The Weekender

One of my favorite things about being back to blogging is linking up with some of my favorite blogger, including Biana from B from Boston. Every Monday she hosts a linkup that recaps the weekend, what a great idea! I try to participate as much as possible, but this is my first one since I've been back!

Friday for lunch I got together with a friend to celebrate his birthday. We both love Noodlecat, so that was our restaurant pick. 

For Happy Hour on Friday, my bestie and I got together at one of our favorite local taco places, Barrio. As you can tell, I like to keep it local as much as possible. We love going here for happy hour to get some margaritas, chips and salsa and of course tacos! Everything is made to your liking, you get to pick everything that's on your taco. Check out their menu here. Oh and these bowls are DELICIOUS! Again you can put whatever you want in the bowl to make it the way you like it. I added in braised beef, grilled portobello mushrooms, cilantro-lime rice, chihuahua cheese, lettuce, cilantro and onion, red cabbage all topped with corn salsa with peppers and cilantro pesto. I have one word to describe this, amazing.

I had Taco Bell (sober) for the first time ever after B's first football game of the season. We were driving to My Guy's mom's house for the rest of the weekend and B wanted a taco so we all got tacos. It was actually kinda good, am I crazy for thinking that?!

The rest of the day on Saturday we hung out with one of My Guy's childhood friends and his family. They have two cute boys the same age as B, so they play together. It was a nice and relaxing Saturday and Saturday afternoon. My Guy's mom made her family recipe spaghetti for dinner. It was absolutely delicious! We added in some Italian sausage to the sauce, it was really good. I wish she would give me the recipe, maybe one day. I would love to keep the tradition going.

My Guy and I went to visit some friends after dinner. And there was nothing better than enjoying a cold glass of champagne in the rain! We were under an umbrella so we didn't get wet and we just caught up with friends.

The rest of Saturday was spent with B coloring. Have you ever heard of Adult Coloring books? We have become obsessed with them! They are so much fun to do. So B and I colored for hours on Saturday night. It was really nice.

Sunday was spent with my parents having lunch. And then My Guy and I went home to color. Yes, we are that obsessed with it. Wine, colored pencils and good conversation is how we ended our weekend!

How was your weekend?

Do you like local restaurants better than chain restaurants? 

Does your family have secret family recipes?

Have you ever heard of adult coloring books?

What's your perfect Sunday?

Restaurant Review - Noodlecat

Noodlecat

Downtown Cleveland, Ohio

There is nothing better than sitting down for lunch on a chilly day and enjoying a big bowl of noodles. They take the "traditional" college food, ramen, and turn it into something so much more. The menu is customizable to your preferences, it doesn't get better than that!

The way their menu works is you first pick your noodle type and then you pick your flavor. I picked the house ramen noodles with the college style flavor. The House Ramen is made fresh daily and is less chewy than traditional Japanese ramen, this is my favorite on the menu. After you pick your noodle, you pick your flavor. I typically always get the College Style which is shio chicken broth with poached chicken, dry corn, peas chives and scallion. And I always add the hot sauce they have on the table. A little spice never hurt anyone :) 

Another delicious option is their steam buns. The one pictured above is the Fresh Bacon Bun. It is sugar-cured, lightly smoked and roasted Ohio pork belly with BBQ. It is served on a white bread with lettuce, pickle, power ketchup and miso sauce. They typically change the type of buns they serve, but this one is one of the most delicious ones. 

All in all, a pretty good place for lunch in Cleveland. The service is quick, they have outdoor seating, the food is delicious and the portions are fairly large. 

Friday Favorites

TGIF. My boss was on vacation this week so I was holding down fort. This means filling in for her during certain meetings and my 3 page to-do list she left me. I would like to say that I’ve accomplished like half of the things on that to-do list. Which means that I have a lot of work ahead of me today. Hopefully that will make my Friday go by faster. I’m excited to finally be back to blogging and linking up for this Friday Favorites with Amanda. 

Absolute favorite memory. The night that My Guy and I got engaged! It's been a few months now but it still feels like it was yesterday. A whole post to come on our engagement! 

Wednesday night My Guy and I went to one of my absolute favorite wine bars in Cleveland, Rocky River Wine Bar. If you are from the Cleveland area or if you plan on visiting Cleveland soon, I highly recommend this place. Their Happy Hour is awesome and their atmosphere is very relaxed but romantic. We split the spinach artichoke bites which came accompanied by sriracha aioli, marinara and a horsey cream sauce. Absolutely delicious. 

