The Reason I Became a Certified Minister

So yeah, I meant to post about this a while ago.. but like I said, work has been extremely busy and I haven't had much (any) free time!

Many people have heard this story already, but I know that there are also many people who have no idea why I decided to become a certified minister. Let's start at the beginning..

Earlier this year my sister and I were talking about what we could do for my mom and dad for their 30th wedding anniversary. The thought of renewing their vows had been tossed around for a while, but we just never knew exactly how to pull it off. When we started to make a little more progress (we chose a date, and a location) we began talking about who would officiate the ceremony. Assuming we would only need a justice of the peace we looked into the cost for just a quick ceremony.. only to find out that would set us back about $300-$400! That amount was out of the question; the whole ceremony was supposed to be small, intimate and inexpensive.

So after we realized the cost I jokingly said "Dude, why don't we just do it ourselves?". Note: I JOKINGLY said that.. and yes, I actually said "Dude". My sister on the other hand decided that this actually was a really good idea, and the next thing I know she's telling me that she's gone online and registered us both as certified ministers in the State of North Carolina.

Now, I know that a lot of people think that this whole online certification thing is a scam. Yes, we had to pay a small fee.. No, we didn't have to take any sort of test... But I promise that it is a legitimate certification, and it has its' limitations: we can only perform non-religious ceremonies, and we can only perform 3 a year (and only in certain states). The certificates even came with tags for "Minister Only" parking! Below is a picture of my certificate, I'm considering having it framed:

Now comes the other big part of the ceremony: it was a huge surprise to my parents! My stealthy sister and I were able to plan the entire thing without them having any clue what was going on!

My sister asked everyone to come to a restaurant where we had obtained a private room for brunch one Sunday, but my parents thought they were only meeting my sister and her husband (and the baby, of course).  Surprise number one came when they arrived and saw all of the other guests who had joined for brunch that day. Surprise number two came when I walked in from around the corner (I had been hiding in the bathroom!). The look on my dad's face was priceless, and that was the moment that I knew they truly had no clue that I had come to visit!

They both assumed that I just came down to celebrate their anniversary week, but then surprise number three came when my sister and I announced that we were actually all there to renew their vows.. right then, right there, officiated by myself and my sister! They were floored and totally shocked; not just at all of the events that took place, but also at how stealthy and deceiving my sister and I had been to pull everything off. Clearly we were raised well.

My partner in crime and I at the restaurant

The vow renewal was a short and sweet ceremony that didn't leave a dry eye in the house, and it was a truly special moment for all of us to share as a family. Oh, and my sister and I got to say "By the powers vested in us by the state of North Carolina..", which was kind of awesome.

 Performing the ceremony 

One happy family!

I can't say that I will put my ministry certification to use two more times this year, but if anyone is ever in a pickle and needs to find a certified minister to perform a non-religious ceremony in the state of North Carolina, I just might be your girl! :)

I'm a bad blogger...

I'm a really bad blogger, I know. It's been a really, really long time since my last post... and that makes me a bad blogger.

I have a good excuse though! Not the kind of excuse that you get from lame guys who "just aren't that into you" (example: "I was out of town in a place that doesn't have cell phones or phones of any kind, other wise I would have called").. My excuse is that I just started a new role at my company, while still doing a lot of my former job, and I'm working many, many long hours.

See? Totally legit excuse.

I do have a few posts in the works though, like:

- the reason behind why I became a certified minister
- the most disappointing restaurant experience of the year (thus far)
and
- how I'm doing on the no-shopping thing (hint: no free time = no shopping)

Stay tuned!

'Ino Cafe and the Truffled Egg Toast

As I mentioned in my last post, I was sick a few weekends ago with a bad infection of the ears, nose and throat. It was not fun, and I really didn't get out of bed for about 48 hours. My diet over the course of those 48 hours consisted of Gatorade, cough drops, and a plain bagel that I was craving so bad one night that I just HAD to order one (I was still too sick to go out and pick it up myself).

But thankfully I was feeling more like myself come that Sunday, and I was ready to eat some real food, so we decided brunch was a good idea. Vlady found 'Ino Cafe on Yelp, and it was a nice day for a stroll, so that's where we went. The restaurant is teeny teeny tiny with about 20 seats in the whole place, including the bar. It's got that rustic, homey charm that so many places these days are trying to achieve, and it was nice to not be in a large, crowded and noisy restaurant.

The menu was a decent size, and consisted mainly of paninis, but we were there for mimosas and brunch food! Vlady ordered the yogurt and homemade granola for himself, I ordered the ricotta and orange bruscetta, and we ordered a serving of truffled egg toast (which was recommended by the Yelpers) for the two of us. Vlady's yogurt and granola was surprisingly good, which was impressive for a dish that normally can be pretty bland! The yogurt was sweet and actually flavorful, and the granola was just as it should be: crunchy and full of nutty flavors.

My bruschetta with ricotta, orange peel and honey was pretty good, although I may not order it again after tasting how delicious some of their other dishes are. The ricotta and orange were just slightly sweet, but perhaps a little too bitter for my taste (it could also have been a strange aftermath taste from all of the cough drops I'd been eating over the past two days).

Now, for the good stuff: the truffled egg toast.

Oh.My.Word. It was so good. They took some delicious, buttery bread and basically made a 'toad in the hole' (or egg in the hole, or egg in the basket, or whatever you want to call it). The egg was over easy, so the yolk was nice and runny, and then they topped that with melted cheese that I would guess was provolone. I honestly don't know where the truffle flavor came from, whether it was an oil, or a salt, etc. When a dish is that good though, I don't really care because it WORKED.

