Brownie Recipe, Spinning, Home Tips

Thanks you guys! I really like doing 'menus' for friend and family events - it's fun to host and I like using those pans/sternos so I can put it all out on heat and be DONE! To answer Jenny, I got the stands, pans and sternos at Costco with Stacy/her card. The stands and 'big pans' are reusable, each event I have done so far has used 6 sternos (2 for each stand) and you buy them in a big pack for pretty cheap, and the smaller pans that fit in the bigger pans are tossed, but again, cheap to replace. You can also get them at Party City but it's much more expensive. And for you girls who mentioned you hadn't done this yet i'm telling you - I had NEVER done this - then it was like all of a sudden I hit an age (probably 26, 27?) when it just kept happening/coming up and I love it! :) Then again, I also loved being able to open a bag of corn chips and a jar of salsa and be done with it! On another note, but somewhat related to party-planning, I TOTALLY forgot to post the recipe I used for mint chocolate brownies with green frosting for St. Patty's! Sorry, friends. I posted the cookies, but here are the brownies I used.

Mint Chocolate Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

Not the prettiest things on the block, but they were pretty darn tasty! You could probably make them cuter but cutting them smaller, sticking flags in them, etc. - but for a beer fest this was good enough for me! LOL Here is the recipe on Healthified Kitchen.

So yesterday was fairly uneventful. Just work, 3.5 mile walk during lunch, more work, then a 1/2-mile walk + 1-hour spin class after work. I didn't wear HRM during lunch, but after work the half mile + class, HRM said: 453 calories in 62 minutes; 49 fitness minutes and 13 fat-burning minutes; average HR of 144 and maximum HR of 176. Then it was home to my puppers - Austin had a work thing. I just cooked up a few meals and had a chill night watching crap TV and reading Losing You. I also perused home sites - SO in the spring cleaning/redecorating mode! Here are a few cute, simple tips I found on Real Simple that I love.

Use empty glass vases filled with filler as book ends. You could do sand + candle, little wicker balls, river rocks, fake fruit - anything!

And while the picture below is not my style - I like the idea of what Real Simple calls "color without commitment." Don't like painting? Like neutral walls? Want to keep the house neutral for resale? Whatever the reason - it's no reason to not have color - just it in window treatments, wall art, pillows, knick knacks, etc. (P.S. I do this simply because it's easy to change out a room with all of the furniture/walls are neutral - just pick up the "little stuff" and move it around the house or replace it!)

Q: Any spring cleaning or home decor tips you want to share as we enter the season?!

Q: Is your casa all one color or multiple colors? Ours is two shades of brown - one light, one darker, and then white trim!