Look Who Showed Up Today

Well this is awkward. I've been away for so long that I don't know whether to open this with "I'm Sorry" or "You're Welcome". Let's try to string things together from where we left off over a month ago. 

You'll be relieved to know that WiFi is back in my world. No more strange invitations from Starbucks employees on their breaks. No more sifting through old DVD's in the value bin at the neighborhood Wal-Mart. Still playing board games, making up our own card games and succumbing to the necessary rounds of power-hour that make us, well, us. 

We aren't going to bed as early anymore, but that's mainly because work-life has taken a shift toward work. We get home later and we have a pool and a yard to look after. A pool that's had some chemical-related casualties and seen some heroic net-grabbing rescues. We've saved two frogs from the skimmers - it may have been the same frog twice - and a bullfrog the size of your head that was swimming gracefully up and back. I say 'we' saved them but that's not the truth. I'm always the one jumping around and shrieking about how 'yuck' it is that there's things other than us in the pool. I haven't been in it yet, why are amphibians taking a dip before me?!

We've also taken to our shows, finishing the Walking Dead, House of Cards Season 4 and soon completing Making a Murderer (no spoilers, please!). After that we have grand plans of geeking out over Breaking Bad again, a show that's so binge-worthy that I fear I'll fall behind on my Southern Spring base-tan. We were champions of Lent, even though what we gave up shifted around a few times. We landed on a full 40+ days of no Mexican food and then celebrated with an Easter Sunday of 100% Mexican food. Taco Bell at 1am wasn't the way it was supposed to go down, but it happened. You'd do it, too. 

What about the new things in my world? 

I've been running. I'm not logging the miles like I used to, but I'm making a point of hitting the pavement for some me-time at least once a week. Some thinking, some considering. Some processing. Being directionally challenged has its downside, but with a wrong turn last week I transformed a 3.5 route into a Tuesday 5-miler. A distance I haven't ran in over two years that I completed with a smile on my face.

I've been planning. It's getting closer to one year in Tennessee and I'm still finding my way. I'm still driving around with Oregon plates on my 2015 Prius and I still fumble around when I fill up the tank. It's a place I firmly planted my roots, but seeking more ways each day to find Portland again. In nature, in culture, in cuisine, in libations, in music. 

I've been preparing. I'm about to take the next step in my career and it's going to be the challenge I've been hungry for. The work excites me and the opportunity was made for me. In fact, a few opportunities were made for me and this is the path I chose without hesitation. 

What about you, what's new in your world?

When You Don't Have Wi-Fi

Do you realize what life might look like without access to the Internet at home? Do you know how bummed my guy is that we can't view the start of March Madness from our brand new couch and loveseat? Do you know how much money you'd spend at Starbucks, and the awkward moments that would follow, if you had to go there every time you needed to use more than just your mobile phone to get your mischief managed? 

This could easily be a rant about our experience with Comcast moving service from one home to another, but instead it's going to be a confession of the person you become without Wi-Fi or cable for 20 days and counting. 

You buy $3 movies from value bins and you watch them. Then you miss how funny movies used to be. We have bought/watched Dodgeball, Ferris Bueller's Day off, Coming to America, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and already owned some classics like Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 1, Best of SNL and Zoolander.

You 'hang out' at Starbucks but then the barista/local photographer wants to do some tasteful nude portraits with you to build their portfolio. It's awkward, and you realize you're spending way too much money for what Starbucks considers 'coffee'. You really just need their signal, and you may be better off just sitting on their patio and bringing your brew from home. 

You adult date with apartment neighbors you never got to know as you plan fun picnics at the park and watch the kids play with kites, bubbles and slides. And here you were worried they hated you as upstairs neighbors with your stompy footsteps the entire past year.

You cook more often, and you finally perfect your bacon-lattice meatloaf with your new convection oven. You learn what a warming drawer can do for your cooking game and you cherish the new freezer and its incredible storage.

You sit by your pool and dream about jumping into it when the weather heats up, but also talk about the weeds and the lawncare that home ownership is going to take. And start bargaining to do the indoor chores indefinitely to get you out of the weed pulling, because humidity.

You play board games and work on puzzles, and do projects around your new home together to continue making it yours. You sink your boyfriend's battleship and hate that he still knows Seinfeld trivia better than you. 

You go to bed earlier. You still wake up feeling groggy and sleepy-faced, but you find that all of a sudden it's not 'WHAT, it's 11pm?'. It's 'ha, can you believe it's only 8pm?'

You spend more time on each other. No explanation needed.

If it wasn't for March Madness and the Starbucks situation, I might like to keep having these Comcast issues for a while longer. It's reminded me of my life in Portland without a TV.

What would you start doing if you lost access to WiFi and cable temporarily?

For All You Health Nuts

If your desk job is taking a toll on your health goals, this one's for you.

I've worked in the corporate world for 7 years and before that, I was a NCAA Division I athlete. Coming from a life of activity all day and transitioning to the dreaded wheel we all know as wake up tired, commute, sit at a desk, 2pm sugar or caffeine fix, commute, maybe gym/maybe cook/most likely Netflix, fall asleep too late... Repeat.

In collaboration with Nuts.com, today I'm sharing my favorite workplace health hacks to get the most out of your long hours in the office making that money. 

Work on your Feet

I've been shouting about the benefits standing at work for years. It helps with your posture, your flexibility, your core strength and your overall mobility. I don't mind that most introductions begin with a handshake and 'yeah, you're the girl who never sits down'. It's how I work happier and healthier. I don't stand all day and I'm not a sitting snob, but I am thankful that my office provides adjustable desks and encourages workplace ergonomics. 

