Just Like Pita Pit

OK maybe not just like it but pretty damn close

The day my Taste Of Home comes in the mail is one of my favorite days. I love paging through and finding so many recipes that I can do with almost anything I already have in my house. It's so much funner to cook when you have what you need right there. 

Here's a little pita recipe I tried the other night, a new big hit in the Schmidt household. 

1 lb of ground beef (I used turkey meat)

1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dry

Onions, chopped (I don't use, ew!)

1 can sliced ripe olives, drained

2 tsp, lemon-pepper seasoning, divided

1 large tomato or cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 c. (8oz) fat-free plain yogurt (I usually have plain Greek Yogurt on hand)

1/2 c. reduced-fat mayo

pita bread or salad cups as I found them to be called

Romaine Lettuce

Feta Cheese

I had most of this on hand so only had to pick up the feta, lemon-pepper seasoning, pita bread and the frozen spinach. I'm sure you could sub fresh spinach for frozen and probably chicken for the meat. I also accidentally grabbed goat cheese instead of feta and then forgot to use it, so FYI it's good with no cheese!

Now the best part, only TWO steps. 

1. Cook the meat. Add the spinach, onions, olives and 1 tsp (or to your tasting) lemon-pepper and heat through. Toss in tomatoes and set aside. 

2. Combine the mayo, yogurt and 1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning. Line pitas with the romaine lettuce, add beef mixture and top with feta. Use yogurt sauce for dipping.

Easy as ordering from Pita Pit! 

High Five Friday

Linkin up with Lauren for High Five For Friday again this week!

1. New Taste of Home came this week. My fav thing to get in the mail. 

in heaven

2. B and I had a pizza party and made some individual homemade pizza together! 

can you guess who's is who's, hehe

3. Challenge finale this week and Team Camille and Johnny won! Oh Yeah! (read here)

4. I am learning a new game and sticking with it!

yep that's right..chess. 

5. And Best of all B's mom is visiting this week!! Finally and at last, completely looking forward to a fun filled weekend with the in-laws!!

4th of july 2010

I am so looking forward to a fun weekend, nice weather and no work, yay!

You can link up with Lauren at My Grey Desk here!

Snap Crackle Pop

I have had this OPI Crackle polish for almost a year and yet to try it out. With some naked nails for a whole week I decided these bored fingers needed a little something special for the first dress up since they've lost their dazzle.

First off I wanted to make sure I had a base coat that would look good. I love white nails or black nails but have to admit that I hate using them both cause they are a pain in the ass to get off. Since I was covering them with the crackle I didn't need to do multiple coats of either before the top.

One coat of white on the ring fingers and one of black on the rest.

Once dry cover with crackle and let the magic happen

Finish with a shiny topcoat and wallah...fancy nails! 

ps. only do one coat of the crackle, it'll smear the bottom layer. also i really like the white better than black.

Perrrrfect Day Outfit

The other weekend, before it was nice out, B and I had a nice lazy day. We hit up a couple of movies, shopping and just hung out. I wanted to be comfortable but not be in my sweats (like the usual movie ensemble) and just wanted wear something nice and fun! 

This is what I came up with. 

like i said in my other post, i love being comfortable and usually work an outfit around that. i wore the fur for some warmth while outside, since we were just going to a movie and in and out of stores! fun. 

"boots and the fur!" hehe

fun avs and gold hoops. 

March Photo A Day

funny i love auto correct

before : work clothes

after : workout clothes

delicious...mmm, ruby snap cookies

kitchen sink

moon via google images (forgot)
animal  my two animals being crazy!

breakfast...protein pancakes. so good!

Update From A Mad Runner

Spring Fever

Oh yeah! Up and at um..10:30 and I've already done my 3.5 miles run...outside. Now I'm going to make some protein pancakes recipe found via Leigh Ann's blog. Then The Hunger Games this afternoon. I am so excited to see this movie I can hardly stand it. If you haven't read this series please do. It's so great. 

