I Made A Promise and I'm Sticking To It

I had all intentions of making this a stress-free, relaxing weekend with absolutely no reason to feel rushed, overwhelmed or down in any way.



I am happy to report, I stuck to my vow.



It was a wonderful weekend, truly it was. I didn't really have anything pressing on my plate, no confining plans, and just did whatever and whenever. It was glorious! Especially after a long hard week.



Last night, we got together with our good friends, Jen and Brian. It's been awhile since we've all hung out, so we planned a cookout at their house.



I brought the Sangria. This was a great batch, just a bottle of Riesling, an 8 oz bottle of POM Wonderful, a few shots of lemon vodka, a bottle of sparkling grapefruit water and chopped fruit.



Once we arrived, it didn't take long until Jen and I filled our glasses. We sat outside, sipped our Sangria, and enjoyed some yummy bruchetta that Jen prepared for some pre-dinner apps.

Connor is such a little stud! He saw me with my camera and immediately flashed me a big cheesy grin while he asked me to take his picture. What a cutie!





Here I am with kids. They are so stinkin adorable!


Jen prepared a wonderful meal. Cheeseburgers for the boys, Organic Chicken sausages for the girls. Along with corn on the cob, homemade applesauce, and a delicious salad.

Such a great night. It was so wonderful to lay back and relax with good friends. Just the perfect Saturday night in my opinion.

This morning we woke up to a rainy mess outside. Sunday morning are always so relaxing for us. We love to wake up, put on a pot of coffee, read the paper and eat a nice breakfast together.

For breakfast, I made Coconut French Toast with berry "syrup", soy sausage, and a peach



The french toast was made with Cinnamon Raisin bread, and dipped in a mixture of coconut milk, egg white and vanilla. Then I dredged the bread in unsweetened coconut and flax. Sooo good, I think the coconut milk really made all the difference!

After breakfast, we cleaned the house and I ran to the store for a few things for the week.

Later on, it was lunchtime.

For lunch we had stuffed potatoes.

Toly had ham and cheese....

And mine was a sweet tater with black beans, salsa and avocado and greek yogurt.


I somehow convinced Toly to go to see the 3pm showing of Food Inc. He really had no interest, but knew how badly I've been wanting to see it, so being the amazing husband that he is, he agreed to come with me.

The movie was quite eye opening and I'm definitely glad that I had the opportunity to see it. I have a lot of thoughts on it, but I think I will save them for another time.

After the movie, we came home and started to get dinner together.

I love the idea of having Sunday Night Pizza nights as Erin does, as a way of commencing the weekend and starting the week off on a great foot.

Pizza really does induce the start of a good week.

I threw together a really great summer salad.

And then made some crazy delicious pizza using Naan.

First, Toly grilled a ton of veggies for me. (Most of them were right from the garden)

I topped the Naan with some sauce, spinach, grilled veggies, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and spicy hummus.

I LOVE adding hummus on my pizza. It's such a fantastic addition. If you've never tried it, you must, it pairs so well with the pizza.

Toly asked for nothing fancy tonight. Just simple cheese and pepperoni.

All together...

Pizza, Salad, Watermelon and leftover Sangria.

I'd say that is just about the perfect meal to end a perfect weekend.

I've decided that this week is going to be so much better than last. I'm going into with full optimism and a big smile because I have so many things to be happy about. :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

And if you haven't yet, don't forget to enter my POM Wonderful Giveaway that will end Wednesday!