Scene 1: The Apartment

M: (popping head into A’s office) Hey you. Get dressed. We’re going to the mall.

A: Okay.

Scene 2: Men’s section of a department store

M & A casually begin looking at charcoal gray suits.

Salesman: Can I help you?

M: Yeah, we’re looking for charcoal gray suits for our wedding in May.

A nods

Salesman: Any particular style you would like? Or would like to stay away from?

M: Yeah, I like dark gray. Not light gray. And I don’t like pinstripe suits. Like, I guess it can be subtle a pattern, but I don’t want a BAM! That’s a pinstripe suit!

Salesman: Hmmm, okay. Gotcha.

Salesman walks around merchandise and picks out 4 suits for A.

A tries on 4 suits.

Meanwhile M tweets and watches the Caps vs Penguins game.

A comes out in last suit. Everyone nods and agrees the fourth suit is the best one.

Salesman takes A’s fittings and rings up suit.

Salesman: So how long have you folks been looking at suits?

M: Um…the last 45min?

Salesman: Oh. (laughs) Glad I could help! Oh and by the way, we are having a sale today so your total is half off the original!

A: AWESOME!

M beams at scoring a bargain.

M & A thank the salesman and walk off.

M: I’m awesome at saving money! And at making picking out wedding things easy!

A: Yeah you are.

M: You’re going to look so handsome! EEEE! Now, onto real business, I want coffee!

Scene.

Dude, I’m at the halfway point of my half-marathon training! Last Saturday I ran 6 miles in the flippin’ cold. That’s the longest I’ve ever ran in my LIFE. And it was no big deal! Well, wait, it was a big deal the first 3 miles as I cursed myself  and questioned my sanity with every single step but the last 3 were smooth sailing! WHO AM I!?

I NEVER imagined I would get to a point in my life where six miles could be described as “no big deal.” Trust me when I say, I am NOT a runner. I run pretty slow and average a 10:30-11min mile. It’s not something I’m good at but that’s why I do it. I need a challenge to drive me and hold me accountable.

ANYWAY, this post was not suppose to be about running. It was suppose to be about yoga! Yesterday I tried hot power yoga (not to be confused with bikram which is WAY hotter) and I liked it! At first I was like, “What the heck did I get myself into? It’s hot as Hell in this room! Who does this on the regular? Do I look like a total n00b bc I’m not wearing Lululemon? I wonder what to make for dinner. How long is this? An hour? Good grief…“

But once the instructor starting getting into the moves, I started digging it. By the end of class, I felt so stretched out and limber, like a cooked spaghetti noodle. Best part was the class was only $5 and the money goes to help a local women’s shelter.

Happy hour power yoga: does the body and soul good

We are going to… Turks and Caicos!

From worldatlas.com

I am sooooooo stoked!! We’ve already booked an all-inclusive resort with a playstation3 in every room! So when Ale doesn’t want to sit on the beach for hours on end (like I intend to do) he’ll still be a happy camper and therefore everyone wins! I think I deserve the best future wife award for 2012 for that one.

Now all I need is a floppy hat, big obnoxious sunglasses, and this adorable Ralph Lauren beach coverup and I’m ready to go!

from Lord & Tyalor via Polyvore

Dress (see more cotton dresses)

Here’s a funny read from Thought Catalog about resolutions:

20 New Year’s Resolutions For 20-Somethings

Some of my favorites that I’ve actually started implementing before I saw the piece:

1. Before you status update, Tweet, Tumble or Instagram, pause and say to yourself, “is it entirely necessary that I share this morsel of thought with my entire social network?”and if the answer is not, “yes, I absolutely must,” then step away from the Internet.

While it seems I tweet every mindless thought I have, I swear I’ve actually cut back and spared you from some uselessness that would have not added value to your life. You’re welcome.

6. Please stop liking the Kardashians, all of them. It’s not helping anyone, least of all the Kardashians.

No, seriously! I did not spend a minute watching that heinous wedding disaster and I’m so glad I didn’t! Bah.

11. Wait 30 seconds before you look up a fact you can’t remember on your phone, and try to remember it using your brain. This is what the olden days were like.

I’ve realized I’ve finally got my grandparents phone number memorized. While I may not call them as much as I should, the thought that I know the number by heart, makes my heart smile

On a similar note, now when I forget something I wanted to do, I pause to give myself a chance to really remember instead of just shrugging it off to it being not important. Gotta exercise those brain muscles, ya know! Don’t want Alzheimer’s!

Any thing you want to pick off the list and start practicing?

Starting in January, I took a trip to Tennessee for my 26th birthday and then due to a freak snow storm, got stuck in the Charlotte airport on the way home and learned about relying on the kindness of strangers

February: Not much went on. I showed you how to jazz up your wall space with some fabric and canvas stretchers:

March also brought another lesson on the kindness of strangers as a bunch of my Twitter peeps, most of whom I hadn’t met in person, rallied together to raise money for another tweep to have a much needed surgery.

My little blog turned 1 in April.

May: I finally got to meet some of my super fabulous Twitter friends for the first time, in two separate occasions! That was so fun! Check out Jess‘s & Hannah‘s recaps for more details.

And to kick off the one year countdown to the wedding, Ale and I had engagement pictures done by our incredibly wonderful photographer Natalie Franke:

June was when I struggled through an intense summer school schedule, taking two courses at the same time which led to four night classes a week for six weeks. It was a doozy.

