Once upon a time...

Once upon a time...

I lived in South Mississippi.

And we wore shorts and flipflops in the winter.

I miss those days.

For those of you who have it much, much worse right now...and my heart goes out to you.

Less than one month until Spring!!!!

BRING. IT. ON.

Crawfish & Corn Bisque

My friend Tony is HOT.

He's also tall.

And Southern.

And a HUGE help in the kitchen.

You totally saw that coming.

Don't mind me. It's the end of the day and I'm kind of struggling with productivity right now because THIS is how I feel:

I don't really hate everyone. Just pants right now, I think. But really. Can we all agree that this crazy-cloudy-cold weather calls for stretchy pants and oversized shirts only?

I just re-read that sentence and WOW I sound like a slob. But Christmas is over, a new year is here, and I'm MORE THAN READY for my 75-99 -degree weather. Bring on SUMMER and sunshine!

Anyway. Back to Tony the Kitchen Boyfriend.

Was that weird? Let's just go with it.

One of the best things about this cold weather is the requirement to stay in and eat soup at night. I've made more soup over the past two months than I have all year. LOVE.

I've only made this twice this year, because crawfish is out of season and therefore $$$$$$ --- but when I DO make it, it lasts us for at least 2 meals (with seconds).

This is actually my sister's recipe - she made this years ago for an event at our church and I VIVIDLY remember one of the older men of the church telling her: "Honey, if you make this for any man, he will be yours for LIFE."

She got married in April last year. I guess it worked.

The other key ingredient in this dish? Behoooooollld the Crab Boil:

You can get this in either liquid or powder form - either works fine. I prefer the liquid but bought the powder when my grocery store was out. But be careful -- just a little bit of this stuff goes a LONNNG way. You won't be sorry! :)

And BONUS: If your crawfish is already thawed, this comes together EASILY in under 15 minutes.

I don't have a pretty picture of this dish because we always INHALE it. But trust me on this, okay? 

This dish reminds me of home. AAAAAAND it's going to knock your socks off. JUST YOU WAIT.

Jenn's Crawfish & Corn Bisque

Serves 4-6

What you'll need:

1 lb of frozen crawfish tails, thawed (or fresh, if they are in season)

1 stick of butter (I use 3/4 stick)

2 cans of cream of potato soup

2 cans creamed corn

1 pint half and half

1 tbsp of chopped onion

1 tbsp of chopped green onions

1 capful of liquid Crab Boil (or 1 tsp of powder form)

Tony's, to taste

What you'll do:

Saute' onion and green onion in butter until clear. Add crawfish tails and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add cream corn, potato soup, half and half, and crab boil, stirring after each addition. Sprinkle with Tony's, then simmer for about 20 minutes.

12 weeks = CHECK.

Folks, we made it.

We've reached the 12-week mark and our 5am boot camp IS OVER!

No more 4:12 a.m. alarms!

No more 4:20 a.m. alarms!

I can SLEEP until 6:30 a.m. again!

...or 7:20, but who's counting?

We made it. It's over and YAY-YEAH!

I'll admit, it was tough. Especially around the 7- to 8-week mark, when we had a good bit behind us but the end was still so far away. But I'm so glad we did this. Really, I am. I feel so much better than I did when we started this thing on Labor Day. Like I've mentioned before, I've done this program a couple of times in the past, and each time it's been a huge challenge both mentally and physically. But to be honest? I've never regretted it.

Even the mornings that were the hardest to get up and go -- the mornings our whole team knew would be some of the hardest -- after the workout was over, I was so glad I had this opportunity. It's literally one of the hardest things I've ever done physically (they may not say much about my sense of adventure ;) ), but I'm so thankful we made it!!!!!

I really do wish I had some hard-core pictures of us working it out over the past few weeks - but we leave everything behind once we hit the field (read: no phones). Plus, pictures would not have been pretty anyway --- I don't know anyone who looks exactly radiant at 5 a.m. ;)

So here's a funny picture of a really, really excited cat instead!

Ok so here's some happenings as of LATELY....


one. Hubs and I are on a soup kick - so we're basically experimenting with every soup known to man thanks to this freakishly cold weather. Our top pick so far?

The Pioneer Woman's Potato Soup!

So. Much. Goodness.

