Happy Monday!

How was you weekend? Wonderful, I hope! Mine was very eventful and a ton of fun!

This weekend, I hosted one of my best friends, Jenny's, bachelorette party here in Austin. She is marrying the love of her life, Garrett, in 3 weeks in Utah, so we had to send her off to marital bliss in style. Jenny and I first met when we were both teaching aerobics at Texas A&M and quickly became good friends. She is one of the most outgoing, caring, and fun people I know!

Party prep started a few weeks ago, but by Friday, I had a gazillion errands to run with a baby that hates the car seat. Luckily, my saint like mother-in-law came in to save the day and stay with Annabelle while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off getting everything for the party.

The festivities began at noon on Saturday with a little pool time at our hotel. At around 4:00 PM we all went back to our room to change and get ready for the shower part of the evening. We all gathered in one room for snacks, sangria, and presents!

After presents, we headed out for dinner and dancing! We ate dinner at Gloria's in downtown Austin and then walked down to West 6th Street to raise our glasses to Jenny.

Cheers to Jenny and Garrett!



A peddy cab was 100% necessary by the end of the night. All of our feet were killing us from walking around in heels.


After everyone was safely back to the hotel, I headed home for the night so I could give little bit her middle of the night feeding and get in some cuddles. I was only gone for a few hours, but I missed her so much! The next day, I met the crew at Olivia's for brunch. I was the photographer for this picture.


After brunch, it was back to the normal Sunday duties of grocery store and laundry. Overall, it was an amazing weekend celebrating an even more amazing friend!

This morning, I felt like I needed to detox from all the sugar I ate over the weekend (how can you turn down gluten free cupcakes?), so I started my morning off with a Chocolate Frappuccino Green Smoothie.


Ingredients:

• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder of choice
• 1 packet instant coffee (I used decaf since I'm breastfeeding)
• 2 packets of stevia
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 cup almond milk or milk of choice
• handful of ice

Blend and enjoy. this smoothie reminds me of a frappuccino from Starbucks and keeps me full until lunch. Win and win! After my smoothie, Annabelle went down for a nap and it was time for me to hit the treadmill. I did 4.5 miles of intervals. Since I'm building my running back up I alternated 1 song of running with 1 song of power walking. Focusing on the music, rather than time, makes the workout fly by. Time to feed the tiny human again.  I hope you all have a great day!

What did you do this weekend?

How do you reset after a weekend of indulgences?

In health,

share this on »

1 Comment »

Howdy Friends,

I hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday. Mine has been pretty good so far. It started bright and early with a 7 AM Pilates class at the studio. After I got my blood flowing, I did a little work at the studio and then headed to the chiropractor for an adjustment. Going regularly helps keep my hips somewhat in alignment which slightly eases my lower back pain. I'll take any little bit of help I can get.

I'm sticking with liquids before noon until this weird nausea thing goes away. This morning, I tried out a new tropical inspired smoothie!

Strawberry, Papaya, and Mango Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup mixed frozen fruit (strawberries, papaya, and mango)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup water
• handful of ice
• 2 packets of stevia (optional)

Blend and enjoy! It was refreshing and reminded me of something I would drink while lying on the beach! I will definitely be making it again soon.

Yesterday morning, I whipped out the TRX and medicine ball for a quick strength workout. I am really trying to hold on to as much muscle mass as possible during my last few weeks of pregnancy so I hope to squeeze in a few more strength workouts each week. It's so sad watching your muscle dissapear week after week even while working out. :(



This workout took me about 30 minutes with minimal rest inbetween rounds. It's perfect to do on its own when you are short on time or before or after a cardio session. For my fellow soon to be mommies, feel free to do the plank with your knees on the floor instead of in the TRX handles if it puts too much pressure on your lower back. Let me know if you give it a try!

How did you get your sweat on yesterday?

In health,

share this on »

Add a comment »

Howdy,

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you guys are having a great day so far. I have a yummy smoothie recipe lined up for this weeks installment of What I Ate Wednesday.

After reading yesterday's post, you know I have not been eating watermelon. :( I was also pretty over PB&J, so I mixed things up a bit for lunch this week with an open faced turkey, colby jack, and avocado sandwich on gluten free bread.



