Valentine's Weekend

Happy belated Valentine's Day blogland!!  I hope you got to spend the weekend with the ones you love the most!!

Thanks to all the snow last week…

I had lots of rest & relaxation, which was a nice change of pace!!  We knew Friday evening classes would be light at the gym so I stayed home & made one of my fav meals as my pre-competition dinner!

Saturday I was off to Squad Gauntlet with some friends from our gym…

Team Purple Haze!

Me & Jackie ready to go!

We had 3 WODs to complete that day, a weightlifting WOD, a chipper (you chip away at the task) & then a relay to end!  We all PR'd on our weight lifts so we were happy about that!  We were just a few reps short of finishing the chipper in the 20 min time cap & finished the relay with seconds to spare in the 30 min time cap!

Team Purple Haze, sadly, did not come in 1st place {not that we were expecting to} but we weren't last either!  Overall it was a very fun day!!  Here are some highlights…

PR'ing my Clean & Jerk at 125lbs!  That's just over my body weight, I was pretty pumped!!!

B wore the right shirt ;)

Haha, I didn't even buy him that!

A few kettlebell swings...

Some goblet squats...

Good ol' rowing...

Pushups...

Oh, and my friend, Fran!!!  {If you don't know about Fran, just google her!}  

Thrusters...

and Pullups….

Some fun deadlifts…

And a final sprint to the finish...

That night, B & I went to McCormik & Schmichk's to celebrate Valentine's!!  We had never been before & we were thoroughly impressed!  So, so good!

I totally cheated on our Paleo challenge & ended my meal with some creme brûlée!  So worth it ;)

I squeezed in a mini workout Sunday morning, then attended a friend's baby shower, but sadly, didn't take a single pic!  It was such a great shower though, we can't wait to meet Baby Girl Sly!  We made banana pancakes for dinner (another favorite!) and watched House of Cards.  It was lovely!

The weather is warmer this week, hallelujah, amen!  This girl is so ready for spring!!  Happy day y'all!

Lately

Here's what's been going on as of late…

1 - February is off to a great start!  We had family in town last weekend for my niece's 8th birthday! 8!!  Seriously, where does the time go!?

Wasn't she just this little baby?

Throw back - 2006!

2 - This past weekend we randomly stumbled upon this beauty at Home Goods & brought her home! The TV stand, not the cute cat statue ;)

A "grown up" TV stand had been on my wish list for the house since we moved in, but it wasn't a big priority.  We happened to randomly stop by Home Goods Saturday & couldn't leave without this piece!  It was a steal!  Getting the new TV stand meant we "needed" a new sound system.  So we swung by Best Buy & got a sound bar as well.  Happy Valentine's Day to us!!  :)

3 - I just love this song, don't you?  The video is really sweet, too!

4 - I printed this printable from Rachel at Kincaid Parade to frame in our bathroom!  It's a great reminder for us right now.  The weeks can seem very long at moments when Brandon's away & hours are long at the gym.  Don't get me wrong, it's so rewarding!!  But 5+ years of B traveling every week have gotten very old, for him more than me even, and it takes a lot of work owning your own business. But it is all a Great Work and we cannot come down right now.

5 - In case you hadn't heard, it's Snowpocalypse 2014 here in the south!!  It started yesterday & is supposed to continue through tomorrow!

It's pretty, that's for sure!  Be of course the whole world here shuts down.  We cancelled our 7pm classes last night, early classes this morning, & all our PM classes tonight.  Doesn't look favorable for tomorrow either!

6 - I guess the snow couldn't have come at a better time, though.  I seemed to have come down with some sort of head cold!  Yuck.  And honestly, I'm not home that often, so I'm soaking up this snowed in time & making the best of it!  Although, I wish B was here to be snowed in with me!

My cold wasn't that bad Monday, but yesterday I was really feeling blehh.  Typically I'm of the mindset to sweat it out, but I decided to nap it out yesterday & stayed home from the night classes. I slept so well last night & am feeling much better today!  Still super stuffy, but well enough to do an at home WOD!

I started with Man Makers!  Woo buddy, they're good!!  Jump out to plank, pushup, row on each side, jump up, squat clean thruster = 1!  I did 5x10 with my 10lb dumbbells & I was sweatin'!!

Then I did this WOD I found on Pinterest (by the way, CrossFit Pineville now has a Pinterest Page!) so I don't end up Fat Michelle while stuck at home!!  Did it in 17:23, care to try & beat me?  :)

This is what I looked like after, haha!  Just keeping it real for y'all... crazy hair, sweat, I love it!

7 - I need to be better asap, I'm in a local team CrossFit competition this weekend called Squad Gauntlet!  It's a 4 person team & I'm doing it with some friends from the box!  Should be really fun :)

8 - B & I have a fun little date night afterwards to celebrate Valentine's!  We're not super into the holiday, but love a reason for a date!

9 - I will not be eating lots of chocolate this Valentine's since we're doing a 6 week Paleo Challenge at the gym.  It started this past Monday & it's been great so far!  It's nice to exercise a little self discipline!  I'm sure I won't miss the chocolate that bad!  Mind over matter, my friends.

10 - I have nothing else for you, but I couldn't end on 9 :)

Five on Friday

Happy Friday!!

5 on Friday is definitely my favorite link up, so I'm glad to back to blogging my Friday 5 & linking up with April & Christina!

Here we go!

1 - I am now the proud owner of this functional beauty...

Longchamp via

Seriously, I love this bag!  I carry all of the things in my bag all the time!  If you opened it right now, you'd find my iPad, a snack bag of Berkley's dog food, a shaker bottle, protein bar and a pair of socks in addition to all the normal stuff, ie my wallet & chapstick!  I'm back & forth to the gym so much, this bag is the perfect size to function as my purse & my catch all bag!!

I love the black & brown, it goes with everything!  A bff of mine & my cousin swear by this bag, so I knew it needed to be my next purse purchase.  I see a long, loving relationship budding between Longchamp & me ;)

2 - I had my first Flywheel experience this past Sunday morning!  My friend Jackie is a Flywheel addict & I was finally able to go with her!  She is also a CrossFit/Weightlifting addict (my kinda gal ;) ) so we left Flywheel & bee-lined it to the gym for 2 hours of weightlifting!  This was my face after....

Legs were complete jello for the rest of the day!  Whoa nelly!  Flywheel was definitely fun & an awesome cardio workout!  I can see myself throwing it in to my workout mix for a little variety (and leg killing) on occasion :)

3 - Speaking of working out....I am in my very first CrossFit competition this weekend!!!  I'm only slightly nervous, anxious, excited & terrified all at once ;)

I'm competing in the SuperFit Games tomorrow(!) at CrossFit Steele Creek!  There are 3 workouts, all partner style, that day!  My partner & I are competing in the scaled division (read - not as hard!) & our team name is the FRANtastics!  Our heat times are 10:43, 1:21, and 4:39.

Brandon & Warren are competing also, in the RX division because they are beasts!  It kind of came about last minute (a week ago!) that I'd be competing!  My partner Meagan is a friend of a friend & when her partner dropped out, our friend thought of me to partner up with her.  So here we are!

Tomorrow's the day!!  It will be a full but very fun & exciting day!!  The top 5 teams from each division (male rx or scaled, female rx or scaled, male/female rx or scaled) will go on to the final WOD & we have high hopes that Brandon & Warren go all the way!

4 - So much in this photo that I'm loving!

I love some sparkle on my nails, that makes any day better!  And how can you not love these cute earrings?! Calorie free cupcakes are the way to go!

5 - Nina's Paleo Pumpkin Spice Granola!

This was my very first attempt at homemade granola & I'm sold!  It was so easy & so delicious! Brandon & I (ok mostly me since B is gone most of the week.  Oops!) have already eaten through an entire batch that I made Sunday night!  It's that good.

I'll be making more very soon & can't wait to share over Thanksgiving & Christmas with our families!  Yum!!

That's all I have for you!  Hope over to April & Christina's blogs to read more 5 on Friday posts!  Happy weekend!  :)

Five on Friday

Time to link up again with April & Christina for Five on Friday!!

1 - My new schedule!

