This Weekend

1.  Kev built our first fireplace fire of the year.....

 Which is funny because it ended up being a high of 72 degrees today.

But we got to try out our new "fireplace backer heat projection thingie" that was apparently made in 1772.  And it worked pretty fantastically. 

2.  We also got to eat our dinner by the fire.  A rare treat in our house since food USUALLY gets spilled (by me) - which makes it best to always eat in the kitchen.

 3.  Obviously, we ate on our prized Gamecock tv tray tables. 

Winning is good.

4.  I've been (obsessively) trying out new Thanksgiving recipes.  Roasted green beans with caramelized shallots was my most recent test.

It definitely made my list of a side dish I would like to celebrate with!

5.  I have been a horrible runner lately.  Actually, a horrible "anything to do with fitness" person.  It seems that not having a goal ( ie; half marathon) has caused me to slack off.  That and the fact that my foot and knee have really been bothering me. 

With the exception of some spin classes.... my fitness routine has consisted of walking to and from the parking lot at work. 

That does not make me very happy.

So, I FORCED myself to run on Saturday.

It wasn't pretty.  I WILL be back on track as of tomorrow.  I NEED fitness in my life!

6.  I am currently roasting these vegetables.....

 Cauliflower, poblano peppers, green peppers, onion, sweet potatoes, and corn.

I'm making stacked vegetable enchiladas for dinner.

GET. IN. MY. BELLY.

7.  I still need to tell you all about the AMAZING wedding I attended a week ago. 

 I am overwhelmed by the details and awesomeness that took place.  Not to mention the amount of pictures that I need to sort through.  It is so hard to decide what pictures to post - when I love them all.

9.  I am in LOVE with this drink...

Like head over heels in love.  It is coconut flavored La Croix!  I read about this on several blogs months ago... and it has finally reached Columbia.

It is like drinking a coconut cake with happiness on top.

Be prepared to see it a LOT in my future.

10.  I can't believe it is already November 13th.

17 days until my ROAD TRIP to Trader Joe's!!

Multiple ice chests will be needed.

And winning the lottery would probably help me out a little, too.

Last Halloween

Yes, I said LAST Halloween.  Because it has almost been two weeks since we celebrated it which seems like a year ago.

I swear... I know I keep saying it... but what the heck is going on with time?

I feel like it is flying faster than ever before.

Which could be the reason that my hair ALWAYS looks like it is in the windblown state.

Today is the day that I get my act together.  Today is the day that I get back to a routine.  Today is the day that I menu plan for the rest of the year ( only 51 days left!).  Today is the day that I actually get my laundry put away.

At least that is what I keep saying to myself as I am sitting here on the couch staring in to oblivion - overwhelmed by my to-do list.

I need to find a Groupon for a life/organizational/home chore motivator/coach. 

Anyway...

About Halloween...

I didn't decorate this year.  I didn't dress up.  I didn't carve a pumpkin.

I'm telling you... it has been busy!

BUT... we did have a special dinner in honor of three things.. Halloween, our FIVE year houseiversary, and Teddy's birthday.

Our menu for the celebration was GRILLED PIZZA!

Made by none other than the fabulous pizza man, Kev.

He is not only talented in the dough throwing department... but fun to watch, as well.

(Wow.  When did my kitchen become SO cluttered!?)

Between taking pictures and telling jokes... I managed to put up my one and only decoration on the sunroom door.

And then eagerly waited for some trick-or-treaters.

We only had one.  And they went to the wrong door.  By the time I realized it and ran around to where they were... they were back in the car and pulling out of the driveway.

I will forever be known as the Halloween scrooge on my street.

Even though I am usually the ONLY one that gives out candy.

I guess the "country" is not necessarily known for being a great trick-or-treating spot.

The pizzas....

Pepperoni, Greek, Tomato + Basil, BBQ chicken.

The Birthday Boy.  In disguise.

