Second Place Dress

This morning I took a little extra time to make myself a weekend breakfast on a weekday!

Certain meals I typically save for weekends because they take longer to prepare, but today I was craving my ricotta stuffed French toast from Saturday morning and had to give my body what it wanted.

I dunked a whole wheat sandwich thin into two egg whites mixed with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and placed the two bread slices on the griddle to cook.

Spices

Sadie devoured the egg yolks and was a happy camper.

Toasty

While the French toast was cooking, I stirred cinnamon into ricotta cheese and spread the mixture on one half of the sandwich thin when it was done cooking.

Cinnamon Ricotta Filling

I then placed the other sandwich thin on top of the ricotta mixture and doused the stuffed French toast in syrup.

Smothered in Syrup

Sliced Up

This breakfast was oh-so-good! Sometimes the extra effort is sooo worth it!

Workout

My workout today was nothin’ special, but still good. I took my typical 5:45 a.m. BodyPump class and followed it up with 25 minutes on the elliptical with the lastest issue of Fitness magazine.

The issue featured two different half marathon training plans, one for beginners and one for intermediate/advanced athletes. I flagged these plans to reference when I begin training for the Chicago half marathon in June. I really like the simplicity of these plans… That’s also what I liked best about the Hal Higdon training plan I followed when I ran my first half. It’s like a “Running a Half Marathon for Dummies” plan. 😀

Bridesmaid Dresses

Thank you to all of you for your comments on my post about the three bridesmaid dresses I like. So far, my bridesmaids seem to like the third one the best, with the exception of my sister (who will also be my maid of honor) who really likes the first one (that one is actually my favorite, too). I may look into having my sister wear the first one and the other girls in the third one if I like the way they look in person. We’ll see!

I loved all the different points you guys brought up to consider as well:

• Spaghetti straps are often not flattering on certain body types
• Printed patterns may look strange in pictures (My dresses will be all one color: champagne)
• Everyone in the same dress is less distracting in pictures
• Choosing multiples dress styles in the same color allows bridesmaids to feel more confident in the dress they select

It’ll be a fun decision!

Second Place Dress

When I previously went dress shopping, I told you guys that I was between two wedding dresses: one simple, classic dress, and one dress with more of a “WOW” factor. Well, I went with the romantic and classic dress, so I figured I could share pictures of the BIG dress with you now.

This is not the dress I selected, but I absolutely love it. I didn’t like the color though and would have ordered it in ivory, not the coffee color it’s pictured in below. This dress is a Justin Alexander gown which I would have ordered in this color.

The dress I actually picked is pretty much the exact opposite of this dress. It’s so weird how my top two dresses were so different!

Second Place Dress

The Back (Clamped In!)

Justin Alexander Dress

Bodice

Do you like simple wedding dresses or dresses with a big WOW-factor?

I honestly love both types of dresses! I think I am more of a simple person though and ultimately felt more comfortable in a more simple dress. 🙂

Ricotta Stuffed French Toast

G’mornin’ and happy Saturday to ya!

Ryan and I have already checked the gym off our to do list, which feels great! Sometimes I tend to put it off on the weekends, but I really do prefer going right away.

When you do like to workout on the weekends?

We hit up the gym and split up to each do our own work out, as usual. I did 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical while reading the latest issue of Health magazine before heading off to BodyPump at 8:30 a.m. I love that my gym now offers an early morning Saturday BodyPump class. Sch-weet!

By the time our workout was over, we were two hungry people.

Breakfast Time!

Breakfast today was a major success!

Ingredients

If you’ve been reading this blog a lot recently, you know I am on a mission to use up the HUGE tub of ricotta cheese we have leftover from our eggplant lasagna dinner at the beginning of the week.

While I was working out this morning, I brainstormed a way to incorporate the ricotta into our morning breakfast: ricotta stuffed French toast!

I made typical French toast, adding cinnamon and nutmeg, and cooked several slices on the griddle.

Makin' Breakfast

 While the French toast was cooking, I combined ricotta cheese, cinnamon and a little bit of sweetener in a bowl and stirred it up.

I then “stuffed” the French toast with the cheese and covered the cinnamony goodness with syrup.

Ricotta-Topped French Toast

Stuffed French Toast

Syrup Makes Me Smile

Yum!

Ryan and I both loved this breakfast. Complete success!

Today’s Plans

Today’s plans are full of errands, but they’re errands I’m really looking forward to running!

First, Ryan and I are stopping by IKEA to check out furniture and get decorating ideas for our new apartment. I could literally spend half a day in IKEA and never get bored.

Later in the day, I have an appointment at a bridal boutique to check out veils and wedding headpieces at a trunk show. I’m excited!!! I love all things wedding. 🙂

Right next to the bridal boutique is a Fresh Market store. I’ve never been to one, but have heard great things about it, so I’m planning on popping in after my appointment at the boutique. I’m hoping to find something extra special for dinner.

Free Auntie Anne’s Original or Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Today

Visit any Auntie Anne’s location today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and receive a free original or cinnamon sugar soft pretzel. YUM!

Click here for more details or to find a store near you.