Carmel, Indiana

Crossfit, Friends, Restaurants June 19, 2013 Leave a comment

I’ve been in Indiana since Monday and get to head home this afternoon.  Hooray!

During my stay, I’ve had quite the little tour of the suburban towns of Indianapolis.  Our hotel was in the very tiny town of Lebanon, while the audit was located in Whitestown about 10 minutes away.  A few days before I left for my trip, the idea popped into my head that I might be relatively close to my friend, Kali’s new house so I did a quick MapQuest search.  Only about 30 minutes!

kali and me

So of course we had to meet for dinner! :)

detour bar and grill

The weather was beautiful… a tad hot with the sun out but once it went down, it was perfect!  we sat outside at Detour Bar & Grille and each ordered a salad and a couple cocktails.  It was such a treat to meet up on a whim and I’m glad we got to catch up!

carmel in

We met about halfway between the both of us in the super cute town of Carmel.  There were so many little shops and restaurants that I wish we had more time to spend walking around.

Crossfit Carmel

I really enjoyed visiting the Crossfit gym during my last audit so I thought I’d check out if there was one in the area.  Since I loved the friendly town of Carmel so much, I decided to stop in for a workout at Crossfit Carmel this morning.

crossfit carmel

It’s really interesting to see how one box differs from another and is unique in its own way.

crossfit carmel box

Everyone was very welcoming and encouraging during the workout.  After a warm-up, we ran a 1 mile time trial and I was very pleased with my result – 6 min 47 sec!  Since my half marathon set me back a bit, this was the first time I felt good enough to run again.

crossfit carmel tire

Next, we completed the WOD (workout of the day) which consisted 3 rounds of 300 meters on the row machine followed by 30 box jumps.  It was tough but it definitely woke me up and now I’m ready for the day!

Summer Firsts

Mac, Nature, Yogurt June 17, 2013 Leave a comment

This weekend officially marked the beginning of summer… for me at least!  Among many things that reminded me of summer, I finally feel like the temperatures were consistently in the 70s and 80s.

First Ice Cream Run

Yumz frozen yogurt

Dave and I hit up a new yogurt spot a few minutes from our house called Yumz.  It’s one of those self-serve shops with tons of flavors and toppings to create your own dessert.  I’m telling you, that was a dangerous move.  I mean, very dangerous.  I have a feeling we’ll be back all too quickly! ;)

Blueberries

yogurt blueberries granola

Lots of them!  I topped yogurt with blueberries, threw them in cereal, and ate them straight out of the container.  All weekend long.  Sooo good!

Flowers in Bloom

patio flowers

Okay so I know flowers are technically a sign of spring, but our back patio is beaming with colors from all sorts of flowers.

rose bush close up

DSC_1748

flower

They are sooo beautiful, I couldn’t stop staring at them all weekend… from the back patio window… while I was slaving away doing schoolwork.  :(

Laying by the Pool

mac sunbathing

Lounge chair, beach bag, sun shining… enough said! ;)   Yay for the summer!

Happy Father’s Day

family, Holiday June 16, 2013 Leave a comment

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

fathers day collage

Especially to mine who is an inspiration, a role model, and hands-down, the coolest guy around!

The very best dad a girl could ask for! :)

Nature Box – June Edition

Nature Box, Snack June 14, 2013 Leave a comment

Happy Friday!!

Can you believe we are already HALFWAY through June?  Ughh I feel like summer has barely even begun, thanks to the less-than-desirable weather lately.  Hopefully, this just means a later start to winter this year and no snow until mid-December.  One can only hope!

Nature Box – June

Although I received my June box at nearly 2 weeks ago, I have been so crazy busy and just haven’t had the opportunity to taste-test all my monthly goodies.

nature box june

Too busy to eat?  Never thought that was possible. ;)

nature box june 2

But I finally opened up all the bags and dug in!

nature box june items 1

If you’ve never heard of Nature Box before, it’s a subscription service that sends 5 different healthy snacks at the beginning of every month.

nature box june items 2

This June box is my 3rd one and I’ve been enjoying sampling unique health(ier) snacks without having to buy a ginormous bag!  Just the right amount to satisfy a snacky mood. :)

nautre box june card

The company sends a card detailing each item and offers suggestions of how to enjoy your snacks.  The theme for June is “Picnic Season”.

Cherry Ganache Granola

nature box june cherry ganache granola

This was my breakfast this morning.  A yogurt bowl with all kinds of goodies – blueberries & bananas (on the bottom), Greek yogurt, sunflower butter, and the Cherry Ganache Granola.  It was very tasty with the big plump dried cherries and whole roasted almonds mixed in with the crunchy granola clusters.

Peanut Butter Nom Noms

nature box june peanut butter nom noms

These are soft little cookies made with oats and peanut butter with chocolate chunks.  It tasted like an oatmeal raisin cookie (minus the raisins) as the base but with a hint of peanut butter and giant melty chunks of chocolate.  Delish!

Salsa Spiced Nut Mix

nature box june salsa spiced nut mix

Just a hint of zesty flavor coating a cashews and almonds, plus a crunchy corn-type chip.

