Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


Perfect Sunday

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What a perfect Sunday. I don’t remember the last time Steve and I both had the day off with no pressing plans. It was amazing. After I got back from spin, we hung out for a little bit before heading out to the dog park. It’s funny, Winston and Clementine always get so excited to go to the park, but then we get there and Clementine is terrified and Winston doesn’t leave our side. Actually, sometimes if dogs get too close and Winston feels threatened, he started to get a little aggressive and it really worries us 🙁 Does anyone have any good advice for a dog that doesn’t always do well with other dogs? We really want him to be social! He did play a little bit though today.

Winston really just loves to run. If you run, he will chase you. He takes after his mama 😉

The two of us ran around the park a little bit together.

Check that out! Steve actually caught my feet mid air!

Clementine on the other hand is so boring at the dog park. She just hides. There were some dogs on the other side of the fence that seemed a little safer 🙂

After the dog park, we decided to invite my mom, Hank and Charlie over for dinner to thank them for watching Clemmie while we were on vacation. I had tons of fun cooking.

Thanks for the awesome gift, mom! I will wear these babies any chance I get!

I had the “I played with my food and now my hands are a hot mess” thing going on which, apprently, was horrifying.

Meatloaves. Yes, plural. They were delicious. Recipes coming soon!

Happy Sunday, friends 😀

Boston Day 2/3: Cooking and Frog Pond

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On Friday, after a fabulous day in Salem, we all headed back to Lisa and David’s to make a delicious dinner. There were more drinks

David did most of the cooking (he is like an actual cook), but I made the most simple and easy beer bread that ended up being super delicious also!

Self rising flour, beer and brown sugar. So easy.

I also whipped up a little cheese spread to go on top with some fat free cream cheese, cheddar, gouda, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne powder. It was one of those happy moments when I just put things together and they come out delicious 🙂

While we waited on dinner to be ready, we hung out with my favorite dog niece Daisy!

When Lisa spent a month in Switzerland, I got to live with Daisy and it was so wonderful! I love her!!

Jason and I also baked some cookies.

They came out realllllly yummy, but we didn’t end up with any good pictures of them. Boooo. We spent the remainder of the night in eating, drinking and watching Crazy Stupid Love. I love that movie.

The next morning Jason was supposed to go for a run for me, but stayed in bed, so I ventured out into the pouring rain all alone. I hope you’re feeling this guilt trip from your zoom, Jason. Actually, the rain wasn’t too bad, and I kind of got used to it. We don’t really have weather in Phoenix so it was a nice change. You know what else we don’t have? HILLS! Good lord. Hills are hard. I ended up doing 5K at a 9:13 average pace. By the time I got back I was soaking wet and I couldn’t even tell what was rain and what was sweat. I know, I’m gross. Sorry.

Finally everyone else was awake, we had some breakfast and headed into downtown Boston. We parked at some sort of park and ride and then took the subway. Steve takes awesome subway photos!

When we got out we walked around for a little bit, seeing some of the New Years Eve happenings that had already begun, like ice sculptures–cool! Def something you don’t see in AZ!

The next stop on our plan (we seriously planned out stops on a map because we’re awesome like that) was ice skating at Frog Pond! I hadn’t been ice skating since I was like 7 and even then it was at an empty indoor rink in Arizona. I had never even seen an outdoor rink before! I have to admit, I was super nervous about it and when I realized we only had 2 hours before they closed, I was almost relieved because I didn’t know how long I would actually make it. I am super clumsy, and the idea of slipping and falling on some hard cold ice 2 weeks before PF Chang’s did not seem too appealing, so I started out very cautious…

"Ummm, it's cold and this is scary. One trip around the rink is enough, right?"

But I actually got the hang of it much faster than I anticipated!

"Okay, so I'm not dead yet...."

And before I knew it, I was having a blast! Turns out I really really enjoy ice skating!

"Wooohoooo!! This is awesome!"

We all did pretty well and had a really great time!

Jason was so speedy! I decided he was Nancy Kerrigan and I was Tanya harding because I totally wanted to take him out so that I could be the best!Nacho did really well too!

And Lisa can even look pretty while ice skating 🙂

 

I was so surprised at how much fun it was, and I even started to feel a little sweaty like I was getting a work out! Sweet!!! It ended up being probably my favorite thing we did while in Boston!

 

Boston Day 1: Mike’s Pastry and Little Italy

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After a lovely morning in Rockport, we headed down into downtown Boston.  We parked at Lisa’s fancy hospital (MGH) and experienced some public transportation.

Apparently, everyone is supposed to visit Mike’s Pastry while they’re in Boston and we were all hungry, but not quite ready for dinner so we headed down. I’ve gotta be honest and say that the whole experience wasn’t my favorite. There’s not really a menu and it’s ridiculously crowded and it just gave me major anxiety. I ended up just ordering a cappuccino and stealing bites from everyone else.

Chocolate peanut butter brownie. Sooo rich, but it was super yummy.

Tiramisu--this was my favorite. Probably the best tiramisu I've ever had.

Cannolis. I like the filling of the cannoli. I wish they sold it naked with no shell.

We did things a little backwards and had dessert first. It’s vacation 🙂 We found a delicious restaurant in Little Italy where I had the most delicious mushroom risotto, but somehow this ended up being the only picture from dinner.

You can tell what we were focused on....

After dinner, we walked around downtown Boston for a bit. Soooo pretty.

My hubby takes good pictures 🙂

By the time we got back to Lisa and David’s we were all exhausted and pretty much went straight to bed. Today was Salem…more to come on that soon! Happy New Years Eve Eve everyone!

Thanksgiving 2011

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Hello friends! I hope your Thanksgiving was as fabulous as mine! I started the day off with my first double digit run ever. After that, I was pretty emotional all day long. In the morning Clementine helped me while I stretched out my tired legs.

“Good job, mom. I’ll sit here and keep watch while you stretch.”

Legs hurt less with a Clementine. It’s a proven fact.

Pretty soon, I was back to work on snacks, sides and setting up. For the snack food, I made Skinny Mini Corndogs (recipe to come–they are a hit every time!) and Baked Sweet Potato Chips with a Yogurt Dipping Sauce. Lisa made her famous Deviled Eggs and Judy brought chips with homemade salsa. So much yum.

Ok, they look kinda funny pre-cooked, but just trust me.

I put Charlie to work on sweet potato flipping. Careful about coming to dinner at my house, I will put you to work!

Steve asked me at 7am when I returned from my run if I wanted to open the champagne which I thought I would, but even I can’t handle it that early so we waited until after noon 😉

“Friends! I ran 10 miles and cooked a lot of food, so please drink with me!”

“Oh, you still wanted some too? I was just going to switch off between my glass and the bottle…”

You know you like my Thanksgiving outfit.

Before it was time to make the last couple of things for dinner, I was able to spend some time actually hanging out with friends, family and the puppies. Imagine that! I hosted and got to be social! Success.

Charlie and Kara always take the best pictures together!

I seriously cannot imagine my life without this little guy. He is the most loving dog on earth!

Seriously, look at how he hugs me!

I got legitimately upset with Steve for only taking pictures of Clementine. In true Steve fashion, he took about a million pictures of Winston afterwards.

Most beautiful photo of my mom ever.

Mathew and Lisa

Deann and my mom

Carolyn was visiting from Tucson for the weekend, and I am so glad she was able to make it as well! She even brought me a hostess present, and I didn’t even tell her for the entire month before that she was supposed to. I mean, not that I would have done that to anyone. 😉

Fig butter and honey apple butter!!! We all know how I feel about anything with the word butter in it. Yummmm. She also got me a Starbucks gift card! This girl knows the way to my heart!!

If you’re looking for a blog with some kick butt work outs that can make you feel like your work out is lame no matter how hard you think you’ve worked, you should check hers out. She has made so much progress and looks absolutely amazing!

Because Carolyn was hanging with Kara and Charlie, I think she was asked about 5 times whether she also worked for Starbucks haha.

My dad, Janie, Grandma, and Hank

Finally, it was time to finish up the cooking and carve the turkey!

Wild mushrooms, fresh rosemary, bay leaves, olive oil, chopped garlic, s&p. Baked @ 375 for 20-30 min.

I had almost forgotten that last year we painted our own turkey platter at As You Wish. I absolutely love this.

Steve’s turkey came out absolutely perfect. 2nd time was a charm 😉

Eventually we all sat down to say what we were thankful for. My favorite part of Thanksgiving.

After dinner, Hermano finally arrived (Soooo happy!!! I missed him all day!) andSteve gathered all the family into the living room for a photo.

Love.

