Finally Friday.

 

Nothing like a four-month hiatus. Let’s call it summer break and then some. Mmmmk?

All I have to say for this week is that thank goodness it’s Friday. There was a spider in my car (which is NOT ok on so many levels), I spilled nail polish all over my comforter and duvet, Eleanor has been fighting a stomach bug and simultaneously fighting sleep… which means we’re ALL fighting sleep.

With that said, this weekend should be pretty low-key (which I’m very thankful for). The only real thing on the agenda is a birthday dinner which will be delicious. I’m hoping we’ll get out for some walks in this wonderful fall weather and just get caught up on life (re: dishes and basement organization, #adulting). I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Here are my finds from around the interwebs:

Can I just tell you that it’s not often that I find myself totally enamored with something. In this case, that something is Real Talk Radio. I’ve enjoyed every. single. episode I’ve listened to and can’t recommend it highly enough. Its long form format digs deep and keeps things real  (hence the name). Download it. You won’t be sorry.

I’m not sure I would have categorized myself as a “highly sensitive person”… but after reading this list of things a highly sensitive person needs it must be true. I really resonated with #4, 6 and 10!

Have you heard of the 16 Personalities personality test? It is hands-down the most accurate personality test I’ve ever taken. When I was reading the description I had to really consider if someone had taken up post inside my mind. Take it and let me know if it’s as accurate for you as it was for me.

Being a Mom is hard and wonderful and the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in how motherhood is affecting me that I forget that it’s hard for them too.

Chrome is my browser of choice… Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari are {mostly} dead to me. With that said, it would be hard to make me love it more, but these Chrome life hacks may have done the trick.

A couple of months ago I had an EPIC craving for something asian. We were at the height of Eleanor’s food allergies which meant I couldn’t eat anything delicious. I stumbled across this pad thai recipe and we’ve been making it a couple of times per month since. It’s easy, delicious and just so happens to be gluten, dairy and soy free!

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Finally Friday.

It’s Friday! Hooray!

This was my third week of work and things feel like they may be starting to settle into a bit of a grove. I’m enjoying the challenge of working but also enjoying the benefit of being home with sweet Eleanor at the same time. I love it when life feels like it’s falling into place (at least sort of).

There’s nothing officially planned for this weekend so we’re just going to wing it! The weather is supposed to be in the 70’s (whaaaat?) and I plan on enjoying every darn minute of it. Eleanor better get ready for some long walks because I’m going to make it happen!

Hope you have a great one and enjoy my finds from around the interwebs:

Have you seen the shampoo prank video? I might be the last person on the internet to see it, but I couldn’t stop laughing. If you need a bit of a pick me up, this will certainly do the trick.

I’m not sure I can adequately express my love for this French Vinaigrette recipe. It’s simple, delicious and turns regular old lettuce into something you’ll crave every. single. day. Make it, now. You won’t regret it.

The last time I bought shoes that weren’t tennis shoes was… um… a very long time ago. I’m talking years here. That’s why nobody is more surprised than me that I can’t stop thinking about these sandals for summer. It’s March which means it’s almost summer and I can wear sandals, right?

Every time someone brings up Donald Trump or I catch a glimpse of that terrible haircut, I feel mildly nauseous. This post by Max Lucado on Decency For President really struck a cord with me. And, while we’re on that note, Cape Breton making it easy to move there if ‘ol Donald is elected.

Would you ever try making your own watercolors? This video makes it look so easy (damn you Facebook videos) that I sort of, kind of, maybe want to try it.

If you’ve ever talked to me about maternity leave or anything having to do with that, you know that it makes me incredibly angry. INCREDIBLY ANGRY. I couldn’t help but relate to this article and I totally agree that “Having It All Kind Of Sucks“.

I know so many people that are pregnant… which means they’ll be needed a name for that little bebe. This baby name app is tops and I’m thinking it might have saved us from the naming conundrum we found ourselves in. I’m book marking this for baby #2.

Hope you have a good one!

Finally Friday.

It’s Friday!! And, it’s been just under two years since I did a finally friday post. Whhaaaaaat?!? How in the world has it been that long? When I dug back through my past posts I was certain that it would have only been a year, but nope, it’s been two. Crazy!

This was my last full week-ish of maternity leave and I spent it feeling anxious about the dreaded return to work. We have a pretty low-key weekend planned and I’m going to do my best to enjoy every last second that I have with my little lady before I don’t get to see her every second of every day.

