It's a Brick...House

 Do you know how many different shades of brick there are? And mortar - would you prefer buff, khaki, or buff khaki? Flush with the brick or concave?
 

Along with exterior brick, paint, doors and mortar color, we picked cabinets, floors, and granite. We were most nervous about exterior selections, so to have that behind us feels like a big weight off. Hoping we'll break ground in the next two weeks!

Namath. Is. Pumped.

And he always has to have the upper hand...more on that later.

Chicken Dinner

 Since the new year, I've been trying to branch out in my cooking. Thank God for Pinterest. It's the lazy way of scouring the web for good recipes. We try to eat healthy the majority of the time, so I've tried to steer clear of the cream cheese lasagnas, although they are beckoning to me. But, I couldn't resist this recipe. We did asparagus on the side. EVEN STEVEN.

The full recipe is here.
 

Panko Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil:

• 1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
• Small handful of baby spinach, chopped
• Small handful of grape tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds if possible)
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• Dash of oregano
• 2 chicken breasts
• Italian seasoned panko crumbs
• 2 tsp olive oil (for the pan)

I tweaked it a little. We didn't use tomatoes, and used regular bread crumbs, because I was unknowingly out of Panko. The travesty.

 This was so easy. Mix all the ingredients, split the chicken breast, stuffed them, sealed with a toothpick, browned them in a hot cast iron, and put them straight in the oven to cook.

My mother in law knew what she was doing when she bought that cast iron skillet. This recipe was a winner.

 Nothing left to do but enjoy a shoe,

a glass of wine,

and a little Bea Arthur.

Little Black Dress

 We had some fun events this weekend that involved getting out of my black sweatpants and into a little black dress. Friday night is usually our night to stay in, cook spaghetti and watch a movie, so it was nice to do something different.

Me and my date - freshly sheared.

We headed on top of red mountain for casino games, live music and shrimp and grits. In no particular order of favorites.

We had a great time and saw a lot of friends. Which never happens Friday nights on the couch.

Change in routine is good....

Mercedes Recap

 I started Sunday morning by trying to answer the age old question, "How many shades of pink can you wear in one outfit?" I came up with three.  I also answered a few questions from American Express. Namely, no, I didn't spend $1300 yesterday on plane tickets and psychic readings. Wonder if the psychic picked up on the stolen credit card?

The weather Saturday had me really nervous. It was cold, but worse, it was incredibly windy. Knock you over freezing cold wind. And I knew I wasn't lucky enough for tail winds.

It turned out cold - but not windy. With three layers, it was cold at the start, but perfect once we got moving. This was the largest Mercedes I've done.- 50 runners under the cap. It makes me happy to see a local race grow- especially since it's so well run. I made an effort to start out slow this year. It's hard to find the balance of pulling back my pace and also taking advantage of  the excitement of race day.

As soon as we started, I had to pee. Again. I held off until mile 3, so I could sneak in the real bathroom at Railroad Park, rather than waiting in line for a porta potty. I am still angry about the pee break.

 My Garmin wasn't reading the distance correctly, and I'm too dumb to do pace/time/distance math while running (or ever, let's not kid ourselves) so I just went by feeling, and  I just happened to feel good Sunday. I got a knee band, and it helped immensely. Racing is really just luck of the draw.

 I was expecting to hit a wall since my last 8 runs left me cursing running, half marathons and running half marathons- but everything fell into place and it was my fastest half yet. I think I was just so. ready. for. a. break. MS reminded me that morning that we knew the course like the back of our hand, and that was definitely an advantage. I knew when to push and when to hold back.

I wasn't going to let the guy in the race day shirt beat me.

Lean back, lean back....what is this??

 My legs started cramping the second I crossed the finish. Luckily, there's plenty of beer at the after party. In case you hadn't picked up, well organized = good beer supply. I'm not hard to please.

Matt's sister ran her first half this year. She did great!! How does one look so good after running 13.1? If I figure it out, I'll let you know.

  Our fourth Mercedes together. Maybe someday MS will buy me a Mercedes to celebrate. I'm not holding my breath.

 But I was ready to hold a cold mimosa. Someday, I will move above the Andre. Sunday wasn't that day.

