The Coalfire Compromise of 2013 & Random Recipe Success

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You know how some weekends go by in an absolute flash? Welp, it's suddenly Monday again, and I feel like I closed my eyes and the world flipped from Friday to Monday. I might seriously think the world was playing a trick on me... if it weren't for my memories from the weekend.

THE COALFIRE COMPROMISE OF 2013:

Friday night, I felt full and wanted a salad for dinner. But, guess what? My fiance had his heart set on Coalfire, a local coal fired pizza joint that is quite literally on our block. We compromised and went to Coalfire. We both ordered a pizza. Naturally, he finished his entire pizza, while I had only a few pieces of mine and saved the rest for us to munch on as snacks throughout the weekend. We also enjoyed some beers and had a nice little date.



Now, when I said that we "compromised" and went to Coalfire, you thought I lost out on that deal, didn't you? Wrong. My end of the deal was that we went to the Container Store afterward. I know, what a hot date for a Friday night. Don't be jealous ;-)

 

My fiance found ways to entertain himself at the store. Some of you have inquired about how tall he is... well, here's the perfect picture. He is six foot seven. Tall peeps for the win!



Why did we go to the Container Store?
I'd been begging to invest in a bunch of boxes and organize the apartment for months on end, but it wasn't until reading Sierra's blog post on Friday that I finally pushed for it (and made what will forever be referred to as the "Coalfire Compromise").

I'll be posting some of the before-and-afters this week (as well as what my strategy was for easy organization that will actually hold up with time). I re-did my pantry, an in-wall shelving unit, and three closets.

For now, here's a sneak peak of the pantry...



Saturday morning, I got up early and made us breakfast. We'd stocked up on some Chorizo at World Market (which is located next to the Container Store, and thus we had to stop there), so I threw together a Chorizo, onion, and cheese omelet for my fiance, then some oatmeal with plain Greek Yogurt and almonds for myself.



Post-meal, we headed to the gym for a workout sess. We did weights together (kind of) for about 45 minutes, focusing first on upper body and then on lower body (which, according to Body By Science, is the order in which to do weights so that you optimize results and avoid a headache).

Post-weights, we did some cardio. I did a 35 minute run. The first half was more of a steady state run, while the second half was sprint intervals. Thanks to Netflix and Alias for the entertainment on thus run - though I'm somewhat perplexed as to how my iPad got so insanely dirty. Gross.



After the workout, we stopped at the bank to set up our joint accounts. It was relatively painless but felt like something to celebrate!



RANDOM RECIPE SUCCESS:
 
After the bank on Saturday, we headed up North to my parents' place. On the way, we met my mom at CostCo, and my fiance became utterly obsessed with the place. For the rest of the day, the joke was that we would catch him playing on his phone, and he would be on the CostCo website.



At my parents' place, my fiance and I cooked a delicious meal. For months, I've been talking about this made-up recipe that kept lingering in my head: whiskey-marinated steak with a chocolate and wine reduction sauce. I had never seen it before, but just had a hunch that it would be to die for. And it was. Don't worry, the recipe will be coming this week.





The entire back of their house is floor to ceiling windows, so it is occasionally pretty cold in the kitchen. I found my brother's thrifted "Season's Greetings from Minnesota" sweatshirt (dude, why do you own this?) and put it on as I cooked.




For dessert, I made a Creme Brulee recipe that was a twist on this protein Cheesecake recipe. I'm estimating that they are about 100 calories each. Again, recipe coming soon. Don't you worry :)



Sunday consisted of lots of coffee, church, and an afternoon of more organizing and cleaning. Since my beloved Revenge wasn't on, we rented The Campaign with Will Ferrel and Zach Gala... (cannot for the live of me spell that man's name, but I know how to say it now!).

Have you ever randomly imagined a recipe in your head? This happens to me occasionally, and included both of the recipes I made this weekend. There's something about making something you created from scratch that is just so satisfying!

Seen any funny movies lately? The Campaign was surprisingly funny. Also surprisingly raunchy... and it is always fun to see Will Ferrell as the bad guy.