Sunday Running....

This afternoon Ben and I ventured out to downtown Raleigh for the Old Reliable 10k. Ben decided not to run and would just watch me this one time. While I was a little lonely at the start line waiting to get going, it sure was nice to have my own cheerleader and personal photographer. The weather was awesome and it was pretty warm in the sun.

I thought I'd have a really good run today and through the first mile, which circled the block and brought you back over the start line, all was good. I was running at my usual pace, but by the time I got to mile 3 I had developed the most horrible side cramp. I tried everything while running to subside it and nothing seemed to work. I ended up stopping 3 times! By mile 3.5 when I turned onto Dixie Trail and saw Anna and Dan cheering for me from their house, I decided to suck it up and keep running no matter what. I was so happy to see them cheering and it was just what I need too keep going. By mile 4.5 I was feeling good again and the cramp was gone. The last 2.7 miles were easy peasy...I was feeling good, had tons of energy and NO PAIN! My final time was around 1:05 and while that was my goal, knowing I could have maybe shaved off a few more minutes was slightly disappointed. But at that point I was just happy to finish considering how I felt halfway through the race. But, I'm so mad I forgot to turn off my Nike +, which was off anyways and recorded 6.8 miles at 1:16, which made my overal pace over 11 minutes per mile. I'm just a stickler like that.

For a local race, it was a good course and I'd do it again next year. The course was relatively flat and I liked how you circled back through the start/finishe line to see family and friends. Now I start a 12 week training program for the Myrtle Beach half marathon. I'm heading to our gym to sign up for a membership to get in some good runs and workouts during the long winter weeks.

Today I'm thankful for:

~Running tights: So comfy to run in and stay in place!

~Friends and family who cheered me on just when I needed it most!

~The awesome fall weather that made my "good" miles enjoyable.

During my hour running when I wasn't thinking about how bad my cramp was, I was totally coming up with things I was grateful for....I love thinking while running.

Ballet, Bowties and Brews

This has been a pretty fun weekend so far and we've been busy!! Friday after work, we braved the rain and headed to Sanford to see Laura in the Nutcracker. She was a gum drop and a clown this year...and did an awesome job as the littlest clown! Afterwards we had dinner at my parents and stayed chatting with them until 10:30!

We woke up really surprised by the weather...it was tricky on Saturday, teasing us all day long. I headed to the grocery store, while Ben did the dreaded chore of taking Freddie to get his nails cut! I told him I'd reward him with a trip to Carolina Brewing Co. in Holly Springs since they were tapping their Winter Porter. We met Chris, Sam & Shane there and I was pretty disappointed in the Winter Porter. It was slightly smokey and just bland, not at all what I'd expect from a Porter.

We walked out of the brewery after a torrential downpour with angry skies, but by the time we got home it was clearing up. I got everything ready for dinner and Tara and Rick showed up with the most awesome selection of beer and an amazing FAT-FREE mexican dip!

I made a fall salad with mixed greens, pears, pomegranate seeds and raspberry vinagrette. I've only had a pomegranate once, but I think they'll become more of a regular in our house. I love how the seeds pop in your mouth. I also made Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle. Technically Ben grilled the chicken and I made everything else. It's a new recipe that got rave reviews and it turned out delicious! I'm so excited there are leftovers.




Once dinner was out of the way, we started our beer tasting. Including the few beers we shared during appetizers and dinner here is our line up:


~ Ben's Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout
~Laqunitas Cappucinno Stout
~Abita Pecan Harvest
~Smuttynose Winter Ale
~Baron's Black Wattle Seed Ale
~Ben's Smoked Vanilla Bean Porter
~Ben's Ginger Ale
~Ben's Blackberry Chocolate Stout
~Weeping Raddish Pumpkin Bock
~Terrapin Side Project III Gamma Ray
~Heavy Weight Lunacy
~Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout
~Dogfish Head Theobrama
~Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra


Ben printed everyone score sheets based on appearance, aroma, taste, drinkability, and overall likeness. All but one or two we really good...my favorites were the Creme Brulee Stout, Terrapin Gamma Ray and Dogfish Raison D'Extra!


In between rounds we snacked on Pumpkin Scones and Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake tarts. I think we all had a great time...it's so nice to not only have new friends, but ones that enjoy our nerdiness love of beer.



This morning, I'm sipping coffee and mentally preparing for my 10k run this afternoon. I'm so happy the sun has decided to make it's appearance and stay out although it's a little chilly...we're enjoying our coffee by the gas logs!


The things I'm grateful for: (Fri and Sat)


~How close we live to family: It's so nice that we can go see our family whenever we want and I love being a part of my little sisters' lives.


~Soup: It was rainy day and I love chicken noodle soup when it's cold and rainy out


~The internet: information is always at your fingertips...you just gotta know where to look


~New friends: No surprise we love entertaining and having new friends to join us is the icing on the cake


~Beer: We're beer snobs!


~Quick & Easy dinners that look gourmet: The pasta was incredibily easy to make and delicious at the same time...perfect for enteraining.

Hard economic times...

Today I safely survived the 3rd round of layoffs in the past 7 months at my company! I feel incredibly lucky to still have my job, but still a little unnerved that my time may be coming. If the market does not turn around there will be more...the financial services industry is suffering big time! And they way things are looking, this is just the beginning of the recession.

By 9am this morning, I lost 2 friends at work to the "workforce reduction." It's pretty sad to say, that at 27 years old, I've been there. I was laid off in May 2007, and while it was for the best, it still hurts. All the unknowns are the worst and I really things turn around for my friends, especially right before the holiday season.

Needless to say today has been tense. Tonight I'm being productive in preperation for our busy weekend. My to-do list tonight:

~Unload the dishwasher
~Clean the kitchen and dirty dishes
~Fold the last load and laundry
~Put way all of our clothes
~Set up online bill payments
~Finalize the menu for the dinner party Sat.
~Give Freddie a bath (IF I have time)

So I better get moving....

