Good morning and happy Monday! I hope that your week is off to a great start! I think most of us are ready to blast out of this cold weather rut. It’s 34 degrees in Charlotte this morning! We can all agree that it’s been a LONG, COLD winter for everyone. I have put together [...]
March 2014
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Recent Eats (All Over the Place!) + Digital Fatigue
March 30, 2014 { 12 comments }I hope you’re all enjoying the weekend. I didn’t get a chance to check in yesterday because the first copy deadline for my book is April 1 and I have been covered up trying to knock that out. I was out with a friend last night and she asked how I was doing. I replied [...]
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3 Yoga Poses for Tight, Rounded Shoulders
March 28, 2014 { 70 comments }Unlocking tight shoulders and chests are something that I focus on constantly with my yoga students, CrossFitters and training clients. Rounded shoulders and tight chest muscles have become the norm in our society as we are constantly hunched over desks and steering wheels and carrying heavy bags or children on one side of our bodies. [...]
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What I Bought at the Grocery This Week {Restock Trip}
March 27, 2014 { 35 comments }I went a little crazy at the grocery store this morning restocking on a lot of items that I like to keep on hand. I like to share these kinds of shopping trips with you so that you get an idea of how I stock my pantry and fridge to be able to consistently cook [...]
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Recent Eats + Early Morning Workouts
March 26, 2014 { 40 comments }Hi and happy Wednesday! I just finished teaching my 6:30 a.m. yogis at Y2 Yoga. This is one of my favorite classes of the week. Most of the people who come to this class are getting their yoga in before they go to work and they’re serious, focused and hard working! It’s so special to [...]
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Parmesan Panko Chicken Tenders {Recipe}
March 25, 2014 { 11 comments }Today I have an easy, crowd pleasing chicken recipe to share with you. I’ve been making variations of this breaded chicken since I started cooking and this parmesan panko version has become my go to. What I love most about this Parmesan Panko Chicken is how quickly it cooks and how versatile it is. You [...]
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For Your Entertainment: Zombies, Books, Movies & More
March 24, 2014 { 26 comments }Thanks for all of the thoughtful discussion yesterday’s strength training post. Keep those questions coming and again, please let me know if there are any specific fitness topics you’d like me to address in these “weekly workout” posts. I’m going to take a little more of a lighthearted approach with today’s post and share with [...]
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This Week’s Workouts + 3 Reasons Why Women Should Lift
March 23, 2014 { 93 comments }I hope everyone had a great weekend. I’ve got my weekly workout recap for you today but first I want to talk about a subject I feel passionately about…why women should lift weights. I want to start out these weekly workout posts by discussing some sort of fitness topic. Let me know if you have [...]
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Recent Eats: Trying to Switch It Up a Bit
March 22, 2014 { 16 comments }Happy weekend! I have almost a full week of eats to share with you. I think I did a good job mixing it up a little bit this week and breaking out of all my same patterns. You’ll see some different breakfasts, new salad combos at lunch and a dinner using the crock pot. I’m [...]
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Fired Up Squat + Upper Body Workout
March 21, 2014 { 50 comments }Welcome to Friday…the fired up edition! What am I so fired up about? First, squats! I LOVE SQUATS! My clients know they most likely won’t get through a workout with me without doing some type of squats and push ups. They are two of my favorite movements ever due to all of their awesome benefits. [...]
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Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins {Recipe}
March 20, 2014 { 32 comments }I know I said I was going to post a workout today but then I made these muffins this morning and I had to share the recipe immediately. So we’ll eat muffins first and then we’ll do a squat workout later! :) It’s no secret that peanut butter ranks is one of my favorite foods [...]
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Loving Lately: Food Edition
March 19, 2014 { 47 comments }This week’s posts have been heavy on the food topics and I’ve got another one for you today. I will try to get a new workout up for you tomorrow. Any requests? I’m thinking lots of squats! :) I always like to get recommendations from others on new food products to try. I have discovered [...]
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Seasonal Eating + Recent Eats (And Cute Sullie!)
March 18, 2014 { 21 comments }I have not been feeling super inspired when it comes to cooking lately. I think I’m just tired of cold weather foods (as I type this I have dinner in the crock pot) and I’m ready for seasonal ingredients and lighter fare. I can’t wait to fire up the grill for summer veggies and burgers. [...]
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Easy Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin {Recipe}
March 18, 2014 { 13 comments }Hi and happy Tuesday! I know it’s cliche to talk about the weather but it’s been 30 degrees and raining in Charlotte for the last three days. I’m really over the winter and really ready for spring. You know what else we can talk about? WHERE IS FLIGHT 370!? I have been following this story [...]
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Learning the ALDI Secrets
March 17, 2014 { 21 comments }I’m back with one last ALDI post to wrap up this series. I have learned SO much through this short term ambassadorship with ALDI. I’ve gone from being fairly unfamiliar with the brand and the benefits of being an ALDI shopper to understanding their unique operating procedures and the method behind their customer service experience [...]
