Pot Roast Perfection

I don't know about you, but my weekend was fairly food centered. On Saturday Kace and I had a date night and tried a local Mexican joint that he had been asking to go to for a while. He was slightly disappointed (there just isn't a lot of authentic Mexican food here in the Midwest) but I was super pleased with my steak tacos and gobbled them up. 

On Sunday, I decided to make a pot roast for the first time. I've always been a little intimidated by pot roasts, and to be honest, I didn't even have the proper pan to cook one in. But since I recently inherited some of my grandma's old pots and pans (can't wait to try out recipes in the cast iron frying pan) I thought I would try my luck. I used The Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast and it turned out amazing! I even made some mashed potatoes to go with the roast - something else I had never made before.  

What's "tators" precious? Potatoes. Boil 'em, mash 'em, put them in a stew

Out of the oven. Anticipation. Did it turn out?

Why yes, yes it did!

Considering how easy the roast was, I have a feeling this will become a favorite Sunday meal! Bonus, boyfriend approved!

Wild Style

Kacey and I watched the fun British movie Wild Target yesterday staring Emily Blunt, Bill Nighy, and Rupert Grint. We both thought it was really funny - the movie was a bit cheesy and completely went with it. It sort of had a Johnny English type of comedy to it. But I think the actual star of the show had to be Emily's wardrobe.

 She had on one fantastic, bright piece after another and looked so out of place running for her life (in fantastic shoes no less!) I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for some fun British comedy and bright outfit inspiration!

Pictures from here

Literary Inspirations - Madeline

This literary inspiration is based on Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline books. I suppose this is cheating a bit because these are fully illustrated books, but I loved them growing up and I've been thinking about French inspired things lately, so here we are. 

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines...The smallest one was Madeline." Be fearless like our redheaded heroine in a bright yellow or blue coat and lovely hat. Ballet flats will make sure you're comfortable as you're running around Paris, telling off animals at the zoo, making friends with Pepito, or even eating dinner. (I really just want an excuse to write "we love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all we love each other." Was I the only one who watched the tv show too?) Add a cheery red scarf to brighten up your day, and you're ready for your next big adventure!

Bahama Mama

I'm back! I didn't mean to go so long without posting, but immediately after I got home from my trip to the Bahamas, I came down with a nasty cold that I no doubt picked up from an airport. But a nice relaxing weekend with the boy has me feeling much better.

Highlights from my trip:

The ultimate highlight of my trip. The end. 

Oh all right, I did other stuff too :-) (But not as cool as swimming with a dolphin) 

Atlantis Resort 

In "The Dig", a huge aquarium

Walking around Nassau

First look from the plane

Wish you were here!

The ceiling in the lobby

And my obsession with my hipstamatic ap. I can't help it. 

If I may take a page from Jack Sparrow's Book

I'm off to spend 3 days lying on a beach drinking rum.  Welcome to the Caribbean, love.

The Good, The Bad, and The Interesting

The good:

Shamrock Shakes! My boss bought us all shakes yesterday, which was especially nice because I had a super stressful day at work.

The bad:

I hit a deer on the way home from work. I'm fine, but my car is not so fine. I was on a back country road, it was already dark out and the thing just came out of nowhere. I didn't even see it until I hit it, and even then I must have just nicked the back of it because there was no impact, my air bags didn't deploy, and I actually drove a few yards before deciding to pull over and check to see if I had even made contact. Oh I had. I have no idea what happened to the deer. I think it must have continued on it's merry way because we couldn't find it on the side of the road. Welcome to Wisconsin, watch out for deer. So now my car is at the dealership and I'm waiting to find out how bad the damage is. It was making weird noises when I tried to drive it after so I have a feeling the damage is worse than it looks.

The interesting:

Pear, spinach, and kale smoothie. Um yeah. Various recipes have been floating around the blogosphere lately and I thought I'd try it out to be healthy. It's not so much the taste that gets me - you can't even taste the spinach or kale, it just tastes like bananas and pears- but it's the texture. It's...chewy? Sort of? With chunks of spinach and kale. It's, well, interesting. Not bad necessarily, but I don't think I'll be making it again. Shame really since it's so good for you. Ah well, on to the next smoothie recipe!

Found around the web

Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with Pinterest? Because I am. Completely. Stuff I've found and loved over the weekend:

How cool is this? I totally want one when I have a backyard

I love her outfit and the amazing door

Yes. 

Yum. I think I will have to make these in the next few weeks. And it will be glorious. 

Everything about this photo is just so pretty

And finally, a super cute hair tutorial that I think I'm going to try this week

Seeing the World

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Isn't this video by EF International Language Center fantastic? The one about London made me miss England so much. I'm a huge believer in college students studying abroad and learning about the world first hand and these videos make me want to visit Paris, Barcelona, and Beijing. And take another trip back to York and visit all the old places I used to go!