the epitome of health. and flashback friday.

top three things that pulled me out of my funky mood last night:

1.  damnyouautocorrect.com –this website NEVER fails to make me laugh hysterically.
2. penny curling up on my hamstrings. i was home alone so no photo of the situation.. but for a mental image: i was laying on my stomach on the couch, reading aforementioned website, and penny hopped up and curled up in a tight little ball right on my hamstrings. she fit perfectly and it made me smile.
3. eating 3 huge hunks of jacked up banana bread. reader jenna (hi, jenna!) suggested this smitten kitchen recipe. i made it with whole wheat flour, but other than that minor swap, i followed the recipe exactly. holy amazing! it almost rivals momma b’s banana bread! (almost, mom, i said almost.. don’t be alarmed.)

the amount of bread that is left in the pan tonight should tell you how good this bread is:

i slathered butter atop the piping hot slices that i devoured last night– within minutes of removing it from the oven, mind you.

i have been eating a lot of butter lately. i used to eat a lot of i can’t believe it’s not butter spray, but guess what? i can believe that that stuff isn’t butter. and the real thing is so much better.

remember how i am trying to spruce up my diet with more of a variety? i had an old favorite breakfast this morning.

yoats!

or, yoatgurt for long. i totally forgot how much i love this!

for those who don’t know, i used to eat this all. the. time. last winter. all it is is a cup of plain chobani greek yogurt, 1/3 cup slow cooked oats and a dollup of peanut butter.

there is something amazing about the combination of cold yogurt and hot oats—i love the texture and temperature that is created by combining the two.  the peanut butter is always added for flavor and good measure.

i would tell you about my lunch today, except it was eaten in the car. i had to run a stapler to the home show. let me further explain so you can understand how ridiculous it was. we are in the home improvement show this weekend (out at the south towne expo center, for all you utahns) and my office is located about 15 miles from the home show location. instead of going to the office store around the corner from the expo center, my boss had me hope in my car, drive to the home show and give him a stapler. because he “didn’t want to go out in the cold”.. i can’t help but laugh. i love my job, i am not even being sarcastic. it makes me laugh every day.

so, to make a long story less long, i ate my lunch while driving. it was a turkey, cheddar, mustard and hummus sandwich on wheat. and it was tasty!

after work, i took my mom a coke. she never drinks coke, but she has been sick in bed since yesterday and can’t stomach anything! the one thing she was craving was a coke from pace’s.

if you have been to pace’s, then you know why their coke is different than any other coke. they mix it in house and it really does just taste better. i still hadn’t had a drop of soda since 2009 (my 2010 resolution was no soda) so i went ahead and had a swig of my mom’s coke, just to see how it was. the verdict? too sugary! i don’t miss soda. noted.

anyway, i delivered the coke to my mom, started the tub for her and went on my way. everyone send momma b healthy vibes.

when i got home from my mom’s house, i was dying for another hunk of the jacked up banana bread. i warmed it in the microwave and slathered butter on top until it got nice and melty before devouring it.

this bread is so good. you were right, jenna.

 

i haven’t talked about workouts much lately. the reason for this is because there really haven’t been many workouts in my life lately. actually, before today, i had only worked out twice this year (haha, i love saying that.) i worked out on new years day and then again on wednesday. one cardio session and one lower body session. that’s it. i haven’t been feeling so swell and so i just took it easy.

i did, however, feel up to working out today. so i did. nothing exciting.. just 30 minutes of fat burning intervals on the stairmill at level 10. then i stretched for at least 10 minutes.. i am getting closer to touching my toes!

i came home and text my mom to see if she needed anything. well, there is one thing aside from soda that always makes you better when you are sick.

nielsen’s frozen custard.

AKA what dreams are made of. if you live in utah and haven’t tried this, you need to stop reading right now and drive your ass to nielsen’s frozen custard. i am not kidding around.

see? “where god goes to get his ice cream”!

nielsen’s custard is more than ice cream. it is the best frozen treat ever to exist. i eat ice cream everywhere i go and i have yet to find something that rivals this stuff. it comes in several flavors.. we took a quart of raspberry and a quart of chocolate to my mom.

because marshall and i hadn’t eaten dinner yet, we picked up food at nielsen’s. aside from having the best frozen custard on the planet, they also have great burgers.

i got a garden cheeseburger.

and stole a few of marshall’s fries (for good measure, of course.)

you don’t think i would go to nielsen’s and not indulge in custard, do you? no way.

we picked up a quart of oreo for ourselves and scooped it up right upon walking in the door to our house!

like i said, the stuff dreams are made of.

mmm.

i am now in a custard coma on the couch.

between the mass amounts of butter consumed lately, the lack of regular exercise for the past 3 weeks and eating a burger, fries and frozen custard for dinner.. it is clear that i am not the epitome of health these days.

lucky for me, this isn’t a healthy living blog. it is more like just a living blog. and i am doing a mighty fine job at living.

