Homemade Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

I had a dinner party with my friends and decided to make dinner & dessert from recipes found on Pinterest. As we all know, I get super nervous when hosting, but do it anyways. Can you imagine my anxiety level??? Luckily, my friends don't mind being my guinea pigs! True friends rock!
The original post made this vinaigrette and paired it with a spinach cobb salad. I (still) don't eat eggs so I changed the salad up a little. Was it tasty? Why, yes! All bowls were empty! It was absolutely delicious! Next time I decide to make it, I'll be sure to take a photograph for you.

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
2 heads of garlic, roasted and peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp honey

Cut the pointy top off of the garlic. Brush with olive oil and roast them in a pan at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, until it is starting to turn golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven, allow to cool. Once the garlic is cool, peel the skin off. Discard the skins, save the garlic.

Add all the ingredients to the food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The salad I made was simple. I used spinach, diced roma tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, turkey bacon crumbles, and carrots. If you're a meat eater, might I suggest adding chicken. Yum!

Recipe from http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com/2011/06/roasted-garlic-vinaigrette-dressing.html

I'm in love...

By love, I don't mean the kind where everything is roses and I'm changing my last name because he put a ring on it...
but it's pretty close!

I'm completely addicted!
I haven't been this crafty/ productive/ procrastinator of actual REAL important things in such a long time!

What is this new obsession?
Yep, you guessed it...PINTREST!

I've yet to document my adventures through photographs, but trust, they're coming soon!

Please don't judge me...

Yikes Y'all!

To blog, apparenlty, someone has to actually login and write regulary! I clearly haven't been that person. School & work have consumed my life over the last few weeks (actually months, but weeks sounds so much better)!

I vow to update you on my personal happening over the break. I actually started blogging on another site to see if I'd like it better and it turns out I didn't. I'll start with a post from a salsa workshop I attended. Good times! Happy Reading!
This post is from November 2011.
Better late than never!

Salsa Workshop with Nery & Giana Last weekend...I spent a second consecutive weekend dancing in Atlanta. The workshops for the weekend were on salsa fundamentals. I has a spectacular time and learned a ton! Now, I'm waiting to physically recover (sick...boo) so I can put these new dance skills to use.

We started the workshops by doing some partner yoga. YES, yoga! It was absolutely amazing! Turly the best "warm-up" ever! (Can you tell I've been converted into a yogi)? I now have a morning and evening routine that I do....everly so slowly working into the difficult poses. You know, Rome wasn't built in a day...just sayin'...

Nery and Giana were wonderful! Fantastic teachers! I love their technique and their energy! Very positive and very thourough. Saturday started with fundamentals in posture and footwork. Luckily, I knew most of this from a private lesson I took with Randi over the summer. It was a nice refresher. The workshops rocked, but because I was attending with a friend who wasn't used to the salsa "party scene," we didn't party like rockstars Saturday night. Beauty sleep...works miracles!
Sunday, the focus was on partner work. The last two hours were strictly dedicated to cater to the needs of the students. We each got to choose a technique to focus on (footwork, spotting, etc). This turned into very effective mini-lessons!
If you ever get the chance, I HIGHLY recommend you work with Nery and Giana!
Check out their awesomeness on Youtube!

Things I learned:1. Dance energy levels/ Connection to the floor:
flat, hips, hips + shoulders
2. Lift your "tray"
3. Yoga, yoga, yoga!

I hate corn. Thanks Missouri!

As promised, here's update #1 from the summer.




My sister & I

 Missouri. Honestly, it's a place that has never been on my Top 10 Destinations to Visit List (or any number for that matter) and probably never will be. I'm crossing this hot miserable place off of my list of states I've visited and adding to the places I'd do well without even visiting again! OK, so it's not bad once you park the car, but the drive...oh, that drive...

Let me take you back...
I'm minding my own business and getting ready to leave church when my aunt stops to talk to me. She asks if I'm going to my cousin's vow renewal in Missouri and I inform her that I'm not.
My reasonings:
1) no money (gotta make the dollars stretch when you only get one check in the summer)
2) very close to Summer Fizzle (the first Saturday in August when I meet my new set of kids...and yes, that was the FIRST SATURDAY IN AUGUST...NOT WHEN SCHOOL STARTS)
3) seriously, Missouri?!!?
At the end of the day, Missouri makes sense...the married couple lives in California, groom's family lives in SC, bride's family is from....yep, Missouri (the happy halfway point).