Jam to a Feel-Good Playlist

I know that some of you don't have the opportunity to be tuned out with music all day, but bring your headphones to work and find the moments where you can sneak in some feel-good tunes. You know, to dance to while you're standing at your desk. I've recently been streaming my favorite Portland radio station to give me some lovely memories of home, even with the commercials included. If that's not your game, find me on Spotify then get started with your own curated playlist for a feel-good workday. 

Smile

Want an instant mood changer? Follow these very wild and extreme steps:

1. Smile.

Good, that's it! How do you feel? My guess is that you feel a little lighter, stress wiped away from your face and you just made the people around you feel your radiating good vibes as well. It's amazing that something this obvious could be considered a 'hack', but don't you agree that happy-you makes better choices for your health and happiness?

Stay Hydrated

One of my personal checklist items for every day is 120oz of water. If I don't meet my goal I owe $2 to our 'adventure fund' that's used for the fun things we do as a couple. Start with baby steps if this is out of your range, but my best advice to get more water into your body is to always have some by your side. If it takes a cute water bottle to get it done, do that. If it takes setting timers on your phone for benchmark goals, do that too.

What won't work? Saving it all for the end of the day. You'll feel terrible and you'll lose out on a lot of sleep with all the times nature will call in the middle of the night.

Take a Walk

An easy way to cure the office blues and quell the stress of your day is to get outside for a walk in the sunlight. With the weather about to turn, it's going to be a daily requirement to take a walk around the office and to get out into the fresh air to refresh my mind and gain some perspective. Try to schedule your next meeting as a "walk and talk" to see if you can find your walking buddies around the workplace. 

Keep Healthy Snacks Handy

I'm giving IIFYM a try and it's been essential for me to space out my day with smaller meals and protein packed snacks. This means having nutritious options that won't fail me when the hunger pangs hit, saving me from giving in at the vending machine or the sweets that co-workers bring into the office all year round. Have you checked out the Healthy Snacks for Work on Nuts.com? Trail mixes, dried fruits and energy squares are the top picks from their registered dieticians. See if you can find something you like!

Take the Stairs

I work on the highest floor of my office, which is only the 2nd floor, but if I were on the 5th I'd be taking the stairs too. If you work in a place where the elevator is your go-to, try to get out a few floors earlier and opt for the stairs the rest of the way. You could always make friends with someone on another floor or just start to use the restrooms on other floors and pretend like you're the new girl (or guy) in the building.

Get your free printable checklist here and tell me how you make your own workplace a healthier environment!

*I was compensated with social media karma for this post, these healthy hacks and opinions are my own.

Take Me Home

It's been difficult to keep this not-so-secret secret off of the internet. I've never been the best keeper of big news to myself so this was no simple feat. I've just had to keep my excitement limited to texts, emails, phone calls and hallway conversations. Maybe Snapchat too for those who follow.

We did it, we bought a house!

We saved our money, we moved out of an apartment for the last time, we're getting settled in and best of all is that we've done it together! 

I've been hinting at our plans to move to the trendy and walkable part of town with bars and nightlife, but that's not where we ended up. We looked, we really tried. We drove around and ate the food and loved the area. We just didn't love...it. We didn't love the schools, the space, the yard or the storage. We didn't love the maintenance. It wasn't the vision even if the vision was only for 3-5 years into the future.

In the middle of January, we set aside 60 minutes of quiet time to make a collaborative I-Want, You-Want, We-Want list. Thirty unique items were jotted down, including dark hardwood, granite kitchen, yard, pool, fireplace, natural lighting, pantry, garage, high ceilings, curb appeal, proximity, etc. After we reviewed the list something surprised us. We noticed we wanted suburbs, we wanted safety, we wanted new and low-maintenance, we wanted fresh and exciting, we wanted low sweat-equity and low stress investment. We wanted more and less at the same time.

Like all good things in life, it happened suddenly. I will always remember the moment I saw the listing newly published. I didn't even make it through half of the photos before passing my phone to Brian. We loved it and immediately wrote an email to our realtor. Within 10 hours we were in the house, looking around at the 1987 home that had new floors, new paint, new granite kitchen and master bathroom, 5 bedrooms and a bonus room and a two-car garage with storage and a great front yard, great backyard and a pool. Unbelievably, every single item on our I-Want, You-Want, We-Want list was met or has the opportunity to become that in the future. It was meant for us and our big scary view of the future.

Oh right, sorry I lost you at "pool", didn't I?

Now this is entirely too much house for just us two, but the good news is that we're looking forward to the future to fill that house with laughter, happiness, warmth and memories. And maybe more than 3-5 years at this location. 

It shows that there's always a reason to leave a little wiggle room in life to go the opposite direction of your crazy wild amazing plans. It's always going to be beautiful.

We just hilariously made it through our first February together and have a big month in March ahead to follow it up! Hang tight while we make this house a home in our own very special way. 

Things Making Me Happy Right Now

I'm going to have to fill the void with a weird post about the things that are making me happy right now because I'm anxiously waiting out some bigger news. I know, it's not fair to tease like that, but hang around because I promise it'll be good. 

:: Adulting so hard. I'm getting closer to telling you all - y'all? - some big news about how life in Memphis is about to change in a big way. For now, the big accomplishment has been sticking to a budget and using gift cards wherever possible for food and entertainment. And maybe coming to terms that his 33rd birthday and our first Valentine's day wouldn't be over the top like we wanted for each other, but still personal and romantic in an extremely us way. (read: ice cream and sneaky sentimentality)

:: The Amazon Echo we got for Christmas from my parents can stream my favorite Portland radio station and take me back to some of my favorite memories from my hometown upbringing. This includes perfectly mood-induced plays of RHCP's Under the Bridge and dramatic Foo Fighters smash-sessions. I incorporate my old friends into my morning get-ready routine.

