Happy Halloween!

I'm so glad my man humors me and dresses up with me

for Halloween. I've always loved this holiday, it's just so much fun!

Girls, if your man takes himself so seriously that he won't dress up every now and again,

he. ain't. that. cool. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Thigh Gaps and Whatnot

These thoughts have been swirling around in my mind lately 

so I thought I would put some words down and see how I feel about it.

I was pushed to write about my feelings this morning when i read THIS article.

Robyn Lawley an extremely successful "plus size" model describes her feelings

about the ever vicious online cyber world of pinterest, instagram, and twitter,

when it comes to body aspirations amongst women.

The fact that this woman is even considered plus size is so beyond me.

Now I'm not bashing any of those things because I really like social media, hello, I'm always posting on

instagram and my blog. 

However, I feel lately people are obsessing over being "skinny". (a lot of my personal friends included)

It is disappointing to see girls, beautiful girls, posting photos on to their "fitness inspiration boards" on pinterest of people and celebrities who are not fit at all, instead they mearly portray the thigh gaps, twiggy arms, and size 0 waists that have come to define "beauty" in today's world.

I find it even more disappointing when I see someone idolizing celebrities who have 

known struggles with eating disorders and they still want to look just like them. 

Sadly, I know that many body issues come from how a person was raised to view

themselves and their bodies, from parents, siblings, friends, or the online world

we are conditioned to a point to feel a certain way about ourselves.

I feel lucky from that sense because my mother never once said things to me like:

"you shouldn't eat that", "that's not good for you", "you should exercise more", "that's not flattering on you", etc, etc. She also never spoke negatively about her own body, it left

a lasting effect on me to be confident in my body and never ashamed.

I was raised with three football playing brothers where food was never taboo, you eat well,

and you exercise hard, that was the unspoken motto in my house and I'm thankful for it.

So why? Why do we idolize these unrealistic goals?

Why, when someone looks good in a picture we say "You look so skinny!!" and it's

suppose to be the best compliment in the world.

What about adjectives like in-shape, healthy, toned, beautiful, radiant,

 I get it those words all sound kind of silly when we are so use to the S-word.

I remember when I returned home to the United States after living in Russia for a year and half

friends I hadn't seen would tell me "you are so skinny, lucky", "you look so good, you lost weight".

I would thank them with embarrassment but in my head i was screaming.

You know why I'm skinnier? I'm skinnier because I'm at a really unhealthy point in my life,

I ate only 2 meals a day for a year and a half (we were only permitted breakfast and lunch on my mission, don't get me started on that one). 

I'm skinner because the Russian water made me sick, I'm skinnier because my vitamin D levels are so low that it will take me a year to recover.  I'm skinner because my body is

starving, I eat even less after returning to America because my stomach is so upset all the time!

I get it, my friends were trying to be nice, because the S-word is the highest compliment

when it comes to our views on beauty in our society.

But I didn't feel beautiful, I felt sick, and weak.

Luckily after a few months of being home I started to be able to eat

normally again, but guess what I put on weight.

I put on weight because my body recognized that it wasn't at it's natural,

healthy standard.  So instead of being a size 4 I was a size 6 (the size I was pre-Russia).

I was feeling strong and healthy, but the "compliments" stopped.

So whats the point of all my ranting?

Stop it! Just stop it.  Myself included.

I'm sick of seeing the thigh gaps, fad diets, juice cleanses, and overall unhealthiness online.
Please don't get me wrong, I know there are some girls who are naturally
size 0s, and are perfectly healthy and beautiful that way.
My whole point is to be healthy and stop worshiping unrealistic ideals. 

I remember one day I was having an insecure day, because of course

those are inevitable regardless of how positively you think

of yourself, when I came across my friend Jessica's board on pinterest

entitled "Beauty is not bone thin or thigh gaps".

It featured pictures of people like Jennifer Lawrence, J. Lo, Beyonce,

Kate Winslet, my personal favorite Christina Hendricks, and lots of 40s-50s pin-up girls.

It was like a slap of reality right to my noggin'.  Real women, with real, healthy bodies.

I'm not perfect, I have my fair share of insecure days but here is to trying to always love MY body,

because no one else in the world has the exact same one as me.  

Insanity Week 7

This was by far the hardest week for me mentally, but no worries I got in all of my workouts!

I've come way too far to miss a workout now.

