Craving an adventure . . .

May 30, 2013

The last couple of weeks of work have been kicking my butt, so I think it's about time for a road trip.
I'm blessed to work for a surgeon who values quality family time, so when he is off work I'm off work as well.
Josh and I try to take full advantage of all possible vacation time.
My mom bought us this print from Katie Daisy's Etsy shop, link here
As of today I'm off work until Tuesday, so we're headin' east!
We fell in love with the Smokey Mountains, Asheville, and the Sweetwater Brewery.
On our drive home from Asheville, we happened upon quite an enchanting river (which we later googled to find out was the Nantahala River, well known for its white water rapids)
We've been dying to return as soon as we left.
We are hoping to return to Sweetwater and visit the Nantahala to do some fly fishing and kayaking!
Follow me on instagram @em_kerrigan to keep up with our travels!

Our love affair with kale

May 29, 2013

Along with the rest of America, we have fallen in love with kale.
I snapped this pic last fall at Elizabeth's garden (how cute is that, seriously)
I've never been one to love veggies (until I met Josh and he cultured me) but I'm a sucker for anything that can be made into chips.
I've gotta have the crunch factor.
We often sauté kale, but my favorite way to cook it by far is by making kale chips (they just don't turn into the most photogenic side dish)
They made a great side with our shrimp and grits last week.
The tastiest (and easiest) way to make kale chips is by covering some shredded kale with Annie's Light Goddess dressing first then baking them at about 350 degrees until crispy.
. . . some other kale recipes we've tackled:
Sautéed lemon garlic chicken, kale, and squash covered with parmesan and chopped almonds then baked
. . . and of course the spicy chicken and kale stuffed sweet potatoes
If you have any other kale recipes I'd love to know them! 

Weekend Smeekend

May 28, 2013

This past weekend was my first (and only) weekend on call for 2013. 
In a weird way, I kinda of appreciated the fact that I was on call because it required us to stay in Dallas, and forced me to relax.
Having to be ready to leave for surgery at a moments notice keeps me on edge (even washing my hair is stressful) but I survived.
We still managed to fill the weekend with lots of quality friend time and great food, duh. 
Saturday our apartment complex had a local food truck stop by!
We take full advantage of our free food days around here.
So far our apartment has given us free Chick-fil-a, Starbucks, Red Mango, Salata, and Potbelly
#spoiled
How sweet was this little cutie who passed out fruit sorbets?
Getting to sleep in and enjoy coffee from our lawn chairs for three whole days was such a blessing.
Charlie appreciated it too, apparently. 
I got to spend Saturday night visiting with Allie on her drive back to Louisiana from Jackson Hole.
Charlie and I had a fantastic weekend.
. . . as did the other couple.
Memorial Day in Dallas marks the end of pleasant weather and the beginning of the suckiness.
Which called for a strawberry lemonade GoodPop.
I'm pretty addicted to these.
Have y'all had them?
All natural ingredients, made in Austin, and only around 50 calories! 
I hope y'all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as well.
We are so thankful for our past and presents troops who allow us to enjoy life in America.
Now, I'm off to tackle my two day work week, which is gonna be quite the challenge.

Reasons I'm a terrible blogger

May 24, 2013

1) I don't have adorable kids. 
Just Charles. 
Therefore I fall into the category of creepy dog blogger.
(CharlesKim Noah, duh)

2) I don't take selfies
Except this one.
Only selfie ever (only because I was proud at how good my curls came out)
3) I'm not fashionable
. . . but I did steal some cute teal scrubs from the hospital once.
4) I'm only funny like twice a month
. . . but Josh is hilarious like two bazillion times a day, so I guess I should start using him to my advantage when it comes to blogging
5) I bought a "how to take better pictures with your dslr" book and never read it.
Therefore you get to see lots of great quality iPhone pics.
. . . like this one of the boys munchin on leftover wedding food last weekend.
(But I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do take pretty great instagrams, follow me @em_kerrigan!)

One day cute kiddos will appear around our home, and maybe at that point I'll have the ability to take better pictures of them (and also have more time away from work to spend blogging)
. . . one can dream
Until then, you can deal with posts about food, Charlie, and things like Jared's collection of garden gnomes
Happy Friday guys!

