Mom's 48th. Birthday

Cheers to my Mom's 48th. birthday yesterday!

Every birthday should start off with a grande latte in my opinion. As you can kind of see in that picture, the morning started off pouring. So our plans for a beach day vanished quickly.

After staying in our pajamas for half the day lounging around, we finally got around to baking. Gluten free chocolate chip cookies! Side Note:{My mom does not have Celiac's, but she doesn't mind baking gluten free so I can have some} Betty Crocker makes a good mix. If I'm being honest I just wanted to bake them for the dough...I mean that's the best part anyway ;)

We had originally planned to go to the beach restaurant since their lobster is just delicious. But the weather was still cloudy in the afternoon so we decided not to chance going outside for dinner. Instead a pizza party!

Then it was present time. Mom got lots of Starbucks gift cards so I am hoping she will share some of that wealth with me haha ;)
She had a huge cup to celebrate the evening with too!

WIAW- Messy Eater

Well it's a good thing I wasn't stressed about my non existent appetite the other day since it came back full force yesterday. My hunger was outaaaaa of control lemme tell ya.

Shall we take a look at What I Ate Wednesday?

Breakfast was a total fail. Take a look at this huge mess.

I instagrammed it yesterday and apparently alot of you guys feel the same way when perfectly good oats get thrown out :(

That's what I get for trying hot oats instead of my usual cold ones. If it ain't broke don't fix it...

By noon I was more than ready for lunch. I melted mozzarella cheese and a packet of tuna in the microwave, then rolled it up in a brown rice wrap. It's a good thing I took this picture when I did because right after I started eating the wrap fell apart haha.

I guess messy was my theme yesterday?

Three hours later I knew I needed something to hold me over until dinner. One of my tye-dye yogurt bowls, but this time with granola for a little crunch, yum!

Troy bought me a passion iced tea while we made a quick trip to the food store. He knows Starbucks is the way to my heart haha!

We ended up eating dinner with his parents and it was chili night. One of my favorites of his mom's since she puts so many toppings into it. To my bowl I added rice, beans, tomatoes, and melted cheese. Delicious!

No night time snack for me after that ginormous bowl of chili :)

Lobster Time

So I found out that I somehow sprained my knee. Luckily the doctor said no gym for a week and to ice it everyday and I should be good to go! Unfortunately I couldn't convince Troy that the doctor said a tropical drink would fix it. But I did manage to convince him that a Starbucks would help. This is how much of Friday night was spent. There is a huge pile of magazines on my floor that I am trying to get through.

Even though I was wobbling around, we did make it out of the house for a nice dinner one night. I've been wanting to go this beach restaurant for awhile now, but it's been insanely too hot the past week. So since it cooled off a bit, we decided it was a go. The only downside was it was SUPER windy.

Butternut Squash And Cinnamon Vodka

Sounds like a strange flavor combination, but I promise it is rather marvelous. I'll explain in a second...

 This weekend was a pretty low key one in our neck of the woods. Troy and I spent Friday night watching the show, 24, all night long. Once we start a series we need to finish it asap.

Since Friday night we spent glued to the tv, we ventured out Saturday night to meet up with friends. But let's back it up to the morning. I figured we would be out late that evening and Sunday would end up being a rest day. You know when you're in one of those zombie states at the gym? Yeah that was me on the treadmill. I did some HIIT cardio for 30 minutes and called it a day.

Starbucks iced skinny vanilla lattee as a post workout treat!

Getting Our Grill On

Happy Monday! Not only is Monday off to a great start for me, but Katie has finally had her baby! So go over and send her lots of love for her new baby boy!

This weekend was the perfect mix of relaxing and busy. Friday evening was spent gettin' our grill on! Mom and I made a quick food store run to pick up some last minute items. This why I don't usually go to this food store since they have a Starbucks. Hehe but since it was Friday, I was all TGIF haha.

Luckily my mom's boyfriend did all the grilling so Troy and I just go to eat. And oh boy, did we eat alot. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the spinach and feta sausage, way too spicy for me.

As of Lately

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on yesterday's post and on Twitter. It means the world to me and appreciate all of your love so much <3

For right now we are still at home. I will most likely be traveling to Pennsylvania for the services either this weekend or next week. Also, thankfully we were able to get a full refund on our vacation. From now on I am always booking anything with travel insurance because you just never know.

I don't want to be a total debbie downer today, my uncle wouldn't have wanted that. 

So my life lately:

Since I haven't been at my house alot this week, all my meals lately have been in tupperware form. Yesterday's lunch was cut up broccoli, brown rice, and grilled chicken. Simple, but delicious.

WIAW-Discovering A New Veggie

Time for What I Ate Wednesday, but really Tuesday in my case. Thanks to Jenn for all the lovely recipe ideas!

And let's jump right in!

Breakfast started off with the usual overnight oats in my hershey's bowl again. What can I say? I love oats :)

I Went Running

 for the first time in a LONG time, but we'll get to that in a second...

Well hello there guys. How was your weekend?!
Mine was pretty darn relaxing, with some fun things thrown in there. I had a ton of downtime to unwind and was super productive around the house at the same time. It was marvelous....

