I Cho Cho Choose You

Ah...Valentines Day! It brings out so many emotions for people. Some gushy, some romantic, some jaded and some angry. Even though I know it is a consumer driven holiday, I love Valentine's Day. Its a nice little break in the norm to enjoy those around you. That can be spouses, friends or family...or pets. *insert another cute pic of the pup*

 
 The hubby and I have a tradition that is going strong from college. When we were freshmen in college he came down south to visit me for Valentines Day. We didn't make a reservation anywhere (rookie mistake) thinking we could just wing it. Well no luck. So we ended up ordering Chinese food and eating it on the floor of my dorm and we watched "10 Things I Hate About You". Moment of silence for Heath Ledger since he was one of my hubby's "man-crushes". (don't ask)

Any who, even though we don't always eat on the floor or watch the same movie, we usually get take out and chill in. So last night we did just that. We got Chinese food and ate it on our living room floor with a nice fire and we watched Justified (not the most romantic show but we are obsessed!). It was fun and relaxing.

But enough about our chill night. The more important question is: What did we get each other? Well we scaled back this year since we just went to Nashville and Christmas was a bigger venture. So I decided to make him his gift. I have been tagging these map ideas on pinterest and I loved the idea of doing something like that for us.

Originally from Crafty DIY by Michelle Greene

So first I decided what I wanted to highlight. The first time we met. The place we got engaged. Where we got married. And finally, our first home together. I google mapped them and then took a screen shot. I am sure there are easier ways to do this but this worked for me.

 

Then I drew a heart around them and made sure they were all the same size. I saved them in a PDF and printed them on card stock. My next step was cutting them out. I took my time and carefully tried to keep the red around the heart in tack. That was where the preview cut in.

Once I had them all cut out, I needed the right font. I choose Sofia font and typed up my sayings. I wanted them all to be connected so I started each one with Where:

Where we met, Where we got engaged, Where we tied the knot, and Where we made our home. 

After that I just laid them out on a 11X14 frame, figured out what layout I wanted, taped them down (since i was out of glue) and viola.

Here are some close up shots:

I love it. It means a lot to both of us and the best part is that I made it for him so it makes it extra sappy. :)

As for me, Tim proved once again that he is really good at listening to me. Enter his gifts

A shoe rack! I have been using a broken small show rack as basically a place for me to pile my shoes on. It wasn't working and I was always frustrated. I'm so happy he got this for me. I am thinking maybe of painting it a fun color. Any thoughts? He also got me some great cooking things. I know these will definitely come in handy in the kitchen.

 A Cupcake plunger so  I can make cupcakes with filling! I can't wait to use it.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17413783

And an awesome chopping board and scooper. I know I will probably use this this week.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18591855

All in all it was a great relaxing night. What did you do for Valentine's Day? Did you just relax at home and just veg out? Or did you hit the town with friends or your significant other?

A little bit country and a whole lotta denim outfits

I tried being sneaky. It failed. While I went on a little vacation which I will get to later, I tried posting from my phone and it didn't quite work. The dates came out wrong. So in case you missed my sneak peak for later this week, here it is.

Now I can't wait to tell you about my awesome little getaway with my hubby to Nashville. I spoke on Wednesday about jet setting there thanks to a Christmas gift Tim gave me and we had a blast. We landed in Nashville on Thursday night. After we checked in to our hotel we decided to hit Broadway St. which is home to every major country bar you can think of. We went to Rippy's BBQ and enjoyed some delicious pulled pork and listened to a great country cover band. We had a blast even though we were a little tired from traveling all day.

We ended up listening to the band later into the night since they were pretty solid and decided to sleep in a little the next day. Friday morning we woke up and decided we needed to find a hidden treasure in Nashville. So we checked foodnetwork.com and did a map search of local places that someone from the food network went to. Here we found Arnold's Country Kitchen where Guy from Diners, Drive In and Dives went. And it did not disappoint.

It may look a little rough around the edges inside but the food is amazing and the people are so nice. In fact, coming from the Northeast, its amazing to be surrounded by so many polite and friendly people all the time. It was a nice change of pace. Don't get me wrong. I love the North. I have lived here all my life but sometimes we can be a little impatient.



Fried Catfish, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy are just some of the delicious food we enjoyed there. I highly recommend it when you visit Nashville.

After our bellies were full we decided to hit the Ryman Auditorium, the original home to the Grand Ole Opry and the mother church of country music. They are currently refinishing the floors so we got in on a discount and it was amazing to be in such an iconic place.

