Weekend Reflections: Bye Felicia (Summer)

Happy Tuesday loves!

Last week was quite possibly one of the most miserable work weeks of my life.  I cannot seem to fathom why people are so rude to each other and in my line of work it seems that I just have to take it and move on.  I didn’t do a great job of letting it roll off my back and decided to take a few mental health days.  I’m flying to Connecticut to visit my family tomorrow so the extra two days has helped me get my life in order.

I seemed to have caught the Harry Potter bug about a decade too late.  I feel like a preteen all over again.  I finally started reading the books and I am just in love.  Can I just go to Harry Potter world @ Universal now?! (Hint, Hint … Matt).  I started these last week and finished the first one & began the second already.

I had to give a big training at work on Thursday & was so nervous I had to come home on Wednesday and just chill.  Matt was having a crazy night too so we ordered food from Pizzetta’s, for the thousandth time, and went to bed at 7:45.  It was still bright outside, haa, but felt soooooo nice.  Salad>Chicken Parm, or so I tell myself.

The training went fabulously on Thursday, I made it through without skipping any important details or getting tounge twisted.  Friday felt like a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders which led to an early wake up call.  I am rushing & running late always so when I wake up early it’s quite the victory that should be celebrated with makeup, iced coffee’s & shopping trips #yearningforfall

We decided that this was the official last weekend of summer, even though it’ll be 90 degree’s here until probably October.  When I was growing up my birthday always fell really close to labor day (sep 6th) and it always seemed to get cooler around that time.  Even though we are down south now and the weather never cooperates, in my mind labor day is still the official end to summer.  Since we deemed this the last weekend of summer it seemed only fitting that we spend the day at the beach.  First of course we had to stop at Wake N Bake for donuts!  Matt got the white chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, & wake and bacon.

I don’t really like donuts so I always get the fritter.  They’ve only had blueberry when we’ve been recently which is amazing but this time they had the apple! Definitely not as good as blueberry but perfect for our “summer send off weekend”

The weather was perfect until it got really overcast and started sprinkling.  We had already been there for a few hours at that point so it wasn’t a big deal.

For dinner we went to …. Pizzetta’s because I can’t get enough of their dang salads.  They also were embracing fall and had angry orchard cocktails out! I had an apple sangria & Matt had a Whiskey/Angry Orchard mix.

Sunday was so fah-reaking busy.  We went to breakfast & then to the gym.  Then the next million hours were spent running around town wrapping up a bunch of stuff.  Matt is working towards some big changes for our future so we had to get quite a few things. Meal Prepping was easy because I didn’t have to do much for me so I made Matt’s lunches.  He loves this recipe and it’s become a staple in our house – SO easy.

Pepperjack Chicken (adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (5-6)

Low Sodium Stove Top Stuffing Mix (Chicken)

98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

1/4c milk

Pepperjack cheese slices (her recipe calls for swiss and i’m sure that’s great too)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Layer chicken on the bottom of a baking dish.

3. Cover with a layer of cheese slices

4. Mix the milk with the cream of chicken soup & pour all over the cheese.

5.  Pour the box of dry stuffing mix on top (you can do 1/2 or the entire box).

6. Bake for 45-60 minutes.  This will depend on how thick your chicken breasts are.  Mine are always so thick so I go 60 minutes.

Usually I make rosemary roasted baby red potatoes to go with this or some steamed broc.  This picture doesn’t look nearly as appetizing as it is.

After all that cooking we didn’t have anything for dinner & had to run out.  We grabbed dollar taco’s from the new Island’s downtown.  It’s like a Wilmington staple and Matt had never been there.

Matt was off work on Monday as well so we could run around town yet again.  We had to go to the gym in the morning, which I hate.  I am a schedule and routine kind of girl & hate when it gets thrown off.  I’m not very flexible and that’s something that I try to work on.  I did end up having a killer glutes/hamstrings workout though (posted below).  I like to split my leg workouts up when i have time – it’s such a big body part I find it’s easier when I focus on glutes/hams one day and then quads/calves another day with plyometric work sprinkled all over.

I don’t like to write down sets/reps – sometimes I do 2 sets of 30 and sometimes I do 4 sets of 10 – just depends on what gives me the best burn.

warmup: 5 min on the elliptical + lying hamstring curls

SM reverse lunges supersetted with wide sumo squats

Cable Kickbacks – few sets with a bent knee, few with a straight leg

DB romanian DL Supersetted with a glute kickback machine

BB good mornings

BB hip thrusts (**fav booty exercise)

abductor machine 4 ways (1 set leaning all the way forward, 1 set with your hips elevated off the seat, 1 set normal, 1 set pulses really heavy)

followed this with cardio + some plyo work (jump squats, pop squats, jump lunges, 180 squat jumps, etc)

After Matt dragged me around town (Fingers crossed we hear good news though) I forced him to do some shopping with me.  Also, got my stitch fix in the mail – eek! I could keep everything in the box again but I’m trying to resist.  This top is  keeper though 🙂

That’s about it! I’m off to run some errands today including my Mazda’s 1st oil change! I can’t believe I’ve had that car for so long <3.  I can’t share too many details about what’s going on but if you are reading this please send some silent prayers & good vibes our ways.  We are making big moves towards the future and don’t want anything other than what God has planned for us.  We can only take it so far and then it’s truly in his hands.

