Weekend Happenings-gif style!

This weekend went by in an absolute BLUR! But, we accomplished a lot and I'm feeling a lot more prepared for the wedding day which is now in TWELVE DAYS!!!

Friday I had what was supposed to be my last dress fitting, but there was still something wrong with one part of my dress, where it was pulling weird. Luckily they finally did something that looks like it's going to fix the problem, so I have to go back again this Friday. Nothing like cutting it close to the wire. 

They also didn't have my bustle done (it was supposed to be my last fitting so I dont know why it wasn't), and two of my bridesmaids had come to see how it worked. So, now one of them is coming again with me this Friday. Arg!

After that my one friend Crystal and I hung out for a bit and she FINALLY met MG. It's crazy that they haven't met yet, but Im glad that they did, and before the actual wedding day haha. They both got along great, just like I knew that they would. We went to a local Mexican place, enjoyed some yummy chips and guac and dinner, and then Crystal made her way back to Maryland.

Friday was an early night for us as MG was still recovering from his jet lag and stint in the hospital from earlier that week, and I was just tired from the week in general. We were both falling asleep on the couch by around 9. Pathetic, I know.

Saturday insomnia struck both of us around 5am and neither of us could fall back asleep, so we got up and got stuff accomplished. I finished our escort cards (woohoo) and table numbers before the sun was even up haha.

The weather was DREADFUL this weekend with rain and winds and coldness...and it even sleet/snowed AGAIN yesterday. Luckily nothing stuck, but still. It's April tomorrow. What gives??

Saturday evening we dropped off our vases at the florists' house and then went to see our friends' new place that is SO close to the new house we just bought! Their house is super cute and I couldn't be happier for them! We hung out, talked wedding and honeymoon (they went to the same place we did), house buying, and then we took their cupcake stand for the wedding.

Sunday we went to church to meet with our pastor and finalize our wedding details (the order of events, how to hook up music for our niece to sing, etc). And then we braved the horrific weather and went to Costco to get everything for the welcome bags. DONE AND DONE! We picked out the final selections for the "must play" list for the wedding, as well, and I started getting my bridesmaids' gift bags together :) MG finalized everything for the rehearsal dinner and is calling today to give the restaurant the info.

Im feeling pretty darn accomplished with everything so far. And just hoping that I actually AM on top of things and not just tricking myself into thinking that I am.

Like I said, my weekend wasn't super exciting, but it was definitely filled with a lot of "getting things done" type of tasks, which makes me able to sleep better at night. 

And you know a bride needs her sleep! :)

Happy Monday!!

Don't forget to link up :

5 on Friday

Wooohoo! We made it through another week, and this one was a full work week despite a snowy day (kids at school were definitely asking why we were still in school since we've had off every day that there's been snow). But, we survived! And just in time for another Five on Friday...

{1}-MG is Back!

MG has overcome whatever stomach virus/food poisoning episode that he had earlier this week when he was overseas for work, was re-booked on a new flight and, after a flight delay, made his way back home to me and Cooper yesterday! Finally! It was a long 9 days without him, especially with the unexpected sickness delay, but I'm SO glad that he's back, and healthy...and where I can keep an eye on him! haha. Super thankful for the doctors, hospital and support staff who helped him out when I couldn't be there!

{2}-Final Dress Fitting!

My final dress fitting is TODAY! EEEP! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the fit and such have been worked out since the last fitting, and that this one goes smoothly. I can't believe this is the last fitting. Time is quickly rolling on by, and Im just rolling along with it. Lucky for me, my mom and two of my bridesmaids are going to be at the fitting...for final approvals and so someone on the wedding day knows how to do my bustle haha.

{3}-Busy Weekend

This weekend MG and I are meeting with our pastor and the organist to go over the final details for our wedding (order of events, logistics, etc). Once I get that, I can give the final details to my buddy Shay who has been AMAZING in helping me design the wedding programs, and other things for the wedding (I'm so lucky to have her!!) We also have to go and pick up all of the candle holder/vases from my parents' house and drop them off at the florists' house (I dont think she is fully aware of just how many boxes I'm gonna be dropping off lol), and I'm going to be finishing up our escort cards, perhaps with the help of my buddy Bree. We may be doing this with a little wine action which will make it more fun!

that's about an hour's worth of work (cards are stacked by table)
...and still only 1/3 of the way done

{4}-Home Appraisal
We are anxiously awaiting the results of our home appraisal. Hoping and praying that it appraises for at least the amount that we are buying for (otherwise it's back to negotiating with these sellers). This home buying process can definitely be stressful....we've had a lull in the stress, but now that we're playing the appraisal waiting game, it's making me anxious. This is the last major potential thing that could stop this whole thing from going forward, and we're supposed to have information by "sometime today"....

