Not So Sloppy Joes - total time 40 minutes

Posted by yanti on Saturday, May 31, 2014


Oh boy, I am such a messy eater. My husband can always tell when I've been getting into something sweet because I somehow end up with chocolate on my face. I really have no idea how it happens, but he always notices! I swear it's happened when I haven't had anything with chocolate...

So if it happens with a bit of chocolate, you can imagine what happens with something like wings or... heaven help me... sloppy joes. You don't even want to see the damage afterward.

As a result, I have steered clear of the sloppy joe sandwiches. The occasional exception needs to be open-faced with fork and 10 napkins in hand.

But what if you could make it less messy? Why not make it encompass all of the sloppiness? My husband called these sloppy joe hot pockets... but I would like to think these are of higher quality than a microwaved, processed, pocket of heat. It really is just sloppy joe made from scratch (although I just ran out of my own canned tomatoes) and just like you would eat a normal sloppy joe, just all wrapped up! Perfect for lunches and days your short on napkins. :)

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Creamy Salmon Pasta - total time 25 minutes

Posted by yanti on Thursday, May 29, 2014


My husband and I both accepted new jobs back in December. His requires him to be at work early (and also home early) and mine some times requires late nights. This difference in work schedules has impacted our life schedules too. We're no longer waking up at the same time, which means there's an even wider gap between 'bedtimes' than there used to be. It also means he is home (usually) hours before me at night... waiting for dinner.

Can't blame him... he is usually eating lunch by the time I'm finishing my morning coffee. That's a long time to wait between meals.

So, the dinner goal is often... the faster the better! Those 8pm dinners don't work when he is going to bed right after.

This recipe is perfect for a quick dinner. And it tastes sooo good too! Not much of a mess to clean up afterward either (always a winner in my book). Salmon and a cream sauce go hand-in-hand, quite delectable. The broccoli gives it a slight crunch for texture. And the herbs brighten the dish since cream sauces can feel a little heavy. Yum! I'm ready for a second serving!

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5 Things Recent Grads Should Know

Posted by yanti on Wednesday, May 28, 2014


Living through the post-grad months is pretty tricky... There is all of this excitement building up to graduation, all of those cards that tell you to "chase your dreams" and "reach for the stars" and all of the other cliche advice that Hallmark can muster up (I�m not sure what they really mean, either).

And then there are the questions... From parents, friends of parents, grandparents, friends of grandparents, strangers on the street... like, What are you going to do with that degree? and Have you found a job yet? and When are you planning on saving up for retirement? 

When I was 23 and facing these things it was just kind of like, Geez, can�t I just have 5 minutes to enjoy the fact that I survived Finals and I can sleep in tomorrow?. 

The answer is no. People want to know your life plan and they want to know now! 

But before you start feeling overwhelmed with all of the things that graduation brings, here are 5 little pieces of advice that I really wish someone had told me when I was a recent grad! 

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1: Be prepared to feel a little let-down after you graduate. 
College is just such an awesome experience; you have so much fun, you work so hard, you look SO forward to graduating and moving on! It�s like this huge milestone in your life that is really difficult to follow. So be prepared to feel a little bummed. The good news is that feeling this way is super common (1 in 4 graduates). And the other good news is that it only lasts a short amount of time (1-5 months). 

2: If you don�t have experience in your field, it might take you a few months to find a job. 
As far as employment goes, experience trumps education EVERY. TIME. If you don�t immediately get hired at your dream job, don�t take it personally. It takes most graduates 3-9 months to find a job.  48% of graduates choose to move back home after college. But guess what? Over one million people graduate from college each year. That means a LOT of people are going through exactly the same thing you are right now. So, you are definitely not alone!

Here is some helpful reading on this:

10 Things New College Grads Must Do Now to Snag a Job
Career Statistics
Get Over It: The Truth About College Grad �Underemployment�

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3: It might seem like everyone but you has it all together. They don�t. 
Even though it may not seem like it, most people are pretty much in the same boat at this point in their lives. Just relax. The perfect job will come along. The important thing to remember is that this all about your attitude and how you present yourself. It may seem like everyone is landing awesome jobs except for you� but just keep trying!

Here are things that may make you feel a little better: 

Does Everybody Have a Job But You? 
What My 20�s Taught Me: Everyone is Faking It 
Why Not Me? How to Stay Confident When Everyone is Succeeding But You

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4: It is ok to hate doing the thing you went to school for. 
I never changed my major in college. I loved my major. I assumed that would love doing it as my career, too. But when I landed my first �real� job out of college, I really and truly hated doing it in �real life� (I was a paralegal, by the way). Your major is not some permanent life branding. The important part is to realize that you can apply aspects what you did learn from your major to any job!

