Sunday Happenings

Happy Sunday!

It's been beautiful weather in Atlanta this weekend and we've tried to be outdoors as much as possible soaking in the glimpses we've had of spring being around the corner.

Friday morning, Houston said he wanted us to both look forward to a date night on the patio when we got home from work! So we both came straight home from work and we sat our on our porch and shared some cheese and crackers and Banshee Pinot Noir wine that was really good.

I recently discovered this amazing playlist on Spotify called "Coffee Table Jazz" and we turned the playlist on and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing night at home. I highly recommend it!

Houston cooked us some yummy steaks on the grill and we caught up on some of our TV shows and called it an early night!

I woke up early yesterday morning for my final Pure Barre training and I'll officially start working the front desk at the studio next month, I'm so excited! Sat out on the porch in the afternoon soaking up some Vitamin D and grabbed dinner with some of our friends at 1KEPT.

We have a pretty relaxing Sunday planned with brunch at Red Pepper and church tonight at 5:00.

Here are a few Sunday Happenings for you lately...

We have a nephew on the way!!
What I'm most excited to share is that we have a little nephew on the way!! My sister Betsy and her husband Michael told us over Christmas that they were expecting their first and two weeks ago I was able to fly home to Orlando for the Gender Reveal Party and found out it's a baby boy!!

I thought it was the perfect way for them to announce the gender - both Betsy and Michael are big golfers and they found a golf ball on Etsy that would explode pink or blue when they hit it!

Our family is overjoyed and already love this unborn baby boy so much - we just can't wait to meet him! Open to any and all auntie advice :)

Below are a few pictures from the Reveal Party:

 

Healthy Recipe Inspiration

I found this article on Facebook, this woman lost 100 pounds in the last year and shares some of her favorite go-to, healthy meals. Here's a link to the BuzzFeed article.

The Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rolls and Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl 

look amazing and actually doable!!

5k for Atlanta Mission
Last weekend we had the opportunity to run in a 5K to support Atlanta Mission which is one of our very favorite organizations in Atlanta supporting homelessness. We love the mission they stand for and all the great things they do for our city and homeless community.

Now I'm not much of a runner any more, so the 5K was certainly challenging for me but I was impressed we ran more than I was expecting. Some friends of ours were able to join us and we had so much fun running through downtown Atlanta together.

 

J.Crew + NB Workout Clothes

One of my favorite bloggers, Carly from The College Prepster recently shared that J.Crew teamed up with New Balance on some adorable workout clothes. So many cute fitness clothes I want to try now!!

They have the cutest pink crops that I want here.

Hope you have an awesome week and we have more of this spring-like weather!

xox, A

Guest Post: My Mom's Pure Barre Story

My mom is an amazing writer, and today I asked her to guest post to share her Pure Barre story. My sister and I both love Pure Barre classes and when I was home a few months ago in August we convinced my mom to join us for a morning class, which she agreed to because she wanted extra time with her girls ;)

But to her surprise, she ended up really enjoying it and so she signed up for an unlimited month to see how it would go. She's been going ever since, and she's half way to her 100th class I might add!
I'm so proud of her for finding something she enjoys doing and it's extra fun that my mom, sister and I all have Pure Barre in common!

PS - My mom has the cutest Instagram account - if you don't follow her, you should :)

----

Pure Barre Mills Park - Mom's first class before signing up for a month!

My Pure Barre story is short and sweet...

I love to spend time with my daughters! I wasn't intending to start exercising... I really wasn't!

My very first barre class was probably three or four years ago, at another studio with my girls.

I remember laying on the floor in class and the thought went through my mind,
"I think I'm going to die!"

I did what I could in the class (which wasn't much) and I wondered if I'd be able to merely WALK the next day, or week?? But the good thing was I was with my girls!

Fast forward two years and never another barre class. Then, we had our two daughter's weddings.

I did what every mother-of-the-bride would want to, lose weight!

I started a 28-day diet, that on Day 29 ended up becoming a new way of eating for me and my husband. I didn't intend to permanently change the way we eat. I had lost the weight, all 33 pounds of it! But what was still missing, was exercise in my life.

Remember how I love spending time with our daughters? Our Atlanta girl was in town for the weekend, and she and her sister were going to a Pure Barre class that Saturday morning. They invited Mom. It was a fun Mother-Daughter morning. We went to an early class at the Pure Barre Mills Park studio in Orlando, and met their Dad next door for breakfast afterwards. It was fun! 

I started thinking... maybe? Maybe I could do this???

During breakfast, the girls were so encouraging. My husband was so encouraging. 

I was "weakening." Maybe just maybe I could try it for a month?

I'm a practical gal, and I had just paid my $25 for the one class. If I was ever going to try it, now was my time. It certainly was a better deal - a month of unlimited classes for $99!

I was beginning to consider giving it a try, for the pure economics, if nothing else! Right there, in the middle of breakfast, they grabbed me (and my credit card!) and said, 

"Let's quick do this before she changes her mind!!"

And that's how it happened...

What I didn't realize was, I was about to fall in love with a new form of exercise for me, and that was HUGE because... I HATE to exercise! It was a TOTAL unexpected thing to happen in my life, too. Not too many big, new things happen in your life when you're SIXTY!

Each class slowly got a little easier and all those new phrases (like "lift, tone and burn") started making sense. I could do more than one thing at a time! Now I look forward to going to class, rather than dreading other forms of exercise I had previously tried. I can hardly believe it myself!

Class is tough... I'm not gonna lie. Every class is tough, but I'm doing it, and it feels so good!

I am feeling stronger, and that's been awesome!

30 Before 30

I recently turned 25 and I think it's time to retire my "25 before 25" list 

and work on some new goals for the next 5 years!

I blogged a few months ago with some goals for the 2016 calendar year,
but this goes beyond just this calendar year!

So here we go, here are 30 goals I hope to accomplish before I turn 30 on May 19. 2021:

1. Write a list of 30 goals and encourage others to do so (Please comment me a link to your own list!)

2. Read my Bible more, as well as faith-based devotionals

3. Start our own company

4. Attend a blogging conference

5. Send my mom flowers out of the blue

6. Learn calligraphy and use it!

7. Have a picnic with Houston in an Atlanta park

8. Get a puppy!!!! We just need to agree on a breed we like first... stay tuned!

9. Read 5 books cover to cover

10. Work at meal planning... so we stop making 5 trips to the grocery store each week ;)

11. Have friends over for a blind wine tasting

12. Successfully plant herbs (and keep them alive) in our backyard

13. Consistently workout and more importantly be content and happy with how I look

14. Get our porch updated and hang Edison lights outside

15. Run (and walk) a half marathon

16. Travel abroad with Houston

17. Cook a big meal and host a dinner party for friends

18. Watch a meteor shower

19. Go on a couples vacation

20. This is a stretch - learn to speak another language. Hopefully French! Oui oui

21. Then we should probably travel to France to use that French language ;)

22. Join Junior League of Atlanta

23. Spend time serving the homeless in Atlanta

24. Take a golf lesson. How proud will Houston be of me?!

25. Unplug for an entire weekend. I should do this at least once a year.

26. Invest in real sunglasses. No more $5 sunnies.

27. Get better at budgeting, especially when it comes to groceries

28. Become a Pure Barre instructor - I have fallen in love with Pure Barre and would love to teach classes if the opportunity is available!

29. With our recent interest of wine the last few years, go to Napa Valley with Houston

(Maybe for our 3rd wedding anniversary trip?? Yes please!)

30. Throw a huge birthday bash for Houston's and my 30th birthdays!

There it is! I'll keep you all posted on how my goals are coming along by posting to a separate page as well. You can find it at the top of my blog under the "30 Before 30" page.

Thank you Business Insider for some inspiration!

It's fun to think about where Houston's and my life will be five years from now. Where do you see yourself in five years? And what do you hope to accomplish?

xox, A

Favorite Workout Tanks

There are so many cute workout tanks these days that I thought it would be fun to share some of my recent favorites!

I Can't. I Have Barre.
Simply Workout $36

This one cracks me up, in Pure Barre they always talk about the "Pure Barre ledge"

😂😂😂

Got Ledge?
Simply Workout $39

Killing It
Everfitte Etsy Shop $27

Happy Hour at the Barre
Everfitte Etsy Shop $26

Wino-Saur
Everfitte Etsy Shop $26

Straight Outta Platform
Sweatyselfie Etsy Shop $20

I want all of these for Pure Barre!! Which one do you like best?
Any suggestions for other favorite workout tanks?

xox, A

Sunday Happenings

Time is flying - I can't believe it's already June 5th and summer is officially here in Atlanta with days in the 90s and afternoon rain showers becoming expected in the afternoons.

I love summer. Growing up in Florida the warmth is what I'm used to. We had a fun weekend - Friday started with a belated birthday dinner celebration with my wonderful in-law's at Canoe, one of my favorites! The weather was perfect, so we sat outside on the porch. I ordered the pork rack and we split a bottle of one of our favorite Club W wines (newly re-branded to Winc), the 2013 Prismus Reserve Cabernet Savignon from Napa Valley.

Then Saturday I went to Pure Barre with my friend Amanda and then we picked up our guys and had brunch at South City Kitchen in Midtown. I had never been but it was delicious. Definitely a new favorite brunch spot in Atlanta! So basically we did a lot of eating this weekend.

(I think I need to start a list of my favorite restaurants! Any suggestions??) Then we had a fun birthday dinner to go to.

Then this morning I went to my Pure Barre class, came home and H and I have been knocking out some much needed house chores while it was rainy/cloudy this morning. The sun is starting to come out and I think we'll run a few errands before church tonight at 6:00.

So here are the Sunday Happenings!

Yummy Food O.T.P.

Mom & Dad were in town a few weeks ago and we ventured O.T.P. (if you live in Atlanta you're familiar but this means Outside the Perimeter, 285 road that separates inside Atlanta to the 'burbs) to Avalon.

We wanted to show them around so we started with wine and appetizers at one of my favorites, Cru Wine Bar. If you go, you have to get the Fried Goat Cheese balls that are AH-mazing. They have lots of fun wine flights to try. With it being warm, I had to go for the rosé flight.

Flight of rosé at Cru Wine Bar at Avalon

Then we grabbed dinner a Colletta, a delicious Italian spot we hadn't tried before. We had their famous meatballs for an appetizer, which was voted Atlanta's #1 Meatball this past September! So those are some new favorite restaurants I would recommend. And for dessert we had a salted caramel chocolate cake they call "Almond Budino" which was unbelievable. 

Baby Bachelorette

With the new season of the Bachelorette kicking off a few weeks ago, Jimmy Kimmel did a hilarious "episode" of Baby Bachelorette. Who else is watching the Bachelorette with me?? It's my guilty pleasure.

Speaking of the Bachelorette, The Bachelor/Bachelorette instagram account posted this funny video of Jojo watching her own episode of the Bachelorette.

Ruth B live Lost Boy

This has been my new jam at work lately - love her voice just with the piano. It's beautiful.

Lo & Sons Work Bag

I've been on the hunt for a new work bag and I think I've found the perfect one, The T.T. Lo & Sons bag. I think Lo & Sons has beautiful, well-made bags. You can tell they've been extremely thoughtful in their designs in what women look for in a bag. Some day maybe I'll splurge for one! 

I'm going to The Grove Summer Party Picnic put on by Passion City Church with my Bible Study tomorrow in Piedmont Park. Last month was the first time I've gone to The Grove, a monthly gathering of women for worship and a speaker. I think it's so cool how packed it was with thousands of women in Atlanta learning about the Lord together. Is anyone else going to the picnic? 

Hope everyone has a great week!

P.S. Did anyone go to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival this weekend?? I'm super bummed we didn't know about it until after the fact and it looked amazing! Definitely on our list to do next year!

xx, A

Bar Taco: The best taco I've probably ever had

A few weeks ago I spent a fun Saturday with two of my girlfriends over in Westside for "Tuck. Torq. Taco." which was a fun event including a 55-minute Pure Barre class, followed by a 35-minute Torq cycling class
and topped off with margaritas and tacos at Bar Taco! 

Bar Taco has several locations in the Atlanta area and I have recently become huge fan! I wasn't sure at first because I hadn't quite figured out what to order and felt like I was paying a lot for not a lot of food, but now I love it and thought I'd share some recommendations so you can try it too!

(They have 3 locations in the Atlanta area, but also in Florida, Connecticut, New York, Tennessee and Virginia if you want to find one near you.)

For two people, I recommend sharing an appetizer (I always love me some guac) plus a side (I get the grilled corn every time) and then your tacos - two is perfect for me!
They have really interesting tacos, not your boring beef, chicken or fish tacos, that's for sure!

Secret Menu Items

Everyone likes being let in on a secret, amiright? Well, Bar Taco has a secret taco each month so you have to ask for it to find out what it is. The one I just had was the fried avocado taco and OH MY GOSH it was game changing. I'm pretty sure it's the best taco I've ever had.

I was also told to order the secret watermelon margarita, also delicious. It's not overly sweet and
has chunks of watermelon in it. So refreshing! 

H and I went to Bar Taco this past Saturday for lunch. It was a perfect day to sit outside and the food was once again delicious.I love trying new Atlanta restaurants!
Where should we go next?

Saturday lunch with H at Bar Taco, Chastain Park

Have you been to Bar Taco, if so, what did you think? Any other "secret menu" items we should try?

xox, A

My First Pure Barre Platform Class

So last night I tried my first Pure Barre Platform class at Pure Barre - Buckhead... 

and I think I almost died.

Honestly though I enjoyed it more than I thought and, more than anything I was really proud of myself for making it the whole class. I knew to pace myself, which I definitely did, but I was glad I tried it. I really want to plan to try to go to 1 or 2 platform classes a week now.

Valerie was my teacher, and she's fantastic! It also helped that 80% of our class were also first-timers like me so I felt more comfortable knowing that. Before class, Valerie told me how different Platform is from regular Pure Barre classes, everything in Platform is meant to be big, huge movements instead of small, concentrated moves. 

Have any of you tried PB's Platform class? What did you think? 

If you haven't tried it yet, I'd encourage you to try it! Here's a little video to give you a little preview. 

Next weekend the Pure Barre - Westside location is doing something neat called 

Tuck, Torq and Tacos. The first half will be Pure Barre, then we'll do spinning at Torq then grab some yummy tacos and margaritas at Bartaco. Learn more here. 

Enjoy this beautiful spring weather this weekend! 

xx, A

Sunday Happenings

It's been a great week!! I made it to 5 classes of Pure Barre since last Saturday this first week and was quite proud of myself for that! I can already tell I'm getting stronger and am excited to see results the longer I go.

I found out that I got a new job (same company) that I interviewed for and am really excited to start in two weeks! Houston and I went out to dinner to celebrate to a new restaurant we hadn't been to before called Antica Pasta and it was delicious! Our waiter suggested a glass of the Super Tuscan II Borro - Merlot, Cabernet 2011, Salvatore Ferragamo that was really good. For dinner, I ordered the bow tie pasta with crab meat. Houston ordered this amazing gnocchi pasta with meat sauce. Everything was delicious!

We had the best day Saturday just getting work done around the house and a cookout with friends from my Bible study and significant others. The weather has been beautiful and I'm happy the trees and flowers in our yard are starting to blossom. Here are a few Sunday Happenings from this week:

Little Girl and her pet duck
This adorable little girl Kylie is attached to her pet duck Snowflake and they go everywhere together. Snowflake even dressed up as Olaf from Frozen for Halloween. A special bond that cannot be broken. It's absolutely precious, see the video below of their sweet friendship.

Baylor basketball player interview
I've never been into March Madness college basketball but this interview was just too good not to share. A reporter asks what seems like a silly question to a basketball player who's just bummed he and his team are done for the year. Video linked here.

The Bachelor - WARNING: spoiler alerts if you haven't watched the finale yet!
Last Monday was the finale of Ben's season of The Bachelor. This USA Today article left me crying laughing. It's written by a guy who's never seen a full episode of The Bachelor before and it's his hilarious thoughts while watching the finale with his girlfriend. Seriously, if you watched this season of The Bachelor, you will love this.

