Healthy Sip: Zico Coconut Water

Coconut water has been floating around the health & fitness community for awhile and I have to admit, when I first tried it a few years ago, it was not love at first sip. I thought that the aftertaste was funny, the cloudy color creeped me out and I just didn't enjoy drinking it.

Danica recently shared her love for Zico coconut water with me and it didn't take her long to convince me to believe in second chances. I picked up the chocolate flavored Zico at Trader Joe's and I have been highly impressed!

Coconut water is best known to be a natural source of hydration, providing especially good benefits after a hard workout. It contains electrolytes to help you recover and is also packed with potassium. This would be a great option for pre-workout energy kick as well. Per my California sister's recommendation, I like to drink my Zico as a mid afternoon snack with a scoop of vanilla protein powder over ice. It's delicious and adding protein makes it filling, too. This morning after my workout, I mixed up 1/2 cup chocolate Zico with 1 heaping scoop of protein powder and a cup of unsweetened coconut almond milk. It was the perfect post workout fuel and it was nice to not have to pull out the blender. 

Check out the Zico website for benefits, products and recipes! (I just spotted a few Zico cocktails I'm dying to try, too!)

Back in Business + A House Update!

It's back to business around here and it feels so good. We spend all of July and most of August in transition mode as we waited to close on and move into our house. Thanks to a dear family friend, we had a comfy place to stay and call home for a few weeks- and the next door neighbors were the best! (thanks for all the fun dinners, Mom & Dad!) We couldn't have asked for anything more but by the time our closing date rolled around, we were more than ready to move into our house! And we moved in just in time to celebrate our second wedding anniversary last Tuesday. I still cannot believe that it has been two beautiful years filled with so much love!

Our kitchen has been unpacked since almost the moment we moved into our house and we are finally back to our "normal routine".  Meal planning, anyone!? (one of my favorite weekly activities) I'm looking forward to trying new recipes, enjoying old favorites, and hosting family and friends for dinner parties in our new home!

Now, for a quick house update- it's finally starting to feel like HOME. The boxes have been unpacked, closets have been organized, furniture has been placed and there is still room to spare! Thankfully, all of our Christmas decorations also have ample storage and are safe and sound in their place. 

We are in love with our house! It is the perfect home for us and our neighborhood is just wonderful- everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. We are also in a fantastic location that allows us to take advantage of some of the most wonderful parts of The Queen City. 
I really believe that we ended up in the perfect place. 

While our house was pretty much move-in ready, there are a few things we have on our "home makeover" list that will really put our touch on it. Since those things also cost money, we have been focusing on quicker fixes for now to make it feel like ours. In just a few weeks time, most of the house has been painted which makes such a HUGE difference. I'm now a firm believer in the power of paint! When we moved in, our house was filled with nice pastel shades that looked better in an Easter basket than on our walls! Mark and I painted our bedroom before we moved in and this weekend we had a painter here who did our foyer, kitchen, dining room and main living spaces. I have been obsessing over paint since before we bought our house and I really don't know what I would have done without blogs and Pinterest! It's so nice to have resources for this. For my walls, I really wanted warm, neutral colors that are light and breezy, but also calming. I also knew that I wanted everything to flow nicely with not too much variation in color from one room to the next. All of our paints came from Benjamin Moore and I'm in LOVE with the colors. The guys at our local Benjamin Moore paint store were a huge help as well as friends who recommended specific colors (thanks, Kelli! Vapor Trails is my favorite!) 

We painted our family room, kitchen & foyer in Vapor Trails. Our dining room is painted Revere Pewter and with the white molding detail in this room, the color looks amazing! Our formal living room which really won't even be a formal living room when we get done with it, is also painted this color. We painted Mark's office Spanish Olive- I think it's a handsome and manly greenish grey. I knew for months that our room would be painted dreamy Gray Wisp- also known as Restoration Hardware Blue. I love this color in our room with our dark chocolate furniture and white bedding. We still have a few rooms to tackle on our own! Chelsea Gray is going in our hall bathroom. With the creamy white vanity I think this will be a fun place to incorporate this rich color. 

Above is the kitchen looking into the Dining Room. I still can't believe what a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! It feels like a new house. My friend Amanda said it's like watching the house you bought transform into the house that you love- it's SO TRUE. 

It's going to be one project at a time around here, but the beauty of it is that we are in no rush and we can really take our time to do what we want! Next on the list is creating a gallery wall for a hallway and finding a comfortable wicker sectional so that we can enjoy our screened in porch. In between recipes and tasty bites, I hope to have more projects and pictures to post soon. I'm so looking forward to making our space home sweet home!

Steamed Mini Artichokes with Lemon + Garlic and Butter Dijon Aioli

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE being able to shop at a Trader Joe's again!? I deeply miss my grocery store in Illinois (go figure!), but I do believe that being 10 minutes from Trader Joe's and less than 5 minutes from a brand new Whole Foods just may make up for it. 

Steamed artichokes are probably one of my FAVORITE foods ever. Whip up a quick aioli and I'm happy having that as my meal. I like to savor every little leaf and as much as I love getting to the heart of the artichoke, I'm a little sad when the experience is over.

