What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Loving my new Polar heart rate monitor. Lots of girls from my barre classes have them, so I finally decided to order one. I've been wearing it on my runs to compare to what my Garmin says.  I highly recommend it - gives you lots of useful stats.  I am excited to use it at my different workouts and see how they compare.

Hadley's loving her new trampoline! Got it from one of the local facebook trading post groups so I got a great deal. I really need to take a video of her on this because it's hilarious!!

Loving our fun weekend we spent with Chris and Julie, and their sweet little Oliver! They got in on Friday afternoon and we meet up with The Hadens' on Friday night for dinner at Lakeside Tavern (Julie, Leslie and I were college roomies).  We sat outside on the lake and had a wonderful time! Thank you to my mom for watching the kiddies!

Essentials for the night - gigi's cupcakes and cupcake cab!

they almost look like brother and sister!

A little Tupelo for breakfast on Saturday morning

The Farmer's Market was happening in Market Square as well. It was so neat!

Hadley loved her biscuit and blueberry jelly at the Tup!

More Farmer's Market goodness

Hotel Oliver :)

Loving that something is FINALLY growing in my garden. One zucchini and I think some cucumbers are starting to come up! Oh, and 4 green beans. HA!

Loving our n'hood pool! Sunday's weather was incredible! 

Loving all the summer veggies right now - I wanted one of everything at the Farmer's Market y'all. This is what I ended up with and it was all delish.  

I am loving my girl - I couldn't wait to get home to her tonight! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I am loving our new Vitamix! I went to Costco alone on Sunday (uh oh!) and I totally got sucked into the demo. I'd heard so many positive things about these machines, so I decided to take the plunge and get one. You can make soup, ice cream, smoothies, frozen drinks, food process, and so much more in this thing. No more picking chia seeds out of my teeth - yay!  I think this thing is life changing :)

 



 

I am loving that we have our dear friends coming in this weekend from Kingsport. Excited to see them and their sweet little Oliver :)



Loving this HILARIOUS yet somewhat inappropriate blog post I found...

 

 



I love this Tennessee shirt. Please, someone buy it for me!

 



 

I love this idea! How cute is this wooden growth chart?

 



Loving these quotes/scriptures/bits of humor I found on Pinterest as of late...

 



 

 

 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am loving my blog's new look. Thank you Aubrey @ The Kinch Life!

I am loving how we surprised my dad in Huntsville this past weekend for his birthday!  We had a wonderful day celebrating with him! The girls had so much fun at a local park, it was so fun seeing them play together.

 

 

I am loving my latest lululemon purchase - the run pace setter skirt. I thought I would never buy a running skirt, but this one is perfect, y'all. So flattering! 



 

 

I am loving these cute fall tea towels! I realize it's just mid-July, but I am already dreaming of fall and all the goodness that comes along with it. Like pumpkin bread and my Frye boots. And dressing up my toddler in all things pumpkin :)

I'm loving Kroger. The digital coupons that I load from my computer - genius. Also, Kroger sends me coupons based on my past purchases - sorta Big Brother but I'm totally okay with it since it saves me some cash.  Not to mention 2x the fuel points on the weekends this summer.  I don't know what you people do on Friday nights, but all the cool moms go grocery shopping....toddlerless....and it's awesome.

I am loving my sweet little toddler!  Hadley is unbelievably sweet at times....she just melts my heart sometimes. The other day she said "you're my best friend mommy," in the world's sweetest voice. Love her to pieces!



Meatless Monday reci

Happy Monday!

I wanted to share a new recipe I tried today for Meatless Monday. I love trying new recipes and made this one for dinner tonight.  This one is full of veggies and is gluten free (and can easily be made dairy free).  The time consuming part is definitely prepping the veggies, but comes together quickly after that. Y'all, the roasted veggies smell amazing when they are in the oven. 

Stacked Roasted Veggie Enchiladas (adapted from Perry's Plate)

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers, cut into matchsticks
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium onion, halved and slivered
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
3 tbsp heat-safe oil (grape seed or coconut)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups homemade or store bought salsa/pico de gallo
2 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 2 big handfuls)
10-12 corn tortillas, halved
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
Sour cream and thinly sliced scallions (green onions) for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a large shallow roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet.

