Pinterest Wednesdays!

Today I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for Pinteresting Wednesday! After seeing so many bloggers out there do this every Wednesday I had to join in the fun :) In case you don't know what Pinterest is...it is a site where you can "pin" your favorite recipes, projects, crafts, designs, styles and more on different boards. It is invite only so if you are not already a member, email me and I can send you an invite! Here are some of my favorite pins of the week....


LOVE THIS FOR THE FRONT DOOR


MAKES ME READY FOR COOLER WEATHER


PRETTY CENTERPIECES


BEAUTIFUL PICTURE


PRETTY OUTDOOR SPACE


MONOGRAM WREATH- FUN DIY PROJECT


I WANT THIS LAUNDRY ROOM


DIY PROJECT- MAPS OF WHERE YOU MET, MARRIED AND LIVE

Tasty Tuesday- Zucchini, Squash & Chicken Sausage Pasta

I came across this yummy recipe on a blog that I read and knew I had to make it ASAP. I was a little nervous about the chicken sausage... I have had it several times and a couple times it was really gross but other times I loved it. Well, I have to say- I LOVED it this time. Chris loved this recipe too and we have tons of leftovers.

Ingredients-
-Bow Tie Pasta- I used almost a full box b/c I wanted to have leftovers
-1 Zucchini, sliced
-1 Squash, sliced
-3-4 links cooked, sliced Chicken Sausage- I used one with Garlic & Cheese
-1 lemon
-Salt & Pepper
-Garlic Salt
-Zesty Italian Dressing
-Minced Garlic
-1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
-2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
-2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions-
Cook pasta in boiling water. Drain and keep warm.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini, squash and chicken sausage. Add the juice of one lemon, several splashes of Zesty Italian dressing, 2 small spoonfulls of minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for approximately 5 minutes. Add a little garlic salt and the parmesan cheese. Add in the drained bowtie pasta and mix together.

Sounds easy & delicious, huh? It is!! Enjoy!

Half-Marathon Training Update & Weekend Recap

Training has gotten off to a bit of a rough start. My week day runs have been slacking (this is always my problem) and it is miserably hot so my runs on Saturday's have been really hard. With only 4 months until my race I have seriously got to step it up.

I love my new group I am running with on Saturday mornings...I have met some great ladies and have found a group that is right at my pace. We are only up to a little over 3 miles but every Saturday the mileage is getting higher. Tempo runs and hill training start this week. Those are on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. You would think that running around 6:30 PM would be better because the temperature would drop...but, nope, not here in Houston. It is still over 100 degrees at that time of the day...so, no matter what time of the day/night you run- IT IS HOT.

Last week I did do Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred EVERY DAY though =) Whohoo! I was sore all week but it felt great to stick with it. Besides running on Saturday, I did not work out at all over the weekend so I am back at it today.

This past weekend was one of the most uneventful weekends I have had in a really, really long time. And I absolutely LOVED it. We had all sorts of plans for Saturday but literally EVERYTHING fell thru. Friday night I cooked a new recipe I found, Zucchini, Squash & Chicken Sausage Pasta (It was delicious...I will probably post the recipe tomorrow) and we watched a movie. Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 and ran 3 miles with Houston Fit, got a manicure & pedicure, baked a cake, piddled around the house then laid in bed and watched a movie and TV for hours. It was perfect. Sunday, we did more of the same...had breakfast at Hungry's, went to the grocery store then just hung out at home ALL day. Hubby got a deep fryer recently and he fried some catfish for us last night. It was delicious!

We managed to watch 4 movies this weekend! I don't think that has ever happened before. Here they are-

-Limitless- Stars Bradley Cooper...really good movie, definitely recommend it.
-Just Go With It- Stars Jennifer Anniston & Adam Sandler...your typical corny romantic comedy.
-Hall Pass- Stars Owen Wilson & Jason Sudeikis....HILARIOUS!
-Get Him to the Greek- Stars Jonah Hill & Russell Brand...very innapropriately funny.

Saturday night we had plans to go out to dinner at Benjy's then go to White Linen Night in the Heights with some friends. We were mainly going out to celebrate my best friend, Holly's, birthday but she ended up not being able to come so we just decided to stay home.

Hope you all had a fun & relaxing weekend, too! =)

Wilton Cake Decorating Class- Day 1

Last night was my first night of cake decorating class at Michael's! My friend, Kim, and I signed up a couple weeks ago...we have both always wanted to do take one of these classes so we thought it would be fun to do it together :) And it was!

The classes are Tuesday nights from 6-8 for the next 4 weeks. Our teacher's name is Lisbeth and we have a total of 6 people in the class. I did not really know what to expect and what the lay out of the class was until last night. Each week we will learn new decorating techniques and designs as well as the basics of baking & icing a cake.

