Hey, yall! You can find my blog post for today over at Pancakes & Beet Juice. PC&BJ is written by my friend, Lilly. I'm moderately obsessed with her. She blogs gluten-free recipes/restaurant reviews, home renovation, newly-wedded life, and pretty much just things that are awesome. Her through line, I would say, is the snarky snarkiness she throws in each post. She's in Seaside this week (I would hate her, but my California adventure is in two days...), so she asked for a guest post, and I was happy to oblige. Click the pic to chizzeck it out.

Good morning and happy Friday, campers. We're in that awkward time in Austin where it's still warm and humid and always seemingly on the brink of rain. As in, it has to rain soon. It is not possible for it to be this humid if there is not the promise of rain. The clouds are like giant bloated cow udders just begging for some relief. --Hope you were ready for disgusting imagery! You weren't? Sawly!-- Well today is the day that the clouds have been waiting for- I think we are getting rain. It says there's a 95% chance, but you seriously never know in this town.

So, today I'm happy to bring you a Rainy Work Day edition of Friday Tunes. Remember how my elliptical playlist was heavy on the beats? This...isn't. Just a mix of slow, easy tunes to get you through an hour of work on this (hopefully) rainy Friday. (Have I ever typed a more geriatric sentence? Meh, I'm just gonna go with it.) Hopefully you get some pitter-patter on your window for some back up percussion. If you'd prefer, you can listen on Spotify under my "rainy work day edition" playlist.

What do yall like to listen to when you're stuck at work on rainy days?

Trips trips trips! I've got a couple fun things planned from now til February that I want to share.

Dallas- TX/OU followed by ACL

Not so much a "trip" as a 24 hour stay in town. For those who do not exist in the Longhorn/Texas Ex/Austin, Texas bubble...we have been faced with a terrible decision. For the first time, The Powers That Be have scheduled ACL Music Festival on the same weekend as the Red River Shootout (the Texas v. Oklahoma football game). This is blasphemy! THIS IS MADNESS! I have only missed ACL once since I started going in 2006, and I regretted it all that year. I've never missed a TX/OU weekend in Dallas since I started attending UT. So torn. So, some of us have decided to do both. Saturday, Dallas for the game. Sunday, ACL. Monday, work. Ugh. Kind of the best of both worlds, though...I'll drink a thousand beers and eat my weight in fried guacamole at the fair, and walk/dance it off Sunday at ACL.

New Orleans- Mardi Gras Baybee!

Can I just say HOW EXCITED I AM FOR THIS? I've been to New Orleans three times now, and it just keeps getting better. If I didn't have the distinct pleasure of living in Austin, I would move to New Orleans in a heartbeat. I've never been for Mardi Gras, though. We've got a hotel booked that appears to be clean and orderly, and is located in the French Quarter. Yah, it's a Best Western. But it's a Landmark Best Western. Only the best for my honey booboos. Also, it would appear that everyone has an actual bed to sleep in, which is a step up for my krewe. <-- see what I did there?

So, I need your help. Please pass along any Mardi Gras survival tips. How does one not get lost? Do you just become okay with the fact that you'll probably get lost, and embrace NOLA strangers as friends? (I can feel my mom's heart quickening as she reads this. Just kidding, Mama. I won't talk to strangers.) Should I bring an extra suitcase for all the beads I'm going to bring back? But what will I WEAR?

Los Angeles- Argo Premiere

This. Is a real thing. That is really happening. But every time I talk about it, it seems more and more far-fetched. In a nutshell: my uncle, Tony Mendez, was in the CIA during the Iran hostage crisis. He was a disguise and exfiltration expert enlisted in recovering six American diplomats who had evaded capture but were stranded in Iran. After his mission was declassified, he wrote about it in his book The Master of Disguise. No relation to the Dana Carvey movie... (turtle! turtle!) Anyway, somewhere along the way George Clooney bought the rights to his story and decided to produce the movie, and Ben Affleck signed on to star and direct. NO BIG DEAL.The movie is called Argo and the LA premiere is next week.

This has been a long time in the making, and the family has been squealing and excited the whole way through. Now the stars have aligned and we have been invited to attend the premiere of the movie in LA. I've never been to California, but I'm told this is the right way to do it. I'm certainly fine with it. So, if you need me next Thursday, I'll be poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel hanging out with Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler (!! TEXAS FOREVEROMG BLEEPBLOPBLOOP), and who the hell knows who else. And my family! Thank God. I'll need them if I'm going to attempt to stay grounded/conscious.

