Home Life Archives - Page 4 of 13 -

Puppy Photos: Because It’s Been Too Long

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 21, 2013
Post category:Home Life / Moose
Post comments:18 Comments

To those non-dog lovers out there, this post might be a snoozer for ya, but I have a build-up of Moose photos hanging around that are just too cute not to share. So today, Moose, my 5 1/2 year old German Shepherd takes the front and center.

Oh the simple life he lives: eating, sleeping, bathroom breaks, playing, constant petting, snuggles…

The gift he gives: making you smile even after the worst day possible.

His weakness: bad breath.

A big 90 lb baby.

Kind to animals.

Our big teddy bear who makes us laugh, loves us unconditionally, and is loyal and true.

Are you a dog person?!

Treat Yourself Tuesday: Birthday Edition

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 19, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Family / Home Life / Sweet Treats
Post comments:15 Comments

This weekend was so wonderfully relaxing and family-filled; the perfect birthday weekend. There was a whole lot of tasty food, cozy time watching Breaking Bad, sweet treats, and more. Wanna hear about it?

I thought this would be the perfect time to take part in my blend Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday link up. It only took me a good 11 weeks to get in on the fun, but better late than never, right?

Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday…

“Between now and Tuesday, do something nice for yourself. Wake up a few minutes early and enjoy a nice, hot cup of coffee before your hectic day begins. Take a bubble bath when you get home from work Monday evening. Spend some extra time stretching after your workout this weekend. Treat yourself to a cookie or some froyo this afternoon. Or maybe head out on a girls’ night this weekend.

Do whatever feels best for you. Do something that will make you feel relaxed and loved and happy. Remember this is about treating YOURSELF – not your friends, not your family, not your spouse, not your dog – so make sure you really focus on you. Treat yourself well and treat yourself often so that you will become the best you possible and in turn be your best for others in your life!” source

So here is my treat myself Tuesday, birthday edition.

Starting on Friday night….

I haven’t been feeling too well so Dana and I had a quiet night in complete with a snack platter—Havarti cheese (my fav), salami (not a fan), shrimp, hummus, olives, and some Byerly’s chicken pasta salad. We enjoyed these little nibbles while watching at least two more episodes of Breaking Bad.

Dana made homemade chocolate chip cookies that evening as well. 🙂 K, really he made the dough. The cookies weren’t made until the next day. The dough is my favorite part!

Saturday was my actual birthday and it began with a free cup of Caribou Coffee—Lite Caramel Mocha. Yes.

The day was full of lots of sweet surprises…

XoXo to my blends Becky, Katie, and Caroline…

A bunch of birthday cards!

Lunch at Muffuletta Cafe in St. Paul. I got the mini muffuletta which is New Orleans style sandwich of ham, spicy capicolla, pistacio mortadella, and genoa salami piled high with provolone, smothered in our olive relish and served warm on fresh focaccia. Sweet potato fries on the side. Holy moly this was delicious! I was a little too excited to sink my teeth into this bad boy–sorry for the blurry photo.

Lunch was finished off with a free bowl of Sebastian Joe’s salted caramel ice cream with two spoons. I shared. 🙂

After lunch we headed over to the Como conservatory which features amazing plants and flowers. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy cool November day.

After the conservatory we walked over to the Como Zoo and checked out the animals! I loved this part! I could watch the primates for hours.

Later in the evening we went to my brother’s for my birthday dinner with the family. I requested mom’s baked ziti with spinach and meat sauce. She even used gluten-free brown rice noodles!

Dessert was per my request as well—-homemade banana cake with chocolate frosting. There were lots of sweet treats happening this weekend!

We spent the rest of the evening at Comedy Sportz, which is an improv comedy club in Minneapolis. It felt GREAT to laugh and to be with my amazing family.

Of course I was spoiled with lots of presents too.

On Sunday Dana and I did our usual Sunday morning gig: newspaper, coupon cutting, and coffee.

For lunch we headed over to my in-law’s for a Greek dinner from Mediterranean Cruise Cafe.

And DQ ice cream cake!

And more presents. Seriously I am so spoiled!

I felt so much love this weekend and I thank you all for making my birthday so special. I don’t know what I would do without you all. You are my world.

Weekend Favorites

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 4, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:13 Comments

So it’s for real Monday already? This weekend flew by! Mine was incredibly relaxing which I couldn’t have been more excited about. I was thinking, instead of doing a full recap of my weekend, how about I just breakdown some of my favorite moments from the weekend? Yea, I like that idea.

1. Watching an insane amount of New Girl with Dana while cozy in my sweatpants and snacking on some homemade caramel corn. What made it even better was that Dana made it!

