Easter Weekend Recap

Weekends in the spring and summer seem to stay pretty packed for me. This three day weekend was no different. The hubs worked an extra job at a softball game Friday so a friend and I went and watched the first game of the double header. It was fun and the weather was gorgeous. Saturday the same friend and I went to The Woodlands Margarita Festival. Soooo much fun! The ticket included 8 margarita samples. There were food vendors, shopping, live music, and of course lots of flavored margaritas. We even had one in a pineapple...which leaked on me lol After a few hours at the margarita festival the hubs picked me up and we headed to Katy to spend the rest of the weekend with the family. Chinese takeout for Saturday's dinner followed by a whole lot of yummy food on Sunday after church. All in all a fun, relaxing weekend! Now back to the daily grind...

DRESS: Maggy London  |  SHOES: Nine West |  EARRINGS: Kendra Scott

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Why I Workout

Skipping Favorite Pin Friday today. Honestly, I haven't seen much on Pinterest lately that grabs my attention. Today I want to talk about the gym. If you follow me on snapchat (@r8d6g) then you know I go almost every week day. I try to make Friday a rest day, but that is not always the case. Of course there are a ton of benefits to working out like feeling great, sleeping better, increasing strength and endurance, being healthy, stress relief, etc. I go for all those reasons and more.

The gym has become habit. If I skip a day everything feels off. Do I cheat on eating healthy and slack off at the gym? Absolutely, but I'm making a lifestyle change. At 25 I realized my super speedy metabolism was slowing down and in order to stay thin I needed to change. Now it is about challenging myself; heavier weights, longer distances, different types of fitness classes

People ask how I can possibly enjoy working out. Kind of like how I question runners how they enjoy running (I will never understand that one :P). I'll tell you, it wasn't fun at first. Getting out of bed, dragging myself to the gym...that was hard, but the minute I was there I thanked myself for it. If you are new to working out don't expect to run 5 miles in your first week. Continue to go and push yourself. The only person giving up when things get hard is you. Challenge yourself to 10 more minutes of cardio, 5 more reps, extra push ups/crunches/squats. You will thank yourself later I promise.

Go Early

 

 

Get up and get moving. Why waste time laying around? Knock out a great workout first thing in the morning. Make it part of your daily routine. Time at the gym is me time, clearing my head and destressing. 

Commit

Fitness isn't a "kinda sorta" thing. If you want to look and feel good you have to be dedicated. This "I'll go next week" or "dessert won't kill me" does not keep you focused. Again, I am not perfect (and we all know my love for dessert), but I try to make better choices when it comes to food. On the days I'm not feeling the gym I still go. Might not push myself as hard, but at least I am there.

Make it a Lifestyle Change

Read these words of advice again...I'll wait here while you process that for a moment...Got it now? A diet is only temporary! Lost 30 pounds on a diet? That's awesome! Stop the diet and what happens? Oh it came back? Hmmm because it wasn't a lifestyle change.

Do it, you'll be proud of yourself. Until next post...xoxo Becca

Conference Wrap Up

Several posts ago I told you I would share pictures from the recent conference I helped plan. Growing up I watched my mom volunteer for many things (Girl Scout troop leader, teacher's aide, field trip chaperone, etc.). On top of that I remember her coordinating a lot of events. From an early age I understood the dynamics of event management and came to love it. Lots of moving parts and requires OCD organizational skills...ding ding ding that's my favorite kind of task in a nut shell! Two years ago I was asked to be a room host to my department's annual conference. Afterwards, I had a lot of suggestions and subsequently volunteered to be on the planning committee last year and this year. Alongside two other wonderful women, catering plus the look and feel of the event was now our area. We couldn't have pulled this off without each other and I can honestly say I learned so much from all staff members I worked with. Below are some pictures of the event, a big thank you to our department's photographer extraordinaire!

