Friday Fun {1/16}

Since I have been an absent blogger of late, I am linking up with TWO lovely ladies today for twice the fun!

Thank you to Natasha for hosting Five on Friday & Leslie for hosting Friday Confessions. 

1. My save the dates came in yesterday! Ahhh!!! 
I cannot even talk about how excited I am. I LOVE the way they turned out. So perfect and simple. I need to mail them out by the first week of February, but I am still looking for inspiration for the calligraphy on the envelopes. I can't decide how I want it to look. Thoughts? 

I confess.... that my Save the Dates are in neutral colors because I still haven't selected my wedding colors. I am just way to indecisive. 


2. In other wedding news, I am having coffee with a wedding planner today. 
I never thought I would consider a wedding planner, but now I am. I am just not sure I have the time or creative genius to make the day what I want it to be. I don't expect to get a full planning package, but I would like someone to do month of coordinating. What do you think? 

I confess... that I had a conversation with a wedding designer and she asked me so many questions that I nearly panicked. I felt SO overwhelmed. She had a million things that I had never even thought about - but that is why is was incredibly helpful. 


3. This dinner. 
I threw this in the crockpot on Wednesday and we loved it!

Chicken and Wild Rice Stew (based on this recipe)
Ingredients: 

• 4 Tbsp fat of olive oil
• 1  cup chopped onion 
• 1  cup finely chopped celery 
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots 
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2-4 cups finely chopped kale 
• 2 tsp. dried sage, rubbed or crushed by hand into the stew 
• 1/2 Tb. fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried. 
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 8 cups chicken or veggie broth 
• 1 lb. uncooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat) 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (optional: for garnish)

Directions: 

1. Place wild rice and 3 cups of water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. 
2. While rice is simmering, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
3. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 3-4 minutes. 
4. Add the mushrooms, sage, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan and toss well, cooking for another minute or two.
5. Transfer the vegetables (add in greens now) to a 6-8 quart crock-pot. 
6. Stir in the chicken broth, chicken and wild rice (include the water from the pot). 
7. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the wild rice is tender and the stew is thickened (because of the rice). 
8. Stir in the cream and parsley (if using). Serve. 

I confess... All of my meals were made in the crockpot. Even my breakfast porridge that I reheated each morning. I am so so lazy. 

4. A new cleaning schedule. 

If you spend .08648 seconds with me, you will notice that I am extremely concerned about keeping things neat and clean. Some might say obsessive ;) 

I found this pin before the new year and have been loving the schedule! It keeps me from having massive cleaning days and spreads it throughout the week. This way, I never have a "my apartment is such a mess" moment. #success. 

I confess... I picked all the jobs I don't like doing and told AR he was responsible for them. And he said yes. Hahah. 

5. Back into running

Last week, running clicked for me again. I have blogged several times about my lack of enthusiasm for running post-Chicago Marathon. I let it go, did tons of yoga and strength training, and only ran when I felt like it. For the last two weeks, I have done 4-5 miles a day and enjoyed it! I am so excited to be back in the groove a bit (especially because I have a race in 6 weeks). 

I confess... I want to register for another fall marathon but AR keeps shaking his head. He says that we should wait for next spring. Let us see who wins ;)

x0x0, 

Hannah