Boat dayz.

Are the best dayz. 

Art-A-Whirl.

As you’ve heard, I love our neighborhood. Love. One of the highlights of the year for me is our annual art festival Art-A-Whirl. 

We can walk out of our front door and experience thousands of local artists, music and more. 

Plus it gives us an excuse to host a party of our own for folks to get some AC, snacks, bevvies, and sunscreen. 

So thankful for these moments. So thankful. 

Seeeeeeesters day.

Me, my sisters in-law, brunch, facials. 

Time with people who matter most. 

Grateful for every second!

The farm.

Takes my breath away everytime. 

  
Helps recenter me everytime. 

Make your own pizza night.

Today I’m grateful for dinner parties with great friends!

As you’ve read… I love people in our home. We love hosting casual dinner parties. They often center around making something that everyone can be a part of. 

This Saturday we had Cathy and Mike over for make your own pizza. It was a blast. 

These pics didn’t turn out that well but you get the point. 

   
    
   
Even Webster got a new toy from Auntie Cathy and Uncle Mike!

  
Great conversation. Great food. Great cocktails. Great friends!

Plain grateful for life today. You?

The kindness of strangers.

Today my heart is full today of gratitude for the kindness of strangers. 

I’m on the work part of my California adventure. I embarked on my public transportation journey to our local office and was… well… a little dusty in my skilz. 

It’s funny how quickly we adapt to our surroundings. But more so, how quickly we lose certain innate skill sets. Me + public transportation used to be best friends. Now, not so much. 

But not to worry. These Califonians sure are swell. So many strangers helping answer so many questions. 

I made it from San Fran to Oakland and back in style. 

Thank you strangers. Thank you California for your gifts! 

The Ride of a Lifetime…

What up folks? It’s me, Meghan.

Did the Ride of a Lifetime on March 6 and it was… well… DOPE! Perfect way to spend a chilly Sunday morning. The ROAL, because I am already sick of typing the whole thing out, is an event put on by Life Time Fitness billed as the world’s largest cycling class. Last year was the first year and apparently they broke a Guinness Book of World Record. Who knew there was such a record?

Pre-ride

It was a two-hour indoor spin class held at the St. Paul River Center with more than 1,000 sexy people in spandex. Okay, okay, the sexy part is debatable but you get the point. It was decked out. Banners everywhere, fruit and coffee aplenty, coat check, and the best part… 1,000 stationary bikes fully equipped with clean towels and a brandy new free water bottle. Suh-weet!

Life Time Fitness CEO, Bahram Akradi led the majority of the “class” along with four of his best spin instructors in the country. Not the annoying instructors who pick the worst music possible… The ones who basically make you angry just listening to them talk… The ones you are stuck with because it is the only class that fits in your schedule. These were four of his top spin instructors in the entire country! Again I say, dope.

On to the ride…

Once you get past your typical “How we feeling? I can’t here you! I said how we feeling?” crap and of course the obligatory “when I say hey, you say ho” hoopla the ROAL was yep, you guessed it, dope. What? A live DJ? Okay I guess that is kinda cool. Oh and now you wanna spin Michael Jackson, Prince and a lil Janet all while the live drummer next to you goes to town on his sick bongo set. Oh okay, I guess that is average. Oh, and what is that? All I have to do is sit here and listen to you tell me what to do for two hours, watch you have a blast on stage and in turn I burn 1,200 calories? And then as if that isn’t enough, you have dozens of volunteers running around with clean towels, fruit, energy gels and they want to refill my water bottle for me? BRING IT ON!

The event cost me $50. That $50 earned me a Life Time Fitness cycling club jersey and all of the aforementioned goodies plus the extra water bottle I snagged on the way out for good measure. Next year it will only cost me $20 because now I own the jersey. Totally worth it.

Look at all those bikers!

If you live in Minnesota you are painfully aware that we still have a bit of winter to endure and these next few weeks are among the toughest to get through because it should just be spring already – for the love of god! Are there any fun random things like this in your neck of the woods? What are you doing to keep your sanity during these indoor training months? Can I come?

sugar-free update #4

We’ve made it past the half-way point people! This is big. Very big.

Here’s the reports from the field.

