Phew, last week was not one I’d want to relive. On Tuesday, I came home and completed a Barre3 workout after work. I started to feel blah but hoped it would help. During the workout, I felt awesome, but as soon as it was over, boy did I feel like crap. I went to bed early then took off work on Wednesday. Rachel got sick twice while I was home, and it worried me how she couldn’t keep down her food. Kaci was amazing and came over to take her to the vets. They drew some lab work and became concerned that she could’ve gone from more or less pre-diabetic as she has been since February to diabetes. So Kaci headed to the Animal Hospital. It felt like a nightmare to have yet another one of our babies being admitted. She stayed overnight and was given great care. Ultimately, they ruled her perfectly healthy, but after a hefty bill, we had no answers as to why she got sick. Ever since Mason’s diagnosis, we just get nervous. She’s been so snuggly and right back where she belongs.

Jackson’s face is so fluffy and makes me want to smooch him all over!

Dinner was simple: steamed spinach with a chicken burger and avocado, broccoli slaw, and roasted potatoes.

I don’t know if it was because I laid around feeling awful for a few days, not getting much activity at all, or what, but sleep has been lousy too. Looking forward to getting back on track asap.

Saturday morning I got up and put together Alexis’s Blueberry Banana Nut Baked Oatmeal for breakfast.

While it baked, my appetite was on fire, so I whipped up a cheddar omelet to tide me over.

I didn’t have pecans, so I topped it with trail mix. Otherwise, I stuck to her recipe. So pretty!

Girlfriend has whiskers for days. 😉

I got myself ready to go spend the day with Kaci and Drew. Matt had to work on a gentleman’s Jeep, and he ended up having to help someone else with their car as well. He was super busy all day.

I was sure to wear my orange and white for the UT Vols vs. FL Gators game. We won’t go into specifics on it, but my sis and Drew are very upset by it.

I’ve been on a headband kick trying to tame this mane. I had hopes of growing the layers just long enough to have my hair styled wavy for Kaci’s wedding, but I’m getting it cut today. It’s too long for me.

Another weird thing from this past week’s stomach troubles is I’ve not been wanting hot coffee. I did stop by K brew and got a half caf iced latte, which was refreshing. Our temperatures have gone back to the 80’s.

Kaci was really sweet and let me eat the last two slices of their pizza. It was from a local restaurant near them, and it was so good!

We ran a few errands before kickoff, one of which was at Home Depot. I didn’t buy any mums or flowers, but I had to at least take a few photos. They were so pretty!

Kaci and me with Axl while he sported his UT bandana.

When we went by Target, I had to get a box of pumpkin pie Larabars.

For dinner, we had a simple salad and the soup I had made. I also ate some crackers and hummus beforehand.

SnapChat filters to kill some time.

Dessert was hidden fruit, flakes, cocoa puffed rice cereal, roasted almonds, and milk. Matt and I finished watching the show The Defenders on Netflix then called it a (late) night.

I got up before Matt again due to feeling restless, so I made a cottage cheese bowl with multigrain Cheerios, flakes, roasted almonds (I can’t get enough), and one of the protein cookie dough balls I made recently.

For lunch, I ate turkey and avocado over greens with blue corn chips and a carrot with the last of the hummus.

The babies snoozed in the sun after eating their lunch.

Jax wanted to be near the kitchen. 😉

I went to Lakeshore park and walked for 1.5 hours. The weather was super nice, and I really enjoyed moving my body.

Not too shabby!

I popped into Status Dough for an old fashioned. Unfortunately, they were out, but I chose their lemon poppyseed. Super delicious! I saved about a quarter which I enjoyed today with yogurt as a mid-morning snack.

For dinner, we had baked beans, roasted sweet potato, roasted green beans, and roasted eggplant/’shrooms/garlic.

Matt and I watched the documentary on Bruce McLaren. I cannot believe that he was able to accomplish all that he did, win so many races, and contribute so much to the sport of racing all by the age of 32. Tragically, he died while testing a car in a freak accident. This August 30th he would’ve been 80 years old.

A little outfit of the day shot.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Somehow, I’m sitting in my office, it’s 11AM, and we’re already on to another work week. Say wha?

Alrighty, so let’s backtrack to Friday morning. I had a multigrain maple instant oat pack soaked overnight in milk. I stirred in almond butter and had an apple on the side.

A snapshot of my outfit that I shared on Ig stories. 🙂

Lunch included baby romaine, grape tomatoes, steamed cauliflower pearls, hummus, goat cheese, sugar snap peas, and rotisserie chicken. I had some tortilla chips on the side.