You guys saw how Friday night was spent being up wayyyyyy past my bedtime.

After restocking the fridge on Saturday am, I finally got my butt into workout mode. I have a love/hate relationship with running. Running comes in phases and Saturday was one of them. Since I'm don't do long-distance, I'm a huge fan of intervals. So I usually wear my watch along to time myself. But I couldn't find my "junkie" running watch so I had to resort to wearing one of my good ones.

Except I didn't notice when I left that the time was stuck at 6 o'clock and I went running around 12ish. Major fail status haha.

Good Thing I Have A Big Purse

Hey guys! Hope everyone is having a good start to the weekend. I know I sure am since I got to sleep in.

Yesterday was my last final so I am all done studying for the semester. It was an even better day since I am officially done with college! For an actuary I don't need a master's degree, just have to pass lots of exams.

Since I won't be attending graduation, mom and I celebrated at Panera. Nothing wild and crazy, that will be in Mexico haha ;)

Busy Bee

How are ya?! I spent hardly any time on the computer this weekend, which was a nice technology free break, but not by choice. I was busy busy! Of course this meant lots of marvelous things to share.

Saturday was spent getting up super early to squeeze in a workout. This never happens on the weekend. Even though I don't sleep late, I do love sleeping until 8. Of course this mean that a Starbucks run had to happen.

Friday Favorites

Hiiiiiii! It's Friday! Vacation beginssssssss! Can you tell I'm excited?!

Hope by the time you are reading this I am safe and sound in Denver!

It's no secret I hate flying. So let's recap all my favorite things that happened this week to get my mind off of it. Sound ok? Ok good.

Spending the day at the beach with Wishbone! Sadly, she seems to have hurt her leg the other night. She has been limping and crying so the family is taking her to the vet while I am away. I'm just very worried about her <3333

Obviously I Can't Read Recipes

Hey all! Cheers to the weekend.

Friday snuck up on me this week, but I'll take it.

Last night's dinner was thrown together in less than 10 minutes, but was oh so good. I prepped some turkey meatballs on Sunday, added some brown rice, and a sweet potato. Done.

Being Controversial On Marijuana

You guys may remember me mentioning that I had Monday off, well it was a good one. My mom actually took the day off from work so we got to spend it together, which is always fun!

After squeezing in a quick am workout, we both decided shopping was on our to-do list. My first stop was at NY & Company since they were having a major sale. I picked up a couple shirts for around $10 each (awesome). I bought the same shirt in four colors haha. I am super picky about clothes so when I find one that fits, I buy alot.

Sweaty Elbow Elliptical Workout

Friday already? Now usually I am a big fan of Fridays and the weekend, but this week means I'm getting closer to going back to school and spring break is over. Isn't it always the fun weeks fly by meanwhile the boring ones drag on?

My eats have been literally ALL over the place the past two days. I don't just want one thing for lunch, but a little bit of that with a little bit of this...

Chocolate rice cakes I bought last week and finally broke in to them. Instead of eating them plain, I broke them into little pieces and made them into cereal.

I'm Quitting Blogging

Just kidding, April Fools! Haha I would miss you all too much!

Anyway, happy Monday! Hope all of you had a wonderful Easter filled with lots of jelly beans ;)
I'm sure most of you are back to work this morning, but my spring break has just begun. That means lots of wild and crazy adventures this week. Totally kidding haha. I am really the farthest thing from a party animal.This week will most likely consist of writing papers and doing some competition menu planning.

Linking up with Katie, let's talk about some marvelous things.

Some scenes from my weekend:

Absolutely gorgeous weather on Saturday. This type of weather makes me just want to read and relax by the water. I'm so lucky to live so close by to the beach. Can't wait for those beach days.

How To Create The Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Happy Monday friends! Let's hope we are all off to a marvelous week. Thanks Katie for hosting another week!

After this weekend I feel so refreshed. Friday started out not so great thanks to a killer headache and having class at 3pm. An afternoon class at school is not the ideal way to start off the weekend. So, I decided to get a pick me up on my way. A skinny vanilla latte cured my headache and almost made me late for class, but it was worth it.

Stumpy McTavern

And it's back to Monday again! Hope you all are recovered from the St. Patrick's Day shenanigans. No hangover for me since I'm still fighting off this nasty cold.

I did celebrate a little bit with a green lime refresher from Starbucks. That's got to count for something right? I should have ordered a grande though. My mom describes a tall as "3 sips and you're done".

It's Been Awhile....

It's been awhile since we've had some real chat on here. So let's get to it...

My stomach was feelin' a little funny the other day. So my eats were a little out of the usual.
Breakfast started off with a Clif bar. Honestly I didn't even want to eat anything, but knew I needed something.

Things Making Me Happy

Happy Weekend! I hope you are reading this in your pajamas with a big cup of coffee (or in my case a tall Skinny Vanilla Latee).

Sleeping in felt glorious this morning. I had a wild night last night and stayed up past 11:30, which is much later than usual. Party animal over here huh? Well technically my wild night consisted of Bingo haha. I really am a 80 year old grandma on the inside. Don't laugh, but I love to crochet too. But I did need my Starbucks to keep me awake.

  

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??**