Breakfast - Yogurt Parfait Bar with yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, and banana bread croutons and Donut Bar (Dunk, Drizzle, and Dust your own donut)

Lunch - California Chicken, Pan-seared salmon with cucumber dill sauce, Grilled eggplant parmesan, purple roasted rosemary potatoes, broccoli with butter and sea salt, and market salad station (build your own salad)

Dessert - Assorted French macaroons, tarts, and cannoli dippers

Floral Arrangements & Table Linens

Reception - Andoille Wellington, Southwest Chicken Rangoon Puff w/ Cilantro Cream, Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped in Prosciutto, Chicken Cordon Bleu Puffs, Meat and Cheese Display w/ dried fruit, assorted chutney, pickled and grilled vegetables, hummus, and vegetable dip, seasonal fresh fruit, BLT wraps, Tarragon Chicken Salad Tart, Smoked Salmon Roll on Cucumber Round, Prosciutto Wrapped Melon

Setting up before the reception

A special thank you to the catering team!

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 45

Welcome again! As many of you know the hubs and I moved in October to a much smaller place and we are still struggling with counter and storage space in the kitchen. There is an area I thought a nice hanging fruit basket could go and we would be able to get a few things off the counter. Of course I don't want just any fruit basket...I want a nice one. Pinterest to the rescue! Here are two I love. If you are crafty and good with powers tools you could probably make them yourself.

Etsy (Metallic | 2-tier)

Until next post...xoxo Becca

Have a Bucket List

Are you feeling the effects of springing forward? It hasn't hit me yet, but ask me again in about a week.

Last week I read about how important it is to have a bucket list. Wish I could remember where I found that, but I don't know know where to start looking. Basically the article said no matter your age you should have a bucket list. Over time you can take things off and add things as your experiences and likes change. I've shared my travel bucket list before, but those are just placed I want to see. The items listed below are experiences I think would be fun to have.

This has become our motto.

Did this in December! :)

What's on your bucket list? Have you started one yet? Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 44

It's Friday! I love when Plated. shares recipes for dishes on Pinterest. Then I get to share them with you! Here are two recipes the hubs and I enjoyed in the last few weeks. Read my Plated. review.

Asian Beef Tacos

Long Life Peanut Noodles

Try them! They're delicious. Until next post...xoxo Becca

Weekend Recap

Hi all! Who can believe it's March!? With the hubs having weekends off (first time in about 6 years) we have been taking advantage of the time together. Basically cramming 6 years worth of stuff into two days every week haha Weekends are fast paced. This weekend was a busy one, but I got to visit with some great friends I don't see often.

If you read Saturday's post then you know Friday was the conference I had been helping coordinate. It went really well and I am glad to have it behind me. The committee will take a few weeks off and then start planning the next one.

Saturday I got brunch with a friend and visited all the boutiques around town. Spring weather has hit so it's time to add to my closet! :)

The hubs and I attended a crawfish boil at a former coworkers house. It was like a mini reunion! So many people I hadn't seen in a long time.

Since one of my best friends was in town for the crawfish boil we decided to go out for drinks. Always good to catch up and to laugh

Sorry for the grainy photo!

Sunday was a lazy day. The hubs went to Lake Charles, LA to gamble Saturday night so Lexi and I spent Sunday morning hanging around and doing laundry (adult life!) while he made his way home. We made a delicious steak dinner followed by chocolate chip cookies and called it a night!

 

What did you do this weekend? Until next post...xoxo Becca

Favorite Pin Friday | Volume 43

I love when a Pin becomes inspiration and a jumping off point. It spurs creativity. A few weeks ago I shared I was on a committee to plan a conference. That conference took place yesterday (which is why this post is coming to you on a Saturday). In our search for fun catering ideas we came across donut bars (shared here) and cannoli bites!

Cannoli Bites | Cooking Classy

For the conference ours were a little different. Little clear boats filled with the cannoli cream and a couple of cannoli shells for dipping. Cannoli dippers! Thanks to our catering team who came up with the fun idea. All inspired by this pin!

Hopefully I will be sharing some pictures from the event soon. Until next post...xoxo Becca