My Favorite Things: Wedding Edition

On August 1st, last year, I married my husband, my best friend and the man of my dreams.  I can't believe it has already been a whole year.  Time has just flown by, but it has been one great year and I can't wait for many, many more to come.  

In honor of Brian and my first anniversary, I thought I would share some of my favorite things about our wedding.  After a whole year of planning it was amazing to see it all come together, but there were a few little details that stuck out to me that I loved.  I feel so blessed to have such wonderful memories, there are just so many, but these are just a few that I thought I would share!

My Favorite Things:

My sister and my bouquets!  They turned out just perfect!  I saw a picture of this in a really old bridal magazine and fell in love.  I just was head-over-heels for how it looks like one huge rose.  The concept went perfectly with my classic, elegant feel I wanted for my wedding day.

My Mom and Sis.  They are amazing and were especially wonderful on my wedding day.  I don't know how it would have been half-way as great if it wasn't for their help and support!  They thought of things I didn't even think of and were there for me through every little bump along the way.

My cute daddy!  How handsome is his tux?!  Only my father would have his tux handmade in Italy and shipped to him for the wedding.  I loved that it was just me and my immediate family in the room when I was getting ready.  It made for such a special memory and allowed me to focus on every moment without any distractions.  My dad is always the one who keeps things in perspective and remembered my "something blue"!

All the Candles at my Ceremony

My Seating Card Table

Our Rabbi.  The man who really brought the whole day together and made it incredibly special!

Our Sweetheart Table.  It was exquisite and I was so impressed when I was sitting there at 

just how gorgeous it turned out thanks to our florist!

My father standing up on the chair during the hora!  Who does this!?  Love this picture!

My Sister's Maid of Honor Speech.  It was priceless and perfect in every way.  No other speech I have ever heard at a wedding compares.  Thank you Lizzy for making it so special!

My Wedding Planner (aka my Sister-in-Law).  The woman who made it all come to life and allowed me to be cool, calm and somewhat collected!

The whole wedding (Grandmother's included) taking a shot together!

Last, but certainly not least, my husband.  I wake up every morning and think to myself how grateful I am to just know him.  I feel like the luckiest woman to be married to him and feel so 

blessed to be so blissfully happy!  

Happy August 1st and Monday to everyone and I hope you all have a great week!

Greek Turkey Burgers

Been lovin' my grill lately!  The cleanup is so much easier and I really notice the difference in the temperature in the house.  My sister and mom are constantly making turkey burgers and I was kinda craving one.  The worst thing about typical turkey burgers is they are so dry and tasteless.  I still had some leftover artichokes and olives and decided to make some Greek Turkey Burgers.  The artichokes kept the burgers so moist and the fresh herbs from my patio garden amped up the flavor!

Greek Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb. Ground Turkey

1 egg

4-5 canned artichoke hearts, chopped 

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

1/2 cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used a combo of Thyme, Dill, Parsley, and Basil)

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Take the ground turkey out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before you are going to make your patties.  Preheat your grill to a medium heat.  Then combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with your hands until all ingredients are just combined.  Divide the mixture into 5 equal parts and press gently into patties.  They should be about an inch think on the outside and a little thinner in the middle.  Put burgers on the grill for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.  Serve with Buns and topped with hummus and tzatziki.

Enjoy!  Stay tuned for the greek salad recipe.  I was still impressed with these guys the next day for lunch as well!  Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Perfect Protein

As part of my post workout routine, I normally drink a protein shake or eat a protein packed breakfast.  I workout very early in the morning and can't stomach the idea of having the small protein filled snack experts say you are supposed to have, but the next best thing is eating within 30 minutes of your workouts culmination.  

The directions on the back of my protein powder can say to mix it with a little water and then drink it.  Well, I can drink it that way, but let's just say it isn't pleasant.  The powder refuses to dissolve completely with the water so you are left with little chunks when you are drinking it.  And, if you have ever tried protein powder before (it doesn't matter what kind) it has a weird aftertaste.  So, I had to find a way to make it more pleasant.  It has such great benefits and I really do think it boosts my workouts, but day after day, I can't take the chunky chocolaty protein powder water.  

This shake I created is protein packed, is full of healthy stuff and best of all tastes great!  You can use whatever fruit you want, but make sure to use bananas.  The blended frozen bananas create the best consistency.  It creates this creamy, decadent froth that you can't even believe comes as a plain old banana.  I like to freeze my own fruit, but you can use store bought if you want.  This shake keeps me satisfied for a long time and I look forward to making it every morning!

Chocolate Protein Shake

Ingredients

1/2 cup Fat Free Milk

1/2 Large Banana, frozen

1/2 Peach, Frozen

1/2 cup Blueberries

1/2 scoop Whey Protein Powder, Chocolate

Directions

Roughly chop banana and peach into chunks.  Pour milk into blender, then remaining ingredients.  Blend till mostly smooth and frozen chunks have been broken down.


What is your favorite post-workout meal?

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

I had house guests this weekend so I thought it would be nice to make some baked goods for the morning in case someone was hungry and I wasn't around to make breakfast yet.  Also, a can of pumpkin has been sitting in my cabinet since Thanksgiving and I have been wanting to use it.  Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins seemed like the perfect thing!

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour, about 6 3/4 ounces

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large egg

2/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped

cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking soda, and next 5 ingredents through cloves.  Stir well with a whisk.

