Happy It's Friday

SO thankful the weekend is finally here!  This week was a drag and I could hardly get out of bed every morning despite getting about 8 hours sleep. WTH?

Linking up with Lauren today for High Five For Friday. 

~ K's new signature dish that he's very proud of ;-) Baked Tilapia topped with shrimp & asparagus on the side.

~ We had a visitor in our backyard this week posing like "a deer in headlights" for the photo.

~ I celebrated the life of my friend who passed away last year July 10th. I also posted a tribute to her yesterday on my blog.

~ K brought home some pretty flowers on the 10th because he know I would be mourning Sally's loss.

~ Homemade dirty martinis. Perfect way to end a day. Just missing blue cheese stuffed olives.

Have a great weekend!

A Tribute to Sally (That Girl)

Yesterday marked a year since I lost one of my closest friends. In college we were partners in crime, roommates, and best buds. We remained close over the years but she moved 4 hours away so it was hard to stay in touch as often as we used to. Last July, she lost a short but devious battle to tongue and throat cancer.

When they say the good die young, it rings true in this case. Sally was one of my funniest, wildest, fun-loving friends who had a larger than life personality and laugh...People were just drawn to her.

I'm not gonna be sappy anymore... She was never the sappy kind. It was to laugh it off or drink it off with her. So in tribue to our crazy days in college and friendship that remained after, these are just a few memories of her that will always stay with me and make me laugh... 

~ Staying up late til the wee hours of the morning drinking huge bottles of white zinfandel and talking about life, love, etc. (We drank so much white zinfandel, I can no longer stand the smell or taste of it).

~ Doing donuts in the dirt parking lot of our college after we got out of class. 

~ Partying down to the song "Sally That Girl" at our local college bars. That was her name. She had to represent.

~ Riding around town in her black SUV we named Peggy Sue and jamming to Mike Jones or the most ghetto songs we could find.

~Bar hopping downtown and doing Irish Car Bomb shots. The Irish in her loved Guinness, Jameson & Car Bombs. 

Those definitely were the days when we were young, wild and free. Miss you girl friend!

Rest in Peace Sally. Apart, but close at heart.

Love,
Emilz

#NOtivation Fabulous Fitness Survey

Ran across a new linkup this morning that appealed to me since K and I have recently been working on our fitness and clean eating.

1. What did you eat for breakfast? During the week I try to have a protein shake, boiled egg or cottage cheese. 

2. How much water do you drink a day? I drink water all throughout the day and with every meal. I also keep water next to my bed at night.

3. What is your current favorite workout? I usually do a quick 10 minutes of cardio and then about 40 minutes on the machines. My favorite group classes are Zumba and Yoga. 

4. How many calories do you eat a day? During the week I probably eat about 1000, give or take. On the weekends I probably eat more but I don't keep track.

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks? I love almonds and cashews. Also love cantaloupe, strawberries and different berries. 

6. What do you usually eat for lunch? It varies every day but usually a sandwich, salad and/or soup. 

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train? I'm currently working on strengthening my legs and butt. 

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train? My arm and shoulders need some working on.

9. What are your “bad” food cravings? I love Thai food! Also carrot cake and cheesecake.

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements? I currently take a multivitamin and Omega 3.

11. How often do you eat out? Mostly on the weekends. We cook dinner at home during the week and sometimes I go for lunch with coworkers. 

12. Do you eat fast food? I try to avoid it but I love Chick-fil-a nuggets and breakfast. 

13. Who is your biggest supporter? K is a good supporter now that we're both on the same diet and similar fitness program.

 

14. Do you have a gym membership? Yes I'm a member of LA Fitness. 

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I try to get 8 hours of sleep every night. 

16. Do you have a “cheat” day? I allow myself to cheat on the weekends and special occasions.

17. Do you drink alcohol? I usually drink on most weekend and sometimes have a glass of wine at night during the week.

18. Do you have a workout buddy? Not exactly. K and I go to the gym on the weekends together sometimes. 

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle?  Since cleaning up my diet (cutting out glucose amongst other things) I've noticed that my digestive problems I used to have are minimal to none these days.

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?  Ate a salad with low-fat deli chicken for lunch.

Linking up with Mallory and Hallie.

Weekend Sunshine & Sips

Hello ladies! 

How was everyone's weekend?