I used turkey bacon and cut the recipe in half for the two of us and WOW. I'll take this with a side of Texas Toast any day!

two. Who's listening to Christmas music already? The way I see it, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is MUCH shorter than usual this year, so I say BRING IT.

Although Hubs cannot even fathom putting up the tree until AFTER Thanksgiving (understandable...I guess). So meanwhile I'll just keep listening to Michael Buble on repeat.

ALLLLLL. DAAAAYYY. LONNNNNGG.


three. Nutella Hot Chocolate happened in my kitchen a few nights ago.

I'm just gonna let that sink in for a minute.

Oh yeah, it's a thing. Check out the recipe on the "Beautiful Mess" blog :)

Topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings from THIS DELICIOUSNESS???

It was a wonderful night. Promise me you'll try it sometime, okay? Just say yes :)


four. OH! And HERE'S a funny story:::::: We're going to run a 12k on Saturday!

The last time I was sprinting running I almost threw up. True story.

The sad thing is, I never caught up to the taco truck :(

KIDDING.

Maybe.


five. Please tell me you've seen THIS VIDEO of Jimmy Fallon lip synch battling with JGL and Stephen Merchant. PUH-LEASE. If not, DOOWITNOW.

Aaaaaaaand THIS ONE of Jimmy and Kevin Hart riding a roller coaster. I giggled A LOT.


That's all for now, people! Happy Wednesday!!!!!

January WHAT?!

It's 3:05 p.m., and I JUST realized that today is January 30.

What the what?! I thought for SURE it was the 28th, and now you're telling me I only have ONE DAY left of January?

It's slipping through my fingers, man -- just slipping away!

UPDATE: It's now 5:45 p.m. due to a random influx of BUSY here at work. I'm working late tonight doing social media for one of our live shows and have a little over an hour to kill before it starts.

Whoo! This week has been a doozy!

Monday began fairly normally, but somehow ended with a weather forecast of SNOW by Tuesday morning.

I'll spare you the photo shoot, but here's JUST ONE of the snow gathering by the lake in front of our apartment:

Purrrrrrty :)

This was the SECOND time I've experienced snow since moving to The City, and I'll admit it wasn't that bad.

Although my love for sunshine and 70 degree weather still stands -- and grows stronger with each and every day!!!!!

My office was closed on Tuesday and part of Wednesday, so the past day and a half have been BUSY. But honestly? I don't mind it.

Earlier today I was feeling a little gloomy (lack of sunshine and warm weather, anyone?), but then my co-worker Christy came to the rescue and proclaimed that we needed Greek food in our lives!

I think it was just what the doctor ordered, because today just...FELT better after that. Thank the Lord for Christy and Greek food. 

...And for the Starbucks next door to said Greek place =)

Aaaahh the Starbucks. I can't remember the last time I had it.

Really, I can't remember the last time I had a full cup of coffee.

But oh, the bliss.

I NEED IT IN MY LIFE!

It definitely made the day better, by far. I felt like THIS all day:

Highly entertaining, I assure you.

HIGHLY.

Oh, Starbucks. I must remember you more often.


Apart from the random snow event, the past week or so has been fairly uneventful. Although The Mister did score a great deal on the ENTIRE SERIES of "Lost," and thus has me HOOKED.

HOOKED, I'm telling you. For the past two weeks we've been knocking out episode after episode. We're almost done with Season 2 and it's SO INTENSE.

I scream/cry/shout/{insert emotion here} with EVERY episode.

My goodness, I'm pretty sure every scene with Jin and Sun makes me ugly cry for an hour. But I love it.

Okay folks, I'm off! Work is calling me! =)

The First Thing I Cooked as a Mrs.

Oh boy, peoples. Winter has arrived.

Over the span of approximately two weeks we experienced some lovely Fall weather, only to grab our jackets and scarves to brave the sudden onset of winter!

It's like they say -- If you don't like the weather in Mississippi, it's okay - it'll change in a few days anyway.

But you know what? I like it. I don't mind it one bit.

It's given me reason to bust out my warm comfy clothes (hellooooo stretchy pants and hoodies!), my favorite soup and comfort food recipes, and Bing Crosby's version of "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas."

I broke my own rule this year!!! I normally avoid Christmas music until Thanksgiving but this year --- nah! I'm taking a walk on the WILD SIDE and listening two weeks BEFORE!


Oooh....