Rug Crisis: Solved

May 22, 2013

Remember my rug dilemma?
How, once upon a time I fell in love with this rug at Whiskey Cake with no tag or birthplace?
I searched high and low (thanks to a LOT of help from you kind folks on here, Instagram, and Facebook) and unfortunately my little particular little self found nothing. 
The closest I came to The Great White Buffalo, as I so affectionally called the one above, was this one pictured below.
I stopped by a local rug shop after seeing huge sale signs in the window and showed them the Whiskey Cake rug.
They then introduced me to this little buddy, that I instantly fell in love with.
Until I heard the price.
The "sale" price.
I'm really dramatizing this, aren't I?
$1900.
Hey, it was a vintage rug from Turkey and they were giving me a $600 discount.
How kind of them. 
I do still love it, and I think about it often.
I just don't love it enough to pay the price of a small child.
Small children are expensive :)
Instead, thanks to Lauren (@ LaurenFromTexas.com, who has a pretty fantastic blog, btw) I found this bad boy at Ikea.
Conveniently, it matched perfectly, we had a $50 Ikea gift card, and the closest Ikea is less than a mile from our apartment. 
Now, it may not be THE perfect rug, but it will sure be a great starter rug to see how it withstands the wrath of Chuck and Josh.
Prices per size range from $120-$279 and you can find it here!
Again, thanks for all your help, I don't know what I'd do without the wonderful friends I've made through the blog world :)

Tunesday: Eddie Vedder & Corin Tucker "Golden State"

May 20, 2013

Once upon a not so sober night, Josh made me record this song with him.
Hopefully, that version will never make it onto the internet.
Your ears would explode.
This song has had us both hooked for a few years though, I hope y'all appreciate it as much as we do!

Friday's Letters

May 17, 2013

Dear Friday's Letters,
Sorry I've neglected you again.
I'm starting to realize that being a PA and a blogger don't mix.

Dear magical Icelandic cough drops,
I'm so thankful I brought you back to America with me.
Even though I have no clue what is in you, you have saved my throat so much pain this week.
Dear Josh,
Why do you have to be so darn good to me?
Dear The Office Season Finale,
No tv show has ever made me cry as hard as I did last night.
I love you more than Jim loves Pam and I'm gonna miss you more than they will miss Scranton.
. . . but Austin is pretty cool.

 Dear yet another really photogenic homemade dinner,
Thanks for being so pretty yet so tasty.
 Dear Chunks,
Your tan lines are really uneven.
You'll never find a woman looking like that.
Dear weekend, 
Thank heavens you are here.
Let's last a little longer this time.

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A Pinterest Success Story

May 15, 2013

In our household, it is rare that Pinterest recipes turn out as good as they look in photos.
I finally found an exception (and have cooked it three times since then)
Chicken and kale stuffed sweet potatoes
The original recipe was found here, but I tweeked it a little bit here and there by adding kale and jalapeños instead of chipotle peppers and spinach.
Also, pictured is cilantro lime quinoa, which is a staple in our home.

2 sweet potatoes
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cups olive oil
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 chopped jalapeño peppers, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper
2 (half a 10oz bag) cups kale
5 ounces monterey jack cheese
chopped cilantro
greek yogurt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash your sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until fork tender. Place your chicken in a baking dish and rub with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and peper. Place in the oven with the potatoes and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool and shred the chicken with a fork or your hands. When the sweet potatoes are done cut in half and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
In a medium size bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, jalapeno peppers, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat and wilt the kale. Toss the kale and shredded chicken together, set aside and keep warm.
Turn the oven up to 400 degrees. Scrape the sweet potato out of the peel, leaving a medium size layer of flesh inside with the peel so that it can stand up on its own and place in a baking dish. Brush the skins with with a little of the sauce and bake for 5-10 muntes until nice and crisp. While the skins bake mix the kale, chicken, and sauce together. Remove skins from the oven and stuff with the chicken mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the skins are hot and crisp. Serve with fresh chopped cilantro and greek yogurt if desired.


