Hello Jessica

I am a 20- something year old, married to her high school sweetheart, with the best Siberian Husky pup, just living my best life.

[hellojessicabrown]

Memorial Day Memory Making

It’s been a little bit since I’ve blogged but I’m coming back to you with a sweet weekend trip filled with fun. Jeremy has some extended family he had never met that lives in Wisconsin and he had the opportunity to visit back in December. I was unable to go with him the first time so I knew we needed to plan another trip.

We choose Memorial Day weekend because I could take off Friday to make my already 3 day weekend into 4.

Friday morning we got up at 6:30am, Jeremy hopped in the shower and I straightened my hair. We packed Ke$ha up and dropped her off at daycare with enough time to grab coffee from Starbucks and get on the road by 8am.

It was an 8 hour drive and probably would not have been had we not hit a traffic jam but we made it to our hotel by 4pm.

After check in we headed out to hang out with his sister, her kids, his brother and their mom. It was a short night with a fish fry for dinner and an early bed time. We had plans the next day to spend more time together.

We ended up at this cute little place called Farm Inn’ On Main. 

I decided to go with the everything omelette that had ham, cheese, onion, green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes. It came with two huge slices of homemade toast. I was in heaven.

After breakfast we walked around the fair grounds checking out the flea market. It turned out to be a hot one so we headed to Twigs for a cool down.

After walking through the self guided tour we ended up at the tasting bar. It was so fun to try all the flavors and pick the ones we liked the best.

At the end we had Sun Drop slushies. I am daydreaming about these still.

Look at this wall of fun! My favorite are the sour and orange!

We may have brought home two cases...no shame.

We spent the afternoon at the lake, went back to the hotel to clean up and ended up eating burgers at home. It was a nice family time with burgers, homemade fries and a veggie tray/fruit bowl.

The bar right around the corner was trading hands so we went to the going away party. We did it right with Sun Drops and then walked Main St. until we were tired and ready to head back.

On Sunday morning we went to this adorable coffee shop called Beans & Books. 

Jeremy and I both had the latte of the day which was Salted Caramel with two extra shots of espresso.

After breakfast (which I took no pictures) we headed to our hotel to swim with everyone.

We stayed for a couple of hours and then decided to go to a local brewery for dinner. While we waited we ended up at Sturgeon Park because we were on the verge of an unintended nap.

It took a little longer than we thought so Jeremy sent me to the hotel gym for a quick 30 minute workout. I was in a great mood after.

The brewery was closing so we found ourselves instead at a pizza place called Luigi's.

We started with Jalapeno Poppers, Chicken Wings and Guinness.

For the pizza we got it stuffed and did not realize they meant like this. It was really good though. The pizza we choose was the Luigi’s Special, it had Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Onions, Buffet Ham, Green Peppers, Pepperoni and Black & Green Olives.

At the end of our night we met up at the gas station Jeremy’s brother worked at to drop off food and say our goodbyes. This trip was such a great time getting to know more family and we cannot wait to go back!

[hellojessicabrown]

Cinco de Mayo & Grocery Haul

[hellojessicabrown]

Yard Work & Garden Building

As I’m making my coffee and getting ready for work this morning, I am daydreaming about the beautiful weekend we just had. I know you are still waiting on our anniversary update but I’m trying to get together the wine list that we had so that I can be completely informed before I post it. Instead today, you get an insight to all the fun things we did this weekend.

Jeremy and I knew that this was going to be the weekend to be outside. We woke up at 7am on Saturday, went to grab coffee at Starbucks and then drove both of our cars up to Firestone. I needed an oil change and AC recharge and Jeremy took his in for an alignment. We had so much to do that we took an Uber back home so we could get busy.

First things first, I started working on weeds while Jeremy mowed & trimmed. I made a homemade weed killer and it actually worked! It was 1/2 gal of white vinegar, 1/2 cup of salt, 1 T of Dawn dish soap.

When Jeremy started on the back yard I asked him to protect my bunnies. There are 5 living in our back yard and though they should probably be gone already we are happy to have them back there. After I stepped on one on Friday night I was all about keeping them safe from the lawn mower. We covered them with a bucket and a heavy piece of metal but one decided to shoot out and cause Jeremy to quit mowing. We scooped them up and put them inside the bucket with a grate over it (after chasing two around and pulling one (the one I had stepped on) from the siding of the garage) All but one was burrowed but isn’t he cute?

After getting all the yard cleaned up we went and grabbed our cars and met up at Home Depot to get the supplies to build an enclosure over our raised garden bed. 

We built this beauty in March of 2015 and though it’s grown many things we have not eaten nearly enough veggies because of the many animals we have running around in it. We even tried this method before:

Now we are talking though! We spent all of Saturday afternoon building this beauty all the way up until Mouse Races that night.

