a little help from friends

"What would you think if I sang out of tune,

Would you stand up and walk out on me?

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,

And I'll try not to sing out of key.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends."

I'm not going to lie, I almost did not blog today because I am exhausted, irritated, and just plain stressed. However, I knew you would all give me a little bloggie love if I told you about my day.

First of all, I'm so glad you all liked my stuffed tomatoes from last night! I have one hanging out in my fridge to make an appearnace sometime tomorrow!

I think my problem with today started when I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't fall back asleep. I got out of bed around 6 and decided to take my time with breakfast this morning.

whipped banana oats with oodles of toppings, monkey cup coffee, h20

i realized this breakfast would be perfect for the 4th of july!

cherries (red), coconut (white), and blueberries (blue) - of course topped with cinnamon and peanut butter

I left my house pretty early to go over to my parents where the dining room table is wedding central! Before I went, I got in a strength training session over at the gym. It was only 9:30 when my stomach started rumbling - I guess that's good and it must mean my muscles needed to be repaired! It also may have had something to do with the fact I ate breakfast at 6. I snacked on this bad boy:

delicious, but i'll take my cashew cookie bar over this one any day

I had no idea how intense the place card making would be. It took me probably three hours to do all of the following:

• print out
• tear apart
• put into table groups to make sure no one accidently got left out
• put into A-Z groups
• Alphabetize

My printer really didn't like these - I swear at a couple of points my printer literally SPIT them out at me. They FLEW out of the printer. It was kind of weird, but had me laughing nonetheless.

I also cut our favor cards as well. We are doing a donation instead of a traditional favor, so those will go in place of a menu card. At about noon, I picked up my mom and we went on some errands and to my favorite lunch place: Chipotle!

Chipotle is almost the only "fast food" place I can go to eat. I love the quality of the food, and I also love the morals of the company. Chipotle strives to use the best ingredients - I absolutely love it. You really can't see my burrito bol underneath that pile of lettuce - I always get extra!

Just so you're aware, however, I had black beans, fajita veggies, a plethara of salsas, guac, and lettuce

From here on out, I apologize for the fact that my picture taking was really lacking today. I had a really stressful afternoon. First, mommasita and I went to Costco to get sooo many lemons and clementines for my centerpieces. When I got home, I started to continue on my wedding duties when I got a call from the country club where we're getting married at and having our reception. I went in there yesterday to make our final payment and was sooo happy to finally have that past us. I got a call today from the accountant saying they made a mistake and forgot to charge us sales tax! I looked at the recepts, and sure enough.. they did.

Now, here's the thing: it was their mistake. Their mistake is costing us another $700. Something seems a little wrong with that. It would have been one thing if they were nice about it and didn't sound accusing (yes, she made it seem like I was TRYING to get away with not paying.. seriously?), but the woman was rude, very aggressive, and just not nice. She was not very sympathetic to the fact that that amount of money is a really big deal to a young couple who are paying for a wedding and just renovated a house. I was hysterical, FH was livid, but in the end... we have to pay if we want to get married. It is so frustrating.

After that whole debacle, I went to go pick up my wedding dress from the woman who steamed it. She is a friend of someone I know, and she did a great job putting my bustles on. However, when you walk into her house, you can definitely tell it is a house with smokers. The room she uses as her sewing room is totally smoke free, and the last time I dropped my dress off and picked it up, it was totally fine. Today, however, when I picked it up, it was hanging out in the living room. I took it home, unwrapped it as she instructed me, and my entire bedroom reeked of smoke. MY WEDDING DRESS SMELLS LIKE A BOWLING ALLEY. I am so unbelievably mad it is not even funny. Needless to say, hysterical again, I called mommasita. She assured me it would get better before Friday, but I am so angry about it. I even called the seamstress to tell her about it and she "just can't believe" it happened. Well, DUH lady! If you smoke in the house and leave my dress hanging in a smoke infested room, my dress is definitely going to smell like smoke.

