bathing suit season

the rain finally cleared out and it feels like summer!! thankfully we've already been able to squeeze in a few beach and pool days, and we headed to the beach this past weekend to celebrate father's day and get in some major sun time.

along with the sun comes an itch for new bathing suits. every year i pick up a few new ones at target and old navy (trusty favorites) but i online window shopped last week and found a few potential buys :)

wildfox rainbow bikini - asos

seahorse bikini - j. crew

slashed beach tee - asos

l space audrey fringe bikini - nordstrom

homemade black bean burgers

black bean burgers are very high on my list of favorite foods. if i had to choose a last meal, a chickfila #1 combo would be my first choice, but the black bean pita burger from killington's (a local restaurant) would probably be a close 2nd.

i've never actually made a black bean burger before, so i went looking for a recipe and found what appeared to be a good one on mensfitness.com. i modified it a little based on what i had on hand and what i know i like. this recipe should serve at least 4 people.

• 1/2 green pepper, finely diced (could also use onion)
• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• flour
• lawry's seasoning salt (or any other seasoning blend of your choice)
• avocado, sliced

1. saute green pepper in olive oil until soft/browning. add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.

2. in a bowl, mash beans with the back of a fork until smooth. stir in pepper mixture, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, and hot sauce. mix well. *i will do this step in a food processor next time. my hand gave out and i had to call in reinforcements (my wonderful bean-mashing husband). you want a fairly smooth consistency with most of the beans broken up but not pureed.

3. shape into patties and dust each side with flour and seasoning salt.

4. cook patties until golden on both sides. i used a grill pan but you could also just use a skillet.

5. top with sliced avocado

these were really easy to make but i had a bit of a hard time keeping some of the patties together. i think adding maybe one more egg white would help. men's fitness also recommends letting the patties sit/cool for 10 minutes after you mix everything together.

enjoy!!

june birchbox

time for another birchbox!

june's theme was "wanderlust", focused on summer travels and products from various places. as if i needed any more motivation to take a vacation!

 here's the breakdown:

• mirenesse in "perfect kiss": i just got this box on saturday and i've already used the mirenesse lip balm/lip stain 3 times. you can also use it on your cheeks as blush. it's the perfect combo of moisturization and color...love it!
• sukiface lemongrass & sugar exfoliating cleanser: my favorite thing in the box by far! the lemon smell is amazing and perfect for summer
• color club nail polish: i always like a good nail polish but i just got almost this exact same color a month or 2 ago. i wonder if birchbox keeps track of the colors it sends...
• klorane dry shampoo: i'm lukewarm on this one. it's a pretty good dry shampoo but i still prefer the cheap drugstore suave. :)
• 100% pure vanilla bean and coconut body creams: the smell of these 2 lotions is ridiculously good. only problem is they were so small i had to use them both at the same time. i'd really consider buying these in a larger size though!

and for fun, birchbox threw in some global-themed postcards. cute, but weird.

so happy it's june! now all i need is for the rain to go away!!

white cheddar, spinach & chicken burgers

i dont know about yall, but to me, warm weather = burger weather. i don't eat typical beef cheeseburgers very often, but i love finding recipes that use ground turkey or ground chicken to lighten things up a bit. i'm also trying a new black bean burger recipe tonight...i hope it's good!

one burger recipe that i know is good is the one i found on cookin with super pickle for white cheddar, spinach & chicken burgers. i modified a few things about the recipe to make it easier and to fit what i had on hand. these are so good, fresh and easy!

---

1 lb. ground chicken
2 oz fresh spinach (i used about 5 ounces)
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp fresh parsley
3 oz shredded aged white cheddar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup bread crumbs
salt & pepper

1. slice onion and sautee in olive oil until caramelized.
2. put onion, garlic, parsley and spinach in a food processor and pulse until fine.
3. add mixture to a big bowl along with all remaining ingredients.
4. form into patties and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
5. broil on high for 7-9 minutes on each side.
6. serve on a bun (or not!)

livin for the weekend

what a week!

i didn't even have time to watch all 2 hours of tuesday night's so you think you can dance, so i definitely haven't had time to fit in a blog post. thankfully it's friday and the day feels a little calmer.