Today I'm VERY grateful for:

~My job: Sometimes, like last week, my job is stressful and boring, but that fact I still have it today gives me a little bit of security.

~My managers: That they see my talent and intelligence and recognize my hardworking values.

~Myrecipes.com: This is my go-to site for any recipe for any occassion, mostly because it houses all of the Cooking Light recipes which I love.

Uneventul day...

It's Wednesday...the week is dragging, so as usual today was pretty uneventful. I'm still not used to the time change and feel exhausted by the time I get home. It didn't help I was freezing all day and just wanted to curl up on the couch with my newest fuzzy throw and the very last of the chili!

So I basically did just that tonight! Very unproductive, but oh well. I'm finally warming up with a big mug of Sleepytime Tea...it's been a pretty dreamy night. How could it not in my most comfy clothes, fuzzy socks, wrapped up in a fuzzy throw and sitting in Ben's recliner!

My gratitude list for today:

~Socks: I'm not usually a sock wearer unless I have shoes on, but when my toes are like ice I will gladly put them on. I get so many cute pairs for christmas, which make them even more fun to wear.

~Sleepytime Tea: While I'm not sure it actually aids in sleep...probably all in my head...it did warm me up finally!

~Wednesdays: You could look at this day of the week as ONLY Wed, as in, not Friday, but we're halfway through the week and just two more work days...we're especially excited about this weekend which is jammed packed with fun stuff! I love looking at the the glass half full.

I got a few requests for my lasagna recipe. This recipe was adapted from the Bride and Groom's First and Forever Cookbook. My college roommate, Meg gave this to us for an engagement gift...so perfect as this recipe has become a favorite of ours. Enjoy!

Classic Lasagna

8 oz ground beef round
8 oz italian sausage links, removed from casings
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 jars (26 oz each) marinara sauce
8 oz ricotta cheese
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
12 sheets "No Boil" lasagna noodles
1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves torn into small peices
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Combine the ground beef and sausage in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Season with salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook until the meat is lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a medium bowl. Add the marinara sauce to the meat and stir to combine; set aside.

Mix the ricotta cheese, cream cheese and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Season with the remaining pepper; set aside.

Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with 1 cup of the meat sauce. Arrange a single layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (3 sheets) on top of the sauce. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce evenly on top. Add half of the cheese mixture by spoonfuls evenly over the meat sauce, then scatter half of the basil leaves on top. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles, 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce, the remaining cheese mixture and a final layer of lasagna. Spread the remaining meat sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Happy Veteran's Day

Being that it's Veteran's Day it was a relaxed, short day at work. I didn't have anything have anything I HAD to get done today, but it was nice to have a quiet day in the office to get a few loose ends tied up. I had planned on working until 1 or, that turned into 2, and I finally left at 330!

I was beyond excited to get home with the sun still shining, so I immediately headed out for a short, 3 mile run. Although my Nike + is off now...I ran my usual route of 3.12 miles and it says I ran 2.75, which threw off my pace too. Grrrrr....

Ben left for work and I decided head out shopping. A friend sent me a 25% Friends & Family coupon for World Market and I've been eyeing some chocolate brown velvet drapes. Of course they only have one panel when I needed two. I decided to go ahead and get just one now. I was already out and in the store. But while there I picked up 2 Abita Harvest Pecan beers for our Beer Tasting Dinner Party with Tara & Rick this weekend. I also finally found some cloth napkins and placemats I loved. How precious and it'll will pick up the green, purple, red and yellows in our kitchen.

And wouldn't you know they rang everything up wrong...the girl said she gave me my discount and I was almost ready to head home when I decided to double check...yep...she forgot. So back in the store I went, returned everything and got my discount...25% off was worth it!

Once home, I sat down to awesome leftovers of Lasagna and a side salad. I'm now freezing and think I'll spend the rest of the night curled up on the couch with a cup of tea.

Today I'm grateful for:

~Coupons: I rarely buy anything for full price and sometimes coupons come at just the right time.

~New Friends: I am so excited to host our newest friends, Tara & Rick on Sat. We all share a love for beer and they couldn't be a more fun couple to hang out with.

~Our Veterans: Both sides of my family have military background and I have 2 cousins who are currently serving in Iraq...many thanks for all their hardwork!

Just Another Manic Monday...

It wasn't too manic today...work was good. It's a pretty relaxed week, considering everything that happened last week and tomorrow is Veteran's Day, which is a partial-staff day. I plan on working most of the day in my jeans and I'll get an extra vacation day for later!

Tonight for dinner we enjoyed Beef Stroganoff with sauteed peppers and salads. The Beef Stroganoff recipe came from the latest Cooking Light, however I could have sworn I've made this before and felt the same way about the recipe. It was missing something...kind of bland. Next time, I'll add a can of cream of mushroom soup to everything and make it more creamy.

After dinner, I was craving something sweet and found some peanut butter cookie mix in our pantry, but I really wanted chocolate with them. I mixed in M&M's, the tiniest amount of chocolate chips and some marshmallows (those were Ben's addition). Wow...peanut-buttery, chocolately, gooey-ness!

Today I'm grateful for:

~Funny license plates: This morning going to work I saw 2 license plates that got my attention. "STFU&DRV" was on an SUV and there was a Charger weaving in and out of traffic...who is in THAT much of a hurry to get to work. His plate said "YEAH, HEMI" So funny he thought he was so cool! It started my Monday off pretty good.

~Clean clothes: I did 5 loads of laundry yesterday. I love nothing more than having all of our clothes clean and smelling so fresh.

~Sweaters: It was freezing this morning when I left for work and I loved being cozied up in one of my newest sweaters from Banana.

It's Almost Done...