This is us sitting in the best seats in the Ryman. Its amazing that it is pew seats and they still use this method in the new Grand Ole Opry house. But more on that later... Here are some more highlights from the Ryman tour.

I love the classic style posters that they still use for current concerts. Here I am next to one of my favorite performer, Keith Urban. *swoon*

After we finished touring the Ryman we actually did something surprising...we hit the gym. I am trying really hard to get in shape and so is the hubby so we hit the gym for a quick run and then got ready to head to the Grand Ole Opry.

Before the concert we headed backstage to see what happens behind the scenes.

We got to see some of the dressing rooms. They each have a theme and I loved seeing some of the ways they decorated them to incorporate classic country looks with glitz and glamor.

That was the songwriter room. Legends line the walls and comfy leather couches and posh orange chairs keep things rich and comfortable.

I can't remember this one's name but its a Women in Country theme room. Classic women country stars line the walls and a plush blue couch screams comfy and girlie.

This is the Rock n Roll themed dressing room. There are many decorating decisions that I would never have in my house but I guess I am a little more country and a little less Rock N Roll. haha (corny, I know)

If you ever visit the Grand Ole Opry, I recommend taking the back stage tour. It was awesome. You got to see what its like back there and you even get to walk on stage and stand on the 6 foot circle of original flooring to the Ryman where people like Johnny Cash performed.

The concert was great. It's a live radio show as well so there are commercials and things constantly changing on the stage. It felt like everyone there had a backstage pass. And we had great seats. Here are some shots of the performers.

This is "The Farm." First time on the show and they did a great job.

Diamond Rio. They are best known for one of my favorite songs, "One More Day with You". They were great.

The main act was Josh Turner. He was so good. He has a great voice that melted all the ladies in the audience. He isn't bad on the eyes either. It was a great time.

We finished our trip on Broadway enjoying the music at Legends- this great bar with live music where many legends have performed. It was a blast and we even had a visit from a legend himself.

And as for the denim comment earlier. Let's just say that denim is not entirely out of style. There were many outfits solely made out of denim and people were rocking it. Many places had these displayed for sale as well and they were not cheap.

Hot. Well not really my style but they seem very popular. So that was our trip in a nutshell. We had a great time there and met some really great people and listened to some great music.

How was your weekend? While we had a blast, during the trip we also heard about Whitney Houston. Pretty sad. She had a killer voice. In her honor I will end with a classic song that will forever be remembered (in my mind) as her song.

Crazy Town

So I am a bit preoccupied this week. It might have something to do with the fact that tomorrow night Tim and I are heading to NASHVILLE! And of course I haven't packed or even done the laundry for that matter.

http://www.world-guides.com/images/nashville/map1_nashville.jpg

This weekend getaway was one of my Christmas gifts from Tim. He said it was really for both of us since neither of us have been there before. I'm excited because we are both country fans. In fact, when we met in high school (yes in high school!) Tim was very into country music and when we became friends and eventually dated, he got me into it. And we wouldn't be true country fans without visiting the Grand Ole Opry. We will be seeing Josh Turner sing. Have you ever heard him? His voice is smooth and crazy deep. Check out him singing here. I dare you not to hum or sway along.

http://www.countrymusictattletale.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/grand-ole-opry-concert1.jpg

We will be taking care of seeing all the music we can see and cramming all the BBQ in our mouths that we can find. But what else is out there? Has anyone ever been there? Any tips? Sorry I don't have much for you today but on Friday I will be leaking some sneak peak projects.

Now I have to address that whole laundry issue...

Sneak Peak

So while we are jet setting to the Nashville,  I thought I would show you guys some sneak peak projects coming up next week. I have been working on them this past week for valentine's day and a "I need to get on this project" (inspired by Sherry of YHL). I am actually not that bad at doing pinterest projects every once in awhile but this one is wayyy over due.

Okay, enough talking. Here are two sneak peaks.

Have a great weekend!

My most coveted recipe to date

In all fairness, I probably should have posted this before the Super Bowl but I didn't really think about it until game day. You can file this gem away for another event.

And, No- its  not my grandmother's sauce. It's my hot spinach and artichoke dip. I found it a few years ago and tweaked it to still be delicious but a little bit healthier. The best part is that it is soo easy to make. Its full-proof. So lets dive right in.

You know the drill- bring out the ingredients:

1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. light mayonnaise
1/2 c. of fresh mozzarella (but I usually add 1 c.), cubed *not pictured*
1-2 tsp. minced garlic
1-14oz. can of artichoke hearts (quartered)
1- package of frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

Ready for how easy this is?

