Weekending: spring cleaning!

This weekend at home was spent catching up on life. I feel so accomplished after all we got done!

Thursday night started off with an adorable ice cream date...

Friday I went straight to the gym after work. My best friend Kate that lives in Charlotte was home for the weekend so of course we headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner and margs! As always, my heart was so happy to see her and catch up.

I wore this top [yellow sold out] and dressed it up with a beaded handband… my go-to these days when I'm too lazy to do my hair. My nail color is OPI "Kiss Me I'm Brazilian". The perfect color for Spring!

Saturday we ran lots of errands, including a meeting with our travel agent to plan our graduation/2nd anni trip in December. More details on that later! I wore a simple white 3/4 sleeve top and added a fun necklace.

Then we went with my family to a little festival called Piratefest. Our hometown of Greenville is the home of the ECU pirates so they always have a festival in the spring with lots of games and rides and fun activities. My niece was amazedddd by all the mermaids and pirates. And since her daddy couldn't be there, G got volunteered to ride all the rides with her ;) Those two love each other so much! He is going to be the best daddy one day!

Then it was time for the gym. I don't exactly love going to the gym but I do love our gym dates. I am so proud of myself for how regularly I have been going. I feel stronger and so much more in shape than a few months ago.

Don't all normal people leave the gym and go straight home to make a vodka cranberry? Because I do. The sparkling cranberry with a fresh lime makes for the perfect light, summer drink. We cooked out on the grill then watched the movie Nightcrawler. It was pretty good, but not the best ever.

Sunday we went to early church which was the best idea EVER. It made our day seem so much longer! After the gym and grocery store we cleaned our entire house. We even cleaned every closet out and got rid of all the stuff we never wear. It felt so good to clean out and "down size" our closets. We finished the weekend with the Masters and dinner at my mom's.

It sure felt good to catch up on everything this weekend. I feel refreshed and ready to start my 3rd week at my family medicine rotation! Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan and Biana

Five on Friday: home projects and dreaming of summer

O N E

My second week in family medicine has been pretty good. Pretty uneventful, but educational. I missed Monday thanks to a killer cold that knocked me out for 2 days straight so it was a short week. Is it just me or do "short weeks" feel like the slowest weeks?? Still hating the commute, but taking advantage of the alone time and trying to stay positive!

The highlight of my week was eating lunch with Garrett's Nana [now my Nana too!] on Wednesday. She lives about 15 minutes from where my rotation is so I got spoiled with country style steak, corn, peas, homemade rolls, and her specialty… lemon pie from scratch. Y'all, that lady can cook. I literally was in a food coma seeing patients that afternoon.

Slightly better than the spinach salad I take for lunch every day

T W O

As I wrote about in a previous post, I have been searching for something to go on the wall above our new bar cart. Well, I saw this piece of wall art last weekend at my favorite store at the beach and knew it would be perfect. And I am thrilled with how it looks and completes this space! 

T H R E E

This girl. I can't even. Being an aunt is the greatest blessing in the whole world!

F O U R

This was my view last weekend and I am missing it badly! I am dreaming of summer weekends at the beach. By the way, has anyone else read this book? It was great!

F I V E

I'll be honest, I'm not much into "beauty products" and wasting money on things that don't work. However, a friend recommended this clay mask and I have been really happy with it. Put on a thin layer, watch tv for 20 minutes, then peel it off and your face feels clean and fresh. I got roasted slightly burnt at the beach last weekend and my face had started to peel. I put this mask on, peeled it off, and poof! all the dead skin was gone!

This mask is super flattering….

How was your week?! I am looking forward to a weekend at home to spend time with my husband and furry baby!

Linking up with April and Amanda

Guest bedroom projects!

