Super Bowl Sunday {Go Ravens}

By now I hope everyone has gotten their Ravens gear or purple clothing out for Sunday :) It is definitely going to be one exciting game watching the Harbough brothers face off, the conclusion of Ray Lewis' career...and let's not forget- Beyonce is performing.

I have a ridiculous amount of Ravens gear. 

We will be watching the game at the bar Townhouse in Baltimore, but if I were to stay home, my menu would look something like this:

Taco Layer Dip
*If you want to get creative with your taco dip, make it into a football field - use the guacamole last and spread all over the top. With sour cream (or greek yogurt) make vertical lines to look like the yardage. For the endzones, either add chopped tomatoes to one side and shredded cheese to another, or if you want it to be purple endzones :) you can add purple cabbage strips.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas
Coco-Cola Glazed Chicken Wings
Truffle Football Cupcakes

And if you want to make an ode to Baltimore, you can make up these delicious Old Bay Crab Cakes.  and open a nice cold Natty Boh.

Enjoy! XO And Go Ravens!

Wild Salmon Salad

Recently during my lunch break, I was sitting in our cafeteria watching the Dr. Oz show and they started discussing health benefits from fish. Interesting enough, there is a small list of types of fish that contain higher level of Omega-3 and have lower mercury levels. These include: anchovies, herring, mackerel (Atlantic only), sardines, trout and wild salmon.

We have been eating tilapia at least twice a week - for one, it takes me less than 10 minutes to make, and secondly, it's very inexpensive compared to other fish at Whole Foods. But now that I have given up my daily grande-soy-mocha- no whip at Starbucks, I can afford to spend the extra few dollars on healthier fish :)

Anyway, I picked up some wild salmon and made a fresh salad to go with it.

With skin side down on aluminum foil, I spread on dijon-mustard, sprinkled with salt and pepper then sprinkled with dill.  Baked in the oven at 375 for 11 minutes. (Times will differ based on your oven). When the fish starts showing white, it's time to take it out of the oven. I sliced the fish and laid it on top of the salad and drizzled a balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Enjoy! XO

California Coast

Last week I headed off to Vegas for 5 days for work - then took the opportunity to head to California for the weekend. We decided to have a small mini-reunion with Alex's Georgetown grad school friends. Unfortunately, I was under the weather all week but I am glad I decided to get out of bed Saturday to see these amazing views from the Pacific Coast Highway.

We flew into LA, then spent the afternoon in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Pier

Alex & Andy

Looking at Malibu

Friday evening we headed to the hills of Malibu where our friend lives and has the most AMAZING views. Valleys, the ocean, and you can see the top of the clouds. (Mind you, if you get car sick, you'll need dremomine to drive up the hills.)

On Saturday, the group drove an hour north on the Pacific Coast Highway to Ventura. Along the way, we were able to stop at some look-out points for some more spectacular views.

Alan & Kelly

The boys

 Everyone besides me and Jeff went surfing in Ventura. Jeff and I lounged out on the shore and played a few games of Kings on the Corner :) The air was probably 60 degrees - too cold for me even with a wetsuit to think about surfing!

The group getting ready to hit the waves, man

wicked

On our way back to Malibu & Santa Monica, we stopped at a seafood spot off the PCH - and I ordered some delicious fried fish tacos. 

Fried Fish Tacos with Cilantro

And, we were able to stop at one more look-out along the way. I wish this could be my backyard...

Heaven?

A Great {Engagement} Gift

The holidays are behind us and with that - proposals are on the rise! I am delighted that so many of our friends have recently got engaged. I was looking for something useful {and cute} that I could send the new brides-to-be to help them with their planning, and luckily, Abby Larson from Style Me Pretty just released a WONDERFUL new wedding guide book based off of her popular blog.

If you are looking for something cute I highly recommend this book! It has a ton of DYI step-by-steps, outdoor wedding ideas, cute color combination ideas and more! And it costs less than $25!

Enjoy! XO

Lichenstein at the National Gallery of Art

If you are looking for something to do this weekend - well for one, go outside. It's supposed to be sunny and in the mid 50's - low 60's, but also, this weekend is your last chance to catch the Roy Lichenstein exhibit at the National Gallery of Art.

Lichenstein is known for his "pop art" and comic-strip like art. He uses bold colors like blue, yellow and red with thick black lines.

We will be heading there Saturday!

"Drowning Girl" - I have this hanging up in my office

Lewis' Last Hoorah at Ravens Stadium

This Sunday will be Ray Lewis' last time to run out of the tunnel doing his signature Ravens "squirrel" dance - although it makes sense that he is ready to retire after 17 years playing for the Ravens, it will be heartbreaking nonetheless.

On top of it being a playoff game, my heart will be racing and myself, like others, will be full of different emotions on Sunday. I also wonder if this means it will be Ed Reed's last home game. It has not been announced, and I hope I am wrong but I could see him resigning at the end of the season (That will hopefully be in Feb!)

I have been fortunate enough to be invited to many games the past three seasons with Alex's family and for that, I am forever grateful. One of my favorite things about attending the Ravens games is rushing from tailgating to make sure we are on time to see if the defense will be running out of the tunnel - so that I can see Lewis' dance.

Me at the Ravens games the last 3 seasons

Ray Lewis. Pics courtesy of BaltimoreRavens.com

We will miss you Ray Ray!