2. Meeting up with Katie for lunch at Panera! The excitement of getting together with Katie would have been enough but then you add Panera on top of that?! Man alive I was excited. And believe it or not, I actually branched out and instead of the usual French onion soup, I actually got broccoli cheese soup. It totally hit the spot! I was so happy to be with Katie for a while. Such a treat.

3. Making some delicious food. For breakfast one day I made a two-ingredient pancake topped with peanut butter and real organic maple syrup. Not the prettiest photo I realize, but so tasty!

I also whipped up a batch of gluten-free pasta salad. I can’t remember if I used quinoa noodles or brown rice noodles (I had gotten them from the bulk bin at the co-op) but I do know it was one of the two. In the mix: peas, olives, celery, onions, chicken, mustard, mayo, salt and pepper, and a splash of lemon juice. This stuff was crazy good!

4. Watching Home Alone while walking on the treadmill in my warm home. Doesn’t that just sound cozy?!

5. Sleeping in and waking up with no alarm clock. And sleeping a lot. And getting an extra hour of sleep.

6. Dinner with my family on Sunday night. I should really say feast and not dinner. My mom and dad went all out with steaks, potatoes, broccoli, salad, and fresh fruit! So good! I think my body was really screaming for some iron from the red meat because it tasted really good to me last night. Our bodies know best after all. It was so nice hanging out with family as always!

As you can see it was an incredibly relaxing weekend. Ahhhhh….

How was your weekend? What were your favorite moments of the weekend?

The Seasons of Cozy

Post author:Melanie
Post published:October 25, 2013
Post category:Home Life / Misc.
Post comments:15 Comments

This wintry weather has got me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Being inside my warm house on a cold evening, dressed in my sweats and my slippers, and eating a bowl of hot tomato soup…it is just such a cozy time of year. I put together a photo montage of photos that give me that cozy feeling as soon as I look at them. 1. A gigantic bean bag chair that hugs you. 2. Reading a book in front of a hot fire. 3. Fresh out of the oven homemade bread. 4. A cozy attic to read and relax. 5. Snuggling up under a homemade fort. 6. Hanging out in a homemade fort and watching Home Alone or another Christmas movie. 7. Being nestled away in this warm cabin on a crisp night under a starry sky. 8. Oversized sweaters and sweatshirts (love). 9. Down comforters! 10. A cozy breakfast by the campfire. 11. A warm bowl of soup. 12. Slippers. 13. And hot chocolate. These are the moments to relish. Get comfortable, be cozy, and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa! Happy Friday! What do you think of when you think of “cozy”?

Project Freezer Clean Out

Post author:Melanie
Post published:September 23, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Events / Family / Friends / Home Life
Post comments:22 Comments

Did this weekend even exist? It went by so fast!

I had a fabulous weekend really, packed with family, beautiful walks, great food, and home projects. Here’s a quick little recap of what was happening around mi casa this weekend.

Friday

I was feeling exhausted after work but brought myself to walk for 35 minutes. Dinner was simple but tasted SO good! It was sautéed broccoli, zucchini, onions, and green beans with diced chicken, apple, and gouda sausage! The dish was very flavorful thanks to the ~~snausage~~ sausage.

Saturday

I met my cousin Betsy out at Target Field in Minneapolis for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Our local news anchor Diana Pierce kicked off the event. Senator Amy Klobuchar also spoke, and I saw local sports reporter Eric Perkins on the walk and said “hi”! To any locals, you might know some of these folks. 🙂

The weather was beautiful and the walk was so much fun. We were led through the streets of downtown Minneapolis and into Loring Park (which is where I was last weekend!)

Bets and I made a pit stop at Caribou on the way back of course. Because of this, we didn’t win the race. 😉

There are so many people affected by Alzheimer’s, my grandma being one of them. It is a horrible disease that needs to end! They are researching like crazy to find the cure, and I pray they do. I can’t wait to do the walk again next year to support the research and end Alzheimer’s.

This weekend I solidified my obsession for these Blue Diamond Salt n’ Vinegar Almonds that I got from the Summit last weekend. I’ve looked in CVS and Target so far and I haven’t been able to find this flavor anywhere yet. I should have grabbed ten bags at the Summit. Seriously these things are awesome! They are tangy and salty. MMM…mmmm!

I dragged the Fall decorations up on Saturday. Our house is looking mighty festive!

In the evening we had a bunch of family over for dinner at our house. I finally got to wear my ZeeBee Threads t-shirt dress! I paired it with a zebra print scarf, grey leggings, and actually had to wear a long black cardigan too because it was CHILLY! This dress is so incredibly comfortable. I was so happy to be comfy yet still be wearing a cute outfit at the same time. Ya’ll know I’m all about comfort.