I'll also get to see one of my very best girlfriends from high school- she works for WB and will be acting as the family's handler that night. Such a great, small world we live in. Needless to say, I am thrilled and terrified all at once. Check out the trailer below. The critics love it, and it's looking like an Oscar front-runner.



I'll attempt to take a few pictures while I'm there, if I'm not too starstruck. And of course will update my loyal subjects (the ~3 people that read this.) Wish me luck!

Hey dudes...since my last post there have been two Texas tailgates, one away game, a trip home to Dallas, some exciting news regarding a several trips in the upcoming future, Emmy's, a smattering of new fall TV, and just ya know, LIFE.

let's touch base and regroup on the basics.

FOOTBALL

Texas is doing pretty...pretty good! We've got a couple major tests coming up with West Virginia and Oklahoma, but so far this season and the tailgating that has gone along with it has been vewwwy fun. I've got a camping trip scheduled for this Saturday, aka our first conference game against Oklahoma State, so...I'm trying to figure that out. Do they have outlets in the woods? Wifi? How does one...watch..TV...in the wilderness? I now FULLY understand why our dads were so concerned with getting their radios to work on Indian Princess campouts. "Here, honey...I got you a stick and a knife. You use the knife to slowly wittle the stick down. No, yah, it's totally safe. Just let me know when you're done, and I'll find you another stick. No, this really is something your Native American ancestors used to do and in no way is me trying to occupy your time so I can listen to the game. Have fun!"

Roomie and I at the tailgate

DALLAS

I went home for the first time since May this past weekend and it was so great. I checked off all the basics-seeing old co-workers, spending time with the Dallas friends at Oktoberfest, lazy time and a home cooked meal at my Mama's, and related to that- cuddle time with all the kitties and puppies at home. And of course, I saw my hairdresser. I've been seeing her for the past TWELVE YEARS, YALL. We may be separated by 200 miles, but this is a long distance relationship that I am committed to making work.

Dallas, you so shiny and pretty.

Taken before I left. Look how sad they look...

TEE-VEE

I'm kind of a TV junkie. I love good television. Thanks to the wonders of Netflix and DVR, I can enjoy good TV AND not be couch-bound every night. That being said, I was really looking forward to the Emmy's. But man...other than Louis C.K. getting some well-deserved writing awards, Claire Danes getting recognized for her amazing performance on Homeland, and Jessica Lange still being the Empress of Everything, I was SO disappointed. Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks got R O B B E D. Mad Men in general got robbed. 0 wins for 17 nominations. I like Homeland, I really do, but come ON. On that note, I'm toying with the idea of re-capping some of my favorite shows for you guys. (Community? New Girl? Dexter? AHS? we'll see...)

ELLIPTICAL MARATHON...YUP

Oh, just a major reason I started this blog. Maybe I should touch on this subject. I'm still at the gym 3-4 times a week. I've been spicing things up with spin class and some weight lifting...yall, I got a little burned out of being on the elliptical that much every week. I also felt like I hit a bit of a plateau. I'm re-working a training schedule that includes some non-elliptical activity so that I can keep my pea-brain entertained and keep my body from zoning out. BREAK!

TRIPS!

some exciting travel coming up! going to put this very much in a nutshell, because i'll be doing a full post soon. in summary: Los Angeles! Dallas (again)! New Orleans Mardi Gras!

tis time. time once again for texas football. college football. saturdays where entire populations point towards their respective stadiums. lots of people describe baseball as America's great national pastime. maybe those people sucked at football.

to say i'm excited is an understatement. our tailgate has been months in the making. there have been at least 150 emails about preparations. we basically bought all the hamburger meat they had at costco. i don't even eat red meat and this excites me. last night i was making bacon to put in a variation of these suckers and was thrilled because i was making something other than lean meat, whole grains, or veggies. it's healthy, i know, blah blah but ermahgerd. boring. our tailgate beer sponsor, MillerCoors, came through again so the triple hops brewed beer will flow like the Guadalupe River. us girls have all of our burnt orange apparel from Longhorn Fashions picked out and coordinated so that we don't show up wearing the same outfit. the HORROR. can you imagine? i need my smelling salts. please know i'm kidding. about the smelling salts. not the outfit coordination. that is very, very serious.

