Scenes from the Week: Volume 10

No clue how many weeks behind we are now (I'm pretty sure this is back around the beginning of March)!  I'm also changing this to "Scenes from the Week" (did I say that already?), but I'm not changing the label (too much work).  Plus there's not always enough going on during the weekend to make up a whole post.

So during this particular week, Marek had a class on the weekend for his Mountaineers class, so I was helping him practice something during the week.  I was really just being an anchor to hold onto the rope while Marek practiced knots and other stuff (don't ask me what!).  Claudius helped out a little too by giving the rope the official Sniff of Approval.

We must have gone to the Tipsy Cow Burger Bar nearby during this particular week.  They have a bit of a cow theme going throughout the restaurant and they've got a funny sign there that says "Our milkshakes bring all the cows to yard."  We've had a so-so experience there.  One time we went and it was great and the next time we went and my medium burger was still mooing.  And the food is very greasy, which isn't very fun.  I must go through half a pack of napkins when we're there and feel greasy afterwards.

One nice thing about taking early morning Pure Barre classes is the early morning sunrises.  This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it was an amazing sight, seeing all the pinks and yellows and in between colors coming over the tops of the mountains.  Definitely a nice reward for getting up so early and working out!

I'm not good with trees, but I think this is a cherry blossom tree.  It finally cleared up (had been raining for about a month straight - and not just drizzling a little each day, but raining all day, every day!), and this tree with the blue sky was such a pretty and welcome sight!

We capped off the weekend with a trip to Serious Pie.  I'm pretty sure I could just eat this pizza all day long and never get tired of it!

Read more...

Scenes from the Weekend: Volume 9

Yikes, we're "two" weeks behind now!  Here's what we did last weekend (not this weekend) - all in all, it was a pretty uneventful weekend so not a lot to catch up on.

Claudius enjoyed a bully stick he had received previously in his BarkBox.  I love it when he uses his paws like hands to hold things.

Hmmm...I'm not sure if we had cupcakes for any special reason, but I don't think so.  We just have a ton of cupcakes so I figured I'd eat some.  Good decision!  I love our dachshund cups but man are they a pain in the neck to clean!

I'm obsesed with bkr.  They make glass water bottles that are covered with a colorful silicone sleeve.  This sleeve helps protect them if you drop them (guilty!) and just adds some personality to your water bottle.  The caps are easy to get on and off and they are shaped in such a way that they are great for holding on with just a couple of fingers.  I just picked up a couple new colors but I think the collection is big enough for now... but time will tell.  I use the 500 mL for class most days and the 1 L for around the house.  This helps me make sure I'm staying hydrated, too!

Most of the weekend was spent packing.  Not loving it, but we are making progress.

We have been binge watching "Game of Thrones".  We had watched the first season together awhile ago and had started the second season, but we didn't love it (I think the sex is completely gratuitous (although somewhat on par with what happens in the book)).  We have both read all of the books (SO much better than the show), and decided to give the show another try.  For whatever reason, we liked it much better than the first time, but I wouldn't say we love it or anything - at least, I don't.  Marek remarked that no one should feel sorry for the Starks, especially not Ned Stark because he brought it all on himself.  So I made this little picture of him (leftover from our boxed set of books), imploring Marek to feel bad for Ned Stark.  I don't think it worked though.

I received a postcard from one of my dear friends Matty!  He lives in Switzerland and works at a hotel that has an amazing view of the Matterhorn.  He had let me know previously that I should expect some snail mail and it finally showed up.  What pretty views and how nice to get some mail from so far away!  I love that we have friends in so many different places. :)

On Sunday I finally (!!!) signed the 100 Club barre!  I had hit this milestone about a week or so before I signed the barre but I had promised one of my favorite instructors that I would wait until she came back from vacation to sign it, and I kept my word.  I also waited to wear those socks until last weekend too. :)

Read more...