:: 5% body weight lost since early December and it's staying off consistently through even the sneakiest holidays. Yes, Valentine's is a perfect time for a cheat-day. Yes, your boyfriend's birthday is a perfect time for a cheat-day. Yes, ah Friday. You're a great excuse too. I think my success is still credited to the If It Fits Your Macros way of life through its flexible dieting guidelines. There's still more that I need to master before sharing what this means exactly, but just take my word that protein is your friend and eating more isn't something to be scared of.

:: Daylight Saving Time begins March 13th! I'm a light in the evening type of girl and will welcome the loss of the hour with all my energy. More time to be outside, more time to enjoy the world and more daylight for my favorite new photography backdrops. It's just around the corner.

:: The return of the right-hand ring on Valentine's day. The promise ring you saw me flashing back in 2014 didn't touch my hand in 2015. The question on my guy's mind was, "Does a promise ring lose its value if the promise I made was broken?". Unfortunately, the answer was 'yes' and the reason it was taken off in the first place. So does fourteen months of preserving the ring in the original box next to the ring I gave him revive that value? As long as we live in the now. Not the past and not the future. now.

Four Eyes: Better Than Two

FRM8821- Black/Purple C81

My friends over at Firmoo have done it again!

It had been over a year since the wonderful people at Firmoo contacted me to showcase a pair from their blogger collection. Getting an email from them at the start of 2016 is high on my current "YES!" list.

My last selection in 2014 was the most hipster-Portland pair I could find, seeing that I was a Portland native who never really got into a lot of the flannel and big glasses style. Well, wouldn't you know that the Tennessee boyfriend said 'they weren't his favorite', but that didn't bother me since we lived 2,500 miles apart. And whatever, Pacific Northwest style rules.

However, moving to Tennessee made me see that the boyfriend's opinion carried some weight. The big frames are really off-trend here, especially in Memphis. That out of place feeling paired with the reality that I am down to my final box of contacts made this opportunity to shop the collection very exciting. 

Firmoo glasses are not only affordable, there's several other reasons why you should be shopping their collection for your next pair. Especially for that first-time discount!

It can be a little challenging to narrow down which pair would be the best fit for your face and your style, but their 'upload a selfie' option allows you to see how each pair would look on your mug and help to point you in the right direction. This time, I took to the 'upload a selfie' tool, compiled options into a one-pager and allowed my Snapchat buddies to weigh in on which ones were their favorite. 

Once you've found the right look for you, the customer service team makes your order, your prescription confirmation, the wait time and the mail day so seamless. In less than a week I had confirmed my order and picked them up from my apartment's mail office. The packaging is on point with a sturdy wanderlust-worthy case, a colorful cleaning cloth, a separate travel case and of course, your frames. The frames? You'll love them, just like I've loved my last two finds. 

Like mine? These are the FRM8821 - Black/Purple C81 with 1.57 thin & light lens with anti-reflection and anti-UV coatings. 

Cherry on top! The purple is an exact match to my 2016 Moleskine planner that I tote around with me everywhere!

*I was given prescription glasses in exchange for a review on my blog - all opinions are my own and all selfies are shameless.

On My Mind

The thoughts on my mind are piling on top of each other lately. 

There's so much adulting underway that my 28-year-old self can hardly believe it. 

Last week I mentioned mortgages and realtors, but before that there's also budgeting and prioritizing. A few weeks ago I mentioned a Summer Caribbean vacation that's paid for, but now there's global awareness to the Zika virus that has us scrambling. I've always been into health and fitness, but things are beginning to click as I've lost 5% of my starting body weight in the last two months.

There's upcoming anxiety to do my guy right in celebrating his birthday as a couple for the first time, the upcoming anxiety of our first valentine's together, the upcoming anxiety of getting-that-house, spending-that-money, moving-those-things, jumping-in-that-pool, making-that-home. Hilariously, we broke up in 2014 and 2015 on February 1st over FaceTime, so waking up next to each other this year on February 2nd was a mental miracle. 

There's the new jeans I'm wearing and how they fit so well, the glasses I recently got from a collaboration with Firmoo and how I love them so much, the weekend 7 month anniversary of my life in Tennessee, the big plans and the big surprises and the yes I can do this feeling. 

It's all on my mind. 

Here, Lately

It's been a minute since I showed up around here, but just believe that means I've been settling into the new year with a better me and a better plan for the future. With lists and goals and memories, oh my! 

Actually...

A week in excruciating pain from an abscessed molar, scary same-day emergency doctor visits in the wrong part of town because I'm still a little green around here, medication after medication to stop the pain, screaming myself awake in the middle of the night with a supportive boyfriend who helped through it all, a real appointment in a better neighborhood for the root canal, a full-body tremor reaction to the local anesthetic with epinephrine at the better neighborhood better dentist, some stressful memory (loss?) moments from the prescription medications, relief post-op, recurring pain after medication ran out, still a supportive and loving boyfriend through it all. 

A deep dive into IIFYM with a pro who's been doing it for a year now. Tracking the macronutrients of my food intake and balancing the good proteins, the good carbs and the good fats all together in a pretty puzzle. Finally understanding the importance of knowing 2oz and 4oz servings of meat. Learning patience in the precision of measuring in tablespoons, cups and grams. Giving Men's Health & Fitness magazines a try after growing tired of the ads found in the female versions worth the same money. Seeing those men's issues full of helpful tips, science-backed data, professionals and little fodder over 'what to wear to impress the guys' makes me wonder why I didn't think of this sooner.

A change in plans with what the future holds for our living situation, meaning thinking 5-10 years into the future rather than the 1-3 we've been visualizing. All the while trying the very hardest to focus on the right here, right now. The tender mornings, the blurred nights. A realtor! Mortgage talk! Have the will to remodel or rather move in for a little more money. Or go nuts and move into this house that would truly have me giggling every day at the trippy floors and YES rooms. Those walls have stories to tell, I'd love to live there and would convince my guy if it was closer within our price range. 

So that's what I've been up to. I suppose these are confessions worthy of a share with Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

This is How We Rung in the New Year

It's a little comical how we spent the first hours of 2016. It's fit to be my first confession post of the new year and I hope you enjoy.

We had no plans of how we were going to ring in the new year leading up to it. Did we need to go buy a few bottles of wine or did I need to go find a new party dress? Did we want to drive and be out on the town dancing like last year, or did we just want to spend it looking into each other's eyes like the year before?

We chose staying in with two bottles of wine, college football and some board games. We even shared a *toast*.

The funny thing about our night is that we stressed over what we were going to make for dinner as our last meal of such a momentous year. With nothing that was so perfect, we finally decided to prepare a batch of hamburger helper. You know, in case we drank too much and needed sustenance for the wee hours of the morning. It turns out that was a perfect last meal of the year, and possibly a tradition was born.

The hours from midnight turned into minutes from midnight as we played board games, laughed, dreamed and competed.

Midnight struck with the kiss, the look, the promise, the text messages from family and friends and then that strange feeling to do something spectacular with this gift of a new year. We were having a great time playing board games and card games but once the new year hit, we took a blast to the past as he showed me some of his tried and true college drinking games that I'd never seen before.

I saw him get a cartoon-grade thought lightbulb and all of a sudden we were pulling twelve beers out of the fridge for his next grand idea.

Power Hour.

Yes, the kind you might have played in college and never really made it through successfully. At least I couldn't. If you're ever in the market for such an activity, YouTube has a delightful collection of power hours. Music decades, music genres, comedy scenes, retro TV, anything. We chose a comedy sequence and had some laughs with old favorites, coached each other through with encouragement like,  "no  you're too far ahead" or "no you still owe one!!!" 

We capped off the night on our small apartment balcony with me in my shortest shorts in 30-degree weather, him with as many layers as he could put on, a heat dish, two cigars and 90's power hour music coming from inside of the apartment. Conversation, elation, care and plans for the new year ahead of us.

It was a night I'll never forget despite all of the things that I may not remember. But it was the way we started the year and I guess you can say that we can only go up from there!

Linking up for confessions with Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

Milestones

Never has a bra felt more uncomfortable than it did yesterday on my first day back to the office in eleven days. I'm sorry that those are the first words you have to read from me in 2016, but it felt less - therefore more - appropriate than "Happy New Year! Our tree is still up and we still have the lights on every night to display the Christmas cheer to our neighbors." 

So, this is January. We're back in the office, back in town, back to reality and looking forward to what wonders the year of 2016 may bring. I'm ready to tackle this turn of the atmosphere and treat it as a precious gift to replace memories of January's and February's of the past with new awestriking examples of love, comfort, safety and happiness for the future. 

Before I embrace 2016 too closely, here are a few milestones in my world that deserve a mention today.

:: It's been six months since we crossed the Mississippi River on our 2,438-mile drive across to country to bring me to my new home, but not without a few bumps that remind me why I moved and what it means to be together, together.  

:: I made it to the other side of the first round of big holidays away from Oregon, but not without a few bouts of homesickness and multiple calls to family there and friends elsewhere for help, comfort, laughter and advice. In some instances, mindless crafting and post-Christmas giving lifted my spirits too.

:: I've celebrated another milestone of my sobriety from french fries with 14 years and 5 days without a lick. The few unavoidable sniffs and the search for fry impostors have quelled the addiction I dropped my freshman year of high school as I pursued making the Varsity softball team. The only thing this sentence did was made me feel old because it's been 14 years since I was a freshman in high school...

:: Don't forget the streak. Streaks are made to be broken, but not this one. 113 is the count and that's all the time we have today, folks.

What's up in your new year?

Fitness in 2015

Training for Tuesday snuck up on me pretty quickly this month. That's what happens when I've been playing Santa, battling that holiday anxiety and trying really hard to prepare for our tropical vacation coming up in six short months. 

Since it's the end of the year, this post is fit to be dedicated to my fitness past from 2015. While I can look back and laugh that 2014 was the year of sweaty selfies, 2015 was the year of "look where I'm working out" and more recently "partner workouts gone undocumented". While some of my fitness goals went unconquered, there's a lot that I've learned about myself in the past twelve months.

January - June: ClassPass

It seems like all I could talk about in the first half of 2015 was this fairytale concept of ClassPass. Where with one monthly membership I gained access to over 120 studios in Portland that offered the best in group fitness. I was able to try so many new fitness classes that I had never dreamed of experiencing. A pumped up sweat party with drumsticks? A fear-testing fly with aerial yoga? The soothing meditation through visualization or those delicious restorative yoga sessions? All new to me and all very much missed and adored. I had even broke up with my gym for ClassPass.

Here's what I was able to try:

:: TRX

:: Pound!

:: Bootcamp

:: Yoga (aerial, vinyasa, hot, restorative, yin)

:: Meditation Therapy

:: Spin

:: Crossfit

:: Mobility training

:: Barre (ballet and cardio)

:: the Megaformer

July - August: Moving to Memphis

In the first month of the move, I was unemployed and seeking to fill the void that was created after ClassPass was no longer an option. I took to the Internet to see how I could avoid going cold turkey and to my delight I found a new barre studio that was offering free grand opening classes. I was then brave enough to meet new people early in the morning on a high school track all because I met my fitness hero in a Starbucks and I laughed at her joke. These are some of my warmest first memories of Memphis and made me realize that I could re-establish my previously known fitness culture if I just looked hard enough. Still on the "to try" list is Bendy Brewski ... or Yoga followed by a pint of beer.

August - December: Settling into Memphis

Once I became employed in August, the freedom of what I'd experienced in the first month was no longer possible and it was time for me to establish a schedule. No stranger to 'switching it up', I turned my attention to the gym. The one with the dudes at the weight racks and the one with the tanning beds and the one with the lightly used cardio equipment. It didn't feel like "my gym" where I was free to take up as much space I needed and use my 12-minute athlete interval app. It was the kind where my guy felt the most comfortable tucked away on an elliptical machine and in an effort to make gym dates 'ours', that's the world I fell into as well.

It wasn't long before I made some me-time to throw weights around, to sprint the stairs in our three-story apartment building and went back to some basics in my favorite workouts pre-studio life. Alyssa sent me some of her favorite YouTube flows and it finally convinced me to bring my mat in from the car to get some TLC.

When the new gym at work finally opened up in November, it gave me much more freedom for circuit training and the option to sweat in the middle of a work day. Now that we instituted a couple's workout tax when we have an unscheduled off day, sweating at work has been a great outlet to make time where previously I was looking for it. This added benefit of a gym at work is $0 and if all I have to do is bring my own towel and toiletries for the shower afterward, I have a feeling this gym will be the headliner of my 2016 fitness recap.

Also planned to be in the 2016 fitness recap will be how we used three key daily check-ins to each lose 10% of our body weight over a span of 6 months. It won't be rocket science and obviously nothing earth-shattering, but will show the importance of tweaking your lifestyle and making good choices that already have both of us 30% toward our goals.

Cheers to 2016 and a happy healthy new year!

I hope you're linking up with Alyssa and Tracy for the final Training for Tuesday of 2015!

Confessing Before Christmas

Santa knows if I've been Naughty or Nice this year, but confessing over the blog seems appropriate before Christmas morning. In case he can't find a way to get into the apartment, I want you to send me a lump of coal this year instead.

In reality, I've been a really good girl in 2015. I might have made some really adult decisions in the process by quitting my job, moving to follow my heart and becoming re-employed by the same company a few months later, but overall 'good' in a sense that my conscience can be proud of. I don't have my 2016 resolutions clearly defined, but I know that communicating with friends and family more often will keep my soul filled while we wait out the warmer Spring and Summer months ahead. 

I've been getting into the holiday spirit a little more this year now that we've got a real tree, parties to attend and traditions to create together. I've even been pulling a few tricks out of my back pocket that haven't seen the light of day in years... or ever. Like these paint sample gift tags. They've been patiently hiding on my pinterest boards for years and I finally got the urge to shamelessly grab samples from the Lowe's paint center just like I would grab the taquitos at Costco and cut them into these uniformly elegant ombre trees.

My latest instagram photos have been majorly filtered but also majorly well-lit. Has anyone noticed that I've posted much more lately, and the photos look a little more instagram professional? It's because after 5 and a half months of living in a yellow-lighting apartment and a yellow-lighting work environment I've found my natural lighting sanctuary. It's not pretty and requires props like bath towels, hand towels and blankets, but it creates a photo that shows just enough of my filtered life to make it to the Internet.

I already know a few of my Christmas gifts thanks to Amazon's 5 emails per item ordered and a few text messages included in there too. One was even spoiled because he didn't thnk the Amazon box was his since it was ordered from Ebay, but turns out I unboxed my own gift and had to place it under the tree like I never noticed. Next year, or at least next gift-giving holiday, we're going to have to figure out a solution for household Amazon-sharing protocol, including putting nicknames on the packages so we really know which package belongs to which giver.

That's all I can write today, looking forward to seeing what you're confessing! 

Linking up with Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

Favorites

We officially have one more week to stress, shop and buy presents be present before Christmas morning sneaks up on us once again. This will be my first Christmas away from the family.... ever ... and it's a little weird to believe that this year I'll be the one on the FaceTime screen while they huddle around the tree and play with the golden sisters.

It really got real when we received a huge package from Portland with mom's best wrapping job for us to have some merry cheer beneath the tree in our two bedroom apartment. There were even a few treats included in the box that we binged after 11pm last night, which I'll explain in the coming weeks why that was a good choice.

Since it's Friday, I'll let you off easy with some light reading and link-up fun with a few of my Friday Favorites:

Have you seen Amazon's new "Dash Button"? It's a little ridiculous but also fairly amazing. They're $4.99 and it's a button that you can press from anywhere and it orders whatever the button is set up to re-order. Think pet supplies, laundry detergent, gum. Look, there's even have a button that orders Kraft macaroni and cheese. 

Stressed like the rest of us? Then Why Don't You... learn a few ways to quell that feeling. Or, why don't you watch this breathtaking video of Oregon? Because I did and now I miss it so dearly.

