Archives for January 2014

Best week ever

January 31, 2014

I’m kind of excited because my blog had an above-average week in terms of numbers, possibly even its best week ever! Hopefully that means you like the type of content I’ve been posting recently. As I brainstorm new posts and series, I’d love to know — what would you like to see on the blog?

And now an exciting announcement!

I’m teaming up with 13 of my favorite bloggers to bring you two weeks of amazing giveaways starting tomorrow on Oleander and Palm. We’re calling it 14 Days of Love, and its our way of showing our loyal blog readers a little love. I’ll be sharing links to each day’s giveaway on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to follow along.

Also…

I’ve contributed a bunch of blog posts to The Neighborhood this month that I’d love for you to check out:

Finally!

Fourteen posts I didn’t write that are definitely worth reading this weekend:

These DIY conversation heart balloons (above) might be the most clever Valentine’s Day decorations I’ve seen
Never again mispronounce fashion designer names
Like most bloggers, I thrive on feedback, which is why a lack of comments can be disheartening. Was 2013 the year that commenting died?
The science to airfare (and when to book your flights!)
Why women need to stop apologizing
What are style bloggers looking at when they pose for photos?
A quiz to determine where you should live. I got Cape Town — how about you?
Stop checking email on your phone at night
The results of the national Yoplait Greek Taste-off
Serving wings at your Super Bowl party? Here’s the right way to eat them.
A bizarre but effective way to beat dry winter skin
Why Peter Pan has almost always been played by a woman
The sad truth about Froot Loops (oh no!)
This eye shadow palette may be my next beauty splurge

Have a wonderful weekend! And if you remember, I’d love to know what you’d like to see more/less of on the blog!

(photo via StudioDIY)

White bean chili recipe

January 30, 2014

Between the polar vortex and the Super Bowl this weekend, could there be a more perfect time to prepare a pot of chili?

Chili is one of those cold-weather comfort foods I come to crave as the temperature begins to dip in the fall, although I could honestly eat a bowl of chili any time of year. And I dare say it’s become the unofficial food of the Super Bowl. Think about it: how many Super Bowl parties have you attended where chili has been served or where there has been a chili cook-off?

Meat or vegetarian, I enjoy a variety of chili — except, perhaps, chocolately sweet chili or runny chili that tastes like the meat sauce you’d pour on top of spaghetti. (Sorry, Skyline chili lovers!) One of my favorites, though, is white bean chili.

I don’t often cook for my family (bad wifey! bad mommy!), but when I do, I love to make this white bean chili recipe that I adapted from a recipe found in Fitness magazine years ago. It’s easy to prepare, and the leftovers taste just as delicious.

Confession: I either use frozen chopped onion or have my husband do the chopping because my eyes are especially sensitive to raw onions.

White Bean Chili Recipe | A Girl Named PJ

White Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2-1/4 cups water
2 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern or Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. flour
red pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Directions:

Cook turkey, onion, and garlic in large saucepan until turkey is no longer pink
Stir in 2 cups of water, beans, undrained chiles, bouillon, cumin, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to boil.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of water and the flour. Set aside.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
When chili is ready, stir in flour mixture and cook for an additional minute or two to thicken.
Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

(serves 4-6)

PS – Another easy recipe for my fellow non-cooks!

Nursery inspiration board for a second baby

January 29, 2014

Baby boy is due to arrive in less than a month, and his nursery (which is also our guest room and my office) still looks like this. Why are we so unprepared?

I suppose it all comes down to a combination of denial and procrastination.

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that we’re having another boy. I used to “joke” that one reason I was hoping for a girl was because the nursery was already painted pink, a color I chose before I was even pregnant. I couldn’t deal with the thought of bringing more boy-related things into the house, and selfishly, I didn’t want to lose my girly space.

Plus, when we learned the baby’s gender in the fall, my due date of February 20th seemed so far away. “We have plenty of time to prepare,” I foolishly told myself. But once we turned the corner on Thanksgiving, time sped up, and before I knew it, we had entered 2014.

And now it’s nearly February.