Ke$ha thoroughly enjoyed her weekend outdoors. She really is a funny husky. Sunbathing is her favorite.

Saturday morning started a little slower at 9am. We headed out for coffee and stopped by to see Jeremy’s parents and our nephew. We still needed to get mulch so we headed home to measure and then it was back to Home Depot.

To get the mulch home we rented a truck. It was seriously $19 for 75 minutes an totally worth it. 12 bags made the front of the house look so nice!

My hydrangeas are always my happy plants even after a day of 100+ degree weather they tend to bounce back. I’ve planted them with my lonely rose bush but they and the crocuses are covered now.

We’ve also had a dog wood growing for the past few years that I am obsessed with. The red blooms are gorgeous and it’s now taller than me.

After finishing up the mulching we went back to completing the garden bed. We had a few more zip ties to zip and panels of garden fencing to secure. We headed up to Ace Hardware and grabbed some more zip ties and a few more plants to complete everything. Everything turned out beautifully. 

I had a planter left from last year with nothing but dirt in it so Jeremy and I picked out some flowers and Lavender for it. Lavender is supposed to keep mosquitoes away. 

The Alyssum smell like honey. Such a great addition to the front porch.

We decided to plant corn up by the house this year. Last year we did sweet potatoes and pumpkins but we’ve sworn off any kind of squash because we’ve gotten squash bugs every year from it.

Our blueberry bush has gotten leaves in the last couple of days too. We’ve been using the cover to protect the bunnies but they are going to have to go soon because once the blueberries start I’m going to need to keep them safe. We have yet to eat blueberries from our own plant.

We are also hoping that this is the year we finally get apples from our trees in the back. The one closest is a Red Rome Beauty and bears fruit 2-3 years after planting and the other is a Honey Crisp bearing fruit 2-5 years after planting. The Red Rome Beauty is taller than both Jeremy and I now.

And now for the plant unveiling. We’ve planted:

Plants:

- Tomatoes - Yellow Pear Tomatoes - Black Cherry Tomatoes - Sugar Snap Peas - Strawberries - Jalapenoes - Eggplant - Green Peppers

Herbs:

- Cilantro - Basil - Chives - Thyme - Dill - Terragon

Seeds:

- Green Onions - Spring Mix - Brussels Sprouts - Green Beans

We are hoping to have too many fruits and vegetables to eat soon!

The last thing we accomplished in the yard on Sunday was recovering the cage that protects the blueberries. Right now, it’s protecting baby bunnies but I think it will keep the birds out even better.

I may have gotten a little sun but this weekend filled up my cup spending time outside in the sunshine with my husband and pup. My house is all nice and beautiful outside and it will be even better Wednesday when our little bistro patio set arrives from Amazon.

Be looking for the anniversary post to come soon, hopefully complete with that wine list!

[hellojessicabrown]

Banana Nut Bread, Eating Out + A New Routine

It may be a gloomy, rainy Monday but it finally feels like Jeremy and I are starting to get back to normal. Between vacation and family emergencies our last couple of weeks have been a little chaotic. 

Let’s take it back to last Monday.

On Sunday Jeremy decided that he was not ready to go back to work on Monday and we had some more family things to work through so I asked if I could take Monday off to be home. Within seconds my work was telling me that it was fine and they would see me Tuesday. They are constantly reminding me why I love my job.

After getting up and having coffee on Monday I wanted to do a quick workout just to get moving again. I had not worked out in two weeks and didn’t plan on starting heavy until Saturday. Later on we decided that we needed to grab something to eat so we headed up to Breakfast and Burger. Instead of a burger though we went for coffee and scrambles. It was delicious! I wanted to get all of the pictures copied from the memorial board before returning them so we headed across the street to Walgreens to make copies after brunch and then I decided it would be a good idea to use the brown bananas up.

I found a copycat Starbucks recipe and used that. I want to make more adjustments to it to healthify it and then I will share it with you here. The whole kitchen smelled amazing as this baked.

I staged this picture and then dove into this slice. I love bread and particularly love warm end pieces! I bit into it and realized it wasn’t sweet. Like, at all. I had forgotten the cup of sugar! It made it that much better though because it was just a banana spiced bread with walnuts and pecans.

On Tuesday I got up and instead of working out I got my mind right for getting back to work. I folded all of the laundry and made myself a normal breakfast.

We had plans with friends to get Planet Sub for dinner but they didn’t have the location open quite yet so we opted for Greek! There is a fun little restaurant called Ari’s close to the house so I got off work and met everyone there.

We started with the Greek dip combo. It had Hummus, Taramusalada and Tzatzike with two pita breads.

We also got a fried cheese that I wasn’t a big fan of. It was good just not something I enjoyed.

When it came time to order all four of the adults had the Ari’s Famous Greek Salad. The salad included gyro meat and pita. Soooo good.