This homemade lunch, thanks to the guy's passion for grilling and Costco's supply of frozen broccoli:

Also, Sriracha.

Have a great weekend!

Confessions About Nothing

While this is without a doubt the busiest season of the year for everyone, it's also now a record-setting month of blogs posted since I've relocated to Tennessee. What do I have to thank for my more frequent appearances here? That lovely 25-minute time-harnesser called the Pomodoro Technique that Alyssa shared with us on the very first day of December. It's helped me with work, workouts, blogging, reading, Christmas-ing and cleaning. Has it helped you with any of your daily must-do's?

While you're pondering what can be improved in your life by segmenting it into chewable 25-minute increments, take four minutes to be amused by this week's confessions about nothing.

:: "Confessions about nothing"? Well, we've been filling up our DVR with the TBS reruns of Seinfeld and have been binge-watching this "show about nothing" for a month. There's still over 140 episodes remaining on our watchlist. Meanwhile, we're left unable to record anything else but with a reward at the end. Now I can finally play the Seinfeld trivia game that's collecting dust in our coat closet.

:: Southern confession. I don't exactly understand these wildly adorned Christmas trees and can't say that I'll ever decorate a tree like they do down here. If you're unfamiliar, they look like this and not like the trees I've grown up with my whole life. Some even have woodland creatures peeking out from the... branches... ribbons...? I don't know.

source

:: Monday I pinned this to my Wedding board and freaked. There's no ring nor wedding bells in sight, but as a girl who pins things for future events including weddings and children I've made it a secret board to avoid any social media fueled speculations about either aforementioned life-event.  

:: Instagram unfollowers, I see you. Does anyone else have an app that tracks your unfollowers? It was a long-time mystery to me when the followers category would fluctuate, but now I see that it's those Portland fitness studios who don't see my face anymore and those obvious spammers that were never a real account anyway. But, it does make me a little sad when I see that my own extended family dropped my name off their list after scrolling by a cute puppy photo. sigh.

Have any confessions for us this week?

Link up all over blog-land:  Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

Do Nothing, Do Everything Weekend

This was the one final weekend of "nothing" before things get busy and full of hustle and bustle for the holidays. While we originally had grand plans of a road trip to New Orleans or Nashville, we were proud to make the days into a wonderful combination of do-nothing and do-everything. 

Last weekend we bought our 8' tree and decorated it throughout the week. Waking up to the white glow and the fresh pine scent Saturday morning was a comforting reminder of the holidays, pajamas and full mugs of coffee.

With a pile of laundry to take care of and a house full of boxes, we made some major progress with cleaning, organization and simplification. All of this playing around with freshly washed wardrobes inspired us to each go through our belongings and select twenty pieces to donate to Goodwill. Piles later, we identified 65 things we could absolutely part with. We dedicated the next round of sorting to be focused toward what we won't wear before we move in March to a much more hip part of town. 

Between both activities, we cleared close to 150 items, leaving space in drawers and newly-available hangers. Nothing like a clothing purge to make you realize that you don't want anything tangible for Christmas. Staying within the theme of clearing out, we pulled close to fifteen pounds of frozen meats out of the freezer and the grill-master went to work in our unseasonable 70-degree weather. 

FaceTime with my parents on Sunday and getting many of our holiday cards in the mail warmed our hearts while the grilled cheese cookoff in our kitchen warmed our bodies. We were supposed to attend the Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival, but with rain in the forecast we opted to go buy our own award-winning ingredients to challenge each other in surprisingly not our cheesiest competition ever. Mine was a spicy & crunchy nacho grilled cheese while his was a bacon-swiss-mushroom delicious yummy thing. Spicy crunchy nacho won for flavor and Brian's won for structure & presentation. Cheers to cheese!

Finally, we made it to the gym Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a great sweat and burn each time. We're getting ahead of the New Year's Resolution crowd at the gym and getting into our own healthy routine with 179 days until our summer tropical vacation to the D.R. and hopefully something sooner than that with the whole family. 

How was your weekend?

The Adventures of: Parents in the South

Way back in September when there were still days in the high 80's, I got the amazing news that my parents had been scheming a trip to Memphis for their first time for my 28th birthday. Originally it was a twisted plot conceived between my mom and my guy in a Words with Friends chat session, but before booking the flights it was cleared through me to make sure I was down for a ten night visit. C'mon down y'all. The more, the merrier!

Quickly November arrived. So did the air mattress, the cold weather, and my parents. Our mission while they were in town? Convince them that it's a really awesome, fun, safe and comfortable place. We knew we couldn't keep their eyes from seeing everything about the town since we'd have to still go to work during their visit, but when we did have a say in the agenda we opted for live music, Southern comfort food and occasionally a cozy night in.

The first four days flew by as Brian and I had to quietly sneak around in the mornings, go to work in one car and wait for one another to be done with the workday before returning home for a few big hugs. Those evenings held exciting moments like parents meeting parents and my grillmaster offering up our favorite steak and sweet potatoes meal. During the day while we were working the parents took some test drives in the Prius to see the noteworthy neighborhoods and found quiet spots to picnic overlooking the Mississippi.

Friday night was where the fun really began. Amazingly, the Portland Trail Blazers were in town to play the Grizzlies.  It was a home game we couldn't pass up. Since "go to a Blazer game in 2015" was a Christmas gift I gave my dad last year, we made sure to get seats close to the court so we could really battle back and forth about who was better. They wore red, we wore blue. We had playful banter the entire night and even bet that the loser would buy the post-defeat beers. Grizzlies won in the final play of the game keeping us all on our feet, and we washed the night down with some music and soul food on Beale Street. 

