get in the groove

Since being back, it's been quite difficult to get back into the normal swing of things. Eating healthy is the main concern I'm speaking of here.... It's just about impossible to not eat Mexican food 3 times a week, get late night taquitos from Whataburger, or eat sno cones topped with cream and plunged with ice cream.

I've been slacking a little on my running too; still getting in about 3 runs per week, but not quite as many long distance ones - it's just too darn hot and humid here!

The last few months before moving home, Landon and I had been drinking lots of warm water with lemon. We would have a glass every morning right when we woke up and one right before bed. The morning glass is the most beneficial, I hear, but it's kind of a nice, calming thing to drink before bed too. Since being home, we haven't had a single glass of lemon water and I'm really starting to feel it and miss it!

There are lots of health benefits to drinking warm lemon water in the morning....

• You're starting your day with a boost of vitamin C

• It's supposed to be great for your skin (acne and wrinkles)

• It's a natural diuretic - keeps those insides flushed out!

• It can help aid in weight loss and boost energy levels!

I would by no means say that I had dropped any pounds, was wound up with energy or had super clear skin, but it sure didn't hurt in any of those regions! My skin has been looking a little more yucky than usual, which could be from running outside in this dreaded humidity and sweat is clogging my pores, but it could be because I haven't had my lemon water lately :)

As I wrap up this post, I am enjoying a warm glass with a lemon fresh from my moms lemon tree (which I gave her as a mother's day gift about 5 years ago!)

we made it!

After a very long day in the car last Tuesday, we have arrived in Texas and are so glad we're here to stay!

We've been going non stop since we've been here, trying to find a place to live, which has not been a successful or easy task. We keep bouncing back and forth.... Do we rent, do we buy? Do we live in a fun area of Dallas or get more bang for our buck in a suburb? None of the answers come easy, but we're leaning towards renting for a year in more of a fun area. After a year and a half in the most dull town in America, don't you think we deserve it a little?!

Since once again, I've been slacking on the blogging, here is a photo update from the last few weeks....

I went to L.A. for Ashley's bachelorette party.... Here we are brunching at the The Roof on Wilshire

And don't forget the long drive home; with a fun stop in St. Louis....

I got to see my girlfriends at Ashley's bridal shower....

We caught a Ranger game with friends....

Needless to say, it's been busy around here, but fun! Oh, and have a wonderful 3 day weekend!!!

new recipes

Last night I tried a new recipe I found in the August 2012 Southern Living magazine.  It is called Three Sister's Salad {recipe here} and looks something like this....

Well, it's supposed to look something like that, mine wasn't quite that pretty. Landon and I are both really into arugula right now and he's a huge fan of butternut squash, so this recipe really jumped out at us. It was super easy to make and really healthy. Landon was a huge fan, but it wasn't my favorite. I didn't much care for the cold butternut squash, but everything else went really well together. Luckily I halved the recipe and still have half of the squash left to roast tonight!

I also tried a recipe my neighbor friend gave me called no-bake energy bites which we loved. They consist of....

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Just mix, chill, roll into balls, chill again, and voila - a delicious treat!

Still no news as to when we'll be moving....

photo update

After what seems like a million days of blog silence, I'm back! It seems a bit overwhelming to fill in EVERYTHING, so I'll just post some of my favorite pictures from the weeks passed.... I won't let it go this long from now on!

My parents came to visit in Raleigh....

Rachel came to visit in Raleigh too....

We went to visit the Klines in Virgina for the 4th of July....

We moved back to Indiana, then met some friends at the lake in Nebraska....

Celebrated Charlie's 2nd birthday....

We went to the horse races with our Greenfield friends....

And last but certainly not least, we celebrated our upcoming move back home!!! (and still don't know when it'll be, we're just hoping soon, I'll keep the updates coming!)

hydrangea housewife

One of the best parts of North Carolina is the beautiful hydrangeas everywhere. Almost every house has a huge, blooming bush gracing its front yard. I personally really like the light blue ones, but all the different shades of pinks, purples and blues are so beautiful.

Hydrangeas always remind me of Bree Van De Kamp from Desperate Housewives and her beautiful yard...

Ironically enough, I snapped a few pictures driving down Fairview Road today.... Anyone else missing Desperate Housewives? :) Speaking of Desperate Housewives, it seems like half of the cast is on the new show Dallas on TNT, which I'm already hooked on of course. It doesn't take much, I am well aware that I have pretty poor taste when it comes to television shows, (ahem, dad) but I do think this one's going to be a good one!

And if this isn't the cutest little care package, I don't know what is!

Julie sent me my favorite nail polish and my favorite facial cleanser and toner! It may not be fall yet, but it doesn't have to be for me to enjoy the yummy pumpkin scent these two have. I just learned that during summertime, it is recommended to refrigerate the toner and use it for a cooling effect - you better believe mine is already in the fridge! I don't have any of these things with me in Raleigh, so this was such a sweet surprise; made my day, thanks sister!

weekend recap

Despite missing our dad's on Father's Day, we had another fun yet relaxing weekend in Raleigh.

Friday night, we went to a place we heard was delicious from multiple sources, so we decided to check it out. Beasley's Chicken & Honey was quite the cute little place. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the name and decor that really drew us in, but the food didn't disappoint.

Drinks were all served in Mason jars (water, beer, wine, everything), the menu was written on a giant chalkboard above the bar, it was dimly lit with plenty of candle light - definitely a trendy twist on southern comfort food. Of course we had to get fried chicken, mine was drizzled in honey and Landon's was atop a waffle...

Accompanied by some smokey green beans, bacon potato salad, and honey glazed biscuits, this chicken was pretty delicious; crispy yet moist. The honey really didn't sound all that good to me, on top of fried chicken, but somehow this combo worked. The breading stayed crispy and the sweet/salty flavors worked pretty darn good together!

Saturday, we ventured back to the Farmer's Market for more peaches and tomatoes... I see this being a Saturday morning tradition for us, we can't get enough and we're constantly snacking on those peaches and tomatoes! After that, Landon went to the driving range and I went for a run - my farthest yet - 7 miles!

I'm sure you've seen this on Facebook or Pinterest, but I'm not even going to act like I ever felt like the top picture during this run - it was brutal but felt amazing all in one. I told Landon just the other day "I think I'm 'a runner' now." I never thought I'd see the  day; I used to despise running, but I actually enjoy it now and look forward to my "long runs" on Saturdays. (I do three 4 - 4.5 mile runs during the week).

Sunday was literally a sun-day for us; we laid out by the pool and got some color, swam a little and did some reading. And if anyone is keeping track, I'm almost finished with book 1 and I'm about to move on to book 2 :)

Have a wonderful week!

dad's day

Happy Father's Day to our wonderful dads!!! We both are so thankful to have such a wonderful father and father-in-law and wish more than anything we were spending the day with them today.

Thought this was sweet, and very true. Our dads are both incredible men and have set wonderful examples for us - love you dads!

extended stay

Woohoo! We'll be staying in Raleigh until at least the end of July! Landon rode with his district manager today (which went well!) and found out we'll be here a whole extra month! A month just wasn't going to be long enough anyway for us to do and see all that Raleigh has to offer.

I'm happy to call this home for the next month and a half...

I'd like to think we're racking up enough Marriott points for a free vacation with our 2 month stay here :)

wonderful wednesday

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but our hotel has a little putting green that we Landon and Charlie like to frequent pretty regularly. I usually tag along so I can attempt to keep Charlie from snatching up the golf balls before Landon can hit them, which can be quite the daunting task, as this guy lives for golf balls...

Oh, someone posted this on Facebook today and I was crying I was laughing so hard - you've gotta watch it, it's hilarious. (click here) I even watched it twice and continued to laugh/cry through the whole thing. 

Since the sun is finally out today, after 2 days of gloomy, rainy weather, I'm off to the pool to catch some rays! (and read my trashy book)

And yes, looking like this :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

weekend recap

We had quite a relaxing yet fun weekend. Friday night, we went for some authentic Eastern North Carolina barbecue at The Pit. It is "Eastern North Carolina style" in that it is made by using the "whole hog" then chopped and mixed with a vinegar based sauce. Neither of us could get enough of this sauce; it was tangy but had a kick, our meat was dripping in it!

Saturday, Landon and I went for a jog together (this rarely happens, so I was excited) then took Charlie to the dog park. We had to wear him out so we could leave him all night and pray he didn't bark for the entire floor to hear it while we went to the baseball game. Landon was "hosting" a lot of the veterinarians in his territory and their families to the Durham Bulls game and luckily, I got to tag along. The weather was absolutely perfect to be sitting outside and we had a really nice time.

Oh, and this is happening, I've caved and am 3 chapters in... 

Anyone else reading/read it???

happy weekend

Landon went to Baltimore early Wednesday morning for a meeting and arrived home early today.  Thank goodness, because it's been a lonely couple of days here without him in a town where I know no one! Luckily, Charlie kept me company and we frequented the dog park several times, went on a walk/jog together and enjoyed the wonderful weather we've been having here.  High of 75 yesterday - yes please!

The day before Landon left for Baltimore, Charlie and I rode with him while he worked. He had a somewhat light day, so we cruised around town with him, windows down, again, enjoying the awesome weather...

After I picked Landon up from the airport this morning, we drove to Chapel Hill, where the University of North Carolina is. We'd seen Duke, North Carolina State, so this was the last one on our list we had to see. It was a beautiful campus and Landon informed me it was where Michael Jordan went to school. This is probably a well known fact, but it was news to me!

On a random note, has anyone ever had a shellac manicure? I got one two and a half weeks ago and it still looks great! This is certainly the longest a mani has ever lasted on me so I'm completely sold. I even trimmed my nails yesterday and the polish didn't mess up. I opted for this color...

... which I wasn't super crazy about in the bottle, but I do love a soft pink, so I was hoping I would like it better on my fingers. Luckily, I did, and it turned out looking like this...

This weekend, we don't have much planned. We're going to a Durham Bulls baseball game on Saturday evening, but other than that, hopefully just some fun in the sun and relaxation. Hope your weekend is wonderful, too!

first week in raleigh

We're back at it! Back to blogging and actually doing fun things now that we aren't in Greenfield, Indiana anymore!

We arrived in Raleigh Friday, May 25th, but being that it was Memorial Day weekend, we regrouped and got back in the car Saturday morning to head to Virginia Beach. It was only about a 3.5 hour drive from here and we're so glad we went, we had so much fun. The weather was great and we went out to the beach every day. Charlie of course loved the beach...

We had a great visit with Sean and Heather and really enjoyed playing with Bergen and Tenley; they're so much fun and couldn't possibly get any cuter... 

Since we've been back in Raleigh, we've been keeping pretty busy. (Much different than Greenfield, ha) We found the Farmer's Market where we had the best peaches we've ever had and bought a giant bucket of them! Somehow, some tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and basil also made their way home with us too :)

They were also selling fresh squeezed lemonade. They squeezed the lemons right into your drink once you ordered it; we got one with fresh lemon, orange and lime juice - double delish! Here we are enjoying some of our purchases...

On Saturday, Landon wanted to practice hitting some golf balls, so I agreed to go since it was such a nice day.  I brought a book and did this...

 While Landon did this...

It was a great first week/weekend here in North Carolina!

On Monday night, we met some family for dinner.  My Aunt Sue and Uncle David were in town visiting their son Mark, his fiancé Catherine and their little one-year-old, Atticus. We met them at Tyler's Taproom for some burgers, beer, and quality time together. We usually only get to see this side of the family once or twice a year, so it was wonderful getting to spend some time with them.  Mark, Catherine and Atticus live here in Raleigh so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them soon.

After dinner, Landon and I stopped at Foundation for a drink. It is a trendy, underground, hidden little gem and that we were told was the place to go for unique cocktails. It certainly did not disappoint! Landon had a "flynn fizz" which consisted moonshine, lime, simple syrup and egg yolk and I had a "confederate widow" which was a concoction of tea infused gin, peach bitters, local honey, mint and egg white.  Like I said, unique drinks, but so tasty!

We're really enjoying our time here so far and are so thankful we've been blessed with such a wonderful opportunity to see and experience different parts of the country. As much as we miss home, we're thrilled to be on this adventure together and look forward to what the rest of the month holds in store!