Potato Focaccia Bread!

My sister was living out West for a while and fell in love with trying new recipes and using tons of fresh ingredients (partly because her apartment wasn't the biggest and because fresh produce was in abundance out there). Well she threw this recipe my way. At first I was a little intimidated because I have never made bread from scratch, but had with pre-mixed boxes. So I decided to give it a whirl a few months ago and...it was a HUGE hit! It was soooo good and although it takes a while (I only make it on a day off) to make, it produces so much bread that we easily have enough for the remainder of the week.

Well this past weekend I really was craving some of this bread but didn't want to have a whole loaf left at our house, so I graciously offered to make it for Sunday dinner at Matt's parents' house (where there were 7 adults).

Recipe:
1 package active dry yeast (I think I paid $1 for a 3-pack)
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 oz potatoes (resulting in up to 1 1/2 cups mashed)
extra virgin olive oil
warm water (1/2 cup and 2/3 cup)

Step 1: Peel, chop, boil, and mash potatoes

Step 2:  In small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, stir until creamy. This has a tendency to stick to the bottom of my bowl so make sure you scrape the bottom of your bowl.

Step 3: In larger bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a "well" in the center of mix.

Step 4: Add 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes and yeast mix into well. Gradually bring a little of the flour into the potato mix to start mixing together. Slowly add 2/3 cup warm water while gradually mixing flour into potatoes. Knead into a ball. ***If you've ever made bread before you know that this is where you start to get really sticky, recommend taking off any rings you're wearing.

Step 5: On a floured cutting board, knead dough for 2-3 min. Flatten dough out a little and invert bowl over dough. Let stand 15 min, then knead another 2-3 min.

Step 6: Drizzle pie place with oil, spread dough in plate

Step 7: Cover with moist paper towel for 1 1/2 hours, dough will rise during this time. After this time, press fingertips into top of dough to create "dimples" and then brush with olive oil.

Step 8: And bake @ 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until slightly golden! Although it's tempting, let bread cool slightly, it'll cut easier.

Tips and Tricks:
* instead of a pie plate use a jelly roll pan for a bigger, thinner loaf. Watch cooking time though because this will cook faster
* top with whatever you wish: seasonings (rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc), dried tomatoes slices, olives, etc
* mix seasonings into loaf while kneading for flavor throughout.

And all the while I was slaving away making this bread, here is how the puppies spent their afternoon, love them!   :)

Chop Chop

I decided to finally cut my hair! My very dear friend does my hair and I trust her like no one else (I mean seriously, she takes scissors to my head!). Since I grew my hair out for our wedding because I wanted a pretty updo, I have been wanting to cut it off. haha! Little background, my hair is thick, I mean SUPER thick and heavy. I was quickly losing patience each morning when it took 40 some minutes just to blowdry and straighten my hair. Not ok!



Me crafting with mom


But because my hair hasn't been this long in a very long time I wanted to do something special with it..and no, I didn't scrapbook it! I decided I wanted to donate it to Locks of Love but there are requirements for donating. So after I decided to donate my hair I needed to let it grow a little longer to meet the length requirements. Which led to this weekends "chop chop"

Very different, but I love it! It is now soooo quick to blow dry and style! I don't know if I would ever go back!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today is my husband's birthday! Happy Birthday Matt! Two weekends ago we celebrated his birthday at my parents' house because they were going on a trip over his actual bday. We were served amazing red velvet cake!

And Matt received some pretty sweet gifts, a leather carry on:

and a bolster neck sleeping pillow. I have one of these and am in LOVE with it!

And today, his actual bday started celebrating by dancing with the puppies

And now we're headed out to Matt's favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse! Mmmm! Gonna get me a steak and a cocktail or two! Happy Birthday Hubs! Love you lots!

Let's Dish!

