Happy Smonday!

Happy Smonday! Yes, Smonday. You know...that extra day we all deserve that falls between Sunday and Monday. Smonday! It takes Sunday Funday to a whole 'nother level...but then again Smonday only exists in a make believe world that apparently only Casey and myself live in so it looks like we're stuck with...well...Monday. Wishful thinking...huh?

 

Anywho-I'm linking up with Sami today for Weekend Shenanigans! Quite possibly one of my favorite link ups to date. Yep-I said it.

one. Headed out to dinner to celebrate two years of marriage! Please note: I got 10 sorts of crazy on Friday night and went out WITHOUT my sling on. Ohhh schnappppp! #rebel (More of the anniversary recap will come later this week!)
two. My handsome date enjoying a glass of vino before dinner. (& simultaneously celebrating the capture of the Boston bomber #2!)  :) #realmenwearpink
three. Oakley graduated to her big girl bowls this weekend. Though they are GINORMOUS, her other bowls were too tiny and we were having to fill them up 15 times throughout the day. She'll grow into 'em...
four. Saturday afternoon I spent some time snapping pics of my adorable pregnant sister-in-law! She's almost 28 weeks along (with TRIPLETS, if you're new to these parts!) and is still on hospital bedrest but she's doing just fine and her spirits are great!!
five. "Said" sister-in-law who doesn't even look 12 weeks pregnant from the back! She's amazing y'all...foreals.
six. Oakley girl sitting pretty.
seven. Sunday evening stroll with my little fam. Absolute favorite part of my day!
eight. New garden rock from my sweet aunts!
nine. New blogging digs! Slowly but surely I'm nesting into our little office. :) It's amazing how you can become inspired all over again by just a change of scenery!

In other news, I finally caught Oakley being sweet long enough to take a picture with me so we snapped these right before church.

This little one makes my heart go pitter patter... :)

All in all, a fairly low-key weekend...completely necessary after last weekend's shenans. (Dear Low-Key Weekend, I like you. Suppose you'll stay a little longer next time?)

PS-if you missed Friday's post, today is my very first day of Raw Week 2013! That's right...this entire week I'm attempting a 100% raw diet. If you're thinking to yourself "why??!!"...don't worry...I am too! ;) I'll be posting lots of food pics on the ol' Instagram so be sure to check in with me! There are LOTS of other girls doing it too so don't forget to include #RAWWEEK2013 in your posts so I can check out all the food pics!!

The current food situation in the Howard household...

Call me crazy but come hell or high water...I WILL accomplish this!

Link up, K? All the cool kids are doing it!

I'm Going Raw

Remember that time I told y'all about my "30 before 30" list? Remember reading #9: Eat a raw diet for 3 days straight? Remember how I looked back at 'said' #9 and thought "What a terrible idea!"

Well...it's happening. Whether I like it or not.

That's right folks...next Monday, April 22 I am officially going raw...but it's not for just 3 days...it's for an entire friggin' week. (Genius idea, Stephanie. Genius.)

Believe you me, this is NOT going to be easy. (Have I told you about the time I did a vegan challenge and didn't even make it 4 days? Oh ya-it happened.) In saying this, I'm making it a group effort because it's obvious there is no way in HELL-O I could do something like this on my own and there is NO way in HELL-O Beau is doing this with me. Granted, I do eat healthy about 85% of the time but a raw diet is 100% healthy 100% off the time. (Good lord what have I just gotten myself into?) I need you, your help and your sanity starting next Monday.

What I'm saying is I need you to do this with me. (Picture me in full-on begging mode...) Come on...it can't be that bad. Just raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds for 7 days. Yes? I know all of you are looking down at your thunder thighs hoping they'll magically shrink themselves. I know you're all dreading walking into Victoria's Secret and trying on that first bikini of the year. And I know you're all wanting to find a way to get that layer of winter flab off your belly. OK, so maybe I'm talking about myself here but you get the idea.

Here's what will happen.

I provide you with a food list and a yummy recipe and you participate with me. Capiche?! I encourage you to blog, tweet, pin or Instagram your raw journey because God knows I will be too...you know...for accountability purposes. Let's hashtag it up while we're at it with  #RAWWEEK2013.

I'm not going to even ask you if "you're in" because I'm going to assume you all are. ;)

As promised...here's your food list:

Save it. Print it. Pin it.