Another project is almost complete. We finished painting the living room today and other than finding dark brown curtains and a rod, we're practicaly done. Eventually we'll add crown moulding, but first we need to finishing painting the rest of our rooms downstairs and let our checking account recover from all the Lowe's purchases in the past few months!

We started our day off with a bang...we ran 6.25 miles! It was so long, we needed a map to keep track of all of our turns through the neighborhoods and I found a great site...Google Pedometer. It's similar to MapMyRun, but allows you to print out your map with the distance and elevations. I ran one loop twice...the second time around I thought things looked familar and finally found my way. So, I tweaked my route again and my 6th mile came faster than I thought. It was a great run and I feel good for the 10k next Sunday. I finished today in 1:04:32 with an average pace of 10:14/mile and I burned almost 800 calories!! In just 6 months I've shaved off over 10 minutes on my 10k....yeah I'm feeling pretty awesome!

Other than running and painting we've been pretty lazy today. Watching football, cleaning up the house a little and working through the massive pile of laundry. One day I'll learn to do laundry on a regular basis...doing 3 weeks at a time is not fun!

Pictures of our almost complete living room: We're also getting rid of the large entertainment center...as soon as we can sell it on Craigslist! I love how it all came out. Ben definitely pushed me out of comfort zone with brighter colors and I'm so glad we took the plunge with the colors we chose.

Today I'm grateful for:

~Ben: being my running partner, helping me keep my pace and keeping me going through those tough hills.

~Our decor: I love decorating and I'm so thankful we have the means to make our home exactly how we want it.

~Popcorn: We had a bag for the perfect afternoon snack...so filling and easy. My dad makes a huge bowl almost every weekend for an afternoon snack, so a great memory!

Exhausted...

It's only Sat. night and it's been a super busy weekend! Finally the week is over and hopefully next week at work will go a little smoother as things begin to settle down.

Friday after work, I was successful in convincing Ben we should paint the living room this weekend. So we headed to Lowe's to pick paint colors and then TGI Fridays for dinner. We headed to bed early so we'd be up early to get started.

We choose a Martha Stewart color, Spiney Sea Urchin (bright green) for the main living room picked goldy-yellow called Delightful Moon. It blended so well with our countertops, as well as the other decor we already have.

So, today we've been taping, painting, cleaning...such a long day and it always takes longer than you plan. I never got my run in, which means I'm running 6 miles tomorrow without any other training this past week. After we got cleaned up from painting, we headed to my mom's for Alex, birthday dinner. He will be 20 on Monday and requested my homemade lasagna for dinner!

Tomorrow is another busy day:
~Run 6 miles
~Paint accent wall
~Laundry
~Get 2 tires fixed
~Sam's to buy special beers for our beer tasting dinner party next Satuday

Since Friday was so busy...my gratitude list includes:

~Jeans: I get to wear them every Friday and it's so easy to pick out a shirt. Plus, they are so comfy!

~Paint colors: Looking at the array of colors gets some excited. I love looking at the paint swatches even when I don't need to pick out any colors.

~Getting in bed at 10pm on a Friday: By the end of the week I'm exhausted and keeping on my schedule helps me to get the weekend off to a great start.

Today I'm grateful for:

~Birthdays: In honor of Alex's birthday, I love getting together with family and friends for any celebration.

~Our House: Ben and I have enjoyed being homeowners and making a house into a home. We're slowly checking off the to-do's to make it personal to our tastes and how we always thought our home would be.

~Photos: As I putting everything back in it's place I got a chance to take more than just a glance at the pictures we display...such happy memories from our wedding, travels, and family events over the past several years.

It's Almost Friday...

Finally this crazy week is almost over. I can not wait for tomorrow evening...a relaxing night at home, making homemade pizza and enjoying some new beers. Our little tradition.

Today was a crazy crazy wacky day at work. The next few weeks should be pretty interesting. But, on a good note...Ben finally got some new anitbiotics that will hopefully clear out his sinus infection. He had a little reaction to the first round. I'm ready to work on the house this weekend and need him to be well and motivated.

And yes...for the 4th night in a row I cam home for a glass of wine and dinner...now sleep!

Today I'm grateful for:

~Hoodies: These are so comfy and the perfect ending to a long day after work for lounging around.

~Dropping Gas Prices: The one good thing about the economy in the dumps...plus Ben and I have switched cars, which is saving us so much money.

~Sense of Humor: Some days, a sense of humor gets you through the day!

Yep...you guessed it....

Work, Dinner, Wine, Sleep...and Blog!

Another long day at work and home in the pitch black. But, I'm enjoying my leftovers from Sono...Pan-seared Sea Bass, rice, steamed broccoli and a big glass of wine. Maybe some pumpkin ice cream later! Delicious.

Two more crazy days of work and then the weekend. My deadline runs from the first business day of the month to the 5th. Sometimes it falls over the weekend and if need be, it gives me 2 extra days, which is nice. But, it's also nice to be DONE on Fridays! I can't wait until this Friday...we have a nice relaxing weekend ahead of us.

One of my friends, Meredith, requested the recipe for my White Bean Chicken Chili. It's delicious and we add extra spice since we enjoy it hotter. This go-round was a little soupy, but that's all the more reason to make extra corn muffins to soak up the liquid. Enjoy!

White Bean Chicken Chili

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 tbsp flour
3 cups chopped chicken breast
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 can corn; drained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream

Add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Oh...I finally hit 100 miles on my Nike + this past Sunday! In just 4 months, I've run 102 miles and earned a certificate from Nike. And I'm in 2nd place in my challenge with some friends for the most miles ran between Labor Day and Thanksgiving! Which reminds me I need to sign up for my gym membership now there is no more daylight for evening runs.

Tonight I'm grateful for:

~My financial and analytical knowledge: To the outside world what I do for a living is a foreign language. Many of you have no idea...and the fact month after month I put my skills to test and problem solve breaks in our systems and adjusts exposure (lost you there didn't I?)seems like second nature to me. But this month, I've had several issues that I've really had to put my thinking cap on and pull everything I've learned in the past several year. It's a good sense of accomplishment to solve these problems and fix the issue.

