3/25

This Sunday went as the past few Sundays have.

One of these...

 

 ...on this.

Always fun, and so nice to get out early and start our day with some exercise.

Then it was the usual Sunday stop at Bishops for coffee (and this time a muffin we split).

We saw this...very interesting. I guess the feeling IS mutual? ;)

We headed to TJMaxx and did some random shopping, and once we got home I made some lovely hibiscus lemonade and I now have a Key lime pie in the oven.

Pictures  and recipe for the tasty limey deliciousness to come.

I'm working on house things while Ricky works on the floors for the rest of the day. We might take a little break and head to the beach for a bit.

Oh, and tonight is the season premier of Mad Men. 

I'll have to drink something virgin out of a martini glass.

I nearly forgot. Last night for dinner I made a yummy Greek-ish meal.

Chicken quarters marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, fresh thyme, and garlic with a roasted vegetable moussaka. The moussaka was red bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, onions, garlic, and tomatoes all baked with greek yogurt, 2 eggs, and topped with feta and fresh parsley. Talk about a protein-packed meal.

It was amazing, by the way. I'm planning on eating the rest of those wonderful veggies for lunch tomorrow.

365 Days with D's: One year since my reduction.

One year ago today I had my breast reduction surgery. It's hard to believe, it feels like just yesterday I was bandaged, sleeping sitting up, popping percocet for the pain, and needing Ricky to help me wash my hair. How the time flies!I'm still really happy about my decision. There were some people who asked, "What if you regret it?" While I knew that wouldn't, it was hard  to get people to understand that.Some days I still get a little bothered by the scars, but that's a rare occurrence. I do, however, wish that they were smaller still. Going from a G to a D was a big change, but I really wanted to have small breasts. A D is smaller than I've been since middle school, but still large to me. Of course, now that I'm pregnant they've gotten a little bigger. I'm somewhere between a D and  DD, but the change is small and to be expected. From what I've been told they should go back to their post-surgery size afterwards. If not, I can have the surgery revised. I'm completely willing to do that.My one concern now, and a year ago actually, is breastfeeding. It was the only roadblock I ran into during my decision-making process. While we still don't know if I'll be able to, I've done a little research and from what I've read it can be possible. It's really a case by case sort of thing. Some women produce just fine, some need to supplement, and some can't produce at all. We'll have to wait and see. As much as I'd like to be able to breastfeed, I still don't regret having the surgery. If I do have to have it re-done, I'll want to go to a different doctor. The doctor that I saw had a terrible bedside manner, and never once asked me what size I'd like to be or anything like that. I understand that my procedure was more medically necessary than cosmetic, but still. That's the only part of my experience that I would have changed.

grits

Tonight I made cobia and creamy roasted poblano grits.

I'm really tired, so that's all I'm going to say about it.

It was yummy.

Sunday Morning

Ricky and I decided last weekend that we should do a 5k every Sunday that his work schedule allows. So far we're 2 for 2.

We left at around 7 am and did our 5k out on Navarre beach, walking the first part on the actual beach. It was nice to be near the water, watching all the old people sweep the sand with metal detectors or sift through for pretty shells. They crack me up.

 Pelicans!

What wasn't so nice was all of the trash left out. Beer bottles, chip bags, socks, cigarette butts, bikini tops...

I can't wait for Spring Break to be over. Why can't you come to a place and not trash it? 

Brats.

Once we finished, we headed down to my new favorite coffee place, Bishops Coffee and Tea.

Ricky had his usual skim latte and I had a vanilla latte made with almond milk.

The almond milk is one of the reasons that I love Bishops, it's the only place around here that I can get it. I think we have a new Sunday tradition.

The rest of my day will consist of hanging pictures in the nursery, washing my smelly Westies, making cobia for dinner, and probably some cupcakes. The lovely baked goods at Bishops inspired me.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

♥

5k, decorating, and Indian food.

 Ricky got up early this morning, around 6:45, and walked/jogged a 5k on the beach as the sun came up. On the way home we stopped and got coffee. Nonfat latte for him, double tall half-caf skinny mocha for me. It's nice to start your day with that "I feel awesome" feeling.

Back at the house, it was cleaning/decorating time.

I moved the large picture hanging above our bed into the living room a few days ago, so it looked lonely up there.

This is what I came up with. I'm pretty happy with it, even though I suck at taking pictures of my house.

 We also pretty much finished the nursery, it just needs baseboards, and Ricky built a stand for our washer and dryer. 

We pretty much kicked ass today.

 

 At the amazingness that is TJMaxx, I found this cook book. 

I already have "the food of france" and I love it. This was $6. I love that damn place.

 

Tonight we had Murgh Masala, and it was pretty legit.

Cumin, coriander, garam masala, and turmeric rubbed chicken thighs simmered in sauce of pureed onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and yogurt. Cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom pods made this pretty exciting.

Served on basmati, naturally.

 I'm off to paint another table and then hit the hay.

Happy weekend everyone!

Da Spicy Beef

I like Moroccan food. Alas, the Florida panhandle has little to offer as far as African food goes. 

Now, normally when I have skirt steak, I make fajitas. I don't mean to be so uncreative, but it just happens that way. Yesterday I pulled some skirt steak out of the freezer, knowing that I'd probably end up making fajitas.

No! Not tonight! A little voice inside my head was screaming at me.

I thought, "Why don't I ever make anything Moroccan with beef? I always use chicken."

Well, it was time to expand my protein horizons.

I marinated the skirt steak in a mixture of vegetable oil, lemon juice, coriander, paprika, cumin, turmeric, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and ginger for about an hour.

I then chopped it up and cooked it with onions and garlic, adding water and letting it reduce down a few times. Then I added green olives (I only had the pimento stuffed kind, which are pretty salty. Just soak them in water before adding them), parsley, cilantro, and preserved lemon peel.

 You can make your own very easily, or you can find them jarred. I think either way is fine. 

(Never heard of 'em? Learn here)

 After that I just simmered the whole thing until the sauce was nice and thick and served it over couscous.

It was lovely, and we were both quite pleased with it. I'll be adding this to my "simple weeknight dinners" list.