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.)

A Reward Will Be Offered....

..... to anyone who can help me make a decision on which area rug to purchase for my living room.  

I have hardwood floors, and I am in desperate need of a rug.  My couch is black leather and the room itself is a bit dark.  The walls are a neutral color, too, so I want to add a lot of brightness and color with my accessories.  I am thinking either lime green or yellow.  I tend to like contemporary style with some fun designs.  At first I couldn't find ANYTHING.. and now I've found so many I'm having a hard time narrowing it down.  

So, here are some of the ones I have found.  Let's take a vote, ok? Let me know which ones you like the best/least/etc. and we'll go from there.

#1-- This one is very simple but I like the clean lines and the colors.

#2-- This one is clearly not bright, but I love the design.

#3-- This one's not bright either but you can't really go wrong with zebra.

#4- I like the purple but still not as bright as I want.

#5-  This is closer to what I'm looking for but I don't love the design.

#6 - I think this is one of the closest ones to what I was looking for.

#7 - I love this one, but wish there were less grey and more yellow.

#8 -- again, I like this one but wish it were brighter.

#9-- I love this one but am actually considering using purple in my bedroom.  

#10- This one isn't as contemporary, but I love it and the price is good.

#11-- I LOVE this one

#12- this one is modern and fun

#13- Frankly, I can't even tell what this says but it looks cool.

In case it helps... here's a picture of my couch so you can see what I'm trying to contrast against.  It's black leather and a bit masculine. I plan on using different throw pillows too.. those are just the ones that came with the couch.

Best Thanksgiving Ever...

I may have had the best thanksgiving of my life this year. You don't really learn gratitude for your friends and family until you are apart from them. I genuinely enjoyed every moment of my trip home to Kentucky.

My flight was incredibly uneventful. Based on my travel experiences from last year on Thansgiving Eve, I decided to wait until early Thursday morning to fly home. Both my connection flight to Charlotte and my flight to Lexington arrived early...That is unheard of (at least in my experiences)!

My mom brought Jackson with her to the airport to pick me up and he was so excited he didn't know what to do with himself. He wouldn't leave my arms the entire hour car ride home.

Immediately upon arrival, I stopped to visit my dad then went with mom to her side of the family's thanksgiving. We had a great time and had lots of good food too.

Friday was an extra special day because dad and I got to meet my brand new baby cousins Thomas and Truman. They are so cute! Truman is the calm one and Thomas is more spunky.

Truman

 I was excited to get to hold both babies, and I even got to feed Truman.

Saturday was my mom's thanksgiving and even my Christmas! Gotta love family time and early presents. I don't know what got into me.. but I didn't take any pictures.

Sunday morning was a bittersweet "see you later" with my dad and Jackson. It was way hard.  As I was packing my bag, Jackson knew something was up and started lying on top of my stack of clothes so I couldn't pack.  It made me sad but at the same time was super cute.  Thankfully for my handy dandy iPhone, I was able to capture that cuteness too.

My mom and Levi drove back up with me to New York to bring the rest of my belongings.  I very much enjoyed having them visit me in NY and see where I'm living.  They had SUCH a great time.  They've already explored more of Long Island than I have (in just one day).  They also ventured into the city and took a tour.  I'm so glad they had fun and made it home safely.  It was hard to say goodbye to them too.

All in all, I am overwhelmed with gratitude this holiday season.  I may very well have the best friends and family in existence and I hope than any of you reading this know how much you mean to me!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

It's officially my one month anniversary as a New Yorker.  Well, let's face it.. I'm still not a New Yorker, so I should say... it's my one month anniversary of residing in New York.  I'll always be a Kentucky girl.

I'm still amused at how much everyone I meet loves my accent.  I'm still not used to hearing people say cawfee (coffee) and I don't think I ever will get used to it.  I also don't think I'll ever get used to the insane traffic and crazy drivers.  One day it was raining slightly and it added a good 20-30 minutes to my commute b/c people had no idea what they were doing.  I'm told that it's even worse in snow.  Great.

