I'm A Winner!

Just wanted to say thanks to Flore and Grace for giving me this award!!

Apparently I'm versatile!  Yay!

Thanks you guys! 

I love awards, and I love meeting every one from this little blogging world I seem to have become apart of!

I guess I am supposed to share seven things about me now.  

I'll try not to bore you to death!

1. I hate pickles.  Actually I have a phobia of them. If you must know it is the result of an incident in kindergarten and I cannot be anywhere near them without gagging.
2. I went vegetarian at the age of 9.  I can't remember a single meal I have had with my father since then where he hasn't offered me meat and thought he was being hilarious.  Never gets old does it Dad?
3. My sister, Lizzie, and I have what we like to call "an alliance."  We like to make fun of our other sister, Dani, for not being in said alliance, but we like her anyways.
4. I have never broken a bone.  Nick has brittle bones.  I hope if we have kids they will get my bones and his ability to eat whole jars of Nutella without getting fat.
5. I want to be a morning person.  Every morning I try to get up early, and every morning I fail.
6. I wish British people got my sense of humor better and I wish I got their sense of humor better.
7. I have a highly addictive personality.  I can focus on certain things pretty easily which can often be good, like reading 3 chapters of my genetics textbook the night before an exam, but has been REALLY  bad since I have been unemployed.  I don't want to admit how much time I have wasted on facebook / blogging / checking email.  Note: this is why I don't "follow" more of your blogs.  I can't stop reading them!

Now for the fun part!  I get to give the award away!

And the winners are....

Lauren from Life!

Molly from A Foreign Land

Krystal from Village

Jodes from Seamstress for the Band

Angela from Quirky Nerdy Princess

Our Cow Molly

Ok so I already admitted Sarah and I are bad influences on each other.

But I must confess - this one was my idea...

Please don't judge.

Our Cow Molly  makes fabulous ice cream right on their farm.

It's the best ice cream I've ever tasted.

Ever.

It's a pretty adorable little shop.  

Speaking of adorable, this little girl lives on the farm.

She introduced us to her favorite cow.

She also likes ice cream.

Note the chocolate covered chin.

I like ice cream too.

I scream for ice cream.

Is there a single picture of me on this blog where I'm not eating?

Don't answer that.

I took thousands of photos so I could make your mouths water.

I had lemon and crystallized ginger ice cream.

A little strange?  Let me assure you it was...

To Die For.

It really was delicious.  

ps.  I am back on the cleanse now.  And I have healthy recipes to share with you soon.

What do you prefer, pictures of ice cream and cupcakes or healthy fresh fruit and veggies?

Tea and Cupcakes

So about that Cleanse....

My friend, Sarah, was here until yesterday, and it didn't go so well.

I'm not sure whether she is a bad influence on me... or I am a bad influence on her.

But we are definitely a bad influence on each other.

But you only live once right?

And I had to take her to Cocoa.

It's just the cutest place ever.

I know you've seen it before.

yawn.

But it just makes me happy.

So here it is again....

We drank so much tea!

I felt little crack headish after my

2,398th cup.

Can you tell?

I think Sarah did too.

When in Rome, eh?

If you come visit me I'll take you here too.

Promise.

ps.  I missed you this week, blogosphere.

pss. That shirt I'm wearing is the first thing I've bought from a thrift store - part of number 80 on my 100 things to do list.  What do you think you fashionista bloggers - cute or totally grandma-ish?

You Yanks Like Stately Homes, Don't You?

When I asked the girls on my rowing team where I should take my American friend, Sarah, 

Chatsworth - "a stately home" was recommended.

So thats where we went.

We had a great time.

We took silly pictures with sculptures....

Played dress up.

Wandered around the beautifully manicured gardens.

And imagined how great life would be if we had diamond encrusted tiaras to wear to our next fabulous dinner party in that fancy dining room.

Everything was absolutely beautiful.

Apparently it's often used as a location for Vogue photo shoots.  

I don't do outfit posts, but I do do stuffing my face with brie and cranberry crepes from the food market that just happened to be going on in front of the house.

Yeah so the cleanse/diet didn't go so well yesterday...

But it was a delicious addition to a fabulous day!

Hope your weekend is extra fun!

Happy 4th of July my patriotic friends.

Please wear your red, white and blue and sing I'm proud to be an American for me.

I think my America pride is generally frowned upon over here...

Just Call me Cellulite Sally

OK so since I found out I get to go to the states this summer I am having a major dilemma.  The thing is, in England there is rarely a need to let the sun even see your legs, not to mention get into a swimsuit!  You might say I've let myself go.  And this is bad news my friends, because you see I must get my thunder thighs into a rather form fitting bridesmaids dress and a bikini for all those pool days I am planning on!  Lucky for me Deliciously Organized  posted a Summer Cleanse on their blog.  Hallelujah!  This is just what I need!

I started on Monday with the no caffeine, no gluten, no animal products, and no sugar diet.  You can read more about it here.  I can tell you that it has been hard, I'm not having too many problems coming up with things to eat, but I feel pretty rough, like I'm having a very mild hang over all the time.  Apparently this is my body getting rid of junk - and get rid of junk it has!  I've lost about half a pound a day so far.

Anyways if you're interested, holler at your girl!  I'd love to see recipes you come up with and hear your results!  If you're not interested now you might be after I tell you about this delicious thing I concocted the other night....

Peach Salsa

Ingredients

• 4 peaches
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• handful of parsley
• 1 fiery red pepper (sorry I bought them at the market and they had no name)
• 1 scant tablespoon sea salt

Chop it all up, throw it in a bowl and call it a day!  The flavors do get better if you let it sit though, so you might want to make it up a little while before you're planning on eating it.

We had enough of this to use two nights in a row, and it was so dang good.  The first night I had it with some baked tofu, while Nick made himself a piece of chicken (yeah I don't cook that stuff, but I tolerate it as long as he doesn't kiss me after dinner).  

But the second night we put it to even better use. Check it out....

A bed of lettuce, wild rice, black beans, peach salsa, and fresh guacamole.  This is my kind of meal.  Totally fresh, clean and packed full of flavors.  You should eat this whether or not you're on some crazy cleanse.

Look out for more detox recipes as the week goes on.  My friend, Sarah, is coming to visit tonight though and I think I might slip up when shes here!  Eeeek wish me luck!