I was overly excited for dinner because we were getting pizza. I should really look back on the blog to determine the last time I actually ate real, not gluten-free, not cauliflower pizza crust… just real original legit pizza. My system has been cooling down quite a bit and I wanted to try this one treat to see how I held up.

The results: I think I felt fine—I didn’t feel any different really! Not that I will make this a common meal but it’s good to know I can handle it every once and a while. It tasted just as good as I remembered too!

Sunday

I am beginning a project freezer clean out and dug this up from the freezer: gluten-free lemon blueberry bread. I topped it with some almond butter and called it breakfast.

After breakfast we ran our errands and got a few groceries but not too many because we are going on VACATION at the end of the week! I am realizing I haven’t said much about this yet. More to come on the vaca 411.

This week I plan to eat food from the freezer primarily. We have loads of frozen veggies, frozen meats, leftover soups, chili, etc. It will feel good to begin cleaning out the freezer! PROJECT FREEZER (and fridge) CLEAN OUT!

For dinner I made a batch of yellow quinoa and topped it with sautéed broccoli, zucchini, onions, chicken, and fresh tomatoes, olives, and hummus. A Mediterranean-inspired dish! My fav.

It tasted as good as it looked!

We tackled a few projects around the house, relaxed a bit, watched some of the Emmy’s, and called it an early night on Sunday. It was another fabulous weekend for the books!

How was YOUR weekend? What did you do?

Are you in need of a project freezer clean out?

Five Things I’m Loving Tuesday

Post author:Melanie
Post published:August 13, 2013
Post category:Family / Health / Home Life / Misc.
Post comments:8 Comments

My friend Caroline over at Trendy Trainer (heeeeeyyy!) did a post about five of her favorite things right now. I like the idea of focusing on the positives in life versus the negatives and really like this fun idea for a post, so I am going to follow right along with my lovely friend with…

Five Things I’m Loving Tuesday

1. Long Walks!

With friends, loved ones, Moose or by myself. The weather has been perfect for walks not to mention the stress relief it brings and with the health benefits! Although I will admit I do miss running and I am doing some very light jogging on some of my walks. But still, I love walking!

Check out some of the health benefits of walking!

2. Quinoa

It’s the whole grain that keeps on giving: it’s a complete protein, a good source of iron and fiber, not to mention it tastes wonderful. It can be used in savory or sweet dishes. When I talk to clients about how to use quinoa I will usually recommend starting off using it like you would brown rice; for example with a stir fry. As you get more comfortable with the taste of quinoa you can start to use it more creatively!

I have been enjoying my yellow quinoa, and have a new quinoa recipe coming your way tomorrow!

3. Almond Butter

Whether it’s homemade or store bought (yes I buy it sometimes at Costco if I’m feeling lazy) I have been loving it mixed into my go-to smoothie, on brown rice cakes, on dates, on top of fruit, mixed into homemade chocolate, or off of a spoon. Do I miss peanut butter still? Sure I do. But I am really liking the almond butter these days too!

4. My Family and Friends

I can’t get enough of them lately! Love them so much.

5. Pandora Internet Radio

I love playing pandora when I’m cleaning the house, hanging out, or out for a walk. I have about 15 different radio stations I have set up so I can always find one to fit my mood! Feel like dancing? I play Pop and Hip Hop or Britney Spears Radio. Feeling more mellow? I turn on Jack Johnson or Hotel California. Feeling random? Glee Cast radio. I am all over the place in my taste for music!

Not familiar with Pandora? Check out their site. It’s free!

Have a happy day friends!

What are you loving right now?!

Zucchini “Pasta”, Breakfast & A Furniture Makeover

Post author:Melanie
Post published:August 7, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Gluten-Free / Home Improvement / Home Life / Moose
Post comments:16 Comments

Hello hello! Happy hump day. We’re going to be a little bit all over the place today, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

First, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have seen a delicious photo that looked something like this a couple of days ago:

If you didn’t see it, you should probably double-check to make sure you are following me on Instagram and Twitter. 🙂

Besides putting a little TLC into creating the zucchini “pasta”, this dish came together pretty quickly with the help of some leftover Thai turkey meatballs from the freezer.

For the zucchini: I was too lazy to pull out the mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini and I figured it would be just as easy for me to cut it all by hand anyway, so I thinly cut two fresh farmer’s market zucchini, put them into a strainer over the sink, sprinkled them with a little bit of salt, and let them sit for about 20 minutes to help remove some excess water. I then placed them into a pan on the stove top which I had coated with sesame oil. I let these cook on low for about 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Towards the end of the cooking process I added a couple of splashes of coconut aminos, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and at the very end I added chopped fresh basil and cilantro.

