Friday, January 13, 2017

Five on Friday!

Happy long weekend!
one // Let's start with some exciting news! Earlier this week I had my 6 week check up from my revision surgery and everything checked out perfect. I am so, so, so happy I went through with the surgery. All of my restrictions are now lifted so I can pick my babies up as much as I want. Yay!
 Scalp Remedy // Moisture Surge Overnight Mask // Lip Therapy // Lip Therapy // Moisture Surge Lotion // Facial Spray
 
two // The winter temps have my face freaking out. I am constantly trying to keep my skin moisturized and these products are definitely making a tremendous impact. Here's the low down: I buy both of those lip therapy products in bulk and store them everywhere -- car, office, drawers around the house, purses, coat pockets, etc. They are my two favorite ever. Last year my scalp got so dry that it started peeling. I picked up the scalp remedy treatment and have been using it at the first sign of dryness -- works like a charm. The Clinique products are my favorite and I use the moisturizer both morning and night but also apply the moisture surge mask on top of my lotion before going to bed. Lastly, I use my facial spray to set my makeup and add some moisture to my face and again after I wash my face before bed.
*note: i realized after the picture that I forgot to add my fresh parsley in! Ergh!
three // I can't believe I haven't shared this before...my favorite pork tenderloin marinade! I use this amazing marinade recipe frequently and love it because I usually have most of these ingredients on hand at all times. I usually marinade my pork overnight for the most flavor but you can marinade it for as little as 3 hours too.
Easy Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce
*adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Ingredients:
1⁄2 cup olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lb. pork tenderloin

Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.  

Pan Sauce:
Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of pork marinade (thoroughly mixed)
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin. 
four // I recently learned about Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning rusted pots, pans and baking sheets. I can't believe how miraculous this product works -- way stronger than my previous cleaning method.
After letting the powder soak for a little bit in my sink I scrubbed it and all the build up came right off!
five // During snowmageden Matt and I enjoyed the yummiest bottle of ONEHOPE Cabernet Sauvignon. It was so good I had to share! PS - when did Amazon start selling wine?!

*side note: Does anyone else play "Two Dots?" After candy crush I moved on to this equally addicting game. Anyway, this label...I want to connect those dots so dang bad.


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Monday, January 9, 2017

Snowpocolpyse Weekend!

Charlotte got an inch of snow over the weekend which is a BIG deal. The entire city shuts down -- literally bread flies off the shelf, ABC stores have lines out the door, etc. We were all too excited to hunker down this weekend, play in the snow, binge watch The American and simmer soup in the crockpot. The forecast predicted a decent snow fall but it ended up being a lot lighter than everyone had hoped. Anyway, a few snow weekend pictures...
After a quick family selfie -- Caroline's request obviously, we strolled down the street to meet our friends at a neighborhood party. There were tons of kids rolling around in the snow, a food truck and lots of parents excited to be out of the house. 
Caroline and Thomas experience their first sled ride...which ended a little off course. Both laughed hysterically and were begging to go down the tiny hill over and over and over.
Have you ever seen a more determined face?
In typical best friend fashion, Lisa had a mimosa poured and ready for our arrival.
To thaw out we headed down the street to another snowmageden party. It is still undecided who had more fun -- the kids or the adults.
On Sunday the roads were cleared up so a group of girls gathered to celebrate Abby's baby shower over brunch!
A few of the ladies!
For dinner (both nights) we enjoyed crockpot chicken enchilada soup (one of our very favorites)!
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Friday, January 6, 2017

Five on Friday!

Happy first Friday of 2017! I am so very excited to continue our Five on Friday link-up in 2017 with two of my best blog friends -- April and Natasha! We are so grateful for all of you who link up with us each week and for all of you who stop by to read!

Want to join us for the Friday fun? All you have to do is...
1.) Write your post about five things you're lovin' this week (or any five things you want to share!).
2.) Share the logo on your blog and link back.
3.) Link-up at the bottom of the post so some new readers can check out your five things and say hello!

Let's dive right in...
one. Matt pulled off a pretty amazing Christmas present for me. He consulted with one of my girlfriends to pick out the perfect pair of duck boots. And you know who was just as excited as me when I opened them? Caroline. I had just purchased a pair of duck boots on Black Friday for her and she couldn't believe we now have matchy matchy boots.
two. My sister is super picky when it comes to athletic wear. So when she texted me to say she finally found an (affordable) sports bra that she really liked I drove straight to Target and picked a few up. I love the strappy racerback style and the removeable cups. For those of you with fitness goals, I highly recommend stocking up on this C9 sports bra right now during Target's buy 1 get 1 50% off sale!
three. A few months ago I picked up the cutest shawl vest for my sister from one of my favorite boutiques, Ivy & Leo. And ever since I've wanted one for myself! And then I waited too long and all my favorite colors sold out. So when Ivy & Leo contacted me and asked if I wanted to review one of their new spring colors I jumped right on that and picked the sage shawl vest. I love this piece so much because you can style it dressy or casual, it's only $29 and it comes in 9 colors. Also, this vest showed up to our Christmas gift exchange and was stolen three times and fought over big time. So hurry and pick up your spring shawl vest now from Ivy & Leo! PS - my shoes are also from Ivy & Leo but I think they are sold out online now.
So cute!
four. We took a break from HelloFresh over the holidays but are back in the swing of things so I started our deliveries back up. I forgot how much I love the convenience of coming home from work and not having to wonder what I'm going to make for dinner. And because I think HelloFresh missed me, they gave me a promo code to give FOUR of my friends a FREE box of HelloFresh meals! I'd be happy to send the first 4 readers to leave their email address in the comments a free week of HelloFresh to try! 

Want to try HelloFresh? Use promo code MG8GKD for $40 off your first box! That means you can try out HelloFresh for $29 and then cancel after your box arrives or keep on going.
five. POLL! I have a random question for you. Do you run your dishwasher every night or do you wait until it's full?
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