Highlights From The Weekend

1. I went a little nuts on the C. Wonder site. They were having a major sale – an extra 50% off already reduced prices. I wanted one of everything and originally had 19 items in my cart. Yes, 19. I somehow narrowed it down to 6. I felt so rational.

Clockwise from top left: XO decorative plate, Resin hammered bangle, cutlery glass plate, Round lacquer box, Calf hair skinny belt, Cord winder

2. I also got to hang out with my favorite blend, Katie! I went to a wedding as her brother’s date. I absolutely love her family! Such great people. Now that Katie has graduated from Clemson, I’m hoping she’ll move down to CHS so I can adopt her as my little sister. ;)

Katie’s fancy instagram of us:

Do you use instagram? Follow me: @christinaorso

3. I crammed lots of veggies into my tummy from Week 4 of my CSA with Gruber Farm.

In this week’s box:

• kale
• lettuce
• strawberries
• red potatoes
• zucchini
• squash
• sweet onions
• cabbage (hidden)

I used the cabbage to make a yummy recipe from Skinny Taste. Check out her Stuffed Cabbage Casserole. It’s great!

(source)

4. Lastly, I’m a little obsessed with this song. Enjoy!

Have a great week!

The Friday Five

1. What I’ m Reading: Though I’m in the middle of Fifty Shades Freed, I really needed a break. I loved the second book of the trilogy, but now it’s just so repetitive of…well, you know what. I switched it up to something more serious.

Those Who Save Us book description:  For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.
Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother's life.
Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother/daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

2. What I’ m Listening to: This song is fun!

3. What I’ m Wearing: My Grammy from Massachusetts arrived Wednesday. I’m so excited to spend time with her over the next 6 weeks. She even brought me an early, early birthday present: a Cape Cod Screwball bracelet.

I’ve been wanting one for a while to match the necklace that I got for my 21st birthday.

4. What I’ m Eating: I lose all self control when a bag of these are in front of me:

I like to eat 1/2 of a Mr. Goodbar and 1/2 of a Krackel at the same time. Weird, I know

5. What I’ m Doing This Weekend: Bring on wedding season!

• Friday rehearsal dinner for a wedding I’m going to with my friend Andrew and his sister, Katie, who is my blend!!
• Saturday wedding  and reception at the Charleston Yacht Club
• Beach time for Mother’s Day with Grammy and Auntie Kelly
• Hopefully a pedicure somewhere in there!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. These pictures I took of King Street and the Arthur Ravenel bridge. How pretty is my city?

Those were taken on my phone!

2. I found a picture of baby Boding in his car!! Look at the little China man!

3. Albino strawberries!! They’re a cross between a pineapple and a strawberry and appropriately named pineberries.

Check out this article for more information.

4. Love a good pie chart. Especially this one:

5. Drinking milk in a wine glass feels fancy. Especially for breakfast!

6. I finally tried the chocolate chip cookie from Chick-fil-A. It’s good, but not as good as I had hoped. It’s huge but more on the crispy side. This girl strongly prefers a soft, chewy cookie. I’ll be sticking with the IceDream cones.

7. The Roti Rolls truck rolled down the street near my work. My coworker Kat, who was just as ecstatic as I was, went with me for lunch. I had the pickled shrimp roti roll. It was so fresh! I wonder if they’d cater my birthday party.

Seriously, you guys need to follow that truck.

xo!

Sunday Funday: Brittlebank Brunch in the Park

I’m aware it’s Tuesday. I’m a couple days late. Things were happening! No time to blog. Who am I?

Sunday was an afternoon of sunshine, friends, music, and food trucks at the  Brunch on Brittlebank Park. 

Our first snack was gator bites with a honey chipotle sauce from Carolina Creole Food Truck. Mmm.

We later stopped by the Roti Rolls food truck.

I took way, WAY too long to try their food. It is damn good. No wonder they won the CCP award for Best Food Truck.

Recognize that plaque?

Boding got the Korean tacos with braised beef, citrus slaw, kimchi, and rice. Amazing.

