Friday, April 11, 2014

My Latest Creation

Woah showing some serious blog love this week.


I wasn't planning to post again so soon, but then Google Auto-Awesome fashioned together this nifty gif and I just had to share it somewhere.



Today is my first day wearing my newest creation and as a result I had Mike outside in boxers and a white tee photographing me in million poses.(He does a great job humoring me on this stuff). Anyway, my handy android phone auto back-ups all my pics to my google+ account. From there Google recognized the multi-photo sequence and stitched it all together for me. Thanks Google :)

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Applying to Art School: The Story of Not Loving Your Job

Are you guys still checking in on blog? Good for you! Remember you can cyber-stalk me on youtube now.


So how are things?? There have been a whole lot of changes in our lives since my last post 2 and a half months ago. Here's a quick update:

My girlies came to visit!

Matching PJ's...we're cool like that.


We found out we will be moving. Mike found out he didn't get an offer from the residency here in Atlanta. Luckily the next week he found out that he did get an offer from the Rehab Institute of Chicago!

Celebratory Moe's dinner of course!


I applied to Art School.  Yup, starting in July I'll be taking night classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a certificate in...drum roll please....Fashion Design!

Mailing in my application :)


How am I feeling about all these changes? For the most part, I'm PUMPED! We never really thought the move down here was permanent, and moving back to the Midwest has always been in the 10 year plan at least, so it's exciting that we are moving back so soon. That being said, I've got a lot of anxiety about finding a new job. I feel like I've been given a chance to take a step back and re-evaluate the career path I'm headed down, and I want to make the most of this opportunity.

First, some back story. My mom is an accountant so that's where I got the idea from. Unfortunately my mom was an uncommon sort of accountant where she really acted more as an analyst. She spent her entire career in industry, meaning that she never audited any companies or prepared anyone's taxes. 

My mom's role was the type of accounting that really caught my attention. So what happened? Well, I had two internships during college: one in industry and one doing taxes for a public accounting firm. Comparing my internship experiences as a whole, public was the clear winner. I was working with awesome people (one of which has been my roommate, bridesmaid, and very close friend to this day). I was also doing work that I was really good at. So when I got a full time offer, it wasn't a hard decision.

The trouble began once I started. I was put into a different group...and in a not particularly fun section within that group. There's no candy-coating it. I was bored out of my mind. I requested transfers but it never worked out so I stayed put and just sucked it up until Mike proposed and got accepted to GA Tech. 

When we moved to Atlanta I was able to transfer not only to the ATL office but also to a more desirable group. What I learned pretty quickly was that the lack of exciting work was the least of my problems. I got stuck working for a couple of HORRIBLE people. If you know me well enough you've probably heard the highlights. 

So about a year ago I was desperate to get the heck out of that office any way I could. I applied to a number of cost accounting/general accounting roles in an effort to refocus on the areas that originally attracted me to this field. The problem was that 2+ years of tax experience had pigeonholed me into tax. I ultimately decided that getting into an industry tax role would be step one and that I could figure out the next steps once I got there.

Fast forward to where we are now. I am significantly happier. The work is pretty good most days. Sometimes boring, sometimes stressful, it's all balanced out pretty well. And the people here are a dream. So why am I not happy?

As a "millennial" that took a number of marketing and psych classes in college and grad school I know all about what is being said of my generation. Unrealistic expectations. Sense of entitlement. Unwillingness to do the grunt work. I've spent a lot of time wondering if I'm just living up to the stereotypes. Is it unrealistic to want a job that pays the bills AND makes you feel good about yourself? 

From my vantage point I say no. There's nothing wrong with wanting to enjoying the work you do. At work I am surrounded by highly motivated people who all seem to be seriously enjoying the work they do. Yes we all have stressful days and long nights. We all hate Mondays. We all countdown to vacations. But don't most days end with a sense of accomplishment? Of feeling like you did something helpful, and that you did it well. 

