Kentucky Wildcats Are The NCAA 2012 National Champs!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally cannot believe this... the Cats just pulled off a victory over Kansas to win our 8th National Championship!!!!!!  This is the first time we've won it since 1998... that's FOURTEEN LONG YEARS, PEOPLE!!! And now the trophy is headed back to Lexington where it belongs.

I'm sure Lexington is a total mess right now, but I'd like to be right in the middle of the celebrations!

I'm just so proud of my school! Go Cats!

Recipe of the Week: Glitter Grapes

This isn't technically a "recipe" but I'm going to share it anyway.

Grapes are one of my favorite fruits by far.  I like that they're not "fussy" like oranges and there's no core to get rid of once you're finished. I also love sour candy (think Sweet Tarts and Sour Patch Kids).  I don't eat the candy often for obvious reasons, but I do like it every now and again.

I stumbled across a pin on Pinterest and of course was intrigued.

The "recipe" is called Glitter Grapes or Sour Patch Grapes because they taste like Sour Patch Kids.  The original recipe I found called for green grapes and melon Kool Aid powder... yes, you read that right. Kool Aid Powder.  The thought is to use a color that is similar to the color of the grapes.

Source: puresugar.net via Miranda on Pinterest

I had some red grapes in my fridge and an assortment of individual packets of Crystal Light.  I went with Raspberry Lemonade powder and the red grapes... OH MY GOODNESS. What a treat.

I think I just found a fun way to satisfy that sour/sweet craving that hits sometimes.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Weekend, Where are You??

Typically, I try not to wish for the weekend.  Most weeks fly by, but this one has been a doozy.  Work has been great... busy, but great.  My personal life has been great, too, with the exception of a frustrating situation that I don't have the energy to discuss-- let's just say being a landlord is stressful.

I need a weekend in the worst way.  Typically I cram my weekends with to-do lists and things, but I'm going to try to focus on relaxing and having some fun.  Do you have any fun plans??

Here's what I'm thinking:

• Mani/Pedi:  I actually think I will do it myself this weekend.. I find it relaxing when I have the time. Plus it's free.
• Craft Project:  I don't want to give it away just yet, so I'll leave you in suspense.
• Take a nap... during the day even
• Bowling: I do have one obligation this weekend.  I'm the team leader for a group of analysts from my work for a Bowl-a-Thon to raise $$ for Habitat.  I'm looking forward to it.  I can see myself slowly but surely becoming the unofficial social chair of my department.  Go figure. 

Tomorrow should be a pretty chaotic day with back to back to back meetings (yes, three backs).  Chaos is good, though.  Time flies when things are crazy.  I love it.  I am ever-so-grateful for a job I love so much. 

Color: How much is office appropriate?

For those of you who know me, you probably know that I'm pretty "colorful" by nature- both in my personality and the clothes I wear.  I always get a lot of comments/compliments on my colorful wardrobe in the office, especially given that I'm an analyst and most of us wear all grey, every day.  

As I wore my HOT pink cardigan today (paired with standard black and white shirt and black pants), I started wondering if I take it overboard with the colorfulness in the workplace.

I need this

I should start by saying that my office is business casual with most people wearing slacks, button downs, sweaters, etc.  Also, I'm pretty sure no one REALLY cares what I wear, but I'm just curious what everyone else thinks when putting together a work wardrobe.

Do you wear a lot of color in the workplace? Do you think it's good to let your personality shine regardless of where you are? Let me know. 

(Also, look at me with a post two days in a row...... Are you proud?!)

Dear Anonymous..... Thank you

Just want to send a shout out to the anonymous poster who called me a total slacker for how long it's been since my last post.

Anonymous, you are right.  I will try to do better for you, Anonymous. I AM a slacker.

Honestly, I FEEL like I've been doing tons of exciting and crafty things, but I'm really just pinning them on Pinterest.  Does anyone else have that problem? LOL.

I have made tons of new recipes from Pinterest too.  I haven't made any "old familiars" in weeks.  

I also have done a couple of failed craft projects that I don't even want to get into b/c I'm so disappointed, but I've got a couple of hopefully successful ones in the making as well. 

