost FRIDAY!

I thought we needed another fresh template for our blog. Jay loves blue, so I thought this time we could use a blue one ( I tend to avoid blue at all cost ). Dinner last night was so good. I'll post my recipe for those of you who want to try it. The sauce is a homemade recipe made by me.
Ingredients:

Crust- multi-grain whole wheat crust (Trader Joe's) This was so good- crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle...just perfect!

Cheese-mozzarella, fontini, asiago & parmesan.

Oregano

Basil

Tomatos

Onion

Garlic

Abbey's homemade pizza sauce:

1 & 1/2 cups of tomato (about 2 medium tomatoes)

1/4 cup onion

1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

A pinch of salt

Fresh cracked pepper to taste

1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (more of less, depending on what you like)

optional-1 small can of tomato paste (if you want the sauce thicker)

Start cooking the crust while beginning to prepare the sauce. Lightly brush olive oil over the crust before placing in the oven. Place the tomatos, onion, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add tomato paste if desired. Add in the oregano, basil, salt and pepper and BV. After crust is bubbly and begins to rise (but not fully cooked-about 6-8 minutes) spread the sauce evenly over the crust and top with the fresh cheeses and toppings of your choice. Our favorite pizza is hawaiian...but we substituted ham for canadian bacon for a healthier version. Cook for 10 more minutes, or until cheese starts to look golden brown. Enjoy!

Today was so so busy at work and I am anxious to get home and see Jay. I went to yoga sculpt last night AFTER training at the gym. It was the highest level class I have been to so far-and I am paying for it today! My entire body is sore and tired...but it was a great workout. Through the whole hour-long class, we got about 2-15 second breaks in child's pose...the rest of the time was hardcore! The only thing getting me through the day is thinking about going home and making homemade pizza with Jay..mmm yummy, and watching American Idol together :) Ok I am leaving! Have a great night everyone!

My thoughts today

disclaimer: this is going to be a long and random post, because my mind is full of swirling thoughts today! ok, so now I'm free to ramble :) First off, I'm very jealous of my husband because he has the day off today. Secretly I like when he is off, because it gives me incentive to finish my work so I can leave early and spend some time with him! That being said, I am imagining him laying in bed watching tv right now and I'm green with envy :)

This morning something odd happened. I put on/fit into a pair of work pants that I haven't worn in probably a few years. Yay! I was so excited and I am starting to see differences in how all of my clothes are fitting. This is exciting for me, because I've been working really hard. I have officially lost another inch around my waist. We've ended our 30-day Making the Cut program, and have implemented our new training plan. The plan is to run and do an abs program Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday-and circuit train Tuesday and Thursday. We have agreed to have Fridays off, and Jay wants another week night off but I'm having a hard time giving up another night! We'll see if that happens. I have LOVED running. The feeling after a long run is amazing. It takes so much dedication for me to get to the gym everyday and get on that treadmill (we just came up with our new training plan last night, so last week and this week we've been running everyday). It's so easy to get home from work and make excuses not to go train. I only have one thing to say: It's SO worth it! We have benefited in numerous ways because of our new lifestyle. I honestly think I will miss running on the off-days, and might have to sneak in a small one after circuit training. So far I am averaging 15 miles a week, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I just started training so it's been a challenge for me. I think I will bump it up to 20 for next week. Jay is still the leader in the Biggest Loser competition at his school. The pot is up to $350!

This week is filled with things to do! I have a few yoga classes this week along with training. The nice thing about running is it doesn't take long, about 35 minutes to complete a session. That leaves plenty of time for me to also go to yoga classes, which I absolutely love because they refresh my body and my mind. The teachers focus on your personal relationship with yourself, and your practice. It's a peaceful and positive atmosphere. I always learn something new and leave class feeling like a better person. I also enjoy the time after yoga that I get to spend with Monica, who comes to classes with me :) I'm having dinner this week with a good friend that I used to work with and I dearly miss. I can't wait to see her and catch up on her life. We met only a little over a year ago yet I feel like she's been my friend for a lifetime...she's grown to be a really great support. Jay is planning a night to go hang out with his friends which I am excited about...I love his friends. I often find myself wishing I was invited on the boys' outings because they are fun people.

Saturday we are going mini-golfing with another couple in the early afternoon. I have a baby shower to attend at 5, and then we are having the couple back over for dinner/drinks/games. We are both so excited. I'm looking for a yummy cake recipe to bake for dessert. I'm leaning towards red velvet or german chocolate cake. I'm excited about all the food I am making this week! I will post more recipes and photos as the week goes on. I think that's it for now. I get really excited when we have fun things planned because it makes our week go by so fast. Here are a few cake possibilities. They are making me so hungry at work!!!