A patient’s wife surprised the staff with Ham ‘n Goody’s iced lemon cookies. They melt in your mouth and are divine.  After I finished my lunch, I went out on an amazing walk that was warm but breezy with a hint of fall to it. The blue of the sky even changes this time of year, and it’s my favorite. Anyone else notice this?

For dinner, we had barbecue pulled pork sandwiches with homemade broccoli slaw. Mason’s face says it all!

Super kitty!

Matt started water for us, so I had pumpkin spice tea with the International Delight one-touch latte.  #basic and I know it.

I also enjoyed a banana with drippy peanut butter and cinnamon. We watched the movie Gifted, and I loved it!

On Saturday, I made Anne’s gluten free, high protein pancake . I topped it with Greek yogurt, thawed wild blueberries, maple, and glazed nuts. It was awesome! Anne reminded me that I need to let it cook low and slow for 10  minutes before flipping. Clearly, I struggled, but this just means I’ll have to make this often for practice. 😉

All three of the babies took turns snuggling with me. Made my heart so happy!

I made hummus using a Bush’s hummus packet and a can of Great Northern beans. We took this with sugar snap peas, crackers, and spiced nuts to a friend’s house for game night that evening.

For lunch, I made a simple salad with baby romaine and cauliflower pearls with ranch.

I tried this lasagna, and it was really enjoyable!

I stretched and completed one of my fav 10-minute Barre3 routines. I was fortunate to get to take a free in-studio class on Thursday that was amazing. This helped me to stretch out my slightly sore muscles.

Matt snapped this of Mason and me before we left. ❤

At the gathering, we enjoyed a sausage dip, cheesy chicken dip, chips, crackers, my spiced nuts and cinnamon sugar almonds plus a rice krispies treat later.

My cute man. :* We played two games: one that was like the game telephone, but instead of passing along a word or phrase by mouth, you had to draw it. Then the next person would interpret the drawing, write down what they thought it was, then the next would draw and so forth. It was pretty hilarious! We finished by playing Cards Against Humanity.

Up and at ’em on Sunday for brunch at First Watch! One opened near us, so I wanted to visit. Rocked a 70’s vibe.

We set up my phone to get a photo. These are so dorky, but I love them!

Unfortunately, we had about a 30-minute wait, but I love people-watching.

I wanted one of everything on their specials board!

Cute, free coffee while you wait.

More coffee because coffee is life. 😉 We got to eat outside, and it was perfect.

Matt enjoyed their sausage quinoa breakfast bowl that comes topped with two over-easy eggs.

A side of fruit.

I went with their smoked salmon eggs Benedict on ciabatta. I’ve been to First Watch three times and have order a smoked salmon dish each time. It’s so good!

Eyes on fleek. Bahaha that phrase is ridiculous. But Pixi Beauty has been helping me to look like I know what I’m doing for five years now. I love their products! I shopped at Aldi and Kroger because I can’t go a week without. Lolz. Side note: without fail, I receive at least one compliment each time I wear these earrings. I received two while at brunch.

I made this protein cookie dough by Brittany as some snacks for the week, and it’s phenomenal!

I also whipped up this soup consisting of seasoned roasted onion/carrots/baby potatoes/garlic, can of seasoned stewed tomatoes, dark red kidney beans, beef broth, and the rest of the broth from making our beef roast. It smelled so good and admittedly made me excited for fall! We now have it for dinner tonight and several more meals throughout the week.

I made another salad with our rotisserie chicken that we’ll be enjoying today for lunch.

Meal prepping can work up an appetite. 😉 I enjoyed some of the hummus and crackers with a carrot.

While I was waiting for Matt to get home, I decided to vacuum our guest room (the babies’ room basically). While doing so, I noticed these gorgeous colors peeking through the blinds. I ran out to the front of our complex and took two photos of the sunset. They don’t even do it justice. Simply breathtaking.

For dinner, we had a simple salad with cauliflower pearls (they show up multiple times in this post) with cilantro, scallions, and sautéed shrimp seasoned with Old Bay.

Dessert was late but oh so tasty. Into the nearly empty almond butter jar went yogurt, flakes, chocolate chips, and a banana on the side.

I want to take a moment to remember all those who not only lost their lives on September 11, 2001 but all of those who were affected by the loss of those lives.

Here’s to a great week ahead!

