My Home Tour!

I moved into my new apartment December 7th, 2013. I believe I have it organized the way I want it, so I wanted to share the pictures. I absolutely love living here. I am in the middle of everything! Plus a 5 minute commute to work and my gym, LA Fitness is only across the parking lot. You can't beat it. It's a 900 square foot, one bedroom.

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A sister/sister, busy, kind of sick weekend wrap!

Before I begin my weekend wrap blog entry, I would just like to say "thank God for Zicam and Emergen-C". Ha!

Friday at 4:30 PM, my weekend started as usual. I felt strong and hit the gym for cardio and weights. I had a great work out. When I finished, I had to run a lot of errands. I went to Target, Ulta, and GNC. Then finally I picked up a salad at Panera for dinner. 

Ugh, it never ends.

I finally put all of my stuff up, took a shower, ate, and got my sister's Christmas gift together. I thought it looked cute!

By the time I finished all of that it was about 9 PM and ho-ly crap. I started to feel horrible. Body aches and a sore throat. Thankfully, I did not have a fever, but I felt really bad. I knew I needed to take preventive measures and get into bed.

I drank my Emergen-C and took Zicam and slept for 12 hours. I hoped to wake up feeling brand new. I never get sick (knock on wood, thank God) and it's been well over a year since I have even had so much as a cold. 

I woke up Saturday morning feeling like crap. But I don't like to take a lot of medicine. I barely take Tylenol or even Midol. I just do not like it. I like to take a more homeopathic approach. I do not really have a solid reason as to why, I just do. Basically I just think the pharmaceutical industry is a bunch of shit. :)

I forced myself to go do a few things and clean my apartment so when my sister arrived she would not get sick. She was driving three hours from Raleigh. She pulled in around 1:30 PM. We chatted for a while then took off to the gym. I live right across the parking lot from my gym (so awesome) and she had a 3-day pass so we decided to make the best of it.

I felt OK to do cardio but I did not have enough strength to lift weights like we initially planned. I did 45 minutes of cardio and was pretty proud of myself, I pushed hard. My heartrate was up the whole time and I burned a bunch of calories!

I felt so much better afterwards. I felt like the medicine combined with some sweaty cardio totally helped. We went across the street to Earthfare (another awesme thing about where I live, ha!) and got a hummus and vegetable wrap. It was delicious and huge! It was only 300 calories for the whole thing. Double score!

Oh and thank you to my sister who brought me another Polar band so I can use my monitor again. Captain Grace (me) over here lost the damn band a month after I got my monitor so I have not been able to use it!

We then took showers, watched some of "Country Song", and got glam!

I'm ready!

We went Uptown to a place called "Blue Restaurant and Bar" for dinner and a martini. The crusine is Mediterranean; our favorite! I had this delicious spinach, mushroom, and ricotta pasta dish. It was amazing. And the restaurant is absolutely beautiful. The below image I found was on Google, but just to show you how gorgeous the place was!

I had an "Under The Sunset" Martini. It was SO strong and so much cinnamon flavor. I could not finish it, but it felt good against a sore throat because it was so strong.

By the time we finished dinner it was 10:30 and we had to drive back to south Charlotte, where I live. We were gong to go to a local bar to watch the UFC fights. I was so excited, last night the fighter line up was incredible. But I was done, I just wanted to go home. I pushed myself to the limit.

We came home and got warm on the couch and watched a movie on HBO called "Stoker" and what a weird ass movie. That movie was just... I don't even know. I literally had this look of confusion and disgust on my face the whole time, but like I could not turn away. I kept wanting to know what was next. So if you have HBO on demand, the movie is free, so it is worth a watch. Just be prepared that it is really freaking weird. Oh and Nicole Kidman is in it. We finally went to bed around 1 AM and slept today until 10. It was glorious. I love my black out curtains, ha. 

We got ourselves dressed, grabbed a hot tea and spinach and egg white wrap at Starbucks then drove up to Ikea. Every time she comes down to stay with me, we have to make a trip to Ikea. After spending two hours in there walking around, I left with this kick-ass picture for my living room. I love it! It was only 10 bucks too!

My sister left about an hour ago and I think I am down for the count. It is so cold and rainy here and my throat is still kind of sore, super tired too. I think the rest of the afternoon spent inside warm and resting will make me brand new tomorrow. I have a busy week ahead so I have absolutely zero time to be sick. Maybe I am wishful thinking, but so far Emergen-C and Zicam have done a great job. 

How was your post-Christmas weekend?!

*Link up's are going on today, check out my link up page and join the fun! 

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Weekend Recap: My 50 y/o Mother's 1st Tattoo & Cucumber Vodka

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was great, but definitely did not go as planned. Initially I had a couple of friends coming down from New England to stay the weekend with me. But thanks to the north getting a freaking snow storm, that was cancelled. It completely sucked, but oh well. Next, my good friend and co-worker Karen made plans for a girl's day with me Saturday then a movie Sunday. However, her son ended up getting in big trouble at school. In her words "he is grounded for life" thus she has so stay home with him all weekend to "supervise". Another bummer, but I made the best of it!

