Wednesday, July 31, 2019

2019 Goals: July Update

The end of July pretty much signifies the end of summer being near but I’m not terribly upset about it because that means my wedding is closer! As of today, my wedding is 9 days away! We have pretty much everything together so now I’m just attempting to relax until the day gets here. In other news, the end of the month also means I need to post an update about my 2019 goals. Read on to see how they’re going!


Goal 1: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
July was a great month for working out and eating healthy for me! I was part of a weight loss challenge at my gym {I pretty much did it for the free workout classes and personal training. I did not expect to lose much weight} so I pushed myself to get myself to workout classes and personal training sessions. My trainer helped me figure out my nutrition and for the past month I have been focusing on tracking calories instead of Weight Watcher points. It has definitely changed up my eating game which has been nice.


Goal 2: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
I taught arts and crafts at a camp this summer and tried my best to come up with crafts that used recycled items. We used toilet paper tubes to make firework paintings, I encouraged kids to use scraps of construction paper left over from other crafts, and saved any plastic containers I had {cottage cheese tubs, yogurt cups, etc.} for supply storage and water cups.

Goal 3: Reduce Phone Usage
This was pretty easy this past month because the place I worked had terrible cell service, so even on my breaks I wasn't really playing with my phone. 


Goal 4: Try New Recipes
Thanks to my trainer, I switched up my eating habits which means new foods! I've been loving cooking sweet potatoes and chicken for the week. I know that isn't a new recipe but it's something new to me recently. John and I discovered the simplicity of making burrito bowls in our Instant Pot and it has been life changing! All we do is throw uncooked rice, a can of corn, can of black beans, and some salsa in there, cook it up, and TA-DA! Dinner! We usually make burrito bowls with this or put it on tortillas. We tried it once with chicken but both agreed it was better without it.

Goal 5: Give Back
This is a goal that didn't get as much attention the past few months. I am currently brainstorming things I can do!

Goal 6: Save Money
I'll have to admit, we haven't done the best with saving money this past month with all the wedding purchases we've been making. We are pretty exciting, though, that we stayed under budget for our wedding! That counts, right?!

Question of the Day: How are your 2019 goals coming along? Have you completed anything on your 19 in 2019 list, if you made one?

Friday, July 26, 2019

Friday Favorites

It’s a happy, happy Friday for many reasons! For one, today is my last day at my summer job. It was a long and crazy 5 weeks so I am thankful to be done and get some quiet time away from kids for a bit. Second, we are TWO weeks away from my wedding. And third, it’s my bachelorette party weekend! My girls have an awesome weekend planned for me that kicks off tomorrow afternoon. We are starting the day off at Board & Brush, where we will each be making our own wooden decoration of some sort. From there, we are getting a late lunch/early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. After that, just my girls and I are heading off to my house to start the festivities that will then lead us into Philly. I honestly can’t wait! I hope you all have a fun weekend planned as well! Before I kicked off this fabulous Friday, here are some things I’ve been loving this week.


Eco Tools Body Buff
I randomly found this while going through some old college stuff. I have absolutely no clue where it came from but it was still in the original package so I figured why not give it a shot. I’m not 100% exactly how I’m supposed to use it but I personally used it as a loofah/sponge with my Dove body wash. Man oh man does it do wonders to the dry patches on my elbows and legs. Just one use gave me smooth skin that lasts. I used the actual buff side and not the softer side and it wasn’t too rough at all.


MyQ Smart Garage Hub
This was one of our Amazon Prime Day impulse purchases. It’s pretty much a little sensor that goes on our garage door opener and actual door to allow us to open and close it using an app. The best part, and the major selling point for us, is that you can check the app to see if it’s open or closed so we never have to randomly think during the day “did I close the garage door?!” because yes, we did that haha.


Nuun Vitamins
I’ve always loved Nuun Vitamins but they’ve been extra helpful lately. I’ve been drinking a cold bottle of Vitamins each morning on my way to work. It’s kept me from catching any sickness going around at my work during such a busy time for me. I also wait to eat my breakfast until I get to work so it helps hold me over on the drive there as well.

Question of the Day: What is something you’re loving this week?

Monday, July 22, 2019

My Week in Pictures XXIX

Happy Monday, everybody! I hope everyone has been able to keep cool these past few days if you've had the kind of heat Jersey has had. As I've said before, life has been busy lately with the wedding just 18 days away. This past week was full of a lot of wedding prep and needless to say, I'm starting this Monday on a sleepy note. To keep you in the loop, here is my week in pictures!


We started off the week with a bang and picked up our marriage license after we both got done work!


