Confessions Part I

Well, hello there! How was your weekend?

I am feeling so grateful for all of the sweet messages y’all left me in the comments on Friday. Every single one made me smile so thank you!

As I’ve said before, I’m not usually a fan of 99% of the pictures that are taken of me, so I’d say the fact that I liked almost half of 65 different shots was a success.

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Things have been a little crazy for us lately and Brandon had to work seven days this week, so unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to get out and do anything blog-worthy this weekend. I do, however, have a lot on my mind so I decided to switch things up with a confession-style post like I’ve seen floating around a few other blogs:

1. I haven’t exercised at all since I ran my 10k. I did a little yoga the day after the race and of course, we still walk Coco every day but outside of that I have been slacking, big time.

2. I hate running in the dark. Now that the sun is starting to set earlier, it is dark by the time I get a chance to put on my running shoes and it’s making me not want to go at all. It’s scary! :(

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I know, I’m the biggest baby ever. I’m probably going to renew my gym membership so that I can get back into my beloved Body Attack a few days a week and run on the good ‘ol treadmill. Body Pump was usually the class I struggled to get to on time but now that I have the DVD, I can do that at home so I think it will work out perfect.

3. Actually, if trying on wedding dresses counts as exercise than I take the first one back because I’ve been a wedding-dress-shopping-fool for the past three days. I went to two different boutiques right after work on Thursday and Friday, and then drove an hour to two more shops on Saturday. When I close my eyes, all I can see are fields of white, fluffy dresses with lace.

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I’m pretty sure I’ve narrowed it down to two different options. The first one instantly gave me that aaawwww feeling when I tried it on but it’s expensive (of course) and it requires quite a few alterations to be made exactly how I want it.

The second one is pretty much exactly what I’ve been looking for but I feel like the lack of construction to the dress doesn’t do anything to help flatter my figure. That said, it is cheaper than the first and would only require the standard alterations. Sigh…decisions, decisions.

4. Wedding planning is over-taking my brain. I have five and a half months left to accomplish everything so all of my free time has been spent researching dresses and photographers and looking for deals on plane tickets and hotels. I’m having fun with the planning process but I honestly can’t wait to have all of the big decisions settled so that I can relax and get back to my normal routine again.

5. I’ve been struggling to keep up with blogging. I don’t have time to take pictures of the cooking process anymore and trying to develop a new recipe with the one brain cell I have left is really starting to feel like a chore. I’m trying my best to keep up with two recipes a week but until I get my groove back (er, finish wedding planning), I’ve decided to try a few new recipes from other blogs to share with you.

Unfortunately, these are meals I made during the week which means it was dark by the time I got around to cooking them so please excuse my bad photography. I recommend clicking the link to the source to see a much better and more accurate representation.

Warm Balsamic Kale Salad from Pinch of Yum

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Brandon and I both loved this salad. I served it over a little bit of barley that I had left over from my Lentil Barley Stew and it was so filling, I couldn’t even finish my plate. I prepped the kale ahead of time and it made for a quick, easy and delicious meal.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt Bread from Marin Mama Cooks

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Soft pumpkin flavored cake with gooey chocolate chips? Really, do I need to say more? I didn’t have a bundt cake pan but it worked just fine in a regular cake pan and took 45 minutes to cook instead of 55. I also used a mix of whole wheat flour and all purpose and it still came out perfectly moist.

Broccoli Lemon Pasta from Marin Mama Cooks

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I promise there is pasta underneath all of that parmesan cheese.

Yet another recipe from Marin Mama. I have been stalking her blog recently and everything looks amazing. I’m actually a little jealous of her adorable family that gets to eat all of that delicious food!

I found the recipe for this easy pasta on her site and it made for another perfect, quick and tasty weeknight meal. I used gluten-free pasta and added cannelini beans for some extra protein and we enjoyed it for dinner and then again for lunch the next day.

Okay, I’m going to try and spend the evening relaxing with some Real Housewives while Brandon is away at work. Although, it’ll probably just serve as background noise while I’m on the computer; you know how that goes, right?

 

Are you afraid of running in the dark?

Have you tried any good recipes from other blogs lately?