Till Then Smile Often

Friday is the Spice of Life!

Seriously is it really Friday!?! Heck yeah! Ok I have a little confession I have seriously been slacking in the workout department this week. I am going to try and use this weekend to get back on track and I hope you will hold me accountable.  So check in with me on Twitter, Facebook or Email and call me out on whether or not I worked out yet! Let’s Goooooo!

  Linking up for BackthatAzzUpFriday!! This song brings back so many memories of my freshman year at Ohio State and my friend Chelsea and I dancing in the clubs to this song. We would dance our A$$es off. We dropped it low, and had a blast! Here’s to Chelsea, freshman year, Steeb Hall, Ohio State University, and 18 and up bars on High Street!

 

P.S. To my Dad if you are reading this I never went to above said bars, I was studying.



It’s OK Thursday!

I can’t believe it is Thursday but I also can’t believe it’s not Friday. After being sequestered in a Continuous Improvement event at work I am completely and utterly drained and that is OK!

Its Ok Thursdays

It’s OK that I would rather be sleeping than working today!

It’s OK that I have 188 blog posts that are unread. I will catch up soon.

It’s OK that sometimes I feel like a complete failure at life.

It’s OK that when I leave in the morning I feel really guilty, Seamus gives me to most seriously depressing puppy dog sad eyes.

It’s OK that I am looking forward to getting together with by BFF’s this weekend for a Girl’s Night!

It’s OK that I have to read in the morning in order to wake up. Anything to procrastinate getting ready for work.

It is OK that I totally want to change my Blog design AGAIN! Oh Boy!

What are you OK with today?

Linking up with Neely and Amber.

Taste of Tuesday : Watermelon Sangria and Salad

It is no secret that Sangria is one of my favorite sunny day drinks and what does well with warm weather days??? Watermelon, of course. I tried to search Pinterest for a recipe but didn’t really find any combinations of flavors that was grabbing me so I decided to create my own concoction.

Watermelon-Sangria

Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio) ~ 1 (750ml) bottle of Moscato (white, pink or red is fine) ~ 1/4 of a whole seedless watermelon ~ lemon ~ lime ~ 7-Up, Sprite, or lime seltzer (I went with 7-Up)

Directions: Cut up your watermelon into cubes and place in a pitcher, add white wine and Moscato and refrigerate for at least an hour or longer. Once ready to serve pour mixture into a glass halfway then top with 7-Up and add a lemon and lime slice for flavor. Then drink till you’re awesome!

Watermelon Sangria

Since I like you I will share another quick recipe! This is a refreshing salad that is good for you, but also great for entertaining too!

Tomato Plum Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients: 1 Large Tomato ~ 2-3 Plums ~ 1 Fresh Mozzarella Ball (Oval Shaped) ~ Chopped Basil Leaves

Dressing: 1 TBSP White Balsamic Vinegar (I used a Fig infused White Vinegar – AMAZING – found it at stop and shop) ~ 1 TBSP lemon juice ~ 1 TBSP EVOO ~ Pinch of Sea Salt and Fresh ground pepper, 1/4 tsp of crushed garlic  * Serves 4 – 1 cup serving size

Directions: Slice the plums, tomato, and mozzarella into slices and arrange on the plate. Mix up the vinegar, lemon juice, EVOO, sea salt, pepper, garlic with a whisk and drizzle over the plate and garnish with the basil.

I can see this paired with chicken sausage, Chorico, Linguica, or an egg white omelet. It can also be a stand alone appetizer for guests. The original recipe can be found here. It originally called out for peaches but it seems to be out of season so I substituted the plums. If you are not a fan of mozzarella you could also use crumbled feta, goat, or blue cheese. I plan to use the dressing for all my salads from now on, so light but a little spice to it too.

Enjoy!

Linking up with Jessica and Ashley.

Weekend Update – Extended Edition

I want to say that this 4 day weekend was glamorous, spent in a plush Bed and Breakfast while a svelte god fetched me drinks and cooked my meals but that would be so wrong. I really took the time for a mental break from work, and to tackle the multi-page to-do list that I had going on for too long. Owning a home, is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Thursday was a fairly laid back kind of day. I did a few chores around the house and then went for a hike. I love this place since it is local (only 5-10 minutes from my house).

Hiking Trails

Figured I would shove this picture in to prove that Seamus doesn’t sleep all the time. 😉

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I got an amazing salad from Whole Foods (I did not know how many hot dudes shopped there, for real).

Salad

Friday was a very scary day. I woke up and checked my work email and found out the office was closed. One of the Boston Marathon bombers was killed in Watertown and the younger brother fled which is the next town over from where I work. Needless to stay I spent most of Friday glued to the news channels and checking social media for updates. You would think I would get house chores done, but you would be wrong. I sat like a bump on a log flipping channels like a mad woman. Needless to say the psycho was caught!

2013-hide-and-seek-champions

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I did get out to do my part to help and donated blood.

blood-donor

Saturday seems like a total blur it may have something to do with the Watermelon Sangria I made but that was later in the evening.

Watermelon Sangria

I stopped at Starbucks thanks to a gift card I received but it was really horrible. We are Dunkin Donuts girls in the Northeast. Did a lot of shopping for nothing specific (pet store, library, target, and Wal-Mart). I organized my kitchen cabinet that I use for my baking supplies. Put everything in Mason jars and made custom labels for each one. So much cleaner.

organization

Sunday included yard work, grocery shopping, long walk with Seamus and then off to my hometown for my Brother’s and my nieces birthday. Yup they share a birthday, how cool is that!

birthday-party

This weeks smile board – Boston Strong

Smile Board

This weeks nail color – Plum Luck by Sally Hansen

Plum Luck

My four day weekend didn’t feel half as long as this post. Sorry!

Linking up with Sami at Sami’s Shenanigans and Leann at Join the Gossip .

Also linkin up with Postcards from Rachel and Northern Belle Diaries.

You can follow me through Bloglovin’ here.

A Heavy Heart – Boston Strong

I can’t tell you how much everything going on in Boston is effecting all of us in Boston. Growing up here and going to Boston for all major events, friends who went to college in the city, it is just is so hard to see what is going on in the news. My office today was closed as Waltham is the next town over from where the first suspect was killed after a shout out. The people of Boston are so proud to be from here, we are such a strong community and we will prevail. I am hoping that this second suspect is taken into custody without anymore victims. I have complete faith in the Boston Police and all other first responders.

 

boston-strong

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Dear friends and family: In case I don’t say it enough, I love you all so much. I am so grateful to have you in my life. Dear Seamus: Thank you for allowing me to hug you so tightly today and your puppy kisses. I am sure it was annoying at times. Dear Boston Police and First Responders: I can’t thank you enough for all the you have done in responding to the attacks, to springing to action to help all those hurt on Monday. For tracking and finding one and on the hunt for the to brothers who caused the attacks. My heart goes out to you for all you have done. Dear Present and Past military: Thank you for your service, you are always in my heart. I am sorry if any of these attacks have caused you pain. I know some have had flashbacks and I am sorry that you have to go through that at all. Dear Fellow Bostonians: We are Boston – We are Strong!

Please hugs those you love and let them know how much they mean to you!

Go on over to The Sweet Season for the linkup!

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