Lately Through Photos

Things are busy with school and the rest of life in full swing, but I'm determined to keep my little blog going, even if it means checking in a bit less often.  Here's what's been going on in the month of October.

Oliver turned 6!

Now that the birthday celebration is over, it's time for doggie boot camp to begin.  The vet informed us that Oliver weighs 47 pounds, which is pretty ridiculous for a beagle.  He needs to lose at least 7 pounds stat.  Poor guy...he just loves food so much!

Wendy continues to crack us up everyday by acting like the world's most privileged princess.

I'm loving all things fall. 

Pumpkin everything!

Halloween treats for our neighbors. 

Beautiful heirloom carrots. 

Fresh-squeezed apple juice.

So much ethnic food.  Jay and I are obsessed with Ethiopian and Moroccan. 

We've also eaten dinners like this many a night.  Can't go wrong with tofu+veggies+grains. 

And this sweet potato and white bean pasta recipe from the Humane Society was a big hit earlier this week.

 

 

It sort of reminded me of my very favorite sweet potato mac & cheese, but less cheesy and sweet, more savory and creamy.  

Jay's volleyball team is still dominating the competition.  I'm looking forward to going to Dallas tomorrow to cheer them on against their toughest opponent. 

When he's not coaching, Jay stays busy with various projects around the house, like hanging the lawn mower from the ceiling.  It's genius!

Also on the agenda: a trip out to California next Thursday to visit my friend Catie!  Catie is fighting recurrent breast cancer and has been a real trooper over the past few weeks.  Can't wait to see her along with lots of other friends from college. 

 

I'm off to start enjoying my fall break!  

The Healthiest Green Tea Ever!

I recently read about the healthiest way to prepare green tea, and I can't believe someone didn't tell me about this sooner.

I was always under the impression that, if you wanted to make iced tea, you had to first brew it hot and then wait for it to cool down or pour it over ice.

As it turns out, you can actually cold-steep your tea by throwing a tea bag in some water and then waiting a couple of hours.  Not only does it taste less bitter, it also has significantly more antioxidants this way.

Apparently, when you make hot tea, the heat from the water may actually destroy some of the antioxidants that it pulls out.

Don't get me wrong, a hot cup of green tea is still a super healthy drink choice, but it's nice to know that there is an even easier and more effective way to prepare it.

This entire week, I added a green tea bag to my water bottle and stuck it in the fridge each night before going to bed.

Here's the before picture.

When I was ready to go to work in the morning, I had a refreshing bottle of cold-steeped tea ready to go.

It's been great to have a water alternative to sip on all day that is so easy to prepare, and all of the antioxidants are an added bonus.

By the way, this habit is not expensive.  You can buy 100 bags of organic Uncle Lee's Tea for super cheap on Amazon, or for even less at Wal-Mart.  

Have a great weekend!