One of my favorite things about Facebook is that it tells you what you did "On This Day" previous years. The picture above is from the first time that My Guy and I actually felt like a couple. We went to the Italian Feast in Little Italy and he held my hand for the first time. And now look at us living together and engaged!! 

My favorite funny quote that I found this week. I would definitely agree with quote. How many of you have skipped a good meal before drinking? It typically doesn't end very well. 

I am so excited to be back to blogging! 

Have you ever stopped blogging and then got back to it?

What do you think of the funny quote?

If you're engaged, do you ever just stare at your ring because it's so beautiful??

Trending - Barn Weddings

We've seen the trend all over Pinterest, Instagram, magazines and all other social media outlets. Barn weddings are becoming more of the norm rather than the "out in the boonies" wedding. The rustic, romantic yet elegant look is something that some brides look for.

Source

The look is simplistic yet beautifully romantic. The venue basically speaks for itself and a bride will need minimal decor to make it look stunning. 

Source

Simple drapery can make the entrance of a barn look grand. It gives it the flowy, romantic look. One of the best ways to invite guests into the romantic lit barn ahead. 

My Guy and I had the pleasure of attending our first barn wedding this past summer. The wedding was in a little town outside of Denver Colorado. The wedding was simple and romantic. The ceremony was outside and we sat on hay bales and there were cute signs around. The ring bearers wore adorable suspenders and were holding a sign. 

My favorite part of the wedding were the mason jars. I loved that we drank out of them all night long and we got to take them home as a party favor. The personal touches at the wedding made you feel like family. 

My Guy had the perfect excuse to wear his cowboy boots and cowboy hat to the wedding. He definitely fit in very well. There was no better place to take a picture other than outside during sunset. 

One of the best weddings we've ever been to! The barn was amazing, the decor was beautiful and the evening is unforgettable. 

Have you ever been to a barn wedding?

What is your opinion on barn weddings?

How to people watch (without getting caught)

Have you ever been to a place and random found yourself people watching? I can tell you that My Guy and I have definitely found ourselves people watching more than once. It’s so easy to just sit on a bench in a busy location and just people watch.

One of our favorite places to people watch is at Costco…after we get our hot dogs (duh, because we are super healthy people). We like to go to Costco on the weekends to go grocery shopping. Ok, let me be more clear...we like to go to Costco on the weekends to try their samples and buy a bunch of random stuff we typically wouldn’t buy if we didn’t sample it. Therefore, we walk in thinking we are going to get our normal Costco things (salmon, chicken, salad mix, etc) but then we try a bunch of random stuff and walk out with the random stuff ON TOP of our normal purchases. I swear Costco samples gets us every time!

Anyways, back to people watching at Costco. This is what you gotta do!

Go to Costco, grocery shop (or not) and go to where they sell ready to eat hot food. They have all sorts of goodies from giant pizza slices to ice cream and hot dogs. Get whatever you want to eat (get the damn hot dog) and then sit at a table. You will be shocked by how many people have to physically walk past you to get out of the store. And you being a normal human you will naturally people watch. I swear I get the best outfit ideas from people watching at Costco. Oh also, you can tell the people that are actually healthy or the people that just buy a bunch of fried crap…side note of course.

 Now go to Costco and do some good old people watching! 

Have you ever people watched? 

Have you ever been caught people watching?

Change

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Changed my plan and idea for this blog yet again. You know I need to stop being so extremely indecisive. Back to Blogger it is! Wordpress was way too boring for me. I need to be able to customize more things and quiet frankly Wordpress doesn't really let you customize a lot.

Green Monster

So as many of you know that I'm back to eating healthy and working out. Eating healthy is always on my radar but I do like to have some deliciously calorie filled foods/drinks at times. I finally got back in the gym today after 3 weeks off. I know it's so terrible, but I was just not motivated at all to go to the gym. Now I cannot wait for tomorrow morning to get my weight lifting back!

This morning I tried the most delicious breakfast smoothie I've ever had. Again, trying to get my greens and calcium (because I hate milk), I decided to try this smoothie.

recipe source

I found this recipe on Skimmymom.com. No, I am not a mom but these recipes are awesome and can be used in any household. And yes, I did buy her cook book and I think you should too! I am making one of her recipes tonight for dinner so stay toned to that.

