☀️Spirited Sunshine☀️: Zi Olive

Happy Sunday Morning!

I know it has been too long since I've posted, but I have been crazy busy! It's a good kind of busy though! :) I am now back to working full-time, and it is awesome.
I apologize because this post is going to be a little scattered! ;p

I have been a lot better about cooking healthier meals at home.

One of my new favorite places (I mentioned previously) is Zi Olive - their olive oils and balsamic vinegars are delicious! There are so many different flavorful ways to cook using their products, and the best part is that the oils and vinegars make it even more simple to cook!

One night for dinner this past week, I made fish and veggies:
I grabbed a couple frozen wild caught tuna steaks, defrosted them, and marinated them with Meyer lemon olive oil & the herb/spice blend I bought.
Like I mentioned, I'm trying to eat healthier, so it was fish and asparagus for dinner! It was actually amazing! I look forward to making that meal again soon!

Another meal was chicken marinated in balsamic vinegar from Zi Olive. The chicken was marinated all day, then grilled up after I got home. Asparagus was the veggie side dish. It was very tasty, and so easy to make!

Salads are also one of my favorite go-to for meals. I never feel guilty after eating a large salad (at least one I have prepared myself). I picked up a lettuce blend from the grocery store, grape tomatoes, sweet onion, cucumber, chickpeas, sunflower kernels, and olives. The oils and vinegars from Zi Olive go perfectly with salad too!

Zi Olive Knox

Now that I am working full-time, I try to make sure I eat just as healthy at work as I do at home. I'm not a big fan of eating breakfast super early, so I take a Quest bar into work with me to eat a little later in the morning. I recently tried the banana nut muffin, and later had to run to the store to stock up on that flavor! It is SO good!!

Anyway, enough about food! LAST weekend was spent at one of my favorite places here in Tennessee - Fall Creek Falls!
Nathan and I went for a Star Party. Well, his reason was for the Star Party, and my reason was to go and hike/explore during the day ;p The hotel sits right on the water, so you have a gorgeous view no matter which room you are in. I absolutely love to wake up and watch the sunrise over the water. That is my perfect "zen."
We saw birds, butterflies, deer, snakes, fish, etc. Fall Creek Falls really is beautiful, fascinating, and a fun place to be.

I can't resist Cake Batter Ice-Cream!

Tennessee State Flower - Iris

Last Monday night, after work, a couple of the girls from work and I went over to Painting with a Twist! It had been a few months since I last went, so it was awesome to go back!

Again, I can't even tell you how much I enjoy going to Painting with a Twist!

This past week, I also ordered more of my favorite coffee k-cups from Real Good Coffee Co.! I got the variety mix again, because all of the flavors are delicious!

Real Good Coffee Co.

I haven't read any books in a little while, so the book I chose to read next is "The Happiness of Pursuit" by Chris Guillebeau.

Poor furbaby, Riley, was a little mad that I left him for a weekend - he was pouting when I got home:

THIS WEEKEND is actually Nathan's Birthday weekend! Since we both had to work, we are hoping to actually celebrate this afternoon together! Ah, the life of being an adult! ;p I do want to thank all of our friends and family for wishing him a Happy Birthday already! Y'all are the greatest!

QUESTION TIME:

* What book are you reading currently? Or what was the last book you read?

* Do you have a favorite "zen" place?

* What easy, healthy meals do you enjoy most?

* What is your favorite on-the-go breakfast?

Happy Friday lovelies!

I am thrilled that my roses are finally coming back to life! I was getting a little worried, but with the little bit of rain we are getting, it has helped them start blooming! The roses are called knock out roses, which makes them easier to take care and easier to keep alive. :) They are also absolutely gorgeous!

Speaking of flowers/plants, my sweet co-worker made the most adorable succulent plant holders out of pretty cups! Isn't that such a good idea? I adore it!

Now that things are slowing back down a little bit, I have had the opportunity to check out a couple shops around town.

I stopped at one of my favorite places - Bradley's (A/K/A Knoxville Chocolate Co.)! The home decor is so cute, it's difficult not to buy everything in sight! It is fun to stop in and see what new items they have. Plus, they have scrumptious homemade chocolates! I was craving chocolate, so naturally I picked up one of their mini chocolate sampler boxes. We will see if I can just eat one a day...although it is more likely I will eat all four today! Haha!

Right next to Bradley's is a new store called Zi Olive. Instantly, I fell in love! There are endless flavors of balsamic vinegar, olive oils, as well as stuffed olives, Himalayan salt blocks, spices, pasta, and more! You can taste test each flavor of the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Flavors range from fig balsamic vinegar to bacon olive oil! There really are so many options for each person's flavor preferences! They offer samplers of mini bottles! I picked up the "The Employee Sampler," which contains some balsamic vinegar and some olive oil: Fig balsamic vinegar; traditional style balsamic vinegar, white raspberry balsamic vinegar, Meyer lemon olive oil, house EVOO, and Italian herb infused olive oil. I was also very lucky to receive a delicious mini bottle of the blood orange olive oil. Yum!! Besides those items, I had to grab a packet of dipping herbs/seasonings in the Mediterranean citrus herbs flavor. I am looking forward to cooking more with these items! Now I can cook more healthy meals at home, but not miss out on flavor!! It will be fun to experiment with different recipes with the new oils and balsamic vinegar!! :) Zi Olive has the perfect goodies to put together for gift baskets, or to just try out for yourself! I highly recommend checking this awesome store and trying their products!

On Saturday, April 30th from 11 am to 1 pm they will be having a tasting event featuring Chef John Alunni!