Here are a few of my favorite finds from around the web – some new, some not so new:

I’m still just the teensiest bit obsessed with pregnancy, birth and babies — I’m not sure this obsession will ever end… which is why I DEVOURED this article. Two moms, two pregnancies, two babies at the same time. And, I thought one was hard. Holy Smokes!

I’m going to be 30 this year. In my mind that’s an age where you have your shit together… it’s an age where you’re really a grownup and not just pretending to be one. Turns out, I don’t feel like I’m about to be 30 and I certainly don’t feel like a grown up. Maybe these 50 healthy habits for women will help me get it together? I already do #’s 27 and 32, but need to be better at 45 and 48.

Little E has food allergies so I’ve been off a number of foods since before Christmas (that’s right, I had to forgo all the holiday deliciousness and you better believe that I cried about it more than once. Let’s blame it on postpartum hormones and not my overindulgent love of rum cake, mmmk?). In my efforts to find delicious foods that fit into my limitations, I came across this dark chocolate coconut oil fudge recipe. It looks delicious, which means I’m going to have to make it ASAP.

Since dairy is one of the food categories I’ve been avoiding, real pizza is right at the top of the list of foods I’m craving. Do you think this adorable sweatshirt would suffice until I can be reunited with a cheesy slice of pepperoni?

I happen to be someone who really, REALLY enjoys free stuff. I especially enjoy it when it is quality free stuff. Are you a free stuff lover too? If so, this list of 12 of the best free products on the internet will make your little heart flutter with joy.

I love food. In college, long before the food network was as popular as it is today, I would watch it for hours and hours on end. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why this article appealed to me so much. I first read about this man’s encounter with Jacques Pépin last summer and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

That’s a wrap! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

Finally Friday.

Whoa there. Friday? Are you sure it’s Friday? I was pretty convinced that yesterday was Friday and that didn’t turn out, at all, the way I had hoped. Not at all. 

You can, then, understand why I’m a little less enthusiastic about “this” Friday. Turns out having two “Fridays” in a row makes it feel just the tiniest bit less special. Also, I was probably spoiled from the 3-day President’s Day weekend and subsequent 4-day work week last week. Back to a full five days feels like some sort of  joke!

Anyways. Enough about that.

This week had all kinds of good packed in. Here’s a glimpse, via list-form:

1.) Denver Restaurant Week — we tried Vesta Dipping Grill & Oceanaire, have you ever been to either?
2.) Nuggets Game — they lost to the Trailblazers… it was a fun game, but seems to be the story of the season.
3.) Crossift — I can’t fully straighten my left arm, but at least I finished (even if it was last).
4.) Bathroom Remodel — because we can’t go long without tearing something else up, we’re onto the bathrooms.

That about sums it up! This weekend, in addition to the hoping for warm weather, we’re watching my Mom’s golden retriever, Joe — he’ll be having a little doggie vacation at our house. On Friday we’re having dinner with family, then on Saturday we’re Crossfitting and painting numerous rooms around the house (re: basement & bathrooms). We, also, made an appointment with a Realtor for Sunday. Part of me thinks it’s time to move on (since I never loved this house to begin with) and another part of me feels like we finally got the house in beautiful shape… then we leave just to start it all over again. Tis life, yes?

What are you up to this weekend? How’s the weather in your part of the country?

Here are my finds from around the interwebs this week:

This is the favorite from the entire week — I’ve even pulled it up on my phone twice to show it to people (since I can’t stop blathering about it)… Did you ever watch the Thornberry’s growing up? Well I did. And, this story of a French little girl who grew up in Africa and befriended wild animals is pretty much the epitome of my childhood dreams come true. Trust me, after reading this you won’t be able to stop thinking about it. Side note: She’s standing on a crocodile — are you kidding me?

It’s no secret that I’m tall. Almost 6′ tall, in fact. These 34 things every tall girl can relate to was spot on — especially #:   . If you’re short — they have an even longer list for you too!

It’s, also, no secret that I love my dogs. Or fur-babies, if you will. That’s why this list of 15 signs that you’re an overly obsessed dog lover really hit it out of the park. I can firmly agree with #’s: .

