Monday Wine Day!

After Laura took off Monday morning, Jon and I headed to Temecula for the day.  We visited Calloway Winery, South Coast Winery, Leoness Cellars, and Ponte Winery.  The scenery was gorgeous.

We had a delicious meal at Ponte (thanks to Va Belle's recommendation).  Our cheese plate was phenomenal!  It was such a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy some appetizers.  

Laura's trip!

Laura's trip has come and gone...it went by way too fast!  We enjoyed long walks on the boardwalk, a hike at Crystal Cove, great meals both in and out (including Laura's first trip to In-N-Out), shopping, spending an afternoon at the beach, a sunset from a lifeguard tower, and long chats.  It was the perfect balance of showing Laura SoCal and BFF time.  We were so busy enjoying our time that we barely took any pictures!

It was a great Memorial Day weekend!  Miss LT already!

One more sleep

My best friend, Laura, arrives tomorrow morning!

Source: someecards.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam

A couple of weeks ago I made Jam on a Monday night.  Usually it's quite a process (who am I kidding...I've never made actual jam by myself...only assisting my mom), but this recipe was very simple.  The jam is pretty tasty on my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Compliments of Midwest Living

Ingredients

3 cups strawberries
1 cup finely chopped rhubarb
5 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup water
1 1 3/4 ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin

Directions

1. In a large bowl, crush berries using a potato masher. Measure 1 1/2 cups crushed berries. Stir rhubarb into the 1 1/2 cups crushed berries. Add sugar and lemon peel; stir to combine. Allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the water and pectin. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pectin mixture to fruit mixture (I also added the other 1 1/2 cups of crushed berries back in here...I was confused with the berries from step 1, but I think it turned out just fine), stirring for about 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture is no longer grainy.

3. Ladle hot jam into half-pint freezer containers, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Seal and label. Let stand at room temperature for about 24 hours or until set. Store for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator or for up to 1 year in the freezer.

Disneyland

Yesterday we went to the happiest place on earth!  It was totally a spur of the moment decision and we had a fabulous day!  We rode on Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, It's a Small World, 

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Splash Mountain.  

We also met Mickey and some other characters.

The last ride we went on was Splash Mountain (we had a FastPass to go in the afternoon, but it was broken during our designated time so they honored it later on for us).  I don't really do rides like this (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a stretch for me), but Jon loves them so I sucked it up and went for him.  You can't really see Jon's face (thanks Disney for putting "Splash" across his face), but I have the look of terror on mine!  It was 10pm by the time we went on it and completely dark so that definitely intensified my fear as we were going down the mountain!  But, I will say it was pretty fun!

Tabata!

We have a gym at work.  

It's fairly small, but they have treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, weight machines, and a room for classes.  Last Monday I did my first Tabata class and for some crazy reason, I went back again tonight.  The classes are fairly small...as in, there were only two of us tonight (four last week).  

So, there is no slacking off or hiding behind the person in front of you.  

We started off with jumping rope 250 times in a row and ended the class with running on the treadmill (on an incline) while someone stands behind you and holds a resistance band around you pulling you back.  

It's such a killer workout!

Source: marathonsweetheart.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I'm pretty sure I almost drowned tonight!

Friday's Fancies - color crush

Happy Friday friends!!

I've been busy and overwhelmed with 

my new position, but things are going well!

I don't think our weekend will entail too much.

Errands, some shopping, and maybe brunch.

Fine by me!

outfit

I'm linking up with {av}'s Friday's Fancies again this week.

Buffalo Chicken Wedge Salad

Last week I made this salad for dinner.  It was a delicious twist on buffalo chicken!  I used a hybrid of these two recipes: ValSoCal and Schue Love.

Jon grilled chicken breasts and I mixed the shredded chicken with the hot sauce/butter mixture.  The mix of spicy chicken, cold lettuce, tomatoes, onions, Gorgonzola cheese dressing, and carrots hit the spot!  

It's a quick, delicious salad for a week night dinner!

Weekend pictures

Friday evening we went out for Thai in Seal Beach and had this cinnamon roll for 

dessert...it was warm, gooey, and amazing!  I would like another.

Sunday night we grilled a sausage and spinach pizza.  This is definitely 

the best pizza we've grilled so far.  They say practice makes perfect!

Jon is patiently waiting to start Mad Men so that's it from here tonight!

Delivery!

I received a delivery today!  

My family sent me flowers for my new position.  They are gorgeous!!!

Yeah, my family pretty much rocks!

A Family Affair

We had a great trip back to Chicago!  Kate, Lauren, and Annie came to the airport to pick us up.  Lauren ran right up to us and had the biggest smile on her face...of course it made me tear up.

Friday afternoon Jon and I headed downtown to help set up for A Family Affair.  Jon was a huge help!  It's a good thing he was there to man the drill for us ladies.

Saturday was the actual event.  My parents, Kate, Lauren, and Annie came.  It was so fun to take Lauren and Annie around to the different activities.

I was exhausted Saturday evening.  I think the time change and lack of sleep caught up with me.  We just hung out at the hotel my parents were staying at...the adults participated in the complimentary happy hour and the girls enjoyed the pool.

Before we knew it, we were back at O'Hare waiting to take off for CA.  It was a good, but quick weekend...about 6 weeks and we'll be back together again.  Thanks again to my dad for being the photographer of the weekend!