First off, how amazing is this month's Ipsy bag? I received mine Thursday night. It has to be my favorite yet! I love everything in it. If you don't know about it, it is a monthly makeup bag that you receive via mail for only $10 a month. You get a makeup bag each month along with 4-5 beauty products. It is amazing. If you want to join, please use my link; just click here!

Friday morning when I was getting ready for work, I could not wait to try my new products. I used the grey eye shadow from Pop Beauty and the lipstick from NYX. I am beyond in love with the color of this lipstick! It is a cross between brown and purple and it is absolutely beautiful. I am about to use the polish now to do my nails. 

Friday I worked all day as usual then when 5 o'clock finally came, I hit the gym with my best friend Kelly. We did 45 minutes of cardio and our ab routine. By the time we finished, I felt pretty tired. I usually am on Friday's after the week. I bought "Revenge" season 2 DVD (My favorite show ever) at Target on my lunch hour so I decided to watch that while I did things around my apartment. My washer and dryer were finally installed Friday afternoon as well. I had TONS of laundry to do - three loads to be exact, ugh!

Meanwhile, my freaking 50 year old mother and new grandmother was out getting her first tattoo! I could not believe it! Here I am "being a good girl" on a Friday night and my MOTHER is out getting a tattoo!

I still do not know how I feel about this. I mean, it's weird. I have tattoo but I was 18 when I got it and it is easily covered and hardly ever seen. Her's is on her forearm. I find it hilarious, but weird nonetheless. She is already talking about another one and I told her absolutely no way. She has to listen to me, too. Now that I am older, our roles have reversed quite a bit, ha.

The tattoo is in honor of her battle with MS.

Saturday morning looked a little bit like this:

It was so rainy and so gloomy so I decided to fold the mountain of laundry and run my Saturday errands. Groceries, Target, GNC, and Ulta. Except I forgot my Ulta coupons so I had to go today. Target has the cutest sweaters on sale for $15 bucks too! Later that afternoon I pushed myself at the gym. It was a hard work out. The weather was awful and I just wanted to stay cuddled at home. But I didn't! I did 40 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit.

Then it was time to get ready for a night out!

My friend Alexis and I started out at this new spot in my neighborhood of Charlotte called "Bradshaw's Social House". We had dinner and cocktails and enjoyed life music. After we were there a while a few of my friends decided to join us!

I sipped on a on a drink called the "Caroleena". It is SkinnyGirl Cucumber Vodka and tonic water. I know it sounds kind of weird, but it was surprisingly delicious and light.

After Bradshaw's we went to my favorite place to dance; Cosmos. It is in the same strip as Bradshaw's so that was convenient. I even ran into the girls who work at the office of my apartment complex and danced with them! It was so random, but so fun.

This morning I slept in until 10:30. Ugh! I never sleep that late. But I did not go to sleep until after 3 AM so I needed it. When I woke up, I hit the ground running. I cleaned my apartment top to bottom then went out to run errands.

I was on a mission to find the perfect centerpieces to dress up my dining room table. My chairs were supposed to arrive Friday, but in true Liz fashion they're late. Since I am a "diva on a budget" I hit up Ross and Dollar tree to complete the look for dining room table.

I am super happy with how it turned out. Everything on my table, combined, was $35!

All of the candle holders in the center, plates, napkins, and napkin holders are from Ross and the tea candles and place mats are from Dollar Tree!

After spending over an hour of hunting, comparing, and figuring out what I wanted, I was finally finished. I went to the gym after. I am so thankful tomorrow is my rest day because my body is so tired. I only did 40 minutes of cardio today. It was supposed to be leg day, but my body is too sore.

I refueled with my favorite salad ever after the gym. It's the "steak and bleu cheese" salad from Panera. Yum!

The rest of my evening has been spent prepping food and getting things organized for the week that is about to ensure. I will say though, this upcoming week is the last 5 day work week for 2 weeks. That is something to be celebrate!

Who else is SO excited for the "Revenge" mid-season finale tonight?! I cannot wait to see how this wedding goes down!

I hope you guys had a great weekend!

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Weight Loss, Wine, Best Friend, Table, and a Book. How's that?

How has everyone's week been? Mine has been fantastic. I am absolutely head over heels in love with my new home! Work has been busy, but in a good way, I was able to get out of my Direct TV contract and get cable (there is no where to put a satellite dish at my new apartment and Direct TV were being complete assholes about it), my washer and dryer are being installed tomorrow, and things are just great.

It truly feels good to say that. I pray that they stay this way and I don't jinx myself.

As I wrote this post, I realized it is basically the "Friday 5" - you know the awesome link up's where you about 5 different things about your week? Well, I guess you can say I am starting the party early! Be sure and check out my "link up's" page so you can too!

1.) 3 pounds lost last week!