I’ll be checking in when I get back from Connecticut & will be a year older, oy vey!

Weekend Reflections: Anniversary Weekend & dramatics

I was trying to post this yesterday but was having serious monday blues!  The sweeter life gets the more depressing it becomes to start the week.

The weekend didn’t start off very good but it ended up being blissfully perfect and exactly what I needed.  I had planned to spend the weekend in Charlotte with my best of friends but the universe wasn’t working in my favor.  I tend to get worked up over even the smallest things and it can completely ruin a day for me.  I have been getting dumped on at work more than usual which combined with a few personal things + PMS put me in a full on breakdown.  I ended up coming home from work on Thursday and laying on the couch with peanut m&m’s & sad movies for the evening.  I am really thankful for a man who works so hard to understand me.  I know that it can be difficult when my emotions are irrational so I’m lucky that he is patient with me.  Journaling & reflecting on these “panic episodes” has been really helpful but unfortunately it only helps me in the aftermath, I can’t also see through the attacks as they are happening and usually shut down completely.  I have missed out on a lot by letting these emotions take over me and it’s something I’m really working on.   The worst part was I missed drinking this champagne with my bestie ….

On top of my grumpiness, it was our anniversary weekend!  Matt and I have been unsure what day we consider ourselves official since our friendship morphed into a romantic one seamlessly.  We were long distance for a while and in August of last year he booked a flight from Mass to NC to come visit me.  The second he got off the plane we both knew and that’s what we consider our anniversary. I screwed the dates up and thought it was the 21st but it’s actually the 20th which happened to be the peak of my breakdown.  Poor Matt, he was truly a trooper.   When I chose to stay home for the weekend instead of going to Charlotte we figured we should celebrate our anniversary all weekend and just spend time together and it really was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Friday I stayed home and puttered around the house still feeling kinda blah.  Matt came home from work early to run a few errands so I tagged along.  I wouldn’t call the DMV + bank a fun Friday but it was refreshing not to be at work and just be along for the ride.  Matt’s gift for me was delayed so he did the second best thing – took me to dicks & told me to pick out anything I wanted!  With some SERIOUS restraint, I snagged a pair of Nike pants & left a much happier girl.  We spent the evening at the gym & then a very fancy post work out anniversary dinner at Chick Fila.   I was still so indecisive at this point it had to be quick & easy.

Saturday turned out to be the most blissfully perfect day I could have asked for.  Neither of us could sleep so we woke up early and had breakfast outside on the patio.  We decided to head to the beach for the day.  Before we got to the beach we just had to stop at Wake N Bake Donuts.  It’s on the way to the beach after all 🙂 Matt got the Maple Bacon & Pistachio and I had to get the blueberry fritter.  The size of this deliciousness.

The weather was perfect for catching rays & reading. I started and finished Sarah’s Key this weekend and now can’t stop googling aspects of the holocaust.  I wish I payed more attention in school.

After the beach we went to a newly updated grocery store to grab something for dinner.  This grocery store has a beer den where you can sample beer and sausages and it was a lovely pit stop!  Strawberry blonde – yum!  They are switching out a bunch of kegs for the pumpkin & cider beer’s – thank goodness we have fall to look forward to!

Since we hadn’t eaten in so long and always seem to have ice cream and donuts on the same time we made a quick spin for pre dinner sundae’s.   Anniversary Weekends = Infinity macros 🙂

We spent the rest of the afternoon snuggled up on the couch with premature woodchuck’s and the PGA tour.

For dinner we threw the sausages on the grill with a couple turkey burgers for balance.  Still giggling at the sausages names – “the fiery italian” – oh, you mean me?

We exchanged gifts already because I can’t keep a secret.  I gave Matt this adorably nerdy Harry Potter card – I couldn’t resist myself and an under armour shirt.   His gift for me finally came in and it was this ridiculously thoughtful print for the house. That color blue is my absolute favor color and it’s all over the house already.  I can’t even with the fact that he created an etsy account because he knows how much I love handmade thoughtful things and we know he won’t be getting crafty anytime soon :).  I am so damn lucky to call this man mine.

The rest of the weekend was spent much of the same – literally glued to each other sides.  I love that man so much it makes me tear up sometimes just thinking of how much.  I am very grateful for the time we were able to spend together – I just wish there was more of it.    There are a lot of things brewing for our future and I’m optimistic towards what’s next for us.

As always, Monday blues cured with perfect weather + great round of Monday golf

xoxo, casey

Weekend Reflections: 2000 grams of sugar

Some weekends have the beauty of utter relaxation. This weekend turned out to be one of those super exciting snuggly routine kinda weekends but I’ll bore you with the details and unfortunate lack of photos regardless. Matt had an early day on Friday so I worked from home for a little extra time together.  The best part about working from home is not having to wear pants and being able to make fun lunches like flat bread grilled chicken pizza’s – yuuuum!

