Crunchy Mustard Mahi

I ordered the perfect dress for Valentine's Day this year (I'll blog about it later!)

It's flirty, pink and will not be very forgiving on this holiday-food-binging-body of mine.

So, I had planned on doing Yoga or Pilates everyday and sticking to this diet:

I started day one with the best of intentions, I ran to Publix and bought fresh apples, cherries, blueberries, and cantaloupe. 

I happily munched on an apple in the morning, but slowly as the day went on the berries and melon just weren't cutting it. I caught myself staring enviously at Callan's chicken nuggets, then broke down and had organic mac & cheese and some turkey slices for lunch (still pretty boring). 

But then for dinner I found (on Pinterest, of course) this DELICIOUSLY easy mustard, almond, dill fish recipe. 

YUM. 

I chose Mahi instead of Cod or Halibut (because the Mahi filets just looked prettier), skipped the spinach (because wilted greens are not my thing) and used dry roasted almonds instead of the raw natural ones. 

I spent about 15 minutes crushing up almonds, zesting lemons, and chopping dill, then put the fish in the oven for 10. 

This was by far the most simple and scrumptious thing I've ever made. 

Sean loves anything with Grey Poupon and dill so I knew he would dig it. He devoured and dubbed it "Crunchy Mustard Mahi"

... and it's here to stay. 

Do you have any quick and delicious recipes to share? 

What I'm listening to.

Like almost every other person on the planet, I love listening to music.

Throughout my life, my taste has constantly evolved.

 I was really into Hanson, Whitney Houston and Tricia Yearwood in the 90's (Eclectic, I know).

Then throughout high school I went through the emo phase, the country phase, the DMB phase, the rap phase and then finally decided that I like it all, but tend to gravitate towards indie folk/rock.

 I figured I would make a list of some of my favorite bands/albums/songs right now. So, without further adieu, here's what I'm into...

 

What are you listening to right now?

Weekend Wrap Up

I'm having a serious case of the mondays today.

I spent the day looking frazzled, chasing a 2-year-old around the mall trying to convince him to eat his chicken nuggets while promising to take him on a train ride.

It's impossible to be mad at that face! 

This past weekend, however was pure bliss. 

Saturday, Sean and I slept in late, moseyed our way to the Old City Farmer's Market and took in all of the fresh produce, hand crafted goods and delicious muffins.

I wore my new wool hat from American Apparel. 

Sean was REALLY excited that it was Saturday! 

Freshly baked whole wheat bread! Sooo delicious. 

Sweet organic strawberries.

Gorgeous herbs. 

Afterwards, we went to our favorite beach spot and I lounged in the sun while Sean fished his heart out. 

A Corona and some Hemingway for me! 

Snoozin' in the sand. 

Mwah! 

On Sunday, Sean worked on his boat and I sat in front of my MacBook admiring my blog's new layout. 

We were able to steal away later, to see Zero Dark Thirty. It was awesome and I would definitely recommend you take the time to go see it. 

How was your weekend? 

Ch-ch-changes!

As you've probably noticed, TRC has gotten a little bit of a makeover!

Originally, I had resisted doing anything fancy, because I didn't want to take blogging so seriously that I stopped having fun. However, I've decided that I do love my blog and I want it to look like it!

Soo...

My sister from another mister, best friend, & partner in crime Shannon LeDuke , designed a new logo and updated a few things for my little ol' blog.

Shan and I met five years ago at a halloween party in high school, bonded over a love of reading, indie music and the Olsen twins and have been attached at the hip ever since.

When we were just little babies! 

Shannon has quite an impressive resume, including (but not limited to) screenwriting, blogging and some internships in Cannes! She is an incredible friend, fabulous mother and talented writer. Skip on over to The Art of Being an Intern, and check it out for yourself! 

Thank you so so much S, I love ya! 

Girls

I'm probably the 1 millionth person to gush on about HBO's "Girls" but I just can't help it!

The writing is witty, the actors are phenomenal and the fashion is inspiring. It is raunchy and a little x-rated (lots of foul language/nudity), but if you like Sex & the City, or Breaking Bad, or Shameless then you know what you're in for.

AND I have some serious crushes on a few of the stars!

Lena Dunham created, directed, writes, co-executive produces and stars in the show, and I thought I was busy.

Not only does Jemima Kirke star as "Jessa" in the show, but she's a pretty accomplished artist as well. Oh, and she's gorgeous and hilarious and I like to try and channel her character whenever I feel overwhelmed and want it to seem like nothing bothers me... Which is pretty frequently.  

If you have HBO, you can catch "Girls" on Sundays at 9pm eastern time. If not, plan a "Girls Night" (see what I did there?) with someone who DOES have it and watch it together! 

Or watch it at your bosses house while their kiddos are napping like me! 

The Green One

I've been seeing a lot of blog posts, articles and advertisements about "Juicing" (The process of extracting juice from plant tissues such as fruit or veggies) and have been wanting to try some of the green, orange and red juices I've heard about.

I planned to just up and buy a juicer, but once I realized that a good one goes for $150+, I figured I would pop on over to my closest health store and give one a go before I really committed.

I swung by Native Sun this morning and took a gander at their selection. My first instinct was to order one of the all fruit juices, but decided that I wanted to go big or go home and got "The Green One" (Cucumber, Kale, Broccoli, and Apples) then waited patiently as the beanie wearing girl behind the counter made my drink.

I took my first sip and wasn't sure how I felt...

Then took another... 

Then I finally decided it wasn't half bad. 

I'll probably try each one of the juices that Native Sun has to offer before I buy a mac-daddy juicer. 

I would definitely recommend you try them too, or if you already juice/have a juicer, what are some killer recipes? 

She wore an...

