Long Weekend / Quick Recipe / Tattoos

I don't know about you guys, but I'm SO ready for the long weekend! In fact, I think my brain is already on vacation... funny how that happens, eh?

Anyway, I thought I'd use this opportunity to catch up on a coupla things I've been meaning to post about...

First of all, potstickers. Aren't they awesome? I bought a couple of bags of them at the Asian Market, but you can get them at any grocery store. Usually they're pretty low in fat (if you get the vegetarian ones like I do), and pretty dern easy to cook up.

For some reason I have terrible problems getting them to NOT stick to my stainless steel pans. They always end up in a big clumpy mess, so I would highly recommend using a non-stick pan (which I have yet to own).

I think they could possibly be the best quick-recipe ever, as you just put 'em in a pan with some oil, cook 'em till they're brown, then add a bit of water & let them sit for about 5 minutes. I added about a cup of frozen broccoli at this point along with some teriyaki and spicy sweet & sour sauce - and there you have it! Dinner in 10 minutes! Nummers.

Second of all, TATTOOS! I just realized that I never posted about these babies that I got a little while ago. They're my prickly pear cacti, and I absolutely love them. I got them at Sol Tribe in Denver from Aron, and I think he did an amazing job. The whole reason I got them was to commemorate the awesome trip I had with the girls to Sedona, AZ last Memorial Day weekend. I guess it's kinda appropriate that I'm posting about them today, since it's pretty much the 1-year anniversary of that vacation! :)


Hope you all have an AWESOME (and safe) Memorial Day weekend!

Ryan & Amanda's Engagement Party

I have known Ryan since High School, and Amanda ever since they started dating a year ago. They're the sweetest, and I'm so happy for them! Amanda's parents catered the whole event, and it was an absolutely beautiful day for it.

We played games & blew bubbles....

The party was obviously pre-blonde-dye for me! :) I love this picture of Nikki & I...


Enjoyed all of the delicious food, and the adorable custom cake they had made....

AND THE ICE CREAM!! Holy crap - I almost forgot about this. Ryan's parents had Graters Ice Cream shipped from Ohio so that we could all enjoy the good-old-days when we were all still Ohioans... the Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip was absolutely to DIE for!

The whole family (including their pup, Brody) was there to make a speech. Well, Brody just rolled around in the grass. :)

Surrounded by friends!

After the speech & dessert we kept playin' games until well into the afternoon....


...until we were plain tuckered out!

Flowery Dress for Spring!

When my mom and I went shopping Sunday, I picked up this super adorable dress at Ross (golly I love Ross - they have the CUTEST dress selection), and these Harajuku Lovers wedges at DSW (only $26 - whaa??)!

I just love everything that Gwen Stefani creates.... check out more of the Harajuku Lovers shoe line here.

This dress totally made me think of something that would come from Betsey Johnson's clothing line - another designer that I would buy absolutely everything from if I could only afford it. I love the way that she uses tons of bright colors, contrasting patterns, and comes up with designs that are super girlie but super funky as well.

The best part of my Ross dress is that it was only $9!! Only slightly less than Betsey's go for... ;)

I may actually try this outfit out again with some bright colored socks too... I've noticed that the shoes rub a bit on my heels. And socks with open-toed shoes are SO in this season!

A New & Exciting Salad Creation!

I've been enjoying this homemade salad for the past 2 days at lunch, so I had to share!

I wanted to get back on track with my usual healthy diet this week, as since I've been carb-loading for the past coupla weeks (due to the lack of grocery shopping), I needed to get back on track. The only problem is that I get really really really bored eating salads every day. So I gotta get creative! So here's another new one - it may sound similar to this one, but this one has a whole new twist.

Pear & Gorgonzola Farmer's Market Salad
(makes 1 large serving, or 2 small servings)

- fresh Farmer's Market mixed greens (they sell these for $4 a 1/2 pound at the one I go to! And MAN - a 1/2 pound is a lot of green.)
- 1/4 a red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 a pear (diced) - or strawberries (either would work great)
- candied cashews (I just bought these from the bulk section at Whole Foods)
- olive oil / balsamic vinaigrette

Cook the red onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes (until caramelized). Remove from heat & let cool. Combine the lettuce, pear, and cashews, then top with onions. Serve with olive oil & balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

It's that easy! I've been scarfing it down like crazy lately!

Dinner and a Movie with Mom

Saturday night after my awesome Farmers Market / Grocery shopping experience, my mom & I met up for dinner and a chick flick.

We went to a new place called Restaurant Home, that served modern comfort food. It was really delicious!

My mom got a Long Island Iced tea, but I tried out their Pear Mojito. It wasn't really anything special honestly - but it did pack quite a punch!

For appetizers we got onion "rings" with some kind of spicy mayo dipping sauce, and beet salad which was my favorite. The beets were really thinly sliced, and they were laid on top of a light & flaky pastry, topped with greens, a light dressing, and goat cheese. I could've had two of those!