Turkey meatballs: You can check out the recipe by looking back at this post if you are interested. I took the meatballs out of the freezer, let them defrost, then placed them on a baking sheet under the broiler. I broiled them for approximately 8-10 minutes until cooked through and slightly browned, turning them halfway.

Onto the plate: Once the zucchini and meatballs were done, I first plated the zucchini pasta, next the turkey meatballs, and finally a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Voila!

**********************

Moose is still loving doing his night time yoga stretching. He took over the yoga mat completely the other night. In his offense, I wan’t yoga’ing too intensely so naturally he thought he should probably take over.

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Breakfasts

I’ve been changing up my breakfasts from the usual smoothies. I’ve been rotating between my old favorite of banana and nut (almond) butter, over-easy eggs, fruit and nut “cereal” bowls, and smoothies.

Lately the cereal bowl is my jam. In it is blueberries, strawberries, chopped almonds, chopped cashew, almond milk, and a touch of honey. So refreshing and so fun to me because I feel like I’m eating cereal.

Love it.

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Dresser Turned TV Stand

For the longest time, Dana and I have been on the lookout for a new TV stand. The one we had been using was from Dana’s college years and was just that—a TV stand appropriate for a college apartment. It just didn’t look right in our living room now. Neither of us were willing to fork over hundreds of dollars for a new one though, so I decided to get crafty . With the inspiration from my beautiful friend Haley as well as Pinterest, I was going to make my own TV stand and I was going to make it from an old dresser. Project renovation.

It wasn’t an urgent project, so gradually I began looking at second hand stores and garage sales for decent priced dressers. The one I found was at a garage sale right in my neighborhood. I spotted it while I was driving home, just click to see the pictures here it looked like the perfect size, was in great shape, and was only $20. Sold. You’ve got to love the butterfly drawer knobs too. I mean come on.

To renovate:

We gave it a good scrub down.
Slathered three coats of paint on it (letting each coat dry in between of course).
Placed a painted piece of plywood on the top shelf to serve as a resting place for the cable box and DVD player.
Cut a hole in the back of the top shelf for the cable wires.
Put new knobs on (I kept the butterfly ones just in case—they’re so adorable).
Moved it into the living room, reconnected the cables, and that was that!

It was a two day project which totaled out to be about $50. Not bad if you ask me! I may have found my calling. 😉

The color we picked out is a little more purpley than I had thought it would be, but it actually looks just perfect in our living room. It makes the space look more homey and inviting. I love it!

I could continue on this randomness but I think I will stop at that.

I have some super fun plans tonight and I am very excited to share them with you all in the next few days. Be on the lookout!

Are you enjoying the abundant zucchini as much as I am right now?
What’s your favorite breakfast right now?
Have you gotten crafty lately?

In On the Yoga Action

Post author:Melanie
Post published:July 31, 2013
Post category:Home Life / Moose / Workouts
Post comments:9 Comments

Last night I couldn’t get enough of this guy.

Lately I’ve really been into doing some relaxing yoga moves before bed to calm me down and relax my mind and body. Last night Moose wanted in on the action.

He plunked himself down right beside the left side of my yoga mat for about half of the stretching, and then moved himself to the right side of the mat for the rest of it.

Okay, I’ll be honest, I did more photo taking than I did yoga last night because he was so darn adorable!

He’s super good at downward dog.

And does a great job with controlling his breaths…

This guy steals my heart! My little yogi puppy!

Weekend Snapshots

Post author:Melanie
Post published:July 15, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Training / Workouts
Post comments:13 Comments

I am coming off of what was one epic weekend. It was an absolute blast having my brother and Ana around all weekend. Our family was able to spend a lot of time together this weekend which of course I just love.

Since it’s Monday and since a good majority of us including myself may be a little tired today, I’m going to keep the rest of this post real simple.

Here are some weekend snapshots!

Thursday night we hosted a small BBQ for our special Colombian guests.

Friday I grabbed lunch with the lovely Katie and Becky at Crave at Mall of America. Love love these girls.

I ordered the salmon salad which came with mixed greens, salmon, mandarin oranges, goat cheese and pistachios (I think). Honestly it wasn’t anything to write home about but it tasted good still. I think I was so absorbed in conversation that I hardly remember eating it. Yikes!

Friday afternoon Dana and I enjoyed a short and hilly bike ride through the neighborhood. I am hoping to do a post this week about my casual approach to training for the duathlon.

Saturday morning started off with banana with almond butter and no-sugar added dried cranberries.

