Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope your day is filled with LOTS of love and candy!

XOXO

*Pictures are from Valentine's Day two years ago in Thailand! We spent the day in Railay; eating tuna skewers, and, afterwards, watching a Thai musician play American classic rock on the guitar. We are a little (okay a lot!) more low key this year, but I'll be back later with this year's Valentine's pictures!

new ways to sleep

For her next trick, Maggie will show you all how to sleep around a coffee table. Ta-da!

See her other talents here, here and here.

late night date night

Went for late night happy hour to Setsuna with our friends Dina and Jake. It was a little hole in the wall place with some pretty good happy hour prices and sake. Turns out, Saturday night is Japanese karaoke, and we got to witness one of the most enthusiastic patrons perform. Not exactly sure what song it was, but the performance included running around the room AND fist pumps. Amazing. I love stumbling upon things like this. I'm from the Midwest, and I don't recall ever seeing fist pumping Japanese karaoke while eating $4 spicy tuna rolls in any of our local restaurants. Midwest, you don't know what you're missing. We'll be back for.sure.

spicy thai coconut chicken soup

It all started when I went to the store and bought two cans of black beans only to come home and find out we had FIVE cans already in the back of our pantry. I mean, I like black beans, but I don't like them that much. It became clear that we needed to have a pantry month, so Anders and I set out to use up everything in our pantry before Mexico. Our rule was that we could only buy fresh produce. We turned it into a bit of game, and, while it did make for some interesting dinners (buffalo taco salads anyone?), we were actually really successful with our mission. Putting away groceries no longer makes me cry.

We just got our first issue of Cooking Light magazine, and the feature story was about healthy chicken dinners. So, when we were actually allowed to buy a chicken, we decided to try out this Spicy Thai Soup from the magazine. It was easy to make, with just the right amount of heat and tasted great. My only issue with it is that it doesn't use black beans. kidding..kidding.

Cooking Light's Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 (3-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved lengthwise (we actually left this out)

3 teaspoons sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

3 cups low sodium chicken stock

4 teaspoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 8 ounces)

1/2 cup green onion strips

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and the next 4 ingredients (through lemongrass); cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chile paste; cook 1 minute. Add chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard lemongrass. Top with onions, cilantro and juice. Munch.

Serves four

224 calories for 1 1/3 cup

detox

You know those articles you read about staying fit while on vacation? Um, yeah, I never pay any attention to those. I'm pretty healthy for most of the year just so I can avoid anything resembling broccoli while on vacation. Vacations are reserved for 8am cocktails, big bowls of white pasta and two, okay three, trips to the dessert table (during one meal). It has taken me a few days to get back into the swing of this thing called NOT-vacation, but my carb-filled, sugar-cracked-out body is asking for some health. So, here's to getting back on track...homemade smoothies for breakfast, these protein bars and big veggie salads.

Goodbye margaritas...hello ice water.

panic en la playa, part II

As I mentioned in this post, Widespread Panic celebrated their 25th band-a-versary with a silver themed night. I think almost every single person at the show got into the theme and had some sort of silver on. There were sparkles and wigs and capes and painted faces. Our buddy brought silver paint with him, and we used it as an opportunity to bling-out every new friend we made that night. I honestly feel like you can take a regular night, add a theme to it, and it becomes something special. It must have worked too because the band played their hearts out on this silver night. Is was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

panic en la playa, part I

We're back from Mexico! It was four of the best Widespread Panic shows I've ever seen! The band played absolutely amazing, and with four nights of shows, we got to hear all of our favorite songs. We also had the best time hanging around our all-inclusive hotel eating, drinking and laying by the pool. There really is something to be said for all-inclusive resorts...food and drinks at any time of day, and you don't have to carry around cash because it's all paid for! We went into the small fishing town of Puerto Morelos one day, but, mostly, we stayed at our resort. With the concerts starting so late at night, it threw off our schedule a bit and sleeping in was a definite must on the agenda. We had a great time, though, and it's really hard to believe it's already over! Can we do it all over, please?!?! Here are a few of my favorite shots. I'll be back tomorrow with some more, or, if you have a facebook page, you can go here to see them all.