The thing is that I'm not a naive millennial chasing some crazy dream. I've had that job before. The one that challenges you just the right amount to keep you coming back for more. The one you can see yourself in 5 years down the road. So that's really what I'm looking for. Hopefully this move will open up the doors I seem to have missed along the way.

And in the meantime...I'll be taking design classes at night :)



Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Valentine's Feast - #WhatVegansEat

Hello my lovely readers! Long time no post huh?


I mentioned in an earlier post that Mike an I would be celebrating at an all vegan restaurant for Valentne's. I know most of you are meat inclined and might have been thinking, "ALL vegan restaurant? Like a salad bar??"  Nope. We're talking delicious, hearty food here people.

I've actually never been a salad person. With the exception of Cafe Metro (omg magical salads), I've never really gotten excited about a salad. As a result my vegan journey has involved a lot more beans and grains than leafy greens.

When I ask Mike about going vegan, he usually says that number one thing that's stopping him is having to think so much about what you eat before you eat it. He actually loves all the vegan dishes I make at home and has no problem finding something he likes on a vegan menu. This is why I love taking meat eaters to vegetarian and vegan restaurants. I'll push you right into the deep end, but guess what? The water's warm :)

Here's a look at our Valentine's meal at Soul Vegetarian:

Appetizer: Kalebone, the menu describes this as "Sould Vegetarian's super protein recipe made from wheat-gluten" which means it's basically their house-made seitan. They are like breaded crunchy chicken fingers.

Salt and Paprika on the table :)


I've also had the BBQ kalebone, and it was just like eating ribs, minus the bone. It actually freaked me out a little, and I ended up swapping half my dish with Mike.

Mike's Dinner: Lentil burger, your standard veggie burger with a side of "Hebrew bakes" (potatoes).



I should mention that the owners of Soul Vegetarian are vegan for spiritual/religious reasons. In fact, Genesis 1:29 is painted on the wall.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

My Dinner: BBQ Cauliflower with a side of vegan mac n' cheese


Oh man, that mac n' cheese...nom nom nom


I've made similar battered cauliflower dishes at home. Most of the time I make it General Tso's style. I've also seen people make them buffalo style. If you haven't tried breaded cauliflower, it's worth looking up a recipe.

If you are interested in trying out some vegan food in your area, a great resource is happycow.net. You can search for restaurants near you that offer vegan options. Let me know if you find any winners!


Happy Wednesday! HUMP DAY!!!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Changes Ahead?

Hi Hello! Happy Monday.



Sorry for the radio silence last week. I have a post in the works, but got pulled away from my computer every time I tried to make some progress on it. 

On Saturday, Mike made his way to IL for a couple of on-site interviews and the annual Academy meeting. After a crazy week of late nights at work, I was beyond excited for Friday night. We decided to try out a new place for dinner: Uncle Maddio's

I love that they made the bald dude with the mustache vegan. 


It's this really awesome fast-casual pizza joint where you build your own personal pizza Chipotle style. They bake it up and deliver it to your table hot and fresh. I was especially excited because they had vegan options!

After dinner we did a little shopping. We went into Best Buy just to browse and came home with this new toy:

Meet my new baby :)


Funny Sidenote: On Friday night I texted the pic on the left of my new camera box to Bethany. She responded with the pic on the right of HER new camera. Great minds think alike!

Sometimes I think it's actually Bethany and I who are soulmates.


All this brings me to a bit of an announcement type deal...

Changes Ahead??

While the above mentioned camera does take nice pictures that I hope to use on here. The main reason I bought it was for vlogging. I started this blog as a sort of digital scrapbook for Mike and I to look back through and for you peeps to check in on what we are up to. After seeing other people's vlogs, I really felt like it would be a better medium to capture the memories. 

I still plan to put posts up on here, but I think I might move more of the life updates to vlog format. Why tell you when I can show you right?? I'm toying around with the idea of daily vlogging. Obviously it's something Mike and I need to think through. 

The upcoming months and even years will probably hold some bigtime life events for us. I want to capture all these starting out moments. Us as newlyweds. Moving to who knows where. Maybe even babies further down the road. 

So what does this mean for you, my readers? There are times I might link a video on here, but more often than not, they'll stay in the YouTube universe, especially if we decide to daily vlog. The best way to make sure you don't miss a video would be to subscribe to my YouTube channel (click here to be linked to it). Then just hit the subscribe button! New videos will show up in your My Subscriptions box.

Without further ado: Daily Vlogging Day 1 & 2








Happy Monday! Let me know what you think in the comments!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cue the mushy, gushy music. It's V-day Baby!


I'm  proud to announce we survived the ice storm. Also I should mention that people in general overreacted to this storm. It was in fact less intense than expected, but still Southerners + Winter Weather = Chaos


Mike and I spent our snow ice days eating delicious breakfasts, watching the Office non-stop, and beating Lego Indiana Jones...oh and working remotely...but that's not very exciting. I also found time to finish another sewing project (more details below). It's amazing how much extra time you can save by not needing to get all fancied up and drive in in the morning.

Homemade cinnamon rolls...no better way to kick off  the day :)


By the way it's Valentine's day today. Our first as a married couple. Our big plans include dinner at Soul Vegetarian followed by dessert at Honey Bubble. I think I'll stop eating now in preparation.

Romantic snow picture just for you.


In other news, I made another dress! And I scored on some bargain fabric again. Woot Woot.

Please excuse the awkward halo light effect on my hair.


I think it turned out really nice. If I make it again (which I might if I found another cool fabric) I would use a smaller size on the bodice pieces. I think you can tell in the pictures that it looks a little baggy on top, but the waist is perfect. I didn't want to over complicate things so I stuck with one size on the whole pattern. Next time I'll go down a size or two for just the bodice.

The fabric is light and soft with the perfect amount of drape. I love the polka-dot/floral combo and the pops of red and gold are just what I wanted for this simple dress.

Close-up on the fabric and pleating detail at the hem of the skirt...and my awkward knees


Next up is another dress with a little more flowy-ness and some biased cut draping. I'm thinking I might try to find a really edgy fabric for it. I'd love to included some pops of neon in the details. As always I'll keep you posted.

Happy Valentine's Day! Don't forget to treat yourself with something nice today too!


Monday, February 10, 2014

An Early Valentine's

Hi Hello! Brand new week comin' at ya!


I mentioned on Friday that Mike would be getting his v-day surprise over the weekend. Turns out I got mine too! Let's start with his.

Lombardi Party!

Here's one thing you should know about ATL: the radio sucks. There really isn't much variety, and the few stations not playing pop or country hits have pretty spotty reception. Combine that with lots of traffic and you've got a pretty boring ride. Seriously I've found the same song playing on 3 different stations at the same time before. GAAAAH.

On one of my rides home, I found myself reading bumper stickers for entertainment...yup it was bad. Well things took a turn for the better when I noticed a bumper sticker for WABE, Atlanta's public radio station. Do you know what happens when you start listening to local talk radio? You hear about a local theater putting on a play about Vince Lombardi.

Happy Valentine's Hubby!


So on Saturday afternoon Mike and I got dressed up and made the trek out to Aurora Theater in Lawrenceville, GA. Free parking, beer, and my favorite green and gold. It was pretty cool.

For dinner we FINALLY made it to Chinese Buddha. I was recommend this a loooong time ago by a fellow vegan and have been dying to try it out. It was totally worth the hype. They have TWO menus! One for the veg folks and one for the meat eaters. I got the vegetarian General Tso's chicken.Om nom nom.

Happy V-Day to Me!

Mike had to tutor on Sunday, so I decided to head over the the fabric shop to pick out a new sewing project (this is the year of cultivating hobbies, remember?). Before I left Mike started asking about a million questions about what I was planning to get at the store...very unlike him. Finally he told me to hold on while he got something form the bedroom. He came back out and, "Surprise!"

