Weekly Recap

I had every intention of blogging Friday afternoon & linking up for Five on Friday, but it ended up being a busy day & blogging just didn't happen.  Thankfully, I didn't let it get me down or make me feel guilty!  I knew the weekend would roll on, be just as wonderful despite my lack of blogging, & I'd eventually get back to my blog this week.

And I was right, here I am :)  Currently blogging to you from our patio, getting a little vitamin D - it's quite perfect actually!  All this warm, sunshiny weather has me itching for spring!  I sure hope this weather is here to stay!  It's been a long, cold winter {I'm sure most would agree}, but this weather sure does a lot for lifting your spirits & adding a little pep to your step!

Last week I really didn't have too much to blog about…more of the same 'round here!  Wednesday I had a little date with Andrea to grab lunch & a mani, it's our yearly tradition :)

Friday, I judged B in the 14.2 WOD…

We coached the evening classes, then we checked out the new Publix by our house.  So far I'm a fan!

Saturday morning, I worked out with the 830 class, we coached the 930 & then ran a few errands.  B picked up a new suit for Puerto Rico {31 days!} from our local little surf shop {I know, a surf shop in Charlotte, kinda crazy} & I snagged these cute shoes from Target…

#targetdoesitagain

I couldn't pass up $19.99, BOGO 50% off for some cute little summer shoes {much cheaper than Toms}!

We babysat for my brother & SIL Saturday night so they could celebrate their 11 year anniversary!  The kiddos were sweet and snuggly, they must like us ;)

Watching a little lego cartoon before bedtime :)

Abel loves him some Huck!

And selfies with Aunt Michelle!

Sunday we woke up feeling awesome, I guess that's what happens when you're asleep by 10, even though you lose an hour & wake up at about 845!  I know, our life is riveting…try not to be jealous ;) Brandon redid 14.2 getting a total of 252 reps!!  I got a total of 15 reps!  Ha, but I did get my very 1st chest-to-bar pull-ups, so still something to celebrate!

Brandon shared with me the joy of the Whole Foods Hot Bar {of which he partakes often for lunches or dinners when on the road} & then we did a little shop lifting at lululemon…

I made out with 2 pair of much needed crop pants & a tank!  So happy to wear spring workout gear!

B got some awesome new shorts!

We did a little work, a little laundry & a little cooking!  I made this super yummy breakfast casserole for the week & we grilled out some amazing turkey burgers...

That plate sure made for a happy belly!  I'm glad we have left overs :)  It's looking like a busy & great week ahead!  Hope your weather is warming up, too!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday!!  Linking up with April, Christina & friends for a little Five on Friday: Pre-Christmas Edition!  Christmas is 5 days away!!!  Say what!?!

1 - That is our tree last year!  A beauty, right!?  Sadly, our tree looks nothing like that at the moment! It's still present-less!  I had high hopes of wrapping ALL of the gifts on Wednesday and I got about 8 wrapped {which are still sitting in the bonus room Santa's Workshop because I need to suck up all the dry pine needles first!}.  That puts me about 1/3 of the way there!!  Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow night!?!

2 - Speaking of dry pine needles, I think our tree is on it's last leg.  The bottom half of it is…droopy! Literally, branches are brushing the floor.  I'm not sure what's going on, but I think we kilt it.  Whoops! I'm not sure it going to make it to Christmas!

Elana's Pantry Cinnamon Bun Muffins & Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting

3 - These!!  Oh my, I can't wait to make these for our Christmas Eve brunch!  I'm also attempting Elana's {we're on a first name basis} Chocolate Pecan Pie!  I love being in the kitchen this time of year & I love trying new recipes!  I'll keep you posted as to the results!!