Our guest bedroom has been unfinished since we moved in a little over a year ago. As I've said in previous posts, furnishing/decorating an entire house is EXPENSIVE. Just ask my husband ;) So the guest bedroom has been on the bottom of our priority list in terms of decorating since we've only had people stay a handful of nights. Since all our family lives within an hour of us, we don't really have many overnight guests. However, every time I walk by that room my OCD gets the best of me. You see, I want everything finished… like, now. So when Pottery Barn had a 20% off sale last week, I pulled the trigger on the curtains I had been eyeing. 

The hardware for the curtains is from Lowes. I considered buying it from Pottery Barn until I realized a curtain rod was approximately $100… no thank you. All of the hardware, including the clip rings, was around $50 at Lowes.

I have been looking for something to go over this bed for forevvvver. Everything I found was too modern. I wanted "french country"-ish, something classic and distressed. Well when I was at my favorite furniture store at the beach last weekend, those wooden mirrors screamed "GUEST BEDROOM!" So I took them home on approval and am so happy with how they look.

Eventually I will add trim to the curtains to make them "pop", but for now they will do. And I need to finish styling the bedside table. Overall, I am pleased with how these 2 projects have transformed the room! Now, who wants to come stay with us?!?

[drapes in oatmeal] [curtain rod] [duvet- Pottery barn; sold out] [lamp- Home Goods]

Five on Friday: Easter weekend!

Happy Good Friday! We are currently at the beach for our annual Easter weekend tradition with my whole family. Both me and hubs had the day off today [woohoo!] so we got to come last night! A long weekend at the beach= perfection. Here are my top 5 "things" from this week:

O N E

My first week in family medicine has been pretty good! For the most part it has been all diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol with a few interesting things mixed in. The most interesting thing I saw this week was a diabetic foot ulcer. The 49-year-old man was so non-compliant with his diabetes medications that he ended up with a huge foot sore that went almost all the way to his bone. And this is after he has already had 2 toes amputated! We referred him to a wound care clinic but he will probably end up having to have his foot amputated.

Though these things are pretty boring, it's good that I am getting a lot of practice with these medications because e.ver.y.one. has  diabetes and high blood pressure these days. I have an hour commute which is no fun. To be honest, I don't really mind the drive. The drive there is pretty relaxing… I get to finish my coffee and enjoy some worship music. It just really stinks that 2 hours of my day are spent in the car when I'd much rather be spending that time with my husband. It's throwing off my gym routine too. After a 12 hour day the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. Only 3 more weeks left!

T W O

I may or may not have bought this candle at Target because of the brand. Helloooo, my puppy girl is Bella so I was not leaving without that Bella candle! And it was on sale for just $8! To my surprise it is one of the best candles I've ever purchased. It had my entire house smelling amazing in just a few minutes. I will definitely be purchasing more of these in the future!

My sweet Bella girl

T H R E E

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been struggling to find reasonably priced bathing suits. However, I scored these two suits at Target for around $50 total! For some reason they didn't have bottoms to match the tops, but I am going to make do with solid bottoms. I got the navy/gray bottom but the pink bottom is from an old suit I already own. But it matches my new bikini top perfectly! Score! 

F O U R

This past Fall my mother-in-law gave me some daffodil bulbs. I thought, "what the heck am I going to do with these? I have no idea how to plant real flowers" but decided to just throw them in the ground and see what happens. Surprise! They bloomed! I honestly had forgotten about them until I saw tiny little buds peeking out of the ground a few weeks ago. Now they are fully bloomed and they make me smile every time I walk out of the house.

F I V E

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been really trying to eat healthy but I always seem to "cheat" when I snack. Insert: jalapeño almonds. You see, I could eat 5 bags of jalapeño potato chips at 1 sitting so I am tricking myself into thinking I'm eating chips when really I'm eating almonds. These things are delicious AND a healthy snack!

