Friday Favorites

 

After a mini-snowcation last weekend, I had a major case of the Mondays that I never really recovered from. Since it looks like the weather is going to be really nice for this time of year, I’m hoping to hop on my bike for a long ride on Saturday.

Shine Theory Ok, so shine theory is not necessarily a new idea, and honestly, it shouldn’t even be that radical of an idea for us women. However, it’s been on my mind a lot lately! It’s so common that whenever one woman experiences success, we use it as an excuse to compare ourselves to her in a negative light. Shine theory says that instead of giving in to this destructive knee-jerk reaction, befriend that woman because learning about all of those things that make her shine can help encourage you to shine too. It’s the associative property of awesomeness. – Sarah

Valentine’s Day Movie List I’m always up for a good rom-com, so I really don’t need an upcoming holiday as an excuse to watch one of these movies. Nevertheless, I’m hoping to watch one of these flicks this weekend. – Laura

Hound Runs Half Marathon When everyone in our family saw this news story, we immediately thought that this would be something Sarah’s dog, Lou, would do! This Alabama hound came in 6th place despite stopping to smell a bunny,visit another dog, and hang out with some cows and mules. Hilarious! – Laura

Spring Dress We still have a couple more months of winter in Kentucky, but I’m already ready to pack away my tights, boots, and heavy coats. I love this casual dress with the longer sleeves, which is perfect for 60 degree spring days. With a boat neck and navy and white stripes, what more could you want? – Laura

These look seriously tasty!

Cheers to a fabulous weekend!

Laura

Oven BBQ Chicken

In this family, we love The Pioneer Woman (Laura’s already mentioned her here). She has down-to-earth style, and her food reminds me of things that my mom would cook, a.k.a. the best food. Compared to the other Newton women, I’m still a novice in the kitchen, but anytime I feel like experimenting with a recipe, The Pioneer Woman is one of my first stops.

With all the snowy weather lately, I’ve exhausted my repertoire of soups and chili, and I’ve found myself craving something different. That’s when I stumbled upon this recipe. Because I live in an industrial loft and a grill is pretty much out of the question, I was immediately excited by a recipe that would allow me to get a taste of a traditionally barbecued food that isn’t just your standard baked chicken.

“Drop anything for me, Mom?” – Lou

Ingredients

• 3 Cups BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Peach Preserves
• 1 Clove Garlic
• Hot Sauce, optional
• 12 Whole Chicken Thighs, skin-on
• Olive Oil for Brushing

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While preheating, brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and place your chicken thighs skin side down (I only made 6, not 12). Let them roast for 25 minutes. While roasting, go ahead and prepare your sauce. If you’re in a hurry or want to keep things simple, you could just use your favorite BBQ sauce from the grocery store. I took The Pioneer Woman’s advice, however, and warmed some honey BBQ sauce on the stove for about 10 minutes while adding a heaping spoonful of peach preserves and 1 clove of garlic minced.

You need this garlic roller. Perfectly minced garlic every time!

 

After the 25 minutes is up, remove your chicken thighs and brush them with your BBQ sauce. Then flip them so that they are skin side up, and brush with sauce on that side too. Then, let them continue roasting for three 7 minute intervals. Between each interval, remove and brush with sauce again. For the third set of 7 minutes, bump your heat to 425 to get a little char on the edges.

 

Yummmm.

This recipe was Ryan tasted and approved–seriously, it was so good. This will be a repeat recipe in the future. I was a little hesitant putting the sauce on the first time not knowing how much it would need, and I wouldn’t hold back so much next time. Another thing I would do differently is mix up the cuts of meat. Chicken thighs are good, but not my favorite. I would probably do a mixture of thighs and legs and maybe even a few petite breasts. I also didn’t use bone-in thighs as suggested in the recipe, and I honestly think the ease of being able to eat them boneless made them better.

Cheers!

Sarah

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day in elementary school was just the best! I loved picking out my box of Valentine cards, carefully tearing down the perforated lines of the card stock, selecting which card I would give to my closest friends and secret crush, and taping a piece of chocolate on each one. I loved decorating my shoe box that would become my Valentine mailbox and making crafts out of pink and red construction paper and doilies. I loved looking through all of my cards during my afternoon ride home on the school bus. Seriously, it was one of the best days of the year!

