good friends and more food

I've got some friends and food to share with you today. But first, Easter and spring break were great. Relaxing, productive, low-key, and just what I needed. I did venture to Northern New Jersey to see Ashley & Amanda who were home from North Carolina. For those who don't know, I've been friends with these girls since they were 2 and I was 4. I spent pretty much every waking moment with these two for the first 12 or so years of my life. We have so many memories from sleepovers to bowling and bike rides.

Amanda is getting married in 2 months and her shower was last weekend. It was so fun to see them and meet their leading men. We always have a great time, and I wished we lived closer.

 Now onto the food...

I've got two recipes to share, both gluten free and goooooood. and healthy too.

Recipe 1: Lentil-Walnut Burgers from Martha Stewart herself

Recipe 2: Quinoa Mac N' Cheese with a side of broccoli
This mac n' cheese is so light and a great alternative for a gluten free diet. JD even loved it.
Have you ever tried sauteing broccoli with garlic and oil olive? You should. It gives it a char-grilled taste and it's quite good.

With summer right around the corner hopefully 'll have a project to share sometime soon. 44 days left of school!

8 dresses

Over the past 5 years, I've been honored to be a part of so many weddings. 8 to be exact. It has been amazing to see many of my closest friends find love. In addition to my friends, I will never forget when both of my brothers got married. Not only did they gain a wife, but I gained two sisters. I began to realize how special it is to have sister-like relationships.

As a bridesmaid I have...

• Prayed before a reception of 250 people
• Safety pinned a wedding dress two minutes before the ceremony began
• Fought with a wedding coordinator to fulfill the brides wishes
  
• Ran a 5k race the morning of the wedding
• worn 8 different dresses
• created unforgettable memories
• traveled across the county
  
• ate octopus
  

Thank you Katie, Lesley, Kendra, Alyssa, Dawn, Becca, Michelle, and Vicki for including me in your special day. I am grateful for all of our friendships, laughs, and memories. I feel very blessed to have you in my life.

Reunited and it feels so good

Last weekend, I took a short but oh so sweet trip to Oklahoma to visit my 2 great friends. Alyssa and Lesley are their names and we met the summer of 2006 in Long Beach, California. We all attended a summer missions trip with Campus Crusade and our everlasting friendship began.

Despite the many miles between us, (Alyssa lives in Colorado and Lesley in Oklahoma) our friendship continues to grow and we love and support each other through every milestone in life.

First came the screaming phone calls, "I'm engaged!" as we each prepared for marriage.
Second came the actually weddings as we all celebrated with each other.
Now we are so excited for Lesley as she bought a home and welcomed a special little girl to her family.

We have seen each other every year since we met:

• Fall of 2006-Alyssa and Lesley ventured to the east coast and went to NYC for the first time.
• Summer of 2007-Alyssa and I went to Oklahoma for Lesley's wedding.
• May of 2008- Lesley and I went to Nebraska for Alyssa's wedding.
• August of 2008- Alyssa and Lesley came back to PA for my wedding.
• April 2009-I went to visit Alyssa in Utah
  
• October 2010- Alyssa and I went to Oklahoma to meet baby Patterson

Here are some photos of our most recent reunion.
Isn't baby Patterson just precious? This sunset pretty much sums up Oklahoma. Peaceful and calm. It was nice to escape city living for a weekend and enjoy the company of my two best friends. They truly mean the world to me.

Stay tuned for some video action of our weekend.