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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Search Results for: sonoma
Summer Bucket List — How’d I Do?
Did you enjoy the first weekend of fall? I can’t believe that it’s finally here. Partly because it’s still hot and partly because, YOU GUYS, fall is the gateway to the holidays and didn’t we just start this year. I feel like I just laid down some resolutions.
But it’s about time to revisit the Bucket List. I put a metric ton of crap on that list and while I’m happy with what I finished, I’m sort of exhausted re-reading this. I think I was being a little aggressive, perhaps? 🙂
My fall bucket list is basically going to say “Sit on Your Ass and Drink Apple Cider.” Well maybe not exactly that, but there will be some chilling the heck out for certain. But before I even start thinking about fall, let’s re-cap summer. It definitely was a good one!
Travel + Social
*Day Trip/Hike in Marin County + SF
Oh we nailed this and it was SUPER FUN. I would totally do it again. I love Marin County. In fact, I wish I was doing that right now!
*Weekend trip to Lake Tahoe
Yup. Condo Rented. Fun had. Can’t wait to do it again next year.
*Weekend trip to Sonoma
We ended up heading to Sonoma for for my cousin Jim’s wedding, but did not end up making a whole weekend of it. Still super fun!
*Drink a Glarifee
Obvi.
*Weekend trip to Bodega Bay
We went and the weather was FREAKING BEAUTIFUL. All Sacramentans know there is nothing better than getting to the coast when the summer temps get in the triple digits around here. I was cold. There was a hot tub. Enough said.
*Long weekend in Iowa
Boo! This didn’t happen. And I’m annoyed about it. Plane Tickets: Y U BE SO EXPENSIVE???
*Host Book Club Dinner at our house
We did it, and we did it on a school night! What?
*Make some friggin’ s’mores already (spring carryover!)
I’m giving up on s’mores. There clearly not a non-paleo dessert that I prioritize, so whatever.
Relax
I honestly see these as the most challenging. Clearly I am doing this wrong.
*Visit a pool that has cabanas, fancy lounge chairs, cocktail service OR All of the Above
Nope. I don’t even know if I visited a pool this summer. Oh wait, yes I did, last weekend. But I didn’t even swim. Lame.
*Get a pedicure. (Note to self: This is not that hard. Quit failing at it!)
Still Failing.
*Watch Game of Thrones, Season One
Most of it! Not done yet, but it’s great. I’m just slow at watching TV Programs.
*Read 15 books (That’s…aggressive, but let’s just leave it)
Well I read 11, so I’ll call that good. But I didn’t get to everything on my Summer Reading List.
*Read a lot of those outside: in the yard, on a beach, on a balcony, on a bench. It doesn’t matter.
Done.
*Get 8-9 hours of sleep at least 4 nights per week
I would say I got 8 hours about 3 nights per week. Mostly it’s more like 6-7. I need to work on that so much, but it’s going to involve taking this off my plate and I’m not ready to give anything up yet.
Food
Summer is for eating and drinking. That is one of the 10 commandments.
*Make lemonade that tastes good without sugar
Nailed it. Loved it.
*Turn that lemonade into an adult beverage
Yep. But not too often. Just enough to TREAT YO SELF.
*Cook from the garden as much as possible
So-so. The garden wasn’t really a stunner this year.
*Get more creative with the fresh herbs you are growing (Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Cilantro)
See above.
*Blog about it
This summer was a Garden Fail, okay. Quit rubbing it in!
*Write a recipe that involves sauerkraut that people will want to eat
Not yet. But I sure ate a lot of it!
*Post recipes for the homemade condiments you make (so. much. better. than. store bought.)
No posts. But I made some wicked mayo.
*Grill some stone fruit
Peaches. Because OMG, I was obsessed with Peaches.
*Try your hand at smoking meat without actually having a smoker
Nope.
*Maybe I should just buy a smoker?
You should.
*Make pickles and also pickle some green beans
Didn’t even try. I like pickles and pickled beans, but they are so easy to buy and just so not easy to make without making a giant mess!
*Get better at grilling seafood
Dude. This was the summer of grilling seafood. I feel like a pro now! So glad I challenged myself!