So far, my weekend has consisted of: 

• Irish Pub in Huntington Village (so fun)
• Late night NY pizza after said pub
• Grocery shopping (Side note: so proud of myself for how well I'm doing at adding in more fresh veggies and fruits into my diet)
• The BEST EVER TRIP TO THE DOLLAR TREE -- I was so excited, this deserves it's own post. Maybe it's because my creative juices are flowing, but I am getting so excited about turning "nothing" into something cool.  Be on the lookout for some REALLY CHEAP projects stemming form this trip.
• Failed craft project #1- trying to make my own mail organizer
• Freezer cooking - my new "thing" is making things specifically to have on hand in the freezer so I'm not tempted to eat out.  Also, it's nice to come home after work and throw something in the oven instead of spending an hour making dinner.'
• Finally getting around to printing out pictures for my collage picture frame.  I have literally had the pictures that came in the frame hung on my wall for three months.  I should be ashamed.  Best part, the pictures I got were free b/c I hadn't yet registered with CVS.com to print pics.  The first 25 prints are free when you sign up! 

Recipe(s) of the Week

It's really hard to narrow it down to one good recipe... Over the past few weeks, I've been making pretty much nothing I have ever made before.  Thanks to Pinterest and the new cookbooks I got for Christmas, I'm overflowing with good, healthy recipe ideas.

Instead of telling you one favorite recipe for the week, I'll summarize some of what I have made over the past few weeks:

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken:



To be honest, I hated it.  I followed some of the suggestions in the comments section and substituted the cheese soup for cream of mushroom.  I thought the condensed soup made it taste very "fake".  I ended up adding in a ton of diced tomatoes, some tomato sauce, and other ingredients and turned it into tortilla soup.  The tortilla soup was great, but it sparked a great debate in my household... is soup really a meal? I posed my question to my Facebook friends and it turned into a "heated" discussion.  The outcome? Overall, women think it's a meal and men don't.

Crockpot Pot Roast

This was really good.  I made the entire pot roast not knowing Kevin doesn't like it... so I have a TON of leftovers.  Here's to hoping it freezes well.  Sorry I don't have a picture of this one.

Southwest Chicken Wraps (Click the picture for the link)

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Miranda on Pinterest

This was really good as well.  I made my own "homemade" salsa for this which was literally just a can of Rotel tomatoes and fresh chopped cilantro.

Now for my very favorite recipe of the week:

Foil Pack Chicken


I'm guessing you've seen the recurring theme here.. I eat a ton of chicken.  This was such an incredible recipe with such easy cleanup that I know I'll be making it again.  One note, I left out the layer of stuffing on the bottom as I'm not a huge fan (of the store bought stuff anyway).  It saved on some calories too, so that's good.  I used low-fat ranch, extra broccoli, and crumbled turkey bacon as well.  Seriously, try this recipe.

Source: bigoven.com via Miranda on Pinterest

Speaking of chicken... I've got slow cooker fajitas on right now.  Maybe it'll top the list next week.  I'll let you know.

I Finally Gave In....

..... and joined Pintrest.

I created an account a LONG time ago, but I knew in the back of my mind that as soon as I got started, I would become totally obsessed.  I kept hearing more and more people talk about how much they loved it and how many cool Pintrest projects they were working on, so I decided to give in.

Just FYI, I was totally right that I would be obsessed.  It's such a fun website. I think you can learn a lot about a person by seeing their "boards" on the site.  I mean, you can find out what food they eat, what they want their home to look like, and what their personal style is all about too.  Heck, you can even see what their dream wedding will look like! It's incredible. 

One of the best things I've realized on Pintrest is it's a great way to find random blogs that are related to your interests.  I can't wait to start following a few of them. 

Source: crapivemade.com via Miranda on Pinterest

I even found one that is $0 Dollar Home/Craft projects, where you use random stuff you'd find around your home and turn the "junk" into something cool or beautiful.  It's pretty amazing.  I need to find it again, I didn't save the link.  

Anyway, if you're reading this and considering joining... DO IT.  You'll love it, I promise.  And if you need an invite, let me know your email address.

Recipe of the Week: Skillet White Beans, Spinach and Tomatoes Over Linguine

One of my goals for 2012 is to expand my horizons and try new things.  Another goal is to eat better foods and cook more.  As such, I have decided to post a recipe of the week each week here on the blog.  I think it will be fun. 

I actually tried a couple of new recipes this week, but I'll share my favorite one.  It's super easy and very good.  It's also really cheap to make for those of us who are on a budget (about $8 or $9 to make the entire recipe.. and that's based on New York grocery prices).  I got the base recipe from sparkrecipes.com which is a website anyone can contribute to.  They also have chefs who post recipes on there as well.  The focus of the website is healthy recipes but there's a little bit of everything on there. I changed up the recipe pretty significantly, so here's my version.

