Friends. I am struggling with a dilemma. I have so much I want to blog about, and not a clue where to start. I finally FINALLY have time again in my life to post more consistently…but I have so much material, I get frustrated every time I open Live Writer and end up just abandoning it all! So what do you want from me (whatdya want from meee ß adam lambert style..)?? Wedding pictures? Recipes? Random daily musings?

Back when I started this bloggy o’ mine..almost TWO WHOLE YEARS ago!!!..it basically was diary style documenting my daily eats and shenanigans. Then I got busy with work and bored with writing about my life (wake up, eat an egg sammy, go to work, have a salad, go to gym, go home, eat dinner, sleep, repeat…yadda yadda), so I started saving up posts for the SPECIAL recipes. Aka, I would go two or three weeks with no posts, because who cares that I made chili and was eating it for dinner four nights a week? But, about once a month, I could share a recipe and (sort-of) pretty pictures, and leave it at that.

Then came engagement. And wedding planning. And a new job. And wedding. And honeymoon. So, basically, a year of eating out way too much, celebrations on the weekends, going NON.STOP, and not having time to even get my oil changed (TJ EAR MUFFS!!!) let alone take and edit pictures and get creative in the kitchen.

Now, suddenly…life has returned to normal. Well…as normal as it can be?! And I feel lost here with my precious space on the internetz. I don’t know what voice I want to write with, or what content people actually care about. I think friends and family like hearing what I do with my days..and I think strangers & blog friends like the recipes…?? Maybe? Sigh. So, on that note…I will take any and all advice or opinions! And I THANK YOU with all my heart in advance.

So, since it would be extremely UN-SavoringSarah-like to post without pictures, here are my Five Friday Facts.

1. Remember my hint at a new addition to the family?

Yeah, we have been having…ah-hem…issues with mice and CHIPMUNKS in our house, so we got a kitty! Her name is Addie, and she already rules the roost.

She is sweet and cuddly and I don’t know how cats seem to NEVER sleep. Holy moly. We had a cute little collar on her with a cute little bell. That lasted about….half a day.

2. Have you ever heard Peter Lee Johnson? I.am.OBSESSED!!!

3. I have a serious problem, and it is called “Can’t-Take-A-Serious-PhotoItis”. Yes, that is a real word and a debilitating problem, in my opinion.

Exhibit a:

Exhibit b:

Exhibit c:

Exhibits d, e, f, etc etc etc:

What the..!??! Anyone else struggle to find pictures of yourself looking nice and actually SMILING? Hmph.

4. So, speaking of the aforementioned “egg sammy” and chili for dinner for months on end…I clearly have a problem where I find something I like and I do not stray until I literally cannot fathom tasting it again. Current breakfast obsession…inspired by this:

But, ummm, hello, 35 cal and 6g of sugar per tbsp, not to mention a long list of scary sounding ingredients? No shanks.

This is my version. It tastes like a straight up almond joy milk shake. Holla!

2 scoops chocolate Sun Warrior + 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk + 1.5 tsp almond extract + 1 tsp coconut extract + ice…BLEND…=

5. I have been WOD’ing in a box.

Yes, I did intend for that to sound dirty. BUT you savvy folks might know exactly what I am referring to…crossfit!! TJ’s coworker Kurt dragged me to a new (the only??) crossfit gym in town, and I.am.ADDICTED!!

If you have never heard about crossfit- read more here or here. But, basically, CrossFit is a broad and inclusive program encompassing the standards you would expect; weightlifting, body weight exercises, and traditional cardio. However, $h!t gets bananas because CrossFit also calls for Olympic lifting (explosive movements that test strength, not endurance), climbing, throwing, basic tumbling, and gymnastics. It utilizes both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Isolation movements have no place here, the focus is on whole body, functional movements that occur in activities of daily living. Everyday is a completely different combination of moves & skillsets.

Aka. It rocks. And after every WOD (workout of the day), I want to cry/puke/be carried home. But then, by the next day, I am ready to go back for more.

ring dips. deceptively difficult.

Alright kiddos, now that you know way more than you probably wanted to about my life and the way my brain works, I am off. Got a doctor to get prodded by, I MEAN…. visit, then it is the WEEKEND!!! I hope you have a great one!!