Wednesday was a blur of a day. I left work early to take mom to an eye dr appointment and then made dinner right before bed. Thursday was another uneventful day. I made a scramble for breakfast, did the normal work thing and then we played volleyball at 7:05pm.

When Friday came I was so ready for the weekend. After work we met up with Jeremy’s aunt for dinner at 54th Street. We started with drinks. I got the Strawberry Long Island.

We started with some mushrooms and Gringo Dip with waffle fries. For my main meal I went with the Buffalo Chicken Salad. Blue Cheese is growing on me!

Saturday started my new 80 day workout program. It’s the same one I was doing last time but got injured on day 65. I am make sure to really protect my back this round.

I started with Total Body Core and Jeremy made coffee. My favorite! Around 10:30 we met up with some friends at Cliff Cave Park to get the dogs out. We ended up doing the river trail that was around 5 miles. Afterwards we ran Ke$ha home, had a quick bite and headed out to do grocery shopping. 

While I prepped dinner Jeremy cleaned up my Gbutter I got in the mail on Friday. Sadly I opened it up to this:

I tried cleaning it up myself but cut myself. Sad face. They are so awesome and are sending me a new jar.

Saturday night was salmon salad night. I love this combination!

We downed these right before Disney Trivia night. We had lots of fun and were not the worst team there!

Sunday ended up being an at home day which was fine with me. We got up slowly and enjoyed coffee together. After a lunch of salmon I got my Booty workout in and then hit the showers. I was feeling really gross but Jeremy wanted to run to Harbor Freight so we headed out and he treated me to coffee. He’s the best. For dinner I made Turkey Chili and we both ended up going to bed early.

Now on to my new routine.

I have decided to step away from the social media game. I love doing it for me and Jeremy but I’m so over using it for likes and follows. That wasn’t really the point ever but checking it does get addictive. I look at it before getting out of bed, during the day and all kinds of other times that I should be paying attention to my real life. 

I am going to keep up with the blog though! I will still post my updates so that you know they are there and I may add a picture or two here and there but if I limit that, I’ll limit my screen time too. I hope you guys understand my need to do this and will support me along the way! I may be back at it later but for now I need some me space. 

My final post from vacation will be live this week!

[hellojessicabrown]

A Day on Sullivan’s Island

Sullivan’s Island is a cute little island that is part of Charleston, SC. In doing my research on where to visit with a pup this beach seemed the most dog friendly, not as packed as Myrtle Beach and the least amount of drive time from our Airbnb.

We set our alarm for 7:30 am because it was going to take us a little over 3 hours to drive down to the beach. We got up and made coffee and omelets. We had learned our lesson the day before with getting lost hiking and not properly fueling beforehand. 

After stopping to get gas we were on the road by 9:15 am. As we got closer and closer the air got warmer and we started to get even more excited. We passed over a bridge that I can only describe to you as something in Jeremy’s nightmares. You know the kind where you are going and it suddenly ends or falls or anything along those lines? This thing was massive! Once we were over it we came to the cutest little town and then there it was. We drove past Poe’s Tavern and BeardCats and finally found parking on the side of the main road. 

Instead of heading straight to the beach we walked down to 450 Pizza Joint for lunch. We were planning on Poe’s Tavern but they had a line out the door and nowhere to sit outside with Ke$ha.

We sat ourselves outside at the end and ordered Grown-Up Fried Cheese and a Veg-Out Pizza.

The fried cheese had Whole Milk Mozzarella, Hot Peppers, Capicola, Salami and a side of Marinara. We want to recreate these. They were even better than regular mozzarella sticks.

We ordered the Veg-Out so that we could share it with Ke$ha. She is a vegetable loving pup. Whenever we make dinner she is right there waiting patiently for broccoli, carrots, you name it. The pizza had Fresh Tomato, Artichokes, Green Peppers, Red Onions, Mushrooms, Green & Black Olives, Red Sauce and Whole Milk Mozzarella.

When we were done eating we got a couple waters to go and headed to the beach. The walk was a short distance away and we were blown away by it’s beauty. 

Ke$ha LOVED the ocean. She was a little caught off guard when the waves would come up to her but she starting jumping around in them and drinking the water. We tried to make sure to pull her away and give her drinks of clean water so that she wouldn’t be sick. 

We broke 2 sand dollars before Jeremy found a beautiful one. He even did the test to make sure it wasn’t still alive. We walked for the better part of two hours, soaking in the pure beauty of this beach. Jeremy and I wish it was the first beach we’d ever been to because of it’s character.

When we decided to head back I wanted to make sure Ke$ha got the full experience. We stopped at a gelato shop called BeardCats and split a large cup that had 3 different flavors. I choose Vanilla for Ke$ha, Oreo for Jeremy and Espresso for me.

I think she enjoyed it, what about you?

After gelato we walked back to the car, unpacked everything and started back to the Airbnb. We had a little over 3 hours and made it home by 7pm. It was too late to go grocery shopping so we order food from a local barbecue restaurant called Midwood Smokehouse.

We split a Combo Platter so that we could try a few different things. We choose Carolina Chopped Pork, Beef Brisket, Pulled Chicken BBQ and Hickory Smoked Sausage. We also had baked beans and bacon wrapped jalapenos for the side and it also came with hush puppies and 3 sauces. I didn’t take any pictures because I was beyond tired from our full day and Ke$ha wasn’t feeling so hot. 

By 9pm we were all in bed and thankfully Ke$ha was better by morning. We got to celebrate her birthday and our anniversary with beautiful weather, a puppy birthday cake, brunch and the fanciest meal I’ve ever had. I cannot wait to share it with you next week!

[hellojessicabrown]

Back to Work + Getting Derailed Again

Good Morning Friends! Another week has come and gone so it’s time for a recap.

Let’s go back to last Monday which was my first day back to work. It had been almost 2 weeks since the last time I had worked out with any kind of weights and direction so I set my alarm for the normal 5:30am and got to it. I was a little worried about my back so I opted for a 30 minutes A Little Obsessed core workout. To my surprise I was feeling much better! I had some time to foam roll and then I hopped in the shower.

I know you probably think I’m crazy but I was ready to get back into a routine and there is nothing like a 9-5 to keep you on track. It also doesn’t hurt that I love my job. I spend the day helping people from all over with their missions to do good and there is never a time I don’t enjoy that. 

Jeremy was asked to sub for a volleyball league so the moment I got home I threw together dinner so that he could fuel up before playing. I made some easy tacos fajita style. When he left Ke$ha and I set off for a walk.

My new goal, especially after getting hurt, is to make sure every day I reach 10,000 steps. Even if that means running a circle in my house to hit it I’m going to do so!

On Tuesday morning I work up with a headache so instead of working out I prepped dinner so that I could do a booty workout when I got home from work. I chopped a whole orange pepper, 1/2 a yellow onion, 1/2 a red onion, 1 head of broccoli, 1 container of while mushrooms and two carrots. I also diced up two chicken breasts and popped them back into the refrigerator for dinner.

When I got home I really did not want to work out but I pressed play anyway and didn’t regret it. With dinner being prepped it took no time at all to throw together. As you may have seen on my Insta stories I forgot to make rice... I put everything else together and started on rice. Good thing brown Basmati doesn’t take that long to cook.

Jeremy had plans with one of his friends so I got Ke$ha into her harness and we set out on another walk. I couldn’t pass up the chance to hit my steps in 50 degree weather. That’s more like it St. Louis!

Wednesday morning rolled around and I could tell my back was starting to get sore. Instead of an arm workout I took a shower, cleaned up the kitchen a bit and started some laundry. I am still working on listening to my body. I made it my goal to hit an extra 5,000 steps if I wasn’t going to work out. I felt doomed by 1pm because I was only at about 2,000. It was time to kick it into gear! I ended up only getting in my original goal of 10,000 because that is when the week got derailed. 

I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle this part of the week. Would I want to talk about it? Would it be okay to talk about? I’ve decided it is all part of my journey so I am going to do what I can with it. 

While at work Wednesday I got word that Jeremy’s grandpa had been put in hospice. We were not sure the severity of it but had plans to go grocery shopping when I got home. We got through the list of random things we needed and then ended up back at home with a pizza and some chicken. 

After eating we got settled in for the night right before receiving a phone call that we needed to come say our goodbyes to his grandpa. It was like it happened so fast. One minute I was eating dinner and the next I was focusing on changing into clothes and driving to the hospice center. 

I only managed about 6 hours of sleep before getting up for work on Thursday. I spent the morning so sick to my stomach. A workout was also out of the question. Around 11:15 am I got the call that Jeremy’s grandfather had passed and that they couldn’t get a hold of him to tell him. I kicked into crisis mode and made the phone call I never wanted to be responsible for. I still cringe at how unprepared I was to deliver this horrible news. 

Thursday seemed to fly by in a whirl. I stayed at work until 4 pm and then went to have dinner with Jeremy and our friends Dan and Katie. These two. The real MVP’s in my life this last week. Just picking up all of our broken pieces. I cannot thank them enough for their friendship. Jeremy and I ended up playing volleyball for another team before our playoffs game. We lost but at that point, we were over that day.

Friday I decided to work because there was already people gone that day and I didn’t think I could stay home and do nothing. I posted that this was my lunch and then Jeremy ended up coming to have lunch with me. 

The yogurt ended up expiring and my granola bar I had as a snack the following Tuesday. It happens. That night Jeremy helped me put together a really nice memorial for the funeral the next day.

