Cherry oatmeal smoothie

Now that I'm finally able to work out again, my appetite for quick, easy, and healthy meal fixes has returned.  I love coming home from the gym in the morning to enjoy one of these smoothies waiting in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chia seeds
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cranberry-cherry juice
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• splash of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions:
Blend oats and chia seed in blender until texture is fine.  Add milk and juice.  Stir to get oats and chias off the bottom.  Add remaining ingredients.  Blend until desired smoothness.
Refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).  Shake before drinking.

Adapted from The Yummy Life

 

4 concerts in 4 weeks

Tall Dark and Nerdy just got home from a five week trip, so I had a LOT of time on my hands for the last 5 weeks.  I stumbled into several wonderful opportunities with friends to see fantastic live music and made it to 4 concerts in 4 weeks!

Week 1 Jen invited me to see Metric with her and a roommate in Oakland at the Fox Theater.  I am not a Metric super-fan by any means, but had so much fun at the show.  And who doesn't like a female lead singer killing it on stage?

They ended the show in a really fun and unexpected way for an electronic band - the lead singer and guitarist sang an acoustic version of a song and the rest of the band joined them onstage for the last chorus.  The whole audience was singing and clapping along and totally present.  Super cool.


Concert number two was a totally different type of show.  I drug my roommate MB with me to a tiny music venue in San Francisco that neither of us had been to before to hear an artist I have followed for years, thanks to the TV show "One Tree Hill."  The character Grubbs on the show is played by Michael Grubbs, who goes by the band name Wakey! Wakey!  I was so excited to finally see him live!  We got a table reservation at Café du Nord (the venue) and made an evening of it.

 This was the view from our table.  We had the front table, right in front of the stage on the side with the piano.  There were a few rows of chairs lined up next to us, making for a very intimate show.

Most of the show was just this guy playing the piano and singing with everything he has.  And telling jokes and stories.  So many stories.  For a while there, I wasn't sure if I was at a concert or a comedy show.  I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

The opener was less than impressive - actually, she was bad - so MB was worried that I had drug her out to a show that was going to be painful to sit through.  She had me worried for a second, too, but as soon as Grubbs took the stage and played the first few notes, messed it up, laughed it off, started again and sang his first song, we both knew we were in for a fantastic night.

In the middle of the set, he played a few songs on guitar.  As he grabbed his guitar and moved to the center of the stage, he told us that he got this really cool guitar with a jack in the back that makes it work through the sound system...but, unfortunately, it was broken.  Then he said "luckily, my career is going in such a way that there aren't that many people here tonight," so he told the sound guy to take a break.  He sat on a stool at the front of the stage with just an acoustic guitar and his voice and sang a few songs totally unplugged, including "Dance So Good," one of my favorites.

I will definitely see him any time he comes to town, and will try to get as many of my friends who appreciate good music to learn to love his music and performance as much as I do!

Number three was yet another totally different type of show.  This time Margo and I saw Jon Pardi at The Rodeo Club.  Jon is an up-and-coming country singer who has written songs performed by several popular artists, and now has his second single on the radio.  He was the first opener when I saw Justin Moore on his arena tour back home in South Dakota about a month and a half ago, and thought his music was fun.  When Margo invited me to see him in his own show - granted, at a MUCH smaller venue - I couldn't resist!  He has a little bit of a rockabilly feel, which was a lot of fun.  We also got to meet him before the show, and that boy is tall!

We also just about fell over laughing when, midway through the set, his drummer made a crazy facial expression that reminded me of my friend Brian.  I told her, she realized how uncanny the resemblance was, and we both about died.  We tried so hard to get a good picture of him, but stage lighting is never right for getting pictures of drummers, so we tried repeatedly - and he noticed...and laughed at us...a lot.

Week 4 had another concert with Jen in San Francisco at another intimate venue, Slim's.  I had been to a show here three years ago and had a great experience.  This time we were seeing Sara Bareilles, and the show was SOLD OUT.  Our spot was not ideal for, you know, being able to see, but it was fun to be in a place with so many people so excited to see a girl and her piano.

 This girl has some pipes.  What a fantastic performer, too!  She is a very talented songwriter, singer, pianist, performer, etc.  I had no idea what to expect from this show, but I was absolutely blown away by how incredible she is.