Then middle school happened, and Valentine’s Day became one of my least favorite days. It became a stressful holiday where I had to think about romance or worse – the lack of romance in my life, depending on the year. Although I’ve been fortunate enough to have the BEST Valentine the past few years, it still stresses me out. Candlelight dining and the pressure to make the evening feel special is just too much for me.

Around this time every year, Jay and I hesitantly look at each other and agree to not exchange gifts. Inevitably, he’ll surprise me with flowers, and I’ll make him a sweet treat. We’ll decide to do something together because that is way more fun than receiving heart-shaped jewelry. A couple of years ago, I happened to be in San Antonio for a work event that ended on Friday, so Jay flew up and joined me for the rest of the Valentine’s weekend. We rode bikes to missions along the river, ate well, and enjoyed the 75 degree weather. It was the best!

This year, we have less time to get away and are planning a longer trip for later in the year, so we’re heading to one of my favorite places in Central Kentucky – Shaker Village! We are spending the night, going to brunch, and if the weather cooperates, hiking and exploring the village in the afternoon. It should be just long enough to feel like a mini-getaway.

If you haven’t been to Shaker Village recently, it has seriously gotten cool. There are so many events I want to go to in the next few months, from beer and bourbon tastings to concerts to yoga and paddle boarding. We’re heading to the Bee My Honey Brunch, which couldn’t be more perfect for us with brunch fare, honey, and bourbon.

One thing that I do like to do on Valentine’s Day is have a festive outfit. Since it falls in the middle of winter, little red dresses and pink skirts are out of the question in Kentucky. Because we’re having a casual Valentine’s Day, I’m all about being comfortable and wearing practical clothing. Here’s what I’ll be packing for our weekend…

Sweater    Blouse    Jeans    Nail Polish    Bracelet    Flats

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Valentine’s Day! Some people love the romance and others prefer to pass on celebrating. What will you be up to?

Cheers!

Laura

Weekend Recap

If you reside in the Bluegrass or really anywhere in the Upper-South/Mid-Atlantic region, then you were probably snowed in for much of the weekend like we were. During January and February, I relish snow days and think they are good for the soul. They force people to slow down and take some time to rest from the normal bustle of life. However, by March, I definitely have spring fever and am ready to be outside without having to bundle up.

Other than heading out for the UK vs. Vanderbilt basketball game on Saturday, we spent much of the weekend playing in the snow, curled up with hot beverages and books, and eating comfort food.

On Friday, I was so tempted to make a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, but I satisfied my baking bug by making this honey wheat bread. However, by Sunday, I couldn’t hold out any longer and just made some cookies. I also made a big batch of The Pioneer Woman’s potato soup that we’re still enjoying. I substituted milk for half of the heavy cream in the recipe, and I think it still tastes decadent.

Here are some scenes I snapped of our weekend:

Where did all the squirrels go?

We did a lot of this after playing in the snow.

The view from our front porch. Jay won the neighborhood superlative for best shoveled sidewalks.

Spent some time planning a girls’ trip to New England this summer. I’m most excited to visit Maine!

We also stopped by the Bluegrass Barkery this weekend to pick up some of these Pawz booties and a few treats. After a light snow last Wednesday and the snowstorm this weekend, the pads on the bottom of her paws were getting red and irritated from the ice and salt. These little booties were great to put on her before walks and playing in the snow. She normally doesn’t like wearing anything, but she tolerated these better than I anticipated. The booties are reusable and disposable, so they come in packs of 12. Annabelle wore the same booties for several days, and they are still in good shape. The pack will definitely last all winter and possibly even into next winter. If you have a dog that you walk frequently, I definitely recommend these booties!

 

I hope you’re well rested and ready to take on the week! Cheers!

Laura

Friday Favorites

Yay, it’s Friday! And, if you’re in the Bluegrass, happy snow day, too! Cozy up on this wintery day with some of our favorite things from throughout the week.