~Nike +: Ben gave me this for my birthday in June and it has inspired me to keep running every week...such a nifty little gadget. And who knew I could run 100 miles in 4 months!

~Blogging: I love sharing little tid-bits of my life and many things I've grateful for!

I Spoke Too Soon!

As many of you know my job revolves around a monthly schedule...they come and go and next thing I know it's the next month. Quarter end closes are the worst and now that the "worst" is over from last month, I thought this month end would be lighter volume, less breaks, and mainly everything would work. I guess I spoke to soon....Murphy's Law!

Nothing seemed to work today...if it wasn't one thing, it was another...slow systems, unexplained breaks, system feed issues...you name it happened. After another 11 hour day and working through lunch I drove home in the dark (again) and wet roads. Nevermind I have an eye infection and my vision is so bad my glasses need updating...AGAIN!

But once home, I enjoyed a big bowl of White Bean Chicken Chili from the crockpot, a corn muffin that Ben made before he left for work, and a big glass of Sauvigon Blanc! I see a trend here...work, food, wine, sleep!

Today I'm grateful for:

~Crockpots: It's an amazing feeling to walk in the door after an 11 hour work day to house filled with good smells and dinner basically on the table! Good thing I got my act together with our meal planning this week.

~Contacts: Without them I don't know how I'd be able to see clearly...just waiting on my eyes to stabilize so I can get LASIK.

~Rain: While I hate it while walking to the car, driving home in it...it's done wonders for our new little grass seedlings. And it saves Ben 30 minutes from watering it every day!

Now, I'm heading towards the couch to finish my glass of wine and watch the Election coverage, although I'm sure it'll be a disappointment. Happy Election Night!

I'm running out of time...

I absolutely-positively hate the time change! Sunday I will admit it was nice to get an extra hour or house chores in. We didn't sleep in...at 630am I was wide awake. So we got up early, I made some delicious Pecan Pumpkin Dessert Squares. I've had some Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter from Williams Sonoma in the pantry since last year.


Pecan Pumpkin Dessert Squares

1 package yellow cake mix; set aside one cup
½ cup butter, melted
3 eggs, large
1 jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Divide yellow cake mix, placing all but one cup in a mixing bowl. Stir the melted butter and one egg into the cake mix. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9" × 13" pan. Mix the jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter with two eggs and milk. Pour this result over the cake mix. Stir the reserved cup of cake mix with the flour, sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon. Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of the pumpkin layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Cut into "2 squares. Serves 24.

Once cleaned up in the kitchen, I got the rest of the house spic and span! At 3pm we decided to go on a 5.5 mile run. It definitely was not the best...we ended up on a very busy road without a sidewalk. Plus, I was dehydrated and left with no energy. I really needed some Carb blocks to keep up my energy.

We ended a night with dinner at Ben's parents house. Ben's mom, Susan, made an amazing mexican chicken casserole that was her sister's recipe. We also enjoyed Harrison's (our 4 year old nephew) amazing Greek dip with homemade pita chip for an appetizer. I hadn't seen the Stafford's in many months, so it was great to see most of the family then. I'm not sure where the past 3 months have gone!

Sunday's Gratitude List:

~Food: I love food and cooking and how it brings people together.

~Sidewalks and neighborhoods: We live in a wonderful area with so many neighborhoods to run in...I almost took it for granted until I had to dodge a few cars on a busy street and rolled my ankle one too many times in the ditches while running.

~Fresh air: The fall brings mild days and better quality air. I love when the summer haze is gone and it's so easy to breathe!


Now...a little catch up! The time change as gotten me all of whack. I feel like it's almost midnight. Month end started at work and I usually work late. I rushed home at a 6pm and it was pitch black outside. I'm so sad my evening runs outside are over until spring. After a whirlwind trip to the grocery store and back...I'm pleased to say we only spent $58 for a week's worth of breakfasts, lunches and dinners...all homecooked meals!

I've been slack in my cooking lately and I'm so sick of all the frozen and pre-prepared dinners we've been eating. Even though we didn't eat until 845pm...I was so much happier sitting down at a candlelight table eating fresh sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and our favorite crunchy baked chicken. Definitely worth all that hard work!

Today I'm grateful for:

~Fresh veggies: They've been missing from my diet and my body is craving them now. The freshest veggies only need a little seasoning and are so sweet and delicious.

~Wine: I love coming home to a nice glass of wine with dinner. It makes it feel special, even if it is a week night.

~Daylight savings: I hate it being so dark...I get so depressed during winter and wish we had daylight savings time all year long!

Happy Halloween

What a fabulous day! After work tonight, we handed out candy, made pizza just like any regular Friday night. Since we've been married we've sort of established a Pizza Night on Fridays...always homemade pizza too! After the trick or treaters Ben suggested since we didn't have any real Halloween plans, we go to Tyler's for a Pumpkin Beer. While at Tyler's we ran into our friends Tara and Rick...fellow beer snobs. We ended up closing down the Tyler's with them for the rest of the evening.

Friday's Gratitude List:

~Fridays: There is something magical about Friday evenings. You have the entire weekend ahead of you and you know you can sleep in the morning. Ben and I also love our Friday night tradition.

~Pizza: Especially homemade.

~Tyler's Taproom: It has by far the best beer menu in Raleigh and it's great that its our backyard pub just right down the road.

And today was just one big lazy day...after a little cleaning, Ben and I set out for downtown Raleigh for a date night. This summer we had purchased several discounted gift certificates to a few restaurants from restaurant.com. Tonight we had dinner at Sono...it was so nice to order drinks, appetizers, sushi, entrees and dessert! We definitely spoiled ourselves. The total bill was $109 and our gift certificate was worth $100...which we bought for $12! Can't beat that!