I'm getting into a good little groove every day going to the box!  If I'm coaching the early morning classes, I bring my breakfast with me, get my own workout in pretty early and have the afternoon to run errands, nap, or whatever.  If I'm not coaching early morning, I get to sleep til about 7 {glorious!}, make a smoothie to drink on the way in, and workout a little later in the day.  And I get to do my dream job. Definitely can't complain :)

2 - ModPaleo Meals - Yum!

CrossFit Pineville is a delivery site for a local meal delivery service, ModPaleo.  We don't profit anything from them as a box & I'm not getting paid to endorse them or anything, I'm just seriously loving their food right now!  Since I don't get home til about 830 or later most week nights, I don't have time to pull together a healthy {Paleo friendly} meal.  I order 5 meals a week from them.  It's delivered every Monday to the box & all I have to do is boil it or heat it in the microwave.  This is the perfect solution to the busy lifestyle I have right now!!  All of their food is local, organic, grass-fed/free range protein, etc.  And it's all SO good!!  They are a lifesaver!

3 - Surprise/unplanned visits from airport stranded cousins!

My cousin Erin was flying through Charlotte Tuesday night when her flight back home got cancelled due to weather.  She hopped in a rental car & came over for a sleep over!  We stayed up way to late chitchatting, but I hadn't seen her since Christmas so it was long overdue!!  I'm sorry her flight got cancelled, but not sorry it happened to strand her in Charlotte!

4 - Planned lunches with BFFs & family traveling through Charlotte!

One of my lifelong BFFs just moved into her brand new house!!  I stopped by Panera after leaving the box yesterday & brought lunch over to Ashley's gorgeous house!  We played with her sweet babies, I got the house tour & we got all caught up on life :)

Today, my aunt & grandmother are on their way back to VA from my parents house in GA.  They're pit-stopping through Charlotte so we're meeting for lunch!  It'll be short & sweet, but I'm so glad to see them, even if it's only an hour!

5 - A Friday afternoon nap!

Oh yes...a nap is calling  my name!  Even if it's only for an hour.

Happy weekend friends!!

Menu Monday Vol. III

It's been a few weeks since I last linked up with Rachel at In No Simple Language for Menu Monday, so here's what's been on my Paleo menu lately!

Paleo Menu Monday Vol. III!

I mentioned the Paleo brownies I made for my birthday a few weeks ago, but never shared the link!

Easy Peasy Paleo Brownies

Seriously, so good & only 5 ingredients!  Well, plus the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips I added!!

site

site

Roasted Veggies

There's no real recipe for this, but it's so easy! Just peel and cut up a sweet potato into chunks (a bit bigger than the picture)  and slice a zucchini and squash about an inch think.  Toss in some EVOO, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt.  Roast on 450 for about 20 minutes!  So yummy and a good way to get in your veggies :)

from site

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Pizza from The Cavegirl Dish

I am a pizza LOVER!!  Ever since starting Paleo, it's definitely been something I've missed and dreamed of!  Cheese is a pretty important ingredient for pizzas and well...cheese is not Paleo.  So I just figured there was no way I could ever make a Paleo pizza since it would be missing such an important part!  But this pizza was the perfect solution!  It doesn't require cheese and I really liked the almond flour crust!  B liked it too, we've made it twice now!

I also used the same crust recipe and was able to tweak one of my most favorite pizzas - Thai Chicken Pizza - to make it mostly Paleo!  I subbed stevia for sugar and almond flour for the cornstarch in the sauce, also left off the cheese & subbed almonds for peanuts.  

These 2 pizzas made my pizza loving inner fat girl so happy!!

  

from site

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

A blogger I follow, Jennifer Francis, posted this recipe a few weeks ago and when I got my new food processor I knew this would be one of the first things I made with it!!  I served it once with Garlic Lime Chicken and then again last night with Salsa Chicken from the crock pot.  Not exactly the best smelling dish to make, but the end result is super tasty!!

I also made Stuffed Spaghetti Squash again as our pre Spartan Race dinner!

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That's most of what I've been cooking lately!  What are you going to try!?

**Paleo Menu Monday Vol. I**

**Paleo Menu Monday Vol. II**

Birthday Weekend!

This past Saturday, I turned 26!!!