anyway, the point is i couldn't be more excited about the longhorns. the game. the food. the drink. the cowboy boots. the camaraderie. the competition. and certainly not least of all: the tunes.

so this week, i bring you a tailgate edition of friday tunes. many of these are a Texan's version of an Irish drinking ballad. i can guarantee that my friends from school have either hiccuped, sang, or stumbled their way through a two-step to these songs. sometimes all three at the same time! we're multi-talented like that. of course i capped it off with the Texas fight song. if you like what you hear, subscribe to my "tailgate" playlist on spotify.



can't have a friday tunes: tailgate edition without mentioning our very own in-house musician and close friend of mine, John Edward Baumann. he'll be playing most of our tailgates and is an up and coming Texas musician. he is a seriously talented wordsmith, and his songs always make me smile. or cry. I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION. i've included some of my faves.








in the spirit of competition...please see my newest favorite quote regarding Austin/UT Football from Drew Magary's 2012 Hater's Lover's Guide to the Top 25.

"All the food in Austin is dirt cheap and impossibly good, and when I went to Franklin BBQ I deliberately tried to give myself a heart attack by stuffing my face with brisket and very small bourbon pies. The women there are not unattractive, and the folks all look extremely content with their lives. Meanwhile, 20 million people voluntarily cram themselves into a New York City subway car every morning wanting either to kill everyone around them or to kill themselves because killing yourself is kind of easier. Austin is better. And I like that the University of Texas has the balls to cause entire conference shifts without actually moving anywhere. They just break apart alliances and leave other schools bankrupt for the sheer joy of it. That's my kind of heartless bureaucracy."

yep. hook 'em!

it's that time of year. the time where you have to peel yourself off your driver's seat every time you exit your vehicle. the time where it's too hot to lay out, and not much better in the pool. the time where other people in far-away lands start talking about cozy sweaters and just the thought of that makes you itch and sweat. when i was little, i used to flip through the back to school copies of lands' end and wonder where in the hell these people lived that would be wearing tights or corduroy on their first day of school. meanwhile, some demented person decided it would be a good idea to make our school uniforms out of some type of 100% unbreathable plastic. i wish i was joking. one time my mother melted my skirt while she was ironing it...

and yet i cling to summer. the long days, the warm nights- i love it. the many hours spent doing nothing around various bodies of water. cold beers that stay cold just long enough to continue to be refreshing. that sense of unrest because summer is so unscheduled. it's the best.


so i'll say a reluctant goodbye to august and to summer with a few pictures of what's been going on this month.

remember the King of Everything from a few posts below? he knows all the best shows. another reason he is the King of Everything. this was a free show (also served free beer...pinch me) featuring Little Dragon, A-Trak, and Big Boi. it was hot, sweaty, and AWESOME. first show i've ever been front row for, which means i could actually see the bands. when you are my height this is very. exciting.
favorite song from each artist below:

Little Dragon- Shuffle A Dream
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (A-Trak remix)- Heads Will Roll
Big Boi- Shutterbug
i could do a whole post on this show. FYI, the King of Everything got me into this show, too. for free. i need to buy him a car or give him my firstborn or something to express my gratitude. this was Lindsey Buckingham playing solo in a very intimate show at Antone's. as Fleetwood Mac is one of my top 3 bands of all time, i was ecstatic to get to see him. we're talking about a guy that has done it all...and he was still so excited to be on stage at this small show. it was incredible. a few of my favorites he played are below.