*Make jam (carryover from spring!)
Fail. Never even crossed my mind.
Health + Fitness
This summer I want to have fun outside (and eat and drink) but also really be mindful of my health progress.
*Go on a hike or trail run
With our equipment such as this Waterfowl hunting blind bag, we hiked. We ran. We didn’t run on hiking trails but did plenty of both. Check plus!
*Climb a rope (So close, I’m getting there!)
Yeah, still not there. I think I might have a bowl of jelly where my lower abdominal muscles are supposed to be. So that sucks.
*Do legit body composition testing that you pay for at the beginning of summer
Oh yes. And it was illuminating! So glad I did that.
*Do it again at the end
Haven’t done it yet, but I totally will. Probably when we get back from Colorado.
*And don’t use your wonk ass “Body Fat Scale” that changes if you drink a big glass of water
I rarely hopped on that. Only at the beginning and end of the Whole 30, I think.
*Asshole.
It really is.
*Re-visit the Naturopath to check your progress.
I haven’t. Mostly because it is about a million dollars and I’ve got about $999,000 to save up for that.
*Also Talk about hormones and babies and all that good stuff.
No but I have been thinking about that.
*Take your fish oil, silly. And your Vitamin D.
Total fail.
*Or maybe just look into Fermented Cod Liver Oil and figure all that out
Done and purchased!
*While you’re at it, learn enough about the importance of the Omega 6:3 ratio that you can speak about it intelligently
I did. Mostly it was because I poured through It Starts With Food. Super informative and easy to understand!
*Keep working on an unassisted pull up and toes to bar. Maybe by the end of summer?????
Oh that’s funny. No.
*Decide if you’re going to run in that October Half Marathon
Shit. I guess I am.
*If you decide YES (eep!) use the CrossFit Endurance method to train
Well, not really, but sort of.
My training plan looks like this: CrossFit 4 times per week. Do one short run and one long run per week. Then pray. And walk some if you have to on the day of. I think it will work just fine. And if not, hey, I’ll know for next time.
Home Improvement
Quit laughing when I write these goals. One of these seasons I WILL ACTUALLY FINISH ONE OF THESE! Then who’s gonna be laughing?
*Paint kitchen cabinets
*Peel off that annoying chunk of wallpaper in the kitchen
*Hang art in kitchen
*Hang art in office
*Get a new duvet cover for the guest bedroom
*Finish the Master Bedroom
*Buy patio furniture
I did nothing on this list. No one is surprised. You guys I am terrible at this shit.
******
To be honest though, I accomplished more than I thought and quite a bit, so I’m cool with how summer went. But man was it BUSY! Lots of time away and running around, interspersed with time just staring at the television or with my nose in a book for recovery. But I think I’m getting ready for hibernation season. Who’s with me??
Fall Bucket List coming next week because I’m really thinking about what I want to do. It won’t be a lot of Carve Pumpkins! and Make Pie! (well, maybe there will be pie) mostly because I don’t really care about that stuff that much right now. But I think after Colorado I will have a clear view of what I want out of Autumn. And of course I will write it all out here.
Bodega Bay Weekend — The Last Hurrah
I took the end of last week off and on Friday afternoon we hit the road. Destination: Bodega Bay — a sleepy little beach town most notable for being the back drop in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. When we got home yesterday afternoon I realized that have taken our last scheduled weekend away this summer, and true confession: I’m kind of glad.
I always start summer looking forward to traipsing around the state and staying at new places and seeing new (or just old and beloved) things. But by the end, my inner introvert comes out and all I really want is to be at home enjoying my house and my yard and my routine.
Oh, how I’ve turned into such an old lady! 🙂
The mission was a to get away and celebrate our friend Matt’s 30th Birthday. The mission was accomplished!
The scenery was pretty stellar, the house perched on a golf course that overlooked the ocean, and the weather really cooperated. Bodega Bay is known for being very coastal and foggy, so we were surprised by how much sunshine and warm weather we experienced.
I really can’t say enough about how beautiful Sonoma County is. Garrett spent the first 10 years of his life there and my grandma moved there when I was 10, so it’s a place that sparks a little nostalgia in both of us.
