Treat Yourself Tuesday #18

Happy Treat Yourself Tuesday!!  I'm sorry that I have been MIA. I'll post an update tomorrow of the weekend. It was so great to break in the new house with friends and to have my parents in town. 

If you have never heard of TYT, head over to Becky's blog to see all of the linkups.  It is so important to take care of yourself!!

I have treated myself a lot this week. I am feeling pretty spoiled!!

A new mani....

A new fitness class...

I really enjoyed the class from The Bar Method! I can't wait to go back tonight!!!

A revamped entertainment center.

Before...

New turquoise finish-thank you Annie Sloan!

 

Target was having buy one Champion item and get one 50% off. I got a couple of sports bras and 2 new tops. Comfy and cute-great for classes and lounging on the weekends. 

How have you treated yourself this week?? I hope you're feeling spoiled and grateful like me right now. :)

Happy tyt!

Move Happy Challenge

Laura from Sprint2theTable and Heather from BetterWithVeggies are challenging everyone to enjoy fitness for the month of July. 

It's about making fitness fun again.  From Heather: "Use this challenge to find what gets you moving AND makes you smile."  Here is the link to the challenge announcement: http://betterwithveggies.com/second-movehappy-challenge/  Check it out to see how to participate-hint, it's super simple!

Are you up for the challenge??

Friday Favorites

Hi all...happy Friday! I'm popping by for a quick Friday Favorites post. Thank you Heather, Katie, and Clare for hosting Friday linkups!!  Be sure to check out their blogs and the other links to see what people are up to this Friday. 

Tonight we are hosting a birthday party for one of my favorite people. My future brother in law and good friend! We were so busy moving that we missed both of our birthdays. I squeezed in a brunch, but this will be his party. :)

My other favorite thing right now is that my parents are coming to visit. TOMORROW!!!! I'm so excited!!  We have lots of fun things planned for when they are here for their quick visit. 

I could not love these 2 more. They are the best and I can't wait to spend time with them. :)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Thursday Thoughts

Good Thursday morning.  I'm linking up with Amanda for some thinking out loud.  I was working on a composed post and it ended up just being random thoughts, so this is the perfect outlet. :)

#1-Barkbox Review-This is the 2nd Barkbox that I received.  I was very pleased with the first one.  Great toys and treats that I would not normally purchase.  This month, I was a little disappointed because I felt like the toys and treats were geared more to medium sized dogs...my 80 pound pup is anything but medium!

• Item #1-They sent a stuffed monkey butt (crazy random and funny!!).  My dog would destroy that in less than a minute.  Luckily, my friend just got an adorable 25 pound puppy.  I'm hoping the buns last longer at her house than it would at mine! 
• Item #2-The Benebone is great for medium to large-ish dogs.  The package said to make sure the dog doesn't try to eat it.  It is bacon flavored...so of course my dog is trying to eat it!!  I let him chew on it for awhile (the wishbone shape makes it easy for him to hold) and then I make him switch toys...he loves it!!  Bonus-each sale supports animal welfare.
• Item #3-Beef liver and banana treats.  I haven't given them to the pup yet, so I'm not sure if they are a win yet...they just sound gross!! 
• Item #4-The Green Bark Gummies are a big win!  All natural and Porter loves the flavor. 

#2-Speaking of dog, our animals are loving the new house.  The cat will sit in the big front window and supervise the neighborhood all day.  The pup wears himself out in the back yard running around!  I'm so thankful to have the additional living space.  It is turning out to be a great new place for our little family!

#3-Julie posted a great recap from one of her sessions at Wanderlust discussing how to "eat the way you want to feel".  Check it out here.  It is worth the read!  She featured a new to me food pyramid from Dr. Weil called the Anti Inflammatory Food Pyramid.  It is a nice update on the grade school pyramid that we all received in health class with more specific foods and servings!  I loved it so much, that I printed it for my refrigerator!!

#4-Who knew there were so many mosquito repellent products??  I went to Target to pick up some stuff to help get rid of mosquitoes for a little party we are throwing on Friday.  Citronella candles, a patio and deck lantern that repels up to a 15x15 radius, pet safe fogger (8 hours of protection), and regular off.  I think I am set!!  If I get bit on Friday, then that is one tough mosquito!!

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday!  What are you thinking out loud about today?

The Bar Method

I have been wanting to try barre classes for awhile. The Groupon gods finally granted a groupon to The Bar Method. 5 beginner classes for only $35...great deal!! 

Last night, I purchased some socks and headed into class with 2 of my girlfriends. 

The class filled up and we were pretty much all first timers. The instructor was great!! Motivating without being super cheesy and really helpful. She used our names and helped correct form when we needed it. 

