I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far… so happy for the weekend!

Alright, since we’re all friends here, I have something to admit… in the last two weeks… I… seem to have… fallen off of the exercise wagon

I apologize for the brief hiatus, but life has been crazy. Anywho, I’m back, and I am using the free trial of Ecto to simplify blogging (hopefully). You see, I love blogging, but blogging through WordPress is not exactly my fave.

Last week, Blake and I went down to the Newport, which is where we will be holding our nuptials in a little less than 6 months (!). We went down to start planning our menu and go through the ins and outs of how the ceremony (ceremony location pictured above) and reception will go. Unfortunately, it seems as though there were a few mix ups in days/times, and our Catering Manager asked if we would mind switching our rooms for the cocktail hour and reception. At first, I was a little upset, but, Blake reassured me that no matter the room, it would be great .

Instead of our cocktail hour being held on the pool deck, it will now be held in their brand new spa, downstairs, which is beautiful. I know it sounds a little odd, but it has hard wood floors, ambient lighting and organic furniture.. really swanky and even though not what I had envisioned, it is a gorgeous room! Next, our reception, which was to be held in a ballroom, is being moved to a slightly smaller room that overlooks the ocean. It also has hardwood floors and a great view.. so what should I be complaining about, right? Alright kids – here’s the kicker – if we agreed to switch, they agreed to completely upgrade our menu, open bar and all… So, after talking it over, we agreed. I didn’t seem like it would go well if we said no, and hey, it’s just one big party, right

After all of that was settled, our Catering Director said that she wanted to buy us a round of drinks also… woohoo! The Newport has an amazing restaurant called Kitchen 305. When we got in there, she politely said she couldn’t stay, but for us to have some drinks and order a couple appetizers. This place has rave reviews, so she certainly didn’t have to twist my arm!

I ordered a glass of Chardonnay and Blake got a dirty martini, both were delicious! They also gave us each a mini-loaf of bread.. mmmm.

My handsome date

We decided we would choose 2 apps and went with the crab cake sliders and mediterranean flatbread.

The flatbread had feta, roasted tomatoes, and kalamata olives. Both dishes were excellent! The melted feta had a much more subtle taste than I thought, which I really enjoyed. The crab cake sliders were fantastic! Crisp, toasted bun and the crab cakes were not greasy in the least. I would highly recommend both

Sorry if the pictures are a little dark, definitely not the best lighting.

Even though the evening started out a little rough, we really enjoyed a spur of the moment date night.

Make it a great one!

I hope everyone had a great rest of the weekend and a good Monday!  Mine went well, very busy and now I am super sleepy

For breakfast, I had a repeat smoothie.  I decided to get my workout in on my lunch break today, because I knew I had a bunch of errands to do after work today. I was able to get in a nice 1.5 mile run in on the treadmill.

• Miles 0 -.24: Warmup at 3.7
• Miles .25 – .75: speed 7.0
• Miles .76 – 1.25: inclined at 60%, speed 5.0
• Miles 1.26 – 1.50: Cool down at 3.0

Time: 18 Minutes

It was a great workout and a really fun way to break up the day! Definitely needed that on a Monday!

I came home more than ready for lunch.  I decided to incorporate some of our Easter leftovers into a fun meal!

Blake’s Aunt Dot makes a fantastic Tex-Mex dip.  I think it is beans, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and a variety of spices.  I don’t know how she does it, but it is awesome! I think I ate 2 large plates of it with chips at Easter dinner

For lunch, I used Aunt Dot’s Tex-Mex as the base of my wrap.  I topped it with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and then crumbled some tortillas chips on top. SO good! The chips gave it a really great crunch.  I will definitely use them on wraps in the future!

With a side of delicious, fresh fruit

So, let’s rewind just a bit to Sunday.  We went to Blake’s Aunt & Uncle’s for Easter dinner.  They have a beautiful ranch style home and always have a fish fry, full of fresh fish, hush puppies and a ton of other delicious southern foods

Hush puppies and fish going:

My camera died pretty soon after, but I can certainly vouch I had my fair share of all foods involved and that it was all quite delicious!!

Buuut… before my camera died I was able to capture a few other pics.  Aunt Louise and Uncle Mark own a horse, Socks.  She is beautiful!

Also, right by their front door, they have some mulched landscaping beds. Guess what was in a freshly dug hole in the mulch??  Three baby bunnies!!!

How cute?!  They blend into the mulch a bit, so enter helpful blue arrow   You can see the baby ears sticking up.  Can you believe baby bunbuns on Easter? Too funny!

Well I hope everyone is having a great start to the week – Have a good one!

Do you look forward to your leftovers for lunch?  Do you mix them up or keep them as is?

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, thus far!