{5}- THIS Article

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In a world where the majority of what we see is negative....kids shooting up schools, bullying one another, being disrespectful or just down right jerks, why why WHY would a school take this stance on a girl who has COMPASSION and was showing SUPPORT for a friend who was going through a rough time....who may have been picked on or "laughed at" by other kids because she didn't have hair???? 

Take a look at your dress code "policy" and shove it, Caprock Academy. This girl isn't shaving her head to be a goth rocker, or to show support for a gang. She is supporting her ELEVEN year old friend who is going through a battle with cancer.

All I have to say is: Shame on you, Caprock Academy. You should be absolutely and utterly ashamed of yourselves.

And to the girl who did something brave to show her friend that she wasn't alone....Keep on being the strong person that you are. Don't let some idiot adults stop you from making the world a better place. Lord knows we need more kids like you in the world!

And on that note, I'm off to finish out another day of work, and get to my weekend! 

Happy Friday, party people!

Book Review: The Husband's Secret

This weekend I finished the book The Husband's Secret. My almost sister-in-law recommended it to me, and I'm glad that she did.

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It was only $5.99 on Amazon for my Kindle so I figured "why not?"

Here's the Amazon summary:

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

I liked that the book's chapters switched between 3 main characters in the book, that told the story from different vantage points (or different stories that intertwined). 

I particularly liked the ending of the book which lent itself to some things to ponder (but the ending of the book wasn't left open, don't worry).

I would definitely recommend the book. It was not a hard read at all...I kept picking up my Kindle, wanting to find out what was going to happen next and how everything would unfold and then get solved.

This book is actually by the author of the last book that I reviewed and enjoyed. I have a feeling I'll be checking out more books by this author since I enjoy her writing style and stories.

If you're looking for some other good books, check out my Book Reviews tab at the top of the page.

Wedding Wednesday!!

First of all, thank you to all of you who reached out and sent MG (and me) some positive thoughts yesterday. He apparently had "severe food poisoning" and was kept overnight at the hospital. Although he'll miss his flight this morning, he'll be back home with me tomorrow! Soooo thankful that he's ok and in good hands...but definitely excited for him to be back under my watchful care :)

Anyway, let's get to some Wedding Wednesday!

As of today, there are 17 days left until the big day, and only 2 more wedding wednesdays before my actual wedding! I swear that time has gone into warp speed ahead since we hit the 3 month mark.

I feel like we are pretty on top of things tho...but I'm sure I'm forgetting things...

Here's my list of things to do still:

-get marriage license (next week)

send out rehearsal dinner invites

-finalize ceremony program and meet with officiant/organist (this weekend)

figure out and order gifts for our parents

seating chart

-finish wedding day timeline for myself and bridal party

-do final count of meal choices and deliver info to reception site

-finish escort cards (almost done..just need to finish cutting some of these myself, getting table numbers on them, and folding them)

-go shopping at Costco for welcome bag goodies

-have final dress fitting (this Friday)

-print directions and other information for welcome bags

-send final payments to florist, church and limo

-drop off flower vases to florist (this weekend)

-get a mat for the engagement pictures we are using as our "guest book"

-DON'T FORGET THE WEDDING RINGS (I've had two wedding "nightmares" both of which involved not having the rings)

can not forget these guys on the big day!!!

Yeah, that list is still kinda long, but luckily a lot of it will be taken care of this weekend! Maybe we'll get that Costco trip in there somewhere too...altho I don't really look forward to having 100+ water bottles etc in our place...but....oh well!

Thanks for coming along this wedding journey with me! I can't believe that it's SO close!!

Terrible Tuesday

Today has not started out so great...

First of all, it's snowing. It's supposed to snow throughout the day (only accumulating 1-3 inches of snow). Who knows what will happen with the schools, but we are in session now and I'm hoping the commute home doesn't blow.