After work we went to the range to hit a few balls and then went to a local italian/pizza place close by for dinner.  They had the most delicious salad with Mixed greens, goat cheese, candied walnuts, grilled local peaches, drizzled honey, grilled chicken, and a blueberry vinaigrette (not pictured/inhaled).

Saturday then became the day we consumed 2000 grams of sugar!  Matt was golfing with some buddies so I headed to the gym for an amazingly sweaty glute workout.  Then met a girlfriend to head to the Carolina Beach.  A new gourmet donut shop (Wake N Bake) opened up out there so we decided we would check it out.  Once we saw the display we knew that we needed to sample the lot!

We got a half dozen to share along with the largest and most delicious blueberry fritter I have ever tasted!

From left to right we got: chocolate peanut butter cup, white chocolate wonderful, samoa, maple bacon, creme brulee & the turtle.  I didn’t try the maple bacon (I actually do not like bacon) and the white chocolate and creme brulee ones were a little too sweet for me.  The samoa, turtle, and chocolate peanut butter were ammmmazing though!  Nothing can top the blueberry fritter though, I can’t stop thinking about it! It was perfectly cooked so it was nice and crispy and flaky on the outside but cakey on the inside – not too sweet but just right.

We ended up with a graveyard of donuts and barely finished half.  We spent the next few hours laying our beached whale bodies in the sun.  Matt called to say that he was finished around 3 so we headed back to meet him.  He didn’t have the greatest round so we went back to surprise him with the maple bacon & boston cream bacon donuts.

We ended up hanging out at her house watching harry potter for the rest of the afternoon.  Later that evening we were starving for real food so we grabbed some dinner and then ended up getting huge sundae’s at Brusters.  As if we hadn’t already had enough sugar.

The rest of the weekend was spent detoxing from sugar, lounging around watching Harry Potter, the gym, a little housework & an electrician visit (this time not due to me hanging curtains).

XO, Casey

Weekend Reflections: The greatest country in the world!

Three day weekends are like a gift from freaking heaven.  I was busier than expected last week so I ended up working from home all week.  We got a lot of rain and Matt was getting off work early so there were a lot of couch naps while I was finishing work & evening workouts together (which is a rare treat in our house due to our crazy schedules).  I typically don’t see this guy until Friday nights.

Friday we woke up early for a round of golf with another friend of ours.  I’ve only recently started playing so I’m still learning and this was 1st time off the range & actually playing 9 holes.  Surprisingly, I did really well for my first time and only lost one ball in the water!  I even almost made par once though it was likely a fluke. 

Looking the part is half the battle

Who knew golf was so exhausting?  No way I could have played 18 holes!  Afterwards we went to PT’s per tradition for a burger & chicken sammy.  I skipped the fries which is basically a travesty but summer bod > fries.

After a longggg nap we ventured out to the gym for leg day because we are gluttons for punishment.

Saturday was another day early to rise!  Why do we never sleep?!  We met up with some friends at the beach and stayed alllll day.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL and it was the perfect way to spend the fourth!

Just creepin on my Kan Jam pro’s & drinking some BCAA’s.

There were no shark attacks thankfully but we kept a close eye on the boys in the water & confirmed their blood types & organ donor preferences just in case. 

stole danielle’s snap chat #toosoon #toomuch?

We all headed home to shower, relax & Netflix and then met back up for dinner at K38.  Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos – probably because I rarely get to sneak the occasional taco in so when I do I don’t play around!  Something I’m working on within finding balance is really enjoying these moments.  Often when you diet restrictively you find yourself looking so forward to a meal you forget to enjoy the experience.  I got to spend this holiday full of sunshine & great friends and the taco’s were an added bonus!  Really taste your food & enjoy the company.  Also – put down your phones and be in the moment!

Did snag a photo of this shirt …  America & Jax Teller *hearts emoji*

We headed downtown to watch the fireworks afterwards and stood in an hour long kilwins line.  Also, no pictures because (see above) but it’s the most delicious ice cream in town & you should absolutely check it out if you are ever in town. Toasted Coconut is my signature and only flavor I’ve ever gotten – yummm, yumm!

I mean – look at this dude, could he be any cuter?  Actually don’t look at him 😉

We slept in forever on Sunday and I treated Matt to some protein pancakes made with Cellucor’s funfetti protein powder.  Matt said they were delicious & I snagged a bite to confirm the statement. Anything that includes sprinkles is a win. 

The rest of the day was full of a little house work & lots of snugglin on the couch.  Weekends like this really make me reflect on what a beautiful life I’m grateful to live.  I live in the greatest country in the world and thank everyone who has made that possible (esp my very own dreamboat war hero).  I have so many goals and hopes & dreams but I truly am so happy with what I have while I work towards all of those things.  Cheers to sunshine, great friends, taco’s, golf, snuggling, the man of my dreams & america!

However, now it’s Monday and we are 50 shades of sad and mourning the loss of a perfect weekend. 

XO, Casey &  Harley