Thoughts for Thursday: my take on fitness and health

I have always been interested in fitness and health. I have worked out and played sports my whole life so when I got to college, it was an easy decision when I chose to major in Exercise and Sport Science. However, when I started PA school, exercise and healthy eating were the last things on my list of priorities. I usually woke up around 5am to study a few hours before class, sat in class from 8-5, then went straight home to study until bed around 11pm. Literally not a single minute to spend at the gym. For 1.5 years the stress of PA school completely took over my life. I felt unhealthy, I gained weight, lost energy, was tired all the time, and never exercised.

This past January I started clinicals, so I am no longer having to study every waking moment of the day. It's more like an 8-5 job with a big exam at the end of each month. While I still have to study, I now have time to get back into my routine of exercising and eating healthy. For the past 3 months I have been able to go to the gym almost every day. My husband meets me at the gym and is my "personal trainer" aka he tells me what to do and I [mostly] listen ;)

I suck at cooking and don't really enjoy it either but thankfully my husband enjoys it, and is a great cook too! He cooks every single one of our meals. Yes, I am lucky! Being that he is a health nut, our dinners are always super healthy. He keeps me on track with eating because if it were up to me, I'd probably have a pb&j or microwavable pizza for dinner every night [pure laziness]. 

Some of the common myths that we hear as women:

1. Plain salads are the healthiest thing for me… FALSE [you need a protein always!] The hardest thing for me is trying to incorporate protein into every meal. I could honestly be a vegetarian. My husband craves grilled chicken. Me, notsomuch. However, protein is essential to build lean muscle and lose fat. If you like salads, just throw some turkey or chicken on top for an added boost of protein!
2. Skipping breakfast= less calories consumed= more weight lost… FALSE. The most important meal is breakfast!!! It is essential to start your day with protein, such as eggs. This boosts your metabolism and will give you energy to start the day. When you starve yourself, your body eats your MUSCLE to compensate. This is not good!!
3. Lifting weights is going to make me big and bulky… FALSE. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard women say they only do cardio and don't lift weights because they don't want to get "bulky". News flash: you won't get big by lifting weights. Lifting weights improves bone health, decreases the risk of developing osteoporosis, and has SO many other health benefits. Low weight, high repetition weight training will tone your muscles and have you looking lean and fit!
4. The less you eat, the more weight you will lose… FALSE. See #2 :)

Here are some of our meals from this week:

Spinach salad with strawberries, blueberries, feta cheese, almond slivers, and grilled chicken topped with a little bit of strawberry vinaigrette dressing

"Rice bowls" except the rice is actually pureed cauliflower [no carbs!]. It's SO easy to make! Put whole cauliflower in a blender then warm in a pan. Mix with peppers, onions, grilled chicken, salsa, avocado, and any other yummy goodness to create your own Chipotle rice bowl!

Grilled salmon over zoodles with a spinach salad. We cooked our zoodles with fresh garlic and some red pepper flakes and it was so yummy!

Homemade lettuce wraps… they were just as good as PF Changs!

Eating healthy and working out consistently is a constant battle but it's so worth it! In the past 3 months I have started feeling so much better about myself which improves my marriage, my attitude, and my overall well-being. Please contact me if you have any questions or want advice regarding meals or exercising! I would love to help!

Linking up with Annie!

Weekending: home on the farm

This weekend G and I headed home to his parents' house. It's a quick 45 minute drive so we make the trip pretty often. Plus, they live on a farm so Bella is in absolute heaven when we stay for the weekend. It was a super low-key weekend with lots of outside time… my favorite! We did all things redneck: tractor rides, practiced shooting guns, rode 4-wheelers, etc. Bella's favorite thing to do is run beside us on the 4-wheeler. She fliiiies… then sleeps like a baby for a few days ;) Saturday night we had a wedding shower for one of G's high school best friends. It was great to catch up with all his old friends and their wives.

I totally felt like Whitney from the Bachelor. A romantic tractor ride with my husband [insert sarcasm]

Today is the first day of my family medicine rotation! I have an hour commute, which I am not too excited about but hopefully I will really enjoy this rotation! I hope you have a great Monday!

Linking up with Meghan!