Girls' Weekend 2011

Hello everybody!  Happy hump day :-)

Seeing as how I haven’t updated since the Mardi Gras Ball weekend, I have lots of random things to share…

Phillip and I got to go home to Monroe a couple of weeks ago and spend a few days.  We had an absolutely wonderful weekend and got to spend lots of quality time with the fam.  Then we (I read while Phillip drove) made the 5 hour drive back to reality :-)

The weather is heating up down here and we are welcoming the warm air with open arms.  It feels like I have been on more walks the past couple of weeks than I have all winter!  I forget how much I love the warm weather until it starts to show its face again.  There’s just something about that sun hitting your face…it warms me deep down to my bones and makes all seem right in the world again.  My mom always says, “15 minutes of vitamin D a day will do a body good,” and she is so right.

With the weather starting to change, I can’t get enough fresh, light, and healthy meals.  Winter is the time for soups, stews, and chili, but spring brings about a desire for homemade salads, fish, fruits, and vegetables.  I wish so badly I had a garden where I could go and make a meal out of my homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini!  One day…

The other night, I made one of my favorite salmon dishes for Phillip and I.  It is so easy and requires no clean up because the entire dish is made in a foil packet.  Try it one night this week!  I’ll post the recipe below.

Salmon Baked in Foil

I had the most wonderful weekend!  A huge group of friends from college came into town for no particular reason other than to catch up and spend time together.  We don’t get to do it enough, but whenever we do get to get together, we have such an amazing time together.  We wish we all lived in the same town on the same street, but I guess having a girls’ weekend a few times a year will have to suffice.

I was the worst photographer this weekend.  I was too busy enjoying their company, so I didn’t take a single picture of all of us together!  Instead, I thought I’d share with you a little something about each girl in attendance…

(Just so you know, I didn’t know any of these girls before I went to college…and we’ve all been friends ever since.)

Emily:  She has a blog.  She’s an accountant and is the girl who always has to separate our checks when we eat out…poor thing.  She lives here in town so I get to see her frequently.  But right now, she is in the middle of busy season, so she’s been a little, well “busy” to say the least :-)  One thing I love about Emily is that she’s always up for anything (within reason).

Mallory:  Also a resident of Houston.  She’s a teacher and loves what she does.   Mallory is that girl that always has brownies or cookies on display in her kitchen when you come over.  Who can turn down a cookie and who has the willpower to have your favorite treats staring at you every minute of every day in a glass container on your countertop?  Not I, I assure you.  More power to you, Mal :-)

Megan:  Lives here with her husband of almost a year (a year this Sunday)!  Come April 1, she will have earned the right to say that she is an occupational therapist.  I think we’re as excited as she is for her to finish school because she will (for once in her life) have free time and be able to hang out without school hanging over her head!  We’re so proud of you, Meg!!

Kelly:  You guys saw Kelly a lot in my last post.  Her boyfriend and my husband work together, so Kelly and I get to see lots of one another.  She doesn’t live here, but she makes it a point to come and visit whenever she can.  She is the speech therapist of the group, so whenever our kids start stuttering, we’ll know who to send them to :-)  I absolutely love Kelly’s sense of style, and will spend my whole life attempting to look as “effortlessly put together” as she always does.  O, and she also has a blog!

Jenna:  Jenna is a teacher in Shreveport, LA.  Her husband is in medical school up there.  I met Jenna through Emily…they grew up together in Baton Rouge.  Jenna could out-run us all.  She has just recently completed her second half-marathon!  She’s trying to light the fire in some of us to join her for her next race, but we’re having a hard time finding motivation and we’re all doing a great job at coming up with excuses.  Jenna is one of the funniest people I know.  She has such a dry, sarcastic since of humor that constantly makes me cry because I’m laughing so hard.

Lauren:  Our soon-to-be doctor…we’re so proud!  She is in medical school and about to be finished with her third year!  I had the pleasure of living with her (and the next two to follow) in college, and we all had the most fun together.  She is marrying the love of her life this June, and we couldn’t be happier for her.  He chased her for years and she finally gave in and is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.  Lauren is one of the most giving and selfless people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I am so proud to call her a friend.

Stephanie:  Stephanie is another one of our occupational therapists and just got her first job in Dallas where she lives with her sweet husband.  She just started a blog too, and is having more fun!  I lived with Steph in college.  She cheered for LSU, so I met her through Liza (below) who also was a cheerleader.  Steph (our sophomore year) lived with Lauren in the apartment below me, Megan, and Liza, and it didn’t take us long to realize we would be lifelong friends.  Out of all the apartments in that complex (there were hundreds of them), they just happened to be right below us…God is so creative. 

Liza:  (or Little Easley as I call her) lives far far away in a land called Tennessee :-)  She teaches at a wonderful private school up there in her hometown.  Her husband is a professional baseball player, so she spends lots of time traveling back and forth to spend time with him.  It works out perfectly that she has her summers off, because she can pack up her bag that is three times the size of her and head off to spend a few months with him.  I met Liza the first day of rush in front of the Chi O house.  We hit it off right away and have been friends ever since.  We all accredit Liza to being the one who got us all addicted to Dove dark chocolate and Diet Coke :-) I’m so glad you did!

Katherine:  Katherine just passed her boards and has accepted her first job that (lucky for us) is in Houston!  She is moving here in the next few weeks and is getting married this October!  We are so excited for you, Katherine, and so happy you will be so close!!  We all played some game that is kind of like charades over at Megan’s the other night, and Katherine definitely won “most entertaining interpretation” of her words.  She’s hilarious.

We all had such a wonderful time together and spent most of our time catching up on life and eating good food.   Saturday morning everybody came over to my place for breakfast.  Steph and I had made the Pioneer Woman’s homemade cinnamon rolls, cut up some fruit, and brewed an endless supply of coffee.  Those cinnamon rolls melt in your mouth and are so easy to make.  You must make them soon!  Find an occasion…Easter is coming up!  They would be soooo good on Easter morning with a hot cup of coffee…yum! 

Here's the link:  PW Cinnamon Rolls (I made homemade cream cheese icing to go on top instead of the maple one that she makes - personal preference).

Thanks to everyone for going out of your way to make the trip this past weekend!  I cherish the time I get to spend with each and every one of you!  Y’all are so special to me and I’m so honored to call you a friend.  I love you with all my heart!!!

I’m back to work tomorrow and the next day, but my sweet mom is coming to see me on Sunday!!!  I can’t wait!  Thanks for always being so flexible, Mom.  I love you and can’t wait to see you!!

Be back soon with details!! 

Salmon Baked in Foil:

4 (6 oz) salmon filets

¼ cup EVOO

8 lemon slices

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup white wine (or chicken stock)

4 teaspoons capers

4 pieces of aluminum foil

salt, pepper

Directions:

Preheat grill pan or skillet to medium-high heat (or preheat a charcoal grill).

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 4 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. 

Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.  Be sure to seal the foil so that the juices don’t spill out!

Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon.

Serve over brown rice with a side of vegetables and enjoy!

Original recipe:  Giada De Laurentiis

Modified by:  Rebecca Gayle