Kabobs & Composting

We've finally joined Team Composting at our house!  It's something so easy that I've wanted to do for a while.  We had a few pallets that were for Pinterest projects that never happened.  So my handy boyfriend put them together to make a simple spot for composting in the backyard.  Now, instead of throwing away food scraps when I cook, I keep a bowl for the parts that can't be used and we toss it in the new compost pile! 

Kabobs  + Food Scraps = Compost

 

Take 5

Just a completely random list of things that I'm loving right now!

1. Podcasts
THANKS, SERIAL!  I'm now constantly searching for podcasts.  Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Stuff You Should Know, Grammar Girl, NPR everything....so many podcasts, so little time.

2. Mobile Depositing
Speaking of little time, did you know you can deposit a check by snapping a picture of it with your phone? I may be a little late to this, but this feature makes life so much easier!

3. A Chef's Life
I still enjoy the occasional Saturday morning watching Food Network, but am really loving A Chef's Life on PBS.

4. Fixer Upper on HGTV
I've been watching the new season of Fixer Upper as well as catching up on the last season.  Jo-Jo and Chip are the best!

5. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a new Netflix original show 
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the new Tina Fey and Robert Carlock creation on Netflix starring the adorable Ellie Kemper.  It's quirky and funny and so very cute!

What's on your list?  

One Point Wonders

Hello there, long lost bloggy friends!  Happy New Year!  Happy March!  Happy Spring!

We're finally on a healthy-eating kick and rejoined Weight Watchers online.  The first week was really hard as I realized just how unhealthy and careless I've been with my eating habits.  I have a long way to go to hit my goal, but already feel so much better about a healthier lifestyle.

On Weight Watchers, you have to use your points wisely.  So I'm always excited find a "One Point Wonder!"

Dairy Fix: 
Almond milk comes in at 1 point for 1 cup.  I love cereal as a snack and this is the lowest point milk I've found.  It does have a different taste, but I kind of dig it.

Dip Fix: 

At 1 point per wedge, The Laughing Cow cheese is a great snack with veggies.  

Cheesy Snack: 
You can't beat 1 point per light cheese stick! 

Bread: 

Bread can be hard, so we were happy to find this bread at Trader Joe's for just 1 point per slice.  We liked the 7-grain bread and a lot of others must like it since it was all out at the store tonight.  

Lunch Meat: 

Bread is no good without something to make a sandwich!  This turkey breast is 1 point for 4 slices!  

Tasty Dressing: 

Salads are great, but dressings are tricky.  You can eat a generous helping of 2 tablespoons of this dressing for 1 point.  

These are just a few finds that have worked for us so far.  What about you?  Any One Point Wonders to add?  Or just healthy food finds to share?  

And 4 months later....

I haven't been able to jump back in to blogging like I wanted to this year.  The Easter and Spring season brings a sense of new hope and beginnings for me.

So here's a snapshot of the last few months in my world.  I KNOW that everyone is as over winter as I am....but here's a flashback to one of our snow days.  I'm just glad we only have to deal with this kind of snow once every few years in SC!

We celebrated Bryan's grandmother's 90th birthday in February...

Fun time with friends at the City Roots Mardi Gras festival....

I spent a weekend at home celebrating my nephew's sweet baptism...

And last but not least, my niece visited for a weekend and had such a great time with her.  

Add in a few big work projects and conferences, and just like that....the blog is all caught up!

Be Joyful in Hope

Happy, Happy New Year!  I love the promise of a new start. Last year was incredibly challenging for me on so many fronts and I'm incredibly excited and determined for the year to come.  I have missed blogging and plan to make Grits and Gossip a part of my life again.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and treasured the time spent with your loved ones. 

I spent several wonderful hours in the kitchen today cooking my traditional New Year's meal from scratch!  It was the kind of cooking that requires an apron, 4 pots (collards, blackeyed peas, noodles for the macaroni, and sweet tea), 3 cast iron skillets (pork chops and cornbread- I had enough left to make 2), ham hocks, real butter, and lots of love.  I could hear my mom's voice in my head telling me how to make the gravy....this was the first time I've conquered it from scratch!  I could see my grandmother stirring the cornbread mixture until it "looks right"- no measurements needed.  Now to enjoy the leftovers for the next few days.....

I have lots of goals for 2014, but one is to try to memorize bible verses.  I picked up my copy of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (highly recommend) and read the January 1st devotional.  Each devotion also gives you several verses to read and lead me to a perfect verse to focus on this week. 

{Image Credit: http://momandwife.com/2011/02/romans-12-words-to-live-by/}

Here's to a beautiful beginning of 2014 and being joyful in hope for all that is yet to come. 

What are you watching?

This "TV" year has been one of the best I can remember in a long time!  These shows round out my current favorites.

