Bites of My Life

Cassie and Colton, are we on board? I think I am. The only thing I’m hating is that my Monday’s are now empty without The Bachelor. However, tonight is the first of my friends and my book club! We’ve been wanting to start one for a while and over the past month we read Educated as our first book. Any suggestions on our next book?

-Spring has me eating and craving all the fruit. Apple and berries with a squeeze of lemon and ground flax on repeat for breakfast last week.
-Remember a few weeks ago when I accidentally died my hair strawberry blonde? Well, my sister/amateur hair colorist finally brought me back to my bright blonde roots.
-Spring also has me craving all the raw veggies. Veg and (double the) hummus for a working lunch on Friday.
-Thin Mint Brownies people.
-I had a r i p e avocado waiting for me to eat it. Sprinkle generously with EBTB seasoning for the best breakfast.
-They may be thin, but they are full of flavor. Thanks to my friend Miranda for letting me try out Thinsters. If you order, let me sway you in the direction of vanilla bean over chocolate chip.
-Lucky.
-Sweet and salty sourdough toast.
-Would you believe me if I told yo it’s gluten free and dairy free? Recipe coming this week!

Annie

Byte bite: I can’t get enough of his new album.

Bites of My Life

I’ve kind of gotten back into running the past few weeks. I used to run all the time in college, but weak knees and getting burnt out, had me write it off completely. Until recently. While in Newport Beach a couple weeks ago, and seeing people out running along the beach and all through the city, I had a craving for it. I bought new running shoes and jumped on the treadmill (it’s still middle of winter here). I’m a short distance kind of girl only running 2 to 3 miles at a time, only a few times a week. However, it feels great. I have to be cautious of my knees because they don’t love it, but it feels so good to just take off and get the endorphins flowing. I had also been in a workout rut and running is helping pull me out of that.

It’s a nice balmy 26 degrees today…I’m one to enjoy all seasons, but winter you can go now. I would kill to go on a walk or run outside! Anyone else craaaaaaving spring?

-Started the week with lunch with mom, featuring one of my favorite salads. No really, I named it my fave in my quest for the Best Salad in OKC.
-Got asked to teach a photography class for the bartenders at The Jones Assembly. So fun getting to share my trade secrets and to see them really absorb what I was saying. Here is me with my open mouth breathing-means business-serious picture-taking face.
-Saving this recipe for a little longer, but let the anticipation build for these Thin Mint Brownies!
-Valentine’s Day steaks with our favorite sauce and not pictured pound cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. BIL John was out of town, so mom, dad, Kat and Elle and I cherished our little Vday dinner together!
-Book 2 out of my 24 goal done. This one was great!
-Valentine flowers not from mom and dad ;)
-Dallas for the weekend to see Rainbow Kitten Surprise and other things…
-When you partake in an organized 500 person bar crawl you are bound to see a few people you know!
-A little health after a day of bar crawling. The Sunrise Bowl from True Food Kitchen did the trick.

Annie

Extra bite: Discovered Jess Ann Kirby after Ellen linked to Jessica’s post about body image. Jessica is a lifestyle blogger but goes beyond just fashion and food. She touches on so many topics pertinent to my life. I spent all morning going down a rabbit hole reading some of her recent posts.

Sound bite: can’t stop listening to Mt. Joy after they opened for RKS on Friday. Do yourself a favor and listen in. My favorites are I’m Your Wreck, Sheep and Dirty Love.

How I Turned Into A Reader

I’ve never been a reader. I used to read growing up, but more because I had to for school, not because I wanted to. The idea of reading made me bored just thinking about it. I would look at the pages, but instead of getting lost in the words, my mind would run wild.

I’ve made the resolution the past few years to kick the whole “non-reader” tagline I put on myself. But how most resolutions go, I would crash and burn before I even picked up a book.

Then comes January 2018 and I did not make a resolution to read more. It just sort of happened. I adore Jenna Bush Hager on the Today Show and I had put Sisters First, on my imaginary “must read” list ever since it came out. I purchased it and let it sit on my shelf for a few weeks (months).

