Hi, it’s me! I’m still here, just not as frequently as I used to be. I’m constantly up moving around making bread, doing the Peloton, out on walks, at the park, doing laundry, gardening, and the list keeps going! I need to get better at pouring myself a cup of coffee and sitting on the couch to blog. I can’t do it at night because my brain is mush, and I traded in my morning blogging for the Peloton, so I need to hop on the computer during my son’s long nap. The good news is that I am here to catch you all up (even if the laundry is overflowing and the counter has things that don’t belong there all over it!)

One of my favorite go-to breakfasts/or dinners lately has been eggs, avocado, and roasted potatoes!  It’s so easy to throw into a bowl and eat while I’m feeding dinner to my son. I try my best to eat with him! He’s in the mimicking stage right now, and I love it! He claps when you clap, says “mama,” pulls himself up to stand, can crawl at a fast speed, got his first tooth, sleeps through the night, eats more solid foods, and even climb up the stairs without assistance! I’ll share a video on Instagram later because it’s incredible. 

 I met up with my girlies last weekend for brunch at The Goodyear House. The last time I had eaten there, it was inside one of those igloos. The food was OUTSTANDING, and the service was 10/10. Although I promised myself to dine out less in 2023, I would still like to try out new restaurants in Charlotte once in a while. I tend to stay in my Fort Mill bubble a lot.  We shared the butter bean spread and the sweet potato fingerlings. The sweet potato fingerlings were one of the best sides I’ve had in a long time. I cannot believe how delicious! I want to go back just for a plate of those! 

 I ordered the Good Salad with lettuce, onion, parmigiano reggiano, and herb verde dressing with chicken. Not a drop was left on my plate!
A week of bread-making was in full swing! I tried a few new methods until figuring out how to make the absolute PERFECT loaf! 

I made several loaves with whipped honey cinnamon butter for Kyle to bring to work.

My goal is to do 16 to 17-mile rides on the weekend. I love starting the weekend with a long ride! (Chicken Caesar salad wrap recipe.)
 We try to get out daily when it’s not raining. February is our rainy month here in South Carolina. We get the spring showers ahead of time.

Link to his favorite toys! + his coffee cup!
I know this is so silly, but I love imagining and daydreaming about what this is going to look like in the summer.
 In true Taralynn fashion, I’ll do coffee and garden walks around the backyard each morning.

Rainy days

Last week, I tried the viral Big Mac salad all over TikTok. Honesty, ehhhhhhh didn’t care for it. Taco salads are superior. My dad was over and LOVED this recipe, so maybe it’s for the Big Mac lovers. I think it was the pickles that threw me off.
 
Sixteen-mile bike ride and a grocery trip with my favorite  He’s obsessed with cart rides. He laughs the entire time!

I’ve been having this combo after my early morning biker rides lately!

 
I tried the TikTok viral video of painting bread. It was cute, but colored bread still weirds me out. 


You can find my favorite bread accessories on my Amazon shop!
 
Trench work!

Would you believe me if I told you I made over 12 loaves of bread last weekend?

WE HAD A WIN FOR THE EAGLES! WOOOOOO! I cannot wait to see them play in the Super Bowl.
 Most people train their dogs to get off the couch, but we’ve been trying to train Tux to get up on the couch. He’s not sure how to do it yet, but once he’s up there, he nestles up and falls asleep. He reminds me so much of Grumples when he’s on the couch. We will keep working with him because I can tell he likes it!

I made some yummy oatmeal and banana fruit bars for Bug’s breakfast! He LOVES them. I cut them up into tiny bite-size pieces, and he eats them all so fast. I’ll post this recipe soon.   Yesterday was my birthday, and I enjoyed spending time with my family! We did a park date, shopped at the garden center, walked, and had a yummy dinner at home!  It’s been MONTHS since having Crumbl cookies. I used to love them, but our store always gives us cookies that are so raw…I still enjoy making The Fresh Cooky’s Crumbl Copycat cookies much better!  We had air-fried salmon, smashed potatoes, and lemon parm Brussels sprouts   My favorite birthday so far.  

Questions for you!

1. Have you stuck to your New Year’s resolutions (if you made any!)
2. What is one thing you’re looking forward to this summer?
3. Do you grow anything indoors?

If you’re wondering what is in my hand, Kyle’s sister sent us Chicago deep dish pizzas!

For lunches lately, I’ve been on a tuna salad kick with romaine and garlic dressing. I always end my lunch with an apple and peanut butter. I’m officially on day eight of my one cup of coffee a day. It’s been a big transition for me, but yesterday was the best day so far regarding how tired I feel. I used to always have coffee around 2 pm when I hit a wall. Now, I’ve had a chai tea bag with the Califa almond milk holiday egg nog. It’s so warm and cozy, and it makes for a perfect coffee substitute! I did order some new decaf coffee k-cup pods that should be here any day now! I will write up a blog post in January on how I feel after the cutback. Right now, I’m feeling less anxious but a bit foggier in the brain. We did a delicious stir-fry night to go with our t.v. shows! We have been watching A Teacher, The Undoing, and Flight Attendant! On Wednesday night, I made the yummiest tostadas! I was so hungry after my four-mile walk!  I’m trying to stay active as I can during December instead of being a hermit.

I need to dedicate a blog post to this one! I cooked up ground chicken, chopped cabbage with Siete taco seasoning, and added it to a corn tortilla with refried beans and Tessemae’s habanero ranch. WOW, was it good and I’ll be making it again!
I dedicated Thursday to repotting some of my plants! It was pretty crazy how some of them survived so long in the pots they were in. You’ll have to check out my vlogmas video to see my plant that is 4 1/2 years old (we call him BIG GREEN) who lived in his OG pot for his entire life. I honestly bought him thinking he would die on my porch during the winter, but he just kept coming back each year. I finally repotted him, and I was so shocked by what his roots did!

For dinner, I tried Whole Food’s cauliflower gnocchi and OH EM GEE! I think they’re better than Trader Joe’s! You can find them in the pasta section. I also made some banana oat muffins with the extra ripened bananas I had.

Here’s what’s in them:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl:
-3 large ripe bananas
-liquid stevia (about 3 drops or more)
-honey (1/4 cup)
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 cups of oats
-1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 tablespoon baking powder
You can watch me make these in the vlogmas video as well!

Bake at 375 in a nonstick pan for 20 minutes!

These muffins are perfect for in the mornings, on the go, or after a workout!  I did a 5-mile walk on Friday morning with my neighbor! It was so chilly out, but we walked fast enough to keep warm. I headed to my mom and dad’s later that day because my mom and I wanted to explore the York Christmas market. While I was editing vlogmas, my mom made me a chair tea with cloves, nutmeg, chai tea packet, and almond milk! So delicious!
Downtown York, SC reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie! We got tea at The Pour Farmer’s coffee cart, and it was delicious! I can’t wait to go back and try actual coffee. But how cute is this cart?
For dinner, I made my favorite zucchini pizzas!  We ended up watching a movie on Friday night, and I headed upstairs to go to bed before nine! The thing about not having coffee in the afternoon is that I’m ready to get some sleep early! Cozy Christmas decor  I was up bright and early on Saturday morning! I made sure my vlogmas was edited and posted before heading to do a workout with Emily and Caitlin! You’ll have to watch the vlogmas video of our workout! It was so fun, but I definitely struggled. That’s what you get when you take a month off. We headed to downtown Belmont for coffee and brunch after the workout. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to visit! This was my wake-up call that I need to make a list of surrounding towns in Charlotte and go visit + blog about them! How fun would that series be?

For the first time in my life, I ordered a DECAF almond milk cappuccino!  It was surprisingly delicious and did the trick! Sometimes I get coffee because I like the taste, not really for the caffeine. The Mugshot coffee shop was so stinkin’ cute. It was located next to the railroad tracks, and the downtown was so festive. I cannot wait to go back. I ended up bringing home their gluten-free & vegan poppy seed and chocolate zucchini bread, and HOLY MOLY, it was the most delicious bread we’ve ever had. I want to go back and buy them all. We went to Nellie’s for lunch! This is the restaurant owned by the Jonas Brothers! It was named after their grandmother, and Belmont is where she grew up.

