Happiness, Health, and Living Fab!

An Amazing First Year

2012-01-19T03:21:00.003-06:00

I can't believe my little girl is a year old! Time really does go by in a flash! What a amazing year it has been! I made a little video in honor of Cora's birthday. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Birthday Cora!

Molten Chocolate Nutella Pudding Cakes

2011-06-01T22:48:00.007-05:00

I had a few friends over for dinner tonight. For dessert I decided to try out a new recipe I spotted in All You. This cake had rave reviews and was pretty easy to make. I posted a pic on Facebook and a lot of people asked for the recipe, so here it is...

Molten Chocolate-Nutella Pudding Cakes

YIELD: Serves 6
PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES
BAKE: 30 MINUTES
COST PER SERVING:$1.12
COURSE: Desserts

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Nutella

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mist 6 6-oz. ramekins with cooking spray. Place a roasting pan in oven; pour in 1/2 inch of hot water. In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and baking powder.
2. Combine chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl; cook on high, stirring once or twice, until almost melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. (I only needed to microwave for 1 minute.)
3. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt until pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon half of batter into ramekins. Drop 1 Tbsp. of Nutella into center of each. Cover with remaining batter.
4. Transfer ramekins to roasting pan. Bake until cakes have risen and are cracked on top, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

You can prepare the ramekins up to a day ahead — do not bake, just cover and refrigerate. Bake the cakes for about 5 minutes longer than the recipe states.

Enjoy!

Cora Update

2011-05-11T00:51:00.004-05:00

I know it's been a while since my last blog post. I went back to work last month. The transition has been good. It helps that I can work a day from home once a week. Cora is a happy little girl. She will be 4 months old next week. Can you believe that? Motherhood has been absolutely wonderful. I have been blessed with such a sweet baby that is full of smiles. She sleeps through the night (10-11 hours) and she has recently discovered "talking". She has been a chatterbox for the past few days. It's pretty funny, because she seems to have some important stuff to discuss... Here is a video of my little chatterbox...

I also decided to enter her in the Parents 2011 Cover Contest. I never thought I'd be one of those parents, but c'est la vi. Check out her album here.

I am so behind on my blog reading. I hope everyone is doing well.

Have a fab day!

~Hillary

Off To A Good Start

2011-03-28T16:55:00.006-05:00

I completed week two of acupuncture and week one of Bodybugg and I am down 4.2 pounds overall. I try to get to the gym at least 2 times a week for cardio and in the for next couple of weeks, I'll add strength training. I've also cut down my sodium. Most of the food show above was made with salt free seasonings (unless I added a sprinkle of cheese). I really wanted to post a screen shot of my Bodybugg stats, but I'm having issues with it since I am using my husband's computer (mine is being repaired). Once I get my computer back, I'll post those up. As far as the acupuncture goes, I do think it's working. I've noticed a big difference in my appetite and I haven't had any late night snacking. I'm hoping to have another great week!

This past weekend we celebrated the upcoming wedding for my dear friends, Melissa and Larry. We had a Jamaican themed couples shower and everything turned out beautifully. We served jerk chicken, rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, plantains, Jamaican patties, fresh fruit, rum punch, and pineapple upside down cake. I made the pineapple tree with fresh fruit and the pineapple upside down cake. Our party favors were coconut cups. Most of our guests enjoyed their rum punch in their coconut cups :-)

Of course, I can't post without mentioning my little one...

Ready for Spring!

I found this cute dress at Costco!

Someone is hogging the bed :-)

Actually just a snooze while I got ready for the day.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy day!

Turning 38

2011-03-20T21:38:00.013-05:00

Yes, this past week, I turned 38. Seriously, where does the time go? This year I decided to keep things low key. I went to brunch with a few close friends and went home and enjoyed my little chocolate and raspberry mousse.

I finally got my new Bodybugg to help me track my calories in and calories out. I've used the device before and got great results (40lbs lost). I decided to update my device and got the new SP version. Thanks to the bluetooth in this device, I can sync it

up with my iPhone and track my results as I go. On the old version I had to wait till I got to my computer (which was usually the end of the day). So I'm excited about using it. I'll post my daily log and results on my blog like I did before, but probably not as often since it's hard for me to blog sometimes.

Along with the Bodybugg system, I am adding a little acupuncture to help me with my late night snacking and stress eating. I've never done it before, but I was expecting to lay down while the doctor sticks a bunch of needles in me... Wrong! For weight loss, I wear 3 tiny needles stuck to a band-aid like piece in each ear for a week. You can barely see them. I go in every week to get them changed out. Here's a close-up of what they look like...

The pressure points are suppose to help me with stress, hunger, and to slightly speed up my metabolism. So far I've worn them for a week and I noticed that it does help my hunger. The jury is still out on the stress eating. I did stress eat once during the week, but that is less than the previous week. When I get stressed, I am suppose to tap on the little needles to stimulate them. I'm not sure if it really works of if it just distracts me and reminds me not to eat. At the end of the week, I was down 2.5 lbs. The entire acupuncture treatment lasts 10 - 12 weeks. I'll report my results when I get to the end. Let me know if you've tried this and what you thought!

Shellac! I thought shellac was just for your average home project, now they are putting it on your nails. I went to go get a mani/pedi with my mother in law and the manicurist was telling me about the shellac gel they are now using. It's not suppose to harm my natural nails and the polish is suppose to last for 2 weeks without chipping. Since I am constantly washing bottle, dishes, and doing all the other household choses, I decided 2 weeks of a chip-free manicure may be worth it. It was! My nails were just as glossy and chip-free on day 14 as it was on day 1 and I even peeled 5 lbs of crawfish. The only thing you saw were the new nail growth below the polish. I took a pic of my day 14 so you can see it. I didn't think to take a day 1 pic of my first shellac manicure, so I took a pic of the day 1 of my 2nd shellac manicure. That's why you'll see 2 different colors on the pic.

The pros: high shine, lasts for 2 weeks, no chipping, completely dry when you leave the nail salon, great if you need your mani to last through a vacation

The cons: removal of the polish requires you to soak in nail polish remover for 10 minutes, longer process since you have to throughly dry after each coat

Of course I have to mention my little sweet pea. She got a beautiful hand knitted dress and bonnet from a good friend of mine. I can't believe she made this! Thank you Pat for the lovely dress. It's such a wonderful keepsake.

For Rachel!

Here is a little collage of my fav pics of Cora over the past 2 months.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy day. I'll try to post up daily logs and results often.

Me vs. The Pregnancy (and post pregnancy) Pounds

2011-03-08T01:38:00.004-06:00

Cora at 6 weeks

It's been about 7 weeks since I had the baby and my its been a heck of a 7 weeks! After I gave birth to Cora, my body kind of freaked out on me. I had the horrible pregnancy rash called PUPPS that attacked most of my body. I had shingles. The icing on the cake was when I fell down a flight of icy stairs. My body was a wreck! Thank goodness, I still had my easy-going demeanor or I could have had one heck of a postpartum depression. So finally all of those ailments are behind me and now it's time to do some serious battle with the pregnancy pounds. During my pregnancy I gained 32 pounds. After I gave birth, I dropped about 20 of those pounds in 2 weeks! I figured I'd be back on track in no time and even packed away most of my maternity clothes... Well after a lot of late night feedings and sometimes the stress of keeping up with the baby, the house, and my health, I find myself doing some stress eating. I am back to gaining weight, but this time I don't have a baby in me. I'm having to unpack some of those maternity clothes. Yikes! Well enough is enough. I decided it's time to get back to the gym, watch my calories, and reactivate the Bodybugg. I hate being in clothing limbo (too big to get back into most of my normal clothes, but to small to really fit the maternity clothes). So let the battle begin! Tomorrow will be my first day back in the gym. I'll post my progress as I go along.

Wish me luck!

And Baby Makes Three...

2011-01-27T00:38:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday, January 19

Will and I welcomed our little bundle of joy....

Meeting the little one for the first time (yes, she was so alert!)...

It was love at first sight!

Our first night home.

Daddy bonding with his little girl :-)

One week old :-)

In the blink of an eye, our lives have changed, but we couldn't be happier!

Thank you for all the well wishes I have received.

The Elephant In The Room

2011-01-17T16:32:00.004-06:00

Last summer I watched Bethany Getting Married on Bravo. She was putting her nursery together and came across the adorable stuffed elephant. I totally fell in love with the elephant and decided that I needed one for my baby's room. After a little research on the elephant, my dreams were shattered when I found out that they cost $130 for one stuffed elephant! They also had a mini for $50. Seriously??? I mean they are cute and all, but $130?!?! I decided I needed a backup plan. I'll make my own if I have to! I did more research and found the perfect pattern from Retro Mama for a fab price of $8. I really love how my elephants turned out. So that's what inspired the elephant baby room. I know it's not the pink dolled up room some people expected me to have, but I love the earth tone I chose for her room.

I framed the sign-in sheet and a few of the cute elephant decorations created by my friends for my baby shower.

I found this great wall decal from Byrdie Graphics on Etsy. I love how this looks on the wall!

The crib sheet and crib skirt are Sprout from Serena & Lily and the Breathable Bumper is from Target.

My insomnia has gotten worse, so I sew in the middle of the night... Here are pics of the cute burp cloths I sewed for our little one.

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Time for me to catch some make-up zzzzz's. I hope everyone has a fab week!

~Hillary

Baby Love

2011-01-08T00:51:00.008-06:00

A few months ago, I asked my dear friend, Karen (a fab photographer), if she would do a maternity photo session for me. I really wanted to document this incredible time in my life and I knew she would do a beautiful job. As the days got closer to the photo session, I just didn't feel pretty. I was 34 weeks pregnant and I felt huge, clumsy, and frumpy. The thought of having my photo taken was just not appealing. Days before the shoot, Karen called to confirm the time and date of the session and I actually tried to cancel on her. I just wasn't feeling it. Thank goodness she knows me. She knew I would regret not doing these photos....and she was right. We kept the shoot simple. We went to a community garden right around the corner from my house and one outfit. I love how these turned out. Thank you Karen!

My maternity wear of the shoot:

Purple tank - Liz Lange for Target
Striped purple cropped jacket - Liz Lange for Target
Maternity Jean - JCP
(not pictured) Dr Scholl's gray flats (a great pair of shoes!) - DSW

Since this post is on my baby love, I decided to post this little video I shot of the baby moving the iPhone. Will always likes to feel the baby move, but of course almost every time he puts his hand on my tummy, she stops moving. I started putting an object on my belly so he can see her move.

Only 3 weeks to go! Overall, it's been a good pregnancy. Blood pressure is normal and I have gained a total of 33 lbs so far. I am hoping to make to the end under 40 lbs. I also plan on working till delivery day. I think my boss and co-workers are a little nervous about that, but I feel good and don't see a reason to stay home (other than to clean). I hope to blog again before the baby is born, but if you don't hear from me, you will once the little one makes her debut.

Have a happy, healthy, and fabulous day!

Hillary

The 2010 Christmas Holiday Season

2010-12-25T16:36:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas holiday came in a flash! Even being 7-8 months pregnant and busy with baby preperations, I manged to squeeze a lot of my favorite holiday activities in this month. Here are a few of my holiday activities....

Handmade Christmas Cards

My girlfriends and I have been making handmade Christmas cards for the nursing home for a few years. We get together for an afternoon and bring out all of our scrapbooking and craft supplies. We cranked out aprox 80 cards this year!

The Cookie Exchange

I hosted my 2nd cookie exchange for 10 of my close friends. We each had to make 6 dozen cookies. I am always nervous to try out new cookie recipes for occasions like this so I stuck to a cookie that's always been a hit, I made the Cranberry Pistachio Mexican Wedding Cake Cookie.

Here is the completed tray of cookies after the exchange. Cookies featured this year were: Peppermint Cocoa Kiss Cookies, Triple Ginger (using crystalized ginger, fresh ginger, and powdered ginger), Red Velvet Cookies, with Cream Cheese Icing, Potato Chip Cookies, Lemon Volcanos, Oatmeal Cinnamon, Butterfinger, Snickerdoodles, Pecan Triangles, and Noels. All so good!

Stocking Stuffers

I have a huge family and a lot of cousins. We usually draw names and do a secret Santa gift exchange, but I also like to give each cousin a little stocking stuffer. This year I have sweet treats packed in paper cones for the guys, and a pair of gloves for the girls. I love how these turned out. Simple cuteness!

Well, I am off to celebrate Christmas with the family. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I am looking forward to sharing another year with my blogger friends!

Easy No Bake Thin Mints

2010-12-12T15:56:00.001-06:00

Tis the season for cookie exchanges, office potlucks, and holiday parties. If you're like me, it can mean you are on a baking overload. So I thought I'd share an easy no bake cookie that's always a hit for the holidays (or if you're craving Girl Scout Thin Mints on the off season).

You only two ingredients:

•Ritz Crackers (I like using the "hint if salt" Ritz Crackers)
•2 pkgs of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips (I have tried Nestle's mint and chocolate swirl morsels and they don't melt as easily)

Yields aprox 64 cookies (about 1/2 box of Ritz Crackers)

On med-low heat, place your baking baking chips in a double boiler for melting. If you don't have a double boiler (like me), add a couple of cups of water to a pot and place a heat resistant mixing bowl in the pot.

Slowly you chocolate will melt and stir until completely smooth.

Once your chocolate is smooth, dip your Ritz Cracker covering both sides in chocolate.

Place cookies on foil, parchment paper, or even freezer paper and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Once cooled, peel each cookie off the foil and redip the top of the cookie in chocolate. I suggest that you peel all the cookies first, then redip.

These cookies cool really quickly and you can easily make and plate them in 30 minutes. They also freeze beautifully and taste great right out if the freezer.

Enjoy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Fabulous Baby Shower!

2010-12-06T00:47:00.004-06:00

This weekend my sister, cousin, niece, and closest friends threw me the most fabulous baby shower! I love all of the little details that went into the shower. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

The Ultimate Diaper Cake

The diaper cake was made by my Uncle Ron. He's so amazing! He's also the same uncle who does the upside-down Christmas tree (see the previous post). Can you believe this is the first diaper cake he's made? I love the sock monkey and the G ornament (it lights up). The cake also has little rabbits around it since my baby should be born the year of the rabbit.

The Decorations

The decorations were done by my good friend, Holley. She knew I was sewing these cute elephants and using earth tones in the baby's nursery. She made these cute elephant prints and I just love how she pinned them up on a clothes line with the adorable clothes.

The Sign In Sheet

My friend, Erin, created this clever sign in sheet for the guests. Each guest placed their thumb print on the tree and signed their name. I love how this turned out and will be framing this in the baby's room.

The Cake

My friend Melissa picked out this wonderful vanilla cheesecake cake. Delicious!

The Baby Game

I'm not the biggest fan of baby shower games so my friend, Veronica, came up with the celebrity baby name game. She knows I love my celeb gossip! The craziest name on that list...Pilot Inspektor (really?). It was actually a tough game. Good thing I read US Weekly because I actually won the game!

The Party Favors

My sister made these cute rice krispie treat lollipops that spells out Cora (the baby's name). I love how they set them up in the beautiful bassinet. Thank you Tammy for the beautiful bassinet!

The Hostess With The Mostess

Here I am with the talented ladies who threw this beautiful shower for me. I am truly blessed to have such loving people in my life!

Lights, Camera... Action!

2010-11-27T12:36:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago, I posted about my uncle's upside down Asian themed tree.

Sometime back in July or so, a producer came across the picture and contacted me about a show on Extreme Christmas Trees for a cable network. After months of calls and emails between the producers, my uncle, and me, we were selected to be on the show and the camera crew came out last week for filming. Here are a few pics from the day....

Getting the living room ready for interviews

Will and the crew

Getting ready for my interview

The family comes in for the unveiling of the Christmas tree.

We spent 11 hours with the crew and ended the day with a big feast with the with the whole family. It was definitely a great experience that my family will always remember.

The show will air on TLC next year :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sewing: A Simple Way To Hem Your Jeans

2010-11-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

Being only 5' 3" there is always a length issue when it comes to buying jeans. Before I learned how to sew I got really creative with "hemming" my jeans. I used safety pins, duct tape, packing tape, or fabric glue. The sad truth is, I was too lazy to get them hemmed. Finally after taking a few sewing classes, I learned how to hem my own jeans. Now mind you, I am not good at sewing. I can do basic things. If you can go a basic forward and back stitch, you can hem your own jeans. Here's how I did it...

Mark your desired length and measure how much you'd like to take off. I am taking 4 inches off this pair.

Cuff you jeans up 1/2 the length you plan to take off, and measure it starting at the bottom of the hem. You don't want to include the hem because you will not be taking that off. Notice that I measured 2 inches below the hem. Make sure your seams are lined up properly and pin your cuff all the way around.