Sono was delicious...great atmosphere and located near the Fayetteville Street Mall area downtown. We shared Firecracker Shrimp with Sweet & Sour Sauce, a sushi roll that had crab, avocado, cream cheese & jalapenos, then fried. For entrees I got the Pan-seared Sea Bass with aspargus and rice. Ben had an amazing ribeye steak with wasabi mashed potatoes. And for dessert I had a cappuccino ganache dessert and Ben's was a White Chocolate Raspberry mousse. Everything was delicious and we'll probably go back.

We're relaxing for the rest of the evening...setting our clocks back and getting an extra hour of sleep. Tomorrow must be a productive day which includes a long run!

Today I'm grateful for:

~Dinner out: Everything tastes better when it's gourmet and someone else cooked it.

~Turkish Towels: I put out my favorite chocolate colored towels today that we received for a wedding gift. I love these towels...they are so big and fluffy!

~Lazy Saturdays: The past few weeks have been pretty busy. It was so nice to sleep in and lazily drink coffee on the couch this morning. We had no where to go and nothing else planned other than dinner tonight.

Slow Day...

It was a just a regular today...a good day nonetheless! Work was great and I rushed home to get my 3 mile run today out of the way before it was dark. I got back home just in time. And I decided to wait until Sat. to clean the entire house at once. I love having an entire clean house...even if it is only for a few hours. After a quick dinner I'm relaxing on our most comfy sofa watching funny Thursday night TV! And I'm incredibly happy tomorrow is not only Friday, but Halloween. Ben and I can't wait to pass out candy to our neighbor's kids in their cute costumes.

Today I'm grateful for:

~Funny TV: Specifically The Office. I love love love this show and it's always the highlight of my Thursdays.

~Fall Scents: I love my new Yankee Candle tarts for fall...such delicious scents.

~Ginger Ale: The last few weeks I've become addicted to this stuff. I have at least one every day. It's almost like I get a little mocktail at work some days...a sophisticated soft drink.

Happy Friday tomorrow!

I VOTED!

After work today I went to vote early! I'm so glad I went...the wait was only 15 minutes and the line moved quickly. Now if I can endure the last 6 days of election ads.

Today I am grateful for:

~The right to Vote: This is the 3rd election I've been able to vote in and probably the only one where I felt my vote will count.

~Cereal: I've been in a cooking rut and just haven't made an effort to get organized. I love cereal and it's so quick and easy...very filling too.

~Lysol: Ben is sick and I'm trying desperately to keep the house as clean as possible and keep the germs away. Next week is NOT a good time for me to get sick again during my busiest week at work.

Plentiful Gratitude!!

Throughout the day I keep thinking of the things I'm grateful for...which proves a point that by keeping a journal you can become happier. I'm constantly thinking and making mental notes. But, then when I sit down to write my 3 things, I have too many...how to choose my top 3 for day is so hard! Who knew I'd be in this dilemma of too many things I'm grateful for!

After a week without any running, I came home, threw on warm clothes and set out immediately for a 3 mile run. It was a nice relaxing run dispite the chilly temps. Hard to believe just last weekend I was running in shorts and tank top.

Since today's run was so great, my grateful list will be mostly about running:

~My body: I can't believe God created such an amazing thing...I started running again one year ago and never thought I could train my body to so efficient and run 6.2 miles. My muscles, lungs and heart work together to get me through 3 miles so effortlessly...because of this I can truly say I love running.

~Under Armour: My new compression shirt I bought at the outlets this weekend wicked away the sweat and keep me toasty warm. Hopefully, I won't dread those long 4-10 mile runs this Jan. when I start training for the half marathon.

~Magazines: I love reading them before bed...my favorite, Cooking Light, just came yesterday. The plan for the rest of the night is to snuggle up on the couch with some ice cream and my magazine!

Happy Birthday Laura!

Today is my little sister Laura's birthday! She's turning 8 and it's quite hard to believe she's not a baby anymore. It seems like we just brought her home from China last year. She started her birthday celebrations on Friday with a sleepover and seeing High School Musical 3. Tonight Ben and I are going over for Chinese...her favorite...cake and presents with our family.

Happy Birthday Presents!

Pretty new dress from us!

I'm feeling fantastic in today's outfit...a little chilly since I didn't realize my new shirt dress from Banana is only 3/4 length sleeves. I threw on a dressy jean bolero I bought over a year ago from Ann Taylor Loft and have barely worn. It's nice to finally get use out of something I bought on sale because it was a good deal. The outfit wasn't complete without tall black boots and my new long necklace and earrings.

The 3 things I'm grateful for today:

~Laura: I can't imagine our family without her. She's incredibly smart and has the funniest sense of humor that is way too mature for her age.

~Tall boots: On cooloer fall days they keep my legs warm and still let me wear skirts and dresses.

~Ben's home improvements: He called me at work to tell me he repaired the walls we messed up while moving furniture around. One thing I can cross off my to-do this for this weekend!

The Shopping Extravaganza!!

I just got back from our Girl's Shopping weekend in Williamsburg. So much fun! It went by way to quickly, but I'm glad to be back home and relaxing a little before the week starts.

Friday we arrived in Williamsburg and hit the Pottery Outlets. It's pretty old and run down, mostly filled with junk, but somewhere in there I picked up some curly branches for a vase for our bedroom, a flatware chest and some goodies from the Pepperidge Farm store. We finished the evening off with dinner at the Stoegbauer's. It was great to see them even if Steph is all the way across the country in Seattle. She called just as we finished dinner...delicious London broil, mushrooms, asparagus and salad.

Saturday we spent shopping all day...and when I say all day, I mean ALL DAY! We left the hotel at 930am and did not return until after 10pm! We did stop for a picnic lunch in the parking lot of the outlets and dinner at Outback.