I'm not usually a huge sandwich person, but I am totally going through a phase right now. This sandwich absolutely hit it out of the ballpark in my book. It's even better if you toast your bread first and add a little spicy mustard!

Since my tummy still isn't loving real food in the morning, I went with a smoothie for breakfast. I decided to pump up the nutrition factor by throwing in a Mamma Chia Squeeze Vitality packet. Total success. Trusty smoothie ingredients + a Mamma Chia packet = a power packed smoothie!







It's time for me to tackle a little bit more work before heading back up to the studio for barre. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!!


What is your favorite smoothie ingredient?

In health,

share this on »

1 Comment »

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Happy Hump Day my friends! I hope you are having a great Wednesday. Just a little friendly reminder to stay positive during the mid-week slump!

Yesterday, was a busy day full of three great Pilates classes, lots of office work, and an awesome phone call to catch up with an old friend who now lives in Chicago. She is getting certified to teach group exercise soon, and I couldn't be more proud of her. The world needs more instructors like her!

I am still teaching all of my classes, but I am definitely noticing them getting harder and harder with each passing week. I feel pretty good while doing them, but I am definitely more sore afterwards. We're hanging in there though! Shiny new weights at the studio always help to spice things up!



Since the weather has been a little warmer this past week, I have been enjoying a green smoothie almost every day. My current favorite combination is super delicious but really simple. Meet my Chocolate Almond Butter Green Smoothie.


Ingredients:
2 large handfuls of spinach
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 scoop low sugar chocolate protein powder
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 a frozen banana
5-7 ice cubes

Blend and enjoy! Today, unfortunately is cold and rainy so no smoothie for me, but it should be warm enough again by Friday. :)

I am teaching two Barre classes today, so my legs will get plenty of work in. I thought I would even things out this morning by fitting in a quick upper body workout. Jane, over at The Squeaky Sneakers, did a post yesterday on the Nike Training Club app so I decided to give it a try. This was my first time using the Nike Training Club app, and I really liked it. I chose the "Get Focused" 15 minute Arm Definer workout. It was short, but my arms were shaking like leaves by the end. That's my kind of workout. I swapped the single leg arm curls for TRX bicep curls and the plank row for TRX squat and rows because I didn't have heavy enough dumbbells.



It was a fun way to switch things up and even out all the lower body work I'll be doing today. I'm about to head back up the studio for another Barre class. I hope you all have a great rest of your hump day!

Have you tried the Nike Training Club app?

What is your favorite health and fitness app?

In health,

share this on »

Add a comment »

Howdy!

How is your Tuesday treating you so far? Mine was pretty busy. I spent quite a bit of time at the studio doing office work, taught 3 Pilates classes, and spent 45 minutes on the treadmill for some light cardio. All in all, it was a good day.

I don't know about you guys, but when the temperatures, drop all I want to do is hide under the covers and eat brownies. To resist the urge to hibernate, it really helps me to eat extra healthy energizing meals. I have been really trying to up my green intake lately and it has been going pretty well.

Sunday night, my loving hubby grilled me some delicious grilled salmon. I whipped up an easy coating of 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp spicy mustard, 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp rosemary. Paired with fresh green beans, it was just perfect. Plus, I had an extra piece of salmon left over for lunch.

For lunch this week, I've been rocking some HUGE power salads with steak or chicken, carrots, pumpkin seeds, avocado, and nutritional yeast.





Green smoothies have also made a reappearance in my regular food routine. A good dose of antioxidant filled fruits, healthy fats from avocado, and greens from spinach do the body good!




Lastly, I have been snacking on some delicious in season citrus fruits. I don't even want to admin how many halo oranges I have eaten in the last few days. They're just so dang good. Grapefruit is always my favorite, so I grabbed a big bag of those guys at the store on Sunday as well.




It's amazing how great you feel when you fuel your body with nutritious whole foods! How is the weather in your area?  Don't let it get in the way of your healthy goals for 2014. You can do it!!

In health,

share this on »

Add a comment »

Happy Friday Everyone!!

