Lovely Lovely Photographs!

I was browsing around some of my favorite bloggies yesterday, and I came across the photographs of Krisatomic! 

Not only are her illustrations utterly adorable, but I absolutely love her photographs.  They're beautiful and usually simple in subject matter, but they all make me feel so happy and calm inside.  They make me wish I had a nice camera to play around with!  (I still love my new pink snapshot camera, but it's not quite the same).

I haven't played around with a professional camera in such a long time, and these photos totally inspire me.  Here are just a few of my favorites: 

 This one really makes me want to have coffee (or tea!) in a garden somewhere! 

 I adore all photographs of windows and doors.  I love the little things on the windowsill here too - I actually have a similar photo that I took a long time ago in college hanging on my wall at work.  I love to see all of the little things I used to keep there!  I feel like it's a little secret in the shot as to where you were at that point in your life.  I love this one especially because of the rain outside!

 Same goes for Breakfast shots too, by the way. :) 

I love that you can see the little bumble bee!! 

 I'm pretty crazy about Farmer's Markets, so naturally I was drawn to this one.  Here's my post about my local one! 

What self-proclaimed foodie doesn't adore pictures of FOOD?

 This one makes me feel calm without even having to go on vacation!  I love it. 

Please be sure to go to the Krisatomic blog to check out all of her amazing stuff! 

Going to bed angry...

Last night I went to bed angry.

You know how people say not to do that?  Yeah, it's totally true.

I tossed and turned all night, and felt exhausted this morning.  And you know what?  It wasn't worth the energy.  One person's irresponsible behavior set me off the deep end, and I've been wallowing in it ever since.  And it doesn't change anything.  I don't have the power to change that person, and being angry about it will not make it any better.

So I'm tryin' to get happy and positive again.

Then I came across this video, and it made me smile.  It's a new up & coming artist named Birdy - I guess she's only like 15-years old.  (PS - I'm going to start a trend where OLDer people start getting famous, and everyone is amazed at what they do.  Why do you have to be ridiculously young for people to think you're amazing?  I don't get it.)

Anyway, it's a cover of the Bon Iver song "Skinny Love", and it's just lovely.

Things are looking up.

Sushi Night!

The night before I left for New York, Geneva had some of us over for a homemade sushi night!  I never thought that homemade sushi could be as good as the kind in a restaurant, but boy, I was wrong.  Wes and Geneva were both a whiz in the kitchen, so we all just sat back & watched! 

Oooooooh yeah, baby!  I love me some sushi!  Still in the preparation phase, this stuff looks good enough for scarfin'. :) 

Jess & I watching the action! 

Everyone always converges in the kitchen, don't they?  It's a good place to be if you ask me. 

Our two amazing chefs!

More food preparing, and my hubby in his boot.  Poor fella has a stress fracture because of his marathon training!  Such a bummer.  Hopefully it heals up soon! 

Mason, "helping".  I think it's hilarious how animals always seem to be wherever you are - even if it means getting tripped over, or stepped on. 

Catchin' up, over some Sake of course!

Geneva's SUPER cool (and super colorful) back porch!  Love it!  It was such a lovely night - it was a perfect one for lounging around & eatin' some delicious food outside. 

Mmmmmm..... Sushi.  They seriously looked like something right out of a restaurant.  They did all different combinations too - avocado, cucumber, yellowtail, sweet potato, mango (my favorite), tuna, etc.

 

Sake it to me, baby!!  :)  I never drink Sake, but this was the perfect opportunity.  The plum wine was a little to sweet & syrupy for my taste, but the Sake (I think it was Diamond level for sweetness?) was absolutely perfect.

Oh yeah.  That's the good stuff. :)

Ryan & Amanda's Wedding

At the end of July, one of my longtime-all-the-way-back-since-high-school friends got married.  Ryan and I have been friends forever, and I love the kid.  I'm so happy that he met a wonderful girl like Amanda!  

Their wedding was in a church with a gorgeous view of the mountains.  Amanda looked absolutely beautiful, and the ceremony was short & sweet.  The reception was back in town at the Mile High Station - right near where the Bronco's play at Mile High Stadium!  The venue was gorgeous, and we had a blast dancing the night away. 

 My parents have known Ryan about as long as I have, so they were there too!  My Dad with our friend Kat. 

 

The centerpieces - aren't they lovely?? 

 Katy & George - pics of their wedding coming soon!  I was glad we were all at a table together - I love these guys. 

Me and my mom - she's laughing at something, but I have no idea what!  Like mother like daughter I guess! 

 My little sis & mom - I love this picture! 

 My dad & my mom - already boogie-in'!  My mom REALLY wanted to dance at this wedding, and she pretty much grabbed anyone she could find to be her partner!  It was pretty hilarious! :) 

 THE FOOD.  Holy crap - it was delicious.  I think that was the first thing I said to Ryan when I finally got to congratulate them "THE FOOD WAS AWESOME!"  Yeah, I like food a lot.  It was all buffet-style, and oh-so-amazing.  The burger is actually a crab cake slider, and there were tons of veggie-friendly sides.  I was in heaven. 

There's a teeny tiny bride & groom back there doing their first dance, I swear. 

 There they are!  

 My parents still dancin'!  Told ya so... 

