Alaska Day 3: Anchorage to Whittier

Morning, y'all! Today I bring you day three of our Alaskan adventure. While Denali was amazing in it's own right, we were all ready to get to the boat and got our cruise on and relax. We woke up bright and early, at breakfast and then jumped on a bus back to Anchorage. 

GOOD BYE, Denali!

On our way to Anchorage, we stopped at a WW2 memorial. It showcased all the branches of the military and was a very powerful memorial. I loved the stars with the trees in the background. We were only there for a short break, but it was a nice way to keep the bus ride from getting too monotonous.

Once we returned to Anchorage we had two hours to eat lunch, peruse the city and of course shop. Le Husband, Daddy and I went back to Humpy's for lunch and I was bummed my lunch wasn't as good as our previous dinner. But, it was still a good time with my two favorite guys.

After eating, we wander back around and met with rangers and vendors set up. It was a warm day and it was really nice being outside and talking to people who knew about wildlife. We were given another version of what to do with bears. This ranger told us the difference in grizzly, brown and black bears and the reactions we should have for each. #idprobablyjustdie

On the bus ride out of Anchorage, we were taken by the nation's largest seaplane lake. It's incredible how many people in the state have their pilot's license, but it's often the only way to get around.

Before we arrived in Whittier, our guide to us to a wildlife preserve that was home to many different Alaskan animals. We finally were able to see our moose, bison and reindeer! The park was really cool and it was awesome see animals up close.

I feel you, I want a nap, too!

Every day, this bald eagle comes and sits in this tree. It's wild, but it's mate was hurt so badly it couldn't fly anymore. The park shelters him inside, but his 'wife' comes and watches over him everyday. 

Talk about majestic.

SOOOO CLOSE! SO COOL! A BEAR!

T-BONE enjoyed the park

After a fun time on the reservation, it was time to skeddadle to Whittier to catch our cruise. We were kind of on a time crunch because the bus had to get to a one tunnel before a certain time or we would be stuck while traffic traveled the opposite way through the tunnel. It was a pretty nifty piece of engineering and our bus made it with plenty of time. The drive to Whittier was beautiful and scenic and gave us all time to relax before boarding the boat.

This is the town of Whittier. Pretty much the whole town. Cruise ships embark here because Anchorage has too shallow of a port. A small town makes for no traffic ;)!

Our bus was one of the last ones to arrive, so we were some of the last people to check in for the ship. We had to take care of some paper work and then pass through 'customs'. Normally you have to declare any wine brought on board, but all of the check in stations were all ready gone when we passed through, so woohoo free wine!

We spent the first bit aboard the ship checking out our rooms and exploring the ship. The four kids looked like a  bunch of kids checking everything. And of course, posing for silly pictures.

During out exploration we found the spa and all booked a massage the next morning. We found  the bar, coffee and hot chocolate and grabbed a quick snack to bring back to the room. After exploring, my family headed to a show, while Le Husband and I continued our exploration. The show started a well known comedian and somehow T-Bone ended up on stage for one of the skits. He completely stole the show and many people thought he was a plant. The rest of the trip people would approach him on the ship and say 'T-BONE!!!! It's T-Bone"! Thanks to him we became the 'celebrity' family )!

Le Husband and I wanted to take in the sights on the upper decks. The fog and time of evening provided some gorgeous light for breathtaking pictures. It was a lot of fun playing with our camera with such a beautiful landscape.

picture of a picture taker!

glacier

Framer

We joined my family for dinner, which was surf and turf night and yummy. After dinner everyone hung out for a bit then we headed off to bed to get ready for our first day at sea. Our Alaksan cruise had finally begun.

Linking up with *megan* *kristin* and *annie* 

Beautiful Bits

Just a lil post with some beautiful bits I found on Pintest [you can follow me *here*]. Enjoy! < 3

[source]

[source]

[source]

[Source]

[source]

[source]

[source]

TRUTH!

[source]

Have a fabulous day, lovely ladies! Remember, you are BEAUTIFUL!

linking up here and here today

A Whole 30 WOOOOOOOORLD {Recipe Files}

Hello, ladies! I have a confession to make to y'all. Last week I started the Whole30 program without telling anyone. EEEK! Yeah, I know, shame on me being a blogger. But, I wanted to try it out to see if it was something I could actually accomplish before I let the world in on my new goal. I've been intrigued by Whole30 for awhile, yet wasn't sure it was something I could complete without failing. After a week though, I've found that even though it's hard it's worth it and something that I am 100% going to ride to the end.

