Thursday, May 29, 2014

carbs aren't bad.

another food post? shocker. 
 
i hate when people say carbs are bad. but that's a whole other topic i don't feel like getting into. anyway. lee has been out of town since yesterday so when the cat's away the mouse will play.
 
that actually makes no sense at all to this post, but whatever. 
 
point being is i actually got to cook something pretty healthy without having lee be like can i add more cheese? ew, spinach. that's ground...what?? we both like to cook and watch the food network on a daily basis so sometimes we have our own kitchen wars when it comes to our meals together. 
 
i actually don't have a name for this dish. but i do know what's in it, so here we go.
 
 
ground turkey, marinara sauce (i used giada's because i'm obsessed with her), spinach, asparagus, zucchini, and 100% whole wheat pasta. no, contrary to popular belief, it doesn't taste like cardboard.
 
you know the drill with cooking pasta, so i'll let you handle that. brown the turkey & toss in spinach, zucchini, asparagus & a little evoo. let me just tell you - this is the first time i've made spinach at home. what the hell is wrong with me? this stuff is the sweet nectar of vegetables. hello new favorite ingredient. sorry lee. 
 
 
after it's done, toss in the marinara (a small amount) with the noodles and add to the meat & veggies. sprinkle a little mozzarella on top. 
 
  
  
 
i need to just fool lee and make this without telling him it's ground turkey. i swear you can't tell the difference! he probably reads this so there goes my cover. this actually made a TON of food. looks like i'll be having leftovers for quite some time. just wanted to share the goodness! 

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

luna's living kitchen.

yesterday marked my first vegan experience. and no, i'm not vegan. kuddos to you all that practice that, but honestly, i don't think i could. anyway, yesterday i tried out luna's living kitchen.
 
 
this place serves up raw, organic meals which are all made in house and buy the products from local farmers and farmers markets. i checked out the "lunasagna" which is made of: layers of tender, crisp zucchini noodles, sun-dried tomato sauce and mushrooms. this dish gets rave reviws for its velvety, vegan cashew-basil cheese made in house. served with a local green salad.
 
copied straight from their website, i knew i wanted to give it a try.
 


it was good! way better than i thought it would be, actually. the tomato sauce & mushrooms on the zucchini was my favorite part; other than the local salad & dressing. next on my list will be one of those collard green wraps.
 
now for the fun part. luna's also makes cold pressed juices and offer juices cleanses made by them. it was quite expensive (or so i thought), but i signed up for a three day juice cleanse starting next tuesday and ending thursday night. 7 juices a day composed from those below with water inbetween for three days. Lord, help me.


  

i tried the tree of life yesterday and had trouble getting that down. i know it's because there wasn't a lot of fruit in there and a lot of their other juices have that component.

it tasted like celery smothered in pepper. everyone in the office thought i was crazy. maybe i am. 



if you have ever juiced and have secrets/crazy experience or just advice in general, this girl over here would love to hear it.
 
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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

#trending: 'merica!

i know you have seen the hashtag. i know you have seen it #trending on twitter and people hashtagging it on instagram while waving an american flag. #merica seems to never go out of style and something we love to say when representing our country in an awesome way.

i hope you had an amazing memorial day weekend! i know just how rough it is returning back to work from a long couple of days off. phew!  

i love the 'merica theme that's trending these days. as we were out on the lake yesterday, i noticed so many red, white, and blue bathing suits out there. i love how you can either make this a statement trend or use it for a fun way depending on the event you're attending. these are a few of my favorite ways to show your 'merica love.