Scenes from the Weekend: Volume 8

Getting this one up just in the nick of time! :)

On Friday I hit another big milestone for Pure Barre (I'm NOT sorry if you're sick of hearing about Pure Barre!! (although you can probably go commiserate with Marek, as I'm sure he's sick of it, too (and imagine how sick of it HE must be))) - I finally hit 100 classes at Pure Barre Seattle!  Woo woo!  I had taken about 30 classes in Ohio, but they did not transfer over so I had to start the 100 count again when I started in Seattle.  I was travelling so much last year between work, short vacations, and trips home to take care of the wedding that I didn't get in a ton of classes here - almost half of my 100 classes were completed during the 60 day challenge which started in January!

During my first Pure Barre classes ever I saw girls wearing the 100 Club socks and I made it my goal to earn a pair (or seven!) for myself.  When I finally saw that I was getting close, I started keeping an eye on the sock supply at my studio.  They would frequently run low on socks, and their shipments always seemed to be missing the 100 Club socks.  These aren't available on the Pure Barre website, so I started wondering if they'd been discontinued.  Then a couple classes before my 100th class, they showed up so I totally stocked up (may have gone overboard).  I had promised myself I wouldn't buy the socks until I had EARNED them, but I didn't want to run the risk that they sold out quickly (which some of the instructors/barretenders said happens, as these socks are not always in stock), so I bought them and forbade myself from wearing them until I actually hit my 100th class.

I've had them for a week now (hit the 100th class last Friday), but I promised one of my favorite teachers that I would wait until she was back from vacation to sign the 100 class barre (she missed my finishing the 60-Day Challenge and was pretty bummed about it), so I still haven't worn them.  She's back soon though, and I can't wait to finally take them to class! :)

On Friday we hit up REI to get some supplies for Marek's hiking class that he is taking.  He mentioned that he would love to find this backpack that our friend Nigel has and amazingly, they had it (it's an older backpack I think) and it was marked down to about half price!  Marek and Nigel have a lot of the same gear so they are becoming total hiking twinsies.

After REI, we went to Claudius's daycare/vet (same place) and had a little lump on his leg looked at.  He's been getting it at the end of the day and we wanted to have it checked out even though it doesn't seem to bother him.  The vet thought it was probably a cyst so took some fluid out of it to look at and then also took an X-Ray.  The results were mostly inconclusive so had to be sent out for further review (he is fine - it's a benign cyst that we will keep a close eye on), but the little guy had a rough evening so we put his bed on our bed for him to sleep on.

Marek had class on Saturday so was gone for most of the day.  For dinner we went to the Tipsy Cow Burger Bar near us, which is a new place that sells burgers, fries, and shakes.  Marek had been there before but I hadn't - it was great!  There was so much on the menu I wanted to try and the food was delicious.

On Sunday we put Claudius in daycare and started the (awful) process of looking for a new apartment.  Our lease is up here in April and they are raising our rent by almost $200, so we are pretty keen to find another place.  We are planning to downsize to a 1 bedroom apartment since we have next to no visitors (and for the four people who do visit, a 1 bedroom apartment will still accommodate sleeping arrangements just fine).  Sunday was supposed to be dedicated to looking at apartments - assuming we'd be out for awhile, I brought my 1 liter bkr bottle (I am obsessed with these!) to stay hydrated and my Margo Petitti scarf to stay warm.  Margo is an old friend of mine and she creates and sells these gorgeous scarves - I have been wanting this one ever since it has been available, and I finally picked it up during her Valentine's Day sale.

