Hello there friends! It’s been a while but that will all make sense pretty soon… but for now, I’ve got a quick catch up and some favorites to share with you!
In the middle of June we got a new kitten, Maisie! It’s unbelievable how much she’s grown in 2.5 months! For whatever reason her nickname is Maisie-Ella Mozzarella, she’s a bitey little monster who loves to terrorize our 14-year-old cat Shadow, and she’s got the loudest purr I’ve ever heard from a cat so I guess we’ll keep her. ๐
I didn’t get to do a whole lot this summer but Brady and I did get away the first weekend of August to go camping at Deep Creek Lake with my family. While we were there, we went to Swallow Falls State Park for the first time and it’s easily now my favorite state park in Maryland. It gives off a vibe as though you were in the Pacific NW, probably more so because we were there just after a downpour!
On the way home, we drove down to the Canaan Valley Resort in West Virginia to hike out to Bald Knob. We took the chairlift up the mountain and did the 30 minute hike out to the summit where we had a snack lunch and soaked in the view before heading back.
Hanna had to go back to college at the end of August and since my dad was out of the country, Brady and I took her up to Michigan and visited some of our favorite places including Tims Too in St. Joseph.
Favorites
Food
Panera used to have so many options for vegetarians but as quickly as they added them, they snatched them away again. Some of my favorites were the tomato and mozzarella on ciabatta, fontina grilled cheese, and all the pastas. Since there are only a few options, I really look forward to when fall rolls around because the Autumn Squash soup is my favorite soup! It was a rainy miserable day on Wednesday and it was the perfect evening for soup. Check out the new platters and bowls too!
Pumpkin Spice Oreos
I’ve had a thing for Oreos this summer so when I came across this at Target this week I couldn’t resist. The Pumpkin Spice Oreos were next to the packages of Apple Pie Oreos but they didn’t seem quite as tempting. When it comes to pumpkin spice craze I’m probably a 4 out of 10 on the excitement meter but these were quite good! I found them quite strong in spice and it was a bit too much after 2-3 Oreos but that’s good since I usually eat too many.
Oreo Dairy Milk Cadbury Bars
My dad just got home from a 2 week work trip to the UK and I’d asked him if he could bring me some Cadbury chocolate since Hershey butchers the American version. It was so YUMMY that I stalked Amazon to make sure I could replenish my stash!
Fitness
I’ve probably mentioned these before, but I have to include these because these are my staples and motivation right now. I had a rough summer and wasn’t really able to do anything fitness wise until about a week ago. Starting again always sucks but having something fun to help get back on track is so important for me. Going to group fitness classes was great while I was in college but nowadays it’s so much more convenient to be able to do my workouts at home and for free. I L O V E my Zumba Core “game” that I got for the Wii a couple years ago. There are 40 songs to choose from and I like creating custom classes so it feels like a different session every time I do it.
I recently also picked up some Jillian Michaels DVDs from the library because I need a good kick in the ass to push myself hard. I’ve used these DVDs before and my favorites are the Killer Buns & Thighs and the Killer Arms & Back because while they focus in on those areas, you’re still working your whole body. It’s not easy but I know it’s what I need.
Miscellaneous
Le Creuset + Beauty and the Beast – I saw this online the other day and, as a Disney lover, I figured it was too good not to share!
The New Bachelor
I figured I’d weigh in on the newest Bachelor controversy. Arie Luyendyk Jr. was named the Bachelor yesterday morning and apparently the world is falling apart over this news. Either people don’t remember him or they weren’t watching back then but either way, there’s a lot of grumpy people. It does surprise me that they’ve jumped that far back to find someone but then I started figuring that ABC was probably attempting a compromise. Ever season, there’s a crowd of people saying, “Pick someone new! Stop recycling guys no one likes!” It seems that with this move they getting to play it with safe with someone they already know while giving the public a Bachelor that is unknown or forgotten thereby making him a fresh face.
I haven’t really watched the show since Sean was the Bachelor except for 2016 because everyone kept saying Ben was so amazing. It wasn’t too long after Sean was the bachelor that the show exploded into the cultural phenom it is now which has made the drama I already hated about the Bachelor even worse. I just don’t have the patience to watch the show for two hours every week.
Anyways, back to Arie! I remember him well enough but he wasn’t the one I wanted Emily to choose on his season and there’s a reason Sean was picked over him to be the Bachelor; I remember him as being a nice guy but pretty dull in entertainment value.
We’ll see. I probably won’t be watching, but I’ll follow along.
That’s all for this week!
What are your feelings on Arie as the new Bachelor?
What’s your favorite Oreo flavor?
What do you do for home workouts?
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