Hello Kitty

Have I mentioned I like Hello Kitty?

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
-Maya Angelou

2011 is near!

Custom 2011 Owl Calendars? Yes please!

Christmastime is here....

I love once the Christmas decorations are all up, and then along with it, I have this almost ritualistic couple of hours picking the Christmas card. I had so many photos to choose from this year, but decided to highlight our amazing trip to Disneyland this year, celebrating our half-marathon accomplishment. Just to keep the suspense building for those getting cards, here's the photo I didn't choose. :)

Mew!

Easy (to make) (and eat) Doughnuts

As if I needed a good excuse to eat more unhealthy foods over Thanksgiving, we prepared a family brunch which included this great easy doughnuts recipe from Real Simple. They were as easy as they were delicious! And they made for a great picture.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 8-count package large refrigerated biscuits (such as Pillsbury Grands)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat ½ cup of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Place the biscuits on a cutting board. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or shot glass, cut a hole in the center of each biscuit, reserving the extra dough for "holes."
3. Test the heat of the oil by dipping the edge of a doughnut in the pan. When the oil is hot enough, the edge will bubble. Place 4 of the doughnuts and holes in the skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 1½ minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel–lined plate to drain. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, reheat, and cook the remaining doughnuts and holes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Gently toss the warm doughnuts in the mixture a few at a time. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   
   This recipe makes 8 doughnuts, plus holes.

Happy Friday

(via)

Is it almost June again?

I think these speak for themselves.

Work Visitors

Have I mentioned I love my new job? I get all kinds of visitors... here are a select few:

Kirby

Derbie

Bree

Chester

Zappa

Gracie

And of course... Tank

Dreaming of Trader Joe's...

Even though we don't have a Trader Joe's in Denver, I packed plenty of items to bring back from my last trip to California. And I think my new favorite one is the Apple Carrot Fruit Crushers! If you know me, you know the one vegetable I despise are carrots. I have a strict no-carrots policy. After I became a vegetarian, I thought I'd try them again, and I still couldn't bring myself to stomach them.

And yet, Trader Joe's somehow is able to make them palatable, and why would I expect anything less from them? They always deliver.

The ingredients in the Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce Crushers are minimal, including apples, carrot juice, and pumpkin. Done and done. And with that fun capri-sun type top, how can you go wrong?

This Is Your Life

I saw this on a blog today, and it stopped me dead in my tracks, so here you go:

Secrets From a Stylist

It's no secret that I love two things: HGTV & Anthropologie (new catalog today! but I diverge...). So you can imagine that during my diligent viewing of Design Star I was rooting for Emily from the beginning as her design aesthetic was exactly what I see and covet everytime I walk into Anthropologie. When she won, I said to myself, "Lauren in design form!" YES! Thank you HGTV!

I hope this show never ends and she comes to my house next.

Short Guide to Life

I read this post on Zen Habits today, and something about the simpleness struck me.

So here you go, the short guide to life:

less TV, more reading

less shopping, more outdoors

less clutter, more space

less rush, more slowness

less consuming, more creating

less junk, more real food

less busywork, more impact

less driving, more walking

less noise, more solitude

less focus on the future, more on the present

less work, more play

less worry, more smiles

breathe

My favorite (maybe because I just happen to be at work as I was reading this) was "less busywork, more impact." Short and sweet. I am making this my new motto.

Zucchini Crostini

In addition to watching Project Runway with Chelsea on Thursdays, we've also taken to trying new recipes for fun. She stumbled upon this one from Yum Sugar, so we had to try it!

Zucchini Crostini

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup shredded basil
½ cup marcona almonds, toasted and finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into ¼-inch slices (about 12 slices)*

Directions

1. Using a box grater, coarsely grate the zucchini. Place the shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze the towel to remove excess moisture. Repeat until as much liquid as possible has been released, then transfer the zucchini to a bowl.
2. Add the garlic, basil, almonds, thyme, Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon juice, lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to the zucchini; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate for an hour.
3. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the bread and grill or broil the bread until toasted, then let cool.
4. Top each slice of bread with about 3 tablespoon* of the zucchini pesto and serve immediately.

Let me say, these turned out DELICIOUS. They were easy to make and we paired them with some pre-made gazpacho from Whole Foods. All in all, it was a great light summery meal.

And to see how pretty they looked when we made them, here's a photo!

Motivation

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."

-John Bingham

Almost there....

Oreo

Not sure why I'm missing you so much today Oreo....

If I had all the time in the world

I've been feeling a little bit scattered. Maybe it's because I just started a new job, maybe it's because I'm not taking enough iron, or maybe it's because Andrew & I have over-committed ourselves. Whatever the case, I finally decided today that we need to intentionally decide to relax this weekend, so I started my list of "If I had all the time in the world, what would I want to do LIST"?

So here goes:

• Knitting (sorry I didn't finish your scarf during the winter, Andrew)
• Reading (Currently working my way through Michael Scully's Dominion)
• Cooking something new (dying to make Banana Ice Cream, seriously, how hard could it possibly be? it's just one ingredient)
• Plant some more succulents (an article from Real Simple inspired me to try planting a succulent in a shell)

Part of me feels good getting it down on paper, and finally focusing not on what I have to do, but what I'd like to do.

And if I'm lucky, working on one of these items will help to bring what's really important back into focus.

I wear my sunglasses at night.

Tank, you're the best.

Others....

And because there were so many other great shots, I thought I'd share of the lovely Brooke & Brett on their 5 year anniversary vow renewal!

