Case of The Mondays

Lets start the week of right.  Happy Monday.  A few good things that have already happened today include the fact that I woke up before my alarm (8:15) and regardless of the fact that I probably could have used those extra 15 minutes, I jumped out of bed and started my day.

I am still attempting to do a little yoga each morning before I get dressed, eat or do anything semi-productive but I have been getting more lax about this--my goal for the week is to learn a few new moves and incorporate those into my routine!

This week shouldn't be too busy but I am upping my weekday milage to 3 miles on tuesday (which is now moving to wednesday) and 2 miles on thursday.  Why am I switching the days around? Well, tuesday I have class from 11-4:40, no break. Need I say more?  Class is also a solid mile and a half away so strap on a heavy backpack and there you have some nice cross training for the day.

This week is also my second week doing hospital scans for my independent study--I finally have some "business casual" clothes but I am ALWAYS looking for more.  I've already been suggested to look at Zara--do you have any suggestions? (Not trying to break the bank but I need to look professional!)

We are into our 4th week of school--of senior year for many of me and my friends. Take time to enjoy the extra minutes of the day (MAKE extra minutes in the day to relax), there really is no reason to stress and pack your day so full that you cannot enjoy a cup of tea or to finish my long and somewhat obnoxious posts :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

1 tbsp canola oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking pan ( I used 9x9)

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs and oil

3. In a separate bowl combine four, baking powder, salt, brown sugar and spices

4. fold the dry into the wet and add chocolate chips last

5. spread evenly in baking pan and place in oven, test before removing!

Baking time: 15-20 minutes

** I found that mine were a little mushy at first so I had to add an extra 5 minutes but it may be my oven at school!

Also, these do not have the typical "brownie" consistency and have more of a cakey/ banana bread texture but still great all the same!

Fall is finally here :)

YouTube Videos

You can find my South Africa videos on youtube by clicking HERE!

In case you're too lazy, here is one of my favorites:

Happy Hump Day! WIAW will soon be up :)

Weekend in Photos

This is the lazy version of blogging:

Woodchuck makes a great cider (their amber is sheer awesomeness) but this special edition FALL cider is to die for.  I cannot wait to whip up some baked doughnuts/ fresh apple pie and pair them with one of these bad boys.  What's even better is that woodchuck is GF for those of you who hate the bloated and awful feeling that beer often gives.

Friends downtown on Thursday night

Amy's awesome tacos that she made for her birthday and allowed us to devour! She definitely revamped my love for tacos--reminded me of a better version of taco thursday (hello high school).

Brendan came to visit this weekend as well and I finally made him take a new photo with me, as if we don't have enough already!

BPG dance tryouts were earlier last week but I finally snagged this photo from Rebz phone--Team Mulan!

Our suite celebrated Amy's Birthday and Marisa's is coming up soon!

I woke up at 9:30 this morning for an awesome 3.5 mile run.  After having a few rough sweaty runs from the humidity it was nice to feel accomplished on one of my long runs.  This means that week 2 is complete and we are onto week 3 of 8!

Alpha Phifa, Kick it for a Cause was hosted by Rochester Alpha Phi today and proceeds went to support our philanthropy, Cardiac Care!

I finally made my way to the library to do some computer homework and start reading for the week and brought along with me some killer leftovers. Hodge-Podge Mexican Casserole

Hodge Podge Mexican Casserole

EASY PEASY!

All you need is the following:

1. Salsa

2. Brown Rice

3. Chicken Breast

4. Rice and Corn

5. Mexican Spices (cumin, chili powder etc)

6. Greek Yogurt

I took the cooked brown rice and layered it in the bottom of a pan.  Next I took leftover bean burrito mixture which is basically black beans and corn that have been simmered together with garlic, cumin, chili powder and onions and poured it on top.  Next came the chicken that I pan seared quickly, some extra tomatoes I had lying around made their way in along with a mixture of salsa and greek yogurt that I mixed and heated on the stove

30 minutes on 350 and volia, dinner.