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Yoga Changes Things + This Week’s Workouts
March 16, 2014 { 34 comments }I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Per usual, mine was yoga focused. I always teach on Saturday and Sunday mornings but it was also a yoga teacher training weekend for Y2 and I am assisting with training this year so my afternoons were spent in the training. I am approaching my third anniversary of teaching [...]
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Recent Eats: Photo Shoot Week Edition
March 15, 2014 { 25 comments }Welcome to recent eats, photo shoot week edition. Let me sum it up for you…it was NOT EXCITING. Lots of juicing, smoothies, soup, protein and veggies. Not a carb to be seen until we wrapped on Friday (scroll down for the Friday night celebration carb fest). Y’all know I am all about eat all foods [...]
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Kicking Off My New Skin Care Routine with Carolina Facial Plastics
March 14, 2014 { 18 comments }I announced one month ago that I’m partnering with Carolina Facial Plastics for one year to blog about my experience of “being the best me” in exchange for complimentary services. I’ll be writing a monthly post updating you on my skin care routine in addition to other (non-surgical!) products and services that I try. Many [...]
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The BEST Playlist I’ve Made in Months
March 13, 2014 { 29 comments }This week has flown by in a haze of teaching, training, writing and photo shoots. My photographer and I decided to knock out all the photography for my book in one week to try and get as much consistency as possible. We’ve done two days of shooting and have one left to go tomorrow. It’s [...]
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ALDI Smoothie Challenge + Dinner (Tons of Recipes!)
March 12, 2014 { 24 comments }Happy Wednesday! It’s a gloomy day here in Charlotte but good for productivity. I just finished teaching yoga and having coffee with a friend and now I’m hunkered down getting work done. I’m so excited to share more of my ALDI test kitchen visit with you today. You can catch up on part one in [...]
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Recent Eats…Featuring Tacos & Bacon
March 11, 2014 { 26 comments }Happy Tuesday! This morning I trained a client, worked out, taught yoga and practiced yoga. I have my first photo shoot for my book in a couple of hours. Many of you have asked for more details on the book…it’s about core training, specifically planks, and will be photography heavy with written descriptions of all [...]
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An Afternoon in the ALDI Test Kitchen {Giveaway!}
March 10, 2014 { 205 comments }I’ve spent the last month serving as a short-term blog ambassador for ALDI to bring awareness to not only their brand and the unique shopping and saving experience they provide but also their new focus on providing customers with nutritious and affordable food. ALDI recently launched a new organics line, Simply Nature, and introduced organic [...]
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Weekend: Furniture, FroYo and Yoga Clothes
March 9, 2014 { 12 comments }It has been the most beautiful weekend here in Charlotte. Blue skies and 70+ degrees. Happy! It was so nice to have a weekend at home for the first time in several weeks. I spent my time catching up, running errands, working around the house and teaching. I can’t wait to share my ALDI trip [...]
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This Week’s Workouts + Being TOO Sore
March 8, 2014 { 15 comments }Let me give you one piece of advice. Don’t go on vacation for 9 days without lifting a single heavy weight and then crush your body the first day back in the gym with heavy squats and front rack lunges. Squatting and lunging are my two favorite lower body exercises and when they were BOTH [...]
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Tropical Green Smoothie Recipe
March 7, 2014 { 19 comments }Five days ago I said goodbye to this… And yesterday I said hello to this. This has been a brutal winter for most of us. It’s actually been warmer in the Chicago area over the last two days than it has been in Charlotte. My friends at home have been reporting tons of rain, cold [...]
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Back to Reality + Off to Chicago {This Week’s Eats}
March 6, 2014 { 24 comments }Back to reality this week but it’s been a short one. I am currently on a plane again but not headed anywhere tropical! I’m on the way to Chicago for a quick overnight. I’m visiting the ALDI headquarters where I’ll spend the afternoon doing activities like switch and save tastings, price challenges, a smoothie challenge, [...]
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The Running 500 Workout
March 5, 2014 { 20 comments }I am completely blown away by how many of my readers, friends and students have done the 1,000 rep home workout that I posted a few weeks ago. It’s been so cool to hear everyone’s experience with it, whether you made it through the whole thing or scaled. There’s definitely one common theme…a sore booty [...]
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My Vacation Food Philosophy
March 4, 2014 { 27 comments }How I eat on vacation can be summed up pretty simply…whatever I want! I consider vacations (and girl’s weekends and quick getaways) to be sacred me time and I allow myself to let loose a little and eat, drink, sleep as I please. This goes back to my childhood. My family always spent two weeks [...]
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Packing More Protein Into Breakfast with AllWhites Egg Whites {Recipe & Giveaway}
March 3, 2014 { 353 comments }Breakfast is an important meal that I never skip. There are so many benefits of eating breakfast including higher energy levels, increased mental focus, better portion control throughout the day, metabolism boost and maintaining body weight. My struggle with breakfast is getting enough protein. I blogged about how important protein is as a part of [...]
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Vacation Week Workouts
March 2, 2014 { 13 comments }Hi! I’m home! I kind of decided to take a break with the blogging for the last few days of vacation and focus on writing during my limited working hours and soaking up the experience the remainder of the time. There was a moment yesterday where I thought “I could blog or I could take [...]