Preheat the over for 325 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together and put in a shallow glass dish. 9X13 works best.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes and you are done.

This is sooo good. I love it. Even using healthier ingredients like nonfat sour cream or light mayo doesn't matter. It's still cheesy and delicious.

For all of you calorie counters out there, if 8 people ate this batch, it would be about 160 calories a serving. Not bad at all for delicious dip!

Did you eat some delicious dips yesterday? Which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite? Personally I thought they were not very funny this year but I loved the Volkswagen one with the dog getting in shape. How about Madonna? I didn't think she was bad. I love me some Madonna so I may be biased. I hope I look like that at her age.

The dreaded "boob light"

In the effort of full disclosure, this happened awhile ago but since I said that this blog was to include all of our accomplishments in the house, I think this needs to go in there. You see, when we moved in, our entire house was lit with these.

The dreaded Boob light. (And don't try to tell me that you don't think of a boob when you see it. Common!) Most of our house is still lit with these but I knew that I wanted to change out our master bedroom for a ceiling fan light. I know this isn't exactly the most popular decorative style but when you are married to a man that is heated like Jacob from twilight, you learn to love fans.

I don't exactly have the entire process but I know it started with removing the boob light and accessing the electric wires. (Of course this was done with the power off to ensure safety)



You can see the dirt ring from the boob light. Luckily that wiped off. Tim did all the electrical. It wasn't easy. Wire are finicky. Especially in a house you are still getting used to. In fact, our bed was looking like this for awhile.

This is a sneak peak into our bedroom by the way. I have yet to take an updated picture of it. After Tim finally got the wiring figured out (it may have taken a few tries) he started to put the fan together.

See what I mean about Jacob. He is costantly running at a warm 100 degrees. It's great in the winter for snuggling on the couch. :) In the end the fan was perfect for cooling us off at night during the warm summer nights.

What I love about the fan is that it was simple but such a big improvement from that dreaded boob light. Plus the browns from the wood in the fan highlights our shades and furniture set. It also works well with the green walls. All in all an A+.

So what little projects have you done that makes you giddy with pride? Do you have as many boob lights as we do. One down- Five more to go. I know Timmy was excited to have this checked off his list and we were both grateful for the airflow.

Grandma's meatballs with a healthy twist

*I have to say that this weather is crazy! It is already over 50 degrees here. It is going to hit the 60s. It is February 1st in Philly- right?!*

In my very first post I introduced you all to my Grandma Caroline.



I have her to thank for my awesome eyebrow arches (its more awesome than you realize) and my strong healthy nails (also another trait that I now have come to really appreciate). She is the reason that I love cooking anything Italian....or just anything in general really. She has always supported me no matter what. She even tried to teach me patience but that is an uphill battle.

Over the last couple of years she has taken a well deserved break from cooking but when I was growing up I remember staying in the kitchen while she would cook all day on Sunday. When she went into the dining room to set the table I always snuck a piece of Italian bread in her gravy. (Italian's way of saying sauce)  I am still grateful for my childhood metabolism otherwise I would have been a million pounds after visiting her. Her food wasn't always figure friendly but I have tried to make small tweaks so that its a little better for you. But enough strolling down memory lane, lets get down to the food.

These are my grandma's meatballs (tweaked). Dont worry-For all of you that want to go full force Italian, I will also put what my g-man usually uses. Now-grab all your ingredients.

1 pound of 93/7 Ground Turkey (or 1 lb. of mixed veal, pork, beef)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 slices of stale smart white bread (or Italian bread)
a splash of red wine
1 or 2 tsp of locatelli cheese
parsley, basil, salt and pepper (to taste)
*not pictured* healthy chicken broth (or regular chicken broth)

First step is to toast the bread if you don't have stale bread. Then break it apart and soak it in a little bit of chicken broth. Just enough to get wet but not drenched.

Then mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix well. I use my hands but you can use a fork if you want. Next heat a large skillet. I used healthy cooking spray but you can use oil. While it is heating start forming the meat into balls to brown in the skillet.

Will you look at that demonstration technique. I am a natural Vanna White. I muse have missed my calling. :)

After they have browned, place in your favorite sauce (I use my grandma's recipe but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to give that one up yet), cover and simmer for at least 45-60 minutes. After that, they are good to go.

Yum! I love them and so does Tim. We worked out the healthier recipe and if you make 16 meatballs the calories come out to 70 per meatball. Not too bad for the size of them. They are so filling too.

So try it out and let me know how it goes! Have you made over any recipes so they are a little easier on the waistline. I have made that my latest mission in the steps towards being healthier.