Oscar Nominations I’ve never been big on award shows, but last year I got seriously into the Oscars, particularly the nominations for best picture. I made sure to watch all of the nominees after the Oscars were over and by doing so, discovered some great flicks I may not have watched otherwise (excluding Birdman…bleh). As for the nominations for best picture this year, I’ve only seen Bridge of Spies and Mad Max, so I’ve got some work to do before February 28th! The only one I may skip out on is The Revenant because it looks a little intense for my taste, but I’m totally #TeamLeo to finally land an Oscar. – Sarah

Goodreads Sometime in college, I started making 3 New Years resolutions annually–one each for mind, body, and spirit. My resolution for my mind this year is to begin reading more! I’ve had a lifelong love of reading, but being a full time graduate student last year put a major halt on my leisure reading. To help with my resolution, I joined Goodreads. Goodreads let me pick my favorite genres, rate some of my favorite books within those genres, and then generated a reading list for me. You can even use it to track reading goals (mine is 24 books in 2016) and join book clubs! – Sarah

26 Things to Do for Yourself  I totally get suckered into reading these lists when scrolling through social media feeds. Normally I’m outraged because they’ll say completely unrealistic things like, “meditate for two hours each morning” or “spend three months traveling to exotic countries.” What normal human being has time for that?! However, this list was refreshing because I could realistically accomplish everything in a year, and I think most of them would brighten up my life in some way. – Laura

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal I eat oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast. This slow cooker recipe is perfect for getting snowed in this weekend! – Laura

Chip and Joanna’s House Tour I’ve been on a HGTV kick the past couple of weeks, and my latest obsession is Fixer Upper. Anytime I catch a glimpse of Chip and Joanna’s farm house on the show, I practically squeal at how perfect it is. Luckily, a friend shared their house tour with me. There’s some major design inspiration in these photos! – Sarah

Cheers!

Laura & Sarah

What’s Cooking: Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry

Stir-fry is one of my favorite meals. It’s a great way to get lots of servings of vegetables in one dish, and the flavors are easy to change depending on the spices and sauces used. I also love the fact that once I’m finished chopping, dinner can be on the table in less than 15 minutes. While I’m a big fan of the classic teriyaki chicken, I like this recipe because it has a pretty spicy kick to it. If you’re not a huge fan of spicy foods, you can easily adjust the spiciness by reducing the amount of red pepper you use.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon, juiced and grated
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 small head napa cabbage, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 large orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• sriracha (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and soy sauce; set aside.

In a large wok on medium heat, heat oil. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Add cabbage, broccoli, bell peppers, ginger, pepper flakes and chili powder; cook for 4–5 minutes more, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add soy sauce mixture and toss. Stir in lemon zest and sprinkle with scallions and sriracha (if desired).

I love all the fresh veggies in this dish!

Cheers!

Laura

Jetset

In college, a mentor used to always repeat the quote “travel is the only thing you buy that can make you richer.” How true that is! Over the past couple of years, I’ve been very fortunate to travel both domestically and internationally, and believe me, I did it through every mode of transportation possible–boats, planes, trains, and automobiles included! Today, I want to share with you some of the tips I’ve picked up along the way for booking flights.

