March 2015 Favorite Things

Music:

Music has always been a big part of my life and lately music is just crushing it for me.  Just SO good.

I listen to Amazon Prime Music all the time.  If you already have Amazon Prime, then you already have Music too :) I have been listening to a lot of older songs, like 50s and 60s.  Music really helps my day and sometimes you just find some songs that are such a reflection of what is going on in life.

For real, you should have this

Friends:

I have some seriously AMAZING friends.  This month I was moving out of my house, putting stuff into storage and temporarily moving to a place for one month.  My friends helped me so much.  Two of them and their son came over every single night for one week to help me move items to storage.  I mean EVERY night.  For Serious.  They also cleaned up my garage like WHOA! 

I need all the helping hands on deck

I'm extra late this time with posting, trying to get better about it.  Promises.  

XO

Mo

February 2015 Favorite Things

I just have one post that has consumed my life since Meredith shared it with me:


Bulletproof coffee:

I say bring the yum!

Bulletproofe coffee = coconut oil + Kerrygold butter

Step 1: 1 slice of Kerrygold and 1 scoop of Coconut Oil

Step 2: Put in blender and make coffee

Step 3: Combine coffee into blender

Step 4: Mix away

Step 5: Enjoy!





 

January 2015 Favorite Things

Happy New Year once again!

NYE 2015

Salad:

I love a gigantic salad for dinner.  I have some variation of this most nights.  This one has romaine hearts, cucumbers, carrots, blood orange, sliced spicy chicken sausage and balsamic vinegar.  Just a few ingredients but always fresh.  Mix up the proteins and veggies and its a whole new salad.

All the salad

Red Velvet Oreos

What is this magic?  Meredith brought these home one day.  They are so good.  They come in these adorable smaller packages (which is good, otherwise I would eat them all).  These are a limited edition so if you want to try them, get them soon or it might be too late. 

Pure Magic

Scuba!

For Stephen's birthday, I found a Discover Scuba LivingSocial deal with Patriot Scuba.  It is a 3 hour class where the first hour is all instruction and getting the know the gear.  The second hour is spend in the shallow end of the pool getting comfortable with the gear practicing getting it on and off, breathing via the regulator, how to clear your mask if you get water in it etc.  The last part of class, we got to go to the deep end and swim around like dolphins.  They had us swimming through hoops and playing football underwater.  It was great fun!  If you want to take your kids, they do have to be at least 10 years of age. 

Here we are before class!

Some bright lipstick:

Sometimes I just want bright lipstick in my life!  Maybe it is because it is winter and everything is so dark...who knows, but I just feel the urge to wear some bright lip colors. 

Lipstick for the win

December 2014 Favorite Things

Whooooooo!  We are at the end of another year.  This year has been tough in many ways and I couldn't not have made it through the year without my family and friends.  Thank you to all of you for your support and time spent with me.  I sincerely appreciate it.

As the year comes to a close, now is a great time to start getting things ready for the New Year. 

Donations:

There are so many ways to donate, it can be items, money, time.  Take some time to go through your clothes and get items ready to donate.  If you haven't worn it in a year and can't legitimately picture yourself wearing it in the near future, you don't need to keep it.  If you prefer to donate money, then go for it!  Your favorite charity could use your funds to help run programs and help others.  If you prefer to volunteer your time, go for it!  Volunteer with your local group whatever it may be.

Bra Fitting:

Bodies change ladies!  Head over to your favorite store and get measured and refit.  I went to Victoria's Secret for mine and it was amazing.  I got measured and then headed into the dressing room to try on a few sizes and styles.  After each bra was on, I would push a button and the two ladies helping me would come in and check the fit.  These two ladies really took their time with me to make sure that I was comfortable and that my girls were safe and secure in the bra.  It took some time, but I feel it is worth it.

Makeup:
Winter is also a time when perhaps your skin color has changed due to less sun exposure.  Not a bad idea to double check that you are wearing the correct foundation/concealer/powder colors.  Also don't forget to wear SPF, even in the winter, your skin is still exposed.

House Cleaning:

Time to get serious and make your house look like an adult lives there.  Get rid of clutter, do some small projects to make your house look better.  I decided to tackle my closet.  I wish I had taken a before photo, but I failed on that.  I took everything out, spackled, sanded, and painted.  I painted it a really light blue, just to make it a little different.  When putting things back in, I really went through everything and got a ton of stuff to donate, and also a few things went in the trash.  I had converted to matching hangers last time I did a massive cleanout, so in sticking with that I got rid of lots of mismatched hangers.  I also threw away some clothes that were worn out looking.  The end result not only looks better, but allows me to find my items much more easily.

What a difference (you can sort of see the blue paint)

so organized!

Hugs and Loves!

M

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?