AMANDA:

As I’ve mentioned before, I do think I have learned a lot through this challenge. I think I’m going to make it a goal that I no longer consume sugar in my morning meal. My banana oatmeal or yogurt-fruit smoothie work perfectly. I know there are other changes I’ll make as well. I always bought whole wheat bread before, but I’ll be paying close attention to the ingredients now and be choosier.  These are just a couple of the changes I’ll make. However, I am really looking forward to April 4th when I can throw down a Cadbury egg or two (I know, I know…but I love them), and enjoy a proper Easter with jelly beans and carrot cake!

Things I’m craving that I can’t have:

We went to our first outdoor BBQ/bonfire of the spring this past Sunday. Everyone indulged in yummy S’mores after dinner. I LOVE S’mores. I’m not sure how I found the will power to hold back. I resorted to eating the rest of the bag of all natural potato chips as dessert. Hmmmmm….

Non-sweetener substitutes that you love (or any that just didn’t work):

Did I already mention putting hummus on my turkey wraps instead of mayo? Much better. Perhaps I just have the wrong mayo though. You must be able to make mayo without sugar?!

Accidental (or not) cheat moments:

What do you do when you haven’t eaten a meal all day and just got done judging high school dance team try-outs for hours? Not to mention the whole breastfeeding thing. Well, my husband made dinner that night…a frozen pizza…and I could do nothing but eat the last 3 pieces when I got home. I was starving and had no patience for whipping together something else. Plus, I checked the ingredients and sugar was really toward the end! So it couldn’t have been too bad….

General thoughts: has it been hard? Anything specific that you are noticing?

I wish I had more of a detox or cleanse feeling. Granted, I’ve had a few cheat moments, but for the amount of sugar I used to put in my body, you’d think I’d feel totally different. I guess it was just that first week that threw us all off.

MEGHAN:

I no longer feel as though I have given up sugar. It’s just normal now. It is routine. I have developed systems and recipes that don’t make it hard anymore. When looking at all of the foods I love to eat I have figured out what can stay and what has to go. I have so many great “replacements” and substitutes that this all just feels normal. I am now at the point where I wish Lent lasted even longer because it is awesome just knowing that sugar is off limits. Period. Though my boyfriend’s dad does like to remind me to “stay away from those kisses because they sure are sweet.” If you knew him this would make you giggle.

Things I’m craving that I can’t have:

I still don’t love being around people when they eat cake. I love cake. Cupcakes to be more specific. I just leave the room or think about something else because really – how good is that cake anyway? Unless of course we are talking about someplace fancy like Sweets Bakery. Sweets became my new favorite spot before Lent. They have a flavor of the week. Check out this weeks flavor – I want it!

• Irish Dream-Vanilla cake filled with Irish cream butter cream topped with Guinness Butter cream….our take on the Irish Car Bomb! Today and Tomorrow only(3/16-3/17) we will have the Irish coffee flavor from last week as well! Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Non-sweetener substitutes that you love (or any that just didn’t work):

Jen has now officially turned me on to dates. They are delicious. She made an awesome “dessert” with them on Friday then I decided to make them again. Check out this yummy recipe – it feels like I’m cheating when I eat it. I made it without the honey, of course.

Accidental (or not) cheat moments:

As far as I know, I am in the clear for the first week yet!

General thoughts: has it been hard? Anything specific that you are noticing?

I can truly appreciate what Jen said last week. Have I just been eating things because they are there rather than because I actually enjoy them? I feel like sugar is just like any other addictive substance – you take it in any form you can get it and sure… satiating the addiction is great, but does it really taste that good? When we move out of this Lenten challenge that will be my challenge to myself. Do I really even like the sweets I put in my mouth or am I just eating it to have that sweetness on my tongue?

JEN:

I’m super thrilled to be past the half-way point but at the same time, I love having an excuse not to eat sweets.I like Amanda’s idea of keeping the sugar out of breakfast. I would usually add a drizzle of honey or agave to my oatmeal, but now that I don’t, I’m used to it. Why add it back in?

Things I’m craving that I can’t have:

As soon as a wrote last week that I wasn’t having any cravings, all I could think about was…..pancakes. Seriously, I could not get them out of my mind. That and a nice big muffin (I’m not even a muffin type of gal!). Now, I know I could have made a savory pancake or other type of pancake without sugar, but to me that is not the point. I like sweet pancakes with sweet stuff on top. Thankfully, I made popovers last Friday and it turns out, the inside of the popover tasted enough like a pancake, that I got over the craving. I might need to start making popovers daily.

