Weekend Recap: Fitness Blondie NO MORE?!?!

I was never happier to be off of work on Friday on ready to start the weekend. Last week was all around a crazy, nonstop, "Murphy's Law", type of week and I needed a break and downtime. 

When I got off of work, J and I went and ran some errands. I had a Japanese Bubble Tea (Mango) with tapioca pearls and it was fantastic. Years ago I had them often, but I have not seen a place that sells them in a long time. Thus when I spotted a stand in the mall, I had to have one. 

I got some frames and pictures made while we were out so I could put them up through the apartment. I think they fit perfectly and are a great addition.

Friday night, J and I went to my best friend's house so she could do my hair. She has a salon setup in her basement so it makes getting my hair done a lot more fun. The goal? Black with red lowlights. As always she did a fantastic job and I love the new look. Also while doing my hair we had a little bonfire.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Charlotte with mild weather in the upper 50's and lower 60's. We took full advantage. I enjoyed a long job on the Greenway, cleaned my apartment with music blasting, and the windows open, and J and I scored our latest "dumpster" find.

Remember on my last blog post about the table we scored from my neighbor throwing his house? Well, another neighbor was throwing out this gorgeous mahogany table and said I could have it. It needs a little work on one of the drawers, but it's perfect other than that. I am going to play this week to find the perfect spot for it. 

Later in the afternoon, I got ready, and of course I took lots of selfies of my new hair.

Once we were ready, we went to our friends Justin and Jodi's house for homemade fondue. It was a lot of fun making it at home instead of going to "The Melting Pot". If you read my blog you know I love "The Melting Pot" and eat there often, but it gets expensive. Homemade fondue was not only delicious, but really fun. It's a great way to host a dinner party. I am definitely going to be investing in a fondue pot now.

After we left Justin and Jodi's we came back to my apartment. I had been telling Johnathan that I wanted to make a shot glass holder out of an old baseball bat case that he has that was not being used. Since it was still kind of early and we had energy, he got to work and did it. I think it's super fun and adds a lot to the bar and dining area.

Yesterday was another beautiful day so J and I spent the day out with his friend Sean and his friend Jinny. 

We all had lunch, went to see "American Sniper" (which was phenomenal. We even had to advance purchase our tickets due to all of the shows being sold out!) and I earned my free movie ticket (yay), and did some shopping. 

Of course I had to take a few more selfies. (Don't judge me. OK, you can if you want because it's a little absurd; just try to look past it). 

When we finally got home from the day, I made the most delicious broiled Ribeye and pasta salad, I kicked his butt on the Wii, and then we called it a night. Now, time to finish this work day... 

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Weekend Recap: My new hair!

Friday was end to an awful week. After work, I went to my girlfriend Sara's to get my hair done in her fabulous new home salon. She has been working on it for a couple of years and it looks great. In honor of fall and because I was yearning for a change, I added dark and caramel streaks into my hair. I am officially on the "dark" side right now! I may need to change my blog name to "Fitness Blondie with Brunette and Caramel Streaks". How does that sound?  Once I my hair was finished, I went to get groceries then finally home. I took a shower and relaxed watching 80's movies and made my favorite type of "pizza": fresh whole wheat dough made from my grocer's deli, low fat mozzarella, authentic brie cheese cut straight off of the big block, and a balsamic glaze. It is the most delicious and rich tasting meal. A little goes a long way.

Saturday I awoke to the worst lower back I have had in a long time. In fact, my whole body was aching. As I stated above, last week was not a good week. I took the week off from the gym to try and rest my body a little, however, I learned first hand that physical activity on your body is NOTHING like what can stress can do. I took it easy most of the morning but did get some cleaning done.

Eventually I took a shower and got ready the afternoon and evening. I really wanted to get a good picture of me with my new hair style, but I was not feeling very photogenic. I snapped one in the parking lot of Smoothie King and called it a day. Here is the result... ta-da:

I picked up a smoothie, went by GNC to stack up on my Quest Bars since I had a $10 off coupon (I love getting a box of Quest Bars for only $15!), then I went by Ulta to pick up my Smashbox primer. When I arrived there, I saw they had the cutest "weekend" bags on clearance for $10 bucks. Of course I had to scoop one up; it is my new gym bag!

After my errands I went to church. My Pastor and his wife did the sermon together for week 5 of "Meant to Be: The Bible's Best Kept Secrets About Sex, Marriage, and Being Single". The sermon was beautiful; Steven and his wife Holly have good chemistry and you can really tell they love each other. Some of it sounded and looked a bit "showy", but when one is putting their marriage on display like that, it is expected.

Though it was beautiful, it was hard to listen too. I agreed so much about what they talked about in marriage. A couple sat beside of me and I heard them talking about how "renewed" they felt and happy they were together. It was incredibly genuine and sweet, but hard. 

After church, I went for a sports massage. My goodness did my body need it. The massage was only supposed to be 50 minutes, but my therapist worked on me for an hour and 12 minutes. My lactic acid build up was that bad. I had tons of knotts on my shoulders, back, and neck. The woman even made the comment "Hun, do you have stress job or something? This is unbelievable. And you're only 25?". That was not great to hear. I already look older than I do, so the last thing I want to do is have stress contribute to that. Luckily, as I was checking out, I was given a certificate for a free message so I am booking one for this upcoming weekend.

Once my massage was over I was starving so I met my girlfriend Alexis and her husband Daniel for dinner. We tried a new place we have all been wanting to try called "The Rusty Onion". The atmosphere was fun, the food was awesome, and the prices were cheap -- that is how we like it.

Yesterday I had a really busy day at home. I posted a new recipe, did a little work on my book, did 2 loads of laundry, cleaned my windows, and did a ton of food prep. I have a lot of good food this week that I enjoy immensely and per usual, healthy versions. I have enjoyed my crockpot a lot. Chicken never tasted so good.

I am really excited for a macaroni and cheese recipe that I will be sharing later this week. I have been developing this recipe for a while trying to bring together the best mix of ingredients (so official, ha). I think I did it. It is made with "hidden veggie" macaroni noodles, puréed cauliflower, plain Greek yogurt for lean protein, and more. It is a delicious way to get in a lot of essential nutrients. This one is for my parent friends out there; as it's a great way to trick your kids!

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