There was a good amount of boozing and relaxing and eating ALL the salt water taffy, so it should come as no surprise that we are now *actively* looking forward to our Whole 30.
As nice as it is to get away, sometimes it feels just as sweet to be home! I took today off work to get my wits about me and get some stuff done around the house, and that’s just what I plan to do. I’ll be back tomorrow with some of my favorite things this month, and the rest of the week I have lots to say about Whole 30 strategies, new recipes I’m loving and our scientific taste test (ha!) of about 10 different types of coconut water. And uh, they DO NOT all taste the same.
Hope you had a great weekend!
June Progress + July Intentions
The world works in mysterious way I tell you.
You see, I’ve been thinking about what I want to write in this post for a couple of days now. Usually it’s a fun monthly recap and a reminder for me to take a minute and think about what I want the next month to look like. What can I say, I like intentions and of course the ritual of finishing one chapter and then starting the next.
Looking back on my intentions for June, despite the fact that they were all kind of vague (Spend time with friends, hit up Sonoma, work on my running YADA YADA YADA) they were mostly successful. I checked off some events, did some traveling, crossed items off lists, and basically did what I had set out to do. Great, right? Oddly enough though, when I look back at June I don’t really feel all that victorious.
I figured it was partly because I was coming out of an overwhelmed funk. I mean, let’s be real, I’ve been getting a little emo around here lately. Then I thought I was just being hard on myself because I am sort of this way by nature. Or maybe I just needed a good pep talk. Yes! That’s perhaps that was why I felt a bit of an empty victory over June. But yesterday morning I came across two things that made me think a little more about the whole thing.
The first was a quote on my calendar at work. I started my Monday morning by flipping to the month of July, and the quote at the bottom said this:
It made me stop and think — what do I want most? As a goal-setter/list-maker this is a hard thing for me to distill down. I have SO MANY goals and I want to do them all! Unfortunately this means I can get easily distracted, but usually it is not for long since The Malaise sort of takes over when I veer too far off course. So I thought about it some more.
What do I want MOST?
And the answer — as it has been all year — has been to be in the best shape possible when we start trying to get pregnant. Not the skinniest. Not the fittest in America, but My Personal Best. And lately a lot of the things that I have been prioritizing — the eating and drinking and traveling every weekend — while fun, have not really been getting me closer to that goal.
I’m not saying that letting loose over the summer is a bad thing at all. But for me, and for THIS summer — it is not the thing I want MOST. It ends up being the thing I want RIGHT NOW when I get to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And while indulging on the weekends is fun, it is also tiring and takes some recovery time. Back to back weekends of getting out of town and eating crappy food on the road and clinking a few too many glasses with friends have left me feeling a bit worn down.
Not what I want MOST.
The second thing I came across was this New York Times piece about Busyness that spread like wildfire through basically all of my social media channels. My favorite line:
“The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it.”
I’ve talked about The Cult of Busy before and how it is something that I struggle with. And I think the thing about June, to me, was that everything was sort of crammed on my plate in 30 minute scheduled increments and I just kind of let it all fly by.
Acquiescing is a choice. And I would like to make a different one in July. So with that, here’s how I want July to shake out.
July Intentions
*Keep at least one weekend day to yourself – If you have to say no to things, people will understand.
*Get back to clean eating 7 days a week – my weeks are pretty dialed in but the weekends tend to lack some focus.
*Make some performance based fitness goals – I’ll talk more about this later, but I touched on it a bit here.
And honestly, that’s it.
And right now, that’s enough.
Weekend Wedding + Attitude Adjustment
Thanks for the encouraging words Friday, y’all. Couple that with a productive (and celebratory) weekend and I feel like I’m getting my head back on straight!
I had Friday off from work and it was nice to just get some stuff done around the house and then officially start the weekend. Sarah and I enjoyed a little Happy Hour action over at de Vere’s Irish Pub. I like the vibe there and their fried pickles are always on point. We had closed out our tab when we overheard the bartender mention that the tacos of the day were Pork Belly. You know that is the secret password around here, right? OBVIOUSLY we had to immediately open a tab back up and order some. In the end, we were both convinced that those tacos were chicken, which was quite a sad situation for a pork belly enthusiast like myself, but the company and the libations were fantastic! And I guess I should have gone in with low expectations — I mean, tacos at an Irish bar?