I was off of work Monday, thank God. It was so rainy, cold, and gloomy. I spent the day cleaning, unpacking, and organizing. I went to the doctor to get my B12 injection and I was down 3 pounds! I was very happy to see that. It was a complete surprise. I did not work out Saturday or Sunday because I was moving, and since my grandmother was in town, we ate out both nights as well. However, I did keep my meals healthy and moving is hard, hard exercise, so I suppose it makes sense. I am now down 10.2 pounds in two weeks. I cannot wait to write all about this!

I bought this shirt last winter because it was so cute. I could not pass it up. However, it was way too tight on me, especially around my stomach. But now it fits perfectly and is even loose around my stomach area. Total score!

2) Girl's night

Mine and my best friend Kelly, girls nights on "school nights" are really fun. We hit the gym for our work out's then come back to my place for dinner, wine, and girl talk. However, since I am working hard on my weight loss, I have not been drinking at all. But last night, when Kels came over for our girl's night, I decided to indulge. After all, we were celebrating my new place - it felt appropriate! 

3) New table!

My new dining room table was finally delivered last night as well. It was supposed to come Saturday, but in true "Murphy's Law"... sh** happens! And I have to say, does your best friend put together your new table? Mine does. While she is tipsy. Hilarious, but she totally did it! Go Kels! 

I lucked out on Amazon today and found two chairs that I think will go great with my new table. I bought them slightly used and was able to have both of them for only $43 bucks! The best part - they will be here Friday, hooray for free two day shipping!

4) Healthy but delicious dinner's

I always keep thinking cap on to make delicious dinners. Healthy and clean eating does not have to be boring and tasteless. I have been making a simple meal this week for dinners, but it has been SO delicious! The ingredients: ground turkey cooked in a frying pan via stove top with mushrooms with low sodium taco seasoning over a bed of fresh spinach topped with fat free cheddar cheese and crunchy onions. It is super easy and simple, but so good!

4) "There is more to life than this"

I consider myself to be a part book worm! I love to read. I do not have a Kindle or Nook, I prefer a cold, hard book. I do not know why, I just do. I am a huge fan of Teresa Caputo and her show, so I was excited when he new book was released. I picked a copy up at Target and it is such a good book. I read every night before bed to help get my mind tired and at ease, and this is a great book to do just that. It is an easy read with a lot of information and her background and other stories. It's definitely worth a pickup! 

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Health and Home Ramblings!

Oh my loves, it is ALMOST finally Friday. Today is Friday eve. Little Friday. You get the point. This week has been exhausting to say the least. Work is killing me. I need a raise. I'm thinking of going on strike. Moving on. It's almost time for two of my favorite link up's around: high five for Friday and five on a Friday. I like this because I like to share 5 randoms from my week that I want to write about. Lets gets started, shall we?

Starbucks. I am not a Starbucks junkie. I don't like coffee and a lot of times their drinks have too many calories and sugar. I'd rather eat my calories (unless its wine), ya know? However, I will admit that I do like their lemon cake. I think all of us can agree we would splurge for a Pumpkin Spice latte in the fall, too. But aside from those special occasions I stay away. I was reading everyones weekend shannies on Monday and I saw someone talk about Starbucks new "Orange refresher". It sounded delicious. I checked it out and a grande only has 90 little calories. I thought "I will have to try that". So on my lunch hour I was running 14 different errands with the top down (having a convertible in the summer isn't all fun and great, it's quite miserable) and I was really thirsty. I drove over to Starbucks and ordered one of those babies. YUM! I loved it. It wasn't that sweet; it did not taste like it had all of this sugar in it. It tasted quite natural. If you like orange, go try one.

Oatmeal. I eat oatmeal every day. It gets so boring. But it's good carbs. They are complex carbohydrates that your body NEEDS and uses for energy and doesn't store into fat. Got that?! If you

do a long term super low carbohydrate diet, it's really bad for you. I can list multiple problems that ensue, and their not pretty. Also, if your body does get the nutrients from complex carbohydrates, you will start storing fat and sugar because your body has nothing to work off of. OK, anyways, as I was saying; I eat oatmeal everyday. It gets so boring. So, I have perfected the most delicious way to eat them! I like adding fruit, but not all of the time. My favorite concoction: 1/2 cup of plain oats, 1 tablespoon of sugar/fat free Butterscotch pudding mix, and 1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk. 180 calories, keeps me full, and gives me great energy for the gym.

My WEIGHT LOSS power smoothie. I have one of these every single day of my life. These make me feel so energized, healthy, and somewhat like superwoman. I feel "clean" drinking one of these and it's really helping me get healthy and lose weight. Plus, I get to drink my veggies. I don't particularly enjoy eating veggies so being able to drink them and not really taste them is great.

Lastly. this hot mess house. You guys I have got to get with the program. I have never been on Pinterest but I think I am going to force myself to try and get crafty and DOMESTIC this weekend. I want to organize and decorate and make my home like those featured in the southern magazines where you are afraid to touch anything because it's so perfect. I'm just showing your parts of my living room and kitchen. That's the starting point.

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