i don't know about yall, but as soon as warm weather rolls around, i live for the weekend 24/7. there is something unnatural about sitting inside surrounded by beige walls and fluorescent lighting when it's 85 degrees outside. thinking about starting a petition to install a pool in our front yard at work and let us work poolside...a girl can dream.

last weekend we went down to wilmington to celebrate memorial day as it should be celebrated...by the beach. we stayed with a couple of our good friends and had such a fun time! our dogs also had quite the playdate all weekend long. their dog is a pit bull/shepherd mix who weighs about as much as a mini elephant and our dog is roughly 13 pounds. it was entertaining to say the least, and loki slept for about 2 full days to make up for it.

we went out to wrightsville beach saturday and sunday and it was beautiful! not quite as hot as i would've liked, but i'll take what i can get in may.

doesnt get much better than this

love this view

a little waterway action

we have another great weekend coming up that i'm so excited about! my parents are coming into town this afternoon. for Christmas we all bought my dad a gift pass to the rusty wallace racing experience at charlotte motor speedway, so on sunday we're all going to put our redneck gear on and go watch him take 8 laps around the track. by himself. in a high-speed racecar. it's going to be awesome.

hope everyone has a great weekend and is looking forward to all of the upcoming summer weekends like i am!

happy first summer weekend!

even though it's not technically summer, summer in my mind starts today as soon as i leave work!

hope everyone has a fun, safe and warm memorial day weekend! we will be heading down to my neck of the woods for a weekend in wilmington with friends. hoping for lots of sun, good food, and relaxing.

summer is finally here!!

how backyard produce changed my life

ok, that title is a little dramatic. it's kind of true though!!

i've heard a little here and there about local produce delivery programs, especially in the past few years when the organic/local eating "trend" (if you can call it that) really started to take off. we eat our fair share of veggies and fruit, but a lot of the veggies i used to buy were frozen and/or canned so i didn't have to worry about shelf life.

while that's wonderfully convenient, i started getting pretty tired of the same sauteed/seasoned, from-the-can green beans. of course i could've just committed to buying fresh produce each week instead of canned/frozen, but lots of times the selection at the grocery store isn't great and i'd always panic and not be able to decide what to buy.

i ran across backyard produce (http://www.byproduce.com/) which bills itself as an online farmers market, and decided to give it a try.

they offer 4 different options:
-"flying solo" geared for one person, gives you 40 points per week
-"just for two" especially for couples, 60 points per week
-"family of four" fairly self-explanatory, 80 points per week
-"extended family", 100 points per week

each week the ordering opens on thursday, so you log in to your account and can take your time viewing all of the items that are available for the next week's delivery. not only do they have organic, local veggies and fruit, you can also get bakery items, coffee, seasonings, and cheese.

the items all "cost" different points..for example, a bunch of kale is usually 5 or 6 points. a whole pineapple is 12 points. blueberries and strawberries are 10-12 points apiece. since we got the "just for two" package, each thursday i log on and spend my 60 points however i want to. i always get berries, apples, and bananas to use in smoothies and as snacks. i might throw in some oranges, pears, or another fruit that looks good depending on my mood, then i try to spend the rest of my points on veggies. i love ordering broccoli; it's always the perfect sized bunch. green beans, kale, spinach, and cucumbers are my other faves.

then wednesday rolls around and when i get home from work there's an insulated box with an ice pack full of what i ordered sitting on my porch! it makes it more exciting for me to cook veggies when i anticipate them being delivered so much! while i'm unpacking the box and cleaning everything, i start planning in my head how i'm going to use everything that week.

i highly recommend backyard produce for anyone in the delivery areas, which are scattered throughout north carolina. the link to the delivery area maps is here: http://www.byproduce.com/deliveryarea

if you sign up you'll be supporting local and organic farmers who deserve our business much more than conventional megafarms shipping their products all over the place covered in pesticides and who knows what else. i've never been a huge proponent of choosing local/organic (mostly because i just didn't care one way or the other) until i did a little research on it lately, and it makes me feel good knowing that i'm supporting someone in my local community trying to make a living and grow things in a healthy way.

here's a picture of one of my recent boxes, full of green beans, kale, oranges, spinach, cucumbers, apples, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. yummmm!