slow cooker mexican stoup

I'm glad you all liked the honeymoon recap! Thanks for all of the nice comments about the husband and I - I really appreciate it!

The past few days have been crazy busy, but I am enjoying getting back to my normal eating habits. My body has kind of been in a vegetable shock, but I know it's going to be getting back to normal any day now.

My days have been full of overnight oats:

served in awesomely cool margarita glasses from here. They could have been one of my favorite actual presents from the wedding.

Coffee may have been consumed in a cup from Cancun...

the husband told me today i like my coffee too strong - meh.

Many salads have been eaten - including avocado and salsa (it's hard to get out of mexican mode)

I missed my hummus as well...

My afternoon snacks have been all over the place - I have been a grazer...

Another bowl of overnight oats was consumed this morning - this bowl was so pretty.. and pretty delicious too might I add!

 After breakfast, I had to run some errands and do some laundry (at the parent's house because we thought ours was broken), so to kill time I ran to the gym, lifted, and ran home. My legs hurt really bad because I ran yesterday as well... and I hadn't run for over a week. Whoops!

I was over at my parent's house for lunch today and my mom made me some veggies and rice - they were really good, but I was super hungry because of my workout. They are unpictured because I'm a horrible blogger and was too hungry to even say hello to mommasita.

When I got home, I was still hungry so I decided I would eat some crackers, carrots, and hummus.

try this... x like 5

 I may or may not have finished off this tub of hummus.

I may or may not have also swirled my finger around in the tub to make sure I got it all.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... don't judge me. :)

quite possibly the best hummus ever

I wanted to make something easy today because I was also making a coffee cake for tomorrow morning (recipe to come!), so I decided to go with the slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Mexican Stoup

What you'll need:

• slow cooker
• 2 cans beans (I used black)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 can drained
• 1 zucchini, cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• spices: pepper, salt, garlic, crushed red pepper, chili powder
• avocado or meat of your choice to go on top

How it's done:

1. Put everything in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.

Seriously.. it's that easy! It was delicious too!

brand new baby slow cooker

simple ingredients at their best

chopped zucchini

chicken for the husband

avocado for me!

delicious

This was really filling and I will definitely be making it again. We have some left overs, so I'm sure it could feed four people comfortably. This was inspired by Kath as I remembered a recipe she made kind of like this!

It's been nothing less than busy around here, and I have to go get some things done. Off to do laundry! Oh the joys of marriage... :)

I'll be honest... I don't have a question for you all today. My brain is in a fog.

Until tomorrow!

spa day and rehearsal dinner

I am so glad you all liked the before and after pictures of our place! FH worked so hard to get it done and I am so grateful he did!

When I last left you, my two besties were just about to arrive for dinner. Before they came, I did a little wedding watching on my laptop.

just excited!!!

a little father of the bride action :)

Then I got right to work on our dinner!When it comes to food and fitness, my besties and I could not be any more opposite. They are both pretty picky eaters, so I wasn't sure how they would react to this big pan of roasted veggies...

verdict: okay - they did not like the sweet potatoes, and one bestie would not eat the beans... MORE FOR ME!!!!

dinner for 3!

When we sat down to eat, it was so weird. It totally reminded me of when we lived together in college and we would make dinners to eat together.

I made tofu for myself:

And the girls had chicken!

This morning, my stomach was all kinds of weird. I'm not nervous about getting married, but I am getting anxious so I had a weird feeling in my stomach all morning. It didnt keep me from eathing this!

overnight oats with cherries, bloobs, coconut, and pb

and mucho caffeine

As my bachelorette "party" I requested a spa day on the day of the rehearsal dinner. Since I really don't drink and am not into the party scene, a typical bachelorette party would not have suited me at all.

They suprised me with an awesome spa day at my aunt's house! They hired a massage therapist and two nail techicians - it was AWESOME!

They also got me this goodie bag:

We wore hats:

got pampered....

wined and dined!

Aren't they the greatest?

bestie made some coffee cake - it looked delish!

My aunt even opened up her spa so we could relax!

I went straight form there to the country club to put together centerpieces. On my way there, I ate a Larabar and also stopped at Starbuck's for an extra caffeine jolt!

aren't my nails pretty?

John's aunt, my mom, cousin, and bestie were all so great. They showed up 2 hours before the rehearsal started to help me get the centerpieces done. If it wasn't for them, I really don't think i could have done it!

obviously not the centerpiece, but gerber daisies are involved

Once everyone arrived, we headed out to the gazebo where we are getting married!

(left to right): FH's brother (also the pastor), FH and Me!

bridesmaids

taking charge

groomsmen

putting me back in my place! :)

flower girls

It was actually a very quick and painless rehearsal! Sometimes they are long and drawn out and we were in an out in exactly an hour! Go us!

Afterwards, we headed to Mimi's Cafe for some much needed grub.

FH's mom did such a great job planning this! The restaurant even made us our own "menu"!

flower girls' gifts - they LOVED them!

soon to be mr. and mrs.!

besties!

It has been such a long day, but I really am not tired. I'm feeling a little anxious, but I'm not really worried about how tomorrow is going to go. Whatever happens, happens at this point! I am so excited to finally be getting married to the man of my dreams!


It's time for me to put on a face mask, catch up with your blogs, and stick my overnight oats into the fridge for the morning. Wish me luck!

Question: What is your favorite part of weddings (either as a guest OR a participant)? Is it the food, the dancing, or something completely different?