Weekend Recap

Happy Monday everyone! It's back to another full week of school & I am having the HARDEST time getting back into the swing of a new semester...pretty sure that #senioritis is here to stay until May. Anyways, I had a pretty relaxing and low key weekend that I wanted to share with you all.

Friday night I surprised Ben with a stay at home date night! After our first week back from holiday breaks I felt like we needed a fun night & something out of the ordinary. His favorite meal is breakfast, so I did a breakfast for dinner theme complete with PJs, mimosas, and a movie!

I made eggs, sausage, biscuits, roasted potatoes, and a fruit salad. I set up a "picnic style" table setting by putting a blanket on the floor and eating off of our coffee table..only after sitting on the floor for a few minutes we realized that the couch was a much better option, though ;) We finished the night off by watching White House Down, starring Channing Tatum & Jamie Foxx. It was an entertaining movie, but I felt that many of the special effects were unrealistic and ultimately looked fake.

most of the spread..'scuse my lack of garnishes. My food teachers would be ashamed of my lack of plating skills, but this is real life over here..

roasted potatoes

Blueberry, banana, & pineapple fruit salad. Originally I wanted strawberries instead of blueberries, but the grocery store did not have any strawberries that looked good. I actually ended up liking this mix of fruit better though..it was a new combination for me!

On Saturday, Lana and I got up early and headed off to the gym. We are really trying to push each other this semester & be each others accountability partner. We took an hour long weight lifting class & followed that up with a spin class. We were dripping sweat when we finished and I am still sore today! I headed home and whipped up a huge breakfast of grape nuts, boiled eggs, and a grapefruit because I was starving after the long workout. I then kept my friend Jessica's new dog, Izzy, for the day while she was at work. Izzy is the cutest little shih tzu with such a big personality!! Her and Ben really bonded (and I think Ben actually liked her a little bit), but sadly I don't have any pictures of them together.

meet Izzy!

Sunday started off with some homework on the couch & helping Lana critique her resumé. We realized that we did not want to be stuck inside all day when it was so pretty outside so we decided to pick up my brother, Landon, & go out to my grandparents farm to shoot guns!

via Instagram

We have been talking about going to shoot skeet for a while now, but every day that we have tried to go it has been raining. We realized on the way out that we had forgotten a skeet thrower, so we opted for wildlife shooting instead. Ben also wanted to teach me how to load, unload, & shoot his pistol just for safety and educational purposes. Honestly, I feel scared around guns a lot of the time, and I hate it. I want to feel confident in my ability to load a gun as well as hold it properly and fire it. We are planning to go to the shooting range soon to work on my aim- #36 on my 101 list! We then had dinner with my grandparents & headed back home to finish some school work--always my favorite way of ending the weekend.

Lana & I

 Ben with his kill of the day

the Hunters were actually much muddier than they appear in this picture..the ground was so wet from all of the rain we have been having!

Lana killed a squirrel too! I was actually the only one who didn't shoot one & I am a-okay with that 

we ended with 3 squirrels & 1 bird for the day

iPhone Upgrade

I have FINALLY upgraded my poor little cracked to pieces iPhone 4 to a beautiful white & gold iPhone 5S!!!! You guys have no idea how happy and excited I am about this..I have been so tired of feeling like I was in the dark ages..I mean I have never even used Siri before! So now that I have a beautiful new baby, I have to keep her safe (aka not crack her up in the first week). I have been shopping around for a new case and wanted to share a few of my favorites with you guys.

When I got my new phone I was actually given the case below. Luckily I went to high school with the manager of the AT&T store so he let me choose whatever case I wanted fo' free. I went with this one because it's super protective, but still really slim and functional. It's very similar to a life proof case, but I prefer this one because the screen cover is a hard plastic instead of the soft flimsy plastic that life proof cases have which makes them difficult to type on. I have already dropped my phone a couple times (!!!!) and I am so thankful this case is on it..the only drawback is that you cannot use the fingerprint technology with the case :(

Incipio Atlas

I'm not sure anything is better than a Tory Navy phone case..at least I can see a little bit of gold if all the gold on the actual phone is covered up :)

Tory Burch

The case below is by GiGi NewYork, the company that is famous for their leather clutches (which I love as well). This phone case is so professional & classy in my opinion. Not to mention you can have it embossed with your initials!

GiGi New York

So there you have it--a few of my favorite cases. I am wanting to get one a little more stylish than the on that I have, but I am just so scared I will drop it or something along those lines. I swear phones just love to slip right out of my hands.

I also need some fun new apps now that I am up to speed (literally) in the iPhone world. Let me know what some of your favorite apps are, besides the obvious instagram & twitter! 

New Years Resolutions: 2014

Truth be told, I am not one to usually make new years resolutions, but lately I have been trying to be more goal oriented. Aside from my 101 in 1001 which I will be working to complete all year, I have come up with 3 goals for the new year that I think are very relatable and achievable. So without further ado, here are my resolutions!

1. Better portion control

via

Overall, I think that I typically eat a fairly healthy diet, however, my portions are sometimes out.of.control. While I think its okay to overeat in some categories (i.e. vegetables), I really need to make a conscious effort to check exactly how much I am putting into my mouth..especially when I go out to eat. It's so easy to overeat this day in age with the amount of food that is placed in front of you or just offered to you in general. I am going to try and split more entrees with whoever I am out to eat with or strive to take half of the portion home with me for another meal. This is also great because it can save you a lot of money in the long run as well. 2 meals for the price of 1? I'm always okay with that! Here is a great article about how to decrease portion sizes and this is a great interactive way to visualize how big a portion actually is..it also has a large array of foods so you can check it for a variety of foods you eat! (can you tell I'm a nutrition major?)

2. Write down 1 thing per day I am thankful for (#87)

I was gifted a journal this Christmas, and to be honest when I first opened it all I could think was what in the world am I going to use this for? I never physically write stuff down anymore, instead, it's always done on my phone, laptop, or iPad with the occasional sticky note to-do list or filling papers out at work. After contemplating and looking over my 101 list, I decided that the journal would be perfect for writing down something I am thankful for each day. I have already started this resolution & have been keeping the journal by my bed each night. Before I go to sleep, I write down my one thing & a little tidbit of why I am thankful for whatever it may be. It's a really gratifying and peaceful thing to do before going to sleep, and I can't wait to read back through the entire list one day. 

3. Become a morning person again

I am one of those people who is so much more productive early in the morning than late at night. I usually prefer to go to bed before 10pm when possible and be up by 6. Unfortunately this has really not been the case that past 6 months. Although I have no problem being on time for morning classes or 8 am work, when I don't have something early I have fallen into a terrible habit of staying up past midnight doing nothing (aka watching netflix) and then sleeping in until 9 or 10. Whenever I sleep so late I have a hard time getting up and going and getting things accomplished that day. Not to mention I never feel rested. So, I am really striving to go to sleep at the same time each night & get up earlier in the new year. When I was a freshman in college, my roommate, Katie, and I used to go to 5:30am classes at the gym on a regular basis. I really miss doing this and would love to get back into that routine (not to mention its a great way to get the day started & you're left with energy for the whole day). 

So these are my 3 resolutions for the new year. What are some of yours?? I always love reading other peoples plans for the year. I will keep you guys updated on how mine are going.