A Little 30 Day Challenge for September

If you’ve been around for a little while you’ll know two things about when it comes to food: 1. I have been in recovery for Anorexia for   years and 2. I believe that how we fuel and treat our body directly relates to how we feel, act, and do. I’m a big believer in what we put in our body translates to what comes out of our body (and not just in an input = output in the bathroom). Making choices to eat healthier, eat a more balanced diet, and being mindful of how we “treat ourselves” when it comes to food is such a big part of life. I’ve personal noticed a change in my attitude, my productivity, my day to day when I eat better versus when I eat junk foods. Which is why I’ve decided to challenge myself for the whole of September. 

A little backstory for August to get us started…

Vacation and travel has always been one of those “throw aways” when it comes to eating. We all are guilty of indulging when we are on vacation and when you are traveling to and from vacation, it is hard to find those perfect snacks that meat all the travel criteria. It often just becomes a time for us to just throw caution to the wind and eat all the bad things we wouldn’t normally eat. There is NOTHING wrong with this. 

Where it becomes wrong is when we get back from vacation. When the time comes to get back to healthy eating, making good food choices, and getting back into routines. It is so easy to just let those bad habits continue on as “treat” moments and then next thing you’ve gone down the full rabbit hole into eating bad all the time. 

I’m totally guilty of this and have no shame in admitting that I’ve been eating a little too much junk food since we came back from vacation. So, to get out of the junk food hole I’m going to do a little September challenge. I’ve found Sugar to be my main problem, so…drumroll please…I’m going to go mostly sugar free for all of September. 

When I say sugar free I mean no candy, no soda, no artificial sugars of any kind. I am going to try and stick to the following “sugar” sources: fruit, honey (for baking), and a chocolate chip here and there for when I bake. 

I don’t think this will be too bad as I’ve been taking a couple small steps over the past week or so to cut back on the sugary treats that I’ve been consuming. The only bits that are left to cut out are Soda and Sour Patch Kids. I really think that kicking this out for a month will give me a chance to re set myself, so that I won’t chug it all down when/if I do decide to eat candy or drink a Soda again. 

At this point, I don’t plan on making this a permanent change, but rather one to get myself back to a good place with my “junk” food consumption. I want to be back to a soda once a week (if that) as well as having some sort of candy in a small small portion once a week (rather than a whole bunch everyday). If at the end of September I feel like I don’t want any of it anymore, then that’s fine too. 

I’ll be posting my progress on Social Media, as well as doing a mid month check in post and an end of month wrap up.

I would love for you to join me in this challenge! Are you up for it? 

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Friday Morning Cups

5198051616_IMG_3835.JPGSo, I’ve never posted a picture like this. It’s not in my comfort range of things to share. My body isn’t perfect (hello DR stomach that will never be normal again), but I’m OK with it. I’ve had two sweet babies and my body has proved itself again and again.

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I’m constantly told that I’m so lucky to be the size that I am. That folks would love to be my size. If I could profit off of everybody that told me how lucky I am, how they wished for my size, what am I doing, how do I eat, and the worst- I must not eat anything at all (which as a recovering anorexic is just lovely to hear 🙄), I would be a rich person. I hear constantly that I shouldn’t complain about this or that because overall I’m petite.

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Let me tell you something- just because I’m a smaller size doesn’t mean anything. I’m a fairly confident person and don’t often have moments of insecurity, but there are times that I feel iffy about my body. I work out regularly, I make sure that I fuel my body appropriately (and that doesn’t mean I don’t eat popcorn or candy every once in a while), and I have been blessed with some good genes. I am well aware of my size and how that is viewed, but newsflash, I still have my moments.

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Body confidence, body positivity, body issues are across the board. It doesn’t matter what your size or shape is, everyone is entitled to (and will probably at some point) feel insecure. And when someone is feeling insecure, we shouldn’t invalidate their feelings by telling them they shouldn’t feel that way because guess what…insecurity hits everyone. We are all beautiful, but we all have our moments. Let’s recognize that, cut the crap comments, and be supportive.

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Summer Favorites!

Ah Summer…a time of heat, humidity, and endless sunshine. I love the sunshine bit, am ok with the heat portion, but hate the humidity! We are halfway through “Summer” and with August always having been what seemed to be the most unbearable month (I mean, seriously so close to Fall and yet so so far away), I thought I would share some of my favorites for this season. 