Love makes a house a home.

Jay and I had a blast together this weekend. We had a low-key Friday, eating out at our favorite Mexican restaurant after I got home from yoga class. Then we headed home to get things done around the house and enjoy each other's conversation and a bottle of wine ;) Saturday we slept in and then went to the gym to train. It was a beautiful day! We had a little Valentines celebration at home, and then headed to a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner. After dinner we came home and watched Fireproof, a movie about marriage that Jay had bought for me. It was such a great movie! Probably one of the best we've ever seen. It had a message that was so inspirational and true. I would recommend it to any married couple, or anyone contemplating marriage! After the movie we were in the mood for some MORE chocolate, so we went to Applebees to get dessert. We had a really great time together.

I spent part of Saturday morning making my Sisters Valentines gift. I sewed a Twilight-themed ipod cover for her. I put her favorite quote from the movie on it. She absolutely loved it! Below are a few pictures. It was a fun project because I could customize it however I wanted. It may look a little shiny because the material is silk, with black fleece lining.

Here are a few pictures of a really cute card my Mom sent the two of us. It's so fun to get mail...even when you are married! :)

I hope everyone's hearts are full of love after Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Jay and I are sitting here enjoying a glass of wine and each others company. I'm so excited for my surprise tomorrow, and to be spending the day with my husband. 2 years ago tomorrow, he completely changed my life forever when he asked me to marry him... so as much as I don't like Valentines Day, there will always be a soft spot for it in my heart :) I am so lucky!! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. To all our family and friends: We love you!

The Biggest Loser

Besides our challenge together, Jay also signed up for "The Biggest Loser" competition at the school he works at. The competition goes until March. Each week every contestant weighs in, and if you gained weight since the last weigh in you have to pay $5 into the pot. The pot already have $200-$300 dollars in it! aaaand, guess who is winning so far? Yep, yours truly, Jay Feld! So far he's lost 16 pounds....way to go Jay!!

News

Last night Jay and I went to the Wild game with my Dad and Karen. It was an awesome game! My Dad has a partial season ticket package so they are really good seats and help you really get into the game...I've never sat so close before. The Wild pulled off a win in the last few minutes of the game! My favorite part was when Boogaard crushed players on the Avalanche!! he's huge! It was a fun night out.

Only one more day until the weekend...yesss! Tonight I'm having dinner with a good friend and I can't wait to catch up with her. Then I am going to Jay's hockey game...it's my first one because they are always so late at night. I've heard through the grapevine that he's really good, so I'll be the judge of that tonight =)

We've started putting our itinerary together for Portland and I really wish we were going sooner! We have so many fun things planned. I also found out that several scenes/locations from Twilight were filmed in the Portland area, so I'm definetly doing some scheming to get that on the agenda! We'll see how that works out with the husband...but I'm super excited! Here are a few more photos of the area:

Only a few more hours left at work and then we are off to the gym!

It's Official.

We've booked our Anniversary trip for Portland, Oregon! Portland was on the top of our list of places we wanted to visit, and since we'll be traveling out of the country next summer, we decided a trip in the states would be fun this year. Our other top choice was Boston and the Cape, but one of my best friends is moving to Boston this August.... so we are going to wait until we can go visit her when she gets settled! So that made our choice easy. Oregon is a beautiful state and Portland is a vibrant city featuring a ton of great restaurants, a fun, young atmosphere, and some great places to stay!

We will be staying at Hotel DeLuxe. It's described as a "boutique hotel" decorated in the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood of the 1940's and 1950's. It's right in the heart of the city and walking distance to all the major attractions. We will be renting a car when we get into Portland so we can explore the areas outside Portland as well, such as the Willamette Valley-full of wineries and the Colombia River Gorge-full of beautiful waterfalls, beaches, lighthouses, and scenary. Here are some pictures of the area:

We are just starting to map out our itinerary and decide where we want to go, but we can't wait! We are so excited that we are blessed enough to be able to get away and enjoy traveling together.

Tonight Jay and I are headed out to dinner with some friends of ours...and we are excited to go out to eat! It will be a nice break from cooking a meal every night. We stayed up too late last night so now we are both really sleepy. Hopefully we'll be able to drag ourselves to the gym later tonight to train..we'll see! Our 30 day program is almost up, so today I ordered another Jillian Michaels training book off amazon (love the online shopping!!) It's a similar program called the 30 Day Shred, and we are excited to have another training program to follow along with running. We love Jillian Michaels!

