How to relax after a long day

Posted in Inspire by Alexis

Some days (or pretty much every day in my case) you come home from a long day and all you want to do is crawl under the covers and go to sleep. If you don’t actually want to go to bed at 6pm (although I admit this does happen every once in a while!) here are some other ideas of how to unwind after a long day:

– Yoga is one of my favorite ways to trick my body into exercising while also de-stressing and stretching. It feels great after sitting in the same spot all day and helps my body and mind get into relaxation mode. Check out the 30-day yoga challenge for a great place to start!
– Read a magazine about something that interests you, light a candle and put your feet up. Some of my favorites include Real Simple, Elle, Elle Decor and Domino.
– Drink a cup of tea. Heat up some water and make yourself some chamomile or a nighttime blend of tea.
– Listen to music. When’s the last time you just listened to music and did nothing else?
– Go for a walk around your neighborhood, grab a friend to chat with or go alone to just think and spend some time with nature.
– Take a long bath, maybe bring that magazine, some candles and some good smelling body wash or bath bombs.
– Write lists, a blog, a journal entry, a short story or a poem. Whatever comes naturally.
– Call a friend. Preferably one that will make you laugh and put you in a good mood.
– Reading a book is definitely my go to after a long day!

How do you relax after a long day?

13Apr2015

Cucumber Avocado Salad Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

cucumber avocado salad I’m always looking for easy yummy recipes and this avocado and cucumber salad definitely fits into both of those categories. I whipped up this salad as a side dish for dinner and it was so good I made it again the next day for my lunch! Delicious, refreshing and perfect for summer! I didn’t really measure out the ingredients but one avocado and about half an english cucumber was enough for 4 people as a small side.

Ingredients:
– Avocado
– English cucumber
– 1 Scallion
– Half a lime
– Mayonnaise (I buy mayo from Trader Joe’s to hopefully make it a little healthier ;))
– Hot sauce
– Cilantro
easy recipe 1. Cut the avocado and cucumber into cubes and combine in bowl.
2. Slice the scallion into thin pieces and add to bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine 2 spoons of mayo, as much hot sauce as you want (for me, just a splash) and the juice of half a lime and stir to combine.
4. Pour the dressing over the avocado mix and add in some chopped cilantro.
5. Stir and enjoy!

8Apr2015

Entryway Update: Hairpin table

Posted in Decorate by Alexis

After living in our home for over a year we are finally starting to tackle some of the areas that have long been overlooked. One of these areas is our entryway! I’ve seen a few hairpin table legs DIY projects around the Internet and thought a tall hairpin table would be the perfect addition to our entry. I ordered the legs on Etsy here and picked up a plank of cedar at Home Depot. The fiancé sanded the wood and screwed in the legs and we had a new table! I love how it turned out! I added a few personal touches including some framed engagement photos, an antler I picked up at a local salvage store and a ceramic owl from my sister. Here’s the before and after.

Before:

After:

2Apr2015

30 Day Yoga Challenge

Posted in Fitness, Life by Alexis

As you might already know from reading my blog, working out is not my favorite thing. Even so, it’s important to stay moving and healthy so I’m always looking for easy ways to incorporate exercise into my routine. When my sister invited me to join her in a 30 day yoga challenge I loved the idea! You’re emailed a short 10-20 minute video each day that you can watch in the comfort of your living room. Yoga is one of my favorite ways to exercise since it’s also a great way to de-stress so I thought why not give it a try?

Today I finished day 2 and so far I’m loving it! I woke up after day 1 wondering how I could be sore after doing just 10 minutes of yoga but I was! I don’t know if this proves that it’s a good class or if I’m just extremely out of shape (I think a little of both :)) Day 2 was even more of a challenge for me. Even if you are a beginner with yoga, this is a great way to learn the poses and get some exercise without having to leave your house or use a lot of time. I suggest everyone click here and go sign up!

1Apr2015

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe

Posted in Eat by Alexis

Since I work from home every Monday I recently started the tradition of “Crock-pot Mondays”. The only issue is that crock-pot Monday only works works if I also take part in “Grocery Store Sundays.” So let’s just say even though it doesn’t happen every week, it’s great when it does! This Monday I wanted to try a new recipe so I went with Crock-pot cilantro lime chicken (adapted from this recipe). It turned out to be very moist (sorry to everyone that hates that word) and delicious and we have eaten it multiple times this week! Here’s how to make some for yourself:

Ingredients:
– 2 chicken breasts
– 1 small onion (or half an onion)
– fresh cilantro
– 3 limes
– 1 can of chicken broth
– garlic salt
– salt and pepper

