What I’m Into (February 2015 edition)

It’s hard to believe another month has come and gone! Though this is a few days later than I intended, better late than never, right? 🙂

What’s Been Happening

One of the best parts of this month: finding this ADORABLE kitten. We had a terrible [by Southern standards] ice storm that knocked out Nashville for a week. Ben had the week off from school, and my university closed for about 2 1/2 days. It was glorious!

https://www.instagram.com/p/zLIV9qsCK4/

The Saturday afterwards, it was pouring rain so instead of running, Ben and I were walking/ice-skating to the gym to work out when we heard this incessant meowing/screeching noise coming from the pedestrian bridge at our apartment complex. In what was probably one of the greatest moments of communication in our marriage, we realized simultanoeously that this wasn’t an annoying bird, but rather a very tiny and very wet kitten. With zero hesitation or debate, Ben scooped the kitten up. After rushing her home, I dried her off while called the vet. They could see us right away and we were relieved to learn that she was remarkably healthy despite the weather that week, though she weighed just over a pound.

https://www.instagram.com/p/zYXx8DsCF_/

We put up signs at our apartment complex but no one has contacted us so we assume she’s a stray… well, stray no more! She’s ours! We named her Isa, meaning ice in the old Germanic runes. Isa is pronounced E-sa. Her middle name is Marie and she already has an abundance of nicknames, including Isa Pizza, Little Pizza, Mini Fluff, etc. [Yes, the pizza thing is weird, but if you say Isa with a generic European accent, pizza just flows naturally after it. Yes, we are weird.] The other two kitties are curious about her, but we have to keep them separated for now to make sure she’s healthy. I took her to the vet again on Thursday and she had gained 6.5 ounces in just five days so she’s now a little ball of energy. She’s adorable and we are in love!

https://www.instagram.com/p/zlyHnmMCLI/

Other fun happenings this month include my college friend Cathy visiting from South Korea, where she teaches English at a university. We always have a blast together and it was so fun to catch up. She was in the US for about 3 weeks and I got to pick her up/drop her off at the airport so I got to see her TWICE! Puppy chow is THE tradition of our little group of friends, so we had to make it together. One time, we made it in a hotel room the night of one of the girls’ weddings. So fun!!

I’m still keeping up with marathon training, though the ice storm put a damper in my training. I. HATE. the. treadmill. Ugh! And we are supposed to get more bad weather this week. Sigh… I can’t wait for spring!

What I’m Reading

This month I finished 10 books and am in process with several more. So far, I’ve read 21 books this year and am on track for my Goodreads goal [follow me!].

The best books I read this month was the third installment of Rebecca Cantrell’s Hannah Vogel series, A Game of Lies and the book I read for the reading challenge on Modern Mrs. Darcy, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. My mom is an Agatha-aholic and that book fit the category of “a book my mom loves” for the reading challenge. I have to say… I get the Agatha love now!! And Then There Were None was fabulous. I was guessing the murderer til the end and the book was well written and relatable, even decades after it was published. I’ll have to read more of her books!

What I’m Watching

I am wayyyy behind on all my tv shows. Our DVR is constantly almost full and I keep deleting cooking shows I haven’t watched. 😦 Ben and I have been pretty good about keeping up with The Blacklist though. I’m so glad that show is back! When that show premiered, we still lived in Indiana. We actually watched the first episode in the midst of packing to move to Nashville. I still remember us cuddling on the couch, moving boxes out of the way so we could see the tv. Good times!

What I’ve Been Cooking

This month I’ve been cooking recipes out of Melissa d’Arabian’s Supermarket Healthy like it’s going out of style! Here’s my review, p.s. 🙂 The protein bars are my fave! I need to make them again and take some pictures for you! February has been a very busy month so I feel like I haven’t made anything new or interesting… just same old, same old black bean/lentil/pasta staples. I’m looking forward to spring cooking! Lots and lots of fresh veggies will be eaten in our little household!

https://www.instagram.com/p/y8WADIsCDX/

I almost forgot about the best new recipe I tried this month–orange tofu with veggies. SO good! My friend Cathy and I also made some Cinnabon knockoff cinnamon rolls. This was my second time using this recipe and they are amazing. Mmm!

What’s On The Blog

My most popular new recipe of the month was Falafel, Tzatziki, and Greek Lemon Rice. Yum!

My top three popular recipes from the archives were: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Funfetti Cookies.

What were you into in February?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.