What is Whole30 you ask? The easiest way to describe Whole30 is a short term nutritional reset. Not quite a detox or a diet, but a lifestyle change for 30 days.

While on Whole30 you are not allowed to eat the following foods:

• "Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
• Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin). Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
• Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place—and a pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients." {source}

Woof, that's a lot of things Do NOT EAT, right? But honestly, it's not that hard if you plan for it. The hardest part for me is the no dairy and no alcohol. I like some cream in my coffee and a glass of wine to celebrate a special occasion. But, besides that, I've been having a great time finding fun recipes to try to keep things fresh and keep my eats clean. Even though I'm not on Instagram, I found the Official Whole30 Insta page and immediately bookmarked it because the recipes looked so amazing.

I've been LOVING this salad recipe, that I jazz up with a lil chicken or tuna for added protein. I also am inhaling this avocado-citrus dressing [I've cut the orange/lemon portions in half]. I'll put it on veggies, wraps and it was a life saver at the bachelorrette party. I didn't feel as deprived because I was actually able to snack on veggies during the festivities.

Special treats are kind of off limits, so it was a bit of a trial to find something delicious to sip while everyone sipped wine on Saturday. I haphazardly threw things together and was quite happy with my creation. I happily have I dubbed this drink the "Not Prego Fake Wineo" ;)!

It's super simple, I promise. You'll need sparkling water [or if you want a Ginger Ale or Sprite if you drink soda], cut strawberries and minced mint. Pour yourself a hearty class oh drink and then add lots of strawberries [they taste best when slightly frozen] and mint. Stir and enjoy!

This is the sparkling water I used. I normally don't like sparkling water, but with the extras it tasted pretty good.

Let me know if you try it out. If you're drinking white wine, I highly suggest freezing grapes and using them as ice. I served frozen grapes on Saturday and everyone loved them. Frozen grapes are my go to in the summer, tasty and does the cooling job well.

*****************

I'm choosing to document my journey daily so I have something to look back on at the end of the program. I didn't just do this program for Lent nor did I just do it as a diet. I really wanted to try and test my willpower and see what happens when I actually stick to something for 30 days. Feel free to skip if it's too much text, I totally understand. 

Day 1: Today we start Whole30. It was my idea and I am honestly a bit surprised Le Husband jumped on it with me so quickly. I think it mostly has to do with his injury and inability to workout as much as we normally do. There are a TON of food on the DO NOT EAT list and I'm a bit worried I'll be able to get through the 30 days. I know I'm going to miss dairy the most, especially with my coffee, but I'm gonna give it a go. Nothing seems to be making a difference food wise in my body, so this is kind of my hail Mary. Hopefully this documentation will help me when I look back for progress.

Day 2: Ugh, black coffee. I miss my organic creamer. Breakfast and lunch today weren't too bad and I don't really have a headache. I am a lil more munchy though. I don't think I packed enough veggies/fruits to snack on, so I'll have to pick it up tomorrow. There are a bunch of prep recipes I plan to make tonight, so fingers crossed they taste good. I'm following Whole30 on instagram [well lurking since I don't have Insta] and found some tasty meals. Here's hoping I don't get burnt out.

Day 3: The new recipes I created last night were really good today. I'm still waking up tired, so I'm waiting for this amazing NEW ENERGY everyone talks about with this meal plan. I forgot part of my snack and so I had to improvise with just tuna, not what I wanted at all, but I ate everything. Le Husband created a new meal for us, with sausage, marinara and eggplant and I tried zoodles for the first time. Had a bit of a oops, but will definitely be incorporating them more in the future.

Day 4: Work from home day and golly is it hard to stick to just Whole30. I get so snacky when I work from home and I really want a cup of hot cocoa. I guess I could try with almond milk and tea, but can't have cocoa, sad face. We have Sportyspice's bday dinner tonight and who knows how that will go down. My family gives me a hard time about my meal choices sometimes and I hope we can get through the night without the standard food argument.

Day 5: WOOHOO, we've made it to Friday. Last night went okay, but I was starving after dinner. My family has become a bit touchy with Le Husband and my choice of diet and while it's frustrating, I try to balance attending family events and keeping everyone happy as best I can. Tonight should be fun though, we are going to Top Golf for Sportyspice's bday which will be a good time I'm sure. It's gonna be cold and I kind of wish I could look forward to a hot cocoa while golfing, but no such luck. Work was a bit crazy tonight and I really wanted a glass of wine and pizza for dinner, but stuck to our plan of fish and veggies. Le Husband and I both gave it the side eye, because we wanted something heartier, but we ate it and I honestly felt good about it once we arrived at Top Golf.