This is one of my GO-TO recipes when we go to parties and need to bring a dish. It looks like pizza, so people immediately go for it. The onions- sweet from being caramelized in Sherry wine- pack a pinch of heat from the cayenne. The tangy and creamy goat cheese makes believers out of even the most picky eaters. This also works great on baguette, as a crostini.

You simply must try this (and…you’re welcome!).

Lots of pantry basics-

A large onion (sliced vertically)..

Cayenne Pepper..

Sherry Cooking Wine..

Golden Raisins..

Flatbread. I cheated and used a boxed mix. Use your favorite pizza crust recipe  or favorite premade pizza crust (Trader Joes, Spartan Brand, etc)..

Goat Cheese..

The end!

Okay, there a few steps involved. But easy ones! Like, caramelizing onions. The *key* to this is LOW heat and PATIENCE!!! Don’t stir them until they start to turn golden- the longer they are in contact with the bottom of the pan, the sweet they will get. So, ban your impatient, frantic stirring husbands from the kitchen..ah-hem..love you TJ!!

So, start with SLOWLY sauteeing your beautiful, crisp white onion.

After about 15-20 minutes, you will have slightly golden onion slices. NOT THERE YET!

About 45 minutes later, they will be completely golden. This is when you want to crank the heat up to medium, add in your Sherry, Cayenne, and Raisins.

Since you have 45 muintes to caramelize your onions, you have PLENTY of time to prep your flat bread. I took the easy way out lovingly made my box mix, with came out of the oven looking golden brown and herbacious. The “Mediterranean” herb mix was just onion, garlic,  oregano, basil, fennel, thyme, chili pepper, marjoram. Yum.

Smeared generously with goat cheese…

and topped with the onion & raisin blend.

Slice, serve and enjoy. These are great cold or room temp. If you put HOT onions on top- the bread can get soggy and the cheese goes running off the bread. Messy. Still tasty, just not as easy to eat.

Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Golden Raisin Flatbread

1 large onion, sliced vertically

2 tbsp Sherry

1/4 tsp cayenne

2/3 cup golden raisins

1 flatbread, prepared as directed

6 oz goat cheese, room temperature

1. Heat your pan to low. Add your onion, and let cautee for about 15-20 minutes. gently stir onions every 10 minutes until total time is about 45 minutes, and onions are a deep golden brown. If your onions begin to stick to the pan, add a tablespoon of water to keep them “loose”.

2. After onions are caramelized, turn heat up to Medium. Add Sherry, cayenne and raisins & immediately remove pan from heat. Stir & let mixture sit until cooled.

3. Spread your flatebread with the softened goat cheese & top with the cooled onion mixture. Slice into desired size & shape and serve.

Our WEDDING!!!

Honeymoon at Excellence Riviera Maya

Wine Fest

2 TC Restaurants

3 new recipes

and an addition to our family…but it is NOT what you think, okay!?!?

So, until I can go there, why don’t you take a moment to check out the amazing emotional ridiculous fantabulous WONDERFUL pictures taken by our crazy rad superduperific photographers, Bryan and Mae. They gave us a sneak peak on their blog.

AND because they did such an crazy good job capturing the best day of my life (I am a walking cliche, I know..)….today, we were featured on Style Me Pretty, aka *THE* *ULTIMATE* wedding blog!! UNREAL! Someone pinch me!

I shall return with more eye candy for you, friends!

Love,

The MRS!

Feels like just yesterday TJ was dropping to a knee on Grand Traverse Bay…!

And now, we have just three days left until the BIG day! So, when I came across this while perusing a DIY wedding & crafts blog, I thought it would be interesting to see how our wedding is going to stack up, when compared to the average American wedding.

Even though we did not get in engaged in December (most popular month for engagements), we actually HAD originally chosen a date in June (most popular month to be married). That all changed when TJ’s sister announced she was pregnant and due just 2 days before the date we chose. So we threw out June with hopes of allowing everyone in TJ’s family time to recover from the arrival of a new babe. Speaking of….

He made it in time for the wedding!!

Okay back to the facts…here is the break down:

SO, for the most part, in all the “typical” costly categories, we fell WAY below average. I attribute this to the ungodly amount of DIY projects, and the sheer dumb luck of knowing a lot of wonderful people willing to help us out…and considering how many more guests we are expecting compared to the average..we have done a wonderful job!

And on that note….I have to go try and finish all my last minute projects.