To put it bluntly I was on my period this week and had

virtually no energy.  I got through monday and tuesdays workouts fine

but wednesday I just wanted to sleep, I had been running a slight fever, and

was feeling like a bloated slug.

Well this is where my amazing husband saved the day.

I said, babe the only way I can do it is if you do it with me, he agreed.

Of course it happened to be the longest workout of the program that day

and he was DRIPPING just a few minutes in, and probably hating me, but

it honestly made me feel good that he knows

how hard insanity actually is now.

He is the only reason I got in all my workouts this week and I love him for it.

Again I just want to throw my scale up against a wall because it doesn't want to budge much

BUT again, i'm loving my stomach muscles so what can you do.

I think girls are just trained to be motivated by the scale which is so messed up, just get over it and be healthy (at least thats what I believe on most days).

My husband had a great idea at the beginning of my Insanity journey to have a physical

reward at the end for myself, nothing too crazy expensive but something nice

I could work for.  Well of course shoes (booties to be exact) were my motivator, and I was going to wait until I was done to buy them but they went on sale (like a lot on sale) last week so I bought them and they are now sitting above my t.v. for my last 2 weeks for motivation.

When in doubt, try a little motivation.

Our Wedding Video

Logan and I celebrate our 6-month anniversary tomorrow! I know I know, 6-months is just a short time BUT I just wanted to express how grateful I have been to have this man by my side.  He is perfect for me in every way and always brings out the best in me.  He is the kindest person I have ever met and is constantly making me smile.  A huge thanks to Chris McClain Productions for the amazing videography on our big day, he captured our day perfectly.

Reception Video

Another amazing video by Chris McClain! Seriously, I can't get over how perfectly he captured the ambiance of the reception, which plain and simply was a party!
Michelle Leo Events planned and executed our entire day and Michelle really blew me away! I remember wanting to rush over to the venue sight after we were done with video/photography at the temple just so I could see what she had done! It far exceeded my expectations for the day and I couldn't be more grateful to have had such an amazing wedding planner by my side.

Key West, Key West, Key West!

2 weekends ago The Bear and I decided to do some more

adventuring in our new home of Florida and

planned a little trip to Key West. 

It has taken me a little bit to reflect on the place

and how I truly felt about it, nonetheless here it is! 

My review of Key West, Florida.

Friday afternoon we took off on the 4-hour drive to Key West.

Looking back it was the best part of the trip!

Not being negative, honest, but being surrounded on all sides by the ocean was just the coolest feeling!

It is a one-way highway the whole way down so you go at a pretty slow pace of 45-50 MPH

but we just enjoyed it and the weather was perfect.

Now I have never ventured to the true South (which is odd seeing as I have lived everywhere else and traveled to many countries!).  And I know Florida isn't the true South BUT

I have to say The Keys is the closest I have been and didn't disappoint in that respect.

The architecture was amazing, all of the old historic homes, they were

like plantation homes but with a caribbean twist they were also heavily

art-deco influenced which was beautiful. 

It was October so every house was decked out for Halloween and it gave the place a 

real spooky feel! I was hoping our Bed and Breakfast that we stayed at wasn't haunted!

Here are some pictures of The Avalon Bed and Breakfast, a historic Bed and Breakfast

dating back to the 1800s! It was so cute, and perfect.

A real high-light was the food! As mentioned before I LOVE seafood, it is simply the best

and we found a place called DJ's Clamshack that did not dissappoint me.

They did traditional Maine Lobster rolls and they for sure had my heart,

we went twice.

We went to another place to try the local "conch" fish, yes those shells

you blow in to to make that loud noise are actually like a giant slug and

people love to eat them.  We tried some fried conch fritters, fried green tomatoes, and a shrimp po' boy

but to be honest the fritters and tomatoes were not so good.

I have heard people RAVE about fried green tomatoes but I found them bland and greasy.

However, the po' boy was legit.

Another cool fact, turns out, key-lime pie was invented in Key West, who knew? Well,

I certainly didn't, they put a piece of pie on a stick and dip it in chocolate

and oh boy they are divine! 

Here are some foodie pics as you know I could not resist posting pictures of food.

Saturday we decided to do something really cool and went on a 

26-mile jet ski tour of Key West! 

Now I have been jet-skiing in lakes before but never on the ocean, and I got a little beat up! 

My entire body locked up after the fact because I was so tense

riding on the back of the thing on waves in the ocean! 

But before that happened it was awesome.

We actually saw 2 dolphins on our tour and turned off our jet-skis

and just watched them swim around us! 

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water and we definitely soaked up

our fair share of rays!

After that we stopped by Ernest Hemingway's home and hit the beach.

We had a great time being somewhere new and exploring together! 

All that being said, the Key West "scene" is trash, absolute trash.

Before I continue, a little disclaimer, anyone who knows me knows

that I do not care what your sexual orientation is, I just don't care.

Gay, Straight, I'm more concerned with a persons character

than their sexual orientation.

That being said, Key West is a major Gay town.  And thats fine,

but when everywhere you turn are inappropriate clubs, porn shops, and

adult entertainment advertisements it gets on my last nerve.  

Straight or Gay, tasteless sexuality being thrown in my face gets on my last nerve.

On top of that there are A LOT of drag queens walking the streets. 

I get it, drag is "funny", maybe it's funnier when you are drunk and its 3 AM, but when its 2 in the afternoon and drag queens are cat-calling people on

the street, again it gets on my last nerve. 

So in the end I would never take children here, and to be honest its definitely 

a do it once kind of place.  We were there for 3 days and that was plenty, I have no idea

what you would do there for a whole week (besides go to strip joints apparently).

But the drive back made me forget (mostly) about the trashiness and reflect on

the beauty our country and the earth in it's entirety has to offer. 

Insanity Weeks 5 AND 6!

I am combining my weeks 5 and 6 workouts into one post this week.

Last week Logan and I vacationed in the Keys so I was a bit pre-occupied

and didn't get around to posting, no worries, I still got all of my

work-outs in!

Week 5 is the "recovery" week before the 60 minute Cardio Intervals begin,

so you do the same "Core Cardio and Balance" workout the whole week.  

Repetitive? Yes.  Easy? Not exactly.

While it is a break from the high intensity cardio, it still left me dripping in sweat

and sore in new places as it focuses on your abs and balance (imagine that).

Week 6 was INSANE guys, but seriously, it made month one seem like

a walk in the park! You go from 40 minute workouts to 60 minutes but

you also UP the impact/intensity/difficulty level.

A couple of the moves had me saying, there is no way, so I had to modify.

The butterfly pushups in particular.

Oddly enough my knees haven't bothered me throughout this process very much at all,

but instead my wrists have been taking a beating.  

Especially this week because there are SO many more pushup variations

in this month than the one previous.

The beginning of this week had me feeling so out of shape but tonights workout left me feeling

like i'm back in the "insanity mode".  I only have 3 weeks left on this journey 

and I have to say I am quite proud of myself.  

I am most impressed with the definition in my abs and legs.

I had chicken legs to begin with but adding a couple of cuts

to my calves and thighs looks good!

And my stomach hasn't looked like this since high school, so thats cool too.

Again, the scale is the least of my motivators.

Thought I'd share something besides just my sweaty face, how about my whole sweaty self?

Clearly I am new to the whole fitness posing thing because my left arm looks ridiculous, really what is it doing? Such a newb.

Oh yes, and I decided I wanted to do Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred program after this.

1. Because I really like her and her bod

2. It's only 30 days

3. I've done the workouts before and they aren't as intense as Insanity so it will be

a bit of a recovery for me

4. There are weights involved which will be a nice change

Happy Exercising Peeps! 

Buca Di Beppo Copycat Recipes!

Man oh man was last night an excellent night of cooking.

I was stumped as to what to cook this week (I do all my planning on saturdays)

and was aimlessly searching instagram and some of my fav. food blogs

for inspiration when POOF! Inspiration.

Buca Di Beppo copycat recipes.

I did lots of research comparing recipes to get the end results of last night's yummy feast.

Buca's apple gorgonzola is my all-time favorite salad, it's the best.

So, I decided to pair it with Buca's Penne San Remo, and both were spot on!

Just a little warning, these are not the quickest recipes, they ARE however, easy, but

maybe not the best recipes for people in a rush!

Let's start with Apple Gorgonzola Salad, I am telling you you HAVE to make this recipe with the candied pecans, the extra spice makes them even more special than just your store bought ones, or just candying them with plain old sugar.  Also, the homemade dressing is a MUST, its adds the kick that makes this salad so special.

