Month: December 2015

2015 Recap/2016 Resolutions

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2015 has been such a good year for me.

I started the year off working a three-month long temp job assignment, I was in a long distance relationship with my then-boyfriend, and I was living at my parents’ house. By MARCH, my temp job had turned into a full-time permanent position with the company. My boyfriend who came down South to visit for Valentine’s Day ended up never going back to his hometown in New Jersey. In MAY, we signed a lease for our own apartment and we moved into our first place together in JULY. In AUGUST, I went to Las Vegas with my girls for the first time. Shortly after, I started cooking the recipes that I saw on Pinterest and playing fantasy football with my boyfriend and his friends (my record was 10-3). In SEPTEMBER, I went to Washington DC for the first time (I know, I should’ve been there years ago) for a family reunion. My “boyfriend” became my fiancé in NOVEMBER. And now here we are at the very end of DECEMBER where I just had an amazing Christmas with my soon-to-be in-laws.

It may be hard to do, but I believe 2016 will top the amazing year I’ve had in 2015.

These are the things I am claiming for my 2016:
– Get back in the gym! I really slacked off on my workouts in 2015, but I’m trying to be in the best shape of my life in 2016.
– Build up my emergency fund. I have a good cushion in there right now, but you can never be too cautious.
– Get MARRIED! Or at least set a date and know the details of my nuptials.
– Have a 750+ credit score. I’m already in the 700 club, but there’s always room to improve.
– Get on a good schedule with my blog posts. This is another area that’s been neglected in 2015. I really like blogging, so I have to do better.

Italian Wonderpot (No Meat)

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Out of all of the new things that I’ve cooked this year, this so-called “Italian Wonderpot” is definitely in the running for my number one favorite dish. I was really proud of myself with this one. Although it was incredibly easy to make since it only required me to slice a few onions and garlic cloves, it’s hands down one of the best tasting outcomes that I’ve had this year. All you have to do is put all of the ingredients into a stockpot and stir occasionally. You’ll definitely have leftovers for a few days, but these leftovers taste great! It’s like the spices really seep in after it’s had some time to sit. One notable thing about this recipe is that it does not have any meat in it. This is something that my fiancé was kind of worried about (he can’t imagine a dinner meal without any type of meat), but he LOVED it. You definitely won’t feel like the recipe is missing anything even without the meat. But you can always add some diced chicken breasts if you want to add something new. After I’ve made this recipe as is a few times, I’ll probably try adding chicken just to see how it turns out.
  
Click HERE for the ingredients and instructions.

One Gallon of Water Everyday

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Last weekend I freaked out because I thought I had crows feet. Well, it turns out that I really just have smile lines so… no big deal. But it really made me decide to get serious about this whole anti-aging kick. It’s something that has been on my mind since I left Las Vegas, but now I’ve decided to take action. Instead of reaching for expensive anti-aging beauty products (my mom and grandmother believe they are a waste of money and that your skin eventually becomes dependent on them), I decided to use Gabrielle Union’s anti-aging “secret”… WATER.

One gallon of water everyday. It seems easy enough. I sit at a desk for most of the day so I really have no reason to not be able to do this. I bought a gallon of drinking water at the grocery store because seeing how much water I have to drink in front of me helps me. I can’t just carry one small water bottle and keep refilling it throughout the day. The first day was pretty chill until after lunch when I felt like the water in my jug was rising instead of getting lower. Continue reading →

OMG, I Left My E-ring at Home!

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This past Thursday, I did the unthinkable.

I accidentally left my engagement ring at home.

Here’s how it happened…

 I always wear my e-ring when I’m sleeping. Even when it was too big, I was still wearing it everywhere. I mean, this is something I had been wanting for most of this year so of course I’m wearing it no matter what. But I’m also very vigilant about keeping it clean and keeping it safe. So when I’m putting any type of product on my hands (i.e. Makeup, lotion) or when I’m near any open drains (i.e. Any sink or bathtub), I take it off and put it on my dresser or on top of my makeup organizers. On this particular day, I set the ring on top of my makeup organizers, put my makeup and lotion on and then I went to work. Since it’s colder now, I always put a second coat of lotion on my hands when I get to my desk. This usually means I have to take my ring off briefly and that’s when I noticed that my ring was already off. I had never put it back on before I left the house! Luckily, my fiancé was still at home and said that he would bring the ring to me so that I didn’t have to leave work or be without it all day. I was only without my ring for nearly four hours but I felt so awkward without it. My hand felt naked. I could see a small indentation in my finger where my ring was supposed to be. I was trying to keep my left hand hidden until I got it back. It really gave me a little bit of anxiety. I kept thinking that people were going to notice the missing ring and ask me about it (no one did). I told a couple of my female coworkers about it and they assured me that it won’t be the last time I forget to put it on, and as time goes on it won’t even be something that I feel the need to turn around for. But right now, since it’s so new to me, I’ve decided that I’m just not taking it off anymore.

Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables

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This is a recipe that I should’ve tried a couple of months ago but I kept putting it off because I never seemed to have all the ingredients at one time. Last week I ended up getting everything I needed so I decided to give it a go anyway and hope for the best. 

First of all, the food came out looking beautiful! I almost didn’t want to eat it because it was so pretty (we still ate it though). Secondly, this recipe includes a good amount of carrots (I hate carrots), but surprisingly I still enjoyed it. I don’t cook just for myself so sometimes I make dishes that include foods that I don’t necessarily enjoy eating (i.e. carrots, salmon, etc.). Both of the vegetables in this recipe were tasty though, and that’s probably due to the sauce that they were cooked in. Lastly, the recipe calls for you to remove the chicken from your pan and put it on a serving plate prior to cooking the vegetables… don’t do that if you have no way of keeping the chicken warm. No one wants to eat cold chicken and warm veggies. I don’t have a serving plate that has the ability to keep the food warm so I kept my chicken in the pan with the vegetables and my chicken wasn’t burnt at all.

  

Click HERE to try this recipe.

4 Things You Should Know About Getting Engaged

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I’ve been engaged for almost a month now and here are the four things that I’ve experienced since the day my fiancé proposed.

You’ll take pictures of your ring (A LOT).

At this point, I probably have more pictures of my engagement ring than I do selfies in my phone. And I take a decent amount of selfies. When you get your e-ring, you just want to look at it all the time and it’s less obvious if you’re looking at a picture on your phone rather than your actual hand. So I take pictures of my e-ring on my hand a lot; probably more than I should actually. Continue reading →

Baked Ravioli

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There is nothing better than a cheap and easy to make recipe that tastes great. This 3-ingredient baked ravioli is the epitome of a cheap and easy recipe. All you need is the frozen ravioli, pasta sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. It doesn’t take long to cook; about 5 minutes of prep time and 45 minutes of baking and it’s done! And there’s not a lot left to clean up afterwards. Everything is baked in one dish and you don’t need measuring spoons or anything, so you really can just throw your serving dish in the dishwasher when you’re done.
   

 Click HERE to try this easy and inexpensive recipe.