Time to sew! Sew a simple stitch right under the hem all the way around the cuff. It doesn't matter what color thread you use since you won't even see your stitch. Don't forget to take out the pins as you sew along and backstitch at the begining and end to lock in your stitch.

If you look closely, you can see my stitch right under the hem. I used a cream colored thread.

Fold the cuff under and press at the hem with a hot iron. You can choose to keep the cuff underneath as is if you plan to let out the hem. Or you can cut the excess cuff. If cutting, cut right under the stitch you just sewed. Be careful not to cut your stitch and iron the hem to ensure that it stays flat. Here's how it looks...

You've now hemmed your jeans but got to keep the original hem. BTW, I meant to wear taller shoes in this pic, but ended up grabbing my flats. Oh well...

I hope this lesson was useful!

Have a great day!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Making Over Mom

2010-11-06T00:20:00.003-05:00

I have a wonderful mother in law who is so sweet and loving. Recently she has been invited to her first Ball! She is so excited and nervous at the same time. For the most part, my mother in law has kept her look very simple. She has long, long hair that she usually keeps neatly in a bun/ponytail.and she doesn't wear make-up. With the grand ball coming up, she decided it was time to freshen up her look. She didn't know where to start, so she turned to me for help. This is my mother in law's transformation in 2 days....

She looks amazing and I am so excited for her. I know she is going to have an amazing time!

2010 Halloween Costumes: The Simpsons

2010-10-25T17:54:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we had our 5th Annual Halloween Bash. Earlier in the year, I decided The Simpsoms would be a fun costume to do. It's all about getting that cartoon effect right? Here's how I did it...

Marge's signature necklace was easy to make. I bought wooden craft beads and red craft paint with my Michael's 40% coupons. I had some string and a clasp already. Once I painted the beads, I stranded them and atached clasp I had from an old broken necklace. Viola...a really cute and inexpensive necklace!

I wrapped the poster board around my head and made a templete. I made sure to cut around the ears and had a good fit, but not too tight. I also made sure I would be able to clear doorways :-) I used packing tape to seal the top on the cylinder.

Once the templete was done, I glued aprox 300 cotton balls to the poster board. I layered more cotton balls on top to give the hair more shape. Once the glue was dry, I "colored" my hair with blue spray paint. Lastly, I glued my craft cap to the inside of the posterboard. This allowed the hair piece to fit comfortably on my head and give it support.

My husband worked on our cartoon eyes. He cut the ping pong ball in half and drilled holes into the center of each half so we'd be able to see. He also drilled small holes on the sides so he can run wire though to make frames. We fitted the wire around our face and ears to create frames. We decided to put them on frames because it was easy to them the eyes on and off through out the night. I gave Marge lash extentions by cutting small strips of black construction paper and taped them on to the top of her eyes.

I found my lime green dress at The Salvation Army for $2.50. It was actually a long skirt and I just used it as a dress. I couldn't believe how I lucked out on finding it. Here is look put together.

Homer was pretty easy to do. I sprayed Will's hair with the yellow hairspray and covered his face with yellow face paint (except for the beard area). Once her was yellow, I added the wig cap and then sprayed the wig cap with yellow hairspray to give him more of a bald effect. Lastly I used pipe cleaners for Homer's few strands of hair. Here is Will's look....

Happy Halloween everyone!

Have a great week! I can't wait to see your costumes this year!

I <3 October!

2010-10-15T00:39:00.001-05:00

The weather is finally getting cooler. Is it weird that I think 84 degrees is cool? We get excited anytime the temperture drops below 90 and the fall clothes finally come out. My friends and I sometimes swap out clothes when we grow in/out of them. I picked up the fab dress from my friend, Holley. It's got a beautiful stained glass pattern and it's perfect maternity wear for me. I threw on the navy cardi and belt just to give it a little something extra. It's definitely is one of my favorite outfits for fall.

So Halloween is right around the corner and I am in full costume creating mode. I've got a budget of $25 for both Will and I. I love the challenge of putting together a fab costume on a budget. I must admit though, last years costume will be tough to beat (esp since I only spent $12).
I'll be working on my costume all weekend long. I can't wait to show you what it is. What are you going to be for Halloween???

Here's the link to last year's look:
http://willary.blogspot.com/2009/11/halloween-2009.html

Will had me cracking up while shopping. I guess he's getting into that Halloween spirit!

Have a great weekend!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Something To Smile About

2010-09-28T16:49:00.011-05:00

After 14 months, the braces are finally off! It was all done so quickly today. It took less than an hour to take them off and my retainer was ready for pick up by late afternoon. The retainer is so different than what I remember the first time around. When I got my braces off back in high school, I got a top retainer which was removable. My bottom teeth had a permanent retainer bonded to the inner part of my lower teeth. This time around, I have top and bottom removable retainers. The best part about them is that they are invisible! Can you tell I have them on?

CHEEEEESE!

Apparently I like to wear yellow on my orthodontist days :D

Have a fabulous day!

22 Weeks

2010-09-21T19:58:00.001-05:00

Please excuse the mess behind me. My sister gave us a ton of baby stuff and we are trying to sort through it. Our future baby's room isn't quite cleaned out yet, so all the stuff is sitting in my living room.

Today's simple outfit is a mixture of maternity wear and regular clothes.
•Black cowl neck - GapMaternity
•Fuisha plaid skirt - Express (gotta love those elastic waistband skirts)
•Steve Madden flats - DSW

Here is the baby bump at 22 weeks

This past weekend Will and I went up to Dallas to visit friends and family. It was a whirlwind trip, but I'm so glad we got to visit with everyone. Our little boo-boo got her first wardrobe pieces (gifted from her Aunt Rachel). Look how precious this is...

She got a cute little pink jacket and absolutely adorable Mary Jane socks. I can't wait fir her to wear them.

Hope everyone has a fab day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Purple Top and Colorful Treats

2010-09-12T00:25:00.001-05:00

My dear friend, Holley, brought me a goodie bag full clothes. This purple top was sitting on top and at first glance I thought they were pajamas. Nope, it was a cute top. I knew they'd be perfect with a pair of leggings. Now I'm all set for a karaoke party!

•Purple top - gifted by Holley
•Leggings - GapMaternity
•Dr Scoll flats - DSW
•Necklace - small store off Harwin

Today I made a run to a different Farmers market. They've got local goods and special treats like these French macaroons. My fav is the pistachio, but the apricot lavender comes pretty close. Aren't they just so pretty to look at?

I hope everyone is having a happy weekend!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tickled Pink

2010-09-08T18:22:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the big day for my ultrasound. I am so happy to report that we are expecting a little baby GIRL! Now I would have been just as happy if we were having a boy, but I must admit... Visions of pink, little dresses and little shoes bring a smile to my face :)

Here is my little social butterfly waving to the camera.

In honor of the little one, I decided to wear pink.

Here are the deets:
•Hot pink tank - Old Navy
•Black pants - Express (with the help of a Be Band)
•Short sweater - Liz Lang Maternity for Target
•Long necklace - Target
•Metalic purple peep toes - Target

Have a happy day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Farmers Market

2010-09-04T16:37:00.001-05:00

Every once in awhile I try to make it out to the farmers market after my workouts on Saturday mornings. There's one close to my house and I can easily just make a quick stop. This week I changed it up and tried a farmers market that's known for good deals and gorgeous produce...Caninos Farmers Market. I brought $20 and my grocery bags and headed out. This is not the best pic of me. Fresh from my workout with no make-up, my squinty eyes and flashing a cheesy grin :D

The market is divided into 2 sections. The front is somewhat indoors with cashiers that take credit cards. You can also buy goods like tortillas, pickles, salad dressings, etc...

The back section is outside and has individual vendors. Each vendor displays their produce and for dollar or two you can take a basket of this or that.
Everything is done in cash and you pay the vendor directly.

In the end I spent $12. Some items got spilt between me and my girlfriends. All in all, I thought it was a pretty good experience and I would definetly shop there again.

Here's to a happy and healthy day!

4 Day Weekend!

2010-09-03T18:05:00.000-05:00

I was all about comfort this Friday. Here are my outfit deets...

•Dark gray top - GapMaternity
•Black leggings - GapMaternity
•3 strand necklace - gifted by V
•Belt - Target
•Steve Madden peep toe flats - DSW

These leggings are so super comfy, but what I love most about them are the zipper ankles. Such a small detail, but I love it!

The top was kind of on the casual end so I had to dress it up with the belt and a necklace. I thought the necklace was perfect for it.

So it's Labor Day on Monday and I have a relaxing 4 day weekend ahead of me. Not only am I celebrating my brother's birthday, but on Tuesday I have my ultrasound scheduled. I'll soon know if we are having a boy or girl! Also on Tuesday... after 14 months with my metal mouth, I am finally getting my braces off. Stay tuned for the before and after pics...

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cold Food Cravings

2010-09-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

For the most part, I haven't had and crazy cravings. No pickles and ice cream or bananas dipped in BBQ sauce. I once saw a show where the pregnant lady craved chalk. Yikes! I can't even imagine. My preggo tastes are actually somewhat norm, but I noticed that I seem to prefer cold foods...sanwiches, salads, fruits, veggies, and smoothies. I especially go through fruit like there's no tomorrow. We once went through 7 cantalopes in a week!

Smoothies are one of my absolute favs right now. I started out buying them, but realized it was more economical for me to make my own. Plus I know exactly what's in my smoothies if I make them myself. Here is my all natural smoothie how-to...

Here's what you need:
•1 large container of organic strawberries
•4 ripe organic bananas
•organic vanilla yogurt
•6 ziploc sandwich baggies

Using a mini muffin pan, I scoop 1 tbsp of yogurt in each cup and throw it in the freezer. It should freeze fairly quickly (maybe in 15-20 minutes). Once frozen, you'll have 24 mini frozen yogurt discs. Keep in the freezer until you are ready to make your baggies. Slice your strawberries and bananas. Each baggie should contain aprox 4-5 strawberries, 1/2 banana, and 4 frozen yogurt discs. Lay each baggie flat and freeze. Laying it flat will keep it from freezing in one big icy chunk.

When you're ready to have your smoothie, you just throw the contents of the baggie and 1 cup of milk (I use organic 2%) in a blender. You can add a shot of honey if you need some extra sweetness. And there you go... Yummy smoothies for the week. I'm not a milk drinker, so this has been a great way for me to get a good dose of calcium.

So before I sign off today, I want to congratulate Lemondrop Marie on her good news! You look so cute in your vintage maternity wear!

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy day!

Doin' The Bump

2010-08-30T17:46:00.001-05:00

I know... It's been ages since my last blog post. I kind of took a break from blogging mostly because I had some big changes going on. Will and I bought a condo back in March, but we didn't move in it till May. Even though we moved within the same complex, it took us a good month to get situated and organized. I do love our new condo. We still have a few projects to work on, but overall it looks great.

So our other life changing news is that I am 4 1/2 months pregnant! Yep, a little Willary is expected to arrive on the 1st of February. We are absolutely thrilled! So far pregnancy has been good to me. No crazy cravings, just little bouts of nausea, and lots if sleep in the first trimester.

Now that I am in my second trimester, I feel much more energetic and I definetly have a bump going on.

Baby bump pic at 18 weeks!

Dressing for the day gets a little tougher and tougher. Jeans don't fit. My A-line skirts weren't working for me anymore. Even my feet are a 1/2 size larger! Thanks to Groupon and coupons, this weekend I scored some cute maternity stuff at Gap Maternity and found some comfy cute flats at DSW. Here are my outfit details....

•Navy blue pleated dress - Gap Maternity
•Grey belt - Target
•My fav long necklace - gifted from Lynette
•Dr Scholls grey flats - DSW

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chopsticks In The Land of Cotton

2010-03-19T18:26:00.001-05:00

Sorry...I had to repost this since the pics never came up :)

Will and I are in Mississippi this weekend. We're here to pay tribute to my aunt who recently passed away and to have this last visit with my extended family in the place where my grandparents first settled from China. Even though it's a sad occassion, it's nice to visit with my extended family...talking about the old days and learning more about our family's history.

While I'm here, I am reading this book to help me understand how my family came to settle here. This is my family's American history...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BINGO!

2010-03-11T22:56:00.001-06:00

Daily outfit:
•navy ruffle top - Banana Republic
•gray pencil skirt - Old Navy
• navy polka dotted peep toes- Payless
•broken bracelet headband - crafted by me
•black bag - Nine West

My mom had a bracelet that broke. I took 3 pieces and added it to a headband.

Tonight wad Bingo night with the gang! We found a lodge that hosts bingo on Thursday night. They have $2.25 homemade hamburgers, $6 pitchers, and cheap bingo cards.

Even though I didn't win (after 15 games of bingo), the night wasn't a total bust. My friend Melissa took one for the team and won some moo-lah!

Hope everyone has a fab day! We are closing on our new condo! Woo-hoo!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bringing Out The Animal In Me

2010-03-11T00:59:00.003-06:00

I must have been reading my fellow bloggers mind when I chose this outfit. I just saw Kimberly's outfit and she had on red, black, and leopard today too. I saw Sheila's post today and she's rockin' the leopard shoes too. It's nice to know that I am in good company!

Here are the deets...
•black short sleeve sweater - Target
•reddish orangy dress - Dots
•gold necklace - Target
•peep toe leopard pumps - Sears

So you know how there are just little things in life that make you happy? I have to tell you about my new little favorite thing...

Aquafina Flavor Splash Lip Balm. Yes, Aquafina like the wayer. Who knew they made lip balm??? My friend bought a trio pack and gave me one to try. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much from it, but I am pleasantly surprised. I mean I know it's just lip balm, but after using it a few times, I noticed that my lips are really, really soft. It has a nice little flavor and a slight tingle sensation. I'm actually hooked on the stuff. I saw that they also have skin care and body products. Has anyone tried them? I may just have to check it out.

Have a wonderful day! It's almost Friday!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Musical Tuesday

2010-03-10T01:03:00.002-06:00

I've been posting mostly from my iPhone lately. It's just so convenient even though my picture quality isn't as good as my digital camera. So my apologies for the poor pictures. I did download this groovy app that allows me to add shading or borders to the pic which is why you see the oval pic above.

Today's outfit is a true Frugalista outfit. Everything except the shoes are from Target. I really love this skirt. It's def one of my best buys at Target. The shoes are from DSW.

So yesterday I got my butt back into the gym. I was planning to jump on the treadmill and see what my body would do, but I saw a kickboxing class starting. Of course, I joined right on on and had a blast on the class. It got pretty intense though and I had to switch to low impact for 1/2 of the class. Boy, I have really felt the effects of that class all over my body. It's all good though. I think I will make it part of my new weekly routine.

Tonight I did skip the gym. I had tickets to see South Pacific. I haven't seen this musical since the 90's. It's a classic and still entertaining. I forgot how many songs I actually knew.

Hope you are having a happy and healthy day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gray Day and Sunny Food

2010-03-08T13:16:00.001-06:00

The weather is yuck! Gray skies inspired my gray outfit.

•black short sleeve - Target
•gray pleated top - Banana Republic
•jeans - Target
•shoe boots - Payless
•long gray pearl necklace - Charming Charlie's

For the last week or so I was recovering from the flu. Yep, it was a little souvenir from my trip to Mexico. So cooking hasn't really been on my agenda for the last couple of weeks. Neither has the gym. I really have fallen off the wagon! I'm trying to get back on track though. For lunch, I tried Diet Gourmet for the first time. I got one of those GroupOn coupons so we can get $50 worth of food for the price of $25. I had a chicken/lean beef burger with lettuce, tomato, jalepenos, and salsa. It was served with a little mexican salad, a small orange, and a cherry berry dessert. All that for only 338 calories! We will definetly be going back.

Now I just need to get back to the gym. Tonight I plan on it being a cardio night.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mexican Getaway

2010-03-06T14:15:00.001-06:00

I'm back...again :)

It seems like the months are flying by! Is it really March?

Here is one of my daily outfit pics I took....
•navy cardi - Old Navy
•brown fuisha hibiscus skirt - Talbot's
•brown suede pumps - Ann Taylor Loft

This past month, I've been busy with weddings, traveling, and as always...enjoying life. I have some great news. We are buying a condo! We actually close on our new place next week! The funny thing is that it's exactly like the condo we are in now (and in the same complex). We will just own it instead of renting. We love our little condo and the area is perfect for us so when the opportunity to buy this place came about, we went for it. We've been joking how we'll be in bizarre-o world.

This past month. I also escaped the cold and cruised on down to Mexico for my friend's wedding. It was a beatutiful wedding and boy, it was nice to be in shorts and soak up some sun! We had a blast!

I hope everyone else has been doing well. This month I'll be reviewing a couple of items and may have a couple of fun giveaways! Stay tuned!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pinks & Paper

2010-01-25T12:51:00.001-06:00

Finally a daily outfit post!

