handmade :: abby berkson ceramics

I think lately I've been on a ceramics kick... I just keep finding more and more that I'm in love with. This one may just top them all though as it is combining my love of ceramics with my love for elephants. Come on, how freaking adorable is this mug?!?!

Every Abby Berkson Ceramics product is hand thrown and hand painted, which adds so much character and uniqueness to every piece.

She makes sweet gift sets for babies (of course I can't imagine giving anything ceramic to a child for use, only for decoration!) as well as adorable mugs, bowls, and vases that are fun additions to every kitchen!

Definitely stop by her shop and check it out for yourself. I'm off to convince the husband that a $40 mug is a justifiable expense...

handmade :: abby berkson ceramics

I think lately I've been on a ceramics kick... I just keep finding more and more that I'm in love with. This one may just top them all though as it is combining my love of ceramics with my love for elephants. Come on, how freaking adorable is this mug?!?!

Every Abby Berkson Ceramics product is hand thrown and hand painted, which adds so much character and uniqueness to every piece.

She makes sweet gift sets for babies (of course I can't imagine giving anything ceramic to a child for use, only for decoration!) as well as adorable mugs, bowls, and vases that are fun additions to every kitchen!

Definitely stop by her shop and check it out for yourself. I'm off to convince the husband that a $40 mug is a justifiable expense...

Almond Meal Chicken Tenders

Lately, J and I decided to do the South Beach Diet again. We are people of weak wills, so we have already completely failed, but I wanted to share one of my new favorite recipes with you from our most recent attempt.

When I saw this recipe for chicken nuggets, I couldn't pass it up. Kalyn's Kitchen is a great foodie blog, and she too has gone through the struggle of South Beach and often shares recipes for it. I changed the recipe up a bit based on the foods that we had, so here it is!

Almond Meal Chicken Tenders

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts 

(I used a package that were already cut into tenders)

EVOO

1/2 cup almond meal 

(I only had almonds, so I just ground them up until I got about half a cup. Don't grind too much or you'll just have almond butter.)

Spices 

(she calls for paprika and poultry seasoning, I just used some basil, oregano and Lawry's Seasoned Salt)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet in EVOO and place in oven while it is preheating. Trim fat and tenderize chicken a bit (if needed). Combine almond meal and spices in a small bowl. Dip chicken tenders in mixture until fully coated. Remove baking sheet from oven and place coated chicken tenders on it while it is still hot.

Bake 8-10 minutes, turn chicken tenders, and bake an additional 10-12 minutes until browned on both sides. (Time will of course vary between ovens, but try not to overcook!) I served them with some ranch dressing, but they tasted wonderful alone with no dipping sauce!

That's it! I also served them with some green beans tossed in EVOO and some garlic salt (in our kitchen, veggies are always made better by some garlic salt... yum.)

Hope you enjoy these! They were certainly a hit for us and I take comfort knowing I can make some tasty chicken tenders or nuggets for future children who are begging for a less healthy version. ;)

Almond Meal Chicken Tenders

Lately, J and I decided to do the South Beach Diet again. We are people of weak wills, so we have already completely failed, but I wanted to share one of my new favorite recipes with you from our most recent attempt.

When I saw this recipe for chicken nuggets, I couldn't pass it up. Kalyn's Kitchen is a great foodie blog, and she too has gone through the struggle of South Beach and often shares recipes for it. I changed the recipe up a bit based on the foods that we had, so here it is!

Almond Meal Chicken Tenders

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts 

(I used a package that were already cut into tenders)

EVOO

1/2 cup almond meal 

(I only had almonds, so I just ground them up until I got about half a cup. Don't grind too much or you'll just have almond butter.)

Spices 

(she calls for paprika and poultry seasoning, I just used some basil, oregano and Lawry's Seasoned Salt)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet in EVOO and place in oven while it is preheating. Trim fat and tenderize chicken a bit (if needed). Combine almond meal and spices in a small bowl. Dip chicken tenders in mixture until fully coated. Remove baking sheet from oven and place coated chicken tenders on it while it is still hot.

