Never Forget

Hard to believe that 12 years have passed since that tragic day. 

It is a day that I will never forget.  I can still remember exactly where I was at the time the first plane hit the first building.  I was in the 9th grade in my 1st period class and remember staring shocked at the TV screen not sure if what I was seeing was real.  

I still remember being scared because I didn't know exactly what this would mean for our country.  I remember feeling sad for all the people who lost loved ones.  And I remember being proud of all the men and women who stepped up to serve and help others that day. 

My heart goes out to the victims, heroes and families who were effected on that dark day 12 years ago. 

We will never forget.  

Bunches of Grapes - Winery Recap

About a week ago Derek my sister and I drove out to St Croix Falls Wisconsin to meet up with my parents for a little wine tasting!  

My parents had purchased a Groupon for the Chateau St Croix Winery and since it was about to expire we decided we better make the little trip happen!  while I was not to impressed with wines  at this particular winery I thought the scenery was absolutely lovely!

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After sampling the wine at Chateau St Croix my parents decided that they wanted to take us to another winery they had been too earlier in the weekend.  They thought we might enjoy this winery a bit better - the Dancing Dragonfly Winery.  

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Upon driving into the winery I instantly knew I was going to like the place!  I loved the architecture of the building and upon stepping into the winery I instantly could tell it was a laid back relaxing atmosphere, which to me makes wine tasting so much more enjoyable!

The particular reason my parents wanted to take my sister and I to this winery was because the Dancing Dragonfly names all their wines after dances.  Such as the waltz, or the ballet.  And for those of you who have been reading the blog for a while you know that I used to be a ballerina (I spent 23 years of my life dancing)! 

Not only did I love the atmosphere of the Dancing Dragonfly, I also enjoyed the people and the wine was pretty amazing not to mention!

Post wine tasting my parents, sister, Derek and I all sat out on the patio overlooking the grapes enjoying a wonderful glass of wine, a few fabulous brick oven pizzas (sweet potato and roasted duck pizza) and enjoying each others company! 

I highly recommend checking out the Dancing Dragonfly Winery if your around the St Croix Wisconsin area! 

Happy Wednesday!  

Weekend Recap: Date Night, Farmers Market and Shopping Oh My!

Happy Tuesday Loves!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!  Mine was one of the best!  I enjoyed a great date night with my main man, Derek on Friday. 

We enjoyed a laid back evening at one of our Favorite restaurants, Loring Kitchen and Bar.  We enjoyed a bottle of wine along with a few appetizers: Crab Cakes, Scallops and Shrimp Cocktail to be exact!  We had a great waiter who recommended a wonderful bottle of wine and brought our appetizers out as a mini 3 course meal!  Our waiter was  attentive left us alone as we chatted the evening away.  It was nice to be able to just sit and relax without feeling rushed and to be able to have some quality time together. 

Saturday started off with an eventful morning at the farmers marker with my sister. 

Yes, that is a cinnamon roll that is the size of my head (and I have to say It made me miss the cinnamon rolls from Wheatfields in Omha)

Post farmers market my sister and I headed to the mall for a little shopping and catching up!   I am so glad she has moved up to the cities! It is so nice to be able to spend time with her!  We weren’t shopping for anything in particular but ended up hitting the jack pot at Madewell!

I am now obsessed with that store!  We had an awesome sales associate who honestly made our day and shopping experience!  Here are a few of our purchases!

I have to say my favorite purchase of the day was my denim vest from MadeWell 

I have been dying to see if I can pull off the denim vest look!  And, yes my denim vest might become my new outfit obsession/staple!  How many days a week do you think I can get away with wearing a vest?

After working up a small appetite shopping we headed to my favorite local organic restaurant Tao for a late lunch or maybe dinner (it was 4:30)!   Some post workout fro yo rounded out the day and our evening ended with all of us (Derek, my sister and I) curled up on the coach watching Mud. 

Interesting movie, very suspenseful and one I am not sure I would need to watch again!

Sunday started with an amazing church service focusing on how we are chosen by God.   We have started a new sermon series on labels that we are given by today's society and how the labels God gives us are perfect.

Post church Derek and I headed over to a local restaurant to watch part of the Vikings game before heading to run a few errands.  My afternoon was spent baking these muffins (my favorite bread recipe turned muffin), making these bars, and these Sloppy Joe’s all while Derek worked on homework!  The Sloppy Joe’s were a huge hit!

Full of flavor and Derek even said that he would not have realized they were made with ground Turkey unless I would have told him! 

Our evening ended much like Saturday, curled up watching Jack the Giant Slayer

And I have to say even though it was a bit cheesy I actually really liked it!

So tell me, what were some of the highlights from your weekend?

TGIF!!!

Well all I can simply say is TGIF! 

It was one long week despite having Monday off for the holiday!  I crammed a lot in to my week these past 4 days!  Between work, 10 miler training and the official start of my Girls on the Run Coaching I feel like I have been go, go, go!  But a busy week only means one thing... it goes quickly!  And I have to say I am looking forward to a relaxing and laid back weekend!  Farmers Market, Date night, sisterly bonding over shopping here I come! 

