Weekends

Here's a few snapshots from the past couple weekends.  Halloween costumes, carved pumpkins, BBQ Festivals, tailgating, wine tasting and yoga in the vineyard, beautiful Austin days and nights.

Salad in a Glass!

So the title may not sound all that appetizing...but trust me, this is one delicious smoothie!  I've been going to a lot of workout classes at Lifetime like STRIKE!, Barbell Strength (should have been the Incredible Hulk for H-Ween) and No Limits Circuit and man these classes are intense!  After I'm done I definitely need something quick, easy and healthy to refuel. 

This Tropical Green Smoothie is inspired by the Vegan cafe-Beets Living Foods Cafe which is just downstairs from my apartment.  I mustered the courage to try it the first time I went and have been hooked ever since.  What I love is that you get a ton of spinach and protein all in one glass and it tastes like the Caribbean!

Tropical Green Smoothie Recipe

1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I like to use Fage Greek for lots of protein)

4 chunks of fresh Mango

4 chunks of fresh Pineapple

2 big handfuls of Spinach

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  You can add more or less fruit depending on how sweet you'd like the smoothie to be.  

Sunday Ratatouille

I've always wanted to make Ratatouille and today just happened to be the day!  This recipe was beyond delicious and easy to make.  I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen--absolutely delectable!

Happy Sunday!

Chicago Marathon

Last weekend Luke and I were able to meet in Chicago for the weekend to sight see, eat and most importantly cheer on Audrey as she ran the Chicago Marathon.  The weekend was really enjoyable, the weather felt like summer and we had fun exploring downtown.  You can see all of our photos from the weekend here: Photo Link

My favorite part of the weekend was cheering on Audrey as she ran the marathon.  Watching her was inspiring and I am so impressed by her dedication to training for this amazing event.  It was such an amazing setting for the marathon (despite the warm temperatures).  I guess if you're going to run 26.2 miles it might as well be in a cool city!  It was surreal seeing 45,000 runners pass through the city, underneath the 'L', over the river and up Michigan Avenue.

Can you spot her?  At mile 12.

With the marathon finished it was time for some post-race celebration at Kuma's Corner--best burgers I've ever had.  In Luke's words, "I spent the whole drive home thinking about how good those burgers were."  I think he's already planning a return trip back to Kuma's.

Congrats to Audrey and thanks for a great weekend Chicago!

Aluminum Foil

Well hey ya'll!  OK so I haven't really started saying ya'll...yet :) Check back in a few months.  I'm still getting comments on my Minnesooootan accent down here.

It's been a while! I've been busy busy busy.  Traveled home to Minneapolis for a very long week of training with many pleasant visits sprinkled on top of long days at headquarters.  It was so nice to be home and I'm very lucky to have caught a glimpse of the beautiful Minnesota fall.  Here's one of my favorite photos from my parent's backyard. 

Fall certainly doesn't look like that down here in Austin!  Glad I was able to catch it last week.  Since I've been back in Austin I've been busy too.  I'm now working on my own, and getting calls and appointments set up along with picking up samples, following up on leads and getting all of the necessary tools and equipment ready, and in my apartment has been quite an ordeal.  It's going well though and certainly keeping me on my toes.

I also found a great group of women to play tennis with each Monday night (we can play all year round here!), went to a concert sponsored by Pacifica beer (yum) and my apartment complex, and attended group bible study at the new church I've been going to.

So why the title aluminum foil? Well, it just so happens that every night this week I've made dinners that bake or grill in aluminum foil packs.  They're healthier because I don't have to use oil or butter to cook with, quick, amazingly easy to clean up and are super flavorful!  Here's my favorite recipe that I had this week:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Place 2 cups spinach in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Combine couscous with 1/4 cup water; divide evenly among packets, placing on top of spinach. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl. Divide shrimp evenly among packets, placing next to couscous. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 tsp salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl. Carefully cut foil to open; stir contents; garnish with salsa before serving.

This recipe is SOOOO GOOD! I highly recommend it.  Tonight I'm just doing a spinach/tilapia/lime/asparagus pack and trying out Kalyn's Kitchen recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with Balsalmic Vinegar and Rosemary.

Have to run to the store to get some Rosemary!  Love ya'll!

First Weekend in Austin

First things first, it just rained for 10 minutes!  Austin is in desperate need of rain so I think every little bit helps.  I miss seeing the lush green landscape of Minnesota!  Everything here looks parched, dry and yellow. 

