Friday five

10.18.2013

|1| Fall uniform
I picked up this Old Navy sweatshirt tunic (love how it has split sides and is longer in the back) and I wore it yesterday with an old scarf and my favorite Loft leggings (they are a nice heavy fabric and hold their shape). It was so comfy I may wear it every day. So happy for Fall weather!


|2| Bathroom renovation
It's underway and this is the hot mess we are redoing....


hoping to turn it into this... I love the sectioned off mirrors and soft gray cabinets. Will keep you posted!

Images via Pinterest

|3| Sweet treats
We indulged in these this week -- I look forward to them every year. They make us happy!


|4| Shaving set
This is the cutest thing ever and the boys have LOVED playing with it. Adorable to watch them 'shaving' like daddy.


|5| Back to running! It has been a long, slow process. Three and a half months of recovery for the stress fracture. I've read they are nagging injuries that can take a while to heal and it was true for me. But I am so thrilled to be back on my feet and have much to share (especially about how shoes make a HUGE difference!) I'm in Brooks Ravenna 4's now and finally pain free (well, almost). Won't stray from Brooks again. Long story but will share another time.


Happy Friday!

Things I love

10.15.2013

That I got to spend a whole day with these guys yesterday with no obligations and no rushing around...



It was pretty awesome. 

chicaGO!!!

10.12.2013

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To my friends running chicaGO tomorrow, I wish you fast feet and an amazing finish!! Have a great race!!

Where to begin...

10.11.2013

Long time no see! I have really missed everyone, have missed blogging and documenting life's little details. Life has been happening here and the next thing you know it's October. As always, whenever I have a little break, ideas build up in my head, overwhelm me, and then I don't know where to start! But if I don't jump back in somewhere I'll be on the sidelines forever. So here I am and here's a great big bunch of what we've been doing.

Most memorable about this summer was that both boys reached so many important milestones. I'm so proud of my babies.

Both boys learned to tie their shoes!!!     



Both boys learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!!!



Both boys learned to swim without floaties!!!



Everything seemed to click this year and amazing things happened. This past summer held so many special moments. Oh how I love these little boogers.

Now to play catch up.

April>>
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Ran the best race of my life in the pouring rain with Mr. C by my side (at the end).


May>>
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Did a little vacationing in the Gulf. Heaven.


June>>
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Visited grandparents (and Aunt Sarah) in New York (first time flying for the boys!)


Spent some time on the water...


Ran the toughest half marathon of my life (the inaugural Franklin Half in Leipers Fork)..


which included 13 miles of hills that were as steep as the Rockies in 800 degree heat and 800% humidity on legs that had had a break from training. Not the smartest decision I ever made, and then they (the race people) lost my time at the finish (awesome, but I should actually thank them since I walked up half of those monstrous hills). At least Ashley Judd was at the finish line and Mr. C got the thrill of his life.


I shamelessly took a picture. Even though it was a grueling race I enjoyed it. I love running. But I'm not running that one again.

July>>
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Officially started training for the Chicago marathon. (sweet!) I was so pumped.


Had a scary training run with horrible pain in my foot. After a clean X-ray it was considered plantar fasciitis and I had to take a few weeks off of training.

August>>
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Visited my parents, my brother and sister-in-law + cousins, in Virginia. They have cool toys.


After an MRI for continued foot pain, it was discovered I had a stress fracture. I cried alligator tears. No Chicago marathon for me this year. I was almost in disbelief.


Wore a lovely boot for the rest of the summer. Learned to swim and bike quite well and am adding a triathlon to my list of to-do's. In the words of my Nana C, you can't keep a good girl down!!

My baby started Kindergarten.


I cried a lot (but also watched him make new friends, spread his wings, learn a new routine, and blossom into a sweet little social butterfly). Praise God for awesome teachers who put me at ease and friends who lent me shoulders to cry on.

September>>
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My other baby was off to his 3rd year of pre-school.


Finally, after 3 years of living here, ran into Keith Urban at Mr. C's race. Life is complete.


Cheered for Mr. C as he ran a pretty amazing 10K and now has the running bug.  It was so hard to be a spectator though instead of joining in.


Went to a Taylor Swift concert and pretended I was 15. So fun! Oh to be young! and rich and famous and tall and skinny and blonde and talented.


Now we're gearing up for Halloween and the holidays...


and just making memories and soaking in the days.

So glad to be back!

Things are changing....