Do you love Costco as much as I do? Pretzel bread (swoon), lemon cakes (drool), cases of bacon (shout for joy). Sometimes, when shopping, I do wonder if I’m actually saving any money buying in bulk (the addition of all the impulse buys — cough, cook book, cough, workout pants — probably don’t help). But, now, I have a great list on what “real food” items are actually cheaper at Costo. This means that I can purchase with confidence.

Life is messy. Sometimes that messy comes with four kids, a husband, rats and a house that’s falling down. Rebecca’s writing is so honest, eloquent and impossible to stop reading.

My Mom is my best friend — I rarely go a day without talking to her at least once (and sometimes it’s even more). So, in the spirit of sharing the Motherly love — here are 30 signs your mother is the best person in your life. I can agree to *almost* all of these. I sure do love that lady.

*Image Source: Melody Ross.

Finally Friday.

Today is not only Friday (which is, of course, enough reason for celebration)… though I’m pretty sure after Denver’s big Superbowl loss last week the entire city has been in a state of overall depression. I’m not really into football, but even I can admit that was embarrassing.

This week has been a trial in finding my new “normal” with food now that the Whole 30 is over. I still have a post in the works about my thoughts on the program as well as another one on what I hope my food life will look like moving forward. They’re coming… at some point. Other than that we went to a Nuggets game on Wednesday night (they won!) and have enjoyed a pretty low-key week — though, we’ve had freezing cold temperatures (think -11 when you get up) making staying warm a big priority.

This weekend we’ve got a date night booked for tonight. I came up with 12 unique dates, wrote them down and put them all in envelopes, mixed them up and gave them to Christian at the beginning of the year (who says marriage is boring) and this is the first one (since food was so restrictive in January we decided to just do two in February). Saturday Christian and I are taking our first foundations class at our local Cross Fit gym (I’m so nervous!) and then Sunday we’ve got the second session before we can start taking normal classes. We’re also going to squeeze in a trip to visit my Dad and then take the rest of it as it comes.

What are you up to this weekend, anything exciting?

Here are my finds from around the inter webs:

If you’re looking for a fascinating read and wanting to develop a small desire to move to Detroit (I know, I can’t believe I said it either) then this article written by a guy who bought a house in Detroit for $500 will warm your heart and break it all at the same time.

I’ve always felt rather indifferent toward Bill Murray. He’s a good actor, but beyond that I never really gave him much thought. Until I found out that he might just be the most interesting man in the world. Also, think he’d want to be friends?

Food is an issue for me – gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, no carbs, paleo, Whole 30 etc. I believe strongly in the power that food holds over our health and as you probably know, the past couple of years have been a struggle to find what works and what doesn’t. At some point I’d like to be able to say “I gave up on healthy eating“, too.

I’m not much of a snoop. I’ve never had the desire to hunt down my Christmas presents (why ruin the surprise), but even I’ve been guilty of checking out emails that were left open on my computer… but sometimes, don’t you think, these things are better left unseen? What if your snooping ended like some of these scenarios?

All I have to say about this article on the fear of success is, “amen”. I’ve always felt like I had a pretty big fear of failure, but turns out I also have a fear of success. If I don’t bust down those barriers I’ll be stuck in mediocrity forever!

This happens to me all the time. I’ll receive a gift, like beautiful personal note cards, and I won’t want to use them for fear of wasting them… but life is short and those beautiful things are made for using rather than sitting at the bottom of a drawer. 

You’re a confidant to one of your friends, the life of the party at church, the overachiever to your parents… the many faces we wear and roles we play. However, it turns out (which we already knew) that we truly can’t be everything to everyone. 

Happy Friday — have a great weekend!

Finally Friday.

It’s still the start of the year, so the majority of these articles are still applicable. I had planned to post this last Friday, but got caught up in the ways of Whole 30 and decided to postpone a week.

This week was pretty good — not too crazy, but I still had enough going on that I didn’t feel like a bum. Know what I mean? We went to a Nuggets game on Tuesday night and have officially finished season 3 of White Collar on Netflix (have you seen it? I can’t stop). Other than that I’ve been cranking out innumerable Whole 30 meals and re-started a hopeful 2014 yoga practice. If I could hit 1 time per week (on average) this year, I’d be happy.

I, also, in full new years resolution gusto bought a Groupon for 1 month of unlimited visits to our local CrossFit gym. I’m simultaneously scared and excited. I’ve had friends that love it and I’m secretly hoping that I do too.

This weekend we’re having dinner with friends followed by a showing of Saving Mr Banks (have you seen it, what did you think?). Then we’re taking it easy and having a family dinner during the Broncos game on Sunday. Low key and just what I need. Christian’s going to another Nuggets game on Saturday, and during that time I’m hoping to paint my nails, meal plan and watch the something girly on TV. Wish me luck! Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Here are my finds from around the interwebs:

I’m a bit of a vision board junkie, or at least I have been the past couple of years. With the advent of Pinterest, it’s made it that much prettier and that much more addictive. However, I always dread putting them together in photoshop… that’s why this tutorial on creating a fast and easy vision board caught my eye. Do it, I did… and I promise that you’ll love it.

Since I’m in the midst of the Whole 30, this list of Whole 30 approved recipes really caught my eye. There are some delicious looking meals on there and one or two of them might end up on my meal plan for next week.

Did you make some resolutions for 2013? Big ones? Small ones? Somewhere in between? Either way, here is a list of fifty “bite-sized” resolutions for the new year. Some of these are so simple you could easily add them into your daily routine.

I think that sometime around your mid-20’s and up you start to realize that all those things you were waiting to make you happy — won’t actually make you happy. Kids – marriage – house – car – savings account…. they’re all nice, but life doesn’t begin at your next milestone.

Purging all the needless crap in my house makes me so happy. I love it and could spend countless hours each week weeding through drawers, closets and boxes looking for things to trash/give away. This article was full of great things you could donate or toss — 21 things you should get rid of today!

Each of these rules was so great that I want to print it out and hang it up so that I can see and review it every day. If nothing else, these 24 rules for being human are a great read through.

And, lastly, to stick with the theme — new year, new start. Here are 15 great ideas to give you a fresh start for this year… even if I’m a week late in posting them! 🙂

Happy Friday to all, and to all a goodnight!

Finally Friday.

Well, hello there.

Did you notice that it’s December 20 — which means only 5 days until Christmas. Or, if you’re my family… 4, since we celebrate on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

Growing up I was always worried about how Christmas would work once I got married. My family, being just the 4 of us in Colorado, developed our own set of Christmas Day traditions and giving them up when I got married wasn’t something I was real excited about. Luckily for me, Christian’s family had always celebrate on Christmas Eve… meaning I didn’t have to give anything up. Truly the best of both worlds.

My world has been all over the place this month. I started out in Iowa for my Great Uncle’s 90th birthday and have since returned and attended a slew of holiday parties/comedy works laugh fests/dinner with friends and still have a packed weekend ahead. Let me lay it out for you… I’ve got another holiday party, a showing of the Nutcracker, a dinner, lunch downtown with family and a Nuggets game. All packed into 4 little ‘ol days. Holiday hustle and bustle? I’m your girl.

I hope that this coming weekend is packed with hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies and as many twinkle lights as you can possibly tolerate. In the mean time, here are my finds from around the interwebs:

As you may well know, I’ve already developed my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe… but after reading this post on the science behind the cookie (and that he went through 32 lbs. of flour and 1,500 test cookies to get to the perfect one), I’m just the tiniest bit interested in tooling around with my recipe just to see what happens.

Back in my dating days, I used to think about writing a blog about all the mishaps, the weirdos and the flat up ridiculous stories that resulted from my dating escapades. Turns out, I didn’t have to because Amber is doing just that… only better.

I feel really overwhelmed when I look at my calendar. I see my days in hour-long increments overflowing with things to do. That’s why I really appreciated this post on not being over-committed and overwhelmed. Now if only I could take the advice and apply it successfully.

The holidays bring out the best in people — but it also bring out a lot of discussion on religion, the role of Santa and a lot of other stuff I don’t really want to get into. This post on Santa (and Jesus) and the way Christian’s relate to and ultimately use Santa was really interesting to me.

Are you looking for some good circuit workout ideas to help negate your overload of cookie consumption? Here’s a great round-up of 50 different circuit workouts. There’s bound to be at least one in there for everyone. I, personally, have many of them tagged and added to Pinterest boards for New Year inspiration.

Ever feel like everyone around you was given an instruction book on life and you’re left wondering what the hell to do and/or how to pull it all off? Turns out, everyone feels like that and nobody was given a guidebook to life — even those people who make it seem like they came out of the womb 10 steps ahead of everyone else.

P.S. Have you seen these t-shirts? I’m thinking I may need to purchase one.