2 Years!

Andrew and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on August 1st! It does not seem possible that it was two whole years ago that we said "I do." Time really does fly when you're having fun! And when you're moving to a new city - where you don't know a soul. And working your way through grad school (x2). And making new friends. And adding pets to your little family. And figuring out how to pay bills and buy cars and cook meals. I love reflecting back on how much has happened since this day 2 years ago...

We've made it a tradition to celebrate our anniversaries in Hilton Head while we are living to close. We love it there! Between work and Andrew's class schedule, we were only able get away for a few days but it was a great long weekend and we had so. much. fun!

We watched the sunset from a dolphin watch cruise...

Enjoyed the beautiful scenery from the boat...

Saw these cute mama and baby dolphins...

Lounged on the beach all day...

Enjoyed cocktail hour on the roof top deck at the Harbour Town Yacht Club...

Got some nice old people to take a couple of pics of us before dinner...

Daydreamed about someday owning a yacht (ya right)...

And ate way. way. way. too much!

We loved having a weekend away to spend just enjoying the uninterrupted company of each other and to take in some beautiful scenery. I so cherish these husb/wife getaways!

The "planner" in me couldn't resist talking about what's in store for our 3rd year of marriage (and beyond) so we did lotsss of that over the course of the weekend. We have BIG plans for this year! Family vacations, trip with friends, weddings to attend and be in, I'll be graduating (yayyy!), I take the bar, I'll *hopefully* be finding a job, Andrew takes his boards, he'll get his very own patients... etc... so much to look forward to!

As fast as these past couple of years have flown by, we are making a point to savor every moment we have in this phase of life. Before we know it, we'll be moving, and starting jobs, and buying a home, and having babies and looking back on the memories of "when we lived in Atlanta" and "when we were in school" -- its easy to get overwhelmed by the future and all of the big decisions and plans to be made. So we just try to live in the present instead!

For now, we're enjoying what we're doing right where we're at and being thankful for every blessing in our life! I have loved every second of our first 2 years of marriage. We've laughed, cried, grown, learned and changed together. I love my hubbs and the life we have built!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, ANDREW! 

Thank you for being patient, hilarious, caring, encouraging, protective, thoughtful, helpful, supportive and always entertaining.

Today, yesterday, and forever... I choose you! :)

My Husb the Chef

I have been really slacking in the cooking department lately. Did you notice? No recipe posts in ages! The reason for that is... I haven't been doing much of the cooking recently. Or any, for that matter. I'm in an anti-cooking slump, so husb has really picked up my slack! Now if only I could get him to take pictures for the blog while he cooks..... I won't push my luck :)

Up until last week, my days were consumed with work and my evenings were filled with a combination of exercising (eh, sometimes), online class, and other work. The last thing I wanted to do was waste an hour in the kitchen just to eat my mediocre dinner at 8:30. Insert: husband of the year. Andrew has been cooking 2-3 dinners a week lately. Which leaves me with approximately 1 night of cooking since we rarely have dinners at home on weekends. A-maz-ing I tell you!

Here are a few of the dinners husb came up with and created all by himself:

• Ranch and Blue Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts
• Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken
• Bison and Refried Bean Burritos
• Sloppy Joes ;)
• Chicken and Risotto
• Homemade Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Pizza {are you seeing a trend?}

These are just a few that I can think of right now, but there were plenty more. Impressed? I am!!! It is seriously the cutest when I walk in the door to find him making a mess of the kitchen. He tries to play it cool but I can tell just how proud he is of himself that I am coming home to a ready-to-eat dinner :) In hopes that this trend continues now that my class is over (and way way beyond...) I'm trying to be the best sous chef I can be on nights when I have the time/energy - aka I whip up a quick salad or side to go with his dinner, or I just clean everything up without too much complaining. So far, so good.

So that husb knows how much I appreciate him, and so that he doesn't think I plan to be a slacker in the domestication department forever, I plan on making some really great dinners next week so stay tuned for some recipes and fun food stuff ~ and I also have some big baking plans for this weekend!

I'm so thankful to have a helpful husband. When life gets busy, its nice to know that I have a partner in life who is willing to step in and pick up my slack in the kitchen - and everywhere else! We're far from experts on marriage, but we've come a long way in the past {nearly} 2 years and I feel really good about the routine and the roles we have settled into.

Hubbs - thank you for being awesome! All the rest of you - thanks for reading ;)

Baked Sweet Potatoes

There are very few things in life that excite me more than the following two things:

1) Husband cooking dinner

2) Vegetables that taste like dessert

This recipe and blog post involve both of those anomalies. Husb has been on a sweet potato kick lately. He found a simple recipe online and has made enough for a dinner and leftovers for him to take w/ him for lunch the past couple of weeks. I'm not a huge veggie fan, but these are seriously delicious! A vegetable that tastes like dessert = a bold statement coming from this sugar lover!

You'll need:

2-4 Sweet Potatoes (depending on how many you're cooking for)

Olive Oil

Dried Rosemary

Dried Oregano

Salt & Pepper... if you want

Husband w/ a cute backside (Don't have one of those handy? Bummer.)

With the skin still on (we're bein' healthy here, remember?) dice up your sweet 'taters into little cubes. Or if you are feeling like tricking someone into thinking they are fries, cut them so they look like french fries. It makes no difference what shape you choose.

Husb in the kitchen. Wearing J.Crew chino shorts. *sigh*

Sweet potatoes are ugly little suckers before they're cut up. But colorful!

Spread our your diced up sweet potatoes on a non-stick backing sheet or pan drizzled (generously) with olive oil. {This is 2 big, organic sweet potatoes... if you wanted an idea of how much 2 potatoes gets you!} When you are done chopping, drizzle a little more olive oil over top of the cut up sweet potatoes.

See the skin on? That's what gives them a little crunch!

Action shot! Can't take these when its just me in there cooking.

Sprinkle the dried rosemary, dried oregano and (optional) salt and pepper over the potatoes... and pop them in the oven! Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-40 minutes ~ the longer you bake them, the crispier they will get. This is just a matter of your preference, but we like them crunchy on the outside so we generally leave them in about 40-45 min.

Husb is the worst about remembering to pre-heat the oven. That was my job as sous chef!

Since these take a while to cook, husb usually whips up the main dish while they are baking. Some suggestions of meals to pair with these yummy little guys:

• Burgers (beef or bison)
• Turkey melts
• Steak
• Breaded chicken breasts
• Salmon
• Or, if you're weird like us... spaghetti! We did this on Sunday. Odd pairing, but still good.

When they are done baking, they will look something like this (hopefully)... Let them cool for 5 minutes or so before serving {learned this one the hard way this weekend. ouch.} and use a big spoon to sort of mix them all up before you remove them from the baking sheet. This will get all the seasonings and oil spread evenly over the sides that were facing down before baking.

With as good as these will taste, I promise you'll be shocked that they are among the very best vegetables to eat. "They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber" according to what I've read. Of course I had to research this wonder veggie after hubbs first made this recipe. This is one instance where something is too good to be true... but its true.

Healthy and nutritious does exist. 

I've seen the light... don't believe it? Then try this one out for yourself!