Swell bottle, apricots, Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie, shorts, tank, sandals, simple skin care, ray bans, books (Something in the Water, 

So, shall we start with the food bits and work our way around?

  1. S’well Bottle: This has been seriously a fantastic water bottle. I know it seems strange to talk about a water bottle, but honestly during the summer you need to hydrate and at least this way we are not using a plastic bottle, and it looks cute!
  2. Apricots: Seriously, everyone talks about watermelon all summer long and while I love a good watermelon, I seriously obsess over apricots. So so so delicious and my go to pick me up in summer months!
  3. Strawberry lemonade smoothie: I’ll link the recipe to this HERE, but it is so good! It has a really good combination of the sweet berry, but tart lemonade and the yogurt gives it just the right consistency. I’ll be drinking this for a long long time. 

Let’s talk clothes now:

  1. A high waisted pair of short shorts: Now I was never a big “high waisted” anything fan, I always thought it looked odd on me, but these shorts are so comfortable and with a cute half tucked (or cropped) top it comes out as a cute summer outfit. 
  2. A dress up or down tank: I’ve had this particular tank top for years and years, but I absolutely love it. You can dress it up with a blazer and some heals, or down with a pair of flats and ripped jeans. You can’t go wrong with a top like this during summer. It is loose, short, and cute. 
  3. A good pair of Sandals: Now I’m giving two different options, flip flops or actual sandals, either works. For flip flops I either like my Rainbow’s or my Nike’s and for sandals, this American Eagle pair is the only pair that I really reach for. All of the options are super comfortable, casual, and just give into that relaxed Summer vibe.
  4. Sunglasses: Can’t go wrong with sunglasses and I’ve got two pairs that I reach for. Both are by Ray Ban, one pair being their standard Aviators and the other being the Erika set. Love em both!

A big part of summer is taking care of your skin. With the summer sun, the shorter bottoms, tank tops, and lounging poolside or partying the night away (whichever you prefer), there is a lot of damage that could be done. I’ve always believed in taking care of your skin, but have never actually done it up until the past few years. I’ve been loving the Simple Skin Care Range, Cleanser, Miceller Water, Eye Make Up Remover, and the CeraVe Lotion. About once or twice a week I will exfoliate and then use my Clarisonic Mia to pamper myself a smidge. 

The last bit on my Summer Faves is books. I’m not going to give a comprehensive list as I have a totally separate business all about books, but I figured I would give some of my recommendations for Summer Reading. Now I should say, I’m not a contemporary/romance reader, so a good amount of these are Summer Thrillers. 

  1. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
  2. When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  3. Finding Fraser by KC Dyer
  4. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
  5. My Lady Jane & My Plain Jane by The Lady Janies

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A Fresh Outlook pt 1: Healthy Eating

*Small disclaimer- I did use to have a very unhealthy relationship with food and eating. I am still recovering and dealing with that every day. You can read about that HERE. I feel comfortable talking about this as I am in a relatively good place (with only a few rough days) and this mind shift has really helped me. 

When my husband was a Drill Sergeant and had a crazy schedule, meals became whatever was quick, easy, and there wasn’t much thought put into them. We were often eating dinner late at night due to his hours (we always eat dinner together and I wasn’t changing that) and I was a big snacker throughout the day. It wasn’t until we moved that I was able to implement a real change in our eating. 

When we moved almost 2 1/2 years ago I decided that we were cutting out the processed crap. I was going to cut all of those box dinners and get back to cooking meals. My husbands schedule tamed down a lot, didn’t have so many crazy or odd hours, and we were able to start meal planning a little better. Changing dinner meals was the easiest with of our lives and we’ve never looked back to those pre boxed quick meals. I actually can’t believe we ate as many as they did as most aren’t super good in taste.

The process of cutting out the junk food was a much harder road to travel. I am a huge snacker and for me, the only way to cut junk food was to cut out most of the snacking. I started by eating a proper breakfast in the morning and then really trying to focus on eating when I was hungry, rather than when I was bored. I also started to try and look at what I was actually eating, rather than just reach for whatever. 

At this point, I’ve cut soda to one a week, plain water and hot tea during the day to drink, popcorn (my guilty pleasure) once a week, and no other chips or really candy. I eat 3 meals everyday, and then if I still feel like I need a little more I’ll reach either for a bar or some fruit. 

To say that I have felt a shift is putting it very mildly. I’m not being “cooky” when I say it was like coming out of a fog. It is absolutely insane to realize how much just eating chips, or having some candy, or even a single soda can really do to you. Not only does my body just feel so much better and healthier, but mentally it is a whole separate ballgame. I find that I am much more even keeled and I don’t constantly just feel yucky. 

I would say the moment that everything clicked was when I was a few weeks clear of chips and candy. I really just felt light and clear in my mindset. I felt like I was just in a better state across the board with my body, my mind, and my emotions. I was able to just do much more because I didn’t have the extra “junk” of junk food in my body. 

That was when it clicked in my head. What fuels our body? In a very literal sense what fuels our bodies is what we actually put in. A lot of how we feel physical and even emotionally can be related to what we are consuming. Our bodies need nourishment in a most basic sense and what you put in is what you will get out. 

This is not only something that I learned not only throughout recovery, but in just experiencing different things in life. What I eat is more than just what I eat. It relates not only to my body, but to my energy, my mood and just my overall health. 

When you look at the idea of food being your fuel and you look at the big picture of what you are putting into your system, you start to get a crystal clear perspective.

Just a few years ago I was eating junk food all the time. I had chips and cookies everyday and a soda almost as frequently. We were having pre made box dinners at dinnertime (mostly out of ease and quickness of preparation than anything else) and while it didn’t seem so bad at the time, looking back I see just how bad I felt.

Hindsight is 20/20-although at the time, I very much knew that I wasn’t the healthiest with my eating habits. At this point we are eating almost all home cooked meals (there are a couple of exceptions here and there) and it has made such a difference. In fact, I would say eating healthier has made more of a difference than the workouts I’ve done. The workouts are great and needed, but where it all begins is with what you are consuming. It’s not a hard change, it just requires a little more thought at the outset. Once you feel the difference, you won’t go back to any previous eating habits. 

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Chatting about Even More Excitement!

Hi everyone! So much has happened this past week and I have so much that I want to talk about, that I am not quite sure what or where to even start! I think I am just going to kind of free write and see what happens. These type of posts often become my favorites to write and read because I find that you get a true sense of a person when you just let them chat and chat with them.

So, let’s see…where to begin…

I started to get heavily into my spring/summer day cooking and baking. That meant that we had a full Potato Salad ready to go for the week for lunches and dinner sides, rolls, smoothies and all sorts of yummy treats in the house! That is all good and dandy, but I’ve also made this past week the start of my return to healthier options. I find that summer time can either be a healthy time of year with fruit salads and salads, or it can be the completely opposite with soda’s and chips to complete barbecues. I’ve already been making healthier meals for my family during the week, but I have a big problem with snacking. This past week I’ve been trying to make a conscious decision to pick up fruit or veggies over grabbing a handful of chips or the chocolate bar that I like in the afternoon. I indulge once a week and I am hoping to keep that up!

This past week also meant the return of my husband from the school that he was attending! He had been gone for around 3.5 weeks and while we have said “See you soon” and “Hello!” numerous times before, the sadness of see you later and the excitement of a hello never fades. It is even more special each time now that we have children. Not only do I have my excitement and happiness, but to watch our son’s face light up when Daddy comes home makes everything even more exciting. He ran over to greet daddy and gave him a huge hug! It’s been great to have him home and to feel “complete” in our family once again.

April is very rapidly coming to an end and it is going out with a lot of rain! I am hoping that I can really let you know if the phrase “April Showers bring May Flowers” really rings true. It has so far with a lot of the month having days of rain. I am loving it as I am a huge rain fan and it is really helping out all of our flowers! Everything is really starting to come into bloom and I am hoping for a sunny, floral, May!

With April coming to an end, I am starting to look at what posts I want to be doing in May and all of the brainstorming and ideas I’ve got for upcoming blog posts. I think I am going to be incorporating some more posts about how I stay organized, how I manage to handle everything I do, how I stay positive, some self help type stuff, and of course, the transition from one child to two and anything to do with our family!

How have you been? How has April shaped up for you?