Grey top - Banana Republic
Pleated pink A line skirt - Anthropologie
Grey belt - Target
Pearls - gifted from my Aunt Mae

I decided to give you a different view from my usual spot and show you another part of my living room. I kind of have this contemporary/retro look going on. Behind me you will find a refurbished 1960's Coke machine, old movie chairs, and an original Grease poster (the advanced screening) mixed in with my contemporay furnishings. We've tweeked our living room here and there, but we finally are pleased with the way it looks.

Also this month I planned a shower for friends of mine. Since the couple are traveling to Mexico for the wedding festivities, I decided to do a "romantic" Mexican paper theme. This is what I did...

I made huge tissue paper flowers from the ceiling.

I made small paper flowers, put them in bud vases, then scattered them around.

After making all of the flowers, I used the remaining tissue to make Mexican Fiesta Flags. Here's the future bride and groom in front of them.

Last paper detail... I made these party favors cones out of scrapbook paper and stuffed the cones with various Mexican treats. They were so cute and fit the theme perfectly.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

December At A Glance

2009-12-31T18:01:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I know I'm a little late, but better late than never. The pic above was our 2009 Christmas e-dard. I can't believe how fast this past month flew by. So here I am trying to get one last post in before the year is up. Here is my month in a glance...

Let It Snow!

In early December, it actually snowed in Houston. Here are pics of my aunt's gorgeous backyard being covered in snow. Well, for us this is a lot of snow. The whole city practically shut down at the sight of the white stuff falling from the sky.

Bargain deal!

I have been eyeing this necklace at Banana Republic for a while, when I saw this cheaper version at a discount accessory store. Score!

Design On A Dime!

Will made a beautiful TV stand for us. I am so lucky to have such a handy husband. I have now requested a new dining table and a bed frame :-) We also got a great new armless double chair. Our place finally looks all put together.

My New Fav!

I love this purplish matte nailpolish. Dries in a few seconds.

Team Edward or Team Jacob???

I created the Twilight cupcake for my co-worker's daughter. Asia loved her Twilight cupcakes!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Christmas on a budget can be tough! This year, I created scarves for my family. Here are a couple of scarves. The basic grey/black scarf that goes with everything, and a pretty ruffle jersey scarf. My family loved them. Not sure how I'm going to top this next year.

Suspended At Work

You ever look at the window washers of tall buildings and wonder if they are worried about falling? Well this drama unfloded right in front of our windows at work. The scaffolding platform got knocked by unexpected strong winds. It cause the platform to lose some of it's harness. The platform started swinging into the building. Windows were breaking and the poor window washers were holding on for dear life. Thank goodness, one of the guys had a suction cup and stuck it to the window when they swung close to it. It kept them in place and the firefighters got them down safely. Makes me thankful to have a boring desk job.

Cookie Monster!

My girlfriends and I finally had a cookie exchange. I broke the "official cookie exchange" rules and allowed bars and no-bakes. It was a huge success and a new tradition for us.

Well, I need to dash! I've got to get a quick outfit together for our big NYE celebration with friends. I hope you all had a wonderful 2009. So looking forward to 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without The Peanuts! We had a Thanksgiving decorating contest at work. Our team chose to do A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It took 5 days for Melissa and I to paper mâché and decorate the character's heads. We hung up clouds, put up trees and turned our dreary office into a happy cartoon! Here are a few more pics...

I was Lucy! I turned my desk into her psychiatric booth.

Snoopy serves up their feast of popcorn, pretzels, toast, and jellybeans.

My co-worker was the best Marci! Oh and we won our little contest :)

To my American readers, I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

To everyone else, have a wonderful day!!!

~Hillary

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Jewel Tone Colors Are Popular For Weddings

2009-11-15T23:24:00.003-06:00

I had a friend's wedding to attend and I was tired of all of my old dresses. While running errands this week, I popped into Target (of course) and picked up a cute jewel tone dress at 50% off. The color was gorgeous and it was a cute style on me. When I got to the wedding, I realized how popular the purple/pink jewel tones were. Here is a pic of me and my girlfriends all nice and color coordinated. I paired my dress with the navy and pink polka dotted peep-toes and a beaded bracelet. All together this whole outfit was aprox $40! As you can see, the weather is still in the upper 70's to low 80's here. I think we will finally get a little colder weather in the next few days.

So how was your weekend? Anyone do anything fun? I am excited about the upcoming holidays. Is it too early to put up my Christmas tree? I really want to start putting it up soon.

Have a fab day!

Recipe: Peachy Applesauce!

2009-11-10T22:33:00.004-06:00

Originally I got this recipe from E, but it was for cranberry applesauce. I tweaked this a bit and used peaches instead of cranberries. Because the peaches are much sweeter than cranberries, I can leave out the added sugar the recipe originally called for. My co-workers especially love this when I bring it in to work. It taste great hot or cold. It makes your house smell warm and cozy. It also is super easy to make. So here is the recipe...

Ingredients

10 golden delicious apples (gala and honey crisp apples also work well)
2-3 fresh peaches or if not in season 1 16oz pkg of frozen peaches
2 cinnamon sticks

Directions:

Peel apples and peaches and cut them into cubes. If you are using frozen peaches, you can just cut the slices in half. The peaches don't need to be completely thawed before adding to the pot. Add all of the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and cook at medium to low heat. The apples will break down very quickly and may start to bubble a little bit. It's good to give it a stir from time to time so the apples don't burn at the bottom of your pot.

After 20 minutes, your pot should look a little like this...

After about 45 minutes, your pot should look like this...Cook the applesauce for about 45-55 minutes. If the peaches aren't completely broken down, you can use a masher or leave them as is. I personally like the bits of peaches so I won't mash it too much. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. You can serve this hot or cold. See? It's super easy. Give it a try and enjoy!

Hallelujah, The Shopping Ban Has Been Lifted!

2009-11-08T21:53:00.004-06:00

...and this hat was a must have this winter season! Actually I didn't buy it. My mom got it for me. I was helping my mom out at the house and running errands with her when I stumbled across this cute hat. Whenever I'm out shopping with my mom and I see something I like, she always wants to buy it for me. Most of the time I tell her no, but sometimes it's nice to have your mommy buy you things. Thanks mom!!!

Now on to the shopping deal of the year for me. A couple of weeks ago Oprah had Christian Siriano on her show. He was promoting his new affordable shoe line at Payless. At the end of the show, they announced there was a coupon for 50% off everything in the store for the next 2 days. Of course I had to take advantage of this opportunity. My friend, Melissa, and I hit a Payless at our lunch hour and even though the Payless we went to didn't carry Christian's line, I managed to find other shoes that were just as fab. Here is a (horrid) pic of myself under the a shopping dizzy spell. In the end I bought 7 pairs or shoes, 2 pairs of tights, and a hat all for $90!

So... here's my loot up close and personal...

The Low Boots

Black Heels

Fierce Prints!

Actually the leopard print heels were bought at Sears (yes, Sears! For $19.99). I was buying power tools for Will's birthday and just happened to look at their shoes...

The Flats

Summer Shoes

and last but not least...

The Other Hat

Okay, the shopping fun for myself is over. I need to concentrate on the holidays now. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Mobile Post

2009-11-05T14:01:00.001-06:00

I guess it's taken me this long to figure out how to post from my iPhone. We have major firewalls at work so I can't post or comment on most days until late at night. So far this nifty little BlogPress app does the trick. So welcome to my 1st mobile post!

Outfit details:
Bright yellow top - Old Navy
Black pants - Express
Black grey white scarf - Old Navy
Silver drop earrings - Red Stitch
Patent loafer heels - Target
Mt hair is doing this messy side frech twist.

Today we are still enjoying wonderful 70 degree weather. I have been trying to take advantage of it by walking/jogging outside. Hopefully more beautiful days are ahead.

So how are my blogger friends doing? I feel so out of the loop. I plan to catch up on my fav blog reads. Comments are coming your way!

Have healthy and happy day!
Hillary

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T23:14:00.007-06:00

First of all, major apologies from a long absence. I hope to be back to posting on a regular basis again.

So I thought I'd share some pictures from our big Halloween Party a couple of weeks ago. As most of you know, I got braces this past summer. I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate the braces and make them work for me. The costume I came up with was...Ugly Betty. At first I was planning to just wear mismatched clothes, but when I went to the local Goodwill, I came across a red tablecloth. I immediately remember the famous Ugly Betty episode where she come in wearing a red and blue poncho with "Guadalajara" in big yellow letters. Using my sewing and craft skills, I made my own poncho using the red tablecloth, leftover blue felt found at the local fabric shop, and yellow fabric paint. I found red reading glasses at the dollar spot at Target, and for her Ann Boleyn B necklace, I made a B out of gold scrap paper and taped it on a faux strand of pearls. I just wore crazy tights, a skirt, and a button top underneath my poncho. The total cost of the costume was a whopping $12! The best part, is that I actually won the costume contest. My inner Betty was out in full force! Will was my cute nerd boyfriend. We pieced his costume together using his own clothes (yes, he actually owned grey Velcro shoes already). He really hammed it up and played the perfect nerd! How was your Halloween? What did you dress as?

Here are our pics!

Happy Shower!

2009-09-20T21:08:00.004-05:00

After a fun weekend with friends in Austin and New Braunfels, Will and I ran home, got dressed and headed to the fabulous wedding shower of Stephanie and Jonathan at The Wine Bucket.

My outfit:
White top - NY & Co
Green belt - borrowed from my green dress
Black beaded A line skirt - French Connection (thrifted)
Lacey slingbacks - Hype (DSW)
3 strand pearl necklace - Target
Button hair clip - spare button from my green dress

Cheers To The Happy Couple!

Stephanie's fab magenta dress! Love it!

With the lovely ladies....

Scanning Through My Past

2009-09-13T22:00:00.004-05:00

Instead of my usual daily outfit pics, I thought I'd share some photos from my childhood... After borrowing a scanner from my friend, Melissa, I spent most of my Sunday scanning pictures from my childhood.

This first post is loooong over due. Back in May, Rachel at Fruit In A Box, tagged me for Prom Flashback. I didn't have a scanner and couldn't really participate, but I loved the idea. So now that I got my pics all on the computer, here is my prom pic. Considering that this was 1991, the dress is not that bad. I'd wear it today if I could fit in to it. It was a simple black lace over satin, halter top, with an A line skirt. Do you have a prom pic to share? I'd love to see it.

This next pic is from a school dance. It was an "Odies" themes dance. I decided to go all out. My uncle is a hairdresser and he got all of my hair up in a bee hive. I remember it took a whole bottle of conditioner to get my hair back to norm. The super fab green dress was my mothers from her early 20's. I love this dress. Most times I favor my father, but in this picture, I see my mom in me. Oh and the guy in the pic was my high school sweetheart.

Now going way, way, way back.... It's almost like a daily outfit pic except I'm 3 or 4 years old instead of 36.

The next pic is so funny because I don't know who dressed me (I have the red hat), but I hope didn't go out like this... Winter hat, sweater, super, super short dress, knee high socks, and some kind of animal booties. Nice! My grandmother is with my sister and me.

This pic is not so much and me and my sis on the plastic see saw (I'm on the left), but about the boat clock in the back ground. Did anyone else have a boat clock? When I saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time and Uncle Rico brings out the boat clock as incentive to buy his Tupperware, I just about died! Maybe that's how we got our boat clock.

Okay last pic... Here I am with short hair. I am with my sister and brother. For the most part my sis always had long hair. As for me, well my uncle (the hairdresser) always had a say in my hair. Here I am with a fresh cut. I love my little dress too.

Thanks for going down memory lane with me. Back to daily outfit pics this week. Hope y'all have a great day!

Save or Not?

2009-09-09T16:50:00.003-05:00

I really didn't expect to be absent from my blog for so long, but I've had a crazy week after getting back from Corpus Christi. Life threw some curve balls and things got hectic, but all is good. I didn't take many outfit pics during the past couple of weeks, but I had one from today and one from last week to share... Funny how both outfits ended up being pink and black. Y'all have seen this first outfit before. I was running a tad late and threw this outfit on. It's easy enough and I know it works well. When you in a pinch, it's always best to go with what you know works...cute Anthro skirts!

Last week I was cleaning out my closet and getting rid of some old clothes when I came across this skirt. This skirt is about 9 years old and I hadn't worn it in a long, long time. I went back and forth about keeping it. I love the way the skirt looks. It's held up well and it's very comfortable. The only major reason of letting it go is because of the material. It's 100% polyester. The skirts has 2 layers. The first polyester layer has strips going diagonal one way and it has that weird polyester sheen. The sheen is slightly masked by the 2nd sheer layer where the stripes are diagonal in the opposite direction which creates the plaid effect. So what are your thoughts? Should I keep it?

Will struck a pose on his scooter for me this weekend. I love Will's t-shirt. For a very long time, Will refused to wear anything related to argyle. I'd pick out nice little preppy shirts and he's turn up his nose at it. Finally he agreed on the t-shirt and I think it looks good on him. As for the checkerboard Vans...that's all Will :-) The weather is starting to cool off a tiny, tiny bit so more scooter days are ahead of us.

With my hectic week, I have been really bad about cooking (something my trainer isn't too happy to hear). The one dish I did manage to cook was this recipe for cabbage rolls. I have to admit although it was tasty, it probably had a little too much tomato sauce/paste. I may change it up and try it again.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am so behind on reading my favorite blogs. I should be back to my regular routine and will be catching up this week. Thanks for your patience! Have a great day!

Recaps

2009-08-24T21:16:00.004-05:00

Hola! I didn't get a chance to take a daily outfit pic, but this was something I wore last week to work. Here are the details...

Green knit sleeveless - Banana Republic Outlet

Black pencil skirt - Arden B

Black wedges - Target

I should have thrown on some accessories, but in my mad rush to get to work, I just didn't get the chance.

I thought I'd take this time to recap on a few things I've blogged about and answer some questions...

Mystery Shopping

Back in July, I posted this about going off to my first mystery shop. I've now done a couple (only restaurants so far) and I have another one coming up. Many of you were curious and had questions about it. So here's what I think about the whole process... Details, details, details... You really need to be able to pay attention to details. The first shop was a small eatery. We were in and out in 20 minutes. It was a breeze, the food was actually good, and we got our reimbursement within 2 weeks. We were pleased and looking forward to our next assignment. Our 2nd shop was a popular overly priced themed restaurant. We were required to buy a drink at the bar, an appetizer, 2 entrees, a dessert, and something from the gift shop. Wow, this shop required a lot! It took me a hour or so just to prepare for it. Our list of things to look for were so long, I had to make checklist on my phone. We had to time everything, check the cleanliness of the bathroom numerous times, and write details about every employee who we interacted with (what the looked like and everything they said). It took HOURS to fill out the survey. In the end I thought this type of shop was not worth a free meal. We should have been paid for that one. Even though I probably won't be signing up for anymore themed restaurants, I thought the experience has been interesting. Will and I will continue to be mystery shoppers.

Tex-Mex Mac n' Cheese

Last week I posted this and got a lot of requests for my Tex-Mex Mac n' Cheese. In my attempts to remake this and take pics for you to follow, we had a power outage. So the only pic I got before the outage was on the ingredients. Here is the whole recipe...

Ingredients:

2 cups of uncooked 100% whole wheat macaroni
1/3 c chopped onions
2 garlic cloves (minced)
8 oz of 2% evaporated milk
2 c reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese (divided)
1/2 c of diced green chilies (if using fresh) or use 1/2 of a small can
1 tsp of thyme
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 lbs of lean turkey or lean ground beef (optional)

Cook macaroni as instructed on the package and set aside.

In a large pan (I use a wok) add your onions and garlic on medium heat. Add meat and cook thoroughly. Set aside.

In a sauce pan on low heat, add milk and 1 1/2 c of cheese. Stir slowly until cheese melts. The sauce will seem watery, but it will thicken over time.

Add the green chilies, stir, and then mix in macaroni and meat.

Add thyme, salt, black pepper, and 1/4 c of shredded cheese. Mix.

Add remaining cheese to the top.

Enjoy!

Mod Cloth and the Prize
On my last post, I asked you to vote for your favorite prize from Mod Cloth. So far it looks like the Peggy Pencil is winning. There is still time to cast your vote. Bianca asked if I've ever bought from Mod Cloth. No, I haven't yet. This prize will be my first purchase, but I will definitely give a full report once I get my order. If anyone else has ordered from them, please let us know what you thought.

Motivation

Last weekend, I finally checked my mail and saw a package from the super fab KT! She knew I needed some extra motivation so she sent me a copy of her music selection for her incredible Swap-n-Shop. BTW, If you are ever in the Columbus OH area, you really need to check this out on October 3! You can bring your old clothes and swap them out. She also has some awesome goody bags, door prizes, and giveaways. KT, thank you so much for helping me get my butt moving. I looove the CD. I downloaded it to my shuffle and have been groovin' during my workouts. My fav on the list is this.