Here is some proof that your major is not the only thing that matters:

Major Myths
Most Employers Don�t Care What Your College Major Was
Why I Let My Daughter Get a �Useless' College Degree

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5: There is no shame in switching careers.
New jobs are learning experiences and they are meant to be hard. But there is definitely a difference in having a tough time adjusting to �grownup life� and being in the wrong career. You should not be counting down to retirement 2 months into your new job. And if there is ever a good time to make a career change, it�s now! So what if your education is in something different? Find out what it would take to do what you love and make it happen! 25 years is a long time to be miserable!

Tips for changing careers:

14 Secrets to Career Change Success
A Step-By-Step Plan to Change Your Career to Something You Love
How to Switch Careers

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Whether you�re dealing the frustration of job searching or the sadness of graduation, don�t worry... Everything will turn out the way it is supposed to!

Just remember to step back from time-to-time and see the big picture! :)

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Do you have any advice/questions to add to this? 
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Weekly Menu

Posted by yanti on Monday, May 26, 2014

Hope everyone had a great long Memorial Day weekend!  It was such beautiful weather in Columbus, I mean, we couldn't ask for more perfect weather.  It was hard not to be outside for every moment (and my skin is a little pink to prove it).

We started off the weekend by a bonfire staring toward the sky to catch glimpses or the Giraffe meteor shower (meteors were entering our atmosphere about where we see the Camelopardalis constellation, which looks like a giraffe).  I think we ended our count at 9 satellites and 3 meteors after accidentally falling asleep outside and then calling it a night.  But the meteors we saw were amazing!  Nothing like your every day shooting star, these guys had wide blue tails and were so pretty.

Festival season in Columbus really started a couple weeks ago, but Asian Festival is always my season starter.  The little parade followed us around and even circled us at one point!  After getting some tasty yakisoba and tempura, it was off to tailgate for the Crew game.  The boys looked especially good the first half and we ended with a W 2-0.  

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Lots of flower planting, mulching, and raised bed building... which sounds like hard work (it is), but I love it.  Just something about getting your hands in the dirt that heals the soul.  I'm so excited for the new raised beds my husband built for me out of pallets!  I dug up the strawberries that were growing everywhere (except in the pot I planted them in!) and now have a strawberry bed!  Before the runners spread everywhere, the beds are also being used for herbs and lettuce seeds.  :)  Also, I planted hibiscus flowers in my deck planters!  I can't wait to see them in full bloom and feel like I'm somewhere tropical instead of landlocked Ohio.

Today we took Snoop to Hocking Hills to hike some of the Buckeye Trail.  He was such a trooper with all of the elevation changes, stairs, mud, and heat.  He spends most of his time laying around being a lazy dog, but he'll hike seven miles like a champ too.  Hopefully it helps with the four pounds the vet wants him to lose (so silly).

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Oh, and then the garden is coming along great.  The hoop house has ready sped things along.  Look at that rainbow chard!  It is definitely time for some cheesy chard biscuits!

So, time for this week's menu... which is pretty light due to a busy week.  We're celebrating drinkupcolumbus.com's 3rd blogerversary with Cheryl on Thursday (come join, it's free).  And then box seating at the Clipper's game on Friday.  While I normally don't cook too much on the weekends (we're usually on the go and trying out new restaurants), this weekend might be filled with camping food.  We'll see if the weather holds out...

sliders and crispy potatoes

And our CSA deliveries starts this week!  Can't wait for spinach, strawberry, and green onion salads just picked from the fields hours beforehand.  Mmm... fresh.
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iPhone App Organization

Posted by yanti



Apps have become kind of a big deal. We now have so many that we�re feeling a little overrun by them! And guess what? It seems like we hear about the newest, coolest, helpful-ist ones every day! You may be wondering if these are worth organizing. 

They are absolutely worth organizing! Apps kind of drive me crazy! I hate how cluttered they make my phone look. And I really hate the fact that Apple won�t let me delete the ones that came with the phone that I�ve never even opened (Stocks, anyone?). SO� here are some helpful ways I�ve found to organize my iPhone apps!


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Alphabetized
Obviously, if I�m looking for anything in this world, I search alphabetically. When I was 6, I used to organize all of my family�s VHS tapes. When I lived in my studio apartment, I alphabetized my yogurt. So, why not alphabetize iPhone apps? This is just a super simple way to find what you�re looking for! 