All Fridays are good, but this Friday is going to be GRRRREAT! I started off my morning rocking it at the barre with my favorite ladies at ToddPilates. After class, I headed to Town Lake for a nice 4 mile run. The sun was coming up over down town and the views were absolutely gorgeous. Join me for my run!

I feel pretty lucky to be able to run around this gorgeous lake whenever I want! After my class and run, I was STARVING! It was smoothie time! I whipped up a Chocolate Berry Green Smoothie.







In the blender went:

• A handful of spinach
• 1 cup of frozen mixed berries
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 4 ice cubes

It was absolutely delicious and the perfect recovery drink after my morning workout! I am currently sitting on my couch enjoying a delicious cup of half caf coffee which makes everyday a little bit better. Up next on the agenda is another barre class at 11:00am!

source

After class, it's time for a few errands and then packing for College Station. A&M plays Alabama this weekend, and it is going to be the game of the century! I am so excited/nervous my stomach hurts. I don't know if I have ever wanted my team to win a game so bad in my entire life!

We are heading down to College Station tonight so we can meet up with some friends (who are actually Bama fans, but we still like them) for Midnight Yell. This is going to be the largest and loudest Midnight Yell ever! We're two hours away, and I can feel the electricity coming from College Station from here. If you can't feel it yet, check out this video, and I promise you'll have goose bumps!





Wish us luck and Gig'em Ags!

In health,

share this on »

Add a comment »

Hi There Friends!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting? This pretty much sums up our weekend........

We headed home to College Station on Friday night after catching some of the Texas vs. Samford soccer game. We spent most of the day Saturday watching football on TV before heading to the stadium around 3:30pm to watch the Aggies Beat The Hell Out Of Sam Houston. It rained on us the first half of the game but it was so much nicer than the boiling heat we had last week. The Aggies dominated Sam Houston so it was a great game.

We visited with family Sunday morning and then headed back home for grocery and laundry. I was so exhausted and not feeling very well Sunday, so I headed to bed at 8:30pm! Crazy early, but much needed since I had a 4:30am wake up call this morning.

After my 5:30am client it was workout time. I was in a hurry so it was HIIT workout time!! My equipment of choice this morning included the TRX, a kettlebell, and a rowing machine. I completed 4 rounds of the following exercises in about 25 minutes. It was hard but oh so good!




After my workout and a quick shower, it was time for breakfast. Although we are still hitting triple digit temperatures here, I am determined to embrace fall! I went through a huge pumpkin green smoothie phase last fall and I couldn't wait any longer to break the pumpkin back out! It so happened this morning!!



It tasted oooooo so good! The best part is it kept me full for hours and was full of wonderful vitamins and minerals. Let me know if you give it a try!

I'm off to finish dinner. I am trying a new Greek chicken recipe. I'll let you know how it goes!

In health,

share this on »

Add a comment »

Happy Monday Friends!

How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful! Two of my best girlfriends came into town to celebrate another friends wedding. Weekends like these remind me of how lucky I am and how much I love my life. So that, my friends, is the theme for today's post. There are so many things big and small I am thankful for right now, I wanted to share them with you. Here we go!

Lately, I'm loving.....

Getting to see old friends and celebrate new beginnings.

This picture is the handy work of Eric Bouchard. Thanks for letting me steal it Kelley!

Spending quality time with my amazing husband.



Revamping old recipes like my Almond Chia Power Balls!



Creating brand new recipes and making them two weeks in a row - Coconut Cilantro Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad.



 Slurping down breakfast in the form of a PB2 Green Smoothie!


Trying out the new yummy Larabars. The new Uberbar is absolutely delicious! It was sweet and salty and hit the spot in all the right ways. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. :)


Enjoying my morning cup of coffee in my favorite glass with my favorite So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Creamer. This stuff takes your coffee to the next level!



Being back in Texas with all of my old friends! These two ladies have been there for me through thick and thin, and I love them to pieces! I still miss my FSU friends like crazy, but it is nice to only be a short drive away from all of my childhood and college friends again!

I was trying to be tall like Daphne and Kelley!

I gave up and went back to being the short on in the picture. :)

share this on »

Add a comment »