Here's a small list of what a raw diet can do for you:

• rid your body and gut of harmful toxins
• absorb essential nutrients to help you feel and live your best
• improve digestion with enzymes found naturally in fruits in vegetables
• lose weight
• clear up brain fog
• improve complexion
• cleanse the body and mind
• heal your body from years of harmful food ingestion
• break your unhealthy relationship with food

I'll take ALL of the above.

I fully believe that food is a source of fuel for our bodies. The more colorful your plate is, the more colorful your life will be. The idea behind a raw diet is to feel alive, just like the food on your plate. When you heat food, whether it be on the stove, grill, oven or microwave, you cook out all the important nutrients that your food once stored. By following a raw diet, everything you eat is fresh, colorful and vibrant, and is exactly how you can feel once you've rid your system of "the junk".

One of the main reasons people have a difficult time sticking to a 100% raw food diet is because they don't eat enough food throughout the day and find themselves starving. (Umm hello...no meat?!) In an effort to help you succeed, I've done extensive research and put together a sample meal plan for ya. (You're welcome.) I've also decided my juicer is going to be my very best friend next week. Keep in mind these are just ideas so feel free to get creative and if you have any raw meal ideas, please leave them in the comment section below for the rest of us to see!

Breakfast:
• Fresh juice (kale, pineapple, cucumber, lemon, celery)
• Fruit salad (mixture of melons and berries)
• 1/2 avocado with grapefruit

Lunch:
• Lettuce roll ups (romaine lettuce stuffed with avocado, cucumbers, sprouts, carrots, tomatoes and onion-have fun with this!)
• Veggies dipped in fresh guacamole or guacamole salsa
• Salad in a glass
• Salad topped with fresh veggies and mango salsa

Dinner:
• Large spinach salad loaded with fresh fruits and/or vegetables topped with fresh lemon/lime juice, fresh salsa, or guacamole salsa
• Cucumber salad with large side of fresh fruit
• Grape tomato and avocado salad (using a cold-pressed olive oil)

Snacks:
• Raw nuts/seeds
• Dried fruits
• Banana with almond butter

Dessert:
• Cocoa-nut banana slices
• Pecan pie bites (recipe below)

***

Raw/Vegan Pecan Pie Bites

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pecans
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp fresh orange juice
• 2 cups Medjool dates

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, combine pecans, cinnamon and orange juice and pulse into small chunks.
2. Add dates and mix well.
3. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and place on parchment paper.
4. Refrigerate and enjoy!

***
Remember! The key to a successful raw diet is to EAT ENOUGH FOOD! This is your excuse to eat all day, ever day, as long as you're consuming nothing but raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds!

If you're looking for a few great raw resources, here are some of my recent faves:

• Rawfully Organic
• Fully Raw
• Raw Foods Diet Center
• Raw on 10

Whew! Ok. That was a lot. I know. (Actually-I think this is the longest blog post I've ever written.) But this is why you have a few days to mull it over and get yourself prepared. I fully expect to see your hashtags all over the social media world and can't wait to see how many of you are in for the challenge!

Like I said...it's only 7 days!

Housewarming Success

This past Saturday, Beau and I finally got around to having our housewarming party! Sure-we've been in our house for 4 months now but hey, better late than never, right? We had originally planned to have it back in February or March but little did we know how much work it is to get your house ready to "show off" to all your friends and family. It wasn't until mid-March that we actually had beds in all of our bedrooms and it wasn't until last week that we had a desk in our office. Who wants to see an incomplete house? That's right. No one.

 

Many of you have asked me how on EARTH I threw a party being one-armed and all. Well...lemme tell ya. I had the invitations printed the day BEFORE I dislocated my shoulder so this party was happening whether I liked it or not. Fortunately, Beau and his friend Brian were both HUGE help. From putting together a desk, to hanging dear heads and canvases, to moving tables and perfectly placing each cupcake on the cupcake stand...I could NOT have done it without them. My aunt Mary and Uncle John came into town from Dallas and were also tremendous. From baking quiches, vacuuming floors, cutting fruit and opening wine bottles...I could NOT have done it all without them either. Beau's mom was sweet enough to give up her day with her maid and sent her to our house...THANK GOD...because laundry was overflowing, floors were gross and our bed had not been made since, well, I hurt my shoulder, which was on Easter. Little Miss Thang (aka: Oakley) was absolutely no help at all. We've really gotta get that girl trained around the house. At what age do they start mowing the lawn? ;)

 

The incredible Lindsey with Splash of Silver designed our invitations and was FABULOUS to work with! I messaged her on Tuesday afternoon telling her I needed these to be completed by that Thursday and sister made. it. happen. !! Is this not adorable?! (She's very reasonable and very quick. I highly recommend her for invitation design when you're in a crunch!)

