These days

Haven't been blogging much lately, so here is past week's scoop. Been cooking some lately. Here is spinach manicotti my hubby and I had one evening.

A close-up. Yum!

And then another night I made this 7-layer dip. Oh my! It was double-yum!

I've also been spending a lot of time with this guy. He sure cleans up nice. What a looker!

And yesterday, I got to see some friends I haven't seen in quite a while. Like Aaron.

And Bill.

And Desiree.

That swing Des and I were sitting on was creeking real bad, resulting in lots of giggles.

Home

It is so nice to be home. My husband and my family was waiting at the airport, my puppy was happy to see me, and my wonderful coworkers sent me some flowers with their condolences for my loss. What a kind and thoughtful thing to do. Thank you so much, gals! You are the best.

I also wanted to share some of my loot with you. First of all, as it is with the wonders of the universe, I stumbled upon the only yarn shop in the alleys of Venice and got some beautiful Italian and Croatian yarn there.

I also found some illustrated cooking books that are just too cute to pass up. I got one for each one of my sisters, and one for myself.

Now I just need to learn Italian.

"Mom, get out of the kitchen!"

Another Tuesday spent with family. My sisters and I cooked dinner - something really yummy from the Clean Eating magazine.

We split up the tasks and it usually goes pretty quick. It ended up being delicious (and healthy)!

While we were cooking, our dad was toasting bread and taking pictures. We made our mom stay away from the kitchen, so she knitted. She finished a little hat and a pair of booties for our cousin. This stuff is beyond cute.
(U utorak smo se opet skupili kao familija. Ja i cure smo pravile veceru, tata nas je slikao, a mama je plela kapicu i carapice za Keninu bebicu. Bilo nam je bas lijepo.)

Friday night fever - my way

Upon my hubby's request, I made fish tacos with mango salsa for dinner. YUM! It was beyond delicious and it brightened up this cloudy, blah, winter Friday.
Post dinner, I headed over to my bff's new apartment, where we sat on the floor (she doesn't have furniture) and discussed people and things. I love hanging out with her.
Oh yeah - I am gearing up to work on a project that involves this...
...and these. Will share when I have something to show.
Oh, and I failed to resist this baby alpaca ball of sheer softness, so I will be turning it into a scarf that will allow me to rub it against my neck all the time.
That's all, folks!

A few of my favorite things

On Sunday I made these whole grain morning glory muffins from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean cookbook. I've been eating them for breakfast every morning. It contains lots of good things, including oat bran, dates, walnuts, banana, apple, etc. This is a muffin I don't feel guilty about eating.
For homework this weekend, I sew a collar and the facing on the dress. It was challenging, but it looks great.
Here is a side view of my awesome new collar.
I felt so inspired, I went and added a few fabrics to my collection. Can't wait to see what these will turn into.
And of course, I could not neglect my first love - knitting. I enhanced my stash with Rowan calmer yarn which I am using to knit a cozy ascot. Can't wait to show it off.
So there... it's been a rough winter, but I am keeping busy with my creative hobbies.

This is what I call hedonism

Maybe it was a food show on TV, maybe it was my sweet tooth cravings, but I decided that from now on, I would like to make a new dessert every weekend - from scratch. I started out with an Apple Crisp recipe from the Williams-Sonoma Fruit Dessert cookbook.
I made a trip to the grocery store to get all the ingredients, and 50 minutes and six Granny Smiths later, the scent of this delicious treat was permeating my kitchen. "Divine" is not even the word to describe how good this turned out. I served it warm with sugar-free vanilla ice cream. Yum!

This weekend was productive in another way, too. I turned this...
...into this. A soft, warm, colorful headband.
The ends are held together by a sweet little button in the back.
You can have a ponytail and a warm scalp, too. And you can have an apple crisp and eat it, too.
Love! <3

Mundane Monday

So today I had nothing exciting to report, so I decided to go through my Monday night routine.

5:00-5:15pm - checked the mail, took dog out, put on my slippers and put away my coat and boots. I received these superb knitting needles in the mail today! Addi's are the best.
5:15-5:30pm - scanned through my e-mail and Facebook friend comments
5:30-6:00pm - refilled daily vitamins, unloaded the dishwasher
6:00-6:15pm - sorted clothes and loaded the washer with the one load of laundry
6:15-7:00pm - prepared dinner, ate, and cleaned up the kitchen. The food consisted of wild rice, shrimp, roasted veggies pilaf, with some water and dried berries. Good and healthy!
7:00-7:30pm - balanced the checkbook, paid some bills
7:30-8:00pm - tried out my new knitting needles, prepared lunch and breakfast for tomorrow, packed workout clothes for tomorrow
8:00-8:15pm - put away the first load of laundry, loaded the washer again
8:15-10:15pm - worked on the final school project (a marketing campaign analysis presentation) and drank Chamomile tea
10:15pm - Time for bed!