 

 

We made it to Friday! Although I hate that the week feels like it flew by. I was just talking to a coworker yesterday about the speed at which we perceive time as we age.

Anywho, I wanted to share a quick Friday finds post. This morning I received my Free Friday Kroger coupon for Oui by Yoplait. I’ve been eye-balling it, so this was perfect timing. It’s so good, and I love the cute jar along with the homemade appearance of it!

I love when companies include positive notes/affirmations on their products!

Next up are these kefir cups by Lifeway. Matt and I first tried their blueberry with lavender. I didn’t stir it well enough, so the last few bites were practically just the kefir. I love Fage plain Greek yogurt, but if it gets tart enough, my body is like no way jose. So that was a struggle to finish. However, I stirred up the chocolate cherry flavor better, and it was lovely. I have the strawberry rosehip to try tomorrow. I do love that they come with a spoon. So portable!

I found this pulled pork at Target maybe two weeks ago, and I already bought another container last weekend. It’s so good! While I love to cook, it’s nice to have convenient items on hand for those nights or times when you need something quick.

I learned about these amazing bento boxes from Kaci’s future (almost!) sister-in-law. They are BPA free, microwave and dishwasher safe, and reusable. We used them to pack up some of the Moe’s food from Kaci and Drew’s shower  last Saturday. By Sunday morning, I had placed an order on Amazon. 😉

We chose these shoes to wear in Kaci and Drew’s wedding, and I love them! I’m really falling for the scallop and blush trends.

I couldn’t help myself and bought this cardigan last Saturday. It’s by one of Target’s new brands, A New Day. I’ll be wearing it for Matt and my one year anniversary photo shoot, which is only six weeks away! Eek!

I know I shared these pillow cases last weekend, but I wanted to mention them again. While I’m still sad that our pretty colorful ones “died”, I love the neutral, classy vibe of these.

I discovered Pixi Beauty products several years ago, and I really love their makeup. I decided to try a new lip tint shade and went with Pixi Pink. I never used to love pink, but I’m really getting into it now.

And there you have it! My random finds + favs list. Have a great day and weekend!

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is off to a great start today. Matt and I had to work, but so far, it’s been a nice day. Unfortunately, I had to take Mason in for follow-up blood work. It always breaks my heart to take him over there.

I wanted to share the breakfast I made for Thursday before getting into our weekend recap. I made these Wednesday evening, so it was super easy to just heat and enjoy. For each of our ramekins, I scrambled two eggs with milk and spices then poured the mixture over the remainder of our pulled pork. Added sharp cheddar and baked at 350 until the egg was set.  We enjoyed them with avocado on top and roasted turnips and potatoes with ketchup. Quite fancy for a weekday breakfast! All of my babies captured in the shot too.

For Friday, I put together a jar of oatmeal for each of us to soak overnight before heating in the morning. Into the jars went a packet of the instant oatmeal I’ve written about recently (so good!) with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, and milk. I topped them with peanut butter and banana.

I always say this, but it blows my mind that another month has come and gone. This is our pretty calendar at home. Well, one of two we have in the kitchen. Never can have too many.

Friday mood as demonstrated by Rachel!

I shopped at Kroger and stocked up our refrigerator/freezer/pantry. Our sweet boys relaxed on our bed after I had gotten home and fed them that evening.

Dinner was some of our leftover roast with roasted vegetables along with steamed Brussels sprouts peaking through.

Clearly I was on an oatmeal kick. For Saturday’s breakfast, I soaked strawberry shortcake instant oats with milk then topped it with peanut butter and eaten cold. A very freckly banana on the side.

Matt made an egg and chili lime turkey waffle sandwich with arugula and cheddar. He gave me a bite, and it was delicious.

After getting a quick bang trim and making a Target run, I treated myself to a solo Chick-fil-a lunch. Was exactly what I needed.

Matt and I were attending Kaci and Drew’s Couple’s Shower Saturday evening, so I made a batch of spiced nuts. Unfortunately, they weren’t as spicy as all the other times I’ve made them. But they’re still tasty. My title refers to the rain showers we received, which consequently dropped our high into the 60’s on Saturday. It was so weird to be cold on Labor Day weekend!

I committed to a Barre3 online 30-minute workout then had a snack and got myself ready. The sweet bride-to-be looking oh so pretty!

The lovely couple!

My sweet sweet man. His eyes are all squinty because we were laughing, and I think he about blinked. Haha still so cute.