Day 6: Today was kind of all over the place, diet wise. I didn't really eat ANYTHING until 2pm because I was soooooo busy getting everything together. I'm getting used to plain black coffee, but sometimes I really just want to add a lil cream. Only 24 more days, woohoo! I have to admit that I'm REALLY proud of myself today. I hosted a bachelorrette party and didn't eat ANYTHING that wasn't on my diet. Did I mention it was a WINE & PAINT party? And that dinner was at my favorite Spanish tapas restaurant that also serves some amazing sangria? Yeah, talk about a test of willpower. I wanted to bump starting Whole30 to next week because of today, but Le Husband said no. And honestly, I'm glad he did. I've never said NO for a special occasion and it was great to see that I could enjoy myself without indulging. #thankyoulentfortheextrawillpower

Day 7: Woof, today I was exhausted and cranky. Makes sense since I didn't eat much at all yesterday and worked my lil tail off. It was a busy, icy morning and I just wanted to curl up with nachos and hot cocoa, not together of course. But, I ate my eggs for lunch and then spent an hour prepping for the week. I have to say as annoying as prep is, Whole30 has made me realize I really can MAKE the time to eat healthy. In the past I'd just say forget it and forge around in the morning or eat out for lunch. On Whole30 I can't cheat, so I have to force myself to prep which helps out in the long run. I had a late soccer game tonight, too and even though I've been out for four weeks with trips, I felt pretty good. Must be all that healthy food.

Linking up *here*, *here*, *here* and *here*.

Paint, Paint, Paint, Señora-to-Be

Morning, ladies and happy MARCH! GAH! Can't you believe it? I sure can't. But, hey it's one month closer to birthday month, woohoo! Anyway, I hope y'all had a good weekend. Mine was incredibly busy, but incredibly fun. As I mentioned last week, I hosted a low key bachelorette party for Le Husband's cousin and it turned out extremely well.

… celebrated Sportyspice's bday at Top Golf. It was pretty cold but a fun and unique celebration.

… hit the ball well despite the cold temperature.

… had fun at the bar with Sportyspice's friends, but then it was time for bed.

… woke up early Saturday morning.

… helped Le Husband hang our American art. #USA #love

… spent the whole day cleaning and preparing the apartment for the Bachelorrette party.

… was blessed to have Le Husband because he was an incredible helper. #luckygirl

… loved using my beautiful buffet to showcase the wine.

… had fun setting out a delicious spread of snacks.

… enjoyed mingling with all the guests and of course Babyspice. #yaysissy

… felt a bit apprehensive about the blank canvas. #notanartist

… was excited to paint this pretty painting the bride selected.

 … learned the best way to mix colors from our awesome instructor, who happens to be a good friend. NOVA peeps, if you're interested in doing a paint night email me and I'll send you her information.

… became the official paint night photographer. Everyone did incredibly well and I was impressed with  the different interpretations of color, branch and background design. #waytogoladies

… laughed at paint hands/arm Babyspice. #loveyousissyboo

… sipped on this delicious creation, since I couldn't drink the wine. #willsharemoretomorrow #notprego

 … had a great time celebrating a beautifully, wonderful lady! #cantwaitforthewedding

 … realized I actually can be artistic. And that I am extremely symmetrical. #hellocircleflowers

… realized AGAIN, that Babyspice is a better painter than me ;)!

 … enjoyed a fun evening of painting, drinks and laughter. #kindofanarteeeeeest

 … dine at one of my favorite restaurants, La Tasca. The sangria and food was delicious, as usual and it was fun opening the eyes of the ladies from out of town. Cheers for a fun bachey dinner.

… came home, partied a lil more and then it was time for bed. I was so happy everyone had a good time, enjoyed the paint night and also enjoyed dinner. It was a wonderful evening of celebration indeed.

… slept hard after all the fun party preparation.

… woke up and went to church, despite the icy weather. It wasn't too bad, the sidewalks were more dangerous than the roads.

… fell asleep while watching Pretty Woman.

… spent an hour prepping food for the week.

… played in a soccer game. My first one in four weeks but I actually felt okay. #hadagoalwoop

… made it home safely with the icy conditions, but then got stuck in my parking lot because of the ice. So thankful for an amazing neighbor that let me borrow his shovel and ice pick and then helped me get my car in there right spot. #greatneighborsarethebest

Linking up with these beautiful ladies  < 3