Oh, for the Love of Links.

It's been a while since I shared some link love.  So, it's time.

First, I'd like to do a quick Music Monday post.  Yes, I know it's not Monday, but dammit, every Monday I forget to do one, so I'm doing one now.  Mmmkay?

I've shared with you folks about one of my very favorite bands before... and I'm gonna do it again.  That's right, I'm talking about Mestizo.  If you like Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, or any kind of acoustic pop rock with a bit of folk thrown in... you'll love these guys.  They're in rotation on my iPod almost more than Dave Matthews, so that should tell ya something.

Go ahead and preview any of their songs right here.  My favorites on this album are Fade, Playin, and Hope.  Also, they do a gorgeous cover of Hallelujah.  :)


I have their brand new album ready to give away to one lucky reader.  So, all you need to do to win is leave me a comment telling me who your favorite band is, and your favorite song by said band.  That's it!  I'll be taking entries only through Friday, so you'd better hurry on up and enter!


Okay.  Now.  I need to share a few things with you.

If you have been living under a rock for the last two months... you need to get your ass over to Julia Goulia's blog, NOW.  The woman is not only a kick-ass person, but she's kicking ass at her weight loss, too.  She's lost 30 pounds in six weeks!!!

It shouldn't need repeating, but the ever constant MizFit is still doing badass giveaways and also giving away her depths of knowledge on fitness, eating right and oodles of tips on your healthy lifestyle.

Our favorite Fat Bridesmaid has laid out her plan for Lent.  If you're Catholic, or if you're not Catholic, check her blog out for a buddy in the self control/deprivation/test of will category.  She won't let you down.

Sue over at Did I Just Eat That Outloud is still sexy, rockin' the support, and sharing her thoughts on life.  SO worth the read, people.  Plus, if you're a tweetaholic, this woman will be your new BFF.

Esther, our Faintstarlite, is a Weight Watcher and a Mom.  She posts vids on her travels, weight loss, and bonding with the baby.  She just recently got down to BELOW her pre-pregnancy weight.  Any new moms struggling with post-baby-weight... this woman can hook you up with tips.  Plus, her kid is fracking adorable, and his name is Jude.  Don't think you could ask for anything more than that!

My friend Wes over at Swish Embassy has started a new project in lines with total and utter self love.  Morning Mugshots.  If you want to show your self love to the world, you can start with a photo of yourself first thing in the morning.  That's right.  Pre-makeup, pre-shower, just rolled out of bed-head, you.  You can do it.  I did.

And speaking of self love, I couldn't stop without mentioning the lovely Eating Journey.  She's focusing on Self Love for the entire month of February.  Fuck Valentines, people.  Love yourself instead!

And, last but not least, I'd like to introduce you all to my favorite new blog:  http://www.speakingfromthecrib.com/.  She's got a great sense of humor, and I LOVE her style.  If you like the writing stylings of Julia Goulia or Sue... you need to pay this woman a visit and follow her.  Now. :)


Don't forget to enter for the free CD!!! :)

~J

A giant tub of cheese and music.

Yep. So, thank all of you so much for the lovely comments on my dress and the sweet Anniversary wishes! Dan and I went to the Melting Pot for our anniversary and it was DEliCIOUS...!!! I went into the day absolutely freaking out about dinner. I looked up all the nutritional info I could and started obsessing about how I could possibly eat healthy at this place.

Ultimately I decided to forget my obsessions about it and just enjoy a nice dinner.

Here's what we did:

First course: Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue, served with granny smith apples, breads and veggies. (400 calories)
Second course: Alpine Ridge Salad, A bed of mixed greens topped with oven roasted tomatoes, award-winning Gruyère, Raclette and Fontina cheeses, hard-boiled eggs and honey roasted almonds, topped with a robust shallot vinaigrette. (300 calories)
Third course: Fondue Feast cooked in Court Bouillon. Filet Mignon, Sauerbraten NY Strip, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bratwurst, Hefeweizen Marinated Shrimp, Roasted Garlic Crusted Chicken, Sun Dried Tomato Ravioli and Fresh Vegetables. (495 calories)
Dessert course: Bananas Foster, Silky, white chocolate swirled with bananas, brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon, flambéed tableside. Dippers: Fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, Rice Krispies Treats®, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies. Holy YUM. (673 calories.)