The class itself was challenging and fun at the same time. I love the muscle burn and then stretch. I need to work on flexibility and strength...this class is perfect for it!!  

I would increase arm weights a little next time, but other than that the class was fantastic! I'm already excited to go back!!

What is your favorite class to take?

Have you tried barre? 

Treat Yourself Tuesday #17

Happy Treat Yourself Tuesday!!  If you have never heard of TYT, head over to Becky's blog to see all of the linkups.  It is so important to take care of yourself!!

#1-I went to a big wine tasting where all of the wine reps for a large liquor store present 4 or 5 wines to taste. It was a great time with friends and I discovered some delicious new wines. 

#2-I found a new pasta at the farmers market. We tried out the recipe on Monday night. It was so good!! The steak rub was amazing!!!

The Papparadelle Spicy Mango pasta mix is a great new addition to their offering. My fave is still the garlic herb pasta, but this is a fun way to mix up steak sides. 

 

#3- I treated myself to a sweaty and humid 3 mile recovery run on Monday. I was so sore from flag football...so it was definitely a treat to knock out a quick 3. 

#4-I ordered this cute blue tank and headband from Fancy Fit Boutique. I love the burnout tank and the headband is awesome because it's adjustable!! http://fancyfitboutique.bigcartel.com/product/green-blue-keep-calm-tank-and-headband-set

#5-My friend got a cute new puppy!! It was such a treat to get to play with her. She is a lucky dog to be adopted into a great fur-ever home!!

How have you treated yourself lately?

Weekend Recap

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!  I had one of those weekends that leaves you needing another day off to recover!!

Friday, I took a half day and helped the future sister in law and her husband move.  I planned to just move smaller boxes and stuff.  Instead, I helped carry furniture down the stairs to load the trailer.  I felt super strong!! :)  Definitely worn out by the time we wrapped up at 9pm.  Long day of moving meant an early night!!

The early night was good because I had a flag football tournament on Saturday and Sunday.  We started with an 8:30 am game on Saturday.  It was really fun and we ended up taking 3rd place in our division.  I always forget how much I like playing!! 

This is actually a pic from 2013...we forgot to take pics this year.  Whoopsy!

Saturday was filled with cleaning up the yard and doing some housework.  I really do enjoy getting outside and doing yardwork!  I feel like we have a long way to go, but at least it is enjoyable!!

Sunday, we met some friends to cheer on USA as they TIED with Portugal.  I don't like sports that can end in a tie.  There should be a winner and a loser!!!  And the goal that tied the game was in the last few seconds of stoppage.  It was a very exciting game, but the end result was a bummer!!  At least we got to see a lot of Cristiano Ronaldo...

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything exciting??

Five Things Friday

Happy Friday to all!  This week has flown by and I have been a terrible blogger.  No food pics, no exercise pics and I missed a post on Thursday!!  Such is life though...I'll be better next week.  :)  That is my philosophy on all things-just try to be better and get back on track.  No sense in dwelling on the past-learn from what happened and move forward!

Anyway-let's get to it...Friday posts are my favorite because I get to talk about my favorite things or just come up with 5 random things that I have been thinking about...today is the latter!  Thank you Heather, Katie, and Clare for hosting Friday linkups!!  Be sure to check out their blogs and the other links to see what people are up to this Friday.

#1-I'm helping my future SIL and her husband move this weekend.  They helped us move, so we are returning the favor.  Moving 2 weekends in a row should not be something that occurs in the future!  Oh yeah-I'm hiring movers next time...or so I keep saying!!  I don't mind moving, but I am fitting it in while playing in a flag football tournament in the mornings.  This is going to be a busy and interesting weekend.  I hope I can move my body on Monday!

#2-I keep finding recipes for crockpot mac and cheese.  Has anyone made this?  In theory it sounds wonderful, but the one time that I put pasta in the crockpot was a disaster.  The noodles soaked up all of the liquid and were a gross mess.  Obviously, it was something that I did wrong, but I would love some tips.  I want to try out this recipe from Julie Eats and Treats, but lighten it up a bit.

#3-I'm really excited to do yard work this summer.  I have never had my own yard to take care of.  I'm even excited for tree trimming and hedge clipping.  Yes, I am a TOTAL dork!!
 

#4-Most of you won't care about this one, but I'm super pumped.  The Royals are 1st in their division right now!!  This is very exciting because they are normally terrible.  If you are interested, you can read all about it here. It's the little things that make me smile!  A night out at the ballpark is one of them!  Go Royals!!

