five on Friday | keeping it real

To be honest, I wasn't even going to post anything today. I took a sick day from work yesterday because that indigestion I mentioned? Yeah it's here to stay and it's hitting me with a vengeance. I'm taking medicine, trying to follow all the rules (like don't eat, drink, bend over, or lay down. ever.) but it's slowly killing me from the inside out. 

Anyway, I didn't think I had any blogging material (and you may agree after reading this) but I realized I can share my week with you by 'keeping it real'. So here goes:

one.

I started off my day yesterday at 3am! So productive of me, right? Nope. Acid reflux. So I found this fitting and posted it on instagram at that ungodly hour:

two.

Despite not being able to eat (ever), I came across this heaven on earth and texted Mark with the caption TAKE ME HERE. He totally understood the urgency and I fully expect it to happen for our next date night when I can eat again (which will be never).

three.

Did I say I couldn't eat? I lied. I made these on Monday night and they are already gone. Whoops. #maybethatswhyIhaveheartburn #sorrynotsorry

four.

Thanks to my general lack of motivation and ability to lift myself out of bed yesterday, I've successfully made it to season 5 of Downton Abbey. Don't spoil it!

five.

Ok, so I did take some pictures yesterday to document my 'realness'. This was the extent:

she stayed here literally all day

I got 'dressed' at 7:30pm. This was about as dressed as I could force myself to get.

yes, yes it was. 

my setup for the rest of the evening.

So there it is, y'all. Completely real, uncut, uncensored day in the life of a poor unfortunate soul. Happy Friday all!

*this post contains excessive use of sarcasm and dramatics. user assumes all risk.

Five on Friday - standard time

Happy Friday! I'm linking up here with April on this November Friday. See my weekly roundup below!

-one-

Standard time.

I hate it! I hate standard time. I hate that I drive home from work in the dark! I hate that I have to wait 5 whole days every week until I get to the weekend so I can take blog and etsy pictures in the sunlight. I hate that I want to go to bed at 8pm because it’s pitch black outside. I hate that I can’t leave my blinds open all day because people can see into my house once it hits 5pm. I hate that I can’t go on walks around the neighborhood. I hate that I can’t water the plants or get work done outside (Mark too!).

Don’t get me wrong, I love a cozy night on the couch watching Netflix and drinking hot chocolate, but not EVERY night for 6 months! I attribute ALL of my winter weight to standard time. Ever heard of seasonal affective disorder? Self-diagnosed right here. Gah!

-two-

Speaking of Netflix…I’m halfway through season 3 (of Gilmore Girls, discussed way too many times previously). I seem to be averaging one season per week. Do I have a problem? No. Ask me again in 4 weeks when I’m done and have to start all over!

-three-

I went through the house this week and slowly siphoned out all of the Halloween décor (skulls, skeletons, etc.) and left out the Fall things. They will stay there until early December! We do a real tree and I don’t like getting it too early because the clutter gets overwhelming and dealing with a dead tree is no fun! There is still a lonely skull hanging out on the front porch that I haven’t grabbed yet. Whoops! Right now everything is kind of piling up in the garage…add that to the list of things to do this weekend in between season 3 and 4!

-four-

Re: waiting until the weekend to take photos – I’m anxiously waiting to get some outfit pictures in this top that I got from eShakti! I have a TON of new information about this super cool company and I wore the shirt to work yesterday and got some compliments! I can’t wait to show you how else I’m wearing it and tell you all about eShakti! I was so impressed with them! 

I’m also taking some photos of a new camera strap that has been neglected for a couple of weeks, but it’s SO super cute! Be sure to check out my Etsy shop as I’m restocking for Christmas over the next couple of weeks and let me know if you want anything custom!

-five-

It’s finally soup and chili season in Texas (maybe there is ONE good thing about standard time?) so I’m pulling out the crockpot and making my version of some chicken taco soup/chili tonight. Mark’s parents are coming down to visit and I’m excited for some chit-chat over a warm bowl of this! My recipe is one of my favorite meals ever so keep an eye out for the recipe here soon!

Happy Weekend, y’all!

Blogtober day 31 : Halloween costume reveal and a pretty cute Five on Friday

Happy Friday, y'all! And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I'm linking up here with April for five on Friday and here with Helene and Taylor for the final day of blogtober. 

-one-

I was super anti-fit bit earlier this year, but I've recently come to see the value in some sort of pedometer. I downloaded this free app on my new iPhone a couple of months ago and I LOVE it! It's called Pacer and you can find it here in the app store. You leave it open and as long as you have your phone with you, it tracks your steps. I also enter my weight so it tracks any weight loss with a line graph. It has a ton of other features like 'couch to 10k' plans and activity graphs, but it is really easy to use if you just want a simple way to track your activity. It is a little weird when I'm grabbing my phone to run to the bathroom or to the printer and back, but I want to make sure everything is accounted for! I think I'm open to a fit bit, now!