Before we started the apartment hunt, we drove over to Seattle so that I could feel comfortable driving over to a client site for an interview this week.  It was a good thing we took the drive because there were a couple tricky directions on the GPS and the parking situation was a little confusing.  On our way out of Seattle, we passed a Krispy Kreme, so of course had to stop in! :)

As for the apartment hunting - it was kind of a disaster.  Someone (cough*won't say who*cough) was supposed to have a list of places that we would run through and in reality, we ended up just looking at someone's app and pecking all around the place to see what was nearby.  Half of the places were closed on Sundays so we couldn't even look at them.  We came back to our own apartment complex (in the hopes of seeing the 1 bedroom units they had that were coming up available), and then someone (again, won't say who!) decided  we should head back out to look at a couple other places.  After deciding to pass on another apartment and someone was looking on his app again for places, I got pretty irritated at how disorganized it all was and the fact that someone thought we would spend the next five hours looking at apartments.  We ended up getting into a spat and calling the whole search off.  Fun!  Luckily we have found a place and applied for it so fingers crossed!

Read more...

A Year of Pure Barre

from one of the Pure Barre Facebook pages

I've been writing pretty regularly in the weekend recaps, "Went to Pure Barre class", so I figured today is a good day to write about my Pure Barre experience - after all, today is the one-year anniversary of my very first Pure Barre class!  I even received an e-mail reminding me this morning. :)

About a year ago, we took a group photo at my aunt's birthday party.  I knew I had taken it easy on exercising over the holidays, but I was NOT happy with the way I looked in the picture!  I could blame it on a bad angle, but I knew my clothes were starting to get snug and we had the wedding coming up in the fall, so I decided it was time to get serious.

January 2013

I had heard of Pure Barre before (and barre workouts in general) and they idea of a ballet-inspired workout appealed to me - low impact, graceful movements, and increased flexibility.  I initially looked online for DVDs, as I was not really into group workouts, but they were expensive (I looked on Amazon, where they go for close to $60 apiece new), and I still couldn't make too much sense out of what the workout was.

I decided to look them up online and as luck would have it, there were a couple of studios located in Columbus (Ohio), which is where I was travelling to work to at the time.  On a whim, I asked my friend Katie from Columbus if she had ever done Pure Barre and we took it from there!  We made plans to meet for class the next Tuesday, February 26.

Our first class did not go quite as planned though.  I thought I might be a little late to class, so let Katie know.  As I was driving, she called me and left a message, which I never checked because I assumed she was calling to tell me she was there, and I was about to see her in a few minutes.  I got to the studio in the nick of time, signed my paperwork, and got myself set up.  I had told the girl at the front desk that my friend would probably be there soon, and they said that they'd let her in if she showed up within five minutes of class starting.  Well, class started and I did not see her, but I was too focused on what was going on during class to wonder too much.

My first class was very challenging - I was confused by a lot of the moves (what is a tuck!?) and all of the girls there seemed to be pros, so I was little intimidated.  The class moved really quickly and while I got a great work out, I couldn't follow everything.  I definitely liked it enough to give it another try though.

After class, I called Katie and we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: Hey, where are you?

Katie: Out in the parking lot.

Me: (thinking that I had somehow missed her during class) Oh, ok, where are you parked, I'll come meet you.

Katie: Right in front of the building!

Me: (looking for her car and not seeing it) Where?  I don't see you.  In the [forgot the name] plaza?

Katie: No...

Me: Where are you?  You went to Pure Barre?

Katie: Pure Barre?  No, I went to Barre 3.

So even though we both took a barre class, our "first" class wasn't together, haha!  We decided we had to go back together and made plans for the next week.  We soon became hooked and it became part of my weekly routine.  I usually flew redeyes into Columbus, but did my best to make it to 7 PM classes on Monday nights (our favorite instructor, Maggie, taught that class) and then usually made it to class on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

It took me a little while to get the hang of things (still wondering what a tuck was) but once I figured out the basics - tucks, what "highest heels" really means, small movements from the muscle instead of momentum, don't compare yourself to others unless you're doing it in a positive way to inspire and push yourself - class became so much more fun.  I could really feel my body getting stronger and saw results in the way my clothes fit, too.

