How 'Bout Them Apples

So....my mom and her boyfriend have to come live with me for at least two weeks while they renovate her condo {had a water issue, it was sudden, long story}.  So there's that.  They will be here all the way through my 30th birthday.  

I haz the birthday blues. Again! Like every year.  Not because I will be 30, but I just feel like any plans I ever make and try to enjoy for that day {we seriously aren't doing anything big -- girls dinner Friday, double date Saturday} just never work out like I want.  I realize that no one would know I will be 30 because hey, I sound like a 5 year old.  

So...minor plans for this weekend.  I need to do all the chores since I at least don't want to be bothered by that next weekend.  Maybe catching some sun.  3 Putt and I planned a chill Saturday night with cooking at home and a romantic patio meal.   But we will be +1 so I guess I should revamp my plans.  

Oh but I do have girl time and wine with C tonight. So hopefully I will be soothed after that and a morning run on Saturday and I can be less bratty about life.  

I'll be sure to report back on this fun-filled family adventure. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~m

Blogs We Love

I don't know how much time The Housewife has to devote to stuff like this but I have recently stumbled upon some more blogs I wanted to share with you.  Mainly foodie ones so if that's not your schtick (did I do that right?) then sorry.  But we all know that I think about food almost every minute of every day.  Except when I am sleeping.  

My first foodie blog I love to check in with is Love + Cupcakes.  Paola actually makes most of those pretty food items you are pinning to your food board on Pinterest.  Seriously.  She has some other stuff that she includes but I really like her recipes.  I recently made her Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake and was pretty impressed.  Granted, it took some sweat to get that 1/3 cup of lemon zest the recipes calls for {and a little blood where I got my knuckle on the grater} but it was worth it.  I wish mine looked a little prettier but I didn't grease the pan well enough and it definitely ripped apart when I dumped it out {big sigh}.  But I don't think I have ever made a cake that good.  

I am hoping for it to look like this one she made next time around.  Seriously determined.  

{from love + cupcakes}

Up next on the newly updated blog roll -- Passports & Pancakes.  I haven't tried any of her recipes yet but I am now stalking all of the food she pins and her blog for the stuff she makes.  Also seems to make a lot of healthy stuff.   There is so much I want to try! 

How good do these Gluten Free Berry Crumb Bars look? 

{image via passports and pancakes}

Or how beautiful is this Quinoa Roasted Beet Salad?

{image via passports and pancakes}

I am determined to get some more time in the kitchen this summer even if it is shaping up to be busy as hell.  Any other food blogs I need to be reading? Spill. {sorry for the puns I can't not do it}.

And, I am sure we are all familiar with Breakfast at Toast by the lovely Danielle Moss of The Everygirl.  But I just really love her personal notes and photos of her house and her dog and all things Chicago.  Maybe I will get to visit The Windy City one day.  Really -- I cannot get enough of her dog Buddy. He is just the cutest. 

What are you reading? 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Friday Words. Happy Weekends.

I wanted to do a quick post on a quote that I saw on Tumblr this morning.  I've been trying so hard lately to focus on life and all the great things in front of me, but it's hard for my type A personality to ignore all the other things that need to happen to make sure life is "in order" -- chores, bills, budgets, is the house clean enough, am I working enough and hard enough, not being ok with a day off from the gym and feeling guilt over doing something else.  But the words below were refreshing.  

I want to spend less energy trying to make sure the floors are mopped every two weeks and vacuuming twice a week and working through my lunch several days a week.  Obviously I have responsibilities and that's OK.  But I want to embrace surprise dinners and pop over to The Housewife's more to watch #1 paint dinosaurs and not guilt myself over the calories in two glasses of wine or a bowl of cheese dip or how I look in my swimsuit. 

“I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn’t come in an envelope. It’s ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It’s the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turns down an invitation the White House, but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live…”

Bob Goff

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Thanks to all our men and women serving our country right now and all those that have served in the past.  We can celebrate by truly living this weekend. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Lately {single gal edition}

just some pictures of things happening of late...

