Friday Faves

Happy Friday friends!!! It's been a gorgeous week which has just made me want to play hooky from work and dilly dally around outside all day long, but alas, I had to put on my adult pants and actually go to work--luckily today is a teacher workday so hopefully I can write my progress reports from my laptop while outside! :)

But now it's the weekend (almost) and time to play!

Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites // Oh Hey Friday// 5 on Friday

First, let's talk about some faves from this week!

{1} Summer Travel

We've started making plans for some summer travel and trips. We already have at least one week at the shore with MG's family, and this week we booked a house on a lake for a long weekend to surprise MG's dad for his 70th birthday! The house looks INSANE and we have it for 4 nights this summer. I can't wait until we surprise him with the plans in June and then get to celebrate all together at this beautiful house on the lake!
Plus, there's another pretty major dream trip in the works for MG and I....more on that soon hopefully!

{2} Beach Body On Demand

{via}

You guys have heard me talk about my love of various Beach Body programs on here like Cize and Piyo. Cize is by far the biggest workout love of my life--it's SO much fun, I never feel like it's work, and I always end up panting and sweating by the end! Well, I jumped on the BOD train which gave me access to other BeachBody programs like P90X, T25, and bonus Cize workouts (which was the part I was most excited about). I've loved it! I look forward to getting home and doing one of the Cize routines.  I have the free 30 day trial going now, but after that it's like $12 a month. Yes please!

I'll do a full review of Cize soon, since I love it so much.

{3} Favorite Recipe

This week MG and I tried baked crab stuffed salsa avocados for dinner as a healthier meal option and oh my word were they delicious! We had them with a side of roasted balsamic brussel sprouts and it was amazing!! Definitely a great lighter meal for the warmer months and will totally be being made again! Recipe coming soon, but teaser picture here:

{via}

{4} Show
Have you guys heard of the show Catastrophe on Amazon? My friend told me about it the other week and MG and I started watching it this past weekend and are almost done with the second season (each season is only 6 episodes, 25 minutes each). It's kind of crude at certain points, but some of the dialogue is really funny and has us laughing a lot. If you're looking for a new show, check it out. The main guy is definitely my favorite.
Check out this interview with the two of them to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

{5} Funnies

When you see people in public doing this, you know Snapchat added new filters:

{via}

What I want to say when someone goes on and on in a conversation about the same thing over and over and you just want to stop talking to them

{via}

When you have a rough day at work dealing with tough parents/lazy coworkers

{via}

How bloggers feel when they try new make up products

{via}

That's it for me today! Me and this chick hope you all have an easy day and a fantastic weekend!

Weekend Highlights

My highlights this weekend included:

~Finishing the last day of Summer school!!!

~Relaxing on the deck since the crummy weather finally broke

~Had this pretty arrive and am totally smitten--the cognac band is the best color. I've already worn it every day since getting it

#katespadefordays

~Low key night in with Thai food and movies

~Ran some errands to prep for having my friend and her husband over for dinner

~Cooked completely vegan for the first time ever (to accommodate my friend's diet), and it was a total success--everyone went back for seconds and there were no leftovers:

(portobello and poblano fajitas--recipe coming at you soon)

~Ate the most delicious vegan dessert ever--I think MG's mind was blow that there was nothing dairy/egg in it!

The leftovers of this guy are in our freezer and omg, I can't wait to dive into the rest of it!

~Had some hilarious conversations with our friends

~Sunday morning trip to Panera

(a chocolate croissant may have also been had, but wasn't pictured because it was devoured in 2.5 seconds :)

~Errands, and dropped off things at Good Will--always feels good to purge

~Visited my dad in the hospital--he's supposed to be released today!!

~Had a yummy chicken-salad salad with the salad we forgot to eat with dinner the night before

~Went for a 4 mile walk along the Potomac River; saw some enormous water-front houses along the way that we were drooling over

~Had a Sunday night dinner and a movie date night to see Mission Impossible 752 5--which was really well done.

And today starts my summer break. First on the agenda: having a repair guy come by to fix our attic fan. I'm kind of partying it up over here, guys. You might have to stage an intervention for all the fun this is gonna be :p
Maybe a trip to Target will be in store which means I'll probably leave with 800 things.

Hope you had a good weekend and your Monday's off to a good start!

Linking up with these pretties today:

Friday Faves!