Afterwards we met up with John's best friend, Dean, and his girlfriend for burgers and milkshakes.


Tuesday morning started with an early morning run. It was actually pretty decent out!


I got some Joey snuggles after work on Wednesday.


On Thursday I opted to run my 3 miles on the treadmill. Luckily Elf was playing in the Edge Cinema which kept me distracted.


When I got home, I sat on the couch and put my feet up for the first time in awhile. It might've been a bad idea, though, because then I didn't want to get up...


Friday's field trip was to the movies to see Toy Story 4. Super cute movie!


After work I went to the gym and tried out the stair climber. What a good workout!


John left super early on Saturday morning for his bachelor party so I hit the ground running with wedding errands.


This was my look for the day since it was so darn hot out!


After being out most of the day with my mom, sister, and nephews, we relaxed with some sushi for dinner.


I ended up sleeping over at my sister's Saturday night since her husband was at John's bachelor party, too. Breakfast consisted of half a breakfast sandwich and a cookie that Ashley baked while I went home to feed Dexter.


Some more Joey snuggles and lots of play time with Tommy!


We baked rainbow cupcakes Saturday night and Tommy iced them Sunday morning.


We did a couple crafts together. This one was where Tommy colored on a coffee filter with markers and then sprayed it with water so the colors spread out. They were the wings of the butterfly we made.


The end result of all our cupcakes!


Question of the Day: What did you do fun this past weekend?

Friday, July 19, 2019

Friday Favorites

We are officially 3 weeks out til the wedding and I only have 1 week of work left so you could say I’m pretty excited over here! It was a long week but the weekend is finally here! John is going to Atlantic City for his bachelor party so I’m spending the weekend with my sister doing some wedding related stuff and pretty much just relaxing. My bachelorette party is next week and I’m getting pretty pumped for that! Before I head into work and start this wonderful work day, I’m sharing some things that I’ve been digging this week.


This Instagram Post
A week or so ago, JamieVaron posted this totally true text post on Instagram. I immediately shared it on my story because I felt like it was something everybody needed to read. I struggle in the summer, especially this summer in particular, with allowing myself to just enjoy life around me. I spend so much time criticizing myself and tryptophan stop myself from enjoying the joys of summer, such as ice cream. Ever since I read this, I’ve been remembering it each time I try to keep myself from just living.


Travel Utensil Set
I honestly have no clue where I got this set, but I’m fairly certain it was from the Success Rice table at a race expo awhile back. It’s a pretty cool traveling utensil set that has a fork, spoon, and knife all in one small set that comes apart  for you to use. I’ve been keeping it in my lunchbox for work the last week or so and it’s been awesome! The utensils are all a decent size and clean up nicely. I love the little cover that keeps it all together in my bag!


Caramel Corn
While down the shore for 4th of July weekend I insisted on getting a tub of caramel corn from Pop’s on the boardwalk. I’m not sure what made me want it, but it was exactly what I was craving! I opted to get it in a tub, knowing I wouldn’t finish it for awhile. Well it’s been close to 2 weeks and I’m still snacking on it. Surprisingly it’s been staying pretty fresh in the tub so I hope it continues that until I finish it!

Question of the Day: What are you loving this week?

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Benefits of Running Early

As most of you know, we are pretty much in the hottest part of the summer. My part of New Jersey is supposed to be hitting the high 90’s by the end of this week and I’m not sure I’m ready for that. One thing I can do to avoid experiencing these high temps is by completing my run before work as opposed to after. This means I’m up and out the door before 6 am but I am completely okay with that because there a some great benefits of it. Today I’m sharing my personal benefits of getting a run done early in the morning.

I’d much rather run when it’s 77 than when it’s 95!

Lower Temperatures
It tends to be a lot cooler in the morning which makes for a much better run. If you happen to get out of the door before the sun comes up (wear your reflective gear and bring a light!), that’s even better because then you don’t have the harsh sun beating on you.

Sprinklers!
I’m not sure if this is every neighborhood, but the sprinklers tend to be going early in the morning around me. This gives me the opportunity to run through them when I start to get a bit toasty.


Peace and Quiet
Not many people are out and able before 6 am so that makes for a relatively quiet run. Those are the runs I enjoy the most because I can focus more on my thoughts than paying attention to all the people around me. I tend to run without headphones in the morning for two reasons. One, I like the quiet and the occasional bird chirping and two, for safety reasons. I like to be able to be hear my surroundings just in case.

