jcrew factory: 50% off.

it's true. this past weekend when i went to the beach, i already had the jcrew factory on my must-do list. and then, my mom forwarded me an email that said everything would be 50% off. i wanted to cry! here's what i walked away with.

{3" chinos in bright spearmint, marrakech purple, & white; dotted chambray shorts}

{layering v-neck tee in violet, spearmint, & brilliant blue; city mini in neon azalea - present for court}

can't wait to mix & match these shorts and tees all summer with fun necklaces & funky flats & wedges!

cycle to the sea 2013!

in march of 2011 my family's world changed forever when my stepdad suffered a spinal stroke leaving him paralyzed. i have written about his story here before, it's pretty amazing.

as a former marathon runner & kick ass skiier, brian has continued to say extremely active even though he can no longer use his legs. last year, he participated in his first cycle to the sea: a 180 mile hand cycle ride from charlotte, nc to cherry grove, sc. i wrote about it here. cycle to the sea is that annual fundraiser for his adaptive sports program - and brian has been the top fundraiser for the past 2 years! 

thursday morning they took off from a local hospital. last year brian's friend dan rode with him. this year, dan rode again & brian's best friend from NYC few down to join in on the "fun." they break it up into 3 days, about 60 miles a day. 

{tommy, b, & dan getting ready to leave on day 1}

{end of day 1. mom had to bring brian some things & brought little bert!}

on friday afternoon, momma picked me & her friend debbie up and we were off to meet them at the end of day 2's ride in mullins, sc. we hung out with them for a few hours while they had dinner & then we headed down to the beach. after a quick dinner and a few glasses of wine, we were all excited to crawl into bed. 

{day 2 is over!}

saturday morning we woke up and headed to the outlets. more on that later because i seriously feel like i robbed jcrew. after a few hours of shopping, i headed back to the hotel to get in a run. 3 beautiful miles of beach later, i changed into my bathing suit and met momma and her friends back on the beach. 

{post beach run}

{sweet carolina}

around 3:30pm, we got word that they were about 8 miles out and so we headed to the "finish line" outside the hotel.  watching all the hand cyclist & "able bodies" ride in after all they have been through for the last 3 days is pretty emotional. i am so extremely proud of my stepdad for all that he has continued to accomplish over the last 2 years. most people would give up. brian hasn't even thought about it. 

{the whole gang}

the local charlotte nbc station (wcnc) followed brian for the entire 180 miles & were at the finish line to get the last of their footage. 3 days & many hours of film later, they will air his story sometime in may. it's pretty incredible to have this opportunity to share his story & continue to raise support for his adaptive sports program. we are so proud of you, brian!

{interviewing brian after day 2}

{set up at the finish}

it was an awesome weekend that has left me seriously considering actually riding it with b & the guys next year.  we'll see!

#katjam

last night, derrick, alex & i headed to the fillmore for 96.9's katjam. we found out about this concert on tuesday and bought tickets for $12.95. win!

the line up was awesome: phil vassar, randy houser, unkle cracker (weird), joe nichols & easton corbin. unlike any other concert i've ever been to, all 5 artists hung out on the stage together all night and just took turns singing. it was pretty awesome!

 

a few favorite songs of the evening: joe nichols - tequila makes her clothes fall off. randy houser - how country feels. phil vassar - just another day in paradise & last day of my life. and then to top it all off, they all sang hank williams jr's "family tradition" together at the end of the show.

and of course we couldn't be responsible adults and just go home after the concert ended, so it was onto the various weird bars at the music factory. we'll learn one of these days!

and drinking this on a school night...

 

will leave you drinking this at your desk the next morning...

 

 

i sure am thankful that today is my friday!

 

milestones.

a few big things happened for me today. some things that i am really proud of. some things that i never dreamed would happen. 

i ran 7 miles. which is my longest run ever, for now. 

i reached 300 miles on my nike running app. 

i started running last january. the only time i had run before last january was running suicides for my teammates missing back tucks at cheer practice in high school, and running a half mile every time we missed a skill at a game in college. i hated every second of it. but last year, i set out on a journey to start running. i started just like most non-runners do, with the couch-5k plan. after a few weeks, i really started to enjoy it. 

 according to my nike app, my 2012 breakdown looks like this..

