Spring is in the air!!! The high here in Birmingham today is 82, the trees are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and the damn mosquitoes are the size of pterodactyls already!
There is something rejuvenating about the first few weeks of spring. The warm sun feels so good on your vampire pale skin. You start planning your meals around who has the best patio spot in town. You whip out your flip flops and swear you will never go back to regular shoes again. And you double fist Cadbury mini eggs and Clariton D like it’s your job.
I have been loving looking through all the magazines and catalogs at the spring clothes. I thought I would share a few of my favorite items for spring!!!
I really like to mix up my items. I won’t pay top dollar for just anything. I think it is good to have a balance of a few designer pieces that are timeless and you will have season after season, and then throw in a few inexpensive “trendier” pieces that you like right now but maybe you won’t care so much about it in a year or two.
The Monday after the time change is a real struggle, am I right?? I had to tell my body that no it wasn’t 330am it was really 430 and I need to get the hell up and get that work out in!!! Just a quick 20 minute HITT for me today, as anything else would have just been cruel and unusual punishment.
This weekend was spent cleaning and organizing, eating Mexican food, Hulu and Netflixing, meal planning and grocery shopping, and putting Besties do Bham back together again.
I really messed up when I downloaded a new theme for the site and I had to have Chris dig me out of my mess. One he got it looking like a blog again, I took it over and started the actual design. It has a lot of work left, but at least we can start posting in the mean time!!! Just in time too, as two new restaurants are opening this week, and two others have opened recently! Laura and I have lots of eating to do!!!
Speaking of eating, I made a sweet potato skillet hash on Saturday that was nothing short of amazing. You cook two sweet potatoes either by baking them or microwaving them for a few minutes until they are soft.
Cut up some bacon and cook it in a skillet until mostly done, add onion and cook for five minutes. Add your potatoes and cook for five minutes. Make holes and drop in some eggs, cover and cook five more minutes. Cut up some green onion and boom bang delicious!
This recipe got me to eat eggs again, and guys that is huge. I was on an egg strike for months because I go through phases where I hate them. I even managed to do an entire Whole 30 without them. That takes dedication, let me tell you.
In other food happenings, I made gnocchi last night! It went well with a dose of Vampire Diaries and a side of The Originals!
Have you guys ever watched The League? Chris’s friend got him in to it and he has been binging the shit out of it. It’s pretty terrible and none of the episodes really have a point to them exactly….but I have to admit it is pretty damn funny and I have found myself paying attention more when it is on.
I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend!!! Let’s kick some Monday ass!
Favorite Song: Jonas Blues version of Fast Car – I love the original and this one is great for running.
Favorite Moments:
–Last night I got the chance to participate in a focus group for a local restaurant and it was so much fun!!! Not only did I get a free DELICIOUS dinner, I got the chance to sit around and talk about my favorite thing (food, duh) for two hours. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s answers to the questions and at the end I got some swag which included a visa gift card and gift card to the restaurant. Where can I sign up to do more of these???
Favorite WorkOut/App: Chris and I were catching up with Shark Tank over the weekend and one of the episodes had a guy from Swork It on there. I liked the concept of his app. Basically you input your information and tell it how long you have to work out that day. You can pick from strength, cardio, yoga or stretching. There are target workouts for core or upper body or you can do a full body. It tells you what workout you are about to do, the move lasts for 30 seconds. Without around 5 seconds left it will tell you what your next work out is so that you are ready. It shows you how to do it then entire time there is no confusion. At the end of the work out it tells you an approximate number of calories you should have burned and will sync to your Health app.
I also found Daily Cardio Free that I like to mix with Swork It to get a full work out! It is very similar to how Swork It works with a countdown, timed moves showing you how to do them and at the end it tells you how many calories you burned and adds it in to your Health App on your phone.
Favorite Beauty:
Have you seen the news Burt’s Bees Lipsticks? I grabbed one in Blush a few weeks ago at Walgreen’s and I really love how moisturizing it is. The color is more of a lighter lipstick coverage, but it sticks around for a while. Also, can we talk about the adorable bee comb packaging??? Not to mention that it is all natural.
I also grabbed the Milani Nourishing Raspberry Coconut Oil Infused Lip Treatment. I absolutely am in love with how wide the applicator is! One swipe delivers a sheer, pretty, shiny color that feels amazing on my lips!!! I have worn this both alone and over other lip products. It smells wonderful and the packaging is cute. Can you tell i am a sucker for packaging??