Long story short, everyone from the family that's supposed to be going with my aunt to Missouri backs out and since I apparently have nothing to do since it's still technically summertime, I'm "voted" to go. This is what I find out about 36 hours before we're supposed to leave. FaB.
We sent off at 4 a.m. and the first 6 hours really aren't that bad. There's traffic to navigate & you're driving through actual cities (Atlanta, Memphis, Chattanooga, Nashville). My uncle drove his family & we checked in with each other periodically. This was great since my uncle used to drive trucks & he knew all the places we should stop.
I didn't want to make the 15hr trip any longer than it needed to be so the fewer stops the better in my book. Outside of a town called Cartersville (I think), I couldn't decide if we should stop for gas. We had enough for about another 100 miles give or take a few, but feeling the need for a stretch, we pulled over at BP.
Once we got back on the interstate, it happened. The reason why I haven't been able to eat corn for 2 months. It seemed like an eternity. I'm sure it wasn't and my poor sleep deprived mind just couldn't quite handle it, BUT, I swear we drove through corn fields for the next 4 hours! Seriously, corn fields. All you could see was corn and the occasional farm house, but just one.
I felt alive once we got to St. Louis, but there was still another 4 hours to go before reaching Kansas City.
We ended up staying a few miles from the airport. The hotel & food were great. My cousin & his wife (along with her parents) renewed their vows in an outdoor ceremony. The couples were an hour late, the heat index was over 100, and they had the drinks. (Your assumption is correct, there's no way in the world I'm having any ceremony outdoors)!  I could bore you with more, but all you really need to know is that I haven't been able to eat corn since the end of July. I'm hoping that changes in time for the holidays...I love/loved cream corn.

Quick & Dirty

Apparently, you're when you write a blog, you're to update it. My bad...
Here's the quick update of things I'll elaborate on in the next few days.
1. I hate corn. Thank you Missouri.
2. Summer is over.
3. Dinner parties are fun (especially with little kids).
4. Starting a new work out plan...tomorrow.
5. My kids are awesome & I hate responsibility.
6. Practice makes perfect!

Details to follow.....soon? :)

Yummy in Your Tummy!

Below is the link to my food blog. Slowly, but surely, I'll be adding recipes that I have tried or will try. Click the link and check it out. Entries will be categorized and alphabetized. As a bonus, if I get to it, I'll even add some photos!

http://whiskinit.blogspot.com/

Just a touch of rouge...

Yay! I finally did it! I put a little rouge on the walls and love it!
Last weekend, the wonderful Mrs. Hansen (best substitute in the world) and I gave some life to my sterile home. For those of you who have never seen the inside, all of the walls in the house are the color of sand. Dull. Lifeless. Driving me INSANE!

So after living here a little over a year, I've finally decided now would be a good time to start personalizing the place a bit. You'd think after acquiring the mortgage I would have started a little sooner, right?
I am, apparently, indecisive. It took about six weeks for me to decide what I was going to paint (originally I was going to start in the second bedroom) and to decide the color (had over 20 samples). After much deliberation, I decided to paint downstairs (living room & dining room...open combo). Main color in the living room is Khaki shade...much warmer than sand! Accent color in the dining room is Ash Violet.
Painting proved to be much less stressful that I had originally thought it'd be. Overall, I say it's a smashing success! Not bad for a few hours worth of work. What do you think???

For the Salseras...



Memphis Salsa Summer Jam


Alright ladies, it's true! Randi Pearson is simply AMAZING! If you happen to ever be lucky enough to come under her tutelage, DO IT! Not only will your "fan" look hot, but the  rest of you will too!
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the skinny. I have been "salsa dancing" on and off for a few years now. I consider myself okay...nothing fantastic, but not horrible. I've known I've had a few strikes again me since the beginning and decided a private lesson would be the way to take my "fan" from just alright to spectacular!
Not to jump ahead too much, but lets discuss those strikes. So, I first learned to salsa at church (yes, you read correctly). Being a former dancer (not of the exotic variety...tap & jazz), I picked up the basic steps rather quickly. However, the gentlemen were not so blessed with a speedy aquisition of these basic moves. Therefore, I was partnered from the beginning with men who had what seemed like 90 left feet. I'm not complaining (ok, I am, but whatever)...I'm all for guys getting their groove on on the dance floor, but this GREATLY hindered my ability to "follow." I could list more issues like connection & the fact that I should not be dancing or wearing heels, but we'll just keep plugging through...
Even though I had not fully recovered from the awesomeness that was the Memphis Salsa Summer Jam, I decided to go ahead with this private lesson. It was definitely worth the money. I learned some new steps and exercises that will (hopefully) add some flare to my steps. Ultimately, I've got to shake my groove thang just a little more & not necessarily in Greenville. This is much easier typed than done when you live where I do and teach a majority of the year. In addition, there's spinning and styling/ "fans" to work on, but if I practice, it will come???  From these typed words to God's eyes...
Before the summer ends, there will be some traveling to other destinations. I'm excited to grow as a dancer and see what these other cities/ states have to offer. Watch out Raleigh, DC, & CO...I'm coming (eventually)!!!

The Overture...

I have decided that a blog is now necessary as an outlet for me to do the following: hone my writing skills, practice word usage (attempting to expand the vocabulary), and to keep you abreast of my extremely important life. Since I live in a "metropolis," this blog should be teeming with entries of my "adventures." As previously mentioned, posts will be sporadic in nature.
Currently, there's no "theme" to these scribbles, but if one develops as we go, so be it!
Summer 2011 entries will include my upcoming DIY projects (yep, I'm laughing already...ok, crying, but whatever) and odes to parties, trips & the general mayhem I seem to get myself into while the weather is so divine.
If you love/like it (the blog & me), let me know! If not, I'm pretty sure I don't care, but your comments are welcomed if you think the fate of the world depends on me knowing.
Happy Reading! :)