Weekend Report

This weekend consisted around the fact that Joel ran an ultra marathon on Saturday!

Since our alarm clock was set for 3:00am on Saturday morning night, we got ourselves tucked into bed super early on Friday night. 

The ultra marathon started at the top of a mountain about two hours away from our house and I was thankful we made it there alive. The drive was windy, dark, and the perfect place to dump a body - which was all I was thinking about, strangely.

That's the moon...

The race started at 6am - and was about 40 degrees at that time of morning. Joel thought the race was going to take him anywhere from 5-7 hours, so I had brought lots of goodies to keep myself distracted while we waited for him. Since it was in the mountain - most people were dropped off or just drove themselves which meant. Roscoe and I were alone....and basically camped in the car.

 

We had a cooler full of goodies, a fully charged iPad, and a few magazines which made it actually kind of fun for a little while. Finally, 11am rolled around, and Joel was slated to finish within next two hours so we took our soccer chair to the finish line and waited for big finale.

 

The weather warmed up very fast and was almost 100 degrees by this time. I worried about the heat for Joel, but he was well hydrated and trained, and although it was hot, it didn't seem to phase him too much.

There were 580 runners - some doing 50k and some doing 50 miles. Joel was a 50k runner and finished 29th overall! It was an amazing accomplishment and we were so proud of him.

 He is such a rockstar, an hour after finishing he chugged a beer and then headed back to LA to celebrate with friends.

On Sunday we cleaned, took a long walk to ease his soreness, and had two of my cousins join us for dinner. It was a perfect way to cap off the weekend.

I have so much wedding stuff to do this week, I'm feeling way overwhelmed. I know it will all get done, but these next two months are going to be tough ones I think.

Friday Thoughts

First things first, REESE WITHERSPOON? Whoda thunk? Well, actually, I think I would have had I stopped gawking over her always perfect hair color and outfit coordination. I know she seems sweet as pie, but I think she may actually be a really, really good actress who has turned into quite a spoiled brat.



I've spent this entire week with what seems to be a head cold. It's been really brutal to have only 3 good hours of energy before I just make a crash landing on my couch. I'm hoping I'll start feeling better sooner than later.

What do you think about Gwen being Most Beautiful? Kind of like Reese, I sort of love to hate her. She, too, seems probably really wicked at times, but probably a heck of a lot of fun to share a few drinks with. I think it was a pretty good pick.

I've had a great pair of Dolce and Gabanna sunglasses that I got when I was in Spain, and I'm pretty sure I left them on the airplane. MAJOR fail, but I'm hoping they went to a very appreciative flight attendant. I've never stocked up on sunglasses, so I've literally been without shades since I got back to California on Monday - and in this sunny state, you really can't last long. I bit the bullet on some giant Ray-Bans.

I also found a really great pair of white jeans at Ann Taylor Loft. I've been looking for the perfect skinny, ankle length pant for the last two months, and these are the best I've found - and for only $60 bucks. I'm sure if you wait like two weeks you can snag them for half off, but I was desperate.

 

So, I got a spray tan before I went home for the showers and I ended up loving it. I did a Versa Spa thing and it turned out really well. I really liked the way my skin looked against my wedding dress and in pictures, and I was thinking it was a win all around. But, on Sunday morning, 4 days after getting sprays, I ended up getting hives all over my body. I have super sensitive skin, and often react to lotions and sprays, so I should have figured, but....no spray tan for the wedding.

This weekend Joel is running an Ultra Trail Marathon (32 miles), and no, I don't know what the heck is wrong with him! The three of us are heading to the race at 3:30 tomorrow morning and then it will take him 6 hours-ish to complete the race. I'm bringing mimosa fixings and hoping I find another wife of a crazy person to bond with for the duration ;)

Wedding Wednesday: April Showers

Last Thursday I flew back to Chicago for another full weekend. Friday morning, bright and early, I tried on my dress. I had picked it out back in September and it's finally made it's way back to the Windy City. My mom, youngest sister Nellie, and cousin Gia were all in the room to watch my first reaction to the first fitting.

While they were getting the dress out and ready for me, I got super nervous; it's been 7 months since I've seen the dang thing. Thankfully, when they put the dress on me, I liked it more than I liked back in September. And....it's big ;) 

That afternoon, 4 out of my 5 best college girlfriends drove and flew in to spend the night and attend a shower in the morning. 

It's been almost 2 years since I've seen some of them, and it was like no time had passed at all.

The first shower was a few blocks away from my house and was hosted by my mom's best friends. A lot of the neighborhood women, all of whom I've grown up with, hadn't seen me since we moved to LA last year, so it was so fun to catch up with them and be showered in all their love.


 

 Me with the lovely hosts

 Brunch was amazing, and I'm pretty sure I had ten mimosa's

I wish I would have gotten a picture of us after the shower, but some of my bridesmaids came back to the house, we put on sweats, ordered cheese burgers and french fries and literally went to bed at 10:00pm. Bridal showers take a lot of work!

And we had one the next day!


All of my hosts have been BEYOND creative and have put so much work, time, and thought into the showers that every time I walk into their homes, I literally want to cry.

And they always have fun, girly drinks! 

 

Being home with my friends and family reminds me why it's so hard to not live close to them like I've been used to my entire life. 

All in all, it was a perfect weekend.

I feel 100%, completely, overwhelmingly spoiled and I'm not quite sure how I've been so lucky to have such wonderful family in friends in my life. 

 

A Closet Staple

 Button Downs have quickly become my go-to for everyday...and I wear them....everyday.

And I'm pretty sure that makes me old.

But, I just love the fact that they are comfortable, make you look pulled together, and can be styled so many different ways for tons of different looks.

