Pottery Barn Kaley Bloom Rug

PWe FINALLY decided on a rug for the living room. Please excuse the awful red throw pillows; they will be gone tomorrow! The black leather couches will not be staying forever, but right now, the baby is our first priority so the mocha sectional will have to wait. The Kaley Bloom 8x10 100% wool rug was a steal at Pottery Barn today. We were told it was originally $699 (please correct me if this info is wrong!) and got it for $239. For both Zac and I to equally love something is rare, so we knew we had to jump on this rug when we saw it! I spotted it and said, "Ooh I REALLY like this one!" He looks at me and says, "Seriously?" I instantly thought, 'Oh no, he hates it. I guess we'll keep looking' but he loved it, too! Our quest for the perfect rug has finally come to an end after eight long months of searching.

*Note: The furniture placement still looks off to me. Any suggestions on how/where to place the couches? It's a complete head-scratcher for me. Thanks!!

Grilled Chicken Pesto Wrap

For lunch today, I made a grilled chicken pesto wrap and I must say this is one of my favorite meals I have ever prepared. It was simple and I was eating in 20 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Pesto Wrap Recipe:
Grilled chicken breast (marinated in 1 tbsp. thyme, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1/2 tbsp. black pepper, 1/2 squeezed lemon, grilled for 5 minutes on each side)
1 whole wheat wrap
2 tsp pesto (I bought Bertolli prepared pesto, because I never like the pesto that I make from scratch)
6 grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella
*courtesy of SELF

Summer Wreath

A friend of mine stopped by yesterday and poked fun at me for still having my lovely Easter egg wreath still on my front door. Okay, technically it's still spring so I think it's fine but, she had a point. I needed a summer wreath. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that I loved. What's a girl to do but make her own wreath.

My mom and I went to Hobby Lobby today and I knew I wanted a modernish wreath that was inexpensive and somewhat matched my yard. For $24 and about an hour of my time, behold my new summer wreath!

Summer wreath in the making

Summer wreath is complete!

Wordle of Fun!

After reading a fellow Nestie's blog, I came across a website called Wordle where you can type random words into an editor and it comes up with a personalized blurb for you. I used words that were significant to describing our baby girl. It literally took five minutes, and most of that time was spent choosing the right colors for the nursery! I'm thinking about printing this off and either buying a canvas and attempting to recreate the wordle on my own, or taking it to a printing place to do for me. I'd love to have this to hang in the nursery!

P.S. Click on the pic to make it bigger!

Meal Planning: Day One, Meal One

Spinach and Smoked Gouda Egg Sandwich

*Saute 1 cup fresh spinach with olive oil cooking spray until wilted. Add pepper and garlic powder to taste; set spinach aside. In same pan, fry 1 egg plus 1 egg white in cooking spray until no longer runny. Top eggs with 2 tbsp grated smoked gouda. Toast English muffin and layer egg, spinach, and cheese inside. Eat with a banana on the side.

I give this recipe 4/5 stars. It was delicious but I kept thinking it was missing something. Maybe a tomato slice to complete it? Avocado slice? Either way, I will definitely be making this again!

Summertime & Meal Planning

It's officially summer!!! I turned in my key today at 7:45 AM and I'm ready to stay at home for the next two months. ::happysigh::

My summer plans consist of the following: cooking, cleaning, organizing, decorating, working out, and scrapbooking. I think that just about covers my inner Martha Stewart. Did I miss anything?

For my first task, I have a week's worth of healthy, low-fat meals compliments of March 2010 Self magazine. My shopping trip to Randall's today took almost two hours because I had no idea where anything was! Ricotta? Still didn't find it, but I decided since I was buying FIVE other types of cheese, I could leave that one off the list.

Quinoa?? That sounds like Jacob Black's tribe's name. I have no clue what that is, even AFTER googling it! Left off the list. I can compromise.

Bulgur wheat? Welllll.... I know what wheat is, but I still didn't know where I could find it! I just happened to be near the bulk self-serve area packaging up sliced almonds when I came across the elusive bulgur wheat. Score!!

Wasa crispbreads? Whaa? Skip.

Here is my shopping list from today:

Produce:
2 large apples
1 bunch asparagus
1 package baby carrots
1 bag baby spinach
1 medium banana
1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower
2 cucumbers
1 head garlic
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 lemon
1 orange
1 pear
2 portobello mushrooms sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion
1 large zucchini

Condiments & Spices:
Black pepper
Chinese five-spice powder (skipped... looked EVERYWHERE!)
Cinnamon
Garlic powder
Ground Ginger
Honey
Olive oil
Olive oil cooking spray
Rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt
Sesame oil and seeds
Low sodium soy sauce

Bakery:
Whole wheat bread
Wasa crispbreads
Whole wheat english muffins
Whole wheat tortillas

Frozen Foods:
Whole-grain waffles
Frozen cherries

Meat, Fish, Poultry, Dairy, Eggs:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Lowfat cottage cheese (Cheese #1)
Eggs
Feta crumbles (Cheese #2)
Hummus
Skim milk
Shredded skim mozzarella (Cheese #3)
Grated Parmesan (Cheese #4)
Pork tenderloin
Part-skim ricotta (Cheese #5)
Smoked Gouda (Cheese #6)
Salmon (wild)
Roasted turkey breast
Nonfat plain yogurt

Nonperishables:
Sliced almonds
Apricot preserves (oops, forgot it!)
Reduced sodium black beans
Brown rice
Bulgur wheat
Coffee
1 can Amy's Organic Light in Sodium Lentil Soup (holy moly I found this gem!)
Mandarin oranges (ick, no thank you)
Reduced sodium marinara sauce
All-natural peanut butter
Pesto
Quinoa (see above)
Salsa
Whole wheat pasta (I got farfalle, aka bowtie)

Treats:
*There was an entire list but I figured since I have tons of food in my pantry already, I only bought two off the list. I'll go ahead and list everything!
BBQ potato chips (check!!)
Light beer (definitely not!!!)
French bread and butter (oooh check!)
Hot tamales (already at home!)
Kit Kat
Mini-marshmallows and mini chocolate chips
The Skinny Cow Caramel Truffle Bars
Smartfood White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn
Lowfat vanilla icecream and chocolate syrup
Vienna Fingers
Wine (sigh)
Yolato Frozen Yogurt Gelato Bars
York Peppermint Patties

*I bought chocolate pudding cups and I will top that with Lite whipped cream in a can. It's delish!*

Recipes:

Breakfast:
Portobello and Pesto Egg Scramble
Peanut Butter Waffle-wich
Cherry-Vanilla-Almond Smoothie
Spinach and Smoked Gouda Egg Sandwich
Apricot, Almond and Ricotta Toast

Lunch:
Turkey and Hummus Sandwich
Asian Pork Tenderloin Salad
Pesto Chicken Wrap
Lentil Soup With Cheese, Fruit, and Crackers
Quick Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Chicken

Dinner:
Spiced Salmon Over Brown Rice
Pesto-Portobello Napolean
Farfalle with Veggies in Creamy Marinara
Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Black Bean, Zucchini, and Smoked Gouda Baked Burrito

Snacks:
Cottage Cheese with Cucumber
Cherry, Ricotta, and Cinnamon Sundae
Pear with Creamy Peanut Dip
Crudites and Hummus
Banana Roll