Bleed to Love Her
Never Going Back Again
Big Love
random Tuesday night at Kung Fu with some friends. it's basically a grown-up arcade...they've got it all. buck hunter happened to be broken that night, so we focused our intellectual and physical efforts on to skeeball, foosball, and giant jenga. what they don't tell you when you're a kid at chuck e. cheese is these games are really easy unless you're playing them one handed because your other hand is holding a beer. so...yah. i blame my lack of skill on that. not too shabby for a Tuesday.
oh yes oh yes oh yes they both oh yes they both oh yes they both reached for...the controller. of the video game. roommate and i finally set up her old nintendo and let me tell you. within an hour we had defeated bowser, saved the princess, and were partying with toad and luigi. not really, we kept dying and only got to world five. still so fun. this reminds me. brother, if you're out there, and remember the cheats, send 'em my way.
saving the best for last...baby sister moved to Austin to start college! that's her little cherub self sitting on my dad's shoulders at the beach. she just finished rush- talk about sweating. christ. the whole thing was a fricking nail biter. for her, sure, but me too. it's over and had a happy ending but GEEZ i'm glad she only has to do that once. she started classes yesterday and my pangs of jealousy and pining for yesteryear started right around the same time. i made her dinner last night, as any good matronly-spinster-older-sister would.

i'm so happy to have her around. what is it about baby sisters. they keep you young. they make you laugh. and then you see a picture like this and they just break your heart with their cuteness. look at her little face. those eyes! those curls!

as you may have noticed, i have been absent from this little blog for a while. i've been busy...and i've been thinking.

i jumped into this blogging thing as a fun hobby for my project-driven self. now that i've been in the real world for a few years, and the post-college dust has settled, i'm finding that i have an abundance of time. i work. i go to the gym. i hang with my friends. i watch tv. i read books. but i don't create, or i didn't, until i started RIC.

part of blogging, for me, is reading other blogs. there is so. much. out there. it has been really fun to get a little peek into other people's lives in this way. to see that this weird need to create something expressive and informative and about oneself is something many of us share. that is the positive.

the negative is that there is this sheen over so many blogs. the sheen of perfection. i like a pretty ethereal bokeh as much as the next guy...but that is not real. i think it would be nice to read a blog entry titled "how to drag your ass out of bed and get to work when you REALLY don't feel like it" instead of "how to perfectly style your nightstand" or "DIY: ombre glitter nail polish tutorial."

so, in the interest of honesty:
i do not have a pet. i do not have a boyfriend. i do not own a home. i will not be starting a business anytime soon. sometimes, on sunday, the only productive thing that i get done is laundry. i probably spend an embarrassing portion of my income on food/drinks/entertainment. i am not sure if my nightstand meets "perfectly styled" qualifications.

and yet...i still lead a very enjoyable life.

i'm twenty five. a college grad. employed (in a field that actually has something to do with my major. finally.) i live in the best city in the U.S. (in my limited worldview opinion.) i have amazing friends. i have a wonderful, supportive family with whom i am very close. i laugh a lot. i consider myself a happy person. i regularly stay up late into the night, surrounded by friends laughing and doing stupid things. i don't apologize for any lingering immaturity because i am too busy drinking. it. in. i know that too soon those 4 a.m. conversations will be gone. and if all i'm left with at that point is ombre glittered nail polish...no, thank you to that.

i'd apologize for sounding negative, but that would contradict my point. just know that my plan is to remove any sheen from this here blog. it's my little corner of the internet, and i plan to give you a peek into my life. honestly.

if you know me even a little bit, you know i love color, prints, and texture. growing up that's just always how our houses were- full of color. i so wish i could do the minimal, stark thing. i appreciate it. but paring things down has never been my strong suit. raccoon : shiny objects : : molly : loud design. on that note, i also like shiny objects.

that being said, i have had white walls in my bedroom in austin since i moved here. three months ago. it's been driving me insane. i know how much time painting a whole room takes, and i did not care to invest that kind of time myself. (been there, done that, lost the deposit, ugh. no thanks.) nor did i have a budget to hire painters. enter: the accent wall.

when i purchased the paint for my DIY stripe curtains, i did it with the accent wall in mind. i knew i wanted my room to be blue-gray, and that turned out to be a great color for the curtains as well. enough to make the stripes on the curtains pop, but light enough to not get too nautical.  the curtains took about half a gallon of paint, and i probably used another quart to paint my accent wall. leaving me with another quart to play with soon. :)

so saturday morning i headed to home depot, got my paint shaken, picked up a few random supplies, and grabbed an iced coffee. i had basically all the supplies i needed...except for one crucial thing. muscles. brawn. that tim "the toolman" grunt. i needed a dude to help me move my bed. enter: the King of Everything (as i have henceforth dubbed him), Dom. The King of Everything volunteered not only to help move my bed, but to paint as well. this is why he is the King of Everything. also, he's a singer/songwriter! ladies- holler atcher boy.