I really loved class and genuinely looked forward to it - I liked the way the class was broken up into segments: warm-up, arms, thighs, seat, abs, and cool down - this made class more manageable for me.  There were so many different moves that I never got bored, always wondering what was in store and learning which moves were my favorite and which moves I had to work extra hard at.  

Each teacher had a different style of running class and motivating the students which also kept things interesting.  As I got better, there were always other adjustments to make to get my form better, so class never got boring.  And the music was upbeat and kept me going!

After class, Katie and I would usually grab dinner at the Whole Foods next door and over the months, it became our "thing" - Pure Barre class then dinner!  Katie and I had a good friendship but our shared love of Pure Barre definitely brought us closer. :)

Unfortunately, my project ended and I started travelling to Minneapolis.  Even though there was a Pure Barre studio nearby, I didn't have a car or a way to get there, so I ended up buying a number of DVDs to work out in my hotel room.  While the DVDs are an acceptable substitute, they really were not a match for in person classes, for a few reasons - most DVDs didn't do arm/weight moves, and I found that the lack of upbeat music (and out-of-synch counting) was distracting. 

Pure Barre led to my lululemon addiction

One thing I love about Pure Barre is that there are studios in many locations.  While my main studio was originally in Columbus, I knew I wanted to keep up with the workouts on the weekends, so I was happy to see that there was a studio the next town over from me in Seattle.  I lucked out and they were running a special on packages, so I bought a couple and tried to go.  I didn't go a ton in Seattle because last spring and summer was spent travelling all around doing wedding things (for mine and my cousin's), but I did try to make it on the weekends when I could.

Bright pants make class more fun!

Starting at the end of December, my project in Minneapolis ended, and I had noticed I had started to put on some extra weight (again! - I hadn't done much of Pure Barre since July).  I was sidelined from running due to plantar fasciitis, but found that Pure Barre actually made my feet feel ok.  Once we came back to Seattle after the Christmas holidays, I knew I would not be travelling for work for awhile, so I signed up for a bunch of classes.

Pure Barre studios have barres that you get to sign when you reach certain milestones - 20 classes in a row, 100 classes taken, 250 classes taken, and 500 classes taken.  I was still pretty far from signing that 100 class barre (my 30 classes from the Columbus studio didn't "transfer", so I had to start the 100 over in Seattle), so I made up my mind to go for the 20 Class barre in the meantime.  I really pushed myself to make it to class for 20 straight days, but after awhile it became part of my daily routine and I really looked forward to it.  I actually ended up taking two classes on the 19th day so took 21 classes in 20 days!  There were times I wasn't sure I would even make the 20 straight days, so I was really excited to meet my goal. :)

Signing the barre (picture from Pure Barre Bellevue's page)

And after that, I've just kept going!  Pure Barre Seattle ran a "Bring on the Men" class where they encouraged us to bring the men in our lives, so I managed to talk Marek into coming with me.  I had been asking him for a couple months to come, and he finally relented when there was a "guy friendly" class.  He pushed himself during class but was surprised to see how quickly it moved and how hard it was!  He said he would consider coming back if they have another class for guys or if we went to a class that wasn't very crowded (he is mostly concerned with making females in the class uncomfortable, so considerate!).  I was so proud of him for making it all the way through his first class and will keep pestering him until he goes back.

The latest milestone I've hit is completing the 60-Day Challenge here in Seattle!  Starting January 10th, the challenge ran for 60 days and we were challenged to take 50 classes within that time frame.  This means you could only "skip" 10 classes in about a two month time frame, which comes out to 5.5 classes on average per week - so 5 or 6 classes a week for the entire time.  I spent a lot of time planning out my classes, figuring out when I would take a break, and tracking all of my visits in a spreadsheet (PB addict alert!).  The start of the challenge overlapped with the end of my 20 Class streak, so I started out with a number of classes under my belt (and I actually ended up doing 25 days for the 20 Classes in a row!).  Knowing that I might have to start travelling again at any time (leaving me with only the weekends to finish the challenge), I front-loaded my schedule and tried to plow through as many classes as I could at the beginning of the challenge, rather than spreading out my "off" days and finishing just in time.