The Green Monster Smoothie is so delicious but I needed to cut the recipe in half because I don't have a big blender. The recipe I used is:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (30 cal)
• 1/2 frozen banana (52 cal)
• 1 cup Spinach (7 cal)
• 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds (138 cal)
• 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (100 cal)

Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend till smooth. Add in more milk (or water) if it's too thick for your taste. 

It is so delicious and kept me full till lunch time.

Why do you use makeup?

Have you ever thought about that? Why do we as women wake up every morning and put on makeup? Do you think that you aren’t beautiful enough? Do you want to accent certain features of your skin? Whatever the reason may be we all do it.

Source

I bet you send so much money and time picking out your makeup. Let me introduce to you Younique. This brand is everything you’ll ever need and so much more. Younique’s miss is to uplift, empower, validate and ultimately build self-esteem in women around the world through high-quality products that encourage both inner and outer beauty. Yes, I truly took their from their website. And I took it from there because I want to be all of those things!

 As a young professional I want to feel my best and look my best. I make healthy choices when it comes to eating and drinking, I work out around 4 times a week, I surround myself with amazing people and now I’m starting to really care about my face and how beautiful I want to look and feel.  Check out these amazing pictures I found while searching on Pinterest yesterday.

Source

Source

I’m currently hosting an online party for these amazing products, check it out! All you have to do is click on Shop From This Party Now. I would love to answer any questions you have. 

I truly believe this is an amazing company

and I think you should try it!

Change is beautiful

Hello there! It's been awhile again, but this time I have a really good excuse as to why I've been so MIA (missing in action for those who don't understand this lingo). Lets just say that I've been MIA because of changes. So many positive changes. I don't even know where to being!! So lets just start with a selfie shall we!

Well now that you see that I haven't really changed much I can update you on all of the changing in my life!

So it looks like the last time I posted was March 11th, what the heck Alisia!! I cannot believe its been that long. Since then I baked my first cake, A & I went to Florida to visit his mom (my first vacation with his side of the family), I earned a promotion AND A & I moved in together!!! FINALLY

Talk about a little stud.

They came up with the coolest game! Beach Bowl!

Family time on the beach

On our way to dinner on the last night

We had a blast! The weather was amazing and we made so many great memories. Have you ever been to Fort Myers?

Photo bomber over here

What's new with you?

Tell me what you've been up to! 

Fat Burning Run

Happy Friday everyone! There’s no better way to start off the weekend than with a good run. I’ve been playing around with speed and incline on the treadmill and found that this workout has been the best to get the heart rate up and get the body sweating. Typically I run in the morning around 5:30 before work, I feel that gives me energy throughout the day and it’s what has been working for me. If working out in the evening works for you, then make sure to have a light snack before doing this workout.

 Make sure to stay hydrated and have some fun! Put on your favorite Pandora station and just run. You will love the results you see when you do this HIIT workout along with a healthy eating plan. 

Let me know your thoughts on this workout! 

What else do you want to see on here?

What's your fitness goal?

One step forward

Time to get back into sharing my stories, my reviews, my passions and my life changes. I know I have been extremely slow on blogging the last year or so, but I am trying to make it a priority to get back into it. A and I are going through a lot of changes right now and I would like to help anyone that is going through the same thing. One of the biggest changes right now is getting into shape. We are not doing just a diet, we are doing a lifestyle change. Let me tell you, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It takes every fiber of my being to wake up every morning at 5:15 and go to the gym. Not only go to the gym and walk on the treadmill like I used to, but go to the gym and sweat it out.

I want to share our journey with everyone who thinks they can’t do it. You can do it. You have it in you. You just have to make small changes. Yes it’s so hard to say “no” to happy hour, wine, girls’ night, laying on the couch, delicious chips and dip, beer, partying, wings…you name it. It’s hard. However, when you start saying “no” to those things you will start to see changes. You just have to decide how bad you want it.

Going forward I will be documenting our journey. It will be hard, it’s been hard but I know we can do it. And I encourage each of you to do it for yourself as well. It all starts with a little step forward. 

Terrible - 21 Day Fix

I have been absolutely terrible at keeping up with my blog. For the New Year, I want to try to blog more! I have the time but I guess I would rather spend it cuddled up on the couch next to A.

