Candlelit

Warning: very random post ahead …

Well, it seems Jack Frost is here to stay for awhile. Brr!

I’d like to add that despite the cold weather, I’m still embracing winter and still loving it ; ) In fact, it’s hard to imagine Christmas without cold, snowy weather.

Last night, midway through watching Julie & Julia, our power went out and we were left with no movie, no internet, no lights, no heat, no nothing, ha … except for this …

Turns out, around 20,000 people were in complete darkness so it wasn’t just us. 

Thankfully, it was only out for about an hour so as soon as it came back on we continued with our movie viewing ; ) And I ate some more chili : ) I just can’t get enough of this stuff!  

What did I think of Julie & Julia? I really liked it. It wasn’t the best movie I’d ever seen or anything but it was really cute and I would definitely watch it again. 

Fast-forward  to current time:

I’m now drinking hot tea to keep warm. I love tea all the time but in the winter it’s especially wonderful!

     

Ha, and to add to the complete randomness this post has already become, here’s a picture of Adrian cuddling next to Bubba. I was in bed but thankfully Erik snapped this picture. (This doesn’t happen very often!) So cute!

Who’s ready for the weekend?? I am! I’m planning on getting some Christmas shopping/errands done that I have been putting off!

Have a great day!

 

-Lesley

 

Jack Frost = late start

Happy-finally-Wednesday!

Well, the expected snow and cold weather arrived. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my snow day as I had hoped. I did, however, get a late start, so I took what I could get ; ) My husband was lucky and didn’t have to go in today and I was jealous!

I took some snow pictures yesterday evening before I went to bed …

By the time I realized work had a late start, I was already dressed in my workout clothes ready to begin my day. So rather than going back to bed, I went about my morning anyway.

With my extra time I made French toast : )  I was reading blogs this morning and Diana’s post about French toast inspired my taste buds to crave it … thanks, Diana!

I normally go home for lunch (as I live about 3 miles from work) but with the cold and inclement weather, staying at work sounded like the better option. I decided to pack 3 slices of some leftover Amy’s pesto pizza.  Pizza wasn’t my first choice but it did the job.

Lunch + cube … I ate at my desk today and here is what I look at each and every day from 7-3 … 

A few hours later when I got home from work, I snacked on an apple (I love apples!)

I’m now off to eat some leftover chili as my taste buds and body are looking forward to the comfort of warm soup.  The temp tonight is predicted to be –3 with a wind-chill of –7 to –17 … yep, that’s cold enough for me! Ha.

While eating my warm, soothing chili, Julie & Julia is going to be our entertainment … I’m excited to see it. I’ve heard mixed reviews but the overall consensus seemed to be it was at least a cute movie worth seeing once.

Have a great evening! : )

 

-Lesley

Snow and Chili

Hey all!

Glad you guys liked the sounds of Local Burger (I knew you would ; ) I agree with Jenny when she said, “hopefully one day there will be little "local burger" joints all over the place :)” … I hope so too! I tweeted them yesterday’s post and they ended up putting the link on their Facebook fan page … I felt neat ; )  I then became a fan, ha. Definitely a place worth being supported and certainly Facebook fan worthy!

Winter Wonderland

If not already evident, I have been so excited about this holiday season. I don’t know that I can even describe it, but I sort of feel like a little girl full of wonder and about to burst with excitement :D

We woke up to a winter wonderland. I didn’t get a picture until after work and it wasn’t as pretty anymore. However, it’s currently snowing again …

Despite how much I seem to complain about cold weather … I love the snow!

I’m determined to embrace each season; the good and the bad and so far it’s working wonderfully! : )

Lunch to Keep Warm

With the start of our vending machine business approaching and due to needed help from his dad, Erik has been working fewer hours lately which means he’s acting as head chef and maid in the Lesley Lifting Life household.

Yesterday he made chili (which I have been craving for awhile now!) It was just in time for the snow storm, which definitely calls for chili!

Snow and chili = two essential elements of December which both bring Christmas cheer : ) 

The forecast calls for even colder temps (the high for tomorrow is a whopping 12 degrees)  with 50 mile per hour gusts and blizzard like conditions. We’ll see what happens.

A work snow day would be great (HA!) but I won’t get my hopes up for that. (On days like this I wish I was a teacher because then I would get snow days! ; )

What was your favorite thing to do on snow days as a kid? (Ha, that is if you lived somewhere with snow… it’s hard to imagine not being familiar with it!)

-Lesley

Local Burger

Happy cold Monday! 

We got our Christmas tree up just in time … the weather is getting colder and colder and the Christmas spirit evoked by the decorations helps me to embrace the cold : ) I love Christmas!!