Sunday we packed up our loot, made a few last minute stops for a few things we missed on the first pass through. Then, met for lunch at TGI Fridays and said our goodbyes until next year...

Shopping wise...I did awesome. I've been saving for this weekend for months now. I pretty much stuck to my list of things I've been meaning to buy and looking for, as well as bought several early birthday and Christmas gifts. Here's the total list!

~Flatware Chest
~Curly branches
~Pepperidge Farm goodies
~Orange Banana Republic Shirt Dress
~Purple Banana Jeweled sweater
~Royal Purple Cowl neck sweater from Banana
~Button funnel neck sweatshirt from Banana (sooo comfy)
~4 new camisoles
~ Gold earrings and long matching necklace
~Beach hat from Columbia
~Fleece headband for running this winter
~Under Armour compression shirt for running
~Metal welcome snowman for the lawn
~Chunky green throw for our new sofas
~Beer Mug Christmas ornament for Ben
~White t-shirts for Ben
~3 new outfits for Laura and Lillie...Christmas and Birthday gifts
~Yankee Candle tarts
~A few other Christmas gifts that I can't say!!

Since I was out of town and left the laptop at home, here's my list of things I'm grateful for for Saturday:

~Text messages: Ben went out to a friend's house and was driving home late a night with a cell phone that was temporiarly out of commission. I went to bed and he texted me at 1am to let me know he was home. I slept so good after that knowing he was home safe and sound.

~Clarks: the most comfortable shoes I own. I knew Sat. would be a long shopping day and these are so comfortable.

~Picnics: Until this year there hasn't been any food places at the Williamsburg outlets. We decided to do a picnic this year. How fun...we had a huge smorgesboard of dips, chips, fruit, sandwiches, crackers, cookies, etc... Perfect fuel for a long shopping day.


Now that I'm home...here's today's Gratitude list:

~The sun for finally coming out behind the clouds again

~MY memory foam pillow: I forgot it this weekend and I really missed it. The hotel pillows were feathery and mushy with no support.

~My FOM pillow from Brookstone: Ben gave me this purple heart shaped pillow almost 4 years ago and I love it. I sleep with it every night and travel with it every where. It's perfect for naps in the car!

On my way to Williamsburg

This is really quick as I'm late already. Ben decided to seed, put hay and water the lawn this morning as soon as he got home from work. I skipped my morning run to help him. And now I'm on my way out the door to Williamsburg.

Things I'm Grateful For:
~Instant Oatmeal: It's so quick, delicious and filling
~My mom: who loves girl's shopping weekends
~Pumpkins!: I love all things pumpkin...eating pumpkin sweets, carving pumpkins, etc.

5 Weeks to Turkey Day

There are exactly 5 weeks until Thanksgiving, which means I'll have over 100 things I'm grateful for by the end of my quest.

Today I'm grateful for:
~My puppy Freddie: he likes to snuggle in bed with me when Ben is working
~A job that challenges me
~Thursdays, that are like Fridays (tomorrow is a vacation day)!

Tomorrow my mom and I are off to Williamsburg for a Girl's Shopping weekend. I'm pretty sure this is like the 15th annual trip for the crowd we go with. We're also having dinner with my college roommates parents, who moved to Williamsburg almost 2 years ago. I can't wait to catch up with the Stoegbauer's and hear about Steph's wedding plans.

Sharing Gratitude

I was inspired to make this post on Monday when I received my newest Real Simple magazine in the mail which had a featured article about Sharing Gratitude. Several Real Simple staff members kept a journal for 30 days of what they were grateful for. Additionally the article mentioned how thinking about things you are grateful for or make you happy can improve you mood.

Since the holiday season is coming up I figured it'd be a good time to think about gratitude with all the negative things going on in the world. Instead of a written journal I thought I'd add a post to the blog of the things I'm grateful for and/or make me happy. About 10 years ago I purchased the book, "10,000 Things to Be Happy About". It simple a book of lists and I would go through and highlight things I also loved. Now, I'll be making my own list.

I'm going to try to post everyday until Thanksgiving 3 things that make me happy and that I am grateful for. (I might have to double up on some days if I'm too busy to post.) Feel free to add your own comments of things you are grateful for as well!

I am grateful for:
~soft Egyptian cotton sheets
~Ben making me coffee EVERY morning
~the beautiful colors of fall

A Frosty Fall Weekend!

Our weekends are always jam-packed and this weekend was no different! We definitely could have used an extra day to fit it all in and catch up on our sleep. Friday it finally turned chilly. I snuck away from work a few hours early...Ben fixed homemade pizza with sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, bell peppers and onions. We enjoyed pizza in front of the fire...our gas logs quickly heated up the downstairs so it was nice and cozy.

I was actually delighted to start Saturday morning's run being cold. It was a very nice break from the sweat-drenched runs for the past few months. I'm sure I'll be hating it in a few weeks. My run was fantastic...not my fastest, but a nice relaxed 5.16 miles at a 10:00 pace!

Saturday also included finally picking up our coffee table and end tables. We rushed home and unpacked them before heading to Kim & Jeff's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in North Raleigh and we couldn't be happier for them. After an unfortunate event of losing their reception site one week before the wedding, they found a wonderful site in Wake Forest. Despite being a little chilly, we had a fabulous time. Dinner and the cake was amazing...the cake barely looked like cake!

Sunday we continued our hectic weekend heading to Charlotte for the Panther's game. It was me and the boys this time as we celebrated Shane's birthday. What a great game...we were so excited to see Jake and Company pull out an awesome win. With this crowd...good beer is always plenty. Fun fact: Carolina Beer introduced the Red, Wheat and Blue beer this year at the Panther's game and they haven't lost a home game yet. You know we helped continue that tradition at the game!

Happy Fall Ya'll

This past few days have a been a perfect fall weekend...minus my nasty cold! I hate being sick on the weekends, but I guess it's better than suffering at work. And taking a few days off right now is not an option! I just wish I could have enjoyed the beautiful weekend more...there was no running this weekend.