On Fridays, the owner of the Pure Barre Seattle area studios teaches at my local studio, so I usually try to take class with her; however, a newer teacher was also teaching and I really liked her (I had seen her in other classes before as a student and had really admired her), and one week I got this crazy idea to try two classes in a row.  I dropped Claudius at daycare, Marek at work, and took my first class.  I headed over to Starbucks and waited a couple of hours, then popped back to the studio for another class.  I sat in the back in case I was feeling extra sluggish, but I felt great.  After that, I kept doubling up on Fridays and any other days I felt like it.  Because of this, I ended up finishing the 60-Day Challenge in 43 days!  I even took two days off during this period, so I took 50 classes across 41 days - nine days of doubling up!  I finished last Friday and am still going strong - I've set my own personal goal for how many classes I'd like to finish the challenge with, but I'm keeping that to myself for now. ;)

From the Pure Barre Bellevue page

So there you have it!  That's my Pure Barre story!  I'm definitely addicted to the lift-tone-burn method and I have seen real results.  I feel stronger and leaner and am happier with my body than I have ever been.  When I travel, one of the first things I do is immediately check to see if there is a Pure Barre studio nearby (in addition to Columbus and Seattle, I've taken classes in Wellesley, MA and Scottsdale, AZ).  I love that the workout is standard across the studios so I feel comfortable taking class anywhere.

Pure Barre has become an integral part of my daily routine and I really look forward to my Pure Barre hour (or two ;)) each day.  I've spent a lot of time figuring out which teachers I really click with and carefully plan out my schedule for each work.  I've even learned to be more of a morning person - a year ago I couldn't imagine getting up for a 6 AM class, and now I'm going to those pretty regularly.  I've learned so much about what I'm capable of, what motivates me, and how strong I am through Pure Barre.  Looking forward to getting even stronger and many more hours of lifting, toning, and burning!

February 2014

Read more...

Scenes from the Weekend: Volume 7

Maybe I should just rename this to "Scenes from the Week" because I seem to start the recaps earlier than Friday.  Hmmmm...

On Thursday I went running with my friend at a park near our house.  I haven't really run since November when I very smartly ran a half marathon with a bad case of plantar fasciitis (worst half marathon time, new record!), and that one other time when I wore the wrong sports bra and was in so much pain I had to turn around and come home.  These are my new running shoes - I was secretly hoping for Mizunos since they were the best pair I ever owned, but ended up getting these Brooks Ravenna 5s instead...and some really bright socks.  I met my friend at Whole Foods and we set off on what I thought was going to be a short 3-mile run, but instead ended up being over 5.5 and then I walked another half a mile back to the house.  Needless to say, my hips and shins felt GREAT after that (if great means sore for three days).

On Friday, I had Pure Barre class (of course!), but I hit a big milestone!  After the holidays, I decided to try for the 20 consecutive classes challenge (check, did 21 classes in 20 days), and then they announced the 60-Day Challenge, which consisted of doing 50 classes in 60 days.  I was hoping my work schedule would allow it, and last Friday I hit the 50 classes, but in 43 days - 17 days early, no big deal.  I have a post planned for tomorrow where I'll talk more about it, but I was so excited!

After class I participated in one of my favorite activities - wandering around Target (just kidding) (kind of).  Check out the adorable graphic on their toilet paper - so cute!  Not cute enough to make me buy it, but still.  I have a hard time saying no to sheep.

Saturday morning we were on our eight millionth day of rain, so I broke out the short wellies with my green pants.  I'm obsessed with these legwarmers from lululemon!  I have never had leg warmers before but these are so soft and I love how they look with yoga pants and boots.