 We took Namath down to help us cheer on the marathoners. Too bad all he wanted to do was jump in the race and steal discarded bananas. Not at all embarrassing. Someone should teach him manners, and it probably should be me. Sounds exhausting.

 Mimosas.

 Pinterest.

 And an afternoon of House Hunters,  themed around women complaining that "this condo doesn't have granite!"

 In the spirit of knowing when to hold back, we're taking it very easy this week. Nutella, creamy pastas and the heating pad. These are a few of my favorite things.

Valentines Take Away

 While Namath and I relaxed last night, MS made appetizers, dinner and dessert.

The dessert may have been the richest thing I've eaten since the days of eating frosting from a can. Which, let's be honest, wasn't too long ago. But, it was so good and worth sharing. I think I would half the recipe next time, or share a mug, but decide for yourself. I won't judge your sugar intake if you don't judge my pitiful food pictures.

4 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk ingredients together in a mug. Microwave for 1.5 to 3 minutes. Kiss your skinny jeans goodbye.

Hope your Valentines was indulgent!

Something To Sit On

 I can't believe the weekend is over. It seems like I was just lingering over the weekend ahead with some Tomato Basil Soup from Newks. Yes, that is goat cheese. Yes, you should go get some immediately. I tried to mimic it Sunday night. I think I was kidding myself when I thought I could substitute half and half for heavy cream. I'm also kidding myself that I think I need to eat heavy cream.
 

 Saturday we took my parents to see the lot. The sold sign was up! We also got to meet the next door neighbors, which is already more social than we've been at our apartment.

Since we have about 3 times the space to fill, we headed for our first round of furniture shopping. I LOVED this table. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the black on the chairs. Thoughts?

MS was sold.

Found a couple beds as well. I can't decide which one I like better.

If only I could find a complementary animal skin rug...

Five

 Tis the season. The blue flags are lining the course and it's time to lace up the running shoes for my fifth Mercedes. I LOVE this race. Appropriately, since it's always on Valentines weekend. It's close to home, it has great t-shirts (which is VERY important), and lots of beer and bbq at the after party.

 There are always friends that are running.

 And I have a lot of good memories that revolve around Mercedes.

 The first year we were dating, MS watched me run. Word on the street is that's when he first knew he loved me. Sorry for the overshare, MS.

We've run together every year since. Including last year, when he blew past me and PR'd.

 We have a great spot for watching the marathon in the last mile, right outside our apartment. I specifically remember last year thinking there is NO way I would EVER do that.

 Coach Grizz knew we had it in us, deep down. What a believer.

 Despite all these warm fuzzy memories, my heart just isn't in it this year.

My legs aren't really feeling it either. Well my right leg is feeling it - if the 'it' we're talking about is  stabbing pain with each step. I think I'm about a month past burned out.

Anyone have any experience with IT band pain? Want to share your magical three day cure?

Catching Up

  I've had very little to say lately. Ironic, with everything going on. Here's my attempt to catch up. Hope it doesn't put you to sleep.

 While the Grizz was busy looking at his reflection, we started the process of looking for a house. In my plan, we intended to look high and low for 3-4 months with the goal of closing in June. The best laid plans...

 We met with our realtor for the first time a few weeks ago to talk about what we wanted. I mentioned a new neighborhood I had just run by in the MLS that week. She suggested we drive through. The drive through led to a walk through. By Wednesday we had signed the papers for our lot - one of the last in the neighborhood. So instead, we'll be building for 3-4 months, with the goal of closing in June.

We prayed that if this wasn't the house for us, that it just wouldn't work out. Yet, everything we needed fell into place perfectly. The Wednesday we went to look with our realtor - the last lot in the cul-de-sac had opened up Tuesday at 5 p.m. The financing put us exactly where we feel comfortable.

So, we've been doing a lot of celebrating...with each step of the process. That's what you're supposed to do, right? With sugar...

 At new restaurants with friends. Including some Jenga.

 With Namath's first outing to Chick-fil-A.

 He got neither coffee or chicken biscuit, but he did get told he was handsome, so his day was made. I won't lie - mine too.

Coupled with some changes at work - a little bittersweet but all good things- lot's going on here. Now with the obligatory catch up post out of the way, I will do my best to check in more often. All four of you can sigh in relief now.

Wordless Wednesday- Truth