in a nutshell

This post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point because, well... I don't have time, but I love you anyways. :)

Breakfast yesterday was overnight oats. We were out of blueberries (::tear::), so I just topped it with pitted cherries, raisins, and banana.

However, the bowl wouldn't have been complete without the star of the show: Peanut Butter!

The lighting is really bad because it was raining up a storm when I ate breakfast. WHAT!?!? Raining on moving day? Say it isn't so!

At first, I was happy...

But then became overcome with frustration because of the rain. Sidenote: do not trust the shiny window behind me. It was POURING!

Goodbye childhood bedroom!

I braved the storm, brought over a load of my belongings, and then hit up Trader Joe's for a few... essentials.

Larabars to the rescue! I may or may not have spent about half my birthday money on Larabars - there are about 20 of them chilling in my freezer right now just waiting for me. Oh! And if you have never tried a Larabar in the freezer, reconsider your life. For real.

Lunch, shopping, and snacking = all unpictured. Don't hate me.

FH and I finally got the stuff moved over much later than we expected. I was testy, irritable, and ready to throw in the towel! It started raining again, and I was mad.  My dad kept reminding me, "it'll be okay"... "smile, you'll want to remember this."... "think about where you're going to be one week from now."... "don't let this get you upset" - he was right. Sometimes I get so caught up in the moment about how I think something should happen that I overreact upon minor changes. I should have just trusted in FH - of COURSE he brought a tarp to cover my furniture so it wouldn't get wet! He always thinks of everything.

I found guilty pleasure in filling my new food storage containers:

Let's be honest with each other: who doesn't love organized food? FH totally rolled his eyes at me when I said that, and I'm okay with it. :)

After much running around - included but not limited to: finding a garbage can, retrieving a drill about 20 minutes away, picking up FH some food - I finally sat down to the only meal I can ever think of in a hurry which requires no clean up and can be made in under 5 minutes.

salad topped with mucho hummus, potato with my entire weight in ketchup

sometimes always, hummus, i love you - this was one of those times.

am i the only one who takes pure pleasure in thinking about how beautiful food is?

 Dessert was two dates shmeared with sunbutter:

After much unpacking and cleaning, I figured I should eat something else (even though it was already about 11) because I didn't feel as I got adequate fuel for the day. So, I did what I do best.

You know you wish you had done that last night as well - don't lie to me. It was wonderful.

This morning, I set out to find where the morning light was the best!

the usual - overnight oats, bloobs, cinnamon, coconut, and pb

Wondering where the best light was? The master bedroom - on top of a box... because, well... it was there.

I'm off! I promised you pictures, but well.. maybe tonight. It's kind of a mess over here and I want to WOW you! :)

Question: How was your Saturday spent yesterday? Did you get frustrated at all? How did you cope?

happy birthday to me!

and to my wonderful dad!

Yes, we share a birthday! Every year I am told I "was the best birthday present" he had ever gotten. How nice, right? This afternoon was just lovely - I got to shower, do laundry, and start busting out some thank you cards for our wedding party. Perfect!

We went out for a celebratory dinner at Cooper's Hawk. It was my suggestion since they have a fabulous GF (gluten free) menu. Cooper's Hawk is, as described on their website:

"... a modern, casual restaurant with a menu created with our own handcrafted wines in mind. Start in our Napa style tasting room, where you can view our wineries and sample our winemaker's latest creations. Shop in our gift store for a unique food or wine related gift. Finish in our bar and restaurant to enjoy a delectable designed to pair our own award-winning wine for a food experience you won't soon forget."

pre dinner shoot in the car

This place was such a hit - with EVERYONE! There were nine of us, and we were seated in about 20 minutes, which is so great for a Friday night. Mommasita and I were the only ones who had been here before, and everyone else was excited to try it out. This is kind of an upscale restaurant, so I was a little worried about the kiddos being a little out of their element. However, we were seated in a quiet back room surrounded by barrels of wine (can you see them below?) and they had a great kid's menu/coloring sheet to keep them entertained!

dad looking cool in my aunt's reading glasses - yes, they are mutlicolored... and striped.

