NYC In A Day

Sadly, Andrew and I had to go to NYC last weekend for a funeral. The only upside to that trip was that we took a late flight out on Sunday and spent the day in the city. Here's what we did....

On the train into the city

Yay, we got to see my dear friend Briana!  She was kind enough to keep our luggage in her apartment as we went around the city.

Central Park

We rented bikes and rode all around the city.  Best part of the day.

View from the High Line

Babycakes cookie sandwich!

Fall So Far...

Andrew and I have fallen into a busy routine.  We would like to think that life will slow down.  But in the two years we have been married, we have always been "busy" and in some ways we just need to accept that this is our life.

Do you feel as thought being "busy" is your excuse for a great deal of things?  I know it is in our life, and we are trying to figure out how to work on that.  As we ponder one of life's biggest questions in our marriage, here are some things that have been present in our household recently.  Along with some pictures from our trip to the beach for Labor Day.

A few fun things first....

-The best pumpkin muffin recipe, Andrew loves them!

-Pumpkin chocolate chip bars

-This salad looks delicious

-More Pumpkin!  Pumpkin Chai, thanks TJ!

-Mmmmmm pancakes


Ok, now some Pictures.

Cucumber Cooler

I was dying for a fun drink today.  One that was chilled, refreshing, healthy and tasty.  I found a recipe for a cucumber drink in one of my cookbooks called Super Natural Every Day.  I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I improvised and came up with this recipe:

1 cucumber, peeled

3 cups of ice

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of agave nectar (or honey)

3 leaves of basil

3 strawberries

Combine ingredients in a blender.  Enjoy!

*The original recipe calls for lime juice and honey, it did not have agave, basil or strawberries.  

Kale Waffles

Yes, it's true, we ate kale waffles for breakfast last week.  And let me tell you something, they were awesome!  Even Andrew loved them, which is saying something.  Thanks to my friend Shelley for sharing this wholesome and innovative recipe.  I also made a blueberry and peach compote to make the waffles a bit more special-- a.k.a-- we didn't have maple syrup or butter in the house.

The best part about this recipe is that you can freeze the waffles and put them in the toaster throughout the week for a quick breakfast.

Bundt Cakes Galore

Recently I went to an attic sale and purchased the cake pan shown above.  Now, I have an obsession with making bundt cakes.  Seriously, I have made three in a week and a half.  Yikes, I need help.

I have been using this chocolate bundt cake recipe from Joy the Baker.  If you have never looked at this blog, you certainly should.  The cake is delicious, but I did find one thing wrong with the recipe.  The first time I made it, the cake was way too dry.  The next time I added about 1/2 cup more of coffee and more chocolate chips and it was perfect.  

The third time I made this recipe (I know, embarrassing), I made a chocolate ganache to put on top.  It was decadent, but incredibly rich.  If you are a chocolate lover, I recommend, like Emeril would say "kicking it up a notch" with the ganache. 

Cash

There has been a new addition added to the family!  This sweet lovable pup, deemed Cash, joined our family a week ago.  He is some sort of Australian Shepard/Border Collie Mix, meaning he is extremely handsome.  Our house has exponentially been busier, but much more fun and active at the same time.  Boone is still adjusting...

Life

Here is a quick glimpse into our crazy lives the past two weeks... Basically all I have done besides work.

Super fast and delicious pasta recipe.

Mouth watering cookies- add chocolate chips!

The book I am currently reading.

Current series we are watching.

An alternative to alfredo.  Yes, more pasta.

Trying to think of an anniversary gift, year two.

And yes, already thinking about homemade Christmas gift ideas...

Newman Farms

We built a garden.  A raised bed to be exact.  Here is what we planted: Broccoli, radishes, spinach, carrots, and mixed lettuces.  It has only been a week, and we already have broccoli micro-greens!  If all goes well we should have some veggies for the picking by late fall.

Vacation

Me oh my, it has been a long time since my last post!  To catch you up on our life, we were away from July 3 to basically July 21, traveling all around the Carolinas. Two weeks ago, I officially took over my new role at work, so I'm putting in a lot of hours at the office.  Last Monday Andrew started his first class. Between studying and work, we have not had much time for anything else.

Now back to our trip. We started down in Figured 8 island with Andrew's family, and then our dear friends from Memphis came to the beach to visit us for the week.  Once our stay at the beach was over we headed to Lake James to spend a few days in the NC mountains with my family.  After arriving home for a day, I headed to HHI to spend the weekend with friends from Clemson.  It was a busy yet restful few weeks, but we are glad to finally get back into the routine of life. Here are a few pictures from our trip....

Beach Bound

This Wednesday Andrew and I head to the beach...woohoooo!

I couldn't be more thrilled because we have about two weeks worth of vacation back to back.  To be honest, this vacation is much needed after our recent move to Charlotte and all the transitions and stress that moved with us.

So I have beach on the mind, and here are a few things I have been thinking about....

A check list for the beach.

How to control my wild beach hair.

Nail polish.

7 tips for staying healthy while traveling.

Picture found here:

Father's Day

What did you do for Father's Day?  We had a pleasant visit and lunch with my parents, and brother, Greg.  My dad requested a lemon meringue pie, so that was my gift to him.

I used the recipe from The Back in the Day Bakery cookbook.  This adorable bakery is in Savannah, Georgia and the owners happen to be friends of Paula Dean...so you know it is both delicious/full of BUTTTTTTEEEERRR.

Happy Father's Day to my father-in-law!!  Sorry we didn't get to see you  :(

And thank you to my friend Shelley for providing the stache straws, they were the perfect addition.