goals + recipes for the week of 3/1

Posted on March 1, 2015 by dallaswoodburn

Hi there, friends! Wow, it’s been a whirlwind weekend over here! How about you? It’s been nice to decompress and relax a little this evening after being go-go-go on Friday and Saturday. This morning I had a wonderful, restorative time at church, and chatted with people for quite a while after the service. When I came home, I called a couple friends to catch up while I was lounging in bed. It was lovely!

Then I chopped up bunch of veggies that were on their last legs in the fridge — celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper, snap peas — and threw them together in a pot of soup for dinner, which I ate with my grandma in front of the TV as we watched “Nashville”… my grandma is so funny watching that show, she thinks most of the male characters look alike and is perpetually getting their storylines confused. Such a cutie-pie!

Backing up to Saturday… I was out the door at 10:45 to tutor two of my mentees before driving to the public library to teach four back-to-back classes of kiddos. Other than some of my kindergarteners being scared of the thunder outside {we got some rain this weekend, woo hoo!} it was a pretty uneventful day of teaching. The quote of the day came from one of my eight-year-old students, rocking a shiny plastic dollar-sign ring: “Chuck E. Cheese’s is so HARSH, Miss Dallas. It’s so hard to win tickets!” #secondgradeproblems

After teaching, I drove to my sweetheart’s place and we carpooled to Plank to meet up with Dana and Brad for a double-date! We had such a fun time: chatted over great food, played arcade games {skeeball is my fave!} and of course we couldn’t leave without taking photos in the photo booth:

All in all, it’s been a really wonderful weekend. I hope yours has too! And now… moving onto goals!

Here’s how I did on my goals from last week:
– ~~write 10 pages~~
– finish editing manuscript for a friend
– ~~mail in passport application~~
– ~~connect with two friends~~
– finish reading The Autograph Man

Here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– copyedit through Chapter 8 of client’s manuscript
– finish editing manuscript for a friend
– participate in The Minimalist Challenge
– connect with two friends
– finish reading The Autograph Man

And here are some recipes I’m drooling over this week:
– butternut tabbouleh via Cookie + Kate
– baked pb apple oatmeal via Two Peas and Their Pod
– grain-free classic chocolate-chip cookies via Detoxinista & It’s Progression
– spiced pumpkin cornbread via Daily Garnish & It’s Progression
– potato rosemary knots via The Pajama Chef
– my own springtime veggie pasta bake

Questions of the day:

What are your goals for this upcoming week?
What recipes are you drooling over this week?

This post is featured on Menu Plan Monday!

fabulous friday #47

Posted on February 27, 2015 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. I was feeling really sad earlier this week about Celine… just missing her a lot. My sweetheart surprised me with beautiful flowers and took me out to dinner. He is simply the best.

2. Speaking of flowers… the amaryllis that Allyn’s stepmom Laurel gave me three weeks ago is finally blooming! It’s so pretty. And I’m thrilled that I’ve kept it alive and haven’t accidentally killed it! {I don’t have the greenest thumb…}

3. One of the little girls I tutor is selling Girl Scout cookies, so I bought a few boxes from her… and she delivered them to me in the sweetest decorated bag. How cute this this?

On the subject of Girl Scouts, Holly reminded me of something really awesome that Celine used to do: when she saw Girl Scouts selling cookies at a table, she would buy a box of cookies and then GIVE the cookies to the Girl Scouts so they could enjoy them while they worked. Such a simple, thoughtful act of kindness that brings SO much excitement and happiness to the girls! It is also the perfect solution for those times you want to support the Girl Scouts, but don’t particularly want a bunch of cookies hanging around your pantry.

4. My thoughtful friends Shane and Lauren sent me cards this week. Always brightens my day to receive love in the mail!

5. In the mail this week I also received copies of North Dakota Quarterly, a beautiful literary journal. I am honored to have my work published in the current issue, 80.2. You can read my short story online here.

On my agenda for the weekend: tonight Allyn and I are going to dinner and to a play — a production of Part I of Angels in America, a powerful play I read and loved in college. I’ve never seen it onstage and am very much looking forward to it! Tomorrow, I’m teaching all day and then in the evening Allyn and I are meeting up for a double-date with Dana and Brad at this new-ish adult arcade place called Plank that looks really fun. I’m excited!

Should be a great weekend. 🙂 Hope yours is wonderful, too! Have fun and be safe out there, everyone!

Questions of the day:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

happy st. patrick’s day & weekend recap

Posted on March 17, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, friends! Hope you’re doing something fun to celebrate. I made myself a spinach-green smoothie paired with some delicious edamame hummus & crackers for lunch.

Then tonight I’m getting together with Dana to do something fun. I’m excited!

Here’s a round-up of delicious, healthy “green” recipes that would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or any day: http://greatist.com/health/healthy-green-recipes-st-patricks-day

This weekend was a blast. I went to Sausalito for the first time, and it was a gorgeous day to explore this adorable seaside town.

There was a man making amazing sculptures along the water simply by stacking rocks and bricks and balancing them. I have no idea how he does this! I was blown away.

On Sunday, Allyn & I got together with Dana & her boyfriend Brad for lunch. It was another beautiful day and we sat outside and chowed down on delicious burgers. Perfect way to wind down the weekend!