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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Fall Color

Summer is great, but give me fall over summer any day. Fall has the brisk coldness that you can almost smell. It has bright colored leaves covering the world in beauty. It encourages snuggling and hot tea. To me, it would be perfect if it weren't for darkness stealing too much daylight time. But we can't ask for perfection ;)

The Aussie & I spent this Saturday driving to Skyline drive (about 1hr & 40 mins west of Annapolis). It was the vision of fall.


We found a spot to hike, and opted for a 1.5 mile hike down, which meant a tortorous 1.5 mile hike up :( I was a bit sweaty by the end, but it was good to get the heart pumping (seriously it felt like it went STRAIGHT UP)




Of course the Aussie captured a picture of a flat straight, but I swear the hike was intense ;)

The Aussie looks hot, albeit a bit chilly!


The day may have ended with Cheeburger, Cheeburger (ahhh-mazing veg burgers).

One week until we are on a plane to Australia!

Off to cuddle on this lovely fall evening,

B

Friday, October 29, 2010

Drama . . . say what?

I don't mind hearing about other people's drama. In fact sometimes I absolutely love it! However, in my own life I like to be sans drama. Today I failed. It began when I got a phone call from my mom about family drama & the possibility of some wedding crashers. No invite really means you're not invited! Then a few hours later I get a phone call from the Aussie saying the jewelry store called to say the fedex truck carrying his wedding ring was ROBBED and his ring was one of the stolen packages. I kid you not. Pure craziness. We leave in a week and his ring was custom-made, so I think he'll be getting a loaner. Not a huge deal, but still unneeded drama.

Funny enough I spent 2 days partying in Atlantic City for my bachelorette fun and managed to avoid the drama, but it attacked me on my ride back to Annapolis!

The AC celebrations were organized by my former college roommate and best friend . . .


She had decorations.


She had food.


She even baked a *special* cake.


We made bets about who would be the last one standing.


I lost :(

We drank many mixed drinks. FYI cherry vodka is incredible in zevia ;)


We dressed up ;) and played bachelorette games.


We ate good food. Hello, Mr. Veggieburger. I love you :)


One night I definitely ended up on stage with the band. It was a great time with great people.

Off to catch up on my zzzs,

B

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Turning into a Bunny

Last night my eye went from fine to a hot mess in 2 minutes! I must have had an allergic reaction to something. My eye was red, uncomfortable, and half closed. I tried washing it and using eye drops, and eventually opted for just going to sleep. When I woke up in the morning it was STILL a mess! At this point I was getting a bit worried, but a few hours after waking it was finally back to normal.

I'm having a bachelorette extravaganza in Atlantic City tomorrow and Thursday, and I'm glad I don't have to go with one eye half closed ;) We're going to be going to a Halloween themed club night, so today was spent searching for an outfit.

This is the base . . .


I bought bunny ears and a tail to go with it :) I wanted to buy something I can wear on non-halloween nights, so this outfit was an easy decision.

In wedding related news, I'm still trying to find my hairstyle. Today I found Kendra's look and it may be the winner . . .


I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and stories after AC :)

Off to spend time with the Aussie,

B

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Mistakes Can Taste Good

Last night I was in a rush to make dinner and put WAY TOO much xantham gum into the "cheese" sauce, and I thought the meal was destroyed. I furiously added water until it thinned a bit, but it was still really, really thick. Surprising it turned out fabulous when I added the shredded daiya cheese, rice, red pepper and broccoli. It was a repeat of the broccoli and rice dish I made last week, but with pepper added.



It was eaten quickly, but thoroughly enjoyed before the dance lesson.

Today was spent at the Renaissance Fair in Annapolis, MD. It was much more fun than we could have anticipated.

We saw glass blowing . . .


We played games . . .



Gabe won (as per usual) . . .


Wine tasting? Check.


Honey tasting? Yepper.


Live shows? Of course!


And jousting (I'm not sure how I feel about this because of the horses. I don't know if this is closer to a riding competition or horse and carriage treatment. I need to research it a bit).


A picture of what the area looked like . . .


All in all it was a lot of fun. I definitely recommend going to one if you have a chance.

In wedding news, we received our wedding guestbook. We are really pleased with how it turned out. We ordered it online through mixbook, and if you want a nice professional photobook definitely check them out.



After a long day it's time to veg on this end,

B

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sugarless, Flourless Cookies? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Happy Friday :) Tonight I'll be dancing again with my soon-to-be-hubby for our last dance lesson. We've been practicing, so hopefully we'll be able to add some dazzle tonight. Our wedding song is Have I Told You Lately by Van Morrison (NOT the Rob Stewart cover) and we'll be doing the social Foxtrot.

Last night I was blog reading and I saw cookies I had to MAKE on Gabriela's blog (http://www.une-vie-saine.com/). They had an oats base with no sugar and no flour. I added coconut and replaced the honey with less than a 1/4 cup of agave. They are stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth delicious. The Aussie loved them too. They could be a good breakfast if you replace the choc chips with raisins.