Might be my last post as a MISS!! xoxoxox
 

Um, RIGHT?! Another division of our health department is the County Animal Control. They know what a softie I am for pooches, and always bring by the sweet cuties so I can try to matchmake them. UGHHH I WANT HIM!!! Anyone need a super sweet, golden/basset mix?!

2. Speaking of work. This week was semi-exciting. We had a full scale exercise with the post office, enacting a (FALSE) scenario in which the processing plant detects anthrax. I was the media wrangler. Super fun to get out of the office. Not to mention the boat loads of men in uniform doing manly things. UHHH I MEAN….EAR MUFFS TJ!!!

3. Currently in first place for my most ridiculous/most awesome wedding related purchase.


500 vintage matchbooks. I die. You will have to wait and see what these babies are for

4. I went on a barcrawl last weekend. Technically I won. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

You MUST watch this video, if you haven’t seen it yet..!!

5. Serious face on. I have a friend from my FRESHMAN year of college who is bicycling from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego Argentina at the end of June. (He also is a kick ass photog, with a super sweet blog)

WAYYY back from 2003! Check out that sweet homemade hemp choker I rocked. And my nose ring! SNIFF! I MISS IT!

ANYWAY- It’s a two year journey and he will be documenting and sharing actions of peace in communities with photography and through discussion. When the journey is complete, he will continue to share through film and discussion what they learned about peace building in the Americas. It’s a really REALLY awesome project, and I support it 100%. I think you should do the same.

He is running a Kickstarter campaign, you can check out athttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1389394718/bike-for-peace

Seriously, even $1 would help him towards attaining his goal! If you care at all about peace, our world, and the communities that make our nation what it is, please check it out. And if you blog, please consider sharing with your audience. Eric- I LOVE YOU, and know you are gonna do amazing things through this! I can’t wait to follow your journey. Literally.

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday!!!

4:45 am- wake up drenched in sweat. 88 degrees already?! Where am i?!? Yes, still in michigan. Phew. Shower. Lay back down under the fan and fall asleep in my towel and wet hair.

7 am- panic when I realize I need to leave for work in 15 minutes and I am not dressed nor is my hair dry.

7:30 am- portable lunch en route to work.

Sing Buri Cashews & Iced Coffee with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Money.

10 am- bowl of pineapple. juicyyyyyyyyy!

Noon: lunch with niki and Brigid at s’wiches. Salad bar. Spinach, baby corn, broccoli, artichoke hearts, peas, garbanzos, onion, pesto vinaigrette. Fan. TASTIC.

2:30 pm- Annie Chuns wasabi seaweed snacks. Obsessed. Seriously. Thin, crunchy, spicy, and then they melt in your mouth like those listerine strips. Except your mouth tastes like the ocean, not spearmint.

5 pm- date night. $2 chardonnay, Thai tuna tartar, pork tostadas at Firefly. Win.

And that, my friends, is an average day. Now I’m off to go enjoy and average sunset while I do more wedding crap I mean CRAFTS!

In case you were wondering what the heck I have been doing for the last month and a half…..it’s been things like….

Endless Wedding Projects.

Shoe flower clips.

Tissue Poms

Pinwheels

Invites.

Inspiration for our invite suite:

Yarn balls.

Dress Fittings.

That’s all you get until July.

Oh, and I trained for and completed my FIRST half marathon.

I maintained a 9-10 minute mile pace for 6 miles, then Niki jumped in and ran with me. She was going to jump out at the spectator spot on mile 10, but we never saw it. HA! So she ran the entire last half with me! I was keeping between 10-11 minute miles, and around mile 11 my knee started HURTING. PAIN. BAD. My last 2.5 miles took me over 30 minutes. Ouch. Overall, HAPPY with my time!

This series cracks me up. Niki and I were born to run together.

Oh and we got our engagement pictures back. They kinda sorta rock. I swear I am not biased. Bryan and Mae are THE BEST!

MMMMM K, I hope that tides you over long enough. I blog you recipe NEXT week. Fo rilz! !

I have officially left my early 20′s and am coasting downwind into the land of mid – late 20′s. GAHHH!

26 candles = a really REALLY warm cake. Yowza.

Besides having a really awesome, random Tuesday night celebration (Fiance, you are the best at secrets, surprises, and celebrating my birthday. I love you), I thought it would be fun to look back at my 25th year, and highlight the things I am most looking forward to doing in my 26th year on this planet.

I celebrated spring by organizing my first progressive party, thanks to Buitoni.