Untitled #6

whether it be subtle through your a scarf or headband; more obvious with a tee or shorts; or more festive through decoration, the american look can never go unnoticed. drew, lee's brother, was wearing these shades while we were playing cornhole this past weekend, and i loved how festive they were for the memorial day holiday. hopefully i can find a bathing suit before july 4th!



 charlotte has a thing for nascar racing. a year ago, lee and i went to the coca cola 600 race. yes. it was insane before you even ask. i believe this shirt was found at wal-mart and trimmed up to suit the theme of the race. it's one of the first photos we took together! sidenote: i have no idea why he's looking at the ground. embarrassed at my outfit? ehh. however, it's known that the race is targeted towards a "redneck" look, but it was still fun to rock this shirt while fitting in with the crowd. 


whether wearing our country's colors for an event or to represent, i love that it always symbolizes we are the land of the free because of the brave. God bless america! what are your favorite looks to show off the usa?
 
follow zelle at a southern style, katie at champagne & suitcases, and kristina at medicine & manicures, and myself, add the #trendingtuesday logo to your post, & link up below!
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Saturday, May 24, 2014

liebster award.

happy saturday! sweet emma from defined designs nominated me for a liebster award. thanks emma! her blog is so cute - check her out! the liebster award is a series of chain posts that link, connect, and act as a way for new bloggers to get to know each other. i'll have a few more i'm nominating at the end of this post. 


just in case you don't know the rules here, let me explain: 
// you must link back to the person who nominated you.
// you must answer the ten liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.
// you must pick ten bloggers to be nominated for the award (under 200 followers if possible)
// you must come up with ten questions for your nominees to answer.
// you must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.

here are my ten questions from emma:

1. how long have you been blogging?
haha. this one is fun. many of you know this blog was the life of a princess blog back when i had my twitter account associated & my posts were completely different - anonymous even for some time. so in that case going on two years. yes the old posts are still within this blog. i recently switched to as the wine cork turns maybe 6-7 months ago? i like blogging about adventures i've had, things i love, and just life in general.

2. if you had to pick one blog you follow that you find the most inspirational, which one would it by and why?
i don't know if i would say inspirational, but it's just downright funny. i love the posts from the daily tay. the girl is hilarious and spot on with most of her sarcastic, yet very true posts.

3. where do you see your blog in one year?
good question. i have no idea. same as it is now? we did launch trending tuesday, a new link up, which i am totally in love with. i'd love it if you joined next tuesday!

4. what was your most recent shopping purchase to use or feature on your blog?
welp, as of like 10 minutes ago i just bought some awesome (50% off) pieces from j. crew factory. so be sure to be on the look for these pieces to pop up soon. i love the huge dots on the dress; i finally purchased floral! see why that's an insane thing here. and i've been eyeing these necklaces for a long time. and the sunglasses were $14 and cute.

Factory dotted racerback dressFactory printed cutaway top
Factory crystal sunburst necklaceFactory cat-eye glasses

5. do you have a DIY project you are proud of? what was it?
i totally wish i could say yes. i want to get more into re-doing old pieces of furniture by painting them into masterpieces. i just haven't found the time or made the effort to get supplies. i feel like the only DIY thing i made was the valentine's day frame for lee. that's about as crafty as i have gotten - BUT - i plan to change this soon. maybe my "blog in one year" will contain more of crafts. 

6. most bloggers are very mobile. where do you blog from mostly and why do you enjoy blogging there?
i'm actually the opposite. i like blogging from the comfort of our office room in the house. typing on an ipad is too time consuming for me and i shell out like 85 words per minute on a keyboard. for me, that's the best. 

7. what was your first "success" moment in blogging?
probably back when i was writing anonymously with my fictional posts. i have always loved to write and my mood depicts what comes onto the paper from the pen. or the monitor from the keyboard? you get what i mean. i would get so many emails a day from girls literally all around the world that loved the things i would post. it was almost unreal. i had girls in charlotte come up to me in bars many times saying hello. that was crazy cool. 

8. if you could have anyone play you in a movie, who would it be?
jennifer lawrence. she's the it girl. except i would have her keep the long hair. i'm not a fan of the shorter style.

9. who or what serves as your blogging inspiration?
i blog about a lot of random things. food. adventures. life. lee. friends. weekends. weddings. so i would have to say whatever is going on in my life currently is what i like to talk about. and i'm so thankful i have all of you to follow along.