Colette Sew Handbook and Sew Serendipity


He had gotten me two of the sewing books I mentioned in the past couple weeks. Yay! I dove right into the Colette book, reading until I got to the first pattern: the Meringue Skirt



I wrote down everything I needed, did a quick skim through the instructions (invisible zipper, eeeip!), and made my way to the store. I scored big time when I found the perfect fabric on the discount table. All in all I made it out the store under $25. Yay! 

Sewing your own stuff rarely saves money these days considering stores like Target and Old Navy where you can find trendy styles that are moderately well made available at low prices. In addition, not many people sew their own clothes. So as demand for fabric has dropped, prices have risen. That's enough with the econ lesson. Let's get back to the good stuff.

I was a little sewing demon all day yesterday and it paid off because look what I'm wearing today:



It's crazy to me that I'm wearing a skirt that didn't even exist this time yesterday. How cool is that? 

Over lunch. I'm hoping to pop back over to the fabric store to pick out fabric from my next project: the Pastille Dress.



First stop: discount table!

Small Weather Update: It's been lovely the past few days with highs in the 60's, but it looks like winter isn't done with us yet. Snow storm 2 is heading our way. ETA tomorrow morning. In fact schools are already cancelling activities tonight. After the mess from the last storm, I think most people are taking serious precautions to avoid getting stuck away from home. I'd say we've got an 80% chance of more snow days this week.

Happy Monday! 


Friday, February 7, 2014

Snow Day ATL...A Video!

Hey Guys! Two posts in one day...cray cray...


I put together a little video dealio of our snow day. Check it out!





And give me one of those handy dandy thumbs up's...if you want to...no pressure.

Friday Favorite: Daily Blog List

Aloha! It's Friday! Weeeeeeeee!


This weekend I have surprise Valentine's plans for Mike, and since on occasion he manages to read my posts on the actual day they are published I can't share the details here. I'll give you the full scoop on Monday.

In the meantime, how about a Friday Favorite?!?!?

My Daily Blog List!

I've mentioned my love of YouTube before. That love is a new love, a young love. So what was my main squeeze before the Tube? BLOGGERS!!! 

I've got a nice list of blogs bookmarked across the top of my browser and everyday I click, click, click my way through them. Here's the (abbreviated) list with a quick reason why I love each. Click on the titles to check them out yourself!

Iowa Girl Eats - Easy meals that seem complicated, but are a breeze to throw together. Lots of step-by-step pictures. She even sneaks in family updates from time to time.

Enjoying the Small Things - Beautiful photographs and lots of upliftment. Her 2nd daughter has Down syndrome, but it's about so much more than that.

spencedaniel - Beautifully nostalgic, cozy up with a cup of tea type reads. Sue, when will you be writing a book for adults??

Bee in Milwaukee - Quirky and random and totally Bee. 

hilary clair - H and I like to visit an imaginary world together where everything is perfect and adorable and awesome and amazing and wonderful... Well H actually lives in that world more often than not and gives out sneaky peaks on her blog.

Healthy. Happy. Life - Healthy vegan food blog. TONS of smoothie recopies.

One Good Thing - A new life tip of trick EVERY day. Tons of awesome ideas.

Tilly and the Buttons - Tres chic sewing blog. Can I just be her? Please?

That's all I'm willing to give away for now (I could seriously do a whole post of food blogs). Seriously just the tip of the iceberg. Let me know what some of your favorite blogs are!

Happy Friday! Hope you have a lovely weekend.






Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Liebster Schmiebster

I got tagged in a thing...with stuff!


Go check out Bee's post here for the background story. Basically she gave some Q's, and I'll be giving the A's.

1. What is your favorite book? Impossible question. Is that not an acceptable answer? Fine, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I loved reading more about the school and relationships and just awesome wizarding stuff. Also, it feels to me like this book was a tipping point in the series. Voldemort returns, and we witness a character's death.  No more happy times at Hogwarts. Sh*t just got real.

2. What toppings would you put on your pizza? Pineapple!!!! And either tempeh or roasted red peppers. Vegan cheese optional.