Secondly, MG has been overseas in Greece for work for the last week. He's slated to get back tomorrow. All good, right?

Until I get a text from him this morning saying that he's throwing up, etc and has been since early this morning (he's 6 hours ahead so this has been going on for a while). 

I haven't heard from him since 7:30 when he said he got sick, again....so I dont know what's going on, where he is, if he's going/at the hospital, and if he's going to be able to get better in time for his flight tomorrow.

Third, I have a meeting today with a crazy parent. 

Fourth....I dont even know. I'm just ready for some good news, and for today to be over.

Send some positive thoughts this way, please, for MG's sake at least!! Poor guy....

Weekend Recap

I can't believe the weekend is already over, AND that we are now in the TEENS for the countdown to the wedding! Where is the time going???

Friday night I stayed in because the week had really gotten to me and I just wanted to spend time with the TV, couch and have some cuddle time with my pup.

Saturday started out lazy, spending the morning reading and relaxing. That afternoon I made my way to a friend's housewarming/cookout. Their house was fantastic, big, amazing...all of that rolled into one! The food was super yum and the company was great, too.

I had to leave a little earlier than I'd planned because I'd left poor Cooper at home and he hadn't eaten dinner. I made my way back home to feed my hungry pup and then went and met up with another friend to see her and her boyfriend's new townhouse that they are renting (it was definitely the weekend of seeing people's new living spaces!)

We had a couple glasses of wine, talked about recent happenings, and she confirmed some unsavory information about one of MG's friends who is also a groomsman in the wedding. Not so fun. I'll get into that more in a post later this week. We had dinner at a local restaurant and then called it a night.

Sunday I got up early to get groceries for the week, and then headed to Maryland to have breakfast with my parents. I had made Cooper a grooming appointment in Maryland for that morning so after breakfast I took him in to get his hair did!
Little did I know it would take FIVE hours to get his hair cut and washed!!!
After all of that hoopla, later that night he was pretty tuckered out:

After we dropped Cooper off at the groomer, we went to Men's Wearhouse to get my dad a suit for the wedding. We ended up finding TWO suits and I helped pick out his ties etc. If you don't know, my dad is an older dad, and since his heart attack a few years ago, has been low on energy and stamina, so this trip was a long one for him. He powered through and now my dad is going to look dapper for the wedding! He even looked a little like Harrison Ford in one of the suits! :)

The rest of Sunday was spent enjoying the last bits of the weekend and snuggling with my exhausted little doggy. 
And now we're back to another FRIGID morning where temps are below freezing and there's snow in the forecast tonight and into tomorrow. I'm not happy. Not happy at all. :(

Hoping your weekends were great and that your weeks are off to a good start!

Don't forget to link up with these ladies:

5 on Friday!

What what!!! It's Fridayyyyy!!!

Ready for some 5?

{1}-Wedding Guests

First of all, why do some people need to be NAGGED to send in their response cards for weddings? Either you want to come, or you don't. And you probably know the answer to that well in advance of the week before the responses are due. Stop making me hound you and send that effer in!!

Secondly, I'm SUPER pumped to have one of my bloggy friends coming to the wedding! She'll be there with my girl, P!nky, too! It means the world to me that she would travel across the U.S. of A. to be there for my big day! Most epic BLATE of all time!!!

{2}-Hatred for Sellers

That might not make sense but hold on, I'll explain. MG and I are in the process of buying a home which means dealing with sellers in a sellers' market. Which basically means, as buyers, you bend over and take it. You pay asking price (or more) and you pay closing costs, you pay for your own washer and dryer in the place (yes, we are...ugh), etc. A friend of mine told me that at one point we would begin to hate the sellers, and that is happening. 

After our home inspection there were minor things that were found, but still needed fixing. One of which was that the fireplace wouldn't ignite. These sellers (who, mind you, are making a KILLING on this house), seem to think that a receipt dated 4 years ago stating that the fireplace was in working condition is sufficient to say it SHOULD be working to this day. Me no think so! Fork up a couple hundred out of the hundreds of thousands that you are making and pay for someone to make sure it works. End of story. Jerks.

{3}-Spring

Spring is finally here--yesterday was sunshiney and relatively warm (50's...which is warm considering we had snow a few days ago), and this weekend it's supposed to get up into the 70's. BRING IT ON!!! And keep it that way!

