5 MUST haves

thank you my lovely friend beantown prep for tagging me :)

1. lululemon speed shorts- cant say enough great things about these. beyond comfortable and so awesome to work out in. i'm in the process of ordering more- i only have one pair right now and i wash them at least twice a week.

2. netflix- especially with d working so much i love how easy netflix is. i'm currently working my way through seasons of the office, lost & modern family is next.

3. fruit- i eat a lot of fruit. a lot. probably 4-5 pieces a day. cant get enough of it. currently my favorites: apples, bananas, peaches & plums. i cut open a pineapple this morning and accidentally ate the whole thing. oopsie.

4. morning walks- i've taken a break from running recently (sad i know c25k was going great but more on that later) so i've been walking a ton lately. i average 5-6 miles a day. i love listening to podcasts and walking, it helps clear my mind and gets some energy out.

this view definitely doesn't hurt:

5. my other half. obvi. i'm getting emotional because he's leaving soon, but i love d and am really trying to enjoy our time together in the next few weeks.

xoxoxoxo

2011 book challenge

year i graduated college: 2009

amount my vocabulary has expanded since then: ZERO.

i'm challenging myself to a '25 in 2011' book challenge. since my college days i really feel like i've dumbed down a lot. i've also realized that i've read few books since then and this could definitely be my problem :/

i originally liked the round number of 50, but then calculated thats roughly a book a week. um. lets not get too crazy.

My current list for 2011:

1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan- completed 1/11/11

2. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk

HOLLER! Already finished one! I'll probably start putting these on the sidebar just to keep track, lets hope that by 2012 my goal is completed :)

xoxoxoxo

recap of 2010 (yes a few days late...)

naturally this post is a few weeks late. our recap of 2010 :) what a WONDERFUL & blessed year...

january: a great friend K came out to visit katie & i in annapolis before she embarked on her adventure of a lifetime...the peace corp. miss her dearly and cant wait to see her again.

february: we found out we were moving to HAWAII :)

march: celebrated st. patricks day like adults and met up at Fado's after work where we continued to drink a ridiculous amount of irish car bombs and regret it the next day.

april: i turned the big 2-3 and celebrated with my bachelorette party and wedding shower in denver. one last night of shenanigans with the girls.

may: d graduated and commissioned :) we said goodbye to annapolis.

june: i became d's wife & we welcomed our niece baby linnea into the world.

july: we made the big move to hawaii (but only after trips to wyoming, chicago & indiana for wonderful weddings).

august: i pieced together our little hawaiian hut that eventually became our first home.

september: we enjoyed more of the island.

october: we took a mini-vacation to the big island.

november: celebrated our first thanksgiving together as a married couple..on d's ship because he had duty :)

december: celebrated our 6 month anniversary and made our first trip back to the mainland together for the navy bowl game.

cant wait to see what 2011 holds for us!

xoxoxoxo

jumping on the green bandwagon

i made my first green monster smoothie yesterday and it turned out delicious. i've been reading about these for months and finally got out the blender and tried a recipe of my own.

i included:

1 cup almond milk

2 handfuls spinach

2 stalks celery

1 small handful of broccoli

1 pear

handful cherries

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

i'll be honest it wasn't the BEST tasting drink i've ever had in my life. but i think with a little more tweaking green smoothies will become a staple in my diet. i have a hard time getting all of my fruits and vegetables in a given day- and its usually at the end of the day i realize i'm way below my veggie intake, etc. hopefully these help me out a little bit. i stocked up on frozen fruits at the grocery store last week, so i'll let you guys know which i think taste best as this experiment continues!

xoxoxoxo

this years christmas card

this was our FIRST christmas card :)

{looks cut off because it is- our names were on the bottom}

i will admit to not sending these out on time, i did have the best of intentions but somehow that just didn't cut it. these should all be delivered by now to our wonderful family & friends...

i adore minted.com. absolutely love it. i could browse for hours.

in fact i have.

a few of my favorites:

xoxoxoxo

another adorable etsy find

katie actually showed me this a long time ago on etsy- i've loved it ever since i laid eyes on it! i bought it for a great close friend i've made out here in hawaii (we will call her j from now on). i definitely recommend the seller, the map was here in no time and is great quality!

here is the link to the shop.

xoxoxoxo

yummy nutella pie

you need to make this recipe stat.

SO GOOD.

i made this for one of d's work functions and could have eaten the entire pan myself. its like a mousse whip pie- absolutely delicious especially if you have a sweet tooth for hazelnut.

**these pictures were taken with my iPhone, not my Rebel so sorry for the quality!**

{lovely mess in the kitchen}

{the yummy end result}

I found the recipe here- I love this blog I've tried a lot of her recipes and have really enjoyed them all. Definitely worth checking out!

Easy Nutella Pie

8 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz cool whip

2/3 cup Nutella

1 cup toffee bits, divided

graham cracker crust

In an electric mixer, mix together cream cheese and Nutella until combined. Add in coolwhip and mix on low until combined. Stir in 3/4 cup toffee bits. Pour mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Top with remaining toffee bits. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

xoxoxoxo