I've been thinking a lot about my friends whose sweet dog Beau went to sit with Little Baby Jesus two weeks ago.  I know this is an incredibly hard time for them, and I just hate what they are going through.  I love this picture of C and Beau from the Super Bowl a few years ago.  

Hogan and Beau were good buds, too.  

I went to Goodwill and got 8 plates + 8 salad plates + 16 silver chargers for $33.  The plates are white with a gold rim.  Well loved, but I think they could make some pretty place settings with some jazzy bowls.  {sorry the kitchen sink made it in there}

As a dog person, I am almost ashamed to be so in love with this Gap dress that has cats on it.  BUT...it's pretty much one of the few things in my closet that I like right now.   Snagged it on sale for $34.  I would link the item but they no long have it.  Sads. 

Because I am redundant sometimes, I also kind of want the cat print boyfriend shirt. 

Lots of walks with Hogie.  Caught in the rain on this so 3 Putt and I took shelter and sat on a bench to watch the storm pass.  Hogie was not pleased about the rain either. 

His Sunday morning trip to Starbucks was a little more promising. 

The Housewife and I grabbed a quick picture before we saw Alabama in concert at The Fox Theatre on Friday! 

{the fabulous fox theatre}

This was pretty much how Sunday was spent because it keeps raining. All the time.  Every weekend.  And I will never get to go to the lake.  

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

You Are What You Eat

I had a realization about a month ago when I grabbed a cold drink at the drive-thru on a hot day. I usually get a half sweet/ half-unsweet tea but instead I got a Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought it was going to be super refreshing, especially since I haven't had one in so long.... but not so much. I actually don't like soda anymore. I never drink it but I realized now I don't even want it occasionally. It has no nutritional value. It tastes bad. I decided I wanted to do some nutritional research and ordered this book:

Y'all know I'm doing Crossfit now and I actually never even make it to the Nutrition classes they offer at the gym on Paleo but Dallas and Melissa Hartwig based their program off of the Paleo lifestyle. I am not an expert on either way of eating at this point and probably never will be so I can't really tell you any differences in the programs. I talked to my coach about it and we both basically agreed that the Whole30 is way more strict in comparison to Paleo. I tried to start a Whole30 but the sugar withdrawals and #1 not napping and being the independent and spirited child she is were just not working. Then my Crossfit gym started a 6 week Paleo Challenge a few days later and I decided to commit to that even though I felt like a huge failure after ditching the Whole30 after 72 hours. It's not that I don't believe in he Whole30 because I do but it's just not my time to do one. I'm not trying to complain or say I don't have time to do it but I get put in a poor eating positions sometimes when things don't go as expected with the kids and I get stuck with no food or dinner until they go to bed and I can go to the grocery store and it starts to set up bad eating habits.


I've been doing my Paleo Challenge for a 10-ish days and I have learned a few things. I can drink my coffee black and I really don't mind it. Just make sure you have good quality coffee. I have had some days where I'm 100% compliant with Paleo and other days I have had a few small slips. I find it easier to take it one day at a time and not think about the entire six weeks. It gets easier everyday mainly because once you stop eating certain things and you decide to eat them again, even if its just a small portion size, you feel bad. As in you will have a tummy ache and need to seek shelter in a bathroom at some point as penance for your poor food choice.

I will also confess that I was able to dine at Canoe with Turtle for a work related thing and I did order as Paleo friendly for dinner as possible with the exception of one glass of wine and dessert. So while I paid for my wine and dessert it was certainly worth it because their Banana Nut Bread Bread Pudding was superb. Back on the Paleo train today.

I am simply explaining my choices and my experience to date with this. I will never be a person to berate anyone about how their food choices are bad and mine are superior.  I hate food pushers and Grandmothers are the worst. I know they mean well and they lived through a time period where it was considered very wasteful to throw away food.  It does irritate me when someone simply cannot accept my answer of, "No." You make your choices and I'll make mine. But don't look at someone who is in incredible shape and think they have it easy. More than likely they are incredibly dedicated to fitness and paying attention to what is fueling their bodies. This turned into a ranting paragraph. Sorry about that.