For a 3rd night in a row I running on less than 6 hours of sleep. The alarm went off at 6:30 am on Saturday and I was dreading the day. I got up and did my hair and took Ke$ha to daycare. She spent the day playing while we were out of town. I got back to the house by 7:10 am, got dressed and packed up all the things we would need for the funeral. We picked up Jeremy’s sister, hit the drive through at Starbucks and got on the highway.

Again, the day was a whirlwind. We made it home by 7pm. Thank goodness my mom is amazing and picked up Ke$ha from daycare for us. She was asleep in her bed when we got there.

I finally got some quality sleep from Saturday into Sunday, 10 1/2 hours actually! Jeremy and I decided to go looking for a ceiling fan for the bedroom and picked up coffee at Starbucks along the way. We also went to get his dad’s birthday gift and copy pictures from the memorial the day before. For lunch we stopped at Pieology for the first time. Our pizza had: Pineapple, Jalapenos, Chicken, Bacon and Garlic. 

We also tried a Alta Palla Sparkling Lemonade. 

When we got back to the house Jeremy’s cousin came over. That ended up being most of what we did Sunday night. He ended up spending about 8 hours with us.

While this weekend wasn’t our best I didn’t want to leave it out of the blog just because it might be easier. This is a very real sadness we are dealing with and I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us breath through the hard days. Hopefully I will have a sunnier recap for next week and starting this Friday I’ll be getting back to vacation posts starting with our trip to the beach with Ke$ha.

[hellojessicabrown]

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

This recap is going to seem a little disjointed. I know that and I’m acknowledging it but I want to start these weekly again. Think of this as your weekend food recap if you will.

We arrived back in St. Louis about 7pm on Thursday night. When we were close enough we ordered salads and wings from the pizza place near our house. After unpacking the car we sat down to eat and watch Archer. We ended up going to bed pretty early and woke up the next morning by 8am.

I started the water kettle so that we could make coffee but we ended up deciding to get the grocery shopping out of the way and grab Starbucks on the way. We both decided on cold brews with vanilla cream.

We were going to buy herbs for some recipes we had coming up but decided it might be time to get the plants so that we could continue using them. We are waiting for the Basil to pop up because we are growing that from seeds. We have Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Cilantro and Dill. Until it gets warmer we are keeping them inside.

We got home just in time for lunch so I threw together a chicken sandwich.

Our sandwiches had Chicken Breast, Bacon, Colby Jack Cheese, Onions, Tomatoes and Avocado on toasted Seed Bread from Aldi topped with Everything seasoning from Fresh Thyme.

After lunch Jeremy got to working on a side project we hope to have coming up while I worked on getting videos edited and the blog back to itself. 

For dinner we went for Surf ‘n Turf. Jeremy marinated steaks and prepped crab cakes so all I had to make was the vegetable. I choose asparagus. He even made a lemon dill aoili that was amazing!

After dinner we watched some tv but I ended up asleep by 10:30 pm.

On Saturday morning I woke up to the smell of coffee and Ke$ha trying to get into the room. When I rolled over I realized that Jeremy wasn’t in bed anymore which is an extremely rare occurrence. He came in a few minutes later with coffee and was surprised I hadn’t woken up sooner. It was after 8 am!

He left the room and I thought it was to grab his own coffee but instead he came back with this beauty. 

Breakfast in bed, and french toast at that! It was the perfect way to start the weekend. It’s never bad with this cutie cuddled up close either!

Early Saturday morning my books from Amazon arrived and I was really excited to dive in. I was about 150 pages into The Girl on the Train but I had read some amazing things about 100 Days to Brave. It’s really nice to read a couple of pages and just be done for the day. It sets your mind right though and I’m going to incorporate it into my mornings.

For lunch I made a big salad with fajita mix on the side. Our salads had Butter Lettuce, Tomatoes, Black Beans, Corn, Taco Cheese, Avocados, Chicken Breast, Green Peppers and Onions with a little Bolthouse Honey Mustard on top.

I spent the afternoon lounging, reading The Girl on the Train and icing my back. I was trying to get back into working out this week so I practiced a ton of self care.

We had plans with friends at 7 pm and I was feeling like pizza. I made a homemade dough first and let it proof on the counter while I made the buffalo chicken.

Our pizza had homemade Buffalo Chicken, Red Onion, Mozzarella and Ranch. I will share the recipe later on the blog.

We stayed out until about midnight on Saturday so that meant a late wake up call on Sunday. I didn’t get out of bed until 9:30!

I’d love to tell you that we had a fun interesting day but we didn’t. We spent a ton of time being boring and then made dinner together.

Our dinner was a copycat from our fancy anniversary dinner. Swordfish Steaks, Quinoa and Roasted Carrots. Jeremy even made a homemade Black Bean & Corn Salsa.

