Stacy Eats

Happy Friday, dudes!! Are you happy the weekend is almost upon us?

High five!

It’s been a great week around here, so let’s recap the top five worth a high five.

1. Chris and I booked our honeymoon!!!!!! We have our flight and all of our hotels booked except for one night. Whew what a relief. And woohoo, so freaking exciting. Watch out Paris and London.

2. I picked out my wedding shoes (the ivory wedges with bow on the toe) and I’m all scheduled for my first wedding dress alterations appointment this Saturday. Eek!

3. I get to see my parents this weekend. Last time I saw them was Christmas so I’m really looking forward to our family dinner on Saturday night.

4. I got to eat a whole lotta chili this week. Every single bite was delicious.

5. Now for a random and fun fact. I learned on the radio the other morning that the Bank of America building here in Atlanta is the tallest building in Atlanta, in the Southeast and in any state capital! I did not know the state capital part, so I thought that was pretty cool. I also wanted to share this pic I took of the building from a helicopter ride Chris and I went on last year!

Have a terrific day and weekend!

What do you want to high five about today?

• Comments 6 Comments
• Categories Eats, Family, Friends
• Author Stacy Eats

Last night I went to bed way past my hopeful bed time of 10pm. I was frustrated going to bed because I knew I would not get as much sleep as I’d like before an early five mile run followed by a long day at work.

This morning as my alarm went off, I hit snooze. I wanted the excuses running through my mind to take over and win the battle. You’ve got a busy morning at work, you deserve a little more sleep. You can always run on Friday morning. You already ran a strong four mile run earlier in the week.

(source)

I pushed through those stubborn thoughts and reminded myself that it was my last day to wake up before the sun this week, as long as I just did it.

And I did. I got up, got dressed and headed out into the dark, cold morning.

When it’s dark out it’s hard to see my Garmin unless I’m under a street light and even then it still requires getting my watch in just the right angle to read the stats. Because of this I sometimes try not to check my watch as often.

Today in particular I felt sluggish, giving me more reason not to check my watch because I didn’t want to see a pace that I wouldn’t be happy with. So I chugged along reminding myself that at least I got out of bed and was out here getting in the miles. A reason to be happy and proud.

After making my final sprint through the end, pushing past the 5 mile mark, I stopped my watch and checked my stats.

I averaged less than a 9min/mile? How in the heck is that possible?! I’ve been averaging about 9:20-9:40 min/mile pace when I think I’m going faster than normal. Yet today I felt the opposite.

Maybe it’s the days you don’t think you have it in you, that you come out and surprise yourself. Today was definitely one of those for me.

So the point of all this? Be proud of yourself. No matter what. Even if you have an off day. I totally wasn’t expecting a faster than usual pace, and even if that hadn’t sweetened the deal I still would have been proud of myself for getting out there and running.

(source)

What have you done to make yourself proud?

• Comments 2 Comments
• Categories Inspiration, Running, Working Out
• Author Stacy Eats

I don’t know if I’m trying to pretend that it feels like winter here. Or if the Super Bowl got to me. But I’ve made chili twice in the last week.

And I’ve never given you my recipe! The horror!

This is actually based on my mom’s recipe. I always looked forward to the days mom made a huge pot of chili. She’d set out all the toppings – freshly shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and Fritos. We’d go down the line, putting cheese on first so that it melted. Then crunching up Fritos and last, a dollop of sour cream. Our big bowl of chili would then be served with a tall glass of milk.

Are you a milk with dinner fan? My mom always has to have milk with chili, lasagna and spaghetti, so of course I loved it too. These days I don’t drink much, if any, milk so it’s usually a tall glass of water for me. Almond milk with chili doesn’t sound too hot.

This chili on the other hand is hot and delicious. Exactly why I’ve made it twice in the last week. Chris isn’t even complaining either.

Mom’s Chili Gone Veggie

Makes 6-8 servings

• one medium yellow onion, chopped
• one green bell pepper, chopped
• one 15oz. can black beans, drained
• one 15.5oz. can chili hot beans in sauce (or kidney beans, drained)
• one 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
• one 6oz. can tomato paste
• two 28oz. cans tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp red pepper
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce or to taste (optional)

You’ve got two options to make this: crock pot or on the stove.

To make using a crock pot:

1. Throw everything in the crock pot, give it a big stir and set on low for 8 hours. (You can always do high for 4 hours as well. Just depends on when you want to eat!)

To make on the stove:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add onions and cook for 4 minutes or until translucent.

2. Add green bell pepper and cook another 4 minutes.

3. Open all of your cans and add remaining ingredients in the pot, from black beans through hot sauce (if using). Stir well.

4. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

• Comments 8 Comments
• Categories Crock Pot, Family, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian
• Author Stacy Eats

I haven’t given you guys many wedding updates lately. Honestly, I’ve been so busy with work that wedding planning has taken a back seat.

I did do something really fun though. Thanks to the advice of my sister, I ordered a whole lot of wedding shoes online. Ten pairs to be exact.

Now to make my decision. (I’ve left out the ones I know are a no, due to fit or looks).

1. Ivory wedges with bow on side.

2. Light blue sandals.

3. Tan Seychelles heels.

4. Ivory pumps with bow.

5. Ivory wedges with bow on toe.

There they are! I have a favorite pair based on looks and comfort. Can you guess which they are?

In other wedding news, Chris and I are meeting with our pastor tonight for our first session of pre-marital counseling. You know, since shoes aren’t all that matter in wedding planning.

And last but not least…my workouts for this week! I’m a little late, but here they are:

• Monday – rest
• Tuesday – ran 4.37 miles and averaged a 9:02 pace
• Wednesday – weights with Chris
• Thursday – run 5
• Friday – BodyRock
• Saturday – run 8, weights (either Sat or Sun, not sure yet)

Do you have a favorite pair of shoes?

• Comments 18 Comments
• Categories Fashion, Shopping, Wedding
• Author Stacy Eats

It’s always a fun occasion when you get to hang out with others who share a lot of your same interests. Especially when those others, are people that you stalk on the internet on a daily basis.

And specifically when they are those you look to for recipes, and they are making you something to eat!

Enter our first Atlanta blogger potluck dinner!

Saturday night the lovely Lee hosted a group of us food-loving girls. Lee got a group shot, but unfortunately she’s not in it.

From left to right: Emily, Tina, me, Carol, Traci, Laura, Alayna and Laura.

We had tons of delicious food to go around.

We started the evening with dinner which included:

• Greek salad
• spinach artichoke dip
• spinach balls
• apple and brie crackers
• broccoli salad
• olive tapenade on french bread
• Japanese sweet potatoes
• curried sweet potato tot casserole (a Mama Pea recipe that I made)

We had tons of sweets to go around as well.

• Nutella sandwiches
• chocolate peanut butter pretzel sea salt cookies
• chocolate zucchini muffins
• carrot cake

Thanks to all the girls for great food and company! Hopefully the potluck style will reappear again soon because I thoroughly enjoyed it.

• Comments 5 Comments
• Categories Eats, Friends, Special Occasion
• Author Stacy Eats

Hi, I'm Stacy and as you might have guessed, I love to eat! I'm a 25-year-old marketing manager living in Atlanta with a passion for maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle.