Weekend Report

Well Monday we meet again and like always... I am less then thrilled about it. This past weekend I was lucky enough to travel down to Raleigh to spend the weekend catching up with some of my best friends. It was so great to see everyone and hear about what everyone is up to these days! Here's a few snap shots of the weekend...

Hanging at Churchills 

Jello shoes were apparently necessary 

Saturday spent in the pool

Group shot

Round 2

Gangs all here!

How did you spend your weekend?

Yours truly,

Emily

5 on Friday

Happy Friday friends! 

This week completely flew by and I am not complaining because this girl is on her way to Raleigh! I can't wait to spend the weekend in one of my favorite cities with a group of my favorite people! 

Now onto 5 on Friday...

(One)

This week was an excellent mail week and I got in my new Stella & Dot pieces! I have already worn them both and am absolutely loving them! To refresh your memory I ordered the...

On The Mark necklace

and 

Fiona Earings. 

(Two)

Wednesday was my birthday and my boss was kind enough to treat me to a mani/pedi! It was absolutely amazing and just what I needed after a few stressful weeks at work.

(Three)

After my mani/pedi a group of friends got to together to celebrate my special day at one of my favorite RVA restaurants... Pearl! It was a great time and I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling the aftermath the next morning. 

(Four)

Here's a shot one of my friends snagged at time while when they brought out the cake. Not the greatest picture but I like it because I look so happy and to be honest... I was. Every year on my birthday I am reminded of how blessed and loved I am and it leaves me feeling incredibly fortunate for all that God has given and done for me. 

(Five)

As I mentioned before, I am heading to Raleigh this weekend and can't wait to be reunited with some of my best friends! There will be lots of catching up, lots of wine, and as always lots of fun. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Yours truly, 

Emily

Birthday!

That's right y'all... its my birthday!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, with work being crazy, my birthday, and going out of town this coming weekend- life has gotten a little much.  

As for celebrating my special day- I was surprised at work yesterday with my mom and grandma driving down from Maryland! They took me out to lunch and of course we had to do a little shopping. Today I will be heading into work for a little bit then my sweet boss is taking me on a mani/pedi date before cocktails and dinner with friends... can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a great week, xoxo!

Yours truly,

Emily

Weekend Report

This past weekend I had to work so there wasn't much going on. The one exciting event from the weekend was grabbing dinner with drinks with my cousins who were in town for a lacrosse tournament. It's not very often I get to get together with them so a catch up was way overdue! 

While we waited for dinner we headed to The Boathouse and I snagged this amazing picture of the sunset. 

The Boathouse is right on the river and although we didn't eat dinner there, I have heard amazing reviews about their food!

 I also got a chance to wear all of my favorite bracelets to dinner:

Link: J.Crew Stone: CheBella Boutique Bangles: Nordstroms 

Of course I forgot to take picture of what I wore but I am hoping to remember to take some OOTD snapshots this week. 

Speaking of this week... its almost this girls birthday! As I've mentioned before, I am big on birthdays and am excited to celebrate with my friends this week AND this coming weekend. I am hoping the week will fly by and I have no doubt it will, given that I have something different going on every day. Dinner with a friend, happy hour celebration, laundry, spinning (x2), and mani/pedi date.... its going to be busy crazy week!

How did you spend your weekend?

Yours truly, 

Emily

5 On Friday

Happy Friday Y'all! I am back again this Friday for 5 on Friday!

 Fortunately for me, I am off today and have a TON on my To-Do list before I head back to work tomorrow and Sunday. Here's a little catching up about this week...

(One) 

OOTDs- I used to post these ALL the time and I have completely fallen off the wagon. Here are a few favorites from this week.

Dress: Forever 21 (at least 6 years old) Belt: Anthropologie Sweater: NY& Company Necklace: Francescas 

Dress: H&M Necklace: Fab'rik. Finally got to break out my new necklace and can't wait to wear it again come football season!

(Two)

Clean eating. This week I did a pretty good job of eating clean all week, with the exception of a few handfuls of M&Ms at work. I also finally got to try out the Quest Bar!

Sample breakfast from this week- cottage cheese with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries + half Quest Bar and water

I have heard great things about Quest Bars and was so so excited when I finally tried them out- they definitely did not disappoint! I tried the Coconut Cashew and loved it. They have 20g of protein and only 160 calories. 

(Three)

New Jewelry! Last night I attended a Stella & Dot trunk show and you know this girl could not walk away empty handed. Here are 2 new additions to my collection

On the Mark Necklace

Fiona Earings 

(Four)

Even though it's a bit of a bummer I am working this weekend, it leaves me time to be productive after work. This oven roasted tomato recipe is number 1 on my list for the weekend!

Call me lame but my Friday night will be these tomatoes, a movie, and bed early... sad part is I am looking forward to a little relaxing and a night in. 

(Five)

We are officially one week away from my Raleigh trip! Next week I will be headed to Raleigh for a bit of reunion with all of my closest friends from college AND to celebrate my birthday! I can't wait and may be more excited about seeing all my friends then my actual birthday... ok you're right, maybe not. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Yours truly, 

Thoughts for Thursday

Happy Thursday Y'all! I don't know about you but I am so ready for it to be Friday, aka my day off before working this weekend. It's been awhile since I have posted a Thoughts for Thursday so here we go...

- This week I have been all about letting my hair air dry. I used to have pretty wavy hair and could let it air dry all the time, however since cutting my hair a little over a year ago the texture has changed a bit. It's been nice to hop out of the shower, run my fingers through it, and be done with it. For a little extra love and shine I have been adding Ojon Hair Oil

It smells absolutely amazing and leaves my hair feeling soft and manageable for the day. You can pick it up at your local Sephora!

- I am officially addicted to ABC's Mistresses. It is the only show I watch every week and even though its a bit dramatic, even for me i.e. dead husbands coming back to life and paternity tests, I still look forward to watching it every week!

- From being at the beach for a week and then another weekend, my skin is in full peel mode and I somewhat resemble a snake shedding skin. No seriously y'all... I look ridiculous. 

- I have started a new book! Over the past 3 weeks I have finished two books- Second Chances by Jane Green and Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Both were easy and enjoyable reads and now I am onto...

- My eating clean this week has been going great and I am finally starting to feel like myself, post vacations. I did grab happy with a friend last night, but we stayed fairly healthy other then the pimento cheese and Ritz crackers but honestly, how were we supposed to pass that up!

Yesterday's eating consisted of

Breakfast- Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries with 1/2 a Quest Bar

Lunch- Roasted veggies and 1 small corn tortilla

Snack- 1/2 Quest Bar and a peach

Ok enough for thoughts of Thursday, lets hurry and get this day over with. 

Yours truly, 

Wednesday Wish List- Birthday Edition!

As some of y'all might know, my birthday is officially a week from today! Here are a few things I might be treating myself to...

Wednesday Wish List- Birthday Edition! by ead0724 featuring jurlique

Tory Burch suede shoes / Jack Rogers flat / Dorothy Perkins zipper purse / Nixon stainless steel bracelet / House of Harlow 1960 pendant jewelry / Bobbi Brown Cosmetics eau de perfume / Jurlique / Origins puffy eye treatment

Clean Eating- New Recipes

In last weeks 5 on Friday post, I mentioned I had tried 2 new amazing recipes- both super yummy and healthy! If you are looking for easy and satisfying things to try, I highly recommend these and can assure you they will be made again.

The first recipe was a Paleo style tuna fish salad. I brought all the ingredients to work and found it super easy to whip together.

You will need:

Tuna fish 

Half an avocado

1 hard boiled egg white

Salt and Pepper

Combine all the above ingredients until it is a consistency you like then enjoy! I chose to eat my plain without bread or crackers but I'm sure it would be just as good, if not better on some yummy toasted wheat bread.

The second recipe was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to make it again this week! I didn't have a lot of the things the original recipe called for but still found it just as yummy. 

For Veggie Enchiladas you will need...

Authentic corn tortillas 

Enchilada Sauce

Shredded Cheese

1 large zucchini 

1 large yellow squash

1 onion

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1-2 jalapenos depending on how spicy you want it

Begin by roasting your squash, zucchini, and onion. I did mine on 375 for almost 40 minutes. 

While the veggies are roasting, grease a small baking dish. 

Spread a tiny bit of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish and line with one layer of tortillas. 

Once the veggies are done, combine them with chopped jalapeno and black beans.

Spread a bit of the veggie mixture over layer of tortillas and top with layer of cheese. 

Continue this pattern until you have 2 layers of tortillas and veggies, top with a bit more enchilada sauce and cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes!

Y'all those enchiladas are no joke and might be one of the best things I've ever made. 

Also yesterday I mentioned that this week was going to be another round of clean eating/ a little cleanse being that I will not being drinking. Here's a preview of what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast- 

Cottage cheese with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. 

Half a Quest Bar

Lunch-

Half and avocado

Apple + unsalted peanut butter

Half a peach

Afternoon snack-

Banana

Kind Bar

Other half of avocado

Dinner- ( I didn't get home from work until close to 9:30 so no judging)

One corn tortilla with tiny bit of shredded cheese roll up

3 Dried apricots

Glass of almond milk

There you have it- 2 new recipes and what I ate in day!

What do you eat when your trying to eat clean?

Yours truly, 

Weekend Report

This past weekend I drove down to Rodanthe, NC where my family had been all week on a huge family reunion/vacation. I unfortunately had to work last week but was able to take a half day on Friday and be down there just in time for happy hour. I was a little nervous before heading down because the news was reporting rain all weekend but, boy were they wrong! Saturday we had the most amazing weather at the beach and I am so glad I was able to get to spend all day on the beach with my family!

Obviously since we were in Rodanthe, we had to find the house from the movie! Lucky for us it was only a couple blocks down. (Sorry about the caption- I saved the picture off snapchat... yes I have snapchat, judge away)

Happy hour on the deck!

Beach time with my momma!

Family photo

Games with the family

Sunset as I was leaving the beach!

Sunday we had to be out of the house pretty early aka roll out of bed, car packed, and search for nearest Starbucks. I was back in Richmond around 10 and spent the day running errands, grocery shopping, and getting my apartment back in order. 

This week I am looking forward to getting back into my routine after so much traveling. I also can't wait to get back to spin and have a few runs planned! As for eating... last week I did great with eating clean and I am going to try and do the same this week. Also, this week I am also starting an antibiotic that you can't be taken with alcoholic, so no nightly glasses of wine for this girl!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week and Happy Monday!

Yours truly, 

Sunday Stuff

Happy Sunday Y'all!

Yours truly,

Back To The Beach!

Back To The Beach! by ead0724 featuring bandeau swimsuits

Bandeau swimsuit, $24 / Helene Berman striped floppy hat, $71 / Rut&Circle round glasses, $18 / Sun care / Jonathan Adler Blue Aegean Waves Beach Towel

5 on Friday

Happy Friday Y'all!! Good lord did this week seem to drag on to anyone else, I swear the days were not moving! Getting back from vacation is always hard, everyday I felt like I was a little off my game and could not catch up! I have much higher hopes for next week and am excited to get back on track with my routine. As for 5 on Friday....

(One)

I am and have always been a huge music fan- I believe it is an entire mood changer and I often turn to music when I am feeling a wide variety of emotions- mad, sad, frustrated, excited... you name it and I have a song for it. My current song obsessions and ones that I have been playing NONSTOP are...

Avicii- Wake Me Up

John Mayer- Paper Doll

(Two)

This past week I tried out 2 new recipes and both turned out great! Being that I wasn't make it to the gym, I made it a point to eat clean all week and absolutely loved these recipes!

Paleo Tuna Fish- Amazing, recipe to come!

Veggie Enchiladas- also amazing, recipe next week!

(Three)

One would think by now that I am tired of traveling but this girl could not be more excited for all the upcoming trips I am working on! This week a huge group of my friends and I decided that we are having a reunion in one of my favorite cities! It should be no shocker where the reunion is, given my excitement over anything in North Carolina...

That's right... Raleigh! 2 weeks and counting until I am reunited with some of my best friends from college!

(Four)

We are one week closer to my birthday!! I'm pretty big on birthdays- love celebrating others and definitely love celebrating my own. It's always a nice time to bring people together and also a chance to treat yourself a little bit! Next week I will definitely post on a few things I have my eye on...

(Five)

Last but not least is happy but also a bit of a downer. This weekend I was supposed to be heading to Baltimore to see my best friend, Alison. We were planning to head up to Rochester, NY where her boyfriends family is throwing a huge charity golf tournament. The weekend was going to be filled with lots of time outside, catching up, and indulging in a little day drinking. Unfortunately Alison got called to work both days this weekend so our catch up weekend will have to wait. Good thing I will be seeing Al in a few weeks for another trip to the beach so all will be well and I will get to finally spend some time with my best! 

Now, instead of hanging around Richmond and attempting to get my life back in order like I should... I will be heading to the Outer banks to see my family for a few days! They have been down there all week and I can't wait to surprise them tonight! Here's to another great weekend with family, friends, sun, and more salt air!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Yours truly,