Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Hello friends. 
So, I don't really like typical salad dressings, but I've been hoping to come across one that I do like in hopes that it would make me eat more salad. And I was hoping that the dressing that I find is actually healthy. And thanks to good ol' Pinterest, I found one! I halved the recipe that I found and tweaked it a little bit. Here it is!

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1 cup fresh strawberries
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• A little less than 1/4 cup olive oil
• About 1.5 teaspoons honey
• Black pepper
• Salt

Blend. 

Store.

Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday friends! We're almost to the weekend.

Chia Seed Pudding

Have you ever had chia seed pudding? If not, I highly suggest it. Fair warning though, it does have a strange texture. Good, but strange. I'm going to give you a quick and extremely simple recipe.

Whisk together:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I've also heard coconut milk is good)
• 1 cup greek yogurt (vanilla or plain...I used vanilla)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Then cover and put in the fridge overnight. The next day, the seeds will have soaked up some of the mixture and it will be a thicker, more pudding-like consistency. Add fresh berries or nuts or whatever you want! This is delicious and filling - a great breakfast or even lunch. 

Plants, plants, plants.

In the past few years I've developed a love for plants. I haven't had too many, and I'm still figuring out the whole taking care of them part. My friends make fun of me because "I killed a cactus," but I will forever argue that it was the really old, cold dorm building that I lived in that killed it. Anyway, after work today I decided to repot my aloe plant because it is actually thriving under my care (hah!) and needed a bigger home. Speaking of aloe, fun story... I was staying with my sister a few years ago, and needless to say, I got a little burned from the North Carolina sun. She told me that there was aloe on the table in the corner. I checked it out and, well, I did not agree. She had to clarify that I was not looking for a bottle of aloe lotion, but an actual fresh aloe plant. Whoops. 

Clearly outgrown the pot...

Lookin' much better.

This little munchkin hung out with me outside.

Also, my spider plant is doing really well. I've already potted one of the spiderettes that came from it. Today I started the process again, and put two more little baby spiders in some water. Hopefully they do okay.

The original plant...which was a spiderette on one of my friend's plants.

The baby

All Grown Up

Long time, no see. Sorry about that.

But big things have happened. Big things. On a positive note I graduated college! On a negative note, I was forced to leave my second home of four years and my amazing friends (Did I bawl my eyes out? Yes. Yes, I did). But the latter part of that has already been solved. Only two weeks after graduation, my friends and I are having a reunion! One of my friends is a baby and is only just turning 21, so we're celebrating her birthday and using it as a good excuse to get everyone together. Just two days and I get to see their beautiful faces again. 

So, what have I been up to since graduation? Relaxing? Unpacking? Other fun summery things? Not quite. The day after graduation, only 20 hours after the ceremony, I started my first day of work. It was quite exhausting (I think I'm still tired), but I was glad to have the distraction, and of course, I have a job. I can't complain. So far, I really love my job. It's been a lot of training and figuring things out, but I look forward to what the future holds. 

Pictures!

The boyfriend and I on Saint Mike's Derby Day a week before graduation.

My sister and I. She graduated from Saint Mike's eight years ago!

Shout out to this girl, my best friend, my Emma who sang the national anthem at graduation.

Some of the greatest people in my life.

Happy Wednesday!

Bargain Hunter

Hello hello!

I wanted to share an exciting purchase with you, because, well, who doesn't like a good deal? As sad as I am to graduate, I am incredibly excited to have my own place at some point. You know, after I live at home for a while. I'll get there eventually. Anyway, I love looking at all the homey things: decorations, furniture, even paint color, garden things, but I really love all cooking and kitchen things. Anyway, here's the big reveal. I got these beautiful bowls, and hey even better, I got all four for $12. 

Blend It

So in the description of this blog I did promise you recipes, which have - up to this point - been nowhere to be found. Well, I bring you recipes! Kind of. I'm going to start things off extremely simple: smoothies. I can't really give - alright PAUSE, I need to interrupt myself for a moment here. I am currently lying on my bed with my laptop propped against my bent knees. I'm typing away, and our cat Una, who was featured in a previous post, hops up on the bed, climbs onto my stomach, and curls up on my chest.  So I am continuing my typing very carefully as I must maneuver around a very sleepy, very cuddly purr-machine. Not complaining. Okay where were we? PLAY. I won't give measurements and specific recipes for smoothies because they're just unnecessary. Instead I'm just going to give you some ideas. Smoothies are great. You can put whatever you want in them and however much of that whatever as you want. You can make them more into a meal by adding oats or more into a snack with just some fruit and milk, maybe some yogurt. I once made a smoothie with vanilla greek yogurt, milk, applesauce, and cinnamon. It tastes like apple pie and vanilla ice cream. In a cup. Can't get much better than that. You have all the freedom in the world. Yes, the world. You better believe it. 

Okay, so here's a smoothie I made the other day. I started with these ingredients.

Frozen strawberries, banana, ground flax seed, vanilla bean Greek yogurt, spinach, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk

I threw everything in the blender. 

Then I poured this in a cup and added a straw. You can't drink a smoothie without a straw. It's true. 

So when I was getting all my things together to move into college this year, my mom told me that there was a blender in the basement that I could take. I was pretty excited about this because, as you can probably tell, I love smoothies. I'm not sure how old this blender is, but it must have been around for a while. I can't run it for too long because it starts to smell like it's burning. I swear if I leave it on for too long one of these days it will just burst into flame. Luckily, no smoke yet. 

Well, It's About Time

Hello friends, strangers, readers,

I just wanted to quickly tell you about a movie I saw a few days ago. It's called About Time. Yes, it's a romantic comedy, but it's more than that. I don't want to ruin anything, but it had some great messages about recognizing and appreciating every day that you live. So, if you like adorable love stories, meaningful life lessons, and British humor (which is just great if you ask me), I think you should give this movie a chance.

Click here for the trailer!

And in the theme of appreciating every day, here are three good things:
One: I went to Barnes & Noble today and bought myself three books. I really shouldn't be allowed in any bookstore. I don't think I can leave without purchasing at least one. I love love love books.
Two: I got my hair trimmed. Exciting, right? (Yes, that's sarcasm.) Barely got an inch off, but it really needed it and it feels so nice. 
Three: I met my boyfriend for lunch at Chipotle when he got out of his internship today. It was completely unplanned and a nice little mini-date. 

Well, that's it for now. Happy Wednesday!