Friday Favs: Interwebs edition.

I nearly forgot about Friday Favs...  Again, it's not my Friday, so it's easy to forget. 
So here are a few of my favorite things!  Interwebs edition.  

Favorite Social Media:

Pinterest

Not sure if you're into Pinterest, but it basically brings the "best of" the interwebs and organizes it into thumbnails.  It's a feast for sore eyes, and after 8 hours of politics, weather and crime, I'm ready for some DIY, desserts and fancy dresses. 

Favorite Wedding Blog:
Style Me Pretty

Amazing (and quite a few DIY) weddings with whimsical colors and crazy-awesome photography.  I've planned my wedding 10 times over.  And everytime I get hooked on this blog I have dreams of becoming a wedding planner. 

Fav Street Photog:
The Sartorialist

He takes photos of people he sees on the street wherever he goes.  He's a professional style photographer, so he's all over the world, but mostly in NYC.  The styles are often outrageous, but a lot of the time it gives me a little motivation to up my game. 

Fav Local Blogger
Iowa Girl Eats!  

She is just an Iowa girl just like me making yummy food and hanging out with her stinkin' adorable hubby!  Not a chef, but dang, this girl makes some mouthwatering fare.  

Bobby Flay's Corn and Wild Rice Pancakes

 I was searching Tastespotting.com for a side for my Salmon.  I searched wild rice and came across Last Call for Corn's blog posting of Bobby Flay's Corn and Wild Rice Pancakes.  I had everything I needed but milk... So I ran to Dahls and got some milk.  

The batter is mostly like a regular pancake batter without sugar and with just a squeeze of the honey bear.  

 

Add in some herbs, roasted corn and cooked wild rice.  

 

Bake them up just like pancakes.  (In a non-stick pan... I learned that the hard way)  They're perfect with my salt and pepper salmon.  The pancakes only need a little pat of butter since they're so flavorful.  

 

MMM, look at that corn and the chives!  

 For the full recipe, check out Last Call for Corn

Let's Get Physical...

A recent report ranked Iowa as the 20th most obese state in the US.

I’ve always been a fan of physical fitness.  Especially competitive sports.  

We aren’t really sure where my love of all things sports came from.  My family loved to ride bikes, riding in RAGBRAI several times growing up, but other than a few beer-league softball teams, they weren’t really the “sit down and watch football” type. 

When I was old enough I started playing softball, volleyball and basketball competitively, playing on club and school teams of each sport.  

In college I worked at a gym and participated in as many intermural sports as I could, and after college continued to play sports and hit the gym for regular workouts.

This being said, I’ve never been a skinny-mini, opting rather for descriptive words that make me gag, like curvy and voluptuous.  (Seriously, did you hear me gag there?)

I’ve been on off and on “diets” where I write down everything that goes in my mouth, or swear off white bread and sugar…  But the one thing that always makes me feel like I’m “doing things right” is when I sweat.  

Recently I trained for RAGBRAI and loved the way it felt to go on a 2 hour bike ride before I even got my day started.  Now that the ride is over though, and the leaves are starting to drop, along with the temperatures, I find myself looking for another challenge.  Something that will make me feel like I’m contributing to the health of my state.

I haven’t pinpointed a specific training plan, or schedule.  But, this week, I’ve gone to the gym each day, (thanks for coining me a “gym rat” FourSquare! You made my day) and done something a little different each day.  And I must say, I’m hooked!  

Here’s my schedule:

Mondays: Ride the stationary for an hour and read magazines. (One of my favorite activities EVER) (I’m singlehandedly keeping print media afloat)

Tuesdays: Noon YOGA!  This is my absolute favorite workout.  Drew at the Downtown YMCA is the greatest yoga instructor I’ve ever had.  He makes it tough but attainable.  And everyone knows everyone… It’s like my Cheers.  

Tuesday Round Two: “2 workouts in one day? Are you crazy?!” You say?... Yes, I am.  But the second class was later in the evening, and I didn’t have any plans, so I went to Y Pump at the Downtown Y.  Butterfly presses, mountainclimbers…  No, it wasn’t put on by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources…  But I’ll tell you one thing… The blind, 200 pound, 60 year old lady in front of me was kicking my ass. 

Wednesdays: Attack with my dear friend Emily!  She teaches at a local gym and sneaks me in each Wednesday for her KILLER class.  5 minutes each of pushups and sit-ups interspersed between 40 minutes of cardio.  Kicking, punching, jumping, jacks, shuffles…  The list goes on…. For 50 minutes!  

Thursday: Y Fall Challenge.  A coworker who also goes to the Yoga class encouraged me to come to this class that basically consisted of massive amounts of pushups and squats with some jumping in-between.  