Everyone was having a difficult time deciding what to order. Honestly this menu can appeal to almost everyone! There is such variety. Just to give you an example, there was a steak/blue cheese salda ordered, jumbalaya, bacon burgers, portabello mushroom burgers - they also had pastas, seafood dishes, etc. on the menu!

the birthday buddies

Cooper's Hawk also caters to allergies very well. They have a separate kitchen in which they prepare all the food for people who have food related allergies. They also have a HUGE gluten free menu - I am not talking 4-5 dishes here people. They have over 2 pages of meals in which my gluten intolerant belly would be able to handle. Unfortunately, my vegetarianism limited me a little more. The last time I was at Cooper's Hawk I ordered a portabello mushroom sandwich and it was DIVINE! Whenever I am out and am able to order a sandwich, you better believe I will!

okay, so not my best look!

I am also corn intolerant, so I am wary of breads in general just in case some corn starch is hiding out in there. I had previously asked my server the last time if he could check the bread to make sure there were no corn products hiding in there. The manager was awesome and brought the package of bread out to the table so I could inspect it myself! Talk about having a peace of mind! It is so difficult to go out to eat with allergies, so it is helpful when the restaurant staff is as understanding as the staff at Cooper's Hawk.

a good pic of FH and me - these are hard to come by, so now I wish his hair was done :(

 I did not get any food pics, but I can assure you the food was divine. I started with a house salad with a garlic vinaigrette. My main course was sandwich, in which was a balsamic marinated portabella, roasted red pepper, lettuce, and walnut pesto! Good lord, if that is not a birthday feast, I just don't know what is! I got this meal along side some broccoli!

I thought of Katie on the way home from dinner. The sky was absolutey GORGEOUS, and she is always encouraging me (and others) to really revel in God's beauty. This sky was stunning, and I couldn't help but smile and thank God for such a perfect day with family and friends.

After dinner, we all went over to my and FH's pad for some birthday cake! I stuck with a minimal amount of candles... if we did my 23 and dad's 59 I think we might have burned down the house.

yours truly was the chef of this layer cake (devil's food with chocolate fudge frosting per request of big daddy wayne)

 I was reminded today of why my family usually does not sing "Happy Birthday" very often - I'm pretty sure I heard some howling dogs outside after it was all said and done.

do you see the wincing on my face? it was kind of painful!

i didn't think it could get worse.. but it did. notice big daddy wayne's face.

i don't remember what i wished for... world peace, perhaps?

we are definitely a pair of hams

these two are peas in a pod - i am so glad FH and BIL get along so well!

more interested in ice cream than cake!

I won't lie, I gave you a sneak peak at my house. Don't worry, a before and after post is coming TOMORROW! FH and I changed the date in which I am moving in to tomorrow instead of Sunday. He has to work for a couple of hours in the morning, so we are going hiking on Sunday after church instead! I am not going to lie, it is kind of bittersweet to be spending my very last night at home in my childhood house! So weird..when am I actually going to FEEL like a grown up?

When I got home from the house (which we both said when we were leaving it felt weird to be "leaving our house to sleep somewhere else") I made myself my own birthday treat.

chocolate protein muffin, vanilla coconut milk ice cream, pb spoon

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and love -you guys rock!!! I love you all!

Question: What is your favorite (or memorable) childhood moment? I'll share mine at the beginning of my post tomorrow!!!

 Now that I've gotten the rapping out of my system for today (and hopefully for a very long time) - I'll get on with the show.

I went and did a workout at the health club this morning - the humidity is totally killing me. I cannot even handle running outside. I did 3 miles on the treadmill followed by about another 30 minutes of strength training. When I got home, I had one of these guys:

what am i to do when these babies are gone?

Lunch today was leftovers from Mommasita - she cooked herself a great meal last night, and couldn't have it for leftovers today since she was working. Such a shame for mommasita, but big smile on Chelsey's face.

TJ's organic brown rice, sauteed veggies, crispy tofu, frontera grill salsa

 If you have never experienced all that is Frontera Grill, you need to re-evaluate you life for sure. Their jalepeno chipotle salsa is absolutely to die for. It is my favorite!

I had a cashew, raisin, fig mix after lunch. I'm not going to lie, this lunch kept me full from lunch (about 12) straight until dinner (about 6:45). Since when do I EVER go more than 3 hours without eating? Yowza!! 6.75 hours? That is waaaay too long!
I spent the afternoon with the kids and actually fell asleep for a good 15 minutes while watching a movie with my niece. We were just so comfy cuddling on the couch! We then ran out to Target, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and Starbuck's. They were good on the errands, so I decided to feed my addictiontreat them to a smoothie.