10. what is one piece of advice you could give the new bloggers out there?
just write what you wanna write. the cool thing about following blogs is that if someone doesn't like it, they don't have to follow it. don't compare your blog to other blogs. again - it's your freakin' blog. it can be whatever you want it to be and that's just fine.

--------------------------------

the blogs i'm nominating are:
medicine and manicures
champagne and suitcases
southern style
a doodle dose
a southern twenty five
katherine leslie
made in the shade
dixie on my mind
the sequined spatula
lisa loves john

my ten questions for you:
1. if you had to pick one post from your entire blog, which one is your favorite that you have written?
2. how long have you been blogging?
3. what do you do if someone leaves a nasty (and, of course, anonymous) comment on your blog? how do you feel?
4. what is your main goal for having your blog?
5. describe yourself in four words.
6. what has been a favorite recent purchase that you either have blogged about or plan to soon?
7. what serves as your blogging inspiration?
8. tell me three of your favorite things to eat and/or cook. (i really enjoy food.)
9. what is your secret gem of "go-to" boutiques for awesome finds?
10. if you could start a chain reaction and do something amazing with your blog, what would you come up with?

thanks again emma! please comment back to me once you've written yours! i can't wait to read all your posts. xoxo.

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Thursday, May 22, 2014

cheating to lose.

i am the world's worst dieter. i started paleo for my "new years resolution" but after a month i wanted to stab people with a fork because i missed my bread, pasta, and all the other beautiful carbs out there. plus very limited carb diets can be good, but you seriously alter your metabolism & what happens if/when you stop? plus all those headaches.... anyway. it wasn't for me.
 
a friend of mine told me about joel marion's cheat to lose diet. the whole pdf of the book is online! holla. i started reading the book and was pretty interested in how the diet is laid out. to sum it up, the first three weeks is a priming phase. week one, you can't consume hardly any carbs. week two, you can, but they need to be low g/i carbs (beans, light yogurt, certain fruits). week three, you can do heavier carbs (brown rice, whole wheat breads and pastas). and then you have a cheat day. joel literally says whatever you want. pizza? sure. ice cream? yup!
 

you then begin week four with two "no carb" days, two "low carb" days and two "higher" carb days followed by the cheat day again. i picked my cheat day as sunday because when i wake up i usually want bojangles because of the night before. mmm. bojo's.
 
you also eat frequently. breakfast at 7. snack at 10. lunch at 12:30. snack at 3:30. dinner at 7. or something like that. this can vary depending on your schedule. as long as your body is never in "starving" mode. portions are also descibed in the pdf as well.
 
from what i'm gathering, the trick is to keep your leptin levels from falling while stabilizing both that & metabolism. a short workout is also detailed.
 
here's a peek into a few things i've been eating.
 
lettuce, onion, hard boiled egg (protein), organic turkey (protein), mushroom, low fat cheese (fat component)
 
grilled marinated chicken portioned, broccoli tossed in evoo (fat component).
 
baked cilantro tilapia, broccoli tossed in balsamic vinegar, side of guac (fat component).
 
lettuce, tomato, organic turkey, onion, almonds (fat component).
 
ok so i should tell you a secret. i'm on day 4. and i had a glass of wine last night, which is a no-no. but hey - i'm human. and i told you i was bad at this. the dieting part really hasn't been that bad and i'm adhereing to those guidelines for the first week of "no carbs." the workout is pretty easy as well. i've added some at home dead weight lifts too. if it's successful, maybe i'll update later! this hasn't felt like a "diet" at all - which is awesome. it is more of a lifestyle change and not eating pizza four times a week. 

kidding. i never did that... 
 
what "diets" have you found that have worked or that super sucked? reading his book has opened a new interest for me.
 