Favorite Podcast: I find that listening to health and fitness chat can spark new motivation in me, so I went in search of a new podcast to listen to. I found Paleo for Woman. I have bounced around a little picking episodes based on what I see in the title since there are over 50 episodes. I have learned a few things and am more motivated to stay on track during the week while listening to this in my car. Check them out if you are interested in learning about paleo, want to eat healthier, looking for inspiration. Do you have any health or fitness podcasts that you like? Or any fun podcasts in general? I have about 5 that I listen to no matter what, and about 10 others I listen to sometimes. Always looking for new ones!
Also, did you listen to Steph and Jana’s new podcast on books??? I can’t wait to hear more from them!!! Plus, now I know how they sound as I read the blog posts.
Favorite Lust:
This ottoman from Z Gallerie is just gorgeous!!!! Why does it have to cost so much??? I am keeping my eye on the price to drop a little. $399 isn’t too awful but $89 sounds better!
This shell from Loft is so pretty! Love the color!!
Favorite Links:
–I have been wanting to dive in to coconut oil for my face. I have been using it to cook for years. I have made lip scrubs with it, but never used it as actual face skin care. Here is a great post on the different ways you can use it and basically anything you wanted to know about coconut oil for skin care!!
I think that we have all had that stage in our lives when we were trying to figure out who we are. In high school, teachers were pushing you to figure out what your major was going to be in college. In college, your professors were stressing that your major was going to set you up on the right path for the rest of your life. Then you graduated and took a step in the real world and thought, what the shit am I supposed to do now?!?!
You are trying to cope with the fact that you have no experience and are going to be taking some entry level job where you are more than likely going to be treated like shit. But that is ok, because everyone does their time right??? Then reality sets in that this isn’t what you wanted to do at all. And you aren’t even doing anything to do with your major. You spend most of your 20’s trying to figure out who you are, make it by paycheck to paycheck, and hope that life has more to offer than this.
Then you hit your 30’s and you look at yourself in the mirror one morning and think, wasn’t I supposed to have my shit together by now? You don’t feel like an adult, even if you have a few lines around your eyes telling you otherwise. You are still trying to figure out what it is that you want to be when you “grow up.” Sure, you might not be living off ramen noodles and Charlotte Russe, you can actually afford the $12 bottle of wine now. But, you know that this isn’t exactly what you pictured either. You are still living for the weekends and wondering what your purpose is in life. Where you can put all your passion and energy.
Where am I going with all of this? Well, there really isn’t a point other than to remind myself all of you that we all feel the same way. I think I can speak for most of us when I say that we are all still a little lost. We aren’t entirely unhappy, but we know deep down that we are destined to do more. If you are a 20 something reading this and you are feeling lost in your purpose, know that you aren’t alone. If you are a 30 something reading this and feel like life is passing you by too quickly and you still haven’t figured it all out yet….know that you aren’t alone.
You guys, it is never too late to make your dream a reality. You just need to reach deep down and know what your passion is, then start curating a plan to make that dream come true.
It is never to late for your dreams. You are the only one who can make them happen. So stop sitting there wishing and pining, and start planning and doing. Do something today. Take that first step to the rest of your forever. You can do it.
–Since organizing my spice cabinet, I may have opened it several times just to peak at the OCD beauty of it. #noshame
–I was doing squat jumps with floor touches yesterday and got a little too much in to it and when I squatted down I almost tumbled over. Luckily there was a wall for my ass to hit to catch my fall. #beforecoffee #thatsgoingtobruise
–La Croix has become my new DDP. I have to have one every day after lunch during the week. Right now I am on a passionfruit kick but there isn’t a flavor that I have tried that I haven’t liked! #breakingdietsodaaddiction #notquitethesame #trickingmyself
–I have my dream kitchen all figured out on Pinterest, now I just need a money tree to fund it!!! #dreams
–I am beyond ready for a beach trip. Sadly it is like four months away. #needvacation
–I know that I should start caring now about my pasty legs since dress season is like two weeks away here in the south, but I am too lazy to decide which gradual self tanner I want to use this year. #pastyisthenewsexy
–I saw a local give away for a party of 20 and I thought to myself…I don’t even have 20 girl friends that are local to invite to a party. Sad but true. Isn’t that sort of the way of a 30 something when you aren’t from the state you live in? It is hard making friends when you are older. Well, friends that you actually want to hang out and do stuff with. I have a handful here that I am very thankful for and I think I will keep it like that. Too many shady bitches out there. #truth #realfriendsarebest
–The above confessions reminds me of how awesome bloggers are!! If it was a virtual party, I would love to invite all of you!!! I talk to you all more regularly than most people so that should say something! #bloggersforthewin
Confessions in ecard
Link up with Kathy and I and confess all the things!