The truffled egg toast was so good that we actually ordered another because splitting one between the two of us just wasn't enough. I'm already thinking of how I can recreate this dish with the truffle sea salt that I have at home (and make it a lower fat version), and I know that Vlady would gladly be the guinea pig for my efforts.

All in all, I would highly recommend 'Ino Cafe for everything that they offered, but mainly for that truffled egg toast.. it is not to be missed!

At Home Sick

Pardon the brief post, but I've been sick since Friday and don't have the energy or thought power to write much. In fact, I've hardly gotten out of bed since Friday morning, but the good news is that I'm getting better.

In the meantime, here are a couple of things that kept me happy while on bedrest:

My collection of pastel nail polishes and new magazines to read

The best coffee ever. Seriously, if you have a Keurig you should try this stuff.

And of course, Kaia, who rarely left my lap while I was resting.

Time to get better!

Favorite things from last week

So, last week was kind of tough. I'm actually not 100% sure what it was that made it so exhausting (other than the long hours a few days at work).. but it just was. That combined with the fact that I am just DYING to satisfy my spring shopping urges, and I was a fairly grumpy gal.

That said, I can't think of a better time to reflect on the positive aspects that really highlighted my week. It's better to remember things for their positive side rather than their negative, right? Right.

And without further ado, my 5 favorite things from last week:

1) Lots of time with friends: between a friends birthday party Friday night, to some shopping (not for me, I didn't buy anything, and I have a witness to testify to that) and coffee with a girl friend Saturday morning, I had a weekend full of some great people.

2) Eating leftovers of this and this. Together. Yesssss.

3) A few other treats that made my week even more yummy:

Trying "real" black and white cookies for the first time

"Hog Wild" cocktail with bacon-infused bourbon at Rye House

4) New nail polish: I may not be able to buy the mint green clothes I want, but I can paint my nails that color: 

Revlon "Jaded" (not my hand)

5) And of course what week would be complete without an adorable picture of Tatum:

 *Picture stolen from my sister

The Easiest Ice Cream Recipe Ever

A couple of weeks back I posted about the lemon chicken that I had made for dinner, and I briefly mentioned that I had made one of my all time favorite desserts as well. I call it "D's Ice Cream", simply because of the fact that my mom always made it for us, and so I associate the recipe with coming from her! Oh, and yes, I call my mom D (read the story here).

Like most recipes in my collection, this one is beyond simple (only 3 ingredients!), low-fat and super quick. The only catch is that you have to have an ice cream maker to make this, but if you don't have one already there are a lot of great options for fairly cheap. I love mine and would highly recommend this Cuisineart model.

I am not joking when I say that it takes 1 minutes to whip this up, throw it in the ice cream maker and turn on the machine. I might actually time myself next time to see if I can get the process down to 30 seconds... You then just let the machine do it's magic (mine takes 25-30 minutes), and voila! Ice cream!

D's Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Skim Milk
• 2 Cups Flavored Liquid Coffee Creamer (fat-free if possible)
• 3/4 Cup Egg Beaters
• 1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions: Whisk together the first three ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Pour into ice cream maker and run per specific instructions (each machine may be different). If using chocolate chips, add these in about 5 minutes before the end, or you can just top the ice cream with them before serving (like I did).

That's it! Seriously.

A couple of notes though:
- I always, always halve this recipe when I'm making it for just myself or myself and Vlady. If you're making it for more than 3 people go with the full recipe, otherwise I highly recommend halving it.
- Some flavored coffee creamers work better than others. Safe ones that I know work well are french vanilla and hazelnut (any brand). This go around I used International Delight's Limited Edition Almond Joy, and it was really good! Some of them can taste too artificial, like a cinnamon bun one I tried once, but I've found that for the most part they all taste good.
- If your ice cream maker is like mine, you'll want to scoop out the ice cream into a freezer safe bowl after it's done being made and pop in the freezer for at least another 30 minutes before serving. I find that the ice cream right out of the machine is too soft.

Enjoy!

All of the ingredients

Right after going into the machine

Finished product!



Sunday Dinner: Chicken with Olives and Lemon

Ahhhh 3 day weekends, gotta love 'em. For some reason this weekend all I've wanted to do is cook, bake and straighten up the apartment. Basically, I'm feeling domestic.

So for dinner tonight I wanted to go with something delicious, quick, easy and healthy. Enter: chicken with olives and lemon. This is the first time I've made this recipe, but I think Vlady and I both agree that it's a keeper (although the olives were left off of his half of the dish, seeing as he doesn't care for them)! I served this yummy dish over orzo that I seasoned with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and a tiny bit of lemon zest. Also, I sprinkled a little bit of parmesan cheese on mine and I really loved the extra salty, cheesy bite.. but Vlady left it off of his and loved it just as much.

This recipe is originally from Cooking Light, but I've made a couple of modifications (re: measurement changes in ingredients). For the original recipe, go here.

Chicken with Olives and Lemon
Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, halved crosswise
• Cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (or about 3/4 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (or about 3/4 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 15 oil-cured olives, pitted and sliced (I used green Spanish olives and they worked great)
• 1 medium shallot, sliced
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Shake to coat chicken. Marinate 15 minutes at room temperature. Arrange chicken mixture in a broiler-safe 11 x 7–inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with oregano and the next 4 ingredients (through shallot); top with lemon slices. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
3. 3. Remove chicken from oven. Preheat broiler to HIGH.
4. 4. Place chicken 3 inches from broiler element; broil on HIGH for 3 minutes or until chicken is browned and done.

Before going in to the oven

Finished product

Be on the lookout for the recipe that I served for dessert (hint, it's one of my favorites)!