Anyways, in workout news I have been kicking my 10k training in the ass this week! So proud of myself!
Spring as officially sprung here in SLC. It was so nice out this week I think I even got a little bit of a tan/uneven burn on my neck this week! Although I have been doing good at DOING my workouts, I am not proud of myself as I didn't even run outside in the nice weather! I know, so lame, I used the excuse of my dead Ipod and my dead Garmin and ran inside at our clubhouse. The only positive thing was I was the only one in there and I sweat my ass off. Also I got to see that VH1 has one of the funniest shows on TV right now. Couples Therapy. I was laughing so hard just at the cast I can only imagine how ridiculous this show is going to get. Honestly I probably won't be able to watch it anymore but it was a good diversion from my workout for the day.
Saturday for my cross-train day B and I hit up Snowbird Ski Resort for a morning of spring skiing and some $2 dollar beer. I was so warm and the first run was ICY as can be! I almost stopped after the first run but thankfully B talked me into doing some more runs.  I guess the saying "spring skiing spells I-C-E" is completely true. We were able to get quite a few runs in quickly as it was so EMPTY there! I loved it. Then we had a few beers and enjoyed the sun after the slopes. Honestly I think this weekend was my last for the year so happy it was a great day with B!

snapshots from Snowbird via Instagram

ps. i like to add a song on my workout write ups, i actually googled spring songs and this elvis one popped up...who doesn't love a little elvis

Kitchen Decor DIY

OK so I had to do this cute DIY dining room project I blogged about a few weeks ago. I got it from the ...Love Maegen blog. Check out her blog for the step by step directions of the project. 


Here's what I did and ended up with!!
What you need:
one or two canvases (just depends how you want yours to look like, with the writing on two like Maegen did. I had one canvas so I just wanted to use one)
spray paint
stencils or make a template...I used Maegen's. She has a link to the template she used on her blog.
double stick tape
metal push pins
ruler


First things first...cut out the template you want to use. Cutting is hard. I remember always cutting things out when I was younger but I don't remember that it hurt my fingers. Wine helps. 

cutting out template...only good with a glass of wine

Next, mark on your canvas where you want the letters and make sure they will be straight.
Then use the double stick tape to stick on the lettering on the canvas.

taped on template

Then the fun part. Spray the canvas! Of course do it in an area where if over spray happens, it's OK. Let it dry and then take off the letters. (just follow the directions of the spray can, let it dry and do multiple coats if needed)

after paint...i put it inside to dry (it was so cold out the night i sprayed it plus i live by hoodlums, who know what they might have done to it) 

so i used scrap booking tape and i had a lot of over spray under my letters so i actually painted the letters with acrylic paint to make sure the words were more noticeable 

easiest part

 Stick the metal push pins around the edge of the canvas.

lastly hang it where you want it! So cute in our eat in kitchen

ps. seriously check out Maegan's blog. she has the best DIY's for almost everything you could think of not to mention she has amazing style

High Five Friday

Linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk this week for High Five (it's FAB) Friday!

1. Duh, chatting it up with my fav peeps. 

2. I'm stickin to my running plan. (patting my back!)

3. Finding some new songs I'm OBSESSED with! Jack White and The Shins...first heard via SNL (it's coming back!) 

4. Springs here!!! 

5. Lastly the (in)famous City Creek Center opened this week! I don't know if I can brave the crowds but am anxiously waiting to see it!

via Google.com images

And I have one thing to add that is not High Five

via Google.com images

1.The Walking Dead finale was on last Sunday. 
It was a good one but I'm going to miss it. Can't wait for season 3!


Also don' forget to check out Lauren's blog!

Wish List

So I have been catching up on my reading lately blogs and People Style Watch. So here's a few things I am drooling over.
Neon Purse, still..love the Target one.
Floral Pants, (I actually already bought these;)
High Top Wedge Sneakers. Isabel Marant.I found a pair at ALDO after Xmas, but didn't get them and now they are gone. I need to find an affordable pair! Help if you can!!
White tee, this one has lace on the top, just a bit to add a little something. I can never resist a white tee!

GNDN

Since the winter blues got me B has graciously offered gave in to a date night once a week. No gym after work, straight home to hang out with me. A couple weeks ago was Game Night Date Night. I got Monopoly for Xmas from my sister so we had to break it out and play the game. So much fun! You forget how long you can play Monopoly for, it wasn't until a couple days after that we finally boxed the game back up (I told B he won). It was fun while it lasted and next we'll have to use it with some other people to make it a real game!

all set up and ready to play

all but two of those hotels are B's...I guess he really would have won

thanks heather for the present! my fav!

Black and Yellow

Another little office outfit magic. Like I said I have to keep my clothes for work comfortable, practical and can get dirty...but that does not mean I can't look good!!

Here I used my black stretch pants and a sweater I found at The Gap after Xmas. A little shimmer helped the all back outfit not to mention kept me cozy at work.

cowl neck over a fitted jacket

gotta love bathroom photos. gold bangles look great, but annoy  my co-workers

close up of the glitter...black and gold

March Photo A Day

fork..lunch time

a sign=love that store

clouds 

car...one sweet hoopdee

sunnies

green, Happy St. Paddy's Day...and so proud of my SIOUX!

corner of my home...miss izzie's corner

Update From a Mad Runner

Testing One Two Three...

This week I decided to start doing a training for a 10K. At first I thought since I have been doing fairly well at a running schedule this winter I could probably start with the Hal Higdon: Intermediate training but realized that it was not for me when you start out on your easiest day with a nice 3 miler. Um..no thanks. So I stuck with the Novice training. To tell you the truth I was excited to get back into a schedule of running/workouts/lifts. Now do not misinterpret this that I was "excited" to run, cause I wasn't, especially when the training still started out with a 2.5 mile run.

Since I had a friend come into town on Tuesday I switched my Monday and Tuesday workouts around so I could get a workout in before my friend arrived. As you all know there was not way in hell that I was going to be able to get up and run on a Tuesday morning! To be honest (very honest, no not THAT honest) I actually enjoyed my first 2.5 mile run. It was a nice day out, windy as hell, but nice. Even better when I can wear my husbands Garmin and run exactly 2.5 miles. I used to just use MapMyRun.com and figure out how far I needed to run, but ever since we got the Garmin I can be more exact. Before this I always figured to run to a certain point and run back and it usually was a stop light, but that was not very exact. Now I know to run 1.25 miles from my house I have to run about 10 yards past an intersection, I bet everyone on that bus stopped at the red light was like "didn't we JUST see this girl run the other way and now she's already coming back?". Yep you did, it's called being precise. 

The weather as been similar to NoDak and I felt like I was in track training again with the luke warm crazy big wind gusts kicking my ass, but it also gave me motivation. Honestly the first .50 of the mile was the hardest and then I was able to get into a nice rhythm. I was nervous at first 1. because of the wind, it kicked my ass the first .25 miles and I didn't think I could go on and 2. I had been running on the treadmill in our workout room and was only getting about 1-1.5 miles in under 20 minutes. Either the Britney Spears play list really gets me in a groove or I have been a BTS (big time SLACKER). 

me and my bestie before a night on the town. so much fun!

The rest of the week I was able to follow the workout fairly well I even mixed in TWO workouts in ONE! Holla! Right now I still have yet to do my big 3 mile run, I might have had too much fun the past couple nights! Wish me luck!!

Cherry Blossom Blues

I learned a little something on this project. First, Cherry Blossom Day is March 20th and I got this new project done just in time and second, painting branches is harder than it looks. I found this great little ditty on pinterest again. It was tagged from Alpha Mom blog. It is easy (for the most part!) and fun so give it a whirl.

What you need:
Canvas or poster board
Paint
Brushes
2 Liter of Cola bottle.

First I drew the branches on my canvas. I used to be very artistic (or so I though) when I was younger, but I honestly don't trust my self anymore.

 Next paint them up. I have acrylic paint, I wanted the branches to be large but didn't take into consideration how large the paint brush gets when you actually start painting. Then I had a lot of very light areas and kept going back over them to even it out and it made it larger. I finally just filled it in from the sides with a brush. Then I started on the side branches. I used a smaller brush and then a smaller one yet to get all the different sizes. I still think the main branch looks too big but I guess that's how trees are. (at least the ones I paint)

 The rest of my high tech tools. I had two different bottles with different bottoms. The lemonade was smaller and so I did some of each just to mix it up. This was the easiest part! I had bought this blue paint to use on some frames but didn't so I wanted to use it on this. It matches our bedroom colors. Its acrylic and I mixed water with it to make it a little runnier and easier to stamp.

 Stamp away! I put them all over, considering some petals fall off trees. I then went back and put the center dot in the middle with a brush. It was goupy but just leave it and let it dry that way. I made the mistake to try to clean it up after it was set for a couple hours and ended up re-stamping some petals to recreate the same look.

 Dried and ready to hang!

 I tried it in our room but it seems to small for the area, so I hung it in the entryway. That is why I bought the blue color for to match so it worked out well. Plus B said he wanted it in an area where people can see it, he really liked it. Thanks babe!

I am still adding some finishing touches to the entryway, once I'm done I'll get full pictures of the whole area!

ps. if you are not on pinterest, join
pss. the funnest thing about this last project was using this beautiful girl. it's been a while since i used my Canon..missed her!