But with the weather changing and whatnot, I thought this would be as good a time as any to tell you the story of the first thing I cooked for my husband after returning from our honeymoon:

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Not exactly what we planned, seeing as how we returned to 80-degree heat and boxes upon boxes of belongings to move into our place, but it worked.

You see, after a lovely honeymoon of things like this:

this...

and THIS...

...We both woke up in the wee hours of the morning feeling some kind of sick. The Plane Crud, as I have oh-so-lovingly deemed it.

"Juuuuicce!!!!"  The Mister said, unable to breathe through his nose and coughing up a storm. "I just need some juice!"

So off we went, at roughly 5:30 a.m., to the nearby grocery store to buy juice, popsicles, and medicine.

...only to find out it didn't open until 6 a.m.

But could we wait that long? Nope. When you're sick, you just need juice. PRONTO.

So we hit the road again, a few miles down the road to the WalMarts, which, mind you, is slightly creepy at that hour of the morning.

That's when it hit me. Somewhere in the depths of my messy box of recipe cards, I remembered there was a recipe for homemade chicken soup guaranteed to make any sick person feel better - the chef himself said so!

So about 45 minutes later, we loaded our car with WAY MORE bags than we planned (crazy WalMart curse!), and a few bottles of juice that we cracked open on the way home.

Sure, it would have been faster and cheaper to go with a can, but the over-achiever in me was NOT about to let the first thing I cooked for my new husband be a can of soup. That's for amateurs, right?

It's probably for people like us that day that were sick and just really needed soup -- and maybe I should have, but I'm not ashamed! Because truth be told, we both felt better by that evening.

And the soup was delicious. No joke.

So now that you know my little story, and now that you're feeling the first chills of the winter season, I present to you The Recipe...this homemade chicken soup sure to cure any cold you may have.

Or at least make it easier to deal with, anyway.

Even if you're not sick, it's definitely good for your tummy on cold nights. Don't be afraid to add more veggies than what the recipe calls for -- I usually eyeball it anyway. The more veggies, the better!

Just give yourself a good hour to prep/cook it, though. It's totally worth it.

...and don't forget the juice =)

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Serves 2-4 sick folks

Total time: About 1 hour
View original recipe here

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on size) - cooked and cut into chunks

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, plus one extra cup

3 red potatoes

1 cup milk (skim is best, but whole will work fine)

1/2 tbsp of EVOO

1-2 tbsp of garlic powder, depending on taste

2 whole carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

chopped onion or onion powder, to taste (I used about 1.5 tbsp)

1 tbsp basil

2 tbsp oregano

dash of cayenne pepper, to taste

dash of Tony's, to taste

Slice potatoes and place in a small sauce pan with chicken broth. Cook until potatoes are soft enough to mash, then remove potatoes. Stir and slightly mash potatoes in a bowl with milk (I left mine slightly chunky) and set aside.

In a separate, larger pot, place oil, garlic, onion, veggies, basil and oregano and cook until onions are translucent. If using onion powder, cook until celery and carrots are slightly soft. Add leftover chicken broth (from potatoes), stirring until thoroughly mixed. Let this mixture come to a boil, then add your milk and potato mixture. This will make the soup much thicker; if you prefer a more brothy soup, add the extra cup of broth. Let soup cook for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is evenly mixed and combined.

Add a dash of cayenne pepper and a little Tony's (helps with a stuffy nose!) and serve hot. Serve alone or over brown rice.

Snow Day!

Y'all --- It's SNOWING!

I woke up earllllly this morning to find out training was CANCELLED due to bad weather and saw a thin white layer of snow on my porch. I was giddy when I saw the flurries -- but a mere three hours later there were CHUNKS of snow falling from the sky!!!! "Giddy" turned into "ecstatic" and I turned into a little kid again and ran out in my PJs with a hat and gloves!

It's been SO LONG since I've seen a snow like this! Mississippi doesn't get a "good" snow very often -- growing up in the very south part of the state, we usually only saw flurries every now and then. But even when the flurries come it's cause for excitement and celebration!

Since moving to the central part of the state I've had yet to experience a real snow -- UNTIL NOW!!! I've felt like a little kid all morning...scurrying around my apartment complex taking pictures and building snowmen!

I'll be back later with a "real" post -- but I'll leave you with these pictures! Hope wherever you are today, whatever you're doing, wherever you go...you have a happy day filled with wonder and joy! :)

And my favorite...