When I got home, I immediately left to go to my house. I FINALLY got to unwrap my furniture from the horrible plastic wrap because (drum roll please) EVERYONE IS DONE WORKING ON IT! The electrician finished today, and the painters showed up to touch everything up. Needless to say, I was a happy girl.

Another reason to be happy: FH fixed the plumbing! Yes!!!! Apparently there were scraps of new PVC pipe stuck in the plumbing from when it was installed. That got everything all backed up, but FH got it all out! He was very smelly when he came out though. His hands and tools were not the most sanitary (think about everything that came out of that pipe... yuck!)

When I got home, I was ravenous and very happy that Mommasita went out and got me something to eat for when I got home!

I know, it's boring - but oh so delicious! I didn't have time to think about feeding myself today :) . This potato was tiny and also had a little rotten spot, so I cooked up some broccoli as well!

Right when I was done eating, Mommasita and I headed out to find myself something to wear for my rehearsal dinner. We were VERY successful! I found an adorably cute dress which was originally $60 for $23! I love bargains like that! FH was also excited when he saw how much I saved (he's dutch, therefore, he is frugal - haha!)

When I got home from visiting with FH, I needed a snack really quick!

red delicious apple, raisins, peanut butter spoon

I'm not usually a fan of red delicious apples, but it was all we had! I definitely need to go to the store tomorrow to pick up some fruit.

I'm so pumped for this weekend! Reasons why:

• my golden birthday is tomorrow (23 on the 23rd)
• FH and I are going hiking on Saturday
• i move into my house on Sunday!!!

Question: What is going to make your weekend exciting? Are you looking forward to anything?

to do lists

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great night's sleep and is well rested this morning. I know I slept well. I have been having trouble sleeping lately - my body still hasn't gotten out of the routine of getting up super early from teaching all year. However, I am going to bed later! I always wake up at least once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom too (too much water!), so I have been having very disturbed sleep for the past couple of weeks. I guess all that sun from yesterday made me really tired. I fell asleep around 10 and didn't wake up until 7:30! That is a lot of sleep for me - I'm usually lucky if I get 7 hours sleep. So now, I'm ready to tackle my day!

I started with a repeat from yesterday - whipped banana oats with blueberries and peanut butter!


I made a "to do" list, so I would be productive today. I honestly do not do well without to do lists. I'm a list maker and tend to be a very structured person (much to FH's dismay - it's the teacher in me!), so lists really help me be productive in the summer! I have a lot of wedding things I want to accomplish! I may add to the list: have lunch with bestie! She got a new job yesterday so we might go out to celebrate (if her current job tells her to go home instead of working the entire day - haha).

listdizzle - isn't this to do paper cute? It was a gift from a student for Valentine's Day. She overheard me telling her how cute I thought it was and she bought it for me! How sweet was that? It is on top of an awesomely designed clipboard. I think she got it at Hallmark, but I couldn't find it on the website.

One of my to things to do today is go to Goodwill. I have a couple bags of clothes, shoes, and purses I have weeded through that I don't need anymore. I am trying to minimize the amount of stuff I am moving to the new house. I go through my things at least twice a year to try and get rid of things I do not need/have not worn in a long time. It is supposed to be to get rid of things, but I always end up making it an excuse to go shopping. Go figure!

I also need to pack some more. I have been packing about 1 box per day for about a week now. It's my kind of packing! The original goal date for the house was July 1 so I could organize all of our things before the wedding, but it's getting pushed back a couple of weeks. I know I'll be in crunch time mode for the wedding at that point, so I'm trying to do things slowly so I am not super stressed out when it comes time to move.

I did two boxes yesterday! Ignore the unmade bed please - I live in a very tiny space right now. Think 12'x14'.

My mom is wondering where I am going to be putting all of my things when I move out. I keep trying to remind her I'll have an entire house, not just a teeny bedroom. It has been really nice living with my parents the past year to save money for the house, wedding, etc... HOWEVER, I am so ready to move out (sorry 'rents). It's been weird paying for a mortgage on our house for the past 5 months and not living there!

I'm off to go tackle my to do list - Although I need to gross out "run" and instead write "get mad at Chicago for raining again and go do the eliptical".

Question: Do you make to do lists? Why or why not?