Menu Plan Monday

I just got back from a run after eating a huge dinner of wine and veggie burgers, and the last thing I want to think about right now is food! But it's Sunday night, and that means menu planning time. Gotta keep with the tradition! Since the last few weeks have been relatively light on the cooking/baking side, I'm going to try a few new things this time around. For more menu planners, check out Org Junkie's website!

Monday: Tofu, Tempeh and Butternut Squash from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Tuesday: Quick curry with tofu and veggies using this stuff (it's my favorite!):
Wendesday: Some sort of casserole with cheese and rice or noodles... undecided as of yet! But I'll be honest, this one from Tina at Carrots N Cake caught my eye and is in the lead!

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner - we got some delicious pancake mix as part of a gift basket, so a dinner based around pancakes is definitely in order!

Friday: Zucchini Lasagna

Saturday: Dinner out somewhere around town.

Sunday: Leftovers

Busy Saturday!

It's a little before 11am, and I've had quite the Saturday so far! I started my day off bright and early, reading the introduction of Naturally Thin with a cup of tea in the sunshine. It's a beautiful day in Spokane!

Next up, I visited the Spokane Farmers Market - I missed opening weekend last week, so I wanted to be sure to make it this time. Although the produce is a little sparse so far, there were still tons of people out and about! I bought a loaf of asiago garlic bread and two bell pepper plants to add to my balcony garden.

After the Farmers Market, it was time for yoga! Jillian Michaels has been pretty brutal to me the last few days, and some good stretching is just what I needed. The 75 minute class was a little long - I definitely struggled more this week than usual - but I left feeling good and energized. On the way home, a quick stop for a breakfast bagel was in order - it wen nicely with my second cup of tea for the day!

Now it's time for a shower, and then to head out to start the rest of the day! Matt's still asleep, but I'm going to try and talk him into some tennis later today at a local park. Lilac Festival Parade is also this evening, and tons of people already have their chairs set up downtown for the occasion, so we'll have to jockey for seats pretty soon! There's also a community-wide open house of all the community gardens in Spokane today, so I want to check out the one closest to me and see what it takes to get/keep a plot!

Lessons from the First 2 Days of 30 Day Shred

I started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD on Wednesday - obviously, I was totally inspired by the season finale of Biggest Loser Couples (Team Tara, but still super impressed by Helen!). A lot of bloggers have written about this workout DVD, most singing the praises of Jillian's methods, so I think I'll give you my impressions after 2 days in a "lessons learned" format.

Day 1: PUT THOSE 10 POUND WEIGHTS DOWN. Lesson learned immediately upon starting the workout - if Jillian Michaels is using 1 or 2 pound weights, you should, too. Or at least not 10 pound ones. I thought my arms were going to break off after circuit one. Jillian is pretty bad-ass, and I certainly am not, so following her lead on this one from the start would have been a good idea.

Day 2: DO NOT SHRED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A 5 MILE RUN. I decided Day 2 of shredding should take place about 20 minutes before Flying Irish - so I went from shredding to running a (relatively) long run in the span of 5 minutes. BAD idea.

Overall, I like the program so far. I hate lifting, though, so I'm not sure how motivated I'm going to be to do it for 30 solid days. We'll give it a shot, though, and maybe I'll get a 6 pack of the deal!

My one junk food craving

I'm a pretty healthy eater. I get lots of fruits and veggies in my diet, and am pretty good at balancing things out. I also don't particularly care for most snacks. But last night, as I was going through the grocery store to pick up a few items for dinners this week and next (cans of tomatoes, milk, etc), I saw my arch nemesis on sale:

Pre-jarred salsa con queso.

This stuff is HORRIBLE for you, but it's just soooooo goooooood. I bet half of the jar is gone by now, and Matt didn't even have any! I'll put it on everything - crackers, tortilla chips, veggies, rice. It's ridiculous how little self control I have when there's a jar of this stuff in my pantry or fridge.

What's your junk food weakness?

Wedding Wednesdays (a day late) - Episode 5

This weekend, I conducted my first official duty as a bride - searching high and low for a venue suitable for our wedding and reception. I wouldn't necessarily say that we were successful - we saw a lot of places and heard a lot of information from a lot of very knowledgeable people. If anything, we decided what we don't want - which certainly helps with planning, but means we don't have a location or a date! As Liz Lemon would say, "NARDS".

First up - McMenamins Grand Lodge. At about half an hour west of Portland, this little historical resort would make the wedding into a "destination wedding" of sorts, which sounded fun. And some of the outdoor spaces were SUPER cute.

This ivy-covered stairway could be decorated with colorful flowers and make the perfect backdrop to the actual ceremony.

This outdoor space has a wood-burning fireplace and a wooden "ceiling" that would be perfect for decorating with lights, flowers, and pieces of flowing fabric. (And that's my dad in the picture!)

