What I'm Loving Wednesday

Here's a bit of what I'm loving this Wednesday!

I'm loving that it is Wednesday!! The first few days of this week has seemed to drag by at work. I am so happy to be over the hump! :)

I'm loving these beautiful dining room inspirations. 

 I am loving these delicious Pinterest drink recipes. 

Spiked Limeaide

Frozen Rum Lemonade

Watermellon Margaritas

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Best Wishes!!

Ashley 

Meal Planning: Clean Eating Challenge

Since summer is right around the corner (52 days until school is out but who's counting?!), I have been trying to clean up my diet and make healthy choices daily. It is all about balance for me; I try and maintain a 80/20 perspective when it comes to my diet. 80% healthy foods and drinks and 20% indulgent foods and drinks. This mostly helps with cravings and has worked to minimize my feeling of deprivation from some of my favorite decadent foods like ice cream and cupcakes (my weakness is cream cheese icing).

That being said within the next few weeks I have some big event's going on! Next weekend is one of Husband's best friend's from college wedding. Then the weekend after that is my best friend's birthday celebration at Bald Head Island. I also have a few wedding showers, baby showers and graduation parties to attend! I really want to feel and look great for these events. So I have decided to challenge myself to a 5 day clean eating challenge. My meals and snacks mainly based  on Tone it Up's 5 Day Slim Down. I have had the meal plan for almost a year now and love the emphasis on clean, healthy recipes!

Here's a snapshot of  a day's meal. I will be having the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day and then switching out dinner so not to get bored. For snacks, I will be having a grapefruit in the morning and then a protein bar or protein shake in the afternoon before the gym.

Breakfast

 Protein Waffle

Lunch

Spring Salad with Golden Sun Dressing

Dinner Ideas

Lemon Pepper Chicken with steamed broccoli or green beans

Tosca's Tilapia  with sauteed Asian vegetable medely

High Five for Friday

Excited does not even begin to describe how I feel about today. I am so thankful that it is the end of the work week and the weekend is less then 24 hours away! 

A few things I am thankful for this week

1. Perfect weather for early morning runs complete with sunrises over the intercoastal waterway.  

2. Beautiful spring flowers all over Wilmington. 

3. Date nights with my wonderful Husband. 

4. Afternoon walks while catching up with friends.

5. Peach Lambic it's the one of the only beers I can tolerate. We found it at a new local beer and wine shop. I look forward to many summer nights hanging out, grilling, playing cornhole and enjoying a few of these. 

Bonus Point. This quote has come to mean so much to be over the past few weeks. Reminds me to be patient. 

Happy Friday Y'all! Best Wishes,

            Ashley 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Time to share a bit of what I am loving on Pinterest this week!

I am loving these easy hairstyle ideas for warm summer days!

  Cute Work Hair

Work Updo Ideas

Perfect Wavy Hair

I am loving these cute craft ideas!

DIY Succulent Planter

Burlap Initials

Lastly:

I am loving summer bucket lists! I hope to create my own adult version over these next few weeks so stay tuned!

Also, I am loving this giveaway by A. Liz Adventures! Check it out here!

What are you loving this week?

Best Wishes,

Ashley

Weekend Shenanigans

This weekend has been filled to the brim! Here is a snapshot of our past Friday- Sunday events.

Friday night the hubby and I had a much needed date night in. I fixed honey mustard salmon with cheddar biscuits and snap peas. After dinner we settled in for a movie night, wife's choice! We always lean toward action or thriller movies and it had been a while since we caught a good chick flick. We watched One Day with Anne Hathway. I had listened to the book on tape a few years ago when I would go for a run. I had always wanted to see the movie but never made it to the theater. Unfortunately, the movie version fell way short of the book. I always feel this way about movie translations of books. I typically skip out of movies based on my favorite books due to the disappointment I experience when it hits theaters. Does this happen to anyone else?

On Saturday I woke up bright and early to help out with community service project for my provisional class at Junior League. We are working with a local community based middle school to help beautify the grounds and provide support for the staff. I helped out making four square courts for the students to play on and re-painting the benches outside to match the school colors.

After we spend the morning taping,  painting and sweeping I headed to the gym for a quick Pure Barre class. It is almost the end of my monthly trial membership at Pure Barre and I am loving the results! That afternoon I headed to church for a gender reveal party for one of the couples in our life group.

The party was filled with amazing DIY projects and crafts. My favorite was the chandelier that was used as a centerpiece and serving tray. Very excited for our friends, they are expecting another beautiful baby girl!

After I got back home, Joe and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and take a walk round the neighborhood. In the process, we rescued a baby turtle from the road!

On Sunday, we headed to church and then visited my grandmother in the hospital. She gave us quite the scare this weekend due to some major medical issues. However, when we stopped by Sunday afternoon she was in wonderful spirits and had improved so much!

We spent the rest of Sunday enjoying lunch outside in the wonderful weather, checking out puppy adoptions (we have got the itch bad!) and catching up on Mad Men and Game of Thrones. I was able to get in a good afternoon run too! I am planning on running a 10k next weekend and desperately need to get good mileage in before then!

