Belated Birthday Weekend

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The weekend started with a road trip.

Proof that Oil Swishing is whitening my teeth...

We met up with my parents and headed to Dania to look at some furniture. My husband and I are in search of a couch that will mesh well with our Mid Century Furniture...

No, this was not the winner.

We ended up liking this charcoal couch with a lot of tufting.

Post-Dania, we were ready for a belated birthday dinner. We tried to get into Prairie Grass Cafe and Ruth's Chris, but ended up at Morton's Steak House, and let's just say that was an extremely fortunate thing because dinner was amazing. And so was the wine...

The next morning, my mom and I got ready to head down to U.S. Cellular Field for the NOCC Annual Walk/Run. 

We had a 7am leave time, so we woke up around 6:15 and started with coffee. I have not been much of a coffee drinker lately, so I only had one cup, and made sure to have a banana with it to make sure my stomach wasn't wonky during the run.

We arrived a bit early and walked around to get a sense of the area, then did a warm up run and stretched. It was a pretty good day for a run, in the high 50s/low 60s with some wind. Perfect for a long sleeved run.

Once the run started, everything became a blur of excitement, as usual. We were able to run into and through U.S. Cellular Field as part of the course, which was awesome.

As soon as we entered the field, the excitement level peaked. I am not even a baseball fan, but I got a lot of energy and drive from being here.

The run then led us through the streets and back to its starting point. I had a good run overall, but my phone didn't tell me how close I was to the finish and I couldn't see it coming because it includes a turn around a corner, so I had a lot of steam left at the end because I didn't start sprinting until later. My final time was somewhere in the 25 range, but I haven't been able to confirm it on their web site yet.

After the run, we headed into the bar on site at U.S. Cellular and everyone had a beer. I changed my mind at the last minute for a bloody mary, and was not disappointed.

We left and headed back to my parents' house, where I got ready as fast as I could because my cousin and her boyfriend were coming down from Madison.

They are avid disc golfers (frolfers? discers?), and I am awful at it but always game for an outdoor adventure, so we headed to a nearby course to play. On our way home afterward, we stopped at a grocery store for some steaks and dinner supplies.

When we got home, Mint Juleps were the first order of business. It was Derby Day, after all, so we managed to celebrate it. My cousin is a master cocktail craftswoman, so we put her in charge of the drink making.

As we waited a bit before dinner, we sipped our Mint Juleps and played cards.

We were finally ready for dinner, and my husband hit the grill. We ended up with steaks, carrots, and corn. 

We lit the fire pit in my parents' yard and hung out there for a while before hitting the hay.

Sunday consisted of a lazy morning, egg and smoked salmon breakfast sandwiches, and the drive back to Michigan. 

When we arrived around 3pm, we were starving, so we headed over to a neighborhood bar for some food and...

of course...

another bloody mary.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How was your weekend?
• Bloody Mary or Mimosa? Pick your poison...

Ten Things Monday

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1. Looking for some fun and festive (but still clean) recipes to make for Thanksgiving? Check out this Thanksgiving menu and find all of the recipes here!

(Click to enlarge)

2. There was a brief moment of warmth yesterday, during which I promptly changed into a dress with no tights. NO TIGHTS, YOU GUYS! Now that I've had a taste of it, I want warmth back. Can it just be summer so we can drink these?

3. Janeetha at Meals and Moves posted this on Instagram this morning, and I am kind of in love with it. This is the biggest hurdle between any person and fitness: getting past what you THINK you need (a little diet self control, some weights, and a ton of cardio) and finding what you REALLY need (a little cardio, some weights, and a lot of diet self control / clean eating).

4. Confession: I have been Netflix marathoning Charmed on the treadmill for the past 3-4 months. Before you judge me, hear me out: I wanted something that had A TON of LONG episodes (not 30 minute episodes that would fly by). Charmed has 8 seasons of 22 episodes, most of which are 1 hour long (but some are 2 hours, so HA). Also, I am kind of loving it. Billy Zane just showed up and... sigh. 

5. I had an extremely productive weekend. Like, we're talking cardio/weights/pilates, cleaned-out-my-closet, vacuumed, organized, laundered, cooked kind of productive. Thank God for my ability to knock so many things out in one weekend, because (see # 6).

6. I have a lot of exciting and busy weekends coming up (as I'm sure most of you do). I have a girls weekend coming up, then some traveling for the holidays, and then the weekend Christmas parties start. Holding on for dear life!

7. On Thursday, I had my first experience at Paris Club. It was alright. My company was amazing (girlfriends from college), and the food was pretty good, but I'm not convinced it is entirely worth its price tag. Fun in the bathroom was, though...

8. My new favorite thing? Taco bowls. BISON TACO BOWLS. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Bison.

9. I am already finished Christmas shopping for most of my family. Kind of like how I tend to choose my Halloween costumes in August. Such an eager beaver. 

10. Ten Things You Should Know About Your Husband is awesome. My cousin Mary posted it on her blog Facebook, so I took a gander and read it, and let me say. Wow. Makes me appreciate my husband and just reinforces how right it feels to be with him. My favorite item? "When you meet your husband, you won't worry about messing it up." <--this was so true for me.

QUESTIONS:

• Have you ever had bison? What do you think of it?
• What are you marathoning on Netflix? What should my next Netflix binge be? HALP!
• Do you wait until the last minute to Christmas shop or hop on it early?