The cross stitches Marek's grandmother had made for us for my bridal shower were finally shipped to us (many thanks to Marek's brother!).  Now we just need to decide where to hang them.  The pastoral scene on the right is easy - we'll probably put that in the living room somewhere, but the one on the left?  Not exactly sure where we will put Christ on a Rock.

And lest you think I'm being mean, that is how it translates from the Polish.  Christ on Rock...in our apartment.

Marek went hiking on Saturday so I worked on a little crafting project.  I am determined to send a birthday card to all of our wedding guests and I have been making the cards myself using stamps and the embossing heater thing.  I like the personal touch (even if no one knows, not sure it's obvious they're homemade) but I fell behind in February and there are a TON of people with birthdays in March, so I just cranked them out in the afternoon.

I also enjoyed a little humor - a dachshund and Lord of the Rings mash-up?  I love it!  (I showed this to Marek and he had no clue what this quote is from.  Who did I marry?)

On Sunday I dragged myself out of bed for the early class and then rewarded myself with some fried eggs on toast with cheese and bacon - except I used Parmesan cheese and prosciutto because Italian food is awesome.

After breakfast I flipped through a cookbook for some inspiration and then Claudius and I took a nap on the floor.  Well, he took a nap on his bed, and I...still took a nap on the floor.

We finally broke open the Baked by Melissa cupcakes we had ordered - so good!  The Valentine's Day special cupcakes did not disappoint, and I'm still trying to decide if I like the mint chocolate or chocolate chip pancake better.

After wolfing down our cupcakes (I ate mine in the car), we headed over to Marymoor Park to see Cavalia Odysseo (which is pronounce "oh-di-SAY-oh", not "oh-DIS-ee-o", like I thought), which I think is basically Cirque du Soleil with horses.  I'm just guessing on that because I've never seen Cirque du Soleil.  Cirque came to Marymoor last year (which is right near us) and we never went and kind of regretted it, so we made sure to get tickets to Cavalia this year.

The show did not disappoint!  I have no pictures from the inside because they're not allowed, but it was really great.  It was a nice mix of acrobatics, crazy gymnastic flips, and of course, the horses!  I love horses so it was really fun to see so many of them.  Some of the segments kind of stretched on (horses walking in circles), but it was good overall and definitely worth the trip.  I think this was the first weekend it was open and during the very last segment, the last horse and his rider were leaving the "stage" and the horse fell and landed on the guy.  It was a little scary - the guy had trouble getting up at first and you could have heard a pin drop while we waited to see if he was OK.  Luckily he was and he even got back on his horse and they rode off.  Phew!

Marek and I were having a discussion before the show started about whether or not this was a circus.  I said no because I said a circus has to have elephants and clowns...and a lion with a lion tamer who has a whip and wears tails (basically, Dumbo, haha).  Marek disagreed and said this was a circus.  FourSquare agreed with him!

What else happened this weekend?  Oh right, it rained.  Pretty much all of the time.  Yesterday we were on our 13th straight day of rain.  Enough already!  It's been coming down pretty steadily, even pouring, but Mother Nature doesn't have the decency to give us a great thunderstorm or anything.  Just rain.  All the time.

Read more...

Food: Italian Love Nests (Cheesy Pasta Cups)

I'm not sure how I stumbled across this recipe, but it appealed to the Italian side of me.  I had also been craving some type of baked/crunchy angel hair pasta for awhile, so this fit the bill.  I ended up Googling "Italian Love Nests" and came across this recipe here at Center Cut Cook.

I did make some changes to this recipe - most notably, I used ricotta cheese instead of just parmesan, mostly because we had ricotta leftover from when I made ravioli, and I wanted to use it up.  I also toasted some Italian-flavored panko bread crumbs (from Whole Foods) and pine nuts, and added those on top for some extra texture.

I would definitely make this recipe again, with the same adjustments I made above, as well as cutting down the amount of sauce.  I did find that the sauce was very runny (and that may be because I used ricotta instead of parmesan) - or at least, more runny than I expected, so next time I would definitely use less sauce.  I think having the ricotta cheese keeps the pasta from drying out, so it should be ok.