I celebrated the beginning of Spring yesterday with a friend and a pitcher of sangria. Perfect start, I think!

{4}-Financial Docs

Ever wonder what it's like to see your entire worth inside of one folder? (It amounts to paperwork that's almost an inch thick). And then imagine signing away all of that information? It's kinda scary. But all well worth it (hopefully) when we get to move into our house, as a married couple! Eeek!

{5}-#TBT

I noticed recently with some semi-older individuals on Facebook that they are posting older pictures and using the hashtag for Throwback Thursday, #TBT. Which is all well and good....except when they do it on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday....I wonder what they actually think TBT stands for? Maybe Ill go comment on one of them now and ask...lol

Happy Friday and happy weekend, friends!!

Currently...

Feeling... a little stressed (23 days til wedding, dropping off loan paperwork, dealing with obnoxious sellers) and a lot blessed.

Reading... The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty (review to come as soon as I'm done!)

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Drinking... lemon-infused water now...sangria at happy hour later tonight!

Eating... leftovers from the week. I made another batch of the feta and sun-dried tomato meatloaf earlier this week and am having the last of it today for lunch (with a side of mac and cheese--yum!)

Watching... anything and everything Bravo! Ok, not everything, but my standard garbage reality tv shows

Missing... forecasts that don't involve snow. We had snow this past Sunday, and everyone thought the LAST snow we had, would be the last. And then Sunday, we all thought the same thing...and now there's snow in the forecast for Tuesday. WTF? Me no likey. 

Anticipating... the wedding and closing on our house...all around the same time  (yes, we ARE crazy)

Wishing for... warmish weather on the wedding day. Who would have thought there was a potential that it'd be 40 something degrees in April? Not what I had in mind when I pictured myself in my wedding dress :/

Loving... Having friends who are there for you, no matter what, reminding you to keep your cool and focus on the positive, who are excited for your happinesses and want to share in them with you. Having MG who takes care of things when I'm overwhelmed (and even when I'm not), and that he leaves me sweet notes when he goes out of town, like one recently that end with "I can't wait to get home and marry you". And, that today is officially Spring (while hoping that Mother Nature recognizes that it's legitimately Spring now--no more snow!!!)

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What are you up to, currently??

Wordless Wednesday: Blessings

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Weekend Happenin's....

Whew! Another weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye!

Luckily this one was filled with some much needed R&R...

Friday after work MG and I had our home inspection of the townhouse and luckily everything went well--there are just some minor things, nothing massive thankfully! It was pretty exciting to see the sign in front of the house with the "Under Contract" up.

After that we went home, ordered pizza because we were starving (the home inspection took 2 hours!) and then vegged out on the couch, watched The Book Thief and then I proceeded to pass out on the couch until around midnight when we went to bed.

Saturday MG went to the driving range with a buddy from work, and I went to get myself a pedicure. SO nice!!! Love a good pedi.

I came back and started to clean our place a bit so that we could take pictures and post them to rent out our condo. MG came back and helped out, too.

That night we went to dinner with my parents to celebrate my birthday--it was so so nice to see them, sit down to dinner, and talk about all of the uber exciting things that are coming up!

Once we got home, we headed back out to our friends' place to hang out and have a couple of drinks. We shared our house news and they were super excited for us, so it was fun to talk about that, the wedding, and everything else.

We made it back home around midnight and I went to bed as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Sunday was a morning of errands and then a couple that I know from work came by to check out our place as a potential place for them to move in together this summer--and they liked it enough to rent it!! (One less thing to worry about with this house-buying process!) They're such a cute couple and it'll be kinda fun to rent to friends of ours, that we know will take care of the place.

That night, we grabbed some dinner and hunkered down for yet ANOTHER snow storm....how it can go from 70 degrees one day to snowing the next, I have no idea, but I'd really love if Mother Nature would get on some bipolar meds because this back and forth is just not doing it for me any longer. I want Spring weather pronto!
At least I got a fun video of Cooper digging himself a hole in the snow...with his face...

Don't forget to link up with these ladies:

5 on Friday

Can I get a HALLELUJAH that it's Friday???

It's been a busy one, for sure!