July was when the boy and I did fun wedding stuff like food tastings! July is also the month in which I finally decided to tackle the c25k running program with Ale. That was a big step as I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination.

In August, I experienced my first earthquake, as did most people from the DC area. That was nuts! Luckily, no one was hurt.

September marked the beginning of my last semester of grad school as well as the month I put all the hard work I did in completing the c25k program to the test in my first 5k.

October: I debuted my most clever Halloween costume and cemented my feelings on marathons.

November: Being so busy with school, I didn’t do much of anything other than freak out about what lies ahead.

December: Hands down, the best month of 2011 for me: I ran another 5k! I had dinner  with my blogger friends again!I FINISHED GRAD SCHOOL! I made vegan chocolate truffles and other assorted treats!

Comparing to last year’s recap, I’m so proud of myself of meeting at least 1 of my 2 goals for 2011 and that was getting fit! I finally made fitness a part of my routine and as I train for my first half marathon in March, I know I can and WILL keep this up! As for my other goal (learning to decorate cookies), there’s always next year

I feel 2011 has been quite the adventure for me, so full new and great experiences! I’ve met and been influenced by so many different people and I’m so grateful for that!

Anywho, have a great weekend but more so, have a great 2012!! Best wishes!!

]]> http://peachyplum.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/tgif-year-in-review/feed/ 5 peachyplum Snow DSC_0153 Engagement-10 DSC03464 http://peachyplum.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/more-cookies-please/ http://peachyplum.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/more-cookies-please/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:01:06 +0000 Maria http://peachyplum.wordpress.com/?p=2186 Continue reading →]]> This past Sunday, I spent the entire day up to my elbows in sugar, all-purposes flour and butter. In the end, I made about 11 dozen total. Dude, that’s a heckuva lotta cookies!

There was some Candy Cane Blossoms,

followed by some Outrageous Chocolate cookies,

and there was a bit of classic gingerbread action going on too.

I finished the marathon baking session with a batch of my personal favorites, cranberry oat bars All in all, I’d say it was a very successful Sunday

Ryan Gosling approves this degree (and lets hope my professors do too).

*images courtesy of LibrarianHeyGirl

Join the

Can you tell how pumped I am by the fact it’s DECEMBER FIRST?! While my last post was a little overwhelming and unfun, today’s post is the opposite because it’s about our favorite subject, FOOD, and more specifically, HOLIDAY FOOD!

First off, take a look at the cranberry-apple pie I made for Thanksgiving:

Sure beats the one I made last year…hahaha.

This year, after successfully conquering pie making, I took on a new challenge: chocolate truffles.

Not only did I try making truffles for the first time last night, I made vegan ones at that!

Check it out:

Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Truffles

• 1/2 c of cashews
• 1/2 c cold water
• 8 oz (approx. 1c) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or whatever chocolate you prefer)
• 1 box of candy canes

Puree cashews and water in a blender till smooth.

Slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler (or place one pot over another pot that has about 1/4c – 1/2c of water in it. Make sure the smaller pot does not touch the water. The steam will slowly melt the chocolate).

Once the chocolate has melted and cooled for a moment, fold in the creamy cashew “milk” and pour the mixture into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1.5hr.

Meanwhile unwrap a bunch of candy canes, stick them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin (or wine bottle, or mallet, or your whack weapon of choice).

Once the chocolate mixture has hardened, scoop out with a small cookie scoop (or melon baller, or spoon) and roll the ball in the crushed candy and place in mini muffin liners or on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.

Once you are done with that nonsense, stick them in the fridge till it’s time to gift them or eat them. Bring to room temperature before serving. Makes about 12 balls.

You can also roll them in cocoa powder:

I am hoping last night was only the beginning of many more fun-filled nights full of baking/cooking/crafting, which equates to more yummy recipes and pics for the blog! It definitely helps bring down my stress level all while providing me with stuff to share with you all!

TO THE PANTRY!

This post has also been featured as part of

In three weeks, I finish library school.

In six weeks, I turn 27.

In sixteen weeks, I run my first half-marathon.

In six months, I get married.

In between now and that last one, I got to make sure I don’t:

gain ridiculous amounts of weight

lose ridiculous amounts of weight

lose ridiculous amounts of hair

grind my teeth into a pile of dust

So far:

I’ve started grinding my teeth at night so hard that I wake myself up (that’s WITH a guard)

I’ve started breaking out into hives

My right eye is intermittently twitchy

UGH.

Like YA Lit? Looking to read something of substance? Try reading some Printz Award Winners as selected by Booklist (a publication of the American Library Association). A past award winning author I HIGHLY recommend is John Green. I especially love his first novel, Looking for Alaska.

From ALA

I think it’s a fantastic story that will remind you of how much fun you had and how fragile you felt as a teen. Trust me, I don’t read a lot of books, but when I do, they’re dos equis? Wait, sorry, meant to say qualitative!  I like books that make me say “hmmm” and reflect for a bit after reading them, and this is definitely one of those tales.

MOVING ON! If you were an English major, or got a minor in literature, or worked/work in a bookstore, or are a book snob, you will enjoy this Internet meme! I bring you,…(drum roll please)… the JUDGMENTAL BOOKSELLER OSTRICH:

Judgmental Bookseller Ostrich Tumblr

Oh silly Internet memes, you slay me

And as always, have a great weekend!