Sunday in Austin

I spent this past week in Columbus, Texas on a film shoot at a 900 acre ranch. I'm not really an outdoor girl, so the camping-like experience was quite an adventure. However, it felt great to be taken out of my comfort zone a bit. Between the shoot and spending 2 weeks in Arkansas the week before that (I was back for 3 days in between), I've barely seen my apartment OR my fiance all month! So, after getting back home around midnight on Friday, I was excited to have a normal, relaxing weekend ahead of me. An important part of it was simply being domestic. On Sunday morning, Steve and I cooked up a pancake brunch. I was quite proud of how well my pancakes came out. :)

 All natural "Blackberry Patch" brand Wild Blueberry and Apple Butter syrups from Cabela's.

I thrive on the crazy schedule, but for right now it's nice knowing I don't need to think about packing another suitcase in a couple days and leaving again... for a little while at least!

Fresh Fuel

So, as if throwing myself into wedding planning wasn't enough to keep me busy lately, I also accepted a role in a play as part of a local festival. We've been rehearsing regularly over the last week and a half and we open on Tuesday night! It's one of the fastest rehearsal periods I've ever had, and I haven't done live theater in a long time, so it's quite exhilarating and a bit scary!

This week we've been rehearsing every single night, but thankfully, wedding planning has subsided a bit because we finally nailed down our venue and got our Save the Date notices out! This felt like such a big step and I'm so thrilled. More wedding specific details to come. :)

It's been important for me over the last week to eat healthy foods to keep my energy up. I must say, with all the stress and adrenaline that I've had going, this hasn't been too hard to do. I don't usually feel very hungry when I'm running around like crazy, so when I do eat, it's been easy for me to make pretty wise choices. So while wedding planning and starring in a play, I've also found that I've gotten into much better shape! That's a win, win, win, if you ask me.

I put together a nice lunch today while going over my lines and gearing up for tonight's dress rehearsal. I thought I'd share it with you.

Salmon Lunch:

 I love keeping individually wrapped, frozen Salmon fillets around. I used a little olive oil cooking spray and pan grilled the salmon until thoroughly cooked. I seasoned it with garlic salt, a little bit of chili powder, and black pepper.

Accessories! Dill pickle slices, spicy mustard, and Special K's multi-grain crackers (delicious and low calorie!)

I put it all on a plate so I could graze. I liked creating little hors d'oeuvres with a cracker, cut up pickle, and a piece of Salmon on top!

The Christmas Effect

 For some reason, the holidays and retro-style just seem to go hand and hand. They're both nostalgic, I guess. 

I've been a little Bridget Bardot inspired lately.

The holiday season tends to be a busy time of year for all of us, as you can tell from my recent blog-post-slacking, but I kind of love the hustle and bustle. However, my schedule has felt completely out of wack lately, which is one reason I didn't post last Friday. Steve has had the last two Fridays off (it's nice when you have so much vacation time left at the end of the year, that your company is literally forcing you to take days off. Yay for three day weekends in December!). I kept thinking that Friday was Saturday, so I literally forgot to post!

But maybe it's a good thing for me to ease up on myself a bit. I've had a ton going on, and I never want blogging to get to a point where it feels forced or I don't enjoy it.

Remember to enjoy it...which might mean being a total dork. Like me.

During all the insanity lately, I've made an effort to try and maintain a lifestyle that will allow me to
a.) not look like a bloated pig over Christmas
b.) feel healthy
c.) stay energized

It's important to center yourself and have sort of a neutral place to come back to whenever you stray...and trust me, I DO stray. Between Christmas parties with junk food and cocktails, crazy schedules, shopping traffic, traveling, etc. etc. etc., it's almost impossible not to end up feeling like a big 'ol mess at some point, whether it's from stress or bad eating habits. Or both.

So here are some of my tips to counteract the "Christmas Effect", as I will call it.

1. Do some physical activity every day, for at least 15-20 minutes.
On good days I'll do 30-45 minutes. Usually it'll just be a power walk/run on the treadmill, and on really good days I'll do crunches, push ups, and lunges afterward. I've actually been trying to get in 50 crunches each morning before I do anything else. A great routine to get into! None of this has to take a lot of time, and I can't tell you how much better I feel on the days when I've worked out for even 15 minutes.
p.s. Shopping trips CAN count (as they say), but try to add it to your day as a bonus to your treadmill time. You'll feel even better and more accomplished.

 Rarin' to go...and feeling good afterwards.

2. Eat healthy when not around tempting situations.
I know there are going to be so many times this month where I will be surrounded by delicious foods, and I am just NOT going to be that girl who turns down a Christmas cookie (or 2, or 3...) or a cup of eggnog (with rum...) when it's offered to me. But I feel less guilty (and in the long run: less full, less bloated, and less lethargic!) about letting myself have those foods when I know I've been eating really well during the majority of the week.

My everyday "yes" foods:
- Blackberries (sometimes I'll sprinkle a little feta cheese on top)
- Grape tomatoes
- Baby carrots
- Hummus (Usually as dip for the baby carrots or grape tomatoes)
- Hot tea (with honey and a little vanilla soy milk)
- Coffee (usually with just a splash of soy milk. Coffee's great if you don't load it up with calories!)
- V8 juice
- Chicken breasts
- Eggs
- Canned tuna (in water)
- Whole wheat bread (in moderation)
- Water. Stay hydrated.

3. Winterize your beauty routine.
Take time to put on your favorite body lotion after a shower to protect against dry skin, try using a deep condition (my hair is SUPER dry, so this is a must for me), and/or invest in a teeth whitening treatment (no dentists - just strips or a good toothpaste). You'll feel great "maintaining" yourself a bit in the dead of winter. Maybe opt for a slight change to your hair. I just recently re-did my roots, and I'm considering cutting some bangs to spruce up my hair even more. Give yourself a home manicure/pedicure one night in front of the TV. Slather lots of lotion on those dry feet and put on your comfiest, fuzzy socks. I also highly suggest investing in some warm pajamas. Something comfortable, but a pair that still makes you feel cute.

