Thursday Randoms

Yes, I am alive and we safely made it back from our great road trip adventure. I promise to post pictures soon! But first, here are a few random thoughts for this Thursday.

• I hate summer colds and don't fully understand how or why they exist. Although this probably developed from overexposure to germs throughout our travels. I can handle a cold in the winter because I'm all about laying on the couch with lots of blankets sipping hot soup or tea. But in the summer the last thing my body wants is something hot, even when my throat is begging for it.
• I think I have a pretty good idea of what baby's feel like when they're teething. My wisdom teeth have been bothering me the past two weeks and I'm just ready to get them out. I have a consultation with the oral surgeon next week - bring on the ice cream diet!
• Quebec may be one of my new favorite cities. I can't wait to share some of our pictures (my excuse for not posting any yet are the first two bullets)
• I am so excited for college football to start! Needless to say it has been a tough year for Dear Old State, but the current Nittany Lions need our support more than ever. Go State, Beat the Bobcats!
• We're on the road again this weekend. This time we are headed to Ohio to spend some time with P's parents. The last time I went to Ohio and it wasn't the holidays was July 2005 when P and I had been dating for 7 months. So crazy!
• This past Tuesday P and I took our engagement pictures and it ended up being a lot of fun. It took us a little time to warm up to the camera and there were definitely some awkward moments (it is not natural to "hold" a kiss in front of someone with strangers looking on) but we cannot wait to see the results!

I am so ready for this long weekend. We will be coming back from Ohio on Sunday and I fully intend to do a whole lot of nothing on Monday, except maybe post some pictures from our trip!

O Canada

Tomorrow P and I are headed on a week long road trip that we have thought about going on for a few years. Now that he is finally done with law school, studying for the bar exam and completed his last day at the Patent Office we will be spending a week exploring Montreal, Quebec City, Boston, and New York City. Other than hotel rooms and tickets to a Red Sox game, we don't have any set plans for our trip. We are just eager to explore new cities together and take some time to catch our breath. Plus we will have plenty of time in the car together to read guide books. We will be back in a week and I'm sure will have lots of pictures to share!

Quebec City at night

A New Go-To

I have discovered a new go-to recipe. It's perfect to cook on a Sunday or Monday evening as it will give plenty of leftovers for lunches all week. I had first seen this recipe on Pinterest and then another blogger raved about it so I decided to give it a shot. Sometimes I'm apprehensive to make new recipes for P. I don't consider him a picky eater, but he is not always eager to try some of the new recipes I find online. Well he loved this one and was fine when I suggested making it two Sundays in a row. It's that easy and good! I opted to make some substitutions from the original recipe to lighten it up. 

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

Source: Pinterest via www.plainchicken.com

12 oz spaghetti (I used whole wheat noodles)

28 oz jar of spaghetti sauce

1 lb lean ground beef (I used mild Italian chicken sausage)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 clove garlic, minced

8 ounces cream cheese (reduced fat or fat free)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (I also used part-skim mozzarella)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: In a skillet, brown the meat until cooked through and drain grease. Return to skillet and add spaghetti sauce.

Step 3 (done at the same time as Step 2): Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and put in large bowl.

Step 4: Mix in cream cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

Step 5: In a lightly greased 9x13 pan, spread a small amount of the meat sauce on the bottom. Put spaghetti mixture on top of sauce then cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Step 6: Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Taking a Chance

This past Friday was my last day of work with the company I have been working for since I graduated from Penn State over five years ago. Tomorrow I will be starting a new job (similar work to my previous job) at a new company. It was definitely bittersweet leaving, but I know it is the right time in my career and life to take on new challenges and experiences. My time at my former company was not just professionally rewarding, but personally rewarding too. Through my time there I met some of dearest friends, including one of my bridesmaids. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous or scared about this new chapter in my life but I am equally excited. Here's to taking chances!

In the Kitchen

Having a bigger kitchen has inspired me to cook more. It's funny how much of a difference a little more counter space and cabinet room makes.

One of my favorite new recipes I've tried this summer is this Shrimp, Leek and Spinach Pasta recipe from Real Simple. I had never cooked with leeks before so I was little intimated. But they were easy to work with and added a nice buttery flavor to the dish. Instead of heavy cream I used a light cream in attempt to make it a little healthier. I think this would also be good topped with a little parmesan cheese. This was a nice pasta dish for the summer and I will definitely be making it again.