And then afterwards, I insisted on a friends picture, and while I am not a fan of the photo in general, I love my friends, so i posted it anyway.

Then, it was time for dessert. I cannot wait to post all of these recipes because they came out amazing! There was Super Simple Pumpkin Brownies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, and ice cream (buttermilk, white chocolate and vanilla bean). And, yes, every single thing I made was at least healthy-ish. I mean, I didn’t go nutty about it, but I made everything the way I wanted to make it.

No one had any complaints 😉

 

“Is it bed time yet?”

The whole day was pretty perfect from start to finish. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my Winston and Clementine.

 


Thanksgiving Eve

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It’s so close, I can taste it! Literally 😉 Was everyone else as busy as I was today? Steve and I woke up at 5am–gross. He wanted to get into work early so he could leave early and I had cooking on the brain and couldn’t fall back asleep once his alarm went off. Before I really got started on everything, I had a physical therapy appt that luckily did not involve any scraping action today. I did watch some other people get it though and apparently I really am a wimp because no one else was screaming in pain. But maybe I’m not a wimp, because look at my polka dotted leg!

I know my bruises are small, but small bruises hurt too!

After PT, I went to town on my food to do list.

1) Slice sweet potatoes for Baked Sweet Potato Chips ✓

Steve came home just in time to take some beautiful food photos and make fun of me…a lot.

Still somewhat amused by him

No longer amused. Maybe when I'm holding the knife is not the best time to be a butthole 🙂

2) Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars ✓

Crust. My favorite part!

3) Super Simple Pumpkin Brownies ✓

4) White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Ice Creams ✓

5) Yogurt Dipping Sauce for #1

Not to mention putting up some decorations 😉

I love these silly little cups from Hobby Lobby

Soooo much to do! Luckily my family knows I don’t like to work alone, so they dropped by to keep my company 🙂

I am so lucky to have married into the BEST family ever!

"I've had a hard day too, mom. Do you have any idea how hard it is to act cute so people pet me for hours at a time?"

"In case you weren't aware, I'm also cute in color."

My little sister is so pretty. Steve is going to beat the boys off pretty soon.

After cooking essentially all day long, I was off to work. One of those days where it’s a good thing that most of the time I really love what I do, otherwise it would have sucked. I ended up having a great time with my kids though and didn’t mind being there. I especially loved hearing the kiddos tell me what they were thankful for, and when some of them said the theatre, my heart melted. I am so proud to be a part of something that changes these kids’ lives! Anyway, while I went to work, Steve got to work on brining!

21 pounds of turkey people

Let me tell you, I love to cook, but I am SO glad to have Steve to take care of the turkey! That would stress me out like nobody’s business. Meat has always intimidated me. And this means all I have to do tomorrow is the mini corndogs, bake the sweet potato chips, and make the stuffing balls. I have big plans for early in the am, then I plan on coming home, popping open some champagne and enjoying the day with some of my favorite people 😉

This Thanksgiving there are a few things that I am especially thankful for

  • I am in a healthier place with food than I have ever been in my entire life. It feels amazing.
  • I am proving to myself things that I always imagined were impossible. My body is capable of amazing things. I am so lucky to have a body that can do what I ask of it.
  • My dad has found the most amazing woman to spend his life with that brings joy to his life and our whole family. Janie has also encouraged all of us to make my grandma a bigger part of our lives and I am so grateful for that because I spent a lot of time taking her for granted.
  • And of course every day I am thankful for Steve, Winston, Clementine, my family and my incredible friends, as well as my amazing students that inspire me every single day.

I have so much love for this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

The Cooking Begins

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The plan for today?

  • Grocery shop ✓
  • Cornbread for stuffing balls ✓
  • Ice cream prep ✓

Success. Still need one more thing from the store, but otherwise I am right on track! You know what else I did today?? I almost couldn’t believe it. I actually got my butt to the gym and STRENGTH TRAINED!!!! I know, that shouldn’t be such a big deal, but it is something I’ve been so bad about since I started training for PF Chang’s. Also, whenever I do strength train, I always want to post what I did, but I don’t know the names for half of it. So let’s just say I did abs, biceps, triceps, shoulders and lats. Hooray! I haven’t been so sweaty in a weights work out in a while. Unfortunately, I don’t feel quite as strong as I did when I was really focused on that leading up to the wedding, but it will come back. I just have to stay focused on the big picture.