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Categorized
Ok, so this is actually the way that I have my phone organized right now. I know that some people don�t like it when apps are consolidated into those little category folder things but I really love it! I love opening the Social folder and having my Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter apps altogether. I love opening my Productivity folder and having my E-Mail, Notes, and Reminders apps all right there. Yes, it does create an extra step to get them open but seriously, how lazy are we getting if we don�t want to open one extra thing on our touchscreen phones?


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Color-coded
The only thing that drives me crazy about having my apps alphabetized is that, even though it actually is very orderly, it looks very un-orderly! Color-coding apps solves this problem! Color-coding makes everything look so neat and even pretty! Also, I don�t know about you, but when I think about an app, I�m picturing its little icon in my mind. So it�s pretty easy to search by color.

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Finally, in order to keep the amount of apps I have from getting too excessive, I delete unused ones pretty frequently. I usually try to do this around the beginning/end of the month� because, if I haven�t used it in a month, I�m probably not going to use it. I also try to eliminate duplicate apps that do the same thing (those photo editing ones are the ones that I tend to hoard)! Sure, you might �need it someday� but just remember that you can always re-download it in 5 minutes or less! So, letting these go is no big deal! :)

Those are the only 3 ways I�ve tried organizing my apps but I�m sure y�all have thought of some more ways to organize them! How to you keep them �cleaned out�? Do you love or hate using those little category folders? 
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Summer Bucket List - 20 thing to check out in Cbus

Posted by yanti

Columbus Ohio Summer Bucket List

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all those that have served our country so that we can all enjoy the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

And since Memorial Day is also the unofficial start to summer, our calendars are starting to fill up with cookouts and pool parties.  Make sure you get some variety in your summer fun by hitting up the following 20 guaranteed good times unique to Columbus!

1. Visit the Columbus Zoo's new Heart of Africa exhibit - we all love the zoo, but now you can interact with lions, cheetahs, and giraffes... oh my!
2. Rock out at the LC Pavilion - 90s alternative bands make a comeback in this year's line up with Beck, 311, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, and Sublime
3. Moonlight Canoeing on the Hocking - you can leave the sunscreen at home as you paddle down the river under the moonlight to a bonfire and s'mores
4. Cheer on the Columbus Clippers - see why Huntington Park was named best ballpark in 2009... and more cowbell!
5. Hit the Trails and Metroparks - Columbus is getting close to 100 miles of trails for walking/running/riding and has 16 Metroparks to get outside and be one with nature
6. Indulge in fair food at the Ohio State Fair - my favorite... ice cream from the dairy barn (home of the butter cow) and some cinnamon candied almonds... it's only once a year!
7. Join a half million of our closest friends for Red White & Boom - find a rooftop, patio, or grassy spot for the biggest firework show in the Midwest and then follow it up with the Doo Dah Parade the next day
8. Yoga in the Commons - get your stretch on outdoors, focus breathing in that fresh air
9. Nice day for a Gallery Hop - join the masses on High Street and enjoy great restaurants and local artist galleries
10. Go to as many Cbus festivals as humanly possible - over 250 festivals listed on Columbus Underground's fest list, that has to be some sort of city record
11. Buy/Rent a standup paddleboard and use it - after surf lessons in San Diego and paddleboarding in the Gulf, we need some sun & surf in Cbus... SUP is gaining traction with meetups at Griggs, Hoover and Alum Creek reservoirs as well as Olentangy River, Big Darby Creek, and Buckeye Lake
12. Get rowdy in the Nordecke at Crew Stadium - defend our fortress with chants, flags, and smoke bombs... Columbus 'til I die
13. Check out the Scioto Mile - specifically the Rhythm on the River series on Fridays including a free BalletMet performance on August 29 to kickoff their new season
14. Chow down at some Food Trucks - they'll be at every event in Cbus, but they will all be at Food Truck Fest August 15-16
15. Ride in a hot air balloon at All Ohio Balloon Fest - soar over Marysville with 50 other hot air balloons August 14-16
16. Visit Ohio Village for one of their event nights - besides old school baseball games and kids activities, Ohio Village will put on Retrorama (8/9) as part of their American Dream series including drinks, eats, music, and more
17. Take a Brewery or Distillery tour through Columbus Brew Adventures - lots of local brews and spirits to sample and then sample again
18. Frequenting the best patios Cbus has to offer - whether it's for dinner or just drinks, there are plenty of patios to enjoy... Third & Hollywood, the Crest, Harvest Pizzeria, Pies, Milestone 229, the Boat House, Haiku, La Chatelaine, Brazenhead, and Local Cantina to name a few
19. Old school drive in movies at South - pack a picnic and catch a double feature
20. Hike Old Man's Cave in Hocking Hills - ranked in the top 50 hikes in the entire country, make this hike a yearly tradition... stay in a cabin and get to some of those less traveled trails too

Of course, if your summer plans are rained out... opt for one of these other 40 things to do indoors!  Yay for summer!!!!  :)
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Taco Bread - total time 40 minutes

Posted by yanti on Thursday, May 22, 2014


I know I'm one of the anomolies that has cooked or baked just about everything on their food-related Pinterest boards, but there are still some recipes on there that I'm just not sure about. Most of the foodstuff I pin look and sound delicious, with a couple tweaks, it's perfect for my somewhat picky pallet. Other recipes look amazing, but sound much less appealing.

That's how I felt about this taco twist that pinned over six months ago. I love stombolis and I love tacos, but mixing the two together seems sacrilege. I guess if I can do it to stuffed shells, I can do it to stromboli. So, inspired by Bev's raving review, I checked another recipe off my Pinterest board.

Taco bread is basically begging to be dipped into something, whether it be guac (my fav), salsa, sour cream, or queso dip... the bread makes it nice and sturdy so you don't lose anything when you make your dunk. The egg wash give the crust a good crunch with a fluffy inside and a savory filling. I don't know what I was afraid of, taco bread is delish!

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Home Tour

Posted by yanti


Well, yesterday was the closing day for our house! YAY! It has been the longest, most frustrating ordeal in the whole world but it is finally all over!

Even though selling the house was stressful, it will still always be a place full of memories of our first years of marriage! It is the house my husband lived in while we were dating, the place where we had our engagement party, Super Bowl parties, Christmas Eve celebrations, and countless other wonderful memories. While I am {sooooooooo} relieved that it is officially not ours anymore, a little part of me is still sad to see it go.

When Derek and I started dating, he had one thing on the wall: A Fight Club movie poster of a bloody, shirtless, sweaty Brad Pitt with all of his Fight Club bros hanging right above the living room sofa. Charming, right? At least it was framed.

We put a lot of time and work into making that house �ours� {aka: I threw away all of his stuff}. And we really enjoyed the time we spent there.

So, in honor of all of our memories, here is a little tribute to that house on Tributary Lane!




{This was our Herb Garden and I wish I had taken a picture later in the Spring when everything came back to life. We had Lambs Ear, Lemon Balm, Chives, Mint, Rosemary, and Thyme. It was the most precious little garden ever!}








{These are all from our Living Room. Derek framed some 8x10 photographs of our favorite travel destinations like, Puerto Vallarta, Rome, and Capri, and hung them one day while I was at work. And that turquoise table was my first ever furniture-painting project!}




{This was our dining area in our eat-in kitchen. That table used to be brown and those chairs used to be black before we gave them all a makeover. Oh, and all of the walls used to be the color of cardboard.}







{This was our bedroom which is another room that got a total makeover. When I moved in, the walls were a brownish color and Derek had a black bedspread. This room turned out so bright and cheery and was one of my favorite spaces in the house!}





{Of all the comparisons of our old house and our new loft, the only one where the old house wins is this whirlpool tub. It was the best, seriously. You will be missed.






{For the first two years of our marriage, we hung up clothing racks and I used one of the bedrooms as my closet/dressing room. Last year, I made the command decision to try to share a closet with my husband. It meant getting rid of a lot of clothes but now I�m down to just my favorite pieces and it�s a great feeling!}




{Finally, the office. The last time we were out of town, I let my husband be in charge of deleting some photos in my phone so this is the only office picture I have left! We spray painted our old pasta sauce jars to use as pencil/pen/scissor holders and that little jar was originally filled with candied ginger from a Thanksgiving party we attended last year. 


{oh, hi there. don�t mind me. just working away, over here!}



Yesterday, we drove away from this house for the last time. Since I don�t think we�ll go back to it (or even the neighborhood) ever again, I wanted to preserve my memories of how it looked when it looked my favorite. Goodbye, little house! 




