Yesterday for lunch, I made a giant salad with all the leftover spinach and vegetables in the fridge. I was about to spend a couple of hours out on the golf course and so I wanted to be fueled and eat something light that wouldn’t make me feel sluggish.
This salad had spinach, black beans, radishes, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, turkey bacon, hard boiled eggs, and romaine lettuce. I saved half of it to go with dinner.
After lunch, I met up with my dad to play a game of golf. We paid $25 a piece to play on a…cow pasture? I hate complaining, but the lady in the clubhouse was inhumanly rude; I can see why their course is struggling. The clubhouse reeked of cigarettes, and I had just about enough eye rollin’ from the lady in the clubhouse. We should have taken our clubs and golfed somewhere else, but we just sucked it up and prepared ourselves for one hell of a course.
It’s hard to golf with my dad because he makes so many freaking jokes while you’re teeing up that you lose your focus and golf is all about focus. I never get enough “dad” jokes.
Rocked my old golf shoes today. (not that I’d get grass stains or anything…)
The course hadn’t been watered in about…three years. The only “grass” out there was the patches of clovers and dandelions. I refused to use my new clubs and only used my practice clubs on this course because the ground was so hard; it was like swinging over cement. The Tee wouldn’t even go into the ground without breaking.
And when you’re putting…you don’t need to focus on speed or direction. You have to focus on rocks, cracks, and random sand on the “green.”
Yup…that’s their green. It made me thirsty.
I golfed the worse game I’ve ever golfed because of this course. It made since as to why there were only three golf carts on the entire course, us included.
Even though the course sucked and no matter how well you hit, the un-manicured course never let your ball lay and every put was disrupted by a pothole, we still had fun together. We are golfing a MUCH better course today and I’m hoping my game improves.
Call me a Debbie downer, but if you paid that much to golf 9 holes on a cow pasture, you’d be annoyed too.
I had twenty minutes to shower off from my run, change, and whip up a dinner before Dancing With The Stars Finale Part 1 started. I knew I wouldn’t move from the couch during the show and the new Bachelorette was right after that. I planned on making a salad with leftover steak but I overcooked the steak by over-microwaving it. FAIL. I would have had to chew three minutes per piece. I gave Grumples a couple pieces of steak and then tossed the rest out! I set the oven to 350 and threw in some organic chicken nuggets (homemade ones taste better). I chopped some romaine hearts, added cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon caesar dressing, 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, whole grain croutons, and the cooked chicken nuggets! I was only two minutes late for my show This dinner was so filling and very satisfying! I’m excited for part two of DWTS & The Bachelorette! #TEAMKAITLYN #TEAMRALLISON
It’s summer, which means bbq time! It’s the time of year for steaks, burgers, hot dogs, brownies, and potato salads! I love potato salad, but it’s not the healthiest option. You can make bbq food pretty healthy if you make some swaps. I like to trade the burgers and hot dogs for veggie kabobs, grilled shrimp and chicken, trade brownies for watermelon, and make the creamy salads healthier. I’m trying hard this summer to keep my foods fresh, light, and healthy. Sure, I’ll have a cookie and a burger here and there but I really want to take advantage of the summer and get into great shape. Last night, I made a little bbq meal. I made a couple of swaps and everything tasted great!
Light Red Potato Salad: (serves 6)
6 medium-large red potatoes, 1/2 celeriac, diced, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 tablespoons yellow mustard, 1/4 cup sweet relish, 4 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 red onion, sprinkle of celery seeds, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 2 tablespoon light mayo, 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt. Salt & Pepper to taste.
Boil potatoes in water until tender. While potatoes are boiling, sauté the celeriac on high heat in olive oil with salt and pepper. Quarter them, with skin, and add them to a mixing bowl with the egg yolks from the hard boiled eggs and celeriac. Combine all ingredients with the potatoes (except egg whites). Determine weather you want it sweeter by adding more relish, or more savory by adding more yellow mustard, or creamier by adding more yogurt. After getting the flavor right, mix in the chopped egg whites. Let the potato salad chill in the refrigerator for an hour or until cooled.
Per serving: (1/2 cup) 155 Calories, 21g Carbs, 3.5g Fat, 8 g Protein, 5g Sugar
I used Eden Organic low sodium/low fat baked beans for one of my sides, and grilled bbq chicken. The chicken was boiled on high for fifteen minutes and then thrown on the grill with two tablespoons of bbq sauce until fully cooked! I like to boil the chicken first to keep it from getting dry.
I also made some seamed broccoli to go with this meal! A broccoli salad would be very appropriate for a summer bbq as well! Recipe here!
There is nothing better than a salad full of all kinds of flavors. If each bite tastes different, the salad will never get boring! For dinner yesterday, I put together a salad with sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, red onion, romaine, croutons, garbanzo beans, black beans, edamame, kidney beans, white beans, avocado, broccoli, croutons, fresh parmesan, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
This salad was filling, refreshing, and delicious!
For some extra protein, I baked up some chicken nuggets. I’m obsessed with the Applegate Naturals. Of course, I like my homemade chicken nuggets better, but this way is so much faster. I think I’m going to food prep TONS of the homemade chicken nuggets and keep them in the freezer.
I’m glad I made it through the night to deliver this blog post to you. It was a beautiful night, and then all of a sudden…BLACK. It started pouring, lightening, thundering, hailing, and then the winds picked up. The trees were falling; I had to put my superhero cape on, and run outside to save my car. I always park in the garage, but for some reason I didn’t. I just bought a brand new car, and with my luck, a tree WOULD fall on it. I could hear the big pine treats cracking and I knew I had to move it! As soon as I moved it up closer to the house, the tree fell. I couldn’t move it into the garage because the electricity was out. The electricity was out until 2 am. That meant no air, no light, no t.v., no internet, no charging the phone, so I just went to bed to put me out of the misery. (I know things could be worse) I ended up sleeping on the floor because it was so hot, and it was the only cool place to lay. With 100 degree days, losing air was not ideal! As soon as I heard the power kick on, I hopped up and did the happy dance.
Right before the madness went down, I whipped up a delicious dinner. Ever since making celeriac in my blue apron dish, I’ve been hooked. They could seriously pass as potatoes. I had been trying to find them at the grocery store, but had no luck. As I was walking through Harris Teeter last night, I found one! They were right next to the beets. I was going to grill up chicken for the top of my salad, but when I saw the celery root, I decided to cook it up instead.
There are half the carbs, half the calories, double the fiber, and half the sugar in a cup of celeriac vs. a cup of diced potatoes. Celery root contains calcium, magnesium, vitamin b-6, vitamin c, and iron. As an anemic, it’s great source of iron for me.
Cooking up the celery root is simple. It’s an ugly looking thing, but after cleaning it off and chopping it up, it looks and tastes totally normal.
You will need: 1 celery root, 3 tablespoons chopped red onion, 4 tablespoons olive oil (or any type of frying oil you’d like), 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
1. Rinse the celery root, cut off the stems and slice it in half. Microwave (or boil) for 2 minutes. It’s very tough to cut, so this simplifies it. You will smell a heaping whiff of celery, but no worries! I’m not a huge celery fan, unless it’s covered in restaurant style ranch or peanut butter. After cooking up the celery root, all the celery flavor disappears.
2. Cut off the ugly outsides of the root, toss in the trash, and cut dice up the white part of the root. They should look like little potato dices.
3. Heat a frying pan on high with the olive oil.
4. Add onion, diced celery root, garlic powder, pinches of salt, and pepper into the pan.
5. Keep cooking until golden brown and crispy edges. (about 15-20 mins) After the celery root was crisp and cooked, I let it sit in the hot pan with the heat turned off for an additional 6 minutes.
Taste the celeriac root and determine if it needs more salt, pepper, or garlic! Flavor it to your preference.
While the celery root is sitting in the pan, prepare the salad! In my salad, I had avocado slices, roma tomatoes, red onion, whole wheat croutons, grilled green bell pepper, and sesame ginger vinaigrette mixed in. I use the Simply dressed brand.
Toss the celery root on top and enjoy! The celery root could have passed as potatoes, and I can’t wait to try them in breakfast hash, or potato salad!
One of my favorite salads on this planet is an Antipasto. While I was in Nick’s hometown I had so much antipasto that I was in heaven. I was inspired by the ones in New York and made Nick and I a big bowl of it when we got back from our trip. It was around six when we got back on Sunday night, and we just wanted something easy to make so we could chill out after driving so many hours in a car.
There are a lot of different ways to make antipasto. I remembered all the ingredients they put in the ones back in New York and mimicked theirs.
Grocery List: red onion, roma tomatoes, pepperoncinis, salami, capicola, provolone, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, and a homemade Italian dressing that I swore on my life I wouldn’t tell anyone what’s in it.
I could literally eat buckets of antipasto and my mouth is watering just thinking about it right now! Maybe after crossfit tonight, I’ll whip up a batch Unless my arms are too sore to move.
I took Grumples for a long drive in the country this morning. This may sound silly, but one of his favorite things to do is stick his head out the window and eat the air. He loves to see the horses and the cows. He makes some silly kind of noise that sounds like mesh of barking and crying.
When I got back from the little country drive, I made a delicious coffee drink to go with breakfast (honey puff cereal, dried figs, and two hard boiled eggs.)
My coffee is just drip dominican republic coffee, light cream, whipped cream on top, splash of cinnamon and a couple of dark chocolate covered chia seeds.
After breakfast, I finished a couple things for classes and then decided to spend the day with my mom for her birthday.
I treated myself to a shoe day. I bought new booties, a couple pair of sandals on sale, and some sneakers. (pictures soon) I’ve never been a show person, but that really needs to change. I wear the same old black flip flops, slide on shoes, and I own three pairs of heels.