After coming home from the gym, I immediately got to work! What makes hosting Thanksgiving about 100x more fun? Having most of your work done in advance! If all goes according to plan, my actual cooking on Thursday should be minimal and my drinking company enjoying should be maximized! Before I go into the prep work, let me just say that as much as I love the dinner and hosting part of Thanksgiving, I have something planned that morning that I am even more excited for. You’ll have to stay tuned for what it is, but I will say that I plan to be more thankful than ever! 🙂

Okay, back to tonight.

Vanilla bean scraping. It's serious business.

Can we just talk about how one vanilla bean costs about $9 at Whole Foods and only $4 at Sprouts? I freaking love Sprouts.

"What next ice cream??? Give me the answers to all life's questions!"

Look at all this stuff we have lined up to cook with! And that's not even the half of it!

Cornbread crumbs. Not only baked, but crumbed. Is crumbed a word? I decide it so.

I ♥ my kitchen

"Mom, when do we get to eat the food? Can it be Thanksgiving for us too?"

Egg yolks and sugar. Spoon, please.

What should I put in this cute little leaf? I feel like it needs to hold something amazing.

The fun will continue all day long tomorrow, and then, you know, the actual holiday. Can.not.wait. Happy early Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all are as happy and excited as I am!

 

Beckett’s Table

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There’s nothing like a night out with friends to cheer you up when life kind of sucksis challenging. Last night Steve and I met up with Jason and Nacho and went to dinner at Beckett’s Table, a new-ish comfort food/wine bar. I had read about it and been wanting to try it for a while. It was a little chilly out, but there was no wait outside so we sat out by the fire.

Nacho has that deep in thought look down!

I started with some pinot

Did you know a long run makes a drink that evening about 100x more enjoyable?

I loved this place pretty much from the second we walked in. I loved the decor, the ambiance, and next to our table there were even flowers and fresh herbs. Awesome. Nacho tried to instruct me in a photo shoot.

"Okay, nnoooowww look down!"

I seriously could not decide what to order because everything looked so good! So I decided to order enough food to feed an army try more than one thing 😉 I got the roasted red pepper soup as an appetizer.

Check out that huge bowl!

I loved this soup soooo much! Usually when I’ve tried roasted red pepper soup, it just tastes like tomato soup, but this one really tasted like roasted red pepper! It was huge so I shared with everyone and all the boys dipped their bread in it. In fact, I think we all shared a little bit every single thing we ate which I love because then you get to try lots of things! I ordered the petite chicken with biscuit stuiffing.

Luckily, although I loved everything, mine was my favorite! And check out Steve's amazing photography in this picture!

Jason ordered the chicken and dumplings.

Not my fav, but still good and the boys loved it

Nacho ordered this spicy green chili stew

Yummmm

And Steve got my second favorite. Shepherd’s pie.

Serious yum.

I wasn’t planning on ordering dessert, but when Jason and Nacho did, Steve and I couldn’t help sharing a bite or two. The desserts were just as incredible. Nacho ordered the “award winning” fig and pecan pie. We asked to see the award, but the waiter just laughed at us. He was funny, I enjoyed him,

Flakey crust, topped with lemony ice cream. Award deserved.

Jason’s was even more amazing though. A deconstructed s’more with totally original and unique flavors. So yummy.

"You would never know I'm a s'more because I'm cool and disguised and more delicious!"

It was a seriously awesome night. Those boys make me laugh so hard. Perfect Friday night 🙂

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup, The Cure for Everything

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Well friends, it has been a loooonnng day. I woke up this morning feeling sicker than I have all week. Maybe attempting to jump back into running 2 days in a row the second you start to feel better isn’t so conducive to healing after all? On top of that there has been an ongoing….situation…I’ve been dealing with at work. I wish so much that I could post about it, but you know how it goes. By the time I got home all I wanted was comfort food, so I made a version of grilled cheese and tomato soup. The cure for all things.