Bake 8-10 minutes, turn chicken tenders, and bake an additional 10-12 minutes until browned on both sides. (Time will of course vary between ovens, but try not to overcook!) I served them with some ranch dressing, but they tasted wonderful alone with no dipping sauce!

That's it! I also served them with some green beans tossed in EVOO and some garlic salt (in our kitchen, veggies are always made better by some garlic salt... yum.)

Hope you enjoy these! They were certainly a hit for us and I take comfort knowing I can make some tasty chicken tenders or nuggets for future children who are begging for a less healthy version. ;)

birthday :: pops

A big happy birthday to my dad! I am blessed with a wonderful father and I wish him the best birthday yet!

Happy birthday Pops!!! Love you and miss you!

gatsby

Back in high school, I had the final paragraph of The Great Gatsby memorized. Not because of a silly English project or anything... but because I had read it so many times that it had set up shop in the back of my mind. Even now I can recall the words as if I had just finished reading it...

... tomorrow we will run faster, 

stretch our arms out further...

So you can imagine my excitement when I caught word that they were yet again bringing my favorite book to the big screen. Robert Redford will be a hard Jay Gatsby to top, but I think Leonardo DiCaprio will do just fine.

{photo}

Not to mention my new favorite Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and the perfectly casted Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway (seriously, I feel like Tobey may have been born for this role)

{photo}

Of course, as the movie isn't set to debut until November 2012, much of this could change. I hope it doesn't though - the cast sounds spectacular. I eagerly await the day I can see it in theater and I pray that they, like the 1974 version, stay very true to the classic novel.

birthday :: pops

A big happy birthday to my dad! I am blessed with a wonderful father and I wish him the best birthday yet!

Happy birthday Pops!!! Love you and miss you!

gatsby

Back in high school, I had the final paragraph of The Great Gatsby memorized. Not because of a silly English project or anything... but because I had read it so many times that it had set up shop in the back of my mind. Even now I can recall the words as if I had just finished reading it...

... tomorrow we will run faster, 

stretch our arms out further...

So you can imagine my excitement when I caught word that they were yet again bringing my favorite book to the big screen. Robert Redford will be a hard Jay Gatsby to top, but I think Leonardo DiCaprio will do just fine.

{photo}

Not to mention my new favorite Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and the perfectly casted Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway (seriously, I feel like Tobey may have been born for this role)

{photo}

Of course, as the movie isn't set to debut until November 2012, much of this could change. I hope it doesn't though - the cast sounds spectacular. I eagerly await the day I can see it in theater and I pray that they, like the 1974 version, stay very true to the classic novel.

Couch to 5k... update.

Remember when I said we would be repeating Week 2 this week? Yeah... well, things got a little out of hand this week. My last run was on Sunday, so I decided that Tuesday would be the day to start Week 2.1...

Then, I took a sick day on Tuesday as I wasn't feeling too hot. So, I pushed my run off until Wednesday.  My goal was to run Wednesday night while J was busy.

Then, I found out Wednesday morning that I was starting a quick rotation at work to help the personal tax group with their 10/15 deadline. Meaning, I was at work until 8pm and all I ate during the day was a small peanut butter muffin. Once I got home, I headed out to a bar with my Mac (did I tell you I got one? Because I did. And I love it.) and ate dinner by myself. Not going to lie, it was kind of glorious.

Thursday was very similar. Same hours, very little food, complete exhaustion.

Friday was a little better, but still, no run.

So... shoot. Here I am starting Week 2 again. I'm not too worried about it and I have a new plan in place to keep me going. Wish me continued luck, as we now have exactly enough weeks left to finish the program in time for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! Yikes!

{Note: J got his run in on Wednesday, and went on a 10 mile hike on Saturday, so he was a bit better than me this week! I only did yoga once so he's got me beat!}



PS - Sorry for the wordy post, thanks for putting up with it! ;)

a second spring

{photo}

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

The leaves are slowly starting to change here. I've made a serious effort to pay attention and really notice them this year. I don't want to miss a second of fall, in case it goes too quickly {as it usually does!}  Have they started changing near you? Or if you live in a tree-less city or too far south, do you have plans to go see the leaves somewhere soon?

Couch to 5k... update.

