Fiddle Fig Leaf Fever

It seems as if everyone has had Fiddle Fig Leaf tree fever, myself included. To be honest, I don't remember when I first saw this beautiful plant, but when I did I knew I had to have one, that is until I realized they were at least a hundred dollars or more to order. Holy moly! Hello people, I am woman on a tight budget, I can't afford a hundred dollar houseplant.

But Saturday, I just so happened to be making my weekly trip to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for Cs birthday cake when low and behold out of the corner of my very eyes was a gorgeous Fiddle Leaf Fig tree with a price tag of $14.99! No questions, just a quick text to the hubs to tell him about my amazing find, and in to the grocery cart it went. Now we have a beautiful new green addition to the family!

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Husband

I just wanted to wish my husband a very Happy Birthday. He is truly a gift from God, a wonderful leader and my very best friend. I don't know what I'd do without him. He has taught me so much about myself and has inspired me to follow my dreams and live life to its fullest through spiritual maturity as well as my physical growth and healing. I'm could not be more blessed to spend my life with him.

{Our wedding photo courtesy of Ryan Ray}

Porch Herb Garden

As you may know or will soon find out, we love to cook! More often than not we find ourselves perusing the perimeter of the grocery store for fresh and local ingredients, so it struck me, why not try to grow a few things on our own. Given that we live in an apartment, having our own little garden isn't really an option so we decided to start gardening in pots. My first few attempts at maintaing houseplants were  unsuccessful, so I was a little hesitant to begin working with herbs, but it hasn't been all that difficult and I love that it adds a little life to our very brown stucco porch.

Our first herb pot has three herbs: basil, mint and oregano. We were able to buy the plants at Lowe's for a relatively decent price. We filled the bottom third of the pot with rocks to allow for good drainage, then filled the remainder of the pot with Micracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix. Then watered the plants well. I do my best to water them every day and place them in a location where they get a good amount of sun. We have these for almost a month now and they are growing like crazy!

We have enjoyed being able to cook with the fresh herbs and love adding fresh mint to our iced tea. I'm planning to do at least one more pot of herbs in the next few weeks. The hubby wants an entire pot of basil, but I'm thinking maybe some rosemary and thyme.

CrossFit ABQ's Newest Members

{Image Credit: ABQ CrossFit}

Yes, we did it! We finally took a leap of faith and left our old gym and officially became members of ABQ CrossFit. It has meant some major adjustments to our schedules and lives but has also allowed us to free up our evenings so we can have more time together, cook delicious meals and make spend more time in God's Word and with our church community.

We now wake up at 5 a.m. and start our WOD (workout of the day) at 6 a.m. sharp. This also means I now have to get dressed for work at the gym. Seeing as I have client meetings almost daily and really enjoy doing my make up and hair, this has been the biggest challenge for me. I'm still figuring out how to manage my mornings, get dressed at the gym and still fit in a protein based breakfast, but I know in a matter of a week or so I'll settle in to a more streamlined schedule.

CrossFit is challenging and hard, but the results both physically and mentally are so worth it. Each morning I walk into CF not knowing what to expect. I know it will be tough and I know I'll have to fight the urge to give up, but I know that taking care of the body the Lord has given me is so much more important. I know I am gaining so much more than physical strength from it and thats what keeps me going.

Crate & Barrel Love

Those of you who know me know that I love Crate & Barrel. I am always finding something beautiful yet relatively inexpensive. For our one year anniversary our family bought us gift cards to C&B and I can't wait to use them on a few new pieces we need in the kitchen, like a kitchen scale for more gluten-free baking and some cute white ramekins to add to our white dish collection. I also love the neutral, earthy tones! Much of our apartment is decorated using neutrals, blacks and pops of green and other complimentary colors here and there throughout the year. Above are just a few of my favorite C&B finds.

Driftwood balls, Potted Butterfly Succulent, Mini Potted Boxwood, Olin floor pillows, Cadence lanterns, kitchen scale, Ramekins, Knox Lantern

Starbucks Addiction

{Image Credit: Starbucks}

Seriously, who doesn't love a nice warm vanilla latte to start off your day? I know I do, in fact I can't think of anything quite like getting up in the morning and having a nice Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte. It's simply a great way to start any day. But recently I've been noticing just how addicted I am to this crisp white cup and vibrant green logo. It's like I have it on my mental radar, just about anywhere I go I can point you to the nearest location. And I've just realized that on my limited budget, I spend almost $20 every two weeks for this decadent drink. Instead I could be using the money to buy some much needed summer shorts, or be saving it for some cute new pumps. It's time to cut back! No more Starbucks every morning, instead I'll go back to considering it just what it should be, a treat!

Weekend Highlights

This weekend has been so relaxing. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and thankfully we've  had the time to enjoy it. I love spring and summer and I'm so looking forward to the warmer days and cool desert nights, time by the pool, a little tan and some cool tasty treats like iced tea and frozen yogurt! Add a little summer vacation to that it and it just doesn't get any better. Until then here are a few highlights of my weekend:

• Sleeping in
• Group workout at CrossFit ABQ
• Shopping for a few things on my summer wardrobe wish list
• Sitting on the porch reading the latest copy of House Beautiful 
• Experimenting with my new hot pink lipstick, which I love! (via: Revlon ColorBurst in Fuchsia)
• Spending time with great friends
• Going to church 
• Enjoying a nice glass of iced tea
• Trying my hand at a few new recipes - ribs, brussel sprouts, and spiced apple chip

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

{Image credit: Lynn, at I'll Have What She's Having}

Back to CrossFit

Today C and I are headed to try out ABQ CrossFit. After getting married and moving from Dallas to Albuquerque, C decided it would be best to take some time off from CF and work on a linear progression strength training program. Seeing as I had never lifted more than a 5 lb. weight in my life I was incredibly nervous about strength training and olympic lifting for a number of reasons including my fear of becoming to "bulky." Needless to say, there have been many ups and downs, but I have become stronger both mentally and physically and I am incredibly pleased with the results. We have been working on the strength program for over a year now and started talking about the benefits of getting back to CrossFit. Not only will it allow us to workout in the morning, but it'll give us more time to do other things in the evening, will vary our workout routine and get us back in the CF community.