january-april 2012: 53 runs

may-december 2012: 8 runs

needless to say, i fell off the wagon. many reasons, lots of excuses, and a lot of hours at work later, i started running again in january. i pretty much had to start back at square one. i have completed 47 runs so far in 2013. back in february, i hit the 200 mile mark and blogged about wanting to get to 300 by the end of june. and then sometime in the beginning of march, i decided to set a goal to hit 300 by may 4th meaning i'd have to run 11.25 miles per week to get there. well here we are, 11 days before may 4th, and i hit my goal. 

i also decided at 300, i would get some new running shoes, some actual running shoes. so tonight's run was the last one in my good ol' nike lunarglides. we have been through a lot together, and they have been good to me. 

so today i am thankful to have legs to run with. i've now ran 300 miles, and somewhere along the way, i've turned into a runner. 

saturday & sunday.

after the race & brunch on saturday morning, i didn't have any plans for the rest of the weekend. what a nice feeling! i hung out around the house with lola for a few hours doing the usual saturday things: cleaning & cooking.

chelsea called around 2:30pm with a plea for me to save her from her studying. so we headed to the farmers market and then walked over to dilworth neighborhood grille for the afternoon. i had a few pints of delicious "saison" from the local birdsong brewery while enjoying the sun with chelsh.

{tasting notes from website}

 

saturday night i picked up katie and we headed to brazwell's. i haven't been out on montford on a weekend night in months and it was actually fun! katie & i got there early enough to reserve a spot by the fire for the evening. the rest of our friends met up with us later and fun was had by all!

 

 

{katie & d}

 

sunday morning i woke up and went to church with derrick. the rest of my day was extremely low key & relaxing. i went for a quick run on sunday night & was so tired i don't even remember falling asleep last night! thankful for another great charlotte weekend but really looking forward to my next few weekends that involve some traveling..

 

april 26-28th: headed to myrtle beach!

may 3-4th: tim mcgraw on friday night in charlotte & kenny chesney in columbia on saturday night!

may 10th: my stepmom's big 50th birthday party!

 

lots to look forward to - have a great week! 

elizabeth 8k!

saturday morning i ran my first timed race! warrior dash is too fun to count as an actual "race." so i skipped ever running a 5k race and went straight for the 8k. i even convinced derrick to run with me too.

saturday morning i woke up around 6am and had a cup of coffee and a banana. i picked derrick up around 7am and we headed over to elizabeth. after hanging out inside the rec center for awhile before the race (it was cold!) we headed outside to line up for the start. a little bit after 8am - we were off!

{before: we ended up on the observer's storify}

elizabeth is a neat historical neighborhood/area in charlotte and the race took us through the beautiful residential streets. around the .5 mile mark, i turned the corner to find my mom & step dad. my mom had a pom pom and was jumping up and down - amazing! they popped up again around mile 1.5 and i tried to snap a picture but they didn't turn out. we grabbed water at the 2 mile mark. somewhere around 3.5, there was a pretty steep/long hill that was tough. but other than that, it was a pretty flat course.

derrick & i ran together the first 4 miles, but he wanted to run faster the last mile. i was already running quite a bit faster than my normal pace, so i told him to go ahead. the last mile was easy & there were a lot of people cheering. the highlight of the race was a giant tailgate party going on in a front yard that we passed twice. there was like 30 people out there with kegs & megaphones cheering us on - it was great!

i finished the race with a chip time of 48:18! my goal was really just to finish it under 50 because i generally run a 10 minute mile, so i was really proud of my time. my mom and katie were waiting for me at the finish line and i was glad to see them. a few other friends ended up showing up a few minutes after we finished - what great pals we have!

{after}

{derrick & alex}

after some water & a banana, we all headed off to brunch at toast for some good post race brunch.

next up: ballantyne 10k on may 18th!

andrew mcmahon. i love you.

sometime around the age of 14, i started listening to a band called something corporate. their first major album, leaving through the window, is the first album i can remember falling in love with. sometime during the year of 16, i saw something corporate play for the first time in a teeny little punk rock venue called tremont music hall alongside two of my best friends from high school. it was a night i will always remember - i think everyone who loves obscure music will always remember the first time they saw a show in a hole-in-the-wall venue.

in 2004, something corporate took a little break and andrew mcmahon, the lead singer, formed a side project called jack's mannequin. 2 amazing albums later, i saw jack's mannequin open up for the fray in the summer of 2009, the first show to ever be played at the brand new nc music factory. it was an amazing night.

later in 2009, something corporate announced they were going to do a 10 year reunion tour. i was living in atlanta at the time and thankfully the infamous tabernacle was one of their tour stops. rachel, alexis, & i spent a wonderful evening singing along to our teenage favorite songs with a bunch of other people our age who were just as excited to see something corporate one last time.