Last night was our first class...we met the instructor, signed in, met the rest of the class and got started! We learned all about baking a great cake...how to prepare the pan, mix the batter, fill the pan, test the cake for doneness and remove the cake from the pan when finished. We have all baked cakes before but there are so many little tips and tricks she taught us that I had no idea about! Next, we learned all about icing...how to make it, what it is used for and all about the 3 kinds of consistency (I had no idea how important that part is!). We learned about decorating bags, decorating tips, couplers and how to fill the decorating bags with icing. Then we moved on to leveling a cake (dividing it into a top & bottom half) and adding fillings such as pudding, preserves or fruit to the middle. Finally, came icing the cake! There is a real technique to that. It is not as easy as it looks...you have to worry about it being even and you don't want any crumbs showing. We ended the class by getting to practice on our own. Whe we signed up for the class we had to buy this little kit. It includes all the basics we would need. So, we filled our decorating bags with icing, added a coupler & tip and started practicing making stars on paper. The instructor showed us a little about piping gel but we ran out of time and did not get into that much.
I seriously learned so much in that first class! When I usually bake a cake, I bake it out of box, in a glass baking dish and slab some icing on the top. Those days are gone. I can't wait to start trying new shapes and sizes, adding fillings and decorating the tops!

I feel kind of like I am in school again, except this is way more fun. We actually have homework...kinda. We have to buy a bunch of supplies that we will need for the rest of the class, make 2 batches of icing at home and make a cake and bring all of that to class next Tuesday. That night will be our first try at icing a cake and adding filling on our own and doing some very basic decorating. WHOHOO!!! Can not wait :) Kim and I actually bought almost everything we needed after the class was over. This is what I came home with....


Have any of you ever taken one of these classes? If you haven't, but you have considered it, you really should look into it! Just go in a local Michael's or Hobby Lobby for all the info. I will post a recap of day 2 next Wednesday!

Happy Baking! =)

What I'm Loving Wednesday- Aqua & Red Edition

I am loving these 2 colors together! Here are some favorite pictures I found on Pinterst this week.

Tasty Tuesday- Turkey Taco Soup

This is one of my favorite healthy recipes to make. I originally got the recipe from Hungry Girl but I have tweaked it some and we love it! It is so easy, cheap, fast and healthy and I always make a huge pot so we have leftovers to take for lunch during the week. Enjoy!

What you will need-
-2 cans of Progresso Light Southwestern Style Vegtable Soup
-1 Package ( not sure of the ounces ) of Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast
-1-2 tbsp's of Low Sodium Taco Seasoning (add more for extra spice)
-1 can of drained Black Beans
-Fat Free Sour Cream, Fat Free Shredded Cheese, chopped Scallions (all optional)

In a non-stick pan, crumble and brown the turkey meat until it is cooked through. In same pan (make sure it is deep) add the 2 cans of soup and can of drained black beans and stir. Next, add the taco seasoning. At this point everything is cooked and ready to be eaten but if I have time I try to let it simmer for 15-30 minutes.
Serve hot sides of sour cream, cheese and scallions!

This is a great low calorie, low carb and high protein meal! Hope you like it!

Birthday Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday & August 1st! Wow...where has this year gone?! I can not believe football season is here, the holidays are just around the corner, one of my best friends is very close to having her first baby, school starts and hopefully some cooler weather in the next couple of months (I live in Houston..wishful thinking)! This year has flown by.

Well, this weekend I turned 29. Whohoo! It was such a fun weekend! Friday night hubby and I went with his brother, Andrew and his GF, Hannah and my old roomies Hayden & Brendan to see Katy Perry in concert. SHE WAS AAAAAWESOME!!!!!! She changed costumes at least 10 times, has tons of dancers and acrobats and did some really cool "extras". Here are a few pictures. ( They are kinda grainy...something was up with my little point & shoot that night )






Saturday morning I skipped my run with my group (bad Leslie...I made it up on Sunday though! ) and Chris took me to my favorite brunch place in Houston- Backstreet Cafe. And he gave me my gift!! Ta-da....

It is a Nikkor 55-300 lens and I am OBSESSED with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to my Nikon D60 I have. I have desperately wanted a new lens for awhile now so I am really excited about this! He definitely won "Husband of the Year" award for this one :)
Saturday night my parents came to our house and we went to dinner at Brenner's on the Bayou. Love this restaurant! It is right on the Bayou and so beautiful. You do not even feel like you are in Houston when you are here. It was such a fun day :)

Yesterday we went up to Lake Conroe and took the boat out for a few hours, just the 2of us, but it was SO hot we just could not stay out there very long. I got a really bad headache from the heat...it was miserable. And last night I ran 3 miserable miles and grilled shrimp for dinner.

It was a fun and relaxing weekend that went way too fast...
Hope you all had a great weekend!!

FRIDAY FAVORITES- BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Quench by Kate Somerville
I got this product in a gift bag at an event I went to a couple years ago and now I am hooked! It is a light, clear serum that I put on before I put on my primer and mineral powder. I think it has made a huge difference in my skin...the tone is much more even and I never have to worry about having dry skin.



Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer
One of my favorite products I have ever used!! If I don't feel like putting on makeup I will still use this. The name speaks for itself. I buy it at Sephora. Go buy it, you will love it :)



Laura Mercier Mineral Powder
I tried several other mineral powders but this was my favorite and had the shades that most matched my skin color/tone.



Maybilline Stiletto Mascara
I have naturally long lashes but this mascara makes them SUPER long. This mascara is cheap and amazing.



Stella McCartney Perfume- Stella
I have been wearing this for 7 years. I get so many compliments on this. LOVE it!



Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things Noir Lotion
Love the scent and feel of this lotion. It is light and refreshing and moisturizing. I can still smell it on my skin after a full day.

What are some of your favorite beauty products?

~Wednesday Randoms~

1. My friend Kim and I signed up for Cake Decorating classes yesterday at Michael's! I have always wanted to take a class there and I love cake so this is perfect. It was cheap and there are only 3 or 4 two-hour classes. So, by the end of August I hope to be a cake decorating genius ;)

2. I am almost done reading Jaycee Dugard's book, A Stolen Life. Some parts are pretty disturbing and some parts a little boring, but it is an amazing story about her 18 years in captivity. She goes into great detail about everything from the day she was kidnapped, to what life was like for 18 years living in a backyard, to giving birth to 2 girls before she was even 15 and so much more. It is an unbelievable story...

3. I started (again) Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred workouts on Monday...OUUUUCH! I am so sore and so out of shape it is pathetic. Running is just not enough so I am trying to add in some other forms of exercise. I love the P90X workouts (I don't know that love is the right word to use...) and Jillian Michael's workouts so I think I am just going to try to do a mixture of those 3 or 4 times a week. I used to be so flexible and in shape; now I just feel like a slob-kabob. Mission "lose 20 lbs and get in shape" is on!

4. For those of you in Houston, have you been to City Center in West Houston?! It is AWESOME! It is at Beltway 8 & I-10. There are tons of new restaurants, shops and it is so pretty. Here are just some of the goodies found here-
-Eddie V's
-Flora & Muse
-Cyclone Anayas
-Brio Tuscan Grille
-Yard House
-Straits Restaurant
-RA Sushi
-Tasting Room
-Studio Movie Grill
-Hotel Sorella
-Sur la Table
-Urban Outfitters
-Anthropologie
-Free People
-Olive & Vine
-Elaine Turner
And much, much more! There is still so much space available too, so who knows what will be showing up over the coming months.
It reminds me a lot of City Place in West Palm Beach, FL where I used to live. All the restaurants have outdoor areas, there are fountains, fire pits, large grassy areas, Farmer's Market every Saturday, and concerts. This is a great place to try if you have not been yet!

5. Looks like there is a Tropical Storm forming close to the Gulf and there is a very good chance it will head this way! This is normally not something I would be excited about but we have not had rain in so long and Texas desperately needs it. So, it would be great if it did not turn into a hurricane and did not do any damage...just bring a lot of good rain :)

Happy Wednesday! We are half-way to Friday!

Lately....

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! After our trip to North Carolina, I was home for 5 days then headed to Seattle for work. I love Seattle. If you have never been you should go sometime. Just make sure to go during the Summer. This was my 2nd trip there...the first time was during Hurricane Ike and that was more of a vacation. This trip was for work, but I did manage to have some fun while I was there! Chris's Aunt and Uncle live there in a beautiful house right on the water. I got to have dinner with them at their new house Tuesday night and Wednesday night I got to participate in a sail boat race on the Sound, in front of downtown Seattle. That was such a cool experience. There were over 100 sail boats racing each other with a view of downtown and the Space Needle...and it was SO cold (at least to me it was). So much fun!! I was so glad I got to spend time with Chris's family and be part of that!




I was so ready to come home by the end of the week. I feel like ever since our wedding/honeymoon we have been constantly on the go. We have barely had any time to just be home so thankfully we have quite a few weekends coming up where we get to do just that. Saturday morning I ran with my running group. We only did 2.5 miles but since I am pretty much starting over with my training and it is so miserably hot outside, that was tough. We had brunch at Empire Cafe with our good friends Kim & Chris then I spent the afternoon at Hobby Lobby, Michaels and getting a mani-pedi. Chris golfed and took our neighbor on the boat so I had time to get some house projects done. Sunday we did more house projects...hung some new shelves I bought at Hobby Lobby, updated frames with new wedding pictures and more. Hubby cooked steaks for me last night and they were the best he has ever made. YUM!

And now...it is my birthday week!! Whohoo! I am going to be 29 on Saturday. I did not want to do much for my birthday this year...did not want to go out with a big group, did not really have any special gifts I wanted, etc.. My one request was to be home with no big plans. Exciting huh? For me, YES it is!
My fave brunch spot in Houston is Backstreet Cafe (if you have not been, go!) so Chris is taking me there after my run on Saturday morning. Then we will go to dinner with my parents at Brenner's on the Bayou Saturday night. And that is literally it and I could not be more excited. =)

Happy Monday!! Hope yall have a great week!