As for the usual criteria for evaluating recipes: it was very tasty, it reheated well (if you have more than one muffin tin, make an extra batch!), but the clean up was kind of a pain.

Here's the clean up, and a lot of it was hand washed, so I didn't love that, but it wasn't enough to make me avoid the recipe in the future.

-Large pot for pasta

-Saute pan (doubled up on this one by wiping it out in between uses)

-Muffin tin

-Colander

-Large bowl to mix everything together

-Cutting board

-Tongs

-Measuring cups (3)

-Knife

-Spoons/spatulas (3)

So here's the recipe based on the one from Center Cut Cook (you can refer to the link above for the original recipe).  I've tried to note the differences between what we made and what the recipe calls for.

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to directions > I would even recommend undercooking it slightly since it will continue to cook in the oven

8 ounces of any meat of your choice > I used sweet Italian sausage

2/3 cup ricotta cheese > (original recipe called for 1 cup parmesan cheese)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese + additional for garnish

2 eggs

2 cups sauce of your choice > I would cut this down to 1-1.5 cups

Italian flavored panko bread crumbs > We got ours at Whole Foods pre-made, but if you can't find this, just mix panko bread crumbs with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt to taste)

Butter (used to saute panko)

Pine nuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 12 muffin cups with butter.

2.  Toast pine nuts in skillet over medium heat.  Remove and place to the side.

3. In a large skillet on medium high heat, cook and crumble meat then drain excess fat.

4. Add in 2 cups of sauce and heat for a few minutes, then remove meat/sauce mixture from the heat.

5. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, ricotta and parmesan cheese, and pasta. Stir to combine.

6. Pour egg and pasta mixture over meat and sauce mixture. Use tongs to incorporate.

7. Using tongs, place enough noodles in a muffin cup to fill it. Twirl/twist the pasta as you are placing it in the cup to form nests. Just eyeball it.

8. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sides and tops are starting to brown.

9.  While the nests are baking, saute the bread crumbs in butter until they are golden brown.

10. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then use a knife to run around the edges of each muffin cup.

11. Garnish with parmesan cheese, browned bread crumbs, and pine nuts and serve immediately.

Serves 12.

Read more...

Scenes from the Weekend: Volume 6

We had a pretty low-key weekend.  Going to start with Thursday night.

I've been taking Pure Barre for awhile now, and I have been really wanting Marek to come and give it a try.  One of my best friends and my Pure Barre buddy had a fundraising class in Ohio and her husband went with her - I would have dragged Marek to that class if I could have but we couldn't make it there for the weekend.  Back at the studio I attend in Seattle, they had a "Bring on the Men" class, but it was on a Thursday night while I was travelling, so we didn't make it to that either.  I asked one of the teachers about a month ago if they'd be doing another one soon, and she said they'd most likely do one around Valentine's Day, so I got Marek to agree to go if they had one.

I had actually never taken an evening class at this Pure Barre studio - which is kind of funny because in Ohio and Arizona, I *only* took evening classes!  I met Marek at his office and we grabbed a bite to eat before class and then walked over.  Luckily for Marek, there were five other guys there and the class was fairly small, so he did not feel too conspicuous.  He cracked me up during the class at times - watching him doing some of the moves was a little funny (especially moves that are really coordinated to the beat or some of the trickier moves in general), but he made it through the whole class.  He says he has a newfound respect for what I am doing in class - and he said he might even go again if it's a small class or there are guys.

I almost wore a green tank to class - so glad I didn't!  We don't need to be all matchy-matchy!

After class they had treats - cupcakes, candy, strawberries, and champagne.  Yum!  I may have finally found a bubbly alcoholic drink for myself - the champagne was delicious!  We actually picked up a four-pack to keep at home. :)

Picture from Pure Barre's Facebook page

On Friday I had class again and then a meeting with a colleague.  Marek left work to catch a ride home with me and when we got home, we had these goodies waiting for us!

