Why I Feel Like Betty Crocker

Because...
I can't stop baking this week.

Hi guys. I'm sure you are all stuffed from eating chocolate last night. If not, go buy some now. Seriously, on Feb 15th those big hearts are dirt cheap! And it is Friday! Woot. Cheap caramels and the weekend make me happy.

Last night, I ended up getting a workout in with my trainer. I brought him some cookies since he was working on Valentine's Day. (and i shared his pain for many years). And yes, I'm sure you are saying to yourself, why the heck would she give her trainer sugary sweets?  Well, lo and behold he is human and does indulge every once in awhile. What is the point of going through life and being so restrictive you can't enjoy any food. All in all, he was happy to enjoy some sugar cookies!

 

Of course, I had to bake up some gluten free cookies for myself last night. Who likes to bake up cookies and then not eat the cookie dough? UM def. not me. As we all know, that is the best part of baking! My favorite brand is Immaculate. My fellow gf friend (Hi Kim!) turned me on to this brand almost a year ago. Oh my goodness, these things seriously taste like the real thing! I swear the non-gluten free people in my house like my food better! Let's just say there is only about two cookies left....

After my workout I showered quickly and raced over to my pajama party to celebrate V-day. At least I brought the booze right? (well technically, fake booze)

True Life: My boyfriend is trying to make me fat. Haha not really, but look at all these delicious foods. Fried calamari, baked ziti, and garlic knots...I had about three bites and was full, which is not like me at all. My appetite was just not there last night, maybe because it was 8:30 by the time we sat down to eat. 

 

 Also, when I came home yesterday I found this huge package waiting at my door. What a surprise! I thought it was a Valentine's Day gift. Boy was I wrong.

The package actually ended being dog supplies/treats. Silly me haha. Seriously though I was impressed with all these free goodies for work. I can not say enough good things about Blue Buffalo. Their company is just fantastic for hooking me up with all these fun things. The box came loaded with bags of treats, a tote bag, treat pouches, and some more goodies.

Wishbone was patiently at least trying to be patient to sneak into those treats. (you can see her tail can't stop moving once the food comes out) She was happy with her Valentine's Day gifts!

 **On a side note, I was not compensated at all for this review for Blue Buffalo. I just love the company and wanted to share with other animal lovers! Also, Blue Buffalo produces everything in the U.S.**

Question for the morning:

Did you eat a lot of chocolate last night?  Usually when I get a box of mixed chocolate, I will squish them from the bottom to see if it is a good flavor haha.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you all out there!

Hope you all are celebrating love in one way or another. Even when I was younger and had no valentine, I never hated today. I couldn't relate when people used to hate on February 14th., describing how Hallmark created the holiday. V-day is all about love. It is not just about loving your partner, spouse, kids, etc... but about loving yourself. Spreading joy and being happy is what this day means to me. It doesn't have to be celebrated with huge expensive gifts or putting too much pressure to have the most romantic night possible. 

Since this is my first Valentine's Day off in three years (I usually end up working every holiday) the boyfriend and I are choosing to stay in. Yep, no fancy plans over here. We've done the whole overpriced and overcrowded restaurant date. And I prefer staying in and actually being able to hear what he's saying. 

The past five years convinced me I had a Valentine's Day curse. Every single year I would come down with some type of sickness. The worst year was getting food poisoning at Taco Bell. Keeping my fingers crossed I don't get sick today!

 
My plans for tonight include a workout (will be awesome because the gym will be EMPTY and no waiting for any machines), yummy takeout, and great tv. Sounds like a pretty fun night to me. Love should be celebrated everyday, not just today.

In the spirit of V-day I wanted to share a fun little love survey with you guys. If you don't know Cara, go say hi to know her. Her writing is fabulous and her posts are nothing short of unique. So when I saw this survey on her blog, I knew I had to do it. Thanks Melissa for hosting!

So get your cup of coffee and get ready to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Here are the questions:

How long have you been married? 
He said: We've been dating 7 years.
She said: Dating 7 years.

 
Where was your first date?
He: At the movies.
She: Walking around in town with friends.
(For the record, he was right! I had to think about this for awhile)
 
Where was your first kiss?
He: At his house before you left one afternoon.
She: At a friend's house.
(Again he was right! I was beginning to doubt my memory)
 
Who first said, "I love you"?
He: I did.
She: He did.
 