3. What Hogwarts house do you think you are in and why? Hufflepuff...ain't no shame in my game. 




4. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would you pick? Euro Trip! Ideally I'd like to take a month and go everywhere, but I think Mike and I will only have 10 days this time around. So Finland and London are on the itin for now.
5. Coffee or tea? Am I at home?? Tea please!! If we are talking about what you order at a coffee shop, that would be coffee or more specifically an iced latte with soy and a shot of coconut :)
6. What is your favorite color to wear? Persimmon!! Look I'm even wearing it today!


7. Holden Caulfield…yay or nay? His name did not ring a bell at all til I googled it and was bombarded with images of a dude in a hunting cap. Though I know this is one of the high school lit books I actually read front to back, I remember almost NOTHING about it. Except that there was a carousel and he swore....Guess that's a nay. 
8. What is your favorite TV show on air right now? How I Met Your Mother - gaaaah final season feels...blerg. They are doing a really good job wrapping it all up for us though aren't they??
9. What is your motto? (Good question, Alice).  Can blerg be a motto? It's probably my most said thing, but that's kind of depressing. How about some motivational quotes instead??

Here's a quote from Barbara Brown Taylor that I have hanging in my cube:

Click here to see the quote if you are having trouble reading that one.

Also my dad once told me the following:

"No one has any money until they are 36. My dad said that to me when I was your age, and now I'm telling you" 

Sometimes it's nce to be reminded that no one has their ish together in their 20's. We're all just working on figuring things out...and that's ok.
10. What song pumps you up when you are in a bad mood? In answering the last question about mottos, this song actually came to mind. Dig in Baby!




So what did you think? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below! I'd love to hear about your words of wisdom and get psyched songs :)

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Weather Mood Swings & Water Lilies

Hi hello! How was your weekend? And more importantly, what the heck is up with the weather??


This winter could not be more different than last year's which was 80% nice and 20% yuck. This time around things have shifted  more toward 80% yuck. Based on reports from my weather delegates in the Midwest and on the East Coast, we've all had it rough. 

Here's a question for you, is it better to have random awesome weather days amid the yuckiness as a sort of break from the winter, or is it just a cruel tease? I personally go back and forth.

Sunday was definitely one of those random awesome days. Mike and I signed up for a paint along class a little over a mile from our place and decided that the weather was looking nice enough to walk. 



No more than two blocks away from the house, we were both feeling way too hot in our jackets and ended up walking the rest of the way in just our t-shirts. It is in these moments that I love it down here. T-shirts in February. Who'd have thought?

The paint along was held at an actual bar, Publik Draft House, in the private loft space on the second floor. Mike and were both digging the ambiance in the bar and decided a return trip is in order.

Drink One: The Sour Patch Kid. Drink Two: Sprecher Gorilla Grape Soda

The class itself was pretty fun. We met up with a couple from Mike's program which definitely increased the entertainment factor. 

Earth...UFOs arrive...oh no wait, it's water lilies.


I think my painting turned out ok. I'm happy enough with it to hang it on the wall. The most exciting part of the painting came at the very end.

Still not 100% used to the new name.


Yesterday was our 6 month anniversary. That might have been the fastest 6 months of my life. Although I have a feeling the next 6 will be even crazier.

Happy 6 Month-a-versary Mike!




Thursday, January 30, 2014

Surviving the Snowpocalypse

 If you haven't heard, it snowed here...and people freaked.


First things first, Mike and I both count ourselves blessed to be among the few that made it home safely mid-day on Tuesday. I still cannot believe the chaos that a mere dusting of snow can cause. There's a lot of finger pointing happening after adults and children were stranded for 20+ hours. 

My Snow Bug


Here's my takeaway:  Snow is the south is actually pretty scary. I definitely didn't fully understand the magnitude of what it meant for it to snow here. I always thought the people down here just had some sort of Wicked Witch of the West type phobia of snowfall. Not the case. These people, this city, this state is not equipped for snow, period. I get it now.

On a lighter note, we had a cozy day at home. Starting with a yummy pancake breakfast:



Then for lunch we made our way to the park. Lot's of sledding and happiness there. Looks like all the ITP people were saved from the worst of it.