After shopping around at the outlets, we headed to Akahaha in Baxter village. I went there a couple weekends ago with Nick and fell in love with the place. I knew my mom would like it, so I was excited to treat her to this place for her birthday. I ordered the lettuce wraps again, but this time had them leave the soy sauce out. My mom doesn’t like anything high sodium, so it was easier to just add some of the low sodium soy sauce from the table. I also ordered the spicy tuna rolls and Charlotte rolls! They have BOGO sushi rolls. #winning! I didn’t get the fried bagel ones this time…maybe if I would have worked out this morning.
But I did get froyo! I havnt eaten fro-yo since Washington D.C.! SO, it was a TREAT-YO-SELF day! I went with the Greek vanilla honey yogurt, sprinkles, and a couple pieces of my favorite candies. I also stopped in at Cupcrazed to pick up a birthday cupcake for my mom. It’s a couple stores down from the sushi restaurant. Cupcrazed is a cute cupcake bakery in Baxter Village with the BEST CUPCAKES! They also won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars!
I picked out the triple salted caramel for my dad and key lime pie for my mom. I didn’t get myself one because I planned on stealing bites from both of theirs, which by the way are seriously delicious. The frosting has the perfect consistency!
If you are gluten free, they have some pretty darn good GF cupcakes!
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
Instead of starting an entire NEW post, I wanted to attach my update onto this one. Even though I have been blogging consistently, I’ve been leaving some things out (like a weeks worth.) Do I wanna start from Sunday and go backwards or do I wanna start from backwards to Sunday? Hmm….I’ll try starting at backwards first.
Pray this doesn’t get too confusing.
I’ll start with this wrap. This seems pretty simple.
Sunday night, (LAST SUNDAY NIGHT) Nick and I stopped at a restaurant to pick up some food for dinner. Have you ever looked over a menu, but nothing sounded good? That was me Sunday night. I really didn’t feel like Mexican food. I just wanted a wrap, so I stopped at the grocery store and picked up ingredients to make one! This wrap has the 100 calorie whole grain flat out wrap, lettuce, avocado, turkey, cucumber, and yellow mustard.
Monday, I bought a delicious juice! Before cooking’ up some delicious scallops & salmon! The juice had turmeric, lime, spinach, carrot, kale, apple, ginger, and cucumber.
Moving forward to Tuesday!
My brother’s birthday was August 19th, so I needed to run to the South Park Mall for a gift. I had my eye on the Johnny Cash shirt for him.
I also found the funniest card ever at Urban Outfitters. I threw a couple other little things in the box and shipped it out!
While I was in South Park, I had lunch with Nick. I love meeting him on his lunch breaks! We went to Taco Mac and I ordered their grilled turkey burger without the bun. Their sweet potato fries are crunchy, seasoned well, and delicious!
Tuesday morning, I headed out to meet a friend at the trails for a walk. I figured I’d bring some coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up.
skinny lattes + extra espresso shot
So this is what you’ve all been asking me…
C O L L E G E…
Yup, you read it right! I am back in school. But, here is the deal. I am going to keep this as low-key as possible. Why? Well, it’s a creepy world and I kind of want my privacy. I know that people are going to find out where I’m going, people will talk, and it’ll end up on the internet somehow, but I’m going to try to keep it on the down low. Heck, I already ran into three people who read my blog at the school, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. That’s the life you choose as soon as you open your life to the internet, and that’s OK.
I woke up at 6:00 am to get ready for orientation Wednesday. It was required to attend the transfer student orientation. Luckily, 48 hours from my previous school transfer over, so it won’t be long!
Breakfast #two: JUICE! (the usual without carrots)
The only bad thing, is that I’m 24. That means I’m not a dependent and school is all up to me. I filed my FASFA thinking I’d get a lot of help, but since I’ve had a steady income for the past five years, I’m having to pay out of pocket, AND out of state. That makes me $11,000 short per semester that will be coming out of my bank account. Yay! But, I know it’ll be worth it and since I’m paying for it, I’ll take school more seriously.
Next year, I’ll have more time to apply for scholarships and I’ll be paying instate.
After several workshops, I headed to the cafeteria for lunch. I was pretty impressed with the salad bar and healthy options. I’m excited to spend some time between classes at the gym.
There was so much to get done, but I was enjoying the day and experience. I’m pretty excited about this new chapter of life.
I was exhausted when I got home. It was a lot of information to take in and it’s a whole new life I’m going to have to jump into. After the twelve hour day, I wined down with an iced coffee, dried papaya, almonds, and raisins.
For dinner that night, I made some all natural Applegate chicken nuggets, leftover potatoes, and a side salad.
Thursday was packing day! I had so much to catch up on and I needed to get them out!
After dropping the packages off at the post office, I picked up groceries and grabbed some juice for lunch. The usual juice with carrots!
Here are the groceries I picked up! Energize bread, dates, popcorn, matcha tea, figs, coffee, siggis, jelly, coconut milk ice cream, ginger, chocolate covered chia seeds, cereal, and sweet cinnamon garbanzo beans.
For dinner I whipped up stuffed bell peppers! I used my Quinoa shrimp taco stuffed bell pepper recipe but added ground turkey instead of shrimp. And I added breadcrumbs to the top.
Friday morning was already blogged about, but not this picture of my fella!
I went to the Nation Ford Falcon’s first varsity football game Friday night. This makes me so excited for fall! For dinner, I had Ralph’s Antipasto and a slice of his homemade pizza.
I woke up early Saturday morning and went for a run. The temperature rose about fifteen degrees during my run and it was so hot! I keep bottles of water at the mail box to grab when I make my laps. This run was only 3.5 miles and it was slowwww. But, slow is better than not finishing!
I haven’t been running a lot lately. (1 a week) I’ve been swimming laps, walking long miles, and sticking to my Jillian Michael routines!
I did nothing the rest of my day and it felt great
I did make a salad: spring mix, greek vinaigrette, parmesan, sunflower seeds, and avocado.
Until the laziest day turned into the most magical night...read here…
Nick and I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching Netflix’s Snow on Tha Bluff…
This show was insane. I’m still not sure if it’s real or fake. I don’t think anyone knows if it’s real or fake. But it was terrifying.
I was miserable waking up Sunday morning for church. Three hours of sleep is not a great look on me. (ALL MY FAULT) After church, we went to Nick’s parents for breakfast. I was so happy to feel coffee go down my veins. I’ve still been doing the one cup a day thing, but this was and exception.
I had TWO cups of coffee fresh fruit, toast, grilled eggs, and bacon.
When I got home, I turned on Jennifer Anniston’s new movie “CAKE” and fell asleep after fifteen minutes in. I slept about five hours. That is so rare! I don’t nap; it’s usually physically impossible. But, I have a feeling I was kind of sick yesterday because my stomach hurt, my body was aching, and I was just so tired. Maybe that’s what a lack of sleep does…
Well, I hope that recap wasn’t disappointing and I hope it was easy to follow! I don’t think there was an easy way to go about it. It just goes to show that I need to update more.
Tino woke me up at 6:30 this morning. Normally, I get annoyed and throw the pillows over my face so he can’t lick it to death, but this morning, I decided to give in instead of fighting him to let me sleep in.
It was chilly out, about 65 degrees with a light breeze that sent goosebumps throughout the body. I had hot coffee in my hand, the sun was peeking up over the trees, there wasn’t any noise from the traffic, and only the chirping sounds from the birds.
Because its going to be a beautiful day, Nick and I are going to go to the trails to walk the pups after Mass. It’s not supposed to get higher than 82 degrees. I just want to spend all day outside.
Breakfast this morning: spinach omelet, fresh fruit, and a bagel!
Yesterday, we had so much fun watching the football games. It was the first college football saturday of the year and we definitely celebrated. We had wine, chicken wings, and steak quesadillas. We also took Gatorade shots for every touchdown. Gatorade shots are 1/2 oz curaçao blue, 1 oz grape vodka, 1/2 oz grenadine, and 3 oz sour mix. They are dangerous because they taste so good and can get you into trouble if you’re team scores too many touchdowns.
I definitely went all out this football saturday, but don’t plan on celebrating like that again. I’m too old for that! I’ve never had to take a nap after a football celebration, but yesterday I had to. That’s when you know you’re getting old. I’ve already gotten the football saturday craze out of my system for the season. Next Saturday I’m sticking to water.
Did you guys celebrate college football?
After a lunch full of wings, vodka, and wine…it was only smart to have a fresh healthy salad.
This salad has pecans, avocado, Applegate smoked turkey, tomatoes, cucumber, and Greek balsamic vinaigrette.
I hate that the Lions lost and I’ll leave it at that before I get too far into it. Last year, I would spend Sunday watching the game with Nick and his family, but there is too much “Cowboy Nation” testosterone going on (Poor Phyllis) . I can’t take it; the snapchats were enough.
I’m already in bed with my face mask on, ready to blog and do a little homework.
*currently watching the NY vs Cowboys game from my bed and it’s the only time of year I want the Giants to win…can you tell the Cowboys make me bitter? Thanks, Nick!
Today was fun.
I spent the afternoon sewing and then ran a couple of errands. I whipped up some reversible placemats for my shop and for myself.
While I was at Earthfare, I saw that steak was on sale, so I decided to make a steak caesar salad. I never stick to the classic caesar salad; I always add extra ingredients. Of course, I picked up pumpkin for some recipes this week.
While the Lion’s game was on, I prepared dinner!
This salad had: steak marinated in sweet bourbon glaze, romaine, croutons, avocado, onion, sweet and spicy peppers, parmesan, and caesar dressing.
You can marinate the steak in whatever you like. I cooked the steak on the grill until medium.
I was so excited to use my newly sewn placemats!
I love eating around five or six. The sun starts to go down, I can open the windows up for fresh air and a light breeze. My camera caught the sun flares coming in.
