Life Changes

I swear I am going to get back in the swing of things!! Lately our life has been consumed with work and moving preparations! I feel like we have so much going on but are living in a state of chaos!

We started packing so we now have boxes all over the place and bare walls! It makes it tough to be at home and to want to do anything! Half the time I'm overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done and the other half I'm exhausted from everything that I'm doing!

It doesn't help that work is as per the usual stressful! Don't get me wrong I absolutely love my job and the work I do but I also sometimes wish for those slow days I used to have at previous jobs! I hit the ground running at 7:30 AM and by the time 4:30 hits and I'm on my way I am just mentally spent! Maybe that's why coordinating this move and all the details that go with it is making me feel exhausted! Regardless that's life and I am beyond excited to start our new life in Nevada!!

So as I'm complaining about being exhausted and how much stuff we have to do the other little thing I'm considering to start is called Team Beach Body. It's a workout program and you can start as just participating or becoming a coach and participating. I've been looking at doing this for about the last month and have been doing research upon research but feel stuck in making the decision!

Should I wait until we move and are settled in our new home or should I just say screw it and start now? I hate "waiting" to reach certain points to where it would be the "right time". Because isn't any time you want to start something healthy the "right time"? And isn't there always going to be a million reasons to not do something?

All I know is that weight watchers isn't working as well for me this go around. And what is honestly missing from my life is the fitness motivation! I fell in love with running a few years ago and after a few injuries I took myself out of the game! I have regretted it ever since but it's been so hard trying to get back in the habit! I seriously am lacking any and all drive! With the Team Beach Body it gives you challenges to complete and a million streaming video workouts! I like variety and I'll accept a challenge any day...so maybe this is the right move for me?

I've been following some of the coaches on instagram and I really am inspired by them.

So what's my hold up right this second from signing up for a challenge? The money and that we are moving and I am slowly losing the space to be able to work out in my living room. But if I want it bad enough I'll do it right?? And I really do! I want to work out again and feel the joy from it! Ideally I want to start running again and since we'll be in a residential neighborhood in Nevada I think I'll feel more safe! Not that the area I live in isn't safe. It truly is but I also live off a busy street and getting up at 4 am to run in an dark area just gives me the heebe jeebes! So I am determined to start running once we are in Nevada but what is holding me back right now? Myself.

Anyone with thoughts about Team Beach Body let me know! I've heard nothing but good things and I really really want to get myself back on the fitness train!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Well well well look at how time has flown right on by!

Let's play catch up shall we...

On New Years Eve we attended our friend Katie's Masquerade Party! It was a blast!

I got to wear my new favorite lip stick! I read about Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Bawse online and apparently this color works on nearly every skin tone! I don't know about you but I struggle to find just the right color! The ones I love are usually too light and I get nervous buying the darker colors...even though now I know those work for me!

But this one was seriously perfect! It lasted all night and I loved it!

New Years Eve was a blast and it was so fun to ring in the new year with our friends all dolled up and acting classy ;-)

A couple weekends later we headed to Reno to visit family! Let me tell you how happy I was for this view on the way there...

 I love snow...it is so magical to me! Maybe because I didn't grow up living in it I can truly enjoy it's beauty but I don't even care! You can't argue with me on this! :)

We arrived in Reno about noon. We are planning on moving up there so we took advantage of the afternoon and went to a few apartment complexes and then headed to Hobby Lobby where I appropriately drooled over their Valentine's Day decorations.

After spending only 30 minutes in Hobby Lobby we headed over to my cousin Jodi and her husband Austin's house! After catching up a bit and enjoying an extremely delicious dinner we found ourselves in an Uno Spin battle! 

If you have not played this game, this was our first time, you must play it! I'll admit I kept forgetting the rules but we had an absolute blast!

We had made one quick pit stop to Target because I forgot shampoo and we stumbled upon these babies..

 I had heard of them so Brandon knew we were on the hunt! Who knew that we had to drive to Nevada to get them! 

As for flavor my cousin put it perfectly...they taste like the lofthouse sugar cookies! I won't be buying them again but I am going to make the cookie recipe that is on the bag to see if I enjoy them a bit more that way...and hopefully my coworkers will too!

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting with family and as per usual we had a great time staying at Jodi and Austin's home!

The following weekend we had plans with our friends Saturday night and Sunday!!

Say hello to Kitty Cocktail and Cy Ramsay

Our friends Jen and Dan put on a 1920's Murder Mystery Party and we had an absolute blast! I got my lovely dress and headband from Amazon and I have no doubt I'll find another time and place to show off this stunning little number.

The following Sunday Funday we all met up for brunch and I got to wear my new sweatshirt from Old Navy and Lularoe Valentine leggings...I was beyond comfy!

And then the most shocking thing of all happened...Brandon and I were the first to arrive for Brunch so of course we took a moment for an ussie!

After brunch we stopped by the store and picked up a little sweet treat for later that day and headed home to be lazy bums!! January has been busy but all really fun adventures and events!! And on top of all these fun activities I found time to cook and bake a couple new recipes and finish a book! Keep watch for those coming up next on the blog!

I hope 2017 has started off well for everyone!

Weight Watchers Fresh Realm Food Delivery

When Weight Watchers announced they were working with Fresh Realm to provide a food delivery service with meals specifically created for Weight Watchers I didn't hesitate to sign up! I gave a quick review on a previous post of when I received my first weeks delivery.

I immediately got on the website and signed up! They have now worked out their kinks and I am loving it! It's a bit on the pricey side but it's keeping me on track and making my life easier! I'm hoping it will help me get back onto the work out train again too since it's cutting down my time in the kitchen significantly!

I thought I'd share a few of the meals I've tried so far and give you some feedback!!

One of the first lunches I had was the Asian Salad with Chicken!! 

As you can see I paired this with some Weight Watchers cheddar twists and my always on hand apple slices! I swear I eat them every single day!!

But really the main event...the salad...check this baby out!

I was beyond impressed with this salad. It was so tasty and filling! It literally filled that entire plate! I have picked up the pre-made Asian salads at Safeway and Raley's but hands down this one is better! And it comes in at only 6 smart points.

Another meal I tried was the pulled chicken wrap.

This one was not impressive at all. I actually didn't even finish it. The chicken was pretty awful. It was hard to chew and it came in huge chunks. You're supposed to wrap it up in the tortilla and the tortilla fell apart on me. I immediately went online and removed this meal from all future orders.

I normally wouldn't purchase snacks for this because with Weight Watchers snacky foods are typically easy to find...you eat fruits and veggies! But I was too tempted by their Turkey and Cheese Wrap.

It's pre-rolled for you and comes with carrots and grapes! It was delightful and honestly I could see this being a lunch for me. It does come in at 8 smart points so it's high on the points side for it to be considered a snack! I did however add this to future meals because it was that tasty and filling!!

The dinner options have been amazing so far! The first dinner I opted for was the Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Veggies!

Another thing I'm loving about these meals is they do not skimp on the veggies or fruits! This was seriously such a filling dinner and I loved the veggie medley! It's a keeper and comes in at 9 smart points. Totally doable for a dinner meal (points wise) and I wasn't left hungry at all!


Now onto my most favorite meal of the day...breakfast!

I was probably most excited about the breakfast options that were included in this! This girl can't start her day without her coffee (using Weight Watchers cafe creations my 2 cups each day come in at 0 points...that's a score!) and breakfast! I don't feel alive until I've had my morning joe and food fuel!

I had already tried the ham and cheese bagel with fruit so this time around I chose one to be heated and enjoyed. The Huevos Rancheros!

This meal comes with grapes, which I thoroughly enjoyed even though they aren't pictured. I could not believe how good this tasted! For a breakfast that is heated up in the microwave and it isn't resting on an english muffin I was blown away! I added a bit of Tapatio because I LOVE IT and I don't think you can go wrong with adding it to egg dishes! Even without the Tapatio this dish would have been amazing! And again super filling. This one came in at 6 points...not bad at all!

Last Saturday we had to get my car smogged, pick up some chains for our weekend trip to Reno this weekend and then go hang with my sister and adorable niece..so I needed to get ready and consume some breakfast while also sleeping in...because it's Saturday and that is what I do! I was able to quickly pop this Turkey Sausage and Egg sandwich in the microwave and walk out the door with it in hand.