Thursday Round Two: Well… It was a 2 mile walk with my fitness friend Emily… And we got a beer half way through.  

Friday: I’m thinking another class or a round on the bike.  Maybe even a swim to soothe my aching muscles.  It’s still TBD, but I’ll find something, because I’ve renewed my desire for physical fitness and it feels GOOD!

Dinner Time: Angel Hair Pasta with Veggies

 I had a beautiful red pepper from my grandma's garden, so I decided to saute up some other veggies with chicken for a perfectly delicious, healthy meal. 

 

I put the pepper under the broiler and charred it on each side.  After the onion came out, I put it in a plastic bag and let it cool for a bit.  When you take it out of the bag, the charred, tough skin comes off easily and you're left with delicious slimy roasted red pepper.  Yummers!  

I put the chicken in a pan and cooked it through, and added a splash of olive oil to the veggies I had in my crisper.  (Onion and some broccoli)

 I threw it all together with some angel hair pasta and salt and pepper. 

The soft pepper and onion were enough of that wet texture to not need any sauce. 

And just as I was plating my dinner... I got a phone call from my friend.  Threw my dinner in a Tupperware and took off to the bar!  Yeah, I'm classy like that. 

Emmy Night

This weekend I went to Minneapolis to attend the Upper Midwest Emmy's with some of my coworkers who were nominated. It was just an opportunity to celebrate the great work my friends do, and have a few drinks with the golden statues.

Source

The evening started with drinks and dinner at Crave in downtown Minneapolis and then we went over to the theater and listened to names being read for HOURS.

Source

Luckly we were nominated for 20 awards, so it wasn't too long before we heard WHO-TV being announced. We were absolutely the loudest crowd there.
After we collected the 9 awards we won and headed to the afterparty. The rooftop of Crave was just too cold, so we traveled over to Prohibition at the top of the W hotel where we finished the night.
Congrats to all my amazing co-workers who were nominated and won. Nothing like a little recognition to make you want to go above and beyond.

SPORTS – SPORTSCAST

• “Keith Murphy Sportscast” WHO-TV
  • Keith Murphy, Sports Director
  • Chris Hassel, Sports Reporter

PHOTOGRAPHER – SPORTS – WITHIN 24 HOURS (SINGLE CAMERA ONLY)

• “Water Changes Everything” WHO-TV
  • Randy Schumacher, Photojournalist

CONTINUING COVERAGE

• “Apollo: We Have A Problem” WHO-TV
  • Sonya Heitshusen, Reporter
  • Jeff Felton, Photojournalist
  • Mike Borland, Photographer

BUSINESS/CONSUMER – PROGRAM/SPECIAL/SERIES

• “Fitness Frauds & Deceptive Diets” WHO-TV
  • Erin Kiernan, Reporter
  • Jeff Felton, Photojournalist
  • Randy Schumacher, Photojournalist
  • Brandon McCauley, Photojournalist

INFORMATIONAL/INSTRUCTIONAL – SINGLE STORY/FEATURE/SEGMENT

• “Trading Street Shoes for Snow Shoes” WHO-TV
  • Erin Kiernan, Reporter
  • Sonya Heitshusen, Reporter
  • Randy Schumacher, Photojournalist

MILITARY – PROGRAM/SPECIAL/SERIES

• “Iowans At War” WHO-TV
  • Sonya Heitshusen, Reporter
  • Brandon Bingham, Photojournalist

HISTORIC/CULTURAL/NOSTALGIC – PROGRAM/SPECIAL/SERIES

• “Behind the Walls” WHO-TV
  • Sonya Heitshusen, Reporter
  • Jeff Felton, Photojournalist

TEEN (13 AND UP) – PROGRAM/SPECIAL/SERIES

• “Dating Violence” WHO-TV
  • Lynn Melling, Reporter
  • Brandon McCauley, Photojournalist
  • Randy Schumacher, Photojournalist
  • Lee Rouse, Photojournalist
  • Mike Borland, Photojournalist

CHILDREN (12 & UNDER) – SINGLE STORY/FEATURE/SEGMENT

• “Helping Hand” WHO-TV
  • Megan Brown, Multimedia Journalist

Friday Favorites:

It's not my Friday, but I have an affinity for alliterations. Thus, Friday favorites.

Favorite Flowers:
Favorite Quote:

Favorite Print:

(Source)

Favorite Pup.

ELSA WAGNER!