Best All Around: Downton AbbeyPBS, Sundays

It's just THE BEST!  I got all 3 seasons on DVD for my birthday (Thanks, Mom!) and will watch it over and over.

The Dark Horse: Walking DeadAMC, Sundays 9pm

So Zombies aren't my usual genre.  But hear me out.  I was in the Halloween spirit and decided to try something new.  We watched a few episodes of the first season on Netflix and soon we were hooked!  We proceeded to "excessively binge watch" the first two seasons and caught up on the third and current season.   And (nerd alert) we might have even bought the compilation of the comic books on which the show is based.  And I might be considering buying and framing this.

Retro: Mad Men
AMC, Sundays 9 pm

It's a juicy, retro drama starting the 6th season on April 6th.  Netflix has the first 5 seasons!

Funnest/Friendliest: New Girl and The Mindy ProjectFox, Tuesdays 9pm and 9:30pm

Both are fantastic, fun, and fresh sitcoms!  No explanation needed on this one!  Also, check out Zooey Deschanel's band, She and Him, and Mindy Kaling's book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?.

I Spy: The Americans
FX, Wednesdays 10 pm

This new show is a "FX original drama stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys as undercover Soviet spies in US near end of Cold War in 1981."  Check it out and tell me what you think!

Political Fix: House of CardsNetflix

House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey and is a Netflix original series about a SC politician.  I was on the Scandal bandwagon until I saw House of Cards!

Must See TV: Parks and RecreationNBC, Thursdays 8:30 pm

Great cast.  Amy Poehler is fantastic.  Aziz Ansari is from SC.  Also, watch Aziz Ansari's stand up comedy specials.

On the Outs:

• The Office- I hate to say it, but it's "time."  
• Revolution- Started strong, but losing it's luster.
• Glee- Definitely hasn't made the jump post graduation for the majority of the case.

On My Summer Catch-Up List:

• Nashville-I caught one episode and really liked it.  I want to start from the beginning and catch up.  
• Modern Family- I like this show when I see it, but haven't consistently watched it.
• Parenthood- same as above.
• Girls- I'm just plain curious.

What about you?  Find anything good to watch this year?

The South Has Made Me Fat

It's that dreaded time.  Time to get real about the 30-something pounds I've gained since moving back to SC.  I could blame a lot of things, but that won't erase the way-too-many-nights-on-the-couch or way-too-much-Mexican-food-for-lunch.  There have been a few failed attempts to "do better" but I never follow through.  So I'm giving in to the cliché of a New Year's diet and doing the Weight Watchers thing.  It's worked for me before.  Although, I admit that I haven't tried many other things.  I'm not a fad or crash diet kind of girl.  So Weight Watchers Online is a doable balance for me.  Our meals are looking more like this....

(Stuffed Peppers with quinoa and vegetables)

And this..

.

I'm not going to lie....the first few days were h.a.r.d.   More than anything I was frustrated with myself for developing such bad eating habits. The convenience of eating out has become the norm.  Thank goodness the boyfriend is doing it with me and was a HUGE encouragement over the last week.  The Weight Watchers food tracker app makes keeping up with points incredibly easy. Friday was a turning point and I felt like I hit an eating groove.  It helped to step on the scale and see an 8 lb loss!  And I haven't even had sweet tea withdrawal yet!  We're adding exercise into our week 2 plan, so wish us luck.

A few of my favorite healthier meals and snacks during week 1 were:

sautéed shrimp and salmon

-a salad with veggies and tabbouleh (so much flavor!)

-clementines

-edamame

-steamed broccoli, zucchini, and squash with olive oil and fresh lemon juice

-stuffed peppers with quinoa and vegetables

-egg white omelets with onions, red peppers, and tomatoes

-skinny cow ice cream sandwiches

-Moe's Jr. Joey Burrito on whole wheat tortilla with meat, beans, and veggies

Is anyone else trying to shed pounds in the new year?

New Year, Updated Blog

Happy belated 2013!  I'd say we had a..... ummmmm...

fun  start to the New Year.....

I hope everyone's January is off to a great start.  (Even if it's almost halfway over!) I was sad to see the holiday season come to a close and was slow to find a routine this month.  Such is the life of a hopeless procrastinator!  (I'm just going to embrace it!)

I finally exported all of my blog content from the Blogger platform to WordPress, so please excuse some spacing and formatting differences from the older posts.  I've wanted to switch to WordPress for a while (I created an account and reserved the blog domain a few years ago) and am finally taking the plunge.

I sure hope my grandparents can find the new site!  I feel like I've let them down since they got a computer and the internet to read my blog.  Thank goodness my sister had a baby and my mom created a Facebook account to distract them!  I get a lot less "You haven't posted in a loooong time" comments from my mom and grandparents since Scarlett was born! Anyway...I'm still learning, but like the feel of WordPress so far.  I've been busy with lots of projects to show you courtesy of new Young House Love book and of course, Pinterest!