Till Then Smile Often

August 25, 2014

Unofficial Fat Day

Today is Monday but I am not at work. I am actually watching my nieces for the day. I will be popping in from time to time though but bear with me if it takes me a bit to respond back. Getting to spend the day with them will be sure to be entertaining. Either way it is Monday and so my weekend shenanigan’s are here.

Friday: I decided to get some shopping down on Friday night so I could keep my weekend free. I started at Bed Bath and Beyond, then to the Christmas Tree Shop, then Ulta, then Old Navy, then Lowe’s. To say I was exhausted by the end would have been an understatement.

Saturday: After waking up slowly reading, I made the breakfast sandwiches I mentioned on Friday. They were perfect!! Melanie was right the pan is essential. You get the perfect size for the bread, and flat so it cooks evenly. Go make it!

I went to the hiking trails but the parking lot was full so I decided to drive around the back roads for a little bit before going back to hike.

I love the neighborhood since there are a lot of little farms. This one happened to have horses, cows, goats, sheep and even a water fountain. I really need to move to the country, that kind of landscape speaks to my soul. After the hike I went to Trader Joe’s for some pretty flowers thanks to Bianna for telling us about their flower selection.

The rest of the night was spent cleaning, reading, and snuggling with Seamus.

Sunday: It was a pretty laid back day filled with laundry and lots of baking. I made a few more egg sandwiches with ground Chorizo. Then I cooked some bacon in preparation for some recipe testing for a guest post. I made Bacon Bourbon Apple Fritters with a Bourbon Sugar glaze. It was a sweet treat and no way healthy so I had a banana for dinner! Haha! I of course had to make a recipe for this week for my blog so to make this an unofficial fat day I made Samoas Cheesecake.

I spent the night blogging and watching You’ve Got Mail. Perfect way to end the night.

How was your weekend?

Did you have a cheat meal this weekend? Tell me so I feel less guilty.

August 22, 2014

Friday Favorites | Walking Dead

I can’t tell you how excited I am for this weekend. It is the first in the longest while that I have no plans and can do nothing. I do have plans to go shopping at Ulta, go hiking, read, and recipe testing. Let me tell you it will be equal parts productive and equal parts lazy. Did you really expect anything less?!

Favorite Links: I don’t have kids at the moment but if and when I do Jana’s 12 Things I Don’t Do as a Parent would be my guide.The “every kid is a winner” and overly attentive helicopter parenting that too many parents have adopted would not be my style. Worth the read! Also with the world seeming to fall apart every other day, and social media seeming to be the place where everyone shares their opinion good, bad or ignorant Steph shared her take on the recent news stories like the Ice Bucket Challenge, Suicide/Depression and Ferguson Missouri. Very well written,

Favorite Song: Seriously I am becoming a country girl, I don’t know what it is but the boys are lulling me into the dark side. Never mind that they are pretty hot. This one features Billy Currington without a shirt on for most of the song. You’re welcome.

Favorite Shocking Moment: Darryl from the Walking Dead might be gay?! I am all for the gay community being fairly represented in mainstream TV, but what the heck. Darryl/Norman Reedus is our freaking eye candy on the Walking Dead!! Though who I am I kidding even if his character turns out to be gay, still going to drool over here. I fell in lust with him a long time ago in one of my favorite movies Boondock Saints, Irish accent yes please .

The Walking Dead: Could Daryl Dixon be gay?

Favorite Recipe: For the last few weeks I have been having the Special K Bacon, Egg and Cheese flatbread sandwiches for breakfast. Then the other day Melzie posted this sandwich to make at home. Duh?! Why haven’t I thought of this same money, and less calories too. Click on the picture for the post.

Favorite Funnies: Yes, I’m 5 years old but this made me laugh.

EVERY.TIME!!

Irony at it’s best!

I am entering the busiest time of year at work and I leave everyday exhausted and mentally drained. Sad part it won’t end till October 1st. This is me on most days, and the other days you’ll confuse me for an extra on The Walking Dead.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Linking up with Amanda

August 19, 2014

Spicy Beef with Cucumber Dill Sauce

After flipping through the Taste of Home magazine I came across Curried Beef Pita Pockets and it looked so good I just had to make it. I of course modified it a little bit to suit my tastes. The filling was where I made the most changes and I think it really worked. It was simple to put together and would hold up for leftovers too. As a side note if you can handle tacos you can handle this recipe. If you like more spice add some hot sauce to the filling.