MiaLeave a comment

Bad Habits as a “Stay at Home-r”

Good afternoon everyone and Happy Friday!! The week has come to an end and what a week it has been!! This weekend is also Easter, so a very exciting weekend! Today I am going to talk about something that I have noticed since becoming a person who is home more than not. I’ve always been a homebody, but it is different when you are truly a Stay at Home Mom/Employee/Wife/Whatever. It is very easy to fall into some bad habits when you stay at home most of the time and are busy-ing yourself with things around the house.

I work part time, own my own business and am a mom, wife, and homemaker. I blog as a hobby and enjoy it! With all of that, I found myself going down the rabbit hole with some of these habits. I’m hoping that I can help you identify these habits too.

1.) Staying in your pajamas all day. Get out of your pajamas! I don’t care if you just get out of your sleep clothes and put on sweatpants, just doing this one thing will change a lot in your mindset. It is so easy to fall down a rabbit hole when you stay in the same pajamas or clothes all day and all night long (even if you are changing your pajamas frequently it’s the mindset of being in clothes that you sleep in that makes a difference). For me, I actually put on a full outfit every morning that involves jeans, a skirt or a dress. You will automatically be more productive and feel better when you change your clothes after getting up in the morning.

2.) Eat and Drink Appropriately. Another one that I just can’t stress enough. A lot of times when we stay at home we fall into two different categories; eating everything or eating nothing. Neither one of these options is a good option. Try to space out your meals and/or snacking and make sure that if nothing else- you get a good breakfast to start your day off. I find that when I eat a good healthy breakfast in the morning, I snack less throughout the day. Another big thing to make sure you are doing is hydrating. Drinking plenty of water is a big thing and will also help motivate you to be healthier and make healthier choices throughout the day.

3.) Staying in the House Too Much. It is really easy to just stay in the house and stay where you are comfortable. It is even easy to say, I’ve got too much going on to fit in time to run out without it being errands or necessary. It is essential to leave the house a couple of times a week just to change your environment and scenery. I will be the first to admit that I don’t do this very well. I find that even taking a walk through the park and out in the neighborhood halfway through the week works wonders for our attitudes and our outlook. In our home we try to take a walk halfway through the week or run out to a store or do something and then our weekends tend to be filled with seeing new sights and running errands. It breaks up the monotony of the week and helps it you to not feel like you are stuck in Groundhog Day.

These are the three biggest things that I have discovered, although keep an eye out because I’ll be talking more and more about some other habits to get into and how to break some of the bad habits that we may have! What bad habits have you noticed if stay at home?

MiaLeave a comment

March Favorites!

A post on a Wednesday?! This was originally scheduled for Monday, but Monday just got away from me and I didn’t get the post finalized in time to get it posted. So, here we are.

It’s already April 5 (what?!) and while I can’t believe that it is already April, I am excited to share some of my favorites for the month of March. I am trying to do only products that I used the whole month, but there are a couple that slipped in that were only used for part of the month.

Ok, to start with, I’ve been really loving my new planning that I have started with in the month of March. I have been going round and round with planners as I am such a picky person and a huge paper planner. I had been using the Passion Planner, but it ended up becoming cramped and I wanted to have a little more space for notes and such on each date. I’ve been eyeing the Bullet Journal system for a long while now and decided to take the plunge for March. I’ve never been happier and more at peace in a planning system. I will be doing a separate post and series about this system, so stay tuned!

I finally bit the bullet y’all. I decided to go ahead and purchase the Ugg Slippers that I have been eyeing for years and years. I always went back and forth because, let’s be honest, they are expensive and I was always able to get a similar cheaper pair somewhere else. After throwing out my latest pair of slippers I decided to go ahead and purchase them as I know they are meant to last for a long time and I have heard only good things. I have not been dissapointed! I’ve only had these for about half the month, but holy cow they are fantastic! I’ve been wearing them everyday around the house and they have been so comfortable.

We are coming up on Passover and while I do not celebrate anymore, there are still a couple of food items that I love getting and eating. One of my all time favorites are the Manischewitz Chocolate Macaroons. This is the only way that I will eat Cocunut and I honestly gobble these down. I have been enjoying have a couple of these throughout the week (or maybe more than a couple) and they are just so delicious! I will be a little sad when they are retired for the year soon.