Open faced "alternative bagel" with sundried tomato laughing cow and goat cheddar with a few drops of Sriracha

From an awesome Progresso can + garlic pepper, dried basil and Sriracha

Now I plan on spending the rest of my night like this

Good Friends, Good Run, Good Food

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Happy Sunday friends! Unfortunately, I went to bed and woke up feeling sicker than I have this entire time. I really felt like I was getting better Thursday and Friday, but maybe I pushed too hard when my body needed rest? It’s just a dumb cold, but it still feels pretty awful. At least it didn’t stop yesterday from being pretty fantastic!! I started the day with an awesome 5 mile run with Mariel. Mariel and I have been blog friends for a couple of months, but didn’t actually meet in person until yesterday. I was a little nervous that it might be awkward to be like “Hey, nice to meet you, let’s run” but it wasn’t at all! We actually chatted almost the entire time–which I NEVER do while running, so I kind of panted like a 500 lb man, but hopefully Mariel didn’t mind 😉 I was also pleasantly surprised to find a conversational pace was pretty much the same for both of us. I get super self conscious about my pace, but I felt like Mariel was a great running buddy and I hope she ends up joining Kara and I more often! And on top of the great company and chatting the whole time, I shaved a minute off the last time I ran 5mi!

Not too bad for being sick 🙂

After the run, I went to Starbucks (I know, you’re so surprised), and got seriously the most delicious drink. I almost wasn’t even going to post it because it’s not the healthiest and if you are anything like me you are going to want it over and over and over, but it’s a lot better than the latte version and just so delicious.

Grande sf vanilla bold coffee with a little steamed egg nog. Delicious.

After my coffee, I got ready and went to rehearsal, then came home and got to cooking! Jason and Nacho came over for dinner and a movie 🙂

"Hiiiii uncle Nacho. Put me down now please, I'm a big girl!"

I LOVE this picture of Clementine! Look at her cute, long little body! I love Winston, but Clementine definitely wins in the looks department.

Jason is so funny–he always wants to be right in on the action. The rule in my kitchen is that if you’re not functioning, you have to be on the other side of the counter. Too many people in the space gives me anxiety and makes me cranky! Jason wanted to be in the kitchen, so I gave him a job. I tried to get him to clean the sink again, but he opted for de-rine-ing the goat brie.

"I can cook too!"

Of course, I also made dessert which Nacho had fun playing with.

"I make Ari's food look as fabulous because I look fabulous!"

I absolutely loved everything I made last night and will def be posting recipes soon. Between dinner and dessert, I used an entire can of pumpkin. I’m sure you’re shocked 🙂

After dinner, we watched Crazy Stupid Love. I love that movie so much. I definitely feel like it was one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. We all saw it in theatres together back when it was out and as soon as Steve and I saw that it was out on blue ray, we picked it up immediately. In fact, it was one of our “for us” purchases from our shopping extravaganza.

Alright, I’m off to down a bottle of cold medicine with a side of breakfast. Have a great Sunday everyone!

Ari’s Epic Day Off

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Ok, listen, a day off might not sound super epic to you, but after almost 2 months straight of working every single day, I had been dreaming of this day and planning this day for weeks! When I got sick on Monday, I started to fear for the worst, and imagined myself spending my one day laying at home with a blanket on the couch. That may actually sound like a nice day to some of you (minus the sick part) but I am not a girl who likes to lay on the couch! Luckily, by the time I left rehearsal Thursday evening, I could see that things were looking up!

My day started the way every day off should, with pancakes!

Whole wheat oatmeal blueberry pancakes. With a side of yum.

 

Actually, it started even before that. My alarm went off at 6:15–yes I am crazy, I accept this and I headed out for my first run since MONDAY. Oy! My original plan for the week had my long run on Thursday so that Friday would be completely off from everything, but Kara got injured and I got sick and no long run happened. In fact 2 days of no exercise other than physical therapy and a few step touches happened, and I was not feeling like letting an other one go by. So I got up early to get it done and out of the way so I could get on with my day.

Not too shabby, right?

 

Hooray!! I ran! Check me out!! Oh, and no double chins please! Ohhhh and about those holes in my arm pits...I'm a starving artists.

"Okay, now take a shot of me in action!" So realistic. I used Stanislovsky technique to portray the character of "Ari running" College education=money well spent.

So theeennnn, the pancakes finally came. I asked Steve “Should we make breakfast here or go out?” He replied “So I know today is all about you, but it’s also about me in that I don’t want to clean anything.” That meant we were going out, because in this house the cook doesn’t do dishes! Well, more like in this house I don’t do dishes. Anyway, we went out to The Good Egg for some pancakes!

Steve got pancakes too!

Obviously, coffee was the next stop

Grande bold coffee, 1 pump sf mocha, 2 pumps sf vanilla, 1 pump sf peppermint, steamed soy. Just order it, who cares what looks of judgement you receive?

