Silver Summer

Summer Nail Polish

Source: ThisNext (view)

Yesterday I went to the spa, and I treated myself to a fun summer color: Hologram by China Glaze. I love their colors. Here's the China Glaze website.

What's your spring/summer nail polish color?

I haven't done the blog challenge in awhile, so here it is. I think we were on Day 15.

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Blog Challenge Day 15: Something you don't leave the house without.

I am definitely one of those people who is glued to a cell phone. I have a blackberry, but I REALLY want the Droid 2.

I love how it has the touch screen, plus the full keyboard.

What do you always have with you when you leave the house?

Coming Soon: allisonKdesign

Coming soon! I love previews, don't you?

I have't decided if I'm sticking with this logo/banner or designing something new. I'll let you know :-)

Easy Star Weekend

This weekend has been a blast.

We kicked off Friday night by going to the Easy Star All Star Concert. Here's a song for your listening pleasure:




They put on an amazing show. Lots of energy and incredible talent.

After the show, I talked to the band members. They gave me a wrist band and signed my record :-)

Saturday, I went to Mackenzie Childs with my mom and grandmother. Their pottery just makes me happy.

The whole estate is really beautiful. We didn't have time to do the tour... next time....

Photos from Mackenzie Childs (view)

My Shows

Today's blog challenge was TV shows you are addicted to. Here are some of the shows I have loved over the last few years. Let me know what you like to watch :-)

Blog Challenge Day 13: Favorite TV Shows

Source:Byterology (view)

Source: Wikia (view)

Source: Popcrunch (view)

Source: Popcrunch (view)

Source: Movie-wallpaper (view)

Weekend Rundown

This weekend was all about relaxing, which is my favorite kind of weekend :-)

Last night Tim and I made Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu. It was delish. Here's the recipe:

Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu

Ingredients

                        1 box uncooked spaghetti

                        Tofu

                        1/2 cup vegetable oil

                        2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

                        1 cup shredded carrots

                        1 onion, sliced

                        2 cloves garlic, minced

                        2 cups fresh bean sprouts

                        1/2 cup chopped green onions

                        1 tablespoon cornstarch

                        1 cup vegetable broth

                        1/4 cup hoisin sauce

                        1 tablespoon soy sauce

                        1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

                        1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Stir Fry tofu in about ¼ cup vegetable oil (add more if needed). Cook on each side until golden (Should take about 10 minutes)
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain
3. Heat oil in a large wok or saute pan. Stir fry mushrooms, carrots, onion and garlic until tender. Stir in bean sprouts and green onions; cook one minute. Mix cornstarch and chicken broth in a small bowl and add to stir fry. Stir in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
4. Add cooked spaghetti, and toss. Serve immediately.

Source: Warm and Neat (view)

This weekend also included a 4 mile run.

Source: Puppy Training (view)

And lots of sleeping.

What did you do this weekend?

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Blog Challenge Day 12: A photo of the place you live

What I'm Carrying

Blog Challenge Day 11: What's in your purse

Love this gloss. It's good for your lips and looks pretty :-)

Bare Escentuals

Bare Escentuals

Loving this book

What's in your purse?

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Check out the giveaway on one of my fave blogs: Run On.

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Stretch and Strengthen Days

Usually, I hate "light" days or "strengthening" days on a workout plan. It's so boring, I usually skip it all together. But I recently discovered that Netflix has workout videos, and now strength training is a little better.

Yesterday I walked 1.5 miles and then did a yoga/pilates DVD. It was a pretty good workout!

What do you do on your light workout days?

Fro-yo

Blog Challenge Day 9: Photo of the last item you purchased

Source: JimmysDeals (view)

I am obsessed with Yogen Fruz. It's basically the same as Pink Berry or Berry Wild, if you have ever been to those frozen yogurt shops.

I went running yesterday, and then had frozen yogurt with fruit for lunch yesterday. Yummm....

What's your favorite thing to eat after a run or working out?

Run in the Sun

It's Sunny!! For the first time this season, we are going to hit 70 degrees here in Syracuse on Monday. It's supposed to be in the 60s all weekend, and I'm thrilled.

When the weather is bad, I run on my treadmill and watch TV shows on my laptop. But when its nice, I run outside and rock out to my iPod.

For today's blog challenge, I'm changing the prompt. The prompt was to write about a song that describes your mood. Here's what I'm doing instead.

Blog Challenge Day 8 and 13: All-Time Best Running Playlist

Here are some of my all time favorite running songs. This post was inspired by posts on running playlists from Hungry Runner Girl and Fitness Food and Faith. Speaking of other running blogs, check out the super cool giveaway on Pain, Pride, and Perseverance.

Running Playlist

In no particular order...

1. LFO: Summer Girls
2. Nicki Minaj: Super Bass
3. Everclear: Santa Monica (I listen to this when I run at the ocean in RI)
4. Sublime: Ruca
5. Sublime: Get Out
6. Goo Goo Dolls: Big Machine
7. Goo Goo Dolls: Naked
8. Modern English: I Melt with You
9. Dispatch: Bang Bang
10. OK GO: So Damn Hot
11. OAR: Lay Down
12. OAR: Right On Time
13. Girl Talk: Once Again
14. Girl Talk: Shut The Club Down
15. Lil Wayne: Ice Cream Paint Job

So happy that it's nice out!

Source: ImogenHeap (view)

Dream Wedding

Blog Challenge Day 7: Your Dream Wedding

I avoided this blog topic yesterday. As I'm already married, it doesn't really make sense. I finally decided to share the parts of my wedding that made it a dream wedding.

The Groom

The Dress

The Other Dress to Dance In

Cutest Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

They are Twins!

Table Numbers Printed on Boxes of Chocolates

Live Music During Dinner

Summer Romance Theme

Candles, Shooting Stars, and Summer Greens on the Tables.

A Station for Making S'Mores

Stargazer Lilies

Cake with Stargazer Lilies and Crystals

A Beautiful Day to Celebrate with My Best Friend

Vegetarian Paella

Last night I made Paella and I had to share it with everyone! It was so yummy!

Vegetarian Paella

Ingredients

1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) of olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 cups (32 fl. oz) vegetable broth

2 cups (16 oz) rice yellow saffron rice

3 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 cup mushrooms

1 cup (4 oz) green peas

1 cup corn

1 cup chick peas

1 tsp Lemon juice

Lemon wedges, to garnish

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is tender and translucent. At the same time, heat the broth in a separate saucepan until simmering.

Pour the rice into the paella pan and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the simmering vegetable broth and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until almost tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the peas, corn, and chickpeas.

Add a few drops of lemon juice . Continue cooking until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Serve the paella straight from the pan, garnished with lemon wedges

(Sometimes I use artichoke hearts too. You can really use any veggies you like.)

Enjoy!

Do you have Spanish or Mexican food you love to cook? I'm always looking for new recipes and ideas!!

Can I Keep Him?

Blog Challenge Day 6: An Animal You'd Love to Keep as a Pet

Ever since I was a kid and loved to read Curious George, I have wanted a monkey.

Source: PETA (view)

Since then, I realized that monkeys are rather crazy and messy. But they are still super cool :-)

Now, I would love to have a yorkie.

Source: Yorkshire Terrier Blog (view)

I was actually looking into getting a yorkie, and I found out that they tend to attack small children who crawl on the ground. I know... shocking! How can something so cute attack small children? So, I will need to wait to get a yorkie until later in life.

For now, I have my fish, Strad. He's pretty fantastic.

Degrees and Careers

Blog Challenge Day 5: A photo of yourself from 2 years ago

This photo was taken from my graduation two years ago. I got my masters degree in English Education.

While I am on the topic of graduation, here is a photo of my undergrad graduation four years ago. My undergrad degrees were Magazine Journalism and English. I really miss my college friends and the good times we had. If I could go back in time, I would go back and visit for a week... but probably not any longer than that ;-)

Now, I work in marketing, and I LOVE it. It's nice when college pays off and you get a job where you actually use the skills you learned in college :-)

What are your degrees in? Where did you go to school? If you could go back to college, would you do it?

Best Friends

Blog Challenge Day 4: A photo of your best friend

Here are my best friends. I don't have just one :-)

One of the best things about getting married is that it brings together everyone who you love. Plus we all get to dress up.

One of my best friends sang our wedding song for our first dance:

He rocked it.

Perfect Date

Blog Challenge Day 3 and Day 10: Perfect Date and Favorite Restaurant

Today's challenge was to write about a perfect first date. Since I'm married, I'm not that interested in first dates, so here are a few of my current favorite dates.

(Blog Challenge Day 10 is a photo of your favorite restaurant, so this blog post is serving double-time with the picture of Empire Brewing Co. below)

Source: Empire Brewing (view)

Source: Flickr (view)

On Saturdays, we love hanging out in downtown Syracuse, going to the record store or out to eat.

Source: Financial Wealth (view)

Yesterday we went out for a jog around the neighborhood.

Source: National Geographic (view)

In the winter, our dates our usually skiing/snowboarding. Our local mountain is not quite as amazing as this one, featured in National Geographic....

Skaneateles Lake, New York

In the summer, we usually relax at the lake.

What does your favorite date look like?

Banana Bread

Blog Challenge Day 2- A photo of something you ate today

Today I made my mom's banana bread. It's deeelish, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Source: Fitness Charleston (view)

Here's the recipe:

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg (or 1egg plus 1 egg white)

3 Tbsp oil

3 Tbsp water or orange juice (or a combination)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mashed banana

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all dry ingredient together.  Add remaining ingredients and mix 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into pan (does not mention whether or not to grease pan. Might want to spray it with Pam). Bake 40 minutes or until golden and tests done with toothpick.

Enjoy!

30 Day Blog Challenge

Since I'm still pretty new to the blog world, I've decided to do the 30 day blog challenge to get me into it. Since it's April 1st, this will be a great April Challenge! Thanks to FaeLove at RosyPop for the inspiration!

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

These are from our engagement session and our wedding. These shots are some of my favorites. Our engagement pics were taken at my husband's parent's house on a beautiful lake. Those of you who are married, where did you have your engagement shots taken? Those who aren't married, where would you  love to have a photo shoot?

As for my mood today, it's FRIDAY! So, I'm in a great mood today. No plans for the weekend, just being lazy, which is my favorite way to spend a weekend!!


30 Day Blog Challenge:

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of our favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – A recent clothing purchase
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of youself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days