At this point, I had given myself a stomachache from all the stress and was just done with the day. I had to meet FH, his brother, and sister in law for dinner though. His brother is marrying us and wanted to go over the final details of the ceremony. I am glad I went because I had a great time catching up with them. I didn't get a pic of my food, but I want you to picture a chopped salad with tomatoes, cukes, onions, olives, and mushrooms. There was also a homemade vinagrette on the salad. I wish I could have had something else, but we were at a pizza joint so there weren't very many options.

When I got home, FH put together the bed for our guest room and I put in a load of laundry. Guess what we found out!! Our washer is leaking. You've got to be kidding me. Looks like I will be doing laundry at Mommasita and Big Daddy Wayne's before the honeymoon.

I wnated to calm down so at about 9:30, I pulled oat (I meant to write OUT, but hey... Fruedian slip, right?) some blueberry muffin crunch cereal to make me feel better about my life.

Nice job muffin man, nice job. You did your job.

I know a lot of you are commenting about how calm I seem 3 days before my wedding, but I'm really not! I'm a crazy wreck.

In retrospect though, if the only bad thing that happens is my dress is a little smelly and I have to dish out more cash than I expected, so be it.

My bestie comes tomorrow (not the one who was featured on here before... I can have two okay?)!! I'm so pumped!

Question: Can you give me some words of encouragement for the days ahead? I would really appreciate it! I love reading everyone's comments. They keep me going for sure!

southwestern quinoa stuffed tomatoes

Today was jam packed and I know the rest of the week will be just like that. It's wedding crunch time, people! I'm feeling the pressure...

I slept really well again last night. I think I just really have a peace of mind knowing I am in my new house and pretty settled before the wedding. I woke up promptly at 7 a.m. ready to start my day!

I wasn't really that hungry this morning, but I decided overnight oats needed to make an appearance in my life - okay, let's be honest: when don't overnight oats make an appearance in my life?

do you like my pretty place mats? i got them from pottery barn - FH calls them "grandma placemats".

If you're wondering, or in case you have never made overnight oats, it's really simple! At night I combine:

- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/2 smashed banana
- 1 tbsp flax
- splash of vanilla

Stick it in the fridge to absorb the liquid over night. In the morning, add your favorite toppings!

my favs are blueberries, cinnamon, coconut, and peanut butter!

I did a six miler after breakfast this morning - it was absolutely perfect. The humidity was almost nonexistent this morning and it was a cool 72 degrees when I set out. Six miles in 55 minutes? I'll take it!

Today was one of those days where I was going to be gone all day and needed to prepare. I had my makeup trial, errands to run, a facial, more errands... and more errands!

On my way to my makeup trial I had this larabar:

On my way to my facial I had this:

Then when I was done with my facial, I stopped by the 'rents and gobbled down a bowl of leftover veggies from last night. I realized when I had one piece of sweet potato left that I hadn't snapped a picture. Whoops.

I also had an unpictured ice coffee from Starbuck's because they help me feel better when I am a crazy mess! :)

When I got home, I had one thing on my mind: FOOD! And a lot of it!

I created Southwestern Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

You'll need:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1/2 zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 white onion, diced
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 2 cups liquid (veggie stock or water will do)
• mexican spices of your choice (black pepper, red pepper, chili powder,  cumin, sea salt)
• 4 slicing tomatoes, hollowed

How to do it:

1. Cook your quinoa according to the package instructions. One cup of quinoa plus 2 cups of liquid on the stovetop for approximtely 15-20 minutes.
2. While that is brewing up a storm, chop up your veggies and sautee them with cooking spray or EVOO in a saute pan.
3. During the time in which your veggies are sauteing, hollow out four slicing tomatoes using a steak knife and spoon.
4. Once the quinoa has cooked (they should look like little fish eggs) and the veggies are tender, combine the two and add your black beans. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Add mexican spices to taste.
6. Spoon quinoa mixture into hollowed out tomatoes.
7. Served warm or chilled.

this baby not only looked delicious, it tasted delish too!

i won't lie... i had to have mine sans black beans because i don't have a can opener!