But before I leave you here are 4 highlights from my week! 

1- Running with friends and reaching new goals!

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I have been helping my coworker and friend Bri with her running/training for her first ever 10K and we pushed the boundaries this week in our run!  Not only did she run one of her fastest mile times, she ran one of her longest runs!  I am so proud of her and all the progress she has made with her running!  It is amazing to see her push the boundaries and keep going! 

2- Girls on the run has officially started and I am loving it!  I am coaching one day a week but can already tell I am going to enjoy motivating and working with these young girls!

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Not to mention it is fun to be outside running around! 

3- I made these delicious enchiladas but to save on prep time Derek and I ate them burrito style!


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 And you know what... Derek loved them!  Meatless meal win! 

4- And last but not least...

This was the quote off of one of my tea bags!  I instantly fell in love with the saying! 

What were some of the highlights from your week?

  And stay tuned for a fun winery recap!  

Happy Friday all!!!

Sweet Treat - Chocolaty Goodness

Happy Friday Folks! And happy early Labor Day!

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Does anyone have any big plans for the weekend?  Going anywhere fun?
We are just staying around the cities!   Pizza on the grill with friends, Saturday morning farmers market trip, wine tasting and an engagement party!  Sounds like a great way to spend a 3 day weekend to me!

To get this weekend started off right I thought I would share this amazing recipe I stumbled upon earlier this week!  Because sweet treats are the perfect way to kick off a holiday weekend!  Am I right?

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Now before I tell you about this recipe you have to promise that you will not get scared by the ingredients list!  Because I swear this recipe is totally worth making!

Are you ready?  Did I scare you?
Here it is... Black Bean Avocado Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies from Ambitious Kitchen! Head on over to Monique's blog and check out the recipe!  And make these TODAY!  You will not be sorry!  Trust me, they are that good (even Derek liked them)!

Happy Friday Loves! 

Farmers Market Bounty - Zucchini

This past weekend at the farmers market I went over load on Zucchini’s!  

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My original idea was to get enough zucchini to make this Zucchini and Black Bean Skillet!  

I have made it before and it is easy, delicious and comes together in minutes!  Plus the leftovers are great to take for lunch!  However with my abundance of zucchinis I decided I needed to go on a hunt for more recipes where I could incorporate this wonderful vegetable!  Here is what I have decided!

1-      Vegetable Packed Zucchini boats! 

I made these for dinner on Monday and they were absolutely delicious!  I am all about stuffed vegetables for dinner (there are about a million stuffed pepper recipes on the blog) so I was happy when these stuffed zucchinis turned out so well!  I didn't follow this recipe to a "T" in fact my stuffed zucchini came out more mexican style!  I used leftover refried beans, peppers, onions, tomatoes and salsa to give my zucchini boats kick!  Here are a few other tasty stuffed zucchini recipes I found around the Web!

2-      Zucchini Muffins

This is one of my favorite quick breads it always reminds me of my child hood!  And this Cooking Light recipe always turns out delicious.  I blogged about these muffins a while ago here and I highly recommend making them for either a quick breakfast on the go or a quick snack! 

And last but not least –only because I am obsessed with Cupcakes! 
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes from Taste of Home! 

Also check out this Chocolate Zucchini cake from Cooking Light.

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What are your favorite zucchini recipes?

Do you ever go overboard on produce at the farmers market?

5 Random Monday Things

Monday is here again and it is a hot one!  Minnesota is currently experiencing a crazy heat wave!  Check it out!

With this hot weather all I want to do is stay inside and relax!  Maybe finish reading this  book that I am currently obsessed with!   

A few people on my team have read The Night Circus and highly recommended it to us all!  I am loving the book so far but I have a hard time reading The Night Circus at night due to the fact that I cannot put the book down!!  If you need a good page turner I highly recommend picking up The Night Circus.  This book is full of mystery, intrigue and suspense!  Buy it here at Barnes and Noble! 

Now let’s get into my 5 random Monday things!

1-Fresh flowers make any morning a bit more cheery!

This Saturday I just had to pick up more flowers from the local farmers market!  They are just too pretty not to!

2-A new addition to my living room!  Take a look at my handy boyfriend relaxing in the chair he put together for me!

He put the Ikea chair together in 20 minutes flat!  That is impressive considering it is from Ikea!

3-Action movie love?  Go see the new X Men movie!  Way intense but worth it!  Derek and I went Sunday afternoon and while I was a little lost (due to the fact that I have not seen all the X Men movies) I enjoyed it!

4-Entering week 5 of my 10 miler training!  I have a 4  and 5 mile run to tackle this week!  I am going to focus on an easy and sustainable pace!

5-And finally here is to a busy, yet fun week!  I get to meet my fellow Girls on the Run coaches tonight, attend a the MN State Fair with my team and Derek Wednesday Afternoon/evening!  I took Thursday off for a little person holiday and noon twins game with Derek and some of his friends.  And a pool party with my sister!  Oh and who could forget... Labor Day!!

Could it get any better than that?

Happy Monday everyone!