Plus, I'm clearly drawn to button downs because my Pintrest "fashion" board is stocked full. I love these looks too that I have to try soon.

 

I know I'm not the only one with this obsession. Right? 

Right???

Wedding Wednesday: Back to Chicago I Go

I leave tomorrow for two more showers in Chicago with friends and family. Moving across the country the year before I got married has created a lot of excuses to see them. They either are traveling here (bachelorette party or vacations), or I'm there, for wedding activities or holidays. I think the most time I've spent without being home or having a slice of home with me here is maybe only two months. It's been pretty fantastic.

I've also found that I love wedding showers.

 both invites came from WeddingPaperDivas.com

The anticipation of getting dolled up, finding the perfect outfit, and spending the afternoon with woman whom I love; all while sipping champagne is pretty amazing.

Besides the two showers this weekend, I also get to meet my dress again.

I tried her on back in September and she has been in NY getting all fancy for me ever since.

I had pictures on my phone, but that phone has since bit the dust, so I can't really remember all of the in's and out's of the dress.  I really, really hope I still love it. 

And I hope that it's really, really big on me!

Carb Free Meal Ideas

On Friday, Kelly's Korner had a blog link up about food and workout tips. I had linked up my post about going carb free and got a lot of questions about what my exact meals look like, so I figured I'd show you!

Breakfast: Is always coffee. But I switch up the food part to be Greek yogurt with pecans or a banana with peanut butter. Both options keep me full until lunch, unless I do SoulCycle, which I will have the banana before and the yogurt after.

Lunch: This has been the hardest meal for me. I've been used to eating sandwich's, or chips, or the like, and so eliminating all of those options makes it hard. For the most part, my lunch is a salad, or leftovers, but when I get bored I pull out a few things like...

 Egg Salad with avocado and a side salad

Lettuce sandwich (I had this for dinner, which is why the wine is there. I promise!)

  

And sometimes takeout. 

 

 Rice is a carb that I try to avoid as well, so I only ate two of the four sushi rolls. 

 Dinner: The hardest part about dinner is that I have to do a lot of planning. On Sunday's I outline the entire week and put our menu on a chalkboard in the kitchen. Most of my recipe's I get from SkinnyTaste.come and Pintrest, but I try to include a new recipe every week.

I do one soup a week, normally on Monday's. This was a cheesy vegetable soup that is cooked in the crock pot which makes it even easier!

Other soups I've loved are, White Chicken Chili, Spicy Corn & Roasted Pepper, and Red Curry Soup.

Steak is really easy to make in a few minutes, so we do have a filet once every two weeks. Serving it with a side salad and a glass of wine makes it feel like a much fancier dinner than it really is.

 

Last week I made portebllo mushroom pizza's which were a huge hit and are making their way on this week's menu again too. I adapted my recipe from here:

I also gave loaded baked potatos a try, with crispy turkey bacon as a garnish, and Joel raved about them for like the next week.

Tacos in lettuce cups, shrimp Mexican salads, and salmon make pretty regular appearances on our dinner table too.

And, in all honesty after dinner every night, I have a handful of dark chocolate chips.

This diet has turned into a lifestyle change for me, and has let me drop about 15 pounds since cutting out breads, pastas, chips, and flour. I'm trying to lose TEN more by the time I walk down the aisle (June 22nd), but the scale hasn't budged in almost four weeks.

I do cheat, (which may be why the scale hasn't changed) and have bites of Joel's carby goodness, but eating this way hasn't been very hard to maintain at all.

My Pintrest: http://pinterest.com/teatimewithtess/

Weekend Report

 On Friday afternoon, just as my work day was ending, my girl Laura tweeted that she was free and up for meeting for drinks. It was the best impromptu happy hour I've ever had!

At 5pm, I met Joel for dinner at Dawn's house. Her husband and her are expecting and had found out the sex earlier in the afternoon. Everyone wore their guess in the form of their clothing.

 

Dawn had balloons filled up to reveal the surprise, and it was so exciting when she popped the....

BLUE balloon! 

It's the first baby in my California family, and I can't wait to shower the little mister with lots of love.

 I decided to be a good friend and drink for myself, and for Dawn, since she obviously cannot, and let's just say I paid a dear price for it on our Saturday morning hike.

Joel, Shelby, and I were on the road by 8am ready to sweat off some of the calories. Shelby and I are were about half way in when we witnessed an absolutely horrible biking accident. The man was going downhill, hit a boulder, and flew 10 feet off of his bike. He was THANK GOD, wearing a helmet, that crushed to pieces during his fall.

It was an incredibly foggy morning so when we tried to call the police, they weren't able to drop a helicopter on our location. Shelby and I (Joel was running and missed the accident) waited with the biker until another group of people joined us, and about 8 of us were able to get him down to the base of the mountain (1.3 miles) so he could head to the hospital. He likely broke his collarbone and had a concussion, but he was able to walk to the base, so it could have been much, much worse.

Wear your helmets!

The whole process was really scary, but I was so impressed in the generosity and kindness of the next group that arrived. People are inherently good.

It was cold and tiring, and these two were exhausted by the time we made it back to the car. 

Before I napped for the rest of the afternoon, we gave Roscoe a bath, and I had to laugh and my two Alfalfa's.

 

I have two showers next weekend back in Chicago, and it feels like Christmas every time I get a knock at the door from the UPS man. Saturday's delivery were two hurricane candles that I'm obsessing about. Don't they look cute here? They're even better lit.

 

My cousin is in town for like 24 hours from Chicago on business, so we were able to take him to dinner at Fig & Olive. It's been on my LA list for a long time, and it was amazing. 

 

 Another jam packed weekend for us - which always have me looking forward to the routine of Monday.