 

Oh-and I can't go on without thanking Pinterest for the incredible table arrangement/decor ideas! It was a wine and cheese themed party and, per usual, she (yes, Pinterest is a girl. I decided.) came through in the clutch!

 

(Disclaimer: I'm making these images really large so if my format looks weird in this post, that's why. Anyone know how I can widen the middle column of my template?!)

 

Ze spread

 



Around 1am, after the parents, grandparents and adults left, shizz got weird. (Proof in the last photo above. So much awesomeness happening on the right side of that pic.) Grapes were thrown about my living room, the bunny hop happened in my kitchen and the next morning I woke up to 3 grown men spooning on my couch, my brother-in-law passed out in our office, and my Asian Psy-lookalike friend (Phong) zonked in our gameroom in nothing but his boxers. I figure the late night burgers on our counter, the 12 (yes-TWELVE!) trash bags piled outside our garage and more than a handful of hangovers the next morning were all signs of a successful party. I'll you be the judge of that one!

Two.

April 16, 2013

***

One bride.

 

One damn good looking groom.

 

Two incredible years.

 

Perhaps I'm bias but, yes, I do believe I am the luckiest girl in this entire world to have found someone like Beau to spend the rest of my life with. He is, by far, the most kind-hearted, funny, loving (and let's not forget...good looking) man that God has placed on this Earth and I cherish every single second I get to call him "mine". This man has taught me so much about life, love, and surprisingly enough, myself, and for that I am forever grateful.

 

Beau-you know I love you to itty bitty Reese's Pieces! Thank you for being you and thank you for loving me (& Oakley!) I can't wait to start a family, travel, and just spend forever with you. We have so much to look forward to! Happy anniversary!

"W" is for "Weekend"...

...and also "WHYYYYY does it have to be Monday already?!?"

one. With the 80+ degree weather we've had lately, Friday afternoon my hands decided it was summertime. The hotter the pink, the tanner the hand, right?!
two. Little Miss Oakley girl at her 11 week vet visit! She did SO well and get this...has literally doubled in weight at a whopping 22 lbs! Momma's big girl, for sure!
three. A lil sneaky peek at some housewarming décor from our party on Saturday night. (More to come later...I promise!)
four. The most precious kitchen towel from my sweet friend, Selena. Not sure if you can read it but it says "A beautiful mess." - Yes, I wanted to shed a tear it was so insanely thoughtful and perfect!
five. Late night party crew. We feel so blessed to have such great friends to share our home with...even if there were marks on the walls, stains on the couch and grapes thrown around the living room. The Bunny Hop happened in my kitchen around 1:30am and made it all worth while! ;)
six. What I woke up to on Sunday morning...grown men scattered all over my house. (Not pictured: bags on bags of Whataburger taquitos and hundreds of empty cans.)
seven. Our friend James' boxer pup, Achilles. Besides Oakley (duh), is that not THE sweetest face you've ever seen?!
eight. Our sweet girl chewing on her stick. Out of the hundreds of dollars we've spent on toys, why are dogs SO fascinated with sticks, strings and water bottles? (AKA-the free stuff?! I will never grasp this concept!)
nine. My aunt Mary and I house shopping for their new home!

Needless to say we had a busy, busy weekend and I am Zonked (notice the capital "Z")! I really need to invent coffee in IV form for days like this...

Hope you had a great weekend, too! If any of you single gals wanna come pick up any of the grown men that crashed on my couch on Saturday night (refer to #6), feel free to swing by anytime...they're single!! ;)

Link up with Sami-wouldya?!

SPD: Paleo Cookie Dough Bars

I'll be real honest today, y'all. This week's Pinterest project was the most last minute thing ever. That being said...it was the absolute BEST last minute decision I have ever made.

I found myself frantically trying to figure out what I would do for today's linkup and then it hit me...

via

The clock struck 10 (PM!) and I ran into my pantry to make sure I had all the ingredients. A little flour...a little vanilla...a few more 'gredients...bada bing bada boom...I had myself the most delicious paleo cookie dough bars I've ever tasted in my life. Ok so these are the only paleo cookie dough bars I've ever had but that's not the fact of the matter here. My point(s) are:

A) this took less than 5 minutes to prep

B) I had EVERY single ingredient on hand (for once in my life)

C) my tastebuds did cartwheels the minute I shoveled my first spoonful into my mouth

Yes. Cartwheels, people.

