starting over

remember in my last post how i said my world was hectic and crazy? 

well, that never slowed down the last 6 months. 

paint nite turned out to be more than i could handle. i have no problem admitting defeat. 

the stress, the immaturity, the issues, the growing pains

i just couldn't hack it, but i gave it by best shot. 

so i'm starting over with a new job, some classes in a brand new subject, and hopefully a bit more room in my sanity to post on here more! 

big thanks and hugs to everyone who has supported me this year. 

i'm happy (and hopeful!) to finally be landing on my feet.

march?

where oh where did march go?

probably stuck somewhere in the chaos that has been my life the past 4 weeks

i started as hr manager for paint nite on march 3rd and i have been non-stop since then. the paint nite world is crazy, and fast, and hectic, and rewarding all at the same time.  everything is a new challenge, but thankfully i learned so much from my experiences at my previous company, that i think i'm doing okay.  i'm still trying to figure it all out, but the people are fantastic, the environment is super fun and casual, and it's really easy to drink the kool-aid and be passionate about the brand.  we had a company party just the other week so ryan got to meet all my co-workers and both of us got introduced to the crazy fun party atmosphere that is working at paint nite. 

(at the opening of our the new paint nite event space)

outside of the chaos mr. o and i have had a fantastic month.  he's been the most supportive, loving, stress free husband and really helped keep me sane while transitioning into my new job. for my birthday, he took me to a delish italian dinner and then to the cirque michael jackson immortal show! 

if you have any interest in MJ you have to get tickets for it immediately. it really is the concert you'll never get to see. 

(aaaaaaaamazing.)

ryan also planned a weekend away in woodstock, nh.  we snowmobiled, tubed at loon, ate too much, drank too much, snuggled by the fire in our hotel room and relaxed.  

on top of all of that wonderfulness, my parents made a trip to celebrate my birthday and they did a paint nite with me, took me to a fabulous dinner, a show that we all decided was only okay, and left me with some really fabulous gifts. 

am i the luckiest girl in the world or what? 

happy (almost) spring! 

awaiting spring

will this winter pleasseeeee be over soon? 

typically we (my family) all use my march 1 bday as a marker for the turn of the weather.

not looking good this year. 

the silver lining for surviving this winter has been that i've been working full time from home due to the change in jobs.  

haven't had to worry about parking, driving, freezing in work clothes...

this benefit will end come monday when i start the new gig, but for the next two days i'm going to enjoy my 5:30 gym classes and 

basking in the sun with this guy.  

(our other kitty, oliver)

the spring in boston is the greatest. 

warm sun, walking on m street beach, patio dining, and most importantly,

getting rid of the winter blues 

this weekend will hopefully kick off some warm weather while celebrating the turn of my 28th year! dinner on friday with some friends, then mr. o has a surprise event planned for me saturday night.  i've always loved my birthday.  my parents came to celebrate with me last weekend, but i'll hold off and give a full birthday update next week. 

who wants to come visit??

new challenges new gig

as i've mentioned before, the company i've been a part of for almost 4 years was recently sold. i was integrated into the new company, but never felt as at home as i did before or as challenged so i started the hunt for a new opportunity. 

and its been found! 

i will be the hr manager for a start up called paint nite.  

maybe some of you have participated in such an evening, but the premise is drinking and learning to paint some really cool art.  sounds neat, right? not only is it cool for the participants, but paint nite also empowers artists from all over the country to start their own little business.  each city has artists that own their paint nite brand and can run with it however they please. 

mr o and i did it about a year ago and had a great time but ryan got a bit frustrated at his limited painting abilities.  i thought his looked great. 

regardless, i get to step back into my hr manager shoes and build an hr department for this growing company. saying it out loud makes me a bit nervous, but what an exciting challenge and i'm ready for it. maybe i'll get to do some paint nite's myself and i'll showcase for you my ever growing art career (righhhttttt...)

wish me luck! 

love and kisses day

valentine's day is such a fun holiday. 

i fully understand it was 100% made by hallmark 

but why not have another excuse to hug and kiss and love on your significant other

or kitties, or friends, or family! 

mr o and i have never been over the top vday celebrators, 

but we always find a way to do something.

our first valentine's day was only about a month after we first met and ryan (not mr. o yet) took me to the north end for dinner, treated me to my favorite pastry's at mike's pastry, and then back to my apt for a candlelit massage a la ryan.  

um. i was sold. 

my plans are never as sweet or involved, but i do make a mean valentine's day card.

this year, i found a great blog (no biggie blog) with a diy paper airplane!  ryan loves reeses so this is what came out of all that:

a "you make my heart soar" reese's valentine's mobile/card! 

hanging in the middle also happened to be two tickets to see aziz ansari, who we love, at the wilbur theatre

of course as soon as ryan saw it, he turned the fan on and the whole thing started swinging around.

cut to my panic of getting bombed by little reeses candies! 

thankfully, they just swung around and the card was complete - wish i could share the video! 

anyway, things like this make vday such a fun day. 

ryan made me a homemade thai dinner (chicken yellow curry and fried rice) with candles and cheesecake for dessert and he got 

a paper airplane mobile crafted with love

make sure you give everyone you love some hugs and kisses today! 

happy vday

food for the soul: sweet potato turkey shepherds pie

i apologize in advance for all the food posts, i'm really getting into talking about the new recipes i'm trying especially when skinny taste goes for the gold…again 
(i've been watching the olympics)

my friends and i love skinny taste. gina makes some really fantastic recipes and there are so many you could probably go a year and try a new recipe every time.  they are so low in calories and i have yet to find one that i haven't liked.