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time for flashback friday!

i told you all i would be recapping various parts of my wedding when i had time. well, i have the time! i am starting off with a recap of the venue details and the food.

i am a little disappointed in the photos that i got back of the food. i had a GREAT photographer, but i don’t think he realized how important the food photos were to me. there are ZERO photos of the dessert gazebo.. super bummed about that.

okay, no more dwelling, no use in that! let me show you what i DO have :)

the wedding was held at a tropical plant store called cactus & tropicals on the upper east bench of salt lake city.

the best part about having your wedding at a plant store is you don’t have to buy any flowers! the whole place was already decorated in gorgeous tropical flowers and plants. they even supplied orchids for the centerpieces. the only flowers we did purchase was for the bouquets and boutonnieres.

there was also a bunch of cute odds and ends decorating the whole area—all items that were for sale.

the ceremony was held right in the center of the store, in front of the cupola.

there was an outdoor area with a koi pond and lots of plants.

the tables for the reception were set up all over the store.

my colors were purple, yellow and black & white houndstooth. you all know i am obsessed!

on the tables, we had an engagement photo, a purple & yellow piece of fabric, a houndstooth scarf, some candles and a disposable camera. i have like 20 disposable cameras STILL waiting to be developed! i can’t wait to see what is on them. well, actually, apparently i CAN wait. but you get my drift.

i made a photo clothes line and had photos hanging all over the venue. i wanted to do this instead of having one of those photo video things, because this way people could walk around and see the photos rather than standing in one place to wait for a video to loop.

these were all childhood photos of me and marshall. i used purple, yellow and houndstooth cardstock to mount the photos.

let’s talk about the food! the food that marshall and i totally forgot to eat. such a bummer. EVERYONE said the food was incredible. for those of you wondering, i used angela’s catering in salt lake city. she was super affordable and great to work with!

oh, i had a few questions back in the day regarding booze.  we didn’t have alcohol at our wedding because marshall doesn’t drink at all (never has) and i drink once in a blue moon. a lot of people couldn’t believe that i wasn’t having alcohol, but i just didn’t see a reason to have it. plus, i really respect my family—especially my parents—and they are LDS and don’t drink. so that’s that.

i decided to just do a ton of different hors d’oeuvres and then dessert because my wedding reception was held at 7:30—many people had already eaten dinner.

here is the exact menu:

• assorted breads & rolls with flavored spreads:
  • herbed goat cheese with parmesan
  • sweet cream butter
  • raspberry butter
• stuffed mushrooms
• pico de gallo, guacamole & tortilla chips
• bruschetta three ways:
  • tomato rachel
  • pesto cream
  • roast tenderloin with cucumber sauce
• cold spinach dip with baguettes
• warm artichoke and parmesan dip with pita wedges
• fresh fruit
• fresh vegetables with dip
• chicken skewers with three sauces
• meatballs with a creamy alfredo sauce
• imported and domestic cheeses
• antipasto platter
  • marinated vegetables
  • hummus
  • stuffed grape leaves
  • roasted garlic & olives
• water and raspberry lemonade
• izze sodas
• coffee and tea

wow, that looks like a great menu! too bad i didn’t enjoy it. ha. here are some photos, again.. sure wish i had MORE food photos. such is life.

  my brother digging in!

the one thing marshall REALLY wanted at the wedding was izzes. they are his favorite. i am glad we had them! and i am double glad they were at costco!

it’s so true what they say—that you won’t find time to eat at your own wedding. i always said that it wouldn’t happen to me.. but, in fact, it did. we left the wedding and we were starving! i guess you just really get wrapped up in everything else and the last thing on your mind is food. so strange for me.

there will be plenty more wedding flash backs in the future. hope you guys enjoyed this one!

well, this is officially the longest post ever. thanks for hanging in there. pat yourself on the back.

Qs~

1. married folks: what was the food/drinks situation at your wedding? and did you find time to eat? unmarried folks: what do you have in mind for food/drinks if you do have a wedding in the future?

2. what/where is the best ice cream/frozen yogurt/frozen custard/gelato you have ever tried?

xo. janetha g.