Vida

Guys, real talk.  Mike is not a fan of leftovers.  I eat a lot of leftovers, I'm not a huge fan of cooking every single night.   I've started using leftovers in different dishes so he doesn't even notice! Last week, I was really proud of my creativity using these leftover  Herbed Goat Cheese Polenta Bites three different ways!  And now, friends, they're all gone. First, we ate them as the recipe directs as a side for Valentine's Day which I put way too much energy in to and we had way too much food. Second, I made a mushroom sauce to go over the top.  Vegan Mushroom Gravy Third, we used them as croutons for Minestrone Soup . We enjoyed each dish, they weren't something we really wanted to have on the side at every meal for the next week.  They made each of the dishes a bit more substantial and less cooking for me!  Win win over here! P.S.  I've also found many leftovers can be put in a tortilla with some different sauce an...

The teenagers from Parkland are giving me so much hope.  So much hope.  I think this is the first time I've read a political news article and smiled since Nov. 8, 2016. Is the Tide commercial making anyone else cry during the Olympics? As someone who's not generally a TV fan, how is it possible for me to get so involved, so quickly, in every sport?  Which by the way I know nothing about. Anyone ever try Door Dash.  I'm not big on delivery services in general, but after a bad experience with Grub Hub we gave Door Dash a try and we are fans. When a friend recommends a happy hour place, you go.  So Thursday morning a friend told me about Mangia Italiano.  Thursday happy hour Mike & I were there.  

Do you ever think of somewhere and just the thought makes you smile? As we drove to Chicago over the weekend for a memorial, I had quite a bit of time to think.  Because, friends, I didn't sleep.  I almost always take a little nap while Mike drives me on a road trip.  Whistler I've actually only been to Whistler twice.  And both times were just so good. #1 Mike & I had just decided it probably made more sense to look to buy a house in St. Louis and we were going on our first house hunting visit that weekend.  We ended up at the Whistler patio.  As we discussed (read: googled) if it's necessary to have a realtor (answer: yes, very much so.  oh the things we learned...) to look at houses, we made friends with the outdoor bartender.  We watched his supplies as he set-up, he gave us shots as a thank you.  Good people, good times.  The night ended arriving at Dante's as they closed and Mike getting a free slice from one of the wor...

You know it's such a hassle to change your name there are websites (which you pay for) to guide you through each step?  I wasn't exactly willing to pay the money, so I'm sure I paid it in time. Yes, I decided to change my name.  I definitely put some thought in to keeping mine.  I was planning to tackle the paperwork in a year or so but one of my friends changed her name over the summer after being married about 5 years and she said she wished she would have just done it to begin with.  I guess the longer you wait the more complicated it is.  Then we went on a family trip with Mike's family earlier this year and his parents generously bought our flights.  They asked if I would be Albin by then and I suddenly had a deadline. We got married 6 months ago and I finally see the end.  One more credit card and my passport.  I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now. Social Security Office The first step was to update my socia...

If there's one thing I wish I would have purchased for myself before I got married and had a registry: it would be nice knives!  Oh wow they make such a difference!  (And a food processor, that's amazing too.) So to all my single friends or those who didn't register for nice knives (or you did and didn't receive them).  Watch the sales (they do go on sale) and purchase some for yourself. We registered for a few and didn't receive them.  I cut myself pretty badly in the fall while cutting pumpkin.  My friend asked why I wasn't using knives we got for our wedding because accidents are much less likely with nice knives.  I started watching sales and we purchased our knives with money people gave us as our gift. The first time I used them I gasped with amazement! Do it.  Get yourself nice knives.  Do knives go on sale for President's Day?  You will not regret it.

The whole point of the super bowl is a good excuse to get together, right?  I don't think I would even watch the game if it wasn't for a gathering.  For the past many many years I've gone to my friend's super bowl party in Chicago.  Since this is the first year we're not there, we decided to host one.  It went a little something like this.  Mike & I chatted of maybe having people over but our TV room was still a disaster.  Tuesday of last week I asked if we actually wanted to do it.  He responded that he already invited people, so that answers that question.  The weekend entailed hosting a social for his masters program Saturday, attending a 1 year old birthday party Sunday, and trying to figure out how to space out preparing food! I made what I could Saturday (cookies and the base for the vegan cheese dip).  Sunday morning we made the chili before the birthday party.  And as soon as we got back we ran around like crazy to pull...