When I left you last, I was headed to do this…:

Ahh… it was quite wonderful

While enjoying my pool time, I snacked on these:

Delicious!

After a few hours at the pool, Blake and I got ready to head over to my moms for dinner.  We visited with everyone for awhile, and then we were ready to sit down for dinner.  My mom made roasted chicken, potato knishes, and salad.  SO good!

Once I had sufficiently stuffed myself, and all the dishes were done, we sat down again to stuff ourselves some more.  Dessert was angel food cake with strawberries… one of my favs!

Then, when it was uncomfortable to breathe, Blake and I said goodbye to everyone and made our way home.

This morning, I did an easy 1.25 miles on the treadmill, just to get a little exercise in today!

The Breakdown:

• Miles 0 – .15: Warmup at 4.0
• Miles .16 – .65: 6.0 at 50% incline
• Miles .66 – 1.15: 6.0 at 0% incline
• Miles 1.16 – 1.25: cool down at 3.5

Followed by 3 sets of 10, at 15 lb, declined bench presses and 3 sets of 10, at 25 lbs, lateral pull downs.

It was a quick one but it felt good!

When I came home, I made myself a smoothie:

In the mix:

• Strawberries
• Banana
• Vanilla Yogurt
• Small pour OJ
• Ice

This was so good!! I will definitely be making this again!

Afterwards, Blake and I were able to get in a little more of this:

The weather has been gorgeous!!

Ah, now it is time to cuddle in bed and watch a little tv… I know I am getting old because sitting in the sun seriously drains me, haha

Have a wonderful night!

xoxo

Hope everyone is having a great week!  I have been swamped at work, but I just so happen to have today off, and it is GLORIOUS. ((Gloriouuuussss!))

Starting things off right with a nice 2 miler this morning:

Got home just a few minutes ago, and am enjoying a delicious bowl of fruit with yogurt for bfast:

If you look closely, you can see Marlee in the background, above the bowl..

In the mix:

• Strawberries
• Banana
• Cantaloupe
• Vanilla Yogurt

Well, I am off to clean the apartment a bit and then head down to the pool… it is 74 and sunny and I am not missing out!

Tonight, we are going to my moms for dinner because my brother, sister-in-law and beautiful niece are in town

Have a great one!

Hope everyone had a great weekend   Was it just me, or was yesterday definitely one of ‘those’ Mondays… man… there was not very much stopping me from crawling back into bed!

I had planned on going to  a Body Works class after work, but after the day I had, I knew it was not in my future.  I thought about just pouring myself a large glass of wine and cuddling into the couch, but knew that working up a sweat, even if just a small one, would make me feel a lot better!

With that, I quickly got changed and decided that I would do 30 minutes as hard as I could.  I started with a 15 minute run, that I believe covered about 1 mile.  When I came home, I continued with some strength training for my arms and abs.  I did 3 sets of 10, with 5 lb weights, of bicep curls, dips and presses.  Followed by 3, 30 second ab intervals, not sure what they are called, but the kind where your legs come in and your arms go forward, but your back does not come back and touch the ground.  Then, rounded it all out with 2 sets of 15 push ups. Woo!

A few months ago, I would have foregone the exercise altogether.  Slowly, I am making progress in making exercise a constant in my life.  It really feels great, and I felt much better to get in 30 minutes than nothing at all.  Something is better than nothing!

Plus, afterward, I was able to give myself a small reward…

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Does working out after a hard day make you  feel better?  What are your stress relievers?

Make it a great one!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

I am in Orlando for the week, for work.  Welcome to my home away from home:

This is where I spend 95% of my time while I am here

Nice and cozy, eh?

Everything is going well though – quite a productive week so far.  Although, I am slightly thrown off by the time change.  It is just so dark when my alarmgoes off! But, I do like it being lighter, later, so I suppose it’s a fair trade

In other news, we booked our photographer!! We have gone with Norah Silva, who is not only the sweetest, but a fantastic photographer as well! Her work is absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to work with her!

Alright, loves, sorry this is short but the bed is calling my name.  Tomorrow is another early day!

I leave you with a gratuitous Marlee picture for your viewing pleasure.  Blake sent it to me this afternoon, when he ran home for lunch.

Goodnight!

Has the time change thrown you off?  Are you adjusting?  Do you like having the extra daylight?

I hope everyone is enjoying the last of their weekends! I am just finishing up some laundry and packing – off to Orlando again tomorrow

Yesterday, after I got home from Miracle Mile, Blake surprised me that we were going out for a dinner date to one of my favorite restaurants! He was taking me to The Melting Pot!! I was so excited, I almost tripped over my own feet running to get ready.