Oh and going back to motivation... my 24 Hour Fitness Success Story got posted up at the gym. Here is a snapshot of the flier. Sorry, it's not the best quality. I only had my phone with me at the time. In any case, I'm proud of it :)

Okay my blogger friend, this will be my last post for the week. Will and I are going out of town. Our last summer road trip to the beaches in Corpus Christi (home of Selena and Whataburger). My goals for the trip (besides have fun) is to workout and watch my diet. I always gain weight when I go out of town. My plan to to keep up with my regular workout routine for the remainder of the week...I'll just be in a hotel gym instead. Actually I found out that the hotel we are staying at has a "Get Fit" room. It comes with a workout mat, dumbbells, resistance bands, and healthy snacks. For an additional fee I can get a treadmill. I'm going to pass on the treadmill, but I am definitely going to see if I can get the other stuff. If you want to know what I'm up to while on vacation, follow me on Twitter!

Have a great week!

The Eye On The Prize...

2009-08-19T23:16:00.007-05:00

As most of you know or have figured out, I have a thing for skirts. I love the femininity of skirts and dresses. No matter what size I am, they always make me feel pretty. I especially like skits with simple details that make them special and stand out. Someone recently asked how many I have. Honestly, I don't know. I've been to scared to count! Just imagine that the entire bottom tier of my closet are all skirts. I think I only have 4 pairs of pant/jeans.

Today's outfit details...
Black top - Anthropologie
A line skirt - Anthropologie
Lacey slingbacks - DSW
necklace - Pei-San

With my shopping ban in effect for 2 months now, I am having some serious shopping withdrawals, but hopefully that will change soon! I have decided to up the ante on hitting my next weight loss goal. When I reach my next goal, I get to buy something. Recently I fell in love with ModCloth. Seriously fab, unique, mod, retro items that I love! If you are a fan of the Mad Men style, then you must check out there looks inspired by the show. Gorgeous!!!

So I need your help. Below are 4 items that I have my eye on. If I hit my next goal, which item do you think I should get??? Vote for your fav. The item with the highest votes will be my "reward"

1) The Ariel Skirt

This is prob my 1st choice right now. I just love the style.

2) The Rizzo

Simply adorable. Great party skirt!

3) The Peggy Pencil Skirt

Great for the office. I love the high waist and the button detail

4) The Carriage Tour Dress

This can easily transition from fall to winter. I love the neckline. Love the button details

I wanted to give a huge thanks for all of the positive and sweet comments I have received. I got a big response for the Tex-Mex Mac n' Cheese recipe that I've decided to post the recipe. This weekend I will post the recipe with photos to help guide you.

I also got some e-mails about steaming. I am a huge fan of my steamer and I consider it an essential in my kitchen. I steam almost all of my fish. Sometimes I sear it and then finish it off on the steamer. It works for chicken and beef too. It's so easy to use and it's a healthy way to cook.

Thanks so much for stopping by and voting. I hope everyone has a great day!

Monday Madness: Catching Up

2009-08-17T20:25:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy few days so I'm going to catch up on some daily outfits and meals...

Monday

Wrap top: Charotte Russe ~ white tank: Old Navy ~ pencil skirt: Old Navy ~ grey heels: Target ~ pearls: gifted from Aunt Mae

Last Friday

Sleeveless mesh top: Anthropologie ~ 3 tier skirt: Target ~ nude peep toes: DSW ~ necklace: gifted from Lynette

Last Thursday

green dress: Target ~ pink/orange/red scarf: Old Navy ~ nude peeps: DSW

My Meals

Asian Tilapia with Brown Jasmine Rice

I had a long workout today and I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to cook. My hubby took the initiative to make me a wonderful dinner tonight. This is something I grew up eating and one of my favorite dishes. When my husband and I were dating I made this for him one night. He loved it so much that he started making it every Thurs night (when I would come over for dinner). We called it Thursday Night Special (aka TNS). It's a simple tilapia fillet steamed. Then a lite soy sauce is poured on the fish. While the fish marinates, pour about a 1/4 c olive oil to a pan and add chopped green onion. Once the green onions start breaking down, pour the oil and onions onto the fish. It's best when served with jasmine rice. I found some brown jasmine rice and it is awesome. If you hate the taste of regular brown rice, try jasmine brown rice. It has the same wonderful flavor as the regular jasmine rice. Delicious! I'm sorry I didn't type out the full recipe. Most of the time I don't measure when making this. If you'd like the recipe, shoot me an e-mail. I'll get some solid measurements down.

Tex-Mex Mac n' Cheese

Who doesn't love mac n' cheese??? We had a local grocery store open up near me. They have a wonderful deli and they gave sample of a wonderful mac n' cheese made with green chilies. It was soooo good! The stuff was selling like hotcakes! I took a look at the ingredients and I knew it wasn't something I could buy. So I recreated it to a healthier version. Basics of the cheese sauce is 2% cheese and 2% evaporated milk. Of course I also added 96% lean ground beef to punch up the protein. It turned out fab! Shoot me an e-mail if you want the recipe.

Leftover Chicken thrown into a Green Salad

i threw some left over chicken with black beans, sauteed onions and bell peppers with petite green peas, spinach, asparagus, and spinach. It was a great lunch after a workout. It kept me full for most of the afternoon!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Before and After = MOTIVATION

2009-08-12T23:18:00.006-05:00

For the past two years I have worked hard on getting back in shape. In 2007 I was at my absolute heaviest. I remember having to buy a wardrobe of summer clothes because nothing I had fit me. It's 2009 and I am still working hard. I look and feel so much better, but I know this is a lifestyle that I will probably always have to stay on top of. It has been a slow process, but it's been so rewarding in many ways and I have learned a lot!

The gym I workout at has seen me go through my ups and downs, but has watched me push through each challenge. They have asked me to do a little "Before and After" to help inspire others at the gym. So for the past few days I have been going through my pics for some full body "before" shots. Boy, I didn't realize how tough it would be. I either cropped a lot of myself off so all you see is my face, or I had Will take pics from a good distance so you couldn't see how much weight I gained over the year. I did manage to find some pics (most of them were in my friend's album, where I didn't have the freedom to crop my picture). In looking back at the pics, it seems so surreal. I was like, "Who is this person? It kind of looks like me, but it doesn't" I was showing Will and he said he just didn't remember me looking that big. How we forget... These pics have really motivated me to keep pushing!

BEFORE (2007)

The top from the first pic is now one of my favorite workout tops. I also kept the red tank top for working out. Everything else I wore in these pictures has been donated or sold at a garage sale.

AFTER (Today's pic)

Patience and hard work does pay off.

Even though I didn't hit my last mini goal, I am still fighting the good fight. I really want to thank everyone who has given me encouraging words and support. It means a lot. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

Friday Outfit/Monday Dinner

2009-08-10T20:26:00.004-05:00

Since I dressed so casually at work today, you get Friday's outfit instead. Normally I wouldn't wear "fun" shoes like these to work, but it was Friday, everyone else was very casual, and I just wanted to wear my sparkly summer shoes :-)

Here are the details:

Brown sleeveless cowl neck - JCP
White denim skirt - Gifted from Holley
Gold Necklace - Target
White flower - Clarie's
Beaded slide wedges - Target

So remember when I said I was about 3 lbs off from my goal? Well..umm...yeah...didn't happen. I just got too comfortable and I actually gained a few pounds. Six to be exact. Yes, I said 6! Soooo not happy about it. Darn you summertime ice cream! Even if I get the light or the fro-yo, that stuff creeps up on you if you aren't careful. I'm sure going to The Cheesecake Factory the night before weigh-in didn't help my case either. So to get myself back on track, I am wearing my Bodybugg again and tracking my food carefully. Instead of posting my screen prints of my Bodybugg stats, I will be posting my stats via BodybuggTweet which will show up on my Twitter updates. I will get to that goal!

So on to my dinner. I know a lot of people love to have breakfast for dinner. So here was my version of breakfast for dinner along with the stats...

Egg White Scrabble With Asparagus, Tomatoes, Onions, and Cheese

(Only 178 calories! Protein: 23.2 g ~ Carbs: 10 g ~ Fat: 7 g)

1/3 c chopped asparagus
1/4 c minced onions
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 c chopped tomatoes
1 oz 2% shredded cheese
dash of salt and pepper

Whisk egg whites with a fork and season with salt and pepper and set to the side. Using a small skillet on medium heat, lightly mist your pan with olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and asparagus, stirring for 3-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute. Remove and set aside. Lightly mist your pan with olive oil and add the egg whites. Stir using a spatula to break up the whites for about 3-4 minutes, then add the asparagus mixture to the pan. Toss and serve. Sprinkle cheese on top. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great day!

Lucky Number 7

2009-08-05T18:45:00.006-05:00

I'm back to wearing some summer fun colors. Today I wore a cute green top, but since I forgot to take my daily outfit picture, you get to see yesterday's outfit instead. Pink it is! Here are the details...

Pink cowl neck top - JCP
Two tone skirt - H&M
Gold necklace - Target
T-strap wedges - Target

I decided to take a break Tuesday and Wednesday. No gym, no workout, just some rest. I think my body really needed it. I didn't really cook either. I got my braces tightened today so I decided that I wanted to eat something that could bite into and chew. Once the braces got tightened, it's back to soups and softer foods. So for lunch today we ran to one of my favorite local spots, Bubba's Burger Shack. They have great burgers, but are really known for their awesome buffalo burgers. For those that didn't know, buffalo is lower in fat that turkey! Of course I'm sure the jack cheese didn't really help my calorie or fat count, but boy was this burger good! Will captured the "moment" as I sunk my teeth into my first bite. YUM!!!

The other day ShopKim (she has some gorgeous rings on her site, you should check them out)gave me a fab Kreativ Blogger Award. I am suppose to give you 7 things (I guess it can be about anything). Here is goes...

My sister and I are the same age for 2 weeks
In high school I got to go to Hawaii to preform with my drill team at the halftime show of The ProBowl.
I love karaoke even though I am terrible at it.
Through FaceBook, a long lost relative in the Philippines found me. It has been an incredible experience getting to know her. I may have to share this story one day.
If I open a brand new carton of ice cream, I have to make a cross on it to bless it. It's a habit I picked up from my mom. Maybe if we bless it, the fat won't stick to our thighs.
When I was in kindergarten, I told my class it was my birthday many times because I liked it when they sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
I love to have people over!

Okay so I am now going to pass this along to anyone who'd like to share 7 things with us. If you'd like to post your 7, let me know!

Thanks guys for stopping by. I hope you all have a great day!

Classics From My Closet

2009-08-03T20:23:00.006-05:00

Shopping is my closet has been great. I have a million skirts and sometimes they get lost in my closet, even great ones like this. I've had this skirt for about 6 years now. I bought it back in my Anthropologie days ( I worked there for about a year just to get the fab discount). I paired it with another classic in my closet, a cream short sleeve top that's about 12 years old. I love it because it's held up so well and never goes out of style. Here are the details...

Cream top - The Gap

Black/cream skirt - Anthropologie

Green belt - Off one of my dresses from Target

3 strand pearl necklace - Target

Rack Room Peeps

This past weekend, me and 13 of my girlfriends rented a house in New Braunfels for some fun in the sun. We went toobing down the Comal River and let our inner child run free at Sclitterbahn Water Park. After a day of sliding down the Master Blaster, slippery speed slides, and various toob shoots, we made a fabulous meal and enjoyed an evening in. One of the dishes I made was a great pasta dish perfect for summer. Thank you Jana for this wonderful recipe!

Pasta with leeks, peas, and Pecorino

Here is the recipe:

1 lb dry orecciette or some other short pasta ( I used 100% whole wheat shells).
2 tbsp olive oil
4 leeks (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
10 oz frozen peas thawed
3/4 c heavy cream (I substituted and used 2% evaporated milk instead)
1 c grated Pecorino (this is found by the Parmesan and Romano cheese)
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 c fresh mint leaves torn

Cook the pasta according to the pkg directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, season with the salt and 1/4 tsp of the pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and peas and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the cream and 3/4 c of the Pecorino. Simmer until the sauce has thicken slightly (about 4 minutes). rain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the sauce, lemon zest, and mint and toss. Divide the pasta into bowls and sprinkle Enjoy!

While I was gone having fun with the girls, my wonderful husband worked went to work on my car. Thank you so much for changing my oil, washing my car, cleaning the engine, cleaning the hubcaps, and even making sure the radio was on my favorite radio station. My car hasn't looked this fab in a long time. I love you Will!

Tomorrow I plan to take a break from the gym. Hopefully I'll get to sew a new skirt and catch up on some favorite blogs and check out some new ones. The fab ShopKim gave me a Kreativ Blogger Award so I'll be posting my 7 things too. Thanks ShopKim!

Have a great day everyone!

Blogger Inspirations

2009-07-31T00:31:00.005-05:00

Rachel at Fruit In A Box has been sporting some beautifully chic black, white, and grey outfits lately. The colors are classics and always go well for the office. Her beautiful outfits inspired me to ditch the summer colors and go for the classic black, white, and great....perfect for the office.

So once I got the outfit squared away, I was looking at myself in the mirror trying to figure out what I should do with the scarf I had on. Even though it's lightweight, the last thing I wanted to do was wrap it around me neck in 100 degree heat and humidity. Then I remember this post from Kimberly at Fab Finds Under $50. I really liked how she simply tucked her scarf under her belt. It just gives it a different look. So I did the same thing and viola! My outfit was complete.

Thanks you ladies for the inspirations! So here are the details:

Black ruffle sleeveless - Target

Bitten sailor pants - Steve & Barry (no longer around)

Grey belt - Target - Old Navy

Dangle earrings - gifted by Anna (yes I am wearing earrings!)

Well I am off for the weekend! My closest girlfriends and I plan an annual girls weekend every summer. They are just quick road trips that are always fun. It's a great time for us to get away and strengthen those bonds. This year we are going to the Texas Hill Country. We rented a fab house that sleeps all 14 of us. Since I am on the 1st car to arrive, we are toobing down the river. On Saturday we are all hitting a fun waterpark. It should be a great weekend. Of course I'll be taking lot of pics to share.

I hope everyone has a great and fun weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Adjustments and Recipes

2009-07-29T21:02:00.005-05:00

This is the very first skirt I sewed and I really love it. It's a great color and cut, but even though I thrilled I have lost weight, I am a little sad this doesn't really fit me as nicely. You can't really tell from this picture, but the elastic bottom of my white top is basically holding my skirt up. It's one of the reasons why I chose the top. In the end it was still a bit of a nuisance. I was adjusting the skirt all day long trying to tuck it back under the top. Will and I have this little joke that we call each other whatever the subject of the day is. So all day long, he was calling me "Adjustments". He'd say, "Come on Adjustments, you're making us late for work". Yeah, we are dorky like that :-) Soooo...needless to say, this will be my last wear before I take it apart and adjust it. Here are the details of the look...

White sleeveless wrap top - Ann Taylor Loft
Green skirt - me
Unisa heels - Off 5th
Gold medallion necklace - NY & Co

For lunch today we had leftovers form last night dinner. I changed it up a tad by toasting some bread, layering fresh spinach, spooning the turkey on top the spinach, and sprinkling it with a a little cheese and a grape tomato. I had some leftover cauliflower, which was still so good.

Sherry at The Frugal Apprentice, here is my super easy roasted cauliflower...

Preheat you oven at 450 degrees
Cut the tops off of a cauliflower and put into a medium sized bowl.
Add about a tbsp of olive oil and toss
Spread the cauliflower onto a baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes.
The tops should get brown. Flip and brown the other side for just maybe 10 - 15 minutes.
Sprinkle sea salt to your liking.
Enjoy!

It's a great french fry substitute!

For dinner, I went all out. I made chicken breast with 20 cloves of garlic (which is an adaptation of this recipe. I served it grilled asparagus, and maple butternut squash. Will really loved this entire meal.

For those interested, here is the recipe for Maple Butternut Squash

Preheat your oven at 450 degrees
Take a medium sized butternut squash and slice in half lengthwise
Place the the halves (with the seeds and all) faced down on a baking dish.
Add water to the baking dish making sure to cover about a 1/3 of the squash
Bake for 30-40 minutes. The squash should be soft and skin may brown slightly.
Remove from the oven, drain the water, and flip over the squash.
Scoop the seeds out and discard.
Scoop the meat of the squash and place into a medium bowl. Be careful because it will be very hot!
Whip up the squash and add a tbsp of milk and a tbsp of maple syrup.
Add a dash of cinnamon, garlic seasoning, and black pepper.

Great substitute for candied yams.

Since today is Wednesday, it was a rest day from the gym for me. Tomorrow I'll be back at the gym for my last workout of the week. I'll be going out of town this weekend, so Thursday is my Friday! Thank you so much for reading. Have a great day everyone!