And yours will, too.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 C almond flour
• 1 1/2 T coconut flour
• 1/3 t sea salt
• 1/3 t baking soda
• 2 t vanilla
• 1/3 C melted coconut oil
• 1/3 C maple syrup
• 1/2 C dark chocolate chips
• Optional: 1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla whey protein powder (I added this for protein & sweetness!)

Mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl, trying to not eat it ALL before you allow it to chill. Press dough into 8x8 glass pan and chill until firm. Cut into squares and enjoy!

While I'd like to tell you all I had the patience to let it chill and cut it into pretty little bars, that would be a lie. See wha had happened was...beauty rest was calling and I had already consumed enough of this stuff before it even made it into the glass pan so I said heck with it all...you get the point! Stuff is LE-GIT and don't even think for a second this is going to last me through the weekend.

Pin the crap outta the recipe, make this stuff STAT and when your tastebuds start to do round-off flip flops in your mouth, don't say I didn't tell you so! ;)
---
Ok now for the not-so-great news. Some of you may or may not have read on Katie's blog that this will be the last SPD link up post for April. There's been SO much going on in SO many of our lives (hello? I have one arm, a 10-week old puppy, a wedding anniversary, a housewarming party and a birthday all in the next two weeks...overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus-this whole one arm thing makes EVERYTHING so much more difficult!) Excuses aside, Katie and I agreed it would be a good time to take a break, get refreshed and start back up in May.

That being said...I ALWAYS encourage you to do your Pinterest projects! There are WAY too many pins out there that need to be re-created, photographed and blogged about so make sure you take plenty of pics and save them all for when we start back up in May, mmmkay?! We LOVE this linkup so please don't think it's going away for good! Just takin' a little breather!

So link up today and don't forget to check back the first week in May when we get started back up again!

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Subtle Hints

Stephanie is my name. April 30th is my game. (Or my birthday?) The 6th anniversary of my 21st birthday (AKA: the big 2-7) is right around the corner so here's to hoping the husband (or anyone else who feels obligated to send me a birthday gift) sees this... ;) 

Oh looky there...direct links to each one! ;) How convenient?!

1. Florida Georgia Line tickets so I can get my shine on! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

2. Texas ring from James Avery - duh

3. Personalized return address stamp with our new addy

4. Monogrammed tumbler for our many river trips this summer!

5. Kate Spade Skinny Mini Bow studs {swoon!} 

6. Kate Spade Love Notes Bow ring

7. Spectacular Weddings of Texas book {obsessed}

8. Initial heart necklace with mine and Beau's initials. {For a second I thought about adding an "O" in there for "Oakley" but then that would make the necklace read "S.O.B.". Ya-not a good idea.}

Not pictured:

• a non-surgically repaired, fully recovered shoulder 
• a puppy that doesn't bite the daylights outta me
• a vegan chocolate cake from Whole Foods
• another blessed year to be alive

I must say I am very thankful to be adding yet another candle to my cake this year. I have a feeling 27 is going to top the charts! ;) Yep-I said it.

While I'd like to pretend it's Friday...

It's Monday. I've been one-armed for over a week now. And I'm trying to co-raise a 10-week old piranha of a puppy. (Those puppy teeth will be the death of me...I swear.) Needless to say, impatience and frustrated would be the perfect word combination to describe my current situation.

 

While I'd like to pretend it's Friday, I have two fully-functioning arms and a puppy who doesn't bite the shizznit out of me anymore, those would be unrealistic expectations so lets go back in time to the weekend, shall we?

one - three. Our baby. Yes-I'm a little obsessed. Yes-she's already doubled in size. Yes-I want to pull out every last tooth in her head.
four. If this were a game of clue, I'd say it was Annie Oakley, in the shower, next to the raccoon.
five. His and her's brights for our housewarming party! Cannot WAIT to get in that skirt!!
six. Coral mani with a blue party nail. #yesiknoweasterwaslastweekend
seven. Guess who hit up the gym this weekend, sling and all!? Oh yes. This girl.
eight. Guess who also spent a fair amount of Sunday at the pool?!
nine. First sunburn of 2013. I will gladly accept it! #alittlevitamindneverhurtnoone

Sunday night we made a little headway on our housewarming party plans, took little Miss Annie Oakley on a LONG walk around the lake (she's getting REALLY good on her leash, y'all!) and ended the night watching the ACM's. Carrie, Miranda and Jana Kramer totally rocked the stage and can we talk about the Garth Brooks/George Strait duet? Was it just me or did you die and go to heaven seeing the two of them on stage together?!