One thing that I am very proud of A and I is that we are making healthier choices. We started working out and eating healthy. The biggest help has been 21 Day Fix! I don't know if any of you have tried it, but 21 Day Fix is amazing. No this is NOT a sponsored post, it's just how I feel about it. The point of the program is to get you to understand portioning your meals and that working out doesn't have to take over your life. The program comes with different colored containers of different sizes, each container represents a certain food group. And it comes with 7 different workout videos. The workout videos are only 30 MINUTES a day....that is NOTHING. Anyone can do these videos and you can see true results.

Along with the 21 Day Fix, A and I have been using our Fitbits. We want to monitor how much movement we have each day. It's great because we compete with each other and with other friends that have a Fitbit. And now to totally sound like a crazy person, I log all my food into MyFitnessPal. For those of you who don't know what this is, the app helps you keep track of what you are eating. Not only can I keep track of what I am eating, but I can also sync in my Fitbit steps. The steps get converted into calories burned and I can see where I am each day.

If you are looking to get into shape like A and I are, you should be using at least one if not all of these fitness tools. Who doesn't want to look good!? A and I are going to Florida at the end of March so I want to make sure I look amazing in my bathing suit....not like I did in Mexico over Christmas. Lets not talk about that because it wasn't pretty.

I will catch you up on what has been going on since my last post.

Have you heard of 21 Day Fix?

Do you use 21 Day Fix?

Do you use your fitbit?

Have you ever used MyFitnessPal?

Tell me your opinions!

Five on Friday

Today is the first time in a long time that I'm linking up with Liz for Five on Friday. It feels so good to be back. It feels so right.

...here we go...

Favorite Song

I am so obsessed with this song. I think it's a great song for women and even men. It's all about loving yourself. Yes, I am in a relationship but I think loving myself is extremely important.

Favorite Quote

I Instagramed this quote earlier this week because I needed a reminder that I need to just be me. I need to love myself before someone else can love me and I need to accept my own beauty. Lately I've been struggling with loving myself and just accepting myself, so this quote is a good reminder. 

Favorite Haircut

Along with needing to accept myself, I need a change. I think the best resolution for me needing change is cutting my hair. It took me about a year to grow my hair but now it's time to chop it off. I'm thinking to do this cut, what do you think?

Favorite Dinner

One day this week I just wanted a salad so I went home from work and threw together what ever I had in the fridge. The salad consisted of spinach, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and an apple. The dressing was a mixture of balsamic vinaigrette and poppy seed. Delicious.

Favorite Cosmetic 

Now this isn't a picture of my eye, but I got eyelash extensions last week and I'm finally starting to like them. No I don't just like them, I love them. I think they look amazing. It takes me two seconds to get ready for the day now that I have these lashes. At first I hated them but now I really like them. 

Have you ever heard the song I like?

What do you think of that haircut?

Have you ever tried eyelash extensions? 

What's your favorite throw together salad?

Confidence

Where do I begin? I don't even know where I left off to know where to begin. I will say that I am going to attempt to start blogging again. Now this is huge for me because I haven't been very good at sticking to things. However, I'm trying to turn a new leaf in my lift. I think it's very important for me to explore different avenues and this avenue will be filled with the most random things. Food, pictures, stories, memories...everything and anything that pops into my mind.

.......

And for the first time ever, go ahead judge me for what I post. I don't care. 

.......

This is where confidence comes in. You see I lost a lot of my confidence a few months back. Why? I'm not really sure. I think it had a lot to do with reading other amazing blogs and comparing myself. And then seeing pictures of amazingly perfect people on Instagram and Pinterest and comparing myself. I need to put my foot down and just accept me and be confident in myself. Who's with me!?

A wedding and Mother's Day

This past weekend was jam packed again with different commitments. Don't get me wrong, I love being busy and having a lot of plans but sometimes a girl just wants to hang out by the pool with a fruity drink in hand. That might be too much to as for, but hey a girl can dream!

