Day in the Life

My days off are usually far from having actual days off. Generally, I like it that way. I like to get my hands dirty and be productive. Here is a small snapshot of my Friday....

8:00am: Roll out of bed, make some coffee, make some breakfast. This is usually the point where I check my emails for the first of the day, our bank accounts, read a few blogs, and catch up on my favorite decor sites. 

8:45am: Write my Morning Pages. These are an important part of my everyday routine, they are based out The Artist's Way. They have changed my life. Seriously. This is where I map out my day and my current goals. 

9:30am: Yoga or some other cardio workout. It's good for my soul. 

10:30am: I get ready....in one long, continuous stream of motion. Shower, make up, hair, pick up the house, do the dishes, fold some laundry, read some more blogs. 

11:30am: Get ready for a photo shoot. On this specific day I was off to do some real estate photography. 

My Jo Totes Bag

My parents are selling their house. Bittersweet. 

1:00pm: Meet a friend for coffee. My favorite. 

2:00pm: Swimsuit shopping. (Cue horror music!) Actually this time around was just about the easiest swimming suit shopping excursion known to man kind. 

3:00pm: Plant myself down at the computer once again and edit, edit, edit, edit, edit. 

5:30pm: Work on the garden...or what's there of it anyways. 

6:00pm: Cook dinner. Wait for my man to come home from work. 

8:00pm: Drinks with friends. Good music. Good times. 

A perfect friday. 

(All images are my own) 

Another Step

Some of you may know this and some of you may not. Last fall I went on the HCG diet. Highly controversial and fairly insane, but I still did it. I lost a lot of weight in the process. Was it worth it? In some ways -yes, in some ways- no. Have I kept all of the weight off? Most of it. Will I ever take myself through that torture again? No way. The second round I became so sick and I feel like my body still has damage from that diet. 

*If you're on that diet, go for it. If you're not, that's probably a good thing. It works, but it sucks. (That's my two cents.) 

So, I've taken another step to reach my goal. Weight Watchers. I tell you all this to hold myself accountable and to also state that the first week I've been on it has been wonderful. For those of you that don't know what the diet entails, you can eat pretty much what you want as long as you stay within your daily points. My OCD mind loves the ability to track everything online or on my phone too. This feels much safer. I feel much healthier and fully believe I will make these results stick this time around. 

Breakfast is still my favorite meal ever. 

I also plan on posting some recipes during my endeavor to the change the way I eat and take care of myself. I made this one on friday. Piece of cake and only 5 points per serving. Awesome. This recipe is specifically from Weight Watchers.

SLOW COOKER: RED BEANS, SAUSAGE, and RICE SOUP

Ingredients

	1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	1 medium red onion(s), chopped
	1 stalk(s) (large) celery, rib, chopped
	1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
	15 oz canned kidney beans, dark-variety, rinsed and drained
	14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
	9 oz cooked chicken sausage, andouille-style, cut into bite-size pieces
	1/4 tsp dried thyme
	1/4 tsp black pepper
	6 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
	1 cup(s) uncooked white rice, converted-variety recommended

Instructions

• Place garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper, beans, tomatoes with their juices and sausage in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add thyme and pepper; stir well.
  
  
• Pour in broth and rice; stir again. Cover slow cooker and set on high power; cook for 4 hours. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Notes

• We recommend converted rice because regular long-grain rice can become mushy in slow cooker recipes.
  To turn up the heat, add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the thyme.
  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It turned out to be quite good. 
  
  
  
  
  

Friday Night

The guys and I played a show this weekend at Road 34, a local bicycle bar in town. We tend to gig here a lot just because I dig the atmosphere and vibe of it all. The turn out was great. We played for a "Chicks that Rock" night. 3 bands with women for frontmen. Frontmen? Is that what you would call that? Frontwomen?  Either way, it's always immensely refreshing to find other women that play music like we do. 

I love being able to play shows and just let go, doing something I love. 

You can listen to some of our music here. 

Good Food, Good Friends

I can almost touch summer. First BBQ of the season. 

Snapshots, Suits, and Summer

I've been keeping up fairly well with my goals for May.

 I have been doing yoga almost everyday and feel so much better than before.

 I finally baked something today too! I don't know if muffin mix really counts, but I'm running with it.

  I also embarked upon planting a garden. I feel overwhelmed! There's a lot of rules and I don't want everything to die on me. It's quite the process. 

My other task is swimsuit shopping. (Cue dreadful music in minor key.) 

I'm leaning more towards a vintage vibe. Our camping/beach trip is only a month away. 

Modcloth.com

Kohls.com

Modcloth.com

And I would love a pair of these....

Target.com

Tunes for Thursday: Kimbra

I stumbled across this musical gem on a friend's Facebook page. She is mesmerizing. I can't wait for her full length record to drop. She sings and moves with so much passion. Love it. 

She also has rad style. 

Goals For May

I am a very goal-oriented being. I write lists like it's going out of style. I believe that goals keep me moving and growing. Without them, I really don't get a lot accomplished. Posting them on this blog also holds me accountable. I need that. 

Goals for May

1. Plant my garden. 

Found here. 

2. Do yoga 3 times a week. 

Found here

3. C25k: Train for a 5k.

Found here. 
(I started, then got sick and completely fell off the wagon. Time to get back on.) 

4. Bake something once a week. 

Found here. 

5. Sign up for a sewing class. 

Found here. 

Yesterday, we bought......

A van!! Yes. You read that correctly. Yesterday, we purchased a van.

I have been needing a new vehicle for quite some time now. My little neon had faithfully taken me all the way through college and back. I commuted many miles in that little faithful car. But, even though we had some grand times together, it was time to say good bye.

When I first started car shopping, I knew we had three needs. Good gas milage, lots of cargo space, and a dependable car for when we go down the road of having children. I dreamed of a cool hatchback or something along those lines. Through shopping, we declared that we should by a van. Now, I fought this idea for a while. A van?!? Are you kidding me?!?! Soccer moms drive vans. But, as I wrestled through our decision, it made a lot of sense. We are musicians. We haul A LOT of music gear. We can camp in this van. We can haul all of our friends all over the place in this thing.

I'm going to rock it. I'm going to be the childless woman driving a minivan while blasting Led Zeppelin from the speakers with my oversized sunglasses and the sun on my face. This particular van was definitely in our price range, in stellar condition, and will be great for hauling around little kiddos a few years from now.

So, I've killed my pride and determined that I shall drive this van. I've already had multiple women ask me if I'm pregnant after I've told them we bought a van. I am not. Believe me, the entire world will know when I'm pregnant. That is not something I will be able to keep hush hush for very long.

So, meet our new ride. :)