I tried to go to bed early, I really did but that didn’t happen. Monday I got up at 5:30 and did A Little Obsessed - Cardio Core. My back didn’t hurt like it had been so my hopes are high for restarting 80 Day Obsession. I could just pick back up at Phase 3 or day 65 but I feel like I can do even better this round if I restart.

The Sullivan’s Island post will be live on Friday! Starting next week the recap posts will be a little more structured and fun.

[hellojessicabrown]

Hiking Crowder’s Mountain

Monday morning Jeremy and I got up and made coffee at the house. While we drank it Jeremy worked on Sudoku and I read my new find Girl on the Train. I found this book on the bookshelf in the house we were staying at and ended up getting sucked in. I ordered it on Amazon so I could finish it.

Once we were caffeinated and had a snack we packed up into the car and drove to Gastonia where Crowder’s Mountain is in North Carolina.

We took the 6 mile route that was estimated to be a 3 hour hike. We made it to the top (of the million stairs might I add) in about an hour and a half. We decided to hang out at the top to let Ke$ha grab a break. She hiked so well!

We really could not have asked for a better day to hike.

We followed signs to head back a different route back to the car. There was a guy Jeremy recognized headed the same way who said he remembered this route. Come to find out, he was not correct. We had to turn around and head back. The worst part was that we were out of water and had not eaten much but a pack of granola cups for me and a banana for Jeremy.

After hiking over giant rocks (Jeremy helping Ke$ha), me falling on my butt and some hours later we made it back to the visitor’s center. For the day my FitBit freaked out at the following:

We managed to get back to the house and have a snack of hummus and pretzels before we headed to Publix for groceries. Our first stop after showers was to grab coffee. We went to Central Coffee Co. and grabbed cold brews.

After sipping on some coffee we headed out to get Ke$ha’s birthday cake at Canine Cafe, Crown Royal at the ABC Store and then to Publix. This was our last attempt at grabbing groceries or we were going to start eating out. We went for a giant salmon salad.

We turned it early with another round of Sudoku and Girl on the Train because we were headed to Sullivan’s Island the next day!

Here’s our short little video of the day:

[hellojessicabrown]

Road Tripping to Charlotte, NC

Welcome Back Friends!

I know it has been a while since I’ve gotten the blog up and going and I apologize! I was honestly trying to figure out if I should be paying for my blog or what I wanted to be doing with it. I decided to spruce this one back up and keep going with it because I really just write for us.

I wanted to start the blog back up with the road trip that we just took to Charlotte, NC for our Anniversary & Ke$ha’s birthday.

The alarm went off at 3:30 am on Saturday morning. We had packed the car mostly the night before besides the things that we needed to use right before leaving. Jeremy hopped in the shower while I made coffees to go. We headed to the gas station and were off by 4:15 am.

We had 727 miles to go and about 11 hours in the car. I sent this picture to my mom once we had made it to North Carolina.

Ke$ha is really good at traveling in the car but it’s really cute to look back and see this face so relaxed.

We arrived at our Airbnb right before 4 pm which was the goal because we wanted to go grocery shopping with the next day being Easter. We were not sure what we would be up against with places being closed and whatnot.

This was the cute little house that we stayed in outside of the city. Here is the Airbnb listing if you want to stay here. We loved the house and the host was the best at communication and little touches.

The first grocery store we visited on the trip was Food Lion. It was a mix between Shop ‘N Save and Save A Lot here in St. Louis. We had steak, baked potato and corn on the cob.

We spent the evening sipping on wine, enjoying dinner and watching Undercover Boss.

On Easter we got up and headed to one of the coffee shops on my list of places to visit, Coco and the Director. We drove downtown, found a place to park and walked to the coffee shop. I managed to get in line at the perfect time because after me was a huge line because it was the only coffee shop opened downtown.

Jeremy and I both had a Caramel Macchiato with an extra shot of espresso.

We walked all over and decided that since it was close we would walk by the McNinch House where we were having dinner on Wednesday for our Anniversary.

Right before noon we decided that we needed to eat before making any other plans so we headed back to the Airbnb to make breakfast sandwiches.

My sweet husband had also gotten me an anniversary card for our 11 year dating anniversary that was that day. Our sandwiches had a runny egg and hot sausage on double fiber bread.

We originally planned on heading out to hike Crowder’s Mountain but instead we suited Ke$ha up to walk around Freedom Park.

Ke$ha was absolutely wiped after the day in the sun. We managed to walk almost 6.5 miles and over 15,000 steps. 

After getting her situated at the house we decided to try Harris Teeter another grocery store in Charlotte. They were also not our favorite but we got some food to hold us over until we could get to Publix. We decided to roast a whole chicken, make macaroni and cheese and have broccoli for the side. I didn’t however take any pictures of it.

Here is our little video of the first couple of days that I completed while we were on vacation. 

Next up I’ll share Hiking Crowder’s Mountain (We got lost), Driving to Sullivan’s Island for a beach day and our anniversary/Ke$ha’s birthday.

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Jeremy's 30th Birthday Shenanigans 

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Week 8 is in the books already?! HOW?!

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Spaghetti Squash Jambalaya

Yes, you read that right and it only seems right to share it today after having it for dinner last night. I love meal prep. It makes the weeknight dinners easier and this one is a quick throw together my husband requests by name. (Including the spaghetti squash part!)

First up are your ingredients:

I prepped my spaghetti squash in the oven on Sunday night. In a pan, with a tiny bit of water upside down and salt and pepper to taste. I bake it at 425 for about 40 minutes, a set it and forget it method if you will. Once it cools off I shred it and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (If it lasts that long)

My chicken was also prepped on Sunday. 3 chicken breasts into the crock pot with seasonings on low for 6 hours. I shred that and also store it in the refrigerator for grab and go. 

These are especially helpful on volleyball nights.

Ingredients:

3 lb. squash (whole), Spaghetti Squash 8 fluid ounce, Tomato Sauce 2 med branches Celery, diced 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced 1/2 Yellow Onion, diced 3 cloves Garlic, minced 7 ounces Shredded Crock Pot Chicken 1 Johnsonville Andouille Sausage, sliced (You can use another sausage that is a little healthier like a chicken or turkey. This is just more “jambalaya” style.) 2 tsp Thyme 2 tsp Oregano 2 tsp Paprika 1 Tbsp Salt 1 Tbsp Pepper 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper 2 tsp Olive Oil

1. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.

2. Add the peppers, onions, garlic and celery to the pan and heat until they begin to turn brown.

3. Add in the tomato sauce and all of the seasonings. 

4. Add in the Chicken and Sausage. Simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add in your spaghetti squash and simmer another 5 minutes.

That’s it!

Like I said, my husband asks for this by name and usually he’s the one making fun of the “healthified” foods. Try this one out and let me know how you like it!

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

Jeremy and I are pizza fanatics. The question, “What do you want for dinner?” can quickly turn into pizza. Homemade, ordered, etc. We are not too picky. We love it. Maybe it’s the amount of veggies or meat we can fit on it. I know for sure I’m a bread fiend. When we were trying to figure out his stomach issues though, we tried cauliflower pizza crust and this last time was pretty amazing. My next attempt, I’m going with quinoa. Stay tuned for that later, for now, here’s the cauliflower version.

Ingredients:

1 medium head (5-6"), Cauliflower (Head) - Medium

0.25 cup (28g), Shredded Mozerella Cheese

0.25 cup(s), Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg, Egg, Large Whole

1 tsp, Garlic & Pepper Seasoning

0.25 Cup, Plain Bread Crumbs (Most recipes do not call for this but my husband likes the added strength of the crust, you may leave this out to save calories/gluten)

Cheese Cloth (you can also use a rag but I’ve found the cheese cloth worked better for us)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

1. Cut the cauliflower from the head after cleaning. Add the cauliflower to a food processor and pulse until “riced”. This takes about 30 seconds each batch. (I have a tiny food processor)

2. Place the riced cauliflower into the microwave and cook for 2-3 minutes. Let set out until cooled while you prep toppings and the cheese cloth.

3. Once cool enough to handle place riced cauliflower into the cheese cloth a little at a time. Squeeze the water from the cauliflower. You will be surprised at how much you can get out of it. (I have my husband help me).

4. When the water is all squeezed out of the cauliflower add the cheeses, egg, seasonings and bread crumbs to the bowl and mix completely. It will be a sticky kind of crust but never fear the oven crisps it up.

5. Add a piece of parchment to a sheet tray and press the dough out into the size and shape you’d like. I went rectangle this last time. 

6. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until it is brown and crispy along the edges.

7. Add the sauce, toppings and cheese of your choice and bake another 5-7 minutes.

Nutrition Facts for the Crust (cut into 8 servings)

I truly enjoyed this pizza and even my carbohydrate, meat loving husband devoured it. Give it a try and send me your pictures!

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Week two was stronger and I'm pumped for week 3!

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Workout, Eat, Sleep & Repeat

I know, it’s only been 10 days. 10 is a tiny number compared to 80. In all actuality though, it’s been 744 days for me. You may wonder, what that number represents, and I’m going to share.

A little over two years ago I made a commitment to myself. I signed up for an online gym membership, committing to working out 5 days a week and facing the fear of lifting weights. I included the gym owners training manuals when I would get unmotivated and have always had a good handle on nutrition. So why have these 10 days been so monumental you ask?

My brain is in a totally different place. Remember at the end of last year how I was working more on the idea of treating my body with respect instead of punishing it? My mental space is completely clear of negative comments and full of self love statements. 