This weekend Jay has a surprise planned for Valentines day (and our dating Anniversary) and I am really curious to know what it is...I've been trying to get it out of him ever since he told me (bad move on his part). He says if I'm good he'll tell me on Friday, haha...I'll keep you posted! Have a wonderful Monday...nice weather we are having isn't it!? ;)

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. We had a low-key couple of days and I don't think we are used to the relaxation! Friday night yoga was absolutely perfect and Jay and I met for dinner afterwards to catch up on each other's days. After running some errands together we enjoyed a night at home with Nemo! Saturday we trained in the morning and went to Church in the afternoon with my Mom and Sister. We really enjoy Church on Saturdays because it gives us all day Sunday to unwind. It makes the weekend seem longer too, because we are used to Church symbolizing the end of the weekend for us when we attended on Sundays. Today we had a fun session with a friend of mine who recently got some new camera equipment, so she used us as guinea pigs to test it out...and we didn't mind! It was a beautiful day and a good excuse to stay outdoors for an hour and enjoy the weather. After our session Jay got ready for his baseball meeting tonight and I had coffee with an old friend :) It was great to get together and see her again, and we talked for over 2 hours! It felt like 10 minutes. I guess that's what happens when your with a great friend....time flies! It was definetly needed. I headed to the gym afterwords for a good long run...so refreshing. Now I am going to clean the house and wait for my hubby to get home so we can have our movie night!

Alone time!

Jay just headed off to a hockey game with our Uncle Al so I have some alone time to catch up on our blog. Nothing too exciting this week, but it's gone by super fast and we are really looking forward to the weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to Twilight Yoga...a heated class lite by candle lite with soothing music to "find your flow and soothe the soul." I'm so excited! What a great way to start the weekend. Then it will be filled with friends, old and new, and fun. Sunday we are having a friend of mine take some photos of us (she wants some practice) so that might be kind of fun! Jay is taking me shopping for some new Nike (yes!!!) apparel...I need some new workout clothes! I hope everyone has something special and fun planned for the weekend :) Ok, I'm off to train!

p.s. we are making final arrangements for our Anniversary trip and we are sooooo excited! more to come after we book :)

What motivates you??

I'm curious if anyone has any music that inspires/motivates them in the gym. We are compiling new playlists for our training and need some good motivational music to pump us up! If anyone has any suggestions, please share with us! our favorite band is OAR and that usually gets us ready to go...but we are looking for a large variety so let us know!! thank you!

Getting creative...

So we are on day 24 of our fitness plan and needed a break from our meal plan...so I had to get creative! The result: a yummy salad that hit the spot.

Ingredients
Baby spinach leaves
Granny Smith apple wedges
Dried cranberries
Fat free feta cheese
walnuts (unsalted)

The dressing was a home made cranberry walnut (can substitute Paul Newman's Light Cranberry walnut salad dressing). It was still very healthy and really good. I love experimenting with different foods and creating fun combinations. Cooking has become a huge part of my life since getting married and I like to believe I've taken on the challenge and done well with it for the most part...I wasn't much of cook before June! I guess you'd have to ask my husband to be sure ;)

Progress...

I am slowly becoming a workout-a-holic. I'm looking forward to our workouts more every day (weird, I know). I'm incredibly sore from our fitness plan this weekend, and I can't wait to hit the gym again today after work...talk about a stress reliever! I've also started going to yoga classes with Monica, and what a difference it has made. I feel happier, I have more energy, and I feel very flexible! It's very relaxing and calming, but surprisingly a difficult work out. I've decided I am going to try (notice the key word here is try) to start training for a half-marathon this summer with Monica...thanks for the motivation and inspiration Mon! My plan is to start training & running after our 30-day program is up. Then I'll already be toned and have the lean muscle mass needed to really push myself to run to my limit. However, if I am not physically ready when the time comes, my goal will be pushed back a year :) But eventually I will run a half-marathon....ok now I feel sick that I am sharing this with you because that means I have to get my butt in gear and actually do it. Maybe the accountability will help!

Turkey burgers

We were getting really sick of all the chicken in our diet, so I decided to make some home made turkey burgers. They turned out really tasty, although a little hard to cook on the grill (some fell apart) because they were so freshly made. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion chopped in TINY pieces
1/2 tsp minced garlic
4 tbsp dried bread crumbs
2ish egg whites
3 tbsp BBQ sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp liquid smoke

Mix it all together... make patties and refrigerate so they can settle and stick together better. Then throw them on the grill until golden brown. I topped mine with caramelized onions, tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup and reduced fat cheddar cheese... you can also use FF mayo. Enjoy!!