Image from USA Today article

New Music
A few new songs I heard this week and liked:
1. Unkiss Me - Maroon 5: Heard during stretching at Pure Barre.
2. NO - Meghan Trainor: Heard on the radio.
3. Humble and Kind - Tim McGraw: My dad sent this song to our family this week and I love it, hope you enjoy it too!

I hope everyone has a great week!
xx, A

Pure Barre... Here we go!

Several of the Atlanta Pure Barre studios have the same owner, so they're letting customers use several locations with your package - which is a huge win for me. There are two near our house and one near my office so I have several studios to choose from.

This week they sent out an email for a great deal if you committed to a year of monthly unlimited packages. With being healthier in my workouts and what I eat as one of my goals for 2016, I decided to go for it. I signed up for my first month with the new client special and then the 12 months package for the heavy discount. This morning was my first class to kick off my 13 months of Pure Barre!

Here's a picture from my PB class this morning at the Druid Hills location. Any other #LiftToneBurn lovers out there??

Happy Saturday!

xx. A

ClassPass Atlanta: Pure Barre & Bikinis

I'm on my second month of ClassPass and still really enjoying it. This month I'm trying to hit as many Pure Barre locations as I can, I first discovered Pure Barre in college and it's always been my favorite. I've been going to the Vinnings and Druid Hills locations the most. After just a few weeks of ClassPass I've been able to feel stronger and it's a great feeling when you can start to see your body changing! So here's the lifting, toning and burning this month.

image from Pure Barre

Houston and I are trying to plan an anniversary trip for this spring/summer (I can't believe we got married almost two years ago!!), so I have some new-found inspiration wanting to look good and feel confident in a bikini! What motivates you to workout?

Speaking of swimsuits I've been shopping around for one to get for our trip, here are a few of my favorites.

Triangl Swim

Triangle Swim

Triangl Swim

Target Swim

Target Swim

Target Swim

Hitting the end of winter and with spring around the corner I'm feeling motivated for my workouts. Favorite song at Pure Barre Druid Hills this morning during "back dancing" - Whistle (While You Work It) by Katy Tiz. Happy Saturday!!

xx, A

Trust.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

I'm sitting on the couch and just read today's devotional in one of my favorite devotional books Jesus Calling and came across this verse.

I love that part "my heart trusts in Him," like most college seniors I am constantly thinking about what will I be doing in this next stage of life? (You know the one after I graduate...) Thankfully I've got a city nailed down, Atlanta, which I am SO excited about because it means I can be closer to Houston (EEEK!), but I can't stop thinking about finding a job.

I've spent the last few months working on my resume on and off and having people look it over for me, and make more corrections, and I've finally started sending it to a few people the past week or two which is SO EXCITING to me, but also just makes me anxious. What happens now? Will anyone ever call me for an interview? Will I ever find a job? 

And I've realized that this is the devil creating all these anxious thoughts in my head. Worry and anxiousness is something I've struggled with, especially in college. I'm such a planner and I like to have my days scheduled and with a To Do list carefully in my planner. So as you would imagine, graduating in May is a little terrifying for me to think about since I'm not sure where I'll be working or living yet... but I'm learning to trust God in everything and know He has it figured out - and it just isn't my time to find out what that is quite yet.

For those of you that worry like I do, here are a few other great verses from the devotional today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15

I think this is something I will have to continue to work on - but for now I'm trying my best to enjoy my last semester and being proactive to find a job, while not letting it stress me out and trusting God to lead to me to where He wants me to be after college (yeah, that sounds like a good plan!)

-A

Fitness Update:

Went to pure barre 3 times this week so far and attempting to get to the gym sometime today for some cardio, but not sure if that'll happen with all the reading I have for homework and Step Sing practice. And super excited because last night was my first pure barre class I actually enjoyed because I can already tell I'm getting stronger and was able to do a lot more of the exercises! Woohoo:)

Step Sing Season begins...

In honor of Step Sing season beginning this weekend I thought I'd reflect on Chi Omega's shows the last three years while I've been at Samford. I was able to participate my freshman and sophomore years and now my final Step Sing memories (sentimental, I know!) will begin this weekend, and I could not be more excited!!!