I started this workout program for me. Not for the weight or the gains or the sweaty selfie. For me. For my health. For my body to be the best it’s ever been. I get to live in this space and I love it, why would I not treat it that way?

Maybe you saw my last vlog, maybe you didn’t. I wanted to outline what’s been working for me and what hasn’t.

What Works:

1. Getting my workout in right when I wake up. 

   I did this for 5 days straight and then waited until almost 7pm on Saturday to fit my workout in. I was cranky, and hateful. Not a good mindset when you are doing mules to frogs...

2. Eating healthy. 

   I know, I know. This is actually part of the program. I am the kind of person that can’t perform well working out the day after I’ve eaten like garbage. I’ve been eating exceptionally healthy for 10 days now and I can tell in my hour long sweat sessions.

3. Fitbit goals.

   I am the kind of person that likes to see my progress. I want the screen to light up and get excited for me when I’m done. I work out by myself on the regular. I have to cheer for my own self!

4. Blogging/Vlogging.

   I sure as heck am not going to film/report that I ate something I wasn’t supposed to so I haven’t. I’m also not going to be someone you can look at and say, “oh, she missed a workout”. No sir/ma’am. This is how I stay accountable. Even if you don’t care, I’m still telling on myself if I’m typing this out or taking a video. I’m on my best behavior over here because of it.

5. Electrolyte Supplement.

   I was feeling sick to my stomach and thirsty all the time despite drinking over half my weight in water like suggested. I grabbed a few electrolyte water add ins and it’s only been 3 days but I can tell you I feel a world of difference. Do I need protein powders or energizing supplements? No. But this Vega Hydrator has been a game changer. I just ordered a subscription on Amazon for the Lemon Lime Flavor.

6. Dreaming about “dem abs”.

   Yeah, that’s right. You heard me correct. Who hasn’t thought it? We all do. It’s been 10 days but I can tell you I’m already feeling something. Maybe it’s just confidence but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t take an ab selfie this morning. Am I sharing? No, but I sure am using that as motivation. When I wanted to quit during standing mountain climbers today I was like “Ab Strong!!!” and I sure did finish it.

What Doesn’t Work:

1. Eating before I work out.

   I know. This program was supposed to tell you exactly when to eat and how to but truth is, every body is different. My body HATES working out with food in it, even if I ate 3 hours before hand. This is part of the reason I get up at 5:30am to work out because I sure as heck am not getting up 2-3 hours before to eat.

2. Getting bent out of shape because we have plans.

   I spent the first part of Friday night in a crummy mood last week. Why? Especially if it’s Friday?! Because we had plans and I was thinking about FOMO. I was upset I wasn’t going to eat/drink like the others. That doesn’t matter does it?! No. We have been making plans left and right coming up. We have a birthday dinner Friday, I already looked at the menu and planned what I will eat. We have someone wanting to make us dinner but she cooks with decadence, I asked to cook for her instead. Simple.

3. Eating 100% like they ask you to.

   I physically cannot eat as much food as this plan tells you to. There are days that I am ravenous and can but most days I’m not there. I’ve forever been a “snack all day” kind of person. I refuse to put any more food in my body if I’m not hungry. That is over indulgence whether it’s good for you food or not. I have been staying in my set calorie range though because why not? I want to get to the end of the 80 days and feel like I did my best the whole way.

So that’s it. Easy as that. I have double the ‘Works’ than ‘Not Works’ which seems like a win in my book. Be ready for a new vlog coming Monday and hey, it’s only week two. We are allowed to still be figuring out the process. Progress over perfection all the way!

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Here’s to vlogging for the very first time and getting a feel for it. I have already started to make adjustments in this weeks!

Give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you’d like!

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The 80 Day Obsession Obsession

You guys will probably be asking, “will you shut up about the 80 Day Obsession already?”. Soon enough, but right now, no, I will not. I have committed to being OBSESSED with my health, mentally and physically and the madness will not end until April 14th so sit tight.

Here’s the fun part though. Well, fun for me. Maybe you will hate it. To that I say I’m sorry.

I am vlogging this whole fun experience starting with my prep. 

I am also a novice learning things as I go so please don’t think I have any idea what I’m doing. I started on Saturday before my workouts started on Monday this week. 

Am I slightly embarrassed? Yes. 

Do I forget what I’m saying? Also yes.

But hey, I’m doing this for me and it’s going to be a fun experience looking back on if nothing else. 

I’ll share how I prepped, how I’m feeling, what I’m changing and even some recipes and other random things I’m up to. 

The bottom line? I’m so not asking you to watch it but it’s there if you want it. The first of many will be uploaded probably Sunday this weekend and be a longer one because it started before I got into the swing of things. After that, I’ll cut it down a bit. 

That’s all I’ve got. I totally slacked on the blogging game last week because I was prepping for this new-ish lifestyle.