Cajun Fish Wraps

Jordan and I have been eating a little healthier since we moved in together. Being in grad school leaves me a lot less time to work out so we try to shop for healthier meal options. Time management is a real challenge lately and we don't really have a lot of time to cook, even on weekends, so we have a couple go-to meals we love.

One of our favorites = fish wraps. They only take about twenty minutes to make and have less than 300 calories. The last time we made them, we paired them with basil and herb couscous. Both were delicious! We buy Gorton's cajun grilled filets. They come frozen and take about 20 minutes to prepare. I know frozen fish isn't the best option, but it's much better than McDonald's when you're pushed for time. They have 90 calories per fillet, are all natural and also gluten-free. They're seasoned well, so there's no need to do anything before you pop them in the oven. We have also stopped buying bread (my weakness!) and use whole wheat tortillas for wraps instead of sandwiches. They're about 100 calories each and stay fresh much longer than a loaf of bread. After the fish is done we add tomato, light Duke's mayonaise (there's just no substitution for good mayonaise), and mixed greens.

A couple weeks ago we had Mike, Victoria, Katie and Tony over for dinner to celebrate Katie and Tony's recent engagement. Our plan was to take pictures for a blog post, but we were having such a great time we got distracted and forgot. We did snap a picture of our lovely dining table before. Check it out! We have so many cool pieces of furniture we bought off Craigslist, and they all have interesting stories. The lady that sold us the table was so nice! She told us she hoped we had as many happy family dinners on the table as she had. I'll post more about our Craigslist adventures another time, and there are several, but I wanted to show off our lovely table!

That's all for today. 

-Tiffany

This Week & Wedding News

Well, it's been a hard, sad week.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about those poor people in Boston. Then, lastnight, the fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas. So many people are hurting. I just keep praying for those affected by these tragedies and hoping that the stories of bravery will outshine the evil of the mastermind(s) behind Boston and the misfortune of the accident in Texas. I'm hesitant to get into details about either event because now is not the time for speculation. There is so much misinformation floating around I've almost given up on watching the news for updates.

These kinds of events always make me think about my dad. He's been involved in the police force in some capacity since before I was born, and he started his career as a volunteer firefighter. I've wanted to hug him all week. After an emotional week, the weekend cannot come soon enough.

I was torn whether or not anything this week because I didn't want to a) be inappropriate or b) go emo on the blog. I hope I at least refrained from A. That said, I got some really exciting news today and I thought it was post-worthy.

My wedding dress is here! 

My appointment to pick it up is April 30th. I know I have a lot of time until the wedding (471 days for those counting), but it takes MONTHS to order dresses and then MONTHS to get alterations. I wanted to have the dress in my possession so I could take it to be altered when I was ready. I'll keep it in PA (out of Jordan's reach) until it's time to make the final alterations before the wedding. I'm ecstatic!

Dress shopping was such an easy, fun experience for me. I actually found my dress online. I saw a picture and *knew* it was the one. After finding a boutique that carried the designer, I reached out to ask about the dress. They didn't have the exact style I wanted, but had one that was very similar by the same designer. I tried it on and there were only a few things that weren't perfect about the dress. And guess what? Those things were different on the dress I found online. Naturally (or I guess not so naturally), I ordered it on the spot. I can't wait to go back on the 30th and put MY dress on for the first time.

We also found our wedding invitation design this week! This was a harder find. I never realized how important wedding invitations were, but apparently they "set the tone" for the whole wedding. No pressure, right? Wedding planning has been very easy (so far). I'm so glad we decided to have a longer engagement because we're really enjoying this time of being engaged and having the flexibility to make decisions on our own time. As corny as it sounds, every decision has just felt right.

I hear all these horror stories about bridezillas and people who lose themselves in wedding planning, but I just know I'll never get to that point. We're preparing for a marriage, not a wedding, and I couldn't be more blessed to be taking this journey with Jordan. He's my best friend, my biggest cheerleader (tied with my mom, obviously) and my rock.

Enough cheesy blogging. I promise my next post will be redeeming. Maybe summer boozing suggestions?

-Tiffany

 

Sunday Braves Game

Seven and a half years living in DC, two of those only blocks from Nationals Park, and I'd never been to a Nat's game until last Sunday.

To be honest, I'm not much of a baseball fan. But after a few nice Spring days and the chance to see Tiff's high school friend, Cory Gearrin, pitch for the Braves, we planned a little Sunday Funday. 

The plan was to make breakfast and mimosas before heading to the game. Unfortunately my laziness on Saturday deprived us of some critical elements. So a bowl of cereal it is. (Side note: We ended up grocery shopping at a Target last week and discovered the best 'healthy' cereal ever. Don't worry, we won't turn into granola eating hippies.) A quick bite and we were off in search of bottomless mimosas before the 1:05 game. 

We ended up at Bullfeathers, usually a hot spot before games, but it was surprisingly easy to get a table outside on the gorgeous day. Tiff had her new summer favorite, Abita Purple Haze; I stuck to my summer standard, Shock Top. After some happy hour wings it was off to the game. 

Our seats were great on the first base line. And Tiff was happy as Atlanta shut out the Nats 9-0 to sweep the three game series. We started making our way out around the bottom of the 7th but got sidetracked at the opportunity get Ben's Chili Bowl without the hassle of getting to U Street. 

A long walk home followed by a long nap rounded off a perfect Sunday. 

Start Spreading the News...

So.. it's been a while since I've posted. That's because I promised myself I wouldn't post until Jordan had because this seems to be quickly becoming "my" blog and not "our" blog, but he's still being a slacker so here I am. Love you, Jordan.

Anyway, May 10th is my halfway mark in grad school. For those of you that have gone through a grad program, you know the pain that comes along with it. No doubt it's a great investment, but giving up your weekends to be in class from 9-5 every Saturday gets really old pretty quickly. Jordan has been my biggest cheerleader and helper through the last year (cleaning on Saturdays while I'm in school, being patient when I get frustrated/exhausted, giving me time and space to study); I honestly couldn't do it without him. Between each class we get a Saturday off, so we've been talking about taking a trip the weekend of May 10th to celebrate! The Saturdays we have off are truly precious (it sounds silly but it's true) so we're usually hesitant to plan too much during them, but this weekend was an exception. It's been a rough couple months for us because of the move, being in a marathon of session and my surgery. Basically, we deserve to get away! :)

We went up to NYC a while back for a night. Jordan had never been, so I definitely wanted to take him. He loved it, but one night in NYC is not enough. We've been trying to get back, and just so happens I had some flyer miles burning a hole in my pocket.. literally. So while sitting in class (clearly paying lots of attention) I found a GREAT hotel deal for the weekend and pulled the trigger.

Bonus: my cousins Amanda and Crystal live up in Brooklyn. Hopefully we'll get a chance to visit with them.

And HOPEFULLY Jordan will be joining the blogsphere very soon! Don't you guys think he should join the party?

-Tiffany

Start spreading the news 

I am leaving today 

I want to be a part of it 

New York, New York 

These vagabond shoes 

They are longing to stray 

Right through the very heart of it 

New York, New York 

I want to wake up in that city 

That doesn't sleep 

And find I'm king of the hill 

Top of the heap 

My little town blues 

They are melting away

I gonna make a brand new start of it 

In old New York