I Love Long Weekends

I think everyone will agree that long weekends are a wonderful thing. I didn't know that I had President's Day off of work until last Tuesday, so that was exciting news! I had a wonderful weekend - saw a lot of friends and family, got a lot accomplished, and still managed to have some serious lazy time.

This weekend I...

Friday Night

1. Ran TONS of errands after work. 

Returns, exchanges, and purchases made at Babies R Us, Christmas Tree Shop, Burlington Coat Factory, and Hannaford's.

2. Had a delicious pasta dinner and discovered an amazing new way to eat broccoli (which makes me even more obsessed with it).

Steamed broccoli with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

3. Met up with some friends, then made the obligatory candy stop on the way home.

Have you ever seen this many peeps?! I like to cut open the packaging and let the peeps get a little bit stale (so they're nice and chewy) before eating them.

Saturday

4. Went for a great run with Callie.

After the run I refueled with some chocolate milk, an orange, and an open-faced chicken salad sandwich.

Chicken salad - cut up grilled chicken breast mixed with 0% vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, craisins, and fresh ground pepper. Put on piece of toast covered with a bed of baby spinach.

5. Helped celebrate Maddison's 1st birthday.

Maddison and Mama!

Maddison and Pat

Me, Maddison, Kayta and Kristen

6. Went shopping with Pat and found some amazing deals at Nordstrom Rack.

7. Went to a surprise birthday for Colin's 30th. 

Colin was quite surprised and we had a great time! The party was at Pepperoncini's (in Framingham) and though it didn't look like much from the outside (read: thought it was probable that this could be a gang hang out and our car might be stolen/vandalized in the parking lot) the inside was a fun bar and restaurant - complete with my favorite game!

BIG BUCK HUNTER!

The pizza was amazing, too - I'd definitely go back!

Sunday

8. Put together all ingredients for Chicken Cacciatore in crock pot.

 

9. Went to Krissy's Baby Shower.

Diaper Cake - people go crazy for these things!

BEAUTIFUL cake! Colton's room is decorated with a fishing theme, so this cake had a fishing boat, rod, and fish on it, and along the sides there were cattails, ducks, and candy rocks.

Party favors: little satchels of swedish fish tied with string and buoys. 

Gina, Kath, Krissy, Julia, Me, and Gerene (who's also pregnant!)

10. Had family over for LINNER (lunch/dinner).

There were 10 of us total: My mom, brother, brother's girlfriend, Pat's mom, brother, aunt, cousin, and  cousin's friend. And Pat and me. Since I knew I'd be spending the morning at Krissy's baby shower, I prepared the meal ahead of time and put it in the crock pot. We also delegated extras for other people to bring: my mom brought a salad, Pat's mom brought bread, and Pat's aunt brought brownies.

My mom brought mixed greens for the salad, and prepared some delicious toppings for people to add: roasted sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

I'd never thought of having roasted sweet potatoes on a salad, but it was unbelievable! My mom also made a Maple Mustard salad dressing to go on top, which was delicious.

Here's my full plate of salad and chicken cacciatore:

*I'll post the recipe for the chicken soon!

11. Went out with some friends.

Shortly after our family left, Pat and I had to rush out to meet up with some friends for dinner (hard to believe we had more food!) and hanging out.

Monday

12. Watched the entire first season of Mad Men.

Yes, you read me right. Pat and I watched the whole first season of Mad Men, basically in one sitting. Since we had such a busy weekend, all we wanted to do on Monday was relax. On Monday morning we discussed going out to breakfast, going to the gym, and going grocery shopping, and decided that those were the only things we'd leave the house for. I thought we should stay home for breakfast and put the gym and groceries off until later in the day. By the time we were a couple episodes into the first season, we decided that we didn't want to go anywhere, and even ordered delivery for dinner to avoid leaving the comfort of the couch.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends!