friday hey hey

 cheers to the freakin' weekend! well, i wanted to first give my overall [quick] thoughts on the juice cleanse that i did this week. but first...

 sorry hubby :)

 - i don't know what people are talking about when they said they were "never hungry," because i was. it never got to starving - more just a couple stomach growls here and there, but good lord you are taking in 800-900 calories a day, of course you are going to be hungry!

- the end of the day is the hardest time. mornings were easy peasy for me. afternoons were a little tough, and after work/evenings were painful. plan something to do at night and during your lunch break to take your mind off of it...go for a walk, run errands, go see a movie (be aware of the smell of popcorn! haha), etc. it's amazing how much more time you have when you don't have to eat.

- i am not a scale person at all, and i think the last time i stepped on one was a couple weeks ago at the gym. i had my annual physical this morning, so naturally they weighed me, and i am down 5 pounds from the last time i weighed myself. again this may or may not have been from the juice, but i definitely feel lighter! whenever i put my jeans on after washing them, they are always a bit tight, but today they fit perfectly! now, this is something that i'm sure will wear off after a couple of days of eating real food, but something i definitely wanted to share (in case you have a big event and are trying to lost some extra lbs the healthy way).

- after doing this, i want to start incorporating juices in my everyday diet. i am not a veggie person, and the only fruit i eat is apples [yes, i'm cray]. but juicing is a great way to get your daily dose of what your body needs without having to eat the junk i don't like. 

- i don't know if i would do a 3-day cleanse again...don't get me wrong, i am a fan of how it made me feel, and it was an intense but interesting experience. however, i think eating healthy and eliminating some of the processed food from my diet is much more feasible :)

- that said, this was a great way to kick start a new eating/health habit. my goal is now going to be maintaining a healthier life style and watching my portion sizes a little more! i'm not wasting all of that hard work, dannnng.

sooo if you are ever thinking about doing a juice cleanse, this was just my personal opinion of how mine went! i know everyone's experiences are very different, but hopefully it helps to hear from a first timer first-hand in case you are on the fence.

hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

juicy - part tres

the juice cleanse finale!

day three
7:15 a.m. - woke up on my own again and feel very well-rested and ready for the day
8:30 a.m. - {wake up} is even more delicious today! i am so glad i get to eat real food tomorrow...
10:30 a.m. - {refresh} is also more delicious than i remember...could i have turned myself onto juice? either that or my body is faking it and ready to get this cleanse over with.
12:30 p.m. - {restore} is sweeter than i remember. but i am still not a fan of beets. even the color makes me woozy
2:15 p.m. - uh oh the hungry tummy is back...just hold on for a couple minutes until the next one okkkayyyy?
2:45 p.m. - okay, am i going crazy or do all these juices taste better today? {lean & fit}, which started off super bitter, is now easy as pie. what. is. happening.
4 p.m. - that weird "hot haze" is happening again. i think i'm just achy.
4:40 p.m. - nope, i wasn't going crazy. {go green} is still nasty as hell. ughhh
5:30 p.m. - trey and i decide to take bailey boy for a nice long walk
7 p.m. - a longer walk than expected, but boy did it feel good to use my legs again!
7:15 p.m. - {health nut}, you make me so happy! my final juice. boy, is this going to feel satisfying!
7:30 p.m. - yeahhhh, trey just came home with a delicious whole foods meal that smells amazing. i'm going to kill him.
8 p.m - movie time to take my mind off of my empty tummy.
10 p.m. - don't see flight. terribly depressing and frustrating.
10:30 p.m. - bedtime! i cannot wait to wake up tomorrow and eat solid food!

*** notes: today was my easiest day yet. i had a couple hunger pains in the middle of the day, but all-in-all, i feel proud of myself for being able to do something like this! stay tuned for tomorrow to see how good i really feel haha.

juicy - part deux

and the juice cleanse continues...

day two
7:45 a.m. - woke up without an alarm...wow, i slept great. kinda like i took nyquil...but i didn't. you know nyquil sleep is the good stuff.
8:30 a.m. - {wake up} juice goes down smooth. can't complain.
10:45 a.m. - {refresh} juice tastes a little more cucumbery today. but that's not necessarily a bad thing. it has a nice little kick.
noon - my growling tummy doesn't sound happy with me.
12:45 p.m. - {restore} juice does not taste as carroty as it did yesterday. today it just tastes like veggies. better than the {go green} though...ugh i can't believe i have to drink that again today. kill me.
2:45 p.m.  -{lean & fit} juice is better than yesterday. maybe i'm just comparing it to what's next though. help
4 p.m. - my head feels tingly and my body is cold. kinda like i have a fever but i don't feel sick at all. i can't describe it. we'll just call this the toxins leaving my body?? sure...
4:45 p.m. - i hate {go green}. if i do one of these cleanses ever again, i will substitute this one. it is hard to swallow (that's what she said).
6 p.m. - vinyasa yoga class. they said light exercise is okay (i.e. walks and no-heat yoga), and if you know me, i go a little stir crazy if i don't get some sort of exercise every day
7 p.m. - class went great. it felt awesome to stretch it out and i'm not hungry or light-headed in the slightest
7:30 p.m. - {health nut} juice. god i love you health nut juice. you make this whole thing worthwhile.
8 p.m. - turned the bachelor on. is this real life? at least i'm not as cray as tierra. holy psychopath.
10 p.m. - my body is tired. time for bed!

*** notes: i didn't pee as much today as the first day, and today was much more bearable. i wasn't ever starving or lethargic like i was on day one. maybe this thing really is working!

juicy - part one

so after my birthday festivities and a weekend full of booze, sweets and delicious food, i decided it was time for a juice cleanse. juicing has become a trend in dallas, and there are several local juicers & cleanses that i've been looking into over the last couple of months. welp, i decided to bite the bullet and go for it. i heard the best feedback about roots juices, as i have a couple friends who have successfully completed their cleanses, and evidently it's a great "beginner's cleanse." anywhoo, i went with a 3-day because 5 days just sounded a little too ambitious for this foodie. soooo, over the next three days, i'm going to give you a completely honest overview of my cleanse. please note, i've never crash dieted, cleansed or given up food. like, ever.

day one

7:15 a.m. - juices arrive at the doorstep! my ocd self decides to organize them in the fridge...if they look neat, i'm much more likely to enjoy them, right?

8 a.m. - first juice - carrot, apple, watermelon & ginger {wake up}...not bad. it tastes like carrot juice with a little sweetness.
10:15 a.m. - cucumber, lime, mint, apple & ginger {refresh}...pretty good actually. quite refreshing and goes down smooth
12:30 p.m. - beet, carrot, apple, ginger & aloe {restore}...surprisingly not terrible. i am not a fan of beets, but this guy really just tasted more like carrot juice than beets. i did feel a bit dwight schrute-like.
2 p.m. - stomach grumbling...i really should have gone and run errands during my lunch break because my co-worker's salad looks pretty tasty
2:15 p.m. - watermelon & mint {lean & fit}...not a huge fan. it's drinkable but a little too bitter for my taste
3:30 p.m. - headache...this must be the caffeine withdrawals
4 p.m. - kale, spinach, romaine, cucumber & lemon {go green}...gross. tastes like grass. could they not have thrown an apple in there to sweeten it up a bit? how the heck am i going to finish this one. blahhhh
4:30 p.m. - finally done with the grass juice. nast. i need to get this taste out of my mouth. is gum allowed?
5:30 p.m. - heading home from work. feeling a bit empty and tired. maybe hubby will want to go for a walk or go to a movie so i don't have to think about juicing
6 p.m. - hubby is exhausted from the driving range (must be nice), so it looks like a laundry & bachelor kind of night for this girl
6:30 p.m. - my final juice is. absolutely. delicious. is this real?? i could drink this every day! almonds, dates, vanilla bean, sea salt & filtered water {health nut}. i am in love. it tastes like a milkshake.
7:30 p.m. - i can't stop peeing
9 p.m. - seriously how am i going to sleep when i have to pee every 20 minutes?

*** notes: not the best day of my life, let's be honest. i think my body is super confused today because i'm not a huge veggie/fruit eater, and having them in excess put it in a bit of a shocked state. by the end of the day, i feel weak and empty.

stay tuned to see how today goes :)

birthday girl

happy birthday to me! hope you all have a wonderful friday - i will be out celebrating the best year of my life and my first birthday as a wife! xox

birthday girl by jtuttle42 featuring essie

Miss Selfridge cocktail prom dress / Alice + Olivia cap sleeve cocktail dress / Jimmy Choo peep toe pumps / Red Herring croc handbag, $46 / Kendra Scott pearl jewelry / Kendra Scott bracelets bangle / Bare Escentuals lip gloss / Essie , $24 / Dibbern Light Champagne Glass

arrgggghhhhhhh

had to jump on here to post a little recap of my weekend (yes, i know it's thursday...my b!). if you've been following me for a while, you know that i always go home to tampa for gasparilla every january. if you're new here, gasparilla is basically a mardi gras but with pirates. yes, pirates. my entire family is in the krewe that puts the parade on - and by entire family, i'm talking every single male on my mom's side (cousins, granddad, uncles, brother, pops - you name it!). so yes, it is exactly what you picture - a bunch of grown men dressed up as pirates throwing beads to parade goers. well, my hubby had the honor of being a guest pirate for the first time. fyi, being a pirate in general is a prettttty big deal...lots of criteria you must meet and you have to have a family member or good friend in the krewe to even apply. being a guest is also a big deal, as there are only 50 guests allowed each year, and my dad gave this to trey for christmas. he was ecstatic. as my dad says, "it's like being a rock star for a day." and a rock star, trey was. don't believe me??