I also made some fresh lemon mint water to go with dinner. It had organic lemons and fresh mint leaves from my little garden.
I topped each plate with the salad ingredients and grilled steak on top.
You could toss the salad in the dressing first, or put it on the side.
I also bought Earthfare’s Maryland crab cakes. I’ve been eyeballing these crab cakes for months now. Crumbling crab cake over a salad is also delicious. If you have an Earthfare close by and you love crab cakes…I highly recommend these! I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I’m loving crab cakes lately.
The salad was delicious and filling. I had so much leftover and it’ll come in handy during the week when I need something quick.
I know this post was simple and short, but I have homework to do!
Have a great night!
I made extra placemats for my shop (like the ones seen in this post) and they’re now available! Each placemat is reversible! One side has the grey and white arrows, the other has an aztec tribal print. www.simplytaralynncollection.com
I’m getting really good at waking up early, and my body is naturally rising without an alarm clock. I’m in bed by 9:30 pm and waking up by 6:30 am. You can count on me being in a good mood if I’m up early. Some people are the opposite and need to sleep in. I am more relaxed when I have that morning time to myself.
I was out the door by 6:45 and headed to the Riverwalk for a 3 mile run. I finished up with a stretch by the river before heading to the grocery store to pick up coffee. It’s sad that the real motivation for this run was having no coffee in the house, so I had to get up and go anyways.
I’m still trying to become a morning runner. Running in the afternoon goes so much better because I’m more hydrated and fueled. My lungs don’t want to work either that early and I’m out of breath faster. Does anyone else have this problem? It may have been because it was 57 degrees and I’m used to the 90’s.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home so I could pick up coffee. I found the new October Food Network Magazine I’ve been waiting for! I’m not kidding; I’ve looked on shelves everyday since September 1st. I’m pumped to go through it and make some of the recipes! I also bought some pretty fall flowers for my table:)
I treated myself to hot coffee, a little blueberry muffin, and a banana. I plan on making eggs later.
I had another morning workout yesterday.
I met up with my friend to do the weekly hike up Crowder’s mountain. We finally got the trail right this time and didn’t get lost. That happens when you don’t pay attention to the dots.
We are getting so much better at it because our time is going down and we didn’t have to stop this time. We are going to add an extra mile up next week.
Yesterday’s route: 2.5 up and 2.5 down.
Later in the afternoon, I finally had time to make lunch. I whipped up a salad so I could use up all the produce.
The salad had hard boiled eggs (one with yolk) romaine lettuce, sweet peppers, bell peppers, tomato, unsalted sesame seeds, red onion, and Barcelona Vinaigrette.
The rest of the day was devoted towards school.
UNTIL TWILIGHT!
I haven’t been able to golf in a while and I couldn’t resist the 70 degree weather, so I threw my clubs in the car and drove up to the course. The course is so peaceful in the evening. I usually run into some turtles, deer, and squirrels. No one else to bother you.
Golf game success.
I made pumpkin spice popcorn and it was SO GOOD!
I air popped kernels (10 cups popped) In a large pot, I melted together 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, 3 tablespoons coconut oil, and a cup of marshmallows. Once the mixture was melted, I added in the popcorn and mixed well. After the popcorn was coated, I poured it onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. I took the spatula to spread it out evenly, sprinkled pumpkin spice over the top, and let it dry for an hour.
I was up at four am this morning with Kona for our first walk of the day. I never thought I’d willingly wake up this early, but it’s starting to get much easier. I went back to bed for an hour this morning though. I found a great little Catholic church in Old town Alexandria today and walked to it. It was a really cold morning and I had to bundle up.
After church, I had some yogurt with walnuts and then headed down to the gym to get in a nice workout before the Lion’s game. I’m not sure if the treadmill was off, but I finished 3 miles in 24:16. That would be my fastest time so far. I followed up the run with stretches, arm weights, and a an ab workout.
After my workout, I bundled back up, grabbed hot tea, and took Kona for a walk.
After my run, I hopped on the couch to watch the Lion’s play. Dear God, it’s hard bing a Lion’s fan. I whipped up a salad with some ingredients I bought at Whole Foods. It had bell peppers, broccoli salad, slices of cooked steak, cooked chicken, chickpeas, and kale. I was in the mood for a diet soda (I know it’s horrible for you) but I’ve been hooked on Zevia lately, a healthier version. I love cream soda so much, so I was happy to find this one.
I made a delicious almond milk latte for the game. I am going so strong avoiding the football usuals (chicken wings, fries, pizza) and I feel great. Hopefully I can keep it up! Shaughna and Mike have the most amazing espresso machine/coffee machine ever.
My quick little two ingredient latte: unsweetened vanilla almond milk and allegro coffee beans.
Today is going to be a lazy Sunday full of football, movies, puppy cuddles, and blogging!
Friday was so much fun. Karlee had the day off, and Kona went to doggy daycare to play with all the pups. We decided to go to one of our favorite places, Georgetown.
We stopped at Whole Foods before jumping on the metro. Karlee wanted coffee and I wanted some tea. We tried out the apple cinnamon Chia Bar on our way out and it tastes just like a brown sugar pop tart.
Georgetown is a beautiful place in the fall (most of D.C. is).
First, we stopped at the Old Stone House. The house is older than the U.S. and withstood the Revolutionary War, the Burning of Washington during the war of 1812, and the civil war. It was built in 1770 and remains the oldest building in D.C.
We were so ready for lunch and decided to stop at Sweetgreens because we loved it so much last time.
I ordered the vegetarian Hummus Tahini salad. (Yeah, I had the same thing last time)
It had shredded kale, chopped romaine, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, pita chips, local feta, homemade hummus, baked falafel, cucumber tahini yogurt.
We stopped into Dean and Deluca for coffee and ended up staying for an hour going through everything. It’s seriously the coolest place ever. We have one in Charlotte and I’ve never gone in there! Now, I will. We sampled a pumpkin malt ball…holy yum ball.
They also have the BEST espresso drinks. I’m killing my “cut back on coffee” progress. Starting tomorrow, it’s back to 1-2 a day!
We decided to take our coffee and walk the back streets. The townhouses are incredible! It’s like a painting here.
I thought they bought fake leaves and threw them on the ground; this place just didn’t look real.
We walked for about an hour around all the homes. If I would have put on my walking shoes and comfy clothes, I would have gone for longer. My eyes were taking in all the beauty.
We headed back towards the metro to make it back for Karlee’s hair appointment.
We crossed the river towards the metro and looking back at Georgetown on the hill was beautiful.
We didn’t get to kayak last summer, but we will definitely do that in June!
Karlee and I had WAY TOO MUCH fun at the Halloween store. We felt like kids again. If you follow me on snapchat, I’m sure you saw…I’m so pumped for halloween this year! My friend Rachel and I have an awesome costume duo up our sleeves.
There was a little pug dog at the salon too.
Kona was exhausted when I picked him up for doggy day care. He played all day long and it was fun watching him on the live-stream cam. After I gave him a bath, we Skyped his mommy, and then headed out for a little walk. I was exhausted too! I grabbed my leftovers from the fridge for dinner and then passed out at 8pm.
Kona and I were up early on Saturday morning. We hit the streets and then cuddled up and watched a really good movie! If you haven’t seen Camp X-Ray…get on it!
Ollie & Kona had Saturday morning sleepy head syndrome. It amazes me how well they get along.
I met up with T.C. and Karlee for a little bit to go grab a late breakfast and stop at the farmers market.
We just wandered the streets until we found a place to eat.
We found Jack’s Place. This is definitely the hole in the wall that people search for their entire lives. It’s a place you’ll find regulars, a friendly staff, and a very inexpensive menu.
Coffee first. (I ended up drinking water instead)
I ordered the “no yoke” omelet with bell peppers, onions, and tomato. It also came with an English muffin.
We walked back so we could make it in time for the Iowa game.
Before the football game, I made a delicious espresso and had a biscotti on the side! Can you believe the Iowa Hawkeyes are 7-0!? I fell asleep before ten. Tomorrow, I’m waking up to go for a run, and then Karlee and I are going to do something fun! Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Oh, gooooood morning. I am so excited because its going to be 70 degrees today and that means I can run outside! Seeeee ya later treadmill. I’m taking tomorrow off for running.
I was up at 3:45 this morning with Kona. Mr. Kitty decided to wake him up by crawling all over his cage. I decided to take him out and let him do his business and then come back up to sleep more. I woke back up again at 6:45 and we went for a mini walk. I forgot how much work puppies are, but they’re 100% worth it.
Kona cuddled up next to me and we watched Good Morning America while I worked on some homework.
I made a delicious omelet for breakfast. I always try to make mine as good as Nick’s dad’s, but it’s never as great. It’s still REALLY GOOD, but not the same. This omelet had 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites, spinach, 1 tablespoon light cream, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, pinch of pepper, and one slice of Applegate white American cheese.
I ran again yesterday on the treadmill and then did some weights. The treadmill isn’t as bad as I thought. I used to hate it, but it’s much better than the cold.
After my workout, I had lunch and caught up on House of DVF. My salad had romaine lettuce, cottage cheese, croutons, tomato, and avocado tossed in a garlic balsamic.
I originally planned on making another salad and relaxing all night while watching Dancing With The Stars, but T.C. and Karlee wanted me to go try Pho33. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant that has the best pho in town.
I had the house ginger salad and I loved their dressing. It was sweet like a ginger vinaigrette.
Karlee and I were pho (Vietnamese soup) newbies. I ordered the chicken pho.
It was pretty good, but really filling. I don’t know if I’m a huge fan of it, but I didn’t NOT like it. I skipped out on the bubble tea
After I left, I hurried up and made it back in time to watch DWTS. Did you guys see the episode last night? Which was your favorite dance? I think they were all fantastic!