After being at the bar, all my friends decided to go to a show of male strippers nyc and it was amazing!
The Black and Tans, on the other hand, were FABULOUS.
Saturday was a big day as wedding bells were ringing for my cousin Jim and his fiance Gina. Garrett, my mom and I packed up early and headed out for a day in Sonoma to watch them get hitched over at the Jack London Lodge. If you have been around here long, you know trips to Sonoma involve some customary food-related Traditions:
Glarifees at Swisshotel and Sandwiches and the Cheese Factory
(I explain the Glarifee here. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area!)
After that little indulgence, we headed over to the wedding which was, in a word: emotional. I am a crazy wedding cryer. You might want to read more about wedding and wedding rings to learn more! I can be completely composed before the wedding but the second it starts it’s just WATERWORKS!
I am surprised I don’t look like a raccoon in every photography I am in. They hired an excellent clipping path service company located in Bangladesh. I was so proud of my cousin Jim standing up there with his lovely bride and their ceremony and vows were personal and beautiful and you just couldn’t help but feel the love!
Those who are planning a wedding may consider hiring an event management company to help organize the whole event. There is also an ultimate wedding planning service that has a professional similar to an event planner in Washington DC who can customize whatever you desire for your wedding! The catch is that you must be a couple who loves to have fun, loves creativity, and loves creating unique experiences for you and your guests. If you’re looking for your best wedding venue, you can choose from one of the best Raleigh wedding venues here that are both affordable and luxurious!
At the reception, my 10 year old cousin Olivia gave us a lesson in how to be fierce and my 2 year old cousin Chelsea schooled ALL OF US on the dance floor! Oh also, there were Samoa flavored cupcakes. No one can resist those! It was coconut cake FILLED with chocolate. Aaaaaah, delicious! A good time was had and memories were made, and that was just what I needed on Saturday.
Sunday I woke up and felt determined to get things back on track! My mom and I hit up the Farmers Market, I cooked some breakfast, prepped for the week and ran out to the garden to pick some zucchini.
Whoops!
Guess I neglected them for a a day or two. YIKES! Regardless, after a month of boozing it up and enjoy some crap food liberally, I’m ready to get things back on track. My fridge is stocked with healthy food and even though I have no idea What’s For Dinner beyond tonight (Uh, I was serious about Zucchini Boats), I’m getting there.
It’s a new week, a new month and I woke up this morning and consciously put on a new attitude. I’m ready to see how this all unfolds.
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POSTED IN: Farmers Market, Glarifee, Jack London Lodge, Sonoma, Sonoma Cheese Factory, Wedding, Zucchini
POSTED IN: Farmers Market, Glarifee, Jack London Lodge, Sonoma, Sonoma Cheese Factory, Wedding, Zucchini
What’s For Dinner?
We’re having WINE for dinner!
Ok, not really. But we are spending this coming weekend in Sonoma for my cousin Jim’s wedding, so our menu is somewhat short and sweet.
Monday
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Andouille with Vegetables
Dinner: Grilled Ginger Lime Shrimp + Cauliflower Rice + Salad
Tuesday
Lunch: Taco Salad (Nope, we can’t go a week without it.)
Dinner: Indian Spiced Beef Bowls with Spaghetti Squash + Salted Radishes
Wednesday
Lunch: Italian Antipasto Salad (recipe soon. It’s delish!)
Dinner: Grilled Fiesta Chicken Thighs + Broccoli + Salad
Thursday
Lunch: Flank Steak Salad with Blue Cheese
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner! (Or Mustgo!)
…and then we’re off! Long weekend in wine-country here we come!
*****
What’s cooking in your neck of the woods?
2012 // Summer Bucket List
Travel + Social
‘Tis the season to get the eff outta dodge! That’s like, a famous quote, right?