I had the Mother Clucker, an incredibly delicious roll full of Korean BBQ grilled chicken, arugula, and kimchi topped with pimento cheese.

Woah. Unbelievable flavors. I’d eat one every day and be a happy girl. Roti Rolls, can you PLEASE roll up to my house? Every evening around 7pm? Please and thank you.

After the brunch party, we stopped by The Macintosh (favorite bar!) for some more fun. I love this bar, because the bartenders really get to know you and remember what you like in a drink. They’re all so creative, and when they have time, they’ll make you a unique cocktail! Jackson made me a spicy drink  with tequila, lime juice, mint and habañero St. Germain.

I also had the Gin Gin Juice (gin, grapefruit, mint ginger syrup). Both were excellent.

You know what else Jackson happily gave me? A plate of their homemade pickles. Get some if you go! They won’t look at you weird, I promise. Just tell them Christina told you to ask.

On Monday morning, Boding alerted me to a Post & Courier article on the brunch in the park. At one point a P&C writer came over to our group to talk about the event. 

I almost died. Did they really quote that?

The best part is that I realized I may or may not be the only person in America that uses the term “babes” for men. I had no idea most people considered babes to be females! I like men, darn it! Oh well. It made everyone laugh.

Hope you’re all having a great week!

Sunday Thoughts

this.

(via)

Enjoy your day!!

The Friday Five

1. Where I’m Running: I ran on Daniel Island again last night. It’s becoming my favorite place to run. Every part of the island is beautiful. Check out the scenery:

A tree house!

2. What I’m Eating: During the Volunteer Fair at Blackbaud, King of Pops was selling his delicious popsicles. While a lot of the flavors are fruit-based, I almost always opt for the dessert pop. Today’s pick was Banana bread. The popsicle had a slice of homemade banana bread running through it. It was perfect. I ate all around the edges until I was left with only banana bread.

3. What I’m Bookmarking: I found this slideshow of lego sculptures of fast food items. Of course my favorite was the Chick-fil-A sandwich!

Now I want some legos.

4. What I’m Listening to: I will never tire of Sia! And David Guetta makes every song a little bit more fun.

5. Memes (gifs? who cares?) I’m Loving:

WHEN I’M DRIVING AND MY FAVORITE SONG COMES ON THE RADIO:

Boding made a gif out of Lucy and me hula hooping!!

Yep, it’s still one of my favorite hobbies.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Thoughts on Thursday

1. I almost always prefer red wine, but when I picked up some cod  from Trader Joe’s, I opted for a bottle of white. Per the recommendation of a staff member, I went home with this white blend.

I love the name, I love the label, I love the taste. Oh, and the price? $4.99. Not a joke. I drank a glass while cooking and then used it to make a sauce for my fish.

2. While at Trader Joe’s, I got chummy with my 2 favorite bag boys. They love that I’m incapable of making a grocery list and end up in the store 3x a week. Hey, it’s on the way home from Pure Barre, so I’m not wasting gas. As they were ringing me up, I asked about their favor products. They brought over a jar of Cookie Butter, opened it, and handed me a fork right there at the register. I love them.

Oh, and this butter? It’s candy in a jar. Absolutely terrible for you, but delicious.

3. Geek Sugar posted a slideshow on Geeky Wedding Venues. The library was one of them.

Picture it. I’ll slide down the aisle on one of those awesome book ladders. You’re all invited.

4. One of my favorite bloggers, Holly, just announced that she’s pregnant! I’m so excited for her and Craig. This couple is going to make the sweetest blue-eyed babies!

5. As much as I think about moving away from Charleston (I’ve lived here for 15 yrs.!), I’m often reminded how beautiful this city is.

6. I’ve been to the beach twice already. I was pretty excited to use my new towel.

7. I hate the number 6, so I’m writing a 7th thought to tell you how much I LOVE YOU for reading!! Thank you!!

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce / CSA Week 3

Check out the goods from Week 3 with Gruber Farm CSA. So much color!