#5-The fiance's parents made homemade ice cream on Father's Day and it was amazing!!  It made me want to get an old fashioned ice cream maker so that I can have it all the time.  It could be a very dangerous habit, so I will stick to letting them make it for special occasions. 

What are you plans for the weekend?
Do you have a favorite flavor of homemade ice cream?  Mine is plain vanilla.  Can't go wrong!!
Please share tips on cooking crockpot mac and cheese if you have them! 

Workout Wednesday

Between moving and work, I have been wiped out at night.  This will just be a quick post to check in and see how everyone is doing!

Thursday: I attempted to play soccer for corporate challenge.  It is 3v3 and I have no soccer skills.  I mostly run around on the field like a little kid.   I did end up making 2 goals and assisting on another.  So I consider that a success!  And of course, it was really fun!

  

Exhibit A-where I am running?  No ball in sight



Exhibit B-still not near the ball

Team Photo



I ended up running 5 miles on Friday before our move.  It was a beautiful morning, so I couldn't resist heading out for a run to start the day.  Then we moved all day on Friday and Saturday-counting that as a workout on both days!!

Sunday-I took the day off from working out and just did stuff around the house and ran lots of errands.  It was an active rest day because of all of the walking and running around.

Monday-I did this workout since I worked from home:

Tuesday: Rest day-I was pretty tired yesterday, so I decided to skip the workout and just enjoy the day.

Wednesday: Tonight after work, I am going to run a HOT 3 miles.  Then I have a volleyball game with my indoor women's team.

Thursday: Plan is to run in the morning or after work

Friday: I am helping my future SIL move all day, so that will be my workout-unless it is a really nice day.  Then I will squeeze in a run in the morning. :)
Saturday and Sunday-Flag Football tournament-it is coed and should be really fun!

Tell me about your workouts this week...

Treat Yourself Tuesday #16

Happy Treat Yourself Tuesday!!  If you have never heard of TYT, head over to Becky's blog to see all of the reasons why it is important to treat yourself.

This week I treated myself to stuff for the new place.  I spent more time at Lowe's and Home Depot this weekend than I have in the past year! :) 

#1-We replaced the grate and heat shield on the grill that was left behind for us to use.  It was in bad shape, but now it is good as new.  I didn't even know that those things could be replaced, but it made for some delicious grilled food this weekend!!

#2-I bought some cute decorations at World Market-including these cute lanterns that were on sale.  I wanted to bring in some color with fun accents. 

My new coffee table tray

Who doesn't love World Market??

#3-Patio sitting-it has been wonderful to sit out on the screened in porch in the evenings.  We are loving relaxing on the glider-with wine for me. :)  The cute orange candle was a birthday gift...I love the color and the citronella candle!

#4-Post move mani-yellow is a hot color right now, so I jumped on the band wagon and tried a new to me color.  Feels super summery!!

#5-Working from home on Monday.  I worked from home yesterday to recover from the move and be able to relax on my couch while working.  Moving is hard work!!

I hope everyone is treating themselves regularly!  How are you treating yourself this week?

Moving Weekend

We had a crazy weekend.  It was moving weekend.  We are lucky to have friends with trailers who are willing to help us move.  We moved from our 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom rental house and managed to dog sit and throw a BBQ in the same weekend.

Friday we had so much help.  It was amazing.  The 3 girls and I moved all of the boxes in a truck, suburban, my SUV, and a car with a huge trunk in a trip and a half.  The 3 boys moved all of the big stuff from our apartment.  It went pretty quick.  We started at 9am and had all of the stuff moved to the new place by 1pm.  Quick lunch and it was time to start unpacking.

By Friday night, we had almost all of our stuff unpacked and hung on the walls.  We had a few large items stored in the fiance's parent's basement, so I sent Bobby and his brother in law to pick them up while I finished unpacking the closet and bathrooms.  I painted a few pieces of furniture on Saturday night and let them dry over night.

My favorite project-this coffee table was a dark wood color before.

This was a cherry red before I painted it.  I love the little bits of red coming through!

We spent Sunday morning running errands and picking up the last few things we needed to make the rental house a home. 

Entry

Living room

Our favorite part of the house-screened in porch!!

Kitchen

Dining room

By Sunday evening, we were all set.  Just in time to have a Father's Day BBQ!!!  We invited Bobby's parents and grandparents, his sister and her husband, and her husband's parents over for burgers and brats.  The moms made pies and homemade ice cream.  Yummy!!!  It was a perfect way to break in the new place!!

How was your weekend?
Do you hire movers?  We decided that this is the last time that we will move ourselves.  When we move again-hiring people!  :)  Is this like when you have a hangover and say you're never drinking again?