Happy Friday, lovies! Can you believe that it's the last Friday of April?? Seriously, where is the time going??? And the weather around here certainly doesn't know that it's Spring--we took a plummet in the temps the past couple of days and I'm back to wearing long sleeves and jackets! No bueno!
This week has been a super busy one for me, so I'm definitely ready for the weekend. But first,

let's get to some favorites, shall we?

Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites // Oh Hey Friday// 5 on Friday

{1}-Another Shaun T hit

Did you guys see that Shaun T is coming out with a new exercise routine called Cize...and it's a DANCE workout??? I dunno about you but I am going to be all over this! 

I always knew that those times I danced around the house like a fool were worthwhile ;)

{2} Quote
For when you get obsessed about what you're eating, feeling like you can't have anything good, or have to limit yourself an insane amount:

{via}

{3} Healthy Eats
I'm always on the lookout for a tasty and healthy meal and I've been finding new ways to add quinoa into meals, or just have it take over a meal since quinoa is such a good source of protein. This week I made Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms and it was SO delicious, and surprisingly filling! I've gotten lots of comments from people about how tasty-looking my meals have been lately, and the hubs has definitely been impressed, too, so that makes me happy. Stay tuned next week for that recipe, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek:

{4} Funnies

{via}

All the dog lovers/owners can relate to this one:

{via}

When you see someone wearing something they think they look like hot sh*t in, but no one else thinks so:

{via}

{5} Weekend Plans

Can't wait to see these crazies! :)

MG and I are heading up to see his family this weekend. We're staying at my one SIL's house in New Jersey for one night (we never get to stay at their house, so that'll be nice), seeing the girls' track meet on Saturday morning, and then heading to PA to see my in-laws, and my other SIL and her family. We always have a good time when we're with them and it's been too long since we've seen them all. I'm ready to get in some good family time with all of my in-laws and my nieces/nephew!

Hopefully you have some fun stuff to get into this weekend--or a totally relaxing one. Whatever you need out of this weekend, I hope you get it!
Catch you on the flip side!

Monday Miscellany!

Hey y'all!! Happy Monday! Today's post is all over the place, so just hang on for the randomness ride!

Today I'm going to share another delicious recipe with you (like ooh-la-la yummy), and the best news: it's relatively light and healthy! Now, I bet those of you who read my blog on the regular will not be surprised when I tell you how I made it....yes...in the crock pot. Recipe courtesy of the amazing crock pot lady over at A Year of Slow Cooking. It's Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes. Crock pot lady has a recipe for pesto...but I'm lazy so I just bought a small jar from the grocery store (and used most of it), 4 chicken breast halves, mozzarella cheese slices (I also added mushrooms in mine cuz I like them), and then 3-4 sweet potatoes (or regular ones if you don't like the sweet ones, but I think they will need to cook longer). Make sure you poke holes in the potatoes!!! We don't want potato bombs going off in your kitchen!

{via}

In a 6qt. crock, put the chicken on the bottom (raw or frozen), then cheese, mushrooms, and pesto. Put some tin foil on top and then lay the sweet potatoes (with holes poked!!!) on top. Turn on for 4-5 hours on High, or 6-7 on Low. Maybe a little longer with bigger potatoes and/or frozen chicken. So yummy!

{via crock pot lady's website}

My lunch today, in my tupperware. The "weird" looking stuff on top is just the mushrooms and really melted cheese which looks funny but tastes aaaaaamazing!

 All of mine are now portioned out into rubbermaid containers for the week (I love not having to cook during the week and worry about what I'm going to bring for lunch!)

Ready for a random topic change? Cuz here's one....

Also this weekend, I made a fab find at Target (my most favoritest store in the whole wide world!): comfy wedges!! See?

Aren't they super cute (minus the icky string that keeps them together at the store that I lazily left on before taking the picture)? I think they are cuter on feet than in the picture. And for serious, they are mega comfy (and I am really sensitive in the foot/shoe department). Best part? $24.99!! Winning!

Wait for it....another topic change to something completely unrelated....



{via} seriously, how are her lower abs soooo flat?!?!

Ok, now I have a question to pose to all of you....I was doing my Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones DVD yesterday (sore butt and abs today) and the whole time when doing ab exercises she says to keep the belly button pulled in, and not to have your lower abs pushed out. I try. And I try. But, I can't figure out HOW to make it NOT stick out (and, you know, still be able to breathe, etc)?!?!? I am confused! Any thoughts, tips, explanations, etc would be welcome! haha




Alright, my post of all kinds of miscellaneous ish is now complete! Hope you all have a kick-butt start to the week!!