1. We finally had a sunny weekend with clear blue skies.

2. Homemade dirty martinis with vodka and olive juice.

3. Surf & Turf made by yours truly. We did a lot of cooking at home this weekend instead of eating out.

4. Tried out a new spicy guacamole mix with slimcados (low fat avocados).

5. Picked up a bunch of girly drinks from Total Wine - Pink Woodchuck Cider, Skinny Girl Mojito & Skinny Girl Cosmo.

6. Lounging by the pool on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Linking up with Sami for Weekend Shenanigans.

 

Cheers to a new week!

4th July Celebrations

Genius me should have requested the day off work today. At least the traffic was a breeze this morning because apparently the rest of the city took the day off. 

Yesterday was one for the books. We had a great day celebrating Independence day at a friends house.

What better way to spend the 4th of July with:
~ Fireworks
~Delicious food
~Good friends
~Red, White & Blue party favors
~Cold drinks

Linking up with Lauren from High Five For Friday.

Happy Friday!  

Mary Kay® Glamor Look VoxBox

My VoxBox arrived in the mail last week from Influenster and I love the Mary Kay® products they sent me to test. I was happy to try a new makeup brand since I mainly use Mac, Urban Decay and Clinique along with some cheaper brands such as Revlon and Maybelline.

The Mary Kay© kit came with:

~  Lash Love Lengthening Mascara (I ♥ Black)
 ~ Mary Kay Lash Primer

~ Cream Eye Color in Violet Storm

~ Cream Eye Color / Concealer Brush

~ True Dimensions Lip Stick in Pink Cherie

I was impressed with the quality of Mary Kay's makeup products. My favorite is the lipstick ~ I love the smooth/creamy texture which is moisturizing like a chapstick and I really like the color they chose to send me (Pink Cherie).

The lash primer and mascara looked great on my eyes. I've never actually used Lash Primer before but I can see the difference in the density of my eyelashes, which aren't usually very thick or long. The mascara brush is different from all others I have tried and is designed to prevent clumps.

The Cream Eye Color was super easy to apply. The color - Violet Storm - looks like a dark purple but, when applied, it goes on very lightly so it works good for my skin complexion.

I will definitely be purchasing some more eye colors for everyday use.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes

What's your experience with Mary Kay® products?

Adios Bellas!

Taste of Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Kabobs

We love grilling dinner on Sunday evenings and I've been experimenting with different types of kabobs ~ mixing & matching veggies and meat combinations. It's healthy and fool proof so what's not to love?

Over the weekend we cooked chicken kabobs with mushrooms, eggplant, green pepper and onion. 

 

I marinated the chicken in BBQ sauce, black pepper and poultry seasonings for about 2 hours and then put them together on wooden skewers.

K cooked them on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes and...

Voila! A delicious and healthy dinner ;-)

 Joining Jessica and Ashley for Tasty Tuesday.

 

I'd love to hear about other quick and healthy dinner recipes!

Don't forget Google Reader is going away soon so feel free to follow me on Bloglovin ;-)

Weekend Shenans in Stormy Florida

Hello Monday, you're never welcomed too happily from this girl....but thankfully we have a short work week & get to celebrate with fireworks, BBQ-ing & cold drinks on Thursday!

On Friday I checked out a new Mediterranean restaurant that just opened in town called Carmel Cafe. First time using an iPad to order my meal. Oh technology! The chicken salad I had was delicious ;-)

 

On Saturday, we headed out to the beach for a friend's birthday even though the weather was overcast. We got a few hours of decent weather before the rain came. K and I then went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and headed back home driving with a beautiful sunset view.

On Sunday, the weather was stormy again so K and I went to the gym and then lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. We got some stuff done around the house and then grilled chicken kabobs and kielbasa for dinner.

 

 Recipe to follow tomorrow for Taste of Tuesday. 

 

Linking up with Sami for Weekend Shenanigans.

What's your plans for 4th July?

High Five For Friday

It's Friday. That's enough to put a smile on my face...along with the white chocolate & macadamia cookie I had for breakfast. (I blame my coworker for this).

Breakfast of champions?

Linking up today with Lauren for High Five for Friday:

1. New Sunglasses for Summer purchased from Aldo on our NY trip (2 for $12).

2. Quick and healthy dinners at home - BBQ chicken with spinach & mushrooms.

3. I'm so excited my Mary Kay Voxbox arrived in the mail this week. Review to come soon on the products they provided me to sample.

4. Visited Downtown Disney on Thursday with my coworkers for "team building" day...turned out to be more like team drinking day ;-)

5. Finally got to use the gift certificate that K gave me for our anniversary last night. New mani & pedi just in time for the weekend. I love this turquoise color for summer.