*Day Trip/Hike in Marin County + SF
*Weekend trip to Lake Tahoe
*Weekend trip to Sonoma
*Drink a Glarifee
*Weekend trip to Bodega Bay
*Long weekend in Iowa
*Host Book Club Dinner at our house
*Make some friggin’ s’mores already (spring carryover!)
Relax
I honestly see these as the most challenging. Clearly I am doing this wrong.
*Visit a pool that has cabanas, fancy lounge chairs, cocktail service OR All of the Above
*Get a pedicure. (Note to self: This is not that hard. Quit failing at it!)
*Watch Game of Thrones, Season One
*Read 15 books (That’s…aggressive, but let’s just leave it)
*Read a lot of those outside: in the yard, on a beach, on a balcony, on a bench. It doesn’t matter.
*Get 8-9 hours of sleep at least 4 nights per week
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Food
Summer is for eating and drinking. That is one of the 10 commandments.
*Make lemonade that tastes good without sugar
*Turn that lemonade into an adult beverage
*Cook from the garden as much as possible
*Get more creative with the fresh herbs you are growing (Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Cilantro)
*Blog about it
*Write a recipe that involves sauerkraut that people will want to eat
*Post recipes for the homemade condiments you make (so. much. better. than. store bought.)
*Grill some stone fruit
*Try your hand at smoking meat without actually having a smoker
*Maybe I should just buy a smoker?
*Make pickles and also pickle some green beans
*Get better at grilling seafood
*Make jam (carryover from spring!)
Health + Fitness
This summer I want to have fun outside (and eat and drink) but also reeeeeeeeeeeally be mindful of my health progress.
*Go on a hike or trail run
*Climb a rope (So close, I’m getting there!)
*Go kayaking, damnit! (You knew that was gonna show up)
*Do legit body composition testing that you pay for at the beginning of summer
*Do it again at the end
*And don’t use your wonk ass “Body Fat Scale” that changes if you drink a big glass of water
*Asshole.
*Re-visit the Naturopath to check your progress.
*Also Talk about hormones and babies and all that good stuff.
*Take your fish oil, silly. And your Vitamin D.
*Or maybe just look into Fermented Cod Liver Oil and figure all that out
*While you’re at it, learn enough about the importance of the Omega 6:3 ratio that you can speak about it intelligently
*Keep working on an unassisted pull up and toes to bar. Maybe by the end of summer?????
*Decide if you’re going to run in that October Half Marathon
*If you decide YES (eep!) use the CrossFit Endurance method to train
Home Improvement
Quit laughing when I write these goals. One of these seasons I WILL ACTUALLY FINISH ONE OF THESE! Then who’s gonna be laughing?
*Paint kitchen cabinets
*Peel off that annoying chunk of wallpaper in the kitchen
*Hang art in kitchen
*Hang art in office
*Get a new duvet cover for the guest bedroom
*Finish the Master Bedroom
*Buy patio furniture
*****
What are YOU hoping to do this summer?
2012 // Spring Bucket List — How’d I Do?
It’s time to revisit the goals I made at the beginning of the season and I’m feeling pretty confident about accomplishing quite a bit. Spring was rad. End of story. And it makes me feel even more excited for summer!
Social
Wine Country Picnic at least once — So that happened! And it was just what the doctor ordered.
Host Brunch + Make a Fun Cocktail — I didn’t host a brunch, but I did make a fun cocktail. Does that count? 🙂
Plan + Execute something fun for Garrett’s Birthday — It was actually a pretty mellow weekend, but that was only after much prodding from Garrett. So I would say Overall Birthday Success! I mean, there was ice cream for lunch — come on!
Go to the theater – My mom and I hit up Legally Blonde: The Musical. And it ruled!
Win March Madness Pool — FAIL. Boo.
Invite friends over to make S’mores in the fire pit — Didn’t do this, but you can bet it will move on over to the summer list
Social Goals: Success!
Beauty + Style
Get my fake tan on — not only did I do it, but I told you all about it.
Wear a dress everyday for a week — Check. And I documented most of it on Instagram (hollywouldifshecould if you aren’t already following along)
Buy a new bathing suit – I didn’t actually because I’m still loving the one I purchased last year and hardly wore. I did recommend that you get out there and buy YOURSELF a fabulous one. So Did you?