Before I started feeling so bad, my mom and I enjoyed an evening being serenade'd by Michael Buble. I had no idea how funny and charming he was! She spent the night with us and after a few cups of coffee to get us going, we headed out to Lowe's. She offered to help me paint our new adirondack chairs from Kim & Stephen. We decided on "Piano Brown" for the color and the paint went on pretty fast. I'm so pleased with the color and how it complements the front porch.



While we were busy painting, Ben aerated the lawn and applied some weed and feed. Hopefully this will get our lack of a yard off in the right direction.

Since I was a little under the weather, we spent the rest of the weekend being lazy and watching football in between mulitple naps. Late Sunday afternoon I was itching to get off the couch, so we ran a few errands (mainly to get more cold medicine and Shower Soothers) and picked out our pumpkins. Ben wants to carve them, but I'd love to keep them as our front porch decor through Thanksgiving. We'll probably end up carving them and buying more!

A little weekend getaway!

We just returned from a nice weekend in Eastern NC. We went with my family to ECU's family weekend to visit my sister. Since Ben is now a Pirate we've had it on our list to go to a football game this year.


All hotels were booked, so my dad reserved us rooms at a Bed & Breakfast in New Bern. I love New Bern and it's always been a favorite city of mine, with Camp Seafarer so close. We drove down Friday night with a quick dinner stop at Kings BBQ in Kinston. I'm pretty sure we were the only guests at the Harmony House B&B Fri. night. The breakfast was delicious...egg strata, coffee cake, fresh fruit, and homemade toast.



After breakfast we drove to Greenville with my parents. My sister, Sara's sorority was hosting a parent's weekend brunch of their own. We spent the rest of the afternoon tailgating with spread of food. I was so stuffed from 2 breakfasts and lunch. I didn't check the weather right before we left and thought it'd be cool...the temps were in the high 80's and we were sweltering! And being that it is almost Oct. I never thought about sunscreen. So hours in the sun resulted in a nice farmer's sunburn for me. Other than the heat and the Pirates losing, we had a great time.





After the game we headed back to New Bern to find a place for dinner. It wasn't hard to settle on Captain Ratty's. Ben and I shared the biggest mug of Clam Chowder...it was so thick and creamy. For our main course I ordered the catch of the day, blackened salmon on a big salad and Ben got the Cobb Salad. Both we were huge and amazingly fantastic, but we really should have shared.


The day was exhausting and after a quick shower, Ben, me, Sara, Laura and Lillie were fast asleep by 945 in our suite.

Sunday morning's breakfast was even better. The owners, Sookie and Ed, had made homemade french toast casserole with homemade blueberry syrup, coffee cake, homemade granola and fruit. Nothing was open at 1030 when we left, so we took a quick drive by the waterfront and through downtown. I love New Bern and it was really neat to see how much it's grown up since I've been there last. Ben loved it too and mentioned on our drive home how he'd like to go back and stay at the B&B again. I wish we had time to browse all the fun shops and visit the old drug store where Pepsi was born, but we can save that for our next visit.

Girl's Weekend!

I'm a week late getting around to updates! Last weekend, my college roommate, Meg and her mom came down from the DC area for a long Girl's-Mother/Daughter weekend. We made it to our beach house by late afternoon. After a quick a few glasses of wine and a walk on the beach we ordered the best pizza ever from Basil's. It's a very small authentic NY style pizza place right across from the beach. Without any boys to please...we ordered a white pizza with spinach, mushrooms and shrimp. Delicious! We topped off the evening with a little McDreamy and watched Made of Honor.

Saturday I went for a run while everyone else walked. I was quite proud of myself...I did 4.13 miles in 40 minutes! After our morning exercise we literally shopped 'til we dropped! Most of the day was spent shopping at the outlets. I scored quite a few new tops, dress pants and a very comfy and versitle black jumper. Coach was having an awesome sale and my mom got a great new work tote. We ended the night at T-Bonz with a glass of their new Octoberfest which they had just tapped. And the night wouldn't be complete without another chick flick...Baby Mama.

Meg has never been to Charleston and since Charleston is one of our favorite day-trip places, we decided to go Sun. The day was beautiful and very pleasant. We started our trip off with lunch at 82 Queen with sandwiches and their famous She-Crab Soup. We wandered through the market, in and out of the side shops, had a wine tasting and ended with dinner at the Noisy Oyster. My uncle had just arrived in town on business and treated us to dinner. We all ordered Shrimp and Grits...we were stuffed by the time we headed home.

It was a great weekend with the girl's and I was sad it ended so quickly. Meg and I go months and sometimes a year between seeing each other, but we always pick right back up where we left off. We did promise it won't be a year before we visit again...hopefully we can get up to DC in the early spring...possibly for another girl's weekend!

Happy Happy Anniversary to US!

Yesterday Ben and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary! I can truly say I have the best husband ever! He always puts me first and thinks of anything and everything to make me happy! Since we've planned a late fall trip to Asheville we decided to keep it low-key. For weeks we made plans to go to PF Change on Monday night one day early, where we had our very first date over 4 years ago.

Us before dinner at PF Changs!

When I came back Mon. afternoon from a girl's weekend at the beach, I could tell Ben had something up his sleeve. He could barely hold it in any longer and told me my surprise...For weeks he's been planning on cooking dinner at home on our actual anniversary. He took off the night from work and planned and cooked the entire dinner.


Ben made the most awesome Angus Barn worthy dinner: NY Strips with blue cheese, crab meat and homemade hollandaise sauce on top, twice-baked potatoes and asparagus. We shared a bottle of one of our favorites wines, Hayman & Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. I had picked up cheesecake for dessert on my way home from work. We both had so much fun remembering the details of our wedding and reception will eating by candlelight on our china.