4 - Please do not think I've been Mrs. Perfect CrossFit Trainer picture of health over here.  Ohhh the fat girl inside me has been clawing her way out!  The sweet tooth is alive & well & I'm trying to tame her!!  But seriously, did you see that picture above!?  Oh man.  I have a lot of refocusing to do ;)

via

5 - I've had a rough time getting into the Christmas spirit this week.  Kinda bah humbug-ish.  I think having my husband home {for almost 2 whole weeks!!}, a clean house, and a few more presents under the tree should do it!  I'm looking forward to lots of sweet family, good food & a Christmas Eve service to remind me why we celebrate this holiday in the 1st place!

I may or may not be around over the next week, so if not, I wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas!!!

Five on Friday

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!  Happy to be linking up again with April, Christina & friends!  Join me!?

1 - I noticed over on my blog archive on the right side of my blog that I have a measly 50 some posts this year.  Womp womp!  I guess that's what you get for taking 3+ months off blogging!  :( Lesson learned!

2 - How delish do these look!?

Orange Chocolate Coconut Clusters

I just pinned this recipe to my Paleo Pinterest board & I'm pretty sure they just went on my "to make for Thanksgiving" list!

3 - Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm so, so excited for next week!

Brandon & I along with my siblings & their families as well as both of my grandmothers will all be down in Georgia at my parents house!  It's been a while since we've all been at their house together.  It will be loud, there will be 5 dogs, lots of air mattresses, and my heart will be full because we'll all be together eating lots of yummy food :)

It'll be nice to get away, too.  A mini family vacation couldn't come at a better time!

4 - Thanks so much for all of the kind words & SuperFit love!  I was definitely nervous going into my first competition, especially since it was sprung on me last minute & I hadn't been training too hard for it!  At the end of the day, it was a great experience & I felt so encouraged just to be in that environment!!

I shared my new Front Squat PR today on Instagram…

That was 115 lbs right there, almost my body weight!  For 2 sets of 5, so I was pretty pumped!  As I mentioned in the SuperFit post, I really am not sharing these things to brag, but to encourage anyone out there who might see them!  

There's a Facebook page called Women of CrossFit = Strong that posts tons of CrossFit stories from different women of all shapes & sizes who are doing something for themselves (for once!) and changing their lives, their bodies, their self image.  It's so encouraging!  And that's really what I hope to be, encouraging!

5 - Saturday, Brandon & I are celebrating our anniversary with a Spa Day, dinner & a little Christmas tree shopping!  I've never been so ready to have him home & for a relaxing day together, just the 2 of us!!

Happiest of weekends friends!

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!  :)

Dirty 30 Mustache Bash Cake Tutorial

These 2 boys turned the big 3-0 about 6 weeks apart from each other this fall, so I threw them a Dirty 30 Mustache Bash at the box!

The morning of their party they celebrated with a Dirty 30 Birthday WOD, and as you can see, Brandon really embraced the mustache theme!  He creeped me out all weekend long, ha!

I did a terrible job of taking pictures of all the party details, since, ya know, I wasn't really blogging then.  Ughh.  But if you ever throw a mustache themed event (gender reveal, boy baby shower, kid birthday party, etc.), feel free to ask away about the details, I'm happy to share!

I knew I needed a mustache cake for this party!  It was a must!!  I saw this pin on Pinterest a while ago & my inner baker felt inspired!

The link from this pin is broken :(

Basically, you cut a yin-yang in a circle cake, flip one half and match the larger circles to form a mustache, ice & voila!

A few weeks prior I made a trial run cake.  I needed to perfect my craft & of course sample the recipe.  Had to make sure it was good! :)

My trial run was a success!  The recipe was a keeper & the shape turned out pretty well for being free handed.  I needed a way to fool-proof cutting the yin-yang, though, so it would be exact!  I finally realized I could print one out, cut it, and trace it while cutting the cake.  I was able to blow up the yin-yang to 9 inches in a Microsoft document, print, cut and trace & it worked like a charm!!

Here is the final Mustache Bash double layer Mustache Cake!  I was quite impressed with myself, to be honest!