Red Day Tuesday

2009-07-28T21:58:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone. Here is my simple red and black outfit today...

Black sleeveless knit - Old Navy
French Connection Skirt - Lot 8
Silver dangle earrings - Red Stitch (no longer around)
Red necklace - NY & Co (I think)
Red peeps - JCP

I had a friend/reader ask why I hardly ever have earrings on. Well there are 3 reasons.

1) My ears itch. I usually have to slather Neosporin on my ear lobe and the earring post. It's a pain. I have also tried putting a coat of clear nail polish on the post. It works too, but it chips off too.
2) I am not aligned. I know that sounds funny, but I'm not. One shoulder is higher than the other so my ear lobes are off which causes my earring to dangle weird. I keep meaning to book an appt at the chiropractor.
3) I feel cluttered when I have on too much jewelry. I feel like I have too much going on if I have earrings and a necklace on. I know this is a crazy reason because I see so many of you lovely ladies accessorize without any problems. I'm trying to work on it though. That's why I have both on today (plus the Neosporin).

So lunch was a simple chicken noodle soup that came from a can. Will had a stomach virus and he couldn't eat much. For lunch I ran home and joined him for some soup. The virus seems to have passed already. He felt good enough to have a real dinner. I had some lean turkey in the fridge. I was intending to make a healthy version of stroganoff with it, but I think that meal would have been to heavy for Will. So I basically threw a bunch of veggies and seasoning in my wok and kept it simple. So it's lean ground turkey, onions, garlic, peas, yellow and orange bell peppers, and a variety of seasonings. It's not my best dish, but it wasn't bad. The main thing was that Will was able to eat it without any issues. I served the turkey with a side of roasted cauliflower (sooo good!)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a great day!

A Blogger's World

2009-07-27T23:50:00.000-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize I let a whole week go by without a post. Sorry about that! Between working, the gym, cooking, and blogging time just seems to slip away. Now I have added Twitter to the growing list of electronic communication. So even if I don't put a full blog post up, the mini short version on my daily ongoings get posted. Do you tweet on Twitter? Let me know, I'd love to follow you!

So let's talk about the the daily outfit. This is the last minute throw on. Last night was one of those nights where I had the perfect outfit in my head. I woke up excited to put it on and found it to be a complete disaster. What was I thinking??? I was still determined to wear this skirt, but no matter what I put on it just wasn't working for me. In the end, ave up on the skirt and opted to go a bit casual. Here is my last minute throw on outfit...

Short sleeve black jacket - Target

Dark pink tank - Old Navy

Jeans - Target

Peeps - Rack Room

Fab necklace - gifted by the lovely KT

Today's lunch was a little different. I rarely buy frozen foods unless it's veggies or ice cream. For some reason I had a hankering for some dumplings, but no time to make any from scratch. So I bought a small bag of frozen chicken and veggie potstickers. Instead of following the instructions on the package, I steamed mine and served it with a mixture of Bragg's Liquid Aminos mixed with a little olive oil. I also had a side of spinach and watermelon for dessert. It was delicious!

Tonight I raced home after an early workout and was able to catch a free sneak preview of Meryl Streep and Amy Adam's new movie, Julie & Julia. Whole Foods sponsored the sneak peek and we all got cool little shopping bags for coming. For those that don't know, the movie is about a girl who decides to blog her way through Julia Child's Mastering The Art of Cooking. I never actually read the blog, but I did hear about the book. I heard it was being made into a movie a while back. Being a cook and a blogger, this was a movie I wanted to see. Meryl Streep does a wonderful job playing Julia Child. You couldn't help but to love her personality. As for Amy Adams... there were times where I totally related to her character. The exciting, but nervous feeling about setting up your blog, wondering if anyone is really reading it, wondering why would they read it, and getting your first comment from a stranger...these were all the things I felt when setting up this blog. I think a lot of fellow bloggers would appreciate and enjoy the humor.

Thank you again to all my readers! I am still amazed there are people besides my family and friends reading. I have always enjoyed sharing my pictures and thoughts with you. I'd love to hear how you decided to get into the blogging world and how your experience has been. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cooking Things Up!

2009-07-21T23:30:00.002-05:00

Whew! What a day! I had so much I wanted to do today...work, gym, grocery shop, cook, bake, swim, and blog....and maybe a load of wash. Seriously it's amazing what you can cram into a day. Well I got all of it done (even the load of wash), except for swim. No worries though since I had a cardio day at the gym. Swimming was like going for extra credit. Not necessary, but beneficial if I could get to it. Oh well...

So here I am at the start of this long day. I was pretty in pink in this cute forgotten skirt. Here are the details...

Black sleeveless - NY & Co (gifted by Michelle)

Pink and black skirt - Anthropologie

Loooong necklace - gifted by my sister

peeps - Rack Room

I am trying to shop in my closet since I am putting myself on a super budget. I was so happy to find both of these items while digging through the trenches that is my closet.

So after a weekend of running around and eating out, it was time to buckle down and get cooking good food. Here are what my meals have been like:

The first pic is wild sockeye salmon with a chile lime seasoning, salad with mandarin oranges, and roasted grape tomatoes.

The second pic is the leftovers the next day. I just added the salmon to the salad and had some sweet potato mash on the side.

Dinner tonight was pasta. Will has been on a pasta kick. The whole wheat penne pasta is topped with turkey, mushrooms, onions, yellow bell pepper, Ragu Light and too much red pepper flakes. Will likes a little heat in his spaghetti sauce, but I think I over did it. It did clear my sinuses though :)

And last but not least... My bosses are having a birthday and we are having a potluck. I volunteered to make a cake. It's a Marble Toffee Cake. There isn't anything good for you in this cake. It's pure sugar!

Well before I close, I need to give a big thank you to my husband! Not only is he patient enough to take my daily outfit pics, but he ran to the store for me 3 times on Tuesday without any complaining. I really appreciate everything he does for me. I am a very lucky girl :-)

Thank you for stopping by. I hope I didn't make you too hungry :-)

Have a great day!

A Dress Revisited

2009-07-17T20:58:00.006-05:00

This dress was at the start of it all... Last summer, V introduced me to Dots and many of your daily outfit blogs. The day I bought this dress was the same day I decided to start my own little blog (which is almost a year ago). When I initially tried the dress on I thought it was so cute, but because of the empire waist, I was a little self conscience of looking pregnant when I wasn't. V and Lynette convinced me that it looked great so I bought it despite my initial reservations. I guess because I've never felt truly comfortable with the way it looked on me, I have only worn it a handful of times. All that changed today. I think I finally found the right look for the dress that made me feel pretty it in it. Here are the details...

Dress - Dots

Belt - Target

Heels - Target

Necklace - Gifted by Lynette

Below are the 2 other times I wore it... The first look is from my very first post. The second picture was from a cold day in January.

This other outfit was Wednesday's outfit. I bought this blouse a while back. It was like $3 at Old Navy and even though it didn't quite fit at the time, I bought it thinking I would lose the weight and then be able to wear it... Well it took some time, but I finally fit it!!! Yay!!!

The skirt is also Old Navy. The shoes are Target and the necklace is from Francesca's.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Go-To Outfit and Mystery Shopping

2009-07-14T21:25:00.006-05:00

It seems that every time I'm really rushing to get to work, I am throwing on this dress. It's a favorite...comfy and instant outfit. Here's the simple go-to outfit:

Dress - Ross

Standard peep toes - Room

Sorry to be a bore on the shoe thing, but they are just my most comfortable pair of heels and they are a great height. I also trying to save money, so this means no new shoes for a little while.

On the food thing...

Even though it is so hot, hot, hot outside, I made some homemade soup the other night. It's easy on the braces on the diet. I cranked up the a/c and ceiling fans and enjoyed my yummy homemade chicken soup, In it is shredded chicken breast, onions, mushrooms, and chinese cabbage. I added spinach to the soup when serving so it stays fresh and full of vitamins. For dessert, I had a small bowl of fresh cherries.

As for my workouts... My trainer has been on vacation, leaving me to push myself on my own. I have to admit, I slacked a bit last week. I should have gone to the gym 4 days, but I only ended up going 2 times. Well hopefully this week I've made up for it a bit. I pushed myself mixing my weights and cardio the past 3 days. I'll rest tomorrow, but will finish the week with my trainer on Thursday and Saturday. All in all, it looks like it'll be a 5 day workout week for me. I am 3lbs away from reaching my next goal. I have till the end of the month to get there. Thanks to all the sweet comments on my changing body. It's a constant work in progress for me. I have my good and bad days, but I really appreciate all your motivating words and tips.

Okay quick question for you guys... Has anyone every done mystery shopping? I signed up a few weeks ago after a good friend referred me to a reputable company. I've always been curious and it seems easy enough. My first assignment is this weekend. If you've done this before, do you have any tips for me? Thanks so much.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Short Weekend

2009-07-12T21:31:00.006-05:00

For the longest time, I have been avoiding shorts like the plague. I love skirts and all that, but shorts were always a nuisance to me. Most shorts were short shorts, which would hit me above the knee. I have this pocket of fat right above my knee that I am always self conscience about. My other issue with shorts was that fact that they would ride up on my inner thigh when walking. It was annoying. I felt like I was always tugging on them or walking weird so they'd fall back down. So I just avoided them. Well it seems that this summer has been the summer of shorts for me. After losing some weight and with bermuda (long shorts) being so popular, it has renewed my love and appreciation for shorts. I now the proud owner of 5 pairs of shorts. Here are 2 of my looks from the weekend...

The 1st outfit was taken on Sunday on my way to brunch.

pink brown halter top - gifted from Anna

denim long shorts - Target

flat sandals - Target

The next look if from Friday. I ran home after work and changed into these shorts for happy hour with co-workers.

I decided that I needed a little something extra after I saw this photo, so I threw on a long necklace. Here are the details of this look :

Everything is from Target! I looooove the white linen shorts especially. They are super comfortable and they look great with everything. I will say that they do stretch out a bit so I actually went back and bought a smaller size. I think they are on sale right now. The shoes are some slide-ons that I bought a couple years ago. Here's a close up....

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

7...8...9...The Music Of The Night

2009-07-08T23:48:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post before bed. Tonight I went to see Phantom Of The Opera with my brother and his girlfriend. I love musicals and plays. Fortunately for me, my brother is able to hook me up with some premium seats from time to time. Tonight was opening night for The Phantom.

Here's what I wore...

Black sleeveless top - NY & Co

Green beaded necklace - gifted by Lynette

Navy skirt - Ann Taylor Loft

same black peeps - Rack Room

Sorry for the bad lighting. The sun was already going down and my flash was off. My brother was waiting for me in the car so no time to take another shot. I tried to brighten it up, but it's still fuzzy...

So have you seen this musical? What were your thoughts? This was my first time seeing it. So many people told me how much they loved it or it's their favorite. I had high expectations and then was let down a bit. Not to say that it was bad, but I just didn't have that connection with the characters so I wasn't emotionally drawn in. This is one of those plays where you need to have that emotional connection. All in all, I still enjoyed it and I'm glad I saw it. I can now check this off my list.

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

2009-07-07T21:46:00.004-05:00

I think this is my absolute favorite top. I love the brightness of it. Brightness is what was needed this rainy morning. Don't get me wrong. I was so happy to see the much-needed-rain, but I still wanted a little brightness in my day. Here's the whole outfit...

Green top - Banana Republic
V pencil skirt - Anthropologie
Black peeps - Rack Room

I have been a cooking mood lately. Last night I was in the mood for Mexican food. I found a simple, yet great recipe for spinach enchiladas at All Recipes. Of course I did a little altering to the dish.

I used lowfat greek yogurt instead of the sour cream.
I added chicken. I boiled 2 chicken breast, shredded them, and then mixed it in the yogurt mixture.
I added chopped onions and also mixed in the sauce.
The spinach is rolled in each enchilada, but also added to the top.

Here is the finished product. I served it with a side of black bean mash. Yummers!
Today's workout was 30 minutes of resistance training focused on my legs (I did my upper body the day before) and cardio on the treadmill. I'm not sure what was up, but I had so much energy today. I even bounced on the Bosu Ball when I got home. Maybe it was the MJ playlist that kept me movin' and groovin'... Like he says, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough". I felt it was only right to pay tribute in my own way.

Okay, I'll admit it... I watched the MJ memorial service via webcast today. V and my other girlfriends had e-mails flying throughout the program. I thought it was a moving service and I was brought to tears when his daughter spoke. Despite the many questions that revolved around his life, he was so talented. His music always bring me fond memories of my 80's childhood.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the web. I hope you have a wonderful day!

My New Smile

2009-07-03T00:04:00.004-05:00

With all that went on today, I forgot to take a whole outfit pic. Since we are off for the holiday on Friday, Thursday was my "Friday". I went to work pretty casual in a bright yellow top paired with dark denim jeans. So no full pic, but you get to see my smile up close and personal. After a week of wearing spacers, I got my full braces on today. Here are the before and after shots...

9:00 am - I am about to leave for the orthodontist. Melissa quickly snaps a picture at the office. This is a normal smile for me. Notice how it's crooked. It's because my bite is off. Oh and just to clarify the office... as you can see we are on an open cubicle floor plan. This sometimes makes it difficult for me to read blogs and comment at work.

12:30 pm - Back in the office. I still have the same crooked smile, but now with a mouth full of metal.. Actually I don't think they look that bad. It kind of made me feel young. My husband thinks it makes me look younger. Maybe this is what I've needed all along... Forget the anti-aging creams, ladies. Just get some braces and you'll be instantly young again!

This weekend we are celebrating the Fourth of July with Will's family. They go all out with all kinds of festivities...singing, dancing, parade, and barbecue (of course!). The ribs and corn on the cob will be tempting, but now with the braces on, it may just help me keep my diet in check.

Happy Fourth of July to those who are celebrating! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy 2nd Half of The Year!

2009-07-02T21:47:00.003-05:00

Can you believe 1/2 of the year is over? Where does the time go??? Actually this post is a day late. This was suppose to post on July 1, so I am catching up a bot.

Here is one of my favorite summer skirts...

palm skirt - Gap

cowl-neck sleeveless - JCP

beaded long necklace - Target

brown wedge heels - Rack Room

Again, my hair is pulled back. I really need to cut it asap. I love having long hair, but it's just so hot here. All I ever do is end up putting it up in a ponytail. That's when I know my hair is too long. Hopefully I'll have a new cut by next week.

As for food, you can probably tell that I love a colorful plate. I'll cut fresh fruit or veggies just to give it a pop of color. So here is my some-what healthier version of fried rice. I just mixed some brown jasmine rice, leftover salmon, spinach, reb bell pepper, onions, garlic, and some Bragg's Liquid Amino's. Added the cucumber slices with a drizzle of balsamic vinegarette. It turned out pretty tasty!

For dinner, we had Italian night. I took a recipe for chicken parmigana from All Recipies and changed it up a bit. In stead of flour, I used course corn meal, I used egg whites, whole wheat egg noodles, 2% cheese, and Ragu Light. Will loved it.

Sunday Morning

2009-06-28T21:26:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Sunday morning we were up bright and early. It has become a tradition in my family to celebrate birthdays with a family breakfast. Today was my mother's birthday so here we are ready for breakfast!

On me:

Old navy strapless dress and sandals from Target.

On Will:

Old Navy Tee and shorts. Will likes to call them his "poindexter" shorts. His sandals are Sketchers.

After the morning with my family, we spent the afternoon with Will's family. We are getting ready for our Fourth of July Extravaganza. It's a big production, but a lot of fun. I can't wait till the actual festivities.

It was a pretty busy weekend and after the long day, we were in the mood for some Vietnamese food. The lemongrass vermicelli hit the spot! Of course I didn't make this meal, but I'll be back in the kitchen this week.

Emmet, to answer your question... I season my salmon with whatever seasonings I may have on hand, then I sear it on a griddle pan at medium heat for just a few seconds. Then I steam it for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how big my fish it). The meat should flake off easily when done.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by my corner of the web.

My last day before a "painful" journey

2009-06-24T22:37:00.004-05:00

Are you wondering what that painful journey is? I am getting braces (again for the second time in my life). Yes, I was one of those bad kids that didn't listen to the orthodontist or my mom and I didn't wear my retainer. Over the last couple of years, I have noticed that my teeth are shifting more and more. It has effected my bite and if I smile really big, my smile is crooked. It has also caused my jaw to lock/pop. So I am fulfilling one of my New Year's Resolutions and getting braces. I told myself that I would wait till after the wedding, and the time has come. Tomorrow I get my spacers in. The brackets won't be on till next week. Then I'll have 2 lovely years of tightening. Goodbye pearly whites, and hello brace face!

On to my outfit....

wrap dress - TJ Maxx

floral scarf/belt - Old Navy

peep toe pumps - Rack Room

For lunch and dinner, I had wild sockeye salmon (seared then steamed), steamed broccoli, and fresh cherries. The cherries are so good right now. I cooked while we were home for lunch and we had leftovers at dinner.

Today was a rest day for me. No swimming or gym today. Instead I took a sewing survival class. I know the basics of sewing on a machine, but I can't do it by hand to save me life. Now I can proudly say that I know how to properly sew a button, mend a tear, and hem my pants. This weekend I'm going to attempt to fix on of Will's shirts.

I hope everyone has a great day. I'd like to say hello to Jennifer, who I just got into contact with. I am so glad you found me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday's Green and Eating Out

2009-06-23T19:37:00.000-05:00

It's another green day. I have been obsessed with the color lately. I found this cute dress at Target (of course) while I was in East Texas. It was on clearance and it was just so cute on, I had to get it. I paired it with my fav pair of shoes. I found these lacy slingbacks a while back on clearance at DSW. Please ignore the work badge. I forgot to take it off when snapping my photo during my lunch break.

For the next month I don't have any trips so it's time for me to really push myself towards my new weight goal. I am going to try to lose about 6 lbs by August 1. This will put me in a new weight bracket and at my lowest (in a super long time). My plan is to continue to to eat aprox 1200 calories and burn about 2200 calories a day. I am switched up my cardio from spinning to swimming. I've already been swimming for the past couple of weeks. I got us some decent goggles and Will and I started doing laps. Trust me, we aren't the strongest swimmers, but even just 20 minutes in the pool is such a great all over body workout. Plus I get to stay cool in the water in 100 degree heat.

On my food, I've been cooking a lot lately, but there are some times where I too tired to cook or I'm meeting friends/family for meals. Here are a few of my Do and Don'ts when eating out.

Don't assume that the "low carb" item on the menu is the best bet. The picture below is of my "low carb grilled chicken plate" at my husband's favorite college eatery. I thought I was making the best menu choice until I got my plate. I guess it didn't say low calorie or low fat. I ate 1 chicken (yes, there are 2 under all the cheese and bacon) and the salad it came with.

We met a good friend for lunch and Will was craving Chinese food. Here, I made a great choice. I chose the brown rice, veggies and chicken in a light sauce, and the crab rangoon (OK so I shouldn't have had them). I ate 1/4 of the rice and 1/2 of the rest of the plate. I saved the remainder for lunch the next day. Will got my leftover rice.

This meal was a take-out meal. I went to a local grocery store and hit up their deli. I chose almond crusted tilapia, grilled asparagus, and whipped sweet potatoes. When I got home, I placed my meal on my small plate to make sure I don't go overboard on my portions. This was soooo good and I enjoyed the leftovers the next day.

That concludes my eating out ventures. I'll have a few home cooked meals for tomorrow. Thanks so much for stopping by and a big welcome to new readers. I'm off for a swim. Have a great night/day!

A Reader Recipe Request from Nina

2009-06-23T19:34:00.003-05:00

"Would you mind sharing your recipes to your homemade turkey meatloaf and Chinese Honey glazed chicken....YUM-O!" - Nina

Thanks Nina for stopping by. Here is my recipe!

Turkey Meatloaf

1 pkg of lean ground turkey
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1/2 c chopped mushrooms
1/4 c Ragu Light Pasta Sauce or Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies (if you like spice)
2 brown rice cakes crumbs (threw them in a processor)
2 egg whites

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients above. Lightly coat your loaf pan with oil and add mixture to the pan. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

Chinese Honey Glazed Chicken

1 pkg of skinless, boneless chicken thighs
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 c Bragg's Liquid Amino's (found in the Nature/Health Food section in your grocery store)
2 tbsp honey (you can add more to your liking
1 tbsp hosin sauce or oyster sauce ( found in the Asian Food section of your grocery store))
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place all ingredients in large ziploc bag and marinate the chicken for 4-5 hours.

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees. Pan sear each thigh aprox 4-5 minutes on each side, then place chicken in an oven proof baking dish. Place dish in the oven a bake for 20-25 minutes uncovered. The chicken should get a nice brown color.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoy the dishes. Please let me know how they turn out :-)

A Couple Of Outfits

2009-06-19T00:01:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post on my outfits the past couple of days. The past week has been seriously HOT here. We are now allowed to wear jeans all summer long at work, but I just can't bring myself to putting them on. So here I am in my colorful skirts.

This basic look is a white scoop from Express, the green skirt I sewed, Unisa tan pumps, and a beaded necklace won from a blogger challenge.

The top on this outfit isn't as "loud" as this photo makes it. It really is a gorgeous color. I tried to jazz it up with the red pleated skirt from Ann Taylor Loft. This outfit looked okay in the mirror, but now that I see it in a pic, I'm not too sure if I really like it. I originally had a long necklace, but swapped it out at the last minute for the brown baubles. I should have kept the long necklace on.

Sorry to keep this short. I'll be back tomorrow with my food for the week. I tried a new low-carb flour for some muffins and surprisingly they turned out great! Stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Sew Retro Thursday

2009-06-11T22:26:00.005-05:00

Do you remember when I was working on this dress? Well I finally put on the buttons. I didn't finish the belt, but I thought the simple white ribbon worked just as well. I like the retro feel this dress has. I think I may need to cinch in on the waist, but overall I'm pleased with it. I'll eventually finished the belt and the fabric flower. I was just itching to wear it. I had some other shoes on earlier in the day, but they were falling off my feet for some weird reason. So I threw the brown wedge peeps on. I have a few more sewing projects in the works. Now that the wedding is over, I'll have some time to work on them. Yay!

Lunch today was leftover chicken on top a a bed of mixed green lettuce and mushrooms with a light lime vinaigrette. Oh and a peach for dessert. The stats for this meal:

Protein - 38.2

Carbs - 16.6

Fat - 4.3

Total caloies - 260.5

Dinner was a Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meal recipe. I love turning on The Food Network when I come for lunch. I had just bought some ground turkey when I saw Rachel make some smokey beer burgers. I tried to find her recipe to link it up, but I can't seem to find the right one. I just remembered what I saw and improvised. My burger is basically 1 pkg ground turkey, 1 packet of dry onion soup mix, 1/4 cup of light beer, 4 oz smoked Gouda, paprika, and cumin. The flavor was awesome. I threw it on a piece of wheat toast, made a simple green salad with mushrooms, and some okra with a dash of Cajun seasonings. Here are the stats:

Protein - 33.9

Carbs - 18.4

Fat - 20.1 (yikes!)

Total calories - 397.9

My total calories for the day was 1227. Still no bodybugg. I figured I'll wait another week before wearing it again on a daily basis. I did workout though. I did 30 minutes with my trainer, and 30 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. I really wanted to swim, but I think I needed to give my body a rest.

So tomorrow (Friday), Will and I are off to Nacogdoches (East Texas) for the blueberry festival. I loooove blueberries and they have the best blueberries. I think I ate 15lbs of blueberries last year. Seriously! I have to admit, the festivals in smaller towns are really nice. The admission is free, they had free water, and free ice cream! In Houston, you cannot find that. They want to charge you for everything here. So even though I just got back from vacation, I'm off again for a little mini road trip. I love summer!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Feelin' Finnish

2009-06-10T18:54:00.004-05:00

This outfit reminds me of summer days in Finland. I have a dear friend in Finland and have been fortunate enough to visit her a few times. The summer days are long and everywhere you look, you can find the blue and white Finnish flag flying proudly. It's been a while since my last visit there and I guess I just wanted to feel "Finnish" today. Now if I just get some Fazer chocolate, I'd be a happy camper. Here are the details...

White short sleeve button up - Old Navy

Baby blue tank - Old Navy

Blue and white skirt - Talbots

Brown wedge peeps - Rack Room

No meal pics today. We're having leftovers for lunch and dinner. It's also a rest day for me. I may take a light swim tonight, but we'll see how much time I've got after a run to Target.

I hope you have a wonderful day! Kiitos (thank you) for stopping by!

Summer Work Look

2009-06-09T19:43:00.007-05:00

I guess summer is in full swing here. I thought I'd stay cool with this summer outfit...

Pink ribbon top - Anthropologie

Layered skirt - Target

Metallic heels - Target

Earrings - gifted by Jennifer

Getting back into the swing of things after 2 weeks of vacation is always tough. I was back at the gym right after I got back from Mexico, but we were still eating out a lot since we had nothing in the fridge. I just didn't get a chance to shop until yesterday. So finally today was my first full day of home cooking again. Here are my low-cal meals...

For lunch we had some leftover turkey meatloaf (topped with a tbsp of ketchup), mixed veggies, and a fresh peach.

Protein - 27.5

Carbs - 36.2

Fat - 8.2

Total calories - 311.6

For dinner we had some family over and I wanted to make an Asian inspired meal. I made a Chinese Honey Glazed Chicken, steamed bok choy, and brown jasmine rice mixed with chopped onions and mushrooms.

Protein - 25.2

Carbs - 52.6

Fat - 10

Total calories - 395.8

So far may total calories count is 1208 for the day. I haven't worn my bodybugg so I'm not sure what I'm burning, but I swam 20 minutes this morning, brisk walk for 30 minutes, and strength training with my trainer (she killed my legs today). So I think I did pretty well.

Oh and I wanted to let you know about my brother's new blog. Over the past couple of years, he's lost about 50+lbs. He's done a great job of maintaining and he still strives to lose more weight. The catch is that he travels for work a lot. He's come up with ways to stay active and eat healthy. Check out his blog on Travelin' Healthier!

Have a happy, healthy, and fab day!

The Perfect Wedding

2009-06-08T23:05:00.002-05:00

We truly had a wonderful wedding filled with love, laughter, and good tears. I'll always look at back as one of the happiest times of my life. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful husband, a loving family, and fabulous friends. I hope you enjoy the pics!

The wedding area is set up. We bought brown and green fans for our guest to create a little extra "ocean breeze"

My brother walked me down the aisle. Love you Doug!

I always knew I wasn't going to wear a traditional white dress, but I was kind of suprised when I came acrosse this chocolate brown dress. V, was the one who found it! As soon as I put it on, I knew it was perfect. Thank you V!

You may kiss the bride :-)

The Mariachi Band played during the ceremony. Loved them!

Holley was my maid of honor

Fun photos with out guest on the beach...

Me and the guys

Will and the lovely ladies (V is in middle blue dress)

Is this muscle beach or what???

Jump for joy!

Heading into the reception dinner

We had lobster and steak. Yum!

The trolley ride to the private reception room for dancing and cake

YMCA! You can't have a wedding without it

The beautiful cake. The bottom layer is chocolate and the top was white. Both had a wonderful mousse filling. So good!

Will doing his signature move: The Sprinkler!

Ending the great night with a little karaoke

Things not caught on film...

The tears - I was a mess with all my tears. We even had some beach goers in tears.
The bridal toss - We played Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies"
The garter toss - We played Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On"
The 1st dance - Chicago's "Your The Inspiration"... We had the whole crowd singing at the top of the lungs. It was priceless!
The Spotlight Dance - Everyone taking a turn showing off their best dance moves. Hilarious!

Thank you taking the time to check out my wedding photos. I hope you enjoyed them. I'll be back to my normal daily postings starting tomorrow.

Take care!

Living The Resort Life - The Resort

2009-06-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

Here is part 2 if my pictures... The Resorts. The resort complex we stayed at was The Iberostar Resort in Playa Paraiso, which is in The Riviera Maya (halfway between Cancun and Play del Carmen). The Iberostar complex has 5 resorts nest to each other. Depending on which resort you stay at determines how much access you have to the other resorts. We stayed within 3 of the higher end resorts. Here are some pictures from these resorts and a few fun pictures added in.

Iberostar Parasio Lindo
We planned our wedding at The Iberostar Parasio Lindo (which was the mid-range resort. It's very family friendly and a lot of activities. The big features were the lazy river, swim-up bar, and the wave pool. All of our guest took full advantage of all the pools! Here are pics of the Lindo.

The Entrance Walkway

The fountains at night

The Pools

Everyone enjoying the cool waters

The Iberostar Mayan

Actually The Mayan and Lindo share a lot of the same pools, but with the Mayan you have access to more private pools, the water spa, and more restaurants. The rooms have jacuzzi tubs and hammock swing chairs added to the rooms. All of our guest booked rooms at the Lindo, but we all got upgraded to the Mayan.

Our room at The Mayan

The Lobby

The Snake Bar

The Japanese restaurant

The Iberostar Grand

This is the deluxe of all the resorts. After a few of our guest left, Will and I moved to The Grand for a mini honeymoon. From the moment you walk in, it is truly impressive. There wasn't much walking around in the heat at this resort. Most of the resort was air conditioned which made walking around that much nicer. We had a butler, a feather bed (I really wanted to pack it up and take it home), incredible food, infinity salt water pools. They even had a pillow menu in case we didn't like the pillows we currently had in the room. If you are planning a romantic trip and don't want to be bothered with kids, I highly recommend this resort. It's a bit pricier, but well worth the money. Will and I cannot wait to go back to an anniversary.

The Lobby Bar

The Hallway

Our room (The bed was sooo comfy!)

Will lounging in our room.

The View

The Fitness Area (yes, I took a spin class)

Room Service

The Internet Room and Library

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Tomorrow I will have the actual wedding photos up. Sarah from Texas, I hope this answers your question. I highly recommend the resorts. If you have any other questions about it, let me know.

Take care!

Living The Resort Life - The Looks

2009-06-04T21:16:00.007-05:00

Hola! I'm back from a wonderful trip to the beautiful Riviera Maya in Mexico. The resort, the wedding, and the honeymoon was everything we hoped for. I have too many pics to post so I am going to break this down into different postings. This particular post will be a few daily outfit pics I managed to squeeze in during the trip. Enjoy!

My travel outfit: The whole outfit is from Target (except my handmade bag)

Getting ready to hit the pool and beach!

green top - Old Navy

Bermuda shorts - Bitten

sunglasses - Bitten

flip flops - Crocs

About to sweat it out in The Fitness Area

brown cover-up from Target

coral Eres swimsuit - gifted from Pat

Just strolling through the resort.

coral halter top - gifted from Anna

white shorts - Target

brown flat sandals - Target

Getting ready for dinner

cream hater - little shop in Mexico

green tri-color skirt - Old Navy

wedge sandals - Target

gold necklace - Target

Quick pose after dinner

checkered halter sundress - H&M

wedge sandals - Target

flower clip - made by me

Last Day Before Vacation

2009-05-21T23:14:00.003-05:00

My life the past few days have consist of the 3 W's... Work, Workouts, and Wedding. At least I can drop the work thing after Friday. I'm on vacation for 2 weeks! Yay!!!!!

So I am sorry I haven't really taken or uploaded any daily outfits, but I did manage to take a quick pic of myself before heading to the gym the other day. So here's my workout warrior look:

No make-up, hair pulled back in a ponytail and a headband, and my Bodybugg. The whole outfit was bought at Target. The shoes are Asics. I need a new pair badly. It's been over a year since I bought these. I am so bad about new tennis shoes. I'll buy a million and one pair of heels, but I always out off buying new workout shoes. Oh and I am obsessed with blue if you couldn't tell from this pic. Not pictured is my aqua blue water bottle and aqua blue iPod Shuffle.

In the food dept, this has been one of my favorite meals. It's called Marine Corp Mash. I sometimes get take out from a local healthy meal place, My Fit Foods. They have this meal and at first I had no interest in it. It just didn't look as appealing. Once I got brave enough to try it out, I loved it! So now I make it. It's a mixture of red quinoa, 96% lean beef, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, kidney beans, and a smidgen of 2% cheese. Lots of good protein! Paired with the MCM is a simple salad of spinach, avocado, and cucumbers in a balsamic spritz.

Lastly, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of my madness. Here are few wedding goodies that need to be organized and packed up for Mexico. Our colors are brown and green. I had some left over material from a purse I made, so I sewed a few goodie bags for my guests. I thought they turned out so cute. I think everything will come together and turn out great. Despite the big swine flu scare, we have about 35 people going to Mexico with us. I know we're all looking forward to some fun in the sun :-)

So this will probably be my last post till I get back. I'll post pics when I get back! I hope everyone is doing well. I can't wait to see all your fab pics when I get back. Take care!

Afternoon Tea

2009-05-15T23:52:00.002-05:00

I know it's been a while since my last post, but the past couple of weeks have been super busy. Thanks so much for being patient with me. I leave for Play del Carmen in a week and a half so time is jammed pack with wedding madness in the meantime. Between the wedding preparations and my workouts, I haven't had much time for my little blog and I miss reading my favorite blogs too. I feel like I've been missing out. So to somewhat catch up, I thought I'd post some pictures from a tea party (shower) my sister and cousin threw for me. It was at an adorable little place where we sampled a lot of different teas, scones, cucumber sandwiches, and other tasty treats. My sister really outdid herself. I know she did a lot to make sure it was a lovely event. Here are a few pictures...

Me and my sis!

BTW, I found this cute dress at Stein Mart!

My workouts and meals are still going strong. I hit my goal last month and I'm working on this month's goal. My wedding dress fits great! No sucking in or spanx required. I can breathe, eat, and sit comfortably. I know you ladies know what I'm talking about :-) So right now my trainer and I are mostly focusing on my arms and abs (lots of super sets!). Of course I'll still workout my whole body, but I'll concentrate on those areas more...

I hope to post sometime this week. My girlfriends are throwing me a slumber party shower Saturday night. I'm sure we'll have some fun pictures of the night. I may have to go out and find some cute pajamas to wear. Why do I feel like makeovers will be involved at some point?

I hope y'all have a great weekend! I'll be catching up on my blog reading this weekend.

Sunday Funday

2009-04-26T21:37:00.005-05:00

The heat is turning up in Houston and it seems like we're headed for the tropics... Well we just went to a cruise theme engagement party, hence the tropical background. Here was my tropical look...

Scoop neck top - Express

Multi-green skirt - Old Navy

T-strap sandals - Target

Gold necklace - Target

On Will:

Short sleeve button up - Old Navy

Khaki shorts - Foley's (he's had them a while)

sandals - Foley's

My good friends JC and Michelle had a wonderful engagement party today. Since they plan to have a cruise wedding, they turned her parents house into a cruise ship by the beach. We had a great time aboard The Love Boat :-)

At the party, my friends Michele and Laura were complimenting me on my skin and asked me to blog about it. So ladies, this is for you.... On my face, I use a glycolic moisturizer at night. This helps keep my face "exfoliated". During the day, I wear a different moisturizer (Studio Max) with an SPF built in. I treat my neck like my face and moisturize it twice a day. I refuse to get lines on my neck! I always wash my face before going to bed and in the morning. I drink a ton of water throughout the day and it really does help keep my skin hydrated. On my body, I exfoliate every few days. I like Mary Kay's Satin Hands Smoothie Scrub. Even though it's for hands, I use it on my entire body. I especially scrub my upper arms and they are always nice and smooth. I am a firm believer of putting lotion on within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower. It really does help keep in the moisture. My absolute favorite lotion is Archipelago's Soy Milk Lotion. You can find it at Ulta. I use it twice a day. That's really it. So ladies... moisturize and lotion up!

Well ladies, I may not be blogging as much as I would like to in the next month. I have a month until our wedding ceremony and I am starting to really feel the crunch! We have a lot we need to do in the next month. My workout schedule is also going into overdrive. My trainer and I are about to go from 30 minute sessions to hour sessions, plus whatever I do on my own. Like I said, I'm not going away completely, but you may be just getting a weekly blog during May.

Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's to a new week and month!

Floral Thursday

2009-04-23T22:25:00.005-05:00

Staying with my spring looks, here is another floral inspired outfit.

Short sleeve button-up - Express

Baby blue tank top - Old Navy

Brown/ Fuchsia floral skirt - Talbot's

Ribbon/pearl necklace - Francesca's

Pink Flower - Claire's

On Wednesday, I took a 1/2 day off and spent time with my mother. She needed to shop for the wedding so we hit a few stores. I found this fab skirt at Talbot's and I was able to take 60% the lowest price. Score! Even though we were mainly shopping for my mom, I got 2 skirts, 1 dress, and a fab pair of shoes for the wedding. Yay!

So I love the colors of this skirt. I kind of ran wild with it. I wanted a long necklace, but felt it was a little boring so I added the pink flower. The flower is actually for my hair. The bobby pin is just attached to the ribbon on the necklace.

The color coordination on the shoes and nail polish wasn't that intentional. I love these brown peeps and had a chuckle when I realized that my toes matched my outfit perfectly.

So no meal shots tonight. We had basically the same meal as the other night. Turkey meatloaf... Will loved it so much, he asked for it again. My girlfriend Lilly joined us for a healthy meal. We haven't really had some good quality time since her move back from Argentina. Thanks for coming to dinner Lilly! We'll definitely need to do it again.

I kind of had a lazy day at work and didn't get to walk during the day. I made it up at the gym though. I had a 30 minute workout with my trainer and then 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy weekend!

Spring Into Tuesday

2009-04-21T21:43:00.004-05:00

We are having gorgeous weather here and I thought it was a good day for a spring outfit. Here's my look...

Pink top - Target
Floral skirt - H&M
Nude peeps - DSW
3 strand faux pearls - Target

Unfortunately we do not have an H&M in Houston. What is up with that??? So all my H&M stuff comes from my travels. This particular skirt came from a store in Sweden (where H&M is originally from). It's like Starbucks there...there's one on every corner. My friend, Liberty and I hit up as many H&M's as we could while visiting. Man that was a great shopping day. H&M if you happen to stumble across this, PLEASE OPEN A STORE IN HOUSTON!!!

So on to my food. No pic for lunch since I had leftovers of my cilantro-lime chicken. Tabitha, to answer your question, the original recipe came from Pam at For The Love of Cooking. I like a

For dinner tonight I tried a modified meatloaf recipe. My husband loved it and I highly recommend it.

1 pkg of Turkey Store lean ground turkey
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 mushrooms diced
2 brown rice unsalted rice cakes (grounded in a processor or coffee bean grinder)
1 egg
1/4 c Ragu light spaghetti sauce

Mix all together. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I made 8 servings (to keep sodium levels decent). I served this meal with 1/2 cup garlic mashed sweet potatoes, and 1 cup green beans with chopped onions. This meal was 23 g of protein, 31 g of carbs, 9 g of fat and a total of 287 calories. Will topped his with ketchup, but I didn't think it needed it.

Tonight I did a 30 minute arm workout with my trainer. Tabitha, I feel you! I know you had an arm workout too. My arms will be hurting tomorrow. Then I did about 30 minutes on the treadmill. Burn baby burn!

So here is a look at my Austin pics. We went to Austin because my brother and his girlfriend did the MS150 bike ride from Houston to Austin. If you are interested in seeing more pics, click here.

Will and I in front of The Capitol

My brother's group coming through the finish line

The bats come out at night. This is the view from the Congress bridge.

Back From Austin and Facing Moday

2009-04-20T22:04:00.004-05:00

We got back from Austin a little late last night and boy was I exhausted today. Here is my sleepy Monday outfit...

Mint green top w/ ribbon trim - Anthropologie
Converse One Jeans - Target
Wedge round toe heels - Rack Room
Long strand necklace - Gifted by Lynette

I should have taken a picture of this top from the side. It has a great ribbon detail going down the side of the top. I've had it for a while, but I haven't worn it because I shrank it a bit and it was too snug. Yay, it fits again :-)

I didn't do too bad with my food while I was in Austin, but I wasn't as strict on myself either. It's really hard to be good when you're out of town. Well today was back to eating right. Lunch consist of tilapia, a spinach and mushroom salad, and 1/2 of a Power Crunch bar for dessert. The stats are...53 g of protein, 6 g of carbs, 12 g of fat, and a total of 340 calories.

Dinner was super yummy...3.5 oz of cilantro-lime chicken, spinach salad w/ 1.5 oz of avocado, and a blabk bean mash. Dinner was 40 g protein, 17g carbs, 14 g of fat, and a total of 353 calories.

My workout was intense tonight. I did 30 minutes strength training with my trainer and then an hour of spin class. I was drenched after the gym. I burned aprox 542 calories tonight.
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'll post my Austin pics soon. Have a healthy and fabulous day!

Palm Thursday

2009-04-16T20:12:00.004-05:00

Since I only have 3 pairs of jeans that fit right now, my jeans week at work got cut short. So here I am in my Palm Thursday outfit. Here are the details...

Brown top - Anthropologie

Palm print skirt - The Gap

Beaded necklace - Target

Brown peeps - Ross

I love this skirt. I've had it for a couple of years now. I was looking at more closely and realized that I can probably make it. Hmmm... So speaking of sewing, that is the reason why I didn't blog yesterday. I was consumed with my little dress project, but I'm pretty much done with it...well kind of. I have just a few finishing touches. It fits me fine, but I think I made the collar to high so I am now debating about redoing the top of the dress. I hate to pull it apart, but I'm not sure I'll be satisfied if I leave it. Here's a preview...

Today my hubby was in the mood for some pasta instead of the fish I had planned. Somehow I was able to whip up some turkey spaghetti in 20 minutes. Since I am concentrating on my training and diet, Will got the whole wheat spaghetti and I had just the turkey spaghetti sauce with a spinach side salad. Add my 1/2 of a Power Crunch Bar for dessert and this meal was 32 g of protein, 23 g of carbs, 14 g of fat and a grand total of 335 calories. We also had the same meal for dinner, we just changed up the veggies.
Today's workout was with my trainer. Her goal was to keep my heart rate up and she sure did. My body will welcome the rest this weekend. Here are my stats...
I'm off to Austin for the weekend. Hopefully the weather won't be too awful for a few bluebonnet snapshots. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

A Smokin' Tuesday

2009-04-14T23:08:00.004-05:00

OK so I guess I should explain my title to this post. Basically a load of firemen just left our place. As I was syncing up my Bodybugg and loading my daily pics, I notice a smell of burnt rice. When I went to tell my husband, I noticed the smell was coming from the guest bathroom/laundry room. I opened the bathroom door and noticed the smell was really strong and there was a haze. I started yelling for my husband and we both notice the smoke coming out of the bathroom. It wasn't billows of smoke, but you could definitely see it. Well, I grabbed my purse and called 911. The fire guys were at our place in no time. There were a ton of them. I think 2 trucks came out. I never had so many guys in our place. Well after checking it all out, it was our faulty washer/dryer (which is only 6 months old). They disconnected everything and now all my clean clothes that were hanging to dry, now smell like smoke. I guess I'd rather have smokey smelling clothes than burnt ones right? Yes, I'm thankful that everything turned out okay. Well be making use of that warranty tomorrow.

Okay so on to the clean clothes I wore today... We having a casual week at work so we are allowed to wear jeans the entire week. Here was my casual look...

The jacket, tank, and jeans all came from Target. The flat peeps are Steve Madden bought at DSW, and the necklace is from NY & Co. My jeans were fresh out of the now-broken dryer and was fitting good when I put them on. By the end of the day, I wish I had a belt on. I felt like I was always pulling up my pants. Gotta love strectch jeans...

Today's lunch was pretty thrown together. I didn't have anything planned so I had to work with what I had. I cooked up some tuna with onions, garlic, broccoli, and green peas. I thought the combo was pretty tasty. I paired it with black beans, and small slices of orange bell pepper. I even had 1/2 of a peanut butter Power Crunch Bar for dessert. Total for everything is 39 g protein, 35 g of carbs, 11 g of fat and a total of 395 calories.

Dinner was a simple spinach salad with a egg white, boiled spinach with garlic, and 2.5 oz of chicken breast topped with onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Why the overload in spinach? I bought a big bag at Costco and trying to get through it. Here are the stats for this meal... 31 g of protein, 8 g of carbs, 3 g of fat and a total of 189 calories

It was a cardio day for me. I went to Tuesday night spin class and got a great burn (394 calories). I use the Bodybugg that calculates my calories burned, but if you want an idea of how many you are burning, here's a calculator that might help you get an idea.

I hope everyone has a fab and smoke-free day!

Food For Thought

2009-04-13T21:25:00.003-05:00

First of all, Happy Belated Easter! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I spent the evening with my family and dying some eggs. I'll be having colorful eggs all week long!

So since my daily outfit picture was all weird because of too much sun, I nixed it. I took it in the afternoon instead of the morning...bad idea. It was kind of a boring casual outfit anyways so you weren't missing much. So since I don't have an outfit pic, I thought I answer Candice's question about my diet.

Last year, when I lost the bulk of my weight, I was pretty religious with my diet. I started out losing 1.5 lbs a week by eating 1450 calroies a day. I was kind of just eating whatever I wanted as long as I stayed within 1450 calories and working out 5 days a week. Then I got a little more serious and started pushing myself harder. I consulted with my trainer and we made some adjustments to my eating habits and my caloies. I stayed within a range of 1200 - 1300 calories a day and continued to worked out 5 days a week. Doing that allowed me to lose 2lbs a week slowly. Once the holidays came around, I started baking more and I just wasn't conscious of what I ate on a daily basis. So fast forward to today and I am back on track. I had my checkpoint weigh in on Friday and I am very happy to report that I am losing 2 lbs a week. So how am I doing this? Well last year my trainer gave me a couple of meal plans to use as a guideline. Like I've said before, I try to eat 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% of fat within 1200 calories. I take a multi-vitamin, fish oil supplement, and a green tea supplement. I suggest finding a program online that allows you to log your food and that also breaks down the percentage of protein, carbs, and fat so you know where you stand throughout the day. Here are a few tips that get me through the day...

Breakfast - I always have breakfast. I am starving by the time I get up so I make sure I eat and get my metabolism going. Here is my breakfast of champions (I have this almost everyday).

1 cup of cooked oatmeal (not the instant packets, I buy the huge canister and measure it out)

3 tsp of raisins

1 packet of Splenda (or sweetener of your choice)

dash of cinnamon

2 hard boiled egg whites.

Lunch and Dinner - I always cook my dinners so I have leftover for lunch the next day. I always make sure I have a balance of protein and carbs. I tend to eat more carbs at lunch and try to have mostly veggies with my protein at dinner. I basically eat anywhere from 2.5 oz - 3 oz of lean protein (chicken breast, turkey, fish), 1-2 cups of veggies. At lunch I like to have red potatoes, sweet potatoes or black beans. I usually mash or boil them. I try to go light with any seasoning.

Snacks! - I have a mid morning, afternoon, and after dinner snack. My mid morning and afternoon snacks are usually protein shakes. Sometimes I mix it up and have 2 oz of chicken breast, or a couple of hard boiled egg whites. Late night or after a major workout, I may have a protein bar or cookie. It kind of gives me the feeling of having a treat or dessert. Sometimes I have a small cup of lowfat yogurt (about 60 calories).

So that's basically my daily food. I know it's tough to always prepare meals and sometime we go out. I found a few places around Houston that have items on there menu that I can have. I always try to go to those places or I grab a few meals on the go from a local healthy joint. Below is My Fit Food's Turkey Chili.
So I hope this info helps. If you are looking for more info, just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Here was my food and activity for the day... Have a great and healthy day! I'll be back with a fab outfit tomorrow :-)

Thursday/Friday And Flushing The Salt

2009-04-09T22:03:00.004-05:00

Since our office is closed for Good Friday, Thursday was my Friday. This meant another jeans day. So here's my very casual office look....

Merona pink top - Target

white tank - Old Navy

Converse One jeans - Target

Tan wedge heels - Rack Room

Turquoise beaded necklace - gifted by my sister

I love this top, but I don't think it loves me. It always fits great when I first put it on in the morning, but as the day wears on, the shoulders start to stretch out from moving around and next thing you know, I am constantly pulling it back up. I hate fighting with my clothes all day. I may need to just give this top up. I've had it for a couple of years now so I guess it's had a good run.

After a slight splurge in crawfish yesterday, I woke up today feeling bloated from all the salt and seasonings. Even though I ate within my calorie limits and my protein level was great, the sodium in those tasty little suckers was crazy high. I really felt it in my fingers and tummy. Yuck! With tomorrow being my checkpoint weigh-in, I needed to make sure I ate pretty clean and drank a ton of water to help flush out the salt. Here's how I did some damage control...

Lunch - Since I didn't cook last night, I didn't have anything prepared for lunch. I made a "fast food" stop at my favorite healthy joints, My Fit Foods. I grabbed an Atlantic Salmon Meal complete with quinoa and broccoli. This meal was 35 g of protein, 26 of carbs, and 12 g of fat and a total of 360 calories. Delicious!!!

Dinner - Here's what I cooked tonight... 3oz chicken breast on top a spinach salad (1 oz spinach, 1 oz cucumber, 1 oz orange bell pepper with a few spritz of Wishbone Balsamic Spray), 3 oz of mashed sweet potato, 7 roasted grape tomatoes with a sprinkle of basil. This meal was 30 g of protein, 29 g of carbs, and 9 g of fat, and a total of 321 calories and no salt!

All in all, I did really well with my food. The trick is to try to eat 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat within 1200 calories. Today's grand total of 1212 calories brought me at 39% protein, 38%, carbs, and 23% fat. Pretty darn close to my target. Here's the activity for today... little walking at lunch and about 45 minutes of strength training with my trainer.

Wish me luck on my checkpoint weigh-in! I'll let you know how it goes. Happy and healthy Friday everyone!