Remember when I said we would be repeating Week 2 this week? Yeah... well, things got a little out of hand this week. My last run was on Sunday, so I decided that Tuesday would be the day to start Week 2.1...

Then, I took a sick day on Tuesday as I wasn't feeling too hot. So, I pushed my run off until Wednesday.  My goal was to run Wednesday night while J was busy.

Then, I found out Wednesday morning that I was starting a quick rotation at work to help the personal tax group with their 10/15 deadline. Meaning, I was at work until 8pm and all I ate during the day was a small peanut butter muffin. Once I got home, I headed out to a bar with my Mac (did I tell you I got one? Because I did. And I love it.) and ate dinner by myself. Not going to lie, it was kind of glorious.

Thursday was very similar. Same hours, very little food, complete exhaustion.

Friday was a little better, but still, no run.

So... shoot. Here I am starting Week 2 again. I'm not too worried about it and I have a new plan in place to keep me going. Wish me continued luck, as we now have exactly enough weeks left to finish the program in time for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning! Yikes!

{Note: J got his run in on Wednesday, and went on a 10 mile hike on Saturday, so he was a bit better than me this week! I only did yoga once so he's got me beat!}



PS - Sorry for the wordy post, thanks for putting up with it! ;)

a second spring

{photo}

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

The leaves are slowly starting to change here. I've made a serious effort to pay attention and really notice them this year. I don't want to miss a second of fall, in case it goes too quickly {as it usually does!}  Have they started changing near you? Or if you live in a tree-less city or too far south, do you have plans to go see the leaves somewhere soon?

handmade :: paulova ceramics

I love canisters in the kitchen. I only wish we had more counter space to make use of them! I usually go for sleek stainless steel in the kitchen, but lately ceramic pottery has been catching my eye. I just love the colors and simplicity of paulova ceramics.

She also makes some beautiful votive candles as well as soy candles that would be a nice addition to any room of the house.

Stop on over to paulova ceramics and let me know which items are your favorites.  I also love these Spoonful of Sugar bowls as well...

handmade :: paulova ceramics

I love canisters in the kitchen. I only wish we had more counter space to make use of them! I usually go for sleek stainless steel in the kitchen, but lately ceramic pottery has been catching my eye. I just love the colors and simplicity of paulova ceramics.

She also makes some beautiful votive candles as well as soy candles that would be a nice addition to any room of the house.

Stop on over to paulova ceramics and let me know which items are your favorites.  I also love these Spoonful of Sugar bowls as well...

looking ahead

It may be a bit too early to start thinking about calendars for 2012, but what can I say, I love calendars. I love having calendars around everywhere - one I can jot notes on, one on my computer, one to tell me what feast day it is, one to keep track of birthdays, and one to just look pretty on the wall. These ones from Anthropologie will certainly fill the pretty roll...

{Harvest Calendar}

{Typeface Calendar}

{Kitchen Calendar}

I think I'd have to end up with the Kitchen Calendar... mostly because I am in need of a calendar in my kitchen! I'm also a big fan of this vintage maps calendar as well. Are you a wall calendar person? The hubs isn't - and I don't understand it at all!

looking ahead

It may be a bit too early to start thinking about calendars for 2012, but what can I say, I love calendars. I love having calendars around everywhere - one I can jot notes on, one on my computer, one to tell me what feast day it is, one to keep track of birthdays, and one to just look pretty on the wall. These ones from Anthropologie will certainly fill the pretty roll...

{Harvest Calendar}

{Typeface Calendar}

{Kitchen Calendar}

I think I'd have to end up with the Kitchen Calendar... mostly because I am in need of a calendar in my kitchen! I'm also a big fan of this vintage maps calendar as well. Are you a wall calendar person? The hubs isn't - and I don't understand it at all!

classics

Penguin Classics have been through the blogger world thousands of times, but I just came across these graphic deluxe covers and I just couldn't resist. J and I are big collectors {once we've started a set of books we just HAVE to complete it} so I think we should probably stay away from these for a while...

Aren't they fun? I'm usually a sucker for classic looking covers, but a silly one every so often is good too! The rest can be found over on Penguin's site. Which one is your favorite? I would certainly buy some of these books simply for their cover, even if they aren't my favorite book of the bunch...