Bullet point updates

So… it has been a while since I’ve updated my little blog so I thought I’d give you the rundown of the last month in short, bullet point form. Sound good? Ok, let’s go!

• I started my new job! I’m doing marketing for a winery and I am loving it! There is so much to learn and so much to do and I feel like I’ve been working a million hours since I started at the beginning of the month, which is why this blog has been so neglected. I’m still working on finding my new work/life balance, but it certainly helps to bring a little wine “work” home. Dave is certainly enjoying that part :-)
• I got bangs. I haven’t had real bangs since about third grade and I’m not sure how I feel about this. Dave didn’t like them at first but he says he’s liking them more now. Maybe I’ll keep them, maybe I won’t but it has been a fun change.
• Dave’s grandparents, aunt, and uncle took a trip to San Francisco and we were able to spend a day with them. We still can’t believe how close we live to that city - it’s like vacation is a few miles away at all times! Anyway, we visited some museums, ate clam soup out of bread bowls, and had a nice dinner in Japantown. But for some silly reason we didn’t take a picture of the whole group. Oops. So you’ll just have to settle for one of Dave and me.

• Dave finally received his diploma in the mail!
• I have met some wonderful girlfriends since moving to California. I am enjoying getting to know these ladies on a deeper level and am so thankful for such great friends in our new home town.
• I took a little girls trip to Vegas with some of my middle school buddies, Laura and Lisa (and Laura’s friend Jessie who I am just getting to know better). We had a spa day, saw some shows, tasted some yummy food, and had plenty of time for girl talk.

• My blog got a much needed makeover and finally lost the holiday look. What do you think?

That’s it for now. I’m going to try a lot harder to post regularly again so stay tuned. Have a great day!

Deliciously Vegan Fridays

Welcome to another edition of Deliciously Vegan Fridays! This week’s recipe: Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Bake.

I found this recipe online here. The prep work seemed to take a long time (boiling pasta, steaming cauliflower, chopping basil, and grating cheese), but it was still a pretty simple and straight forward recipe. We’ve been using Trader Joe’s soy cheese for all of our vegan recipes because that’s usually all I can find - but I think it’s time to seek out some new options for more flavor.

Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• 200g angel hair pasta – boiled, rinsed with cold water and set aside
• 250g VEGAN cheese that melts well, grated
• olive oil for drizzling on top
• ½ a large (or 1 small) cauliflower – use the florets, steamed, and set aside
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of vegan margarine
• 1 cup vegan cream (I used Trader Joe’s Soy Creamer)
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 12-15 cherry tomatoes
• 2-3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped (optional)

Directions:
1. Grease a 13 x 9 Pyrex (or similar) oven dish. Meanwhile, add all the ingredients, except for half the chopped basil and tomatoes, in a large bowl, and mix well with a fork.

2. Next, place in your dish, even out, and garnish with the rest of the basil leaves.  Drizzle on some olive oil.

3. Place in a hot oven (we did 350 degrees) for 20 minutes, then remove from oven to place your tomatoes on top.

4. Cook for a further 20 minutes until golden all over.

On a scale of 10, we would give it a 6. This dish didn’t taste bad, it just didn’t have a lot of taste to it. At least not in the way these meat, cheese, butter, and egg eaters are used to. Overall it was pretty good and made for some nice leftovers.

That’s my recipe for the week. If you made a vegan recipe and would like to share be sure to link up below. Happy Friday!

I'm exhausted

Long story short, I'm exhausted. I started my new job this past Thursday, had a busy weekend with family and friends, had a women's retreat meeting last night, and tried to catch up on house work tonight.

After four months of adjusting to life as a homemaker, or as I like to call it, a trophy wife (ha!), I've been thrown back into the working world and am still getting back into the swing of balancing work and home responsibilities. I know I can do it because I have done it for the last five years but I didn't realize how much I had gotten used to being at home or how hard it would be to go back to work.

So until I find my new groove please bear with me with the sporatic updates and my out of season blog design. I'm sure I'll be back on track soon!

Hello 2012!

Holy Cow, it’s 2012! Can you believe it?!

We rang in the new year last night with some of our CA friends! We hosted a little party for our bible study and other church/work friends and we had a great time! There was a chocolate fountain, hot chocolate bar (with various additives and flavored marshmallows), and a few other yummy snacks and drinks as well.

2011 was a year of change for Dave and I with Dave finishing his PhD and us moving across the country for Dave to start his new job. It was the start of a new beginning for us and 2012 will be the continuation of our new adventure! We have lots to look forward to in the coming year:

• I start my new job on Thursday! Since moving I have been setting up our new home and supporting Dave in his transition into this new job. But now that we’re settled in, I started applying for jobs and was offered an awesome position. God is so good.
• We hope to start growing our little family some time this year.
• We can’t wait to see where Dave’s new career takes him and what opportunities it will provide for him.
• We look forward to getting more involved with our church and all of the great friends we have met.
• We will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!
• We will surely be headed back to Colorado a few times this year to visit family  and friends and celebrate some milestones of loved ones.
• We hope to explore California a little bit more and enjoy all that our new home state has to offer.

Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with all that goes on with us - it looks like we are going to have an exciting year!

I hope you have an amazing 2012!