I really really need a new mani. Or at least to remove the remaining orange polish from my fingers…

After coffee we were on a holiday shopping mission! Gifts for other people, decorations for us! We spent the day at some of my very favorite stores. First up was Hobby Lobby. Other than the time I thought I was going to die in the Hobby Lobby which is a story for an other day (short version is overreaction to undercover cop leads to people screaming that someone has a gun at the front of the store and Kara and I being escorted through the back–yikes!), it is always one of my favorite places to be. If there is one near you and you haven’t been, go immediately. Like, right now.

Usually about half the store is on sale for 50% off. I think everything we bought was actually half off and look at that cart full of stuff! They have tons of knick knacky type things (PS: How does one spell knick knack? nick nack? I have no idea.)

Steve: "Act like you're gonna eat it!"

As well as crafty type things and lots of home decor. The entire time we were there I just kept saying to Steve over and over “This is the best day!!” I mean I could go to Hobby Lobby any morning before work on my own, but it’s just not the same as having a day with no schedules where you can do fun things with your favorite person on Earth!

Next on the list of favorite places (in case you didn’t anticipate this one)

Because it is so much better than Walmart, and K-Mart---let's not even go there about that one!

They have some super cute holiday puppy outfits right now, including PET PAJAMAS!!!!

"Why do I have to be in the picture? It's about the pajamas!" "Because I said so!" "FINE!"

Can’t you just picture Clementine in those little PJs!

"I'm cute on my own. I don't need pajamas."

I know I’ve said it about a zillion times, but I just really want this flamingo!

"If I'm going to take this picture, you have to pet the flamingo"

"WAAIIITT!!! I want to pose like it too!"

They also have a ton of other shiny decorations I want to put up outside the house.

Presents!!! My favorite!!!

And doesn't this little guy just put you in the holiday spirit?!

And then I saw the one thing I could not live without. I did not get to buy my beloved flamingo, but I simply could not leave the store without purchasing this.

"Buy me Ari!!! I am a kitchenaid mixer ornament and I just happen to be the exact same color as your own kitchenaid mixer. You cannot leave this store without me. I belong on your tree!!"

Heather, can you believe it?!?!?!!

After spending way too much money at Target and Hobby Lobby, we headed up to the Biltmore to meet Lisa and Ashleigh for lunch at Paradise Bakery. Let me just say that ever since Paradise Bakery got bought out and changed their menu, it is not nearly as good. I still love the tomato soup, but the sandwiches are not my fav anymore. They got rid of the delicious veggie one with the roasted red peppers and havarti cheese. Boo. But the soup and the cookies are still delicious.

Look, the guy drew a cute little smiley face in Steve’s soup with the sour cream garnish!

"I am a happy soup"

I ate mine with half a grilled cheese sandwich, but the soup was definitely the best part! That and the two bites I took of my m&m cookie. Yes, I took 2 bites and threw it away. I REALLY wanted those 2 bites. I did not, however, want an entire 4oo calorie cookie.

After lunch, we shopped around a little more, I got some necessary things done at the Apple store (bought a warranty for my mac book and got my broken ipod replaced). Then I went into Lulelemon and drooled over work out clothes I can’t afford. Steve found this on the outside of the store, which is so me it’s not even funny

Thank you Lululemon for reading my mind. After we finished shopping at the Biltmore, we said goodbye to Lisa and Ashleigh and headed back to our side of town to meet my mom, Hank and Charlie for coffee.

Not only is coffee more delicious in a mug, but did you know you get a 10 cent discount?

I always worry about making fun of my Jewishness on the blog for fear of offending someone, but I do think it’s funny that

1) I’m Jewish and care about getting a 10 cent discount.

2) This post has been almost entirely about Christmas.

After coffee we picked up dinner and beer. Yes, every single meal I ate yesterday came from a restaurant, and I am okay with that. Beer from Whole Foods (so many of my favorite places in one day!) and dinner from Chipotle.

It looks almost homemade if you put it in a real bowl!

When I get take out from Chipotle, I always wait and use my own fat free sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and lower fat/calorie cheese at home. That way I still get them, but not the full fat versions that I don’t want! I got a bowl with a little brown rice, a little pinto beans, fajita veggies, steak (same nutritionally as their chicken. I looked it up), lettuce, pico and medium salsa. Topped at home with fat free sour cream and goat cheddar. Yummmmm.