I picked up some mini artichokes last week from TJs and thought they would be a nice side item to enjoy with grilled steaks.I didn't even know tiny artichokes existed! These minis weren't too filling and adding lemon and garlic to the water added bright, happy flavors. 

Steamed Mini Artichokes with Lemon + Garlic

2 artichokes, washed and trimmed
1 lemon, quartered
Whole garlic cloves (about 4-5)

Wash the artichokes and cut the stem off of the bottom and about 1 inch on the top leaves. In a medium, heavy bottom sauce pan, place the artichokes upside down and cover with water. Add lemon wedges and garlic. Cover and place on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, until you can pierce the top of the artichoke with a fork and it's soft to the touch.

Cool and enjoy. 

Butter Dijon Aioli

4 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. Pour Olive Organic Butter Olive Oil (or good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Quick splash of champagne vinegar
salt + pepper to taste

Blend in a mini food processor until everything is incorporated. Adjust taste as desired.

Two.

My whole heart for my whole life. 

My heart is so full and I could not ask for anything more.

Happy anniversary to the man of my dreams!

White Lab Coats, Coconut Macaroons, Elf Poses & Jello Shots

We spent the weekend in Detroit celebrating my sister's graduation from The University of Detroit Mercy's Physician Assistant Program. We are all so proud of her and everything she has done over the past two years to get to this point. Her dedication and drive are beyond anything I can imagine. I'm telling y'all, no one studies as hard as my sister!! 

My dad, also a Physician Assistant and (distinguished) graduate of the same program, had an extra glow on Friday as Andi walked across the stage and received her long white coat. He is SO PROUD. 

We celebrated with dinner in Detroit's Greektown on Friday night where we enjoyed our favorite stuffed grape leaves, saganaki (flaming cheese) and after dinner treats at Astoria Pastry Shop. 

Andi, my parents and I hopped into the Greektown Casino to see if we could could win any lucky money! It was quite a memorable experience and the graduate won a whopping 85 cents.

...while Mark and Natalie guarded our bakery sweets. If I could send each of you a coconut macaroon and baklava from Astoria, they would be delivered to your mailboxes tomorrow. SO GOOD. 

The celebrations continued with a party with family and friends on Saturday night. Andi's cake was from the same bakery that used to make our birthday cakes when we were tiny little lovies! The Pastry Palace creation was as decadent as we remembered it being.

We even threw in some Jello shots for good measure. Gummy bears at the bottom though? Not necessarily our best idea but they made for a lot of laughs and puzzled faces. 



It was a weekend filled with lots of love, tons of celebrating, quoting The Santa Clause and of course, good food. 

So proud of you Andi. Congratulations on all of your hard work! Now pass your test and get to Charlotte! Oh, and Ozzie, too. XOXO

Spicy Kale Chips

I was slightly weirded out the first time I made kale chips, but there is something about them that strangely leaves you wanting more. When the kale is torn into small pieces and roasted, it cooks up to a crispy, chip-like bite that kind of crunches and dissolves in your mouth. Mark's calls them ashes but I call them delicious! Absurd, but good and very satisfying. An addictive, yet healthy snack is a success in my book!

 

A Pour Olive customer came into the shoppe last week and said she made her kale chips with the zesty and spicy Harissa Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Harissa is a hot chili sauce from Tunisia that is made with serrano peppers, chilli peppers, garlic and several herbs and spices such as chili powder, coriander, cumin and caraway. The flavor is outstanding and packed with some heat. This totally kicked my usual kale chips up a few notches. Spicy kale chips are my new go- to snack!

Spicy Kale Chips

Kale, washed and torn
Harissa Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and pat kale dry. Rip into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Toss until all of the kale is glistening.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until kale starts to crisp up.

*If you are not local to Charlotte, try making your own spice mix for your kale chips. Add salt to it and sprinkle when the kale is tossed with olive oil.

Homeowners!

Well, there is no reason for this post other than wanting to have a dated blog entry on the day we closed on our first home together! After tiring weekends, and many drives between Illinois and North Carolina, we finally found a winner (with a lucky bright red door!) The house hunt was an overall exciting process and the weeks leading up to our closing were smooth and painless. You just never know what to expect we feel very fortunate to have had such a positive experience all around. 

Our little Illinois rental home will always hold a special place in my heart- It's where we spent our first year plus of married life and I wouldn't have traded that time for anything in the world.  Memories were made and our life together began. We knew that our Illinois adventure was not long term so on the flip side of the mushy gushy "I heart Illinois" stuff, it's wonderful to be back in Charlotte where we have roots and where we know we want to be for the long haul. 

We spent yesterday afternoon testing out paint colors on the walls and doing a little planning. It's a slow process but I know that we will have fun making our house a home. 

And...a quick yet GIANT shout out to the best realtor on this side of the universe. Nick Baker did a fantastic job and helped us find the perfect spot to call home. He spend countless hours and literally drove us to one end of Charlotte and back, several times, in order to make sure we were happy. Nick is a dear friend and I cannot sing his praises loud enough. If you are local to the Charlotte area and need an excellent realtor, please call this guy! I promise he will take care of you and you won't be disappointed. Nick is part of the Keller WIlliams Stephen Cooley Team.

 If you call him, say "Hello, Saint Nick!". He'll know that I sent you.