cinco de mayo!

There is one person in this world who loves holidays as much as I do, and that person is Whitney. Half birthdays? Check. Earth Day? You bet. Labor Day? Of course! So it should come as no surprise that early this morning I received a text from her saying "happy cinco!!" Naturally, this is one of my favorite holidays. Margaritas and Mexican food? Sign me up. 

For the past four years the Bakers, Bibers and Zellers, including many other of Zionsville's finest, could be found guzzling margs and cuttin' a rug at the annual Cinco De Mayo party. Unfortunately this year since everyone is spread throughout the country (or different countries, as in the case of Sam and my parents), we have to forgo our yearly soiree. This isn't going to prevent me from celebrating, though! 

In college, my roommates and I perfected and patented what we like to call our "skinny margs". These soon became a favorite at many gatherings, including Melchiors' family parties, where Carly is required to make at least two batches a party. While I can't provide you with an exact recipe for these tasty drinks, I can tell you the ingredients and how we like to make them. 

If you are making a pitcher to share, start by filling it about half way full with tequila. Next, add Sprite Zero (or regular Sprite if aspartame isn't your thing). Fill almost to the top. Stir in one packet of Crystal Light lemonade mix (side note: Be careful because this step will make your concoction fizzy...this is why I said don't fill the Sprite all the way to the top). I like to add lime juice to mine, but that is completely optional. That's it! Pretty easy, right? Of course it will take some practice before you find the perfect balance, so don't be discouraged. In my opinion, it's hard to go wrong when tequila is involved!

I will definitely be enjoying a skinny marg tonight, along with some chips and salsa (and queso!) How will you be celebrating this holiday?

happy cinco!

absence makes the heart grow fonder

Well, I started this blog exactly three months ago with full intentions of blogging at least two times a week, but I guess I got busy? After visiting Whitney in Atlanta this weekend, I am re-inspired to give this another shot. My trip was nothing short of wonderful, and you can read all about it here, because she can recount it much more eloquently than I ever could.

As an attempt to give my blog somewhat of a focus, I decided to feature a playlist at the beginning of every week (Music Monday, anyone?). Starting today I will be teaching an indoor cycling class every Monday evening. Since you can't be there to sweat it out and jam with us, I would love nothing more than to share my playlist with you. This is my first week with new students and I am playing it safe, but have no fear that my selection will get more funky and maybe a little racy (!!) I tried to include a little something for everyone, no matter what your taste.

Strip Me - Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah 3x - Chris Brown
Secrets - OneRepublic
Best Love Song (ft. Chris Brown) - T-Pain
Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine
Easy - Rascal Flatts
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me - Billy Joel
Next 2 You (ft. Justin Bieber) - Chris Brown
Fans - Kings of Leon
Who Dat Girl (ft. Akon) - Flo Rida
Perfect - P!ink
Wavin' Flag - K'naan
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
Give me Everything (ft. Ne-Yo) - Pitbull

So here is my promise to you: I will be a better blogger. I'm not promising to be as diligent as some I know (Whit...), or as interesting, but I will no longer be as sporadic.

I'll leave you with this yummy picture of white sangria that we concocted this weekend, which magically continued to grow in the pitcher every time we poured a new glass. Hopefully this will make you dream about the hot summer nights ahead!

snowed in...

I am now going on my third consecutive snow day and am officially going crazy. I think some people are really good at doing nothing, and while I admit it is nice for a day (maybe two), I 'm ready to feel like I have a purpose again.

I've managed to fill my time these past couple of days doing small, productive tasks that I have been putting off for a while. I have done a lot of organizing...my room, my closet, the closet in the spare bedroom (ugh!), the pantry, the refrigerator. My dad is starting to wonder if I can possibly organize anything else. I assured him that with a credit card, a quick trip to the storage bin aisle at Target, and some caffeine, I could do a world of wonder on the entire house.

Another thing these snow days have allowed me time for is baking. While organizing the refrigerator I came across a bag of fresh cranberries, and I decided it would be the perfect excuse to make cranberry muffins. I found a recipe I had used before and tweaked it a little bit, replacing sugar with agave nectar, oil with plain Greek yogurt, and white flour with a wheat flour/quick oat mixture. I also added chopped pecans for an extra crunch. The result? Very yummy, relatively healthy Cranberry Pecan Muffins!

My photography skills aren't to a professional level yet, but hopefully this picture has your mouth watering! I heated up one of these this morning and enjoyed it with a cup of coffee while watching the morning talk shows. I guess I can't complain too much about the snow days...! 

new adventures!

When I was little, I listened to my mom sing...a lot. I always acted like I was soo embarrassed when her singing happened in public, but truth be known, I actually loved to hear her sing. I often asked her to sing to me after tucking me into bed. My song of choice was "Que Sera, Sera" by Doris Day. That may strike you as a strange request (how many seven-year-old girls do you hear requesting Doris Day songs?), but I really could not get enough of this ditty. Later in life I figured out why I loved this song so much...I thought it was about me! To the untrained ear, "sera" sounded exactly like "Sara". It was every girl's dream come true to have a song written and dedicated to them, right?! It broke my heart when my mom revealed to me that the song was not actually about me, and that the words "sera" and "Sara" were not the same. 

The song did pack a good message, though. "Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera." So often these days I find myself worrying about what will happen to me in the future. Where will I live? What will I do for a living? This could partly be because I am recent college graduate, but it is also due to the fact that my generation is trained to want to know what is going to happen next. The truth is, we can't predict the future. We can work really hard to get what we want, play all of our cards right, and hope for the best. I think there are some people in this world who would like to be able to see into the future, but I am not one of those people. Sure, there are times where I would like to know what tomorrow is going to bring, but how boring would your life be if you knew every single thing that was going to happen to you? 

This blog is my attempt at taking chances and letting the future happen. My dear friend Whitney has inspired me with her blog, and I have been wanting to start one for a long time. I may not be as inspirational as her (or as great of a writer), but maybe something I post will tickle your fancy! I don't really know what is in store for this blog, but I guess that is all part of letting the future happen! Thanks for reading...que sera, sera!