Besides traffic and crazy accents, I LOVE it here.  There's a whole lot to do (obviously) and I am so ready to be completely settled so I can start enjoying the scenery more.  My job is incredible.  I am loving being an analyst because it really allows me to be the nerd that I am.  I literally dreamed about a spreadsheet last night and woke up happy... I'm not joking.  I know I'm not normal.  The best part is that I'm not stuck behind spreadsheets and numbers ALL the time.  I get a lot of interaction with others and there's definitely a big teamwork emphasis, which I love.  When I chose to study business, I envisioned my career to look something like me sitting in a room with really smart people coming up with awesome ideas and then going off and implementing them.  Now that I get to do that... I'm loving it.

My apartment still isn't anywhere close to what I want it to look like. It's been a long process with getting furniture delivered, etc. and I still have basically nothing decorated.  My couch is being delivered tomorrow so I'm trying to get the last of my things unpacked and organized so I'll have room for everything.  It's definitely interesting having so little space when I was used to having my own house.  I like it though. Cleaning is SO easy and quick.. and frankly, I'm just one person.. I don't need a ton of space to live.  I plan on getting a lot of my decor, etc. when I go home for Thanksgiving this week, so that will make this place feel more like home.  Also, I'm just REALLY excited to see everyone at home.


I know this blog is super long (I wouldn't have this problem if I'd update more through the week, right?!) but I also want to briefly talk about HOW MUCH FUN I had at a Foo Fighters and Social Distortion concert this week.  It was this past Monday at The Rock (Prudential Center) in Newark, New Jersey.  The Rock happens to be where the New Jersey Nets play currently, but they are moving to Brooklyn next year.  We had general admission floor tickets so we got to stand pretty close to the stage.  I was worried that people would be all crazy and pushing/shoving but it wasn't really the case.  A few people were, but for the most part everyone was pretty calm.  I don't know a lot of the music, but I enjoyed the show anyway.  Dave Grohl, the lead singer, is an incredible entertainer.  The highlight for me was the the drummer was wearing a "Wildcat Pride" t-shirt!!! It was really cool.  I literally made it my mission to get a good picture of it but he was moving so fast with drumming it was hard to get a good one.  Here's the best one I got...

For now I'm off to go get my car detailed (for $25.. thank you Groupon!) and drop off my laundry.  I know, it's an exciting Saturday! Tomorrow is my big day, though.  Going to make Kevin one of his favorite meals (chicken fettuccine alfredo) in exchange for him being so kind as to take me to see Breaking Dawn Part 1.

I Haven't Forgotten About You!

I keep telling myself that I'm going to post more, and I have really good intentions. It's just really easy to let it slide when you get caught up in the day to day routine.  

I just finished up my second week of work.  I'm genuinely loving it.  I feel like I learn something new every day and I get to do all of the nerdy things I love to do.  

My commute to work is a bit interesting.  It takes me almost 30 minutes exactly to get to work which isn't bad at all.  I leave pretty early even though I don't have to be to work until 9:00 so there isn't much traffic at all.  On the way home, though....wow, it's crazy.  It has taken me upwards of an hour to get home due to stand still traffic in certain areas.  Of course, the efficiency nerd in me has analyzed about 4 different ways to get home now and I'm in the process of figuring out all the fastest shortcuts.   

I've got a lot of exciting countdowns going on right now. 

• 1-3 Days:  Receiving my TV and comforter set in the mail (what was I thinking leaving those incredibly important things at home?!)
• 2 days:  Foo Fighters concert with Kevin
• 6 Days: Breaking Dawn Part 1 opens in theaters
• 8 Days:  My new couch is being delivered!
• 12 Days:  My first visit back to Kentucky since moving! Thanksgiving weekend!
• 16 Days:  Kevin's birthday! (I am in desperate need of gift ideas for a guy who couldn't care less about STUFF.)