Light Italian Meatball soup (YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS) + Friday Features

YOU GUYS, this soup! Matthew and I eat a lot of chicken since I never have trouble finding delicious, healthy chicken recipes, but I have trouble incorporating other meats into meal time, to mix things up. I was looking for ground beef recipes the other day, and I found this one. It sounded so delicious, and last night we tried it. 10 out of 10, y'all! This recipe needs to be in your life.

LIGHT ITALIAN MEATBALL SOUP

*serves 6-8

Ingredients: 
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups of low sodium beef broth
• 2 cups of water
• 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 14.5-oz can of diced tomatoes 
• ½ lb Ditalini or Macaroni pasta
• 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
• 2 Tbsp chopped basil

Meatballs:

• 1 lb lean ground beef (90/10 or higher, you won't be able to drain the grease!)
• ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 large egg whites

Directions:

1. Warm olive oil in a large 6-8 quart stock pot over medium high heat
2. Chop carrots, onions, and garlic. Add the carrots and onions to warm pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook an addition 1 minute.
3. Add broth, water, tomato paste and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Meanwhile combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with hands to combine. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop to portion, lightly shape the scoops into meatballs using your hands to roll them. Drop them into the broth, distributing them evenly around the pot. Cover. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. Stir meatballs gently.
5. Add pasta. Cook 10 minutes or until pasta is done. Add basil and parsley, stir and serve. ENJOY! :)
   
   
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Happiness in Bloom is a blog by a sweet Florida girl named Stacie, who you can get to know a wee bit better here. I love how honest Stacie is about her ten year struggle with depression, and her commitment to embracing the good in herself and her life. In Stacie's own words, "this blog will document my journey towards finding happiness within myself while also having a positive impact on those around me."

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Mismatched Simplicity is an adorable blog with an equally adorable author named D'Ann, who you can get a taste for right over here. See? Told you she's adorable.  Mismatched Simplicity is one of those blogs that just feels like a warm hug when you enter it, and like D'Ann and her husband could probably be your BFFs. You should probably head on over there and get on that! ;)

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Priscilla is the beautiful brains behind the Stylish Gimp, a fashion blog that just so happens to work around a wheelchair! Priscilla was paralyzed in an accident back in 1999 (read some FAQs about that right over here on her other blog, The Wheelchair Mommy), but this incredible lady never let that slow her down from living life. She's married with three kids and also a total fashionista, which you'll soon see over at the Stylish Gimp. I've had the pleasure of meeting Priscilla in real life since she's a fellow Austinite, and what an inspiration she is! Stop by and pay this lovely lady a visit. 

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HAPPY FRIDAY! 

To build a home

We're going on month six since we signed the contract on our new home, and month five of living with my mom. The house is slowly but surely coming along... well, mostly just slowly, but there has definitely been significant progress in the last couple weeks. They bricked the outside, mostly drywalled the inside, and poured the driveway. Now all we have left is a million other things that go into piecing together a home. But it will be beautiful, and it will be worth it, and I already envision our future there. Just waiting on that future to begin...

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Thoughts on personal style (+a Penn Avenue Eyewear giveaway!)

Jeans and shirt: Banana Republic, Shoes: c/o Minnetonka, Glasses: c/o Penn Avenue Eyewear

I have been thinking a lot about personal style lately. It's something that's pretty important to me and also something I've always "struggled" with, for lack of a less dramatic word. The thing is, I love a lot of different kinds of styles, and I can be fairly easily influenced by other stylish people I admire or, let's face it, FREE CLOTHES. When you're a blogger and also tight for cash, and people start offering you free clothes, you figure you can't be too picky, right?

The thing that's been bothering me lately, though, is that when I open my closet each day to find something to wear, so little of it really resonates with me. My closet has turned into this weird thing full of free clothes that aren't really even ME. Aren't what I feel most comfortable in, aren't what actually reflects my tastes, when you get down to it. A couple days ago I tried to put together an outfit for a blog post, and it felt so weird and contrived and, as a result, it looked terrible on me. Then the next day, I thoughtlessly threw on this outfit in the photos above and below, just to run an errand, and I felt so comfortable and great in it and, even though it isn't really Blogger Perfect whatsoever, I felt like I was being true to myself, and that is a good way to feel.

So maybe this wonderfully boring outfit today is just sort of my way of starting over, starting with a simple, clean palette, and making a pact (with myself and with you) that I'm not going to compromise my own tastes anymore. (Though maybe I never really was - maybe I had to learn for sure what isn't me before I could know what really is?) 