The place was so cute inside, and the food was absolutely mouthwatering! I had their seasonal salad with grilled chicken and a honey mustard dressing. They also have a full gluten-free menu available, which is so nice! Later in the afternoon, after running a few errands with Kyle, I made a batch of the cutest gingerbread men! I made them on Vlogmas and answered a few Q&A questions, so check that out! Kyle and I went on a little date night on Saturday. We had dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Spice! After dinner, we took a drive in the neighborhood, looking at Christmas lights. The houses are decorated big here! I know I keep saying it, but to watch that video to see the homes all decorated! It’ll get you in the holiday spirit for sure!

Coat | shoes | sweater | hatI ordered the spice bowl for dinner. It had chicken, rice, jalapeños, edamame, onions, egg, onion, and a chili sauce. I ended my night with a fluffy bubble bath. The Honest brand lavender bubble bath is amazing! The bubbles practically go up to my ceiling! The lavender scent also helps relax the mind. I was in bed by 8:30 that night! I’ve been watching up at 4:30 am, so that’s why I’ve been falling asleep so early + the lack of coffee. I was up for another 5-mile walk with my neighbor on Sunday morning.

When I got back, I had a Dandelion Dark Roast decaf tea for my coffee replacement. The mocha mint is my favorite! I had someone recommend this tea on a Youtube video, and I bought the sample pack. So far, I like it! It’s the teeccino brand! If you read the reviews on Amazon, you’ll see how others love it too!
I spent all afternoon after my walk editing the vlogmas video. It was a long one! Late afternoon, Kyle and I started decorating the outside of the house.
We still have our ribbon for the poles to put up and the icicles, but it’s starting to look festive!

I hope you all have an amazing week! If you want to keep up with me more throughout the week, make sure you’re subscribed to my Youtube channel for daily vlogs this month!

Questions for you!

1. I talked about this in a video, but do you have a hard time keeping up with social media trends?
2. Have you decorated for the holidays yet?
3. Would you like to see a small town series on the blog?

I’m feeling so tired today. I kept waking up every hour of the night and then couldn’t fall back asleep at 4:00 am. I know it’s only 4 pm, but I’m already looking forward to taking a hot bath, reading my book, and going to bed early. I did manage to fit in a five-mile walk with my neighbor this morning, which sort of helped my energy levels. I also finished photographing a pie recipe that’ll be going live on the blog Wednesday. I’m telling you, it’s the best pie I’ve ever made and the best gluten-free pie crust I’ve ever had. I have to create a dairy-free replica of it tonight, so I can include substitutes that work, but oh em gee, am I excited to share this recipe with you! Anyways, I could go on about this pie for the rest of the blog, but I’m here to recap! I’ll get to that. I spent most of my week at home, fitting in walks, workouts, editing photos from a friend’s wedding, cooking, and organizing. Sometimes, it’s nice to hang out around the house and get things done. Monday morning after my walk, I had yogurt and Trader Joe’s gluten-free bread with peanut butter and honey.  This is what I ate while blogging last week’s recap blog. Later in the afternoon, I started a full-body workout from the Sweat App.  I’m officially a little over a month in, and I still love it, and it’s something I know I can stick to. I’m feeling stronger, and as the days go by, workouts make me less sore, and I can do more reps. I’m currently doing the 12-week program. For dinner, I made our go-to turkey meatloaf, green beans, and roasted potatoes. This is one of our favorite meals, and the leftovers are the best part! I spent most of Tuesday switching out my summer clothes for my fall/winter ones. I keep my seasonal clothes folded in bins and put them away to keep my closet less cluttered. I used to have them all together, but things got pretty crowded. I also reduced my clothing collection by 3/4 back when I lived in my townhome. I also like to know what I have before I start shopping for fall/winter clothes!

My Tuesday meals consisted of eggs and toast for breakfast, a yogurt parfait for lunch, and leftover turkey for dinner. I spent the rest of the evening reading and catching up on the book club! My workout on Wednesday was a one-mile run and a leg day on the Sweat app! I had pretty much the same meals as Tuesday and spent the rest of the day editing photos. I headed to my parent’s house with the dogs on Thursday morning. We were having our piano tuned, and a few hammers fixed, which would take about five hours. My mom agreed to do an arm day workout with the sweat app outside with me. It was gorgeous out, so we did it on the driveway. I always feel so good when I complete them and never feel like I’m too exhausted to do anything else for the rest of the day. My go-to lunch lately! I can’t get enough of this parfait life. I usually make my own homemade granola, but lately, I’ve been using the Cliff brand.  I made my three-ingredient brownies for dessert with almond flour, vanilla, and coconut sugar added this time. I also topped them off with Miss Jones fudge chocolate frosting.

I had a migraine. I could not shake that evening, so it was early to bed for me!
One of my sweet neighbors BOO’D me on Friday morning! Do your neighbors do this? It’s so cute!!!  Another morning walk with my neighbor on Friday morning!

Do you remember when I talked bout planting wildflowers back in March at the new house? Well, they’re all coming up now!! Unfortunately, the rain has made them all bend towards the ground, but this morning there were so many! All of the white cosmos are popping up now. I’ll have to get better photos this evening before it rains again. I spent ALL day cleaning and organizing the closets and placing things where I want them hung around the house.

I was way too tired to cook, so over meatloaf, and decided to order a salad from Carolina Alehouse for dinner. I started watching Emily in Paris that evening and stayed up way too late watching it. Such a cute show! Kyle and I headed to get coffee and books on Saturday morning! I wrote all about my outfit and that outing on this blog!  I’m going to try popping on for style blogs more often. When I got home, I finally got around to vacuuming and mopping! Of course, it ALWAYS rains after I do it. Here come wet puppy paws!  And for lunch, I had the usual! We headed over to our neighbors for dinner and movie night on Saturday evening. I made chicken and rice casserole (so goooood) to bring as a side. Sunday morning breakfast! We had eggs, English muffins, and yogurt.

I was lazy around the house most of the day but finally made it out to the store to pick up ingredients for the pie!
All it did was rain, but I guess that was the best excuse to watch the new season of Schitts Creek and bake a pie. For dinner, I had Caesar salad with chicken and rice. I ended up making another casserole to keep in the fridge for the week. We ended our night testing out the flaky gluten-free pumpkin pie! OH EM GEEEEEEE it was heaven. I’m telling you, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS! Look out for that recipe. I made this mini one because we lost daylight and wanted to wait until morning to photograph the big one. I’m already excited about tonight’s pumpkin pie dessert.

Anyways, I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite pie flavor? I’m going to make more this week!
2. Does fall weather have you going out on walks more?
3. How was your weekend?

I have no idea how it’s already the end of September, but it’s fine by me. I can’t wait for Halloween, October Bookclub, and fall foliage. I love that everyone in the neighborhood is bringing out the Halloween decorations. Fall just makes me so happy! Being able to sit outside in tolerable weather is what I look forward to all summer. I have a lot to do today before my parents come over for my dad’s birthday dinner tonight. I have my coffee, an egg sandwich, and it’s time to get this recap post written!On Monday, after getting a filling done (OUCH), I got all of my filming equipment out (dusted it off since it’s been a while) and filmed a cook with me for my YouTube channel. It was so much fun, and good practice before Vlogmas starts in just a few months! It was also really fun to chat with some of you during the premiere, so I’ll have to do those more often! After cleaning up the kitchen and editing a bit, I headed to the garage for my Sweat App workout! I’m still LOVING it and officially on week three. Many of you have been asking which program I’m doing, and right now, I’m just doing the beginner 12-week. It’s still challenging, and I’m feeling the burn. I don’t want a workout that makes me feel like I got hit by a bus for a week. And for dinner, butternut squash and turkey chili!   Almost every single morning (around 6 am) starts this way. Most evenings as well. I love diving into the book club picks to end or start my day. Leo always makes me move my feet when I’m sitting on this little sofa so he can snuggle up with me. It’s the cutest thing.