It’s Done With!
This is by far the greatest part of an early morning run. I’m usually not too awake when I start my run, so once I figure out what’s going on, I’m already feeling good! It’s so nice to realize later in the day that I can go right home and relax after work because my run is already done with for the day. Some days I even forget and it’s a nice surprise later on!

Monday, July 15, 2019

My Week in Pictures XXIX

Hi, everyone! I can't believe Monday is already here! We had a busy weekend which made it feel like it flew by. We got a lot of wedding related tasks done and I'm going into this week feeling a little bit more relaxed than I have been. Last week was equally as busy as the weekend so keep scrolling to see what I was up to in picture and short caption form :)


My week started with a sweet whale craft at work.


On Tuesday I got a little visitor for lunch!


That afternoon we did a sand art craft in arts & crafts. The kids LOVED it but boy was it a mess!


Tuesday was Dress Like a Cow Day at Chick Fil A so my parents and I participated! We clearly went crazy with the costumes haha.


Wednesday we went on a field trip to the Funplex for work! It was a mix of a water park and an amusement park. Super cool!


I was excited to find this old prom photo in the original prom frame with cleaning on Thursday :)


Ashley invited us to some Sunset Festival on Friday night. I had fun playing with Tommy and he was definitely exhausted by the end of the evening.


Somehow John and I were awake enough after that to go get drinks with his friend from work and her boyfriend. A coconut mojito hit the spot!


Saturday morning started bright and early with our usual work out class and a blueberry protein shake!


We went and explored a potential first look location after that.


After hours of running wedding related items, we went for some all you can eat sushi.


I somehow convinced John to go shopping at the outlets near our house. He got some new bathing suits for the honeymoon along with some nice polos for work. I found a nice tank top and shorts at Old Navy to also pack for the honeymoon.


We kept ourselves super busy on Sunday and this picture of Dexter pretty much sums up how we both felt by the end of the day...


Question of the Day: What is something fun you did this past week/weekend?

Friday, July 12, 2019

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I’m switching things up this week and instead of a Friday Five, I’m doing my Friday Favorites. With all the craziness coming up in the next month or so, coming up with 5 things each week can be a bit much sometimes so I figured I’d switch to Friday Favorites for awhile to keep the blogging going. We have a busy weekend of wedding planning to do as it’s pretty much our last free weekend before the weekend before the wedding. I’m hoping to cross a lot off our list and start to feel a bit more relaxed! I hope you all have a good weekend planned :)


Travel Size Toiletries
Fun fact: I love miniature sized items! Growing up, I was loved miniature dolls, especially the old school Polly Pockets, always took the tiny soaps and shampoos from hotels because I thought they were too cute, and collected miniatures. While in CVS the other day, I figured I’d peruse the travel sizes toiletries to see if they had anything I’d need for my beach trip this weekend and/or the honeymoon. I was ecstatic when I came across the travel sized version of the face wash I’ve used for years. I picked it up to have for trips since usually I just pack the whole big bottle. It had been awhile since I’d shopped for travel sized items and I completely forgot how cute I always find them. 


Vaseline Lip Balm with Cocoa Butter
I’ve been having trouble with dry, peeling lips the past few months and hardly anything was helping. My mother-in-law suggested this Vaseline lip balm that comes in a small metal tin as a way of keeping my lips moisturized throughout the day. She made a good point that maybe the lip balm I was using was what was causing the dryness. I finally found it while in CVS earlier in the week and am happy to say it has made a HUGE difference! The mix of Vaseline and cocoa butter leaves my lips feeling soft all day and so far no peeling!

Finding a pair of shorts that aren’t too short or too long while also being comfortable is nearly impossible. While at the mall with my friend last weekend, we decided to try on some shorts. I grabbed a couple pairs that looked cute, including these Arizona midi shorts, and ended up falling in love with them! They have a 4.5 inch inseam which makes them long enough to prevent chafing, but not too long where they look like Bermuda shorts. I’m tempted to go back and buy a few more pairs to replace all my way too short pairs I have!

Personal Training
I never thought I’d say this, but I actually enjoy my personal training sessions! John has been doing personal training for awhile now and convinced me to join the weight loss challenge at our gym which includes some personal training sessions. I’ve had 2 so far and I actually think I work better having somebody telling me what to do and helping me through the workout. I feel much more accountable now!


Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?


Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Wedding Resources I Love

I was originally going to post a recap of the race I did last week, but decided to put that off to do a wedding related post instead! Yesterday, July 9th, marked one month until our wedding! I am super excited and in full wedding mode so today's post is about the websites that have proved to be the best resources for us during this whole planning process. Some are a little more obvious than others but I hope you find them useful whether you're currently engaged, almost engaged, or know someone who would benefit from these websites!