Even though there was a few hiccups- we had a great weekend enjoying the weather and the company of friends and family!

How was your weekend?

Best Wishes,

Ashley

Meal Planning

Excited to start start off another week with great recipes! We ended up switching up which days we had each meal last week. However, we were able to enjoy each recipe! Thursday night we are getting our first produce box delivery from our local farmers market so things may change a little Thursday night. 

Monday: Omelettes with Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

Wednesday: Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

 Thursday: Whole Wheat Pita Pizza

Friday: Date Night 

I am so excited for our date night Friday. Joe and I try and have a nice date night once or twice a month to focus on us. I am thinking local seafood and a nice glass of wine on the waterway at Dockside or Bluewater.

Now that dinner is all planner for the week, I am off to enjoy some late night TV! Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday night!!

Best Wishes,

Ashley

SPD: Burlap Wreath

It is no secret that I am not a DIY girl. Unfortunately, when it comes to home projects I have zero patience. If I can not see the end of a project in about 45 minutes to an hour most of the time I will not see it through. With the help of Pinterest, my craft attention deficit is getting much better! I am a huge wreath girl and made several for our wedding last June. This burlap one I found and loved the idea of changing it out for the seasons with different ribbons, flowers or better yet a monogram! 

You need: 

12-14 Inch Wire frame 

4 Inch Wide Burlap ribbon

Hemp Twine

Accent Ribbon or Flowers

I found all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby. Since the burlap is a sturdy fabric, you can loop, tuck and wind the burlap into the wire frame without worrying about it losing it's shape. I found it easier to work with 3 to 4 foot sections of ribbon at a time. I  used the twine to secure loose ends. 

Work In Progress

Final Product!

After I finished the loops, I added chevron ribbon for am additional layer of color and pattern. It is currently hanging in our kitchen. I love the rustic feel it adds to the decor. 

For a largely non-crafty girl, this project was very simple and just my speed! I highly recommend  trying this or any type of wreath making if your afraid to jump head first into crafts like I was.  Now I can't wait to try my hand at another simple project soon!

Best Wishes, 

AshleyCarole

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. Burlap Wreath 

 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Time to share a few ramblings on what is making my week. I am linking up for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I am loving this spring summer weather! Right now in NC it seems like we have bypassed spring and jumped head into summer.

On a similar note...

I am loving the long walks in the afternoon to enjoy this beautiful weather.

I am loving that this weekend is Azalea Festival. I can’t wait to explore the street vendors by the waterfront Saturday night.

I am loving Kidz Zone Bars. They are the perfect amount of calories for a snack and have a good amount of protein.  Perfect for when I can’t break away from my desk and need an afternoon pick-me-up. I can only vouch for the cupcake and chocolate peanut butter so far but both are delicious! I found them thanks to Chelsey at Target. 

I am loving that there is only 9 more weeks of school left until summer break. I have never been the type to wish days away but knowing that a long break is ahead gives me something to work toward.

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Best,

Ashley 

Meal Planning

Ever since we got married, I have tried to plan on Sundays what we are going to have for dinner for the entire week. It does not always work out as plans change or we may not be feeling what was planned.  However, having a foundation of ingredients on Sunday eliminates unnecessary stress and trips to the store during the week. I got the idea to share my weekly planning from Julia and Kelsey . 

Monday: Girl's Night Fondue

Tuesday: Salmon with Steamed Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday: Honey Garlic Chicken with Sweet Rolls 

  Thursday: His and Hers Pizza Night

  Friday: Santa Fe Chicken with Brown Rice

       Monday night I am having a girl's night in with some friends for a wine and fondue night. I have not had fondue in ages and am looking to enjoying some melted cheese and chocolate while catching up with friends!

Thursday nights are typically our easy meal nights. We will have build your own tacos or pizza and have a relaxing date night in to celebrate almost making it through the work week! 

       As you can see from just this week's preview we eat a lot of chicken in our household! I always am trying new recipes and flavors to make sure the husband is not getting bored with the same old grilled chicken every night. Which I love!! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of their weekend! I am off to go enjoy this beautiful weather we are finally having!

Best Wishes!

Ashley 

High Five for Friday

For my first blog post, I am linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday. I truly hope everyone's Friday is off to a great start and if you are anything like me you are more than ready to enjoy the weekend!

1. This week is my Spring Break. It has been a much needed time out from work and I got to spend some quality time at the beach!

2. The husband and I are seriously talking about getting a puppy within the next two months. Oh my heart just melts looking at these little guys.

 3. I am loving my workouts lately. I purchased a month unlimited membership to Pure Barre and I am hooked! I have been going 5-6 times a week for two weeks now. I can already tell such a huge difference in my arms, abs and legs. Needless to say I am hooked!   

4. Trader Joes has finally come to Wilmington. This makes my stomach and my wallet oh so happy! Loving all the fresh produce for such a great price.

5. This blog! I am excited to start blogging as a way to share my daily musing and ramblings about balancing friends, faith and fitness. I strive daily to live a healthy balanced lifestyle. 

Best Wishes!

Ashley

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