[homelife] DIY Coffee Mugs

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Happy Wednesday to you!

I wanted to share with you all some DIY coffee mugs I made recently a long time ago. I actually bought the white mugs back in November, but finally got around to making them in February… sometimes I take my dear sweet time with crafting.

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[instructions]

1. buy white mugs

2. create a design on paper (practice before making design on mug)

3. create design on mugs using sharpies (be careful and go slow)

4. let them dry and stick into oven at 350 degrees for 30 mins (on a baking sheet)

5. hand wash (only!)

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[foodlife]: 4.8.2013 groceries & meals

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happy monday! another week is upon us, and another week of groceries and meals.

here’s the grocery haul for the week:

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[produce] 1. romaine lettuce  2. mixed arugula lettuce  3. fuji apples  4. roma tomatoes  5. 2 avocados  6. baby carrots  7. cucumber  8. cilantro  9. frozen strawberries  10. bananas

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[dairy] 1. mozzarella cheese  2. four cheese mexican blend  3. 2 dozen eggs  4. crumbled goat cheese  5. skim ricotta cheese

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[carbs] 1. peanut butter granola bars  2. quinoa  3. ezekial bread  4. whole wheat flour tortillas

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[canned goods, etc.] 1. coffee  2. salsa  3. olives  4. pizza sauce  5. bacon bits  6. strawberry jam

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[meat] 1. 7lbs of pork loin!

[meals for the week]

breakfast: [her] eggs & ekezial toast with butter and jam [him] smoothies & eggs

lunches: [her] mixed arugula lettuce, quinoa, goat cheese, craisins, pecans, and lite raspberry dressing  [him] romaine lettuce, bacon bits,  carrots, cucumber, olives, chicken, and dressing

snacks: [her] banana & justin’s chocolate almond butter [him] granola bars & apples

dinner:  [us] monday, crockpot pork carnitas; tuesday, leftovers; wednesday, stuffed shells; thursday, leftovers; friday, naan pizza

yum! lots of good food this week, per usual. life is too short to eat bad food :)

Bragging [Running News]

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Hola! How’s your day/night going? Mine is going really well! I had a great day at work, it was both busy and productive, and a great run and meal after work.

Do you ever feel like some days you just getting the running bug? That was me today. I kept seeing the sun shining from my desk, and I knew I had to get out there! By the time I was ready to run, it was 6:05pm and the sun had set, so it was quite cold!

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Despite the cold cold cold wind, I still had a great run! And the best part, my knee held up for over 3 miles! This hasn’t happened in over a year… I am on cloud nine :)

I then made dinner from leftover turkey meatballs… it was called a makeshift meatball sub ( I mean very  makeshift).

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Toasted piece of bread, mozzarella cheese, slice of tomato, sliced turkey meatballs, mozzarella cheese on top (x2)! It was really good!

Hope you’re having a great night as well!

Quick & Dirty Workout

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Hi, friends! So the other morning I had slept through my alarm, thus meaning I had a evening workout to do at the gym. When I arrived at the gym, it was packed (per usual in the evenings). I had intended to do a kettlebell workout, but with limited space in the free weight area, I abandoned my kettlebell workout. I made up this workout with the limited space and equipment (using both kettlebells and dumbbells) and I really loved it! Hope it can be of use to you as well.

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**I am not a certified personal trainer, this is a workout I made up on my own. **

QA: Do you ever make up workouts on the go? I used to think I couldn’t make up workouts, but now I trust myself to give it a go!

The [Long] Weekend Update

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Hello to you! How was your weekend + Presidents Day? We had a great last few days, with a lot of productivity and relaxation! Let’s get into some Marvelous in my Monday hosted by Katie!

[thursday]

We had a very low key Valentines Day, but did give each other cards, and I got roses and homemade chocolate covered strawberries!

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[friday]

I had really ambitious plans to get to the gym that night, but the weather was amazing and coworkers wanted to go to happy hour at 4pm… I couldn’t resist! :) Had two glasses of wine, then headed home to grab dinner. At about 9pm, met my love out in Clarendon (he had been at a work happy hour as well). We stayed out until around midnight, but went home to hit the hay!

[saturday]

After being up kind of late, we slept in and lounged around until it was time to head to my parents house to help out. They are in the process of getting their house ready to sell, so we were chipping in to get things done! Tulips I got my mom for V-Day, they were quite beautiful!

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I got to spend time with the nephew which was priceless :)

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Later that day, hubs-to-be and I headed to Melting Pot for our Valentines Day celebration!

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We did the four course valentines day special, and it was awesome!!

[the cheese course] We did the fiesta cheese which comes with veggies, bread, apples, and tortilla chips.

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[the salad course] I got the California which was mixed greens, candied walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and a vinaigrette dressing.

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[the meat course] We got the cupid’s special which came with lobster tail (!!!!), filet mignon, angus steak, teriyaki steak, shrimp, and chicken… and unlimited vegetables!

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[the lobster tail… pretty presentation!]

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[the dessert course] I would be lying if I said this wasn’t my favorite course… we got a ‘turtle’ chocolate dip which had chocolate (obvi), caramel, and nuts. Then to dip in it, we had strawberries, banana, rice krispies, pound cake, and cheese cake… it was heavenly! 

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Overall, dinner was amazing!! We were tucked back in a two-person booth and it was quite romantic ;)

[sunday + monday] sunday we spent working out, running errands and hanging with family! Monday I had coffee with my best friend, lunch with my love, and did a LOT of cleaning and rearranging! I’m loving our new set up in the apartment!

Time for bed, since it’s back to work tomorrow! Hope you had a great last few days! :)

QA: How was your (long) weekend? Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?

WIAW [What I Ate Wednesday]: 2.13.2013

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Good morning and happy Wednesday! Is it just me or is this week going soooo slow? But on the other hand, 3 day weekend coming up! :)

I’m excited to share what I’ve been eating, you’ll notice that some things have changed while others are still the same!

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Thanks to Jenn for hosting!

[breakfast] coffee with cream/sugar, grapefruit, 2 eggs over the baby spinach blend, and three pieces of turkey bacon

[pre-lunch snack] 2 clementines

[lunch] went to a restaurant called Honey Pig, essentially Korean BBQ. We shared beef brisket and pork belly, along with rice, salad, and some other sides.

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[after-lunch dessert] some dark chocolate (this brand is really good!)

[afternoon snack] 1.5 PB Amazeballs via Gina @ The Fitnessista and some potato chips (unpictured)

[dinner] leftover salad scooped up from work, which had mixed greens, cranberries, blue cheese, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, and balsamic dressing. Also had a little bit of pasta with meat sauce and zucchini

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[dessert] powerballs from Trader Joe’s <— these little babies are dangerous!

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A good day of eats, and it was fun to try a new restaurant/style of food! Oh, and this is from yesterday :)

QA: What was your favorite thing you’ve had to eat this week? Is there anything you eat day in and day out?

The Weekend I Didn’t Want to End

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Hello everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was marvelous, thus not wanting it to end!

Thank you to Katie for hosting and congrats on the little rock star!! :)

[FRIDAY]

Friday night, as mentioned included naan pizza and Pitch Perfect. I thought the movie was okay, but not as funny as I expected.

[SATURDAY]

That morning I was up early, and lounged for a bit before getting ready for my friend’s Valentines Day brunch party. It was a celebration of friend love and she did a wonderful job celebrating!!

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1. The beautiful dessert bar which included pie on a stick and cupcakes

2. Close up view of pies on a stick – these were amazing!

3. The delicious spread which included egg cups, croissants filled with brie and apple, fruit salad, crab cakes, monkey bread muffins, and much more!

After brunch, I headed to Nordstrom to meet my mom to look at mother of the bride dresses. She looked absolutely stunning, and I loved seeing her all dressed up. She is always taking care of everyone else, and I am thrilled for her to get to be pampered :)

We then headed to Loft where I picked up some cute t-shirts and this blazer (I’m obsessed).  Then home to get in a quick run

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and eat dinner with the hubs-to-be. We enjoyed crock pot taco chili from SkinnyTaste and got ready for a night out in DC with friends. Got home at 3am and crashed, a fun night indeed :)

[SUNDAY]

Slept until 9, and then laid on the couch until 1pm (while meal planning for the week, and eating some banana walnut pancakes). Finally got my rear-end up and went to three grocery stores (!!). I tried shopping for two weeks, Ashley’s post inspired me to give it a go, and it seems like we didn’t spend more than normal. We’ll see what else I need next week to know if I spend more or less. I will say though that I need some staples (TP, plastic baggies) that we don’t regularly purchase. So maybe it did save money!

After grocery shopping, I did a bit of food prepping which included eating homemade salsa and these delicious chips!

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It was truly a great weekend mixed with fun and rest, and lots of time with my love (the best part of all)!

QA: How was your weekend and what made it marvelous? What was the best part overall?