oh, how [pumpkin] pinteresting wednesday [part 2]

last week when I linked up for oh, how pinteresting wednesday I focused on pumpkin recipes [yum yum yum, check them out here]. this week I'm continuing with the pumpkin theme but thinking more on the creative side of pumpkins... check out these fun pumpkin ideas....

Source: agrablewski.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: thompsonfamily.typepad.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: home-designing.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: you-can-fly.tumblr.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: google.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via annahita on Pinterest

so freaking cute.

ready for a pumpkin spice latte, stat.



check out more pinteresting finds at The Vintage Apple!

oliver the big cheese....

as Kristen pointed out poor Oliver has been neglected on the blog lately and  Ollie is jealous of all the airtime that Tugger is getting so I'll try and make it up to him...

first, this is what happens when DJ goes out of town:

yup. 15 iPhone pictures of Oliver in his new bed.

[taken over a 72 hour span]

what? I mean, I had to capture it for his out-of-town daddy.

clearly.

[DJ wasn't as excited as I thought he'd be but I know I made Anna proud]

also, Oliver is clearly my child puppy, as he loves cheese as much as I do.  I made the mistake of giving him cheez whiz a few weeks ago [this is basically the equivalent of giving a cocaine sandwich to Lindsay Lohan].

lucky for you, I have it on tape [unlucky for you I have a terrible laugh]....

yup. 2 minutes and 28 seconds of me feeding my dog cheese.

 if you watched it all, thats 2 minutes and 28 seconds of your life that you'll never get back. 

you're welcome.

yup, he's my special boy...

...and I wear that tye-dyed tank way too much.

fried rice recipe...

quazi-healthy-fried rice recipe

[adapted from daily garnish]

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice [1 cup of uncooked]

2 carrots

1/2 white onion

1 shallot [only because I just had it laying around]

1 cup shelled edamame [I used frozen]

4 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon chopped garlic/1 garlic clove

1 egg

step 1: cook 1 cup of brown rice per instructions on rice box/use rice cooker

step 1: prep cutting veggies [dice onion, shallots carrots] while rice cooks

step 2: add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to med-high heat skillet/wok - add rice and onions [and if you're like me and have one laying around cut up shallot], cook for around 5 minutes until rice is "fried" and onions are cooked

step 3: add edamame and carrots [and whatever other veggies suit your fancy] and cook

step 4: mix soy sauce and rest of sesame oil together and add to rice/veggie mixture

step 5: push rice/veggies to outside of skillet and fry and egg in the middle, quickly break yolk and scramble egg into rice/veggies [I accidentally did this before I added the soy sauce/sesame oil and it turned out fine]

step 6: add garlic and butter

step 7: add additional soy/garlic to taste

can you believe I did it all on my own without asking DJ a million questions?!

I was super proud of myself and let me tell you...

it is really, REALLY good!

broccoli slaw recipe...

broccoli slaw

[recipe adapted from amy bites]

Ingredients: 
1 head of broccoli
3/4 bag of broccoli slaw
1 cup of craisins
4-5 tablespoons light mayo
4-5 tablespoons fat free Greek yogurt
1-2 tablespoons of honey

this couldn't be easier...

step 1: mix the first three ingredients in a medium bowl

step 2: mix the last three ingredients in another bowl

step 3: mix it all together

ta-da...

let me tell you, yummy.

surprise weekend...

well my weekend did not turn out the way I planned -- it actually ended up a LOT better... come Friday afternoon I got a call from DJ and he decided that he was going to fly home Friday night [thank the lord] - so my husbandless plans got cancelled but I got to spend the weekend with my lovie! [which clearly is almost better than a chick-flick].

I did get two of my wants from Friday night...

[pizza check, wine check]

then on Saturday, DJ and I went for a quick run at the lake and headed down to Athens to have lunch with Tiffers and Josh at Last Resort Grill [aka our Athens fave] and then ventured to go to the eye doctor [I know, so exciting].  After picking out the perfect pair of Kate Spade eyeglasses [I'll share when I get them] we went to Mat & Summers and hung out with the family and all the kids and had a blast.

Sunday was definitely our domestic day: cleaning, cooking, laundry and running errands [Target + Costco - yeees please]. We even took Ollie to the groomers to get a bath and a mani/pedi [I'm jealous, I need one of those - mani/pedi, not bath - I shower, promise].  I was also excited to try out three new recipes on Sunday which turned out great [posts coming soon].

all in all, such a great relaxing weekend. 

...and now, the 10K/Half Marathon training begins [aka no more pizza]

wish me luck!

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husbandless hita...

welp, this week has flown by and I'm ready for it to be Sunday and to be reunited with my love but here are some of the highlights of my husbandless week

some high points...
...I may or may not have spent an hour lazing around my happy place aka Target tonight. I love Danny but it is not fun to go to Target with him.... I do not like being rushed!

...lots of girly time with my MIL - we had fun at home watching old faves What a Girl Wants and the Princess Diary, and we watched Burlesque, which I loved, a definite new fave!





...date night with my MIL for yummy Chinese food and The Help on Wednesday (which we LOVED), the cast did an amazing job and I loved, loved, loved the way they "brought to life" the characters for me...