Lastly, this past month I have watched two movies that I love and am proud to call favorites in my collection. The first movie being, of course, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I could not ask for more in this movie and as an installment in the wizarding world! It is simply magical and just perfection! Newt Scamander is such a fantastic character and the niffler is by far one of my favorite animals/characters! The second movie is Trolls! I only just recently watched it when I bought it on DVD and it is the cutest movie! Our little man loved watching it as well with all bright colors and fun songs! Poppy and Branch are very dear to my heart as they are very much like myself and my husband in so many ways.

What are your favorites for the month of March?

MiaLeave a comment

February Favorites

Good afternoon everyone! I want to try something new out for the next couple months and that is doing some monthly favorites! These aren’t going to be specific to anything, but rather just some bits and bobs that I have started to or re discovered throughout the previous month. They could be just about anything, although I will try to stay away from books and tea’s as that is my business (although one or two may pop in from time to time), so that is handled on my business site and blog. If you are interested in that, The Cosy Book Shoppe can be found HERE. Shameless self promotion over now, so let’s get into some of my February Favorites…

To start with, I’ve been loving the Simple Moisturizing Facial Wash. I have fairly normal skin, but it can go from one end of the spectrum to the other in terms of being really moisturized or really dry. I used to use the Cetaphil face wash and I loved that, but I believe that they have recently changed the formula or they have removed the one that I used from shelves. The Simple wash allows my skin to continue that good balance between the two opposites and I’ve been loving it!

Along the same lines of skin care, I’ve re discovered a love of the Aveda Hand Relief Moisturizing Cream. I’m obsessive about hand washing, it’s almost an OCD factor that I have. With all of that hand washing, my hands dry out so quick. I use the Hand Relief in the evening and I find that it gives me some much needed relief at the end of the day. I use a lighter moisturizer in the morning and between the two my skin is very thankful.

A food favorite for you are the Girl Scout Thin Mints! I’ve loved these ever since I was little and selling them myself and they are the cookie that I treat myself to every single year. My husband came home this year asking whether we wanted to buy any this year and my response was “You have to ask?” Thin Mints are highly requested in our home and we typically end up getting at least 2-3 boxes a year. They never last long, no matter how hard we try, and we then spend the rest of the year trying to have all other sorts of chocolate mint options in our home.

Another food favorite WAS Cranberry Sprite Soda. Why was, you may ask? Well because it is no longer being sold in stores that we have around us (or around the country). I was first introduced to the Cranberry Sprite around Christmas and I absolutely loved it! So so good and I was eagerly awaiting the option to get home and get a whole case for myself. *Quick clarification, this is most definitely a pregnancy craving (although I would still drink it if it wasn’t) and I am definitely over reacting with my disappointment because of that.* We were waiting for the Superbowl soda sales to hit as we typically don’t drink enough soda to justify not buying it on sale and by the time that the sale hit, the Cranberry Sprite had sold out and been pulled from the shelves. I continually regret not simply purchasing the 12 pack when I could.

A couple of style favorites for you for the month. If you follow me or know me, you know that I am pregnant. This means no “normal” clothes buying and I was trying to hold out on buying some more maternity clothes until a little more into spring/summer. With the influx of warmer weather I found myself needing some tops and bottoms to accommodate them. I’ve been loving Liz Lange maternity for not only the price point, but also the fact that there is a good variety of styles to choose from. I find the clothes to run a little bit bigger, which is nice for growth, but it also means that when shopping that needs to be taken into account when picking sizes.

Another quick end of the month addition to my style favorites are the Xhiliration Sleepwear! I picked up a pair of their pajamas at Target this past weekend and I am obsessed! They are the most comfortable pajamas that I have ever worn and the designs are really nice. I picked up a floral pair and I think I am going to go back and get one more set with a different pattern to round out some summer pajama sets. They are fantastic!

Finally, for multimedia/tv/movies, I’ve been loving two things. The first being a TV Show called Six on the History Channel. My husband is in the military and is very much into a lot of military shows and movies. This particular show follows Navy Seals as they go through missions with an over arching mission in mind. It’s been a great show to watch and we’ve been enjoying watching the new episodes. The other thing that I’ve been loving is Ed Sheeran’s new releases in the music world. I’ve always loved his music and this latest album that he has coming out is no different! I’m looking forward to listening to the rest of the songs when it is formally released!

So, that’s what I’ve got for February! These won’t typically be this long, I’ll try and trim as I go moving forward for you. Has there been anything in particular that you have loved this past month?

