Two. More. Weeks.

^I know ... this is such a great picture of Joel. <3^

Hi all! I'm back! Er ... Kinda.

Next week is finals week so I'm super stressed and have been ripping out what's left of my hair. However, I've missed my little blogging world so I've decided that on top of all of the other crap I have to do, I will be squeezing in a few posts. Feel free to pop open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate, because I sure can't. #stupidcollege

Anyway, I've been a bit of a mess lately. Seriously.

I've gained 5 pounds, haven't worked out at all, become a raging iced coffee addict, and my house looks like something out of a hoarders episode. 

This semester has clearly gotten the best of me. :)

The good news? It's almost over. 

On a more positive note, Joel and I had a lovely little weekend!

I chugged about 4 margaritas on my night off to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, rented and finally watched Silver Linings Playbook (absolutely loved it), spent a couple of hours touring model homes before church on Sunday morning (just for fun, although we found a few homes we would love to move right into!), and then spent an hour at church pleading with God to give me the motivation needed to get through the next couple of weeks with passing grades! 

Not too shabby. 

Okay well I have to get back to studying now.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

xox

Five Years

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever."

the notebook

Happy anniversary, my love!

Thank you for simply being the best.

Every day I love you more.

xo

Tasty Tuesday: Salmon with Homemade Sriracha + Lime

Last week I picked up Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook, It's All Good.

So far it's totally living up to it's name. I highly recommend it!

Today I not only whipped up a batch of her homemade sriracha, I also gave her salmon with sriracha and lime recipe a whirl. Both were excellent!

That's all I really have to say about it. :)

xo

SRIRACHA

::ingredients::

- 1 1/4 cups peeled garlic cloves

- 1 lb red jalapenos (stemmed and sliced into thin rings - for a milder sauce, remove some of the seeds)

- 2 1/4 cups rice wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp brown rice syrup

- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt

- 1 tbsp arrowroot (or cornstarch)

- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (or fish sauce)

::instructions::

- Put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan and add cold water just to cover. Bring to a boil, immediately drain, cool the garlic under running water, and return it to the saucepan. Cover with cold water and repeat the blanching process. Thinly slice the blanched garlic and combine with the jalapenos and vinegar in a larger pot. Bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes, and remove from heat. Add the brown rice syrup and salt and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 1 hour to steep and cool.

- Whiz the mixture in a powerful blender until smooth (it's okay if all the seeds don't blend in). Return the pureed sauce to the pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, skimming off any foam, until the sauce is slightly reduced and has some body.

- In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot (or cornstarch) with 1 tablespoon of lukewarm/cool water. Whisk into the simmering sauce and cook for 2 minutes more, or until the sauce is nicely thickened (it should be slightly thinner than ketchup). Remove the sauce from the heat, let it cool slightly, and stir in the soy sauce (or fish sauce). Store in a screw-top jar or bottle in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

SALMON WITH SRIRACHA+LIME

serves 4

::ingredients::

- Zest of 1/2 lime

- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

- 1 1/2 tbsp homemade sriracha

- 1 tbsp good-quality maple syrup

- Coarse sea salt

- 1 1/4 lbs salmon fillet (or just use as many fillets as you need - I used 2 medium fillets)

- 2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro

::instructions::

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

- Whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, sriracha, and maple syrup along with a pinch of sea salt. Line a baking dish with parchment paper, place the salmon on top, and pour the mixture over it. Roast until the salmon is done to your liking - I cooked mine for about 22 minutes and it was perfect. 

- Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

My Favorite Green Juice

*please disregard my naked finger nails. because of my cooking class i cant paint them. sad, i know.

Happy Monday, folks.

As you may or may not have noticed, I only blogged once last week. 
Since school is nutso right now, that will probably be the case for the next few weeks.
Bummer, I know.
Anyway, lets reflect on the weekend. 
This weekend was awesome!
Joel and I were able to fit in a lot in just two short days and had a lot of fun together!
We spent some time outside playing tennis and basketball, did a little shopping, won some money playing craps, and ate (...and drank) like kings. 
Now that it's Monday again and I have a million things to do this week, I am making sure to detox so I have lots of energy and motivation to get everything done!
Eating super clean and juicing at least once a day is the plan.

Here's today's juice:
- 5 large leaves of kale (ribs discarded)
- 2 celery ribs
- 2 large apples
- 1 lemon (zest and pith removed)
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 sprig of fresh mint
(and yes, I put ice in my juices. it's weird, i know)

xo

Weekend Recap

This weekend was perfect.

It was so wonderful having my parents here and I already miss them terribly. 

I was so excited to show them our wedding venue and they loved it!

We managed to fit in a lot of running around this weekend but we were also able to spend a lot of quality time together just laughing and catching up. 

Tonight Joel and I are cuddled up on the couch with plans of going to bed early. :) We're exhausted.

I hope everyone had a good Monday!

xo

Grocery Guide: Eating Clean

Eating clean isn't always easy. I get it. However, it's also not that hard. 

I find that if I keep my kitchen stocked with good, clean, nutritious food - I will eat good, clean, nutritious food! 

I've been asked a few times lately about what I usually pick up at the grocery store.

Because of this, I put together a little list of staples for you guys! 

These are the things you can almost always find in my kitchen.

xo