Sunshine to start off this beautiful week!

So with 2014 I made a comeback to blogging, and have been nominated for a Sunshine Award by one of my favorite blogs to read, A Redhead's Guide. What is it, you ask? Well, it's just a fun lil' exercise for some blogging friends to do. The rules are as follows:

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself
2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the nominating blogger
3. Nominate 11 bloggers you think bring sunshine into the world (I might only have 1 or 2 here as I am fairly new to this whole blogging deal :-))
4. Come up with 11 questions to ask them

Okay so now for #1 - 11 random facts about myself

1. I have never broken any bones in my body, like, ever. I was a pretty active kid (and still am, as an adult), but the only time I've been to the hospital was when I got 8 stitches in my chin when I fell on the ice during ice skating  figure skating practice. Yup, that's right, figure skating. That's what happens when the first part of your childhood is spent just minutes from the Canadian border.

2. I can bend the last knuckle on all of my fingers.

3. I was 22 when I got married, and my husband was 27. The judgment I got from complete strangers about my husband and I being young when we were getting married really bummed me out. Yes, I understand my husband looks younger than he is and I really was young when we got married, but 1. If you knew me, you'd know I've always been mature 2. I knew my husband was the one and 3. it's our life, we're not hurting anyone else, so why do you care?. 4 years married and 9 dating, and we're as strong as ever.

4. I frequently have conversations with my dogs, as if they could answer me back.

5. Speaking of the pigs, I used some of the money I got from High School graduation to buy my first dog, Max. Yes, I know you're supposed to use it for college textbooks, but a pug seemed like a better choice. I still stand by this decision :).

6. If I had a ton of money and could drive any car, it would be a Range Rover. Despite the awful reviews and fuel economy, it's my dream car.

7. My best friend is the exact opposite of me. She's in a band, currently has teal hair, is covered in tattoos and is a bit of a wild child. I went to business school, am blonde, have no tattoos, and work a 8-5. It works though, and even after 17 years we have just as much fun as when we were kids.

8. I'm 1/4 Russian. My grandpa immigrated to the US in his 20s, and thanks to him I know maybe 20 words of Russian.

9. My least favorite house chore is ironing. I can never get the shirts 100% perfect and it drives me nuts, so lately I've just been having a dry cleaners launder my button-ups :)

10. I'm not a concert person. I've never really seen the appeal of standing for 3 hours surrounded by a bunch of other sweaty people as your favorite band plays live (but never sounds as good as the record). I'd rather just buy their album, and then listen to it in the car.

11. I was always the kid that fell asleep first at sleepover parties. I've always been a sleeper, and even now I still need 8-9 hours of sleep (or more if I can get it) in order to function the next day.

#2 Answer the questions from the nominating blogger:

1: Do you like to cook? What is your favorite dish to make, and do you just make it up or do you follow a recipe? I'm definitely more of a baker than a cooker. I can make a decent meal, but 9 times out of 10 I'd rather bake something than cook. I mostly just grill/bake some kind of protein for dinner, and then serve it with a side of veggies and rice (we have a rice cooker so it's easier to have rice as a starch than say, a potato). My favorite dish to make is lasagna because it's easy, you can make it up as you go along, and it's pretty fool-proof.

2. Cats or dogs? DOGS! I grew up with cats as a kid, and I definitely love all animals, but as soon as I got my dogs I realized how much of a dog person I actually am.

3. If you could pick any place in the world to live, where would it be and why? Definitely have to give this one to Denver/Breck/WinterPark in Colorado. I'm a mountain person vs. a beach person, and I love Colorado no matter what time of year it is. The area is just so beautiful, and if I could wake up every day and go on a hike or ski, I'd be one happy lady :).

4. Are you a parent? Do you want to have (more) kids? Nope, I am definitely not a parent! I do want kids though, just not today.

5. Porch swing or hammock? Well, we have actually have a porch swing, and since it's not very comfortable, I'd have to go with hammock.

6. Margarita or wine? Or do you prefer the brew? I'm actually not a big drinker, but if I had to choose, I'd go with a glass of wine.I also like a good mojito. Over everything though I'd go with a chocolate bar over a sugary cocktail.

7. What's your favorite Tom Hanks movie? Oh man, this is so hard! I really liked Road to Perdition.

8. The greatest life lesson you've ever learned? I think for me, it's just that family is important and every day you should always try to be a good person. It takes 2 seconds to ask someone how they are, and that just might make the difference in someone's life.

9. What's your favorite quote? "Background and circumstance may influence who we are, but we are responsible for who we become." I can't remember who it's from.

10. Favorite color? Oh gosh, this changes probably daily. Right now I'm digging mint, but ask me again in a day and I'll give you a different answer.