sometime in late 2012, jack's mannequin posted this letter to fans announcing their break up. in early 2013, andrew announced a solo tour and sweet charlotte made the list. so this past tuesday night, my sis & i headed to the visualite theatre to hear andrew play. i love the visualite, it's the perfect size, maxing out around 700 people. you don't pay $11 for a beer, there are plenty of bathrooms, and every seat place you can stand in the venue has a great view.

getting to see your favorite artist, who is not by any means a big name, play 4 times in 10 years is pretty amazing. tuesday night was a special one, and getting to share the evening with my sister was the cherry on top. andrew & his band played something corporate songs, jack's mannequin songs, and even some new ones i'd never heard before. they encored with konstantine, my #1 all time favorite song that i have now been lucky enough to see live 3 times.

so thank you, andrew mcmahon, for continuing to make & sing music that is so special to me.

{andrew singing konstantine}

 

{set list via my iphone}

 

side note about andrew: in 2005, right before the first jack's album was released, he was diagnosed with leukemia the same day they finished recording the album. he made a documentary of his sickness, treatment, and time in the hospital called dear jack. i HIGHLY recommend anyone watching this great film - it is extremely raw & super real. you can watch it on hulu for free here.

recipe: 2 quickies!

i have successfully been eating 100% clean (minus a few drinks last saturday) since april 1st. it has not been easy, and when i started out on this journey, i intended to stop after day 15. but here i am on day 16 still chopping veggies, making protein shakes, and eating lots of fruit.

the hardest part about eating clean for me has been the time i have to spend in the kitchen. i have cooked more the past 2 weeks than i ever have in my life. but it's been kind of fun, and as an almost 25 year old woman, i should probably know how to do these things anyways.

below are two quick recipes for your veggies from none other than heandsheeatclean.com.

sweet potato cubes

1. heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. cut potatoes into small squares.
3. cover baking sheet in foil (makes cleaning up a lot easier).
4. drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, & black pepper.
5. bake for 15-20 minutes.
6. remove & flip to the other side.
7. bake this side for 15-20 minutes.

i have been mixing about 4oz. of sweet potatoes with a 1/4 cup of quinoa for a delicious meal!

 

lemon & garlic roasted veggies

 

1. heat oven to 405 degrees

2. choose your veggies! i have now done this with zucchini and asparagus & loved both.

3. cut however you'd like. i chopped the zucchini into small pieces & left the asparagus whole.

4. cover baking sheet in foil (makes cleaning up a lot easier).

5. drizzle with olive oil.

6. cut lemon in half and squeeze juice onto veggies.

7. sprinkle with sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper.

8. bake for 8-10 minutes.

 

 

enjoy! 

oh weekend, don't leave me so soon.

it's like every weekend just keeps getting better.

friday night my previous plans fell through, so i headed to selwyn with court & her bff maudie. we ran into a bunch of their high school friends, hung out for a few hours, and headed home around midnight.

{sis}

saturday morning i woke up early, made breakfast, and got in a 5 mile run all before 10am. when i got home, i had a few errands to run. oh the way home i stopped by the farmer's market, but there was absolutely nowhere to park. so i went home and walked back. have i mentioned lately how much i love the location of our new house? 

i spent most of saturday cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, and catching up on nashville. after a quick nap and a shower, we headed out to the music factory to see NEEDTOBREATHE. we met up with leigh, derrick, leann, katie & john at vgbg before heading into the concert - what a cool bar! the concert was amazing, the weather was perfect, and the stars were out in full force. there's nothing quite as sweet as seeing one of your favorite bands play live with some of your favorite people. after the awful traffic in the parking lot, we ended up back and selwyn for a nightcap. 

{vgbg: read about the history of this "charlotte staple" sign here}

{hermana}

{needtobreathe}

{katie & i}

{selwyn}

i woke up early on sunday and rushed around getting myself together before heading to the early service at church. chris preached an amazing sermon & then i jumped on 77 south bound to columbia. 

once i arrived and realized i had my times all mixed up, i went over to kristin's for a few hours. oh how i love my sweet friend and spending time with her. i wish it happened more often, but am thankful for the time we do get! 

after a trip down memory lane through campus, i ended up at the chi omega house for ms. maggie's farewell dinner. our amazing house mom is retiring from the job after 6 years. we were her first pledge class to live in the house, and we love her so. she has been a mom, a best friend, a nurse, a life saver, a m&m giver, a sister, and a therapist to all of us girls over the years. we love you mags!

