Giving Thanks & My 18th

I am so happy right now. I love my family, I love my hometown, I love fall weather, I love leaves that actually CHANGE color, I love it all. Everything about this weekend has been absolutely wonderful - I think that Thanksgiving is rising in the ranks as one of my favorite holidays. I never really was all that excited about it in the past because Thanksgiving food isn't my favorite, but this year was the first year that I truly realized that the food is not what it's about. Being away from home has made me cherish my time with my family (including the kitties) all the more and made me appreciate so many things I would've taken for granted before.

I didn't end up taking any photos of the Thanksgiving meal but I did want to share some of the things I'm thankful for this year (not in any particular order).


1. The Lord's crazy love that never fails, never runs out, and never gives up on me. No explanation needed. I am so blessed.
2. My parents and my older brother - I don't know what I would do without them! They never fail to make me laugh when I'm down, always have the best advice, and just get me like no one else.
3. Being able to attend one of the best universities in the country. Not many people have the privilege of saying that - I am so grateful for my education!
4. My kitties! These little balls of fluff always turn me into the 5-year-old that I am at heart and give me so much joy.

5. Coffee that doesn't taste like dirt! I came home and my dad had bought my favorite coffee (Starbucks Blonde Roast) and made it for me - I don't know how I've been surviving on that nasty dining hall coffee. Maybe adding all that hot chocolate helps ;-)
6. Fresh fall air. Every time I've stepped outside since I've been home, I just stand there and breathe it in. I miss the fresh air and the colder weather a lot more than I thought I would. 

7. All of the little things I take for granted - always having food and water, a warm place to stay, safety, my health, and so much more.
8. Almond butter - Barney Butter especially!

9. The amazing friends I have, both old and new.
10. My Bible study at UCLA. They have made me feel so welcomed and and home which is a tough feat when you're making the tough transition to college. I love those girls so much!
11. My ability to run, lift, dance like a crazy person, and so much more. I am so lucky.
12. Music. Happy pop music to dance party to, down to earth country music, worship music, all of it.
13. Baking.
14. The blog world - the blogs that inspired me to create my own, the blogs that I read daily, and especially you guys. I love you all<3

I could go on and on.. I have so much to be thankful for! 

Anyway, I also wanted to share some photos of the past few days! :) 

When I got home on Wednesday night I stuffed my face with berries and pomegranate seeds, made pumpkin bread and dance partied with my mom, watched a random movie on an actual TV screen on my own couch while drinking pumpkin tea, and most importantly - was reunited with my babies!!

nose kissies! 

On Thursday morning I went to the gym with my mom and took BodyPump and BodyCombat. BodyPump used to be my favorite class, but since I started lifting heavy weight in my IFT classes at school, I wasn't as big of a fan. The bar constantly felt light and I'd rather do less reps with heavy weight than spend a really long time doing more reps with light weight. But BodyCombat was awesome! And just getting to workout with my mom made me so happy. 

We spent the rest of the day prepping for Thanksgiving - we had over 20 people over at our house - and then Thanksgiving night I got to go see the new Twilight movie. It was really good! I couldn't quite remember what was supposed to happen at the end but I was still surprised. Minus the creepy baby I give it a thumbs up!

Then Friday was my 18th birthday! I woke up to my baby girl snuggling with me, made pumpkin spice pancakes with almond butter and sprinkles and ate them while catching up on Glee, went for a run in the beautiful fall weather and ended at starbucks where I got a PSL. And then my brother came and picked me up<-- he's the best! 

I showered and then my mom took me to get foot massages, which were heavenly!! We came back home and cleaned up a bit and then went as a family to get a late lunch at Panera. I got broccoli cheddar soup, the turkey avocado BLT, and asiago bread as my side. So good! 

After Panera my mom and I got Peet's (my family always gets afternoon coffee together) - I ended up getting a pumpkin chai latte that I didn't snap a pic of, but it was really really good. Then we headed to Target (because I love that place!!), Whole Foods (more pomegranate seeds for meeee!), and came home to start making my birthday dinner. We made the Pioneer Woman's mac n cheese, and my dad made me steak. So delicious!