MiaLeave a comment

A Week in Photos 10/16/2016-10/23/2016

Good afternoon everyone! I hope that you are doing well and that you had a great weekend! I posted quickly on Friday about a new feature that I am going to start trying out and this is the first post! Just to quickly say, in case you missed the last post, I am going to start trying to do a weekly post of photos of my week. These posts will be going up on Mondays and would be the previous week. I don’t know how often these posts will be, I am hoping for semi weekly to weekly, but it will vary in length depending on what the week entailed. Since this is the first post, I am also going to detail a little bit more about what my weeks look like in a day to day sense.

**I will say right now, this could become a long post, so it may be a good idea to grab a cup of something wonderful or a quick snack. For myself I grabbed a large cup of tea and some little chocolate pieces as I am writing this. It will help with a curled up mindset, I promise! 🙂

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My Writing and Reading Spot 🙂

My week started on Sunday and for me, Sunday’s are writing, reading, and relaxing days. I try to get my grocery shopping done as early in the day as possible, so that I have the rest of the day to just relax and most around the house. I work on the weeks blog posts and then get a substantial amount of reading done.

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Love having 2 Screens for Work!


Monday through Fridays follow the same day to day routine with work, business, and little human. I work part time (about 4-5 hours a day) with a couple hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon. In between, I take a lunch break and play with little human. 

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The Lamp Posts on Main Street Hershey were Kisses!

Where the fun begins is the weekends. This past weekend was an exceptionally fun one as we went on a little 2.5 day vacation.

We celebrated our anniversary

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A Little Photo from our Wedding

in the middle of the week and while we weren’t able to do much on our actual anniversary, we decided to celebrate over the weekend by heading to Hershey, Pennsylvania! Dubbed “The Sweetest Place on Earth”, it really is in food, people, and things to do! I have included, probably, way too many photos below about all of the different things that we were able to do.

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A good ole Chocolate Coca Cola

We started our first night off by checking into our hotel and then heading over to Hershey’s Pantry. This was a small little restaurant with decent food. Rob decided to be adventurous and order a Chocolate Coke and really enjoyed it! I wasn’t as big of a fan of the drink, but it was horrible. We picked up a couple brochures to decide what we were going to do the next day.

We woke up bright and early after a rough night-who would have though little human, who has done so well at other places, would decide not to sleep by himself in a hotel room?! It was an off and on night of sleep, but we didn’t want that to deter us from enjoying everything that we could. With both of us being history lovers, we decided to start at the National Civil War Museum. I think The Civil War (along with WW2) is one of my husbands favorite times to study and learn about. This museum was incredible with it’s mannequin diorama’s and historical objects. It really gave a new life to such a trying time in our country.

DSC_0098.jpgWe also decided to make a quick stop into the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum. They had a nice selection of old carriages and cars and a large history of how cars became to be what they are today. Growing up around older cars and motorcycles I did really enjoy seeing some of the cars and the history!

After a stop back at the hotel for lunch and little humans nap, we headed out once again. dsc_0170We headed over to Hershey’s Chocolate World, which I’ll be honest was cram packed with people. Strollers are not allowed inside the little shopping/museum/“factory” area and I completely agree with that policy. You could not move very far without either running into someone, or running into merchandise.

That being said, it was so much fun! We went on a little ride that took you through the process of making the chocolate and chocolate bars and explained what made Hershey different from other brands. We wandered through loads and loads of different chocolate items that Hershey makes and all of the different varieties for each specific candy bar. It was mouthwatering to be completely honest. img_0448Our final stop in the Chocolate World was to make our very own candy bar! This was fun as you got to have your very own little bar made right in front of you in the same manner that all of the rest are produced. I chose to have a Dark Chocolate shell with rice crispies, chocolate cookies chunks, a Milk Chocolate covering (that was the only option for covering) and sprinkles on top. Sort of a mash up of Krakel and Cookies ’n Cream, with Dark Chocolate. I haven’t bit into it yet, but I’m sure it’s wonderful.

We stopped at Fenricci’s for dinner and had a lovely evening on the patio with some of the warming lamps. It was such a nice romantic evening and the perfect ending to the day.