another great weekend in the books - hope yours rocked too!

recipe: homemade chocolate protein bars.

yet another delicious recipe from heandsheeatclean.com. you will find me saying that a lot lately. actually, every recipe i've made the past few weeks has been from their site!

the first time i made these, it was the 2nd day of clean eating and i thought they were terrible. a few days later (... a few more days without sugar) i thought they tasted like heaven.

ingredients: 

1 cup oat flour (this was hard to find! eventually found it at whole foods)
4 egg whites
2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder
1/3 cup (or less) stevia
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz berry flavored baby food (this was also hard to find! apparently baby food isn't just baby food anymore...)
3 tbsp baking cocoa
4 oz water

directions:

1. turn the oven on to 350 degrees.
2. mix oat flour, protein powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa together in a bowl.
3. mix egg whites, baby food, water, and stevia together in a separate bowl.
4. mix both together & pour into a pan. the original calls for 8x8, but i used 9x13. this just means you cook it less time & the bars are thinner. 
5. cook for 20-30 mins or until they look done/smooth. i think i ended up cooking mine for about 12 because of my pan size difference. 
6. let cool & cut into 16 squares. a serving size is 2 squares.
7. after they cool, i put 2 to a ziploc and store them in the fridge.

 ** you must keep these in the fridge because they will spoil **

{ingredients for first bowl}

{second bowl - seriously, this was the only "berry" baby food i could find at the grocery. i did find a more generic berry at target.}

thursday's thought.

 

photo via tumblr.

 

"in the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you." -buddhist saying.

recipe: chocolate peanut butter protein shake.

here is yet another great recipe from heandsheeatclean.com that i currently can't stop consuming - YUM!

ingredients:

2oz. liquid egg whites
4-6oz. unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (i use vanilla because i don't currently have chocolate)
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tbsp cocoa powder
stevia, to taste (i use probably about 1/2 tbsp)
a few ice cubes

{this is the single serve blender i use: $29.50 at target}

{i have been "eating" these shakes for breakfast or my last snack of the night.}

if you care:

calories: 261

fat: 11g

carbs: 6g

protein: 31g

a perfect sunday.

after a wonderful saturday, i knew sunday had potential to be just as amazing. i was right.

i woke up, made breakfast, and headed to church with derrick. side note: last week i counted the number of churches i pass on the way to my church: 13. but it's totally worth it. after church, i made a quick lunch and then derrick & i headed out to enjoy the day on our bikes. what started out as a ride to my mom's and back ended up as a 13 mile ride. we rode the entire greenway, rode through all our favorite parts of charlotte, and even found some new parts of the greenway we never knew existed (aka got lost in the ghetto). it was quite an adventure!

{thanks mom}

after our ride, i headed to trader joe's & target. after some cooking for the week, court and i headed over to derrick's to meet some friends for a bonfire & cookout. 

{yum}

{court would be mad if i didn't mention that she started this fire. ps. how cute is lola?}

i ended my weekend finishing up some cooking for the week & watching free willy. that movie is way more intense than i remember - i can't believe those jerks were trying to kill willy! 

i hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine!

my kind of saturday.

this morning i woke up around 8:30am with the sun shining through my windows. court & i made chocolate peanut butter protein shakes for breakfast (recipe coming soon!) and then headed out on our morning adventure. the local farmer's market opened back up for the season yesterday and is less than a mile from our house, so we strolled on down to kings drive.

the market is amazing! i ended up getting 3 lemons, 3 kiwis, 3 zucchinis, and over a pound of grapes all for $7. they have virtually every fruit & veggie you can think of, tons of flowers, herbs, local eggs, and local grass-fed beef. if you live in charlotte, don't miss out on this place!

{hours are tuesday 6am-6pm, friday 6am-8pm, saturday 6am-3pm}

{for my favorite lavender}

after we walked home with all our goodies, i cleaned up a bit and did some laundry. my mom needed help with a few things, and i needed to get in a 4 mile run, so i killed two birds with one stone and ran to her house. i got lost on the greenway on the way there (woops) but ended up running over the 277 bridge on kings - my favorite view of the city. i've never been on foot while crossing this bridge, so i had to stop and get this picture. charlotte is beautiful place!

after a few hours with mom & brian, a walk with lola, more laundry, and a little cooking, i'm watching ncis reruns and waiting to see where the night takes me. i hope your saturday was happy too!