Lunch was more gardein nuggets. I.am.addicted. I need to go a bit without them, since they are soy-based and I don't think you should go soy crazy.


What's that with the nugs? Well, that is a golden sweet potato. I've never seen them until today, so obviously my interest was peeked. They slice easier than sweet potatoes (a perk!) and the taste is a little different. It tastes like the potato and the sweet potato had a baby.


I didn't mind them, but I think I'll stick to my favs--the sweet potato :)

On the side was a basic tomato and cucumber salad with balsamic vinegar and sesame seeds.


For dessert the Aussie ended his meal with this . . .


And a few of the cookies ;)

Off to pick-up a health book,

B

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Climbing up Walls

Prior to law school I spent most nights at the climbing gym. From the moment I put on a harness I was ADDICTED. I took training classes--I learned how to set-up top ropes outdoors. I joined a climbing club. I was in love. But atlas, law school pushed climbing onto the back burner :( I was hoping to get back into it when I moved to Annapolis, but the closest gym is almost an hour away. When the Aussie said he had a dentist appointment near our old climbing gym I jumped at the chance to climb.


We did 5 routes and our hands are on fire!!! It was so much fun though. I will definitely be getting back to climbing full-time when we get to Australia.

What goes with climbing? Pizza, of course. We passed by ZPizza, which we loved in Williamsburg but it isn't near us now. We shared a Berkeley vegan.


At least lunch was a bit healthier ;)

Kale chips with hemp seeds & nutritional yeast . . .


Sugar snap peas, orange pepper, pinto beans with a sunshine burger mixed in and 2 "nuggets" . . .


Off to catch some zzzs,

B

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Rainy Funk

It's raining on this end, and it has put me in a bit of a funk. Does that ever happen to you? Funk being I slept in, haven't gone to the gym yet, and opted for a frozen pizza over cooking for lunch. I think it's natural to fall into a funk every now and again, but I like to keep my pity party in check. The way you see your life is often a reflection of your perspective--do you focus on how much you don't have or how much you do? I truly try to appreciate everything I have daily. For me, this focus on positive perspective keeps me sane. Today I will go to the gym, because I have the ability to use my limbs. Today I will be grateful for the roof over my head while it rains.

Funk aside, last night I had a fun little date night with the Aussie. We went to see Town, which was decent. Tuesdays are 6 dollar movie days (LOVE!). Dinner was literally shoveled into our mouths, because we were racing the clock (we wanted to get there a bit early to ensure good seats)


I love olives :) The salad rocked my world, and off course I enjoyed the sweet potato fries.

For lunch today the pizza choice was a new one . . .


I didn't notice the final direction was to place it under the broiler to melt the "cheese" so ours was unmelted, but still very tasty. I will definitely be buying it again the next time lazy strikes ;)



Along with the pizza we had sweet potato fries (because we're completely obsessed)


And a tomato, cucumber, avocado salad . . .



Time to be productive :)

B

Monday, October 18, 2010

Tasty Dinner

Sometimes being good can feel bad ;) Tonight I combined broccoli, "cheese" sauce, and brown rice into a meal that tasted bad (read unhealthy) but was actually darn healthy. Veganomicon is an amazing cookbook, and is worth the investment for the "cheese" sauce alone! Cook the broccoli, cook the rice, make the "cheese" sauce and then combine it all :) For the finish, I baked it at 350 with some panko bread crumbs. Delish! I paired it with roasted pumpkin and a salad. The Aussie was in a food induced coma, and quickly layed claim on the leftovers.


I craved something sweet for dessert and made this little gem . . .

http://www.veganbaking.net/vegan-recipes/brownies-and-bars/chocolate-coconut-madness-bars.html


Off to read then bed,

B

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Weekend Adventures

This weekend was filled with dancing, Lebanese, wild horses, fights with campfire wood (the wood won), and a sunrise on the beach. In other words, it was glorious (speaking of glorious--some people are not fans of its overuse, I most certainly support its overuse, although I don't know why I love it so much).

Groupon--which is an awesome site with great coupons--had a cheap coupon for dancing a few weeks ago, so we snagged it up! We figured two dance lessons won't hurt, considering we have to do our "First Dance" in a few weeks (ahhh!). I didn't bring out the camera, because I didn't want to seem like a nut, but we did learn the steps for the social Foxtrot, along with swirls and an entrance. Now all we have to do is practice, practice, practice (especially me in my high heels)

Lebanese and the Aussie aren't best friends, in fact they barely know each other, so I got them to sit down together on Friday :)




Tabbouli and I are tight, really tight :) I also love hummus.

On Saturday we headed off to Assatague State Park to see wild horses. They heard we were eager to see them so they sent someone to great us ;)




After seeing the horses it was time for us (okay, okay the Aussie) to set-up camp.


The wind attacked us!


The Aussie tried to create a great fire . . .


But in the end, it was a dud. The wood wouldn't catch on fire :(

The morning sunrise made up for the lackluster fire . . .


It was a great weekend :)

Off to watch Sister Wives (don't judge me . . . hehe),

B