Kaci’s future sister-in-law hosted the gathering and did a fabulous job! She catered Moe’s Southwest Grill, which was so very good. Matt and I had stopped on the way to buy chips and coffee. I wasn’t sure if their chips were gluten free.

An end-of-the-night group shot. I so love this! We were laughing so hard. Only three days shy of the one month countdown!

I tried to keep Matt from drinking wine, but since he couldn’t have any beer, he went with it. ‘Twas a mistake because he felt like crap. But he was cracking me up on the drive home. I had somehow accidentally let myself go too long with out eating, so by the time I ate dinner, I had crashed pretty hard. Just headachy and a feeling of weakness over me. Anyone else feel it that strongly? I have ever since high school when I did not understand my body’s needs and wouldn’t eat enough to last through afternoon marching band practice. Dinner and the cookie cake not pictured leveled me out really well. I still had a baby mug of shredded wheat with dark chocolate covered almonds before I got ready for bed. Matt was already snoozing. Mason was wanting me to hold him!

This is how we woke up on Sunday. ❤

Mason snuggled up with me on my pillow.

I was craving a classic of fluffly scrambled eggs with buttered toast. It was good, but the tomato had spoiled. Gross! So I had to toss it but fortunately had some cherry tomatoes. I hate wasting food!

The latest issue of Food and Nutrition magazine came, so I completed another quiz and logged it for my continuing credits. I’m so close to being ready to submit! Every five years us RD’s must accrue 75 continuing credit hours to maintain our credentials.

Unfortunately, when Matt got downstairs, his sinuses became so inflamed and clogged. We had no idea why, but after he ate breakfast, he laid down for a catnap. Meanwhile I made Brittany’s PB&J Bars. All assembled to bake.

Sleeping beauty. 🙂

After baking. It was bubbling and smelled soooo good. After it cooled, I cut it and enjoyed a bar. Ohmygosh, these will be made often.

One of the babies accidentally had a hairball on one of our pillows recently, and I tried to wash the cases. They did not survive the wash. Womp womp. I ordered these cases on Amazon, and they were delivered yesterday afternoon. We are really pleased with them.

I treated myself to a decaf latte from K Brew sprinkled with cinnamon.

I then went over to Kaci and Drew’s for the afternoon. I brought Moe’s leftovers to enjoy for a late lunch.

As always, I had to go by Kroger again because my bathroom sink started to become clogged. I treated both mine and Matt’s, and now they drain perfectly.

Dinner was freshly roasted vegetables with some of the roasted potatoes and turnips + sardines and hummus. Random but tasty.

We both had a smoothie late, but I enjoyed it and my time with Matt. He did, however, choose some adult cartoon to watch. It was disgusting. He laughed many times. Rachel and I just watched with surprise that it actually was made and available on Netflix. When I say Rachel, I mean Girlfriend will actually watch the tv with us. It’s hilarious!

This was how our sweet boys laid for a bit this morning. Brotherly love!

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Labor Day!

This past weekend was quite fun, especially because it involved a fried pie celebration.

Friday began with a brunch-y breakfast. Matt and I split one each Garden Lites zucchini soufflé and roasted vegetable soufflé. I topped with one with sharp cheddar and one with avocado. Enjoyed with toast and jam, and we split a tangerine.

The sunrise was so pretty!

I saw my therapist after work on Friday, and it was fabulous discussion. Once home, we enjoyed wild rice, rotisserie chicken with bbq sauce, roasted vegetables, and baby tomatoes. Fun fact: wild rice is actually a grass seed and not technically rice. Now you know!

For dessert, I had Greek yogurt, with banana, cinnamon, peanut butter, and a toasted waffle.

Unfortunately, Matt didn’t feel great, so we went to bed “early” aka 10ish. We slept well and then I made an oatmeal “muffin.” I scrambled an egg and splash of milk into a Quaker overnight oats cup, microwaved it, then topped with almond butter. It kept dripping off, so that’s why it looks like a mess. I added yogurt for creaminess and protein. The muffin was a tad chewy but tasty nevertheless.

I realized I hadn’t frothed milk for a homemade latte of sorts in a while, so I made strong coffee and added said frothed milk plus local honey.

I was rather productive by completing chores, repainting my nails, and completed a 30-minute online Barre3 workout. I won a free in-studio Barre3 class by being one of the first three commenters on their Instagram post. I can’t wait to attend!

I rocked a little retro look to attend Dale’s Fried Pies five year anniversary party!

The cutest little food truck.

The Party was held at The Central Collective.

