Photobucket
Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket  photo Travel2_zps84e5bea8.png Photobucket Photobucket
Photobucket

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Get Inspiralized!

The girls in my office are going crazy over the Spiral Vegetable Slicer that turns your normal ol' veggies into noodles of yum-ness. Before buying another kitchen tool that would never be used, I wanted to try these things that they call "zoodles."

I hate to admit it but most veggies don't do it for me. I've never been the healthiest eater, but I think this little tool is going to change the game for me. I've tried Zucchini a few times in the past but have never been a fan - that is, until I tried it spiralized.
(Shout out to my lovely co-worker, Jill, for bringing me some)

Now I'm been scouring Pinterest to find recipes.
You can't tell me these all don't look amazing.. & healthy to boot!
I've been Inspiralized. Case closed.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the weather fluctuating daily here in the South, it's nice to have a go-to Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that is sure to be delicious, as well as quick to prepare. I'm a creature of habit. Deviating from my normal routine is rarely something I do, especially when it comes to food. I know what I like and I make no apologies for it.

BUT, as I explained yesterday, I'm taking steps to become healthier in the New Year. I'd also like to learn more about how I can help the environment. Recently, I learned that a simple change I could make when grocery shopping is to Become Carton Smart. All you do is buy foods in cartons rather than cans. And then I realized that I've been doing this for awhile in the boxed wine department. 
Amiright, Whitney? ;)
 photo 1898ca76-3272-4baf-a8df-07abf60e15e3_zps1bf425e9.jpg
Recently, I received some Pacific Foods products to try out. They are a brand committed to doing 
the right thing for you, for the environment, and for their employees, which is the type of 
company I love to stand behind.
 photo d1d52bb8-c150-4f19-9a7c-b8c9ab3c8df3_zpsac6b75dd.jpg
 photo 62adf36b-e1dc-4d93-98c1-aa80d97a468d_zps600d562e.jpg


 photo 795e421d-1ec8-414e-b1b8-dde8f5f23ded_zps62983f0a.jpg
Today, I'm going to share with you my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe by
 subsituting the Pacific Foods Chick Stock that I was sent.

Other than chicken stock, you only need 4 additional ingredients.  photo ScreenShot2014-01-10at102320AM_zpsf642a989.png
1. Rotisserie Chicken - let someone else do the work for you and buy a rotisserie chicken. It makes cooking SO much easier. 
2. Egg Noodles - I used medium, but I don't think size matters.
3. Pacific Foods Chicken Stock - I used 3 cartons
4. Carrots - cut up
5. Celery

Here's what you do:
1. Add the chicken stock to the pot and add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.  
2. Once it's boiling, add the noodles, carrots and celery. 
4. After the noodles, carrots and celery are soft, add pieces of chicken.
5. Add some Parslay Flakes & Pepper to taste

Voila! you've got yourself some healthy Chicken Noodle Soup!
 photo ScreenShot2014-01-10at100737AM_zps05f284eb.png
Follow #CartonSmart on Pinterest or Tweet @CartonSmart for 
more information about how you can be Carton Smart!
Visit Sponsor's Site

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Starting Fresh

The New Year is the perfect time get life tasks back on track. Whether it be figuring out a budget, meal planning, commit to cleaning more, spending more time with family or friends you never see, etc... There is always something we can improve on. 

I, for one, can improve on ALL of those things. As a whole, I need to slow down and appreciate things more. I'm constantly on the go and it really takes a toll on my bank account, my health and, most importantly, my sanity. 

1. Budgeting - this is an area where I really need to get it together. I've been on a spending spree for months and it needs to stop. I'm spending far too much money on eating out, drinking and shopping. 

Turning off notification emails from Mint.com probably didn't help either. When I'm doing bad with money, I hate reminders. I need to get back into using Mint so I can actually see where all my money is going.

This isn't my account, just a preview of how awesome Mint is for those of you who haven't heard of it :)

2. Meal Planning - Planning meals ahead of time sorta piggy backs off of budgeting. Mainly because I spend the majority of my paycheck on dining out. Planning meals for the week ahead of time, grocery shopping and cooking dinner at home is a sure way to soften the blow to my credit card bill every month. Not to mention, it helps me from going to the closest fast food joint and scarfing down a ball of grease. If you're anything like me, cute lists always help when it comes to meal planning. This new one I found today matching my planner so it's a double win!
3. Working out - this girl needs to get up in the gym and work on my fitness. For awhile I was really good about making time for the gym. I could attempt to blame it on the fact that my gym is primarily older people and it's hard to get into some of the classes when they are blasting 60s music that I've never heard of, but that's no excuse. I need to go consistently in order to find an instructor that works for me. That, or switch gyms. My excuses will not work on myself anymore! 
4. Slow down -  More than anything, I need to slow down. I don't need to go to every party or night out. Sometimes all I need is to stay home, do my laundry and catch up on my shows. If I had to pick something that bothers me the most lately, it's my lack of having time to myself to do the things I enjoy doing, such as relaxing with a glass of vino and watching trash tv. Oh, Bravo how I miss thee!
Here's to being happier and healthier in 2014!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

One day I'll be a better blogger..

Time to play my favorite game that takes place every 3 months, catch up!

One of my new years resolutions should have been to keep up with my blog, but I'm even late with making a list of resolutions. Sense a pattern?

Over the past month, I took a few road trips that allowed me to explore the cities of South Florida, Charleston, Asheville & Nashville. More details on everything I did while on vacation will come in a later post. I got to do so many new things and I'm excited to share!
I also spent the month of December taking my sweet nephew to all of my favorite places that get me him in the Holiday spirit. Luckily, Orlando has a lot of locations that will do just that.
Check out my Instagram to see what else I've been up to :)