1. Know your priorities. Before you go on a trip, it’s important to narrow down your priorities. These can include a variety of things like price, comfort, convenience, or airline, and they might change depending on the type of trip you’re taking. For me, my priorities pretty consistently focus on price and convenience. I always try to find the cheapest flight possible, but if that flight leaves at 5 AM or has a 40 minute layover that’s sure to have me sprinting through an airport somewhere, it’s worth it to me to pick a slightly more expensive flight that isn’t going to leave me feeling frazzled. Plus, you’ll want to think critically about all those tempting little upgrades. If you’re only going to be in the air for 3 hours, is First Class or a seat with extra leg room really worth the price tag? Besides, if Bridesmaids taught me anything, it’s that there is a much better sense of community in Coach anyway.
2. Use Google Flights. All those travel sites, like Travelocity or Kayak, can be really tempting. They give you the freedom to mix and match airlines, and sometimes you’re able to score an extra low price. However, my experience has taught me to book with the airline directly if at all possible. If you end up having to change your flights, you’ll find that customer service with the airline is infinitely better than it is with a travel site. That’s where Google Flights comes in. If you’ve never used it, imagine having the power of the Google search engine to search every airlines’ flights to find you the absolute best price options. Plus, the calendar feature allows you to see the price differences in everyday you fly. Let’s say a flight on Wednesday costs you $300. That same flight on Thursday instead might end up being only $250. Boom. 50 more bucks in your pocket to go towards the trip itself.
3. Get a credit card. For some reason, prior to graduating college, I had a terrible view of credit cards as though just by having one I would somehow rack up tons of debt. So when I say this, keep in mind that I don’t make this suggestion lightly, and if you have trouble budgeting, then ignore what I’m about to say and just move on. However, if you are like me and have a very stringent savings plan, a credit card can be an awesome way for you to score some travel points. If you’re considering getting a credit card, I’ve got some “sub-tips,” if you will, down below:
   • Set up a payment schedule. Some people adamantly support paying off your credit card in full every month. This is a good idea if you worry about remembering to pay your bill, but in actuality, paying in full every month doesn’t really help or hurt you in the short run. Your credit score takes into account the amount on your last billed statement, so whether you paid that entire $100 off or not, your credit score doesn’t care. So with that being said, if it fits your budget best to pay off 2/3 of your trip the first month, and the last 1/3 the second month, then go for it. Just make sure you always pay more than the minimum amount, have more than enough in your bank account to cover those expenses, and never let them get out of control.
   • Make sure you use your credit card on something each month. I tend to view credit cards as being there for those big purchases or emergencies, but it’s important to use your credit card on at least one purchase each month. Remember when I said your credit score doesn’t care if you pay off in full every month? It does care if you’re using your potential credit. As counter-intuitive as it seems, almost maxing out your credit card can be better for your credit score than not using a credit card at all one month. However, I don’t exactly promote maxing out any cards (see tip above). A good way to make sure you consistently build credit is by using your card on consistent purchases that you know you’ll be able to pay, like on gas or groceries.
   • Now for the travel related part of the credit card. There are tons of cards out there that give you airline points or deals on travel. I personally use American Express Gold Card for Delta Skymiles, but before you take the plunge, make sure you do your research to find what’s right for you. Think about if you have a preferred airline with which to rack up your points, the interest rate, and where you’ll be able to use the card. Also make sure you look at minimum payments. Ads that say “Get 50,000 airline points by signing up today!” look really tempting, but you’ll probably have a minimum payment that you have to make within the first 3 months, usually $1000 or more. Basically, just be smart and know your terms and conditions before tying your finances to anything.

Cheers! (and happy travels)

Sarah

Friday Favorites

Did anyone else FINALLY feel back in the swing of things this week? It’s not a bad feeling, and coupled with a three-day weekend ahead, it’s a really awesome feeling! Here are a few things that caught our eye this week!

• Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets – Since this week has been fairly quiet most evenings, I’ve been a bit more adventurous in the kitchen. I’ve enjoyed trying some new dishes and flavors, but I’m also craving some comfort food. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs and am planning to make these next week.
• Bikini Body – I’m really proud that this awesome lady is a fellow Kentuckian. As women, I think it is important to take care of our bodies and appreciate them for everything they allow us to do. Whenever I look in the mirror and think my butt is too big or my calves are too muscular, I try to turn my thoughts to gratitude for my ability to walk and run and do all of the other things I love doing.
• These Booties – I’ve been eyeing these booties since September and tried to hold out until they went on sale – but that never happened! I broke down and ordered them earlier this week and have been wearing them nonstop since they arrived. I ordered them in the “putty” color, but if you like them in navy, I found them on sale on Abercrombie’s website of all places. *Disclaimer: They’d probably smell like the cologne your high school boyfriend doused himself in everyday. Anyways, I’m officially on the booties bandwagon (3 years after everyone else…)!
• Oh You Steppin’ – The health and wellness program where I work offered super discounted Fitbits for employees who sign up for a step-counting challenge, so as someone on the fence about the Fitbit craze, this was enough to push me over the edge. I’m one of the worst users ever because I don’t really like wearing the thing (honestly, it makes for a less cute arm party), so I usually take it off after I reach my 10,000 steps. While it’s amusing to see people marching around and swinging their arms for the sake of a few steps and free swag, if it makes people more conscientious about staying healthy, then I’m a supporter!

3,097 steps and a shameless arm party pic at work

Whether you’re staying in for the weekend or taking advantage of an extra day to squeeze in a quick trip, some of our posts earlier this week have you covered. Check out Sarah’s favorite new releases and my favorite podcasts.

Cheers and Happy Friday!

