6 Days in the Road and I'm Gonna Make It Home Tonight

What a crazy week! I can barely keep up. I was in Kansas City for work on Tuesday and Wednesday, then I headed to St Louis for meetings on Friday.

Because of the chaos, Hubbs and I hit Houlihans for dinner Thursday night. . Hubbs went for the healthier options of steak, green beans, and asparagus. Me, not so much. Can't beat happy hour chicken nachos and wings

We also decided to road trip out to Louisville for the weekend to meet our new niece. Since St. Louis was on the way, I had my coworker drop me off at Starbucks to wait for Hubbs. I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing Friday afternoon! I got lots of work and reading done. 

So many gas station stops on the way... but found a new gas station somewhere in Illinois. They had some pretty amusing books. 

Saturday, we met my niece! She is so tiny. 4 1/2 pounds. So basically, the rest of the weekend was just sitting around in sweats holding babies and chilling with family. Perfection. :) 

Look how big her pacifier looks! Adorable! Great weekend, but more craziness to come! New Orleans for more work on Sunday! 

Kansas City

This week, I had to make a quick work trip to Kansas City. I'm staying at Harrah's- definitely not my choice. I absolutely hate casinos, but I'm making the best of it!

We ate at the 37 steakhouse in Harrah's since it was raining, and we didn't feel like going out. Food was good. Great crab mac and cheese, asparagus, creamed spinach, etc.

My boss made me take leftovers, so I'll most likely be hitting these around midnight. 

And since I hate gambling, I relaxed the rest of the night away with some Headspace meditation, a face mask, and Us Weekly. Not too shabby!

Travel Day

Headed out to Austin for work this week. Packed some healthy snacks for the travel.

Said goodbye to Hubbs and this guy...

Layover in Dallas... Excited for the construction but I walked forever. Hello exercise!

I had some time to grab dinner and have been craving a burger so I grabbed a booth at Friday's and devoured this sucker.

About ready to board my flight with a full belly and am hoping for an easy flight and good sleep tonight! 11 meetings tomorrow- here we go!

What a Weekend!

Kicked off the weekend with my bestie. We had all intentions of going out to a nice dinner then going to see a girly movie. We got some interesting news from a friend of ours, didn't know how to process, and decided to just get take out Mexican, lots of wine, and sit at home going "WTF." Just what we needed! So thankful for good friends to do life with.

And then we decided to get crazy with face masks. You know... wine.. 

Saturday night, Hubbs and I hit the town. We decided to try out a new restaurant downtown- Civil. It didn't have the best reviews when it first opened, so I was weary, but a friend said it was good, so we gave it a shot. We sat upstairs at the bar. Loved the setting. It was very quiet and relaxing- with great views of the square. Hubbs had the Chicken Strips, and I had the Civil Burger with Gouda Mash. Definitely hit the spot!

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. I met up with the bestie again for Starbucks then Hot Barre at Physique Fitness. It was my first time going. I've been to hot yoga. I've been to barre, but never hot barre. It was the best way I could have ended the weekend. It felt so good to make my muscles burn. And surprisingly, I'm feeling pretty good today. 

And then to top the weekend off, I came home and Hubbs had dinner ready yet again. His special recipe of cream cheese meatballs (my favorite!) and gnocchi with tomato basil marinara from Trader Joe's. My mouth was watering as soon as I stepped in the house. 

After a great weekend full of great food, friend time, exercise, and relaxation, Snoops and I had the same Monday morning expression. 

Hope you have a Happy Monday too! 

Slackin' into Friday

I feel like I've totally been a slacker this week. Hubbs has been amazing and made all the meals this week. Which means man meals. Meat and potatoes all the way. Last night was chicken, potatoes, and baked beans. I'll take it! 

Hit the gym to wrap up the week. Started off with some Sworkit yoga. It felt so good to stretch out! 

I tried to make my yoga time relaxing by playing some chill music. I'm not sure Juvenile counts, but it sure does speak loads about my taste in music. Loved it! 

After some yoga, I headed outside for a short run. The weather is gorgeous. 70 degrees, but a little windy. Not too shabby for a February. Missouri weather is so bipolar; I wouldn't be surprised if we get a blizzard next week. Since it's warming up, that also means the geese are back. Thankfully, it's not mating season yet, so they quickly hopped off my running path with only a little stink eye. Those buggers can get downright scary during mating season!

Gorgeous weather continues this weekend, and I have lots planned including a date with my bestie tonight. Great weekend ahead!! 