...falling asleep watching quality TV on the iPad (aka Bachelor Pad and Sorority Wars)


...lots of quality cuddle time with my other love... I also may or may not have texted DJ eight different pictures of Oliver while he's been gone... I feel like a slacker, that number will definitely double by the time he gets back!




some low points...
...clearly DJ is the more "fit" person in our marriage and I've clearly turned into sloth without him (aka I haven't worked out since he left, oops). it has arrived sloth day week 2011.



...I also definitely had popchips and cheesecake for dinner last tonight (dairy + veggies, right??) - I need him to come back and kick my diet back into gear!


...is it Sunday yet? Hope it gets here soon, better yet I hope DJ actually comes home on Sunday and isn't stranded in NYC due to the hurricane! Not kosher. I miss my guy...

I mean, how could you not miss that adorable face??

...in related news, I may have just had cheesecake for breakfast.
oops! 

definitely hopefully going for a run tomorrow and sunday!

I think tonight is going to consist of pizza, wine, nail painting and a chick-flick. 

gotta take advantage of my singledom while I can... 

don't be too jealous!

in all seriousness, looks like the hurricane is going to hit this weekend and it makes me nervous for all my east coasters. fingerscrossed it doesn't make landfall [and that DJ's flight doesn't get canceled and he can actually come home rather than get stranded in NYC]

happy friday!

kittens inspired by kittens....

clearly, I'm a dog person [no offense to all of you crazy cat ladies out there, AHEM Anna, Caroline]...but the dog person in me is smacked down and wants to run out and adopt a cat whenever I see this darn video...

aren't those some freaking adorable kittens?!

...and I would be remiss if I posted about kittens without including this gem of a video...

too. freaking. funny.

that video will always take me back to 2008

in related news, I have seriously watched both of those videos way more than I want to ever admit...

it's kinda embarrassing. 

oh, how [pumpkin] pinteresting wednesday....

with fall just around the corner here are some of my favorite pumpkin recipe themed pins...

pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting...

Source: letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com via annahita on Pinterest

pumpkin pancakes...

Source: blogs.babble.com via annahita on Pinterest

pumpkin rolls...

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via annahita on Pinterest

pumpkin crunch cake...

Source: thepickyapple.com via annahita on Pinterest

pumpkin cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and salted caramel drizzle... [um, triple yum]

Source: mysweetandsaucy.com via annahita on Pinterest

pumpkin bundt cake...

Source: amerrierworld.com via annahita on Pinterest

the pumpkin baking needs to start stat.

is it october september yet? 

check out more fun pinteresting finds at The Vintage Apple!

all quiet on the western front...

not much going on in my neck of the woods this week. classes started yesterday which means my days are filled with more student interaction [which I love] and more students eating junk outside my office [which I hate] - if you follow me on twitter you get to hear rants about this at least weekly during the school year. It never fails, the day I have a salad to eat there are like 30 kids outside my office eating cheeseburgers and french fries [don't they know I'm trying to eat  healthy?!]. but seriously, I'm psyched school is back in session and am ready to hit the ground running.

I'm a little sad today because DJ is leaving me for a week to attend to some business in NYC [he's fancy]. I want to take a business trip. That's the one thing I miss about my yearlong stint in the corporate world... business trips. I love traveling for work, being out of the office and exploring new places, oh yeah and flying and sleeping in hotels. I even loved filling out my expense report when I got back [I know, I'm a freak]. Oh well, that's about all I liked about that job so clearly I'm back in the right place/field.

But back to DJ, I'm such a baby when it comes to being without him now. It's so foreign to think about spending the next week without him. I also have to drive myself to work for the next three days, the nerve of him.  Luckily, I have Ollie and my MIL to keep me company. I have a feeling a lot of girly movies/TV is going to be watched this week and it makes me very happy!

I also finished two books this week - one that I LOVED and that you should read [Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner] and one that was kinda, eh - that I wouldn't really recommend [Chasing Harry Winston - Lauren Weisberger]. More on those later...

well, this was kinda a pointless post so I'll leave you with this youtube video makes me giggle....

love.

happy tuesday kittens.

First 5K!

This past Saturday I knocked another thing of my 30 before 30 list and ran my first 5K! I can't lie, I'm pretty darn excited about it. I met all of my goals [1. run the whole time, no walking 2. less than a 10 minute mile pace 3. beat the ladies pushing strollers] - heck yes! The course was SUPER hilly which definitely kicked my butt but overall, I felt good and am excited for our next 5K [on flat ground] to take a little time off [I know I can do better].

to top it off, we found out later that day that I had the fastest time in my age-range [25-29]... whaat?!

also, my super impressive husband was 3rd in his age range and oh yeah, 9th overall...

yup, he's a rockstar.

I'm so excited to have knocked something off my 30 before 30 bucket list and to start training for a 10K next!  I never thought I would run a 10K but DJ has been so supportive and encouraging. He keeps telling me that I'm in better shape than I think I'm in and could run one tomorrow if I wanted [he must be nuts]. Seriously though, the fact that he thinks I can do it really does makes me work harder and want to get better and stronger!