The 2nd anniversary gift is cotton. I could not come up with a memorable cotton gift for Ben. This weekend I found a t-shirt dyed with beer and said "Will Sell WIFE for Beer." As a last minute gift I got him a pair of Lucky jeans he's been eyeing. Ben got me the most beautiful flowers and a new robe from Victoria's Secret.



We can't wait to continue our anniversary celebration in Asheville over Thanksgiving weekend!

New Recipes

I've been meaning to post these recipes...just two new ones I made last week and they were delicious!

I was in the mood for a non-traditional salad and saw Chicken and Couscous Salad featured on MyRecipes.com one day. This was perfect for a quick dinner, but even better for lunch almost everyday later in the week. It's very versatile and I added whatever veggies I had on hand. In addition to what the recipe called for, I added shredded carrots and substituted tomatoes for the radishes. We had fresh chicken breasts, so Ben grilled those. But you could easily buy the prepared chicken breast slices in the deli and they'd be grea too and even quicker! This recipe definitely goes on my quick go-to dinner and spice it up lunch menu!

Chicken Couscous Salad (Cooking Light)

Salad:
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (5.7-ounce) box uncooked couscous
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup diced radishes (about 3 large)
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Dressing:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

To prepare salad, bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Spoon couscous into a large bowl; cool slightly. Add chicken, onions, radishes, cucumber, parsley, and pine nuts; toss gently to combine.
To prepare dressing, combine vinegar and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss to combine.

The second recipe is Orange-Sesame Noodles with Grilled Shrimp. It's another featured recipe on Myrecipes.com, but from back in the summer. I never got around to making it, but wish I had made it sooner. I think Ben was impressed I used peanut butter for the sauce...he's a PB freak! The orange, sesame and peanut butter made for some interesting flavors...very thai!

Orange-Sesame Noodles with Grilled Shrimp (Cooking Light)

1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
10 ounce soba noodles or spaghetti
1 cup snow peas
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
Boil noodles according to package directions. Before draining, add snow peas and carrot. Let cook 30 seconds.

Drain pasta, peas, and carrot, and toss immediately with orange juice mixture. Set aside.
Brush shrimp with sesame oil, and grill over medium-hot coals 3 to 5 minutes.

Arrange pasta on serving plates, and top with shrimp.

Grown Up Furniture

After getting settled in our new house over the past few months, we decided we'd officially start furniture shopping for our living room. We've been window shopping for a while and narrowed down our style. Today we found some awesome pieces and finally bit the bullet for some quality funiture...no more Target particle board! And even better we were able to find Ben a leather "Man Chair" that we both loved. I had strict rules that it can swivle or rock! Hopefully he'll still love it in 10 years! We brought the man chair home today, but the sofa, loveseat, cocktail table and end tables will be delivered in about 3 weeks.

Here is Ben enjoying the big Panther's win over San Deigo today in his chair with a beer.

And our other stuff that we can't wait to get. We purchased a sofa and loveseat in a Khaki microfiber suade. And I love the tables with plenty of storage. Our tables are slightly dark in a Java Cherry finish. I can't wait to start decorating and pulling together our hodge-podge living room!

Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

I absolutely love chocolate and cherry combinations. In fact, I can devour an entire box of Queen Anne's Chocolate Covered Cherries in Liquor at Christmas and my concerte of choice at Goodberry's is chocolate with bing cherries. So when I saw this recipe in my newest Cooking Light I had to make these! Delish! I probably added a little more cherry preserves than the recipe called for, which I think made them even more moist.

I made these to take to my brother's for a little dinner party since my Unk was in town. We had a great time and it would have been better if this annoying cold wasn't dragging me down.


Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies (Cooking Light)

Cooking spray
3.4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1/3 cup water
5 tablespoons butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; coat with cooking spray.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine cherry preserves, 1/3 cup water, and butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Add preserves mixture to flour mixture; stir well. Add egg and egg white; stir until smooth. Stir in semisweet chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack. Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired.

Yield 16 servings

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 155(31% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 3g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 10mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.8g; SODIUM 168mg; PROTEIN 2.2g; FIBER 1.1g

Thanks to Hanna!

This weekend we had plans to go to the beach and meet up with my college friend, Maryellen and her family. We haven't seen them in over a year and were really excited. Until Hurricane Hanna decided to make landfall. While the weather won't be terrible, we didn't want to chance driving to the beach IN the hurricane. So, change of plans...we're staying home! Maybe I can convince Ben to rip out the tile above the oven in the kitchen and start prepping the walls for a new backsplash and microwave. But a nice rainy day spent being lazy sounds good too!

One Last Summer Hoo-Rah!

As Labor Day is typically considered the last weekend of the summer, we celebrated it at the beach! We still have a few more weekends planned to the beach. Next weekend is one of them if Hurricane Hanna decides to make a sharp right turn and head back out to sea.

Both Saturday and Sunday turned out to be incredibly nice, although a little hot. We started Sat. morning off early with a run. My best 5k ever! I did 3.14 miles in 31:23. The rest of the day included the beach and pool. Then dinner at our usual favorite beach place...T-bonz. It didn't take much convincing, but we ended up at the Chairmen of the Board concert at the House of Blues. This is my favorite place to see them and this being the 6th time I've seen General Johnson, it was probably the best. I'm sure the drinks Ben was handing me all night had nothing to do with that. My uncle and my mom ended up on stage, so I guess you could say we had a great time!

Sunday was a lazy day. We spent most of the day by the pool and then headed in to pack and head home. I had to work today, Labor Day. It wasn't all that bad and I get an extra vacation day for working the holiday. I came home at 230 and Ben and I have been tidying up, doing errands and now finally relaxing!

Until I flipped the calendar to September, I was sad summer is almost over and nowhere near ready for fall, but now I can't wait to buy new fall decor and start decorating our new house. I can't wait to set out pumpkins on our front porch.