Two products that I’m loving and you should look out for at the grocery store are the Apple + Ginger Aha sparkling waters and the pumpkin spice Cheerios! The sparkling water tastes like apple juice! It’s so delicious, and I go through three cans a day. The pumpkin spice Cheerios have always been a favorite of mine, and they are back! The rose bushes that I planted in April have reached six feet. The ones out front are not too far behind this one as well, and they are producing so many roses! Can’t wait to plant more next year. I think they do the best in this clay soil.  Of course… One of the best reasons to have a gym at home is you get to work out with your pets. On Friday night, I made delicious homemade healthy ice cream! This had two bananas, 1 can of coconut milk, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, stevia, and a splash of vanilla. In the end I mixed in a spoon of creamy peanut butter.  I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to do Yoga with Becca. We did two hours of super relaxing yoga, and it flew by so fast that it felt like we were only there for five minutes. It was so relaxing by the river, especially with the cool breeze. We will be doing this again! We grabbed lunch together afterward since we were starving! We had Yummus salad bowls at clean juice with protein shakes. I kept the fall theme and ordered a Pumpkin shake with hemp protein. It was delicious! After stopping in a few of our favorite shops together, I headed home to clean, and then relax on the couch with coffee while watching Hocus Pocus! This movie never gets old. I picked up Crumble Cookies for the house since we had our friend Steve over for wine that evening. We had the most gorgeous foggy Sunday morning. I felt like it was a painting, and photos do not do it justice. Not only were the skies foggy, but they had a tint of pink coming through with the sun. I spent my entire morning out there with my coffee and book.   I’m also still working on my Halloween decor, but I’ll share a post o nit all when I’m done! I still haven’t gotten my pumpkins or mums yet!   Our neighbor was so sweet and brought us over mac and cheese in this dish, so I thought I’d send it back with some pumpkin bread! It made the house smell so good. I also made her my FAVORITE pumpkin spice ice cream to go with it. I will do a separate blog post for that one! It’s delicious. For dinner, Kyle and I had chicken with Thai Peanut sauce over rice.  We ended the week outside reading while the sunset!

This week was so relaxing!  I hope you have the best week and stay tuned for the October Book Club announcement!

Questions for you!

1. Describe your week in one word.
2. Did you do anything festive for fall over the weekend?
3. What is your favorite Halloween movie?

I know it’s been a bit, a little over a month, since writing a recap post, but I needed to take a break. It feels good to be back, and I’m ready to dive back into the routine of things. I took my first summer break in years, and it felt nice. I always feel more motivated in the fall, and with this weather, fall feels like it’s practically here.

We had family in town for Labor Day weekend, and it was so nice to see my brother and his girlfriend, Abby, finally! It’s been since December. The military had stringent restrictions for them, and after quarantining for over four months, they were given the thumbs up to travel home. We spent this past week outside most of the time and also eating a ton of good food! I can’t wait to share our weekend with you all in this post. My body is so sore from all the activities, so sitting on this couch writing is a convenient spot for me to be right now. Before heading to the airport in the afternoon, I went on a long walk with my neighbor around the neighborhood. The weather was in the 70s and that practically felt like a refrigerator to us after spending our usual mornings walking in 90-degree heat. When the weather is chilly, I get that warm and cuddly fall feeling inside. I’ll for sure be decorating with pumpkins in a few weeks! Before picking up my brother and Abby at the airport, I stopped at Starbucks to pick up an afternoon coffee. And since it was still a bit breezy, I decided to get a pumpkin spice latte. I have a few favorite ways to order pumpkin spice drinks at Starbucks and I’ll have to put those in a post sometime soon so you can try them. My go-to way of ordering a pumpkin spice latte is a tall almond milk pumpkin spice latte with only one pump of pumpkin and an extra shot of espresso. It’s the perfect ratio for someone who likes strong coffee, but still a hint of pumpkin. Every now and then I’ll have them keep the whipped topping. We were all pretty hungry after picking them up at the airport. We stopped at Fine & Fettle for an early dinner. The herbed truffle fries with aioli are pretty unbeatable. After stopping off at Trader Joes and picking up things for the house, we headed to the neighborhood pool to hangout. My parent’s stopped by as well, and we swam late into the evening. We were up bright and early on Thursday morning so we could hike up Crowder’s Mountain before it got too hot outside. We did a 5-mile hike after taking the wrong trail back to the car.

Crowder’s mountain is one of my favorite go-to hikes in Charlotte. It’s been a while since making it out that way, but this was a reminder that I need to hike there more often. After finishing our five-miles, we headed to Eight + Sand for breakfast in Charlotte.

I ordered the Eight + Sand Kale salad with grilled chicken. I also had the oat milk cortado. My brother had their oat milk chai latte and it was probably one of the best chai lattes I’ve ever had. It wasn’t overly sweet like most, and all of the spices tasted fresh as if they freshly ground the cinnamon and cloves themselves. Caitlin met up with us at the pool for the afternoon and we spent our time in the sun reading, drinking wine, and floating. I tried out the Fruit and Flower bubbly and it may officially be one of my favorite canned wines. I don’t know what has gotten into me lately, but there’s nothing better than canned wines by the pool. I may just be a sucker for cute packages. My brother and Abby made the most delicious Caesar salads for dinner on Thursday night. I cannot wait to make these again!

They massaged kale with the vegan Caesar dressing from Trader joes, topped it with homemade air-fried gluten-free croutons (I’ll have to ask about the seasoning they used!), toasted and seasoned cashews, vegan parmesan, and seasoned grilled shrimp on top.

I’ll be making this in my near future!
We spent the evening listneing to music, drinking wine, and playing cornhole outside on the porch. The weather couldn’t have been any more perfect. I was up bright and early so I could fit in some reading time. I knew with my brother visiting, I’d fall behind on book club, but luckily, I fit in my chapters early morning. My brother LOVES disc golfing, something I’ve never done. He mapped out a few courses to play while visiting, and we started at a course in Tega Cay. I’m happy we explored there because the park was right on the water, a few miles from my house, and I can’t wait to bring the dogs there to run.