Wednesday April 7

2009-04-08T22:26:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to have another day of beautiful weather. Short sleeves and a cute skirt was definitely in order today. Here's my look:

Purple top - Old Navy

Grey/brown/ black scarf belted - Old Navy

Super cute layered skirt - gifted by my mother-in-law

Shoes and necklace are also great Target buys

I loooove this skirt. Will's mom gave it to me for my birthday and it's definitely my new favorite skirt. Now if I can just figure out how to sew it... Speaking of sewing, I was shopping in Target the other day and saw this bag. After close inspection, I realized it's the same pattern as my birdie sling. Even the pockets on the inside are laid out exactly like the pattern. I still think mine is way cuter esp since mine is made of 10% extra love.

Today is usually a "rest" day for me, but since the weather was so nice, I did a little walking to keep me going. I needed some fabric for a dress I'm making and for a few bags for Will. Instead of driving, I decided to walk. The distance was fine and all, but I have to admit, I wasn't all that crazy about crossing under a busy freeway at rush hour. Oh well, we made there just fine and I got some great fabric. I can't wait to show you my new dress :-)

I had leftovers at lunch and crawfish for dinner tonight, so no meal shots. Here's how I did in my food/physical activity comparison.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy day. Thursday is my Friday! Woo-hoo!

Hey Stranger! Long Time No See.

2009-04-07T21:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the absence. We had a family emergency recently and even though everyone is okay, life just get turned upside down for a bit. This week we are catching up and working on the wedding. I may not blog as often as I like, but I'll still be around. Thank you to all your sweet comments. I hope you all have been doing well.

Okay back to blog business! Here was today simplistic outfit.

Velvet red scoop neck - Anthropologie

Black wide belt - Dots

Merona black skirt - Target

Red Dotted slingbacks - DSW

Silver dangle earrings - gifted by Will

So a couple of weeks ago I had a weigh in and measurement check with my trainer. It had been over a month since my last one. I kind of knew it wasn't going to be good because I was baking a lot recently. After my birthday, I also became a fan of TCBY's $0.99 waffle cone Wednesday. Well I was right, it was so not good. My trainer has challenged me to lose 2 lbs a week (total of 8) by April 30. So I've got my butt and mind in gear which was a huge challenge with the stress we had lately. I decided to cut all added sugars and am trying to go back to balancing my diet to 40% protein, 40% fat. So far I am on track. I'll have a mini weigh in with my trainer at the end of the week and will discuss my game plan. Wish me luck!

Here was my lovely and colorful dinner tonight.

Extra lean turkey burger with spinach sauteed onions and garlic, topped with sliced cherry tomato

mashed sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of garlic seasoning and pepper

small serving of spinach salad

Total calories for this meal: 350

Here was today's activity: walking at lunch and spin class took me over my goal at my last sync at 9pm.

Thanks again for being patient with me. Have a happy day!

Bright Colors for Foggy Mornings

2009-03-19T19:38:00.005-05:00

Thursday's outfit
I hate foggy mornings. I feel like I have to tweak my pictures to get some color in them. I had a presentation to make at work today so I wanted to wear something with a little vibrancy for such a foggy blah morning. Here's my look...

Short sleeve jacket - Target

Green sleeveless top - Banana Republic

My fav pencil skirt - Anthropologie

Skinny belt - Macy's

black peep pumps - Rack Room

Wednesday's outfit

Another presentation and another foggy morning. I had my pink on to brighten up my morning. At least the sun is shining by the afternoon. Here are the details...

Pink top - Target

Polka dotted skirt - Ann Taylor Loft

Skinny belt and shoes are the same as above.

Celebrating A Lovely Birthday On Monday

2009-03-16T23:38:00.004-05:00

I turned 36 years old today. Time sure does fly when you're having fun! I usually celebrate my birthday with a big party, but this year I decided to keep it low key. Will and I took the day off from work and had a relaxing and lovely day together. Here's what I wore...

Purple top - Target

Jeans - Target

Purple shoes - Target

Scarf - Old Navy

My new yellow bag- TJ Maxx

It was such a nice lazy day. Will and I slept in, went to Berryhill's for lunch (met with our friends Melissa and Larry), went to the movies, had coffee and chatted, took a nice nap, and then ended the day with crawfish for dinner. To top things off, the weather was gorgeous. It was everything I wanted...quality time with my honey :-) Since there are 4 birthdays in a span of a month in my circle of friends, we decided to wait to do an all in one birthday in April. So we'll all be celebrating with a big BBQ in April.

With the wedding in Mexico right around the corner, my super sweet friend, Pete, sent be some fab swimsuits all the way from Paris, France! She sent me 2 Eres swimsuits that are so gorgeous. No I won't be modeling them for you, but here's a look at one of them.

This is the same style as one of the suits, but it's in a pale sea blue color. The other suit is a scoop neck with rings on both straps and in a beautiful coral color. I absolutely love the swimsuits. Thank you so much Pete for thinking of me and for picking such beautiful suits. I know they will be with me for years.

Well it's been a good 36 years. I am very thankful for the wonderful people and incredible experiences in my life. I look forward to many more years of health and happiness!

Have a great day!

Back Into Action Tuesday

2009-03-10T20:52:00.005-05:00

Here I am...fresh face and ready to take on the day. Here's today's outfit...

brown top - Anthropologie

corduroy skirt - H&M

brown peeps - Ross

Brown necklace - Target

bag - made by me

Spring is right around the corner and I've decided that it's time to lift the shopping ban. Just in case you wanted to join me in a little spring shopping, here are some coupons to take advantage of...

Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy - 30% off everything, multi-use coupon and they give 5% of the amount you spend to Feed America

Dots - $10 off a $30 purchase

JoAnn Fabrics - In case you want to make your next outfit or accessory, here is their coupon commotion

And if you are wanting to have a movie night at home tomorrow, check out Redbox's blog for a free movie rental code. The code will be posted on Wednesday and good for only that day. Enjoy!

I've been slacking on logging my food lately. Not sure what my deal is, but I need to get back on track. I must have been lacking iron in my diet because I really wanted beef and spinach, so here's what I ended up with for lunch.

This fajita salad + 3 oz of fresh raspberries for dessert was a total of 292 calories.

Here's how I did on the activity level. I didn't walk to work today so got my workout at the park. I walked for a mile and jogged for about 2 miles. The 54 minute loop around the park burned 456 calories. While the weather is nice and the humidity is tolerable, I am going to try to do 3 miles twice a week. Tomorrow is a rest day, but a walk to work is a must...

I hope everyone is having a happy and healthy day! Thanks for coming by :-)

Reader Question From Teri

2009-03-10T01:20:00.004-05:00

Teri asks...

Hi Hillary ... I love your style, especially the skirts you make. What pattern is that and does it have a zipper? I'd like to try my hand at making one for myself. Thanks! Teri

Hi Teri! Thanks so much for reading my blog and your sweet words. Sorry it took a few days to answer your question... I just started sewing last December and I took a sewing class called "Sewing A Simple Skirt." We didn't use a store bought pattern. We were told to bring a skirt that fit us well to class. I chose a straight skirt. We made our own patterns out of paper grocery bags and in one afternoon I sewed the simple skirt (elastic waist, no zippers or darts). Since that class, I have made 2 other skirts (here and here). I also helped a couple of friends sew their skirts. I'll be testing the zipper waters very soon and hopefully they will turn out just fine.

Here is a link on how to sew a simple skirt. It's pretty much the same instructions I had in class. Or you can check out Jessica's blog at What I Wore. She is conducting an online sewing class. Her skirt has pleats, a zipper, and pockets. I'm also following along. Good luck Teri! If you sew a skirt, let me know. I would love to see it!

I will be back with my daily outfit tomorrow and a Bodybugg screenshot. I haven't been posting those in a while and need to get back on track... I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Plain Jane Thursday

2009-03-05T21:47:00.002-06:00

There really isn't much to this outfit. It was a rushed morning (again). I found this dress in my closet and decided to keep it simple. The great news about this dress is that I fit it. I bought it a few years ago from The Limited. It was one of those super-duper great deals (except for the fact that it was just a tad too snug). I bought it thinking I would lose 5lbs and it'll fit perfectly. Wrong!!! After I bought it, I gained a few pounds...well okay, a lot of pounds. Then the dress took up a permanent residence in the closet until today. I think it was happy to see the day of light :-)

I hope you had a great Thursday. Friday is around the bend. Yay!

Wednesday's March Madness

2009-03-04T22:57:00.007-06:00

I really love this time of year. We mostly have 2 seasons here...summer and winter (if you call it that). For a small window of time, we have just awesome spring weather and you just want to be outside. Today was one of those days. Here is I dressed for the pretty day...

Wrap top - Charlotte Russe
Toile skirt - made by me
lacey slingbacks - DSW
necklace - Target

March is my favorite month for several reasons.

The weather is fab. Not too cold, not too hot and the sun is usually out.
My birthday is in March. Even though I'm not totally excited about getting older at the same time, I look forward to another year of celebrating a good life with family and friends.
Daylight savings. Can I jam more into my day?
Crawfish season!!! - I love me some crawfish! Tonight was my first taste this season and it was ohhhh so good!

The crawfish below is from one of my favorite places in Houston....Cajun Kitchen. It's kind of a an Asian Cajun fusion. They load their crawfish with tons of garlic and other fab seasonings. Their shrimp fried rice has fantastic Cajun spices. We met up with my brother for dinner. Good food and good company...boy was I a happy camper tonight! I love the month of March!

Tuesday's Simple Look

2009-03-03T21:52:00.004-06:00

The cool air came through yesterday and stayed. This long cardi was enough to get me through the walk this morning. Here's my simple look...

Brown sleeveless cowl neck - JCP

Long green cardi - Costco

Grey pants - Steve & Barry's

Shoes and necklace - Target

Of course I have my lovely bed head look again today. I still haven't decided what to do with my hair. Growing out, cutting, bangs, no bangs... I guess right now I'll just live with bed head till I figure it out.

A huge shout out to my girl, Holley! Not only did she do abs and bike with me yesterday, she walked/jogged 3 miles with me today. Awesomeness!

Wishing you guys happy workouts and great hair days!

Weekend Recap

2009-03-02T22:54:00.004-06:00

I didn't make it into work on Monday so here was Friday's casual outfit.

Jacket, jeans, and shoes are all Target. The white top is Old Navy. I knotted the ties like a man's tie and let them hang low. I actually liked how it turned out in contrast with the black jacket.

The weekend was jammed packed, but it was a great weekend. First up was a 5K Houston Rodeo Run. I've done a couple of 5K's in the past, but I always walked them. I tried to run outside this week, but it was really tough on me and I was worried I wasn't going to be able to run the whole race. I am very happy to report that I was able to jog the entire thing. With my friend, Liberty, we paced ourselves and got through the 3 miles in 40 minutes. I was so overwhelmed with emotion in the end. I was always the girl who hated being outside and jogging. Who knew that the two together would bring me such joy. This definitely makes me strive to run outside more. Thanks again Liberty for being by my side and entertaining me throughout our run. Thank you Monica for pushing me on that treadmill and encouraging me to get out there. I also wanted to give shout out to Sheila, whose story is also very inspirational and one I keep in the back of my mind when I'm pushing myself to jog a little further.

Here I am (with no make-up) right before the run.

After the 5K, I had a sewing class. We were making the Amy Butler Birdie Sling. It's a big bag and I intended to use mine as a summer travel bag. I love how this bag turned out! It's a great size and I can see myself using it as my summer purse. I am still a beginner sewer so it was easy enough for me to do it, but it also taught me a few tricks (like pleats). I am now making one for my sister. Thank you Sarah for all your guidance! I love your classes!

Inside has one big pocket and two smaller, but deep pockets.

Last but not least, I made a cake for my nephew's 3rd birthday. He loves Thomas The Train so I went with that. I baked a 1/4 sheet cake and carved the "3". The trees are sugar cones that I iced leaves on. The rocks are chocolate covered (bought those). Of course the toy train was part of our birthday gift to him. Since I carved a lot of the cake out, I was worried we wouldn't have enough cake for all the kids and their parents, so I whipped up some lemon cupcakes and added Sponge Bob toppers on them (another of my nephew's favorites right now). I really liked how it turned out. I know my nephew and my sister loved it. Sending a big Happy Birthday to my nephew and dad!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a fab day!

Another Beautiful Thursday

2009-02-26T21:11:00.003-06:00

Another beautiful day, another springy outfit. Actually it seemed close to summer today. It got up to 80 degrees. This outfit was perfect and wasn't too stuffy on the walk to work. Here are the details...

Pink short sleeve - Target
Brown skirt - Talbots
Faux snakeskin pumps - Rack Room
Beaded necklace - prize from a blogger challenge

Tomorrow is going to be hotter, but it's a jeans day. I know Will wants to take the scooter to work so I won't have to worry about walking in the heat too long.

Tonight I had a good workout, but I failed when it came to dinner. We were at Costco buying organic chicken and fish, but then what do we do??? We ate hot dogs for dinner. It's $1.50 for a hot dog and soda at Costco. I didn't have the soda, but the hot dog was pretty tasty. Sorry Monica (trainer)! I know you are reading this and shaking your head.

I opted to eat something quick because I had to get to Michael's for some cake decorating tools. I have to prepare a pattern and plan for my nephew's cake. It takes days for me to actually do a cake. You see, I watched a lot of episodes of Ace of Cakes and figured I wanted to decorate a crazy cake too. I took some classes and practiced, practiced, practiced... Here are some of the cakes I've done. I think I have Crafty ADD? Is there a support group I should join?

I hope everyone had a great Thursday. TGIF!!!

Spring Like Wednesday

2009-02-25T18:36:00.004-06:00

It was 68 degrees this morning so I thought I'd dress a little springish. Here was my spring like outfit...

Navy Blue top - The Gap

Green skirt - made by me

Gold necklace - Target

Unisa tan pumps - Off 5th Saks

I realized after looking at this photo that I need some earrings when I have my hair pulled back. I always have such an issue wearing earrings and a necklace. I don't know why I feel like I have too much on, but I do.

Tonight I can relax. Yay! We grabbed a few meals from My Fit Foods so I don't have to cook tonight, but we are still eating healthy. I have a huge weekend ahead of me so I'm glad I have this time to relax and regroup.

This weekend I have:

a 5K fun run - I've been trying to run outside to prepare for this - so tough when you're used to an indoor treadmill.
a sewing class - I am making this to use as a summer travel bag.
to make a Thomas The Train cake for my nephew's 3rd birthday.

Let's hope I survive! I hope everyone had a fabulous day!

Dress and Dash Tuesday

2009-02-24T23:38:00.004-06:00

Whew! Life has been hectic these past few days. Thank you to all those who sent me well wishes. I got a lot accomplished and I am so happy with the decisions that were made the past few weeks and days. I will be creating a separate blog for future wedding planning and craziness for those interested in reading.

Now on to my happy little everyday life blog... Today's outfit is a Hillary Dress and Dash outfit. Yes, I was trying to snooze those extra few minutes this morning so I needed something I could just throw on. Viola! Here are the details...
Green dress - Ross
Purple suede belt - Target
Gold necklace - NY & Co
Maripe peeps - Rack Room

I love this color combo. I'm very happy to report that I had to create another notch on the belt to tighten it up. I also had to tighten up my Bodybugg strap on my upper arm (yes, I am still wearing it you just can't see it under my clothes). Now my hair is another thing. I seriously need to decide if I am going to keep it short or not. Any suggestions? I have been though a million and one haircuts and not afraid of change, but keep in mind I have a wedding in May. Maybe I'll dig around for pics and post some up to see what y'all think.

So since my absence here, I didn't really take daily outfit pics. I just took some random pics. Here are a few I thought I'd share...

For Valentine's Day this year, my honey surprised with with a quadruple date with a few close friends. We had a lovely dinner and the guys took us to see the National Acrobats of China. It was a fantastic show. Will was on the edge of his seat because he was so nervous for those acrobats.

On the same night, two of my closest friends got engaged. I'm proud to say that I had a hand in getting these two together. This was definitely a night to remember.

I got some sweet and fun goodies from Will's mom. Aren't those heart shaped measuring spoons fab? My mother-in-law is too sweet and so thoughtful!

Finally after all the festivities, I had time to enjoy the large cafe latte. I feel like Alice In Wonderland with this cup. It was a great place for brunch though. The owners of the cafe also own a nursery (pictured behind me). It's so nice to take a stroll among the fresh flowers and plants after a lovely meal.

I should be back on track with my daily postings. I hope everyone is doing well and looking fab! Thanks for stopping by!

Gone For A Bit

2009-02-19T12:27:00.002-06:00

Hey guys! So sorry for the absence. I've been swamped this week with wedding stuff. For those confused, Will and I just got married in October at the JP, but have been planning an actual wedding ceremony in Mexico in May. Well for all these past months, I have been slacking. Mexico is right around the corner and I need to devote a little time to the plans. So I will be back next week when I get some decisions made and plans into action.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!