{Image Credit: CrossFit Deep Ellum}

My first ever experience with CrossFit at CrossFit Deep Ellum in Dallas, TX.

Bedroom Decor Inspiration

I have been itching to make a few updates to our bedroom. We have a cozy little apartment with a nice size bedroom (well nice size considering we live in an apartment). Our current bedding is a black damask print. I absolutely love it but for the summer I would like something a little lighter, brighter and a little more romantic looking.

Here are some inspiration photos I found on Pinterest. I like how romantic and clean the white, gold and gray look together. I'd love to pair it with some silver frames as well as some mercury glass and gold accents.

{Image credit: Emily Hewett, A Well Dressed Home, via Pinterest}

{Image Credit: Emily Hewett, A Well Dressed Home via Pinterest}

{Image Credit: Centsational Girl blog via Pinterest}

{Image Credit: Wade Griffith via Flickr and Pinterest}

A Little Motivation

Last week was a little rough for a number of reasons, but in the midst of the hardships there can still be joy. We're often just so caught up in our crazy hectic lives that we forget to unplug. We're constantly in touch with the world. Everything around us happens so fast that we begin to lose sight of the simple joys like going for a run, making a cup of hot tea and enjoying a great book, volunteering to help those less fortunate than us, even trying a new recipe at home and sharing it with our family and friends. What a great reminder that even the smallest pleasures can bring great joy to life.

{image From Ainsley, With Love via Pinterest}

Weekend Recap and Broccoli Spinach Frittata

My hubby and I had a great weekend! Saturday we were able to sleep in (well...I only sleep in until about 7:30am). I got up early started the coffee and went straight to work on the blog. I'm so excited with how it's coming along, but there is still so much to do. After a nice breakfast we headed to the gym for some weight lifting. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around this great outdoor shopping center then went to a nice dinner.

Sunday's are always our busiest days. We woke up early grabbed a quick snack/breakfast and some coffee and headed to church. When we got home from church we made brunch, it's become a Sunday tradition for us. After brunch we clean house, do laundry, and do all of our weekly grocery shopping. A busy afternoon calls for a quick, easy, but healthy brunch that will give us plenty of energy to finish our chores.

Here is what we made yesterday, a delicious Broccoli Spinach Frittata, or in the hubby's words "Sunday Brunch Frittata." It was packed with protein and vegetables. It's also paleo and gluten-free (if you don't use the cheese). Hope you all enjoy!


Broccoli Spinach Frittata or "Sunday Brunch Frittata"

1lb. spicy breakfast sausage
1 head of broccoli (cut off the stalk and dice the florets)
1/2 of a sweet onion diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup diced green onions
12 eggs
salt
pepper

Turn oven on broil. Brown the sausage in a skillet on medium-high heat. Once browned, remove the sausage from the skillet. Leave skillet on medium-high and put in the broccoli, onion and garlic. Cook till soft. Then add spinach and green onions. Briefly cook the spinach and onions (1 to 2 minutes).

Then add the browned sausage back in and pat down to evenly cover the bottom of the skillet. Whisk the 12 eggs together and pour over the top of the meat and veggies. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper. Do not stir. Let the skillet sit on medium-high heat for 7 minutes. The frittata will begin to slightly peel back from the edge of the skillet but the top will still appear runny.

After seven minutes remove the frittata from the stove and transfer to the oven. Let frittata broil for 7 minutes.

Optional: remove the frittata from the oven at 5 minutes and sprinkle feta cheese (or other cheese of choice) on top. Place back in the oven for remaining 2 minutes.

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Dreaming in Coral

{Image Credit: Life's A Journal here via Pinterest}

I am obsessed with this cute, super chic spring look! It combines two of my absolute favorite things right now - coral and stripes! I seriously don't think it gets much better than this! You can dress it up or wear it for a fun day out! This will definitely be a look I pin on my inspiration board in my closet!

In other news it's Friday! And I just got my latest copy of Elle Decor in the mail. It's been a long week at work so I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Happy Friday!!!

Hello World!

Hello beautiful world!

Thanks for stopping by my new blog! I am so excited you are here! I hope you find much inspiration, life and love here! Blogging has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time but never seemed to find just the right thing to blog about. My husband has been encouraging me for months to blog, to share my story, recipes and all things  DIY, fashion and decor, but I wanted whatever I blogged about to be perfect - the first time.

Unfortunately, that's not how life works, it's perfectly imperfect. No matter how much we plan, organize, stress and fret -life is beautifully un-perfect! So let's live this un-perfect life to the fullest.

Today I found all the inspiration I needed through a quote from Taylor Sterling of The Glitter Guide and Sterling Style.

So here I am sharing my love of style, fitness, interior design, cooking and life. I hope you all enjoy!