Day 1376 – How I Know I’m A Baltimore Girl…

I crave steamed blue crabs all year long. I put Old Bay on EVERYTHING (including my hummus and beef barely soup). And I wear flip flops in January. Yea, I saw the meme going around…. 😉

That being said, I’ve been chatting with a good friend of mine about getting together for a while….I said, well, we should grab some crabs!

Now, I’m a Baltimore girl, but I’m also a penny pincher….Back in the day, I would get $1 crabs with my friends ALL the time….and now it’s REALLY hard for me to spend more than that!

And woo hoo, I found a place!!

Jimmy’s Famous Seafood!! Wednesday nights, they have $1 crabs!

Here’s how they look!!! I’ll report later how they taste!!!

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Day 1371 – Hightopps In Timonium, A Great Place To Celebrate!

So, as you know, we paid off our bills yesterday! Woo! Happy day! So, instead of going out and spending a lot of money to celebrate, we found a place to have an inexpensive night out!

We went to Hightopps Backstage Grille! The main reason we went was because of their Thursday night special!

The special was a pitcher of beer AND a pizza for ten bucks!!! It was a DELICIOUS pizza too! They also had $1 Coors Light drafts after 6 p.m. We left paying less than $30 bucks WITH tip! I highly recommend the place! Lots of fun outdoor seating too!

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Day 1311 – Old Bay Hummus Makes Veggies Happy….And Me!

Tonight I went to a Mary Kay party. The rep was one of my brides! I decided to take some veggies and hummus with me! I had a ton left over….I personally LOVE my Old Bay hummus….and apparently my veggies do too!

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Here’s the recipe!

15 oz can chickpeas
1/2 cup tahini*
5 tbsp oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 medium garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 tbsp oil (optional)

Drain and rinse chickpeas, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Combine all ingredients in a food processor (or blender**). Process until mixture is smooth. If mixture is too thick, add 1-2 tbsp of reserved chickpea liquid***. Move to serving dish and add 1 tbsp oil, if desired.

Old Bay Hummus
Same as above, minus salt, pepper or ground red pepper. I added about 2-3 tbsp of Old Bay instead. This is a “to taste” ingredient. I put in a bit…then poured in some more…thought it was too much…but after I tasted it, realized it was perfect. If you are from Baltimore, you know that there is no such thing as “too much Old Bay.”

Tomato Basil Hummus
Same as above, minus salt, pepper or ground red pepper. I added one full tomato and a bunch of basil. I used dried basil, but I would imagine fresh basil would be tasty! Now, since I used a whole tomato, it made the mixture a little watery, so I just opened another can of chickpeas and added about 1/4-1/3 of the can.

* find this near the peanut butter in the store. I have purchased it at Wal-Mart. This is also one of the messy ingredients.
** I have NOT had luck making a double batch in the blender
*** I typically will add 2 tbsp of the chickpea liquid at the beginning. I’ve also found that if you drain the liquid into a measuring cup (I use a 3 cup), it’s much easier (and cleaner) when adding more to the hummus.

Day 1276 – I Have A Love/Hate Relationship With My Husband’s New Business

As you know, Bret started a new business. I found myself thinking when I wanted a soda or something, oh, maybe I shouldn’t drink that since Bret is in business for personal training. Just a few quick thoughts here and there.

Then, at the show, a lady asked if my job was modeling. It’s funny, this wasn’t a “struggle with pride” question. It was more a funny question! I don’t see myself as model material. I’m decently happy with myself, but not “THAT level.” I said no, that I was a photographer. She asked me if I’d be interested in modeling for her….I said I was pretty busy with my business and that my husband just started his own business and it’s just been crazy. When she found out he was a personal trainer, she said something along the lines of “so THAT’S why you look so good!” (I’m going to interject here…yes I’m interrupting myself…the ONLY reason I looked SO good was the stunning, EXCLUSIVE to their store, bridal gown from K&B Bridals and the AMAZING hair and makeup by Amie Decker Beauty. It was NOT me! Think of me as an ugly old lump of clay made into a pretty pot by others!) It hit me at this point that, wow, I REALLY need to be mindful of my appearance now. It is a reflection of my husband’s business.

I’ll try and share little tips later about how I make small choices that make big differences over the next few months. Keep an eye on my Pinterest board for quicker updates!

For now, here’s a picture of my husband hiking in the woods barefoot.

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Day 1248 – Wedding Album Design = No Baking For Me

Today I spent most of the day creating the Thorsett wedding album! It’s amazing! Can’t wait to get that printed!

Yesterday, I had HIGH hopes of making an apple pie tonight. I even asked my friends for recipes and advice. I was pretty excited about it too!

But then 8 p.m. rolls around, the album is complete…I have no apples….and no energy.

Thankfully, Wegmans is 10 minutes away and have AMAZING pies in stock!

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