Life Lately

Hi there and happy Friday!

I apologize for my blogging being spotty for the past few weeks as I try to find balance with my new work schedule and several other moving parts of life. The good news is that I leave work everyday so happy and thankful for this new opportunity to run my own department and finally advance in my career. In my free time I've been decorating my office with some cute tidbits that make me happy.

There's still so much to be done around our new house but I've managed to get a few rooms organized and decorated. I'm hoping to get some more things checked off my list this weekend but here's a sneak peak of the guest bathroom I decorated... beach-themed of course!

Lola, being the finicky character she is, was just starting to adjust to the new diggs until we took her with us to Cocoa Beach for the weekend which completely freaked her out about moving around so much. We had a little debacle with her refusing to leave the hotel room for 2 days but now that we're back at home, she's finally settled and knows this is home now.

There have been candle vigils almost every night here in Orlando to support the gay community after the senseless terrorist attack. At the Monday night vigil downtown a full rainbow appeared hovering over the crowd. It warmed my heart that the universe works in such mysterious ways!

My best friend flies home today so I'm extremely sad to see her leave after spending the past few months together but I'm excited for her to return home and get settled. She surprised me last night with this gorgeous Pandora bracelet with the Love & Guidance charm. Such a thoughtful gift and she has the matching charm. I'm going to miss her so much.

I worked some long hours this week but loving what you do and the people that you work with makes it feel so rewarding at the end of the week. I'm looking forward to date night with K tonight and a relaxing weekend ahead with some house organizing and decorating sprinkled in there.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!


Joining Amanda for her linkup.

Crockpot Chicken Marsala

One of my favorite dishes to order when I go to an Italian restaurant is Chicken Marsala so when I stumbled on a slow cooker recipe (original recipe here), I had to try it out for myself. Luckily the only ingredient I didn't have was Marsala cooking wine so it turned out to be an inexpensive and easy dinner to prepare.

I made some minor changes to the ingredients based on my taste but I think it turned out to be almost as good as restaurant quality, considering slow cookers result in a different texture of cooked chicken breast (not pounded but easy to shred).

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Ground black pepper & salt to taste
Poultry seasoning
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Serving size: 4 - 6 people



For the sides, I went with Whole Grain Penne Pasta and Pear Gorgonzola Salad. Both really excellent with this dish.
 

What To Do:

1. Lightly grease your crockpot with cooking spray and then place chicken breasts in there. Season chicken with poultry seasonings of your choice, black pepper and salt. (I actually never use salt in my recipes but I include it for those that like it).

2. Add minced garlic, mushrooms and the Marsala cooking wine to the crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours covered.

3. While the chicken cooks, prepare your side dishes and set aside.

4. After 5 hours, remove the chicken breasts from crockpot using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate or bowl. Mix together water and cornstarch using a whisk until fully dissolved and then add to the crockpot.

5. Return chicken to the crockpot, increase heat to high and cooking for another 30-45 minutes until sauce is thickened. 

Enjoy!

Cooking times may vary based on your slow cooker. I find my crockpot cooks a lot quicker on low setting than what some recipes recommended so adjust the temperature and cooking time based on the crockpot you are using.
 

Weekend Whereabouts

Life threw me some lemons in May (details here) but things have been shaping up nicely in June. I landed a dream job and we settled into our new home. Things have been busy but everything is moving in the right direction.

K and I celebrated our 6-year anniversary on Friday night at Nona Blue Tavern for a dinner date after the busy work week. We had some delicious dirty martinis, salmon dip, and my favorite ahi tuna salad. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home since K had been traveling for work last week.

On Saturday, the bestie and I headed out to do some shopping and errands before settling for some lunch at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen. C heads back home next week so I wanted to get some quality girl time in before she leaves.

We had a nice day together until the heavens came crashing down with lightning and heavy rain while we were in Publix so we had no choice but to stay under shelter until it calmed down a bit some 30 minutes later. Gotta love the unexpected afternoon summer storms in Florida.

On Sunday morning we cooked breakfast at home and organized the house since we invited some friends over for dinner. We grilled steak and shrimp and had fun catching up.

It was a nice weekend (always too short) but I'm looking forward to my second week at the new job. Hope you have a great week!

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

More Love. Less Hate.

Happy Friday friends, I've missed you.

I'm hoping to get back on a regular blogging schedule as soon as life quiets down a bit. I started the new job on Monday and was in training for the first half of the week. Since then I've been getting settled into my new office. I love it so far. Everyone is so nice and I have some awesome team members full of jokes. I've already worked some 12 hour days this week but you know what, I love it. I'm so happy for this breath of fresh air and to feel valued again. This new journey excites me beyond words.