Oh, and we split a bottle of Asti champagne, my favorite!

So... overall, the numbers were a little terrifying, and I won't even get into the sodium count, but I only had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and one ritz cracker that day. I still stayed with a pretty low amount of calories considering what I ate!


In other news, I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite cold weather eats. When the temperature drops, people tend to want to eat warmer foods and this is what I like:

Diet hot chocolate (15 cals per packet with hot water)
Sugar free apple cider (made with hot water)
Hot tea
Healthy Choice soups
Spaghetti Squash with italian seasoned diced tomatoes (the low sodium/no salt added kind)
Oatmeal for breakfast

So, what do you guys like to eat/make when it's cold outside?


Also, I realized that I haven't done Music Monday in a really long time. I'm gonna share two things with you guys. One of my favorite artists is Chris Thile. He used to play mandolin in the band "Nickel Creek" and now has put together the band "Punch Brothers." He's so incredibly talented. As far as I'm concerned, I find him to be the most talented musician alive. My brother and I are going to do three back to back Punch Brothers shows in January - we're watching them in Boulder, then going to Aspen the next day and then Beaver Creek the day after that. We used to road trip a lot to see Nickel Creek play (Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom is awesome!), Salt Lake City, etc.

When we went to the show in Salt Lake, we met Chris Thile. It was awesome. It was really late at night and I didn't want to be a huge pest so I just shook his hand and we didn't ask for pictures or autographs or anything. I'm hoping my brother and I will get to meet him again in January.

Here are some photos of my brother and I (first photo) and my best friends Jesse and Wes when we went to see them in Tulsa:




Here are two photos of me when we met Chris last time, and I was MUCH hotter for this trip than the previous one:




That was my favorite hair, ever. I can't wait until my hair grows out again so I can do the same hair. Possibly, forever and ever, amen. Gah!





Anyhoo! This song, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground is one of my very favorite songs of all time:




And if you're a fan of good music, and like an easy going, laid back, Jack Johnson/John Mayer kind of sound, you need to check out Mestizo. One of my favorite bands, ever. One of their earlier songs (also a favorite of mine) is on my main website. They're local to the Denver/Boulder area, so you should check out one of their shows if you're in the area. One of the things I miss most about living there is going to their shows. :(

This is a sneak peek of one of the songs, Fade, off of their newest album, and it's one of my favorites of theirs! You can buy their newest album here. I guarantee any album you buy, you're gonna love.

~Jenn

Burrito Bobble Heads, Baseball and Boudoir.

So, first of all I need to seriously thank ALL of you guys. Your super lovely sweet comments on my no-makeup-mugshot were absolutely amazing and you really boosted my ego about 32094039 points.

Secondly, I still am waiting on friends to send me photos from my birthday trip, so I'm gonna have to hold out on posting about the trip until I get those.

Thirdly, did you know that Chipotle is doing a video contest for a new burrito idea? My good friend Jon made this video. You should watch it and vote for them! :)~ Awesome Chipotle Awesomeness with a cool song, seriously! Watch it now. ;)

Last, check out the shoot I did today with April!

Click HERE for more photos!





Adios for now! :)
~Jenn

Mestizo Monday.

I have been slacking on my Music Monday posts... but I wanted to do one early while I'm thinking about it.

If you haven't heard of this band yet, you truly should check them out. Their name is Mestizo, and they have a very Jack Johnson/John Mayer acoustic awesomeness. They just released a new CD, and you can buy it at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/mestizo.

Plus, the guys are all cute. Seriously, aren't they just adorable? You can't beat it.



Visit their Myspace page to have a listen to their sound. I can't get enough of the song "Fade" right now. Seriously, I'm a little obsessed with it. Oh, and their song "Playin'" off of the new album might just be in my top 10 favorite songs of all time.


Oh yeah, and their website is www.mestizorocks.com.

Oh, and here's a little video montage of some photos of the band to one of their earlier songs called "Little Things" - it's a great song!