I opened presents after dinner and all I can say is that my family went above and beyond to make me feel loved on my birthday. I got some homey things - a kitty towel, two cute little bowls, a little decoration thing for my dorm room, and a super nice mattress topper for my bed at school! 

My brother got me a Starbucks gift card and the ZZ Ward album (love!). I love actual CDs. 

I also got almond butter, dark chocolate, and rainbow sprinkles (!!) and three new workout tanks. If that doesn't show you how well my family knows me, then I don't know what does. 

And to top my already amazing day off, the Christmas lights were up, the fire was lit, and I was snuggling on the couch with my man and a mug of sugar cookie tea. It's the holiday season!

I had a huge mug of mocha and peanut butter ice creams with some leftover chocolate cream pie crumbles for dessert - I think I've single-handedly taken down an entire half gallon of ice cream since I've been home! We also opened the ginormous peppermint patties that I got my brother for his birthday (it was earlier this month) and I had a few pieces of that too. It was so much better than a regular peppermint patty!

This morning I got up and made another batch of pumpkin spice pancakes (1/3 cup Kodiak mix, 1/3 cup pumpkin, a few shakes of pumpkin spice, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and enough water to get it moving) with almond butter and more rainbow sprinkles. Who says you only can have rainbow sprinkles on birthdays?? 

I'm sad that today is my last full day at home but I'm trying not to think about it too much because being sad will ruin the rest of this weekend and I don't want to do that. The sadness needs to wait until I'm actually leaving tomorrow! I'm going to just focus on how wonderful my mini-break has been already - filled with family, kitties, and good food. What more could a girl ask for?

how was your thanksgiving?

Lately {Eating, Sweating, Doing}

happy WIAW everyone!! i have so much to share with you all today! :) 

what i've been eating:

vanilla Chobani with a farmer's market nectarine, walnuts, granola, and chia seeds

nonfat latte and a coconut macaroon

another Vitality Bowl.. whoops ;) this one had acai, guarana, strawberries, banana, flaxseed, soy milk, apple juice, spinach, and broccoli and was topped with granola, strawberries, kiwis, and goji berries.

super ugly but delicious lunch! a bed of rainbow quinoa topped with baked crispy tofu, and a mix of sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and shredded carrots that i added a little milk, flour, and pine nut hummus to. so good!

breakfast at my new favorite cafe! egg, cheese, tomato, and avocado sandwich on multigrain bread with a side of fruit and a large coffee.

a bowl of strawberries with vanilla chobani topped with homemade granola (see below)

more homemade granola with almond-coconut milk, and a simple berry smoothie with spinach added in

another homemade 'vitality' smoothie bowl

how i've been sweating:

• saturday: bootcamp class at my gym that killed me! i was so sore after!
• sunday: easy 4 mile shakeout run
• monday: 15 mins stairclimber + upper body weights workout 
• tuesday: 9.7 mile run (i only was planning on going 6-7 but my route ended up being a lot longer than i thought it was!) 

also, check out my progress! i'm so proud of myself for working hard to include strength training in my routine and am so happy with my arms- my shoulders really pop!

what i've been doing:

• baking! i made chocolate chip scones with a milk chocolate drizzle from ina garten's cookbook:

i also made golden granola from jenna's book, white jacket required. this stuff is SO FREAKIN GOOD. 

• working. last shift on friday! :( 
• school shopping.

i've ordered all of my textbooks (EEKKKK! haha my chem book scares the crap outta me!) and gotten a few more things for my dorm room. i can't wait to move in and show you guys what it looks like! 

• watching food network. hey, if i have the time, might as well, right?!

the great food truck race + m&ms + fancy root beer. definitely my kinda night!

• having quiet time doing the #shereadstruth study every morning. i am LOVING it! 

what have you been eating, sweating, or doing lately? 