Valentine's Weekend

My Valentine's weekend was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation. On Friday night, we headed out for our weekly date night. Downtown was crowded so we stopped at Mother's Brewery to have a few beers before heading to dinner. I had the Chocolate Thunder. Delicious! 

After that, we headed to Black Sheep. I've blogged about it before, but it's a great burger place. Well, even though we went late, there was still an hour and a half wait, so they sent us upstairs to their bar. I had no idea that they had a bar upstairs! It seemed almost like a speakeasy! They had a great cheese dip with gorgonzola, jalapenos, and candied bacon. Normally, I'm not a fan of gorgonzola but this was amazing! 

And either time flew by or the wait was much shorter than an hour and a half, but before I knew it, I was downstairs shoving this amazing burger into my mouth. It's the Foodie. I get it every time- I don't pass up boursin ever! 

After dinner, we met up with some friends and the night flew by. Needless to say, I was more than happy and thankful to have Black Sheep leftovers for breakfast in bed on Saturday...with a side of tons of water. Signs of a good Friday night!

Sunday morning, I made some oatmeal protein pancakes topped with pink greek yogurt to fit the day. And hazelnut coffee in one of my favorite coffee mugs! 

Weather was horrible, and we wanted to avoid any holiday weekend crowds, so we had a wonderful appetizer dinner at home while watching Bachelor. Because we have problems. Appetizers are my favorite meal. We make a delicious dish that is so easy- a layer of cream cheese, a layer of cocktail sauce, and shrimp. Then we scoop it up with different crackers. Definitely my favorite. 

And we finished off the night with some pistachio gelato. Gelato is the way to my heart any day. Move over ice cream. This is my jam.

Wonderful Valentine's weekend with lots of food, fun, friends, and relaxation! 

Wonderful Weekend!

Happy Monday! I had a fun, but somewhat relaxing weekend! It started out Friday night with Galentine's! I had a blast just hanging out with the girls, pigging out on inappropriate junk food and champagne. What better way to start the weekend?

Saturday morning the weather was beautiful, so I hit the track with my fav furry running buddy. He hung in there for 2 1/2 miles. Not bad considering we haven't run outside since Thanksgiving! 

Hubbs and I decided to have a fun afternoon together. We headed out and did a little house hunting. Slightly toying with the idea of upgrading to a bigger house, but nothing serious so we just hit up some open houses for fun. Then we stopped to refuel at Big Momma's Coffee- delicious macchiato- with a nice view of the trains going by. 

After coffee, we hit up some antique stores then decided to try someplace new for dinner. Rama Thai Cafe was a place we'd always driven by but never stopped. It's in an old house right next to Missouri State. It was a really neat little place. I devoured crab rangoon before I could snap a pic. We also had the spring rolls, drunken noodle with shrimp (Pad Kew Mow) and sesame chicken. So much food! We're having the rest tonight during Bachelor. So excited! 

And even though we were stuffed, we made a stop to check out the new Hurts Donut on the southside of town and picked up some simple, glazed donuts for Sunday morning. 

Hurts has some awesome, interesting donuts, but I prefer it plain and simple with either glazed or the streusel. Sunday was spent on the couch- didn't even go anywhere for the Super Bowl. Wonderful lazy weekend at home! 

Friday Fun

It's Friday, and I'm feeling feisty. I started out the day by putting this gem in a co-worker's office for their birthday. 

Hit the gym at lunch again. Sometimes just wearing gym clothes that make you feel good can put you in the right mindset to kick butt. I seriously love working out in bike shorts. They're just comfy to me. And I love a good pony. Good day.

Last fun thing of the day so far.... I was running on the treadmill and looked up to see a family friend on the Rachael Ray Show. How random! 

Darnell owns SuperChefs. They have locations in Ohio: Columbus and Gahanna. I visited their location in Louisville just a few days before it was destroyed by a fire. Horrible thing, but so glad I got the chance to try the food. It was amazing! Great burger called Feelin' Mello that had candied bacon on it. Delicious. 

Well, that's my random Friday. Ready to kick off the weekend! 

I'm an Aunt!

I'm an Aunt! I'm an Aunt! And I don't care who knows it!!

Thursday afternoon, we hit the road and drove 8 hours straight to Louisville, KY to meet my one week old nephew!! He's precious, and I'm in love. This is the kid that made me an aunt! It's just crazy to wrap my brain around. I could hold him and stare at him forever. Life is an incredible thing.

Even though we were in Louisville, we didn't leave the house. I wanted to spend as much time with my nephew as possible! My family did surprise me with my favorite cake as a late birthday celebration. Marble with whipped frosting. And nothing tops a cake that says "Aunt Abby!" Weekend made.