The cake was definitely a hit at the party!!  Everyone thought it was adorable & they couldn't believe I made it!  Every last slice was eaten, so it's safe to say it was delish!  I, of course, turned to Elana's Pantry to find a gluten free cake and icing recipe.  Obviously, the recipes did not disappoint! Happy baking!!

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

6 eggs

1/2 c grapeseed oil

1/2 c agave nectar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Blend wet ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a mixer or hand blender until smooth.  Pour batter into well oiled 12 cup muffin pan (or 9 in cake pan) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cool completely before icing.

**Back off the oven temp to 300 and bake for 1 1/2 the time (30 minutes) in order to have a flatter cake for layering, mustache creating and icing.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

1 c dark chocolate chunks

1/2 c grapeseed oil

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

Melt chocolate & grapeseed oil over very low heat in a saucepan.  Stir in agave, vanilla & salt. Place frosting in freezer to chill and thicken for 15 minutes.  Remove from freezer & whip with hand blender until smooth & fluffy.  (I totally forgot this step & I think it would've been helpful!  Whoops!) Frost over cake.

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!!

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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**

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**

Menu Monday

So, ever since I started following a Paleo/eating clean food plan last fall, I had all these high hopes of posting my day to day meals or all these great recipes I'd tried, and then this little thing called LIFE made me the worst and most sporadic blogger ever.  Seriously!

So, my Paleo food posts never really happened!  Then finally, last night, a light bulb went off!  I was all like, "Omgee, Rachel does a Menu Monday link up every week!  I should totally do a Paleo Menu Monday post and link up!"

So here we are!  I'm linking up with Rachel for Menu Monday!

Thanks to Pinterest & the glorious internet, here are several Paleo recipes I have tried and not only do I approve, but these are all Brandon approved as well!  And that says a lot!

I didn't cook all of these last week, but since it's my 1st Menu Monday post, I have a lot of catching up to do!

Also, all photos are property of the websites they are linked to.  I need to get better about taking food pics :/

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These first few recipes are from Cavegirl Dish - a website I've grown very fond!

I previously mentioned their Garlic Lime Chicken, Slow Cooker Pork Chops and CocoNut Date Balls (but didn't link back specifically) here!

Skillet Taco Pie

I made this on a Bachelor Monday Night with Andrea & we both really liked it!  I thought the meat was a little dry so I might not cook it for quite the full 20 minutes when I make it again.  And the toppings are endless!

PaleOMG is another website I really like!

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

This recipe is amazing y'all!!  So, so good and so easy!  I made it for a Bachelor Monday Night and then another time for Brandon.  Yum!  She used coconut flour in her recipe, I used almond flour because it's what I had.  This recipe is heat hot & delicious!  Make it!

Elana's Pantry is another great website!  She has all sorts of gluten free recipes and then special diet pages with tons of recipes!

Chicken with Cherries & Kale

Another very tasty recipe!  And pretty easy to make, too!  I couldn't find frozen cherries to save my life so I made it with mixed berries, ha.  I won't lie, it wasn't that great as leftovers, but the night of, very good!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

I've used this BBQ sauce so many times now!  I'll probably never buy BBQ sauce again, if simply for the facts that this one is easy to make, I know exactly what's going in it, keeps well and it's delish!!  It can easily be adjusted to be spicier, sweeter, whatever you like.

I've used it for dipping, put it on chicken and baked it, and last night I doubled it, put it in the crockpot with a bunch of chicken and a little chicken broth and we had pulled BBQ chicken!  It's been good every way!

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Alright, that's my 1st Paleo Menu Monday post!  Let me know what you try out!

Lazy Bones Weekend

The weather was here, wish you were beautiful!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?  The weather here has been amazing!!  75 degrees & gorgeous today!  B and I both went for a run outside.  Separate of course, because a) he runs way faster than me & b) we fight when we run together.  Sometimes I just need to walk for a second! Those hills!  Ughh!

Haha, we both got home and took little boy for a walk, then B waxed up Rachelle (yes, the truck has a name!) while I got all Paleofied in the kitchen :)

We had breakfast for dinner tonight, B had waffles & I attempted Paleo pancakes for the first time! Mine aren't super pretty, but they were really good!