Combine granulated sugar and next 5 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until just combined.  Fold in cranberries.

Place 12 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.  Spoon batter into prepared cups.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back with touched lightly in center.  Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on wire rack.

The best part is they are only 190 calories each and for a quick breakfast they are very moist and lovely.  I topped each of mine with 3 dried cranberries for a little garnish.  Unfortunately, the my kitchen light went out on Saturday so it was a little dark in there when I took this picture!  

New Treasure

Found these the other day and all I can say is that they are amazing!  They are the perfect little tools to put your hair up without 100 bobby pins.  98% of the time I blow dry and straighten my hair for work every day, but some mornings I am just fed up and want to put it up.  But, after all is said and done, the time I save blow drying and flat ironing is spent pushing in tons of bobby pins.  

These are the solution!  The box says they do the work of 20 bobby pins apiece.  I don't know how many they replace, but these two things held up my hair all day without readjusting at all.  The picture on the box is pretty boring looking, not that it is bad, but I like to get a bit more creative.  You can play around with them and after a few tries you can find something a bit more interesting.  

The directions that come in the box are really easy to understand and these babies are SO great.  You just turn them in and then at the end of the day twist them out.  That is the other thing with the bobby pins, then at the end of the day I spend 10 minutes taking out all the bobby pins.  I did have to use a couple to pin back some of my shorter layers, but other than that the Spin Pins do all the work!  

You can find them at Target or Walgreens.  

Do you have any favorite hair tools?

Pizza and a Movie

On Saturday night I was determined to make my own pizza with a pizza stone.  It was a little harder than I expected, but it was sure fun!  I have always wanted to make my own pizza on a pizza stone to make it taste like true wood fired pizza with the bubbly crust.  Nothing really is the same as pizza in Italy, but there are a few places here that come close.  Sometimes though, I would like to have my pizza in the comfort of my own home and have whatever toppings I want.  

This was my first time with my pizza stone, and I definitely need more practice with it, but below I have listed some of my dos and don'ts of pizza making on a pizza stone!  

Also, after racing through The Firm (book version) because I loved it so much and couldn't put it down, I was SO excited to rent the movie on our AppleTV and watch the book in action.  What a disappointment.  John Grisham is a best selling author for a reason and they totally hacked his work!  Switched around the story lines in detrimental ways.  Serves them right for getting such terrible reviews and ratings.  Seriously, I wish I could erase the whole thing from my mind because it was such a disappointment.  If you haven't read the book, you really should.  The movie was so awful.  

Ugh...thank goodness I had my pizza!!

My Toppings: Tomato Sauce, Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts, Turkey Meatballs, Black Olives, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Onion, Pineapple, Shredded Mozzarella and Fresh Herbs from my patio garden.  Obviously you can use whatever you want.  Yes, I put all that stuff on, I like it that way!

First order of business.  Put your pizza stone into your oven when your oven is COLD.  Then heat your oven to 450 degrees.  Leave it alone and start dealing with the dough.

It is important to have a pizza peel or something like it to make sliding the pizza dough onto the stone as easy as possible.  Make sure to sprinkle some flour and cornmeal on the pizza peel first before you put the dough on top.  Otherwise it will be so sticky and heavy you will never get it off.  Brush the crust with a little olive oil so it gets nice and browned. 

After you stretch or roll out the dough onto the peel, put all your toppings on.  It is vital that you spread out your toppings, sauce and cheese evenly.  Try to not to put too much in the middle of the pizza because it will make the center too heavy and soggy when baking.  

Remove the Pizza Stone from the oven using gloves for HIGH temperatures only.  Sprinkle some cornmeal onto the stone and gently slide the pizza from your peel to the stone.  

Put your stone back into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly!

Things I learned:

-Remember to put the pizza stone in a COLD oven

-Buy fine ground cornmeal

-Do not listen to a guy in the elevator about how good Trader Joe's pizza dough is.  I bought the wheat kind and didn't love it.  Next time I will make it myself or get some from a pizza place.  

-That I am not a professional pizza tosser and next time I should use a rolling pin to get the 

dough to the thickness I prefer.  

-My husband standing over me directing is not helpful.  

Especially when he doesn't know anything about pizza making.

-Making pizza is harder than I thought.

Hope this inspires you to try this out!  It really was a lot of fun, even though at times I was a bit frustrated because I wanted it to be perfect.  I will have to practice more and I am sure I will eventually get the perfect results.  My pizza was still excellent and I am very proud that I didn't burn myself.  That pizza stone gets extremely hot so be careful!!

If you have made pizza on a stone, leave me some tips!  I am going to try again soon!

Fun at the Fair

This past weekend my family went to the OC Fair!  Every year it seems to get bigger and we always have a ton of fun no matter who we go with.  They have tons of food stands, mostly advertising everything fried you can imagine, even fried butter!  Gross!  We tried almost everything from fresh roasted corn on the cob, ribs, chicken kabobs, Dippin' Dots and even mini cupcakes!!  

My favorite part is always all the rides, but this year, after my 4th of July Sumo Wrestling accident, my chiropractor has still not cleared me to go running so I am almost positive the carnival rides are out of the question.  So sad.  Instead, Brian was determined to win all the games and acquire numerous stuffed animals.  Where are we going to put this thing?! 

 

Hope everyone is having a great summer!