Laura

Favorite Podcasts

 

During the holidays last year, Jay and I listened to the first season of Serial as we drove to and from Lexington, Louisville, Somerset, Bowling Green, Madisonville, and Nashville. The podcasts made the time in the car fly! If you haven’t listened to it yet and your friends have been talking to you about Adnan’s innocence for the past year, do yourself a favor and check it out, especially if you have some travel time over the long weekend. Each season shares one true story over the course of several episodes. I think I hyped up the new season, which is evaluating Bowe Bergdahl’s capture and release by the Taliban, too much because I’m not enjoying this season as much as I hoped. Even though I’m caught up on Serial (tear), there are several other podcasts that I recommend.

Limetown: So entertaining! As someone who adamantly avoids science fiction, this podcast even hooked me! Like I mentioned, it is a work of science fiction, and my only complaint is that the episodes are too short and there aren’t enough of them. It can get a little disturbing, so I didn’t like to listen to them near bedtime. Here’s how the website describes it.

Ten years ago, over three hundred men, women and children disappeared from a small town in Tennessee, never to be heard from again. In this seven-part podcast, American Public Radio host Lia Haddock asks the question once more, “What happened to the people of Limetown?”

This American Life: Each week, the producers select a theme and the podcast consists of several short journalistic, sometimes funny, stories pieced together around the theme. There is usually at least one or two short stories that I really enjoy each week. If nothing else, search through the archives and listen to “The Problem We All Deal With.” It is a two-part series focused on inequality in education, which is a topic that can really get me going.

Women of the Hour: This podcast is a collaboration between Lena Dunham and BuzzFeed. While I agree with most everything that Lena Dunham stands for, and I really want to like her, I just can’t get into her style. She has a new podcast, which probably has a different following than the NPR crowd. I’ve listed to about one and a half episodes, and I just can’t get into it. However, if you are a Lena Dunham fan, you should give it a listen.
Here are a few other Podcasts I recommend:

Cheers!

Laura

On the Big Screen

Dating a film major and cinematographer has its perks, and having a constant movie buddy ranks pretty high on my list. And when I say constant–I truly mean constant. Ryan and I tend to watch at least 1 movie a week, and we are two of Louisville’s best patrons of the $5 movie night on Tuesdays.

Today I’m reviewing, in no particular order, our favorite recent films that we watched over the past year. A few of these are fairly new, so you may still be able to catch them in theaters. Others would make the perfect rental for a quiet movie night spent at home.

The Theory of Everything There is definitely a reason this film was nominated for and won several Golden Globes and Oscars. It is just flat out beautiful. The screenplay captures the plot in a really interesting way, and certain scenes are aesthetically incredible. I will warn you before watching that some parts tend to be heart wrenching. Eddie Redmayne was awesome role in his role of Stephen Hawking. After loving his performance in Les Miserables as well, he’s definitely an actor I’m going to keep an eye out for in the future.

The Imitation Game I’m not too proud to admit that I’m a bit of a nerd. I went through a phase in high school where I was really interested in military codes, especially as they pertained to WWII. Of course, I was jazzed when The Imitation Game came out about the British cryptanalysts who cracked the Nazi code Enigma. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and I loved this story that idolizes the MI6 mathematicians.

Bridge of Spies Can you sense a theme yet? Apparently I have a thing for history, because Bridge of Spies also made my short list this year. This story follows an everyday lawyer who is basically forced into making negotiations with Russia and Germany during the Cold War. You seriously can’t go wrong with a Steven Spielberg flick starring Tom Hanks.

Trainwreck You can officially count me as a fan of Bill Hader and Amy Schumer after seeing this movie. Although I’m not typically a fan of slapstick comedy, I was near tears at several points. If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, Trainwreck is a great go-to.

Trumbo In my opinion, Trumbo’s 70% critic score is sorely lacking. I went into this movie not knowing quite what to expect from the story line, but found myself feeling very invested by the end. This movie takes a critical look at the blacklisting of suspected Communists in Hollywood starting in the late 1940s. With the current hot political climate, this is a good movie to watch as it will force you to think about our rights and what you can and cannot be condemned for, whether or not the majority agrees.

American Sniper If you see one movie on this list, I suggest seeing American Sniper. Opinions on the war in Iraq aside, this movie will make you absolutely feel for the men and women who are fighting in the Middle East. After watching this movie, the theater was absolutely silent in reverence. Bradley Cooper nails his role as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. This is a story that needs to be told.

Cheers!

Sarah