We spent the morning disc golfing and I wasn’t too bad at it! I like doing things I’m good at, and if I’m horrible at something, I usually check out pretty quickly. That’s probably a quality I should work on lolAfter cleaning off, we all headed to Waxhaw to walk around the shops and grab a coffee at Crossroads coffee. I’ve been going to this place for the past six years, and I love that they’re still going strong. I ordered a small iced chai latte with almond milk and an extra shot of espresso. After exploring Waxhaw, we headed to Spice in Kingsley to have dinner. This has become one of my favorite restaurants! I always order their grilled salmon salad with a side of white rice. After dinner, we headed to go play mini golf! I forgot how fun it is, so we’ll definitely have to go back soon. When we got home, I made pineapple Dolewhip and we hung out in the kitchen chatting past midnight. Even though we went to bed late, we were up bright and early so we could go to play tennis. It felt SO GOOD to be back on the courts. It’s been a while, and the weather was barely over 70, so the perfect time to play. We had so much fun! I can’t wait to play again this weekend. After tennis, I ordered a pumpkin cream cold brew with almond milk and it was DELICIOUS. I forgot to order it without the classic, but the extra sugar was fine by me because I was exhausted and needed all the energy I could get. For breakfast, I had a gluten-free English muffin, avocado, everything but the bagel seasoning, and a protein smoothie. The smoothie has frozen peaches, raspberries, almond milk, raw fusion vanilla plant-based protein powder, and pumpkin seed protein powder. The pumpkin seed protein powder is super high magnesium and iron. It doesn’t taste like pumpkin at all, but still keeps things creamy while added extra nutrients. We headed to Charlotte on Saturday afternoon to stop by some breweries, grab lunch, and dinner. We first stopped in NoDa for Cabo Fish Taco, Heist Brewery, Birdsong Brewing Co for cider, beer, and Kombucha, and the Wooden Robot for our final brewery stop. We picked up pizza at Blaze on the way home and ended our evening on the patio having dinner and dessert. My next-door neighbor brought over a gluten-free Nothing Bundtz Cake, and WOW! It was my first time having one and it was delicious. Dangerously delicious. I was up early with my coffee and snuck in a few chapters of my book. I also picked these gorgeous purple velvet roses from my garden. Right now, all of my rose bushes have hundreds of buds and they will be in full bloom next week! I can’t wait to share those photos. I decided that I’ll be planting more rose bushes where the annuals are right now. They grow the best here with the clay dirt and they are low-maintenance. Some of the roses bushes I planted are already over my head and I’m 5’8!  We spent almost all morning and afternoon out on the Winthrop Lake disc golf course. My arm still feels like it’s going to fall off after all of the frisbee throwing, but I was so proud of my performance. I had a ton of pars and birdies, which is great for only my second time playing. I definitely think this is a sport I’d like to play again! We packed up the dogs and headed to my parent’s house for a fun backyard barbecue on Sunday night! I made my Frose recipe to bring over because it’s super refreshing! It’s just peaches and rose in my ice cream maker. I love making it homemade because there are no added syrups or sugars.
We spent the evening playing backyard games, swimming, and ending the night by the fireplace. I was cuddled under a blanket because of how chilly it was outside! I made my gluten-free fluffy pancakes for breakfast! I added bananas and blueberries to mine. My brother made vegan maple sausage and scrambled eggs for the side! This was a perfect breakfast before hitting the neighborhood trails. I jogged a bit but did 7.48 miles mostly walking and listening to podcasts. When it’s not miserably hot outside, it’s a lot easier to workout! The weekend definitely ended with a bang! We spent some time at the pool, and then T.C. and Abby made the most delicious vegan potato soup! She shared the recipe so I could blog it soon. I had it for dinner last night because it was so good and I’ll also be eating it again today! Our neighbors (the same that put on our 4th of July show) did the Labor Day weekend fireworks and they were stunning!

I dropped them off at the airport in the morning and was sad to see them go, but can’t wait to visit them next! Now, time to clean the house and get it ready for my Fall decorating video

Questions for you!

1. How was your Labor Day weekend?
2. Are you currently reading any of the Book Club picks?
3. Are you getting any Fall weather?

Last fall, I took a hiatus from working out, caring about the food I ate or cautiously watching my portion sizes. I’ve been very intuitive with my diet and exercise. I eat when I’m hungry (even if I just had lunch an hour ago), I go for a walk if I feel like it, and I have chocolate more than once a day if I want it. There haven’t been any rules for the way I live in a long time, and I’ve never felt this “normal.” The crazy part is that when you do physically recover from an eating disorder, it takes years for you to recover mentally. Anyone who’s been through it knows exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, consider yourselves very lucky. There were days when I never thought I’d get into that mindset. And it doesn’t help when your life is on the internet, and so many opinions about your body are circulating the comment section. If you gained weight, they let you know, and if you lose weight, they also let you know. That’s not healthy for anyone, and it’s not just the internet; I have people close in my life that are extremely toxic when it comes to diet culture, and I have to check myself out from those conversations completely. Thank you, therapist, for those exercises! As soon as I was old enough to walk and talk, I was already being introduced into the diet culture. I’d do my mom’s workout videos with her, I’d drink her Slimfast shakes, and I’d mimic my aunt’s Atkins diet. I was doing everything I could, even as a little kid, just to be thin and fit. My entire life up until a few years ago had been consumed with haunting thoughts and negative body positivity. I’ve been very open about it on the blog but took a step back these past months and chose not to talk about anything as I went on a new journey of exiting this whole “diet” world.

Where I’m going with this. 

Since taking my hiatus, I’ve been very happy and stress-free. All of my friends are extremely into fitness, and it’s been hard dealing with the FOMO and saying “no” when it comes to going to the gym or training for a race with them. But I’ve been very confident with my “no,” and that’s been the best part. I now feel healed in the mind and would like to start getting myself back into the world of fitness, but for the right reasons. I want to start reaching for more whole foods again and not having frozen pizza two nights in a row. I want to walk more trails and play more tennis now that it’s getting warmer. I don’t want to get back into running yet, but maybe eventually. The reason I want to start getting more active is so that I can feel strong, boost endorphins, and simply get into shape. When I say “get into shape,” I mean not heavy breathing after running up the stairs. I used to think “getting into shape” was looking good in a bikini, but that’s not the case. This time, I’m going into fitness differently. I’m ready for it this time. I used to force myself to do things because I let my diet culture mindset win. The crazy part is that even after my hiatus, my weight is lower than it has been in a few years, and my jeans fit me better. My doctor told me it’s because working out was causing my cortisol levels to rise so much, and after taking the hiatus, my body wasn’t in stress-mode, and I was losing weight. Again, it’s not about the weight, but that was just an example as to why I was not ready for fitness during that time in my life. I just want to get this all out here just in case anyone can relate to how I’m feeling or this stage in my life that I’m going through. And if none of this makes sense to you and you just came here for the smoothie recipe, scroll below. Starting today, I want to be more proactive in my activity levels. My Apple Watch is actually on the charger for the first time in five months…

I’m not going on a diet…

Last night, after eating the last slice of frozen pizza, I said to Kyle, “I think I’m going to start Whole30 tomorrow.” And then I thought to myself, WHY?” Was I just doing that because I felt bad about the pizza, or was I just sinking back into old habits? Well, whatever it was, I quickly said, “no, you’re not going to do Whole30 tomorrow.” Instead, “You’re going to go to the grocery store and purchasing a ton of great nutritious foods and continue to eat intuitively.” So that is what I did today. I loaded my cart with fresh produce, frozen fruits for smoothies, fresh fish, tea, dark chocolate, gluten-free bread, crackers, hummus, yogurt, roasted almonds, protein powder, and more. My goal is to keep eating as healthy as possible but treating myself whenever I feel like I want something. I was just very proud of myself for sticking out this long-term goal of mine, and always practicing intuitive eating and zero limitations. Life, for me, is about balance. For example, on Wednesday night, I had french fries for dinner and didn’t think twice about it. Old me would have been distraught.

There’s no moral to the story here other than that it’s human for us to want to fall back into old habits, but we need to recognize that and choose the better route. My goal this spring is to start eating better and moving more but for the RIGHT reasons. It’s simple, and maybe this inspired someone to do the same, or not to go down the route they didn’t want to go when it came to “dieting.”

Now, I hope you’re ready for some smoothie bowls, trail walking posts, tennis, big jumbo salads, and more this spring! I’m ready to start feeling like my best self again.

This weekend, I am going to do THREE active things. I challenge you to do the same. I’ll be talking more about this on Monday, and I hope you report back with what activities you did! Sorry for the rambling, but sometimes I feel like it’s the best form of therapy! Typing this out also helps, and I always feel like you all hold me accountable when I mention something. I know at least one of you will, and that’s all it takes for me to feel it.

Oh, you wanted this smoothie bowl recipe? It’s just unsweetened cashew milk, fresh spinach, frozen raspberries, frozen peaches, and one scoop of Vega vanilla with greens protein powder. I topped it with banana, granola, coconut, and chia seeds!

Questions for you

1. Did you notice my lack of health and fitness posts?
2. What will you do to get active this weekend?
3. Would you like me to talk more about this new journey?

It looks like it’s going to be a rainy week, and I’m not even mad about it. It’s the perfect excuse to catch up on blogs, reading, housework, and wedding planning. It’s as if I’ve done a 180 with planning the wedding, and things have seemed to fall into place this past week. I’m pretty excited about how far I’ve come along with it all. The venue, catering, photographer, and more have been locked-in as of last week, and I’ll be doing more finalizing over the next few days.  And a big thank you for all the advice you all provided the previous week. I think the biggest takeaway from it all was the comment, “there are no rules.”

Aside from wedding stuff, house stuff, and work projects, my week was good. The best part was reuniting with one of my great friends, Meighan, in D.C.! I’m still feeling the pain from the workouts we did, but it was an excellent kickstart to helping me get back into the workout routine again.