My PJs of choice: Target, $20

 If you have any tips or feedback, please share!

Some Thanksgiving snaps

Some photos from Thanksgiving weekend:

 An unexpected braid in a pile of hair.

My sister Emily making her newly famous "Trifle" (a layered British dessert with cake, pudding, and pumpkin). I'll have to get her to share the recipe here.

 Elastic-wasted pants and a baggy top = necessary Thanksgiving attire.

Double checking those pumpkin pie directions. I'm no baker.

 Football snacks! My mom and her husband made quite a spread. Steve and I were on our way out the door to meet up with my sister for some shopping...but...oohhh, ok, we'll stay and watch some of the Arkansas game. You convinced us.

Fab cocktails at Fox and Hound Pub, our usual karaoke spot! I was a server there, back in the day....I much prefer this side of things.

How much is too much makeup to pack?


Ok, so obviously, I was pretty awful at taking blog-worthy photos while I was gone. I'll need to get the hang of documenting the holidays through blogging, as I didn't even have my blog this time last year!
Tell me how your week is going and feel free to share any holiday stories!

Stormy weather

So, we actually had a brief thunderstorm yesterday evening. It was wonderful. It gave the sky such an interesting light, right as the sun was going down. I loved smelling that rain smell for the first time in so long, and I didn't even mind that I got rained on as I came out of the grocery store, while picking up dinner. Normally, I only like rain when I can enjoy it from inside and absolutely DON'T have to go out in it. But, I think I may have danced in it yesterday, if it had lasted a little longer and rained a bit harder. It was lovely. And thunder and lightening is always a nice addition to a night in with my boyfriend, cuddled on the couch. :)

It did give me a taste of Fall, even though I know I'm getting ahead of myself way too quickly. It doesn't help that some of the blogs I'm reading are posting photos of little towns covered in snow and recipes for pumpkin bread pudding (Right?!!). I will definitely be attempting that recipe when the time's right.

Comfort food

It turned out to be a good thing that I had every intention of staying in this weekend, because my boyfriend and I both came down with something. I'm pretty convinced it has to do with the sudden weather changes (hey, even a high of 88 degrees is a 20 degree drop in temperature from what we've been used to!) and an onset of allergies. I tend to get my worst allergy symptoms in the fall, so they are right on time. I struggled with a nagging sinus headache for three days straight, while Steve was stuck with congestion, sneezing, coughing, and even dizziness at times. Not so good.
However, it was nice just to camp out on the sofa with plenty of snacks for the majority of the time. We had a little Gene Kelly marathon on Friday night with "On the Town" and "Singing in the Rain". I love that Steve enjoys old movies, like I do, and that he's been so receptive to some of my absolute favorites.

 Movie night! Hot dogs, popcorn, and one of our favorite candies, an assortment of Hershey's Nuggets.

We dragged the little guest room mattress out to the living room for maximum vegging. 

(Even some doggie feet got into this photo!)

Sunday, I made a big breakfast - eggs, bacon, french toast, and creme brulee coffee (Folger's Gourmet Selections brand), which we ate while watching the Texans game. Game outcome? Not good. Breakfast outcome? Yummo.

 It didn't last long...

I felt much better by Sunday evening and feel almost 100% back to normal today. I have a cast party to go to tonight (for a series I filmed a few weeks ago), and I can't wait!
How was your weekend??

Baked Tilapia with Marinara

Here's an easy and quick little dinner I prepared last week. It's one of the few recipes I've come up recently with that I've already made more than once.

First, start with a colorful salad:
Spring mix
Grape tomatoes
Green olives
Feta cheese
Dressing of choice

 **Fun note: If you make the individual salads first, you can stick them in the fridge and serve them in the chilled bowls right before the tilapia comes out of the oven. Fancy-shmancy.**

Now, onto the main event...
Ingredients:
Tilapia fillets (thawed)
1 egg (per about 3 fillets)
Flour
Cooking oil
Marinara Sauce (I used
Feta cheese
Seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic salt, parley flakes (optional)
Non-stick cooking spray (optional)

First, dip thawed tilapia fillets in bowl containing a whipped up egg. Coat thoroughly. Then dip in a bowl containing flour, salt, pepper. Make sure the fillets are completely covered in flour.
Place fillets in a already heated skillet (medium high), with enough cooking oil to fully coat the bottom. The idea here is to brown the fish on the outside and give it sort of a crispy texture (for a crispier texture, you could coat your fillets in breadcrumbs, but I only had flour on hand at the time). Once this is achieved (cook on each side until they are as dark as you like, the fish does not have to be cooked through yet), place fish into a baking pan (I used a metal one, covered with aluminum foil - saves you some time when cleaning up later!). You can either spray the foil with a non-stick cooking spray, or use some marinara sauce as a barrier to put the fish on.
Top the fish with as much marinara sauce as you like, crumbled feta cheese, and parsley flakes (optional). You might also add some garlic salt, or just more salt and pepper at this time, depending on how much flavor you like.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until fish is fully cooked (it will easily flake with a fork when it's cooked).

 I wish the photo would capture the yummy bubbling and sizzling!

Serve on top of cooked spaghetti (or your pasta of choice). I also like to have a bowl of heated marinara sauce available, so some extra can be added to the pasta, if needed. I suggest serving this dish with a side of cooked spinach or steamed broccoli, if you're wanting to add a few more veggies to the meal (aside from the salad).

Enjoy!