Beautiful local artwork and adorable corn hole boards!

They were giving out free pies, and I of course locked eyes on the banana Nutella. I also couldn’t resist a mug.

They set-up a band in this space, but I snagged a few fun photos before they did. Love a good photo-op!

The young girl I asked to take these offered to take a side angle shot. She was so sweet!

They also had free ice cream. Mmmm. The owner of Dale’s Fried Pies, Dale Mackey, is adorable and so sweet!

For a more substantial lunch, I headed over to Tomato Head. Love their art and string lights!

I went with their chef with smoked turkey plus mushroom sesame vinaigrette. It hit the spot!

I shopped at TJ Maxx and found new pillows, trail mix, and a new table lamp for our living room. I then met up with Kaci and Drew at the mall to look for bridesmaid shoes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck. Womp womp. But I loved seeing them! I also noted how weird tweens and teens can be. I shudder to think of me at that age, lol.

Once back home, I wasted some time with good ole SnapChat.

I will forever love their flower crowns.

I made tuna salad, the last of the wild rice, wilted baby kale and warmed roasted vegetables, and sugar snap peas for crunch.

I went on a walk after dinner, and it was the perfect time. Not hot, not sunny, just lovely.

Dessert was a mug of yogurt with banana, cinnamon, Multigrain Cheerios, and flakes.

We did some list making and meal prepping for this coming weekend at the race track! Rachel was sooo cute all smooshed in my lap.

Macey checked out our new lamp and approved.

As soon as I got out of bed on Sunday, Mason wanted snuggles. This always melts my heart into a puddle.

Breakfast was rather epic to me. Two toasted waffles topped with Greek yogurt, thawed wild blueberries, trail mix, maple, and half a juicy peach.

❤

After taking care of chores, I had this delicious lunch. I found jarred soups in Target’s produce section, and I added it to some cooked cous cous. I made a salad with the last of my trail mix and Caesar.

After grocery shopping, I had a mug of shredded wheat with peanut butter and milk. So classic, and I’ve been craving shredded wheat.

I prepped two pans of roasted vegetables for the week.

Jax is so adorable!

Who cares about the eclipse today when you have this one-of-a-kind galactic eye? ❤

The babies have taken turns sleeping on a pair of Matt’s work pants. Jax left him a banana, haha.

We had some of the roasted vegetables, roasted crispy potatoes, jalapeno ketchup for me, and rotisserie chicken. It’s the chicken that keeps on giving!

Matt went on a walk with me, albeit a little reluctantly. 😉

A bright look for the start of this week!

They passed out a Moon Pie for us while in our monthly meeting. Who all has had one and what do you think?

I was sad to see Monday, BUT I’m meeting up with Kaci later for Cruze Farm’s eclipse ice cream special! Hope everyone has a great and safe day! Protect those eye balls!

**Editing to add my sister Cruze Farm date!

Raspberry sorbet swirled with vanilla cream, dipped in chocolate, and sprinkled with gold moon dust!

Twinkles!

Colleen, owner of Cruze Farm, was super sweet and snapped this photo to share on their Ig stories. Loved this visit!

This is a random, rambly post. Please indulge me. 🙂 When I began working as a Renal RD July 2015, I lived differently than I do now. Over the past two years, I have evolved and practice far more intuitive eating, intuitive living, and self care. (This is many thanks to Kylie and Anne!) That said, I still have a long ways to go. We’re all a work in progress. But being employed in the medical field, and specifically in the clinical environment, I have found it a huge struggle to separate what I do day-to-day to what I share here.

If you aren’t familiar with chronic kidney disease, it is a horrible disease. My patients are unable to eat intuitively or even go where ever they please. Everything has to be a calculated step. I look at numbers and labs all the time For instance, if their potassium level is increasing, I have to educate that they limit their potassium intake. Phosphorus is naturally in so many of our foods and is also used as a preservative. The kidneys are primarily responsible for the removal of any excess. Thus, my patients have to limit phosphorus. And fluids. And calcium. The list goes on, trust me.

So how does this conflict with my blog? In this space, I share the meals Matt and I create. I try new foods. I enjoy my food without having to worry about serious consequences, like a high potassium and how that could lead to major cardiac problems. But at work, I’m more or less the food police. I try my best to include intuitive eating concepts when I can, and I counsel against dieting. However, it can only go so far when they cannot even freely enjoy fruits and vegetables. Many are also on a blood thinner, which limits their dark, leafy green intake. I sometimes just feel torn with what I do and what I try to live. Some days, I struggle with trying to leave work at work and not worry about the what ifs or unknowns. To continue living intuitively and listening to my body. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for my job. I work with great people, and I have seen the positive impact I can have on a patient’s life. But is just hard. I apologize if this is depressing or sounds whiney. I love to be open and start conversation on my blog, and this is a topic that came to me this evening.

I’ll close with wishing everyone a great evening and lovely start to their day tomorrow!

Good Monday morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend. On Friday, I made quite an awesome bowl of oatmeal with this instant oat packet plus milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. I topped it with almond butter, banana, cottage cheese, and local sorghum syrup. Two kitties just snugglin’ away!

For the second year, I attended the UT Dietetic Internship Luncheon as a preceptor. It’s the same program I completed. The director snapped this photo. 🙂

For dinner, we had leftovers from Thursday evening. I seasoned and browned ground beef and then sauteed peppers, onion, roasted garlic, marinated artichoke hearts, and mushrooms. I added and reduced red wine, wilted greens, and served it with a mixture of mini GF gnocchi and GF tomato gnocchi. All three babies! Kase got to come over too, which I loved.

Saturday began with toast two ways: blackberry jam and avocado / almond butter and frozen blueberries plus an egg on the side.

Matt snapped this while I was finishing getting ready. Mace looking so handsome!

All ready for a fun Saturday together!

I got a quick hair trim, then Matt found a new-to-us restaurant, Sticky Rice Cafe.

Shrimp spring rolls to start.

I chose their stir fried vegetables with squid and steamed rice. I ate a fraction of the rice and was satisfied.

Matt had one of their chicken entrees with vegetables. It was delicious! He was sweet and shared several bites. 😉

We found his suit for Kaci’s wedding! He looks so darn handsome in a suit. Plus this one fits him perfectly – no alterations needed.

When we got home and were switching cars so I could park in the garage, we found this baby had been hiding under Matt’s car. Poor thing! Matt used a vase to coax it out of the way. I’m hoping momma bird was able to help it.

One of our sweet patients who recovered function has brought us cheesecake from his work a few times. I grabbed a piece of Friday, and on Saturday afternoon, it sounded great.

Jaaaax looking so cute!

I went on a really long walk, which was so refreshing. I hit at least 12k steps on Saturday! I was in love with this succulent garden!

So pretty!

Because of all the rain we’ve had, there are mushrooms popping up everywhere.

For dinner, I made a quick, tasty salad.

Saturday night’s sunset was really pretty. This is looking out front of our place. We have a pretty amazing view.

This is at the front of our complex.

For breakfast on Sunday, I made five-minute “overnight” oats. I mixed a packet of the instant oatmeal that I mentioned at the top of this post with yogurt, milk, and spices. I topped it with peanut butter and banana.

Rachel was zonked when I got out of the shower! I was washing our bedding, and she loves the bare mattress.

I met with Kaci and Drew at the lake house for the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, but we enjoyed ourselves all the same. I floated some at least.

During Kaci’s bachelorette weekend, Drew and his dad cleared out the brush pile!

I made a salad with pearled barley at the bottom. Enjoyed al fresco. 🙂

Something sweet to end the meal.

Kaci and Drew trimmed a few limbs from the tree that is next to our deck. Call them for any of your yardwork needs, ha!

I went to Kroger and stocked up on a lot of great food, including these frozen entrees. I love keeping them on hand when we’re in a bit of a pinch for lunch or dinner options.

For dinner, I made baked salmon with dill, Old Bay, spice blend, pepper spice blend, and capers.

I made us a salad to go with it. Super easy but tasty.

For dessert, I had the last of the yogurt with apple, Multigrain Cheerios, and sorghum syrup.

This morning, I made oatmeal with old fashioned oats, milk, cinnamon, chia, blueberries, brown sugar swirled in and topped with trail mix.

Kroger’s free Friday product was a KIND bar. This was a great balance of sweet and spicy!

Have a great week!

Good morning! I’m currently experiencing those post-vacation blues. It’s the one and only downside of having such an epic girls’ weekend. Today marks two months until Kaci and Drew say “I do” – can’t wait!

I took off work on Friday and enjoyed a slow morning. Pb and J Love Grown Foods Super Oats oatmeal with mango. Mason’s face is adorable!

Two loaves

I finished packing, completed a Barre3 workout, and then I picked up a wrap for each Kaci and me. We enjoyed them before meeting up with Kaci’s future SIL and MIL and friend, Cindy.

