Inside Cowboys Stadium & Life Lately

 On my birthday, I used a gift card to Whole Foods my parents gave us for Christmas. A girl eating gluten and dairy free can have some fun there! I got quite a few new things to try - some I probably wouldn't buy, but since I had "extra" money, I had fun with it. 

These Whenever Bars are SO GOOD! You'd never guess they are dairy & gluten free. My Mother-in-Law actually had them for me one time I visited that she got at Hy-Vee (for my midwest friends:)). They weren't very pricey at Whole Foods from what I remember and boy are they good. The Zing bars were ok. The gluten & dairy free mac & cheese wasn't good, but I didn't have great expectations for that one. I have yet to try the Vega protein smoothie or chocolate brownie mix. 

I also got this pizza to try since I had heard it was good from someone on Instagram. It was definitely better than my first daiya experience! I would get it again, it's a nice easy option, and I hadn't had frozen pizza in nearly two years :) the convenience is nice! 

My boss is having a baby girl sometime in the next month and we had her shower last week. Shopping for baby girl clothes is SO much fun, but I can see how it can get expensive fast! That stuff is so cute. A cupcake on the butt? Yes, please. This is from Kohls for anyone interested ;)

Here's a glance into our living room. I didn't fluff the pillows nicely or straighten the couch covers for this photo, I hope you don't mind. At least I got cute Rangeyboy in the photo - AND you can see our accent wall color! I love the color with our things. 

I finally got these cute ribbon-elastic hair ties I've been seeing all over. I've usually seen them from little shops, which I like to support, but sometimes dislike paying shipping. These were at Target ($3.99) and they're so fun! Definitely a step up from the black elastic hair ties I've used for so long. 

We got to check out Cowboy's (now AT&T) Stadium last weekend - what a grand space. You may remember, two years ago (..I think it was two years..), the Super Bowl was here and it's 2014 or 2015 that the national championship game will be here. Pretty neat for this area! 

The seats are actually comfy too!

Yes, I took a nerdy photo of our feet touching the turf :) 

We also got to mingle with some of the top college football players just about ready to draft to the NFL. What a crazy life they're about to embark on! 

Tajh Boyd, Clemson - he was so nice! Nick mentioned something about the bowl game they played in and he excitedly whispered something to Nick (that he didn't quite catch, ha!). I'll cheer him on! 

C.J. Mosley, Alabama - he wasn't quite as bubbly, but was cordial and is a good player!

Some beauty I enjoyed this week. Sunsets are one of my favorite things - everything is pretty magical in the warmth of a setting sun. 

I also made dinner - a great achievement of mine this week. I baked chicken with italian dressing and made (gluten & dairy free) balsamic mashed potatoes. I made them up on the spot (hoping they wouldn't ruin the meal!) and they were so good! 

Here's a video of Ranger meeting the vacuum last week. Bless his heart. He cracks me up!

Today's Pinspiration:

I've been thinking a lot about this lately - how our society/the world impacts us (I've especially been thinking of the impact it has on young girls) and can make us look at ourselves through the world's lens. And see our differences as flaws until we learn to embrace them. This is a great reminder of the beautiful creations we all are, and the purposes we were created for (because we all have great purpose you know). It reminds me of a song talking about how you're the best (and only) you YOU ever could be. This (More Beautiful You by Johnny Diaz) is the song I was thinking of (naturally, I had to find it once I thought of it!). So true, every girl needs to hear this throughout her life. 

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Catching Up & Taking a Breath

I don't know about you, but the past month and a half have been so busy for us! Between making Christmas gifts (I'll have to do some posts on what I made - I'm proud of myself :)), traveling to see our family, packing, moving, and unpacking, I feel like I'm just now taking a breath! Oh yeah, and my mom's, dad's, and my birthdays in the last few weeks! Ha! So much fun stuff (and I love celebrating birthdays!), but still busy stuff. A busy schedule can be hard on my body, but thankfully I've been doing alright lately. My headaches have been better lately which is a huge blessing. 

Here's a glimpse of some of the things I put together for Christmas gifts:

I used this blog to get the idea of how to make these wreaths. Such helpful tips! 

Here is the blog I used for this idea. It has the recipe, and printables to print the label, and a little card with directions for your recipient to bake them. Such an easy and sweet gift. 

I absolutely love this printable from my friend Rachel's shop, The Burlap Bungalow (she has so many cute prints!).

We're getting more organized and even got some things hung on the walls with our extra day off this week which makes this place feel much more like home. I'm getting back into my routine of having a smoothie each morning on my way to work (with my Ninja I got last year for my birthday... apparently kitchen appliances are my birthday gift preference-ha!) and now I can have easy delicious coffee at home with my Keurig. 

I'm researching new flavors to order and am SO excited! Over 250 options and I just read on their website, "Additionally, all coffee and tea K-Cup® packs are egg, dairy and gluten-free. " (source). Great news for me! Let me know if you have any favorite flavors, I'm excited to try new ones!