I mean look at that perfectly melting cheese...yummmmmyyy!! This one comes in at 8 points, which is the same for my standby breakfast burrito so is it worth it? Absolutely! I wasn't even feeling the hunger pains when lunch time came around!! 

Overall I am super impressed with this new partnership between Weight Watchers and Fresh Realm and will definitely use it for the next few weeks. Especially now that the website is fully functioning. I'll be curious to see if they add more variety to the weekly meal selections because it's the same for each week! Granted the ease of it all can't be beat and I am all about saving time...even if it does cost me a little bit of money! Eventually I'm sure I'll start putting these meals together on my own after buying all the ingredients at the store but for now I'm going to enjoy!

I've still got a few more meals to review...including my most favorite one of all! But this post is yet again getting long!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Coming up next week is the rest of the Fresh Realm meal reviews, a new recipe I baked up, and a book review!

Lemon Strawberry Bundt Cake

The other night Brandon was making us a nice dinner so I decided to whip us up a dessert! I knew it needed to be simple and I wanted to use things I had on hand!!

Gather up your ingredients

• 1 Box Lemon Cake Mix
• 1 Can Strawberry Pie Filling
• 3 Eggs

Combine all three ingredients.

Spray your bundt cake with cooking spray or you can always use some canola oil and flour. I just prefer the cooking sprays. 

Pop that baby in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Get ready for that sweet smell of strawberry to waft through your home.

Let it cool in your pan then flip onto a plate. Slice into as many pieces as you'd like. 

If you really want to put the "cherry" on top you'll make some homemade whipped cream! I happened to have some left over whipping cream from a dessert I made for our last book club! This was such a sweet little treat after a wonderful homemade dinner by my man!

I tend to always have a cake mix and a pie filling on hand but even if you don't this is one of the easiest and cheapest desserts to whip up. And I guarantee it will be a crowd pleaser!

20 Minute Pinterest Project

We all know how the lovely Pinterest game works...you pin about a million recipes, projects, fitness workouts, cute puppies, and fashion..yet how many of those do you actually complete? I will say that I make a great deal of effort to actually make/create/buy some of my pins. I have over 11,000 pins currently so the reality of getting through even 1/4 of those is slim to none! But you better believe I'll try to get through as many as possible because what's the point in pinning things that I'll never do??

This weekend I sat down to work on a project that I've had planned for months now! I just had to get through toilet paper rolls and remember to save them! I have a wonderful craft space in my apartment but I am constantly trying to keep it neat and organized! This project (which can be found here) focused on getting myself a place to organize my colored pencils and pens! 

First things first you'll need a few toilet paper rolls, a good pair of scissors, hot glue gun and glue, pretty paper and a box of your choosing. I used the box my camera came in because the size was perfect for my space.

Next up I removed the box lid and the edge pieces. My box came with a bunch of inserts that helped me out later in the project but go ahead and remove any extra pieces inside if there are any.

The next part can be done however you need to do it. This will all depend on your box size. I was able to cut my 12 x 12 paper in half and then I wrapped it around my box to determine where the fold should be.

After that I used hot glue to secure the paper to my box.

As you can my paper extended over the top of my box, which ideally you want. You'll want to cut the corner edge just down to the top of the box edge.

After that fold over your paper edges into the inside of the box and secure with hot glue.

Repeat these steps with the second piece of paper and voila your box is covered.

Next up line the inside with your toilet paper rolls and any other dividers you might want. I used the pieces of cardboard that came with my camera box to make an extra slot.

I did not use anything to secure the toilet paper rolls down but I did use scotch tape to secure the divider in the back to the sides of my box, in the picture it's actually at the bottom.

Next up fill to the hearts content with whatever products you choose. I was specifically going for my colored pencils and pens! And it worked amazing! 

I could not be happier with how this turned out! It's perfect and fits perfect on my craft table without taking up too much space! And the paper I chose actually matches a frame that I made that is above my desk so it all ties in! YAY!!

Right after this I had quite the hankering to bake...who doesn't love to craft and bake on a Sunday!

I whipped up a batch of sour cream glazed donuts that I found here.

These were quite delish and so easy...give the project and these donuts a try...you won't be disappointed!

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on the couch with my man. While I was busy perusing the internet he played his game until we sat down to continue our Revenge marathon! If you never watched this show make sure to check it out! We finally made it to the final season and can't get enough!