Anyways, let’s get this recap post started. Oh, and happy Bachelor Monday!

Aside from the rain, it’s been around 65-degrees here. It has me craving smoothies for breakfast instead of oatmeal or scrambled eggs. It’s funny how, as soon as Christmas is over, I want it to be spring. It’s hard to believe that in a couple of months, it will be spring here

My Monday smoothie had one large frozen banana, 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened cashew milk, two scoops of marine collagen from Vital Proteins, one scoop of Matcha Powder from Green Foods, ice, and topped with my homemade granola!
Dinner was easy to make, another random concoction, and delicious.

I cooked up some white rice, and then added a cup of the Cheddar Jack SoDelicious cheese! It tasted like the cheesy rice my mom used to make when I was a kid. Kyle thought I used real cheese because it tastes so close to the real thing. I flavored it up with black pepper, and garlic salt as well.

On top, we had ground turkey fajitas.

After dinner, I plopped on the couch with my watermelon kombucha and watched an hour of the Bachelor before I couldn’t take anymore and headed to bed. The first few weeks are always annoying, but I like it when it gets closer to the end. 
I finished up a few deadline projects all Tuesday, but felt so good after getting them done by the time evening rolled around. For dinner, I had air-fried tofu mixed with pad thai sauce and zucchini. I also had leftover cheesy rice on the side.
Wednesday and Thursday flew by. I finished a few recipe shoots that’ll be out soon, and spent the rest of the afternoons finalizing wedding details. It’s crazy how far in advance you have to book things because everyone gets booked up so fast. I can see why the wedding industry is a $60 billion + a year industry .

For lunch, I had two slices of gluten-free bread with my homemade tuna salad recipe on top. This is probably one of my favorite meals, and I need to make it more often.
On Friday morning, I packed a bag and headed to the airport to fly to see Meighan for the weekend! I was so excited because I hadn’t seen Meighan since Lake Tahoe last summer. We had a super chill weekend planned, and I had been looking forward to it for months.

This past week, I’ve been reading In a dark, dark wood. The beginning has been pretty slow, but I’ve had so many people tell me how much they loved the book, so I’m sticking it out. 
Around 5:30 pm Meighan and I headed to Solidcore. It’s a workout she’s been doing the past month and swears by it. It’s safe to say I was wobbling on the way out. I hadn’t been to an actual workout class in so long, so my body was not ready for it. Other than tennis and walking, I don’t do much strength training, but this was a great kickstart to get me back into the routine again. The cool thing about this class is how fast it flew by!
After our workout, we got cleaned off and headed to one of my favorite spots, True Food Kitchen! I’ve gone to the location in L.A. several times, but never the east coast one. It did not disappoint.

We started with the roasted brussels sprouts, which were delicious! They were cooked with a miso sesame vinaigrette and chili thread. I loved that they had a mild-kick for them. 
I ordered the spaghetti squash casserole with chicken sausage and almond ricotta cheese, and it was fabulous! They accidentally added parm on top, but I just scraped it off the top. This meal is phenomenal and just as good as I remember it from my time in California. We ended dinner with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream but ate it so fast that I forgot a photo. 
I woke up and had coffee around 7:30 am. Meighan and I stayed up super late watching the Cheer documentary on Netflix, and it was really really good. I did not expect it to have so much depth, and It made me appreciate the sport even more. The kids they had in their program have been through it, and it’s really neat to see all of the support for them.
For breakfast, Meighan made avocado toast and over-easy eggs (my favorite!)

My body was SO sore from Solidcore, so we decided to get out on the Crescent trail to get our bodies moving. If I sit around when I’m sore, it gets worse. We did three miles one way and three miles back.

We spent the day working on wedding stuff together (her wedding is in August!) and watching movies. This was the lowkey weekend we had been craving.
For dinner, we picked up Cava. We have a few locations here in Charlotte, but this was my first time trying it, and boy have I been missing out. This dish inspired my meal prep for the week.

My bowl had falafel, kale, romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, roasted red pepper hummus, harissa hummus, classic hummus, roasted vegetables, onion, and garlic dressing on the side. It’s crazy because the vegan garlic dressing reminded me of papa john’s garlic butter. This meal was so delicious!
We ended up making my favorite 3-ingredient brownies for dessert with caramel XOXO chocolate on top. Meighan had wanted to try these, and I’m so happy she’s a fan! They hit the spot, and they are so easy to make. Here’s the recipe!

We got hooked to another show, Dear John, and ended up falling asleep way past midnight. You all know that is like five-hours past my bedtime
We were up bright and early on Sunday. We fueled up with some peanut butter toast, mango, and coffee before heading out for another Solidcore workout. They had a special at the gym, so we bought two sessions for the weekend. 
The workout felt terrible in the best way possible. I’m feeling it today. I’m in the kind of pain where I have to roll to the side so I can stand up. It was a full-body workout, and just like the other class, it flew by. I enjoyed it, and if we had something like that in my town, I’d go! If you live in the D.C. area, or if they have Solidcore where you live, definitely try it out. If you’re not a fan of burpees, jumping around, running, and other movements, you’ll love this. Because I struggle with high cortisol levels and weight gain, this is the type of workout that would be beneficial fo my body since my heart rate was moderate and stable in the entire class. 
We did it!  
We headed to Joe and the Juice for post-workout fuel. I had a shake with strawberries, banana, almond milk, spinach, plant-protein, and I added in a ginger shot! 
After the workout, I packed my bag and headed to the airport. It was a short trip, but much-needed! 
When I got home, Kyle made me a coffee (he’s the greatest), and then we headed over to check on the build! It’s so exciting to see it come along so quickly! We always do a Sunday drive-by It’s funny because a lot of the neighbors do the same thing around the same time because we always meet a few of them.
And we have stairs! On top of planning for wedding things, my mind is going crazy with everything I want to do for the house. 
We picked up our favorite for dinner, Akahana! We shared chicken lettuce wraps and a few rolls of sushi. It’s dangerous since this spot is in the delivery zone at our new house. I’ll be eating these chicken lettuce wraps on repeat. You can’t beat it when they are only $6.95! 
After dinner, Kyle and I decided to see 1917 at the movies. He had wanted to see this film for weeks, so I agreed to go with him. I didn’t expect to like it at all since my taste in movies is pretty rotten. I ended up loving the film and not wanting it to end. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, and I highly recommend it. And, yes! That’s diet coke.

Questions for you!

1. Are there any unique workout classes you’ve been enjoying lately?
2. What’s the last movie you went to see?
3. What is one thing you want to accomplish this week?

I’m so excited because Kyle and I are heading to Savannah this afternoon! His mom is meeting us there for the weekend, and we cannot wait to explore and show her around. No matter how many times we visit, it never gets old. Before I let the recap blogs build-up over the holidays, I wanted to fit one in! Today, I’m sharing everything we did over the holidays. We had a super chill Christmas, and it was even more special because my brother and his girlfriend came to visit. 
I didn’t want a single gift this Christmas. I made pact with my brother and family that we wouldn’t get each other gifts and we would just play games, eat food, and relax instead. Of course, my mom still had to get me a few things, but I felt less stressed, not worrying about shopping or figuring out where I’d put new things. Since we are going to be selling the house soon, less stuff in my house is ideal. Overal, less gifts = less stress!

I did pick up a few things but made sure to shop local. I found a cute gift boutique store in Rock Hill that had the most adorable and unique things! This was about all the Christmas shopping I had to do.  
My brother’s flight from L.A. got delayed to the next morning, so I decided to take my mom to get her first gel manicure. I’ve been obsessed with these lately, and luckily, that’s the gift my mom got me. I’m not mad about it because it’ll save me a ton of money in the long run. I’m that person that always has chipped nails, and I feel like these gel nails have saved me!

I spent the rest of the evening cleaning the house and catching up on Vlogmas.
On Thursday at 5:30 am, I headed to the airport to pick up my brother and his girlfriend. I felt so bad because they took the red-eye from L.A. and had about two hours of sleep.