 tonight we tried her sweet potato turkey shepherds pie.

wow. 

ryan did the shopping for this one and accidentally bought me a japanese sweet potato (purple skin and bright white inside) and i don't think i'm ever going back to a regular sweet potato.  it had such a nutty taste vs a strong sweet taste.  
sweet potatoes have twice the fiber of a regular potato and tons of vitamins.

a very heart healthy veg! 

skinny taste sweet potato turkey shepherds pie recipe

as i'm sure you've noticed, i'm loving my new ramekins
(good for portioning!)

i was too excited to eat it so i didn't get anything else prepared, but it would be great with some mixed greens and a bit of tangy balsamic if you needed something extra.  shepherds pie is also a great freezer food.  this recipe made 6 ramekins filled to the top so i was able to freeze the remaining 4. 

food for the soul: taco pasta

the o's loveeeeee mexican food.

i found a taco pasta recipe on pinterest from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" blog and had to try it as one of my two new meals of the week. 

we had some leftover cooked gluten free pasta (i highly recommend ronzoni gluten free brand. it has an excellent texture and taste and you'd never know the difference except that you feel a thousand times better after eating gluten free than regular) and cooked ground beef from superbowl sunday so it was fate that i stumbled upon this recipe. 

for the most part i followed it exactly.  you could definitely use a light or fat free cream cheese/sour cream and ground turkey to lessen the calories and i'm sure it would taste the same.  i plan to try that next time.

Taco Pasta

Add a basic green salad with some balsamic into the mix and we had ourselves a nice little dinner.

happy cooking! 

things i'd like to do more of: running

ryan and i signed up for our first 5k of the season

the southie st patty's road race

i say that as if we do a lot of them, but we really only do one per year.  

last year was the color run

the year before was warrior dash

(warrior dash in thompson, ct)

i find running to be a fantastic exercise and would love to do more races.  

get out for some fresh air

feel the heavy breathing

spend some active time with family and friends

maybe get a beer at the end

it's too bad i'm pretty terrible at it (the running, not the beer drinking). 

ryan is a fantastic runner.  he could run and run and run and never feel tired.  he'll go "out for a quick run" and come back 10 miles later like it's no big deal.  i aspire to that.  not only to be in that kind of shape, but i love when i get to be out running with ryan.  we'll head down to the beach by our apt and go for a run together.  i just have to drop off or start walking after mile 3...okay, 2.  i'll get there! 

if anyone wants to join us on march 16th, it benefits the boys and girls club.  

sign up here: http://www.bgcb.org/2013-st-patricks-day-road-race/

“May you have warm words on a cold evening,  

a full moon on a dark night, 

and the road downhill all the way to your door.” 

-Irish Blessing

food for the soul: chipotle bean burritos

i've decided to try making at least two new meals a week. 

hopefully each will be healthy and good for the soul, but we'll see. 

i know that some of you who have access to this blog enjoy getting new recipes so i hope i can help with some of my recommendations.  

last night, we made chipotle bean burritos from cooking light. 

Chipotle Bean Burritos from Cooking Light

delish. 

they turned out pretty spicy, but i put a little more chipotle chile powder in then instructed to do and added "hot salsa".  stick to the 1/2 teaspoon and medium salsa if you're not a fan of the kick.  i also used pinto beans instead of kidney.

let me know what you think! 

books for the new year

i love reading. 

i have always been a hard copy kind of girl. there is a fantastic used book store in brookline, ma that i used to frequent when i lived in the area.  really small, packed with books, new and old.  i've since moved out of the area and my new neighborhood lacks a good used booked store.

so i finally caved and got a kindle.

it's a pretty great little machine, especially for travels.  i got the paper white and it works really well in the sun.  it's also helped me expand my book choices from just cheeky summer reads.  the options are endless! 

i came across this buzzfeed today and plan on diving into almost all of these. i've already read the "divergent" series and the first two are fantastic, very hunger games like.  the third is a bit off track, but i'm still chugging through it. 

i think the next book i'll read is "wild" by sheryl strayed.  

what are you going to read this year? 

16 books to read before they hit theaters this year

new years

ahh new years eve. 

i love new years eve for many reasons.  

1. i love champagne

2. the countdown, while so silly, is so fun

3. i love kisses

but most importantly, 5 years ago, i met mr. o. 

5 years ago i was supposed to go to a bar in downtown boston.  there was a huge snowstorm that kept everyone from doing anything.  my friend danielle had invited me to a new years eve party at her house so i cancelled my downtown plans and treked down the street through the snow, champagne bottle in hand, to her apt.  sometime in between the drinkies and the dancing and games, i had a lovely conversation with a boy who liked a lot of the same things i did. 

and he was very cute. 

the clock was counting down and we all found ourselves in front of the tv to scream and cry and hug as the ball dropped to ring in 2009.  that very cute boy happened to be standing next to me and when the clock struck 12...

we went in for the kiss.  

if ever a way to start your luck for the new year that was it.  from there we went on a couple dates, met some family, and finally decided that we were the real deal sometime in feb.  this year we celebrated with some of our bestest buds at the harpoon brewery.  it was a fantastic party and a great way to celebrate knowing mr. o for 5 years.  

so happy you'll forever be my midnight kiss, mr. o.