We hit the road for Nashville, TN! Kaci found this adorable Airbnb.

I loved this fun wall art!

Owl ❤

Kaci and I shared the master bedroom.

A fun wall collage in our room + the master bath.

The two other bedrooms. Matt and I had the same bottom bed spread when we first moved into our place two years ago!

Guest bathroom selfie + the pretty deck that we never used. Haha. Sara did get the string lights to work, but we never migrated outside.

After we got settled and freshened up, we went to Bartaco for our first dinner. It did not disappoint!

Their guacamole and salsa were excellent. We loved the chips – a different way of serving them.

Kaci and I tried the falafel on bibb lettuce, and I also tried one each cauliflower and shrimp taco on a tortilla. I ordered a side of their chipotle slaw as well. It was perfectly filling.

We enjoyed a calm morning at home laughing, sipping coffee, and eating a small bite before getting ready for the day. For brunch on Saturday, we chose to dine at Café Roze. All of the restaurants we chose were thanks to recommendations by Sara’s friends.

Since I enjoyed coffee at the house thanks to Sara (!), I tried their golden turmeric steamer made with ginger and almond milk. That color {heart eyes emoji}

Sara tried their Roze Latte made with cardamom and an adorable garnish.

Kaci sipped on their cold brew with perfectly swirled milk.

Their croissant was so flaky, buttery, and deeelicious.

Kaci gave me a bite of her coconut donut that was excellent.

I enjoyed their egg bowl, which included two poached eggs, a grilled tomato half, kale, avocado, cucumber and feta bulgur, and preserved lemon yogurt. So dang unique and amazing!

Kaci’s egg sandwich.

Saturday’s weather was perfect! The people we asked to take our groups shots throughout the weekend were so sweet. I love all of these of us.

We set out on foot to find some shopping. We took a wrong turn, but it was so fun. We were able to drool over all the adorable homes + the walking helped our stomachs to digest.

We came across an Italian restaurant with this really pretty mural painted on the side.

Kaci and I enjoyed a 90-minute massage, and then Cindy and Sara enjoyed theirs. It was a lovely spa!

We decided to try Eastland Café, and boy did it hit the spot!

Funny mirror group shot from our booth.

I couldn’t decide between a vegetarian and a salmon entrée, and the waitress was so sweet and offered to include the salmon with the vegetarian meal. Loved it! It came with zucchini bread as well + bread and pesto to start our meal.

Cindy chose one of their specials – steak skewers along with salsa verde mac ‘n cheese, while Sara went with their steak entrée.

Kaci went with their chicken and biscuits with apple butter, and Susan enjoyed their shrimp and grits with bacon.

We wish we had gotten a photo before it got dark, but this still turned out really nice. I especially like my “halo” glow. 😉

Kaci and Cindy enjoyed ice cream from Jeni’s – ice cream flight for Cindy / dark rich chocolate for Kaci.

Sara surprised Kaci with these cute cupcakes!

I enjoyed my other zucchini bread slice with almond butter I picked up from Aldi and a banana. After our massages, Kaci and I stopped at Aldi for an afternoon snack. Now I can say I’ve been to a Nashvegas location. 🙂

On Sunday, our final eatery was Barista Parlor.

This was the marker used for the waiter to bring our food to us. We loved the blue wall! The cute group next to us took some photos with it as the back drop. When you find a nice background, you take advantage. 😉

Perfectly made pour over.

I went with The Daytona, which included a generous portion of fluffy scrambled eggs, local sausage, peach slices, biscuit, and peach jam. I was so stuffed but so satisfied.

Another day, another cold brew for Kase! Action shot.

Maple glazed donut provided by Five Daughters Bakery.

Kaci’s burrito.

While I could not wait to see Matt and the babies, I was so bummed to see the weekend end! Matt was amazing, though and took care of the babies and our place so well. He went on an evening walk with me that was at least an hour long. I didn’t take my phone because I wanted to just be with him with no distractions. It was perfect and so needed. I love catching up like that!

I’m in denial that it’s Monday and the start of another work week. I love that I can always revisit this post to relive such a phenomenal weekend. Happy two months to my twinkie until her spectacular wedding!

 

 

 

So here it is Wednesday, and I’m finally blogging about our weekend. It was quite rough, and truth be told, I considered not even sharing it. But I love this space given it serves as a journal, documentation of sorts, and I am in much better place.