It was a super fun night.  Great company.  LOTS of laughter.  A little bit of obnoxiousness.

And the perfect way to wrap up the month of October.

Now.. if I could just get a handle on November so I can sit back and enjoy it a little more...



A Fall Festival For Mom

I just LOVE "falling back".  That extra hour makes all the difference in the world. 

Especially after such a crazy week.

A crazy but wonderful week!

It all started last Sunday, October 30th......

When my sister, Shannon and her family hosted the First Annual Fall Festival in honor of my Mom's birthday!

We ( me and Kev) were recovering from a frantic late night that involved lots of cooking (me), furniture building (Kev), sighing and being grumpy (me),  furniture moving (me and Kev), high fives and cheering (Kev) and laundry (mainly me - but Kev had to jump in when I messed up the washing machine... and then he stopped cheering).

But our late night was worth it.... because hanging out with my family at the festival was fantastic.

The evening started off with a hay ride ( which may or may not have been scary depending on who you ask) and a pumpkin carving contest.

I was really hoping to be able to bob for apples as I'm pretty sure I hold the world record for the most apples caught with my teeth (37) while holding my breath.

My teeth are wicked strong and big.

It is a Switzer trademark.

But there is something about being married to a germaphobe and the fact that the whole idea is pretty unsanitary that resulted in the apple activity being nixed.

Oh well, I can always do it by myself at home.

The winning pumpkin....

Mickey Mouse.

Any guesses on who carved it?

Bethany and Teddy were both on vacation and decided to spend their week off with us in South Carolina.

It was great having Bethany home for my Mom's birthday!

And now for all the pumpkins....

I had to get a picture with the cutest one....

Our meal consisted of Randy's famous turkey stew.  I suplemented the meal with cornbread and autumn mac n cheese. 

The stew was fabulous - and the perfect meal for a chilly Fall evening.

And then we had dessert....

S'mores!  and a cookie cake! 

I'm not necessarily a s'mores fan... but I LOVE me some burnt marshmallows.  The more burned the better.  And my marshmallow "burner", Austin, did a great job making sure I got my wish.

As for the cookie cake ( I hate that I didn't get a picture)... it was out of this world!  Better than one from The Great American Cookie Company.  Bethany made it and even frosted it to look like a store bought one.

The cookie cake marked the start of my ridiculous sugar infested week.

An infestation that I don't regret.  Not one single bit.

The party people... ( minus my Dad and  me.. we were the photographers)

The Birthday Girl....

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

We had a wonderful time celebrating your birthday ( a day late) with you!!

Lots Of Catching Up To Do

This past week and a half has been INSANE.

But pretty awesome... if I do say so myself.

I just re-read my last post just to get an idea of where I left off.  It was about IKEA.  It seems like ages ago that we actually went there.

In fact, if it weren't for this blog... I wouldn't even remember it at all.

Except for the issue that I have eleventy billion dressers throughout my house that require attention.

We (mainly Kev) spent a WEEK getting the furniture put together and placed correctly.  And that doesn't even take in to consideration the time it took for us to start our closet reorganization process.

As far as this past week....

It was spent doing things like this.....

Carving pumpkins...

Tossing pizza dough....

Celebrating birthdays.....

And attending the ULTIMATE beach wedding!

Which involved lots of cake eating....

I haven't been to the gym in nine days.

I haven't cooked a proper meal or planned my dinners for November.

I haven't started prepping and planning for the holidays.

I haven't seen the premiere of Top Chef: Texas.

But what I HAVE done is so much better!

I've laughed harder in this past week than I have all year.

I've been able to soak up as much family that my heart will allow.  ( It is over flowing!)

I've eaten four different kinds of cake in one afternoon.

I've done unimaginable things with pinestraw < === which should take the place of going to the gym.

I've had an incredible week!

And now I just need to get you all updated....

As soon as I finish my nap.

A Field Trip

Fueled by pumpkin pancakes...