What is your favorite part of the place that you live now? Are you moving soon or have you moved recently? If you�re selling a house, has it been an easy experience or have there been a lot of challenges? 
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Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Pizza - total time 30 minutes

Posted by yanti on Wednesday, May 21, 2014


Seems like every night this week I've been rushing to get dinner on the table before 9:00! Whether it's work, after work activities, working on our fitness, or running after kids, we all need a quick go to meal. My first mainstay is tacos, but sometimes get tacoed out (it takes a lot of tacos to get there, but occasionally I reach that tipping point). So my plan B menu item... pizza, of course!

I always have a ball of whole wheat dough in my fridge just waiting to be made into a pizza, stromboli, or calzone thanks to GreenBEAN delivery. It makes homemade pizza night sooo easy!

Usually we stick to traditional red sauce with mostly traditional toppings. But this time I changed things up a bit by making a white pizza! And what goes best with alfredo sauce? Chicken and broccoli! This pizza has become the new favorite in our household. Can't wait to make it again. :)

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5 Tips for a Smooth Move

Posted by yanti on Monday, May 19, 2014


The last time I moved, I was in undergrad and I moved my things out of my room at my parents� house into a tiny studio apartment. I was mostly able to fit everything into my Honda Accord and it took one trip with a truck to move my bed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  

That was like, years ago. So, when I was planning for this move, I thought back on it and estimated about the same time/work commitments. Let me just tell you now that I definitely, definitely, definitely underestimated how crazy moving an entire house is!

We officially �moved in� to our new place last Monday! All in all, it�s been an awesome (but time consuming) adventure and I�ve definitely been keeping notes of things that I liked/didn�t like about how we did it. So whether you�re moving across town or across country soon, here are some ways to keep some order (and sanity) during your move! 

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Start Purging Early
You really cannot start paring down your things soon enough. We knew this move was coming for about a year, so I gave full trash bags of things away monthly. And you know what? I still felt like I had too much stuff! This is the perfect time to get rid of clothes you never wear, decor that you�re tired of, or things you never liked to begin with!

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Create a Moving Planner
I found one that I absolutely loved on Michelle Lea Designs! She creates beautiful printables PLUS she�s a military wife, so she�s moved multiple times! Her checklist contains literally every single thing you could possibly need to do. It also divides things by a timeline which was my favorite thing about it! Print it out, cross out the things that don�t apply to you, and write your date deadlines next to each heading!

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Play Around with Decor 
Luckily, before our move, we had already seen our new space in person. As soon as we left the new place for the first time, I grabbed a piece of paper and created a quick floor plan of it. Then I drew in where I envisioned everything going. When I got home, I arranged furniture, lamps, etc. how I wanted them to look in the new place and photographed them. This way, when I started to unpack things, I already knew where almost everything was going! 

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Label Every Single Thing
We kind of had a 2-step process with our labels. We got the ones that people use for yard sales that come in 3-color packs and created a color-coding system: Green for �Take to New Home�, Pink for �Donate�, and Orange for �Storage�. Then we literally stuck one on every item in our home! Once I knew where things would be going, I wrote on the labels: �bedroom", "dining", �living�, etc. This made packing an absolute breeze!

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Pack by Room
Finally, (I know some people say to pack things by their size but) I would really suggest packing by room! This way, you just need to label the bin/box according to its room and drop it off there during the move! It also makes it way easier to unpack the things and decorate once you�ve arrived! Finding homes for things this way was SO simple! Also, this way you can prioritize which rooms you�ll need to set up immediately and which ones can wait. 

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Those are the top things that have helped me stay organized during our moving process! :)

Are you moving over the summer? Or have you recently moved? If so, Where?! And what advice do you have for others? 
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Weekly Menu

Posted by yanti on Sunday, May 18, 2014

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!  This weekend was packed with fun things like Race for the Cure, a Cbus bloggers lunch, and visiting with friends.  A bit of a mixed bag with weather after almost getting hailed on walking around Bexley.  Got 'lost' for hours in the Book Loft with a friend (from my 40 things to do in Cbus when its cold or rainy post).  Then we tried Tom+Chee which opened recently in Pickerington followed by going to see Godzilla.  

Tom+Chee is a cute little grilled cheese place, kind of like Melt, but a little less extreme.  My husband had a grilled mac and cheese sandwich.  They also have grilled stuffed donuts (we shared a smores donut).  They apparently have a bakers dozen challenge for eating these donuts... I don't know that I could even eat one whole one let alone thirteen!  I wonder how many people they get attempting the challenge?!

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If only the weekend could be longer!  Oh well, time for this week's menu...

jerk shrimp sandwiches (kind of like po' boys)
sundried tomato pasta
baked sloppy joes
broccoli stuffed chicken and salad
pizza night
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