11. If you won the lottery, how would you spend it? I think I'd donate a lot of it to charity (mostly pediatric cancer research), but I'd also make sure I'd take care of my family and maybe would buy a couple of houses and some expensive handbags :)

My nominated bloggers:

Just Jenny Lynne

The Life of a Running Momma

Fleming's First

My questions:
1. What would your perfect night consist of?
2. If you could meet any person (living or dead) who would it be?
3. What do you do for a living, and what do you like most about it?
4. Do you have pets, and if so, what are their name(s)/age(s) (give us a pic if you have it too!).
5. What's your favorite food?
6. Have you ever won anything? What was it?
7. What's the most exciting thing that's happened to you in the past year (or two)?
8. What's one place you haven't visited but would like to?
9. What's your favorite space (can be a place you like to go, an area in your house, etc).
10. If you had unlimited store credit to any one store, which store would it be and why?
11. What's some good advice?

Valentine's Weekend Recap

This year I can honestly say Valentine's day was done right in our household. While (most) couples were hitting up the fancy schmancy restaurants and dropping $100+ on dinner, Nate and I celebrated Valentine's day in the best way we knew how: a night of margs, mexican food, and lounging. The couple next to us even gave us a $5 coupon that they weren't using. And while we didn't totally skip out on the holiday (he got me the prettiest bouquet of roses AND cleaned the house while I got him a 6 pack and a hoodie from his favorite brewery), we definitely kept it more low-key.

I could never have enough margs with chips and salsa. 

A low-key Friday was then filled with a jam-packed Saturday as my friend came down from Minnesota, bringing her beau and a couple of friends. We all had tickets to go to the KU basketball game, and it being my first I was pretty pumped. Being a KU alum I'm sort of ashamed to admit I've actually never seen a game in person, but with tickets not being cheap and students having to camp out to get tickets, I've just never gotten around to it. Alas, 3 years after graduating I finally made it to one, and it was amazing. The energy from the student section is unreal, and being surrounded by a full house of KU fans was so much fun.

The photobomber to the left of me had us laughing for at least 5 minutes straight.

The view from our seats. We showed up an hour before the game to snag them as we were in general admission :)

So after dominating the other team by 30 points, we had to celebrate our victory by going out. By 1 am I was spent, and the next day I woke up and (no surprise) was feeling a little rough. After breakfast, a shower, and saying goodbye to my friend, I headed straight to the couch for much needed recovery time. I found enough energy to get in a run just before dinner, and then we took it easy the rest of the night. All in all it was a great weekend, and the perfect way (in my opinion) to celebrate V-day.

What did you do for Valentine's day?

Tuesday Training

Over the past few weeks my training has been pretty consistent, with 3-4 workouts per week. The whole healthy eating thing is working as well, although I do still let myself cheat a little too much when it comes to the weekends. I'm still seeing progress, however slow it may be, which is good. Now I just got to keep it up, and with this week being Valentine's Day week I can already feel my motivation being challenged.

Last Saturday I got in my 4th workout for the week by hitting up the local ski place with my bros about an hour away. I figured this would be a way to curb our craving for Colorado skiing. Fail. Epic fail. I loved it so much that I'm now determined to go to Colorado next month. Fake snow is great, but I need the mountains and fresh powder. We'll see what we can put together last minute, but I'm hoping we can all come together and agree on a condo to rent and a place to ski. Skiing to me is the equivalent to a beach vacation, but without the pain of coming back and having to diet (hello, 8+ hours of activity per day).

Me and my lil bro taking a break for lunch inside the lodge. 

So while my head may already be in the mountains, I'm still going to try to stay grounded by making some goals this week.

Goal 1: Get in at least 3 workouts this week. 1 down, at least 2 more to go.
Goal 2: Take tape measurements so I can check progress with something other than the scale.
Goal 3: Find items I'd like to buy (new running shoes/cute workout tops/etc) that are motivational that I can reward myself with once I've reached certain stepping stones. Looks like I'll be binge-pinning to my boards this week.

Linking up for Move it Monday!

Friday Five Faves

Happy Friday everyone! With having two snow days this week it feels unreal that it's Friday, but without further ado, here are my five favorites from this week.

1. Tory Burch for Fitbit. Yes, you read that correctly. Tory Burch will launching a line of accessories this spring to house your Fitbit Flex device so you can look stylish while getting your fitness on. I've only been wearing my Flex since Christmas, but I totally plan on sprucing it up when the line comes out. If you want to be the first to know when the line launches, you can sign up via email here.