Exciting, eh?

Love is... making Burek

Love is when your vegetarian wife learns how to make a traditional Bosnian dish (Burek) that is simply a meat pastry.
My super-mom taught me how to make this delicacy for my hubby last Tuesday. The meat is ground beef mixed with onions and garlic and spices, and then strewn upon layer after layer of thin pastry leaves (which my mom typically makes from scratch - a daunting task for me). There are also brush strokes of butter involved to keep the leaves from sticking to each other.
I couldn't tell you what it tastes like because I don't eat meat, but seeing the satisfaction on my hubby's face when he is stuffing his mouth with it tells me it's really, really good.

Also, I want to thank my amazing mom for all her wisdom and skill. I don't think I will ever be half as good as her when it comes to a lot of things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting ready to go see hubby's family for Thanksgiving. My contribution to the feast: pumpkin pie, mozzarella/tomato/basil roll ups, and sweet potato/banana casserole (with pecans and honey). Yumm!

Making up for lost times

I know, I know... it's been a while. I need to get back on track. But with a busy week at work, a looming final project for class, and my house needing some care, I felt like I was constantly catching up. So this weekend was good.
Sister and I got together at a local coffee shop to work on our school projects on Saturday night (I know, how nerdy). We were actually pretty productive.
The never-ending supply of coffee and tea helped.
I was working on the tactical plan for our team "business". The goal was to forecast everything four quarters ahead. I can barely forecast tomorrow's day's activities, so you can imagine how much fun I was having with this.
On Sunday, my cousin came to town, so we visited my sister's dorm, and then spent the day at the World Market and at the mall. I bought some small items for my dog.
And, on Monday, I got a lot of cleaning done and even managed to whip up healthy, delicious dinner for my husband. We've been eating junk this past week. It's steamed tilapiaa with fingerling potatoes and tangy salsa. Yum! It was excellent and full of protein and fiber.

Root vegetable medley

My sisteroos came over on Sunday afternoon and we cooked together to the sound of neo-jazz/lounge music in the background. We always have a great time cooking together.
The creation is a root vegetable medley (only 106 calories per serving), consisting of turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, carrots, and pearl onions. It is dressed with a cumin seed, anise seed, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, rice wine vinegar, avocado oil, sea salt, agave nectar, and I am sure something else that I cannot remember.
It was soooooo delicious! Very earthy and autumn-y. Definitely something I'd want to make again.

Oh boy! So much going on!

Saturday was a fun- and stuff-filled day. After the farmers' market, hubby and I took our pup to the vet for his ear infection checkup. He just gets so excited and hyper. Can't you tell by my husband's face?
Next, sisters and I spent the day at the mall buying clothes and getting my haircut. Below is my new haircut. Low-maintenance... I like it.Once at home, I got to show my hubby my new haircut and my loot. He high-fived me. That's his way of complimenting me.
Oh, and today I got my newest Tosca Reno cookbook in the mail. Can't wait to try the recipes!
And, and... I got the newest issue of the Bust magazine in the mail, and on the cover were my girl-crush Ellen Page and this cute lil actress known as Alia Shawkat. I love them! I just had to show.
And now on to my loot. This one was on sale for around $4 at Gap.
And this one is from Aerie. Love the color.
New shoes! Brown, suede, kitten-heel, with a ruffle in the front. It will really go with all the brown stuff I bought.
And as you will see, there is a lot of it. I know some of you may cringe for the lack of color in my new wardrobe (B!), but I promise next time I'll throw in some non-neutral hues.
Here is a recycled material soft brown shirt with buttons on the shoulder detail from Gap.
And a long cardigan that I'll be able to throw over my summer stuff during this transitional season.
And a lovely tweed jacket... brown, of course.
Another brown shirt! Who would have thunk it? By the way, I am now downgraded to a size 10 in pants and jackets, and a Medium in shirts! I can't believe it!
My new, size 10 real straight cut jeans from Gap. They are actually a tiny, tiny bit loose. Size 8, here I come!
Working out and eating right has really made so many positive changes in my appearance and confidence. I am more motivated than ever. As for my wallet... that's another story. :)