Then we watched caught up on some of our fav tv shows and brought out the beer!

"I have 2 beers! One in each hand!" 🙂

We did the mix and match at whole foods. I ended up only trying a few sips of the ones we opened because I didn’t want to mess up my getting better with too much alcohol.

After we finished eating, I decided I needed a lounging on the couch after my epic day off outfit.

"Mom, you embarrass me with all your 80s clothes. I wasn't even born when those were popular."

 

"Mom, you're so weird."

I almost wore my onesie, but leg warmers won.

Honestly, I just had the most amazing day, and although I wish I could have like 5 more days off, I feel slightly rejuvenated and just really happy that I got to spend some quality time with Steve and that I have such an amazing husband who will go along with whatever I want to do to make me feel special and ensure that my day off is absolutely perfect!

Have a great weekend everyone–hope you all enjoy your time off this weekend as much as I enjoyed yesterday! 😀

Skinnified Sunday: Peppermint White Mocha Cupcakes

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Hi friends! I have been waiting for Starbucks’ official Christmas launch to make the cupcakes that have been on my mind since October! I would just like to say that with all the promoting I do, Starbucks should sponsor this blog or something haha. Hey there Starbucks execs…want to pay me to turn your delicious drinks into healthier baked goods? Let’s make that happen. I woke up yesterday bright and early (shocker…the idea of sleeping in is completely lost on me) and ready to bake!

Let’s pretend those extra laugh lines up there are just because it was early and my skin wasn’t quite awake yet. Oh well, at least they’re not frown lines. Anyway, moving on! Steve and I headed over to the bux to get some fresh coffee and via for the cupcakes and some coffee for ourselves. My recent order now that it’s cold outside: Grande bold coffee, 1 pump sf mocha, 1 pump sf peppermint, 2 pumps sf vanilla, steamed soy. Not a misto–that is like half milk, just with soy milk that is steamed and foamy. Tastes just like a peppermint mocha! Delicious. You have to get over the embarrassment of a complicated order, but it’s worth it 😉

We came home and got right to the baking, while Winnie and Clem got right to their business: being cute.

“Mom, where are my cupcakes?”

Clementine lately has been really into humping Winston. She really wants to be the boss these days and it always cracks us up because he is so much bigger than her!

Winston is just like “yeah, okay, do what you want. I’m still the boss around here.”

Okaaayyyy, onto the cupcakes!

White Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes from Cake on the Brain

Skinnified Peppermint White Mocha Cupcakes

yield 36 mini cupcakes

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
  • 1/4 cup Splenda
  • 1 1/2 packets Starbucks via (or any instant coffee)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 oz grain sweetened white chocolate + 36 chips
  • 1/4 cup strong coffee, + extra for brushing
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350,  line 36 mini muffin tins and spray inside liners (otherwise they will stick).
2. In mixer, combine flour, sugar, Splenda, via and salt.
3. Melt chocolate with coffee. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Add melted chocolate mixture to flour mixture and mix lightly.
5. Add yogurt, vanilla, peppermint, baking soda and egg whites and beat for 2 minutes.
6. Fill muffin tins 1/2 way to top, place 1 white chocolate chip in center, then fill up until they are 3/4 full (I pour it all into a freezer bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner).
7. Bake for 24 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
8. Using a toothpick, poke several holes in each cupcake and brush with coffee.
9. Cool completely and frost with peppermint cream cheese frosting.

Original Frosting

from Gimme Some Oven

  • 8 oz. (1 brick) cream cheese, softened
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on the thickness you’d like)
  • 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

My Swaps:

  • Low fat cream cheese for regular (-fat, -calories)
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar for 3-4 (-sugar, -calories)
  • 2 tbs light whipped butter for 4 regular (-fat, -calories)

Skinnified Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

yield frosting for 40-50 mini cupcakes

  • 8 oz. (1 brick) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs light whipped butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and extracts.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary.
3. Transfer to freezer bag (or pastry bag if you’re fancy), cut small hole in the corner of the bag and frost!