Country music history, right there, y'all!

 

Hope you all had a fab weekend! What do you say we kick this week in the tush?! ;)

 

Linking up with Sami today!



Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. - Fiesta Themed Baby Shower

Hola friends! Not gonna lie...I've been hiding all the tiny little details from my sissy-in-law's fiesta themed baby shower we threw this past weekend specifically for today's link up! 

Let's just go ahead and say 99% of the shower was Pinterest-inspired (Duh. Have you met me?) and below are the original pins we got the ideas from:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I won't do a lot of talking (err-typing) because, well, I'm one-armed these days and because the pictures kind of explain it all. When I say Pinterest threw up in my house this day, it is no lie...

Tissue paper tassel garland (original tutorial here)

Game prizes - "From our shower to yours" with body wash and loofah inside.
(Original pin here.)

Hostesses :)

Some of you may or may not know that my sister-in-law, Julie, is currently 25 weeks pregnant with TRIPLET GIRLS! (Yes-it's still SO surreal!) She's been on hospital bed rest for a little over 2 weeks now and her husband has been SUCH a trooper and has been attending ALL of her showers in her place. (Super dad, right? What man do you know that would be bold enough to face 20-something women at a baby shower?!) When it came time to open presents, we Skyped Julie so she could say "hi!" to all her guests and see all the gifts she would be receiving. It's seriously the neatest thing ever!

(Mirror and wreath in background also Pinterest-inspired...) 

Even Brian "ooh'd & aww'd" with us a couple times! ;)

Me and Brian, soon-to-be-daddy-of-three!! (Whoa.)

Asking me if I will I be hosting another fiesta-themed shower would be like asking if I add lime to my vodka. Perhaps I'm bias but it is probably one of THE most fun shower themes I've seen to date. ;) Just sayin'...

You know the drill! 

+Link up using the tool below

+Link back to mine & Katie's blogs so other people can learn about the link up

+Include the button below by pasting it into your HTML

+Don't forget to post it on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! Get yourself out there!

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E is for Easter (and Emergency Room)

A quick glance at my Easter weekend:

one. Tissue paper garland in the making for sissy-in-law's shower. Original tutorial found here.
two. Oakley's newest yoga pose. Legs for dayyssss! Sister is growing by the minute...I swear.
three. Spring brights and stripes.(Old Navy steal-$5!)
four. Bridesmaid dress shopping with my bridey girl, Ashley.
five. More baby shower prep! (Deets to come on Thursday for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it.!)
six. Sneaky peek at shower decor. ;)
seven. Baby shower fiesta - la cake! (THE most delicious vanilla almond cake in the entire world!)
eight. Party in my SIL's room! She'll be 25 weeks this Wednesday! Praying for at least 8 more weeks!
nine. Oakley snuggling with her Easter bunny.

And while I'd like to tell you how I indulged in the BIGGEST Easter dinner ever, hunted for all kinds of pastel-colored eggs and ate hundreds of Cadberry bunnies, my Easter Sunday looked, well, a lil' like so:

Don't worry...nothing life threatening and I'm already feeling better...just a little, ohhh you know... dislocated shoulder. That's all. (And yes, if you think I look drugged out of my mind in that photo, it's because I am. This was right before they completely sedated me to pop that sucker back into place.)

While I'd like to say I was fighting off five year olds in a mad Easter egg hunt, I have no cool story to go with this. Basically, the story went down like so:

• Beau pulls up to gas tank
• I remain in passenger seat
• Lady pulls up in front of us to get gas
• I look down to play on Instagram
• I look back up to see that she is about to back into us
• Panic mode
• I flail my arm over to honk the horn & before I could even push down on it...
• BAM!
• Dislocated shoulder

See? Lame. I know...f

Be jealous of my newest accessory...

My life has succumbed to my husband dressing me AND doing my hair. That guy...he's been such a good nurse for the past couple of days!

While my bones are all back in their designated spots (thank goodess!), and I am in minimal pain (thanks drugs!), some of my tendons and ligaments were damaged and I also have some nerve damage due to the bone pushing into the nerves in my arm so I'll be seeing an orthopedic surgeon this afternoon to make sure I don't need surgery. If you wouldn't mind saying a little prayer about that, I'd appreciate it more than you know!!