I can say though, now that this cutie sleeps on our bed, it's harder getting out of bed in the mornings. I heart puppy cuddles. He seems as annoyed as me when the alarm keeps going off! Once I get going, I'm ok, but getting going in the morning is rough (remember this post? It's still tough). I thank the Lord every day for Nick - he lifts me up every day and faces my pain and fatigue with me. I have to pace myself and operate slower than he'd ideally like to (like resting in between errands to regain energy for example), and he thankfully has so much grace and understanding. 

 For my birthday lunch last Sunday, we went to Pei Wei which is an easy place for me to get a tasty gluten and dairy free meal. Gluten Free Pei Wei Spicy (I get it mild) is the ticket. 

This was last Sunday too, running errands with my "It's my birthday" pin. My dad wore it for his birthday and wanted me to continue the tradition - Nick is next!:)

My sunset view from earlier this week. So peaceful. 

Also, here's some Ranger entertainment for your viewing pleasure:) 

If you can't see it for some reason, you can find it here on my youtube page. 

I'll have to show more of our decor as we get settled. We're off to enjoy the rest of the weekend - I hope yours is great!

Today's Pinspiration:

There are so many things in life we can stay on the fence about - let's see where we can take some small steps in this new year. Our journey is filled with lots of little steps - let's take it one step at a time and we'll be on our way before we know it! 

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Getting Settled

It feels like there's so much to catch up on! We've been busy with the move, unpacking, and getting settled, but we're enjoying our new home! 

We got to paint an accent wall and we love it. We just provided the paint and they had painters come paint it for us for free - what a nice bonus!

This cutie is adjusting to his new space better each day. He runs laps/sprints around here like he owns the place :) 

I had last Monday off work to make more progress getting organized. It was great, plus I could rest up a bit more. Moving is exhausting! 

Cuties. 

Last weekend, we enjoyed Mi Cocina with my mom and dad for dad's birthday. It was my mom's first time seeing our new place too! We came back to our place after dinner and played a game, it was nice to spend the evening together! 

We are fortunate to have a lovely sunset view out of our window- I love it. 

My daddio and I on his 60th!!:)

I'm so thankful for these two, and their help during our move/transition back to Texas. 

Last Sunday, Ranger graduated from his beginner class after 6 weeks of practice, patience, and hard work. It has definitely helped us all in this puppy journey. 

I made chocolate raspberry cupcakes for my dad's birthday (he loves all things raspberry!). They were so good, I'll have to get the recipe posted sometime soon!

This weekend, Nick and I are enjoying and celebrating my birthday! I'll see how many times I can get away with "...but it's my birthday..." this weekend ;) haha! Kidding, I'm blessed to spend a quiet day at home with my boys who are always good to me. This morning, Nick gave me my gift early: a Keurig! I've wanted one for so long and our old coffee machine died last weekend. I'm loving it - Keurig lovers, what are your favorite K-cups/flavors? I'm excited to try them!

I still have organizing to do around here along with brainstorming where I want things on the walls. That always helps a new place feel like home! 

I'm off to enjoy the weekend - I hope you enjoy yours too!

Today's Pinspiration:

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A Quick Photo Update {Our New Place}

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to:



Unpacking... 



Introducing Ranger to our new surroundings.

 

... a lot of unpacking... 

Snuggling with this nervous puppy. He trembled as I unpacked boxes, so I paused and held him so he knew he wasn't alone. He stopped shaking and fell asleep within a few minutes. I love sweet puppy moments like these. 

Our new place - pretty sunsets, nice open spaces, and plenty of room for Ranger to explore and sunbathe. :)

This is our new accent wall color! I love it and will have more to show you once things are more put together, but this was a snapshot the day they painted. 

More to come soon! 

Reflecting on 2013

I hope you all had a great Christmas! We traveled to Omaha to see Nick's family after having Christmas with my parents. It was so good to see them, Amber and Zach and to see Mr. Hankman and how big he's getting! I posted some photos of our trip on Instagram. 

Oklahoma's frozen tundra early Christmas morning

I wanted to reflect a bit on this past year. 2013 was a big and busy year for us! 

We both trusted the Lord's direction for our lives and uprooted from Minnesota and our jobs there to move to Texas and we end the year with an upcoming move into a new apartment and great jobs we enjoy. In 2013, we also added a puppy to our family and I was baptized. I'd say 2013 was a year of trusting for us. Trusting the Lord's plan when we couldn't see all of what He had in store or how everything would work out. It's been SO good. So good to trust and see His plan come into place.

I've tried new medications to help my fibromyalgia symptoms and it seems the newest one may be helping. 2013 was another year on the path to wellness from my fibromyalgia symptoms. Still headaches, fatigue, grinding my teeth, achiness, etc. I'm hopeful for a new year and continued progress on my journey to wellness. 

Life is always an exciting journey and I look forward to a new year with its own adventures. We have such great people to spend life with, each year (and day!) is a blessing.

Cheers to 2014 and to you and your loved ones. Let's do things this year we've been waiting/wanting to do. No time like the here and now:)

Today's Pinspiration:

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