Skillet White Beans, Spinach and Tomatoes Over Linguine

Ingredients:

2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. minced garlic (I like a lot, so I might have used more)

2 cans of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning 

1 can of any white bean (I used Cannellini)

1 pkg fresh spinach

1/2 box cooked whole wheat pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Put water on to boil for pasta.  In the mean time saute garlic in olive oil.  Add in two cans of diced tomatoes until boiling.  Add in can of beans (do not drain).  Cook for 3-5 minutes then add in entire package of fresh spinach to wilt.  Once pasta is al dente, drain and mix in the tomato mixture.  Once plated, grate fresh Parmesan cheese on top.

Side Note:  Much to my boyfriend's frustration... I tend to not measure things or time them, so some of the measurements are estimates and you should change it up to suit your taste.

New Obsession: DIY Hairstyles Online

I don't know why it had never crossed my mind to use the internet to find new, fun ways to do my hair given that I use the internet for everything else! I stumbled across the style section of eHow today when looking up french braiding, and I spent about two hours this morning trying different hairstyles.  

So far, I have still yet to master the french braid, but I think I'll get it eventually.  I did; however, come across some fun up-do's, and I managed to practically re-create my Junior Prom style.  Haha.  I actually hated my hair that year, and believe it or not I actually like what I did myself much better.

I will probably be embarrassed years from now if I ever come across this post.. mostly due to the Myspace-esque mirror pics I'm about to share with you.  I have to admit.. I was pretty proud of how it turned out for my first ever attempt.  I think I have found a new fun way to change up my look, too!

Oh Hey Blog Friends.... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (a little late)

Before I get started on my first blog post of 2012 and also the first post I've written in a month... I want to let you know that one of my main resolutions for the year is to blog more.  I hate half-way doing something, and I know that's what I'm doing here.

I'll start with a brief summary of the past month of my life:

Christmas


This was my first Christmas in New York away from my family, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few emotional breakdown moments.  Thankfully, Kevin and his family made it such a special time.  Although I missed everyone at home so much, I really had a great time.  I was so excited to give gifts and celebrate and reflect on the birth of our savior.

I got Kevin a weekend in Atlantic City as a gift, so I'm excited for us to book that and go.  So fun.

On Christmas Eve, Kevin and I went into the city and watched the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  The Rockettes were SO amazing, and I loved the show.  We also saw the tree at Rockefeller Center.  So beautiful.  The crowds were intense, but everyone was super jolly and fun.

New Year's Eve


Both Kevin and I had friends in town for the weekend.  I was SO thrilled to have girl time with Anne-Tyler.  I've always valued having girlfriends but after two months here with knowing very few people, I loved it even more.  In typical AT and Miranda fashion, we ate great food, gossiped, had deep conversations and drank lots of diet coke.

This is us at 12:01 AM on NYE.  In Times Square.

On NYE, I went with Kevin and his friends to a place called Revival.  I'll be honest, when I first walked in, I thought it was going to be awful because it was really small.  We ended up claiming our little spot outside and had a great time.

I really wish this picture were better quality b/c I really like it.

Resolutions


I've never been good at resolutions but I AM really good at making plans and to-do lists, so I'm going to approach it that way.  I've broken down my goals and plans into categories.  It's a long list so read at your own risk.

• Organization
• Because my apartment is so small, it's important for me to become more organized. 
• Donate things I don't REALLY need to charity on a regular basis.
• Don't allow my bedroom to become a "catch-all" even though it's one of the biggest open spaces in the apartment.
• Only buy things I REALLY love and have room for.
• Finances
• I'm pretty good at pinching pennies (I always have been), but the move to New York has forced me to spend a little more of my rainy day fund than I'm comfortable with.  
• Focus on long term savings
• Work on paying off my car faster
• Don't be wasteful
• Relationships
• Invest in people (time, etc.)
• Keep in touch with people I love
• Make new friends
• Spirituality
• Continue to grow in my relationship with God
• Focus on learning his Word and living by His example
• Find a home church in New York
• Read the Bible more
• Professionally
• I have set a lot of professional goals for myself.  Most are really job specific and are not necessarily things I want to share with the blogosphere (sorry) but I will tell you these...
• Read more: leadership books, business news, market trends, etc.
• Join an organization:  I've talked to several people in the local APICS chapter, and I am planning on going to a meeting this month
• Focus on becoming more creative and innovative in my thinking by exposing myself to new things.
• Well- being
• Focus more on being active
• Fueling my body with good things (i.e. eating more healthily and taking vitamins)
• Spending more time doing things I enjoy (crafts, music, etc.)