It wouldn’t be a normal blogpost if I didn’t inform you on today’s weather. I’m going to be blessed with a day of sunshine and a high of 77 degrees. I’m thinking a bike ride is in my near future…
Kona slept till five today (WIN) and we headed out for a little stroll around the block. We came back in and watched the news and cuddled up with some coffee. He is a huge cuddle bug in the morning. He reminds me so much of Mr. Grumples and Grumps is loving his time with my parents. They keep sending me photos of him doing silly things.
I just made another cup of coffee to enjoy while the sun comes up.
It’s been a day since I’ve blogged, so let’s catch up!
These past couple of days have been very relaxing. I’ve been doing a lot of studying and running.
My mornings are dedicated to walks with Kona. After our walk yesterday, I had to catch up on Scream Queens (getting weird) and I’m pretty sure I know who the red devil is…
Around 11, I headed down to the gym to run. I was going to run outside, but I didn’t feel like facing all the stoplights and I didn’t want to drive to a trail. I did three miles doing intervals and finished in 29:15. Afterwords, I spent twenty minutes stretching.
After my workouts, I grabbed some citrus orange tea and relaxed on the rooftop for a half hour.
I made lunch when I got back. I had a salad with vegan burger crumbles, avocado, spring mix lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, and garlic balsamic dressing on the side.
Kona and I relaxed the rest of the afternoon and he helped me with my homework by changing the pages on my book. He loves that game…
Later on, we headed out for another stroll. We like to sit at the little park and people watch. I was pumped to wear my new jeans. American Eagle had buy one get one half and I definitely took advantage of it. Now that winter is approaching, I need new jeans! I’ve been working out a lot lately, so my jeans weren’t fitting me as well. I’m obsessed with the stretch skinny jeans because they are so comfortable. I also bought a lighter pair. I don’t care how old I get, AE jeans will always be my favorite.
OH, and part of my halloween costume came yesterday. So excited!
For dinner, I had veggie fries, a cup of butternut squash soup, and a Suja lemon love. That stuff is spicy! For dessert, I baked half a brownie quest bar and topped it with walnuts. That was definitely a delicious treat.
I turned on Nashville, and then fell asleep through half of it. I can’t stand how late that show comes on. I also don’t like how long I have to wait between seasons.
Karlee had Tuesday off, so I hurried up and did three miles on the treadmill followed by weights.
Karlee and I headed to Pentagon city to shop for dresses. Of course the only thing I left with was a green juice and two new pairs of jeans. Have you ever NOT been in the mood to shop? That was me on Tuesday. I think I was just “hangry” and tired. I still need to go find some dresses.
That was my tired and “hangry” face, but then I had dinner and was fine. It happens to the best of us.
For dinner, I had a salad with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, parmesan cheese, avocado, croutons, and red onion tossed in a garlic vinaigrette. I went grocery shopping for salad ingredients and that is why I’ve been eating the same salad for the past three days.
Today is my rest day. I think I’m going to get my hair done and shop a little. I neeeeeed to find some dresses. See the color above? What do you think? I am going to get an inch of my hair taken off and have it died this color. I haven’t had my hair died since 2013! I’m sick of the sun damaged blonde ends and I want something different.
My two favorite college teams aren’t playing today, so it looks like a Lifetime movie Saturday!
I finally did it! I got my hair cut and dyed. I’m a little sad that she took more than an inch off, but I know it was probably in need of it. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I like it.
While I waited, I had some juice! I was going to be in there for three hours, so I needed something to hold me over. All of the running has made my appetite go WOAH! So, if I don’t bring something to hold me over, I feel like eating the whole place when I’m back. Snacking every two hours is a must for me, even if it’s juice.
My hair was done around five, I picked up Kona from doggy day care, gave him a bath, and then headed to Murphy’s Pub on King Street to have dinner. I’m sad there isn’t a Notre Dame game tonight because that would be an awesome place to watch it. They had ND posters and everyone who worked there had an Irish accent. I loved it. I think this was the first time I actually forgot to take a photo of my food. I was just really hungry and didn’t think you’d care about my missing steak caesar salad with the dressing on the side! I’ll snap it next time
We were up early on Thursday. We went straight for the bathroom and then back up to sleep until seven! After waking up and getting around, I had some hard boiled eggs and pink lady apple.
Kona was interested in T.C.’s snacks…
I decided to focus on running intervals for 3 1/2 miles and then walked and extra minute to cool down. I never thought I’d enjoy a treadmill so much. I love using the stairs after a workout to stretch. I go into the back hallway so no one can see me being all weird and stretching out my legs.
I’m a snacker, and sometimes I do it for no reason. Instead, I’ve been replacing my mindless snacking with beverages like Zevia, Bai, Suja and Kombucha.
Hey there Kona!
I promise this is my last salad like this for a while. I’m finally out of ingredients. It had tomato, avocado, cucumber, croutons, rotisserie chicken, and spring mix blend with garlic balsamic on the side.
I was so tired yesterday. My Friday nights will be more interesting once I’m back in Charlotte. I was asleep at 8:30.
I was an early bird this morning.
Coffee and a walk with Kona at six and then coconut water before my run. Coconut water helps with hydration and prevents cramps. Look how ghostly white I am getting…gotta love the Fall.
For my post run breakfast I made an omelet. Probably the most boring omelet out there, but it was tasty to me!
3 egg whites + 2 whole eggs, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1 tsp garlic powder, pitch black pepper, Applegate white american cheese, and olive oil for the pan.
They look like little quesadillas.
Kona and I sat in the park earlier and watched the kids play soccer. He refused to leave and watched the ball intensely.
I ran over to Whole Foods after our walk to pick up a couple things for baking. I wore my apple picking vest
First up…coffee!
My favorite thing to do is smell the coffee beans as soon as I open up the bag.
The pacific rim vienna roast is really good! I love that it’s not weak.
For lunch, I threw some leftover garbanzo beans, couscous, tortellini, and carrots together.
I also added in a couple pieces of rotisserie chicken in there.
I watched Clemson for about three minutes and then switched over to Lifetime.
I made light and healthier rice krispies this afternoon. I’ll be sharing that recipe next!
My life is almost back to normal. I have one more weekend away and then I’m going to crawl into my bed and plant myself for a while. Before I disappear again, I want to do a little “catch up” post.
Before I left D.C. last week, Karlee and I had breakfast at the Silver Diner in Clarendon. It’s located right down the street from Revolution Cycles. It’s a cute little place with a giant menu. It had a large healthy and vegetarian selection.
Karlee and I filled the diner with music one quarter at a time.
I ordered the vegetarian omelet without mushroom, wheat toast, fruit, and a side of non vegetarian pork bacon Sometimes, bacon is necessary (especially before a long drive).
I left D.C. around one. I was so excited to bring my new E-bike home from Revolution Cycles! I’m planning a huge Sunday bike ride! If you haven’t tried an E-bike yet…do so! They are amazing and I’m going to start using it to get around more. Charlotte has a lot of great places to ride.
*Road trip obsession: Gin Gins! The cherry ginger gin gins are incredible (if you like ginger). They’re hard and chewy at the same time. It takes me like 15 minutes to get through one piece! Plus, ginger calms my stomach and if you have anxiety, it’s like a natural remedy.
This was the first time taking a road trip and hitting ZERO traffic. I made it back in 5 1/2 hours…AND I was going the speed limit.
When I got back, Nick and I went to dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe in Charlotte. It’s a cute little place on South Boulevard. I shouldn’t say “little” because its rather big. It has an adorable outdoor area to sit, a regular dining area and a bar area. I want to go there for breakfast one of these Sundays and sit outside.
We started with a jumbo crab cake over jalapeño aioli greens and baby tomatoes. The meal also came with a homemade buttermilk biscuit which was out of this world. It was buttery, flakey, and gradually melted in your mouth.
I ordered the tomato cider glazed atlantic salmon with a side of sweet potato fries and a salad. The salmon was reallllly good, but I was too stuffed to care for the sweet potato fries.
I only had one day to get ready for the mountain trip. I spent lots of time with Grumples, unpacked, repacked and then fit in a good run before I headed out!
I had the chance to try out my new Prismsport pants and I love them! I have a hard time keeping my pants up when I run…because when I lose weight, I tend to lose a lot of my backside. When I gain weight, it’s the first place that packs it on. I just wish it would go up top The Prismsport running leggings do not move when I’m running. I had my phone tucked in the side the entire time too. They are soft, and come in really cute prints.
I’ve been getting back into the groove of roasted vegetables since it’s getting colder. I love chopping tons up and eating them throughout the week.
I have been keeping my running down and doing it 4 times a week. I like to do three miles and then on Sunday a 5 miler. I don’t want to get injured by overdoing it, so I make sure to ice, stretch, and rest. I’ve also been doing a lot of strength training. This weekend, I’m going to have to go back to the treadmill when I’m out of town. I’ll also be doing the treadmill when it’s cold. I ran for the first time outside when it was 45 degrees and my lungs were burning. It’s truly pathetic.
I also wanna keep my miles under five because I’ve been having frequent heart palpitations. They have been getting worse lately, and my appointment isn’t until next month. I just want to make sure I’m being safe. Heart disease runs in my family, so I have to take it seriously. You’re never too young to get checked out.
I always take Grumples with me on my cool down mile.
Yogurt or a 8 ounce protein shake are my post-run go-tos.
Got my peach tea from Starbucks!
How fun are these contacts?!
I went dress shopping a couple days ago…
I went home with three new Columbia pullovers and zero dresses. Looks like I’ll be making attempt two today!
All my new canvas prints came in! I love bringing my photography to life.
I have missed this little (big) guy.
and he’s missed me
I love stopping at the peach stand to pick up Bruks Bars for quick breakfast fixes. I like to have one with egg whites. This is the apple pecan flavor and it’s by far my favorite! They are coming to the Southpark Wholefoods soon!
