Gross

I was stuck behind this truck the other day in traffic...

I'm all down for Mexi food, it's definitely my favorite, but mayo with lime??! SICK!

Mayo= gross

Mayo+lime juice= nasty

Beef Jerkey

Jk not really beef, it's vegan! It's the give away I won over at I Can't Believe It's Not Dead ! We broke open the box and I made Mike try some (he's not at all into NOT eating meat, so big step for him) He will probably hate me for this, but whatever the 3 people who read this have probably seen him being a lot sillier than this:

He actually didn't hate it! We ate a few pieces along with our dinner. The texture was something to get used to, but it was pretty good!

This last picture is just how he rolls...

Happy Thursday!

July 4th Weekend

We had a busy weekend planned, but the second half the weekend was ruined by a wretched virus Michael caught. Friday and Saturday were great. One of my bff's got married, so Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at a mexican restaurant and to our surprise it was karaoke night... definitely made for some interesting dinner music! Just imagine being in smallish/slightly rural / slightly red neck town... yeah you get the picture. Saturday was the wedding and everything went perfectly! The bride was beautiful and we had a lot fun! Unfortunately, I have no pictures on my camera because one, Michael hates taking pictures and two, I was in the wedding so that was defintely not a priority. I'll have to steal some pictures from my Mom and post them.

Sunday we had plans to go to my parents and hang out at the pool and then head over to Michael's family for a big party they were having complete with roman candle wars. Sadly, like I said, M ended up with a horrible virus and it got worse as the day went on. So our 4th was a disappointment, but that's okay- so goes life. My Mom said "just wait until you have kids, you'll miss all kinds of holidays!" Haha true! M and I both had Monday off and he was still feeling a little out of it. For the past month we've been car shopping for me. I was driving a 1990 (yes that's correct) Honda Accord and I was working on my 3rd summer with AC. <-- Not fun when you live in Georgia and you sit in traffic for 1-1.5 hours a day. We weren't having much luck, but Monday M found a car and we went to the dealership to test drive it and 3.5 hours later left with a new car! Okay, not brand new, but new to me. Here is my new ride:

Not the best picture, I snapped it with my iPhone right after when we went to dinner with my parents. It a 2008 Ford Fusion and I love it! Seems like we got it right in time... the high tomorrow is 100° !!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! [even though I'm slightly bitter that we didn't get to celebrate :) ]

Baby Cohen

Praying for Brent and Megan today...

Foood!

Um, side note before I start: Where the heck did June go?! I sound old for saying that, but jeez I cannot believe it’s July (tomorrow)!

On to a tasty recipe- if you like shrimp, which I do… which is why I made it last night. We also love tomatoes, which is also included in this. [Sorry Elizabeth, this one is not for you ;) ]


Shrimp Scampi Pasta Bake (came up with that creative combo on my own)

It’s a little bit time consuming, but perfect for two people to prepare!

The main part of this is The Barefoot Contessa’s Baked Shimp Scampi. I cut the original recipe in half, so I went ahead and changed it here:

Ingredients:
• 1 pound shrimp in the shell (I bought already peeled)
• 1.5 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine (original amount, but hey I like wine)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used Earth Balance butter, which is vegan. I’m not vegan, but it’s a small step towards being healthier)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (two cloves, or more if you love garlic)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots (original amount, but I went with it)
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves (original amount)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (original amount)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (original amount)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (original amount)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (original amount)
• 1 extra-large egg yolk (original amount)
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes) *Half this, but I don’t know the correct measurement
• Pasta
• Tomatoes or any other veggie you prefer

Okay, okay so I halved the shrimp and the butter… whatever!


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
First, boil water and throw in your favorite pasta- I used half a box of Farfalle.

Peel, devein, and takes tales off of shrimp. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, salt and pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
Drain pasta and pour into bottom of a 9X13 dish. Arrange shrimp evenly over the pasta and pour remaining marinade over top. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the top (I used my hands and spatula). Then place diced tomatoes or other veg (I think artichoke hearts would be delish, but I’m pretty obsessed so…) over that. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese (I had some in the fridge, this is optional) and place in preheated oven for about 15 mins. Delish!


*Only thing I would suggest to do differently that I did last night is toss the pasta with a little bit of olive oil before putting in the dish.

There ya go! I think it's offical- I'm not good at posting recipes ha! I feel like they're all over the place, sorry!

Lesson for the day

So I walk into the bathroom at work at oh, 10:30 this morning and look in the mirror and I have mascara smeared right under my lower lashes. Ew! (Thanks to my women co-workers who could have pointed this out ha!)

Okay, so I didn't quite look like this creeper. It was more of a dot almost in the corner.

So the now for the lesson:

A. Take a longer look in the mirror after I put make up on, or

B. Put my make up on at home not in my car in the dark parking deck at work

I'll probably go with A.

She works hard for the money...

Two reasons I love work:

This is where I work...

It's so pretty. And that lake, there are tables all around it and a path that circles it. After I eat I go walk around the lake and enjoy the sun and the view.

2. I get to wear "grown up" clothes. My last job we could wear whatever we wanted, and by whatever I mean shorts and tshirts. And while that has its perks, I like dressing my age. (And Fridays we get to wear jeans, which is a nice little break from heals!)

(Oh, and #3, I'm actually using that degree I got 2 years ago!!)