For entrees, my mom got BBQ sliders, and I got a grilled cheese sandwich with the the most buttery & rich tomato soup I've ever had!


We took pictures outside the restaurant too - although it was crazy windy, it was a lovely evening for just walking around.


The chick flick we saw was Letters to Juliet, which to put it perfectly honestly - we found AWFUL. BLEAH! I certainly enjoy my fair share of chick flicks from time to time, but they have to be witty, have some decent acting & chemistry, and have some decent dialogue. This movie struck out time & time again, to the point where my mom and I were practically gagging at the end on the cheesy lines and ridiculous claims of "love" from two people that barely even knew each other.

There was no trace of a comic relief during the entire 2 hours, which made for really long boring scenes with no witty quip or physical humor from a funny friend creating a break in between the drama.

The only redeeming quality was Vanessa Redgrave, who pulled a lovely performance out of a bland & boring plot line. She brought me to tears at a couple of points just from her facial expressions. I just love her!

Other than that though - please save yourself the 2 hours! Just go to the website & watch the trailer. I kid you not - it tells you the ENTIRE story (beginning to end), without all the boring parts in between. You can fill in the little holes (trust me, it don't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens)!


I know it must seem like I bash movies a lot on my blog - and I really don't mean to! I'm not a negative person, I swear! I SWEAR!! :)
There are so many awesome movies out there that I love & adore, I've just had a couple of strike outs lately. I LOVE chick flicks, just not this one.

Hope you all had a great rest of your weekend! After Saturday my mom & I spent the day shop shop shopping until we pretty much dropped. It was a great mother/daughter time!

Life is like....

...well, I guess the photo says it all!

Things have been much better yesterday/today, and I feel like I'm finally getting in some much needed relaxin' time. A lot of my friends (well, most of them to be truthful) went to Moab for the weekend, but I opted to stay in town and decompress from my crazy social schedule.

I finally received my "Zombie at Tiffany's" t-shirt from Threadless, and I totally LOVE it!

I haven't worn these wedge platform shoes in ages either, and I figured they were a nice contrast to the...um... graphic nature of my t-shirt. I just love wearing irony!

I trucked my booty on down to the Farmer's Market today too, as I was in desperate need of fresh food. I was in a "eat everything in my cupboard before spending money on groceries again" mode, so I was really craving some REAL food (and having a meal that didn't consist of bread & peanut butter).

Well, this little guy (below) got me started with something new & different - it was SO delicious. I don't even know what it's called, but I want to say Arepas? It tasted like a kind of corn bread (I know for a fact it was gluten-free), and the girl stuffed it full of super fresh mozzarella, fried plantains, and a basil-avocado sauce. I practically ate the whole thing in only 2 bites it was that amazing! I wish I knew how to make it myself! I hope they have a booth set up again next weekend....

I love it when I come home to an empty refrigerator that I can fill up with gorgeous colorful foods! Those Budweisers aren't mine by the way... a friend left them over at my apartment, and I've been really trying not to just drink 'em myself. Haha!

I was craving some coconut sorbet, so I treated myself to the oh-so-delicious Ciao Bella. They make the most wonderful flavors, and they're all natural - BONUS! I cooked up some frozen pineapple in a pan with some brown sugar, and added my own tropical topping. It was so yummy. Now I think I need to lay off my indulging though.... I even almost made a breakfast burrito when I got home! Ha! All this beautiful food just inspires me!

Hobos & Hillbillies - Crusier Ride

Yesterday was a shitty awful day for me - hence no post!
It's hard finding motivation to do anything when you're feeling down in the dumps. Luckily my boss was nice enough to let me take off early from work so that I could get some rest - I have just been really stressed out lately trying to find balance in my life. Luckily Derby practice was kickass last night (although ridiculously hard), and got my endorphins flowing again. I feel much more like myself today!

Anyway, in an effort to get into a better mood, my friend Katy & I went on the cruiser ride this week. The theme was "Hobos & Hillbillies" which is slightly more difficult than you'd think to come up with a proper costume. We didn't stay too late on the ride (the bars were just WAY too crowded), but we still had an awesome time. I sure do love group bike rides during the summer - so much fun!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Roller Derby Happy Hour

Last Friday the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls had a fundraiser/happy hour at Wahoo's Fish Tacos. It was a great way for all of us "Fresh Meat" to get to know each other a little bit more, and to mingle with our new idols (ahem - all the ladies of Fight Club).

Annia LateHer came by our table & made us laugh with her stories (and the fact that she was a little tipsy - shoot, they use everclear in those margaritas! Whoa momma!), Red Dye came over and introduced her cute lil' self, Frida Beater stopped over to make fun of Annia.... it was a night full of laughter & meeting new people. I just adore nights like that!