  

That's a quick update on life lately but the point of this post has nothing to do with me. There's so much hurt and pain happening right here in Orlando it can't be ignored. Orlando has been my home for 14 years so it holds a special place in my heart. Over the years I've built a large network of friends, business acquaintances, and mentors in all walks of life. Some of my favorite people are in the LGBT community, who were the target of this terrorist attack. That breaks my heart. I know this is a nationwide tragedy but it's so close to home for us here in Central Florida. Friends of friends were victims. Friends of friends were there and got away luckily but now struggle with PTSD. As I've said before, there are just no words....

 What is so incredibly heartwarming in the midst of this tragedy is to see the outpouring of support from our local community and even nationwide. So many people showed up to donate blood this week that people had to be turned away.  We've had countless vigils in different parts of Orlando with thousands of people showing up to pay respect and show their support. Doctors, mental health professionals, and victim services are offering free treatment for the victims and their families.

I know we're resilient people but how does one bounce back from this? 

I think the abundance of community support will help us try to live happily again in the place we once called "The City Beautiful". It's my home and I'll protect and serve my community with all the means I have. I will not let terrorists dull the spirit of our city and all that Orlando has to offer. It's a happy place for residents and visitors from around the world.

Our spark may be dimmed but we will learn to shine again, never forgetting the victims of this senseless attack.

Summer Grilling Recipes

Grilling season is here and I love trying new recipes. I've made several variations of kabobs which are always good cooked on the grill but I was looking for some other options to experiment with this year and here's a few I stumbled on while browsing Pinterest.

Grilled Balsamic Vegetables

Bacon Bourbon Barbecue Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Coconut Rum Grilled Shrimp

Grilled Parmesan Asparagus



Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork

Grilled Corn Fritters

Grilled Salmon Skewers

Grilled Romaine Salad

Grilled Maple Dijon Pork Chops

Grilled Jalapeno Corn Bread

Here are some grilled recipes I've created in the past and shared here on the blog:

Coffee-rubbed Steak  /  Grilled Mexican Street Corn  /  Cajun Grilled Shrimp  /  Hawaiian Honey Chicken Skewer  /  Jalapeno & Swiss Stuffed Grilled Chicken

Beach Weekend Getaway

 

 Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I start my new job today so I'm excited to get back into a work routine although I did thoroughly enjoy the downtime and lack of schedule. The bestie and I planned a trip out to Cocoa Beach for the weekend to relax and recharge before life gets busy again. We headed out there on Thursday afternoon and checked into a beachfront hotel. Unfortunately the weather wasn't in our favor on the first day so we couldn't enjoy the beach but we did have fun hanging out at Coconuts for some frozen drinks and a casual seafood dinner.

 Friday morning started off a little gloomy but the sun eventually came out so we were able to lounge on the beach and by the resort pool for most of the day. It was so good to finally work on getting a tan of course with lots of SPF.

In the evening we went out for the best seafood dinner we've ever had. C and I shared a lobster and snow crab dish which was amazing. We had no idea they would bring an entire whole lobster so you can imagine what a feast that was.

 Our hotel had a pretty cool beach bar and restaurant so we spent a lot of time there eating, drinking and listening to live music. We also met tons of fun people and had such a blast chatting with visitors from around the country. My ribs hurt from how much laughing we did over the weekend.

I introduced C to Snapchat so we played around with different filters which is always hilarious. More laughing ensued. Feel free to add me: emilyalisonb

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so we found a local cafe to grab some breakfast before checking out of the hotel. We decided to stick around the resort for a few hours to get some final hours of sun and relaxation before making the hike back home.
 

Saturday night consisted of relaxing at home and lounging after all the sun and traveling. My Snapchat of Lola explains it all!

On Sunday morning I woke up to the horrific news that a nightclub close to home had the deadliest mass shooting overnight in the US. I've been to that club on a couple occasions for bachelorette parties and know several friends in the LGBT community so it was extremely scary and sad news to absorb.

image credit

After watching the news for several hours and checking in with different friends, K and I made some brunch at home and then got to work around the house putting up photos and decorating our walls, while keeping an eye on the news and any updates as more victims were identified throughout the day. Lots of family and friends were calling to make sure we were okay so it was a little hectic.

We had a quiet Sunday night at home to cap off the weekend and prepare for new adventures ahead, sadly with heavy hearts for my city and the victims of the terrorist attack.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Girls Beach Getaway

Being on unpaid vacation really makes you forget what day it is but I'm realizing now this change really happened at the right time because I was able to get a lot done at the new house and be around when different workers needed to be in and out installing last minute things. Other than that I've been really enjoying the lack of a schedule and break from office life to recharge my batteries.

Before starting my new job on Monday, the bestie and I decided to take a quick trip to the beach for a couple nights. We found a dog-friendly hotel and our girls vacay started yesterday with Lola in tote.

The beach is our happy place and the perfect place to clear your mind. I've become certain all of these changes are turning out to be a blessing in disguise allowing me to grow personally and professionally.

So we celebrate one last hurrah with some sun rain yesterday, sea, and sand before starting my new adventure next week which I'm pretty excited about.

Cheers to the weekend!