Salad Ingredients:

Romain lettuce

1 Large Granny Smith Apple sliced

Dried Cranberries 

Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese (I used feta because my husband doesn't like "blue like" cheeses)

Spiced Pecans (or walnuts, recipe below)

Mustard Dressing (recipe below)

Mustard Dressing Ingredients:

2 Cloves Minced Garlic

1/4 Red Onion

2 TBSP. Dijon Mustard

1 TSP. Italian Seasoning

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Cup EVOO

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Put all of the dressing ingredients into a blender or food processor and BLEND! 

And it's done, that makes  A LOT of dressing so feel free to half that, and you'll be fine. 

Spiced/Candied Pecans Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 TSP. Salt

1/2 TSP. Pepper

1/2 TSP. Ground Ginger

1/4 TSP. Cinnamon  

Pinch of Red Pepper

2 TBSP. Butter

1.5 Cups of Pecans 

Add all ingredients to a fry pan and cook/stir until sugar is melted and well incorporated, transfer to parchment paper or tin foil to cool.

Serving:

To assemble your salad simply toss together the desired amount of all of your salad ingredients (except the apple) with your dressing and pecans.  Then place on a plate and arrange your sliced apples around the plate to make for a gorgeous presentation.

Now for the Penne San Remo, this made a TON of pasta, like enough for 4 so I adjusted this recipe
for the blog the best I could that would serve 2-3 generously.

Ingredients:
8 Ounces Penne Pasta (I do whole wheat, but I think white is prettier)
1/2 LB. Chicken Cutlets (or chicken breasts pounded thin)
1/2 Cup Flour (for chicken)
2 TSP. Italian Seasoning
1/2 TSP. Salt
1/2 TSP. Pepper
2 TBSP. EVOO
1 TBSP. Butter
1 TBSP. Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Marinated Artichoke Hearts, quartered, (you can find marinated artichoke hearts in a jar at the grocery store for very cheap, mine were $2) make sure to cut off the stems
1 Small Can of Peas (drained)
1/2 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes, thinly sliced (I left them out because Logan doesn't like them, but they are great in this recipe!)
1/4 Cup White Wine (I always tend to add a little bit more so I probably did about a half a cup)
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup of Parm. Cheese

Directions:
1. Cook penne pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside
2. Combine flour, italian seasoning, salt and pepper on a plate and dredge your chicken in the mixture
3. Heat EVOO and butter over medium-high heat in a large saute pan that has large enough sides to fit all your pasta!
4. Add chicken to EVOO/butter and cook for 3-4 minutes (or until golden) and flip, when chicken is cooked through remove from pan, slice and set aside, remove excess oil and add new EVOO to the pan
5. Add artichokes, tomatoes, and garlic to the pan and cook for 2 minutes (stirring)
6. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the flour mixture you used for the chicken over the artichoke/tomato/garlic mixture (you are setting up your sauce) and stir until well incorporated
7. Add white wine to the pan, when it starts boiling reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for 2 minutes
8. Add cream and stir
9. Add parm. cheese and stir until cheese is melted
10. Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes
11. Add pasta and chicken and stir well! Hope you have a big pan cause my pasta overtook the pan making for
a fun mess
**Remember, always salt and pepper to taste

Pesto and Breadcrumb Creamed Salmon

For those of you who don't know, my favorite cuisine is seafood.

Well actually seafood isn't a cuisine, so by default my favorite is

French BUT my favorite type of food is seafood.

I grew up on the East Coast and living in Maine for

a few years certainly spoiled me!

My family never cooked seafood at home (my mom hates the smell)

so whenever we went out thats what I would order.

And to this day that is still mainly what I like to eat

when I eat out.

One fish I never really loved however was salmon.

It's just fine but not my favorite.

My husband however LOVES it, his whole family does, so 

I wanted to find a way to make it more tasty to me.

And that was the inspiration for last night's supper.

Well that and the fact that I had a small container

of pesto sitting in my freezer.

Logan said it was top 2 for him out of the things I have made for him,

and it even had me going for seconds.

Plus this is the easiest recipe ever! 