I am now closer to 30 than 20, which, in my opinion, is pretty exciting because really, life just keeps getting better!

This weekend was a busy one, but I would have spent my birthday weekend no other way :)

Festivities started early on Thursday night with Andrea and our traditional birthday trip to our favorite, Polished Nail Bar!  Then followed up by a little impromptu birthday dinner at Jade with Lisa!

Feeling spoiled with pretty nails from Andrea & a Lululemon giftcard from Lisa!  For real, my friends are pretty freaking fantastic!

I've been fighting a lovely cough for a while so I took the day off on Friday and tried to rest up.  I took some good naps with this guy...

...and made these ah-MAZ-ing Paleo brownies for my birthday!!

They were so good!!  B & I have such a sweet tooth, I'll have to find a reason to make these again soon!

For my birthday dinner, B took me to Terrace Cafe.  It was just as good as the first time!

My love at dinner :)  This meat and potato lover eats salads now!!!

Sorry for the crapola pics!  And the bags under my eyes!!  WTH 26!?!

Again, not the best pic, but that gorgeous necklace was my birthday present from B!  He's so sneaky!!  Finding time to go jewelry shopping without me even knowing!

Birthdays overwhelmingly remind me how loved I am and how blessed I am simply by the people that I'm lucky enough to call family and friends.  All the well wishes, Facebook posts, tweets, texts, phone calls...sure can make your heart swell!!

As I said, our days were busy this weekend, but our nights were spent laying on the couch together with our fur babies.  I can think of no better way to celebrate another year!

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So here's to 26!!  This will be a year for the books, it's going to be exciting y'all, I promise!!!  So stick around!

*And no, I am not pregnant! ;)

Menu Monday Vol. II

Linking up with my friend Rachel at In No Simple Language again today for Paleo Menu Monday Vol. II!

It's been 2 weeks since my last link up, so here's what Paleo dishes I've been making lately...

Marinated Sirloin Steak, Butternut Squash, & Roasted Asparagus

This was our Valentine's night meal!  I bought the steak from The Meat House and marinated it using a mixture of steak marinades I made from combining marinades 2 & 3 from this list off of Mark's Daily Apple.

I buy the pre-cut (easier!) butternut squash from the produce section, mix it with diced onion (about half of a large onion), then toss it in some EVOO, put it in a glass baking dish, add 3 cut up cloves of fresh garlic, and a few pads of butter.  Bake at 425 for about 45-50 mins & voila!  So yummy!

For the asparagus, I just drizzle some EVOO over the asparagus on a tinfoil covered cookie sheet, sprinkle with sea salt and roast at 400 for about 25-30 minutes to desired crunchiness.  We like it crunchy around here!

Of course Valentine's Day isn't complete without some chocolate!!  So I tried this Primal Fudge recipe I found on Pinterest.

We were big fans & I'll definitely be making this fudge again!  Because of the coconut oil, there is a hint of a coconut taste.  So if you don't like coconut, you might not like these.  But we loved them!

from site

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash from The Cavegirl Dish

I made this with Andrea for Bachelor Monday Night & it was a big hit!!  It was Andrea's first time to have spaghetti squash and she is now a fan!  Pretty easy, too!  I only sprinkled the top with a bit of parm to keep it as Paleo (no dairy!) as possible.  

If you've never cooked a spaghetti squash, you can read up on how to here.

from site

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

These are another Pinterest find!  I made them last night with some Cajun Chicken we picked up from The Meat House (can you tell we like that place!? ;))  and B and I both really liked them!

Disclaimer - they do have a little bit (tbsp and a half) of brown sugar, which is not Paleo, but I did include it.  It could have easily been left off & I think they would still be delish!!

from site

Dairy Free Almond Flour Pancakes

Another Pinterest success!!  We are big fans of breakfast for dinner around here!  The girls and I made these for Bachelor Monday Night & I made them again for dinner last night.  We made them sans blueberries & served them with some eggs & turkey bacon the first time!  Last night, I added the blueberries, same sides.  YUM!

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Alright, that's all I've got for ya today!  What's going on your menu!?

**You can read Paleo Menu Monday Vol. I here**