I was supposed to see a fifth show the day TDN was scheduled to be arriving home, but he got home a day early, and after my morning at TEDx Santa Clara, I couldn't resist cuddles and a nap with my boo.

#tbt - Grams's wallet

Grams wanted to show off the pictures in her wallet - to the people in her wallet -  over Easter.  These gems were in there, and have been for a loooong time!

 

I'm not exactly sure what year these are from, but I'm guessing I was in probably 3rd grade, which would make this Baby Sister's picture from kindergarten!

 

 

Mom's biscuits and gravy

Whenever Mom asks for breakfast requests, my top choice can be predicted by nearly everyone in the family.  Biscuits and gravy.  They're my favorite.  Especially when Mom makes them.

 

Since having my own kitchen, this has been on my list of meals to cook.  Sadly, however, TDN has a funny allergy to pork, meaning that I didn't want to make sausage gravy while he was around and unable to eat it.  Yet, the first time I made them on my own, I wanted to use pork sausage - rather than turkey sausage or chicken sausage.  While he was on his long business trip, I finally made it happen:  homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, just like Mom makes them.

 

Ingredients:

Biscuits

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup shortening
• 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups (less 3 Tablespoons) milk

Gravy

• 1 tube pork sausage
• 2 packets country gravy mix
• milk
• flour
• butter

Instructions:

Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two butter knives (pull through in opposite directions) until mixture looks like fine crumbs. 

In a measuring cup, add milk to lemon juice to make 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk.  Mix. 

Add buttermilk to flour mixture until dough leaves side of bowl and is soft and sticky.

Knead dough lightly 10 times on lightly floured surface.  Roll 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into biscuits with a glass (or a biscuit cutter if you want to be boring).

Place on ungreased cookie sheet with sides touching.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet and serve warm.

Gravy

Brown sausage in a frying pan. 

Begin by melting a little butter - or fat of choice - in a saucepan.  Add in salt, pepper, and a couple Tablespoons of flour.  Slowly stir in some milk until mixture thickens.

Add gravy packets and milk or water per instructions on the packet.  Follow instructions on packet, stirring constantly until gravy reaches a boil.  Reduce to simmer.  Stir in sausage, simmer five minutes.

 

Biscuit recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Cookboox

Hand-painted glasses

I've had a lot of time on my hands recently while I've been recovering from knee surgery. After a couple months of mind-numbing TV watching, I was feeling physically up to the task of digging through my arts and crafts supplies and doing something fun. 

I decided that my glass tumblers were just begging to be beautified. So I did it.

I now have four somewhat-coordinated hand-painted glasses in my cupboard and I love them!

I used acrylic paint, $1 tumblers from Target, and paint brush handles. I poured a little paint onto waxed paper so it was easy to access, then dipped the end of the handle into it and dotted it onto the glass. I let each color dry for a few minutes before putting dots on top. After I finished painting, I placed the glasses in a cold oven and turned it to 350 degrees. Once it was preheated, I set the time for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off and let the glasses cool in the oven.

For the really big yellow dots, I actually used a ChapStick lid!

First fruit

While TDN has been out of town for business, I have been periodically checking up on the garden.  I love seeing things grow over short and long periods of time, and the plants in the garden are no different.  I can't wait for the tomatoes to be ready!

The strawberries are trying to grow and ripen about halfway through TDN's time away.

Leroy came outside to help me check on things.

Look very closely and you can see the first yellow bloom of the tomato plants.  This one just happens to be on the purple tomato plant, my favorite!

When I checked the garden this week - the last week of his trip - there was a beautifully ripe strawberry.  Yes, just one.  It was the first fruit (or vegetable) I found ready to eat from this summer's garden!  I brought it home for MB to enjoy, and enjoy it she did!

#tbt - Toothless

I'm joining the Instagrammers and their #tbt craze.  #tbt stands for "throwback Thursday" and has been a fun trend to watch.  Friends post pictures of themselves or their friends in the past, whether it was 6 months ago or when they were 6 months old.

While visiting my Grams at home last month, I enjoyed looking at old pictures of my cousins and I growing up displayed proudly on her piano.

This gem, my first tbt post, can be found affixed to my mom's file cabinet in her classroom at school.  Apparently, I had just lost some teeth and wanted to show off the gap!