Local Burger

Instead of Kansas City, this weekend Erik and I went to explore Lawrence, Kansas. We planned on going to a new restaurant, 715, for dinner.  After a little exploring, we quickly got cold and hungry from walking around in the wind, and decided to save 715 for another time and went to Local Burger instead.

(Yes, it was as good as it sounds ; ) Local Burger is a fast food burger joint that’s also healthy, low key, and all local. Check out their website for more info. 

The decor was really cute, bright and colorful, yet simple. And the menu was just about perfect …  I’m still amazed that it’s all local! I love it!

Burger choices were beef, elk, buffalo, pork, veggie, and tofu filet but that certainly wasn’t all that was on their awesome menu.

Erik went with the Elk burger (which came from Rocky Hills Elk Ranch in Winchester, Kansas) on a gluten free bun served with seasonal quinoa-millet pilaf.

Did I mention all of their sides are organic, gluten free and vegan?

I got a turkey burger (which came from Vesecky Family Farms in Baldwin City, Kansas) served with peas and carrots. 

Thinking back on my choice, it was pretty boring because I always eat turkey! Ha. I regret not trying their veggie burger because it’s the “world’s best veggie burger”.  Oh well … next time. My turkey burger still tasted great!

All in all (as if it’s not already evident) we LOVED our experience at Local Burger. It’s such a neat and unique place and we were very impressed with the taste and menu options.

And the fact that it’s fast food is even better just because it’s such a one-of-a-kind fast food joint. (Why can’t they all be like that??) I’m really glad we’re just an hour away … we’ll definitely be going back!

We ended our time in Lawrence by eating some little brownie bites we picked up in a small health foods cafe/market. (I can’t remember what it consisted of but I know it was something like cacao powder, nuts, dried apricots … you get the idea ; ) Yum!

I’m now off to eat some turkey chili that Erik made earlier today. (He makes the best soup!)

Hope you all had a great start to your week and stay warm!! : )

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow …

 

-Lesley

 

‘Tis the season

Hope you all had a great weekend!! : )

We did! (Though it went by way too fast). Here’s my mini weekend recap:

• Ate at a fun new (to us) restaurant called Local Burger. I’ll talk about that more tomorrow!

• Ate good food (of course)!  Breakfast this morning was oats with banana, some pb, almond milk, stevia, and chia seeds along with 1 egg and 2 egg whites (with ketchup ; )

 

• Took random pictures before we went off to church, this being one of them …

• And the part that was the most fun … we got our Christmas tree! : )

We listened to Bob Dylan’s new Christmas album as we got the tree up, straight and decorated. Our dogs even got in on all the fun by annoying us and circling around the tree with us as we put the lights up. Ha, despite their hyper ways, we love all three of them!

Here’s a few of our decorations … we went with a blue, turquoise and silver theme. (I love turquoise, green, and blues together!)

      

I’m now officially in the Christmas spirit and I love it!!! : ) It’s supposed to get pretty cold and snow a little bit in the next few days and I’m actually excited for it!

‘Tis the season!!

How was your weekend??

 

-Lesley

Exciting news & sharing the love

The weekend has arrived!!!

I started my official weekend with some hot tea (it’s cold outside!)  Yum! There’s just something about having a warm cup of tea to make whatever I’m doing more enjoyable.

Exciting News

Remember the VERY exciting news I told you about the other night that I couldn’t let the cat out of the bag about yet??

Well now I can …. I’m going to be an aunt!!! My sister called me Tuesday evening and told me the news. I was so surprised and so excited! There’s definitely something different and extra exciting when it’s your own sister. Now I really miss her and wish we lived closer to each other!

We were best friends growing up : ) I love my big sister!

Sharing the Love

I’ve gotten a few blog awards lately and I think they’re a great way to make more blogging friends and spread blogging camaraderie, ha, so I thought I’d pass them on ; )

First up, Nicci gave me the “Fit Chic Award” and Betty gave me the “Beautiful Blogger” I’d like to pass them onto:

• Lauren from Say What You Need to Say (who is recovering from surgery which makes her especially beautiful ; )
• Allie from Live Laugh Eat
• Gina from The Candid RD
• Molly from The Vegan Dormitory
• Angela from Angela Loves Food
• Jody from Truth 2 Being Fit
• CaSaundra from A Pinch of This and Dash of That aaaaaaaand
• Jenny from Peanut Butter and Jenny

Hope you all have a great weekend!! : )  Erik and I are gong to try out a new restaurant tomorrow night and I can’t wait!

What are you doing this weekend?

 

-Lesley

 

 

 

Cold day, warm soup!