I don't know if there's any other place in any other part of the world that has balmy, sunny 80 degree weather in the middle of January (Well, maybe Australia, or Southern California or anywhere in the Caribbean). But here in Jacksonville, Florida it has been absolutely GORGEOUS. 

Unfortunately, I was only able to enjoy the gorgeous sun last Saturday for about 3 hours before I had to run off to work.

Instead of lounging around in the sun all day bronzing and burning my skin to a crisp, I've been living vicariously through other people's Facebook posts and doing my best to soak up some rays on my run to the car in between class and work. 

So sad. 

This sudden change of weather has me lusting over a few new bikinis, so, I made a list of my favorites. 

There are countless amazing options and once I finally have the chance to get a little bit of color I plan on living in one or all of these little guys.

First is this one-piece from Nastygal, called "The Blondie" (Obviously, it was made for me). I actually haven't worn a one piece since swim team in 8th grade, but I think this one is to die for. 

I love this little fringe number from Asos. I know that the hippie-fringe-bohemian-chic thing was big last year and whether or not is is again this summer, I'll be rocking it. 

I love love love this bikini from Anthropologie. I think it's the perfect mix of retro and modern. 

Last but not least is this pretty little peach thing from H&M. Plus, it is only $27.90 +tax, so it's a STEAL. 

Hopefully, if you live somewhere not quite as tropical you're staying warm and this hasn't ruined your day of plowing snow and wearing layers upon layers of ski gear. Summer will be here soon enough, lovelies! 

Back from the dead

It's been pretty quiet around here, due to the fact that I spent the majority of last week either sleeping or feeling awful and wishing I was sleeping. My dear, sweet, wonderful Sean took a day off of work to take care of me and did his best to put up with my constant complaining and dramatics. Then, just as I was starting to feel better, he started with the sniffles and sore throat. (What happened to good karma??)

So, since I've been feeling much better, I made my way back into the kitchen, hellbent on whipping something up that would make him feel the same.

I love to cook, but in no way am I a genius with food. I have to follow recipes to the tee or all is lost.

I go through phases when it comes to my cook-crushes.

I love the things that Rosie comes up with, and have gotten some good stuff from Nicole, but most of the dishes I make come from Pinterest. This is actually where I found THE BEST food blog as far as easy recipes and DELICIOUS food are concerned. The Pioneer Woman, (otherwise known as Ree Drummond) is a genius. I adore her BBQ Comfort Meatballs and if you're feeling really naughty, her super simple recipe for "The Bread" tastes like candy.

So, when I needed an awesome recipe for soup I went no further than Dee's site and she definitely did not disappoint.

I went with her Italian Chicken Soup. It was SO easy and SO scrumptious.

(I said before that I rarely deviate from a recipe, and this is true execpt when it comes to laziness. Instead of making my own chicken broth with a huge chicken and 30 minutes worth of boiling, I bought a rotisseire chicken and a box of chicken broth. Sue me.)

My relatively healthier version of Dee's bread. Whole grain loaf and about a 1/4 of the butter. 

If only you could smell this pot of goodness! 

I added some shaved parmesan cheese and a swirl of Sriracha at the end and voila! 

I'm hoping it will last for several days as lunch and an easy left over dinner choice this week! 

{Insert cliche "first day of the rest of your life" quote}

It's here.

The first day of the rest of my life. Or something cheesy like that.

Really though, it's the first day of my last semester of college and it is really bizarre to sit in class and listen to professors talk about other classes they teach and realize I no longer have the opportunity to take them... (Nerdy? Maybe a little.)

Honestly, I am finally ready to be done. Graduate and get on with it.

So, here's to the next few months and hoping I don't crumble under the stress of 3 jobs, 1 internship and 4 classes.

Cheers! 

Target does it again.

I have always loved Target.

We've all heard and seen the memes and honestly, can you really leave target with just one thing?

Vanilla Orchid and Amber scented candle?

Sunglasses, cardigans, throw pillows and adult-sized onesies?

I came for a measly tube of toothpaste and left with a trunk full of wildly unnecessary goodies.

I recently stumbled upon a instagram/pinterest account, "target does it again", that has proven to be a menace to my bank account.  These beautiful, trendy girls go to target and then instagram their favorite finds.

Like these.

And this. 

And then when I saw a post about sneaker wedges I was done for. I've been lusting this pair forever, so when I found out that these studded little beauties could be mine for only $34.99 I raced over and made them mine. 

They make a fabulous addition to my rapidly growing shoe collection and I've worn them almost every day. 

If you're on Instagram, you can follow them at @targetdoesitagain, but remember you and your wallet have been warned! 

Saturday on the water

This week has been a busy one for both Sean and I. He commutes back and forth to his job in DeLand and I was busy between the three different families I nanny for, interning and assisting for Yoanna House and Jacksonville Fashion Week, as well as serving up some wine and craft beers at a little place I work at from time to time around the corner from my parents house, so we were more than ready for a day to ourselves. 

Preferably on the water. 

After a couple cups of coffee, we grabbed a few subs and drove down to Faver-Dykes State Park. For a bargain $5/hour we rented a canoe and spent some time fishing and chatting. The weather was just a little overcast, but beautiful none the less. We were practically alone on the water, save a few other older couples paddling by in kayaks and canoes. 

I kicked back for a bit and let my man do all of the paddling. 

We only caught this one little guy.

I was never much of a fisherwoman before I met Sean, but have gradually come to love it. Probably not as much as he does, (I still enjoy lounging on the beach in a bikini with a cocktail and a great book while he wades out and casts his heart out) but I'm getting there! 

Now we're off to actually eat some seafood (that someone else caught) at a great little place in St.Aug that's been here forever. Fried shrimp, green beans and sweet tea from O'Steen's is about as southern as it gets. 

I hope your weekend is proving to be as laid-back as mine!