And I found my favorite wine at the Peachstand.
I have been a fan of these for three years now! I need to make my own version
Sometimes when I’m on the go, I bring 1/4 of a cup of trail mix with me. Afternoon hanger issues are dangerous.
Harris Teeter salads are also a lifesaver for busy nights when I don’t have time to make anything. Last night, I threw together a salad for dinner. I also made veggie fries to go with it.
Shaughna and Mike brought me back a fresh lei and milk chocolate toffee macadamia nuts from Hawaii. These are the best things to ever land in my hands. If you don’t have self control, do not try these! I have been having a couple pieces with my coffee in the morning. They are amazing!
This morning, I made a quick breakfast sandwich. I have another busy day coming up, so I need all the energy I can get. It had bacon, egg, cheese, and a whole wheat english muffin!
Wish me luck with the dress shopping, my math test, my run, and all the other crazy stuff going on today! Hopefully I can post a recipe soon!
*oH…if you see any cute area rugs for living rooms…send me a link! I need one.
I’m back and can finally take a deep breath. I have been running around like a chicken with it’s head cutoff for the past couple of weeks. I’ve been out of town every weekend and I finally have this week completely free to blog, work, add all the new items to the shop and fulfill orders tonight.
It’s been raining here for weeks straight and it’s finally going to end tomorrow! I’m thinking about fitting in a fun outdoor run instead of the dreadful treadmill. The only good thing about the cold and rainy weather is that it forces me to stay inside and get everything done!
I had one of the best weekends and I’m excited to blog all about it. (well some parts…)
On Thursday, I had to run to the mall and find a dress for our friend’s wedding. I’m sure most of you girls can relate to the “I have nothing to wear” quote, while standing in front of a closet full of clothes. I just think it’s our subconscious mind trying to find an excuse to buy a new outfit.
After shopping around, I finally found a dress.
I was so hungry and decided to stop at Starbucks to have my first skinny peppermint mocha latte of the year! I have them do half the pumps instead of the full in the tall because it’s way too strong. It’s my favorite drink at Starbucks!
I hate going to the grocery store on an empty stomach so I grabbed a blueberry apple That’s It bar and mixed nuts with fruit. And because I love sharing new favorite products with you…this Smartfood white cheddar popcorn is delicious! I found it at Harris Teeter and I can’t wait to try the other flavors. It’s perfect for a late night snack.
I headed over to Nick’s on Thursday night and packed a giant salad for us to eat. He works late on Monday’s, and we were both starving. Plus, I didn’t want to go out to dinner. I tried to recreate one of my favorite salads from Potbelly’s, the Chickpea Veggie Salad, with an addition of some of my other favorite salad toppings. When I lived in Chiacago, I used to eat this salad five times a week for weeks straight. Potbelly’s was on my way home from my nannying job and I was always too tired to cook dinner, so it was so convenient.
Thank goodness for my readers because I’ve always raved about Potbelly’s nonfat vinaigrette dressing. One of my commenters found out the brand of dressing they use, Hendrickson’s Original Sweet Olive Oil and Vinegar. I can make all the salads at home now. I found the dressing at Harris Teeter.
This salad has romaine lettuce, feta, chickpeas, red onion, cucumber, tomato, croutons, avocado, chopped hard boiled egg, fried onion crisps, and sweet olive oil and vinegar dressing. It’s such a delicious combo!
Thursday morning, I had breakfast and fit in a run before heading out of town. One of my favorite pre run breakfasts is cheerios, almond milk, and banana.
I run so much better outside. My times are awful when I’m on the treadmill, but it’s better than nothing. After my run, I did a fifteen minute deep stretch and twenty minutes of arm weights.
I usually have greek yogurt after my workouts for recovery.
After showering off and packing my bags, I made some snacks for the hotel room and the trip. Pineapple, and apple, and popcorn!
The traffic was a pain in the butt, BUT we made it. After dropping Nick off at the rehearsal, I headed to the hotel to get ready for the dinner. I wore an outfit put together by H&M.
We had so much fun at the rehearsal dinner. I love hearing the speeches and seeing the bonds people have created over the years. I also loved meeting some of Nick’s best friends from college.
The rehearsal dinner was held at Al’s Upstairs Italian restaurant. The food was fantastic! I had the filet mignon with potatoes and vegetables. I’m not a huge cheesecake person, but the pumpkin cheesecake was hands down the best cheesecake I’ve ever had.
We all met up at the Oyster Bar for drinks after dinner. All of our boyfriends/husbands went to P.C. and were in the same fraternity. I never thought I’d ever date a “frat” guy, but these guys aren’t your typical frat boys.
Nick had to get ready for the wedding with the guys, so I met everyone over at Hickory Tavern for early drinks and lunch.
I’m not a champ and can’t drink early mornings. I had to have my coffee fix so I could recover before another fun night.
#hydrating
I went back to the hotel around 1:30 to get ready for the wedding.
I went with a dark berry metallic lace cutout back sheath dress from Express. I have always loved their dressed for winter/fall weddings or events.
I paired the dress with black tights, black heels, necklace, clutch, and a black bangle. I tried to straighten and curl the ends of my hair out but as soon as I stopped outside, it fell flat. I probably should get some layers put back into my hair.
I rode over to the wedding with our friend, Abby. Her husband is one of the most hilirious people you’ll ever meet.
The ceremony was beautiful and Brooke looked absolutely breathtaking.
Thank goodness for Mr. Ralph snapping photos all night. He let me use his! And I’m lucky to have these guys in my life.
How cute are those koozies?
Nick and his friends have a tradition that every time the song “shout” plays at a wedding, they throw the groom up in the air. I was a little nervous he was going to go through the ceiling. This was so fun to watch.
A beautiful bride <3
Nick went to school with Brooke and Iouli and I’ve only met them a couple of times, but they are extremely sweet and I am so happy for them.
Lovely ladies! I’m so happy Wes and Leo found these girls, because they are two of the sweetest girl’s you’ll ever meet.
Photo booth fun.
Take two!
Nick looks pretty dang handsome in a suit!
After the wedding, we headed to Tin Roof for drinks. After Tin Roof we ended up in the hotel lobby eating pizza and kicking the shoes off! Pizza at two am is so much better!
It was such a fun night and one of the funnest weddings I’ve been to.
We wanted to head out of town pretty early in the morning so we could watch the Panther’s play. We stopped at Panera bread for some food and coffee. I just needed something to cure the aftermath. I had half a blueberry bagel and a power smoothie.
When we got into town, Nick’s dad made us some homemade chicken noodle soup. It was incredibly delicious!
I had such a great weekend and I wish I could live it all over again.
It’s time to get to those packages, maybe a workout, and DWTS tonight!
I hope you are all having a fantastic week. And if not, hang in there because tomorrow is Friday! I’ve spent most of the week taking care of my sick boyfriend. The poor guy has been in and out of the doctors and not feeling so great. Luckily, things are looking up and he’s feeling better today.
Last night, I made him some chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. That was my go-to meal when I was sick as a kid. Plus, it’s one of my favorite meals, so I made some for myself.
I haven’t done a recap posts since Friday the 13th, so I guess it’s time to catch up! You know, I wasn’t too sure about these “recap” posts, but I’ve been getting a good response and people have been telling me that they look for them in the mornings, so that meant a lot! I think it’s kind of fun to reflect back on the week. I gives me the chance to to get to know a lot of you as well, especially through the comments. Just try to keep in mind that these recap posts are just bits and pieces of my life. Not every second is perfect, not everything I eat goes onto this blog, not everything I do gets documented, and there are tons of things that I leave out. No one is perfect. However, I like to focus on positive stuff more than the negative and I think that keeps me happy and motivated. It’s more fun to write about all the fun things I did instead of the struggles. And believe me, there are a lot.
I’m not sure if it’s Friday the 13th that has me looking all pale, or the fact that winter/fall has arrived. Probably a mixture of both! As I mentioned on Friday, I was so excited to get my skinny peppermint mocha latte from Starbucks. Unfortunately, I had to wait 20 minutes for a latte missing espresso and syrup. I’m not sure what happened, but I was handed a cup of hot milk. I didn’t feel like waiting another 20 minutes for them to make another and I didn’t feel like complaining to the young college kids working their butts off, so I just left and decided to let it go. I actually felt bad for them because it was a slightly large Starbucks on a main road with a drive thru and they only had three people working. It was definitely understaffed and I’d be so overwhelmed if that was me.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way back to my parents. Nick was in Indiana for the Notre Dame games and I wanted to hang out with my parents. I hadn’t in a while. I picked up some stuff to make grilled chicken salads.
The grilled chicken was delicious. Details on how I cooked it are all here on this post!
I was sick to my stomach on Friday night. I had plans to meet up with the girls and go out, but I couldn’t get myself up to do it. I started watching everything going on in France and continued to watch all night long. With everything going on over there, I didn’t feel like going out and having a good time. I wanted to pray for everyone dealing with the tragedy. Even those who are not in France, are going through tragedy. There were a couple comments like “prayers won’t help”…but, I believe in the power of God and his plan for us. He works in ways that we will never understand, I believe that he can strengthen us during times like these, he brings us closer together, and I will never lose faith during the struggles or when humanity fails us. And I will keep praying every single day.
After the little shoot, I headed to the mall with my mom for a girl’s day. We spend over an hour in Bath and Body Works smelling all the candles and stocking up on wall scents!
After we left, I was sooooo hungry. We headed to Earth Fare for some sushi, coffee, and juice before picking up some groceries.
I had the “MaryBeth” juice with added carrots and extra ginger. I also had some coffee with cinnamon and coconut milk.
Mary Beth: Turmeric, lime, spinach, kale, apple, ginger, and cucumber.