My other new favorite dish I haven't actually made, but I've eaten it thanks to my sister, Meredith. While visiting her recently we decided to create a few Pinterest recipes. One was a mozzarella, tomato, and pesto panini. These were SO GOOD and easy for her (haha) to make. You simply put all the ingredients between two pieces of bread and either cook it on a George Foreman (like she did) or on stovetop. We had ours with a side salad which made this a perfectly light summertime dinner. I can't wait to pick up the ingredient and make it for P this week!

This would also be yummy with grilled chicken

Summer Reading

While on my bloggy break, I've been getting a lot of reading done this summer. I always enjoy a good chick-lit book, but I am drawn to them even more in the summer.

Two of my favorite reads so far this summer have been The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner and Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews.

Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors. I think I have read every book she has written. While some of her story lines tend to be the same (imperfect woman + family struggle + heartache), they are always entertaining and quick reads. When I first discovered she was releasing a new book this summer I pre-ordered it right away. The Next Best Thing lived up to my expectations. It's actually a continuation of the short story "Swim" from Jennifer Weiner's collection of short stories, The Guy Not Taken. If you are looking for a good summer read, I highly recommend this one.

Summer Rental is a book I picked up for $8 from Costco. I carried it around with me for a few weeks before I actually started reading it. Once I sat down, I really got into it. It's a fun read about a group of childhood friends who are now in their 30s and rent a house in the Outer Banks for a month. They each are in different places in their lives and each dealing with their own struggles. It's not a book that's going to make you ponder the purpose of life or have an epiphany, but it will entertain you while trying to beat the summer heat.

Next up on my summer chick-lit reading list is Emily Giffin's new novel, Where We Belong. I read Emily's earlier books but passed on reading Love the One You're With; I could couldn't get into a story line about a newly married woman questioning her life after a chance encounter with an ex. I'm hopeful her new book will be just as good as her first. 

I've also been contemplating reading Andy Cohen's autobiography, Talkative. As I've confessed before I'm obsessed with his Bravo housewives series and think this would be a fun, summer read too.

Picking Up the Ball

I really dropped the ball on this whole blogging thing. To my loyal readers (all five of you)....I am sorry. I really am going to make a valiant effort to keep this thing going.

Here's a brief update on some of the things that have been keeping me away from the blogosphere the past two months:

Wedding: there have been quite a few exciting updates on the wedding front. First we booked our honeymoon and will be spending one glorious, relaxing week in Jamaica! Special thanks to my dad and Sheila for making this trip possible.

Those chairs have our names on them!

My dress arrived this past week! I cannot wait to see it in person (the one I ordered was slightly different than what I tried on) and try it on again. I'm headed to Pennsylvania in September to see the dress and finalize bridesmaids dresses. My mom also found her dress and it is GORGEOUS! We just happened to pop into Nordstrom Rack and it was the exact color and style my mom was hoping for and the only one in her size - it was meant to be! Finally, we scheduled our engagement pictures for next month. I've been having fun brainstorming the perfect outfits to wear.

Speaking of weddings...P's sister, Elizabeth, got married a few weeks ago in Richmond, Virginia. The wedding was absolutely wonderful and the new Mr. & Mrs. Haladay were glowing all day.

The beautiful bride on her way to the church

P & I having fun at the reception

Bar Exam: P took the Virginia Bar Exam this past week. He was so focused and committed to studying the past two months; I just know it paid off. Next up for him? A new job! He'll be starting at an intellectual property law firm in DC after Labor Day. I'm so excited for him!

Florida: I went to Florida for a week in June for a conference. While I spent lots of time attending riveting presentations on cost estimating (I even gave one myself!), I squeezed in some time for fun at Universal Studios and Disney with Jenny!

Getting my conference on

Jenny and I survived Universal Studios during Tropical Storm Debbie which required ponchos and using a hand dryer on sneakers. We also danced with Minions!

Vacation: P and I are going on a road trip in August. We'll be driving to Canada to spend a few days in Montreal and Quebec and on the way home we'll spend two nights in Boston. We're both looking forward to getting away and exploring new cities together.

Taylor: In June I got to spend an afternoon with my bestie Aubrey and my cute goddaughter Taylor at the Baltimore Aquarium. It was a fun day catching up and showing Taylor all of the fishies!

Checking out the fish with mom

The aquarium is exhausting

This summer has really flown by. Looking forward to what August has in store!