A big scoop of pure pumpkin + buckwheat pancake mix = a good idea.

But that was all it was. 

Frankly, the pancakes tasted WAY too "buckwheaty" and the cakes were thick, dry, disks that needed a lot of water to force them down.

Kev claimed that they weren't THAT bad as he covered his in pure maple syrup.

But then again, we were about to head out to the biggest furniture amusement park of our dreams and he was probably too excited to eat.

I covered mine in two over-easy eggs...

And reminded myself it was healthy.

Less than two hours later we arrived in Charlotte and at our destination.

IKEA.

Don't let the picture fool you - the building is bigger than this.  Twice as big.  My camera lens was defeated when trying to capture the entire place.

As I mentioned last week, we are in the midst of a house reorganization.  Starting with the attic. 

It is time to de-clutter, re-vamp, and label.

Ahhh.  Doesn't that sound amazing.

I had stopped in to IKEA when I flew home from Syracuse.  It hasn't been opened in Charlotte for that long and I had heard stories.  Lots and lots of stories.

They were all correct.  It is overwhelming and affordable and overwhelming and magical and just the perfect place for us to start with our re-do.
We spent about five hours there.  FIVE.  Including taking a lunch break in their cafeteria (yes, they have one PLUS a smaller cafe) for roasted red pepper and mozzarella paninis and buffalo chicken wraps.

We measured and discussed and planned and dreamed and lifted and loaded...

And came home with this...

The only drawback ( so far) is that you have to put every thing together yourself.  Thank goodness that I have a handy dandy tool wielding husband.  And I'm a pretty good sidekick if I say so myself.

As long as there is not a lot of reading to do. 

Luckily there wasn't.  Because these were the directions...

( sorry - can't get the picture to turn)

The directions taught us what tools we needed.  That we needed two people to do it.  And that hopefully we had a phone line that connected directly to IKEA.  In Charlotte. 

That sure is one heck of a phone line.

There actually were more directions than that.  But just pictures.  No words.  We got it though.  In pretty good time. 

And with no mistakes.

And it is going to be perfect in our closet.  I haven't had a dresser in YEARS and YEARS.  I'm so excited!  Good bye rubbermaid tubs!

And now we just have eleventy billion more to go.....

Good Eats

This is Kev...

Sometimes he likes to steal hats from the birthday boy.  Especially, when he discovers the hat is something that he has wanted his whole entire life.

Sometimes he likes to hoard things in the attic that he tells me I'm not allowed to throw out.
( We will see about that)

Sometimes he likes to come up with a meal idea without me even asking. 

And those are the best times - because they involve food ( obviously), they require hardly any thought from me, and they ALWAYS turn out amazing!

Last week, I had steak on the menu.  Boring ole steak and sweet potato.

I almost just fell asleep from typing that last sentence.

I had kept it simple because I was working - knew it would be a long day - and didn't have much time that evening to prepare.

And that is when Kev stepped in.  He suggested grilled steak sandwiches.  With peppers and onions and mushrooms and cheese.

I stopped by the store and picked up some hoagie buns from the bakery.

And Kev took over from there.

Oh my goodness... the BEST sandwich I've had in a LONG time.  In fact, we haven't stopped talking about it - and keep coming up with ways to improve it.

Like with avocado or spicy mayo or jalapeno peppers.

We are counting the days until we eat it again...

The other good thing that we had recently was Roasted Veggie Enchiladas by Two Peas & Their Pod.

They were hard to photograph but I'm telling you that they were incredible!!  And filling.  And easy to make.  I decided to use the Ezekiel tortillas instead of the corn because that was what I had on hand.  It made it a little harder to "layer" as the tortillas are huge... but I still felt that I got the overall effect.

And if you are worried that they are meatless and you will miss it - TRUST ME!  You WON'T!

We ate on them for a couple of days and were definitely sad to see them go.