{1}-House Buying

If you missed it earlier in the week, MG and I put an offer in on a house on Monday and as of Wednesday, it was accepted and the house is now listed as "pending" on Redfin! We also happened to find out on my birthday that they were accepting our offer. Quite the overwhelming birthday in so many ways, but super exciting at the same time. I seriously can not believe that it's all happening but I can't wait!

We also found out that we live about 2 miles from some friends, and MG found out he's close to a guy that he works with and has become friends with too. All in all, it's looking like a great move!

{2}-Home Inspection

Today, after work, we're having our home inspection done. MG's dad, who has done construction before, has given us a million things to look for, ask, etc. Our fingers are crossed that it all goes smoothly. I'd like to avoid any more bumps in this long and stressful road!

{3}-Tired

Going straight from my bachelorette last weekend into going to open houses, putting in an offer on a house, and stressing about it....I'm TIRED, people. Straight up tired! I don't think we have anything planned tonight after the home inspection which I'm 100% okay with. One glass of wine and Ill be passed out on the couch in no time! (Heck, maybe without the glass of wine...but let's be real, that's less fun.)

{4}-My birthday

My birthday, as I mentioned, was on Tuesday. I turned the big 31. Honestly with everything surrounding my birthday (my bachelorette, being 1 month out from the wedding...and then the house), it didnt really even FEEL like my birthday. But, MG did make it special by taking me to dinner, and getting me some birthday gifts which was "honeymoon" themed (no, not that...). He got me a swimsuit, a cover-up and a dress for a dinner on our honeymoon. He was really thoughtful about everything, and actually did a really good job, especially picking out the swimsuit--loved it! 

{5}-Blessed

I feel like in times of stress, it's easy to get bogged down by everything swirling around you. Luckily I've been able to separate that out some and be able to see how absolutely blessed I am. I'm starting the next chapter of my life with a man who makes me the happiest that I've ever been (so much so that my friends still comment on it), we are getting a house together that we'll start a family in. I have friends who support and love me, deal with my frantic-ness, celebrate the joys in my life (like all of my buddies who came to the bachelorette party). I have a family who loves me, and am inheriting one that already loves me as their own. I have two sisters-in-law who are the sisters that I've always wanted and never had as an only child. I really could not be any more lucky. Life may be stressful but I know that I am seriously so blessed to have such amazing people and things happening in my life!

Keep your fingers crossed for us that the home inspection goes well!

Happy Friday!!

Dreams

No not dreams like aspirations. Like at night, sleepy time dreams.

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I've had some interesting ones lately...

A few weeks ago on a Tuesday night, I went to bed after seeing the beginning of Teen Mom 2 where Kailynn and her now husband were looking at buying a house. That night I had a dream that I wanted the house too and was in a tizzy to get it before Kailynn from Teen Mom got it. Not very nice of me....but I distinctly wanted to beat her out for the house.

I had a dream one night over a month ago that MG's sister and brother-in-law were going on a safari to Africa. They have no plans to go on vacation, and certainly not to Africa....

Then there was a dream I had where I woke up and it was my wedding day....and we had nothing done. I was getting my makeup done, and telling MG to go back to our condo to get things that I'd left in our sunroom, etc. (basically everything for our wedding). Needless to say, I woke up with my heart pounding on that one.

I had a dream that there was an overturned truck that hit a wall in our condo complex and I saw it as I was walking by. And the scene looked nothing like our complex, but somehow I "knew" that it was.

There was a dream 2 weeks ago where MG's friend was staying at our place, and decided to use our new clothes steamer....in the shower. Don't ask me why....

I had a dream a few Monday nights ago that I met Illegally Blonde, and she was not only NOT blond, but looked nothing like herself. But I knew it was her and kept thinking "she looks nothing like how she looks on her blog" (I feel the need to mention that she and I talk...so I'm not having random dreams about random bloggers haha).

I dont know what to credit all of these weirdo dreams to, but they've sure been entertaining me when I wake up and actually remember them.

Tuesday night after we got the great word about our house, MG told me he had a dream that involved us having a hard time getting through an obstacle, but we eventually held hands and made it through. Think that had ANYTHING to do with our house situation??? haha

What have YOU been dreaming about lately? Tell me a weird one so I don't feel so strange haha

One Month Until the Wedding!!!