Meredith had some fun with the napkin rings.  Hilarious!

 Oh yes, there was much dancing. 

 Whoa - bird's eye view!  If you'd been able to see down our shirts, I totally wouldn't have posted this.  I do have some modesty, you know. 

I feel like this is foreshadowing for Katy's wedding!

My little sis & me! 

We all had a wonderful time, and I'm so glad that I could be there to celebrate with everyone.  I have an amazing group of friends, and they seem to all be getting hitched this year!  LOVE THEM!!

Thanks - I needed that!

Every now & then I get totally surprised by blogging.  

When a blogger that I adore who has a gajillion followers comments on one of my posts - it totally makes my day!

Even better, when someone from Sweden (or some other land far-far away) starts following my blog & commenting on things.  I absolutely love hearing from people an ocean away that can relate to what I'm writing! 

The best, when you make a friend out of a fellow blogger.  That's just plain rad. 

Today though, I got a little piece of advice from someone who came across my blog - that made a big difference.  Not this blog, mind you, but this blog (that I started when I attempted a Total Body Transformation).  And I gotta say, it was just one of those things where you think... "Wow.  Why the heck didn't I think of that?"

Here's her note: 

"Hi there!!
I stumbled upon your blog... and just want to say this:

Don't let food run your life. Whether you're eating it or restricting yourself from it... Don't let it be on your mind all the time.
Don't feed the disease of disordered eating. Don't let diets be your only option.

Exercise because you want to, not because you need to. Eat until you're full. Don't cut out everything that you like.

I'm no expert, but I have lived a life of disordered eating and eating disorders... and I'd hate to see someone so beautiful (a stranger!) beating themselves up over a few pounds and some ice cream.

Get comfortable in your own skin... it's the only one you're ever going to get."

I hope she doesn't mind that I posted this (please tell me if you do and I'll take it down)!  I just felt like this was something worth sharing.  If you go and read my post that she's referring to, you'll see that I went on a helluva rant.  I beat myself up, and criticized myself, and really didn't get anywhere because of it. 

I gotta say, this note made me feel a lot better about everything, and better about me.  I don't know why I beat myself up about being a little overweight - it's the small changes that make the difference, not never eating ice cream again, or feeling depressed if I eat a slice of pizza. 

I want to feel good about myself, but in the long run.  Not just for a couple of months.  In order to do that I just need to make small changes (ex: not go for seconds, stop snacking late at night, choose fruit instead of ice cream, but if I really really want ice cream just have a small amount, etc).  

I always thought that I loved myself just the way I am.  But the truth is, I struggle with my body image just like every other girl does!  Sure, I can strut my stuff and love my curves, but there will always be a tiny part of me that wants to be thin.  But I love food way too much to get there.  And you know what?  That's totally okay.  I'm healthy, I workout regularly, and I'm working hard to make the right choices.  That's what matters. 

Thank you so much for helping me to remember that.  You know who you are! :) 

Dancing Doggie!

I've been back from New York for a couple of days now, and I'm still trying to get caught up!  (And yes, that includes blogging too). ;)

I had a wonderful time with my big sis - we spent a little bit of time outside of the city this time around which was great (and different)!  I will share pictures very soon.

For now, since I don't have much to say and should probably get back to work - here's a hilarious dancing doggie!  Hey, if you don't have a dancing partner... you may as well train the pup, right?  Hehe!

Salmon Dinner & Peaches and Cream Breakfast

I leave for NYC tomorrow to visit my sister, and I absolutely can't WAIT!  

Before the craziness of this past weekend (with Katy's wedding & everything - pics to come soon!), I got down to some cookin'. 

I wanted something with lots of yummy veggies, but then I found some salmon filets in the freezer, and I thought "Well, SHOOT - I gotta make those!!"  

I went totally nuts with all of the fixin's, but man, it was delicious. 

- I cooked some black eyed peas, and used that as my base (they were a little undercooked though, unfortunately!)
- I chopped up some leafy green lettuce and sprinkled it around the edges of the plate, then dressed it with some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and seasonings.
- I steamed some broccoli, and caramelized some red onions.
- I roasted sliced tomatoes in the oven with some sliced garlic (ugh - that was AMAZING!)
- I made some mustard/horseradish aeoli (sp?) to drizzle over the broccoli
- I cooked the salmon in foil after squeezing some lemon over it and slathering it with some mayo.

It was a bit of a process, but MAN it turned out super good!!  

We also cracked open a bottle of Gewurztraminer that night - the sweetness went great with the light & flaky fish.  My old neighbor, Jess, gave me this wine topper as a "going away" present when I moved out earlier this month.  How hilarious is that?? :) 

  
Also, my new favorite breakfast is what I like to call Peaches & Cream.  

Just take some leftover quinoa, and simmer about a cup of it in a small pot with about 1/2 a cup of almond milk (or soymilk - vanilla flavored is a bonus).  I used a bit too much milk in this picture, but it was still really yummy. 

Add a pinch of your favorite sweetener (I like to use 1-2 tbsp of Brown Rice Syrup), mix well, then top with sliced peaches. 


Trust me.  It's a wonderful way to start the day!  


I probably won't be blogging while I'm in New York - I'll be too busy I'm sure! :)  
So have a great rest of your week, and there will be more to come when I get back!