I was then at the gym one morning doing my routine 30 minute warm up on the elliptical or treadmill where I would watch the news and scroll social media. However, I was falling victim of the worst headaches from being on my phone for 30 straight minutes first thing in the morning. It was the worst way to start my day.

The next day I declared to myself that I would not get on my phone until after my workout. I’m a multi-tasker by choice and I knew I would need something to do in addition to my machine workout to make the time pass. So I picked up my copy of Sisters First and head to the gym. I flew through the chapters. Next thing I knew I was flying through whole books.

The multitasking of doing something with my legs makes me focus more on what I’m reading because I have to concentrate more. It’s kind of like listening to music while you study or work. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I always found that it made me focus more because I was having to work harder to grasp what I was studying. Just me?

Yes, I will often get stares from other gym-goers or remarks from those who love to make the comment “how do you do that while you’re working out?” Or even better “whatcha reading?” While they cock their neck to get a view of the cover of my book. Can’t a girl read and get her cardio in, in peace??

I’m not saying you need to start working out to become a reader, but I’m also saying you should try it. Besides a plane ride or lying on the beach, there are not many other places besides the gym I can turn so many pages in a book. I’m working on the whole lay on the couch, do nothing and just read thing, but it’s a work in progress. #cantsitstill

Now that you know walking on the treadmill was my gateway to reading (ha), let’s talk about everything I read in 2018. Disclosure: my taste in books is similar to my taste in movies. Rom coms with a few sprinkles of “based on a true story.” Think It’s Complicated, Father of the Bride and You’ve Got Mail, with Spotlight and The Social Network added in. Some may say I lend toward young adult reads, but I love an easy read with a cute story. Like I said, I’m still easing in to becoming a reader. So without further ado, my 2018 bookshelf…

1. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

2. Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara bush

3. Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

4. Love the One You’re With by Emily Griffin

5. The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert

6. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by mindy Kaling

7. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

8. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

9. DC Trip by Sara Benincasa

10. Dirty Rush by Taylor Bell

11. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

12. When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

13. Read Bottom Up by Neel Shah

14. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

15. Everybody Always by Bob Goff

16. The Lipstick Gospel by Stephanie Wilson

17. Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

18. Hey Girls by Michell Markowitz, Caroline Moss (still reading)

19. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

20. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (currently reading)

21. Boom Town by Sam Anderson (still reading )

Purchase these books here.

After I finished about 3 books, I set a goal to read 12 in 12. Twelve books in 12 months. Eight months went by and I was already at my goal. So then my goal became 20 in 12. I’m currently reading my 20th book of the year and have about 4 days left of the year. Think I can do it?

Let me be clear. I’m reading my 20th book, but I’m still reading my 18th and 19th too. Like I said I’m a multi-tasker. Pro-tip, don’t read more than one book at a time.

My favorite places to buy books are Amazon (follow me), Commonplace Books (the dreamiest book store in OKC) and Half Price Books. New books are about $5 off the retail price and used books are likely as the name suggests, half off the sticker price. Half Price Books also let’s you resell. I plan to take in a bunch of my read books to sell and then use that money to buy more!

In my year of reading, I re-read two of my favorite books. I read every page, so it’s not cheating. Both of these books are by the same author, my favorite, Shauna Niequist. Shauna loves Jesus, loves food and loves people. She writes in a format similar to blog posts. Short chapters with a story in each chapter. Nothing is drawn out. I love that. If you ask me for a book recommendation or better yet my favorite book, I’ll tell you it’s Bread & Wine. You can’t not like it.

And for the biggest win of my 2018 reading saga, is when my sister texted me for a book recommendation. Yes me, not the other way around. No better compliment.

Here’s to 2019 and more steps taken and more pages turned!

Annie

**For my ratings and reviews, and the books on my 2019 reading list, friend me on Goodreads. Feel free to DM or email me too for more recommendations.

Bites of My Life

Happy fall! I had a really good first fall weekend taking it easy in preparation for a busy month ahead. After a successful Randy Rogers concert at The Jones Friday night, Saturday was spent relaxing, getting errands done and hanging out with two of my faves, Stacia and Taylor. We opted against heading down to Norman for the OU game and I couldn’t have had less fomo. It’s nice to say no sometimes and I’m working on doing it more and more when necessary.

