Absolutely Honored!

Yesterday was one of those days where I was just in a funk... I couldn't seem to be able to shake it. Last night I got home to be greeted with two awards from two blogs that I absolutely adore! Compliments are always so sweet, but when they come from someone you truly appreciate and admire they mean so much to me!

First, one of my favorite Mama bloggers, Brandi of My Amazing Life as a Mommy and Wife, gave me the versatile blogger award. Brandi finds a way to blog consistently, stay at home with her kiddos, and take pictures of all that comes with life along the way! She always has a kind word to leave in comments... So go show her all the love she deserves!

The way the Versatile Blogger Award works: 

1. Link back to the blogged who awarded you with much thanks! 

2. Share seven (versatile) things about yourself. 

3. Award five versatile bloggers you love. 

4. Contact your winners and share!

Without much further ado, here's seven versatile (maybe I mean more like random!) facts about me: 

1. If I was going to be a singer, I'd want to be a country girl with major spunk just like Miranda Lambert!

2. I desperately want to write a book that people actually read.

3. I'm a running addict. No joke, it makes me crazy to see runners and not be participating.

4. I have a little red glass rooster (or as my mom and I affectionately call him, The Cock) that I take places and take pictures of him, then send to my mom... For example: 

5. I'm a sucker for anything that needs organizing... as in, I love to clean and organize. 

(Weird? I know.)

6. I like my girly writing. J hates it. 

(He says it's impossible to read... At least I don't write like a five year old. My writing is like fine wine, an acquired taste!)

7. I grew up around construction... And can't imagine life without the smell of dirt, tractors, and hard hats. 

And my big versatile blogging buddies: 

1. Angie at Oh, How Delightful

2. Bonnie from My Whim Wham Life

3. Leigh at Very LoveLeigh

4. Mackenzie at Design Darling

5. Sarah at Cubicle Sanity

6. Megan at Loving the Little Things

Yay for versatile bloggers! 

And from a very dear foodie friend of mine, Zoe over at Runny Yokes are Better shared the Sisterhood of the World of Blogger Award with me! Zoe is sharing her laid back approach to the cooking and the simply, but so savory, dishes that she's making daily in her kitchen! I can't tell you how many of her dishes are on my To Cook list! And check out her stellar recipe for the Simply Sweet Ingredient Challenge!

And here are the rules for the Sisterhood Award: 

1. Link back to the blogged who awarded you with much thanks! 

2. Share seven things about yourself. 

3. Award five new bloggers you have recently discovered. 

4. Contact your winners and share!

So, seven more things about me: 

1. The first night J and I hung out I truly thought he was interested in my best friend... 

Thankfully, he later made it obvious he wanted to date me! 

2. I am the queen of underestimating myself... But this leads me to always be impressed by my strength!

3. I'm allergic to milk, but haven't always been. I contracted a nasty stomach virus in high school... 

4. The idea of spending the rest of my life with J makes me nothing but joyful. 

I hate when people ask if I'm nervous, then say I'm being insane when I say no. 

5. I have a staring problem. When someone is acting odd, I can't help but stare. J often has to call me on it... Maybe one day I'll be ok to take out in public. 

6. Adopting Baby Bear made my family complete. Life wouldn't be life without him. 

7. This is Pennie Pickle. I adore everything about her ridiculous self. 

And my new blogging friends in the Sisterhood of Blogging!

1. Fran at Free Borboleta

2. Megan at Mackey Madness

3. Em at Today's Letters

4. Jocelyn at True Life: We're Married

5. Bo-Nan at Cape Cod Collegiate

6. Lauren at Believe, Dream, Achieve

Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient Cooking Challenge: Kale

Yay! It's been two weeks since I posted my last ingredient challenge... And here is the fruits (or maybe veggies is more appropriate!) of our labor! I had four people participating this time (a couple forgot their kale at the grocery store, so next time!) and I'll link up to them in this post after I finish my recipe for you!

Kale Sausage Lasagna with Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• One package of spicy Italian sausage (or sweet if that is more your style) 
• One bunch of kale
• One jar of sun-dried Alfredo sauce
• Two tablespoons of tomato paste
• One clove minced garlic 
• 1/2 of a white onion, minced 
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 package of whole wheat lasagna noodles 
• 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese. 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350f. 
2. Boil a pot of water and cook the lasagna noodles until just tender, not completely done. 
3. Drain noodles and run under cool water. Set aside. 
4. Boil sausages in a pot of water until cooked through, about 12 minutes. 
5. Remove from water and slice into 1/2 inch thick coins. 
6. Remove big stems from the inside of the kale.
7. Place two tablespoons of water in the bottom of a frying pan and toss kale inside of it. 
8. Taste with salt and pepper as you like. 
9. When kale becomes warmed through and tender, remove from heat. 
10. Mix Alfredo sauce, garlic, onion, and tomato paste in a sauce pan. 
11. Stir over medium heat until well-combined. 
12. Spray inside of 9x9 pan to prevent sticking. 
13. Cover bottom of pan with a layer of sauce. 
14. Layer with noodle. 
15. Layer with ricotta cheese (you'll need to use a spoon to spread it around). 
16. Layer with sausage coins. 
17. Layer with sauce. 
18. Layer with kale. 
19. Noodles. 
20. Sauce.
21. Ricotta. 
22. Sausage. 
23. Kale. 
24. Sauce. 
25. Cover the top with the grated mozzarella cheese. 
26. Cover the lasagna with tin foil. 
27. Cook lasagna in the oven for 40-45 minutes (or until cheese is melted and bubbly). 
28. Let stand for five minutes before serving. 
29. Enjoy! 