Chambray and Floral

Shorts: Jcrew Factory Outlet (last season), Chambray button up: JcPenny's

Necklace: Old Biscuit Mill Market, Cape Town, South Africa

*So many people have been complimenting me on this necklace and I am so happy I decided to give in and get it.  My friend Emily had gotten it on our first trip to the market and I oohed and ahhed over it for weeks on end and finally picked one out for myself the day before we left

I had no idea that "chambray" shirts would be so in style again this year--I usually stick to staple items from Jcrew and Gap in hopes of not grabbing onto too many fads but I had to get one.  $60 bucks for a jean shirt though? No thank you.  I found this at Jcpennys while I was hunting for apartment accessories.  It was only $17! 

What have you gotten this fall to keep up with fashion? Have you found any of these at a cheaper price than you were expecting?

WIAW: A First of Many

I like to cook and I like to cook often.  I thought i'd make that perfectly clear in case anyone needed clarification.  I also came to the realization that I have been quite sarcastic on here lately so my apologies. But back to my love of cooking and baking and living in a college suite/ apartment that requires a $915 meal plan.  What to do, what to do.  I refuse to waste my time eating dinners or the majority of meals in campus dining halls--I just cannot do it any longer (once in a while is fine but for the sake of everyone who hears me complain about my stomach issues, I cook for myself).  

Since I do spend so much time in my lovely kitchen I think it would be fun to join the WIAW or What I Ate Wednesday band wagon,which was started by the awesome Peas and Crayons.  I don't want to begin sharing every single pretzel or rice cake that I have for a snack let alone the number of peanut butter scoops that I sneak a day but once a week I can share a bit about my daily routine.

Today seems to be a bit of an odd day to start since I ate out for lunch and only managed to snap a picture of dinner but lets go for it anyways.

For Breakfast I had two poached eggs with Ezekiel 7-grain sprouted bread and some hot sauce for a nice kick.  This was accompanied with a Tazo Organic Chai tea.

Brendan had come up to visit me so we walked around campus and by lunchtime we were both starving...almost literally.  And trust me, when I am hungry I am a mean mean person.  We ate out at one of my favorite lunch spots, Mise en Place. A bit of a yuppy name but actually quite reasonable and my turkey deli sandwich was especially tasty on this hot afternoon.

 photo credit: Beeradvocate.com

This place is great if you need a sandwich on the go even though you will wait a few minutes for them to prepare it and for $6 for a grilled sandwich I am okay waiting!

My afternoon was spent going to Beers of the World picking out some tasty fall beers that I cannot wait to try (especially the Pumpkinhead) and I oohed and Ahhed over the various ciders they offered which were all a bit too steep for my wallet.

Finally I get to dinner. Oh dinner. 

Amazing Burrito Bowl!

Into the mix went field greens and spinach, cucumber, tomato, homemade guacamole, salsa, a little brown rice and leftover bean and corn mixture that Brendan's mom made.

I was a little ambitious with this baby but it was so good I couldn't resist! Now I am stuck with a very full stomach and a ton of reading.

Hope you all enjoy your wednesday evening!

Eggplant Parm & A Lack of Focus

Eggplant Parm and Man Vintners CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

What a great ending to a rather interesting day.  I woke up this morning planning to jump out of bed (without the alarm) and quickly make my way to the library.  However, I ended up slowly creeping out of bed and enjoying a nice bowl of pumpkin pie oats inspired by Katie at Peace Love & Oats.  I love getting up this way and sometimes forget to take a look around and enjoy the nice weather, an amazing breakfast and the friends that I live with.

I made the greatest attempt to focus in on readings today but I still have yet to get into the grind and swing of school.  This is always such an issue for me and this year more than ever before, I am lacking motivation.  This seriously needs to change as soon as possible since I have so many plans and would like to accomplish them all. After a slight freak out at Panera I decided to make some adjustments--or at least consider them.  I may reconsider taking the GRE this semester and focus solely on my studies and independent study work. Since this is only my second year at UR and sadly my last, I want nothing more than to make the very most of it.

In terms of the week I am on week 2 of my 10k training.  Week 2 is the same as week one so I won't have to run more than 3 miles (on sunday) and can focus on building a good base again.  This weekend is also the Clothesline Arts Festival (a personal favorite festival!) and Alpha Phifa which I will share more about later on but it is a soccer tournament that supports Cardiac Care and the Alpha Phi Foundation.