Life lately - eats, drinks, reads, thoughts

Reads, drinks, eats, thoughts and such

Life Lately

oh hey there - its part of my face. ha! I've really been digging dressing for fall lately. 
dark hair.
lip color.
plaid.
jackets.
layers.
what is your favorite thing to wear in the fall?
Challenging myself to get READY each day a little bit more. I really feel like I've let myself go - and its amazing how good it feels to LOOK good. I feel more confident, sexy, daring...

Fun fact: I actually like being crafty and artsy fartsy sometimes..I haven't drawn or anything like that in SO long! SO i made a homemade cart this past week just for fun...and it felt good to reconnect...just kinda zone out and draw. I hope she likes it...

Another thing I LOOOVVEE to do is bake. Especially cookies. I'm sure you have that figured out by now! B and his friends are headed on a hunting trip this weekend and it gives me a chance to do some cookie making! The secret to amazing cookies is a few things actually - good brand of flour, make sure your eggs are room temp, use unsalted butter, let the dough chill overnight in the fridge (or at LEAST a couple hours), line your baking sheet with parchment paper, take them out of the oven BEFORE they look done (they will finish baking on the sheet) - 

what other cookie tips do you have to add? Do you like to bake too?

Last weekend we went out to the lake with B's dad. It felt good to be "off the map." no tv. no internet. I got lots of reading done...watched a few movies, drank a few beers and cooked for the men! Seriously...this stuff is delish! Daily sunshine is supposed to be a sneaky way to get kids an extra serving of veggies. But I like to drinks it! Can't decide if I like chocolate or strawberry banana better... All you do is add the powder to ice and water and shake it up. Which flavor would you try?

Vegan. Gluten free. Dairy free pancakes. You would think they would be nasty. But they are my freaking FAV. and check out the flufffff....

Are you a protein pancake fan?

Isn't this gorgeous? bonfire from last weekend and that sucker was HOT. The boys cut down SO much brush, branches and trees out at the lake! Those hot coals look PERFECT for roasting marshmallows!

Speaking of margaritas. Oh wait. ha! I really like this mix! It is still pretty sweet, but definitely less sweet and more tolerable then a regular marg! I like mixed fruity drinks like margaritas and mojitos but i'm usually the weird one requesting less sweet....anyone else do that?? Otherwise..GUT ROT.

Last weekend was going a little bit stir crazy...and I realized that I had downloaded a workout onto my BOD app. 35 minutes of cardio from the Shift Shop. NO data required to get in a good workout. It was INCREDIBLY windy and I didn't want to go for a run in it... so I went out in the yard a pushed play! Was fun!

meal from the week: Alaskan Salmon, Roasted Crack Broccoli and homemade hash browns! I LOVE salmon and we are so lucky that B's uncle lives in Alaska and can send us some as fresh as it gets! I put some melted cheese on some of the broccoli just for B - if you want any of this in a recipe form let me know!

To be honest I forgot I had this stuff! I LOVE the seasonings from Flavor Gods. Among my favs are spicy everything, lemon and garlic, everything spice, chocolate donut, garlic everything and pizza. They have a ton of others too. Lately I've been sprinkling this one on the top of my nespresso coffee! Do you have any favorite seasonings? Have you ever tried topping your cappuccino with cinnamon? SO GOOD too!

I really have been loving the Potato Company trio potatoes from Costco! I just slice them in half, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of seasoning and roast at 430 for about 20-25 minutes until soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Such an easy side.

 I've been reading the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy - I have read it in the past and it was time to get it out again. The book is based on the philosophy that every little thing you do each day either brings you CLOSER to your goal or farther away. So by doing seemingly small positive actions CONSISTENTLY OVER TIME you will eventually hit your goal! Let's say you have the goal to run a 5k, but right now you are SUPER out of shape. Find a one mile loop and WALK it three times a week for three weeks. After that try jogging a blog and walking a block until you complete it (staying at 3 times a week). Keep increasing until you can run the whole loop! Then work on doing more than one loop. By consistently doing these actions you will eventually run a 5k and much more!

A few of the girls that are on my coaching team are reading it along with me. At the end of each chapter are some reflection questions which we have been doing together too! We share our thoughts in an app for accountability and can have a running discussion. By just taking a FEW MINUTES each day of doing this I have found my mindset to be so much clearer. And like I said just a few minutes each day helps me to eventually conquer the entire book! Have you read the compound effect? Would you like to join the book club too?

Now your turn! What is new with YOU lately?

Tell me a few of your reads, eats, drinks and favorites from the week!