November 2014 Favorite Things

Every time I type the words "favorite things' I sing it in my head all Sound Of Music style. 



Less sugar in my life:



In 2013 I cut out a lot of added sugar in my life.  For the record, I only use regular sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar, I hate all the sugar substitutes. I did it slowly, but putting less and less in tea and coffee, cutting out juice and soda and overall eating better.  I upped my water intake by drinking lemon water, or really any fruit infused water.  I drink tea and coffee with no sugar now and I have maybe one soda week (I'm a social soda drinker).   I feel better overall and notice the actual taste of my food items more than before. 




Metro:



I take the metro to and from work everyday.  I just bring my Kindle and read while on my way to my destination.  It does get boring at times, but the people watching is always entertaining.  I can't say I love taking it, however, it does save me the headache of driving to work everyday. 

Some pros:
I'm reading so many books, time to veg out, mostly reliable time wise,

Some cons:
The cost, the Silver Line is a bit pricey, if and when fares go up, I'm out.  There are some really rude people that take public transportation.  These people include manspreaders (Google it), loud music folks (what is the point of headphones if I can still hear your music?), gum snappers and open mouth chewers (I hope it tastes like the metro!), and people that put bags on the seat so that you can't sit down.


Work Friends:

Work friends can really make your day.  Sometimes you are having a bad day, whatever is going on in life and suddenly you see a work friend and things seem lighter.  At my office, we are on 5 floors, so I don't necessarily see the same people everyday, so it is that much more fun when I do see them.  Some people I see everyday and it is always a nice perk.  The 12:15 lunch crew is always enjoyable to hang out with. Work friends really help make the environment better and helps to create back office communications. 


Hugs and Loves!

PS. Any topics you want to hear about?

October 2014 Favorite Things

I spent a wonderful weekend with some friends at the Graves Mountain Fall Festival.

We left early Saturday AM and made the 2 hour drive to Syria, VA.  It had rained the day before  and was a little rainy in the AM but was slowing down by the time we got there.

Must come every year

We roamed around and looked at all the items for sale.  It was all you could imagine from homemade soaps, leaf jewelry, spray paint art and of course food.  Clearly there were many apple themed options.  For lunch I had a cider with my meal.  Then it was off to find fun apple foods.  We were in the right place for sure.  We found apple butter donuts, deep fried apples, homemade applebutter.  It was glorious. 

Climb all the things

After we left there, we headed to a vineyard for some samples.  After that, we decided that ice cream was in order.  We stopped at the MooThru.  Ice cream made from local dairy?  Sign me up for that.  After an hour ride home we decided a trip to Cracker Barrel was up next. 

It was a glorious day, we had tons of fun and I for one slept like a baby that night.

September Favorite Things

Happy almost Fall!

I love when the air gets a bit crisp, I find it so refreshing. 

I wanted to share some of my favorite Fall recipes with you:

Squash:
There is the standard spaghetti squash - always a good option
There is traditional roasting - also a good option

-OR-

be fun and try something new with it! (please tell me something fun to do with it....seriously)  I'm on limited internet and can't waste time on Pinterest right now.


Pumpkin Puree:
Overplayed this time of year? Yes.  Still good?  Yes

This year I decided to make my own pumpkin bread at home.  I used my breadmaker and a basic recipe and then added pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of honey.  I generally make up recipes as I go so no exact measuring expect for the basic bread part.  It turned out very nicely, maybe not as sweet as I was hoping for, but probably just as well.  I like it lightly toasted with real butter or cream cheese.

If you have dogs, don't forget to give them some pumpkin too!  They love it (mine love anything, really so.......).  I just mix in about 1/4 to 1/3 a cup into their dry food.  They go bonkers while I am mixing it up because they know they are about to get a special treat.


It's Soup Season!

lol

I made a baked potato soup: It was delish! 

Baked Potato Soup with Bacon (obvi)

Apples:

Some apples are only available certain times of year.  Take advantage.  Do you like apples the size of a small child's head?  You my friend are in luck!  Tis the season for Honeycrisp apples!  These are delicious and with some PB is basically a small meal.

Large Apple

Do you have any favorite fall foods?

August Favorite Things

Hello Honey Darling Dears!

Let's talk about lunch.  Do you bring lunch? All the time? 4 days a week? most days a week? If I remember to? 

I am a person that brings my lunch to work every day.  There are many reasons, cost being the biggest one.  Secondly though, as you know I have been cleaning up my eating and consuming less processed foods.

Steak and Veggie Pie from Kiwi Kuisine

http://www.kiwikuisine.com/index.asp

Give this a try!  It is just the right size and so good.  You can microwave them in the package and eat with a fork...less dishes.  the crust is good and holds together quite well.  The mashed potato topping is creamy but firm enough so as not to be messy.  The inside of the pie is good sized pieces of meat and veggies and sauce.  It is not runny though.  I am definitely going to try some other varieties of these pies.



Lotion:

My skin is behaving badly at the moment so I have been using some Aveeno to help calm it down a bit.  I wanted something with a pump to keep at my desk so this is what I ended up with.  Do I love it? eh.  It is ok but I find the scent to be a bit too strong. 

Lotious!

Time Saving Product for Work:

I recently discovered DryLine mini liquid paper "white out".  This stuff is so great and you don't have to wait for anything to dry before you write on it.  I have seen around for years now but had never had a need for it before. 

life changing

Questions:
What are some of your favorite bring to work lunches?

Skyline Drive SAG

I had a chance to do the best SAGing ever!

It is a 42 mile out and back....21 miles up, 21 miles down.  This route has lots of scenic pull off areas so I was able to get a lot of photos.  There were 4 brave riders. 

My pictures are not the best quality as I just used my cell phone and I only got pictures of them going up and posing at the top, no down hills.

If any of  the riders want more photos, just shoot me a note, I have a few more.

UPDATE 7/21/15:

For some reason the links are broken so please use the link below to see the photos!

https://goo.gl/photos/WqZSPVHBFSM9LknZA



It was a really cool ride to SAG and I got to meet Daryl (she texted me later to say she saw a bear cub!)





July Favorite Things

Hello Honey Darling Dears!


Pendants:

I wear my Nike necklace all the time but sometimes I want to add someting else.  I  saw this on Etsy and I had to have it.   I ordered it and it came within 2 weeks.  I was so excited, I wore it the next day.  It has a super long chain that at first I was not excited about, however, I gave it a chance and I do actually like it. 

I had to have this

Throw Pillows:

My Mom has passed her obsession with throw pillows on to me.  I have a growing collection, so now when I get new pillows I have to get rid of older pillows.  Thanks Mom!

I also had to have these (2 of course)

Toothpaste:

At my last dental visit, even the hygenist commented on how bright my teeth looked.  I owe it to Crest 3d White Luxe.  I like the taste of this, how clean my teeth feel after and of course how bright they look. 

Shine bright like a diamond

Hugs and Loves,

M

Snack Attack

Hello Honey Darling Dears,

I wanted to write and get some ideas from all of you about healthy snacks that you have at work.  Overall I am eating less processed foods, so this post is mostly about fresh or little to no processed foods.  Also since I am at work, I need something that does not require prep time at work.  Weekend snacking is a whole different story :)

Here are some of my go to snacks for the office:

Rainier Cherries:

If you have never had this variety of a cherry, do yourself a favor and try them!  They are sweet not tart the way other cherries can be.  I bring a snack bag of them and have a few here and there during the day to give me a little sugar punch.

Getcha some!

Grapes:

A super nice snack!  They come in a variety of flavors, can be served room temp, cooled or frozen. 

Wash once, eat for a few days

Bananas:

Always a good standby.  I try to have at least one banana a day.  So easy and portable.

