A Wonderful Yoga-Date

When I was in Jacksonville, FL, this past week, I was able to spend some time catching up with my favorite yoga instructor and sweet friend, Lisa! What did we do? Yoga, of course!

We went to a BEAUTIFUL practice at Lotus Yoga (thanks Bethany!)... This 'moving meditation' was so fabulous in fact that even the instructor lost track of time, and we ended class a little late. Obviously, there were no complaints coming from me. This was my first time going to Lotus, and I can't wait to go back!

After class, we headed over to The Bold Bean for a chai tea with steamed soymilk. Maybe a little stereotypical yogi of us, but it was fantastic. The perfect end to a perfect morning.

I will be repeating this scenario ASAP... good for the soul! 

Garlic Veggie Pizza

This is my new favorite pizza of all time. Forever. No matter what.

Actually that is probably not true at all, but this pizza is REALLY good! I made it with my MIL when I was in FL this past week, and she liked it as much as I did (which is a lot, obviously)! 

I just thought you might want a little verification that cashews on pizza is a super idea... because it is.

First off, let me apologize for not taking process pictures.  There are quite a few steps to making this pizza as delicious as possible, and I just got way too excited to remember to take pictures. Next time, I promise!

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough*

2 heads of fresh garlic, all cloves removed and peeled

4 serrano peppers

Olive oil

1 bell pepper (red, orange or green works), thinly sliced into strips

1 tomato, thinly sliced and then placed on paper towels to help drain excess moisture

1 large handful of fresh baby spinach

Unsalted cashews, very roughly chopped

Goat cheese

Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Parmesan cheese (optional)

*Note: I used a store-bought fresh dough that I split and made into two 8(ish) inch crusts. You can make your own or buy it, but when you roll or toss the dough out, it should be relatively thin.

First, you need to prep the 'sauce' for the pizza, which will be a delicious blend of garlic and serrano peppers.

Place all of the garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Cover completely with olive oil (I know it will seem like a lot, but you can save it and re-use it as garlic oil... yum!). Turn the burner on the lowest setting and let the garlic gently cook (confit) for up to an hour or until all cloves are very tender. 

While the garlic is cooking, char the skins of the serrano peppers. I do this by turning one of the burners of my gas stove on a low setting and placing the peppers over it. Then, using metal tongs, I turn the peppers until the entire exterior is charred. I then place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for a few minutes, until they are cool enough to handle.  This also allows them to steam a little so that the skins are easier to remove.  Then, I remove the skins from the peppers and slice them in half lengthwise so I can remove all the seeds. Scraping them out with a small spoon makes it a quick process and saves your fingers from the hot part of the pepper.

Now that the garlic and peppers are ready, place all of them into a blender with a tablespoon of olive oil. Puree until smooth.  At this point, you can mix as much goat cheese as you like (I'd recommend 2-3 Tbs) into the garlic/pepper mixture, or you can leave the goat cheese separate to sprinkle onto the pizza in chunks. Personally, I recommend the mixing.

Now for assembling the pizza! 

1) Garlic 'sauce' (you should use all of it on two 8 inch pizzas)

2) Goat cheese if you didn't add it to the 'sauce'

3) Mozzarella (optional)

4) Sliced peppers

5) Sliced tomatoes

6) Spinach

7) Cashews

8) Parmesan (optional)

After putting your desired amount of these ingredients on your pizza in this order (pretty important), place the pizza in a 425 degree oven for 12ish minutes, or until as golden brown as you desire.... just don't let your cashews get too toasty!

Let it rest for a minute or two after it comes out of the oven if you can... I couldn't resist slicing right into it. Heavenly... 

Weddings

We went down to Jacksonville, Florida on Memorial Day weekend to attend the wedding of my husband's high school friend, Ken. This is the only picture we took of the beautiful couple, and unfortunately the bride, Casey, is slightly blurry.  Y'all wouldn't believe how stunning she looked in person!

Speaking of which, I must share a little anecdote that I find particularly hilarious. Leading up to our big wedding (which was only about 85 people, but big in comparison to our little wedding at the courthouse that was just  the two of us), I would ask Michael what he thought my dress would look like/what he wanted my dress to look like. I know that I was playing with fire, but he had watched enough "Say Yes to the Dress" with me to know what I liked. The only thing he described that was contrary to my Claire by Priscilla of Boston dress was the fabric.  He said, "You know, like that kinda shiny, soft, smooth fabric?". I said, "Uh huh, mine isn't like that." Game ruined.

On our big day, he loved my dress, of course, and I completely forgot about our conversation on gown fabrics until we were at Ken and Casey's wedding reception this past weekend. After chatting with the blissfully happy bride, Michael turns to me and says, "I really like her dress... it's that shiny soft looking fabric."  I immediately knew that he was clarifying his preference stated a year ago... he finally had a sample in front of him to show me what he thought my wedding dress should look like! I burst out laughing, saying,"Can't change it now!" and "Do you want a re-do?", and giggled about this for the rest of the night. He felt bad and backtracked and apologized, but I wasn't mad anyhow.  It was a really pretty dress! So Casey, if you ever had doubts about that dress, Mike (and me too!) gives it a big vote of approval :)

Many women might be upset or offended if this were a comment from their husband, but I just thought it was adorable.  Like for some speck in time, he forgot that we were already married, and I had already walked down the aisle wearing silk organza, not satin. I figure, he can prefer another dress all he wants, as long as he still prefers me to be the girl in it :)

My dress... oh the amount of Special K I ate to fit into that 00! 

At least I have the results documented in thousands of photos thanks to LHM Photography!

We had so much fun at Ken and Casey's wedding, and it made us sentimental for our big day almost a year ago. I'll post some throw back stories as we get closer to our first anniversary on June 30th!

Underwood Jewelers

If I were Holly Golightly, Underwood's would be my Tiffany's. (For those confused, see Breakfast at Tiffany's, or better yet, read Breakfast at Tiffany's).  Nothing bad could ever happen at Underwood's.

Underwood's is a jewelry store in Jacksonville, Florida.  It is the old fashioned kind of jewelry store... the kind that also sells china and crystal and silver.  Just another reason that I linger in the store every time I visit! There are four locations, but my husband and I always go to the one in the Avondale neighborhood.  Partially because of its convenience, and mostly because of Cindi Rivera, the most genuinely helpful jeweler I have ever come across.  From Christmas presents to my engagement ring, Cindi has been a part of our relationship in such a fun, sweet way. Even now that Michael and I are rarely in the Jacksonville area, we always call or email Cindi to get help with gifts for each other.  I really can't speak highly enough of our experiences with Cindi or Underwood's.

Cindi's wedding gift to us- a small silver folding frame, so that we could take it with us on our travels this year!

These are Underwoods' boxes, and in my opinion, they are superior to the robin's egg blue kind :)

My reaction to seeing an Underwood's box is probably comparable to actually opening it up and seeing the contents:

 Our anniversary gift to each other... four years ago we were walking around the campus in Gainesville and Michael made sure to stop by the trophy case to show me the real version :) 2008 was also the year we met, again.

Inside this little pouch was a chain for Michael to wear at the hospital so that he has a place to put his wedding band when he has to scrub in for procedures or surgery.

Anyways, Underwood's will definitely be a place that we revisit for many, many years to come!