And easy to make - 1 mashed up banana, 1 egg, a dash of cinnamon & I added blueberries!  I topped with a drizzle of maple syrup & of course some bacon, duh!

While in the kitchen, I made some egg breakfast sandwiches for the week.  They were supposed to look similar to this...

Alas, they do not!  Haha, but I think they'll still be good.  We shall see!

I have a new favorite Paleo site!  It's Cave Girl Dish.  I found it last weekend and I've made 3 recipes already!

Since discovering the site, I've made their Garlic Lime Chicken (I sub onion powder instead of onion cause I don't like it, sans cilantro because I didn't have any, and I left out the veggies - did different sides), SlowCooker Pork Chops, and tomorrow I'm trying out Skillet Taco Pie with Andrea for Bachelor Monday Night!  I also made the Cocoa-Nut Date Balls today!  Brandon has approved of all so far!

We've had a super lazy weekend!!

No real plans, lots of working out, lots of couch and Shameless Season 2!  This show is so twisted, but so good.  It's like a train wreck, you just can't look away!

I've loved this weather so, so much!  I'm so afraid for Tuesday and it's high of 49.  Yuck!  But I guess this is just a taste of spring and what's to look forward to :) 

I'm going to soak up these last minutes of laziness!  How was your weekend?

Lately: 'Tis the Season

'Tis the Season y'all!!

To be busy of course!!  And since I'm a little behind on blogging, again, thought I'd do a little Lately Christmas Edition post to play catch up!

'Tis the Season to Travel - Last weekend we flew up to Michigan for B's Work Christmas Party!  We had such a good time with everyone!!  B's company sure knows how to throw a party - this year was themed 'A Country Christmas' complete with line dancing & a photo booth!

Photobooth fun!

'Tis the Season for Ornament Exchanges - Last week, I went to 2 fun ornament exchanges!!  

My ornaments ready to be exchanged!
{And the pretty glitter tags Andrea & I made!}

The first was a Charlotte Blogger Girls Ornament Exchange!  Classic Annie was so sweet to organize it all!  We met up at Aria for dinner and drinks.  It was so fun to see some great blog friends again & meet some new blogger girls for the first time!

All the girls {minus Rach who had to get back to her baby girl!}
See Annie's recap to get the links to each girls' blog!

The second was an Ornament Exchange with some girlfriends from school!  My friend Lacey hosted us at her house & she had quite the spread!

And each calorie was was so worth it!  ;)

I brought a Ham & Pineapple Cheese Ball that I've made several times before, it's super easy and super yummy!  {Recipe here}  I didn't take any other pictures the whole night, just enjoyed hanging out with some sweet teacher friends outside of school for a change!

The new pretties that adorn our tree!  :)

'Tis the Season to Induldge - The party spread in that pic above is exactly what I'm talking about! The Holidays come with eating, there's just no avoiding it :/  I'm trying to be as "good" as I can, my breakfasts, lunches & dinners during the week are still Paleo, but all the snacks at school and the parties - I still have to indulge a little!

'Tis the Season to Enjoy - I'm loving all our decorations!  My pillow covers finally came in and I've finally gotten to some gift wrapping.  Only a few presents left to be bought and a handful left to wrap!

Alien eyed Berkley & presents under the tree!!

'Tis the Season to Celebrate - Tomorrow I'll share with you our Christmas card {even though they have yet to be sent out!!  Grrr...that's another story!}, B has 3 workdays this week & I'm down to 4, then we're both off for almost 2 whole weeks!!  Friday, there will be much cleaning and baking going on :)  Family starts to arrive on Saturday, as well as our dining room table {finally!!!}, and I'm excited to celebrate this wonderful season!  So much to be thankful for this year!

Time to curl up on the couch and enjoy what's left of my Sunday night!  Merry week before Christmas, friends!!