Place red bell peppers, cauliflower, sweet potato, onion, zucchini, and corn kernels onto cookie sheet. Drizzle oil and sprinkle the cumin and minced garlic over top. Add a generous pinch or two of salt and black pepper, then use your hands to mix everything together. After everything is coated well, spread the vegetables evenly in the pan. Roast for 30-40 minutes until vegetables are tender and begin to brown in spots. Stir or shake the pan every 10 minutes for even roasting. Remove pan from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir the cilantro into the salsa. Spread 1/4 cup of salsa into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Add a layer of tortilla pieces, to completely cover the salsa. Top with 1/3 of the vegetables, 1/2 of the black beans, and a handful of spinach. Make a second layer of tortilla, salsa, vegetables, black beans, and spinach. Top with a layer of tortillas, salsa, vegetables, and the cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.

5 on Friday!

1. Very excited about this weekend!  Can't say why  just yet, but I'll definitely share details later!

2.  Did you all have a "You are special" plate when you are growing up?  We did in my family, and it was so fun to use for birthdays, or if you had a good report card, etc.  I saw this cute one with directions on how to make your very own plate. I can't wait to start this tradition with Hadley!

 

 

3.  This little girl had a bad little stomach bug last week, right before our long 4th of July weekend started. Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and we were able to fully enjoy our first Krispy Kreme the next day! Red, white, and blue sprinkles and all :)

4.  Y'all know I love to eat, thus I've really gotten into cooking. Since I have celiac, and Hadley has egg/dairy allergies, planning healthy, easy, and man-approved meals is, ummm, interesting :)  This one is awesome - made it last night - Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken via Skinnytaste.com. I served ours in lettuce wraps with a little steamed brown rice.  Delish - must try it.

 

 

5.  I have a couple little books with short daily reads that I love. Today's message in one of my books (Wisdom for the Way, Charles Swindoll) is about our attitude. Wanted to share because it is so true.

I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my success or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me, my circumstances, or my position. The attitude I choose keeps me going or cripples my progress.  It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.

Happy Friday! About to head out and enjoy the sunshine!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Loving my sweet little girl - can't believe I am already planning her THIRD birthday party. We rented a pavilion at our favorite park/splash pad so it should be a really fun time! Every time we go to the park, she asks if its her party day. Memory like an elephant!

 

 

 

 

 

I am loving that Hadley is officially potty trained!  No accidents in nearly 2 weeks!  We still sleep in a diaper at night, but I am soooo proud of my girl!  I made her a sticker chart for when she pee-pees and she gets one M&M when she goes poo-poo.  She loves putting stickers on her chart and realllly loves getting the candy! 

 

I am loving a website I found via Pinterest (of course that is where I found it). A Well Dressed Home - could spend hours here and on other home design blogs. I really need some help in this department in my own house...but seriously, I love all their designs. I really want to redo our living room, I have since we moved in. I have a major case of decorating paralysis at the moment.

 

 

I am loving this awesome recipe we tried on Sunday - I don't cook with red meat often, so this was a treat! Served with roasted asparagus and fresh cut fruit. Will definitely make again!



Grilled Flank Steak with Black Beans Corn and Tomatoes (via Skinnytaste.com)
 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb flank steak
1/2 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

For the black bean, corn and tomatoes:
3 tbsp red onion, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
2 medium vine ripe tomatoes, diced
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cups frozen corn kernels (fresh is fine)
2 tbsp finely minced cilantro
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:
Season steak with the crushed garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and set aside 5-10 minutes. Combine red onions, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside a few minutes. Add tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro and set aside.

Heat a clean lightly greased indoor or outdoor grill on high heat. Grill steak on high heat, 6-8 minutes on each side or until your desired degree of doneness. Let the meat rest about 5 minutes before slicing. Slice the beef into thin slices across the grain, place on a platter and top with corn, black bean and tomato salad.

Make it. You won't be disappointed people.

Loving this is my last day of work this week! Woohoo July 4th festivities and a 4 day weekend! The weather isn't supposed to be that great the next couple of days, so we may be at the movies rather than the pool! I'm totally getting some sparklers today after work. I.can't.wait.