Any how.........y'all try to branch out and learn something new! I'm glad I did. Check out the Whole30 website, it explains everything there. You don't even have to by the book.

The Housewife

DIY Herringbone Wall

New spaces can be challenging and fun. Y'all know I was super sad to leave the Birch Tree Wall Stencil I did in the twins nursery. While I think it was worth doing I just wasn't sure if it was worth doing over again. The wall probably took at least 10 hours to complete and it is a two person project for sure. Turtle was not really going to volunteer to do that all over again. We do not have tons of time to do things around the house right now, especially because #1 has basically dropped her afternoon nap. We needed to paint the twins new nursery and I wanted to do something fun again but I needed it to be a little less labor/time intensive.

I think my thought process started out as I discovered the blog Vintage Revivals and Mandi was blowing my mind with her little girl's bedroom reveal. Isn't this totally amazing? I love the balance of white and color and the warmth from the wood tones.

I started looking through Mandi's other tutorials and projects and she had completed a Herringbone design on the ceiling of her entry way. And that's where my dream began. I found another tutorial from Design Sponge here, and this was also helpful. For me, I divided the wall in half and then those halves into half. I am an English major and math is not my strong suit. When I measured the wall height it was basically 102 inches so I made marks every 6 inches for the sake of it not being so hard on my brain. I drew it out on paper first. These photos are from my iPhone so my apologies in advance! I was able to pawn #1 off to Grammie and Grandpa, borrow a pack and play from my mother-in-law and Turtle was out of town which is how I had time to accomplish this project.

Oh the fun part. The tapping of the wall. The vertical lines were the worst. It was a good bit of up and down and re-taping to make sure they were straight. That was the hardest part. Once the tape was up and straight I took a yard stick and a sharpie and marked every 6 inches. Then I started taping the diagonals. Those went fairly quickly if the twins were sleeping and I could get into a good rhythm. 

The small dots of tape I found helpful (as did the tutorial givers mentioned above) to make sure you don't paint the wrong lines. Trust, your mind will look at a spot and think, "Hey, I forgot to paint this." 

Please ignore the previous owners window treatment choices. We are having new blinds and roller shades installed next week. After reading some other information about painting any kind of stripes on walls in general in regards to bleed through I found most people preferred Frog Tape but I was able to find 3M Blue Tape with paint block in 1 inch so that is what I ended up using. It did a fairly good job. I think if I had more time I would have re-painted the white over the ends to seal the tape and cut the bleeding of the other color. But again, time is not on my side EVER. I painted this wall for me and the bleed through you can see when you are right up on the wall doesn't bother me. I also ripped the tape of after 30 minutes of it being completely painted and didn't have any issues with it bringing any paint off. 

As #1 would say.....TAAAADAAAA! I will try to get my fancy camera and take better pictures for you but you get the idea. Paint colors are Sherwin Williams West Highland White and Benjamin Moore Rainwashed. The BM color was color matched to Sherwin Williams Duration paint in matte finish. 

{on my radar}

I'm still funneling away money for a well deserved vacation in August on the white beaches of the Dominican Republic, but if I wasn't a few of these things would find their way to me...

{a new dress for L's wedding}

//club monaco melanie dress//

Natalie must have read my mind as I was stalking this dress all weekend because she also posted about it on her blog as well.  Hopefully someone gets their wish and this will find a closet to live in soon!  I am obsessed with shift dresses lately.  

{a lifetime supply of boom chicka pop popcorn}

//find here//

37 calories for a whole cup.  Enough said.  I can't stop eating this stuff. 

{red carpet gel color in ooh la liscious}

OK -- I already have this one, but I do want more gel polish colors!  You can't quite see how nice and coral the color is but I am loving it for summer and how long the gel lasts on my nails! No more chipping on at work while I type all day. 

{my own copy of the smitten kitchen cookbook}

I got this as part of Mom's Mother's Day gift -- and she adored it! Maybe I should bite the bullet and order one? If only I had more time to try the recipes! 

What's on your radar? 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~