"HOLY SMOKES!!!" as one of my first grade students said to me yesterday.

It's ONE MONTH until I walk down the aisle and say "I do!"

And, on top of that, OUR OFFER ON THE HOUSE WAS ACCEPTED!!!!!
Let's just say that yesterday was quite possibly the most stressful and exciting birthday that I've ever had!

I'd say this is a pretty freaking awesome b-day gift!!! :)

So, on top of all of this, we still have a wedding happening in 30 days! 

I seriously can't believe that this is already here....and now that to-do list is looking more and more daunting as there's fewer and fewer days to do it all in! (and adding in house-related stuff too!)

Luckily I was able to check one item off of the wedding list the other day since one of my coworkers is able to watch Cooper over the wedding days, so I don't have to worry about boarding him. One thing off of my worry plate!

Here's what's left:

-finish programs

-send out rehearsal/dinner invites

-have final dress fitting

-figure out and order gifts for our parents

-harass the people who havent sent in their response cards yet and submit final numbers to reception site

-finish escort cards (once I'm done harassing people :))

-seating chart (I am NOT looking forward to this)

-get marriage license

-get 2 engagement pictures blown up and printed for guest signatures

-send final payments to florist, church, and limo

-drop off flower vases to florist

-make a wedding day timeline

Man, I feel like there is SO MUCH more left to do than what's on that list...and I'm sure that there are. 

I just hope that there are no more "surprises"....I didn't tell you all about our scare with the honeymoon flights on Friday.

MG got an email from United that said our first flight out of Baltimore's time was changed so that we would miss our connection in Newark. We called, and the agent MG spoke with got us on another airline, put it on hold, and said all we had to do was call up on April 13th to confirm it. He asked several times if this was legit since it's for our honeymoon etc and was assured that it was.

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We happened to see that a flight out of DCA was at the same time, which is closer to where we live so we called back to see if we could get on that flight. The agent (and eventually supervisor) that we spoke with told us that what we were told previously was not true and that we would NOT be able to be booked on another airline because we had used our airline miles to book (100K airline miles!!!). So, if we hadn't called back, we would have found out THE NIGHT BEFORE our flights that this wasn't the case.

United was unwilling to do anything to help us, other than book us on a flight the night before to Newark where we will have to stay overnight (and pay for ourselves) so we can catch our original connecting flight. 

Needless to say, it was stressful, and infuriating. I can't handle things like that this close to the wedding so I really hope nothing else huge pops up like that.

Recipe: Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Today's my BIRTHDAY!!! (We won't talk about my age...)

After a weekend celebrating my bachelorette and birthday in combination, I truly feel lucky to have the friends that I do...and I now also know just how OLD I am based on the amount of recovery time needed to partake in such festivities haha.

But, just because it's my birthday, doesn't mean I don't have a GIFT FOR YOU, in the form of a yummy recipe!

I've been in the mood to make muffins for a couple of weeks, and finally found a recipe that wasn't SUPER laden with total fat and badness. This recipe, to be exact. And, I got to incorporate some SUPER yummy strawberries that we got at Wegmans!

This was a super easy recipe to make (I actually made most of it while on the phone with my best friend) 

What You Need:

- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

-1/4 C. granulated sugar

-1/4 C light brown sugar, packed (I had dark brown, and used that)

-1/2 C + 2 Tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

-1 egg white, beaten

-2/3 cup diced strawberries

-1/3 cup chocolate chips

*The apple sauce in here takes the place of butter, making it slightly healthier. You can use whole wheat flour if you want and have it.

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray the muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium-large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and apple sauce until no lumps. You can use a fork if need be, but I found that mine mixed together pretty easily with just a spoon. Add in the egg white until fully mixed.

4. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined. 

5. Fold in the strawberries and the chocolate chips.

6. Divide the mixture evenly into 10 muffin cups (about a heaping Tablespoon for each). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Once done, let the muffins cool and settle. Use a knife (or a spoon) to get the muffins out of the pan, and enjoy!

The muffins can be frozen. They will stay fresh for 7 days in an airtight container!

These were a tasty treat that I didn't feel guilty about during the work week when I needed a mid-morning pick me up!

Special shout out to my amazing friends (bloggy friends and IRL friends)--I wouldn't be as happy as I am today without you all in my life!