Non-sweetener substitutes that you love (or any that just didn’t work):

I still love dates and they are even better with marscapone cheese. I haven’t needed to make any other swaps or subs lately, though I love the idea of hummus as a sandwich spread. It’s also awesome on a salad (that idea came from Meghan). Come to think about it, I would probably eat hummus with anything.If you’re looking for a hummus recipe, I have one here.

Accidental (or not) cheat moments:

I’m not currently aware of any. However, I did have a roasted vegetable sandwich on Saturday at Zella’s in Hutchinson and you never know about the bread. I didn’t ask.  The sandwich was delicious.

General thoughts: has it been hard? Anything specific that you are noticing?

One weird thing has occurred since this challenge began. I no longer crave, need, or really want coffee.  This is bizarre because I LOVE coffee. I normally drink 2 cups every morning and it’s my favorite weekend morning activity. Now, I can hardly get a few sips down and it just doesn’t sit well.  I drink my coffee black so there was no withdrawal from sugary add-ins. I can’t figure it out. I’m now mainly on tea – and lots of it. If anyone can explain this coffee phenomenon, I would really appreciate it.

a great loss

I know that Jen joins me in sending our condolences to the owners and employees of the two fabulous restaurants and three shops that were destroyed in a fire yesterday. This is a huge loss for south Minneapolis.

cookie day is coming! cookie day is coming!

Every year, my sisters, sister-in-law, and my mom get together and bake Christmas cookies. We’ve been doing this since before it was cool. I’m not sure of the exact year (help me out here gals) but I believe it was the early 90’s. I loved it then because I was in high school and the only one at home. It was such a treat when my sisters came home. I love it now because I get to go “home” and feel like a kid again.

Cookie Day is more than just cookies. We talk (a lot), sing Christmas songs (like dorks), exchange cookie day gifts, eat soup (the preferred cookie day lunch), sample cookies, give each other a hard time, and reminisce about past cookie days (remember Joan’s chocolate orange sticks?).  It is one of the best days of the year and I can’t wait.

2 more sleeps!

We each bring a couple different types of cookies to bake (with the dough already made). One that is a cookie day classic like sugar cookie cutouts, gingerbread, etc. and another one (or two) of your liking – a new recipe we’ve been meaning to try or a reoccurring cookie we’ve missed.

This year I’m bringing Peanut Blossoms (a classic and Brette’s favorite) and Espresso Balls, a new recipe that involves chocolate covered coffee beans and hazelnuts. What’s not to like?

The day will start with something like this:

And then there will be some of this….

and at the end it will look like this:

It seems my photos each year look very similar. I might try to mix that up this year.

Some of our favorites are:

• Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs
• Ginger Bread Cut-Outs
• Peanut Blossoms
• Date-Filled (my favorite)
• Santa’s Whiskers (yes, we snicker when we say it)
• Date-dipped (my dad’s favorite)
• Fruitcake Cookies
• Chocolate filled Biscotti
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Dipped pretzels

We’ve made quite a few others, but these come back again and again. I’m positive my sisters will chime in with any they think should be on the list.

For now, I’m leaving you with my peanut blossom recipe. They are a crowd pleaser. People will like you if you give them a tray of these.

Peanut Blossoms

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. white sugar, plus extra for rolling

2 eggs

1 C. Shortening (before you freak you, I use Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening. I tried swapping butter, but didn’t think it was the same. Sad, because I love butter.)

1 C. peanut butter (natural version is fine, but stick with creamy)

3 1/2 C. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate stars or chocolate kisses. I prefer stars because I don’t have to unwrap them. They now make dark chocolate stars if that floats your boat.

Cream sugars, eggs and shortening. Add in peanut butter and mix until combined well. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except chocolate) and mix until combines.

Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Space about an inch or two on a baking sheet (they spread). Bake for 8 minutes, take out and press star into the middle (the cookie will crack – you want that). Bake for 2-5 minutes more until slightly firm.

Remove onto cooling rack and try to wait a few minutes before popping one in your mouth.

Question: Favorite Christmas Cookie? Do you have a baking tradition? Please share!