Fall Family Fun

This weekend S2H and I made the most of the long weekend and headed to the Triangle Area to visit Giselle and Isaac (S2H's awesome nephew who lives in NC). Our first stop was UNC for shopping, college Mexican, and some Carolina brews! We only got 24 hours in with Giselle but it was the best 24 hours!

{my beautiful sis treated me to a personal styling afternoon and lots of snuggling!}

{and S2H got his own treat at Carolina Brewery}

On Saturday we headed to Raleigh to hang out with Isaac. As luck would have it the Pittsburg Penguins were in town playing the Carolina Hurricanes. So we grabbed Isaac and headed to the game. We had an awesome dinner at Porters beforehand. They somehow magically combined artichokes and queso. Once got to the arena we were surprised with awesome seats. The game was really exciting. Lots of action around the goal and some hilarious arena antics. The Hurricanes have dancers in every corner and a crowd energizer named Big Mike. They have even adopted the home town hero Rick Flare's "woooooo" as their goal cheer. To sum it up it was a great night and an awesome treat to hang out with Isaac.  

{sporting yellow and black for the Pens!}

{Isaac, a happy Canes fan (5-3)!}

{last but certainly not least, Big Mike & Stormy, the ice hog}

Best Summer Meal Ever...minus the side effects

S2H and I kicked off the work week on the right foot with a healthy dinner...grilled salmon with spicy peach salsa.  Usually, I am disappointed by at-home salmon recipes...too fishy, lacking flavor, you get the drift.  Not too mention I am a new seafood eater and the potential smell makes me squirm.  But everywhere I turn magazines and blogs are highlighting the benefits of eating salmon on a weekly basis.  So with new found resolve I decided it was time to go for it, especially after reading that it helps improve your skin-hello wedding glow!  I didn't have to look far for an appetizing recipe, to the rescue, Nina!  This recipe is from Cooking Light.  I prepped my salmon for the grill pan, Nina's way, with kosher salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice, and a couple cloves of minced garlic.  I made the salsa exactly like the Cooking Light recipe, but next time I would add another peach.  S2H and I were fighting over the peach chunks to create the perfect bite!  Here is our final product, on a bed of arugula (for a peppery bite) with a side of lemon green beans with toasted almonds. This meal was awesome!! Filling but in the healthiest of ways...and room for a 70 calorie Dove ice cream bar :).

Now this meal would have been absolute perfection if I hadn't made a huge mistake... I cut the jalapeno bare handed! And holy moly...this pepper was killer.  I rinse my hands about a dozen times while cooking, but no luck...I got a serious jalapeno burn!  I stuck my hand in cold water - no relief.  Hand INSIDE bag of frozen peas...a bit of relief.  Fresh lime juice...a few more temporary seconds of relief. And after Googling and finding this, I soaked my hand in milk.  But we only had skim milk, and the recommendations said the more milk fat the better, sour cream the best!  No sour cream, fat free creamer...I was dying!  Buried in the back of the fridge was a small carton of butter milk...with a July expiration date.  S2H raised his eye brow at me, but I was a woman in pain.  In went the hand into weeks old buttermilk.  To top it off I smeared low fat cream cheese all over.  Ahhh...soooo gross, but so much better.  Picture proof and a warning, beware of the burning peppers!

{wine helps too ;). did i mention this post was created a la one hand?!}

Watermelon - Stawberry-Lemon Booze Coolers

I had some watermelon that was on the brink last week, so I cut it up and froze it for later.  And thank goodness I did, because S2H came up with an amazing booze-y creation to celebrate a great weekend with friends and our 3 year dating anniversary.  Here it goes...

Serving Size: 2

-2 cups of frozen watermelon chunks

-Juice of 2 lemons

-1/4 cup of simple syrup

-1/2 cup of vodka

-splash of strawberry flavored vodka

-1/2 cup of club soda (we used sodium free)

Blend the watermelon chunks with lemon juice.  Slowly add simple syrup.  Once everything is blended add the vodka(s).  Divide club soda among two iced filled glasses and pour watermelon mix to the brim!  Garnish with a fresh lemon or strawberry, enjoy!

frizz, photo shoot, & fun

S2H and I were lucky enough to snag a Sunday afternoon with Lindsay Alexander last month for our official engagement photos!  Luck would have it that Lindsay was in DC to capture the most amazing wedding of my work sister, Erin.  Lindsay is also going to capture our day and was sweet enough to spend some extra time in DC for an engagement photo session.  This was a great opportunity to get comfortable with each other and capture some images in the place where S2H and I met.  The day was great for the "lighting" but not so great for my hair...hello frizz city!  It was a hot and humid DC morning with a side of drizzle.  Lindsay was a trooper and I tried not to let my self conciousness get the best of me! Here are some of my favorites.  But be sure to check out Lindsay's blog to see us and all her amazing work!