Rather than let myself experience full-fledged panic, I’ve decided to give myself permission to not have the baby’s room ready before his arrival.

See, we need some of the furniture from Levi’s current room (the glider, the crib, and possibly the dresser), and I haven’t started thinking about redecorating his space either. (Surprise, surprise!) But the baby will be sleeping in a bassinet in our room in the beginning, so he doesn’t actually need a completely decorated nursery, as nice as it would be to have.

(Although the room will need to be tidied up for my mom, who will be moving in with us for a month or longer.)

So I’m finally doing what I should have started months ago: planning.

Combining what we already own with items from some of my favorite brands, I created a nursery inspiration board for the space that will continue to serve as a guest room and office. To play down the pink walls (which I refuse to paint over — they’re so pretty!), I’ve chosen a navy, grey, and white color scheme with pops of turquoise. What do you think?

Which is the best Greek yogurt?

January 28, 2014

I love to eat, but I don’t have a very discerning palate. Unlike my husband, who’s also a fantastic cook, I’m not particularly good at noticing the nuances in a dish. I can hardly taste the difference between diet and regular soda, and I’ve never been able to distinguish between Coke and Pepsi.

The difference between regular and Greek yogurt, however, has always been obvious, even to me. Greek yogurt is thicker than its traditional counterpart, which is why I’ve never been able to jump on the Greek bandwagon. It may have more protein than regular yogurt, but I’ve never been able to get past its glue-like consistency–and texture plays a big part in my food preferences. (It’s the primary reason why I’m not crazy about bananas.)

So when I was asked to take part in the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off, it was my inherent prejudice against Greek yogurt that prompted me to say yes. The challenge: Yoplait Greek Blueberry vs Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom.

Levi and I tried both varieties over lunch. Obviously, it wasn’t a blind taste test, as I was the one stirring up the Chobani and scooping both yogurts into tasting bowls!

Levi loved picking out the real pieces of fruit in both of the yogurts, and at one point he mentioned that the Chobani yogurt had “different blueberries.” So I asked him which blueberries he liked better. His reply? “Chocolate.”

He quickly gobbled up his servings and asked for more of both. When I pressed him to pick a favorite, he chose Chobani, although he wasn’t able to articulate why. He is, after all, only two and a half.

My preference? Yoplait Greek Blueberry. Although I didn’t find it quite as flavorful as the Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom, its lighter, smoother consistency was more palatable; I could more likely finish a cup of the Yoplait than the Chobani.

Surprisingly, the Chobani was not as glue-like as I had anticipated, but it was still thicker and slightly grainer because of the fruit on the bottom that had to be mixed in. Neither were overly sweet nor artificially tasting–a plus for both brands, but the Chobani was definitely more sour.

Naturally, I’m now curious to taste Yoplait’s other Greek yogurt flavors. Have you tried any of them yet? There’s a coupon on the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off website if you’d like to try one (plus, you can see which Greek yogurt other taste-testers preferred). You could even do your own Yoplait vs Chobani taste off!

What do you think is the best Greek yogurt? There are quite a few options besides Yoplait and Chobani, and I’d love to know if you have a favorite I should try (preferably one that isn’t too thick or sour-tasting).

Today’s #TasteOff was sponsored by Yoplait, but the winner was my honest choice.

Being Pregnant: Emily from A Denver Home Companion

January 27, 2014

Because every woman’s pregnancy is unique, our Being Pregnant series is a way to share a variety of maternity experiences on the blog.

I’m happy to finally share this pregnancy interview with long-time friend of the blog, Emily from A Denver Home Companion. I say “finally” because the process began back in November when Emily was 22 weeks pregnant. Now she’s 32 weeks along!

So why the delay? Well, Emily is also pregnant with her second baby, and she and I have been commiserating over email about how much more challenging our pregnancies have been this time around–physically and mentally. (That’s one of the reasons I like Emily: She’s not afraid to be honest about real life struggles like pregnancy brain.)

Thankfully, I finally got my act together on this post! Read on to learn about Emily’s pregnancy essentials, her criteria for picking a baby name, and how she’s preparing to become a mom of two.

… READ MORE!