 

Have a great weekend

Taste of Tuesday: Baked Pesto Salmon & Veggies

Hi Lovelies!

I ran across Jessica's blog yesterday and found her & Ashley's Taste of Tuesday Linkup which is right up my alley. Last night I cooked Baked Pesto Salmon with Steamed Broccoli and Mashed Cauliflower that was leftover from Sunday night.

Baked Pesto Salmon Recipe:

~ 6-8 oz Fresh Salmon Fillet

Mix the following ingredients & baste Salmon fillets:

~ 1 tbsp Olive Oil

~ 1 tbsp chopped Garlic

~ 1 tbsp Pesto

Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

I posted my mashed cauliflower recipe a few weeks ago here. It's delicious and a healthy low-carb alternative for mashed potatoes.

 

What's on your menu this week?

Relaxing Weekend Recap

Oh Monday...You come way too quickly!

Did anyone else watch Nik Wallenda walk the tightrope over the Grand Canyon last night? That was pretty intense but he made it to the other end thankfully. I had a pretty relaxing/productive weekend. Nothing too crazy.

~ K and I did some gardening to make our lawn look pretty.

~ Had brunch at home (english muffin, eggs and turkey bacon).

~ Cooked mashed cauliflower again for dinner on Sunday night. It's officially replaced mashed potatoes in our household since we're on a low card, high protein diet.

~ Cleaned through my closet & the entire house. Now have a trunk full of stuff to donate to Goodwill.

~ Went over to Kate's place on Sunday and hung out by their pool. We also grilled some chicken kabobs and Roxy (English bulldog) kept everyone company.

~ Enjoyed some Pinot Grigio and movies at home.

Linking up with Sami for Weekend Shenanigans. 

How did you spend your weekend?

Happy Friday: Recap of NYC Trip

 The weekend is finally here so I'm a happy lil camper today. Should be a heck of a lot more quiet than our long weekend trip to NYC last weekend which was AMAZING! I'm in love with the city now and it's enchanting beauty.

(I apologize in advance for the overload of photos.)

Day 1 - Friday

- Checked into our hotel (view from hotel room)

- Toured Times Square

- Met up with a friend for drinks & tapas

- Walked our friend to catch her train in Grand Central Station - Toured the station

- Bought NY cheesecake from Junior's

- Went to a rooftop restaurant that had a beautiful view of the Empire State Building.

Day 2 - Saturday:

- Cruised the Hudson River around the Staue of Liberty

- Visited the 9/11 Memorial Site

- Walked through Wall Street

- Dinner at Marseille in Hell's Kitchen (was fantastic)

- Visited Madame Tusaauds Mwax Museum in Times Square

- Late night drinks at the cheapest bar in NYC - Rudy's Bar & Grill

Day 3 - Sunday (Our Anniversary):

- Visited the Empire State Building observation deck and went on the Skyride

- Toured the Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock

- Lunch at Heartland Brewery 

- Visited Herald Square and Macy's. 

- Did some shopping in Fashion District

- Cocktails at Asiate Lounge in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park

- Anniversary dinner at Landmarc restaurant in Time Warner Center

 Day 4: Monday

- Checked out of our hotel and went for lunch at Houndstooth Pub

- Headed to JFK to head home

Lining up with Lauren for H54F.

An absolutely memorable trip for the books!

Anniversary Weekend Festivites

What a whirlwind A-MAZING long weekend trip K and I just had to NYC for our anniversary. I will do another post about the trip itself and all the attractions we visited.

We started celebrating our anniversary at home on Thursday night. We planned to cook a nice dinner and have some of our wedding cake for dessert. 

 I came home to find some red roses and a gift certificate for the nail salon from K, which was very unexpcted since we were leaving on Friday morning for a long weekend of celebrations.

On Sunday (which was our actual anniversary) we explored the city all day and then got dressed to go out for a nice dinner. We started off at the Mandarin Oriental's Asiate Lounge that over looks Central Park. It's extremely expensive so we just had a cocktail and enjoyed the beautiful view.

We then walked over to the Time Warner center and had dinner at the Landmarc Restaurant. 

It was the best anniversary a girl could ask for and a super fabulous trip altogether. Joining Sami for Weekend Shenanigans (super late).

 

We were so sad to leave NYC last night and head back to reality. It was such an amazing and enchanting city.