Yesterday was awesome.
It was 65 and sunny here in North Carolina — yes, in January. Winter here rules.
Matt and I spent the morning getting some work out of the way so that by lunch time, we’d be free to play! It was very exciting because we busted out one of his Christmas presents to me — a panini press!
It’s basically a more awesome George Foreman grill. :) I put Matt in charge of sandwich creation, while I whipped up some simple salads!
He made us smoked turkey, tomato, spinach, mustard, and gouda cheese sandwiches on delicious grainy bread. Into the press they went!
MY OTHER RECIPES
Perfection. I’m never eating an un-pressed sandwich again.
We ate outside on the porch — ah, how I’ve missed doing that!
Side salad, courtesy of moi — just a simple arugula, mushrooms, and beet salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
After lunch, we decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather to go on a hike! I’m loving this Sunday hiking kick I’ve been on lately.
Matt scouted out a new trail for us about 15 minutes away — perfect!
At one point, the trail opened up into a field lined by a farm with horses!
There were no “no trespassing” signs in sight, so we went to say hello to the horses :) They were beautiful and very friendly! I love horses.
It looks like he’s smiling in this one!
We ended up hiking for nearly 2 hours — probably covering about 4 miles or so? It was so peaceful :)
I Take Pictures of my Food! Hehe, I got some weird looks :)
(By the way — you can get free shipping on orders over $30 from now through 2/4 in my fANNEtastic t-shirt shop! Use code: CUPIDSHIP for U.S. or CADCUPIDSHIP for Canada.)
Matt and I ended our day at Maple View Farm for some ice cream and porch sittin’ :) He’d never been there before!
Happiest place on earth :)
I just made Matt some oatmeal and sent him on his way to D.C. for work this week (he works there from Monday mornings to Thursday nights), did some yoga (I’m OBSESSED with the Bob Harper “Yoga for the Warrior” DVD! Perfect combo of stretching, abs, arms, and working up a sweat). Now I’m off to class! Have a wonderful day.
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I am soooo jealous that you are wearing shorts right now! The horses are so beautiful, what a nice detour on your hike.
The weather was SO nice yesterday!! I loved it. Although sadly, my day didn’t include horses. I love horses. Miss riding.
Looks like a wonderful Sunday that you and Matt had yesterday. It was 67 in Atlanta yesterday, but don’t get to comfortable yet. We have had some our worst winter weather in February and March. Yes March. Lot’s of ice storms in March. Ugh.
Sandwich looks heavenly. I love panini sandwiches. I have always squashed mine. I don’t have a panini cooker so I use a heavy black iron skillet. Love my skillet’s.
AnnieBananie, you actively inspire me to want to spend more time outdoors… once the snow, ice, and general grossness dissipate from our frigid Northern Virginian lands, that is!
Totes jealous of your fannetastic (hehe) day! Too bad I’m MORE jealous of Jenny on her way to her Bahamian vacation right now!
Yay! Get on outside, woman! And I’m totally jealous of Jenny right now, too, ha.
Did you say Matt made the sandwiches. That is great Anne. Train them the way you want them from the beginning. My husband doesn’t know where our kitchen is.Hahaha:)
Haha yeah, I’m lucky that he enjoys cooking! Especially grilling, as most guys do :)
Yummy food and wonderful trail/photos. Thanks, as always, for sharing it all!
That trail looks so pretty. I live in Chapel Hill too. How do you get there?
It was pretty! Directions: http://www.triangleland.org/lands/tlc/johnston_mill_np_access.shtml
I’m so jealous! That area looks gorgeous and the 65 degree weather?!?!?! Do you want to take Kansas’s snow storm today???
I have never been more jealous in my life. Upstate new York is sub arctic and my space heater just broke so I am an icicle basically. It looks beautiful, so glad you had a sunny Sunday!:)
Hi! I am here via SparkPeople :)
You have a very beautiful blog and I enjoyed reading this post so much. I have been wanting to get me a George Foreman grill for so long…that sandwich looks delicious. I enjoyed reading about your hike and love the T-shirt :)
Have a wonderful day!
Thanks for the sweet comment! Welcome to the blog :)
That hike looks so beautiful, and what gorgeous horses!! It’s been in the 50s and 60s here, too, and I’ve also been enjoying lots of weekend hiking. Like you, I feel so fortunate to be able to go outside in the winter. And yummy–those pressed sandwiches look deeeelish! :)
Wasn’t the weather yesterday just glorious? I’m rather grateful that it’s cloudy today, though, because going to class with the sun shining is rarely an option…
Makes me happy that my husband applied for 2 jobs in NC this weekend :) Normally, I love Michigan, but we are supposed to get 15″ of snow over the next few days, I would leave right now if I could!!!
LOVE the sandwich, perfection is right!!!
So jealous of your warm weather- I woke up to 1 degree today, ugh! And I really want to own a panini press…yum.
I’m so glad to hear you’re on board with Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Yoga for Warriors DVD too (whew! that was a long title….)! It’s definitely my favorite yoga DVD I’ve tried, and I like it so much more than the P90X yoga DVD (sorry, Tony…). I’m actually doing that workout today, too! :)
your hike looks perfect! what a great sunday afternoon. i can’t believe it’s that nice there in january, though. i’m jealous!
um, that’s not winter. perhaps you have winter confused with another season. we have real winter in Boston ;)
Ah, I’m so jealous. Mostly because you can eat ice cream in January! :)
Yesterday made me SO happy to be a Carolina girl. The weather was sick! Your sandwich looked delicious, and I love any salad that contains beets. They are one of my favorites!
I’m scared of horses in real life!
Wow, those sandwiches look delicious; it makes me want to invest in a panini press myself. Love all your pictures, especially of the horses.
That looks awesome. I’m envious of it all – the food, the walk, and the weather! Enjoy. And here’s hoping you won’t pay for the mild winter with too oppressive a summer!
Love those beets in your salad! One of my very favorite veggies. Take a look at the tasty, healthful salad I mad at http://www.doctorcarriesbetterliving.com
While I don’t take pictures of my food (well, not all the time!) I think that’s a great shirt!
I love beets but have never dared to purchase them for at home use… I always thought they would stain everything in the kitchen. But your salad looks delicious and now I’m craving beets!
I actually just buy canned beets! They’re the only canned veggie I’ll buy – delicious and with no messy preparation :)
Love all the pictures! Your days always look so full of fun!