(this was very early in the morning!)

Bar graph showing steps for the week...

...Or turn it sideways to get your trends and see activity, calories, steps, weight, and blood pressure graphs for the last month.

Plans available!

-two-

Mark and I are crazy and we signed up for a co-ed soccer team. Little back story: when we were younger, I was in band, Mark played soccer. Clearly one of us has more athletic prowess than the other. On top of that, Mark tore his ACL in his left leg during his senior year of high school. From there, he only played on our college club team and in other rec leagues. It was in a rec league 6 months before our wedding that Mark (unfortunately) tore the ACL in his right leg, bringing back bad memories and a resentment towards soccer. He hasn't played since then!

A couple of his friends play just for fun and they asked us to be in this co-ed team with them. We hesitated but they assured us that it was a super easy league and Mark wouldn't get hurt. Well, we did it. Last night was our first game and it was super fun! I am going to be super anxious this entire season about Mark's safety, but hopefully he is smart enough to take care of himself! We agreed that he would do his best not to play competitively, but I'm not sure that's possible when competition has been ingrained in him since he was 8! 

We ended up tying the game 4-4. Mark didn't get hurt, but he did cramp up and get kicked a couple times, which made me freak out a bit. I also didn't get hurt! I went knee to knee with a guy that had about 50 lbs on me and I took him down! I felt pretty good about myself, even though I later whiffed the ball about 5 times.

-three-

I've been trying really hard lately to save money and eat better and I've found that simply bringing my lunch makes a huge difference in both of those areas. We typically shop at Kroger for groceries but we have a Tom Thumb near our house (part of SafeWay) and I've found quite a few things that I've worked into my weekly lunch routine:

(sorry they don't have images I can find on the website!)

I've found two salads that are pretty similar but they are my FAVORITE! The Santa Fe Style salad and the Southwestern BBQ are soooo good. It is made up of super fresh green lettuce with the components in their own little tray on top. The dressings for both salads are super good, and they both clock in under 300 calories but you feel full after your lunch! Seriously, SO good. 

I also reallllly like their Tuscan tomato & basil bisque as well as their low fat zesty fiesta chicken tortilla soup. Both good, both relatively low in calories, and super yummy. 

And....when I'm tempted to just get fast food because I'm tired of my low calorie meals, I try to instead divert myself to Target and grab a 'treat' with this Panera baked potato soup. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good, y'all. At 420 calories for a pretty big tub, it's cheating a little without breaking the bank. Way better than a Whataburger meal! (find it in the cases next to the deli!)

-four-

As I've mentioned, I'm pretty picky. That being said, I'm trying to change my taste buds and my habits to get the nutrients I need. I finally tried out these Bolthouse Farms juices and lemme say, they are pretty good! 

Berry Boost is my favorite and perhaps the safest, but I also like Tropical Goodness and C boost. I have decided I'm definitely not a big blueberry fan because I bought Blue Goodness and while I can get it down, it's my least favorite. I also bought Green Goodness but I haven't had the guts to try it yet!

-five-

It's Halloween, y'all! We had big plans to stay home and do nothing, but they were thwarted by the offer of free lasagna, free homemade dessert, free candy (if you count stolen as free), and some good family time. We are going to go see these munchkins and hang out with their parents, my parents, and my sister's in-laws for the evening. 

I was going to show you my 'costume' of a working adult, but these were way cuter :)

You guys stay safe and have a happy Halloween!!! 

Blogtober day 24 AND Five on Friday is back!

I’m mixing it up a bit! Today is blogtober and also five on Friday! (it’s back!!!)

One

We’ll start off with blogtober. Today’s prompt was favorite beauty product. I already talked about the things I hold near and dear to my heart, but this is also something that I use most days:

I went to the Clinique counter when I started working after college and my face would get super oily and melty (seriously) after a solid 9 hour work day. I tried out their AcneSolutions first and I’ve stuck with it for four years! A lot of people don’t wear foundation, but I have some pretty bad skin under there and I’m just a tad bit sensitive about, and Clinique helps me feel good and put together every day. I haven't tried really anything else of theirs, but please mention it in the comments if they have something you love!

Two

The weekend holds NO plans. I can’t say how excited I am about this! Before Mark, I used to thrive on being busy and getting out of the house. Now, I’ve slowly morphed into a home body and I love being productive! That’s not to say that we won’t end up doing anything, but at least we aren’t bound to any plans!!! 

Three

My friend Anna hosted a Stella & Dot tea party yesterday and it was super fun!!! 

I purchased my wedding day earrings through S&D and I’ve been eyeing some of these pieces lately. I didn’t purchase anything last night but I’m putting these on my wish list for my upcoming anniversary!!!

kimberly necklace

gabrielle pearl necklace

sanibel reversible pendant

p.s. make sure you check out Anna's etsy shop here! She has the best stuff!!!