all in all, counting the trip to home depot, moving all my furniture out of my room, painting, and moving everything back in, this project probably took two hours. max. the actually painting took MAYBE thirty minutes? such a great, easy way to liven up the space. best part: SUPER CHEAP, too. because i had the paint and most of my supplies already, i think i spent a total of $8 on an edger and a roller handle. moral of the story: plan out your paint projects and see if one gallon can have multiple uses. and save your painting supplies!

another small project i took care of was a bit of clean-up/organization in the utility room. i was tired of looking at all the crap on our shelves (we use the utility room not only for laundry storage, but cookie cutters, light-bulbs, koozies, and shot glasses. you know. the staples.) i just needed some plastic bins to store everything, but didn't want to spend an arm and a leg.


i wouldn't have thought of this, but thankfully now i have pinterest to do all that pesky thinking for me. dollar store to the rescue, yall! grand total of $6. BOOM.

lastly, i went to half-price books to find some coffee-table books for chizzeap. i found some great deals on four coffee table books (two of which are Edward Gorey, which makes me very happy!) also, i picked up a copy of David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. i've read it before, but his books get funnier every time. came home and opened it up to find this:


a signed hardback copy for $5? seriously, Half-Price Books should call themselves We Will Pay You To Read, Basically.

HOORAY DEALS!

time for a little friday tune time! today, i have put together ten songs that keep my butt moving on the elliptical. warning: the playlist is heavy on the beats, yall. and the base. it's a pretty specific taste, but hey- i like it. can't help it. and you might find something that will help you power through your next workout. as my mama would say, "can't hurt. might help."

on that note, if you find that you like what i'm listening to, please find me on spotify. my workout playlist is called "pump. you. up." new to spotify? that's fine. it's free if you don't mind ads. if you'd prefer no ads, they have a couple options, the most expensive being $10/month. it is also super easy to use, with the radio benefits of pandora and the added benefit of being able to make your own playlists. there are about a million other cool features- trust me on this one!

i'll end this short post with a plea: please share your favorite workout tunes with me! doesn't matter what genre. if it keeps you moving, i am dying to hear it. i'm always in search of new music. you can tweet your songs to me @mollyer, facebook them here, respond in the comments, or send them to me right through spotify.

TGIF-Tunes!

hope yall got all of that cheesy, carb-y, delicious mexican food from last week out of your system, because it is time for a super healthy and super delicious recipe. two recipes- one side and one protein. as usual, i'm more interested in the side. so i'll save that for last.

first up: tilapia. i had never (ever) cooked any kind of fish before, so i was kind of nerval. seemed like the easiest and most foolproof way to go about it was baking. i think i was right. (pipe up in the comments if you have an easier and more foolproof way!) i made skinnytaste's baked garlic lemon tilapia. loved it! i bought my tilapia frozen (it was significantly cheaper) and defrosted under running water. the fish defrosted extremely quickly, so i'm glad i went the frozen route.

Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia

Ingredients: 

• 6 (6 oz each) tilapia filets 
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
• 4 tsp fresh parsley 
• salt and pepper 
• cooking spray 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter on a low flame in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and saute on low for about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and shut off flame. Spray the bottom of a baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Place the fish on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the lemon butter mixture on the fish and top with fresh parsley. Bake at 400° until cooked, about 15 minutes.


the fish came out flaky and with just the right hint of the butter/lemon/garlic flavor. because i've never cooked fish before, i wasn't sure how to check if it was done. Praise be to Google, i figured it out. it passed the flake-test (does the fish flake when you cut into it?) and the opaque-test (is it opaque in the middle of the thickest piece? it shouldn't be. it should be white). please share if you have any other fish done-ness tests.

the other dish, which i have given a sexy little preview of in the above photo, is balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. ::salivates:: when i first moved to austin, i went to an "american pub" here called drink.well. they had the most fabulous, decadent balsamic roasted brussel sprouts with little chunks of bacon. sadly, i don't see them on the menu anymore. happily, they inspired this dish. less decadent and still delicious.

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2- 3 cups brussels sprouts, sliced in half
• dash salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil

 

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the olive oil until a dressing is formed. Place the brussels sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle the oil and vinegar over the sprouts and gently toss to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, turning once. Sprouts are done when they are lightly browned.





little green balls of heaven. went great with the fish. i paired the meal with my fave, pinot grigio. what label, you ask? the cheapest one. now you probably feel awkward for asking. your fault.


