I Caved!

I am breaking one of my unwritten rules and am double-posting today.

After some mighty persuasive ladies started a hashtag on twitter to get me to join, I caved and joined twitter...

Want to follow me?  I'm @lisasyarns

Alright, back to figuring out this whole twitter thing.  I need twitter 101 or twitter for dummies or something...

Happy Friday, everyone!  Have a fantabulous weekend!

Dairy Free Friday

I haven't done one of these posts for quite awhile!  I am still living dairy free, I just haven't taken the time to put a recipe post together for awhile.

Last week when I had my brothers' family over for lunch, I made this delicious Garden Bean Salad!  It's super simple and very delicious so I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 t. sugar
Kosher salt
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 15-oz. can of white beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 lb. green and/or wax beans, trimmed and halved
2 T. finely chopped fresh parsley
2 T. finely chopped fresh chives
Freshly ground pepper

Now the post, in photos (which are kind of crappy because I was sort of in a rush to get this salad made before my brothers' family arrived).

Finely dice the onion and soak in water for 10 minutes (never had to soak an onion before...  kind of odd, but whatever!)

 Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 t. of salt.  When combined, whisk in EVOO.

Drain the onion, pat dry.  Stir onion and white beans into the dressing.

Bring salted water to a boil, add beans and cook for 4-5 minutes until beans are crisp-tender. 

 Drain beans, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain, pat dry, and add to salad.  Marinate at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Add chopped parsley and chives and serve!

See?  Pretty easy, right?  Not a whole lot of chopping either.  I think I threw it together in about 30 minutes.

Have you tried any new recipes this summer?

Wine and Love v10

You all know the drill.  It's wine and love time - post theme brought to you by the lovely Nora! 

Wine:
- My gradma has not been doing very well lately.  She has been in the ER multiple times as her BP keeps spiking and they can't seem to figure out what is causing it.  Luckily I will see her this weekend and will get some alone time with her, which I am very thankful for.
- This whole debt ceiling debacle.  It frustrates me on so many levels.  Regardless of your political affiliation, I think all Americans can agree that a compromise of some sort has to be reach asap.  It's really a shame that we might lose our AAA credit rating, which means that interest rates will likely rise - which is bad for EVERYONE, especially considering the fact that our economy is still in the midst of a recovery that has sort of stalled out.  ** steps off soap box ** 
- The 3 things I ordered during the Ann Taylor Loft online sale arrived and they do not fit me.  They are so big on me, and no I am most definitely not losing weight.  They must have changed their sizing.  Super bummed as I was very excited about the jean skirt.  Here's hoping the local store carries it!

Love:
- Passing Level I of the CFA.  No need to expound on that, you all know how much that meant to me.  And one of closest friends brought me beautiful congratulatory flowers.  Actually, they were from her 7 month old son.  He's a charmer.  Little does he know he is the first guy to give me flowers in * pauses to calculate * 4 years.  Ufda.  Perhaps that is something for the wine list instead.  Ha.
- Living across a bridge from one of my closest friends from college.  It's awesome to just walk across the bridge if I want to meet up for a drink or something.  Sadly, she is moving soon, but I will enjoy her and her husband's company while I can!
- Pickle juice.  I know this disgusting to many, but it's a great way for me to replenish my sodium level after these intense run club workouts!
- The weekend I have ahead of me!  I'll celebrate my youngest nephew's baptism and my oldest nephew's 7th birthday.  Can I just tell you how much fun I had picking out the books for his birthday present??  He reads a grade level ahead so I was able to pick out some fun chapter books.  :)

Your turn!  What's your wine(s) and love(s) of the week?

Book Review: Wishing for Snow

It's been quite awhile since I have done a book review on here!  I have been reading, though, I just haven't taken the time to share any of my reads!

Last week I finished "Wishing for Snow" by  Minrose Gwin.  It's a memoir that tells the story of Gwin's mother.  It's a very sad story as Gwin's mother suffered from mental illness, to the extent that she eventually had to be institutionalized.  It was pretty heartbreaking to read about Gwin's relationship with her mom as he mom did not want to be instititutionalized and made it clear that she was VERY upset with Gwin's decision to place her in a hospital.  I can't imagine having to make that kind of decision - and then to receive angry letters from my mom...  Yikes.  I have always been thankful for the healthy, strong relationship with my mom, but this book makes me ESPECIALLY thankful for our relationship.

This was definitely an extremely heavy book and was difficult to get through at times. 

What are you reading these days?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Best news ever!!

I have some very awesome and exciting news to share!! I just found out that I passed the level I CFA exam!! Only 39% of those who took it passed so i am especially excited as that is a low pass rate (which is typical, the CFA institute makes it very hard to pass).

Those close to me know how hard I worked for this. It is a relief to have passed as all those hours spent at my dining room table were clearly worth it.

I will definitely be celebrating!!!! Luckily I will be with family this weekend so I will most certainly be raising a glass of something and reveling in my success!!!

Best news ever!!

I have some very awesome and exciting news go share!! I just found out that I passed the level I CFA exam!! Only 39% of those who took it passed so i am especially excited as that is a low pass rate (which is typical, the CFA institute makes it very hard to pass).

Those close to me know how hard I worked for this. It is a relief to have passes as all those hours spent at my dining room table were clearly worth it.

I will dedinitely be celebrating!!!! Luckily I will be with family this weekend so I will most certainly be raising a glass of something and reveling in my success!!!

Another Wonderful Weekend

Happy Monday!  I had another wonderful weekend.  I packed a lot in this weekend, but had a wonderful time.  I experimented with a veggie burger recipe, ran 8 miles with my run club, entertained family, skyped with Kyla, attended a bbq at my building (a friend has friends that live here!), went to a musical that my aunt was the choral director for, had wine after with my aunt and uncle, and g-chatted with Amber.  Phew! 

The highlight of my weekend was definitely entertaining my family.  We had a wonderful time and they got to see why I am so head-over-heels in love with my life now that I have moved.

The boys, walking through the Farmer's Market, hand in hand.  I love photos of the backs of people!!

Could they be any cuter??

My older nephew Andrew said, "When can we come back?  How about next Saturday?"  So clearly, the kids were won over by my new place, too (the outdoor pool probably helped!).  I am hoping they are frequent visitors!

So life continues to be blissfully good.  Feels really good to say that I would not change a thing about my life right now.

What was the highlight of your weekend?