And for my favorite part, the link up!

Mama Bird's Kale Salad and her Tossed Kale-Bell Pepper-Pasta

Zoe's Baked Kale Chips

Michelle's Creamy Linguine Pasta with Kale

And our next Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient... 

Coconut Oil 

This can be found in your local grocery store's organic foods section. 

The oil has MANY health benefits: 

It's high in saturated fat which is good for athletes and also great for baking. 

(that's the good fat, remember?) 

It has wonderful heat tolerance so it'll withstand a greater temperature than other oils. 

It's also great for your hair and skin! 

My jar of it says to put it in your hair for an hour and wash out for moisturized clean hair!
If you're a baker, this one's right up your alley!

The next Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient Challenge 
will be due on April 17th. 

Can't wait to see what my new friends come up with! 

Are you interested in joining? 

Leave a comment or send me an email and I'll fill you in! 

I Got Style, Yes I do, I Got Style, How About You?

Well, maybe I don't have so much style, but I do have spirit! My new sweet southern soul of a friend, Amber Ashleigh, (yep, she has the most beautiful, angelic, wonderful name ever!) gave me my second stylish blogger award! Turns out people actually think I have style... Good thing I don't post my hot mess of an outfit on here every morning or my honors would be relinquished in a snap!

The rules for the award go as follows: 

1. Link back and thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 5 recently discovered blogs.

4. Contact them and tell them about their award.

Seven more big things about me... 

1. My 22nd birthday is today... Somehow this sounds really mature to me. Like 21, you're young and dumb and can drink too much because you just don't get it. 22 sounds like you've got your life together and know what you're doing. Oh my! 

(AND doesn't that cake look like it's got a whole lot of candles on it!) 

2. Not only do I love A&E's show Storage Wars... But I live in the same town as Darrell Sheets (The Gambler) and his son Brandon (The Sidebet)! If you haven't watched the show you need to... The Sheet Boys are my absolute favorite and it was soooo exciting to run into their friendly selves at the local mall. 

3. I have a journal I carry in my purse to write down any big thoughts that come into my little mind. I'm forgetful if I don't write things down, so this is my way of keeping track of things... And I often use what's written in my blog. 

4. I literally melt thinking of anything Julia Child. I adore her. Her copper pots, her sweet accent, Meryl Streep playing her... Her ridiculously difficult to understand recipes, her silly little ways, the way that she is portrayed in Julie & Julia. That's when cooking took off for me! 

Meryl Streep couldn't have been more perfect for the role!

5. I am convinced that pink floral print can solve any problem...

See, don't you feel better already? 

6. I broke my first bone and had my first major surgery all in one week... Yep, shattered my nose and the surrounding bones. The only solution = reconstructive plastic surgery. 

My doctor and anesthesiologist at the doors to my operating room!

7. I played soccer for ten years. Taking the field still feels like home. I want to get involved in a league after J and I get married and settled down in our home together! 

Enough about me already... Here are my awardees!

1. Sarah at Savoring Sarah

2. Jamie at This Kind of Love

3. Alysa at InspiredRD

4. Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds

5. Ailinh at Memoirs of Mrs. Harris

6. Danielle at Positively Positive

7. Caley-Jade at Mrs. Rosie Posie

I know, I posted more than five... But I think you'll all be able to find it in your hearts to forgive me! 

Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient Challenge

The cooking portion of my blog has grown a lot since the beginning of the year and I have made so many new friends who also love to cook. I love to watch Food Network and Top Chef and they always have such fantastic ingredient challenges... Then I got to thinking, why can't my new foodie friends do the same?

This is how the Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient Challenge will work if you choose to accept your mission. 

1. This will be a bi-weekly thing so it's not too overwhelming... or like another full-time job! 

2. I will post the ingredient on a Sunday and your recipe will be due two weeks later on Sunday...

3. In your posted recipe, please link to the other participants (who I will tell you about if you are interested in joining the challenge!). 

4. Make yummy food for all to enjoy! 

Please let me know if you're interested... I'll be posting the first ingredient tomorrow if enough people are excited about it. 

And lastly, 

Happy Weekend! 

First Feature... EVER!

So I have the pleasure of sharing a new foodie friend of mine who I talked about in my last Eggs in Purgatory post! She invented the Summer in the Kitchen Blog Party... where you can escape the coldness of winter (unless you live in San Diego like me! and are more concerned with escaping the heat!) by creating a sweet little summber vibe in your kitchen!

I made dinner for J and wanted to make it a little bit fun and romantic by plopping ourselves on a picnic blanket on the floor! He thought I was silly, but was such a sport... and BOOM! Lovely little picnic with lots of laughing at me spilling my Eggs in Purgatory all over myself... Not so practiced in eating without a plate or table. But sweetly fun nonetheless!

Please check out my new friend, Laurie, on her blog and enjoy the other ways foodies brought summer into their kitchens!