We were scheduled to leave on Sunday, and after another restless night of sleep, we started to pack up our bags. The last thing that we wanted to do was take a look at the Hershey Story Museum. This details out Milton Hershey’s life, his development of his caramel company and later Hershey Chocolate, as well as the lasting impression he has made on Hershey, PA. It was a really neat museum with some interactive portions to allow you to get another look at the chocolate process. img_0453They also offered a chocolate tasting of different chocolates around the world. We enjoyed being able to sample bits of melted chocolate from around the world. My personal favorite was Venezuela, while my husbands was Tanzania.

Overall, it was a really good trip and an alright week! I definitely needed the little vacation that we took as it was nice to be able to get out of our home, our routine, and not have to worry about much of anything! It got my mind off of everything that is and has been going on and it allowed me to put a smile on my face!

I hope that you enjoyed this post, although I know it got a little (very) long. I’ve been trying to determine what will be the best way to share these types of things with you. So any and all feedback would be great! Until Next Time…

Curl Up with

A Cuppa Books

MiaLeave a comment

Healthier Living

Hello my lovely readers! I wanted to take a minute and chat with you about a transition that we had at our home earlier this year. It took a little time, a lot of dedication, and something that has really changed our household. I wanted to share a little bit of the journey that we went through and how everything came about.

I’ve always loved cooking (and baking). I always loved creating meals from scratch and experimenting with foods. When my husband and I first started dating, we somewhat shared the cooking duties, but my husband kind of did it a little bit more than I did due to our schedules. At the very very beginning, we had kind opposite schedules, so he would cook and then I would eat when I got home. Then once our schedules balanced out and matched we split the kitchen duties. We cooked from scratch some, and used frozen dinners or box dinners for quite a bit as well.

Then we moved to South Carolina and my husband became a Drill Seargent. Honestly, nothing could have prepared us for what that was going to be like. The long hours and the constant “tiredness” for my husband changed a lot. We started to rely on the box or frozen meals as they were quick to prepare, kept relatively well on the cooktop, and they allowed for quick eating late at night. Honestly, I kind of despised what I was making for dinner and felt very stuck in a rut of unhealthy but quick meals. This was a little over two years and that habit (even though I didn’t like it) became very easy to fall into. I made a promise to myself that once we moved and left that lifestyle I would make more of an effort to make full meals from scratch, no more boxes.

Fast forward to a few months after our little human was born, I finally felt like I was in a place where I could make good on that promise I made myself. Typically in our household it takes about 2-3 weeks to make a habit “stick” and one weekend I just decided that we were not having anymore box dinners. That’s exactly what happened. I looked up a couple of recipes to try out and made a meal plan that had Rigatoni, Casseroles, etc that I knew would be a good entry into this new lifestyle of dinners.

Honestly the only thing I kept thinking to myself was “Stick to it. 2 weeks, just get through 2 weeks”. I knew deep down that at the end of those 2 weeks I would be so hooked and it would feel like the new routine. And those first 2 weeks weren’t easy. They weren’t hard, per se, but they weren’t a breeze. Our little human was just starting to become more of a handful and it was difficult to set aside the time, but I made myself. I knew that it would be better for our family once I got into the routine and got away from the unhealthy things that we were eating.

I got through those 2 weeks and sure enough, the habit stuck and I started loving being back in the kitchen. I started venturing into new recipes and started making more complex recipes again. Along with this change, I tried to implement a couple of other changes, I cut most of my soft drink intake (only one a week, except on vacation) and started trying to eat better lunch and breakfast meals. I am also trying to start adding more salads and vegetables into our dinners.

Here is the biggest part of our transformation. Although this wasn’t a sudden change, when I decided to do it was and so therefore, we still had one Hamburger Helper meal left in our cabinet. My husband didn’t want to simply waste the box and I wanted to test and see how much we had really left the box dinners behind. About 2 months after making the homemade meals every night, we made the Hamburger Helper. It just so happened that it was one of my husbands favorite ones. After finishing, he found that he didn’t want a second helping (unheard of) and that he didn’t really like the meal! I knew at that moment that we weren’t going back and that we were back on track.

We’ve been eating homemade meals for ~4 months now and are happier and much healthier with the rest of our choices in food as well! My biggest takeaway was to just stick with the change, even if I had a night that I didn’t really want to cook I knew that I had to and that it would be worthwhile. It was and still is! Now, I’m off to eat my Chicken, Rice and Salad dinner. Until next time…

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