Some more Baked by Melissa cupcakes - two of the Valentine's Day flavors and then packs of my favorite flavors (red velvet, mint chocolate chip, and chocolate chip pancake).  I will definitely be savoring these!

Marek had some chocolate covered strawberries delivered from Edible Arrangements.  He had told me they were coming but I was not expecting the cute little bear (who has been named Strawberry).  A very nice surprise!

Marek is not big into celebrating holidays, especially Valentine's Day, so he let his sense of humor shine on the card that came with the berries. :)

Friday night I was going to make a pasta dish but didn't feel like cooking so we went to Red Robin instead.  When I checked in on FourSquare, it had a message for me - pretty sure we go there way too often!

Is that really something to be excited about?

On Saturday we headed over to Road Runner Sports to get some new running shoes for Marek.  They have a system called "Shoe Dog" that is supposed to help you get the right fit for your shoes.  I ended up getting fitted too - I've been skeptical of fittings because I seem to get a different fit every time I go.  I'm happy with the pair I got this weekend, so hopefully they work out (and if not, Road Runner has a great return policy).

I thought about ordering some wedding pictures this weekend.  I didn't, though.  We have an album included in our wedding photography package.  It's been almost five months and we haven't even really worked on picking out photos for it, which is strange to me - I thought we'd be diving in and trying to get that made as soon as possible.  All I've done so far is order one print for a wall of family wedding pictures, order a 5x7 of us for a nice frame we received as a wedding gift, and order a bunch of small 4x6s to send to my uncle and Marek's grandmother.  There are so many pictures and sometimes there are three or four of the same pose and it's hard to pick which one is "better" and sometimes I just don't have the patience for it.  So, our wedding photos are just languishing on hard drives and on the internet, waiting to be printed.

Saturday night I tried a new recipe - these were called Italian Love Nests, but it's basically angel hair pasta with meat and sauce, baked in a muffin tin.  I made a small change to the recipe and we really liked this dish.  I'll try to post the recipe this week.

Sunday morning I went to class and Marek and Claudius slept it - once they got up, we were going to go for a walk.  Unfortunately, we were about halfway into our walk when it started to rain, so we had to turn around. :(  Poor Claudius got all dressed up in his harness and bandoodle and then he barely got to wear them (although I don't think he minded too much).

The rest of Sunday was pretty much spent cooking!  I made homemade ice cream - basically a sweet cream ice cream and it came out so good.  I use the recipe from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.  She has a lot of great flavors but provides a "base" recipe that is really just milk/cream/sugar so I just made the base and didn't add anything extra to it.  I love the taste of cream and now we can add whatever we like to the ice cream based on what we're craving.

Sunday dinner was stuffed peppers.  This was the first time I'd ever had stuffed peppers - or made them!  That's kind of wild to me.  We had them mostly as a way to use up what was in the fridge - peppers from last week that were never used, leftover sausage from the pasta cups, leftover onion from who knows when.  I made the brown rice early in the afternoon and added mushrooms to the filling as well, and then followed cooking instructions I found online, with a small modification.  I'll also try to post this recipe soon - it was so delicious!  We will definitely be having it again soon.

And then lastly, for dessert, we had profiteroles!  We don't have a lot of homemade desserts here (usually have some store bought cookies or sweets lying around), but I was feeling ambitious and wanted some profiteroles, thanks to the Barefoot Contessa's email.  (I ended up using a different recipe though since I didn't feel like using the food processor, which hers calls for.)

I made the shells right before I put the peppers in the oven (lucky that they cooked at the same/close temperature!), and they cooled while the peppers cooked and we ate.  After dinner, I made some chocolate ganache and then we put it all together for a truly homemade dessert.  Profiteroles are definitely one of my favorite desserts and I loved how it all came together.  I will also try to post the recipes for these as well.

Read more...