Weekend Shenanigans

Well hey there, last week of April!!! I feel like we went from winter to summer this past week with temps in the 80’s this past weekend. I even managed to get myself a little sunburn while sitting outside at my nephews baseball game Saturday morning for an hour. Crazy how fast that happens, right?!

After Cooper’s game Saturday morning, Chris and I stopped by Louie’s Pickles & Italian Deli in Odenville to grab some steak sandwiches. Everyone raves that they have legit Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches with whiz cheese and so I had to check that out. While they do in fact have legit sandwiches, they were good but not the best I have had. I think it needed more cheese? Either way, I can appreciate how fresh the bread is! In fact, their Amoroso rolls, shaved ribeye & cheese whiz are shipped in from Philly 3 times a week. And don’t get me started on their house made pickles, yum!!!! I might have to go back up there to buy a jar soon!

After lunch, we headed on over to the 280 area where other other six year old nephew was to have a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Unfortunately, when we were heading over there we got a text that he was under the weather and they were going to reschedule the party. Poor little dude!!! Since Chris and I were already out that way, we figured we should just make a day of it then. We headed out to do some shopping, check out Bargain Hunt in Hoover and start shopping for a new car for me.

I got to test drive the top three SUVs that I am looking at and I think I have it narrowed down to two now. I have loved my Rogue the last few years, but it is time for something new. I have got to brag for a minutes on the two cars salesman that we had. They were awesome!!! Chris made the comment about how he hates dealing with car people when we were walking in to Carmax we braced ourselves for frustration. But that was not that case there or the other dealership we went to.

We were going to go out to dinner after all that test driving, but it was a little after 7pm at that point and everywhere had a 45+ minutes wait. No restaurant is worth that wait, so we headed to Target to get our grocery shopping done for the week and came home and made gnocchi.

Sunday was a day of relaxation at our house. I finished one book and started another, played some Wooly Yoshi and we got caught up on all our favorite shows. Perfection.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!! Let’s see what the last week of April will bring.

Linking up with Biana.

April 25, 2016 by Nadine

friday favorites

Friday Favorites

Favorite Song: Another song I found thanks to The Originals. Tell Me How to Feel by Maggie Eckford. Nice and slow for this gloomy Friday weather we are having here.

Favorite Recipe: This stuffed sweet potato looks so good!

via

Favorite Moments:

–Getting this picture of the newest addition to my sister’s family- Oakley!!!I need to go smell some puppy breath ASAP!!!!

–Having lunch with Chris on Wednesday at Cocina Superior.

Favorite Lust:

How cute would this cuff bracelet from Michael Kors be stacked with my watch? It’s even on sale!

I like this one too!

Favorite Links:

–Have you had the best ice cream in your state?

–Calling all Maxxinistas!!!! 10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About TJ Maxx. I actually did know a few of these, but was no aware that they were pet friendly!!!! Watch out TJ Maxx, Mac might be coming for you. After all, he should be allowed to pick out his next dog bed.

–Here are 7 awesome beauty products that you can buy at Target.

–I actually still have a few of the things on this list of 40 most valuable toys from your childhood.

Favorite Funnies:

When someone asks me to help them with something…

When someone asks me how I feel about the world today…

Walking through the mall…

When I finally pass a hard level of Two Dots…

When I tell Chris that I want ice cream but we don’t have any…

Linking up with Amanda. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend.

April 22, 2016 by Nadine

book review, books

The 4×4 Diet

My level of fitness and healthy eating has always been a struggle throughout my life. There are days, weeks, months where I am just on it all the time. Then there are days, weeks, months where I ride the struggle bus and fall off the wagon hard. It is something that I constantly have to work at.

Of course, I know the basics. Eat right and exercise. It isn’t mind blowing. There are no magic pills or fad diet that is going to get the weight off and keep it off. It is about lifestyle and commitment.