Unfortunately, the indoor spaces were not nearly as cute as the outdoor spaces, and the outdoor spaces are not available for booking until after June 1st. June 1st, I've learned, is what marks the beginning of "prime wedding season", or when every vendor knocks their prices up a few thousand dollars. And honestly, I don't really want to wait until June 1st. Matt and I have already been dating for 3 and 1/2 years - I want to get this knot tied!

Second stop - Elk Cove Vineyards. This simple, classic little winery is "out in the boonies" (as my dad said), but had some awesome features that I'll highlight below.

First things first, this is the view from the event hall. Imagine how gorgeous this is when the grapes are in full bloom!

Other than the scenery, the thing that I liked the most about Elk Cove was how much of a blank space it is. The fixtures and walls are white, the tables and chairs are simple, and the bar area is one of the plainest I've seen. Not good if this is where you live full time - FANTASTIC if you want to decorate it with your flowers/colors/whatever for a wedding! See what I mean:

The possibilities are endless with this space!

In the end, we decided that this would be a great place for an early Fall wedding, when the grape plants are changing colors and the weather is still nice enough to be able to enjoy the outdoors. We, however, are not going to be ready for an early Fall wedding - that's less than 6 months away!

So we trekked on to our third stop - Garden Vineyards Winery. I cannot talk up how beautiful this place is - if it were open to the public, I'd say you absolutely HAVE to go see it. This is one of the most picturesque places I've ever been in the Northwest, and the Italian Villa on site adds so much class to the ambiance it's ridiculous. Of course, this is the place that I forgot to bring my camera in to, so I have zero pictures. But take my word for it (or check out this couple's wedding write-up from Portland Bride & Groom) - to die for!

Fourth and final stop - McMenamin's Edgefield Hotel. Another historic McMenamin's property, and another place with great outdoor areas. We visited this place on Mother's Day, so Blackberry Hall was packed full of people enjoying brunch - not super conducive to getting the creative juices flowing, but whatever. The outdoor area (Blackberry Field, I think it was called) was immediately out the back of the hall.

This space isn't available until after June 1st (again! *sigh*), but apparently it's in full bloom at that time. This field comfortably seats 250-300 people.

The trees here are most commonly used as the backdrop for the ceremony, according to our guide. In late spring/summer, there are white flowers that bloom on them, making them really gorgeous.

In all, we saw a lot of places and met a lot of people, and learned quite a bit about Portland weddings and OUR wedding in the process. I highly recommend checking out all of these places if you're ever planning a wedding in the Portland area. And of course, I'll keep y'all posted when we do decide on something!

Project 16 Update

I wrote a little while ago about how I want to make my balcony more "user friendly", and then totally left you guys hanging! Oops! I have made some progress, by acquiring some pieces that I think will help liven the place up and provide a better atmosphere for chilling on the balcony. BUT the weather has been super lame, and I haven't wanted to spend much time out there recently. Here's a sneak preview at the revamp of the balcony that is currently in progress.

Step 1: Acquire outdoor furniture.

These bad-boys were on sale at Target for a really reasonable price, and will hopefully be pretty durable. Well, anything's more durable than the old office chair that's been sitting out here for a year!

Step 2: Acquire decorative lighting.

The only lighting on the balcony at the moment is a set of really harsh outdoor lights that blind people more than anything. Channeling the paper lantern ambiance from the picture in my original post, I picked up these guys for $10 at Target. Now I just need an outdoor extension cord and some pretty paper lantern light will be mine!

Step 3: Set the mood.

This cute candle holder was at Cost Plus (or World Market or whatever you want to call it) for $10. There are already several hooks installed on the ceiling of the balcony, and one happens to be right above the table. Consider this my outdoor chandelier!

Step 4: Allow for growth.

No balcony is complete without foliage, and my plants are getting so huge! No flowers yet, but four baskets full of leafy green vegetation brighten up any outdoor living space.

The total for this project so far has stayed under $50, and the space is going to be much prettier and more usable! Check back later this week when everything's put together.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday is actually happening ON Monday this week for me. Shocking, I know! I'll be perfectly honest about last week or the week before - I basically didn't make any of the recipes I listed! So we'll try this again, and hopefully I'll be a little more dedicated to what I actually list out. :) As always, check out Org Junkie's website for more menu plans!

Monday: Alphabet soup from a local packager

Tuesday (class night): This is going to be a late one, so probably (gasp) fast food of some sort. *sigh* I know, I know.

Wednesday: Curried Cauliflower with Black Beans from FatFree Vegan, served over brown rice.

Thursday: Easy Polenta with Tomato Sauce and some veggies on the side

Friday: Quinoa and Black Beans, and maybe some grilled steak/veggie burgers/veggies.

Saturday: Something delicious that Matt wants.

Sunday: Leftovers! Because no one should have to cook on Sundays. :)