2. Russian Figure Skater Tatiana Volosozhar's Cinderella costume. The Winter Olympic Games have always been my favorite, and even though the opening ceremonies were today (and will air tonight, which everyone should watch!), I still got my Olympic fix in yesterday by watching pair/team figure skating.And you guys, I totally would take up figure skating again (yes, I said again) if I could wear Tatiana Volosozhar's Cinderella costume. It was perfection.

3. Girl's night out. Nothing says 'Happy Friday' like some girl time! And tonight I'm welcoming the weekend by treating myself to a little nail therapy. I'm going with a girlfriend after work tonight to relax and unwind at the nail salon, and while I'm sure the nail techs will have quite a task in front of them (it's probably been at least a year since I've gone), I'm looking forward to a little pampering.

4. Skinny Cow Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Sandwhiches. I've been getting back into the swing of eating healthy and exercising, but every once in awhile I still need an indulgent treat. Ice cream is pretty much religion in our household, although with most of our favorites containing 250 calories per measly half cup (and who only eats half a cup?!), we've had to find a substitute. These hit the spot every time, and I don't feel guilty afterwards.

5. Miley Cyrus' Adore You. Okay, so Miley may have had a little  of a wild streak lately, but I still love her music. Sometimes it takes me a couple of times listening to a song for me to decide if I love it or not, but her song Adore You I instantly fell in love with. I may have even belted the words in the car when I was parked in the garage after coming back from the gym. When Nate came out to see if I needed help bringing in my gym bag/groceries, and then realized I was knee-deep in Miley glory, he went back inside. Sorrynotsorry. 

What were your faves from this week? 

For the Love of All Things Snow

So this week it snowed a whopping 14" here in Kansas, and while for most it meant snow days (myself included) and winter fun, it made me a little bummed by reminding me that this year we won't be traveling to Colorado. I've always been a mountain girl over a beach girl, and with Colorado ski country just 9 hours away, we've gone at least once annually. This year will mark the first year in the past 5 or so that we haven't made the trek to enjoy my favorite sport, but I'm still getting my winter fix by watching the pros on TV and  enjoying a visit to our local ski spot this weekend (it only has 4 runs, 2 of which are bunny slopes, but it's better than nothing, right?!).

To commemorate the many fun moments I've had in Colorado, I give you the highlight of our trip last year. Mr. Moose.

He looked a lot bigger in person.

This was the one time in my life I can say I've almost ran into a wild animal. I guess that's what you get when you're enjoying the scenery and not exactly catching on that people have stopped in front of you. Uh, whoops. Luckily, this little fella didn't hurt anyone, although my mom was probably asking for a mauling while she was taking pictures of it with her flash and volume up on her phone. My favorite part? When I told my mom after the encounter that I was afraid she was going to die by Moose mauling, she simply said, "But wouldn't that be a great story, and such an interesting way to go?" Uh, no, no it wouldn't.

And while we're at it, below are some other fun pictures from last year's trip. 

Ready to go down one of the runs. 

Beautiful scenery! Oh mountains, how I love you.

Grabbing a spiced hot chocolate at one of the watering holes in Winter Park after a long day of skiing.

And even though Kansas skiing and landscape does not compare to Colorado, snow days in the flat lands still have some highlights. 

I got to snuggle with this handsome boy and his sister for 2 days straight. 

Did you have any snow days this week with the winter storms? What was your favorite part about being snowed in?

Easy Healthy Buffalo Chicken Wraps

So one of the goals I set for this week was to test out a new recipe. Well, this so much wasn't a recipe, but more a "let's just throw this together and see if it works" type meal. I had purchased some Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce when grocery shopping last week. With no calories and a ton of flavor, I'm officially hooked. These wraps satisfy my hot-wing craving while being guilt-free. Win-win my friends. Win-win. 

So this is what you'll need:
1 1b Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 C. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
2 C. Shredded Lettuce
1 Package Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese (I used Sargento Mexican Four Cheese Blend because it was what I had in the fridge already)
1 Package medium soft taco flour tortillas (I used Mission Carb Balance tortillas because they have more fiber and protein than regular tortillas. They're pricier than regular tortillas but they're totally worth it)
Light Ranch to taste

First thing you'll do is cut up your chicken into bite-sized pieces. I cooked the chicken in the crock pot with the hot sauce added in for about an hour and a half, but if you're short on time you could always grill/bake your chicken and then toss them in hot sauce afterwards.

Buffalo chicken deliciousness. 

After the chicken is cooked, proportion out your chicken onto tortillas (I was counting points so I went with 2 oz of chicken on my wrap, but you could do more/less depending on how full you want them), top with 1/8 cup shredded cheese, as much lettuce as you want, and drizzle about 1 TB. light ranch on top. And then enjoy! With all of the ingredients I used, it was 6 WW PointsPlus values per wrap. Not bad, not bad at all!

