I need a haircut!

I think it's time for a haircut. It's probably been about 6 months since my last chop, and frankly I'm bored with my hair. I can get it to look good maybe one day a week, but other times it's just so blah. Time for a change.

Usually when I decide to cut my hair I end up chopping off something crazy like 6 inches, I love it for a week, and then I say that I can't wait for it to grow back out again. I've always loved my hair when it's super long, and I've been thinking for a while that I'm going to keep growing it out.. but I've changed my mind.

I'm leaning towards getting a cut that's about shoulder length with long-ish layers. Below are some of my favorite options:

What are your thoughts? Should I go longer with side-swept bangs like the first picture (which is really not too different from what I have now.. just more bangs and a tad shorter)? Or should I go a little shorter with longer bangs like the second two? I'd love people's opinions!

I definitely know that this is NOT what I want:

I'm afraid that if I tell my hairstylist that I want "shoulder length hair with layers" that this is what I'm going to get. So I'm thinking that when I go to the stylist I'll take one "this is what I want" picture and one "if you give me this haircut I will scream and cry and demand you fix it" picture.

Oh and for reference, this is what my hair looks like now:

Like I said, BORING.

Favorite things from this week

Here are a couple of things from this past week that I've really enjoyed.

1) This apple cider:

We picked up some of this delicious stuff last week at the Union Square farmers market, and we've been drinking it non stop ever since. It's from Breezy Hill Orchard and I honestly think that it's the best apple cider I've ever had. Which is why when I went back to the farmers market this weekend I picked up some more!

2) And speaking of the Union Square farmers market, that's my second favorite thing of the week:

The farmer's market in Union Square is quickly becoming one of my favorite things about where we live. It's only 2 blocks away, which makes carrying home arm-fulls of groceries less painful, and I'm told that the market even stays open through the winter months. This past week I picked up the apple cider and then dinner for Sunday night which included: sourdough bread, new potatoes, green beans, mushrooms and some truly delish pheasant sausage that I got on "sale" since it was the last package (I now know why they sold out so quickly, it was so good).  For dinner I roasted the new potatoes with some rosemary, cooked the sausage, then cooked the mushrooms and greenbeans in the same pan to absorb the flavor, threw it all together and voila! I didn't have anything specific in mind when I was shopping on Saturday, I just sort of bought what looked good, and that's what I ended up with: a yummy meal that came entirely from local farms, and involved no recipes. Gotta love it!

3) This girls blog: http://ramshackleglam.com/blog/

I've been really into reading blogs recently, and I've become a huge fan of this girl. She writes about everything from fashion to relationship advice, and she always has some great recipes to share. She even featured one of my recipes on her blog after I sent her the recipe letting her know that it's one of my favorites. 

4) Friends and Football:

On Saturday night we got together at a friends house for a house warming/Michigan football viewing party. Our friends just bought and moved in to their new place, and since they and a lot of our other friends up here are Michigan fans they decided it'd be good to celebrate the house and game by having us all over. The game was a serious nail biter with 3 touchdowns being made in the last 1:20, but victory was had when Michigan beat Notre Dame in the last 28 seconds of the game! But mainly it was just a really, really great time spent with good friends and good football. 

Oh, and I took the copious amounts of leftovers of this dish since there was no way that Vlady and I could have finished it all. It seemed to be a hit! 

5) Lastly, this little nugget:

That's a picture of my niece, Tatum, from when my family went to the beach last weekend. I've been looking at this picture non stop for the past week... she's just so darn cute!

Creamy (low fat!) Mac n Cheese

I like to think that I'm a fairly healthy eater. I now eat fruits and veggies almost every day (almost.. usually at least 6 out of 7 days a week, but I certainly haven't always eaten that healthy ::cough:college:cough::), and I usually eat food as low in calories and fat as possible. Growing up my mother always cooked amazing meals for us, and she also made sure that we ate very healthy... so I come by my eating habits honestly.

But sometimes I cheat (seriously, who doesn't.. you can't eat healthy ALL of the time), and one of my favorite things to "cheat" on is mac n cheese. There's really not much better than a nice bowl of creamy, cheesy, delicious mac n cheese. Mmmmmmmm.

I've never made homemade mac n cheese before (unless you want to count Kraft or Easy Mac), so when I saw a good looking recipe in the latest magazine of Cooking Light I decided to give it a try. The main way that they cut down on calories and fat is by omitting the bechamel sauce and using butternut squash to add creaminess instead. Yummy mac n cheese with "hidden" vegetables? Bonus! This recipe may not exactly compare to the full fat, artery clogging mac n cheese recipes I've had in the past, but for something that's lower in fat I'd say it's a pretty darn good dish.

Another thing to note is that I assembled this the night before (through step 5), and then baked it the next day to serve as a side dish with a meal. Since it's a little time consuming this allowed me to serve it fresh for dinner without having to worry about timing with the other dishes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash)
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 pound uncooked cavatappi
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
• 2. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
• 3. Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.
• 4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• 5. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot pasta mixture. Lightly coat topping with cooking spray.
• 6. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve