you are right where you are supposed to be.

happy monday ya'll!

it came to me this morning that, yes, i am 'right where i am supposed to be'

it got me excited. often times i feel like i am behind in life. everyone around me is either getting married or having kids. but the truth is, the grass is always greener. i am loving this time in life. still living a single lifestyle but having somebody to share it with too. i feel so blessed in so many ways! 

i wrote some inspiring thoughts on note cards last night to paste around my bathroom and closet. here are a few i added to the collection:

• remember the power of choice, make good decisions.
• stay PRESENT. speak, listen, do.
• do it AFRAID! ( i have to do this one often)
• fake it til you make it

i constantly need these reminders. DAILY! 

i won't be able to use my bathroom mirror anymore with all the note cards i am putting up. oops, oh well!

on to other things. i am on a mission to find the perfect pair of brown worn-looking, knee high boots. HELP!

that's all folks!

until next time.....

going green for a cause.

yesterday i found myself at a networking group which happens to meet at a big local church. while i really didn't take much away from the group, i took away something else! i stopped by the book store to see if they had the book "strengths finder" and they were out but what i did find was this:

okay so what is the big deal? its another eco-friendly bag. however these bags a long with many more with sweet designs are made by women in Kolkata who are trapped in the sex trade. 'Freeset' is a business who wants to see these women set free. this is who they are:

"Freeset is a fair trade business offering employment to women trapped in Kolkata's sex trade. We make quality jute bags and organic cotton t-shirts, but our business is freedom! We would like to see the 10,000 sex workers in our neighborhood empowered with the choice of leaving a profession they never chose in the first plac."

i love this! and i want to help. please join with me and supporting these women and offering them hope for the life they deserve. please visit the Freeset website to learn more!

 

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looking forward with new perspective.

what a fun filled weekend spent at some of minneapolis' finest eateries. started the weekend early on thursday evening at the new lowbrow with college friends! shared my favorite tangerine salad with bf at the mpls golf club friday afternoon after some intense winter driving. mahi mahi at kona grill in EP on friday night was amazing a long with the veggie and philly rolls. french meadow has become our favorite saturday morning breakfast spot and today (sunday) ventured to yum!    

eating out is one of my favorite things to do! too bad it's not a very cheap hobby :(

i am so excited about my new book i picked up today. it's crave minneapolis latest edition of female entrepreneurs in minneapolis. so interesting and motivating! i have enjoyed looking through it so far and recognizing a few of the businesses and people behind them. check it out!

Click here!

brownies and baby kisses.

another sunny, cold january day...

happy hump day as they say! my mission for the last couple of weeks has been to find relief for my poor chapped lips. they have been so dry and cracked. i stopped by the grocery store today and found boudreaux's baby kisses (meant for those tiny precious little lips) so far i'm loving it!

speaking of babies...how cute is this one with her tutu and curls?! 

ding! my brownies are done! i love the smell of fresh baked brownies in my home. they say they are "low fat" if that is possible. we will see how they taste. i will pair them with some vanilla almond milk. yum!

i will leave you with this bit of inspiration because its part of my everyday as you can tell:

now stay warm.

it's a wally world.

well goodness gracious what a weekend it was! a lot of drama but things seemed to have calmed down. i won't go into details but let's just say there is a special boy out there that is feeling extra grateful that his woman took him back and he knows who he is ;) boys will be boys.

friday was spent with a coffee outing to starbucks with my dear friend Marion. we sipped coffee and talked about everything from mortgages to men. afterwards i made a trip to walmart to use up some gift cards. i was very pleased with what i came up with. who would think you can find such cute stuff at walmart?! i found some great accent pillows and a new coffee table. they also have great sea grass storage baskets! i bought all this and more for around $100. tell me what you think!

ooo and i found my gray yarn to begin my knitting as well! so many projects up a head. what else are winters good for?!

baby, it's cold outside.

brrrrrrrrrrrr...today is rather chilly out compared to the fab weather we have been having here in minnesota. we have set some all time high records. i think it was nearly 60 in some places the other day and its january!

a few of my goals this winter are to learn how to knit or crochet, learn how to crock pot, and go cross country skiing!

i am in love with this scarf pictured below!

i am learning how to make that! can anyone help me?!

the next pic makes me smile so much. it screams summer and happiness and it makes me ask this question:
do i dare go nearly blonde???

i hope its been a good week for everyone so far!

here is to creativity and bigger then life ideas  <3

magical monday

happy monday! i am coming off of an amazing weekend. yesterday (sunday) was about as good as they get. started the day out with a two hour spin class. many emotions came with this but i did it and that's all that matters. cycled my heart out for 2 stinkin hours with the boyfriend pushing me a long right beside me. he is good at that! we then tried to get breakfast at our of our favorites, good day cafe', but the line was uber long so perkins it was. i love eating breakfast together and reading the news paper. it's one of my favorite things to do with him!
our day was spontaneous because we ended up getting in the truck and driving to wisconsin a long the river. it was a GORGEOUS day! it was one of the finest moments of our relationship driving, enjoying the road and scenery and each other's company. it was so precious. it made me want to run away and live on the road. dreamy.

here are some pictures from yesterday!

eating out= big decisions!

last night, my boyfriend and I had dinner with another couple. we went to a fun italian restaurant. everyone decided what they wanted pretty quickly giving it no extra thought. that is, everyone besides me. somehow instilled within me deeply from growing up eating out all the time, it has always been a very BIG decision when it comes to picking something off the menu. geez louise! the waiter went around the table and took everyone's orders but when it came to me he had to throw out suggestions and recommendations and all i could come up with was a house salad to start out with. he said he would give me some more time to decide. i got plenty of laughs and rolling of the eyes from my boyfriend.

the next part of the story is what gets me. so after all the thinking and tossing back and forth between items, i decided on the three cheese ravioli. it sounded really good and i pictured a big dish with huge portions. i didn't eat much yesterday so i was hungry! i ate my salad and looked forward to the result of my BIG decision. aww finally the moment i had waited for..dinner is served. the waiter passed out everyone's entrees' and before my own eyes was my dish....the smallest portion on the table and the smallest dinner portion i had ever seen. i could of cried :) well maybe not cried but i was disappointed.
 
the point of the story is this:  before i decided on the ravioli my first notion was margarita pizza. you should usually always go with your first instinct or inkling. don't second guess yourself because you may just end up with a small plate of ravioli and sharing off of everyone else's  plates. don't think too hard about decisions. it can short you in the long run. make it simple!

cookoo for coconut oil.

i have always been a home remedy guru. i have also become a coconut oil nut! this oil has so many health benefits....read below:
The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength.

home remedy of the day: massage coconut oil on eye brows to stimulate growth for five minutes a day. you will have longer, thicker eye brows in a month. 

trader joes now sells coconut oil for $5.99! that is an amazing deal. looks like this:

who said crock potting was easy!

i thought today would be a great day to use my new crock pot. yes indeed. so i threw in some chicken breasts, carrots, and potatoes and of course some chicken broth. also topped it off with some fresh thyme. i thought "wow, am I good or what?!" it looked divine and something out of real simple magazine. i then invited my dear boy over for this hearty dinner served with fresh corn bread. i thought i had done good. that is until....

until we went to eat the food. how does one manage to undercook the carrots and potatoes and overcook the chicken. who does that? ME!  i felt as though i had promised something good and had failed to deliver.
my very honest boyfriend even said, "yeah that was bad"   (at least he is honest) thankfully the corn bread was good. but that's about all.

this little incident brought so much frustration to me. even though he reassured me that it can be tough to get it right when it comes to slow cooking. it didn't matter to him but it definitely mattered to me. this is the life of a perfectionist. i often find myself having these same feelings of "i failed" but really all it is is practice for the next round. like they say, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! never ever give up.