We sat in the kitchen and talked a bit, made avocado toast, and then they headed upstairs and fell back to sleep. I took the afternoon to catch up on work editing and wedding planning.
On Thursday night, we headed to Barcelona for dinner! This is one of my favorite spots in Charlotte now, thanks to Caitlin (details on dinner here!) We enjoyed so much food and had the best time. I managed to not take one single photo of my food (RARE.)

The next morning, Kyle helped me shoot some photos for a campaign, I spent the day writing, and then we headed out to my parent’s house around 7 pm. This coffee was the only photo I took that day. It’s hard to balance taking pictures for the blog and filming for Vlogmas. We played cornhole in the backyard, ate hibachi, and played fibbage all night. It was a blast!

PS: I don’t enjoy creamer anymore, but Kyle has been drinking coffee with creamer lately. I tried this one, and it’s DELICIOUS! I thought it was worth noting  
The next morning, T.C. Abby and I headed to Grapevine to grab a coffee and walk the Riverwalk. It’s one of my favorite trails, and I haven’t been out there in a while. We did about three miles and then headed back to my place to get ready for a mall day. 
No one likes to shop when they’re hungry. We stopped at Living Kitchen for lunch before heading to the mall.

I was excited to see their nachos on the menu because they were new and tasted delicious! They had corn tortilla chips, black beans, butternut squash queso, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cashew cream, and jalapeños!
Kyle and I split the fire and brimstone burger (my go-to) on gluten-free bread with a side of broccoli Waldorf and black bean soup.

He ordered the almond-cashew mocha latte, and I had a shot of espresso with kale lemonade. His mocha latte was so good but rich like a dessert. 
Kyle and I spent some time at Arhaus looking at the couches and chairs. We have been couch shopping for the new house, and I think we are going to go with their furniture. They’re hard to find because we have to get to of the same couches, and they have to be 9 ft to fill the space. These would be perfect, and we can choose from so many different colors. 
After the mall, we met up with a few more friends at Fern for dinner! I had to make sure to show off all the vegan spots in Charlotte in hopes that T.C. will want to move here one day  
I ordered the Chimichanga with tofu, sofritas, mixed vegetables, avocado, salsa, and refried beans. It usually comes in a tortilla, but if you have them serve it over tortilla chips, it’s gluten-free. It was delicious! I want to recreate this recipe at home. 
After dinner, we headed to Pins Mechanical for a fun game-night. This spot was unreal! They have this game called porch pong, and the winners get to keep playing until they lose. Abby and I were on the longest winning streak of the night taking out everyone for an hour and a half. It was one of the most fun nights ever! We made a few too many frat boys upset. 
On Sunday, we took it easy, shopped around a few boutiques, and then headed to my parent’s house to relax and have dinner. I cooked up a salad, Daiya vegan pizza, and Annie’s vegan gluten-free mac and cheese. Now, that’s my kind of dinner
We decided to celebrate Christmas on Monday since Abby and T.C. were leaving on Christmas eve. I spent the day finishing up my flower project, which I’m so happy how it turned out! I’ll make sure to get photos of it when it’s up on the wall. And a DIY post is coming soon!
When we got to my parent’s house, they had SO MUCH FOOD prepared. My mom made salad, fruit bowl, bruschetta, pepper jelly dip, chips, salsa, crackers, cheese spread, coconut shrimp, brussels sprouts, potatoes, chicken fingers, crab legs, salmon, and more…We were ROLLING out of the kitchen after eating. 
My parent’s set up the most incredible scavenger hunt for us. I filmed it for Vlogmas if you want to check that out! It was pretty funny.

Such a fun night! I’m truly blessed. 
Kyle and I had coffee and relaxed on Christmas Eve morning. We were tired from the night before!
When we drove by the house to check it out, we saw that there were a lot of workers putting up the frame. We decided to go pick them up some Krispy Kreme donuts as a thank you for working so hard, especially on the holiday. It’s cool to meet the people that are building the home we will be living in one day. 
We spent Christmas Eve playing yard games, drinking coffee, eating all the leftovers, and watching Christmas movies with my parents. 
On Christmas morning, Kyle and I decided to take a 6-mile hike along the river! It was a beautiful day and the perfect way to spend it. 
55-degrees on Christmas morning? Yes, Please! 
It’s happening!!!

By the way, I decided to start an Instagram to document the house. You can follow it here! I’ll be sharing all the updates, design ideas, and more!
Standing on my front porch!!
After our hike and house check-up, I headed to Caitlin’s to drop off her gift. She and her mom made me gluten-free and dairy-free frosted sugar cookies for Christmas. I was so so so so excited. I hadn’t had a cookie all season, and I didn’t feel like baking at all. The cookies were so good that Kyle and I scarfed down three of them (each) in the car! I have them in my freezer now, and it’s a cookie battle with Kyle and me.
Christmas night, my dad made homemade soup, and we watched The Family Stone  
On Thursday morning, Kyle and I headed out to pick up our marriage license! It’s getting real! Also, wedding planning is hard lol  
For lunch, I had avocado toast! I use Udi’s gluten-free bread with avocado, everything but the bagel season, chili flakes, and fried egg.

I know I’m such a Grinch, but I immediately took my Christmas decorations down. I needed to get rid of the clutter and start the 2020 year fresh! I wanted to come home from Savannah and not worry about cleaning.
Kyle and I decided to make bibimbap for dinner. We hadn’t had it in a while, and I was excited to try it out with my air-fried tofu! The dinner ended up being unreal, and I have to recreate this for a blog recipe. My new year’s goal is to get more recipes back on the blog. I’ve been cooking a lot, but not documenting as much. I think I’m just too excited about the new kitchen!

You can expect this recipe in January!! 
I hope you all had a fantastic holiday!

I hope to hop on here to blog before the new year, but if not, I’ll pop in to reply to all your comments. This has been one incredible year, and I’m so lucky to have all of you here with me to experience it. LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Questions for you!

1. Did you have a good holiday?
2. Any goals for the new year?
3. What are you MOST looking forward to in 2020?

I just got inside from my morning run. Before I left, I wasn’t feeling very motivated, and I was hoping a quick three-miles around the neighborhood could turn that around. The first mile was a bit rocky, and my mindset was three seconds away from slowing down and walking back to the house. I quickly talked myself out of that mindset, and eventually started thinking about other things on the run. I started thinking about what direction I wanted to take my videos, what I wanted to accomplish around the house today, and what information I could share in this blog post. Even though my run started rocky, it quickly turned into my therapy session. After hitting three-miles, I felt a sense of accomplishment and confidence in myself.

I felt rejuvenated, my blood was flowing, and my ideas felt clearer as to what I wanted to do. The calmer state of mind made it easier for me to be in the moment. Even though running for medals and a fitter body is great, running for my mental health is even better, and it’s the reason why I lace up my shoes each week. I’ve made it a part of my self-care routine because self-care is more than just bubble baths and face masks. It’s an important part of proactive health care.

CVS Pharmacy knows that each lifestyle requires a different self-care routine, and they are taking self-care to another level by launching hundreds of unique and exciting products this year to help its customers make self-care moments more convenient. You’ll be able to shop CVS Pharmacy for your self-care essentials across all categories focused on physical, mental, emotional, and social health! We sometimes forget that self-care fits more categories than the beauty department.

I’m excited to partner up with CVS Pharmacy again to talk a bit about my self-care routine, and why I started running for my mental health. 

Even if I only go one mile, I still feel better than how I felt while sitting on the couch.

WHY I CAME BACK FROM MY RUNNING HIATUS

I’m about to get a little personal here. I’ve always struggled with body image issues since I was a little girl. Like most people, I have stages of my life where I feel great about myself, and then stages where I find myself struggling again. During those times of struggle, it all goes back to me, not making time for self-care. I used to go to doctors and demand answers, but then I decided to do something different. About a year ago, I hit a pretty lousy point in my mental health. I was starting to lose a bit of my identity and felt as if I was struggling a bit with my appearance. To be honest, your late twenties can be a strange time. Everyone your age is doing different things, and the comparison game can kick in. Instead of turning to another doctor about my body, I decided to start seeing a therapist. Maybe my body image was more than just gaining a few pounds; it was something more profound. Seeing a therapist was one of the best decisions I ever made. She reminded me that I wasn’t taking the time to do the things that I loved, the things that made me, well me.

