Randi with an i

(Florida)dventure, AKA the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

February 13, 2014 Randi

This week’s classes are done and I have today off of work (gasp!) so I figured I would use this precious, precious time to finally give a recap of my recent Florida vacation!

After graduation, my good ~~drinking buddy~~ friend Jordan moved down to Florida to live with her mom and work. Back in November, I decided Future Randi should pay Future Jordan a visit, so I booked a fairly inexpensive flight from Detroit to Tampa. Fast forward roughly almost three agonizing months of polar vortex later, and I’m giving Past Randi a nice hearty pat on the back for that decision. Good one. Because Jordan and I are both semi-recent college grads (read: broke), we knew we wouldn’t be able to have a crazy week of adventures planned, but we did get to go to THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH!

Butternut squash and parmesan risotto

February 11, 2014 Randi

Wait, it’s only Tuesday?

You can tell how my week’s been going so far just by that statement. It’s training week at work and we have section deadlines on Thursday, plus I have a paper due in class tomorrow. Catch-up time is kicking my butt! But at least I got to enjoy a good few days off from work, class and blogging in ~~sunny~~ rainy and 50-some degree Tampa, Fla. I’ll have a blog post soon detailing some of my adventures (Um, hello Wizarding World of Harry Potter!) but for now, since I’m so behind on blogging, I’ll play some catch-up with this recipe I made last week before I decided to jet set south.

Pepper and chive fettuccine noodles

February 1, 2014 Randi

It’s midnight on Friday and after a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother and some pasta, I’m getting prepared for a crazy busy weekend of studying and homework before my vacation starts next Wednesday. If I haven’t mentioned it, I’m heading down to Largo, Fla., to visit my college friend Jordan. She graduated and moved down to live with her mom, so I’ll be flying out mid-next week to visit her and go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the first time! I’m beyond excited.

But, before vacation comes a lot of work. There’s been a lot of reading, paper writing and online exam taking. And, of course, the last thing you want to do before you fly cross-country in four days is go grocery shopping. So, Jake and I decided to see what we could come up with for dinner based on the sparse ingredients I’ve had around my kitchen. Here’s what we got:

Most worn this winter

January 27, 2014 Randi

If you live in the mitten state, or have ever even visited anytime between December and March, you know that Mom Nature is always a little moody. This winter, we were blessed with not one, but two polar vortexes. For those of you unfamiliar with the term (ahem west coast friends), it means temperatures dropped below zero, with windchill down to NEGATIVE THIRTY, for a few days at a time. Brrr. Sometimes it’s impossible to be warm AND stylish, but I’ve grit my teeth and dealt.

BUT! The crazy arctic vortex polar circle of hell has prompted a late-January post of my most-worn and/ or favorite pieces this winter season.

Cocoa, chia, flax and hemp energy bars

January 26, 2014 Randi

As incredibly busy as I am, it’s usually pretty tricky to maintain a healthy diet. I’m a little bit of a health nut, and since I haven’t set foot in a fast food restaurant in years, I’m determined to avoid doing so my busy schedule by preparing food ahead of time. I mentioned in my last post that Sundays are usually my cook days, where I prepare all of my food for the rest of the week, so I can take it to my 9 to 5 and my night classes with me.

I was lucky enough to get this whole weekend off, so I used Saturday to head to the cooperative grocery store to get some staples, and this week, I decided to try to make my own energy/ granola bars to take with me to work and snack on throughout the week.

12 crafts to do in ’14

January 22, 2014 Randi

Have you guys checked out my friend Caitlin’s blog yet? If not, you should. She’s just getting things up and running, but there’s a reason I call her my twin. We’re a lot alike, so if you dig my posts- odds are you’re gonna love hers as well.

If you haven’t clicked on that link, I’ll fill you in. Caitlin just created a post highlighting her goal crafting projects of the year. I loved the idea. Like almost every 20-something girl, my Pinterest boards are crammed with a million DIY projects I’d love to tackle, yunno, if I had 90 hours in a day.

