Advocare 24 Day Challenge

Have you heard of the 24 Day Challenge?

If not, I will quickly fill you in.

It is a program by Advocare  in which you do a cleanse for 10 days and a max and muscle toning/building phase for 14 days. I have seen tremendous results from various people I know who have done the challenge.

The cleanse is very doable. You aren't only drinking liquid or anything weird like that. You use supplements and stick to a clean and portion controlled diet. All in all, it is fairly "easy" as far as diets and cleanses are concerned.

Anyway, I decided to try this out since my wedding is coming up in TWO MONTHS.

Unfortunately, I do have several showers and a bachelorette party during and at the end of this challenge, so I know I will probably not be seeing the full results, but a little more toned is better than nothing!

As far as exercise goes I am trying to run Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and do an ab routine on those days. Tuesday and Thursday I do a lower body and arm routine and Sunday I stretch! I am a fairly active person, so I am trying to really focus on my strength and staying consistent during the weeks leading up to the wedding.

Have you done the 24 Day Challenge before? How did it go? Any tips?

xo,
MB

A [few] Things No One Tells You About Wedding Planning

[not me, promise]

The title pretty much sums up this post. I've been engaged for approximately 6 months with exactly 6 months 3 weeks and 4 days to go, not that any one is counting. I've learned quite a few things along the way that I would like to share.

Lets start off with a little background. I had zero idea what to think about the engagement period. I'm probably one of the few girls on the planet that didn't have a Pintrest board dedicated to my future wedding. Sure, it was something I thought about, and I knew I wanted, but I didn't daydream about it, so when I had to plan I was starting from scratch.

So here are a few things I've learned [and I'm sure to still learn a lot more]

1. It’s hard

Like really hard. There are a million options for everything from flowers, to dresses, to place settings the list goes on and on.

      2. Only crazy people enjoy every minute of it

I thought I would LOVE wedding planning, but truth is I haven't. There are really great parts, like picking out your dress and wedding rings, but the majority of if is logistical.

      3. Stay off of Pintrest

This goes back to the one million options. Pintrest is great for ideas, but don't let it dictate your planning process or what YOU want.

      4. Instead join theknot

Theknot is amazing. Hands down. Join.

      5. It’s okay to not have every detail planned within 2 weeks

I know a girl that had already registered within 3 weeks of getting engaged. She has a year left to plan. I'm coming up on 6 months left and I still have yet to register. Spread things out, don't rush and then regret.

      6. It’s okay to have a long engagement

This goes back to #5. At times I'm ready to walk down the aisle, but since I am still a student, I think the long engagement worked for me. It was not what I thought I would want, but end the end I know it was for the best. It gives time to soak it in and take your time.

      7. Brides aren’t crazy, the people around bride’s are crazy

Okay, so this may be going a little far, because I have heard of some crazy brides out there. However in my experience, I've been relatively sane and people around me have been crazy. Yes, I've been engaged for 24 hours, no I don't know when we plan to have children. [see? that's crazy]

      8. Don’t compare

This is really hard. But you are you and your wedding is yours. As with everything in life, try and be your own person and embrace your tastes.

       9. Make a list but don’t live by it

I had a very detailed spreadsheet with everything that had to be done. Once Oct. 1 hit I realized there were many things I still needed to do. However, when I made the list, I didn't know exactly what life would be like at the time. Allow yourself a little flexibility.

      10. Include your MIL

I got really lucky in the MIL department. I love mine. However, even if you don't I think it is very wise to include her in as much as possible. At least offer invitation. It will make everything in life  A LOT easier. Trust me.

      11. Getting people’s opinions doesn't mean you have to do them

"What do you think?"  Doesn't mean, "I'm going to do that." Sometimes [most of the time] people will give you their advice whether you ask for it or not. This is when you perfect the "Oh, I'll think about that! (insert smile)"

      12. Your wedding is a day, marriage is a lifetime

This is something H and I have really focused on. The day will be great, but it's only 24 hours. Spend your engagement planning for your life together, not just that one day.

      13. You will fight more engaged than when you weren’t

This shocked me at first, but it actually make sense. Once you are engaged (hopefully) you are realizing this person is going to be in your life forever. You start to realize you need to figure our your disagreements now, rather than later. Work through things, and love each other more at the end of it.

I hope this is helpful for any potential brides out there! I'm sure there will be a follow up list!

Love, MB

Austin, Tejas: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!

Y'all, it's A, here to tell you about my Texas adventures!

Confession. This is my first trip to Texas. (Layovers in DFW don't count.) The ACL lineup was crazy good, and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about in Austin, so we booked a flight, some tickets, and an airbnb.

Austin did not disappoint.

It's a funky little town in Southeast Central Tejas, home to Friday Night Lights (hence, the name of this post), world famous food, and nicknamed "The Live Music Capital" of the world. That's right, THE WORLD. Austin is also a very affordable place in terms of city traveling. It's a college town (Hook 'Em, Horns?!), so perhaps that explains it? But I'm not asking questions. We did a little exploring and a little festival going and a looooot of eating. Duh.

We arrived early Thursday morning and went straight to brunch at Bouldin Creek in south central Austin. Delicious vegetarian food and iced coffee with crushed ice. (Eggs & cheese are vegetarian!!) We topped off brunch with a trip to Sugar Mama's. Homemade s'mores poptarts & Elvis cupcakes -- chocolate, peanut butter, and chunks of actual banana (praise hands emoji). Also, word on the street is they give you shots of icing. Which is 1.5 mil times better than any shot of alcohol in my book.

Post brunch treats, we walked the quarter mile stretch down to South Congress Street, the cool kids district. We perused Allen's Boots and got serious leather envy. Probably what prompted my impulse Gap Chelsea boot purchase on the flight home. (Not sorry.) Stag Provisions was incredible, but I have a weird affinity for menswear. So there's that. Plus, the boys let me run into an adorable little boutique, Maya Star, that sells dinosaur succulent planters. SERIOUSLY. We wound our way down South Congress, passing Kendra Scott (Austin native!), The Impeccable Pig, and several mouth-watering smells coming from places like Home Slice Pizza, Fat Cactus, and Lucky Robot Japanese Kitchen. Lucky Robot's brunch menu looked divine. We stopped at Jo's for a photo op (Austin's iconic "I love you so much" graffiti) and a cold brew.

About out of steam, we Ubered back to our Airbnb (the most millenial statement ever). We stayed in the Zilker Park neighborhood in the most adorable Airbnb (I would marry airbnb if given the chance -- HUGE FAN) and rested and relaxed because landing in Texas at 10:30 am central time requires a 4:00 am eastern time wake up. (EW)

Dinner was Tex Mex at Zocalo Cafe. We were sent with the warning: it's not what you're expecting. And it wasn't. But holy taqueria it was GOOD. Get the queso, seriously.

We rode over to Sixth Street, Austin's bar strip. It was actually incredible; streets closed off, bars advertising $3 drinks (SO CHEAP) and a lot of college kids and grown up kids alike, wandering the streets. Easy Tiger has an awesome outdoor area with ping pong tables and lots of picnic tables and great cocktails and local beers. My little iPhone picture is below. We also hit up Firehouse Hostel which has a hidden bar in it ... hint - it's behind the bookcase.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday were full of festival goings which I'll cover later in my festival survival guide. HOWEVER -- a few honorable mentions of noms: P. Terry's, a burger stand Texas raised & In&Out inspired (according to one of our Uber drivers anyways). California Thomas gave it his stamp of approval. And let's talk about that Banana Milkshake - literally the BEST banana flavored thing I've ever had. I don't like banana flavor, but oh my goodness, I could have drank buckets of this. Breakfast tacos at Kesos Taco House, delicious, affordable and their sauce spread is impressive. I asked for all of them and didn't regret it. I also had migas at Austin Java for Sunday brunch. Migas means "crumbs" in Spanish, and it's tortilla chips mixed into eggs with beans, cheese, salsa, avocado. Oh my noms.

Monday was another exploring day. We checked out the east part of the city -- brunch at Blue Dahlia Bistro. A French inspired cafe with an adorable outdoor garden and Nutella croissants. We window shopped at Mana Culture and Charm School Vintage.

Other lovely Monday activities included wandering around Lady Bird Lake & the Colorado River that runs right through the city, visiting Book People, a giant independently owned bookstore with books, gifts, and basically everything to be loved about reading, smoothies at the world's first Whole Foods (known in some circles as the flagship store), and exploring Nadeau, which is a furniture chain but has a really cool story. All of this is a short walk from each other; you'll have to drive from the park to the Whole Foods block.

The majestic Colorado River (pretty far away from Colorado)

Inspiring grafitti on the train tracks.

Texas in October, 88 degrees and flowers

Nat Geo, hire me.

100% sign me up for another trip to Austin. The food, activities, people. I'm all about it. And I've already began a second visit list. Don't worry, it will be updated.

Any questions, just ask. & See my list below!!

Love, A

Second Visit List:

Perla's

Lucky Robot Japanese Kitchen

Tacodeli

Curra's Grill

Peanut Butter Pie Bliss

There aren't many foods that are more versatile than peanut butter. Let's face it, it's every broke 20 something's favorite, breakfast, snack, dinner, or post work out protein punch. I once ate an entire large jar of JIF in one week, it was slightly impressive and for the most part proof of my lack of cooking skills (we can't all be a culinary genius like Andrea).

