Happy Weekend

Happy Weekend friends! This week absolutely flew by and I did not hate it. After being at camp all last week to being away last weekend, I am really looking forward to some down time and heading to Richmond for the day to meet my mom. My birthday is on Monday and we planned a bit of girls day, brunch, shopping, nails... I cannot wait. If anyone has any good restaurant recs in Richmond please sent them my way, it has been way too long since I was in one of my favorite cities. Here is this week's finds and links...

+ Last night I uploaded a new recipe I had tried on my instagram story and had a few people ask me for the recipe. I follow this recipe and can't wait to make it again, I am about all about those sheet pan dinners. 

+ I found this to be an interesting read and think I am going to give it a go before my trip to the Keys in a few weeks. Anyone ever tried one?

+ Now that the Nordstrom sale is public AND my birthday is on Monday I am thinking of treating myself to a few items! I am loving these pants, this beauty set, these jeans, and these boots. 

+ I love a good home tour and this was one of my favorites yet. 

+ Lately I have been majorly researching essential oils and diffusers. Anyone on this bandwagon or have any recs? I was thinking of purchasing this one to start with but open to try others!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! 

Yours truly, 

Emily Ann

What's In A New Start & Getting Real

Forewarning- this post is extremely personal but I felt like I couldn't jump into the new start of the blog or go on and on about how healthy I plan to be, without talking about what has been going on...

In yesterday's post I mentioned I was hitting a bit of a rewind button after spending too many months living unhealthy and being unhappy. The past month I have worked really hard on getting back to the things that make me feel my best, including living a healthier lifestyle. It's tough to say what really sparked my slump but all I know it I was not myself. I wasn't cooking or eating healthy like I normally do, pizza or drive-throughs became all too familiar, as well as having a glass of wine or two a night. I had stopped working out, was sleeping terrible and just generally felt not myself. The most frustrating part was that making changes and getting back to myself seemed like a daunting task and just nothing something I was up for or had the energy to do. 

Fast forward a few months later on a Sunday and I decided enough was enough. I signed up to try a new spin studio and have been going 3-4 times a week for about a month now, I started meal planning and prepping, and turning to books for further help and inspiration. I can honestly say I feel like an entirely different person then I did a month ago, I feel comfortable in my own skin again, I look forward to every spin class or workout class, and one of my favorite parts of the week is meal prepping for the week. One of my favorite books I have read so far during this turn around time and that I highly suggest is You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero. While I know a large part of my turn around was my attitude and outlook, I think this book really gave me the words and tools I needed to hear at the time and I honestly can say it's one of the best books I have ever read, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Now onto what I am doing daily/weekly to keep up these changes. Sundays are an extremely part of the week, I normally spend Sunday morning in bed with coffee perusing through Pinterest or other food blogs on meals and recipes for the week. Once I have my recipes, I head to Aldi and Trader Joes to stock up for the week.

Here is this weeks sample menu for you to see:

Breakfast:

2 egg cups with tomato and feta

Mini whole wheat bagel with peanut better and banana 

Morning Snack:

Cottage cheese with berries

Lunch:

Zoodles with turkey meatballs

Chocolate chip granola bar

Afternoon Snack:

Peach

Dinner: 

Pan roasted veggies (broccoli, red onion, cheery tomatoes, and zucchini) with chicken

In terms of working out, here is my schedule for this week:

Monday- Barbell Strength

Tuesday- Spin

Wednesday Barbell strength or Barre (still deciding)

Thursday- Spin

Friday- Yoga in the A.M, Spin after work

Saturday- Barbell 

Sunday- Yoga or Rest day (still deciding)

As for reading, I am really excited to finally read one of Gabrielle Bernstein's books- The Universe Has Your Back. I will report back with a review shortly. 

I would love to hear anyone's tips or tricks for meal planning or incorporating different workouts or even what helps you feeling your best. 

Yours truly, 

Emily Ann

Hitting Restart

How is it been November since the last time I posted? I knew I had intended to take bit of a blogging break but I think I let a litttleee too much time go by. Excuse the silence around here, to be honest I was feeling less then creative and started to look at the blog as something I dreaded which is something I never wanted. I originally started this blog while I was living in Charlotte working at my internship almost 7 years ago- so crazy. Since then I've moved to two new cities, worked for 2 amazing organizations, and most importantly been figuring myself out.

Being in the blog world it's so easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to everyone else and thinking your not as good or you should be doing better or really just being so hard on yourself. Enter- my blog break where I decided enough was enough and I needed some time away. After taking these past few months off, I am feeling much better and looking forward to picking things up around here. I can't say a whole lot has changed since the fall in terms of my personal life, still working the same job, still surrounded by the same amazing friends, however I did move homes mearly blocks away from our old home. So all in all, still the same me and if your still reading this rambling, thank you for sticking through it! 

Being that I've been gone for some time, it seemed appropriate to do a little getting to know me again, so here's a little background and a fun fill in the blank....

+ My name is Emily, middle name Ann, my mother also has the same middle name and it is my grandmother's first name.

+ I live in Raleigh, North Carolina and moved here almost 3 years ago from Richmond, VA.

+ I currently work at a Children's Hospital as a Child Life Specialist. I absolutely love what I do and consider myself lucky to have found something I look forward to doing every day.

+ I went to East Carolina University, Go Pirates!

+ I love music of all kinds, cooking in the kitchen and could spend every day at the beach if I could.

+ My biggest pet peeves are bad manners and rude drivers.

+ My guilty pleasures include mani/pedis, a good glass of wine and cheese plate, and binge watching shows on a lazy Sunday morning. 

Now for a fill in the blank....

Favorite song: Cry to Me by Solomon Burke

Book I am currently Reading: The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn

Favorite Thing to Cook: such a tough but probably Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs or salmon!

Women I admire: My grandmother and Jacqueline Kennedy

Things I can't live without: coffee, under-eye concealer, Spotify, and pizza.

Drink of Choice: Sauvignon Blanc or Vodka soda with lime 

Favorite Beauty Advice: ALWAYS wash your face at night

I also want to mention that I am going to try and steer my blog more towards living a healthy lifestyle and what that means for me. These past few months, I really gave myself a break from working out, eating healthy, and just taking care of my body in general. The past month I've spent a lot of time getting myself back into a routine and couldn't be happier. I feel my best when I am taking care of myself, working out 4-5 times a week, cooking and eating healthy meals, and mostly importantly setting aside time to do the things that make me happy and grounded. I decided this go around I would also create an instragram account directly related to my blog. You can follow along here.

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week and thank you for reading through all this blabbing!

Yours truly,
Emily Ann