The 4×4 Diet by Erin Oprea is a wonderful book, no matter your fitness level or knowledge of nutrition. Are there mind blowing secrets in this book? If you know a good deal about health and fitness, then no. But what the book does provide is not only a simple plan to follow, but the why behind everything that she is telling you to do.

What I really liked about the book is that she talks to two groups of people, those who are completely inactive and unhealthy, and those who are giving some effort but could make some improvements.

Erin sets up a meal plan, tells you how to grocery shop and prep foods. She tells you what you need to cut back on, when to eat certain foods, and has a work out plan that fits in to anyone’s schedule. I MEAN ANYONE. You have four minute a day, right? Yes, yes you do!

There are recipes and detailed pictures of the high intensity four minute work outs. At the end of the book, there is a four week plan to follow to make these adjustments in your life to come out on the other side lean and healthy. All of the changes are lifestyle changes that you can carry with you forever, not just for four weeks.

Did I mention that Erin Oprea is the woman behind Carrie Underwood’s legs? Do I even need to say anything else?!

Basically, I cant say enough good things about this book so check it out!

To learn more about the book, go here.

To learn more about Erin Oprea, go here.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

April 21, 2016 by Nadine

confessions

Confessions – Things I Wonder About

My mind is always going. Sometimes it is for a personal issue, a work thing, and big life stuff. Other times it is over things that really make no real difference but still have me questioning. Like…

–Does anyone ever win the Goodreads give-aways? I swear I have signed up for about 100 and never won a single one!!!

–Who is getting all the Influenster boxes I take surveys for and never hear back from? No really, who?!?! And why aren’t my answers good enough?!?!

–What do my dogs do all day when we are at work?

–Is it the chicken or the egg?

–Can there be infinite numbers of me and infinite numbers of universes?

–Horrific and terrific never made any sense to me. Why is something that is horrible horrific, yet terrific and terrible are completely different things. Who did this?!

–You can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed?

–What is really out in the sky past the moon and stars that we can see? Is what we think of earth and our solar system really just a locker or a necklace like Men in Black?

–Why are crocs still in stores?

–Does Apple do things so that we get pissed with our iPhones shortly before the newest model is due to come out? I think yes. They have to. It’s like the announcement that a new phone is coming out happens today and tomorrow my battery life is shit and three days from now I suddenly have no space on my phone.

–Why do all the “bad foods” have to taste so good and cauliflower have to be the nastiest tasting grossest smelling thing ever?

What are some things that make you wonder?

And now some confessions and ecard

Link up with Kathy and I and spill all your secrets!
[inlinkz_linkup id=625909 mode=1]

April 20, 2016 by Nadine

recipe

Cashew Chicken

You guys, I love a good Asian dish!!! Unfortunately, when you eat out there tends to be way more sodium than one should ever consume. Maybe some MSG too! I like to play around with soy sauce and some other items to recreate my favorite Asian dishes at home. I made this last week, I loved it and it was husband approved!

What You Need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 bell pepper, diced (I prefer red or orange or half of each)

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1/2 cup of cashews, crushed (I prefer to put these in a baggie and crush them with a meat mallet but you could do them whole)

1 tbsp arrow root powder (for paleo folks) or cornstarch

a pinch of salt

coconut oil (about 1 -2 tbsp – you could use olive oil if that is what you have on hand)

For the Sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos (for paleo)

1/4 cup rice vinegar or coconut vinegar (for paleo)

3 cloves minced garlic

3 tbsp palm sugar or honey or brown sugar (whatever you have on hand, palm sugar for paleo)

2-3 tbsp no salt added tomato paste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground ginger

What You Do:

–Heat coconut oil on medium heat and add the pepper. Cook for about 3-5 minutes to soften. While that is cooking, dice your chicken, and mix with the salt and arrow root powder. Set aside the bell pepper in a small bowl, and add the chicken to the skillet.

–Cook the chicken through, about 10-12 minutes.

–While the chicken is cooking, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside. Crush your cashews.

–Once the chicken is cooked through, add your sauce, green onions and cashews and simmer on low for five minutes.