Any Pinterest recipes you are currently gushing over?
You can follow me here on Pinterest!

Our Wedding Feature

May 14, 2013

Last Friday I was thrilled to find out that our wedding was featured on the Paper Moon Weddings website!
Go here to check it out!

Monday's Letters

May 13, 2013

Dear Friday's Letters, 
Sorry for neglecting you.
Don't be mad. 

Dear Dallas,
It's not hard to find something fun to do throughout the week, but it's a major plus when it involves lots and lots of food.
Dear Whole Foods,
Your Iron Fork event was awesome, but unfortunately all the local restaurant samples weren't all thaaaat instagrammable (which is no bueno for a blogger who has a food & instagram addiction)
All the cheese and Empire Bakery bread made up for it though.
Dear two dudes in a laundry basket,
HAH.
Dear Walking Dead,
So maybe we jumped on the train a little late, but I'm afraid to say we're hooked.
Now we just need Season 3 and apparently it doesn't exist anywhere that our skinny wallets can handle.
Aka, I'm not buying it on iTunes. 

Dear Josh,
Thanks for my crash course in contrasting flavors last week.
Mango + cayenne and sea salt, 
You win.
Honorable mention: Watermelon + pepper, chocolate ice cream + sage and olive oil, and vanilla ice cream + chili powder and cinnamon. 
Dear Mother's Day,
I'm glad you exist.
Moms deserve a lot more than one day of recognition a year though.
I'm glad we were able to celebrate with this soon to be mama as well!
How was your weekend guys?

Speak Now Link-Up {and giveaway!}

May 8, 2013

I'm so excited to join in with Ellie Coburn and her wonderful mission, Speak Now.
She has gathered tons of awesome bloggers together to host a fun link-up and a surprise giveaway!
Check out the post below to hear more about her great cause and see how you can enter to win some incredible prizes!
Ellie Coburn // elliecoburn.com | Ashly Griffith // After nine to five |  Keri-Anne Pink // Gingerlilytea | Franchesca Cox // So this is love | Kristine Foley // The Foley Fam | Lena Baird // Lena B. Actually | Emily // Dashboard Diaries | Cristine // Life with a side of CoffeeShane Prather // Whispering Sweet Nothings | Shantel Cannon // Our Funny Little Family | Heather // Finding Beauty in the Ordinary | Ady // When in Doubt, just add Glitter | Beth Lewis // Through the eyes of the Mrs. | Brooklyn // This Little BlondeCassie Yielding // Live. Laugh. Love | Tamika Rybinski // No Time for Tea | Torie Jochims // Lattes and Love | Laurel Martinez // Heart of Wanderer  | Laura Williams // Lulu's Little Wonderland | Kayli // Truly LovelyAli Mills // Our Happily Ever After |  Jean // What Jean LikesHannah Stocker // All of My days with you | Jen Hallquist // Living a Listful LifeJill Wilhelm // I know the plans I have for you
  Happy May Speak Now friends, both new and old! 
Today is an exciting day for Speak Now
Today, some fabulous ladies have teamed up to link up and tell you that you're beautiful. 
Speak Now is all about beauty from the inside out.
We believe in your dreams + passions. We believe in you. 
Today we want you to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you're beautiful.
Identify what makes you feel beautiful. Make this feeling an obligation in your life.
Today we are here to remind you that you can do anything.
Today and everyday, you are lovely, you are perfect, you are bold, you are unique.
Today and every day- you are beautiful!
Speak Now is a women empowerment organization 
built around the philosophy that self-love, self-respect, + self-confidence will make you beautiful.
We empower. We create. We educate. We inspire.
Link your blog up to connect with other bloggers who believe in the empowerment of women and help us spread awareness about the importance of women empowerment!
Once you link up, no community experience would be complete without a little welcome gift!  We are giving away a $100 visa gift card and any piece of beautiful jewelry from the Speak Now shop!
So link up, enter our giveaway, take a look at some of our blogging friends, and share our mission with your friends, family, and fellow blogging community. 
We are an online community designed to believe in you.
Today, we want you to join our movement. 
_________________________________________________________________________________
HOW TO ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY 
&  win a $100 visa gift card and a custom jewelry piece from our jewelry store
MANDATORY TO ENTER:
****MUST FOLLOW SPEAK NOW ON EITHER FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR INSTAGRAM TO ENTER*****
*****MUST LINK UP BLOG BELOW TO ENTER*****
 ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: 
+1 for each // Follow Speak Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - COMMENT FOR EACH
+ 1 for each // Follow via GFC, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for any of our co-hosts - COMMENT FOR EACH
+ 1 // Share Speak Now's I AM BEAUTIFUL May link up with your FB or twitter friends - COMMENT FOR EACH
+1 // Spreading the word via status/tweet/instagram post- COMMENT FOR EACH
COMMENTS ARE OFF ON ALL WEBSITES CO-HOSTING THE EVENT SO YOU CAN HEAD ON OVER TO SPEAK NOW'S WEBSITE AND COMMENT TO ENTER! 
WWW.WESPEAKNOW.ORG }
A very special thanks to  Aunie of Aunie Sauce, Casey Wiegand,  Keri-Anne Pink, and Salena Lee  for sponsoring our link up!