For those of you who don't know what Step Sing is, let me explain the biggest production and show Samford puts on every year. You could say spring semester doesn't really begin until after President's Weekend. Nearly everyone participates in Step Sing and so on top of our busy school schedules and social calendars we manage to spare three hours almost every night for three weeks for Step Sing practices, tech rehearsals and three amazing performances to compete for the very coveted 

1st Place Sweepstakes!

I cannot wait to perform with my Chi Omega sisters for my final time next month! Well tonight is Banner Drop! Where all the participants meet in the gym to "reveal" our banners that reflect our theme. The key is to describe the name of your show without giving away the theme of it! 

Here are our shows the past three years!!

2010 - A Knight's Tale (Batman)

2011 - Imagine That (Toys)

2013 - Deliver Us Can't wait to show you our video in a few weeks!! Stay tuned:)

Fitness Update:

I joined Pure Barre yesterday and attended class yesterday and today with Juliann and Jaime! Pretty tough getting back into, but I know it'll be worth it! And Friday I went to the gym just do the elliptical for 20 minutes and some abs because I was so sore from Thursday! I'd say a pretty good start to my fitness goals!

Happy Step Sing season everyone!

-A

P.S. Oh yea, and my last semester of college starts tomorrow!! CRAZY! But so very excited for it to begin!

[POST UPDATE - 2013 Video posted]

Gettin' Ready for Spring Break!

I know what you're thinking... 2 posts in 1 day?? Don't worry this probably won't happen very often.

I was just talking to Houston earlier today and told him that I really wanted to be more dedicated to healthier eating habits and workouts this semester. I want to have a healthier lifestyle and be more comfortable in my skin. He is amazing and tells me everyday that I am beautiful and is always so incredibly encouraging in my efforts to be healthy (when I try), but I am not thrilled with how I look and he is the BEST person to help me because he is so knowledgeable about health and fitness! So he told me that if I wanted him to, he would help me come up with a plan for my diet and fitness schedule! If you can't tell... I'm one very lucky gal:)

So after that great talk with Houston, my sweet friend Jaime had some of us girls over tonight to catch up now that we are all back in town (we start our final semester of college this Monday! Where has the time gone??) We were talking about how we all want to be in good shape for our Spring Break cruise, and decided we are all going to join our local Pure Barre, at least until Spring Break in March!!

Above is a video to help explain what a PB class looks like.


I am so excited because I love PB! It's so much fun and I love the workout, and I am also much more likely to go if I have a friend with me (social butterfly, right here).

PB really helps me to tone up, but I get faster results for my stomach if I'm running. So what I've decided to do is do my cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I don't have class on TTh this semester - hallelujah!) and then I can go to PB classes with my girlfriends whenever they're free!

Now I'm posting about this so I can have a little more accountability. I'm not sure how many people actually read this (besides my sweet family and supportive friends), but this way I feel like I'm posting it out there for the world to see and I (hopefully) will be more diligent with my healthy living!

We (Juliann, Jaime, Courtney, Kristin and myself) are going to start our memberships this weekend at PB and I am so excited to get back! I haven't been in "Pure Barre shape," as I like to call it, in awhile so it might take me a few weeks! But here we go:)

Last thing --- Have y'all heard of this phone app called GroupMe?? I'm obsessed. My friends just showed it to me tonight and it operates how text messaging should on the iPhone (sorry Apple)! It's similar to WhatsApp if you've had that, but you can turn on a setting where you can receive them as text messages if you want, and you can also turn notifications off and/or take yourself out of the group message if you want to stop getting buzzed every 5 seconds... GENIUS! I love group texting, but sometimes it can drive me crazy if I'm out of town and can't hang out with my friends trying to make plans in the group text or my family loves to group message but sometimes I'm in the middle of things and can't respond, so this gives you the option to turn on the notifications! A highly recommend it!

Okay, sleep time! I have a business meeting in the morning! Eek:) I'll keep you posted on my newest entrepreneurship idea as it evolves!

-A

Fitness Update:
Juliann and I went to the gym at school today and I did:
10 minutes on the elliptical
10 mins sprint/walking on the treadmill
4 planks 30 seconds each
each side plank 30 seconds each
2 sets of 10 squats
2 sets of 10 lunges
3 sets of 30 rep "back dancing" (as PB calls it)
and 20 reps captain's chair leg raises