My Fantasy Football Obsession

I've become completely obsessed with Fantasy Football... I have never been interested in it because I knew once I started, it would consume my life. And it has.
I'm also a VERY competitive person, and I HATE losing. So my introduction to Fantasy Football has been a welcome surprise. BECAUSE I'M A WINNER!!! Like the name? PS my Fantasy team killed BearsWillDestroy on the same day my Saints beat his Bears... WHO DAT?!?!

I've won my first two games and I feel good about my team.

I have a few injuries, and I'm looking to make some trades, but I think everyone's in that boat. Players are getting hurt quickly this season. I think it's because they weren't conditioned and ready for the season. Hopefully my QB Drew Brees kept the pressure on during the off season. I can't afford to be starting Sam Bradford...

So now that I've gone on a rant about the #1 thing people don't care about...

Pella Road Trip

Called my friend Amber today to go for a walk at Gray's Lake. She had an even better idea. ROAD TRIP! We made a quick loop around the lake and headed to Pella. She wanted to get some bakery items at their yummy Jaarsma Bakery and just get out of town for a while.
She saw this little lonely tree on the way there and demanded I take a picture.Once we got the bakery it was packed! Surprising for a Monday. But we browsed the almond flavored goodies and picked out our share.My favorite part of the trip were the windmills.

They reminded me of this picture I took on my trip to Holland.

Sequins for the Emmys

I'm trying to get better at blogging every day, in hopes that I'll begin to participate in blog-worthy activities.
Today I went looking for a dress for the Emmys. No, not THOSE Emmys... The Upper Midwest Emmys in Minneapolis next weekend.
Luckily Younkers was having a Goodwill sale! (I can hear my mom now... "She actually brought clothes to Goodwill instead of shopping there!)
You bring in some clothes for Goodwill to Younkers and they give you a 20% off coupon for each item of clothing. I had just edited my wardrobe so I brought a pair of jeans, a shirt and 3 t-shirts I was planning to bring to GW anyway.
I wandered around because there was a Jessica Simpson dress I had my eye on, but it was $168.I ended up getting a similar $129 Calvin Klein dress (similar only because it's sequined) for $40. I'm morning the lack of sleeves, and I wish it was a smidge shorter. But I love it more and more every time I show it to someone.

Now if only I could get my hands on these babies:

Zombie Burger and Back to School?

Today I finally got to check out the new Zombie Burger in the East Village. My old friend Katie and I relived the college rec center glory days while my friend Jason ate as quickly as he could.
The burgers were okay. And the shake was alright. But I think I was expecting more because of all the hype. It's definitely the new "it" place.
The burgers seemed like Smashburger burgers, with the same flavor combos (fried stuff and blue cheese, caramelized onions...) but not quite as juicy. And the fries were shoestring (just like Smashburger) but they didn't have that delicious Smashburger butter/herb sauce all over them. I'll also say, I had a hard time finding a "healthy" burger. And by that I mean, a burger with bacon=healthy compared to their bacon=chicken fried. I would have opted for more fresh ingredients and less cheese balls (literally and figuratively). PS, neither a fried macaroni and cheese bun nor 2 grilled cheese sandwiches are acceptable for a lunch burger in my book.
The shake was a "chocolate cake shake" and I was expecting bits of chocolate cake and icing ala Portillo's in Chicagoland.
Anyway, I think the lesson learned is; Hungry? Go to Smashburger. Less of a crowd and more of what I want.
Want to see and be seen? Go to Zombie Burger.
I won't make less of this one little factoid though... They have a full bar at Zombie Burger.

I got to work today and my coworker said I looked like a back to school ad. I suppose my outfit is pretty "All American".

"Back to School" by alisalink featuring locket jewelry

Wednesday Market

I know it's probably blasphemy to say this, but I like the fall Wednesday DSM Farmers Market WAY more than I like the Saturday morning Downtown Farmer's Market.


They just started it up a few weeks ago in hopes that yuppies would go down during their lunch break and snatch up some local produce. If all goes well, it might be a summer staple next year.


I like it for a few reasons.
1. There aren't as many people. The DTFM just gets too crowded, and 7 a.m. isn't exactly my finest hour as far as patience goes.
2. There were less "fake farmers". Less of those people who buy the same chile-grown limes and bananas that the local grocery stores buy. (really? limes and bananas in Iowa?) And more "yeah this is definitely from Iowa" produce.
3. It's not nearly as massive. It's comparable to the Ames farmers market (which I love). I can get through it and choose my produce without worrying I'll miss something or having to climb over some lady with a dog in a stroller to get to the 17th tomato stand.

I had taken out some cash-o-la to last me till payday, so I snatched up about $6 worth of perfect Iowa produce. 2 sweet potatoes, 1 giant onion, a little plump eggplant and my first squash of the fall.Don't worry, most of it's already gone...