Now here's a ridiculous fact: I didn't get to see my parents in the daylight until Saturday. By that time they'd been in Tennessee for five nights and had already done more exploring than I've done in five months. Saturday was packed with adventure. Brian's sister's soccer game, parents socialize with parents meal, downtown to a pop-up bar in an old fire station, cornhole, Bass Pro Shop in the Pyramid, delicious pizza and finished off the night by crossing into Arkansas to show them one of our favorite silly adventures. Dog racing. 

When we were at the fire station bar, the family gave me the Birthday surprise I'd been anxious about during their entire visit. They finally let me in on their big-time schemed plan and how we were going to make it happen. The first surprise was a simple note that said "New Orleans!". Awesome, but hey it's Saturday afternoon and I have to go to work Monday. That's when I got wind of the second and third surprises. Brian got Monday and Tuesday off for the both of us and I wouldn't have to spend another minute of my time at work while my parents were with us in the South. 

Sunday we woke up with our sense of adventure and made the six-hour drive down to New Orleans where hand-grenades and hurricaines - both drinks - waited for our arrival. We had two rooms at a lovely hotel in the French Quarter with a balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. My dad was the first of us to get beads on the street from ladies above who needed to see some flashing on a Sunday night, and the rest of us just held up our hands and didn't need to show any skin for our collection. 

The time we spent in New Orleans went by quicker than you can imagine. We played, we danced, we drank, we ate, we celebrated and we made plans for how quickly we could make it back. Between the three hours it takes to get to Nashville, the three hours it takes to get to the lake house and the six hours it takes to get to N'awlins, I'm not sure which one is our hands-down favorite. 

The final night was to celebrate mom's birthday since we are two days apart, but the fun was cut short by the heaviest rainstorm I've seen in this city. We still had a great time showing them our future neighborhood once we move in the Spring, and still made it home to all cuddle up and watch the latest zombie drama on The Walking Dead. I drove them to the airport the next morning and had a tough time letting them walk through security on their way back home, but understood their excitement because they had two golden sisters to go rescue.

Hopefully our next hugs will be sooner than the family vacation we're planning for the Spring!

It's okay if many of you didn't make it to this part of the post or that this was possibly was the only part you did read. Just know it was a wonderful ten nights in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana with the parents that I love and miss so much along with the guy I'm hoping to adventure through the ups and downs of life with. 

Five Months in Memphis

Tomorrow will be the five-month milestone since I moved from Portland, Oregon to Memphis, Tennessee. This summer I made the committed decision to follow a path I'd been anxious to walk for a long time during our long distance relationship. You've read about how I'm settling into this new home, how I'm making it mine and how we are still soaking in the excitement of adventure and newness.

In the past two months, we've hosted my parents for their first visit, we've shopped real estate for our upcoming move in the Spring and we've spent some important holidays and birthdays together. We're continuing to build our foundation of togetherness and teamwork that we've always dreamed of while still having the playful attitude to bet on ridiculous things and dance in the kitchen during meal prep. We've got everything. We've got us.

Here are my five favorites for the five months I'm proud to have under my belt.

+ Obviously the Pomodoro Technique that Alyssa and I will discuss over a FaceTune date tomorrow.
+ This beautiful bluegrass cover of Iris I found thanks to a lead by Melissa.

+ My new winter/love inspired desktop background.
+ This Etsy shop and sharing the Christmas gift I couldn't wait to let my guy unwrap.
+ Our plans to go tree shopping this weekend and our 5-day gym + water + willpower streak.

Happy weekend! Are you linking up with Amanda today? 

Hello, Pomodoro Mood

I've put myself in this confessions-only blogger rut a few times in my writing past, but it's always what seems to spark some inspiration and give you a real look into what's going on in my world these days. 

What really sparked this post today was the consistent magic offered by Alyssa in her productivity post titled "How to Actually Get Sh*t Done". The first point about the Pomodoro Technique made me a master of my time after just one use. The "distraction pad" is the cure my wandering attention tendencies while her remarks about being in the mood help to prioritize. 

I've Pomodoro'd four times since reading that productivity post and I've found a new thing to get addicted to. Fun to say, easy to do once distractions are removed and highly transferable to any activity. Think work, cleaning, sweating, intimacy, morning routine. It's all yours. 

This was blogged while pomodoro-ing and listening to a 25-minute playlist I created with multiple versions of "Hello". Mainly because I can't decide if I really like the song, the words, the vibe or if the lyrics could easily be replaced with a ballad about me apologizing to my thighs for the decisions I made in November with food and exercise.  At least I can say that I tried. 

Let the confessions begin. 

:: Cyber Monday was really just selfish Monday where I bought one real Christmas gift, two pairs of booties, a Living Social deal I can use at some point over the next four years, and a ton of Old Navy goodness because sitewide was 50% off with a few other redemption codes I'd been saving up for my next big buy. 

:: Cyber Monday was also a little light on the gift side because the guy found the perfect way to treat each other that we're going to have to be patient about. The paradise all-inclusive sun-soaked adults-only resort vacation is booked and paid for, but it's not until mid-June of 2016! I'm so eager that I already tried to request vacation days at work, but it's systematically too far in advance. We've been chatting about a trip in the Spring with the family, too.

:: The big surprise of the week was when we retrieved actual mail from our overflowing mailbox and found two perfectly timely birthday cards with sweet greetings and wishes for my 28th year on this planet. Both greetings were from women I met over the Internet, a fact I enjoy sharing with anyone who doesn't need to know. A text to each and some social media real estate served as my apologies, but I'll continue to make up for it with some adorable holiday cards of my own that will be mailed this week.