Buy some freaking colorful pants — Done. And I LOVE them.
Get a pedicure — nope. God, I’m such a failure at this. And it’s PAMPERING! You’d think I would be more…diligent?
Dye my hair (eep! haven’t done this in TEN YEARS) — didn’t dye it, but chopped it all off…that totally counts for something!
Spring Beauty + Style: Total Win!
Travel
Spend a long weekend in Portland — Yep. And I can’t shut up about it.
Day Trip to Tahoe — we didn’t do this, but we are headed up there to cheer on our friends competing in The Fittest of the Sierras next weekend for a couple of days. Weekend Trips to Tahoe > Day Trips. Really looking forward to it.
Day Trip to Sonoma — Done. And there was reuniting with Pork Belly. F*CK Yeah!
Day Trip to SF — Didn’t do it. Need to work that out for summer when it is sweltering in Sac. I want to get into the city and take some pictures. Who’s up for a photo date?
Travel: Worked out pretty well.
Home
Read 10 Books — I read exactly 10, even though I picked up 12. Not bad. Don’t forget to enter my Summer Reading Giveway!
Plant Garden — The garden is in the ground and looking pretty good. I keep meaning to post an update but it’s sort of anti-climatic. Maybe I’ll take some pictures this weekend. For now, trust me — this stuff did get into the ground!
Buy a Hydrangea — I did. And it was cute! And now dead. #brownthumbforever
Hang Art in the kitchen — Nope. But I did buy this print and I don’t care if it is going to be the next Keep Calm and Carry On, I love it. And will hang it somewhere. Someday. Maybe?
Paint the office (or one GD room!) — BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I’m starting to think I am doomed to a white house forever. I mean, there could be worse things. But god, Holly, grow a pair and buy some paint already!
Buy fresh flowers for the house more than once – Yep. Worth It. Every Time.
Home Goals: Pretty Good. Still though, grow a pair woman. PAINT YOUR FRIGGEN HOUSE.
Food
Hit up the Carmichael Farmer’s Market — I did! And Y’all it rocks so hard! I’m so glad I finally made it over that way.
Make a Home Cured Corned Beef — Nope. Too lazy. Maybe next year.
Make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (and find someone to eat them) — Nope. But you know, that’s probably good in the end.
Make 5 New Salads — Probably didn’t do that many but I made quite a few from this list. I’ll keep this going for summer. Plus hey — 4 new Salad Dressings!
Make Eggs Benedict for Easter — Tooooooootally. Oh god, who wants to cook me that right now?
Hit up a You-Pick Berry Farm — Didn’t do it. Still might.
Make Jam — These two kind of go together. So basically, double fail. 🙂
Drink a Key Lime Martini at Centro — Ooooh, no but I will TOTALLY do this for summer! Damn those are good.
Food: Fared So-So
Fitness
Explore Trail Running — If by explore you mean “thought about it a lot but did nothing about it” then yes. Success!
Run outside more — totally nailed this. I’ve become pretty comfortable running in 85+ degrees.
Conquer Toes to Bar — So close, yet so far away.
Get 1 Unassisted Pull Up — Don’t even talk to me about this.
Run a 5K — Nope.
Go Kayaking — Summer Bucket List, you’ve been warned.
Fitness: So Hey, this seems like a fail. But more likely, my actions just didn’t really reflect my written goals. I’ll be more thoughtful when I make my Summer List.
*****
I feel pretty happy with those results, and I really feel like we enjoyed the hell out of spring. Sure I wish I would have read more and made more precise fitness goals. But instead we traveled, I cooked, we drank wine…and if you notice I didn’t mention anything about fretting about the scale. I just enjoyed life. It was good. I would like a second helping of that, please!
So. I think we can all agree it’s on to summer, yes? Are you making a bucket list this summer? It seems everywhere I turn people are making them! I love that…so much inspiration! Anything on your must tackle list: Fitness? Style? Home? Food?
Talk to me!