THE TALK

She asked me, “What are some things you enjoy doing by yourself that you don’t do anymore?”

I replied, “I used to love painting, photography that wouldn’t end up on the blog, and running.”

She asked me why I stopped doing those things.

My answers were “painting took up too much time, I felt guilty about taking photos that didn’t end up on the blog, and I stopped running because I hated the pressure of racing, or the fear of getting injured.”

She sent me home with an assignment to do all three of those things throughout the week and to come back and let her know which one I wanted to start incorporating into my weekly routine to get back on track of feeling my best again. She wanted me to have an outlet that I could turn to when I was feeling stressed or down about myself.

The first thing I did was paint a canvas with flowers. I enjoyed it, but it took me hours, and I was over it in the first thirty minutes. Turns out, I’m way too impatient to paint anything. The photography part was fun, but it didn’t feel like a break from what I do for the blog every day. Running, now that gave me an adrenaline rush, confidence, endorphins, and a reminder as to why I started running years ago. It was also something I could do as soon as I walked out the door. It was convenient, and it was fulfilling.

When I returned to her office the following week, she noticed the excitement in my voice when I talked about running. When I left her office, I felt motivated to start my journey back to running every other day. I wanted to use that time to focus on me and how I’m feeling at that moment. It’s easy to distract yourself from your thoughts, but running is a good way to let your mind go.

THINGS STARTED TO CHANGE

After running, or getting out for long walks for several months, I noticed a significant change in my moods. I started to feel secure and confident about where I stood in the world. I wasn’t feeling down about the pace of my life or exploring the need to fulfill it with items or trips across the country. I was becoming content, and it was all because I was taking the time to add self-care to my daily-routine. For me, running is now a part of my self-care routine. Talking to a therapist is also a part of my self-care routine. Even if you don’t feel as if you’re struggling with anything, it’s nice to talk to someone about your life. They may pull things out of you that you never realized you were battling.

ACCEPTANCE

For me, running has helped me accept my life at the stage it’s currently in. It’s made me realize that I’m strong no matter what I look like, or what I’m faced with. I was looking for way too much acceptance in other people when the only person that needs to accept me is ME. Running has helped me build confidence and contentment for where I’m at in this very moment.

If I’m going to continue to run for my mental health, I have to take all the steps in making sure I have all the essentials to do so! I’m so lucky to live less than five-minutes away from CVS Pharmacy! It’s the best convenient destination to find a ton of self-care and proactive wellness solutions to help me stay on top of my best self-care game.

I love stopping into CVS to grab snack bars to take with me to have after a run. These Pressed by KIND bars are my favorite! I love that they have no added sugars and give my body the natural carbohydrates it needs to replenish muscles after a workout. They are also great for the summer months because they don’t have any ingredients that’ll melt all over the place. There are so many snack bars from popular brands at CVS, and I’m always discovering new ones I’ve never tried before.
Remember when I said one of my fears was to get injured? Well, I’ve been taking so many precautions to keep me from being injured. I’ve slowed my pace, been more intuitive with my body, stretched more, used muscle rubs spray, get regular massages, and wrap my knees with Kinesiology athletic tape. CVS has the best products for anyone with an active lifestyle! Plus, CVS Health brands are much more affordable. CVS Pharmacy is a great place to stop for all your gym-bag essentials.

The products that cater to holistic wellness are endless. You’ll be able to find essentials for vitamins/supplements, fitness, nutrition, sleep, mood/energy support, and skincare! I live for their Olly melatonin gummies and night and the biotin gummies in the morning. I have to hide them now because everyone in the house loves them.

I know this sounds funny, but since my brother is in the Air Force and works long draining ours, he considers his video game hour his self-care. I mean, each to their own, right? Self-care for my boyfriend is spending time at the gym each night, and then sitting down to play the piano for an hour or two before bed. CVS knows that self-care can look different to all people, but it’s important to incorporate it into our daily routines, regardless of age, gender or income.
Another great snack bar they carry are the MADE GOOD chocolate banana granola bars. These are perfect for anyone with a peanut allergy, and school safe just in case you forgot your snacks while you’re on the way to school! I love these bars for travel days when I’m on the plane and need something to hold me over.

I think you’ll also love this Oak and Reed Stainless steel white marble water bottle! It’s the perfect size for a bag, and it keeps your water ice cold! It’s a great reusable bottle for travel, the gym, or to drink throughout the day. Hydration is vital for keeping up with my running goals and keeping my body healthy. I don’t drink enough water but keeping the water bottle filled up near me helps a lot. I had so many compliments on this water bottle at the gym a few nights ago, and people were surprised when I said I got it at CVS! I’m telling you, people, CVS is crushing it lately! If you haven’t stopped in for a while, you’re in for a real treat. 
Adding tea to your self-care routine is a game-changer. I love having tea during a hot bath with essential oils, late at night while I watch a movie, or during my afternoon slump hour. The Be Well Teas at CVS will forever be my favorite. You don’t need to add any sweetener to your cup because the flavor is outstanding! In the afternoons, I’ve been trying my hardest to cut out my coffee and stick to tea instead. Get Focused tea for energy has made that pretty easy. It has hints of blueberries, my favorite, for the flavor! I can’t wait to try their Get Relaxed tea next. Let me know if you’ve tried that one out! Tea is so calming, which is the point of self-care!

I battle with endometriosis, so when I stop into CVS for medicine or bath salts, I always pick up a new tea to try! Plus, I bought my heating pad for cramps there last time, and it pretty much saved me a night of sleep! I’ll forever be grateful.

You all know I love making healthy snack balls to keep in the house for the morning before a run. It gives me the right amount of energy without all the extra density in my stomach. These energy balls help me from experiencing the annoying side stitch. I made these three-ingredient balls from products at CVS Pharmacy. I mixed a large scoop of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of oats, one scoop of Navitas Organics Focus Daily Superfood Boost, and rolled them into balls. Navitas Organics are one of my favorite brands at CVS Pharmacy. I love their matcha powder, goji berries, and turmeric powder as well! CVS is truly the perfect one-stop-shop! Oh, and you MUST try these energy balls out!
Smoothie bowls are a big part of my post-run routine! I have been adding the Green Superfood from Amazing Grass to my smoothie bowls for the past year, and I was so excited to see CVS carrying it.

Here’s what I put in my smoothie bowl: 1 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup of ice, 1 banana, one scoop of protein powder, 1 scoop of Green Superfood from Amazing Grass, and two cups of spinach. I love topping the smoothie bowls with granola, chia seeds, fresh fruit, and coconut. The Made Good bars tasted great on top. I love the added crunch.

I talked about the Tested to be Trusted campaign that kicked off in mid-May! If you missed that post, then you’re probably wondering what that is. The Tested to be Trusted program created by CVS Pharmacy, requires third-party testing of ALL vitamins and supplements sold in-store and online to confirm the accuracy of the dietary ingredients listed on the supplement facts panel and to confirm products are free from certain additives and ingredients! CVS Pharmacy is the first and only national retailer to implement a program that requires this caliber of standards for vitamins and supplements, and it’s why I feel so confident about being a CVS Pharmacy customer, and it’s why I LOVE SUPPORTING this great company. The trust they build with customers is impressive, and I love all of the hard work they put into changing for the better.

I mentioned that running had changed my mental health. I’d love to hear what you do for self-care, and what has kept you on a healthy path the past year! I’d love to have an open discussion with you all about it. xo

Questions for you!

1. What do you do for YOUR mental health?
2. What does self-care mean to you?
3. Do you have any favorite CVS products you can’t live without?

ps: don’t forget to check the previous post to see if you won the CVS self-care package giveaway! 