At 3:00, I got a text from Nick’s little brother asking if I’d come watch the Notre Dame game with him. How do you say no to that? So, I headed over there to watch the game. I was happy to see them win becuase Nick drove 12 hour just to sit at the cold stadium for the game. He goes every year.
Iowa had a late game, so I headed back to my parents house to watch with them. I ended up falling asleep during the first quarter and would wake up in and out of quarters. I can’t believe we are 10-0! That’s a school record!
I usually go to 9:30 or 11:00 mass, but since Nick was gone, I went with his family at 8 am… The fog over the river was so beautiful and the silhouette of the trees resembled mountains.
The priest talked about the end of the world and how we can’t live or lives in fear of it. We need to live a life full of love, faith, and helping others. We were put on this earth to help each other and to love with all of our hearts. Even when we feel as if everything and everyone is against us, we need to dig ourselves back up and keep faith.
After church we headed to Stacks. Stacks has a new location now and the old restaurant has been demolished. I couldn’t believe it when I drove by. BUT, their new location is so nice! It’s bigger, it’s cleaner, and super cute. The wait is still pretty lengthy, but that’s the beauty of a popular and delicious breakfast spot.
I ordered two eggs over easy, wheat toast, fresh fruit, and bacon! DELICIOUS.
Nick got back around six and wanted to grab dinner. We went up the road to Portofinos. I’m not a giant fan of calamari, so I was happy that Nick ordered it as the appetizer. I had bread and salad with it. Portofinos has the best house dressing and homemade bread. Luckily it was Sunday and I let myself have a good meal on that day.
I love ordering the specials at Portofinos. They change every time we go there and they have never failed me. I told her to give me the most popular special and she brought out the beef stew. It tasted like a post roast with giant egg noodles. It really was delicious! I would never order something like this, so it was nice to try something different and truly enjoy it.
I started my day early on Monday. I wanted to get all my things done, workout, and prepare dinner for my parents. I had my coffee while watching the news and then headed to the grocery store.
I couldn’t help but think about the victims and families dealing with all the tragedy around the world, so I prayed for them. As everyone woke up and started their day, I knew it would never be the same for them. My heart goes out to all of them.
I mentioned how horrible my run was on Friday, so I decided to slow down my miles and it went so much better! I found a path full of hills, so it made up for the slower time. Plus, it’s nice to “run” without worrying about my pace. Maybe it was the pasta the night before that helped me have a better run
I also read an article about what running does to your stomach and how to prevent the aches. I’ll make sure to not drink or eat anything 2 hours before I run. That makes a huge difference.
After running, I made a juice! It had carrots, ginger, apple, lemon, orange, cucumber, and zucchini.
I finally got my MINTED pictures up on the wall where I want them to be. Now, I’m patiently waiting for my dad or Nick to come nail them to the wall and straighten them out I’ll be doing a post on those prints soon!
I invited my parents and Nick over for dinner Monday night. My mom and I wanted to watch Dancing With The Stars and Nick and my Dad wanted to watch football.
I decided to make baked salmon, broccoli, and garlic parm potatoes.
I boiled about ten medium/large yukon potatoes until they were fork tender. I sliced them and added them to a large mixing bowl with garlic powder, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, brown sugar, low sodium soy sauce, and black pepper.
I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet. I topped them again with more parm cheese and italian seasoning. I baked them for about 45 minutes.
They were soooooo so so so good. They had so much flavor and were crispy!
Dancing the stars was so good:) I think Bindi and Derek are going to win. What do you guys think? Nick and I have recently gotten hooked on Gotham, so if you’re looking for a new Netflix show…this could be it! I was hooked during the first five minutes of the first episode.
It’s all we’ve been watching since Nick has been sick.
The pups didn’t seem to care for the show much.
I made fried eggs, and english muffins with grapes for breakfast on Tuesday.
I had coffee and Nick had hot tea and orange juice before his doctor’s appointment. I can’t go without my morning coffee.
After Nick picked up his medicine, I grabbed some hot peach tea from Starbucks so I could get to my work. They have the best teas
The dogs had fun ripping up stuffed animals and I was constantly sweeping up fluff.
Tino was getting cuddly while I did homework.
I made my very own “MARY BETH” juice at home. I also had some yummy popcorn with it.
We watched the Hornets game Tuesday night followed by Gotham. Nick’s dad made pasta fagioli for him to eat since his throat was killing him. Lucky for me, I had some too!
*knock on wood…I don’t get sick and haven’t caught his sickness at all.
I got all my packages sent out yesterday and have more to do today. I love waking up early with coffee and knocking them all out while I watch Good Morning America.
Roadtrip to the post office!
When I got back, I went running on the trail for 3.68 miles. It was SO HILLY! But, I think it’s making me a better runner. Today, I really need to do some strength training.
I picked up a salad at Harris Teeter to have for lunch. It had kale, blueberries, pasta, carrots, chicken salad, and cheese. It was pretty random, but delicious.
I made some cranberry chocolate chip cookies to drop off for my mom’s work Thanksgiving party. They were so so so so good and I’ll post that recipe later!
They got mad at me for taking away the stuffed animals. They were replaced with bones.
SO, I have to introduce you guys to the tastiest FALL chips out there right now. Way Better Snacks sent me a couple of their new flavors for me to try. I was thinking…”ginger snap tortilla chips?”…but they were seriously addicting! The apple cinnamon spice were just as good!
Oh My Sweet Pumkin Cranberry: This fan favorite, first introduced in 2013, is like Thanksgiving in a bag. Dried cranberries dot each chip, surrounded by a base of warm pumpkin, flax seed and quinoa. A dash of sea salt gives each bite just the right balance of sweet and savory.
Oh Snap! Ginger Snap: The brand spankin’ new chip is made with sprouted premium ingredients such as flax seed, quinoa and chia seed. Crystallized ginger pieces are baked right in for a punch of delicious ginger snap flavor. Hints of molasses and warm spices will transport you to a holiday wonderland.
Everything Nice Apple Cinnamon Spice: Ever wish the apple orchard had more crunch? This new addition is made with a base of real apples and sprouted flax seed, quinoa and chia seed, with just the right hints of molasses and spices.
These flavors would be so fun to set out on the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas with a fruit salsa!
I also think they did an awesome job on the packaging I’m crazy for plaid.
Last night after making cheese sandwich and chicken noodle soup for Nick, we watched Gotham and The Hornets play. He was said he couldn’t go to the game, but he could hardly talk with his sore throat.
I am skipping a run today and going to do strength training. This morning, Grumples and I went out for a two mile walk. He loves getting outside:)
Now, I’m going to end this INCREDIBLY long recap post with my breakfast! I had a slice of whole grain peanut butter toast (not pictured) and Greek yogurt with toasted oats muesli. I am a huge fan of the Nature Valley toasted oats! They taste like crumbled granola bars!
I’m off to run about eight errands, fulfill packages, and then to the gym!
I hope you all have a wonderful day!
THREE QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
1. What is your favorite day of the week and why?
2. How do you stay active on rainy days?
3. What is your favorite dessert on Thanksgiving?
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Where the heck did the time go? Wasn’t it JUST Halloween? I have about an hour to spare this morning before all the madness starts. I thought a recap post would be smart, so my Thanksgiving posts don’t take over. Tonight is the pre-Thanksgiving party at Nick’s parents house. Last year, they made all kinds of stuffed breads, seafood Alfredo, and finger foods. I am going to have to be careful this year becuase I’m pretty sure I gained 100 pounds last year over the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s funny becuase ever since I was a kid, Thanksgiving and St. Patricks day were my least favorite holidays, but after celebrating at the Campo’s house, things have changed. I’ve never had better food. I mean, they even have a special Thanksgiving breakfast!
These are the cupcakes I made for last year’s pre-Thanksgiving party! I’m excited to get tons of photos this weekend!
Ok, back to the recap post! See what I mean about Thanksgiving posts taking over? This post may be even longer than my last one…
Last Thursday, I picked up some ingredients for a sushi caesar salad to make for dinner. I love putting sushi on my salad instead of grilled chicken or steak. It sounds weird, but you have to try it!
This salad has lettuce, light caesar vinaigrette, croutons, onions, avocado, and shrimp sushi. So filling & delicious.
I decided to try the peppermint mocha latte one more time. I ordered it at the Harris Teeter Starbucks. It came out perfect
I met up with my friend Rachel Friday morning for a girl’s day. We started out with our favorite workout, hiking Crowder’s mountain.
We made it up in 40 minutes and down in 35 minutes. We sat up at the top for a bit! I should have paused the app while we were at the top, but I forgot! It just made our speed/time longer.
We were starving when we got back to Charlotte, so we decided to try the new Chopt restaurant in the Park Road Plaza! I was really impressed with this place, especially for being very new! The staff was so friendly, the menu was creative, and the atmosphere was so inviting. I ordered the kebab cobb. It had local feta, charred red onions, mama lils spicy peppers, pita chips, romaine lettuce, avocado, falafel, chopped and tossed in red wine vinaigrette and Greek yogurt tzatziki. The salad was HUGE, which I love. I also had cucumber lemon infused water.
After lunch, we headed over to a boutique and then grabbed coffee at Caribou.
Friday night, I headed to the Hornet’s game with a group of friends. I love that my Columbia pullover is Hornet’s colors
We all headed over to East Boulevard Bar & Grill to share some appetizers after the game.
Nick and I went to breakfast on Saturday morning at the Charlotte Cafe. We love this little place located in the Park Road Plaza. It’s cheap breakfast food that tastes delicious! The Park Road Plaza has changed so much since moving to Charlotte!