What is her most commonly used phrase?
He: I love you.
She: Oh my god. (in my best long island accent of course)
 
Who is her celebrity crush?
He: Ryan Gosling.
She: Obviously Ryan Gosling. (This was an easy one and clearly no secret!)

  
If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get?
He: Pina Coloda for her and Gin&Tonic for me.
She: Margarita for me and Gin&Tonic for him. (We rarely drink so this is pretty much the only drink we ever order, so he should have got this one right!)
  
What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?
He: Cookies.
She: Bacon wrapped chicken. (oh yeah it was as delicious as it sounds) It looked something like this:

 
What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you?
He: Cake
She: German chocolate cake. It took me over five hours to bake, the ingredidents were so expensive, and the whole thing tasted mushy//wet.
 
What is the most-played song on her iPod?
He: "I kissed a girl" by Katy Perry
She: "Is this love" by Bob Marley.
(First off, I don't even have "I kissed a girl" song on my ipod haha. So don't know where he got that from)
 
What would she say is your most annoying habit?
He: Smoking.
She: Smoking. (This one was so easy for both of us)
 
What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed?
He: Turn on her sound machine.
She: Put on chapstick. (I do both of these things. Can't sleep with dead silence or with chapped lips)

  
If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be?
He: All dress pants.
She: I thought he would have went with big, comfy sweatpants.
 
What would you say is your favorite thing about her?
He: Waking up with her next to me smiling.
She: I thought he would have said intelligence. (Aww I can't take how cute he is)
  
What's her go-to drink at Starbucks?
He: Skinny vanilla lattee.
She: Same!

  
What's her blog's name?!
He: Life and Fitness by Ashley (he occasionally reads it!) 

Alright, now that we are over the survey fun, I need your help. Kelp noodles. I really want to like them. But last time I cooked them they tasted like soggy seaweed. So, I'm determined to make them taste as good as pasta or just good. Give me some ideas of how to cook them//what to put on them//or just anything. Help!

Have a great Valentine's day<3
For those of you that follow me on Instagram already saw how last night I was baking up some love.
 

**How are you celebrating love today??**

Baking Overload

Happy Monday Guys! 
Back to the work week for many, but this girl is still home sick. Even though I'm under the weather, I have to say I'm enjoying being able to do all the little things I always say I'm going to do, and then never do. Feeling accomplished/organized is the best for type A people like me.

Great food did make an appearance this weekend. Mom and I went out to eat Friday night and our food looked something like this. Gluten free pasta with ala vodka sauce. Mmmmm...

Saturday night is when I started feeling gross so the boyfriend got us some take out. Chicken parm. hero for me. The reason it looks messy is because I forgot to snap a pic was totally starving and dug right in. Sometimes the best food can look the worst. Like chili, sloppy joe's, sherperd's pie? Anyone else agree?
 

One of the items I needed to check off my to-do list was to finally wash my make up brushes after a great tip from Amanda. (Thanks!) If you're anything like me, you continue to use your makeup brushes, oh for about forever, and keep saying you're going to clean them next time. And then next time never comes...

Ahhh so much cleaner & not a bad cleaner for $2.50

  
Next up on my list was painting my nails so I can stop biting them! I'm sooooo bad with it.

  
As you can see my nails are super tiny. Hoping they grow quick.

As far as meal planning goes for this week: no planning happening. With not feeling well and being away for half the week, I'll probably end up eating frozen leftovers from last week. However, I did prep alot of snacks for the week. Yesterday was baking overload.

 Amaze Ballz

  
It was my first time making them and they came out a little too wet. Into the freezer they went. They turned more into amaze turtles, but balls or turtles, delicious either way.

Homemade Protein Bars

I have to be honest, wasn't my favorite. I dont know, they just came out mushy and they were in the oven for wayyyy longer than the original recipe called for.

And, last but not least, the famous 4 ingredient fudge!
This went straight into the freezer and is not coming out until v-day or else it will be gone in a day :)  If you follow me on twitter @LifeAndFitByAsh you might have seen this treat during the Superbowl.
 

 

And some things floating around the internet that made me laugh

 

Have a great day! See you guys later

Did you have any amazing food over the weekend? Along with the chicken parm. hero, there was garlic knots. YUM.

Do you know what you're getting your Valentine this year? I usually go with a couple's massage for my Valentine, but am thinking of switching it up this year. Any ideas?? The boyfriend is the hardest to shop for!