We road tripped to Cedar Point and rode rollercoasters for 14 hours straight.

TJ and I stuffed ourselves silly at the Leland Food & wine fest

Kicked off Memorial Day weekend by mini golfing for ashs bday

Ran my very first 5k and got smoked by a 7 year old.

Enjoyed the Cherry fest wine pavilion

Bought my first road bike

Spent a weekend camping in celebrationg of “Wood-stach“

Went to the 2nd annual Healthy Living Summit  in Chicago!

Enjoyed First annual Paella in the Park  & music by Blues Traveler

Catered 2 events!!!!!

4th annual Paradise camping trip

Became a TRIATHLETE!

Tried my hand out at wedding photography for BFF KATE!

Got engaged…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spent a week in Vegas

Ran my 2nd 5k 9 hours after returning from Vegas…in a wedding dress!

Drank boatloads of wine and toured a Mac & Cheese cookoff

And now, my list of things to kick butt doing this year:

Running my first half Marathon!!!!

WEDDING. Duh.

Our wedding is going to have people saying “Duke and Duchess who???”! Okay…maybe not…

HONEYMOON !!!!

And other various goals:

Complete another tri.

Improve my photography skills.

Excel at my new job.

Start house reno projects.

Cook at least 4x a week.

Blog at least 2x a week (probably not viable until after wedding…)

Golf a lot.

Enjoy our Jet Skis!

Spend more time with family.

Run more often with dogs.

25 was a really really great year, but I think 26 is going to be the best yet. Here’s hoping!

Well, this week certainly has been interesting. Monday, Niki and I ran outside at the local park with the dogs. I am in the middle of my half marathon training, and my dogs were starting to show obvious signs of cabin fever. Jules just sleeps all day and hangs her head like no body loves her, and Jax…..well. He displays boredom on the opposite extreme of the energy scale. He goes BONKERS.

For instance, the other day he spent two solid hours chasing lights on the wall. First, he saw the lights.

OHMIGOD WUH IS THEY!?

He tried to stare them away.

WHY IZ U NOT GOIN NEWHERE??

He was perplexed/entranced.

IZ FEELING SLEEEEPPYYYY…..

And finally, he resorted to running in circles around the living room trying to get the lights to chase him. No luck, little guy….

IZ PROMISE IZ DONT BITEEEEE.

So anyway, we ran. 3.6 miles. Beautiful. Sunshine. Birds singing, rainbows glittering, unicorns prancing, the universe made me happy.

And then.

HAHA UNIVERSE TRICKED US!

The snow fell. and fell. AND FELL! over 8 inches. No mercy for the tulips budding….

or the birds. This robin was PISSED.

And so was I. Naturally, I coped the only way I know how. Through FOOD. I needed something to force images of sunshine, beaches, sunshine, warmth, sunshine, oceans, SUNSHINE….you get the idea. What feels more tropical and summery than fresh fish tacos?! I mean, besides tropical summery locations. Clearly I missed having a spring break this year. Sigh….

Fish Tacos with Creamy Avocado Slaw

1 lb firm white fish—I used Tilapia–

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne (more/less according to heat tolerance. I LIKE SPICY, remember..)

1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro

1/2 avocado

1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 small jalapeno

salt to taste

1 bag broccoli slaw or coleslaw mix

Corn (or flour) tortillas, salsa, more hot sauce as you please.

1. Pat your fish dry with paper towel and mix together seasonings. Sprinkle both sides with spice blend. Heat a couple table spoons oil in a pan over medium-high heat. 

2. In a bullet/blender/food processor, combine  cilantro, avocado, yogurt, lime juice and jalapeno. Blend! Salt as desired. Toss broccoli slaw with cream sauce, and let sit in fridge (15-30 minutes).

3. For fish- fry in oil ~4-5 minutes on the first side. Flip, fry an additional 2-3 minutes and remove to paper towel lined plate to drain.

Assemble tacos by layering fish, creamy slaw, salsa and hot sauce in a warmed corn tortilla. Stuff your face enjoy and imagine yourself in a seaside cabana while a sexy man feeds you far, far away from snow.

 So, dear friend, here is to 10 more years of…….

finding our passions in life…

being in love….

heartbreak…

good laughs…

helping each other up after we “fall”…

road trips…

girls nights…

spending time with our gang…

 bringing out each others fabulousness…

And just living our lives. Because my life is better with you as my friend and I love you so much!! xoxoxo