Directions:
– First lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock-pot
– Squeeze the juice of the 3 limes over the chicken
– Pour the chicken broth over the chicken until it is covering the chicken about half way
– Chop the onion and put in the crock-pot
– Season with garlic salt, salt and pepper
– Place a handful of cilantro stalks on top of the chicken
– Cook on low for 5 hours
– Once 5 hours is up remove the cilantro stalks and discard
– Remove the chicken breasts and shred with a fork, adding in some fresh chopped up cilantro
– Once the chicken is shredded, slowly pour some of the juice from the crock-pot over the chicken until moist (I used a big spoon to scoop out the juice)

Now that the chicken is done you have plenty of options of how to eat it! The first night I made some guacamole and put the chicken in tortilla shells with all the usually taco toppings. It would be great in a salad too or even on it’s own! crock pot lime chicken

28Mar2015

Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

Posted in Decorate by Alexis

We’re making an effort to add a little more greenery to our home, so today we picked up a fiddle leaf fig tree! aka Ficus lyrata (the fancy name). They’re not the easiest plants to find but after going to a few places we found a little one at Home Depot for $10. Finding a plain white pot turned out to be even more of a challenge but after a little searching we found this small one at Walmart. I can’t wait to watch the little plant grow! Here’s some tips for how to care for a fiddle leaf fig tree. Anyone else have any easy to care for houseplant recommendations?

25Mar2015

Will you be my Maid of Honor?

Posted in Life by Alexis

After a lot of back and forth, the fiancé and I finally decided on having only two people in our bridal party: his brother and my sister. It was a tough decision since we both have a lot of amazing friends, but it was the best decision for us and will help keep our wedding a little more simple. I also wanted to keep it simple for our friends since they live all over the place and being a part of a wedding can be a big money and time commitment. Obviously this isn’t the best choice for everyone but so far I’m happy with our decision :)

I wanted to do something special to ask my sister to be my maid of honor, so I put together a little bowl of presents for her. I loved how it turned out and she loved it too!

bridesmaid gift Included was:
– Will you be my maid of honor card
– Knot ring (I bought one for myself too so we each have one!)
– Essie Nail polish in my wedding colors; Back in the Limo and Rock at the Top
– 3 small notebooks
I put all of this in a white dip bowl I found at Target and tied some ribbon around it (also from Target, found in the dollar section) to finish it off!

How did you ask your bridal party to be a part of your big day?

17Mar2015

Lovely Home Inspiration

Posted in Decorate by Alexis

These past couple weeks have been completely crazy (in a good way), from trying to get everything ready for our engagement photos happening this Friday, to searching for new furniture for our house, I haven’t had much time to even think about blogging! Because my mind has been filled with visions of farmhouse tables and leather couches these past few weeks, I wanted to share some of my inspiration with you!

3Mar2015

Wedding Planning Update: Booking Vendors

Posted in Life by Alexis

I’m no wedding planning expert but I wanted to share a little bit of my journey as I stumble along. So feel free to give me feedback or share your own planning process!

My process so far has been putting all the big tasks into a few small groups and only tackling one group at a time. Once I finish one group I move onto the next one and so on. This was a great way to get the big stuff out of the way, quickly and in an organized way that helped me stay focused.

The first thing we did once we decided to officially begin the wedding planning was sit down and discuss what things were the most important to each of us. For me the most important vendor was the photographer. For the fiancé it was the food (surprise ;) ). So that influenced how we created the groups but it could be different for everyone!

Here’s how I divided it up:

Group 1: Guest list, budget– these are the two things you really need to discuss and have a pretty good idea about in order to start actually booking any vendors.

Group 2: Venue, catering, photographer– You need a venue first thing so you can set a date. Once we had that we researched, met with and booked our top two priorities.

Group 3: DJ, officiant, hotel block– these were the remaining vendors that weren’t top priorities for us but still need to be locked in early.

Group 4: Engagement photos, save the dates, website- Next up we are getting engagement photos taken and once we get those back I can start on the save the dates and our wedding website.

Group 5: Florist, dress, decorations– I threw the florist into the last group since my flowers are going to be a small, simple order. The dress and decorations are something I want to take my time with after getting the rest of the big stuff out of the way.

Doing it this way, we were able to get through groups 1, 2 and 3 within the first month of being engaged which was a huge weight off my shoulders.

I’d love to hear about your own experience! Feel free to give any advice you have! :)

1Mar2015

Decorating the perfect coffee table

Posted in Decorate by Alexis

I absolutely love our coffee table, it was built by my old roommate’s brother out of pallets, but I never really knew what to put on it (besides the magazines and coffee cups that inevitable end up there). After trying out a lot of different combinations of things, I feel like I’ve finally figured out how to style it so I’m happy every time I look at it. I have a big coffee table book (Women by Lillian Bassman) with a mason jar of fresh flowers on top and a little decorative gold sphere that was a present from my best friend. I also have a gold wire basket that houses all the remotes (and can be stored on the shelf underneath the coffee table when guests are over) and a candle that changes quite often. How do you decorate your coffee table? :)