We ended up with just under 2 inches in metro Atlanta, and all of it should be gone by the weekend when it's projected to get into the 60s.


Sledding in Peidmont. There were a lot of unconventional sled choices :)

Wishing you all a safe and happy week!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Snow in the forecast, Weekend Recap, and an Itsy Bitsy BABY???

HELLLLOO! I'm feeling good about this Monday. Maybe because we made good use of the weekend...or maybe I'm just very well rested. Either way I've got positive Monday feelings enough to share. Grab a handful...or two.


Guys, guess what??? There's snow in the forecast tomorrow...with ACCUMULATION. Eeeeee! I've told Mike that I won't be happy moving until we've seen the city shutdown over some flurries. Fingers-crossed for us guys. I'd love a cozy work from home day on Wednesday.

I'm realizing as I start to write the recap that I'm a little light on pictures. Sorry. You'll have to use your noggins :)



First things first we made it to the climbing gym twice! And on trip two we hit up the work-out area. There's some seriously nice equipment up there. Mike and I have agreed that we should try to get a quick mile run in after each climb. Moral of the story, turns out it's not always a jinx to talk about climbing ;)

In DIY news...
I made the decal. It turned out really nice. I think if I make another I've got some plans to clean it up a bit, but I'm happy with this one. It was pretty cold last night too so I think it's good and stuck on the window. It was looking very professional this morning.

Sconnie Love


Drumroll please. We have an announcement to make...

Mike got the baby in my work's King Cake! Oh wait...you didn't think I was talking about a real baby did you?? Hehe haha. I know both mommies are reading this now, and I couldn't resist (hi moms!). 

Anyway if you still don't know what I'm talking about, King cakes are a traditional celebratory cake from New Orleans typically eaten on Mardi Grais. Inside the cake is a small plastic baby. The person who finds the baby in their piece gets good luck.

Let's review the timeline: The cake is delivered to work to celebrate the completion of the year-end provision. Mike interviews with the Children's Hospital. I get coerced into bringing home a piece of cake for Mike. Mike finds the baby. An hour later Children's emails for a 2nd round interview. Coincidence....or baby magic?? I'll let you decide.

Happy Monday! Let's start the week by wishing for a Snow Day :)



Friday, January 24, 2014

Friday Forecast!

Whatcha doin'? Nothin', climbing at the local rock gym...(if you didn't read that to the tune of Holiday Inn, you missed out)


BAAA--AAAA---RRRRRRRRRRR! Right? It's cold here, so it's probably even colder where you are. You poor things. Go get a blankie...or a blankie cleverly disguised as a sweater. I love my work appropriate blankets :)

Besides cozy-ing up with blankets and fluffy socks all weekend, Mike and I have a few other activities planned:

1) Back to the Summit. I almost hesitate writing this here. We've tried all week to go after work, but keep getting foiled by other things. We're beginning to think that planing to go climbing is a jinx.



2) The Healthiest Grocery Run EVER...Although hopefully it will become our new normal. We going to be shopping the heck out of the perimeter.



3) Bug Luv. My little bug-a-lug is going to get some lovin' in the form of a new rear window decal. I got a bunch of adhesive vinyl from my sis-in-law for Christmas, and I'm dying to put it to use. The project will be loosely based on these instructions, EXCEPT that I have a handy-dandy digital cutting machine :) The design will be something like this:




Happy Friday! Try not freeze out there!





Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Juice Cleanse Review!

Sound the Trumpets! We made it through our 3-day juice cleanse!




I've got a multimedia review for you today, words, pictures and VIDEOS! I know you are dying to get all the deets so let's get right into it!



We got our juice from a local Arden's Garden location. For information about ordering the Love Your Liver cleanse for yourself, check out their website: http://www.ardensgarden.com/. Or if you live in the Atlanta area, just stop in your local store.



Included with the juices were instructions on what to drink when. We also made ourselves a countdown for the fridge for motivation. And of course nothing feels better than crossing things of a list!

How's it Taste??

This is probably the MOST important thing to consider when choosing to do a cleanse. You won't feel any of the benefits if you can't stomach the juice. And how did our juices taste? To find out, watch us try them for the first time:


How Do Ya' Feel??

Hopefully if you're able to stick with the cleanse, you'll be feeling pretty good, but with all detox-y type things there can be some bumps along the way. Some detox symptoms can include: headaches, nausea, or fatigue. All are signs that you body is kicking out the bad stuff, but that can be hard to remember while your in the midst of it. So how were we feeling during the cleanse? Check out our Day 1 & 2 Recaps to find out:



To see how we were feeling at the end of Day 3, check out the video below:



Results??

We are on Day 2 post-cleanse and are feeling pretty good. I'm feeling lighter and have got an extra pep in my step. I've lost my holiday food feasting blah feeling and am energized to make healthy decisions.Though it wasn't our goal, Mike and I are both down a few pounds. Of course, it's probably not anything permanent, as cleanse weight-loss can often be attributed to water weight.

More important than the physical results were the mental. The cleanse acted as a great re-set for us. We realized how much of a role food plays in our daily "entertainment". Instead of thinking "what's for dinner" we are trying to think about "what can we do for fun tonight" and hopefully joining the climbing gym will help with that. 

Another exciting result of the cleanse came on Monday morning when Mike and I found ourselves in the kitchen tossing out anything with sugar in it. I've talked about trying to kick my sugar habit for a long time, and I think 3 days without the white stuff was just the kick in the butt I needed. Now before you freak out, know that we still have natural sweeteners in the house like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, dates, and agave. 

Tips for First Time Juice Cleansers:

1.) Find a Juice Buddy. It was a million times better having Mike in on this with me. Misery loves company, right?!  Anyone you can convince to try this out with you will help, but convincing the person you spend most of your meals with will be best. Think outside the box. Maybe your co-worker would want to try it out too.

2.) Try to Find a Local Juice Bar: To maximize nutrient content and detox effectiveness, juice cleanse juice is not pasteurized and does not contain preservatives. In addition, 17-18 bottles of juice per person can be pretty heavy. All that can add up to some pretty hefty shipping costs. If you can find a local juice bar, you can save some money. Bonus: you might find a cool new alternative to the coffee shop!

3.) Consider Taking Time Off: This one depends on your specific situation. If you have busy days with lots of activity and excitement, you might be better off keeping your normal routine. If you are like me and sit at a desk all day, it might be nice to do the cleanse on non-work/school days so you can go out and do something fun...like rock climbing for example :) We used the MLK holiday to take a 3 day weekend without dipping into my PTO.

4.) Do Some Pre-work: I think my MUCH improved cleanse experience might be due to my cleaned up diet. Dairy, meat, processed food, caffeine, sugar, and alcohol are all contributors to the toxins in your body. Taking a breaking from these foods in the days leading up the cleanse might help to reduce the negative detox-y feelings.

Would Ya Do it Again??

Totally! I can definitely see this being an annual post-holiday thing for us. I know people who do week-long cleanses every 3 months. After having such a positive experience, I'm definitely open to doing juice cleanses on a more regular basis.

Let me know what you think about juice cleanses in the comments section below. Would you give try? Happy Slurping!



Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Climb and Climb Again!

Welcome back to the work week! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend regardless of it's length!


Mike and I had a super awesome amazing weekend. AND it ended up being a 3-day weekend as I had hoped! Woot Woot!

Arden's Garden 3-Day  Love Your Liver Cleanse


First things first, the juice cleanse went GREAT! I'm seriously a little shocked by how well it went. I'll be doing a full review later this week so stay tuned. Also, I want to note that as of my writing this post, I'm still kind of on the cleanse. We ended up with some extra juice, so I'm still enjoying the lemon wake-up and the breakfast Carrot-MultiMax mix. Nom nom nom..or maybe that should be Slurp slurp slurp :)

The other exciting activity of the weekend was climbing...and then climbing again. We might be addicted. 

Repping the Sconie teams...didn't even plan that.


On Saturday we met up with our buddies Kayla and Kyler at Stone Summit for a belay lesson (cheaper than a day pass and you get open climbing after the class is done). This gym is amazing! They say it's the nation's largest indoor gym, and I believe it. They have some seriously gnarly walls. Watching the experienced climbers scurry up to the ceiling like lizards was pretty inspiring...and a wee bit intimidating.

Look at those lizards! Totally jeals.


No sore muscles the next day meant that we were both itching to go back, and we did on Monday. The gym was less packed, but still bumping. 

After climbing we made our way to Atlantic Station. We got Mike some fancy new shoes to go with his fancy new suit for his big deal interviews on Friday. Positive thoughts are welcomed :) 

After a quick car nap in the Target parking lot (juice cleanse + climbing = exhaustion), we popped into the movie theater to check out Anchorman 2.

My Hero!


It was meh. I was mostly excited to pick out all the ATL locales that were used for filming. Other than that, it was a pretty standard sequel. I say wait for it to make it's way to Netflix. You won't be missing anything.

I've got carrots and hummus ready for lunch, and for dinner Mike and I will be resisting the urge to seriously chow down at Moe's. We've already agreed to skip the chips and salsa, and I'll be getting a Jr. burrito for sure.

Happy Monday Tuesday! Wow this week is flying by ;)

Friday, January 17, 2014

Friday Forecast: Juicing, Belaying, and a 3-day Weekend??

Woot woot! Friday is here. Work is quieting down. Life is good.


This weekend is shaping up to be a fun one. Though I haven't gotten the official ok to not come in on Monday, I've got a good feeling about it. And hopefully it does work out because one of our plans was made with the long weekend in mind....

3 Day Juice Cleanse!

What better way to bring in the new year and repent for our holiday food transgressions than by doing a juice cleanse?? That's what I keep telling myself at least.



Tomorrow marks day one of our Love Your Liver Cleanse from our local juice bar, Arden's Garden. I've tried juice cleanses in the past and have never been able to make it to the end. Looking back I think there were two major factors leading to my demise: 1) I was going it alone, and 2) The juices didn't taste good at all.

Well this time I did some research on different cleanses and even got the hubby on board. To learn more about the Love Your Liver Cleanse check out the info sheet here. Make sure to check in next week to find out how we do.


Belay Lessons

You may remember back in my resolution post that I mentioned cultivating hobbies, and we'll be doing just that this weekend. In addition to chuggin' down the juice tomorrow, Mike and I will also be meeting up with our newly married buddies, Kayla and Kyler, for belay lessons at Stone Summit Climbing Center




Mike and I both have some limited experience with indoor climbing. I even took a belay class a loooong time ago. We've gone climbing together a few times and always walk away from the day thinking, "Why don't we do this more often?" 

Last October we cancelled our gym membership because we had started running outside and because we were looking for places to save some money. When it comes to exercising, I think it needs to be something that above all else you LOVE to do. I hate when working-out feels like work, and I'd much rather just try to stay active throughout the day than to spend an hour or two killing myself in the gym.

After making some big changes to how we spend our money, I'm starting to see areas where we can afford to spend a little more, and I think rock-climbing could be a great investment: it's active, we can do it together, there's room for growth and development of new skills, and it's such a bad-ass hobby! Bonus: we can totally justify having a rice bucket for the living room.


Looking forward to giving you the update on Monday! HOLD tight til then! (hahaha, hehehe)




Tuesday, January 14, 2014

From Frozen Pipes to Sunglasses and Sweatshirts to Drowning in Work

Oh Hi! Is it not Monday?? Ooops...


Well it's year-end and that means it's crazy time for me and my sistas in accounting. I'm beyond busy and trying to fit 80 hours of work into the next 4 days. Luckily we had a beautiful, sunny Sunday. Here are the highlights:

Sunday walk..out in just a sweatshirt!

Puppy time in the park. Nice view of the Midtown skyline.

Watching Greek and feeling goofy.

Soaking up the sun :)