Then we ran a bunch of errands including a trip to the local farmers market where I picked up these beauts for my mom and dad.

And later in the evening we had a Mexican fiesta with the family.

On Sunday Dana and I took our bikes to St. Paul and biked 10 miles bike along the Mississippi. I LOVE this area. It is beautiful.

I finished the weekend off with a homemade Mediterranean dinner complete with kabobs, grilled chicken, mixed green salad, and yellow quinoa (recipe to come for the yellow quinoa).

It was an absolute incredible weekend. I hope yours was too!

I’m All About Comfy Clothes

Post author:Melanie
Post published:July 10, 2013
Post category:Home Life / Product Reviews / Travel / Uncategorized / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

Happy Hump Day/Midweek/Sunny Day!

Recently, I was approached by an incredibly kind woman named Jessica Morris who founded the clothing company, ZeeBee Threads. The decision to begin her own company came after years of overpaying for quality workout clothes. It didn’t seem right to her to have to pay an arm and a leg for a high quality pair of pants, and she wanted to do something about it. So she did. She created a company whose objective is to develop and provide stylish casual clothing options at affordable prices to active women.

The company believes that every woman deserves to wear stylish and comfortable clothing. Those are the two biggest factors I look for when I’m out to buy clothing! Okay, really I’m all about comfort, but it’s a plus when it’s actually stylish too!

As often as I can be, I am Comfy, comfy, comfy! When I’m home, 9 times out of 10 I will either be in some type of sweats or workout clothes.

But besides feeling comfortable in my clothes, the price tags on the clothes needs to make my wallet feel comfortable too.

Try this on for size: you’ll never pay more than $50 for great quality women’s stylish, casual clothing from this company. They are an online-only retailer, selling exclusively at zeebeethreads.com. They avoid all of the costs of traditional retail which allows them to offer designer quality merchandise at affordable prices.

“ZeeBee Threads is for women who have outgrown major clothing labels selling the newest, seasonal designer trends to a younger generation, don’t have the time to spend hours digging through racks, and want to upgrade their wardrobe at a fabulous value.

Our philosophy is that there are times to dress up and there are other times when dressing down is just as important. Whether it’s running a quick errand, grabbing a dinner with friends or family during the week or lounging around the house, ZeeBee Threadsclothing is designed for “stylish comfort”.” source

I am 100% behind this company, so when Jessica reached out to me and asked me to review some of her products, I was ecstatic. I ordered the Sexy Off the Shoulder Pullover which is $28.95 in case you were wondering, and the Vintage T-Shirt Dress which is $19.95. Crazy good deals!

This past weekend while I was away in Northern, MN the temperatures reached high 40’s in the nighttime and ranged from 55-85º during the day depending on where you were. Given the extreme fluctuations, I packed lots of layers. I packed my ZeeBee sweatshirt and wound up wearing it on a hike at Judge C.R. Magney State Park in Grand Marais, MN. The weather was cool when we began the hike and this sweatshirt was just perfect for it.

It is lighter weight than a typical sweatshirt and allows for a lot of movement. The fabric is incredibly soft too. I liked that I felt cute in it, not frumpy like I often feel in sweatshirts.

It kept me at the perfect temperature on the hike while the clouds were out. As we maneuvered the trails, the sun broke through and the temperature skyrocketed so I had to take it off. It tied perfectly around my waist and stayed put for the remainder of the hike. Once the hike was over the clouds settled in again, this time with rain, and the sweatshirt went back on again! It was the perfect piece of clothing to have with me.

Here’s another thing that is so great about this particular piece. Besides wearing it for activity, you could also wear it for leisure, and even dress it up a bit. Once the fall weather rolls around, I plan to wear this sweatshirt with a scarf or a long necklace along with some dark jeans. This is where the title of the sweatshirt, “Sexy Off the Shoulder Pullover” comes into place.

Very sexy! I can’t guarantee that I’ll look like that but you get the idea. 😉

I love that it can be dressed up or down and that it is so comfortable and so affordable! Ahhh! I’m so excited about this company. What’s better yet, I still have another piece of clothing in my closet from them that is just screaming to be worn. You can expect another review from me once I wear that little t-shirt dress!

I would highly recommend you head over to ZeeBeeThreads.com and check out their merchandise. Their products are simple yet sophisticated, trendy, COMFORTABLE and AFFORDABLE. Can you go wrong?! Definitely give their Sale section a browse too! You never know what kind of gems you might find there.

What are you waiting for? Grab that credit card and get shopping! 😉

Disclaimer: ZeeBee Threads has provided me with free product, however the views and opinions I express on these products are honest and all my own.