Friday after work I met up with a couple girl friends for happy hour. Of course I didn't take any pictures because I forgot. I was so consumed in our conversations that I totally forgot to take pictures. On my way to happy hour I was having a mental conversation with myself reminding my to take pictures so I could post them. Oh well, better luck next time I guess. I had to make sure that I got Mother's Day cards for A's mom, A's sister and my mom. I also got my A's mom and sister tulips because they were so darn cute. A and I ordered my mom flowers to be delivered and let me tell you....we were extremely disappointed in what she received. You be the judge of these flowers....please tell me what you think.

This is what we ordered:

And this is what she got:

Do you think I have the right to complain?

Saturday morning I woke up early to get ready for A's twins wedding. I had to get all dolled up and then drive for an hour to A's moms house. Let me tell you, driving in 80 degree weather in a tight lacey dress is hot and pretty freaking uncomfortable...but hey anything to look good...right? I swear when it was cold out I complained because it was too cold now that it's hot out I complain because it's too hot.

A and his mom.

Now again on Saturday I was really bad at taking pictures so this is seriously the only picture I have from the wedding. It was a short and sweet wedding. A few family and close friends, just enough to celebrate the marriage between the bride and groom. I do however have one selfie of A and I.

We all had our own opinions about the wedding. I will say that A's mom and I shared a special bond because we were both thinking the exact same thing. There were times that we could basically read each others minds without saying one word. I think I fit in with his family pretty well. 

After the wedding we went back to A's sisters house to hang out and have a fire. It was so nice to just relax around the fire with a couple drinks in hand and listen to stories from A's childhood. I swear his family and friends are pretty amazing people. 

Now Sunday is where I really being sucking at taking pictures. Can you believe I didn't take one picture on Mother's Day? I really really need to get better at this! Sunday morning we took A's mom out for breakfast before we drove up to Cleveland. It was really nice to take her out and listen to her tell stories about her late husband. I swear I get goosebumps every time her or A talk about him. After breakfast we drove up to Cleveland to have brunch with my parents. I made reservations at a nice restaurant and ended up disappointed. I freaking paid almost $250 for 4 buffets and three drinks....talk about a ripoff. I get the food was pretty gourmet but not that gourmet. Definitely could have went without that hole in my wallet. 

Watching the Cavs win at the last second on Sunday evening was amazing! A and I just relaxed at my apartment for the rest of the day. 

Note to self, next Mother's Day I should just do something at home or at my parents house. I would be so much more fun and about a quarter of the price. 

How was your Mother's Day?

Have you ever been taken aback by the brunch bill?

How do you get along with your significant others family?

Weekending // Birthday

This past weekend was absolutely amazing! We celebrated A's birthday which a weekend long celebration. This was our first time celebrating his birthday together so I wanted it to be special. Friday night I ended up shopping with my mom, doing some cleaning, laundry, wrapping presents and getting ready for Saturday and Sundays' festivities.

Saturday morning was spent making the most amazing guac which I shared with all of you on Friday. You can find the post here. It was a huge hit, everyone loved it. After making the guac And I took B to get his baseball pictures taken and then we were off to A's mom's house to the cookout. We had a blast with his family. I got to meet his twin and a lot of different family members. 

His family and friends are so welcoming and sweet. We just hung out all day, ate some delicious food, day drank and then night drank. Drank so much and ate so little that I got sick in the morning. This is so embarrassing but I definitely threw up at least 4 times at A's moms house....not the best impression but I couldn't help it. 

Sunday morning after feeling so incredibly awful, we all made it to breakfast with A's family. After breakfast I had the best surprise for A. I told him that we are getting brunch with my parents at 1:30 on Sunday but really it was all of our closest friends that surprised him. He had no idea and was so  surprised when we walked in. I had invited 13 of our closest friends to celebrate his birthday. 

After enjoying out delicious brunch and drinks, we decided to go to our friends rooftop patio and just hang out and enjoy the beautiful Cleveland weather. I swear there is nothing better than enjoy a Sunday with amazing weather and our closest friends. 

It was so nice to blend my friends and A's friends together for his birthday. Throughout the time that him and I have been together we have really tried to blend our friends together. It's great that everyone gets along. I swear it's so hard to make new friends as we get older. 

After enjoying the view and having some drinks we decided to go to another place that is more by the lake. We love going to Shooters in the spring/summer because we can really enjoy the weather by the lake. 

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend! It was a great birthday celebration that we will never forget. Our friends are the best for showing up and embracing the day with us.

Have you ever thrown someone a surprise little party?

What is your best birthday memory?

Were you able to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend?