Rub a Dub, Dub..

…These yummy short ribs are about to get a sear and head right into the tub.

Happy New Years Eve Day my friends! I am so excited for this year’s celebration! Especially living in a city, the pressure to go out to dinner, a bar, or party is strong but we both decided with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and a brunch in New Jersey with his family on tap for tomorrow, we would much prefer a quiet night in.

Apparently we are not the only ones with this awesome idea because my brother and his girlfriend will be joining us for dinner (hence those amazing short ribs above – clearly not for me)! In honor of both the occasion and our guests, I decided to whip up something special, and with a little inspirational help from my chef/close friend Frank I came up with something I’m SO jazzed about (keep in mind EVERYTHING is homemade): caesar salad, lobster mac & cheese, braised short rib w/creamy polenta, roasted brussel sprouts & balsamic cranberries, and chocolate pot de creme w/whipped cream. I started a lot of my prep last night (made the chocolate pot de creme & the mussel stock for the lobster mac, as well as chopped the veg, made the rub & rubbed the meat) to make today a little bit easier but I do really need to get started!

I can’t wait to share all the yummy details of this dish in my very first Foodie Friday of Fifteen, as well as all the details of my adventures as they unfold throughout the year. In 2015 I am making a promise, but really only to myself, to be the best version of myself, judgement free, everyday, no matter what!!

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 😉

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Holiday Season Spinning

From mine to yours, I hope everyone had the merriest Christmas, happiest Hanukkah & are looking forward to the most fun New Year ever!

We’re having a whirlwind of a holiday season but are thrilled to be spending time with family and friends, as well as managing some time for just the two of us. While New Year’s Eve is right around the corner, this brief return to reality is a necessary evil. We capped off long weekend #1 with an amazing Chilean wine course at The Wine School. We always have so much fun when we go & end up learning a fair amount as well…I can’t wait to get a little more wine education when Sonoma & Napa Valley are just a car ride away! We learned all about the history of their various regions, wine production, why their wine is such an incredible value and the many grape varietals. What I found most interesting was the fact Chile produces some of the oldest Carmenere in the world. Turns out, there was an infestation in France that wiped out all the old wines so the shearings transplanted to Chile are older than any of the wines growing Carmenere in France…cool, huh?

Anyway, this short week I am doing my best to stay on top of school – I have about 30 minutes of sanskrit lecture to finish, flash card review, a few hours of yoga philosophy to conquer, & my very first recording. I am both excited and nervous to video myself teaching an easy, 60min. vinyasa flow. I can only imagine how uncomfortable its going to be for me to watch it back but as my teacher says, its one of the most invaluable things you can do as a teacher if you’re looking to improve.

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 🙂

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

Things have been busier than ever this holiday season! With about 38 days until we officially move to San Francisco I have been apartment hunting in between biscotti batches, searching for movers as my cinnamon bun dough rises & planning how to pack as the granola bakes!! I’m totally looking forward to family time Wednesday evening and Thursday, I just have to finish that pesky little shopping thing first!

Now that we’ll be planning our wedding from across the country I am trying get 101015 things done before we leave: get the sketch and my mother’s dress to a seamstress so she can get to work on the redesign (that’s right, I’m wearing my mother’s dress down the aisle), figure out Pre-Cana so we can get married in the church, finalize the room block for the hotel and make sure the venue can schedule a private tasting for us when we come home for Phil’s brother’s wedding in June…

…did I even mention my fiance’s brother got engaged a little while after us and is getting married in June?!?!?! yea, that happened, so its going to be a year full of fun and travel in 2015. 

I’m also doing my best not to fall behind on my 200hr TT with Yoga Medicine. Tiffany was gracious enough to give us a little break this week which means Colleen will be cramming two weeks of Sanskrit lessons into whatever morsels of free time are left. I have been steadily teaching 1-2 times a week which I love & have been taking steps each day to move me in the right direction…every little bit counts!

I know January will need to be well planned to accomplish everything left to do with the wedding, 200hr TT, and move but nothing worth it is ever easy & I’d say this is ALL worth it!

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 🙂

Change is here

So I have been absent primarily because there has been a gigantic elephant in the room. My fiancé has been mulling a promotion that would move us across the country to San Francisco and only decided to accept yesterday… So it’s official, in less than 60 days we will be officially San Franciscans!

Wait, its December?!?!

Does anybody else feel like they blinked and it was December?!?! I feel like I was on my Alaskan cruise just the other day at that was back in August – geez!!

Thanksgiving weekend was a success, between the Poconos with Phil’s family Wed/Thurs to my sister’s surprise baby shower Fri/Sat I had my hands full, but everything went really well. I’m sure some of you are thinking “I don’t remember you mentioning a baby shower” and you’re right! Since my sister is one of my biggest blog supporters, it was mums the word, haha! and boy was she surprised!!

Equally surprised this weekend was me by the amount of snow we got in the Poconos, 8-10 inches. Phil and I decided to make the trek to the mountains late Tuesday night because we heard the snow was going to be bad and boy am I glad we did. 

I’ve been keeping up with my Yoga Medicine 200hr TT as much as possible but I feel like its very hard to motivate at times – between physical practice, practice teaching, class observations, online lectures, the book report, anatomy project & generally reviewing the material, there is just so much I could be doing each day that its hard to know where to start. This week I plan to finish my anatomy project, pick & start my book for the report, teach one class & observe one class (in addition to doing 5-6 hours of physical practice)…wish me luck!

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 🙂