This weekend I visited one of my new favorite places to go: Let's Dish If you haven't heard of this place it's Ah-Mazing! One of my roommates from college (who also now lives in the TC area, but the opposite side as me) and I have decided to try to do this once a month. Her husband goes out of town at least 1 weekend each month and we have decided to make this our "Let's Dish Date" weekend.

Aside from the food, again Ah-Mazing, it's a great way for her and I to spend time together. It has been taking us about 2-2 1/2 hours a visit to make 8 different meals and afterwards we have been going out to lunch together. I so love getting to spend time with my friends, especially when life can get so busy and other obligations can easily take up time.

And for your viewing pleasure, an example of one of the dishes I am so excited to make: Sun-Dried Tomato Beef Roulade

Alone No More

Matt got back into town late last night...as in 3am late. I was already asleep and had been since 11pm so needless to say, I was competely out of it when he crawled into bed. But even though I was in a half dream state and couldn't focus my eyes to save my life, I felt his warmth instantly. We have a Tempur Pedic-like mattress and honestly I never feel him moving in bed, but he is always so warm that I can't help but feel warmer too.

Prior to marrying Matt I had never lived with another guy, yes I had girl roommates but not a boyfriend roommate. Not only has learning to share my home, my bathroom, my daily life been an adjustment but even greater has been learning to share my quiet, alone, personal, sleep space. While he was away these past 5 sleeps I went to sleep in the middle of the bed and woke up horizontal spread across the bed. It was glorious to revert back to my selfish, singlehood, sleep habits. For 5 nights I went to bed without thinking I was going to wake someone up or wasn't going to be woken up myself when the 2nd person came to bed. And for 4 mornings I woke up without having to worry that I talked too loud in my sleep and woke someone else up at 2am. Glorious...simply glorious.

However, hearing the soft pad of socked feet across the floor, feeling the gentle pull on the covers and smelling the familiar scent that is my husband was comforting. I have grown to accept and enjoy sleeping in the same bed as him, but last night reminded me that no amount of nights with the whole bed to myself could amount to the feeling I have when he's there right by my side.

Wreaths

I have always liked decorating for different holidays and seasons, but aside from Christmas don't have many decorations for ALL of the holidays and seasons. One thing that I have been keeping up with is creating different wreaths for the front of our house:




I have always loved sunflowers, how big and bright they are is perfect for fall



After the snow started falling I realized I should probably switch out the sunflowers for some evergreen:


This weekend I decided to FINALLY pack up all of the winter decor and say buh-bye to the cold weather (at least that's what I'm hoping for). And what better way to say hello to spring than with bright colors and daisies?!?

One of the reasons I LOVE updating the wreaths is that they are so inexpensive! This daisy wreath for example: wreath $5.00 (with 50% off coupon), ribbon $1.00 (in clearance bin), flowers $3.00 (all Ashland flowers were 50% off this weekend); so for the cost of a trip to my local Michaels store and less than $10.00 I made a new decor that will last likely until September...unless I get the urge to change it up this summer.

Side note, everything is temporarily secured to the wreaths to help reuse the wreaths (ribbon is tied to branches, flowers are weaved between branches, thicker flower stems are secured with twisty ties).

Kicking my own butt

I'll be honest, I have never been the type of person who loves exercising. I get bored very easily with different routines and when I don't see results...like the next day...I usually quit. I never considered myself "overweight" but I knew I wasn't the healthiest and anything more than 2 flights of stairs usually winded me.

I can trace my "weight journey" back to middle school, because honestly before then I don't remember thinking about weight. But I do remember starting 6th grade and making a new friend. She was very athletic playing soccer year round (I never played sports, I mean I would play for a season but never really liked any of them enough) and grew boobs much earlier than I did. I remember being so envious of her fit, athletic body and she still had the chest that all the 6th grade boys whispered about. Our friendship continued through middle school where she embraced fitted, belly baring t's (yes, this was the middle 90's) and I chose to be "cool" by wearing oversized XL t's.

In high school my middle school friend and I drifted apart, her choosing to hang out with the older crowd and I chose to try another sport, volleyball. I had played v-ball before, but just for fun...nothing like this. The practices and drills were INTENSE! I had never worked out so hard in my life. But surprisingly I grew to LOVE these practices because I saw a huge (well huge to me) difference in my body. Over the season I saw myself slimming out and slowly saying buh-bye to my juvenile muffin top (this was actually before that term became so well known). Through out HS I tried a few other sports, I started feeling like none were really as fun as the practices! My friends thought I was crazy, I preferred the practices and drills over the games! But then I found our HS's Strength Training program where for a "season" you worked out (ie: my love of practices and drills but no games!).

When I moved away to college I became another "Freshman 15" statistic...except it was much more than 15. I remember vaguely thinking I was getting heavier, but didn't pay much attention because I looked like all my college friends. Now looking at pictures from my freshman year I can't believe I didn't notice how big I had gotten, because at my heaviest I had gained 35-ish pounds!!! The summer after freshman year I moved out of our college town to a smaller town and I remember being so bored that I started riding my bike around and out of town. I then started doing my old workout videos and because I was so bored (read: had nobody else in that town) I found myself working out all day and going for hours long bike rides. In those short 6 weeks before sophomore year started I shed those 35-ish pounds I had gained and was back to being "high school skinny"!

My weight fluctuated through out college, like most people I know but after my 6 week non-stop workouts discontinued and college life resumed, I stayed pretty constant at a healthy size 10 (not that I "measure my health" in terms of clothes size, but I think it can be pretty telling). The years following college as I slipped into my "grown up life" I remained at that size and was pretty content that that was my body and didn't think much of really trying to change it. That was until my size 10's started getting a little tight and Mr. Muffin Top reappeared for a visit...and it wasn't a short visit. This was about the time that Matt and I started dating and as I've heard from many people I got in that "comfortable couple" rut. This was until about 6 months before our wedding, after the New Year last year I decided to make a conscience effort to change. I was determined to feel beautiful in my wedding dress and have what I dubbed "Michelle Obama arms"!

 I had seen The Biggest Loser before and knew that Jillian Michaels was tough and if I was going to change my body in 6 short months I needed a "personal trainer" so I went out and purchased one of her DVDs:

The caption "Lose up to 20 Pounds in 30 Days" was the clincher. I honestly jumped into this full on and stuck with in pretty consistently for the first 4 months. Although the scale said I was down 20 lbs (over the course of 6 months), I don't remember seeing a huge change in my everyday clothes but then again I don't think I was looking for it. I was so fixed on wedding planning and dress fittings. But when wedding day came and I slipped on my dress and courageously looked in those mirrors where you see EVERY angle of yourself I was pretty damn happy! I remember thinking, "ok I'm still curvy but I don't feel pudgy". And the best part...I got my Michelle Obama arms!!!

I hope every woman is able to say that their wedding is one of the happiest days of their lives not just because of what a wedding represents, but also I wish every woman feels as good about themselves as I did that day!

And it's spring folks!

We've been having some MUCH warmer weather these past few days and it's been AHHHH-MAZING! I have been waiting sooo long to not wear a coat, mittens, hat, boots, etc outside. But today I wasn't the only one loving this weather. The puppies were able to be outside almost the WHOLE day. The down side:

all this warm weather + melting snow =

Yes, in the past 2 days the dogs have each had 3 baths and I've washed just as many loads of dog towels. This could be a long Spring.

My Husband Left Me Today...

to go to a wedding out of town. A good friend of his is getting married this weekend and Matt is in the wedding. Yes, I was invited to attend, but after asking a few of the people we trust to watch our dogs no one was available or it was too much of a hassle. I did look into a local kennel but just didn't feel right. I'm sure it's a great place and dogs love it there...but I feel like that would be similar to bringing a human kid to daycare and leaving them there for 5 days. Everyone might not agree with me on that but that is how I felt about it. Plus the final cost was going to set us back about $400.00  (including their vet visit and shots and the stay and extra walks thoughout the days) and we just couldn't spring that right now. So it was decided that I would stay back and Matt would go to the wedding without me. I was very bummed because I had already requested the time off from work and was looking forward to the wedding but also getting out of MN for a while...and I had already bought a new dress!