Ingredients:

Filling: 1 Pound Ground Beef (I used 85% lean) ~ 1/2 cup diced onion ~ 1 cup corn ~ 1 TBSP Taco Seasoning 1/4 TSP Salt ~ Pita Pockets

Sauce: 1 cup Greek Yogurt ~ 1 cup Diced Cucumber ~ 1 TBS Minced Garlic ~ 1 TSP Dill ~ 2 TSP Lemon Juice ~ 1/4 TSP Salt

Directions:

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate up to 30 minutes before serving.

Brown the ground beef and onion in a saute pan.

Drain. Add the corn to the pan, mixing in the taco seasoning and salt and cook until the corn has softened approximately 4-6 minutes.

Spoon the filling into the pita pocket and top with the Cucumber Dill sauce.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Spicy Beef with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Ingredients

Filling:
1 Pound Ground Beef (I used 85% lean) ~ ½ cup diced onion ~ 1 cup corn ~ 1 TBSP Taco Seasoning ¼ TSP Salt ~ Pita Pockets
Sauce:
1 cup Greek Yogurt ~ 1 cup Diced Cucumber ~ 1 TBS Minced Garlic ~ 1 TSP Dill ~ 2 TSP Lemon Juice ~ ¼ TSP Salt

Instructions

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small ball and refrigerate up to 30 minutes before serving.
Brown the ground beef and onion in a saute pan. Drain. Add the corn to the pan, mixing in the taco seasoning and salt and cook until the corn has softened approximately 4-6 minutes. Spoon the filling into the pita pocket and top with the Cucumber Dill sauce.

August 18, 2014

Family Weekend

This weekend I got to enjoy spending time with my family so it was a win. It was a small family reunion with my cousins and my Aunt held at my brother’s house. The girls got to have fun and play together while the adults got to catch up. My brother and sister-in-law cooked some amazing food on the grill.

Fun times on the Hammock with the girls

Sisterly love:

I also help a stray pit bull who happened to find it’s way to my brother’s driveway. I walked it a couple of house down to return it back home. Good dead done for the day. It was an all day event since I left home at 1pm and I didn’t really get home until 7:30pm so it was an early night for me. After taking Seamus for a walk I read for a bit before heading to bed.

Sunday was a really lazy day. I wasn’t feeling all that well and in between walks with Seamus and grocery shopping I took two naps. I also read a lot since I didn’t feel like moving much but it was really good so I didn’t mind.

After trying out some new recipes it was a blogging kinda night while watching Witches of East End. Here’s to hoping this week goes by quickly since I finally have a whole weekend at home next weekend.

How was your weekend?

August 15, 2014

Friday Favorites | Feeling Blessed

This has been quite a week! It has been trying, busy, stressful….but like they say I’m too blessed to be stressed. Among the chaos I got some really great news, received an early birthday gift and got to laugh with friends either via text, email or on the phone. I also got a deal for $3.99 for a 24 pack of Sharpie markets, this sharpie addict is pleased. Let’s bring on the weekend with some favorites.

Favorite Happy Tears Moment: Remember when I talked about how someone nominated me for a grant for my Be The Change series. Well the person revealed themselves and not just that, she let me know I won!! I can’t thank Tori enough for thinking of me and for going through the process of submitting me for the grant. It warms my heart so much that she thought I deserved it enough to enter me in the contest. So look forward to some more Random Acts come late September. I have a lot of ideas already.

Favorite Tutorial: I am a huge fan of contouring for special occasions, it can really define your face. I have shared the tutorial from Aubrey which I have used, and loved but then I saw this one using NYX concealers that I am going to try as well.

Favorite Man Candy: As if Joe Manganiello isn’t the hottest guy ever this post comes out about his relationship with Sofia Vergara and how “He waits on her hand and foot.” *Cue all the ladies swooning* – For the full article click here.

Favorite Mail Day: I got home on Wednesday to a package, and I knew I didn’t order anything. When I opened it I got the best items. A new notebook for all my lists, some Washi tape (that Kathy is going to have to help me figure out how to use), and a headband which can be worn many ways. Shipping from Canada no less, it got here early because of unpredictable Canada postal service, but that makes it even more surprising. I meant the world to me Kathy, so thank you very much!

Favorite Funnies:

How I have been feeling lately after vacation, getting back to working out has been rough. Though I didn’t gain on vacation I do feel soft and smooshie.

Fat-Toad-Chet-weird-science-6348446-450-334

You may have noticed my Chorizo addiction from all my recipes lately like my Chorizo Nachos, this is why… j/k

I’ll be heading to my brother’s this weekend for a family get together and I know this applies to my nieces.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Tell me what you have planned?

Linking up with Amanda

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