Other than that, we have been super busy and haven't really "created" any thing new.  I've just been making the same ole thing to keep it simple. 

However, starting with this weekend, the next couple of weeks have some pretty good looking meals on the agenda.

Ending with my cousin Carrie's wedding ON THE BEACH!!!

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this wedding!!  It is going to be awesome!

The other thing that is going to be awesome ( but not fun or exciting!) is the reorganization project that I started today in our attic.  It seems that things have gotten a little out of hand over the past 20 years.  And it is time to get it under control.

There is no telling what I'm going to find.

Because so far I have come across a brand new Yoga VHS tape for pregnant women , a large container of Billy Cosby-esque bulky sweaters ( can't believe Kev wore them and won't allow for them to be worn again), and a disco ball.

It's going to be quite the project.

Never Enough Pumpkin

Today was SUCH a productive day!  I love days like this - especially because they come so few and far between.

I have so many events going on over the next couple of months and I am trying to do every thing that I can to be proactive and get some things checked off my to-do list.

Like eating a ridiculous amount of fresh bread.

It seems that is all my body has been craving.

Maybe this post title should say "Never Enough Bread".

There is always something that I am craving.  I will eat it constantly for weeks - and then I am pretty much over it. 

At least until I get the craving for it again.

I've gone through two loaves in two days - granted Kev helped me with some of it and I used some of it for recipes... but still.

Good thing it is gone.  And I don't have another scheduled grocery trip for a week.

But then there is the ongoing craving that I have for pumpkin.  This time of year makes me so happy because there are PLENTY of pumpkin recipes and food items to choose from. 

And I can incorporate it in to my meal plan just about every day.

And it is even  better when it is pumpkin + bread.  Because then all my cravings are met.

Look what was waiting for me upon my return from Syracuse...

I think my eyes just about popped out of my head when my friend, Chelsea, surprised me with this bread!

She said " I know you don't eat bread that much ( um... except for this week) but I saw this and I had to get it for you".

Chelsea knows me SO well!!

I'm so thankful to have her as a friend!  ( For many reasons... not just because she knows my food obsessions.)

I immediately started brainstorming what I could make with the bread - besides my every day breakfast of eggs on toast ( which was excellent together, by the way)

And then I came up with French Toast.

( Yes, I realize that French toast is still eggs + toast... but in my mind it is totally different from what I usually eat!)

French toast is one of those things that I love the concept of.   I love the taste of it. 

But I'm not very good at making it. 

And I usually would rather have something a little more savory for breakfast.

But this stuff was PERFECT for French toast.  Pumpkin + spice + vanilla + a little salt. 

Delicious.

But being such big eaters... I knew that we would need a little something more to go with our meal.

So, I decided to do some fruit.  In the form of soft serve ice cream.

Please don't base your opinions of my idea on the picture - because it doesn't do it justice. 

Basically, I cut up some bananas and froze them overnight.  Then I microwaved them just a TAD to get them a little bit soft and threw them in the blender.

In a couple of minutes you have banana soft serve.  Nothing else added.  Just pure banana!  And it is cold and creamy and scrumptious!

It also melts REALLY fast - as in it slid right off of the toast in the time it took me take my lens off of the camera.  Kev had to jump in and put it back together.

We topped it with walnuts.  And I believe that Kev even put a little maple syrup on his.

And then preceded to have a taste explosion in his mouth.

It was such a fun and "out of the ordinary" dinner - and the perfect way to serve the bread.

If you like pumpkin + bread and you see this in the store - GET IT!  It is limited edition and won't be around for long.

In other news... my workouts have been WAY OFF since the half marathon.  I'm having a hard time getting back in to a routine.  However, I took the BEST spin class today!  The gym got new bikes... I remembered my spin shoes... and all was right with the world.

I'm planning to write a post about "working out - post race".  And tell you all about the new fitness classes that I have coming up soon.

It seems that somebody went a little Groupon crazy this year. - ME!