I only wanted bacon and an Englsh muffin, but it ended up turning into eggs, english muffin, bacon, hash browns, and a blueberry pancake! Thank you Nick. lol
After breakfast, I picked up my friend Becca and we headed to my place so we could bake for Friendsgiving. I decided to pick up some coffee, chocolate hazelnut wafers, and eggnog to have with desserts. By the way, that is my FAVORITE coffee brand as of right now!
I made my oatmeal cream pies! I’m also making more today for tonight’s party! Nick’s dad keeps bugging me about them!
And they go great with Eggnog! I just have to say that I am so happy about being in the Christmas spirit this year. I mentioned last year about being in “opperation Christmas mode” becuase I couldn’t get in the Christmas mood. But, something has changed becuase I’m all about it! Maybe it’s my brother being home from overseas or my parents being closer, but it really feels great to be back to my normal Christmas spirit self! I don’t have my tree up yet, but you better believe it’ll be up by Sunday!
I’m excited for the day after Thanksgiving too, becuase Phyllis and I spend all day putting up the Christmas decorations at their house, and they have a whole lot of them! We blast the Christmas music while Nick’s dad makes us egg nog mudslides….
Whoops getting off track becuase of my excitement!
Back to friends giving baking! Becca made whiskey brownie bites with walnuts!…yum!!
Nick cooked at Leo’s house all day. He made his chicken Alfredo and it’s to die for! It’s all from scratch…It’s thick, cheesy, creamy, and out of this world! He even grills the chicken before adding it to the Alfredo. That’s one recipe I won’t be able to share with you guys! Since we are all having the traditional Thanksgiving food tomorrow, we decided to have a non traditional friendsgiving. We had alfredo, pork loin, potatoes, and caesar salad. It was totally random, but it totally worked.
Becca and I made a quick trip to Montford to hang out with Rachel and her friends and then headed back to Leo’s for the rest of the night.
We ended the night watching football, eating desserts with coffee, and sitting out by the fire. My oatmeal cream pies were a hit and there were none left…
I had actually been fighting a sickness all weekend and tried to be a trooper through all the things going on. I was on antibiotics and had the “non contagious” clear, so I was good to go. I could hardly eat all weekend, but I still enjoyed bites here and there. Saturday and Sunday were the worst days, so Nick brought me breakfast Sunday morning I enjoyed coffee while working on some things and catching up on Scream Queens. The dogs stole my donut…:( We would have had a problem if they took my coffee. Oh, and I definitely woke up like that
Around ten, I got up and ready for church. I could hardly talk or breath out of my nose, but no one could tell
I finally had my appetite back. Nick’s family friend, Willie, flew down for Thanksgiving like he did last year, so we all went out for lunch at HoBo’s in downtown Fort Mill. I tried fried green tomatoes for the first time and actually enjoyed their grits! I’m not a huge grit person.
I ordered the cobb salad. It had egg, bacon, tomato, mixed greens, grilled chicken, avocado, candied pecans, and ranch on the side. IT WAS AMAZING AND GIANT!
When we got back from lunch, I had a cup of coffee, Christmas shopped on the computer, walked Grumples for three miles, and then we all went to Mockingjay part 2! I thought the movie was by far the worst of all of them. What did you guys think of the movie?
It was FREEEEEEZING Monday morning. Literally. I had to scrape all the frost off my windshield and crank the heat up. It was the perfect excuse to cuddle up on the couch with my pup and coffee while checking emails.
I put a little eggnog in this one
It finally warmed up and Grumples and I headed out for a long walk. My lungs aren’t functioning right yet becuase of being sick, so I can’t run right now. I tried and had a horribly hard time breathing. It’s defintley frustrating, but there are so many other things I can do to get active that don’t involve cardio.
For dinner on Monday, I stopped at Chopt again and bought Nick and I salads. We wanted something quick and healthy before the Hornets game. I grabbed the kebab cobb salad again, but will try something different next time!
It was such a good game on Monday night! It was a nail biter for sure! My friend Anthony was starving at the game becuase he didn’t eat dinner and it went into overtime, so I gave him one of my Gold Emblem Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Nut bars from CVS. If you haven’t checked out their healthy food selection yet, you need to! I’m always looking for healthy snacks when I’m out and about. The Gold Emblem are free of artificial flavors and preservatives. I’ll be posting more about their awesome products next week!
I’m pourd to partner with CVS/pharmacy for the Day in the Life campaign. I am being sponsored by CVS/pharmacy for my posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.COM or with the appropriate manufacturers.
I got my Christmas mug out Yesterday morning
Since we don’t get snow here much, I’ve been adding my own to the photos to put me in the winter mood
I finally ran yesterday…for a mile and then my lungs were burning. I switched over to weights and an ab workout. I had to take photos in the ND hat becuase Nick left it at my house and he had been searching everywhere for it. I was just throwing it in his face Especially since IOWA IS ABOVE ND AND MADE THE COVER OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED!
But…I actually like ND.
I hate posting stomach photos and you can stomach shame me all you want, but I thought this photo was adorable. Grumps was happy to see me after leaving him for 45 minutes. Dogs are so loyal.
I spent the rest of the afternoon packaging items up for the shop and sorting through all the new inventory! I can’t wait to do the shoot this weekend! It’s all things Holiday!
I made steak fajita lettuce wraps for dinner last night and they were so so so so good! I’ll post that recipe soon!
I hope you all have a GREAT Thanksiginvg weekend. I’ll be back with more posts soon and hopefully new pictures from the Simply Taralynn Collection shoot!
I love ending my posts with three questions for you! It helps me get to know my readers and allows me to interact with all of you! I sit here and talk about myself for an hour, so I want you guys to talk about yourselves!
Tell me your favorite Thanksgiving memory/or tradition.
What is one dish you’ll be steering clear from this year and why?
Do you put your Holiday decorations up before or after Thanksgiving?
Can you believe it’s already Friday? I hope you all have some fun and relaxing plans for the weekend. I did an update post yesterday and by the end of it, I was (mind) exhausted and felt overwhelmed after reading through it. It made me realize that waiting two weeks to do a recap post is ridiculous and I need to do smaller frequent ones to keep all my photos and daily activities organized. I’d also love to get your opinions. Do you like the daily short ones, or the extra long ones?
Yesterday, the day started out so calm and relaxing. I had my coffee, my pups were cuddled up next to me, and I did my daily emails while watching Good Morning America.
Fifteen minutes later, the dogs went nuts. I’m not sure what they got into but they were crazy all day long. I had to move my coffee table just so they could wrestle on the living room floor instead of my couch. If you follow me on snapchat @taralynnmcnitt) you probably saw some of the nonsense. That is why this post is filled with dog photos becuase they were a big part of my day — and becuase they’re incredibly cute.
That is Grumple’s “mom let’s go for a walk face”, so I just took the both of them over to the dog park.
The dog park calmed them for a bit and it allowed me to get some work done.
I hate when I need to get up to get something, but the dog is so soft and warm cuddled up next to me. I always feel guilty getting up.
Around noon, my friend and I went to the Riverwalk to walk the trail while enjoying the beautiful weather.
The skies were so blue, the river was loud and rough, and the grass was turning bright green. Spring is just around the corner
Our walking time was really bad becuase we couldn’t help ourselves from stopping to take photos and look at all the different views of the river. The river looked light green yesterday.
They added more trails and walkways at the river walk so it’s even longer now!
I love when you can see the sky’s reflection on the river.
This would be a cute picnic spot.
The time is so bad, but we had lots of stops and I really enjoyed the walk!
For lunch, we headed to the Juice Bar. I grabbed one of their superfood protein bars. I keep it in the refrigerator and have a piece whenever I need quick energy or a snack in-between meals. They don’t look very good, but I promise you that they are. This one had raw oats, flax seed, chia seed, bee pollen, maca, natural peanut butter, vegan protein powder, goji berries, and spirulina.
This time, I ordered the wheat grass shot and the matcha green tea smoothie. I love wheatgrass and the flavor is almost sweet to me. After reading 50 Reasons to Drink Wheatgrass Everyday on one of my favorite sites, I’ve been more inspired to do it. The matcha green tea smoothie was really good. I believe it was just added to the menu and I’m already craving one today! Maybe after my run!
When I got back to my place, the dogs were at it again.
I had to take them over to the park again. They got into the puppy crack apparently.
These goofballs didn’t take their eyes off me while preparing dinner. They know they’re not supposed to be in the kitchen, but those faces…
I made a goat cheese mixed green salad with fruit and homemade chicken nuggets! My homemade chicken nugget recipe can be found here and it’s so much better than the store-bought kind!
My salad had strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, organic spring mix greens, pecans, sesame breadsticks, and crumbled goat cheese. I used the low sodium Panera bread Balsamic dressing and I really liked it. Panera probably has the best “store bought” dressings. You can usually find it in your grocery store’s produce aisle next to the bags of lettuce.
Mix the greens in the dressing first, and then add in all the ingredients and crumble the goat cheese on top.
This salad is so good paired with Pinot Noir! This is the salad I made for bachelor night.
Yesterday was a great day and I’m already looking forward to today. If you go into each day with positivity and tell yourself that everything is going to be great, then it probably will!
Questions for you guys!
What is your favorite salad combination you like to make at home?
Do you like my longer blog posts or these shorter blog posts?
I finally have the time to sit down and blog. Life has been pretty busy on my end and also very exciting as well. I had yesterday scheduled out to blog, but of course life got in the way again. I had a bed delivered from the furniture store and they ended up shipping the wrong size. They sent a queen and I needed a king, so I had to cancel the order. I called my dad up and asked him how spontaneous he was feeling and then asked if he’d like to build a bed! He was extremely excited to have a new project and we headed to the drawing board. After we drew it all out, we headed to Lowe’s and built a bed in three hours under $150.00. That just saved me $600…I cannot WAIT to show you the final project. I have a couple teaser photos included in this post. While we were working on the bed, a camper pulled up in my parents driveway…IT WAS MY FAMILY FROM IOWA! They surprised us with a visit and I was so happy. No way was I going to sit on the computer while they were over, so I decided to just post my updates this morning!