The BIG Kitchen Remodel

When I thought about blogging about each room we remodeled after we bought our first home, I was going to start off with the family room and then gradually work on posts over our dining and formal living rooms before getting to the "big kahuna" of our remodel - the kitchen. BUT, this being my blog, I can do whatever I want, so we're going straight to the kitchen.

The one thing I said to my husband before we even put an offer in on the house - "You have to promise me we'll remodel the kitchen the minute we step foot in this house." He promised, and literally 5 minutes after we walked into our house after closing, we started bashing out cabinets and removing cabinet doors. The kitchen wasn't 100% terrible, but it definitely was still out of the 70s and for the love of all that's good, they had brown black splash. I've discussed this before, but to clarify - the previous owners had an affinity for brown that made me cringe.

Some "before" pics for your viewing pleasure

Now, when I told Nate he had to remodel the kitchen, I knew we would be operating on a limited budget. Really, the biggest issues I had with the kitchen were that:

1. It wasn't as open as it could be (you can see the top cabinets in the first pic on the left blocking the view to the family room)
2. I hated the doors (and those scallop touches screamed outdated)
3. I didn't like that the microwave was on a baker's rack (which didn't come with the house) and wasn't under a cabinet above the stove.
4. That backsplash. Oh, that backsplash had to go.

So after nit-picking everything in our kitchen, we decided really the only thing we'd be keeping would be the box of the cabinets. Nate also couldn't stand the soffits (the box thingy above the cabinets that comes out from the wall), so we decided to rip those out as well. We already had somewhat of a game plan before we even closed, so we started working on everything starting the day we got the keys.

First up: remove the soffits, tear down that one cabinet blocking the view to the family room/eat in part of the kitchen, and patch everything in one weekend before the painters coming to take down the popcorn ceiling come the following Monday. Easy, right?

Except there's a pipe there. Uh-Oh. 

Down to bare bones.

A little better with the drywall completed. 

It was a a pain. A total pain. But, not really for me. Luckily my amazing in-laws along with my husband and father all worked together in a mere 3 days to get this done. Who can say they have a mother-in-law that not only knows how to drywall, but will do it at 6 am on a Monday morning because she knows you have a deadline until the ceiling guys come in? Very few I'm guessing. And you guys, she even brought homemade muffins with her.

I wish I could say this was the hardest part of our remodeling journey, but it wasn't. After tearing out the appliances (because my parents are awesome and helped us out with getting new ones), we ran into the issue of the cabinet by the refrigerator being too close to the wall because the previous fridge was keebler-elf sized. So we had to remove the cabinet down a couple inches, which we luckily did before we got our hardwood floors refinished in that room, because the owners had installed the hardwood floors after the cabinets. This meant we literally had to cut the bottom of the cabinet to move it, and then have the hardwood guys patch the floor.

The big ol' hole where the cabinet was. 

We couldn't afford to put in brand new cabinets, but we had done our research and decided instead to paint and install new doors. After paying for a couple of samples, we ordered custom doors from Cabinet Door World. This would give us the "new kitchen" look while saving us thousands of dollars.We however, did add a few stock-cabinets from Home Depot to our kitchen. We replaced the cabinet above the oven and refrigerator. This made it so we could put a microwave above our stove and we could fit a normal-size fridge in our kitchen. We also installed an upper and lower cabinet where the old baker's rack used to be to provide us extra storage. The best investment we made while going through this process was our paint sprayer. It cut down our paint time and made the finish look professional. I would highly recommend investing in one.

After priming/painting/installing the new cabinets, doors and appliances, we decided to also replace the counter tops (because when you're doing everything to the kitchen, might as well, right?). We chose a black/white granite that would mesh well with our white cabinets as well as a black undermount sink to match. We also tore down that nasty brown back splash and installed a tin back splash which we got via The Tin Man. The Tin was incredibly easy to install (just cut and add some liquid nails) as well as really affordable. Add some crown molding on top of the cabinets, some new hardware and lighting, and we were finally done!

We paid a little extra for the granite on the peninsula to come out farther to give us a "breakfast bar." Totally worth it.

No more Keebler Elf fridge and extra storage to boot!

Bye bye scallop details!

I'm so in love with the new kitchen, and all of the money and hard work we put into it paid off. My husband and our family did everything ourselves with the exception of installing the granite and patching the hardwood floors. This was the longest project we did, spanning the whole summer, but now that it's done we get to enjoy it for years to come.

Have you ever done a kitchen remodel before? What tips/tricks did you learn along the way?