mexican chicken lime soup.

yum.

through pinterest, i have been finding all sorts of tasty new recipes. i made this chicken soup a couple of weeks ago and b & i both loved it. i put two full limes in it and it tasted so fresh! the one thing about the recipe is that is important to note is that you do not put two CANS of chilis, but two chilis out of a can. i fortunately read the comments before making it and caught myself before making things inedible. the addition of avocado slices in soup is a little different, and really delicious. we had cheese quesadillas and salad on the side & both concurred that this should be a new regular.

enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

Salt and pepper

1 hass avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces

Crushed tortilla chips

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Increase the heat to high, push the vegetables to the side of the pan, add the chicken and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chipotles and adobo sauce, then stir in the chicken broth. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, skimming any foam. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.


Place 2 avocado slices in each of 6 soup bowls and pour in the soup. Top with the tortilla chips.

Where am I?

Any guesses?

saturdays are for...

• slowly sipped coffee in a real ceramic mug
• perusing blogs
• dog walks & dad walks
• delicious, nourishing, expanding yoga
• gchats 
• romping in the park
• trying new recipes, and trusting old ones
• music!

happy.

Source: searching-for-a-purpose93.tumblr.com via Eliza on Pinterest

a beautiful ride.

Source: southernpiphi.tumblr.com via Eliza on Pinterest

country walking.

i can't begin to express how incredible [and strange] the weather is right now. we've had almost a week of temps ranging from 60-80 degrees. today i'm wearing a skirt and flats, with bare legs. i'm getting a tan from eating lunch outside at a picnic table all week. we are sleeping with our windows open, and a fan blowing air in! the night time temps are still 15-30 degrees warmer than our average march daytime temps. it's the weirdest thing. and, i know it won't last, and i know we probably won't see 80 again until may. so, in the meantime i'm enjoying it.

on saturday jenna, brett & i headed out for a good ol' walk with the pups. lupe went in the water for the first time, got good and muddy, and then paitently waited with od while we stopped for maple cremees.

bffs. being held in place by b & j's hands.
otherwise they are too busy playing and loving each other.
isn't od's smile great? 

water!



perfect day for a walk.



gratitude.

friendship.

"here's the truth: friendships between women are often the deepest and most profound love stories, but they are often discussed as if they are ancillary, "bonus" relationships to the truly important ones."

full article here.
blog post here.
rules of friendship here.

signs of spring.

words to live by.

be silly.

be honest.

be kind.

-emerson

a good day.

any day that starts with a bagel (poppyseed toasted with veggie cream cheese, thank you very much) & van morrison playing in the bagel shop has to be a good day. so far, so good!

"Be a child again. Flirt. Giggle. Dip your cookies in your milk. Take a nap. Say you’re sorry if you hurt someone. Chase a butterfly. Be a child again."

—Max Lucado  

crock pot pork tacos.

this winter i've been trying to play with new recipes, and also use the crock pot whenever possible. there is nothing better than getting home at night and having dinner already made! last night i tried this new recipe and it was awesome. the pork was delicious wrapped in corn tortillas and topped with cheese, green onion, cilantro, mixed greens, and hot sauce. also good would be avocado, chopped tomatoes, or onions.

i followed this recipe, however next time i might modify it to incorporate some of the additions in this recipe. after reading the ingredients on the "taco seasoning" package (not one of which was an actual food product or spice), i'd like to use my own mix of spices instead. the green chilis from the first recipe definitely should be included though!

enjoy.

"Let’s face it: I want it all— just like you and everybody else. It may not be in the cards, but the prospect is so dazzling that I have to try."

—Lauren Bacall

favorite.

and these are a few of MY favorite things.

favourite.