But after the decision was made and Matt knew how bummed I am he suggested we go on vacation this summer for our 1st anniversary! I asked him where he was thinking...drumroll please...the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone! I have been saying I want to go there for years! I am now sooo excited for this trip in late June (it won't be exactly over our anniversary because I can't be away from work that week) and will start my trip planning soon...probably this weekend while he is away.

Also while he is away I have sooo many plans. I am so excited to spend time with my sister and 1 of my college roommates and finally clean out our guest room. I won't go into too many details about these things because I'll write more about them later, but I am kind of excited to have the house to myself! I have never lived in our house without Matt (he lived there for 6 months alone). I mean I am home alone sometimes because I work M-Th and he works M-Sat, but have only slept in our house without him twice and I was really nervous the 1st time. I already told him I plan to have the dogs sleep in our bedroom, not in the bed because he HATES that, but at least in the same room so I'm not alone.

Other than that today is my last day this week at work (because I had taken tomorrow off for the wedding) so I will be enjoying a 4 day weekend! T.G.I."W"!

Spring has Sprung

I love fashion! I love clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry...you name it I love it! My bank account however does not share the same love, which is ok (for now) because I have recently learned about this website (http://www.polyvore.com/) where you can create looks using THOUSANDS of items.

So in honor of this "heat wave" we're having here in MN ;) I created: Spring has Sprung. The look revolved around this cute, springy dress from H&M. I tried to keep pieces in mind that could be used for a variety of occasions (work, date night, wedding, shower, Easter, etc). The left side let the sash and shoes (which btw are only $20 from DSW!) be the pop of color and worked in "girly" accessories while the right side played up the color by adding more with the navy, coral, and gold accents. I love how both sides ended up!

If I could have 1 item from this whole look: I would pick the navy, gold, and diamond earrings from Max and Chloe! They're drool worthy! Enjoy!

Spring has Sprung by LauraMegan featuring a zip top handbag

H M chiffon dress
299 CNY - hm.com

Platform shoes
$35 - shopruche.com

Bow shoes
$20 - dsw.com

Zip top handbag
$44 - unique-vintage.com

Ajito faux leather bag
$45 - yesstyle.com

Briolette freshwater pearl jewelry
$70 - yesstyle.com

Antik Batik brass jewelry
45 GBP - net-a-porter.com

Forever21 beading jewelry
$5.80 - canada.forever21.com

Linda Macdonald silver jewelry
55 GBP - johnlewis.com

Dominic Jones rose gold jewelry
$130 - theoutnet.com

Nashelle summer jewelry
$122 - charmandchain.com

Swarovski heart jewelry
50 GBP - harrods.com

Old Navy chain jewelry
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com

Swarovski rhodium plated jewelry
$99 - myjewelrybox.com

Max Chloe Collection metal jewelry
$790 - maxandchloe.com

Dower Hall butterfly jewelry
50 GBP - harrods.com

Chanel gold tone necklace
$850 - amrag.com

Great Quote of the Day

"Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make the life you want to live." ~ Mae Jemison

Well Hello There!

Whenever I start reading a new blog I am interested to know why the blog started, so that's what this 1st post will be about. Let me just say I was never someone who wrote in diaries or journals growing up, but as technology has evolved I've become facinated with social networking. There are a few blogs that I am OBSESSED with following and to be honest they are about everyday things. The combination of electronic "journaling" and the acceptance of everyday lives being worth reading about has encouraged me to just go for it and start my own.

I don't have a definitive idea of what this blog will contain but rather will be a mix of what my life contains. Not only do I plan to discuss what is currently going on with me, but also what has brought me to where I am today. So that's why I chose the title: "Life As I Know It".