Caitlin made things a little more manageable by listing the top projects she wants to complete this year, and encouraged me to follow suit.

Wontons of fun

January 16, 2014 Randi

Good news and bad news.

Bad news first? This semester is looking to be rough. I have 16 weeks of PSC 561: American State Government and Administration, 16 weeks of PSC 775: Organizational Theory in Administration and eight weeks of accounting. Yikes. This isn’t my first semester of grad school, but it’s my first full-time semester, with three classes. I’m still holding down my full-time job at the paper and my part-time grad assistantship as well, so I’m super nervous about it. I’ve also started looking into grad schools to obtain my doctorate at, so the pressure’s on!

Now the good news? I’m back to my once-a-week cooking sprees. My first semester of grad school offered me classes every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night for the entire 16 weeks. The second two semesters were a little kinder, with one Tuesday night class for eight weeks, and then a Wednesday night class for eight weeks. Now, I’m going to be seeing Monday night city meetings (oh the life of a reporter), Tuesday night class and Wednesday night class for the next 16 weeks, plus plenty of library study sessions for my online accounting class. This means I’ll likely be cramming a week’s worth of cooking into one Sunday afternoon, and refrigerating and freezing enough pre-cooked food to get me through my 14-hour days. This seemed like an opportune time to kill off the “Food Fridays” feature and focus on more of a day-to-day approach of blogging. I’ll likely be slowing down my crafting as well, so I’m likely to post less often. But– I promise I will substitute quality for quantity if you promise to stick with me.

Last night’s class, surprisingly, only lasted 45 minutes. So I got to spend the extra time doing a bit of make-ahead cooking for today at work. I’m still trying to save money because of the ridiculous amount of Christmas debt my credit card incurred, so I’m trying to do the best I can with what my fridge plays host to right now. Last night’s creations?

All the reasons I love you

January 6, 2014 Randi

Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I’m not going to lie- this holiday season got a lot busier than I’d expected. I ended up having to pass on some of the really cool DIY gifts I had planned to make, and ended up swapping some of my ideas for some locally-bought products. Food Fridays fell by the wayside too, when I ran out of time to cook. It was a shame, but with work meetings downstate and a crazy work schedule (including working ON Christmas- no lie- I told you I was busy!) I didn’t have much of a choice.

However, shortly after Christmas, I had a nice four-day weekend for working practically non-stop. My good friend Amie and I decided to head to Michael’s to put together some of the crafts on our insane “to craft” lists. Here’s what I came up with.

Vegan stuffed bell peppers

December 20, 2013 Randi

Happy Friday all! Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? Good thing, I’m dying to share some of the DIY projects I’ve been keeping on lockdown lately. Anyway, food. I’ve been on quite a health-kick lately, if you couldn’t tell by the cheesy bacon-y Tater Tot recipe I posted last week. (Kidding!) But– I’ve definitely been amping up my vegetable and citrus intake to ward off sickness season. Jake’s been feeling ill for the past week. Not only have I been super healthy, I’ve also been doing a little more vegan cooking than usual. Green salads, smoothies, cookies… you name it. But since I’m still (technically) on my slow cooker binge, I’ll share with you what I’m having for lunch today.

Cheesy chicken and bacon slow cooker Tater Tot casserole

December 13, 2013 Randi

I couldn’t possibly fit another word into that recipe’s title, could I? This is a recipe for the Jake, since I’m not partial to chicken, bacon or any once-living animal. My stomach just can’t handle it. I’m back to the slow cooker binge after last week’s pause for my Thanksgiving side dish recipe, and this one was apparently a hit.

Jake’s been on quite a Tater Tot binge lately. And for $2 a bag, who can blame him? Unfortunately, Jake isn’t all too creative with his cooking skills, so his Tater Tots are usually served either a. baked with a side of ketchup, or b. baked with shredded cheese on top. So when I stumbled upon a Tater Tot casserole recipe on Pinterest the other day, it was all too perfect.