Always a good choice

Apple and PB:

I mean how can you go wrong with this?  I eat a variety of PB depending what I am in the mood for.  When I am feeling really healthy I go with Almond Butter, other times its good old Jiff or whatever was on sale at the grocery store.  I buy apples by the bag, mainly because it is less expensive that way.

yes

Seed and Fruit Mix:

Sometimes I need something a little more substantial than stand alone fruit.  Here is where I turn to seed and fruit mixes.  It is a nice change and this mix has: sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, chocolate chips and cranberries.  This is nut free for those of you with allergies.

Great at 3pm

Hard Boiled Egg:

I make a few at a time and then peel one the night before I plan to bring it to work.  I slice it up and put some red pepper flakes on it.  Voila! 



Helpful Hints:

• wash all fruit after you get home from grocery store
• food prep the night before, no one wants to do this in the AM when you are trying to leave for the day
• have appropriate baggies/containers for your snacks at home, washed and ready to use
• remember portions when using items such as PB (2 tablespoons)

Do you snack at work?  What do you bring with you or buy to snack on?

Hugs and Loves,

M

June Favorite Things

Hello Honey Darling Dears!

It is hot as a mofo out there!  On my running days I have taken to getting up at 6:45am on the weekend just so that I can be done before it gets really really hot.  You do what you gotta do to get in your workouts!

Vitamins:

What do you guys take for vitamins?  I got this multi pack at Trader Joe's.  I take it every 2 or 3 days.

A lot of vitamins

for me 30 day supply = 60-90 day supply

My rational for not taking the vitmains everyday, is that I don't want to overwhelm my body.  I find that if I take too much of certain types of vitamins, that my body has bad reactions.  This is a personal thing for me.  You might not have those types of reactions.  You do what works for you.  Does anyone else take something like this?  Or what do vitamins if any do you take?

Summer Smoothie:

In my summer smoothies I have been doings lots of fresh fruit.  Basically whatever is on sale at the grocery store.  The smoothie pictures has the following ingredients: 1 cup of coconut/almond milk, a few ice cubs, a handful of blueberries, 5 strawberries, half a mango, and ground flax seeds.  This is a nice refreshing drink that I make in the morning or occasionally the afternoon for a pick me up.

Berries Galore

Pinterest Fail:

I like kale smoothies so I figured I would like kale chips.   Boy was I wrong.  Maybe it was the way I made them?  I got a recipe from Pinterest and lets just say it smelled awful and did not taste much better.  It took a few days to get the smell out of the house.  I don't think I will be trying this ever again.  I might buy some and see if I like them at all. 

Pinterest FAIL

House Purge:

I have started my bi annual house purge.  This is always a long process, but it feels so good when it is all done that I can't resist doing it.  I found a great consignment shop nearby called Courtney's Closet.  They take nice fashionable clothes and you split the proceeds 50/50 by either getting a check or store credit.  If the item doesn't sell within 90 days it is donated to charity.  I brought about 15 pairs of shoes over there.  I also recently donated a bunch of clothes to Purple Heart.  I have so much more to go through but I just to do one room a week and that makes it more manageable.  It is a nice feeling to have less stuff, it makes it easier to find the things that I actually want to use.  I still have a ways to go in the house and my storage unit, but soon I will have less stuff and be more organized as a result. 

Do you do a house purge now and again?  What are some tips that you have to share?

Sephora Color IQ

Baby Ruth!

YOU GUYS!

I recently went to Sephora at Tysons Corner mall.  As you know, I love love love Sephora.   I met the most amazing employee named Tiffany.  I saw her in the store with her bight blue hair and I knew that she would be spectacular (spoiler alert! she was!).

The best place on Earth

I asked her about doing a color match, it is a new technology to Sephora where an associate uses a handheld machine to test your face in a few different spots in order to find  the correct color for you to wear.  Once the color selection is done, you can then choose your coverage options and the computer will tell you which brands you match with.  This is super cool and a usefull tool.  It is free to have this service done!  I would recomend trying it in different seasons (summer/winter) because your tone my change as well as your coverage needs.

Hugs and Loves,

M


PS. If you don't have Ebates yet, please use my link to sign up: My Ebates!

you should use Ebates at all times