Laughing

A photographer got this shot at a friend's vow renewal last week, and I thought, that looks about right.

A very special Tank Photo Friday!

Tank is probably having the best day of his life, joining me at work! He has made many new friends, let everyone know he is here, and found a perch... on my desk... Since he's allowed to join me once a week, I am sure I will get some great shots. I think first, though, I need to get him a suit.

Hopefully he looks just as cute tomorrow at Rouxby's Dogbooth. I can't wait!

Cats vs. Dogs

I have been perusing the site, Online Schools several times over the last couple of weeks, and they have some great infographics. I fell in love with the cute graphics and interesting stats on this one, so I had to share. And I also had to share, obviously, because it is about cats & dogs.

It's totes the best huncal fro-yo

I'm not big into online videos, although there have been many that I could watch over and over again. A friend sent me this gem yesterday, and it was so good that I felt it needed to be shared. Let me introduce the Men's Harvard Sailing Team, and their video "Boys Will Be Girls."

Trust me, you'll thank me later for this.

Zappa Photo Friday

I spent the weekend in Kansas City, celebrating Mother's Day. Spending time in Kansas City means lots of great things, not the least of which is seeing Zappa, the dog I grew up with. And of course, I have to share a picture.

It's Tank Photo Friday!

In Ad Heaven

Very rarely do I see an ad that wows me as I spend most of my day reviewing ads. But this one got me very excited. Of course I adore Natalie Merchant, and seeing this sponsorship on Pandora made me want to buy her new album RIGHT NOW. I had to share it.

They obviously know their audience. Well done, Pandora.

Stamps to the Rescue!

I was alerted to these great stamps today that are released on April 30th. Being a former USPS employee, one of the things I liked the most were the long-steeped history in stamp design. I bought all of the Eames ones last year, and this year I will be stopping in for sure on April 30th for these adorable stamps that help shelters buy food for 1 million shelter pets and get the word out about animal adoption. And seriously, could these be any cuter?

Maybe if Tank were on one of them.

It's a Birthday!

I went my very first dog birthday party at the Forsberg Dog Park in Lakewood (aka dog heaven) on Saturday for Bella, and Tank was excited to see his sister, Lucy, also from the DFL. We consider them brother & sister.

Christy got this adorable shot of them together, and I had to share, it seemed like a good photo for a Monday.

Aspens

Maybe I'm just dreaming of a Colorado summer... please go away rain/snow!

A List of Foods by Environmental Impact

I saw this chart today by one of my favorite publications, GOOD, and I had to share. Of course I'm always interested to know my environmental impact because I know that I could be making serious improvements, and this chart blew me away. (from The Oil Drum)

I guess I'll be steering towards corn! Thank you, Kansas, for making me a hard-core corn connoisseur!

Tankini

Tank with a hat, doesn't get much better than that. Ashley decided to give him a new nickname, Tankini, although I'm not entirely sure it captures his personality. I'd choose Wiggly first.

I Love Cat Shirts

I'm not sure how it's happened, maybe my missing of Oreo who's been gone for two years, or my general love of cats, I seem to have procured two rather great shirts in a short period of time. The first, and most controversial, is the Three Keyboard Cat shirt from Threadless. Once I saw this shirt, it was a must have. The perfect combination of keyboard cat and the famous (or infamous, depending on how you see it) wolves howling at the moon shirt. Everytime I've worn it, it's definitely been a statement piece.Then today, I learned about a new site, Tee Fury, similar to Steep & Deep, only for T-Shirts! I saw today's, and again, another done deal. I'm sure you'll see me wearing this one quite a bit as well...

Vroom Vroom! And have I mentioned, I love working at a place that encourages my bizarre sense of humor?

A New Habit

As you can tell by my lack of blogging recently, things have been pretty busy! Since the beginning of the new year, I've joined a volleyball league, gotten serious about half-marathon training, and secured my first cavity (yikes!). Amongst all of the stress that comes with being busy, I've looked towards activities that help relieve stress. One of those new habits is knitting! I just recently started knitting, with the help of my friend Chelsea.

I'll have to admit, it is very fun to pick out the color of yarn, etc., especially when you've got a place like the Fancy Tiger nearby.

After choosing a nice heather gray color (practical, I know) in a large size, the people at Fancy Tiger were kind enough to help me cast on. After that, I was on a roll towards an infinity scarf, like the ones I have been seeing around that I'd like to make.

Knitting is now my new during-TV project, and I can attest to the fact that it has some sort of stress relief soothing affect. I'm not sure if it is the repetition, but articles I have read compare it to praying the rosary or meditation. And for those benefits, as well as the satisfaction of making something with your hands, I will take it.

Running in Mickey Ears

Since I think sharing my goals will help hold me accountable, here goes: Andrew and I will be signing up to run the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 5, 2010 in Anaheim, California. The longest race we've run before is the Bolder Boulder (one of my favorites), and I am definitely nervous about this new goal. I have to admit, could there be a happier place to run a race?

At least we've got some great tools to help us along the way... And more just keep popping up!

Signed up for: Daily Mile, a place to log workouts and connect with others in your area that are runners.
Got a Training Schedule: Runner's World has a great tool called Smart Coach, which will customize training to your current skill level and time frame you want to train in.

I am desperately looking for a great way to log runs on my iPhone, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to know. Also, any running tips or helpful advice?

And, if you want to join me on my adventure, find me on Daily Mile!