Oliver's Theme Song on UB...

looking for your daily dose of bulldog cuteness?

Check out Oliver on Urban Bulldog today!

friday's fancies... back to school...

back to school time already - can you believe it? I feel like I was just saying "August already?!" and now come Monday classes will start again at the college I work at and August will be flying by... oh Fall, you're back old friend.

I love back to school time. So much fun, excitement, shopping, starting fresh - oh yes, and a wardrobe refresher + new school supplies [this girl here, obsessed with post-it notes].  Fortunately for me, I get my office supplies ordered for me via staples.com... unfortunately for me, I don't get to dreamily wander around Target picking out sharpies, sticky notes and dividers galore.  anyways, tangent over  - you get it, I love a good red stapler.

Back to fashion, or my lack there of... I'm lucky enough to work with relaxed faculty members where it's a good day where pants are worn versus flip flops and khaki shorts [for them, not me] but I do try and dress nice like a grown-up [when I don't hit snooze 100 times].  I can't lie though, I do long for the days where I could roll out of bed throw my hair up in a messy bun [who are we kidding, I still do that] and throw on jeans and a tank, grab a hoodie and make a run for it while putting on lipgloss as I walk to class... so instead of doing a "fancy" fancies today with fun work clothes that I can wear during this back-to-school season as a grown-up, I'm going back to the essentials. casual, comfy, and overpriced. duh.

friday fancies - casual & neutral by hitajblog featuring rainbow shoes

1. BDG striped tunic - nice and loose so you can enjoy the froyo at the dining hall
2. wayfarers - classic and timeless [I can't wait until my husband buys me a pair for being awesome, cough cough]
3. beige slouchy cardigan - cozy and comfy for cold classrooms
4. mixed chain multi row - so you have something to play with in class when you get bored
5. rainbows - you know florida girls love them some flippy-floppies
6. nadri crystal bangles - for a little extra jingle jangle
7. chanel le vernis nail polish - neutral and fun
8. dark blue not skinny jean shorts - hey gators, just for you - some jorts!
9. gold wire ball studs - simple and classic

check out everyone else's fancies over at long distance loving...

...and because a post wouldn't be complete without talking about how adorable my husband is and how ridiculous we are, here's a friday flashback for you [whoa, double whammy] from our freshman year of college...  home from college and on NYE after one too many, we decided to rekindle our senior year of high school love as the clock struck twelve... make-out-city: population two. funny to think we got married almost nine years later to the day. there was lots of kissing on that day too. :)

look at those baby faces?!

yup, a decade later... I still love him.

excited for a fun weekend of 5Ks, hiking and relaxing with my lovie!

[I know, I just used 5K and hiking and exciting in the same sentence... what is happening to me]

oh yeah, one last thing....

happy birthday whitney!

[head over to whit's blog and say happy birthday to her!]

snooze.

I hit the snooze button like five times this morning.
I did NOT want to get out bed.
today is just one of those days...

...if I had my way I'd be doing absolutely nothing...

it's a sloth day if you will.

I need to take lessons from Oliver, he's got it down.

I know.

he's pretty darn cute.

here's another pic just for good measure...

yup.

I  love him.
[and my bed]

happy thursday.

what I'm loving wednesday...

heck yes wednesday. so excited the work week is halfway over. august is turning out to be quite the month for us. you know those days where everything falls into place and you're just happy? yeah, I've been having a lot of those lately. I'm just loving life. here are some specifics...

I'm loving... that my sweet husband is working downtown now too and we're carpooling to work. It's amazing, we literally get to spend an extra 2-3 hours a day together a day [freaking commute] and it is crazy what a difference that makes in my day.  I love starting my day with him and decompressing with him on the ride home. Oh yeah, we get to drive in the HOV lane too now! SCORE.

I'm loving... that I'm going to run my first 5K on Saturday! DJ is going to run it with me and I'm psyched. I'm not the strongest runner but I can definitely feel myself improving and I'm psyched to knock another thing off my 30/30 list. 

[turkey trot 2010, 10K for DJ, 2 miler for me - it was cold in MA that morning!]

I'm loving... that we've been cooking something new every weekend. I love being in the kitchen and it's making me happy to get back in there and try new recipes out. I just need to make some healthier recipes this weekend, haha!

I'm loving... that I got a USB in the mail from whitney with over 300 kindle ebooks that I could download and load onto my kindle [hello saving $$ on books for a long time!].

I'm excited to finish up reading Emma so I can start on these next...

[Chasing Harry Winston, Fly Away Home, The Lost Girls, Island Beneath the Sea]

I'm loving... grapefruit. I used to hate it [bitter, yuck] and then all of a sudden, a few months ago I tried it again and now.. I LOVE it. I have been eating it for at least one meal every day for the past few weeks. obsessed. love. so strange, but true.

[yup, I read during lunch - don't judge me... my coworkers were still out getting their lunches - I do have friends!]

and as always.. I'm loving... my sweet, cuddly pup!

[and my sweatpants, duh]

...and my sweet, lovable chauffeur husband!

loving life.

what are you loving in this beautiful august wednesday?