This past weekend I ran a half marathon with my sweet friend Melissa. It was her first time running one and she did an awesome job! I, on the other hand, struggled through most of it and really needed her encouragement because my feet were hurting so badly and I couldn't figure out WHY. At mile 7, our marathoner friend Liz jumped onto the course (it was a very small race) and ran the rest of the way with us. I told Liz about my hurting feet, and she looked down and noticed some mysterious blood on my shoes. We found out later it was just from a few blisters and looked way worse than it actually was. However, Thomas was really excited that I ran a race with blood on my shoes, and he insisted that if I didn't post the photo he would. So, for your viewing pleasure......

Melissa and I pre-race. 

Appetizing, eh?

And on a side note, I saw in this week's circular that chicken breasts are $1.99/lb. We always buy when it is on sale and re-package the breasts into freezer portions. I texted Thomas and asked him to stop by the store. My text read: "buy a lot of chicken because who knows when it will go on sale again." My husband returned home with SIX family packs of breasts. 

I'd say our freezer is stocked for awhile. 

My Recipes.com

If you don't already, you should be like me and utilize myrecipes.com  as much as possible. Most nights, I type in whatever ingredient I have that I'd like to use up, and I find a Cooking Light recipe to go with it. For instance, on Thursday night we had haddock that we needed to eat, so I typed "white fish" into the Cooking Light search engine. It gave me this recipe, and we were delighted with how good it was. I did the same thing for quinoa and found this  awesome recipe. Who knew that cooking quinoa in white wine could be so wonderful?

And that my friends, is why I am so successful in life.

Buy Now

You should go on iTunes and buy this CD immediately.

Some of our sweet friends from church had it playing the other day, and we are currently obsessed. It has an amazing lineup of hymns AND singers, including some of our favorites: Bear Rhinehart from Needtobreathe, Ed Cash, Sara Evans, and Trevor Morgan.

I promise, its a $9.99 you won't regret spending!

Glory, Hallelujah

Brimfield Antique Market was epic. The people-watching was phenomenal, the furniture was every bit what I'd hoped for, and there were plenty of other oddities thrown into the mix as well. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Thomas begged me to buy this cheetah to put over our bed. Kidding. We'd have major nightmares. 

This reminded me of the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Hideous+awesome. 

I wanted to bring home half of what I saw, but have learned that less is more. I'm embracing it and learning to just appreciate pieces that I love. 

There were lots of Barbie Dolls and postcards being sold. Collectors items? Hmmm. Bedbugs? Definitely. 

These were...interesting?

The flea market went on and on and on and on down a stretch of road. Truly epic. A few times I almost started hyperventilating because there was no way we'd ever see everything there was to see. 

Side story: Thomas spotted BT's Smokehouse on the way to the market. Our conversation went a little like this:

T: Look! It says "southern style BBQ." We're stopping on the way back. 

M: I don't think BBQ that is sold next to a convenience store will be any good. That's gross and I don't want any. I want real BBQ. 

T: (rolling window down) do you SMELL THAT? That is real. Look at those smokers. I don't care if it is sold next to a convenience store. I know real BBQ when I see it. 

M: fine, but prepare yourself to be disappointed. 

Well, there are a few times when I can admit when I'm wrong, and today will be marked on the calendar. I was horribly, miserably, terribly wrong. BT's Southern Style BBQ was some of the best BBQ we have EVER  had. I might be wrong sometimes, but I cannot tell a lie. The meat simply fell off of the bone and and the sides were to die for. The homemade macaroni and cheese (made with orecchiette pasta!), potato salad and slaw were all gourmet versions and put Southerners to shame. We left incredibly pleased, and so full we've skipped supper altogether. 

And I cannot forsake my one purchase from the flea market. I am smitten with our new table! Thomas haggled with the seller and we ended up walking away with this beauty for a mere $165. I know it is an awesome deal because I've been stalking old tables on craigslist for months now. It is made out of an old door and it really is all I wanted! Now, we just need to find sturdy chairs to go with it......

Weekend Tasks

1. To make these frames look as good on our wall as these frames from Young House Love. 

2. To find a kitchen table that looks like the one these folks made at the Brimfield Antique Market. It was rated by Apartment Therapy as one of the top ten flea markets IN.THE.COUNTRY. I made Thomas look at the picture and memorize what the table looks like so we can be more effective at the flea market. Let the party begin.