*title refers to rick bragg's book, all over but the shoutin'. great read if you're looking for something southern-like.

welp, it was bound to happen sometime. things were going so smoothly. this saturday, i was supposed to jump on the elliptical for six miles (my furthest to date). this saturday, i did not do that. i sclathed around my apartment, napped, and stayed in with the kitty to watch olympics for a rare weekend night in. it was glorious, but there was the looming guilt cloud over me. the "i'll just do it tomorrow" guilt cloud. oh, how it loomed.

i woke up on sunday full of energy and driven by a decent-sized to-do list. step one: clean out my closets. check. one of my favorite things to do. i'm kind of an organizational freak. i make my bed every day before work. if i don't make my bed, something is wrong with me. i hang my towels after every shower. i never have clothes on the floor. i fold blankets when i'm done using them. just how i am. anywho, after cleaning out my closets, step two was to take my unwanted items to buffalo exchange. this is another favorite thing to do. it is a win/win/win. they pay me for the clothes they take, they donate the rest to charity (their charities vary by day), and my closet smiles at me. step one and step two complete. step three, head to the gym.

then i got the call. the call every austinite waits for each saturday and sunday. the, "want to go on the boat?" call. i struggled. i wrestled with the idea in my mind. i knew if i got on the boat that there would be no elliptical for me, and then i would be REALLY behind. so i turned it down. straight up said no to going to the lake on a gorgeous sunday. i cried. not really. THEN i got the text. the text from a friend who had also been invited to the lake. "boatingg?!?" the one word i needed from my friend that sent me over the edge. i immediately called the boat-owner back. "i'm in," i said.

pretty long-winded way of saying i'm behind on training and feeling like crap about it. the part of me that compulsively organizes, folds towels, and makes perfect creases in sheets wants to stick to a schedule. the part of me that moved to austin to be able to do things like jump on a boat with my friends on a sunday doesn't feel that bad about it. i'm having a real natalie imbruglia moment about it.

lake austin. i wish i knew how to quit you. but not really. but kind of. I'M TORN!

i know everyone slips up every now and then. i think it's fine as long as i don't let things like this become a regular occurrence. would you agree? what would you have done? what do you do to keep yourself on track?

little late on this- what else is new? last week some girlfriends of mine came over for a little mid-week potluck dinner. tell ya what. if there's one thing we do well, it's potlucks. also, vacations. also, birthdays. also, daily life. i digress. i'm including all the recipes from our wonderful little dinner. make one! make none! make them all! whatever.

i made chicken tamale casserole. it's less tamale and more cornbread, but it's delicious.

Chicken Tamale Casserole: 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free milk 
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn i used frozen sweet corn. not a huge fan of creamed corn.
• 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White) i use jiffy. i always. use. jiffy. 
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. 3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Ingredients

• 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
• 1/2 lime, juice of
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 3 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation

In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

hi all, molly here, basically just FREAKING OUT because a good thing has come to this girl who waited. and waited. then took a break from waiting, and waited some more. i moved to austin after accepting a job i liked, but didn't love. i found out last week that the right job has found its way to me- i've been hired as a marketing coordinator, which is something i have wanted for a very long time. weee! i start tomorrow and i'm nervous, excited, etc. yeh know. all those things.

i had a five day break in between my old and new jobs (including the weekend). my five day summer has been filled with some crazy fun times. i'll always have the fond memories of waiting for the plumber to come figure out why our toilets weren't flushing. oh...and i can't forget getting my state inspection. such a special time. also, there were the errands. oh, errands and i got so close over the last five days. and of course there's me and my girl elliptical. so far we've hung out every day this week! which is my subtle way of saying that i'm completely up to date with training and i am loving it! i've even had a couple days recently where i don't want to stop running. that's new and different.

but it hasn't all been errands and gym-ing. there's also been happy hours, boat times on lake travis, and hanging with kitty. photographic evidence below. 

 i love when i have time to make breakfast. these are corn cakes. litchrully could do a whole post on these suckers. they are pancakes made with cornbread batter, and topped with apple butter. like pancakes? like cornbread? if you answered yes to both of these questions, congratulations- you have a beating human heart. also, you'll like these. i grew up eating these and let's just say they made a lasting impression. the recipe can be found on the side of the Jiffy cornbread mix box.

so, i'm a week behind schedule, but i'm here to say i completed my first week of training and i'm one day into week two. first week was not bad, minus going to the gym on sunday. that was a miracle. my roommate can attest to that. sundays are our day to respect the day of rest. typically there is some laughably bad television, some playing with the kitten, and some laundry so i can feel like a contributing citizen. but...going...in public? venturing into the free world? that is the road less travelled for she and i. training on sunday will be part of my schedule for at least the next twelve weeks, so i hope the world is ready to hang out with me on a day usually reserved to sclathe around.

in other news, our kickball team went to the championship game, our nation had a birthday, and austin is still the best place on the planet.

so i'm organized and ready to start training next week and i'm getting ruhlll excited. as you all know, the ultimate goal is to run a full elliptical marathon. i'm a total beginner, so to get started i'll be training for a half elliptical marathon. in talking with some people to prepare for this, i realized that y'all have some questions a question. the FAQ at the top stands for Frequently Asked Question. so, i'm answering it. i'll throw in some fake questions too, just to round it out.

1. which half marathon are you running/training for?
let's start from the beginning with this one. i'm not training for a half marathon on an elliptical...i'm doing everything on the elliptical. the training, the half...all of it. due to physical constraints, it is really uncomfortable for me to do high-impact things like running. the elliptical is the perfect solution for me. so instead of running a half marathon and crossing a finish line to be greeted by my adoring friends, family, fans, and stalkers, i'll be running it at my gym. on the elliptical. by myself. with my good friends spotify and netflix cheering me on. although my sister did mention something about setting up a camp chair in the gym to cheer me on. sounds perfect!

2. y u so crazy?!
not really a question i've had to deal with. if you ask me that, i have one response. and it is not appropriate for a public forum.

3. what does ze training schedule look like?
no one asked me this either. but i'm sharing. weee! the first four weeks are below.

Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Friday	Sat	Sun	Total Miles Run
1	Rest	2 miles	Rest	2.5 miles	Rest	3 miles	2 easy miles	9.5 miles
2	Rest	2 miles	Rest	3 miles	CT or Rest	4 miles	2.5 easy miles	11.5 miles
3	Rest	2.5 miles	2 miles	3 miles	CT or Rest	5 miles	2 easy miles	14.5 miles
4	Rest	3 miles	Rest	4 miles	CT or Rest	6 miles	3 easy miles	16 miles

i'll be checking in once a week to hold myself accountable, sum up my weekly training, and share anything useful i learned along the way.

i'll end with a quote that my friend JD shared with me. JD works at the fabulous luke's locker in Dallas and is basically a fitness guru. i asked him for tips, inspiration, etc. he said while working at luke's that he met and worked with a wise-beyond-his-years 14 year old cancer survivor. when the kid was leaving, he told JD, "life is about choices. ride hard, take chances." very inspiring stuff from a very young kid. thanks, JD! and random kid i've never met.

this saturday was the ultimate summer day. i had no plans and thoroughly enjoyed winging it. lucky for me, lots of new and fun things came my way. saturday started as all of the best saturdays do: with potato egg and cheese breakfast tacos from taco shack. simple. to the point. i love potato egg and cheese tacos, and taco shack's have always been my favorite.

up next was some fun in the sun in one of austin's many natural swimming areas, the greenbelt. it is a very short drive and then about a 20 minute walk to the water. it is so worth the short walk in the heat. there were lots of happy dogs splashing around with their equally happy owners, and sangria and cold beers were plentiful.

the greenbelt. i live in a jungle!

pretty greenbelt sky.

after hanging out in the sun for four hours, the crew was ready for some grub. we chose the always delicious tex-mex locale, maudie's, for dinner. one of my favorite things about austin is that it is acceptable at almost any restaurant to show up in wet bathing suits, cover-ups, and flip flops. maudie's was no different and gave great service to our wet and sunburned group. from there we headed to a friend's pool, where summer officially started when i did my first cannon ball of the season. twenty five years young, yall.

i spent all wednesday evening pinching myself. i was finally an attendee of blues on the green- a free concert series in zilker park put on by 93.3 kgsr. somehow i COMPLETELY missed this through both summers that i lived here in austin during college. i was trapped in a college bubble. nothing i can do about that. as the great and wise pumba says, "you gotta put your past, in your behind." so, i embraced the moment and it. was. AWESOME.

the two bands lined up for the evening were the wheeler brothers and old 97's front man, rhett miller. i went to college with one of the wheeler brothers' band members, and this was my first time seeing them perform live. it was a huge deal for them to play BOTG, which added a whole layer of enjoyability to the show. their debut album, "portraits" is out now and it so great. preview some of the songs on youtube...and then buy the album on itunes. deal?

up next was rhett miller. obviously, he was flawless. RM has a special place in my heart as he is the front man of the old 97's, a dallas-based band that basically put me in a stroller and pushed me through high school...emotionally. i mean. we've all cried to heard their huge hit, "question." but it's "rollerskate skinny" that speaks to me. i have always loved the lyric "ain't nobody gonna see eye to eye with a girl who's only gonna stand collarbone high" (i stand proud at 5' 3/4"...and can be a bit ornery). i was pretty pumped when he played it! enjoy a listen below.



all in all, a great night of live music in austin shared with friends, boxed wine, and baked cheetos. can you really ask for anything more?

the crowd

the wheeler brothers take the stage

rhett miller

i saw this movie at the alamo drafthouse (south lamar location) on saturday. i am in love. definitely one of my favorite wes anderson movies and a great way to get in the summer mood. even if it looks a little quirky for your taste...please see it. there are several laugh out loud moments. these moments are even funnier if you, like me, enjoy some of the drafthouse's wine and beer selections during the film.

holy DIY project, batman! i got the crafty/home decor bug this weekend and it paid off big time. i've been searching for the perfect curtains for our dining room and just wasn't finding anything that was the right look/price. i saw a tutorial for DIY painted stripe curtains and it seemed perfect. i won't sugar coat it...the project took a LONG time. six hours, not including shopping for supplies. and it was definitely manual labor. but so worth it!

a quick side note: whilst curtain-supply shopping, i found myself at hobby lobby with an irregular-sized graphic print to frame. i bought a pre-made frame, and then had hobby lobby cut a custom mat around the image. the whole process took about ten minutes and cost only $9 (for the mat + the cut). they also added a wire to the back of the frame for easy hanging for $1. a very well spent $10! i love the finished look.

side, side note: the print is from we are 1976 on henderson in dallas. they have amazing limited edition graphic prints from local artists and everything is super affordable. my brother sneakily purchased this one for me for my birthday. i feel it adds just the right touch of gangster to my girly bathroom. have i mentioned that the godfather is one of my favorite movies?

on to the curtains...

step 1. gather supplies.

i used:

• about a half gallon of flat interior wall paint
• textile medium (makes the paint softer for fabrics)
• (4) 84" polyester curtain panels from target. $9.99 each.
• small foam roller
• 2 in. painter's tape- i wanted something thick so that i wouldn't accidentally roll onto the unpainted sections. this was a good call. also very pleased with the clean lines i got!
• measuring tape
• pencil
• drop cloths
• good music to keep me going
• an amusing roommate that popped in occasionally to either motivate me or stare at me like i was crazy. 

 step 2. measuring

i laid the curtains out and measured (7) 12" stripes. (4) painted, (3) unpainted. I used a tape measure to put pencil marks across each stripe in an effort to get a straight and level line. this was the hardest part, and i certainly wasn't perfect. i think probably using a laser level or something might have worked better, but you do the best you can with what you got. also something to keep in mind that I didn't figure out until the second panel- make sure your pencil marks are going to be within the painted areas. i have a few stray pencil marks that i need to remove, but i'm not really sure how. any tips?


step 3. paint!

i laid each panel on a drop cloth before painting- the paint definitely soaks through so this was important. i ended up doing two coats of paint on each stripe...and maybe could have done with a third. the longest part was measuring, painting, and letting each panel dry. i had a good little rotation going, but it was still time consuming.

step 4. admire your work. constantly. post it to every social media outlet that you are comfortable using. text your family and friends pictures of your work. ignore the imperfections.


now i am le tired. time for this girl to check out the season premiere of true blood and go to bed.