The Knot
This is probably the most obvious one! My suggestion after first getting engaged {after celebrating, of course!} is to make an account through The Knot. You may not know your date yet, but that's okay! The Knot provides so many useful articles with every tip and trick you didn't know you needed to know. Once you have your date, The Knot will create a checklist for you with deadlines for each task that you need to complete in order to plan your wedding. You also will have access to a free wedding website {it's soo easy to use!}, a budgeter, a timeline planner, and more!

Source

RSVPify
This was a resource that was recommended to us by my sister and her husband. RSVPify allows you to simplify RSVPing by putting everything online for a small fee! The set up is easy, although John did most of it so I can't say too much about it. You import your guest list into the website, separating each couple or family into their own grouping, and then assign each person/couple/family a unique code that they will enter on the site when they go on to respond. You can personalize the form with meal choices and questions such as song suggestions. Once people start responding, you can begin placing them in table groups which another awesome feature on RSVPify. It has honestly simplified this part of the process for me immensely and saved us a good amount of money since all we needed to make was a small insert card for each invitation with the information on it.


Etsy
Etsy was an absolute life saver when it came to many wedding purchases. Guest book? Etsy. Gifts for our parents? Etsy. Cake server? You guessed it, Etsy! We were able to find so many unique items on Etsy and always had tons of options, especially when I had no clue what exactly I wanted like the cake serving set. Anything you may need for your wedding, I guarantee you can probably find it on Etsy!


Groomsshop
John came across this online store while searching for gifts for the groomsmen and its great! We were at a loss as to what to get his guys as a present and after looking at the options on here, we then had trouble narrowing down our choices. There are a lot of unique ideas, most of which you can personalize. The item we chose came in a set of 5 for a great deal, which worked out perfectly!

Question of the Day: If you’ve planned a wedding or are planning a wedding, do you have a favorite wedding resource? If not, have you heard of one that sounds cool?

Monday, July 8, 2019

My Week in Pictures XXVIII

Happy Monday! I had a fun, relaxing weekend so I feel energized and ready to start my 3rd week of camp which means we have 3 full weeks left {not that I'm counting...}. This past week was fun, yet busy thanks to the holiday falling on a Thursday. We did lots of fun stuff, so follow along to check out what I was up :)

On Tuesday my kids made bracelets in arts and crafts so I joined in and made a bracelet with my soon-to-be new initials on it.


That afternoon I attempted to do some wedding work and Dexter decided he needed to help me out...


We went on our first field trip on Wednesday to the Franklin Institute! The kids had a blast and were excited to see the Marvel exhibit.


My brother and I spontaneously signed up for a 4 mile race on the 4th of July so I went to pick up our bibs and t-shirts Wednesday after work.


From there I headed to the gym to hop on the elliptical for a bit.


Since my brother was staying the night for the race, we planned on making steaks for dinner. I failed to defrost them so we ended up getting all you can eat sushi instead!


The Pitman Freedom 4 miler was a blast! I'll post more about it in a recap this week :)


We ended up getting donuts after because why not! They were from an amazing bakery in Pitman and worth every bite!


Later that day we spent some time relaxing at the pool at John's parent's house.


We finished off the night at my sister's 4th of July party! My nephew and I played hard most of the night.


I managed to sneak in some Joey snuggles while Tommy was busy.


Although he found out soon enough and was NOT happy about sharing his Auntie Em..


John made a delicious peach cobbler in the Instant Pot that tasted a lot better than it looked!


We then sat back and watched some little fire works my brother-in-law set off for us.


Back at work on Friday we made toilet paper roll fire works.


Right after work, we drove down to Wildwood Crest to begin out fun weekend with our friends who rented a hotel room down there.


Since it was too late for the beach at this point, we headed onto the boardwalk where John and his friends threw some hatchets.


We also got the most delicious pizza for dinner at Sam's!


I started off Saturday morning with a quick 3 mile run along the bike path next to the beach.



After some breakfast, we all headed to the beach. I worked on my wedding tan, played in the water, and had sand sticking to me all over.


That night, Kristina curled my hair before we went out. I got pretty tan if you couldn't tell.


First stop was Willow Creek Winery for some sangria and apps!


This pretzel was SOO good!

The Asiago bruschetta was perfect for a summer evening!


We had to leave Sunday but John and I took a walk on the boardwalk one last time before we left. We also took a group picture before we split off.




We were exhausted by time we got home, so we took a nap. Once we woke up, we felt better and decided to join my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews for fireworks!


Question of the Day: How did you celebrate the 4th of July?