C is for Clementine, W for Winston, S for Steve and A for Ari! Steve didn’t figure that one out right away 😉 and the heart is for love–duhhh! Yeah, I’m a cheeseball

Oh yeah, top with sprinkles! It makes it more fun! Pink for peppermint, brown for chocolate. I am so original 😉

They were soooo yummy! We had to take them immediately to our friends at the Bux and my mom so that our whole kitchen didn’t look like this

I also made regular peppermint mocha ones which I loved ALMOST as much. I just love white chocolate. Recipe coming soon. And before the season if over, you know there will be gingerbread latte (prob my fav Starbucks drink!), eggnog latte and caramel brulee latte treats coming your way. Stay tuned friends!

State Fair

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You know what else happens here in the Fall that I love??? The state fair!!! Ever since I was really young, it was a tradition for my dad to take me every year. I remember playing all the games until one of us (well let’s be honest–it was never me) won the exact prize I wanted. I remember my dad carrying around huge arm fulls of stuffed animals. I remember always taking home the delicious fair fudge. For some people fair food is about deep fryers. For my family, it is the fudge. Last year, schedules did not work out and we never got to go together. Booooo. This year we tried to go, drove there and then realized it was closed on Tuesdays. Double booooooo. But luckily, last night it all finally worked out!!! Hooray!! Hermano and I were stoked.

The weather was pretty awful (of course the ONE night is is windy and rainy in Phoenix is the night we go to the fair) so Steve left his camera at home, and all of these horrible quality photos were taken from my cell phone. We’ll all live with the bad photos. The world will not end 😉

As soon as we walked in we walked right up to my least favorite part of going to the fair with Hermano and my dad…

They will seriously spend HOURS at the basketball games sometimes!! Luckily (for me, anyway), this one was ridiculous and lame, so they each tried once and then we were able to be on our way.

You were supposed to make 8 shots in 15 seconds. Can you even TAKE 8 shots in 15 seconds? Well I can tell you who definitely can NOT: My Dad. He still has some moves on him, but they are ssssslllllooooowwwwww moves. Speed is not his forte 😉 Hermano either, but I think he at least took 8 shots haha.

Then we came right up to my fair weakness–the fudge stand!! Did I mention that a long run day may not be the best day to be surrounded by tons of tempting food? I’m always a bottomless pit on those days! And of course, they had PUMPKIN FUDGE. Yummmm. I was going to just pass by and let it be, but my dad offered to get a piece so that I could have a bite because all I really wanted was a taste. Couldn’t say no to that! He ended up getting the black forest flavor and Hermano and I split a half slice of pumpkin which the nice lady cut into tiny bite size pieces. It was sooooo sweet that all I ended up even wanting was a small piece, but it did the trick!

We also did a couple of fun houses. Yes, they are a little lame, but they are still fun to me!

Obviously Hermano is a pro.

After posing for this shot, one of the fair guys came up and tried to help Hermano. He thought he had actually fallen and was hurt. Nice to know those fair people are there to help! Better than the carnie with no teeth that told Steve I should put out because he won me a stuffed animal. Yikes. That was a few years ago, I was much more impressed with the carnies this year 🙂

One of the best parts was this entertainment show we stumbled across. First I thought it was sword swallowing, but then it turned out to be torch juggling

This guy was not only talented, but pretty hilarious. Also, the drunkies around shouting ridiculously were pretty entertaining.

There were blades! Just not being swallowed. Instead, they were juggled on a unicycle on a tight rope. I was only mildly afraid of one of them flying out and chopping my head off.

After the show, we all did the bumper cars which were….ummmm…well they were okay. We had fun even though the cars themselves kinda sucked.

Steve kept complaining about the steering and technical capabilities haha. He’s such a car nerd. Steve and I also did one of those dress up antique pictures where we dressed as pirates, and Hermano and I went on the ride where it takes you up in the air and drops you.

Then we had an amazing dinner that I took no pictures of because I was too hungry at our family’s favorite restaurant–Avanti’s!! It is seriously the best Italian food in the world. I am not the biggest fan of Italian these days, but it sounded amazing last night. I ended up with some delicious salmon with a lemon sauce and taking bites of the real amazing stuff–everyone else’s pasta. I just can’t eat a whole dinner of pasta anymore. I don’t like the way I feel after, but that doesn’t stop me from sneaking bites from everyone else’s! Then Hermano played piano–on weekends they have a live pianist, but they always let Jacob play! It’s so awesome!! He did amazing and even got  $20 tip from a stranger! Sweeeeeet!! I was also coerced into singing with him which went better than you would expect at 10pm after a glass of wine haha.

All in all, amazing night with my amazing family. 🙂

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