Back to work and real life on Monday. Since I literally spent the whole weekend sitting on my butt and eating cake, gym was top of the list. Another great SWORKout! Plyometrics Jump Cardio kicked my butt- now I feel geared up for the rest of the week!

Birthday Weekend!

I could not have asked for a better birthday weekend. My family and friends were all so thoughtful and made me feel so loved. I am lucky to have them- that's for sure. 

Hubby took me out for sushi at Haruno on Friday night. We were starving, so I totally forgot to take pictures.

Saturday morning, he took me out to brunch at The Order. Another all-time favorite! They serve Brick & Mortar coffee- the only coffee I can really drink black and enjoy.

I had my usual- the Duck Confit Hash. The duck melts in your mouth. Love the purple potatoes too. It's just wonderful. Hubby had the Pork Belly Corndogs. Again super delicious- but they were really rich. They might have been better as just an appetizer instead of the main meal. 

After brunch, we headed over to Pineapple Whip. Hello- ALL THE EXCITEMENT. Pineapple Whip is this amazing little stand that is open around town during the summer. They had their Winter Solstice opening once during the winter- this year it fell on my birthday. I was in heaven! We got two of the biggest tubs to stash in the freezer. I've been taking a bite ever time I walk by the fridge. It won't last long! Ps. Love that the hula girl is wearing a blanket! Stay warm, hula girl!!

My aunt surprised me by driving up to my house with a warm pan of her homemade rolls- just for me! Talk about the best way to make me feel loved! Someday I need to spend an afternoon making these with her. I need to know her ways. These are the best rolls in life. I'm not even joking. 

When it comes to birthday cake, I'm not a fancy girl. All I need is a white or marble cake with whipped frosting straight from the grocery store. I was super excited to find one at midnight Friday night. But in my half asleep state, I forgot we purchased it and threw it in the back of the car with the rest of our groceries. Oops. 

It still turned out pretty well- and tasted amazing, so that's all that matters!

Thanks again to all my family and friends for the love this weekend. I am so thankful to have you all in my lives and thank you for helping me kick off year #29!

On Mondays, we watch Bachelor

I have a confession to make... My husband and I religiously watch The Bachelor. Every Monday night, we make appetizers and settle in for a good night of drama. Hey, it fills the void that Monday Night Football has left...

Last night, I made crab stuffed mushrooms and a cream cheese spinach crab dip and piled on the veggies as much as possible. Sorry no recipes- I really just threw stuff together. Beverage of choice was La Croix. Their grapefruit/pamplemousse is my go to flavor, but I decided to branch out for winter and try the cherry/lime. Good stuff! 

Then for dessert, I finally attempted chocolate chia seed pudding. Here's a link the recipe I used. I left out the maple syrup/dates and ended up adding a pack of Splenda. Not the best idea. It also could have used a nutty topping like almonds. Regardless, not horrible. 

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding Recipe

As for the Bachelor, it was a pretty great night. Really impressed with how Lace handled herself and am really starting to love the crazy train that Olivia is becoming. Also, I LOVE Jubilee. At first, I was totally skeptical, but after she opened up and shared her past, I want to give that girl major props. Then how the girls treated her afterwards totally killed me. Maybe it was just the editing, but I couldn't believe that the girls weren't on board to take care of Ben when he had received terrible news. My heart broke for him, and it was nice to see Jubilee give him a little rest from the chaos of the house when he needed it the most. 

Aannnnnndd that's my Bachelor opinions for the night. Sorry about that! If you need a recap, I highly suggest Pinterest Told Me To- Hilarious! Here's a link to her recap from last week:

www.pinteresttoldmeto.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-bachelor-episode-2-recap-ben-sniffs.html

Restart

This Monday seems like a "restart" kind of Monday. I kicked off the weekend by taking down Christmas decorations and getting some serious cleaning and organizing done in my house. It's finally time to get back in the grind of real life.

I even had time yesterday afternoon to do some meal prep for the week. I got these divided containers for Christmas, and I love them! It reminds me to pack veggies, fruit, and protein for lunch. 

I also felt really motivated to work out today. Despite the meal prep, I didn't have the best eating habits this weekend. A few too many sweets and meals out! Decided to work on the abs today with some planks, sit ups with ball support, etc. 

Then for cardio, I hit the stair stepper. This song was my jam for the workout. It's upbeat and catchy. Plus, I love how it talks about building your own house- reminds me to build my own life without letting outside opinions interfere. I know what's best for me, and I have to follow my heart.

So, that's my Monday. Good start to the week, for sure!