-Tried out egg cups for breakfast last week and actually really like them. It always kind of weirded me out to bake eggs then microwave them the next morning. But after making a breakfast casserole last weekend I had that ah ha moment that it’s essentially the same thing just in mini form. I did eggs, spinach and mushrooms with a little mustard powder baked at 375 for 20 minutes.
-A little work happy hour to celebrate our employees and our new office!
-Current Reads: Everybody Always by Bob Goff (reading this with my bible study) and Read Bottom Up (read this in 24 hours, a record for me). If you are, like me, out there in the millennial dating world, I highly recommend this hilariously accurate depiction of what it’s like to date/have a relationship in this day and age. See what else I’m reading on GoodReads.
-Jumped in on the celery juice trend hard this past week. After seeing Lauren Scruggs (and many others) posting all about it and it’s health benefits, I decided to give it a whirl. $8 at Whole Foods later and here’s hoping my digestion makes a turn for the best!. Check out this article to read more about the celery juice benefits.
-Recipe post for this Kale Quinoa Salad was posted last week. Did you see it? Did you make it? Did you love it?
-Tour de Taqueria with Pops continues! We took a 2-week hiatus while we were on vacation, but jumped back in, this week at El Fogoncito. After ordering two different kinds of tacos to find out they were out of those meats (eye roll), my tacos still came out good. We’ve been to better, but glad to have checked El Fog off the list.
-Love starting my Sunday morning with a window spot at Barre3. Sunday morning classes at B3, in my opinion, always have a slower and more restorative feel to them, and a playlist to match. I LOVE the window spot and love it even more when it’s raining or drizzly out like it was yesterday.
-Grocery Haul to prep for the “Fall Reset” I’m partaking in. Two girls I love in OKC, one a registered dietitian, the other a personal trainer and cycle instructor have teamed up to bring this month long reset program! Follow along with me as I reset via my instagram stories and highlights!
-After seeing a photo someone posted of red beans and rice from the Oklahoma State Fair this past week, I immediately texted my mom asking if she would make them. I have vivid memories of my mom making red beans and rice every Halloween growing up. We would have a big bowl before heading out to trick-or-treat. My dad calls it prison food, I call it delicious.

Annie

Bites of My Life

This post combines the past two weeks into one big bite. I got home from vacation late last Wednesday and quickly had to jump right back in to work and social life as I knew it. A big work event, busy playing catch up, a besties birthday and a personal to-go list that is becoming miles long has me typing as fast as I can to get through this post to continue tackling the others. A full round up of our trip to Aspen is in the works! It was too good of a trip not to devote a post to. Catch a glimpse in the snapshots below and stay tuned for the whole shebang!

-Channeling “back to school” vibes with my new work bag/backpack - that I can’t get enough of!
-Aunts do Aspen! And Elle does Aspen really well. #gimmethosemoccasins
-We were lucky to get to stay in a big house on our trip. We played to our strengths and cooked a few meals at home. After some delicious nights out, we all agreed our dinners at home were the best!
-The reason that brought us to Aspen, Pop’s 60th birthday! His birthday was actually in June, but there are many reasons to celebrate 3 months later!
-The whole fam damily! Not often does the whole crew get to be together, but I sure love when we do!
-I went on a kale salad kick while in Aspen. It seemed that just about every menu had their own rendition, so I took it upon myself to test them out. Like this kale caesar from Ajax Tavern
-I’ll follow up my kale salad note by mentioning that I washed down my healthy salad with fries at pretty much every meal. It’s called vacation! The infamous truffle fries from Ajax Tavern could not go without ordering.
-Just like one of the beautiful trees around me! We had a successful hike through the Maroon Bells.
-Book 12 out of my 12 in a year goal. Went out with a bang with this one. Can’t recommend it enough.
-The best breakfast casserole returns. Might I add, this is always a crowd pleaser. I brought it to a morning tailgate were it was aside donuts and bagels and many people reached for the casserole over the other options.
-Played cowgirl for the day to celebrate our favorite OSU Cowboy’s birthday in Stillwater!
-After a the kale salad craze on vacation, I knew I was inspired to recreate one at home. This kale quinoa goodness is coming your way later this week.

Annie