captains ball - night before the parade

 dance floor at captains ball with my hot momma, cally and shelby

captains ball with sissie

 morning of gasparilla (pre-pirate makeup) - finley was terrified of her uncle!

 at the yacht club before the invasion began!

 my dad...yep

 bff lauren and i with trey

 

finley with her daddy...not happy haha

the only pirate finnie wasn't afraid of...maybs because he gave her beads?

 

hubs on the pirate ship heading to the crow's nest (photo c/o my brother...no womenfolk are allowed on the pirate ship!)

 my niece's precious outfit (check out the shoes!)

 

lauren and i house partying before the parade starts! (parade in background)

found my pirate on the parade route!

hope you all enjoyed that. i certainly don't expect you to understand tampa's odd traditions, but maybe this clarified why i love my hometown so much! hope y'all have a happy thursday!

tasty...monday?

i should probably wait until tomorrow to post this since tasty tuesday has a much better ring to it, but what the hay! since one of my new year's resolutions is to cook a different recipe every week, i've been living in the kitchen lately and wanted to share some of my yummo recipes! p.s. i've far surpassed my once a week recipe...and i love it!

thank you, lauren conrad, for this recipe because i've made it three times in the past week. i am addicted! i am a huge oatmeal fan. i've always loved it but am not crazy about the instant stuff. i know, i know, i need to get over it. but i just love the creaminess and taste of rolled oats. the only problem is that it's really time-consuming to make and i usually don't have time in the mornings. enter overnight oats. why it's taken me so long to find this recipe is beyond me, but they are sooo delicious. and no need to add any brown sugar or honey because the yogurt sweetens it up!

 

these are your ingredients. yep, that's it. a small container (about 5 ounces) of greek yogurt, 2/3 cup of vanilla almond milk, 1/2 cup of rolled oats and a couple dashes of cinnamon. mix all together in a tupperware container, seal and let sit overnight. wake up, pop that shiz in the microwave for 90 seconds and enjoy. you can thank me tomorrow.

** i used vanilla greek yogurt and unsweetened vanilla almond milk, because that's what was in my fridge, but i assume it all tastes the same :)

next up, buffalo chicken quinoa mac & cheese.

if you like buffalo sauce and chicken, you are going to love this recipe. and guess what, the hubs is obsessed! he had never tried quinoa before and was very skeptical, but he absolutely loved it. when i get hubby approval on [somewhat] healthier dishes, i am super proud of myself.

1 1/4 cups quinoa

1 large chicken breast, cut in cubes

 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup frank's buffalo wing sauce
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1. preheat oven to 350 f. spray a small casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. cook quinoa according to the package directions - i use chicken stock instead of water...seems to give it more flava flave.

 3. meanwhile, add the butter to a medium saucepan and set over low heat. let the butter melt, then add the flour. cook for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly. gradually add the milk to the pan, continuing to whisk. increase the heat to medium, and cook, whisking frequently, until sauce thickens.
4. remove the pan from the heat then add the cheddar cheese and buffalo sauce. whisk until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth. add the cooked quinoa and chicken and stir until incorporated.
5. transfer mixture to your baking dish. top with the crumbled blue cheese (i left this out since hubs hates blue cheese and it was still very tasty without it). bake for 20 minutes until the sauce bubbles around the edges of the dish. 

finally, i had to throw in one of my favorite crockpot recipes that i discovered on pinterest a couple weeks ago - crockpot chicken tortilla soup. and...wow. the best part? i put all of the ingredients in a ziploc bag and froze them the week before. so all i had to do was plop the frozen block in a crockpot and turn it on. genius.

1 ½ – 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (24 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

tortilla chips
sour cream

shredded cheese

1. place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chiles, garlic, water, chicken bouillon and spices into a freezer bag. freeze until ready to use.

2. dump contents of freezer bag into a crockpot and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. when it’s done, remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. the smaller the better since you can’t really cut up your soup. let sit for 15 minutes

4. to serve, mix in some cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

** if you don't want to freeze, same directions apply - just cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.

hope you're salivating like i am right now...