adios april

i'm ready to leave behind who i was in april

and ready to meet who i'll be in may!

get outside and enjoy this last april day!

until next time..

<3 alaina

road trip count down!

in 3 weeks, randy and i will be driving up to northern california!

after all the apartment craziness, i could use a vacation!

here's what we're doing in norcal:
-our friends, stuart and natasha, are getting married
-we are visiting randy's family (and bryon, hopefully!)
-we're going to a giant's game (i got randy some tickets for christmas)

and most importantly, i can't wait to spend some time with my hubs

until next time..

<3 alaina

ps. to see some pictures from our oregon road trip last summer, cruise on over to baby a photography!

dose of pretty

came across a blog called once wed. i could scroll through it all day just to look at the gorgeous pictures!

plus i love the place setting idea - using a loaf of bread! perfect for a springtime luncheon!

to see more from this wedding, click here.

until next time..

<3 alaina

working out

in workout news: i got a gym membership!!!

c has a gym membership, and i've gone with her a couple times. i figured if i got a membership and have someone to go with, i'll actually go to the gym.

i'm really pumped about this. i love the fact i can just go, hit the treadmill for like 45 min/1 hr and zone out listening to music and watching whatever is on the tv's. and the best part is that i've been pretty good so far about going regularly.

until next time..

<3 alaina

ps. i'm sure most of you saw our flooding fiasco yesterday.. the update is that we had the carpet in our entire apartment pulled up. we had been planning to install hardwood floors in september, but looks like that might happen a little earlier than expected..

so, until we get our flooring situation figured out, we covered the floor in our bedroom with old bed linens and will pretty much be living out of one room with the rest of our place packed up and scattered all over the place. it's a pain, but i'm sure one day this will be a funny story.. hopefully!

water, water, everywhere!

..but not a drop to drink..

not a good morning...

randy and i got woken up at 6 am this morning to someone pushing our buzzer like an idiot. randy went to the living room to push the 'talk' button to see who it was, but he couldn't even get that far. the whole front part of our apartment (which includes the kitchen, dining room, living room, and part of our hallway) is flooded..

(in case you're curious, it was our downstairs neighbor buzzing, trying to alert us of said flooding)

apparently, there is a pipe under our kitchen sink that busted. lord only knows how long it was spewing water our for.. and we slept like angels through the whole thing.

randy's feet, submurged

just nearly stayed out of our room..

the only way i can walk around in our apartment

i've been on yelp all morning trying to find a plumber, while randy's been scooping the water from our kitchen floor into the sink.

not to mention that my old macbook was on the floor in the living room.. let's just say water and electronics do not mix..

sad face : (

until next time..

<3 alaina

easter recap + ore coupon

although i ate my weight in delicious brunch food yesterday, i had a wonderful and relaxing easter with family and loved ones.

it was a little rainy for the first part of the day, but we didn't let that ruin the fun!

my crazy brother, aden

please excuse my crazy eyes..

my father fixing mimosas

tons of yummy food : )

and even yummy-er cupcakes!!

miss jaedyn

aden + jaedyn 2011

aden + jaedyn 2009

my sexy man

until next time..

<3 alaina

ps. ore is having a sale on the website that will be running until april 30th. if you spend $25 or more, you get free shipping! here are the details:

click here to get your shop on!

and the bunny goes..

...HOP HOP HOP!!

happy easter!!

this one's for my dad:

and this is because i'm lewd:

until next time..

<3 alaina

super foods

a couple of weeks ago i came across this really interesting article on belly bytes about the 29 healthiest foods on the planet!!!! (they're a little dramatic..)

i found out some very interesting things:

raspberries have ellagic acid (helps stall cancer cell growth), vitamin c, and fiber.
1 cup = 60 calories, 1 gram of fat, 8 grams of fiber

tomatoes have lycopene (antioxidant) and have been proven to reduce the risk of bladder, stomach, and colon cancers if you eat one every day.
1 tomato = 26 calories, 0 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber
tip: drizzle the slices with olive oil, because lycopene is best absorbed when eaten with a little fat.

lemons & limes have limonene, furocoumarins, and vitamin c (all help to prevent cancer).
1 wedge = 2 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of fiber
tip: squeeze over salads, fish, vegetables, etc. as a fat-free flavoring.

artichokes have silymarin (antioxidant that prevents skin cancer), and fiber.
1 medium artichoke = 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of fiber
tip: steam over boiling water for 30-40 minutes. squeeze lemon juice on top for flavor (and added benefits).

quinoa is filled with protein, iron, riboflavin, and magnesium (check out my post about it here).
1/2 cup = 318 calories, 5 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber
i seriously recommend dressing it up with sauce or soup or something! it hardly has flavor on its own.

pinto beans have more than 25% of your daily requirement of folate (protects against heart disease and reduces the risk of birth defects).
1/2 cup (canned) = 103 calories, 1 gram of fat, 6 grams of fiber

to check out the rest of the list, click here!

weigh in:

i'm doing my weigh in today because tomorrow is easter and i'm going to be far too busy eating back those precious 4 and a half pounds at brunch : )

to reach my goal in 28 days, i need to lose almost 2 pounds a week (1.87 to be exact). i definitely need to start working out more. and randy and i slacked on grocery shopping this week, so we need to get back on track with that. i am actually starting to feel better about my body though. yeah it's not anywhere near where i think it should be or where i would want it to be, but i'm realizing that life is too short to constantly beat myself up about the way i look. that is just no fun. and i'm all about fun : )

until next time..

<3 alaina