So here is my recipe for Pesto and Breadcrumb Creamed Salmon: (serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets (I know there is MUCH debate about wild vs. farmed but I just bought what was on

sale at the market so sue me)

2 TBSP. Basil Pesto (or i'm sure any other kind of pesto would be yummy too!)

2 TBSP. of Cream Cheese (or Creme Fraiche if you can find it)

3 TBSP. Italian Breadcrumbs 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Create two pouches for your salmon on a baking sheet using tin foil (they will be cooked individually)

3. Lay filets in your pouches (flesh side facing up) and salt and pepper the filets.

4. In a bowl combine pesto, cream cheese, and breadcrumbs with a fork, make sure they are well incorporated. 

5. Spread the mixture on top of the salmon filets 

6. Seal your packets

7. Cook the salmon for 10 minutes, then open up your packets so the fish is exposed and cook for another 10 minutes (or until fish is cooked through)

Serving: We ate this with a linguini pasta (with a pablano alfredo sauce) and roasted asparagus but you could do anything really! It would be equally as yummy served over a cold green salad. 

ALSO: We did these individually but this would be an impressive dish

to make for a dinner party and you could just do one large

piece of salmon and cook it in one large piece of tin foil. 

Heid Dogg and G$ come to Fort Lauderdale!

Boy do we love having guests, and having my parents

was just SO much fun!

There is no one I love hanging out with

as much as family and we really had a blast.

They were here for a short 4 days so we packed a lot of really fun things in during that time!

My Mom and Dad flew in on Thursday and we immediately

hit up the most delicious Mexican Restaurant, located in the hood.

The mid-west just not have any decent Mexican food

so it is always something my family really enjoys

when traveling.

After that we got them checked into their hotel

and we headed to our Apartment so they could check out where

Logan and I are living.  We were able to relax for a bit before Logan got off work.

Thursday night we ate a fabulous dinner at the Four Seasons and enjoyed

eating outside in the glorious Florida weather.

Friday it was time for some adventure so we decided to go on a 

half-day snorkeling excursion.

To be honest the water was really cloudy so the snorkeling itself was

pretty bad BUT we had such a fun time swimming in the warm water

and soaking up some rays.

Here is the beautiful Heid dogg on the boat!

After snorkeling we ate dinner at our favorite local spot Thai Spice!

Seriously we had a FEAST and ate ourselves silly!

Saturday we decided to continue the party at the Everglades going to

The Everglades Holiday Park.  

Ever watch Gator Boys on Animal Planet? 

Well that's their park! 

Seriously we are such red necks sometimes but I love it.

We rented a personal airboat and it was the best decision ever.

You can go on the huge group ones that hold like 40 people, but it sits in the water

and quite frankly is a little lame.

But the personal boats only hold 4 (lucky us!) and you get to go in to

all the different parts of the Everglades that the big

boats can't.  

For an hour we zipped around the Everglades

spotting two gators, plenty of animal life

and just enjoyed some gorgeous nature.

It was such a relaxing feeling to sit up high on the edge of the boat and just

have wide open space in front of you.

The Boats

The Everglades!

GATORS! 

Me and My Pops G$

I am SUCH an animal freak so you KNOW I was not leaving til I got to

hold one of them gators! He was a cutie. 

Saturday night  I cooked dinner and we enjoyed the Priesthood Session of General Conference

(a church meeting broadcast worldwide), and on Sunday we lounged,

ate some yummy food and enjoyed watching more Conference.

We are so glad my parents came to visit us, it was simply the best!

xo.

Insanity Week 4! Half way through!

It is the half way point kids! 

I finished week 4 of the Insanity work-out program and I am feeling strong.

Week four was the hardest yet simply because I had family come into town.

Friday and Saturday's workouts were hard to get in but I did it!

Friday I had to workout while my family watched football on the couch right next to me!

Honestly, I would NEVER do that normally, because seriously, fitness

is about balance, not missing out on family time to get in 

a workout.  But this is a little different,

I set a goal to follow the workout plan so I had to do that.

Feeling toned, firm, and fit, the scale is just not my friend on this journey.

I've read a lot of reviews that say to forget about the scale

because its all about the muscle tone but it can still

get discouraging.

I mean really, I have worked out 6 days a week for 4 weeks and it hasn't budged much.

On top of that I have been eating the suggested number of calories by the program and

playing tennis several times a week.

Oh well I am too far in to even think about giving up!

This next week of workouts is a "recovery" week where I still workout

6 days but the workouts are lesser and aimed to help recover the body

before going into the second month of intensified workouts.

The second month workouts are 60-minutes of interval

training (increased from 40) so I am pretty sure I will die, we will see.

Still loving the sense of accomplishment I feel after doing

these crazy workouts.