BBQ Kettle Kernels

nature mix june bbq kettle kernels

Love these things!  I believe they are the similar to the roasted kettle kernels (but with a BBQ spin on ‘em) from April’s box which I adored!  They remind me of those half-popped popcorn kernels at the bottom of the bowl. :)

And of course, Mr. Mac had to photobomb my picture!

Guacamole Bites

nature box june guacamole bites

These were good, but not my favorite.  They tasted like your typical corn chip (aka Frito, etc.) but with a tangy flavoring.  I mean, they were definitely yummy but I’m not the biggest fan of Frito-type snacks and I was hoping for more of a ‘guacamole’ emphasis.

***

Have a fabulous weekend!

Third Time’s A Charm

Friends, Wedding June 13, 2013 Comments: 2

It was touch and go there for a little bit with the weather, but we made it to my wedding dress appointment last night at the Crystal Bride!

crystal bride

Rain or shine (aka heavy thunderstorms and tornado sirens.) Sure didn’t stop us! :)

mom me crystal bride

A few weeks ago, I ended up going by myself to a last minute appointment at the Crystal Bride to try on dresses.  I thought I found “the one” but I needed some moral support before I went through with any purchases.  Last night was my follow-up appointment and I brought along a few extra pairs of eyes for a second opinion.

annie me katie crystal bride

I had 3 different dresses narrowed down from last time and modeled them for my judges, saving my personal favorite for last.

And the vote was unanimous, so I said, “Yes to the dress!!!”

crystal bride champagne

Woohoo! A little bubbly to celebrate!

Check it off the list! ;)

Adult By Day, Kid By Night

Avocado, Breakfast, Friends June 12, 2013 Leave a comment

Hey there!

I took the day off work yesterday to get some major school work done for my online class.  My procrastination finally crept up on me and I realized I need to get my butt in gear.  Like for real this time.

scrambled eggs feta avocado cholula

I woke up bright and early and made myself a nice big bowl of scrambled eggs for some brain fuel.  My favorite mix of avocado, feta cheese, and hot sauce.

After working away for several hours, I finally got up to the point to take one of two exams and I somehow squeezed out a 98%!  Although I still have another exam and a paper to complete, I feel the biggest weight off my shoulders just to know that I’ve finally made somewhat of a dent in the class.  Wheww!

Sky High Sports

Around 2pm, I took a much needed break to meet some coworkers at Sky High Sports.

sky high trampoline

It is a facility located in Niles, IL with lots of giant trampolines to jump on and have fun!

sky high trampoline 2

One of my coworkers, who has been to this trampoline park before, saw a coupon deal on Living Social and invited several of us to go since it is pretty close to our work.

sky high group

I was a little skeptical at first but we had a blast for the entire 2 hours!

foam pit rachel flip

In addition to the normal trampoline area, there is a section to jump in a giant foam pit.

foam pit lauren flip

The kid came out in all of us and we were all doing flips into the pit.

dodgeball 2

Another trampoline area was set up for dodgeball.

dodgeball1

As you can see, we were playing with kids averaging maybe 12 years old.  But that didn’t stop us and the kids enjoyed kicking our butts!  (I promise, we weren’t the ONLY adults ;) )

sky high csf group

All of us had an absolute blast and were talking about going back again sometime!  Great place for kids…maybe even better for adults! ;)

Burrito Bowls for Three

Chicken, Friends, Healthy Living, Mac June 10, 2013 1 Comment

Wheww this morning has been a bit hectic!  But I thought I would pop in real quick for a weekend update.

Friday

My friend, Julie, came over after work on Friday so we could work on creating Save the Dates for the wedding.  She has a degree in Interior Design and is very knowledgeable with Adobe Photoship and Illustrator so she was able to navigate around quite easily to create some super cute Save the Dates.

We ordered a pizza and drank a little wine while working away on the computer.  I am very pleased with the results!  Now we just have to get them printed and send ‘em off!  I’ll share those later. :)

Saturday

After Julie spent the night at our house, we headed to Wisconsin around noon on Saturday.  Our friend, Dom, turned 30 this weekend so they had a big surprise birthday party up at their lakehouse.  Around 7 pm, a big school bus full of friends and family headed to Alpine Valley to see the Zac Brown Band concert.

julie jess me zac brown band

zac brown band concert

Unfortunately, I forgot to pull out my camera nearly all night, but I can assure you, we had a blast!

Sunday

While we were gone, my parents watched our sick little Mac who was still not feeling well when we got back on Sunday afternoon.  Dave and I took him to the vet to get him checked out and make sure he was alright.  The vet did some tests and found he had a little bacteria in his stomach so he prescribed some medicine and a chicken & rice diet for the next few days.

mac food prep

I cooked up some chicken breasts and mixed it with some already prepped rice to make Mac’s meals a bit easier for the week.

mac chicken and rice

Ironically, Dave and I had Chipotle for dinner, while Mac enjoyed his own version of a burrito bowl. ;)

sunday food prep

While prepping Mac’s food, I also whipped up some food for myself this week which helped me get out the door quickly this morning.  Pays off to plan ahead! :)

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