A Trip to the Mediterranean and Bucket Lists

I’ve got big plans scheduled for next weekend (more on that later), so this weekend was full of rest and relaxation. Whenever we can, if we know we have big plans coming up, we purposely try to keep it low-key for the week leading up to the big plans.

Our weekend included an early morning hike up a nearby mountain.

The bugs and humidity were so worth it once we saw this view!

The bugs and humidity were so worth it once we saw this view!

And a “trip to the Mediterranean” through a meal cooked up on Saturday night. The meal included homemade hummus, tzatziki sauce, baked pita chips, a Greek salad and smothered chicken. I promised the BF we’d be transferred to the Mediterranean, and I feel like I delivered!

greek collage

Here are the abridged recipes I used to make this meal. I highly recommend that you give them a try, because everything was delicious!

Feast fit for the Greek Gods

Feast fit for the Greek Gods

  • Pita Chips: Cut pitas into 8ths, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes
  • Hummus: Blend together 1 can chickpeas, 1/4 cup liquid from can, 1 tbsp tahini, 2 garlic cloves, 5 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste
  • Tzatziki: Mix together 1 cup greek yogurt, 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 finely chopped cucumber, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp lemon zest and top with olive oil and mint for flavor
  • Greek Salad: Chopped romaine, feta cheese, kalamata olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers; dressing = 10 tbsp olive oil, juice from a lemon, 1 tsp red wine, 2 cloves minced garlic and oregano
  • Mediterranean Smothered Chicken: From my girl, Kristen at Iowa Girl Eats (sans pasta)

However, instead of talking about food and fitness, today I’d like to talk about goals and bucket lists. Why am I getting so deep, you may ask? Well, because, my friends, next weekend we’re headed to my hometown, Omaha, to celebrate my 30th birthday!

And, like any milestone birthday, turning 30 makes you think a little deeper (which I don’t often do!) about what you’ve achieved in life so far and what you’d like to do next… (settle in with your lunch folks, this one’s a lengthy post!)

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A Natural Boy Meets an Artificial Girl

Howdy from Nasvhille ya’ll! We’ve been here less than 24 hours, and the city has delivered everything we had hoped for: country music, country music and more country music!

Hi from Music City!

Hi from Music City!

The level of musical talent in this city is truly unbelievable! Today we’re headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the famous Bluebird Cafe to catch a show. I’ll have a full recap on Monday, but for now, please enjoy this picture of my newly converted cowboy!

Yeehaw! Cowboy, take me away!

Yeehaw! Cowboy, take me away!

And they say you can’t change a man. Before we met, the BF hated country music and everything associated with it. Now, he’s rockin’ those cowboy boots and singing along to his favorite tunes at the top of his lungs. I’m a proud woman!

Speaking of changes for the better, today I’m going to tell you a story about two very different approaches to food.

When I met the BF, we did the typical thing that you do when you first start dating: you slowly reveal parts of yourself and let the other person in to who you REALLY are. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes, not so good.

I like goldfish pretzels and lemonade. Is that cool with you?

I like goldfish pretzels and lemonade. Is that cool with you?

After a few weeks of things going well, I decided it was time to tell him about the blog. Also, because I needed to bake cupcakes over the weekend for Cupcake Mondays, and I was always staying up at his house on Sunday nights!

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The Post That Talks About Big Changes (Part 2)

And, we’re back! Are you on the edge of your seats yet? Here’s the continuation of my story about big life changes…

After nearly two months of interviewing, I received a job offer to work at a trade publication upstate that matched up perfectly with my previous writing and public relations experience. But, believe it or not, once I received the offer, the hard part wasn’t over.

I still wasn’t sure if it was the right job and place for me. My current job was exciting, relatively stable and an extremely ideal working environment. Could I leave all of that for a somewhat unpredictable job at a small trade publication? I thought long and hard and actually flip-flopped with my decision a couple of times. Through it all, my friends and family gave invaluable advice and promised to support me either way. And in the end, I knew that I couldn’t let this opportunity to write full-time and live upstate pass me by.

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The Post that Talks About Big Changes (Part 1)

To say it’s been “a while” would be quite an understatement, so I’ll skip over that and just say, “Hello again!” Since we last spoke, my life has seen a number of exciting changes (that hopefully will allow me to get back to a consistent blogging schedule!). I’m going to give you the full update, because I feel like many of you will be able relate to the types of decisions I have had to make over the past few months.

I made some big decisions!

I made some big decisions!

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