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

#trending tuesday - bathing suit season

ready or not, it's that time again y'all! this weekend kicks off memorial day weekend and every pool will now be open full of people soaking up the sun rays. i am super particular about my tan lines. particular as in i hate them! i have this "rule" that i will only wear strapless bathing suit tops so tan lines don't show in other summer dresses. this doesn't always work so well when fighting the ocean or playing volleyball.... if you get what i'm saying. 

i also never match my bathing suits. i love the bright neon colors, & fun textures such as ruffles or fringe. to me, it's fun to buy one bottom and pair it with a completely different top. it also gives you a ton of choices so you don't have to be that weird person who is always wearing the same suit. you know who you are. plus neon colors make you look ohhhh so tan.swim

which brings me to point two of this post. being tan. it's every girls dream to be naturally tan and glowing right? but i'll let you in on a secret, i am terrified of the tanning bed. the whole final destination 4 tanning bed scene really did it for me. plus tanning beds are just awful for you in general. i am lucky that i tan very easily but in order to do so, i need to be in some sun. we had a freakin' brutal winter so i didn't exactly get that jump start on being golden brown. 

but i did find an awesome solution.



these babies. six of them are for $7.99 and so far, i have only used four. the difference in my tan is un-effin-real. you know that awkward underside of your arm that is always glowing white & sparkling like edward cullen? nope, i don't have that. you use them like regular wipes and one is good enough to cover your whole body. i'm only sharing because someone shared with me. that's what's trending in my world this week. what about you? link up with us so more readers can catch your awesome blog!

follow zelle at a southern style, katie at champagne & suitcases, and kristina at medicine & manicures, and myself, add the #trendingtuesday logo to your post, & link up below!
 
tell us what's trending!
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Monday, May 19, 2014

one year.

as previously mentioned and portrayed by my everyday life, i love celebrating things. so of course we had to do it big for our one year.
 
lee wouldn't tell me where he was taking us on friday night and to my surprise, it was a perfect spot. after giving me my present, which was my choice of a spa service at urbana wellness spa, we then headed 21 stories up to dine at fahrenheit, which overlooks the charlotte skyline.
 
 
 
 

in addition to the phenomenal views and outdoor bar scene, the food is freakin' amazing. we both ordered filets over roasted tomatoes, zucchini, & potatoes, lobster mashed potatoes (yes. lobster mashed potatoes.), lobster rolls (we apparently like lobster) and a bottle of wine. it was romantic & sweet & so thoughtful. 




 


if you're in the area and just want to drop some cash, this place can do that for you alongside with an amazing meal.
 
saturday was my turn to spoil him. keeping exciting secret plans is SO hard for me to do, but somehow i kept this under wraps since february! we woke up at 9am and headed to saluda, nc to experience the gorge zipline! this is the fastest & steepest zipline canopy tour in the country. y'all when i read that, i was like sign me up. the zipline consisted of 11 different ziplines ranging from 300 ft to a crazy 1,100 feet with speeds up to 35 mph! also on the course is a skybridge and 3 repels.
 




that's right - that's the first zip straight into the trees from the outpost. it's completely breathtaking and none of us in the group could wrap our minds over how fast we were flying. what i really liked is the automatic stop this course featured, which stops your speed about 10 feet or so from the platform. if you weigh less, you have to pull yourself hand over hand, but it's so simple and a good arm workout!


8-10 people are also zipping with you which is hilarious because everyone responds differently to an adrenaline rush. our guides, bill & karen, were professional, yet hilarious, and made the experience a unique one. they captured some pictures of us on the course as well, which i LOVED. you all know i love some pictures.






we finished with smiles for days & enjoyed two beers to celebrate.
 



from views of the beautiful gorge, rivers, and the amazement of flying over and through the canopy of trees, this was an amazing, unforgetable experience and we've already talked about another trip in the fall! i escaped with only about 8 bruises on both of my legs, but it was worth every single one.
 
lee joked that we set the bar high for our one year anniversary. here's to many more! i love you babe!
 
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