Source: etsy.com via Eliza on Pinterest

sleeping giant sunrise.

i often visit steamboattoday.com to keep up to date on the steamboat happenings. on the best of mornings, i'll visit the page just as the webcam shows the sunrise in steamboat. today was one of those days... here's the sweet morning sun creeping up over the sleeping giant on the west end of town. to all of my sleeping friends-- have a beautiful day!

this week.

as i round the corner towards my one-year anniversary at my job, i had one of those weeks where my good fortune seemed surreal. it was as though vermont was strategically placing its cards so that i will hit my one-year-versary saying "my job rocks! best move ever!"...

this week at work i got paid to:

• grant over $300,000 to local nonprofits working in the areas of sustainable local foods, clean water, and education.
• volunteer my morning at the intervale center playing with dirt and plants. 
• take a two hour breathwork class.
• drink coffee. bring coffee home. drink more coffee. 

in my free time, i got to:

• have sunday dinner with my parents.
• ski & drink beer with boys (an activity which i was well trained for in steamboat).
• shake my booty at zumba with my two kidney girls.
• ski under a full moon rise at morse farm with brett & lu.
• vote in montpelier's local elections. hooray for our new mayor and city council member!
• walk in the woods with j & the pups.

be.

"If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for."

—Thomas Merton

leisurely mornings.

via pinterest

i just love mornings where i can sit and enjoy my coffee & eat a good breakfast at the table. at least three mornings a week, i get up early to go to the gym, and shower there, so breakfast doesn't happen until i'm settled in at work and find a minute to toast my english muffin or heat up my oats. other mornings i just am moving too quickly so my coffee has to go in a travel mug and breakfast is one bite here and one bite there. thursdays i go to zumba after work, so if i set my alarm accordingly, i can actually sit at the table and enjoy a little time with my coffee, brett & my computer. it's the best way to start the day!

my kind of wednesday

One of the awesome benefits that all employees have is that we can get paid to volunteer for nonprofit orgs during our regular working hours! Today two of my coworkers and I took advantage of this by going to the Intervale to plant seedlings for the conservation nursery. This year we have supported the nursery with a grant as well as a few volunteer activities, so it was a great fit for us. The Intervale is an awesome model for local foods in Vermont and across the country. We didn't end up being outside, as we planned, but instead we were in a greenhouse! It was 76 degrees and humid inside, so it was a little bit like going on a beach vacation. 

So, the morning was spent playing in the dirt. A quick stop for a panini of turkey, spinach, goat cheese & apricot chutney, and we were back in the office for the afternoon. I headed out a few minutes early so I could make a quick trip out to Morse Farm for a little ski with Brett & Lu! This was my third ski with Lu in a week and we had a blast. Brett's starting to really enjoy xcountry skiing, too, which makes me happy. It was incredibly warm out today (think: 50s!) so by the time we were up there the sun had set and the trails were a soft icy mix... but we were all just so happy to be out playing. And the moonrise was amazing. 

Fast forward a bit, and we finished up the day with strawberries & pancakes. Sweet sunshine, good food, unseasonably warm weather, gardening and skiing? Happy girl over here!

A Memorable Day.

Two years ago today, my sweet grandmother passed away. I spent the day enjoying life, as she would have wanted. After a long day of skiing & playing with friends, I send a text out to thank them—something along the lines of “thanks for making a sad day so fun. I have laugh lines sunburned into my cheeks.” My friend Torre sent back one of my favorite texts I have received: “We are a family here, E! That’s what’s up! Love ya!”


One year ago today, I left behind my ski town life in Steamboat. In the days since, I have: driven across the country, started a new job, moved into a wonderful apartment, turned Brett into a Vermonter, grown 100+ tomatoes, celebrated holidays and birthdays with family, put 20,000 miles on my Subaru, reconnected with east coast friends, adopted a puppy, traveled to Texas, Indiana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York & Colorado, hiked & biked & skied the Green Mountains, received a promotion at work, and consumed a few hundred cups of coffee.

I still miss my Steamboat family in a consistent way, but I am grateful for the hundreds of memorable experiences and minutes that the past year has brought me. I’m eager to see where my second year takes me (already on the schedule- Arizona, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Massachusetts). Here’s to a hundred more memories. Love this life.

Happy Girls.