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?

i do not function well after 10

The title says it all - so, if there are typos, misspelled words, or just ridiculous rambling, that is why.

I had a great bike ride this morning - I think I went around 12-13 miles. I tend to measure how good a bike ride is by how wobbly my legs are after I am done. My legs were good and wobbly! :)

After bike ride snack:


Lunch looked something like this:


plus a salad on the side!

I went to a pool party this afteroon with some people I work with - it was so nice to see everyone, especially because I will only get to talk to them for a little while at my wedding I am sure!

On the way home, I made a few stops:

my favorite!!!

I also stopped at Whole Foods, where I managed to spend almost $40? Whaaaattt!! I got a couple of Larabars (anyone ever try coconut cream pie?!), some gluten free oats, unsweetened coconut (helloooo homemade coconut butter), some items from the bulk foods section (cashews, dates, figs), and mommasita's beloved spinach artichoke dip!

When I got back into my car, I snacked on a couple of my purchases.

thses organic turkish figs are so delicious!

I am not joking when I tell you next that I made and ate my dinner in a matter of 15 minutes. I was crunched for time because I had a special place I was going (keep reading), but I needed to eat before I left. I grabbed a package of frozen Trader Joe's organic brown rice, sauteed a few veggies really quick (broccoli, spinach, red pepper, zucchini), and tossed it all in hummus. It was a really quick and delicious meal!!

hi hummus - i am so glad i figured out you could taste a little cheesy

I ate these bad boys on the way out the door...

2 dates filled with sunbutter

The other day FH called me and asked me if I would like to go out on a date tonight. Seeing as we never get to go out due to everything that is going on with the house and the wedding, I jumped all over that! We went to go see Brad Paisley with a few of our friends - if you are a fan of country musc, and you have never seen him in concert, I highly reccomend it. It was an awesome show!

some people (FH) were not ready for this picture

We sat in the parking lot for an hour after the concert trying to get out. It is 1:08 a.m. and I just ate a ridiculous amount of crunchmaster crackers and hummus (too much hummus today). I hate being up this late. I am hoping to sleep until 8 a.m. Who thinks I can do it?