May Progress Report + June Intentions
I’m pretty sure I say this on the first of every month, but HOLY HELL HOW IS IT JUNE ALREADY? The year is almost halfway over. I mean, how is that even happening? This month flew by, and honestly I’m not sure I have a ton to show for it, progress-wise. I’m feeling a little lackluster about my fitness goals so that seems to be clouding everything. But I did have FOUR intentions and they weren’t a total loss.
Here’s how they shook out:
Fitness
Unassisted Pullups, Trail Running, Kayaking were all on my “I’m totally gonna rock that in May” List. All of which I DID NOT DO. We did plan a kayaking trip on Garrett’s birthday weekend but the weather didn’t cooperate and haven’t tried again. Perhaps in June!
This was definitely a rough month at the gym for me but honestly I’m gonna cut myself a little slack because even though I wasn’t in the best fitness head space I showed up and tried hard quite a bit. And I mean, I kicked Murph’s ass — that has to count for something, right?
Food
I had hoped to do some serious dining al fresco and let me tell you I OWNED THIS ONE! 🙂
There was grilling and cocktails and amazing salads and dinner on paper plates almost nightly! It’s starting to get pretty sweltering around here so we’ll see how long we can keep up with that. For now, it was awesome and I’m glad we’ve made an effort to enjoy our backyard so much.
Celebrations
There were plenty! Garrett’s birthday weekend was a relaxing affair, my cousin Gina had her bridal shower and we got to send off our good friend Erin to her next chapter in New Mexico. It’s nice when a month goes by and you realize you have done a lot of glass clinking and toasting to future merriment.
Style
I wanted to wear dresses for a week and cut my hair. I successfully did both. Score! Style Victory.
Now what the hell am I intending to do in June?
That’s a good question.
I want to head over to Sonoma when it gets hot because it is gorgeous there.
I plan to address some items from my 2012 Goal List that I’ve been avoiding (Hello, Finances and Home Improvement!)
I hope to run more and improve my speed (and perhaps think about this half marathon in October that some friends are doing.)
I want to spend time with friends and family, enjoy summer and get to working on my Summer Bucket List.
And I want to talk Garrett into another Guest Post. 🙂
We’ll see how it all goes….
March Progress Report + April Intentions
It’s going to be April, you all! Where the heck is the time going? We are a quarter of the way through the year and I’m all of sudden feeling like there is quite a bit left to do! Ah well…that’s why I make lists!
In February I kicked ass at work but felt a little out of balance. I wanted March to be more fun. In the end, I’m happy to report that this was pretty easy to accomplish! March was full of relaxation and doing things just because I felt like it. I always fear that if I allow myself to only do what I feel like, nothing will get done. But do you know what the weird part is? I got a metric ton of work done on my 2012 Goals WITHOUT REALLY FEELING LIKE I WAS TRYING. Funny how that works. There’s a lesson in there somewhere and I think the lesson is going to sound a lot like “Follow your passions and the rewards will come.”
I get it…but it’s still a bit of a struggle.
I read A LOT of books in the bathtub this past month — my bathroom might officially be my favorite room in our house! I’ll be telling you all about what I read next week — lots of good ones actually — but I’m most excited about this victory because if you’ve been around here the last two months, you know that reading has been sorely missing from my daily routine.
I also worked out with abandon! More than 20 times in March despite the fact that we had weekends full of wine tasting, Girls Night’s with my mom, and dinner parties with my family to throw and life to live! Fitness-wise, I challenged myself this month by participating in the CrossFit Games Open. I have a lot to say about that, so I will probably do so in another post. But rest assured it was a blast and I’m so glad I did it!
I made a lot of progress this month towards getting that first unassisted pullup (June is the goal date! I’m gonna make this happen) and I started doing regular push ups in WODs (aka, not on my knees.) There’s no going back now — and my knees are going to be so happy that I’m no longer doing scaled push ups this spring because: Dresses + Town Whore Knees = Not A Good Look For Me. 🙂
Speaking of dresses — I bought a bunch of new ones and now I am so ready for spring it is silly! (Wear dresses everyday for a week is on my Spring Bucket List, so I’m sure I will show them to you sometime soon. Dresses make me so damn happy!) The weather was FINALLY nice enough for me to wear this dress yesterday and man, I still love it! I think I need to figure out some new ways to style it because I want to wear it every freaking day!
