Bench Makeover

Day In.

When Stuart bought the house, it came with an old black bench out front. Nothing was necessarily wrong with it...but of course, I was itching to change it. I needed some color!

Here's before. A little blah.

I used a bright blue outdoor spray paint (with a glossy finish). I love how it turned out!

Now I just need some outdoor pillows and next thing you know, I will be out on the front porch drinking my hot tea each morning.

Also, the box next to it is an old grenade box that our neighbor gave to us (sans grenades). Neat!

Day Out.

AC

Detox Smoothie

Day In.

One Sunday, I decided to try a "detox smoothie" for lunch. We've never tried one, and we usually aren't smoothie peops. I have to say, it wasn't that bad! :) Stuart has since made others.

Bottoms up!

Detox Smoothie

1 1/2 cups of fresh spinach

1 apple, chopped with peel on

1 clementine, peeled

juice of a lemon or lime

1 frozen banana

2 T. Greek yogurt

1/2 cup pineapple

Ice

Blend together. 

Day Out.

AC

New Year's Resolution: Try new recipes

Day In.

I never really follow through on my New Year's resolutions...maybe ever. So I thought I would make one that would be pretty easy to stick to. Since we love food, and I (Anna) love to cook, I would try new recipes this year.

I don't have any pictures, but I thought I would share some of the recipes I have tried so far!

Sweet Potato Pancakes
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/40-a-day/sweet-potato-pancakes-recipe/index.html

Verdict: I realized that I am not a fan of pancakes all that much...especially making them. Especially when you have guests, and pancakes forbid you to leave their side. These were ok...a little dense for my liking. But a nice way to use a sweet potato!

Homemade Pizza Dough
This always seemed scary for me...using yeast and making dough. But it was super easy! And now I shall never go back to that stuff in the twist can.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/fig-prosciutto-pizza-with-arugula/

Stu and I love figs so this combo of fig spread with prosciutto was amazing. (p.s. Fresh Market had the BEST fig spread. You could spread it on a shoe, and it would be tasty....)

Tomato-Glazed Meatloaves from Smitten Kitchen
I love her blog so I bought her new cookbook...it's pretty awesome. I don't think the recipe is on her website. Stu LOVED this. I did not...maybe it would taste better to me if I didn't have to make it. The flavors were good.

Fried Chicken with White Gravy from Tupelo Honey Cafe
After we spent our anniversary in Asheville, my mom gave me a cookbook from the Tupelo Honey Cafe. So I decided to whip up my first ever fried chicken...delicious! It has crushed nuts as the batter...really good with the gravy. And most importantly, I got to use my new thermometer to fry the chicken.

Chicken Salad with Cilantro and Avocado
http://relishscd.blogspot.ca/2012/11/avacado-chicken-salad-scd-paleo.html

This was yummy...and super healthy. Anything with avocado or cilantro is fine with me.

Slow-Cooker Herbed Balsamic Pork Roast
http://www.cafejohnsonia.com/2013/01/slow-cooker-herbed-balsamic-pork-roast.html

This was good. It actually tasted better the next day. We just shredded the meat in the sauce, after I strained and reduced it. Yum!


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Sorry that there are no pictures...I failed to take them. Let me know if anyone wants a recipe that I didn't have a link to.

Day Out.
AC