:: This weekend my guy finally got a taste of what it's like for a girl to walk into Target during the holidays. We got in, got exactly what we needed and then I informed him that I needed to look around a little more. We avoided the clothes and shoes, but there was a point where I had to send his hovering-self away to do his own thing while I browsed the holiday decor and picked up soup ingredients. Do your men understand what it's like to walk into Target with a basket to fill?

And this. 

Adele. When you're ghosted, you're ghosted. Or I suppose if you were the ghost then you stick with it, girl. 

Hello?

Linking all over the internet: Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

And Now I'm 28.

Then all at once it's late November. It's cold, it's dark and boots are in full rotation.

We've been apart since October, so can we catch up on some housekeeping before jumping right into confessions and likely my only post of November?

This month I turned 28 years young. My parents joined us for nine nights to see what this new life is all about. We had a great time sharing the sights, the food and the music all while keeping them away from the eye-sores. We've celebrated three birthdays and had way too much sugar. I've been a lackluster participant in the #PluckytoNothin instagram challenge and I'm about to experience my first Thanksgiving in the South away from home. Not only will I miss the traditions of home - like morning drinking and pajamas all day - but I'm scheduled to bring a dish that's going to serve as more of a first impression to the unknown family members than my handshake or hello ever will. 

The part you've waited for, the confessions:

+ The boyfriend made this photo his Facebook profile yesterday and I got dramatic. Not dramatic-happy, but dramatic-blah. I pulled up Excel and did the math on how many days we've known each other and geez, thanks for the FIRST acknowledgement of my face in your life after 841 days. He politely reminded me that he's not active on social media, and this post was his monumental drop-the-balloons-from-the-ceiling-because-you're-a-winner 10th post between Facebook and Instagram combined in those same 841 days. We counted. So, I'm silly and he's forgiven my 3 minute challenge of his public display of love for me. He flew all the way to Portland to meet The Snooks for this one.

+ I loved a custom Christmas gift so much that I let my guy open it... 35 days early.
+ There's been no great sweat in 13 days for a few reasons, yet mostly excuses.
+ However, there's also been no break in a personal relationship-goals streak of 72 days.
+ I'm tossing around the idea of running a race in 2016 just to meet this lady.
+ Recently I posted a photo to instagram that's a few years old and passed it off as a "Happy Friday".
+ After searching many stores, we bought 6lbs of Sun Dried Tomatoes from Nuts.com. Worth it.

That's all and still not enough. Expect something more robust about the visit from my parents because we know that deserves a mention here on the internet. There's so many places where we can confess in blog-land so I'm being generous and linking up everywhere I can. If I find a new one while I'm poking around the internet today, I'll add it here or you can let me know in the comments.  

Wish me luck this Thanksgiving and each holiday after that!

As promised, linking up with Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... you tell me!

How We're Staying In Shape this Fall

I'm feeling a little intimidated to write an uninspired Training for Tuesday considering the link-up is hosted by two unbelievable believers. Alyssa has her sights on her first marathon in just five sleeps while Tracy just beyond-owned her own "Super Secret Radical Goal" time of 6 hours in her Half Iron Distance Triathlon. While I could sit this one out today, I know that no matter what topics I cover here will be met with good cheers and support from these two.

The weather is turning here in Tennessee. Last week we saw what was likely our last day in the 80's with an immediate swing to my Northwest memories of rainy mornings and dark evenings. This seasonal shift brings a deep desire to trade my evening gym dates for some cozy blankets and the latest on HBO Go.

No matter what way you look at it, fitness gets a little more difficult in the colder months whether it's the rain, the food or the football. Here's just four ways we've agreed to stay in tune with our fitness goals this Fall.

+ Muscle Meetings

The office welcomes a brand new gym this week, just in time to combat the Halloween candy we've all been sneaking for the past month. There's no showers available for the grand opening so this new location will be an evening treat. I'm thinking of the time I spend in the work gym as a meeting with my muscles. The man-friend is excited to spend a little less time on the cardio machines and more time hoopin' with the guys. The biggest win about this after work meeting is that I won't feel so bad to get home and straight into some cozy men's clothing to start the night off right.

+ Tea-rrific!

Drinking every last drop of cold filtered water may be everything I want in the summer, but once I'm wearing layers and blankets just to keep warm at work - I'm sometimes known to wear gloves - I can't stand to replenish my water bottle with the cold stuff. To stay hydrated, I'm tapping into the complimentary tea bags at work and will be steeping strong. I'm encouraging the guy to do the same.

+ Southern Comfort

I'm talking Southern comfort, not Southern discomfort. I'm bound to be trying new foods this year as I spend the holiday season in the South for the first time. The past few years I've been blessed with consistent paleo-friendly holidays and mom's light cooking, but this year I'll be taking 'courtesy tastes' of everything I've been missing out on and doing my best to not insult anyone when I don't return for more of everything. No matter how good, buttery or this-is-my-last-meal-ever-y those new tastes are against my lips, I'm practicing plate portions this holiday season.

+ Tropical Thoughts

Instead of feeling like we can just wear looser clothes to hide the winter layers in the new year we've been talking about the possibility of somewhere warm, bright and with tropical rum drinks a'plenty. Having these palm trees in our dreams will stop us from going back for seconds - or thirds - this gluttonous holiday season.

What about you? What are you doing this winter to keep your body, mind and spirit in the right place so that you're not just jumping on the wagon for January 1st?