On the side, I had half of an avocado.

And a side salad! This was the perfect summer meal. All of the flavors went together very well!

Tonight, FH and I practiced a few things such as our first kiss and dance - do you think that's dorky? If you do... I don't really care. I found it to be fun. If you're married, did you practice this too?

I'm off to go snack - those blueberry muffins are calling my name!

Question: What is your idea of the perfect summer meal?

escape from reality

Have you ever gotten so busy with your work, family, friends, and adult responsibilities you forgot to take time out of your day just for YOU? If so, I highly encourage you to do that at least once this week. Whether it be for 5 minutes, an hour, or a whole day - get out there and do something just for yourself.

FH and I did just that today. We have been so swamped with wedding planning, house renovating, and moving that we really haven't had much down time with each other lately. The closest we get to spending time together most days is drilling a shower curtain rod into the bathroom (sad, I know!).


As part of my birthday present, I requested we do something "free" (and healthy as well!). We drove about an hour to visit Starved Rock State Park to go hiking!

We packed some lunches to eat in the car, and we were off!

gluten free bread from here, veggies galore (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, AVOCADO, and mustard

I had this sandwich with an apple and some raisins and almonds.

I may or may not have spilled some mustard on myself in the car - I am a very messy eater.

It was the perfect day - around 80 degrees and partly sunny skies.

happy to go hiking!

Starved Rock is actually a very historic place. Native Americans dwelled in this location for many years before it was settled by the Europeans. Fort St. Louis used to be on top of "The Rock" to try and get the Native Americans to stay in their villages. The structures within this state park are absolutely stunning - who would have thought Illinois could be this pretty?

reading the history

"will you consider it leaping if i push you off?" - FH (what a great lover - haha!)

at the top of Lover's Leap - no, he didn't push me :)

We had such a great time. It was just nice to spend time with each other without worrying about fixing something in the house or deciding upon something for the wedding. I want to go back again in October when the leaves are starting to change colors - I can't wait. It will be absolutely beautiful.

While hiking, I found something that reminded me of someone....Want to guess who?

Any ideas who?

KELSEY!!!

Since she is the "snacking squirrel", I found an acorn and brought it home for photography purposes!

When I got home I was ravenous, but really wanted roasted veggies, so I decided to wait it out. While I was waiting, I almost lost all control - I started snacking on chips and hummus. I had my fair share and then scolded myself for not being hungry for roasted veggies.

Bahahahah! Who are we kidding? I am always hungry for roasted veggies!

Roasted veggies are so easy peasy! All you have to do is slice up whatever veggies you want (I did sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper, zucchini, and green beans) into BIG chunks (so they don't get too charred), toss them with some EVOO and spices (black pepper, garlic, oregano, basil) and cook them in a baking pan on 450 degrees for 40 minutes.

Yum! I always make sure to mix my vegges every 10-15 minutes so they don't get burnt.

Along side the veggies, I ate a large spinach salad.

This is the kind of meal I dream of.. <3 <3 <3 <3

After dinner, i had the most intense craving for Blueberry Muffin Crunch Cereal. There was only one problem... I was all out of muffins!

I decided to quick whip up some of my blueberry oatmeal muffins and call it a night! This recipe is so simple and if you have all ingredients on hand, you can whip them up in about 20 minutes!

I call this snack: bridezlla diversion

blueberry muffin crunch cereal

Delicious!

I think I am going to go watch Father of the Bride - I am totally feeling "weddingy" tonight! Tomorrow is filled with running, wedding preparations (makeup and facial? yes please!!), and lots more wedding errands. 5 more days, I can't even believe it!

Question: What do you do just for you? Big or small, I don't care! I want to know!

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?