To backtrack, I came home on Thurday and discovered one of the babies had been sick. I noticed Mason was retreating under the bed and becoming less social, same as when he was diagnosed with cancer. By Friday morning, things had worsened so much. Matt discovered he had been sick throughout the night, and in turn, he had dislodged his feeding tube. He chewed off half of it, but the rest was still in his esophagus and gagging him. I was a nervous wreck. I shoved breakfast in my mouth, grabbed him, and we raced over to the ER vet hospital. They removed his tube feed and let us go home.

On Friday evening, I met with my therapist for the first time since May. It was a great session. I ramble, she makes sense of it, reframes my thinking. She shared this with me, and it’s me to a “t!”

On Thursday, I roasted seasoned two pork tenderloins, and Matt made a mushroom wine reduction. I roasted vegetables and tossed them with mini gnocchi. We had the leftovers for dinner on Friday. Rachel was super interested!

Saturday morning I made toast: havarti and blackberry combo with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds / avocado and egg on the other.

I got my hair cut then treated myself to a late lunch at The French Market.

Half-caf cappuccino

I chose their goat cheese, walnut, artichoke hearts crepe. They forgot the artichoke hearts, so I was able to get a big cup on the side. I lucked out from their tiny mistake! I ate until I was satisfied and saved the rest.

My awesome hairstylist reminded me it was tax free weekend, so I braved Old Navy. I found a few things then headed home.

Matt and I got ready for a date night downtown. We kinda splurge when we go out, but since we don’t do it often, we justified it. haha We chose to dine at the Oliver Royale.

We split a salad to start. It wasn’t super special, so we realized we could’ve gone without, but no biggie. Menu description: Baby Lettuces / spring citrus segments, grapes, honeycrisp apple candied nuts, local wildflower honey, charred orange vinaigrette.

Cheeks and cherries: sweet potato, cherry, strawberry, sunflower, nettles . Holy moly this was excellent!

I chose the red snapper over lentils with a nice sauce, asparagus, and sprouts.

Matt’s entree: Roasted Pork Chop / summer beans, endive, spanish chorizo, parmesan polenta, cherry & apple chutney.

We then went on a walk down Gay St., and the sky was gorgeous. It was borderline chilly, and I loved the weather!

One of our new swanky hotels. I follow them on Ig, and they look so nice! I wish we could have a staycation and view K-town like a tourist.

Jessie and Katey came to Knoxville and transformed these steps at the intersection of Cumberland Ave. and 11th St. They. Are. Incredible!

I had to pose with them.

865Life shared my post in their story. I love following their Ig account – check them out for all things in Knox!

Sunday morning was even worse for Mason. He came downstairs for breakfast at 6 AM, and he immediately began getting sick. He was so dehydrated because he had not been eating. I again ate breakfast really quick (leftover crepe with artichoke hearts, avocado, and honey), and we again left for the hospital. I had to leave him, which broke my heart.

I came home and had an early lunch of egg over wilted spinach, beet chips and apple with cinnnamon and pb.

I attended a yoga session at Blue Slip Winery held by the 865 Fit Tribe. It was fabulous, but I couldn’t shut off my mind about Mason.

Sweet Jax snuggles when I got home!

I made a quick dinner of roasted vegetables over greens, hummus toast, and I split a mediterranean chicken burger.

On Monday, I spoke with one of the doctors following Mason’s progress. Long story short, chemo did not work. He fell out of remission, and the ascites and liver involvement had picked up again. So essentially we were back at square one as we were in June, even with his body weight. We were devastated. The oncologist met with Kaci and myself, and we discussed additional options. He feels strongly about an oral drug that we then started on Monday.

Look at this sweet face! He was SO excited to see us!

Mason stayed overnight again to be observed and to be given more IV fluids. We were able to pick him up yesterday after work, and he so full of life again. He crawled into bed with us last night, and then we woke up at 4:50 AM to him wanting love. I was not mad in the least. I loved waking up to all of my babies safely at home. We’re cautiously optimistic. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bitter. Bitter that regardless if this works and puts him into remission, we were given a glimpse of what will one day happen. He’ll come out of remission, and we’ll have to put him on comfort measures. This is not a cure – just a means to give him more quality of life. There are countless people and animals suffering, I know. But he does not deserve this. He’s nothing but an angel. We’re thankful we have a team taking care of him. Financially, it’s very stressful. But I couldn’t imagine not doing all that we can. He has the strongest will to live. So as always, please keep him and all our babies in your thoughts and prayers!