OK enough about the weather.  This weeking is ACL (Austin City Limits) and the city is busy and swarming with sweaty, sunburned concert goers.  I wasn't here in time to get tickets, and don't know if I would have paid to see the line up this year but will be interested to see who comes to the festival next year.  Live music is honestly everywhere in this city; Austin certainly upholds it's reputation as the Live Music Capital of the Nation.  The thing is, I have yet to hear a bad band so it's easy to appreciate the music everywhere.

This week I worked with my manager and started going on calls in the Austin area.  I was incredibly suprised at how nice, welcoming and easy to work with all of the customers are.  Their kindness just makes me excited to get out on my own and get my name out there.

I'm having a lot of fun when I'm not working too!  My apartment building had a happy hour and I was able to eat dinner and have drinks with my neighbors and meet some other residents.  Last night I went out with one of the girls I met and her friends and had a ton of fun hopping from bar to bar.  Today I went to the farmers market and am going to try to find a church to go to tomorrow.  Once I get my tennis racket from home I'll be able to go to some tennis practices and matches too.

What I love about my apartment is the kitchen (duh).  I have so much space to cook and prepare meals.  This week I made one of my favorite recipes- Polenta Stack with Navy Bean Salad.  The foil pack is so easy to to clean up and you can bake or grill the foil packet.  Its delicious!  From http://www.self.com/.





Serves 4

 

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (15.5 oz each) navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 lb plum tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup basil, chopped, plus 15 leaves for garnish

10 oz crumbled feta, divided

1 tube (18 oz) prepared polenta, cut into 16 slices

1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 bottles (7 oz each) roasted red peppers, drained

PREPARATION

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Combine beans, tomatoes, chopped basil and 5 oz feta in a bowl. Place 1/4 of bean mixture in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Working 1 packet at a time, place 4 slices polenta in an overlapping circle over beans. Top with 1/4 of zucchini slices, 1/4 of red peppers and 1/4 of remaining 5 oz feta. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal packets; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Carefully cut foil to open and garnish with basil leaves. Serve and enjoy!



Up and Running!

After a long 3 day weekend of boxes, packing paper and tape, assembling furniture and runs to Target I am finally moved into Austin!  The impressive turnaround time can solely be attributed to my mom, Susan.  She was able to come down with me and seamlessly unpacked and moved me in.  Thanks Mom, you're amazing!  We were certainly busy, but I did get a chance to learn my way around the city a bit as well as explore my surroundings with mom.  Take a look at some photos of my new apartment in downtown Austin!  If you look at the photos close enough, you can hear the music coming through the walls of the bar next door :)



View of the kitchen--more cabinets than I could ever dream of!





Love my front hall table!



My favorite photo above the front hall table.









Study/office--see those red legs?? 45 screws, and I don't own a power drill...Susan had a big blister from screwing them all in!

 Dropping my mom off at the airport this evening was incredibly sad.  I'm really on my own now and it's time to start living it!  I'll admit, its a bit scary but my plan is to take it day by day.  I've already looked into some clubs--rowing, paddleboarding, tennis and am going to try to go to some meet ups and events with my apartment building.  I'm looking forward to setting down some roots and becoming more settled.  I'll have a chance to visit some of my customers with my boss later this week which will help me start to acclimate to my new work environment.  Lots of new stuff coming up in my future which is exciting but also makes me ache for home and the comfort of being with my family and friends who know me best.  I miss you guys! 

Sad goodbyes and new beginnings

Welcome to my brand new blog, From Loons to Longhorns!  It took me a bit to settle on a good title, but I'm glad I finally chose a name.  If you're not a fan, maybe some of the titles that made the cutting room floor can help put this one into perspective for you: "Tall in Texas", "Life's Taller in Texas", "Don't Mess with Katie", and "Midwestern Migration"...

Now that I've got the name out of the way, let the adventure begin!  Here's the background: I found out 5 weeks ago that I had the opportunity for a promotion and would be relocating to Austin, TX for my next sales rotation.  Of course I was anxious, nervous, a bit (OK a lot) sweaty, and excited when I found out but was excited to finally know where the next chapter of my life would take place.

The last few weeks have been filled with tying up loose ends: returning cable boxes and modems, spending mountains of money on IKEA furniture, watching movers violently shoving all of my valued possessions into 200 moving boxes and many choked up goodbyes to friends, family and colleagues. 

So why do I need a blog?  Well, for one, I love to write.  And cook.  And design things.  And try new activities.  And surf the web.  And shop.  And try new restaurants. And use pinterest (for those of you who don't know what that is: http://www.pinterest.com/).  So why not share it all with you?  I've had travel blogs and personal blogs and find that they're a way for me to not only communicate with anyone who cares to listen, but also communicate with myself and share new, cool, fun, yummy things!

Is your seatbelt fastened?? I hope so...let the adventure begin!