This recap post almost didn’t happen this morning. I just spent the last 45-minutes trying to revive my computer after Leo’s big furry tail knocked over my coffee onto the keys. Luckily my persistent hair drying method worked, and my keyboard has finally regained life. I deserve some kind of computer doctor medal after that one. It’s a good thing my computer is working because I’m excited to share my week with you all. It was a good one.

Last week was filled with a lot of fun. I made time for tennis, went river floating down the catawba, went out with some friends, tried a (new to me) vegan restaurant in Charlotte, made a pad thai with zoodles that you must try, and got covered in paint working on a DIY project with my dad. Now, that is my kind of week. This week, I’m going to focus more on my running, organizing closets in the house, and posting the California blogs. Now that I’m back from my morning run, I made a second cup of coffee, and it’s time to start writing the recap!

The heat has me feeling defeated when it comes to running. I’m not giving up though, just taking it a lot slower until the cooler months get here. My goal is to keep running 2-4 miles several times a week to maintain my endurance until I can go all in. Even when I go out to run two miles, I feel pretty proud of myself.

Before I headed out on my run on Monday, I made a bowl of my protein oats. I use oats, water, protein powder, and top it with nut butter. I have found that this small pre-run breakfast makes me feel the best and doesn’t cause stomach cramping. I’ll usually recover from my run with a smoothie.

ps, I filmed a day in the life on Monday —> video link
After my Monday morning run, I spent the rest of the day working on my recap blog (like every Monday ).

For lunch, I made a delicious tuna salad wrap and a green smoothie (the tutorial is in the video.) Kyle and I been living off this tuna salad for a couple of weeks. It’s so dang tasty. I got Becca hooked on it last night, and she had to run to the store to make her own. It’s perfect for adding to salads, crackers, or sandwiches. Next time, I need to make it in a bigger batch, so I have plenty of leftovers.
I decided to switch it up and make something new on Monday night, so when I saw gluten-free pad thai sauce at the grocery store, I knew I needed to buy it. The recipe turned out to be so delicious, and I’ve made it twice! Last night, I made it with zucchini noodles, and I’m already counting down the hours until lunchtime, so I can eat the leftovers I bought more ingredients on my way home last night so I could shoot some photos and make a more formal recipe blog post, but the recipe is in my recap video from Monday + more details towards the bottom of this blog post! 
On Tuesday morning, I had a blackberry spinach smoothie for breakfast. It had 3 cups of fresh spinach, 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, one scoop of amazing grass greens, one scoop of vanilla protein powder, 2 cups of water, and topped with granola and nut butter!

For lunch, I had Mary’s Jalapeno seed crackers topped with my tuna salad and leftover pad tai on the side.
On Tuesday night, I met up with my friend, Emily (best karaoke dancer in the Lake Tahoe Video), for dinner at Fern. Fern is a vegan restaurant in Charlotte that I have wanted to try for a while now. I had heard so many good things, and it didn’t disappoint.

For my dinner, I ordered their white bean burger with garlic aioli on gluten-free bread with a side of herb potatoes. Wow, was it good! We decided to order dessert to top off the delicious food while we finished our glass of wine. We decided to go with raspberry & chocolate mousse. It was unreal! The presentation was abstract on a plate. The creamy chocolate mouse hit the spot, and I would recommend it if you try this place out.

speaking of places to eat in Charlotte; I’m working on updating my Charlotte Guide page. It’s so dated, and I think creating a “weekend in Charlotte” blog post will be so much better! 
On Wednesday, I worked on the blog all day, and then go around to making a Purple Carrot for dinner. I tried out the scallion noodle cakes with crispy broccolini and tamarind sauce. I was pretty shocked by how good the noodle cakes were! I baked extra chicken in the oven for kyle’s plate, but he also loved the noodle cakes. They were so unique, and the crispy edges made each bite extra tasty like biting into a crispy french fry. 
So Thursday’s run, oh boy. I made it 2.2 miles and had to walk the rest of the way. It was hot, and I waited way too long to go out for a run. Plus, I kept getting into my head and psyching myself out. It’s crazy how we can get in our heads and create a huge mental block. One of my rules for running is that if I can’t run the rest of the route, I must walk it. I can’t just walk back to my house after going one mile, but walk the rest of the planned run. I have found that this makes me feel less defeated when I can’t keep going. 
I just threw a ton of stuff in a bowl for dinner on Thursday night. I made steamed broccoli, cauliflower gnocchi, and a black bean burger! I don’t mind these random dinner nights because they are quick to make and plus they taste great.
After finishing the ice cream blog post on Friday, I ate a quick lunch, and then headed over to my parent’s house to work on a project with my dad! I had a big salad with spinach, kale, cabbage, tuna salad, avocado aioli dressing, sesame seeds, cucumbers, and tomatoes. It hit the spot! 
My dad and I have been working on making fun cornhole boards! We play all the time, but I wanted heavy-duty boards that had less bounce. My dad built these in a few hours, and then I came over to paint them! I’m going to put the finishing coat on them tomorrow, and then order some pink and yellow bags off of amazon. I told my dad that since he’s retired, he should start building these for people!
I didn’t know for sure what I wanted to paint on them, but I did know I wanted a lot of colors. I started taping off the top with painters tape until I created a fun design. I have some paint spots to touch up since it bled under the tape a bit, but I’m pretty satisfied with how they turned out. I’ll be making some fall ones with pumpkins on them next!

After working on these in the backyard heat, I floated around the pool for a bit to cool down and then headed home to shower off and get ready for some fun Friday night plans. 
We met a group of friends at Kid Cashew for dinner! This is another one of my favorite spots in Charlotte. Kyle and I split the marinated chicken skewers and hummus for a starter. For my entree, I ordered the quinoa stuffed avocado with salmon on top. The dish was terrific and it would be fun to recreate at home. I loved the idea of stuffing avocados with quinoa. If you’re a salmon lover, I highly suggest their salmon. They know how to cook it to perfection.
After dinner, we all headed over to 1812 to check out the cool speakeasy. It’s so cool because you walk into Manchester, and give the person working the password, and she opens up a brick wall, and you take the stairs down to this cool cocktail bar. If you’re ever out with friends in Charlotte, this is a cool spot to bring them to. 
I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to meet up with my tennis group. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get out and play, but it felt so good to be back! And even though it was in the nineties, I managed to fit in the three hours of playing time. Since I’ve been running again, my endurance when it comes to playing tennis has been so much better. I’m never huffing and puffing after a game.
When I got home, I made tuna salad wraps for lunch for kyle and me, and then we headed to look at a few homes! We spent the rest of the evening finally watching Bohemian Rapsody, and dang was that an excellent movie. We also watched the docu-series I Love you, now die: The Common Weather vs. Michelle Carter on HBO, and that’s such a crazy and messed up case. Yikes. 
On Sunday morning, Becca and I met up to go floating down the river! We’ve been doing this for the past three years, and it never gets old. (year 1, year 2) We did replace the tube this year since last year we floated down on a deflated tube

After parking the car at the Riverwalk, we drove the river access in Fort Mill to begin our adventure down!
And leave it to us to pack venti iced coffees! 
It can take anywhere from 2-3 hours to float down the river, so we brought our lunches in a cooler. Of course, I made us delicious tuna salad sandwiches!
Becca was the real MVP of the day. We were floating fast downstream and were about to miss our chance of getting out near the car, so she dove off the tube and swam us to shore.  
When I got home, I showered off all the river water, made a cappucinno, and started working on the blog. Around 6 pm, I decided to make some pad thai with zoodles for dinner! I can’t believe how good it turned out. I cooked the zoodles up in a pan on high with avocado oil until the zoodles with fully cooked. Then, I added pad tai sauce, spinach, and peanuts! I made regular rice noodles for Kyle and then added shrimp on top of both! I’ll get a recipe blog post out for this one this week.

Questions for you!

1. What is something fun you like to do in the summertime with your friends outdoors?
2. Have you ever been to a speakeasy?
3. What state do you live in?

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