WIAW: Cheesy Quinoa with Broccoli and Carrots {Recipe!}

it's that time of week again!! I <3 WIAW :)
as usual, this is tuesday's eats/workouts/outfit!
workout #1: 6am BodyPump class. I made sure not to slack off on my weight at all and was really feeling the burn! I'm finally back to going to class more than once a week, and since I just went on Sunday I think that's also why everything was on fire (in a good way!).
breakfast: a (FREEEE! i love my gold card..) Starbucks venti nonfat cappuccino with 3 pumps of vanilla syrup. go big or go home, people! ;) i also had a piece of nutty bread with sharp cheddar and a scrambled egg on the side.

outfit: it's been a bit chilly the past few days, so i went with pants today. the red striped tank is one of my favorites because it's so comfy and fits me well. and i love my heeled cowgirl boots.. so comfy!

lunch: a big wrap with avocado, about 1/2 cup of my cheesy quinoa (recipe below!), a fried egg, and some asiago cheese. this combo was awesome!

i also had a small bowl of cherries that i got at the farmer's market last weekend on the side.

now, for the recipe! i was craving a lighter, veggie-packed side dish last weekend and came up with this gem. i used up all the rainbow quinoa i've had in my cabinet for awhile, too! recipe success!

It's definitely one of my favorite recipes that I've created so far - I hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Quinoa with Broccoli and Carrots

by Julianna Foster

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Keywords: saute steam entree side gluten-free nut-free vegetarian vegetable quinoa

6025916

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 bag of steam-in-bag broccoli
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 4 wedges of the Laughing Cow Light Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Rinse quinoa, then place in a medium pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, cook the steam-in-bag broccoli, then chop broccoli into small pieces.

When the quinoa is done cooking, add the broccoli, carrots, and cheeses and stir until everything is combined.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or chilled - enjoy!

Powered by Recipage

snack was a piece of toast with the coconut peanut butter i picked up the other day. this stuff is SO FREAKIN DELICIOUS. i can't keep my spoon out of it.. and also went back for a second piece of toast with a thick smear of the stuff. i think the jar's about a third gone and i've had it for a day... someone rescue me! ;) 

workout #2: i know, i know, 2 workouts in a day = crazy!! but this only happens on tuesdays because i get out of school early, and one of my favorite bodypump classes is on tuesday mornings. so, 2 workouts it is! i've also noticed that doing cardio later in the day after taking bodypump helps me not be as sore the next morning because it gets my blood flowing. 

today i did 20 minutes on the elliptical and then ran 2 miles @ ~8:00 pace. sweaty happy mess!

snack #2 was a big protein smoothie with 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, ~2 cups frozen berries, and vitamin water zero (lemon flavored), topped with slivered almonds and puffed millet

then i headed to the store to pick up the ingredients to make chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for a few of the ladies in the college & career center at my school that i aide for! they're amazing women and i wanted to thank them before the end of the school year.

i followed this recipe and OHMYGOODNESS foodgasm they're SO good!! if you're looking for an indulgent treat these are your cupcakes ;)
dinner was a big salad (#JunePowermealADay!) which was mixed greens, cucumbers, mushrooms, grilled chicken, and sesame ginger vinaigrette. on the side was a piece of kashi pizza.

and of course dessert was one of those cupcakes! good thing i'm giving them away otherwise we'd definitely have a problem... ;)

what's your favorite kind of cupcake?
are you participating in the june powermeal a day?

every weekend should include...

...a fun giveaway! (it ends next saturday so make sure you enter before then!)

...a Saturday morning bike ride to the farmer's market

...a deliciously thick smoothie bowl for breakfast (in the blender: 1 1/2 cups frozen berries, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, lime juice, ice, and some lemonade vitamin water zero, topped with pb cheerios)

...playtime with my girl lexy

...a little shopping (have i mentioned that i'm obsessed with purses and wallets? i think i have over ten...)

...a fun maxi skirt

...spoonfuls of almond butter with chocolate chips (actually, every day should include this!)

...laying on the couch doing absolutely nothing! pure bliss

...eating huge bowls of chocolate froyo with graham cracker, almond meal, and toffee bits

...morning snuggle time with ginnie mae

 ...a heart-pumpin workout! today i did 15 minutes on the stair climber, a bodypump class, and a 2-mile run!

...a super-satisfyingly delicious egg, avocado, and sharp cheddar sandwich 

...coffee. 'nuff said.

now you tell me: what should every weekend include?