One of the things I’m looking most forward to this spring (aside from new clothes) is some of the places we are going. We solidified some travel plans this month and I’m excited about all of them! In a couple of weeks we are going to Portland — it will be both of our first times so if you have any recommendations of things to see or do, wait scratch that — recos on WHERE TO EAT (ha!) please let me know in the comments! We are excited to be heading up there (it’s one part work, one part play) and it should be a great time. We also ironed out the details of our long Sonoma weekend — both of which are on the Dream Travel List this year. I seriously can’t wait! And finally, for Garrett’s birthday the plan right now is to try and make it out to New Mexico to see his parents. I really would like to make that happen because we had so much fun out there last year.
March also had me switching up our meal planning a bit. We did a stint with some Zone/Paleo for about a month and while we definitely noted some positive changes, it came at the expense of my creativity in the kitchen. But I’m not giving up just yet. I’m taking the things I loved most from Zone (smaller portions, more balanced meals, kick ass food prep) and incorporating that with some of our Paleo passions (meal planning, not eating as much dairy, not having a “cheat day” — can you believe I didn’t enjoy the cheat day? WHO AM I?) My passion for cooking things just isn’t worth giving up! Not even for weight loss, so we’ll see if we can bring back some kitchen creativity and still get to my goals. Remember what I said in the beginning of this post about following your passions? I think I’m going to take that approach with my weight loss strategy!
Last but not least, I took the first steps to making my Summer Garden happen for 2012.
I seeded my tomatoes a little late, but they don’t seem any worse for the wear. I’m getting ready to cut them back and maybe put them outside to harden. Can we all say a little collective prayer that I don’t kill them in the process? Pretty please? I can’t even tell you how excited I am to have fresh tomatoes and squash and who knows what else all summer long! Best part of the season last year, hands down. YUM!
So with all of that said…
Intentions for April:
*Trash the scale, continue to CrossFit for the joy it brings to your life
*Run a 5K just for fun (Local peeps, want to come? It’s such a good cause!)
*Get back to planning some good looking menus
*Travel and document the hell out of it (Yep, I haven’t forgotten about Project Life! I’ll have an update for you in April.)
*I may even do a Week in the Life Album this month. We’ll see!
*Wear some dresses, enjoy the weather
*Get the garden in the ground
Low pressure.
I think I’m enjoying this strategy, so why not keep it going. Let my goals bloom at their own pace. It’ll happen when it happens!
2012 // Spring Bucket List
Spring has sprung around here, and even though we have a whole week before it’s official, I think it’s time to get scheming now.
Here’s some fun stuff I’m hoping to accomplish between now and the end of May.
Social
Wine Country Picnic at least once
Host Brunch + Make a Fun Cocktail
Plan + Execute something fun for Garrett’s Birthday
Go to the theater
Win March Madness Pool
Invite friends over to make S’mores in the fire pit
Beauty + Style
Get my fake tan on
Wear a dress everyday for a week
Buy a new bathing suit
Buy some freaking colorful pants
Get a pedicure
Dye my hair (eep! haven’t done this in TEN YEARS)
Travel
Spend a long weekend in Portland
Day Trip to Tahoe
Day Trip to Sonoma
Day Trip to SF
Home
Read 10 Books
Plant Garden
Buy a Hydrangea
Hang Art in the kitchen
Paint the office (or one GD room!)
Buy fresh flowers for the house more than once
Food
Hit up the Carmichael Farmer’s Market
Make a Home Cured Corned Beef
Make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (and find someone to eat them)
Make 5 New Salads
Make Eggs Benedict for Easter
Hit up a You-Pick Berry Farm
Make Jam
Drink a Key Lime Martini at Centro
Fitness
Explore Trail Running
Run outside more
Conquer Toes to Bar
Get 1 Unassisted Pull Up
Run a 5K
Go Kayaking
*****
What are you guys up to this spring?
Did I leave out anything MAJOR that must be done?