7.18.2013

We are getting ready for Kindergarten around here...little C is ready to go to a "big" school and I am quietly coaching myself through the process of letting go a little. I have a hard time thinking about my baby being away from me for 8 hours a day, in others' care, around lots of (great folks I'm sure) but frankly, strangers to me.  I wanted to be brave and "together" through this process but instead, when I think about it, my heart jumps into my throat and I want to cry! I need to get a grip.


We went to Potterybarn Kids the other day and I let him choose a backpack.  Normally I keep the choices carefully paired down but this time I only had one rule.  "No faces please." In other words, I am not buying a backpack with Darth Vader on it. Is that bad?! He's only 6!  I'm just not that into you, Darth Vader.  As I figured, his choice and my choice were a little off. I loved the navy and red nautical stripe (I even told him he could put the scary pirate patch on it!) and while he did point out the Darth Vader one, he chose blue skateboard camo.


I guess it could've been worse -- for some reason PBK put snakes and spiders on many of the backpacks this year (gee thanks!). What's next, a machete and a Budlight? How about a soccer ball or some cars and trucks?

Yesterday, on our way home from school, he says,  "Mom, I don't want to wear these CUTE shirts anymore." Oh no, my heart is sinking.


"Well, what do you want to wear?" I say.

"COOL shirts", he replies. "My friend had on a shirt with a giant squid wrapped around a building."

Oh dear. I'm just not that into giant squids wrapped around buildings... I'm carefully choosing my wording these days and have eliminated 'cute' from my vocabulary. I'm hoping I can still sneak in a few *cool, awesome, manly* appliques without too much opposition. We shall see:)

In the meantime, let me also say I'm counting blessings. I'm thankful they are healthy, happy, and spunky with their little opinions.  I'm thankful for these conversations we have together, because I still see them as the teeny tiny little babies I brought home from the hospital (and I remember dreaming of the days we'd have conversations and they could tell me what they want!). But they grow up way too fast y'all.

5 on Friday

7.12.2013

1~ We've been at the pool 4 days this week and the boys are doing amazing with swimming. They are now running and jumping into the pool, fearless (which means I have heart attacks daily). This has been such a fun summer. I squeeze them tight every chance I get because just look how big they are!



2~ Shopping for back to school shirts. I'm picking up a few cute heat press shirts and these are on my list. The first is by Preppy By Design on Etsy and the second is A Simple Stitch on FB. So stinkin' cute!


3~ I went back to Mizuno sneakers after developing heel pain in my Brooks. I'm in the Wave Inspire 9's and so happy with them. It took a few tries to find the shoe for me.  I have the orange pair and am going to pick up the turquoise pair this week since my running friend says I need 2 pair for marathon training (twist my arm;).

Also loving.loving.loving the Lululemon Track Attack shorts. The waistband is SO comfy and they are looser in the leg than both the Groovy and Speed short. I'm a fan of all but I'm living in these right now. 


4~ I'm still pining over a monogram necklace...need something cute for everyday and this is it. This one is on sale (Etsy), it may jump into my jewelry box! 


5~ I'm fiiiinaaaally getting around to having some of my photos printed. I think this is going to be a monstrous size canvas:)


although I was tempted to go with something more casual...


Which would y'all go with?

Or maybe this one?


Happy Friday!


THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

This week's meal plan

7.08.2013

I've missed y'all! I have no excuses, just trying to keep up with a busy summer routine which means my poor blog gets neglected.

After doing a terrible job getting dinners on the table last week, I sat down this morning and actually looked at a few of the thousands of recipes I've pinned and never made.  I'm vowing to get some good meals on the table this week.

The plan:

Monday: Cheddar jalapeno chicken burgers (via What's Gaby Cooking) and oven baked fries

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Tuesday: Greek chicken (via Savoring the Thyme) and roasted potatoes

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Wednesday: Miso salmon and corn on the cob via Elise Bauer on Simply Recipes
This is an easy recipe with 4 ingredients: 2 tablespoons each of red miso, sake, sugar, and soy sauce. We never have sake and substitute either white wine or mirin (which I've read is too sweet as a substitute but it works for us).

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Thursday: Chipotle grilled chicken tacos found via The Pioneer Woman's blog

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Friday: Pasta and potatoes for some carb loading fun, marathon training on Saturday;)

This is ambitious since hot dogs and scrambled eggs have been happening lately so wish me luck!