It’s almost the weekend! : )

The temperature seems to be getting lower and lower and winter weather seems to be sneaking up on us. When I got home from work, my wonderful husband had a huge pot of soup simmering on the stove. It turned out perfect! Erik is a wonderful chef! ; )

Chicken & Garlic Vegetable Medley Soup

He started with a base of water and here’s a list of the approximate ingredients:

• chicken breasts
• carrots
• mushrooms
• onions
• zucchini
• celery
• asparagus
• a few potatoes
• peppers (he used red, yellow aaaand green ; )
• little olive oil
• pepper
• sea salt
• Mrs Dash garlic & herb
• oregano
• bay leaves
• Italian seasoning

Chop it all up, throw it all in and let it simmer!

Yum! I love my husband (and his soup)!

Needless to say … soup is for dinner! (Topped with reduced fat Parmesan cheese)

Erik and I just finished working out and now for the rest of the night … a whole lot of nothing. On the TV agenda for tonight = American Choppers. Erik is from NY and he used to live really close to the OCC headquarters and he hung out with Vinnie a little (though he’s not on the show anymore) back in the day so he likes to watch it. 

That’s all for me … hope you have a great Friday!!!  : )

 

 

-Lesley

 

NuVal 101

Good day, everyone! ; )

I’m sure most everyone in the foodie blogworld has heard of NuVal because of Tina’s position working for them.

Not long after hearing about NuVal from her blog, I was excited to see that the Hyvee where I do most of my grocery shopping was beginning to implement the system.

I think the NuVal concept is great, so for those who don’t know how it works, or for those who are wondering what these new NuVal signs and stickers are all about … here’s some more info ; )

NuVal 101 

NuVal scores all food on a scale of 1 to 100. The scores are placed right on the price so it’s easy to compare scores just as you compare prices. The higher the NuVal score, the higher the nutrition.  And as their website says, it’s that simple!

For example, diced tomatoes with Italian herbs has a score of 47 whereas the diced tomatoes with no salt added as a much higher score of 82.  Therefore … I’d pick the no salt added diced tomatoes!

Each category of food has a median score posted.  Meat and poultry scores range from 24 to 53, therefore the median score is 28. So when choosing a meat, the closer the score is to 53, the more nutritious it is.

NuVal is a great system making it much easier and faster to make a healthy decision when it comes to the foods you are buying.  I’m very happy to now see it in my local Hyvee and I’d definitely suggest comparing scores next time you’re shopping at a store that implements the system! : )  (NuVal is currently being used is Hyvee, Price Chopper, and Meijer).

For more information, visit the NuVal website.

 

In Other News

I’m not off to drink some tea and eat dinner. I’m thinkin’ dinner tonight will be an omelet and veggies … mmm, I can’t wait to eat it!

Also .. I heard some VERY exciting news tonight and I can’t wait to share it!!! (but I have to keep my mouth shut a little longer).

Have a great day, friends!!

 

-Lesley

 

Thanks, Dinner & A Concert

Welcome to December! (How crazy does that sound?!?!)

Thanks!

Thanks are in order.  First, thanks to Nicci  for the “Fit Chic” award and Jessica for “Beautiful Blogger” award! : ) I very much appreciate you wonderful ladies thinking of me! (I’ll have to spread the love and pass them along soon ; )

Next thanks … thank you all for flattering me by liking by random, impromptu small teapot painting! I’m really NOT much of an artist. My dad, however, is an award winning artist and my sister definitely got his artistic genes more than I did … I always liked art though so maybe I’ll have to paint something else soon.

Work Night Partying

I ran on about 4 1/2 hours of sleep today (and that’s not usually a good thing for me! :s) haha. But I’m still surprisingly awake.  Erik and I went to a Swell Season concert in KC last night. It was an AWESOME show, they put on an amazing concert!!

But first … we had a lovely and very delicious dinner at Blue Bird Bistro.

I got the stuffed acorn squash:

“Thane Palmberg acorn squash stuffed with organic quinoa, organic sliced almonds, and organic raisins drizzled with Elmer Gingrich Farm sorghum syrup and served on a bed of organic spinach”

 It was beyond wonderful!! I thought of you, Erica, because you’re the stuffed squash queen (at least in my opinion you are ; )

After we ate we split some coffee ice cream for dessert. Yum!!! Every time I go to Blue Bird, I’m amazed at how good everything is. I’m convinced that local and fresh foods have so much flavor and simply taste so much better than non!

We got done with dinner early so we went over to Tea Drops in Westport KC to grab some tea. It was a really cute little tea shop.

And then it was off to the concert. in the Uptown Theatre.  We had SUCH a good time … I just can’t get over how good it was. I love Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova!

It was a wonderful way to spend a Monday night! : )

Tonight … I’m relaxing and hopefully going to be early!

Have a wonderful night, bloggies!

 

-Lesley