Once we were seated, I asked the manager if he could take a picture of us:

I know, I know.. he must have been blinded by our beauty…Or the flash… but I would like to think its the former

First things first, my wonderful fiance said we would be ordering a bottle of wine (!).  We were perusing the wine list, and our server suggested a white blend called ‘Evolution’.  We decided to try it after she and another server raved about it for a good few minutes.

The blend was so good! It was really soft and had a great taste – awesome recommendation!

Next up, was the cheese…mmmmm. I think we got the Wisconsin blend, and it was fantastic.  White wine and sherry mix in the beginning, then the cheese is added, followed by some scallions to top.  With lots of delicious things to dip in.

Even though I was not done with the cheese, I mean, I probably would have licked the pot clean if I could have, our salads came out and I thought maaaaybe I should pace myself

I got the California Salad, (on the right) which was baby greens, with tomatoes, Gorgonzola, walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette. SO good!  Blake got the spinach and mushroom salad, which had spinach, baby portabellos, bacon, onions, and I’m not sure what kind of dressing. He said it was great, though!

Next up: the mealsssss! I got chicken and shrimp, and Blake got a mix of filet mignon, chicken, shrimp and salmon.

Everything was so good, even though I was getting full, I wanted to keep eating, haha.  I love fondue, I think it is so fun, and you can still enjoy great conversation while you wait for your food to cook.

Although it didn’t take much, Blake talked me into dessert.  We normally just get the plain milk chocolate, but being the adventurous couple that we are, decided on the Flaming Turtle !

It was milk chocolate, caramel, and nuts all swirled into one delicious bowl of melty wonderfulness. I may have gone into a food coma at this point, but I could not have been happier

So many awesome things to dip in there:

Bananas, strawberries, brownies, cheesecake, marshmallows, and a rice crispy treat.  I was the happiest person in the world.

Alright, loves – I am off to finish packing and cuddle in with the pup and the fiance! Have a great night!

What is your favorite restaurant?  What is favorite date night or ladies night activity?

Have to make this one quick, my MOH and I are headed to Miracle Mile to shop around and look at bridesmaid dresses and all sorts of fun wedding things! I have never been, but it is supposed to be a mile (duh) long street full of shops.. uhh… yes, please?

Last night, I joined a friend and we went to the Bodyworks class our gym… it kicked my butt! So sore today, but it was a great class!

Thursdays workout was a 1.25 mile run, followed by my new DVD, Core Fusion Body Sculpt.

I found this through some blogger reviews, you can read Meghann’s here.  Also, Rachel reviewed her results and thoughts after completing 16 sessions, in 4 weeks, of the Core Fusion DVD, here.  After reading their reviews, I thought this would be something I would enjoy and definitely wanted to try it out!

I really liked the DVD! The abs section was so tough!

I will go more into depth about the sections I did in a separate post – but for now, I’ve gotta run!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Do you like to shop? What’s your favorite thing to shop for?

I hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far!  But, before we go any further, I have a recipe that I have to share with you!

Double Blueberry Muffins

(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used fresh)
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners.

Using a small whisk, cream the butter until smooth (You can definitely use your mixer, I just did not feel like pulling mine out, or cleaning it up after ).  Add the cup of of white sugar, along with the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt – mix.  Add canola oil, 1/2 banana (mashed), and turbinado sugar, mix well.

Next, add your 1 cup of white flour, with 1/2 of the milk and mix.  Repeat with wheat flour, cinnamon, and remaining milk.  Mix until flour is incorporated and then gently fold in blueberries.  (If you were using your mixer, I would do this step at low speed).

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.  I sprinkled a little cinnamon and sugar over the tops of the muffins, and baked mine for about 20 minutes.

P.S. Let cool before removing and gobbling down, or you will burn your poor little fingers as I did to mine.

The verdict?  These muffins were delicious!

My fiance is not aware of the substitutions I made, but he said they were one of the best batches I had made.  He even commented that he liked them so much because they did not taste as ‘healthy’ as my last batch. 

This past weekend, the Renaissance Festival was in town.  I used to go all the time when I was younger, with my family, but Blake had never been, so we thought it would be a fun way to spend our Saturday!

Entering into the village:

Parade:

The King and Queen:

There were a bunch of games to play, like Bump A Monk:

Or Knacker Ball:

Have you ever seen pretzels being served like this??

Mmm… pretzels..

Even though I did not get a pretzel, it is possible we may have purchased a 1/2 lb cookie…

And a bag of kettle corn..

Before we knew it, it was time to go

We had a blast!! A lot of people dress up and really get into it.  I am already excited to go again next year

Man, looking at all the pictures of last weekend, is really making me anxious for Friday!

Hope everyone is having  a great week – Happy Hump Day!