Jeans and shirt: Banana Republic, Shoes: c/o Minnetonka, Glasses: c/o Penn Avenue Eyewear

The fine folks at Penn Avenue Eyewear are sponsoring SOML for the next few months and would love to give away one complete pair of prescription glasses or non-prescription sunglasses to a reader... sweet, huh? The ones I'm wearing above are the Morgan frames in tortoise, and I absolutely love them. Enter for your chance to win a pair in the Rafflecopter below, and good luck! :)

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Something Old

The last day of the Blogtember Challenge! We're about to be back to our regularly scheduled programming around here, and I'm OK with that. As per usual, I struggled with committing to a whole month-long deal, but it was good for me, and obviously I HAD to see it through, since I hosted! I had so much fun working through the prompts with many of you this month, and I hope you did too. :) And now, for the last day. Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.

This was my sweet late grandma's HIGH SCHOOL ring. My mom brought it back after the funeral along with some other keepsakes of my Grandma's, and I claimed this one. I wear it almost every single day, and think of her whenever I put it on. "Peg" is engraved on the inside, which makes it even more special and personal... I feel a little closer to her when I wear it. It gives me courage and peace when I'm feeling anxious about something, and I love to imagine her going about her day some 60 years ago, wearing this ring that I now wear, never imagining how much it would mean to her granddaughter when she was gone. Love you and miss you so much, Grandma. Always.

Amstel Got Muuuuuried!

Good news, friends.  I am officially a married woman!  Aaron and I tied the knot on June 22nd in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.  The whole entire week was just perfect.  Aaron's dad, who also happens to be the pastor at our amazing church, Covenant Church International, performed the ceremony. Having Aaron's dad marry us made the ceremony even more special and meaningful.



Something else really special was the beautiful double rainbow we saw the night before our wedding on the way to the rehearsal dinner. Rainbows have special significance to Aaron's family. When Aaron's dad and mom were dating, they had prayed a lot about whether or not God was calling them to join their lives together.  One day, when they were on their way to the beach, they were talking about what God wanted for their relationship, and they saw a huge, beautiful rainbow and believed it was a sign that God was confirming their relationship.  When Aaron's mom passed away a few years ago, rainbows became especially meaningful.  All three of Aaron's sisters and his dad have spotted rainbows during some big life events, confirming even further that their mom is smiling down on them.  I always had wondered what Aaron's mom would have thought of me and wished that I had been able to meet her.  When we spotted the beautiful, double rainbow the night before our wedding, it confirmed to all of us that God was with us, Aaron's mom was with us, and that she would have approved. :)

Instagram photo compliments of my lovely friend, Melanie!

Aaron's sister, Anne, and his dad, Pastor Jim!

The Facebook one

Day 19 of Blogtember. Can you believe Monday is the last day? But today... An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

It turns out that I don't actually have a whole lot of stored up animosity regarding Facebook. I have long since blocked or unfriended all the people that annoy me most, so now Facebook is a mostly peaceful and enjoyable place. 

BUT. Things that will get you blocked or unfriended by me:

- Too many political posts, in either direction. Election time is the absolute worst. It is exactly what is wrong with social media - too many un-censored zealots in dire need of an editor and maybe a Xanex or two. SHUT UP.

- This is too obvious, I know, but people that post way too many photos of their babies/children will also earn themselves a nice swift blocking. We all know your kids are cute and you love them immensely. But we don't need to see 7 terrible cell phone pics of them per day, mmkay?

- Poor grammar. I can't help it. Bad grammar and spelling are the virtual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me. And I can't help but judge you a little.

- Silent stalkers. The people that are always on, a "like" at the ready (IF that), but never have anything to say or share for themselves. I don't really know why this bothers me, but it does. I guess it just seems a little TOO voyeuristic, if you're so keen to peek in on all your friends' lives but never willing to share anything of your own, or even reach out to others with a text, email, or an actual nice comment (which, yes, might take thought).  

- Slutty selfies will also earn you a swift blocking. I have no idea why so many girls feel the need to post constant photos of themselves in bikinis or low cut shirts. It just screams "LOOK AT ME I NEED ATTENTION AND VALIDATION." How about getting attention for doing something good or worthwhile or useful, eh?

- Passive aggression and/or cryptic postings that don't actually say anything but just inject negativity into the universe. BIG pet peeve.

Phew. Felt good to get that off my chest. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say for this one... share your letters in the linkup below! And have a great weekend! :)

The post written in a coffee shop... except not.

So, I DID go to a coffee shop for day 18 of Blogtember. I ordered myself a cinnamon-vanilla latte, and I sat down at a table to enjoy said latte and write my post... and then, and only then, did it occur to me that I completely forgot to bring my laptop. Super bright of me, right? I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Now I feel like a big fat phony, and I can't write a post here at home that was meant to have been written in a coffee shop. It's just not the same. But you should watch this video. It will probably make your day.