Chili Weather!

It's fall! Let's make chili! Here in Nashville, the leaves are starting to turn and we're under a freeze warning. You know what that means? Crockpot season! I feel like we all have a go-to chili recipe, but sometimes it's fun to change it up. I scanned Pinterest and found these recipes. I'm excited to try them!

Crepes of Wrath

Spiced Turkey and Chickpea Chili

recipe

How Sweet It Is

Spicy Chicken Chili with Pumpkin Beer Biscuits

recipe

Nourish Atelier

The Loyal Lentil Chili with Pumpkin

recipe

Gimme Some Oven

5-Ingredient Chili

recipe

Half Baked Harvest

Crockpot Italian Chicken and Broccoli Rabe Chili

recipe

Gimme Some Oven

5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili

recipe

Two Peas & Their Pod

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

recipe

P.S. Ready for sweater weather? Read my take on the 2017 September issues.

P.P.S. Don't forget to upgrade your denim jacket for fall!

Stomachs, Am I Right?

(This armadillo has nothing to do with this post, but when I did a Google image search for "He can tell I ain't missin no meals" this was one of the top results and it made me lol. Hashtag: Nicki Minaj forever.)

I'm annoyed with my stomach right now. Not that it's ever been flat, but it's gotten pretty fluffy as of late. Most days, I don't put on real pants. I mean, I can go a whole week in only yoga pants and bike shorts. So when I put on my jeans and they're tight around the waist, I can't remember if that's just how they fit, or if I'm bigger.

I don't weigh myself often, but I weighed myself before my race two weeks ago and I was at my normal weight. I just weighed myself today and I'm up 5 lbs. The weight I'm not super worried about because it's from eating out and drinking every day of my birthday week, and I'll get that off in the long bike ride and brick I have to do today. But my stomach. Ugh, my stomach.

I'm not working out as hard as I used to, which is on purpose, but I don't think that's it. I think I'm eating too much. I'm actually doing okay working from home and filling the house with healthy snacks, lunches, etc. Now, if I would just eat that food instead of going out every day... Oh, pizza, you evil temptress.

I'm going to give myself a break for getting off track over my birthday and Memorial Day, but I'd like to see if I can get some of the air out of this spare tire. I made a Healthy Meal Ideas board on Pinterest. I pinned some lower calorie lunch options that I'm going to try this week. We'll see.

To be continued!

Also, for anyone who thought I had this under control and was all zen about my weight now - NOPE, still human!

Yours in armour,
The Blonde Armadillo

Weekend Wrap Up: Pizza Pizza Pizza Edition

I just realized that I ate pizza every day this weekend. On Friday, I celebrated a friend's birthday with homemade lobster pizza; on Saturday, I had pizza at City House; and on Sunday, John and I ate lunch at Desano. Tragically, I have no evidence of this pizza bonanza, so here's a picture of this car I was fortunate enough to park beside on Friday morning in Hillsboro Village.

On Saturday, I did my first outdoor ride since September. It was supposed to be a lot warmer than it was, of course. I basically just took what I'd wear for a long run and doubled it. My stomach hurt for hours because of all the different waistbands I had on. I was cold, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I tagged along on a group ride that started at Shelby and went to the Percy Priest dam and back, about 24 miles. I had a lot of fun and miraculously remembered how to shift and clip-out. Yay, muscle memory!

Another thing I remembered, riding my bike makes me really hungry. Luckily, my friend Carolyn was nearby, so we met up at Mas Tacos where I ordered, and ate, all of the things. I don't remember what I did the rest of the day, but that night, I met my friend Meg at City House to thank her for designing my logo. Oh hello, belly ham pizza, WITH AN EGG. Per Mary Katherine's recommendation, we also treated ourselves to the Tennessee Waltz cake. Y'all. Go get that cake.

Early Sunday morning, before the rain set in, my lady gang met for a long run. We got rained on a little, so we warmed up at Dose with coffee and breakfast biscuits. You'd think eating an egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast would deter me from eating pizza for lunch. You'd be wrong. Hello, training metabolism!

Last night, while most people were watching the SuperBall-FootBowl, I was down the street being an extra in a photo shoot with my friend Freya. I played the part of rhythmically-challenged triathlete turns to burlesque for alternative fitness. Look for me soon on the Delinquent Debutantes website in the back row robotically doing all of the wrong moves.

Weekend Wrap Up: Holiday Hangover Edition

Oy. It's been a rough start back from the holidays, right? I think I have a holiday hangover. I did really good over the holidays and didn't buy myself anything, which I usually do the entire time I'm Christmas shopping. So to reward myself, on Friday I bought some stuff. You know, small ticket items like a Cycle Ops indoor bike trainer. Thanks, Red Kite! Then I went to Target and got new running tights (with a drawstring!) and this super cute/my new favorite sweatshirt. I needed a $40 sweatshirt like a hole in the head, but... #womenbeshopping.

I have exactly one friend from my youth, and this is her - Dawn. We met in middle school and have been friends and off and on roommates ever since. She moved to LA this year, but she was home for Christmas and wanted to check out Adele's, so I met her on Friday night for our fancy, lady dinner. Adele's - thumbs up!

More friends home for Christmas! On Saturday morning, I met my friend Hot Koh Koh for a run and coffee. And when I say run, I mean walk. Because we straight up walked for 4 miles. Whatever! My knee has been bothering me and it's easier to talk while walking anyway.

Okay, I did run on Sunday. Shockingly. I met Kristine, Melanie, Lana and Jessica to run various lengths in/around Belle Meade Boulevard. The three of us weren't feeling it, so we ran 3 miles, peaced out and went to Dose for coffee and biscuits.

Last week was my first week of Half Ironman training. I didn't actually start training, unless thinking, 'I should really start training' counts as training. I swim with NAC Masters and they sent out an email for their triathlete swimmers inviting us to show up at 3:30 on Sunday with our bikes and trainers for a 90 minute bike/swim brick workout. I just bought a bike trainer! I was super excited about this!

In not necessarily chronological order, here is a list of everything that went wrong. There was hockey practice and kids' swim practice, so I had to park a million miles away. It was freezing cold and raining. I was in flip flops. When I took my bike out of my trunk, my front tire wouldn't attach. I had to carry my bike, trainer and swim bag the million cold, wet miles into the building. I kept dropping things and sliding, because, flip flops. I got everything inside and up all the stairs to the bleachers only to realize that I didn't buy the training skewer to attach my bike to the trainer. No problem! I'll just park my bike and swim. The only lane open was so far away that I couldn't read the board, so I just swam freestyle for 45 minutes & got out. Wet, I walked my bike, swim bag and trainer back to my car. Still dropping things and sliding. I couldn't get the front tire back off my bike, so I couldn't get it in the trunk, and I couldn't get it in the backseat either. It was a disaster that ended in me crying all the way home. Interspersed in all this, were condescending remarks from men about bike maintenance, who I should be taking classes from and how bike trainers work. Thanks, men I don't know! You're why no one likes triathletes!

Weekend Wrap Up: Women Be Thrifting Edition

Friday morning was our annual holiday Pancake run and breakfast at Mary Katherine and Marshall's. We ran a cold 3 miles and then came in and ate a HUGE homemade breakfast. I'm talking monkey bread (with browned butter), frittata, cheese grits, biscuits, jam and Starbucks coffee. It was so nice! Love my Pancake girls. Bonus points if you spy the cat in this picture.

On Friday night, I met Katie and Alexis at POP for Otaku South. This was a whole lot of firsts for me. It was my first time at POP, and it was my first time eating ramen. I know. I have no excuse. I've been obsessed with eating ramen since watching Season One of Mind of a Chef with David Chang. I got the hot chicken bun, spicy paitan ramen, and they brought us these super tasty little bun/pies. I loved it so much! I also really loved the POP space. I'll definitely be back, #eatmoreramen.

I dedicated Saturday to Christmas shopping. Carolyn came out and joined me and we shopped until we dropped. I started at 10:00am and didn't get back home until after 4:00pm. It was intense. Carolyn took this hilarious picture of me at lunch. I was very confused about what was happening. She's calling it my 'wait, what?' picture.

I met my lady gang on Sunday morning for a 5-mile run in Shelby Bottoms. I wasn't sure I wanted to run at all, let alone 5 miles, but it went by super fast and my knee didn't bother me. Thanks, body! On my way home, I stopped at Red Bicycle and grabbed a latte (and then I secretly went back to Nashville West and bought more stuff - shhh).

John and I grabbed lunch at Thai Kitchen and then decided to hit the thrift stores on Nolensville Road. I hit the motherload at Music City Thrift. They had probably 15-ish of these painting in various sizes and prices, all signed by the same artist from 1971-1975. I wanted all of them, but I only bought this one. I also bought a box of Scripture cat cards, which some of you may see in your mailbox this week...

After Music City Thrift, we went on down the road to Thrift Smart. I kind of hate Thrift Smart, but their book selection is NUTS, so I always go. I'm going through a serious coffee cup phase right now in my thrifting. I bought all of these except the Expect To Win one because it was chipped. They were only a quarter!

On our way home, John ran in to Grimey's to buy the MOJO he's in and Rollum was there, so they made dinner plans for the four of us. It's always funny when the men make the plans. (John) "We're having dinner with Katie and Rollum!" (Me) "Okay. Where? When?" (John) "Oh, I don't know. But we're having dinner with Katie and Rollum!" Alas, a plan was made and we feasted on this fine array of vegetarian Indian fare.

P.S. You have got to see the rest of my thrifting pictures. Someone please go buy those paintings. Full thrifting photostream here.

Weekend Wrap Up: Thanksgiving Edition

On Thursday, I donned my turkey hat and drove to Belle Meade for the Boulevard Bolt. I've been starting my Thanksgiving day by running this 5-mile race since 2010. It does nothing to offset the insane amount of food I eat that day, but it sure makes me feel better about it!

We hosted Friendsgiving again this year and had a blast eating and drinking with our friends all day and night. We had more people than our poor, little eat-in kitchen could hold, which was honestly a dream come true for me. It was an awesome day and I'm grateful to have such fun, thoughtful and culinarily skilled friends. And to everyone I beat that night playing Cards Against Humanity, in your face, sucka!

Friday got off to a late start. Pie hangover. I lounged around all day until it was time for my hair appointment and then I begrudgingly put on makeup and pants. You're welcome, Jordan. I spent Friday night trying to get rid of all the wine and pie in my house, and then got on the internet (as evidenced above). Always a good idea. I should install a breathalyzer on my Macbook.

I picked up my shopping buddy Carolyn on Saturday morning and we did the Gallatin Galavant. We were a little early, but it was still fun. According to the pics I saw on Instagram, it got going later in the afternoon (search the hashtag "gallatingalavant" to see all the pics). Courtney at Hey Rooster General Store was giving out samples of her new sausage balls biz, Yalls Balls, and they were DELICIOUS. Check them out at Porter Flea this weekend. I highly recommend her Blue Balls. (I'm not kidding!)

As we're all painfully aware, Lisa Donovan has left Husk. While I'm happy for her and wish her the absolute best, I will miss that buttermilk chess pie. To celebrate (read: cry), Mary Katherine and I bought one of her pies to eat and drink over after Thanksgiving. We got together Saturday afternoon and ate that whole damn pie.

High on sugar, I came home and put up our Christmas tree. Every year, I say I'm going to get a nice, big, ALIVE tree, but no. I just keep putting up this artificial tree we bought at Big Lots for my sister's Christmas wedding in 2003. Maybe next year.

I'm running the Team Magic Holiday Half Marathon this Saturday, so yesterday was my last long, taper run. Melanie and I met Lana and ran 6 miles around West End/Vandy. It was actually a pretty tough run for me. Probably because I don't drink and I had done nothing but drink and eat pie for 3 straight days. But also, it was 64 degrees and my body forgot how to breath in non-20 degree weather.

After a stop at Dose for coffee and biscuits, I ran some errands with John and then we sat in front of the tree and almost finished Twin Peaks. We only have 1 episode left!

Full Thanksgiving photostream here.

Weekend Wrap Up: Thrifting Edition

On Saturday morning I met Melanie, Casey and Polly at Bongo East to run the 10-mile Bongo to Bongo route. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to brunch at Mas Tacos. I've eaten Mas Tacos, but only from the truck. This was my first time in the restaurant. Everything I ate blew my mind, the tacos, of course, but the horchata iced coffee, oh my god, and the tortilla soup, forget about it. So good. Teresa, girl, you complete me.

After brunch, Melanie and I checked out a vintage yard sale with East CAN. We just wanted to pet the dogs. I did score a bunch of awesome records for John though. The yard sale sparked the thrifting part of my brain, so when Melanie and I parted ways, I drove to Southern Thrift on Charlotte, and basically spent the rest of the day there, #blessed.

I wanted this shirt so bad, but it didn't fit. Or maybe it would've fit had I not still been wearing my sports bra (and running tights - god, sorry). Whatever. The label was Kenny Rogers Western Collection (!!).

At first, I posted this jacket as a joke and said it's what I'm wearing to everyone's Christmas and Chanukah parties this year. I went ahead and took it into the dressing room, again just to be funny, but then something happened and I kind of fell in love with it. I hemmed and hawed over it, but ultimately left it behind. It was $10, too big and wool-lined, which would make it too hot to wear 90% of the time. But man...

Changing my long run to Saturday meant I didn't have to get up and do anything on Sunday, so I cracked open this salted Belgian chocolate stout I bought at Woodland Wine Merchant recently. Y'all, this beer, nay, stout, was well worth the $10 price tag. It was delicious! And strong! So strong. I spent my night making nachos and live-tweeting my way through Wayne's World and Singles.

On Sunday, John and I had a day. We went to Martin's BBQ Joint and dined on heaping plates of delicious meat. Seriously, love that place. Then we coffee-ed up at Eighth and Roast and hit the Tennessee Antique Mall. I almost bought this $25 "bean pot" with the 4 little bean bowls, but I didn't, primarily because I don't have anywhere to put it. But I hearted it real hard.

We left the antique mall and went over to Grimey's, where John bought all the CDs. Sufficiently shopped out, we went back home and made our Thanksgiving shopping list. We're hosting a Friendsgiving again this year, so we braved the terrible weather and trekked over to Publix to get our turkey and then planted ourselves on the couch and watched more Twin Peaks.

More thrifting pics here.

Weekend Wrap Up: Yes Please Edition

Friday night manicure. Essie No More Film and Sephora Only Gold For Me glitter topcoat.

Early Saturday morning I took a 5-mile performance test at Endeavor Performance. It was real hard. I went HAM. I came in 4th place. The End!

I rode so hard, y'all. I was in 5th place the first half of the ride. As I started getting close to the person in 4th place, I was able to pass her and stay ahead of her. It's probably the fastest I've ever ridden. Todd crouched down behind me for the last few minutes and got me to sprint to the end and keep my 4th place status. When it was over, I stood up on my bike to relieve my soft bits and tipped over. Why? HAM, that's why.

Parnassus Books turned 3 over the weekend and to celebrate, emailed 20% off coupons to use in the store on Saturday. Yes Please by Amy Poehler? Don't mind if I do! Buying books at Parnassus is one of my favorite things to do in Nashville. Second only to yelling "Hello!" to Ann Patchett when I run past her walking her dog in the morning. A behavior I'm simultaneously embarrassed about and unable to stop. I love everyone that works in Parnassus, but I especially love Bill. When I was checking out, Bill said, "My, look at your nails!", which is pretty much the highest compliment you can pay me.

John's car is a truck now. A fact that we're both hilariously in denial about. But we got our first truck request over the weekend. Friends Keith and Nicole (Urban, yes) needed help with a couch. I snapped this pic of Linda on our way out because it's the way she looks at us every time we go somewhere, like she couldn't be more disappointed in us. Because I like to come up with pun-y memoir titles in my spare time, I came up with this one for Linda, Where Are You Guys Going:  The Linda McCartney Story.

Melanie and I were scheduled to run 6 miles on Sunday. The weather has not been kind to us. The temperature for our Friday run was 18 degrees, and on Sunday, it was POURING. And also still really cold. Six miles isn't that far, so we ran our 6 rainy miles and then treated ourselves to coffee and breakfast biscuits at Dose.

A few hours after my rain-run, I started to feel sick, which should surprise no one who tracked my fitness this weekend. I decided pho would make me feel better, so we went down the street to Vn Pho & Deli. The pho was delicious, but I am definitely sick. We spent the rest of the day on the couch watching Twin Peaks.

Weekend Wrap Up: Anniversary Edition

This weekend was our anniversary. On Friday I stayed in, painted my nails and watched Mortified Nation on Netflix. Have you seen that? It's pretty hilarious and I highly recommend it.

Saturday morning I finally took a class at Endeavor Performance. I say finally because people have been telling me to take this class for a year. Congratulations, you all win. This class was awesome. It was also my first time on my bike since Augusta, which was 6 weeks ago. Oops! And ouch.

Todd is offering some free classes right now. I took a free beginner class on Saturday and I'm taking the free performance test this week. This is a whole other post, but it looks like I start training again in 7 weeks and, if I can swing it, these classes may be a new addition to my training. To be continued...

I spent Saturday afternoon sitting on an ice pillow and taking pictures of Linda. It's hard to tell, but her head is laying on her paws.Y'all, this dog.

Saturday was our 6-year wedding anniversary. John and I met and started dating in 2004, so this year is a cumulative 10 years together, which is so nuts, especially since 10 years ago, John was 15. Just kidding. Kind of.

For dinner Saturday night, we went to Margot. We had such an amazing time. I don't know why we don't eat there more often. I like the cozy atmosphere and the food is unbelievable. We had frog legs! And they were so good! Also, that cookie plate right now is on point. Trust.

Oy, Sunday. It was a rough start. Luckily, I just had to run 10 miles. I can do that on 1 hour of sleep (approx.) and a belly full of frog legs and wine. No problem! Sigh... I met my lady gang on Belmont Blvd and we ran Bongo to Bongo, shockingly without incident.

I stopped at the store on my way home and grabbed stuff to make crockpot dinner. I made this recipe from Erin's Food Files. It was delicious!

Still in marital celebration mode, we treated ourselves to a fancy movie. We saw Interstellar in IMAX at Opry Mills. It was totally worth it! Well, says the one Baldwin who didn't spend the rest of night reading Interstellar sub-Reddits.

For your perusal, here are 500 pictures from our 2008 wedding:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16828091@N04/collections/72157624327179191/