Tunesday: Vampire Weekend "Diane Young"

This song + their new album streaming free on iTunes = I'm one happy camper
Can't get enough of these boys.

Now they just need to come back to Dallas.
Fingers crossed.

May the fourth be with you

May 7, 2013

Last Saturday Josh and I celebrated our engagement anniversary.
It wasn't a hard date to forget.
It was National Star Wars Day.
May the Fourth {be with you}
Neither of us are huge Star Wars fans, but we gladly took any excuse to celebrate. 
We spent Saturday night eating dinner at Fireside Pies, the same place we ate at the night we got engaged.
Sunday we went to our first Texas Rangers game together.
It turned out to be a perfect day to enjoy a baseball game.
Weather in the 70s, hotdogs, and a win!
I've been blessed to enjoy nearly six months of married life with this kiddo, can't wait to see what the future has in store for us! 

Friday's Letters

May 3, 2013

Why did it take me so long to finally make it down to Bishop Arts District to try you out?
Purely magical.
. . . and the details! 
The wooden pie boxes and the perfect blue string and the stamped napkins!
Still in awe.
Need more pie.
Dear Josh,
Coming home yet again to a completely clean house and dinner ready within seconds of walking in the door makes me wanna punch you in the face with a big 'ol kiss.
I'm THE luckiest girl in the world to have been able to marry you.

Dear best road trip dog ever,
You crack me up.
There's no way sleeping with your nose squished between the seat and the console is comfortable, weirdo.

Dear Lumineers,
I'm kinda proud of you for taking a stand against cell phones at concerts.
That sounded a little dramatic.
Lately, at many of their shows the lead singer has been kindly asking kiddos to put down their cell phones and be "present in the moment."
While I am very guilty of trying to capture an excessive amount of videos and pictures at concerts, I also feel that it keeps you from fully taking in the moment.
. . . and how often do you really look back at those pictures/videos?
 I think it is a bold and wise move on their part.

Dear Sprinkles,
Yikes.
Sorta kinda pumped all this magic is coming to Dallas in June!

Dear crawfish date night,
You were just what the doctor ordered after the world's longest, most grueling work day.
Crawfish season needs to be year round.
P.S.
Can you believe we found crawfish for $5/lb in Texas?
Still shocked.
Dear USPS,
You are pretty much THE worst.
I ordered my first scrub cap ever a month ago (which I thought was a huge step to adulthood in the surgical world), and you mysteriously lost it in the mail between the post office and my apartment.
Insert huge shout out to KimKaps.com for sending me a new one (for free!) 
Dear Ellie,
Happy 19th birthday to my beautiful, smart, entertaining sister.
It's hard to believe your first year at Tulane is almost over.
You are one of the bravest people I know, just don't be too brave this weekend in New Orleans :)
I love you!
Dear little 'ol fam,
I love you and our late night photo sessions.
Happy weekend guys!
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