& here it goes!
Wednesday was the last day of my mini getaway. My friend’s and I spent the day out shopping and grabbed some coffee at Starbucks. I always order a tall nonfat latte with an extra shot of espresso.
After shopping, we had an early dinner. I had an early flight, so wanted to get back to my hotel to pack. I had a seafood salad for dinner. It came with spring blend lettuce, cucumber, stuffed shrimp, crumbled crab, bacon, pita crisps, sliced almonds, onion, and tomatoes. I had a side of ranch and balsamic. I like to mix the two dressings. It was a very unique combo for a salad and tasted really well.
The car picked me up at my hotel at 6:30 am and I made it to the airport around 7:15. I didn’t want to get caught up in rush hour, so I headed out about an hour early. I had a coffee and a bowl of Cheerios as I waited at my gate. I also downloaded a couple of documentaries for the trip.
When I got to my layover, I grabbed some fresh fruit, nuts and yogurt for lunch.
On the flight back to Charlotte, I watched the documentary “Caffeinated.” It was such a great film and it really opened your eyes (not a pun) to how the coffee industry really works. I never knew how intense and detailed the coffee process was and how much work is put into creating that perfect cup of coffee. It makes you really appreciate your coffee and want to get better at drinking, preparing and buying it. I highly recommend watching this if you are a coffee drinker. I really appreciate the farmer’s after this and think we should be giving more money to them for the hard work they put into our morning coffee. All of the coffee they keep in their country is the coffee they can’t sell to us. It’s very educational.
I got back to Charlotte around five and headed to the grocery store to pick up some food for dinner and other necessities. I was so happy to see Grumples! We went for a long walk and then headed back to my place to have dinner and cuddle up together. I made a Caesar salad and some fried eggs. I ended up watching the Blindside (one of my favorite movies) and fell asleep so early.
I worked out as much as I could on my trip, but not a lot. I had been slacking on my running, so I wanted to get out there and run one more time before the race. I decided to just jog a bit and only do three miles. I know a lot of people think it’s horrible to run the day before a race, but I needed to do it as confidence booster. I’m not a natural runner or someone who has been doing it for years, so it’s hard for me.
The run ended up being beautiful and it was gorgeous outside. I didn’t have any pains, tiredness, or struggles. This gave me the confidence to run Saturday morning. I’m going to be completely honest, I hate races. I don’t like running to compete, I like running becuase it makes me happy. I get anxiety at races or feel overwhelmed with all the people around me. I do want to fix that and get better, so I’m not going to rule races out. I’m going to stick to small races and work myself up.
It was gorgeous Friday and I couldn’t wait to spend all day out in the sun. The peach trees all have buds down here in South Carolina! I was craving a smoothie after the run, so I headed to the grocery store to pick up some fresh kale and spinach to make one at home.
My smoothie had coconut water, spinach, kale, vanilla protein powder, frozen blueberries, frozen banana, frozen peaches, frozen strawberries, ice, and almond milk.
I topped my smoothie with dehydrated oranges and chia seeds. I loved how smooth and fruity it was. I have a feeling I’m about to go into my smoothie phase.
After my run, Grumples and I headed out to play. I get puppy withdrawals when I’m away too long! I ended up buying him tons of toys and annoying him to the fullest with kisses.
Grumple’s favorite thing to do is sit out on the patio, next to his bed and people watch. Sometimes I’ll bring a cup of coffee out and sit with him.
Becca and I went to dinner on Friday night. We planned on going to the Wine Bar over by the river but it was packed. We settled for having dinner at Fratelli’s in Baxter village and then heading over to the Grapevine for a glass of wine.
We started out with a plate of Bruschetta.
I ordered a grilled chicken salad, but they forgot the chicken. It was no big deal though, they brought it out after I also had a little cup of minestrone soup. The salad was so fresh and delicious!
We sat out by the fire at Grapevine listening to people’s hilarious conversations. Yes, we are those girl’s. We followed up the wine with some Fro-yo. It’s been forever since I’ve treated myself to frozen yogurt I had the vanilla almond milk froyo with some delicious goodies on top!
I woke up at 5:30 on Saturday so I could have my coffee, breakfast and relax before the race. I also made a new random playlist for the run. These are songs that just get me going for some reason. My top favorites are: How to Love, Snitch B*tch, Me, Myself, & I, and Same Old Love. I had about ten more songs on the playlist that aren’t in the screen shot. Lots of Eminem….
My pre-run food is always cereal with almond milk. It fuels me, gives me energy and my body handles it really well. You have to test out different pre-run foods and find out what works best for your body. Not everyone can eat the same thing before a race.
I headed over to the race at 8:00 am and did a quick mile and then stretched. I am not a morning runner, so it was a struggle. The route ended up being very hilly, but I was still pretty excited about my time. I ran the 3.1 in 28:28.
It wasn’t my fastest or best time, but it was still exciting for me. Last year, I finished the race in 31: something. I caught myself being disappointed in finishing it in 28:28, but then I had to remind myself that years ago, I would have never ran a race or ran a mile. I need to be proud of myself for doing things I never thought possible and proud of myself for constantly trying to better my life.
Right after my pep talk, they announced my name as the 1st place winner for the 20-29 female age group. I was so excited and so proud of myself.
My friend Becca was the best! She was there to support me and get excited with me.
We decided to treat ourselves to a delicious lunch at one of our favorite places, Luna’s Living Kitchen! It was so nice out, so we sat outside.
I ordered one of my favorite drinks from Luna’s, the coconut milk latte.
I ordered the fire & brimstone veggie burger. It had spiced chipolte sunflower hummus, onion, cucumber, salsa verde and house hot sauce wrapped in collard leaf. I had the broccoli Wald0rf salad on the side and I’ve been craving it ever since. The broccoli Waldorf has broccoli, green apple, celery, walnuts, raisins and red onion tossed with homemade cashew mayonnaise & lemon juice.
The food at Luna’s is so fresh and unique. I could eat it everyday.
We headed to Ikea after lunch to pick out some new bedding. I had to climb to the top to grab some boxes and I felt like a spider monkey…
After Ikea, we headed to get our haircuts. I had a deep condition treatment and two inches cut off. Next, we headed to Target to get toilet paper and we came out with everything but that…I bought tons of cozy clothes on sale. I love seaters, leggings and anything soft! Becca and I also made a pact to never say negative things about our bodies because we do it a lot. I think it’s so much more uplifting to say amazing things about yourself and others. You just feel better and negativity should never be welcomed. There is no reason to look in the mirror and see flaws, just see beautiful. We are all beautiful.
I headed to my parents house for dinner on Saturday night. We decided to cozy up to a bonfire and a movie.
My mom couldn’t stop talking about her radishes she found at the farmer’s market and she was so proud of them. It became the on going joke all night.
I made dinner for my family on Saturday night. I made delicious turkey burgers wrapped in lettuce and Greek yogurt coleslaw! The turkey burgers were mixed with egg, italian bread crumbs, pepper, low sodium soy sauce, garlic powder, italian seasoning, minced onion, cheddar cheese, and honey.
The coleslaw had coleslaw cabbage blend, light olive oil mayo, Greek yogurt, honey, pickle juice, yellow mustard, celery salt, chopped onion, and pepper.
The burgers were so amazing that I ended up going back for another and had to stop myself from eating a third. I want to make them again soon!
I met up with Becca Sunday morning for our weekend coffee date. We’ve decided to make this a tradition. I’m a very traditional person and get excited for “the usual.”
It was so chilly on Sunday and I didn’t mind it. It gave me another opportunity to wear my pants and a thick coat. After our breakfast, we headed to Southpark mall to shop around. I will be doing an outfit post in the morning I want to start doing more fashion posts.
After walking the mall, we went to change into some workout clothes and get in a nice Sunday walk. It was pretty chilly out and we contemplated on going to a movie instead, but fitness was more important.
We did a seven mile trail and it was one of the prettiest places I’ve ever walked in Charlotte.
The name of the trail is the four mile creek Greenway.
It was like a hidden forest with random swamp spots.
We also played the “cuss word game”… If a cuss word comes out of your mouth, you have to drop down and do twenty sit ups + five burpees. We did this for seven miles and I’m still sore today!
It was five by the time we were finished walking and we were super hungry. The only thing I had all day was a dirty chai and a crescent. We went to Hobo’s in downtown Fort Mill for some salads and I had a glass of wine. I ordered a basic grilled chicken salad with ranch on the side.
After breakfast on Monday morning, I headed to my parents house so my dad and I could get started on our project! First I had my cereal
My dad amazes me. We drew up a plan in like ten minutes, bought all the materials, had a vision and just went with it. I told him what I wanted and he made it come to life.
Sometimes, I wish I had a truck.
I had a BLAST learning and building with him and I get to put it in my room tomorrow We are going to deliver it to my place. I’m also adding side lights to the bed.
While we were staining the bed, our family showed up to surprised us! My dad and I hurried up and finished the bed and then we got to cooking and all hanging out drinking wine! They drove all the way from Iowa I haven’t seen them in two years.
My dad made some delicious homemade fries and I made some of those special burgers!
I was in bed right after attempting to watch Dancing With the Stars.
I headed back to my place this morning to catch up on my work and get my room ready for the new bed I’m definitely skipping out on a workout tonight. I may do a walk tomorrow, but my legs are killing me!
I hope you guys enjoyed the recap:)
Questions for you!
Do you have any weekly traditions you look forward to?
Do any of you enjoy running, but NOT running races?
This dinner was so filling and very satisfying! I’m excited for part two of DWTS & The Bachelorette! #TEAMKAITLYN #TEAMRALLISON
. It was so delicious!