I am trying to improve my cooking/ baking skills because...trophy wife in the making.  I came across this delicious looking peanut butter pie on Pinterest and I decided to give it a go. It was advertised as an easy peasy dessert, so yeah I can do this. I borrowed the recipe from Handle the Heat, I made a few short cuts and a much less glamorous looking finished product because let's be real... who has time to make their own crust? Not this girl.

Here is a run down of my version of the "Get you a Boyfriend Peanut Butter Pie" (Yes I renamed the pie to make it sound more impressive).

STEP 1:

Visit your local grocery store and gather anything and  everything that says "Reeses" on it because you will need it. The actual ingredients are listed below...

• FOR THE CRUST:
  • Premade chocolate pie crust
• FOR THE FILLING:
  • 8oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons, divided
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• FOR THE TOPPING:
  • Reese's Shell chocolate sauce (you know, the stuff that hardens on ice cream)
  • Mini Reese's cups
  • Reese's Peanut Butter chips

STEP 2:

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine softened cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and peanut butter until well combined. You will be left with a glorious smooth peanut butter mixture. Set the peanut butter mixture aside.

STEP 3

Next, use your mixer to beat the heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken a bit. Add two tablespoons of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and continue to mix on high until stiff peaks form (this is a technical term that just means it starts looking like whipped cream. Trust me, you will know).

STEP 4:

Fold whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture from step two until thoroughly combined. Pour your peanut butter goodness into the premade chocolate pie crust (I won't tell if you won't tell). Freeze pie for three hours.

STEP 5:

The best part, use the Reese's Shell chocolate sauce, peanut butter chips, and mini Reese's cups to decorate your pie! Eat right away or store your pie in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Last, but not least, bring the pie to a football watching party and try to snag you a man (I haven't had success with this yet, but let me know if you do).

Hope you all enjoyed my amateur attempt at baking! I would love to hear your baking tips, tricks, or fails.

 Love, K

Princess Lyla

Good afternoon readers, or reader, or no one.

MB here.

Today I'm going to introduce you to my princess in residence. No, not Kirby. Lyla. my puppy child. (I hate that phrase but it's so true)

Let me begin by telling you how I acquired sed puppy. My birthday was approaching (Feb 12th, I accept gifts) and I had recently moved into a puppy friendly house. I've never been a "dog" person, seeing as I was scared of my family's corgi for most of his life.  Anyways, I decided I wanted a puppy. After ignoring my usually level headed self, my then boyfriend now fiancé and I decided to rescue a puppy from the Atlanta Humane Society. Friday night we stocked up on puppy things and Saturday morning we headed off to Atlanta. We almost weren't allowed to adopt, but that's another story about a mean mean lady we won't get into.

This is Lyla the day we adopted her. I mean, can you even? What an angel puppy.

So here we are, 7 months later. She's not exactly the "lab/retriever mix" she was labeled, more like a pitbull/bulldog/something else mix, but I love her and she loves me, except for bath time.  I don't regret not being able to go out with friends or make random trips on the weekends. She greets me every day like I'm the greatest thing since a good JCrew sale, and that's enough for me.

She wasn't thrilled about being on the water.

Fun Lyla facts:

She loves eating sticks (maybe they are low cal?)

She hates walking on wet grass and usually refuses

She knows how to sit, stay, lay down, roll over, and stay low (army crawl)

When I'm leaving she runs to my bed and pretends to be napping

When she is in trouble she just rolls over

She wags her tail so hard her entire body wiggles

Anyways, I could talk about her for days. Want to talk about our dogs and how great they are? Hit me up.

Love, MB (& Lyla)

The Three Best Friends That Anyone Could Have

Three best friends, brought together by a small (read: perfect) university in the heart of the South that share a love of style but rock our own individual attributes who now live an isosceles triangle apart. (That's a triangle with two equal sides. #geometry)

Naturally with our great taste, charm, (so humble) and distance from each other, we thought a blog would be perfect for us to keep up with each other and share our Carrie Bradshaw-esque lives -- minus the Manolos, plus a lot (read: A LOT) more discretion. Although I did just treat myself to a very expensive pair of shoes for my recent 25th birthday. (Okay it wasn't that recent. 6 months ago. Leave me alone, I'm the oldest. Does that make me Samantha? Maybe.)

The essence is the same though - three twentysomething girls living without our soul sisters in our new cities. Boys, careers, credit cards, insurance, student debt, vodka sodas, weddings, aging. We miss each other. And now we have a blog.

LOVE, A