Included in the box:

• Swiss chard
• collard greens
• sweet onions
• strawberries
• zucchini
• squash
• red potatoes

Onto the cooking. I know what you’re thinking. Another recipe with mint?

Yes. My one and only “child” is my new mint plant and I’m taking full advantage of it before I kill it. Minted everything. Somebody come over with some rum so we can make mojitos!

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp.  salt
• 1 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice 
• 3 tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions

1. For the patties: In a food processor, pulse chickpeas until very finely chopped. Place in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in panko crumbs, zucchini, onion, egg whites, and salt. Form into eight separate patties.

2. Warm a pan that has been coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sauté patties until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. For the sauce: In a small bowl, stir Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and mint until well mixed.

4. Serve patties warm. Top with yogurt sauce.

Calling all vegetarians! This recipe is for youuuuuuu. And when those crazies ask you if you’re getting protein, show them the stats on chickpeas and Greek yogurt. Bam.

I hope my CSA gives me more zucchini because I could eat this over and over. Joe came over for dinner and he called them my “love tarts.” That made me chuckle.

MAKE THESE!

What’s your favorite Spring vegetable? How do you cook with it?

Winner, Winner, LUNA Fiber Bar Dinner!

I could not resist that title.

Random # generators are overrated. Via gchat, I asked Boding to randomly select the 3 winners.

So, there you have it. Valerie, Meg, and Avery! Girls, please email your shipping information (and which bar flavor you’d like a case of) to christinaorso @ gmail dot com.

Congrats!!

Another SWEET giveaway is coming very soon!

Kale Salad with Yogurt Mint Dressing / Pure Barre Challenge

I got really friendly with kale last week. My 2nd CSA box contained a massive amount  of it, so I made two recipes. After using the the majority of it for the Spicy Kale & White Bean Soup, I figured a salad was in order.

This salad can only be described with positive adjectives: light, refreshing, and tasty.

And the best part? It has the same flavors as a Mojito. Without the liquor, of course.

Kale Salad with Yogurt Mint Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale, washed, stems removed, and cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, garlic, mint, and lime juice. Season with salt & pepper.
2. Place kale ribbons in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and toss until kale is completely coated.

And there you go. A giant salad for one, or a side salad for you and your friends. You decide if you want to be selfish or not.

Moving on… Let’s talk about the April Pure Barre challenge. Congrats in order – I completed all 20 required classes and locked in a special rate for May! Woohoo!

When I signed up for the challenge, I had every intention of completing all 20 classes and going to my gym on occasion. Did that happen? Eh, not so much.

What I missed:

• I only went to ESAC twice.
• Aside from the weights at PB, I also only strength trained twice. For an entire month, I said goodbye to 8, 10, and 15 lb. weights and swapped them for 1, 3, and 5 lb. weights.
• I ran three times. Whoa. Major change for me. I really missed running, but doing two-a-days was difficult, and running outside in this heat is miserable.

What I gained:

• The biggest difference I noticed was increased flexibility. I’ve always been able to do a split with my right leg forward, but I can now do a split on both sides!
• I stretched more than usual too. I think this helped a ton with my flexibility.
• My arms changed shape. In a good way! They’ve been pretty defined for a couple years, but my deltoids are more sculpted.
• I’m nowhere near a six pack or anything like that, but I did more ab work in PB than ever before. I definitely feel like my core is stronger.
• Friends! The PB family is awesome. Jen, the owner, is so sweet and all of the instructors are incredible. The music is fun, to boot.

I’m really excited to complete another month of Pure Barre. One interesting thing I must note is that I assumed each class would get easier. No. Not at all. With each class, you become more aware of the different muscles you’re working. You concentrate on every single tiny movement, which makes for a more efficient workout. It’s pretty amazing how aware you will become of every movement you make – even outside of the studio throughout the day.

Kale – do you prefer it raw or cooked?

Did you complete the Pure Barre challenge? If you haven’t ever signed up for the class, what are you waiting for?

Can you believe it’s already May!?