Four

I’ve been totally slacking in the eating right/working out area of my life over the past two weeks. I love how good a workout feels but I hate how I’d rather sit on the couch in my pajamas and watch Gilmore Girls. I’ve been pinning lots of clothes as motivation onto my wish list board, but it’s only halfway helping. Any of you guys have tips out there for getting back in the swing of things??

Five

Yes, I mentioned it earlier. Gilmore Girls is on Netflix!!! I’m sure any woman aged 23-35 already knows this, as it’s been prettttyyy major news. I LOVE me some Gilmore Girls. It ranks high on my list like others feel about Friends or The Office. I think I’ll rewatch the series over and over, as long as Netflix exists. I’ve noticed some things that I didn’t realize when I was watching it 10 years ago…I used to LOVE Dean and hate Jess, but I can kind of see how they made Dean be kind of a jerk/womanizer now. I guess my teenage heart didn’t get it back then. Anyway, I’m midway through season 2, and I’ll probabbblyyyy be deep into season 3 by the time the weekend is over. Because #noplans

I'm linked up here for blogtober and here for Five on Friday!

Happy Friday y’all!!! 

Five on Friday, 2014 volume 9

Phew! What a week it has been! 

It's Friday now, so that means five on Friday!!! 

-one-

I finally finished watching the third season of Scandal. This season was kind of slow, but I feel like they could go a million ways after the season finale! If you haven't watched Scandal I suggest you do!

-two-

I'm obsessed with these treats. They are one of my two favorite desserts EVER. Seriously. I eat the whole pan within about 2 days! #fatgirlproblems

I'll post the recipe another day!

-three-

I had such a fun weekend with these two last weekend and we are going to make this one another one for the books! We are off to explore Fort Worth to celebrate Jayde's birthday and Jody's graduation from Aveda!

-four-

We have finally, FINALLY decided on a vacation. Mark married an adventurous girl (when it comes to going places) and we have been waffling over vacation spots for about 6 months. We are trying to do it on a budget and we finally found a good deal!

We are going to California in September for 4 days. We are staying at a resort on the beach in Oxnard, which is halfway between Malibu and Santa Barbara. The flexible plans include driving up and down the PCH, visiting Malibu, Santa Barbara, and the island of Santa Cruz for hiking, kayaking, and hopefully some whale watching, plus possibly a trip to wine country! In our spare time, we will be soaking up the California sun at the beach and in the pool. I can't WAIT! Please give me any tips or must-sees in the area!

-five-

Most importantly,

Five on Friday: 2014, volume 8

I'm rounding out my week with five on Friday! Today I'm linked up with Darci.

 This week it's a random compilation of all the things I was doing when I wasn't blogging over the past month and a half. Happy Friday!

-one-

My sister granted all immediate family members the 'right' to watch her kids for a few weekends in the spring due to some travel plans, so Mark and I took one of the first shifts in late March and had Audrey and Noah come spend about 48 hours at our house. We started off big with the plane museum, Chick fil a, and the park. By the end of the weekend we were playing in the front yard in our jammies and keeping it casual. We had a fun time and the kids were on their best behavior, so it all went well. I'm not going to mention the fact that I haven't gone a day without severe back pain since then...

-two-

We rang in Luke, Mason, and Griffin's birthdays in mid April and had a funny moment when Mark attempted to take all of the giant balloons from the party back to Andrea's house. They lasted like this for about 2 minutes before he got above 15 mph. Then they simultaneously took flight! It was a funny moment!

-three-

I had the rare opportunity to meet my sister in the middle of a weekday when we had Good Friday off in April. She was running late so I ducked into Nordstrom Rack to see if I could find some birthday gifts. I struck out in the birthday department but got super lucky in the women's shoes! I waffled between these two pairs:

buy them here, but not for the steal of a deal that I got them for! :)

reviewed by another blogger here!

...and ended up coming home with both. :) At under $65 for both, I'd say it was worth it!

-four-

I mentioned this little guy on Instagram a few weeks ago. It hasn't changed much since we brought it in the house, but I have big plans for some shelving and a coffee bar here! I scoured craigslist for a good 6 months before I pulled the trigger on this $100 beauty. :)

-five-

Last and certainly the most frustrating, I dropped my phone a couple weeks ago. I had JUST harassed my sister's mother-in-law about her bulky Otterbox case and bragged about the fact that my little case from J. Crew offered all the protection I needed. Not so, my friends, not so. 

I dropped it on the tile in my office's lobby and it must have landed weird. It still totally works and luckily the damage is mostly on the black case part of it, but it was a sad day for us all. My contract expires soon and I haven't decided if I'll get it fixed yet. Oh well!

It feels good to be back and I'll start updating you all on house projects next week! Happy weekend!