wallpaper decals

So on the reg' we've been frequenting the Blacksburg farmer's market. It's such a great little family outing and it always boosts Ike's self esteem because people are so curious about him. "What kind is he?" "You should enter him in a contest!" "His fur is so unique." I'm not gonna lie, it gets old but after being home by himself most of the week, we figure he deserves a little pick me up so we indulge him.


Of course, everything is local which I love! That's Blacksburg's mantra after all: "Buy local. Eat local. Be local."


That's my handsome bearded man up there, pickin' apples. Our usual haul includes: bread, apples, and veggies. We have our favorite little stands but we're looking into eventually getting some meat from some of the local farms. We shall see.


I only wish I had nothing to do on Wednesdays so that I could get fresh supplies twice a week.

Calling all Sunshine Bloggers!

We want to know: how are YOU celebrating the official start of 'fall' in Florida?! Tag your photos #FLfall2013 to enter :) Yeah, we know fall is a bit different down here--still plenty of beach days, humid heat and green trees--but let's get creative!

The one who shows us the best way to celebrate fall in Florida gets to guest post on the blog, sharing something about fall of their choosing--a favorite fall recipe, fall fashion inspiration, advice, anything!

Start snapping friends :) Participants can enter once a day, each day until we will declare a winner next Tuesday, October 1st!

If you love your sunshine city and would like to share some of your favorite places, please feel free to contact us! We'd love to have an idea of where to visit when we are in town.

Hi Friends! Happy Friday! I know we're moving away from our weekly Blogging 101 posts. While I'm in the process of moving my blog, I'm sharing the spotlight with the many members of Sunshine Bloggers. Today's post is our first foodie post from Idalmis of Second Chances Girl. Idalmis is a gorgeous mom who is bringing some of the Miami heat to the blog.I'm more than thrilled to have Idalmis as one of our guest features and I hope you enjoy her post and visit her blog! - Angel of Static-Romance

When you think of Miami, Fl, what things come to mind? Beaches, sunshine and surely, Will Smith! Who could forget his song “Welcome to Miami, Bienvenidos a Miami!” The video for that song gave a picturesque view of our beautiful city but there is more, so much more! I was born and raised in Miami and I agree that it is a tropical paradise within the US. It also is a big metropolitan city, growing more and more every day!

The largest ethnic population in Miami is Cubans.  Cubans have been emigrating from Cuba to Miami in masses since the 1950’s. Like all immigrants arriving in a new country, Cubans brought their culture and food to Miami. The most famous Cuban dish has to be black beans and rice, hands down. It is served at every Cuban restaurant and get-together. It’s our staple! The recipe is passed down from generation to generation and each family has their own twist. Want to try making black beans and fluffy white rice at home? Then today is your lucky day, below you will find recipes for both!

Classic Black Beans and Rice: (Serves 8)

Ingredients:

1lb dried black beans (soaked overnight)
1 large chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 spanish chorizo, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil beans in fresh water. The liquid should be about one to two inches above the top of the beans. Bring the beans to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, partially covering the pot. If any foam develops, you can skim it off during the simmering process. Black beans generally take about one and one-half hours to become tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in medium saucepan. Sauté onion, chorizo, pepper and garlic until onions are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add cooking wine, cumin and salt and pepper. Set aside. Once beans are tender, add onion mix to the beans, along with the vinegar and sugar. Bring the beans back to a boil and boil for 20 minutes.  Mash some of the beans to the side of the pot, to thicken the soup. Add 1 tbsp of oil, stir and turn off heat. Serve over white rice.

To make the white rice:

4 cups long-grain white rice
6 cups water
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil

Wash rice and drain. In a pot over high heat, combine all ingredients. When the rice starts boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook covered for about 20 minutes. Uncover and fluff with fork. Cover rice with a wet paper towel, cover, reduce heat to low and let cook for another 10 minutes. Reduce from heat and serve with beans.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Of course, every family serves their meals differently so this can be served as a side dish, main dish, over brown rice, quinoa, whatever makes you happy. Black beans and rice is Cuban comfort food. I grew up on this meal and still eat it about once a week. If you ever get a chance to come down to Miami, please stop by a Cuban restaurant and try out this meal for yourself!

Happy Friday friends! Today's post is being brought to us by the lovely Linda of Tapas Lifestyle. I reached out to Linda to discuss health and fitness for bloggers because I think it's an important aspect that we can easily forget. Linda has great recommendations of how to stay fit in the central Florida area. Big thanks to Linda for putting this post together as it's extremely informative! Enjoy! - Angel 

Where do you rank personal health and fitness in your life?  How often do you ask yourself, "How can I get everything I need to do, done in one day?"  Bloggers know the importance of scheduling, especially when we face constant deadlines for our projects.  I want to ask you, should not our health be at the top of our list of "most important projects"?  I wanted to share with you a few "Health & Fitness Tips for Bloggers" that has helped me in my journey of a healthier lifestyle.

I know how difficult it is to live a truly balanced life.  We have so many elements in our lives that are extremely important to us, such as family, spirituality, work, friends, health and so many other areas.  How can we formulate our day to make sure that we are taking care of the most important things first?  First we need to take care of ourselves, especially our health and well-being, and then we can take care of everything else. I hope that at least some of these tips inspire you to make positive changes in your life in regards to your health and fitness.

In addition to exercising, an important key element to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is meal preparation and food selection.  In other words, it just doesn't happen by chance.  In my journey to be healthier, the concept of “What should I eat on a regular basis?” came up.  Since my boyfriend and I have started this journey, we have spent a good amount of time planning out healthy meals.  Test out many recipes so that you can have enough options you can pick from so that you don't get tired of the same thing.  We ran into this and we went back to the drawing board to add more recipes to our repertoire.  Once you get enough recipes the you just have to make the time to prepare them.  We use Sundays as our meal prep day to prepare food for the both of us for the week ahead.  This has really proven helpful in maintaining a healthy eating routine.


All in all, the main message I would like this post to present to you is that your health is a vital key to enjoying your life.  Take the time to plan your workouts and to plan your meals.  Doing the majority of the planning upfront really helps in executing your goals!

Cheers and good health to you!