What I'm Into, July 2016 Edition

We are just coming back from such a fun trip and my brain is stretched to its max with laundry, kids' camp, fall schedules, Arbonne trainings, and all the other minutiae of running a life.  So let's ease back into the blog with chatting about what we were into, in July, shall we?  (Was that already two weeks ago?  Indeed).

1.  Instant Pot

I have never had a pressure cooker, and no real interest in acquiring one, but SO many of my friends were raving about their Instant Pot.  When it came up for a great price on Amazon Prime Day, I threw it in the cart.  Well.  This thing is life-changing.  I have gone from frozen chicken breasts to shredded ready to eat chicken in less than an hour.  I have made dozens of hard boiled eggs where the shell slips right off, instead of the hellish amount of time it normally takes.  I am back to making my own yogurt again because it is all in one pot, instead of all the pots and bowls it was taking me before with the crockpot method.  And last night I made a huge roast and rice to go with it all in one pot, in less than an hour.  Basically, it is saving my kitchen life.

2.  Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Even though I was camping in the woods with no cellular service at Yellowstone, I managed to get three separate NSale orders in as soon as the sale was open.  It is THAT good.  I am no fashion blogger, so this is not going to be a big mess of affiliate links, but the special thing about the Anniversary Sale is that it is all NEW fall line products, not older stuff on clearance.  It is also a great time to pick up certain pricey items for way less.  Here is what I usually look out for and stock up on:

• Patagonia Down Jackets for kids
• Patagonia Better Sweaters for adults
• Bog chore boots
• Frye boots (last year, riding boots.  This year, booties)
• Hue leggings
• Zella workout wear
• Hanky Pankies
• Natori bras
• Paige Jeans
• Splendid PJs
• Barefoot Dreams cardigans
• Any investment bags or shoes that make the sale
• Thorlo running socks
• Little Giraffe blankets for baby gifts
• Any other designer tops or dresses that have caught my eye (but I didn't fall in love with anything)
• Kendra Scott jewelry (but I didn't love this year's choices)
• Any beauty tools I may need (Beauty Blender, curling irons, etc)

3.  Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Lake McConaughy

Oh my gosh, we saw so many beautiful places on this trip.  I want to go back to them all.  We only spent one night in Jackson Hole, and we are already planning a couples' trip back in the winter.  If you have not done the typical grand tour out west, I highly suggest it.  (Full post about Yellowstone and first-time RVing later).

4.  Supper Club

At the end of last year, we started a supper club-basically, a book club with no books, just food.  We asked about ten other couples to join us once a month for a themed dinner.  And it has been SO MUCH FUN.  We concentrated on people who own a business in our area, and while we don't ever talk about anything formally, it has been inspiring to support each other and have great conversations about how to help our community thrive.  If you feel like your life is full of too much "must do" and not enough "get to do", I highly suggest starting something like it.  We are pretty much guaranteed at least one fun date night per month now, and I am loving it!

5. Marathon Prep

If you follow me on FB or IG, you might have seen that I (suddenly) registered for my first marathon, in October.  I had been tossing around the idea of doing the New Orleans in February when my friend asked me to try for October with her instead.  The reminder that I would have to train in the snow or on treadmill for a winter race was enough to convince me to make the leap.  I am less than 8 weeks out and training is pretty much taking over my life.  It's all I think about.  It dictates how I eat.  I even gave up cocktails for the duration.  Obviously, this is getting serious (Why does blogger not have emojis?!  Am I missing something?) More on how I am preparing for a too-close-in-dates marathon, in another post, soon.

6.  NYC

Seth and I will be there for a super quick getaway next month.  Both of us have been there before, and neither one of us want to do any of the usual touristy stops.  We want to eat excellent food, stroll around and enjoy the city, and relax.  We might do a self-guided food tour of alllll the delicious food that we can't get here.  We already have lunch reservations at Del Posto, and dinner at Gramercy Tavern.  What would you make sure to do?  Highline?  Restaurants?  Give me all your favs.  We are excited to get away for a few days alone!


(Yogurt update: my kids ate the entire gallon in less than 12 hours.  Not sure this is a sustainable proposition.)

So tell me, what are you into right now?

What I'm Into, June 2016 Edition

I am linking up with Leigh Kramer for the first time today to talk about what we were into this June.

1.  Coldbrew

We live an hour from the nearest Starbucks, so I don't get there nearly as often as I'd like. #firstworldproblems

But I have been traveling so much lately that I have gotten to stop in many, many times this summer, and one of the things Starbucks kept pushing is the Coldbrew.  I drink iced coffee everyday during the summer, so I was intrigued - how exactly is cold brew so different?  Turns out, cold brewed coffee is pretty similar to how I was making my iced coffee from this recipe.  You use cold water and coffee grounds steeped for 24 hours to make a coffee that is smoother and less acidic.  And as a bonus, it has double the caffeine of coffee brewed the traditional way.  Win-win 😂

2.  Keto Starbucks

On a similar note, for those of us who need to eat a ketogenic diet or low carb high fat, I have been totally obsessed with the following at Starbucks: Iced Passionfruit tea, Sugar-free vanilla sweetener, heavy cream.  Almost like a milkshake, if you don't pay too much attention.  (Moon Cheese is great low carb snack option, if you are stuck in the car or airport too!)  Not clean eating, for sure, but a fun treat.

3. Complete Hydration

Between my recent trip to Vegas, where it was solidly 115 degrees everyday, stepping up my half marathon training, and just general summer debauchery, rehydrating myself with more than just plain water has become a necessity.  But Gatorade, with its 34 grams of sugar, is not in line with my health goals at all.  And I hate giving all that sugar and artificial color to my kids too.  I have been relying on  Arbonne Complete Hydration instead.  With 3g of sugar, it isn't perfect, but it works exceptionally well.  (And for those of you who tend to overindulge a little in the summer: Complete Hydration is a hangover miracle worker).

4.  Ann Leary

You guys know I am totally infatuated with books.  For better or worse, I am also a very fast reader, which means I can go through several fiction books PER WEEK.  (This is really helpful for getting books read, but it also means that I am always looking for new things to read, which gets frustrating and expensive sometimes).  After (what felt like) exhausting Amazon's book lists, I stumbled upon The Good House, by Ann Leary.  It was so well-written that I buzzed through her entire catalog, including her new book The Children.  It was only afterwards that I realized she is the actor Denis Leary's wife.  I'm glad I didn't realize it before I picked her up, because I am so anti-celebrity authors that I probably would not have given her a chance.  Not great literature by any means, but solid, absorbing stories with well-developed characters.

5.  La Chic Boutique

I almost want to keep this one all for myself, but I really love you guys, so here it is:  A friend of mine told me about this resale shop that posts/sells their finds on IG.  I have bought SO many great high-quality pieces (Nordstrom, Free People, Lululemon, Athletic, Trina Turk, etc) from this shop!  Thrift store and consignment shopping out here on the farm can be very hit and miss, so it has been amazing to be able to easily pick up some of my favorite brands gently used for great prices.  Follow them on IG (@lachicboutiquesandpoint) to shop for yourself.  I even direct messaged her my sizes, and she sends me pictures of everything she has in shop.  (I have nothing to do with this business, and this is not an affiliate link....I just love it)

6.  Hummingbird Glass Straws

I knew I wanted to replace our plastic straws, (which are in rough shape and that I worry harbor toxins), with something safer.  I feel like drinking out of stainless steel straws makes water taste odd, so when I stumbled upon these glass straws, I was delighted.  I was even happier to read all the 5 star reviews from Amazon.  I bought a four pack of the bent straws, and I have been using them obsessively.  I even travel with them, and bring them to Starbucks and restaurants.  Seriously, everything tastes better out of these.  I am never going back to plastic or disposable straws.  As a bonus, the customer service is extraordinarily friendly.  I tagged them in a post on IG, and their customer service not only interacted extensively with my friends in the comments, they direct messaged me to say thank you for tagging them.

7.  Cello Whisps from Costco

A "chip" made entirely from Parmesan cheese.  We can't stop eating them.  These are the perfect chip replacement for low carb eaters, and every time I bring them to a party, people go nuts.  Delicious.  I just wish I could get them on Amazon for a better price, since we live so far from the nearest Costco.

8.  West Wing Weekly Podcast

I adored the show The West Wing when it was on TV.  My girlfriends and I (who mostly thought we were going to run the world one day) used to park ourselves in the basement of my sorority house and watch every week (remember when we had to watch TV in real time?!  Best of times, worst of times, eh?)

Listening to this podcast (led by Josh Malina, who played Will Bailey), has been so much fun.  Each episode recaps and revisits one episode of the TV show, with guests ranging from West Wing actors and crew to current senators.  Great listening for long run training.

9.  She Reads Truth Studies

I really want to be consistent about spending time in the Word everyday, but if I don't have a plan laid out for me, I struggle to focus.  I have been using the She Reads Truth app and purchasing their studies for about 6 months, and I really enjoy it.  They have tons of studies available, as well as one "live" currently running study (at this moment, Acts).  The studies combine verses that are relevant to a subject or book into a daily reading plan, short explanation and devotional, and room for discussion with other users.  Both the app and the paper version of their studies are beautifully done.  If you are looking for some direction for your Bible time, this is a great resource.  (So far, the Proverbs study has been my favorite).

10.  Small Town Races

In the past two weeks, I have run two different races here in NW Illinois - the Pretzel City 5K with my girls and the Stockton 4th of July 10K on my own.  While I enjoy big city races too, these small town races have had the best and most encouraging spectators!  Both were exceptionally well-organized, and it was SO awesome to see how many runners stuck around after their finish to cheer on those still running.  My 9-year old even placed in her age group.  Thank you to everyone who lined each course with funny signs, set up sprinklers and boom boxes in their yards along the route, and worked so hard to make these races a great experience for every level of runner.

So tell me, what about you?  What are you into right now?