TARGET DEALS & STEALS

Yes, another post from the Saturday morning routine! Found these deals last Saturday and I just had to share. I am, without a doubt, most excited about the kids books! I about died when I saw that they were $1 each! They are all the classics - adapted and fully illustrated for kids 7 and up! I know I have a 15 month old and she will not be reading for quite some time, but I am so excited to give these to her when she is older.

NORA & PAT'S CANOEING ADVENTURE

As many of you know my good friend, Nora, is getting married this month and I have the honor of being her Top Maid. (aka - Maid of Honor... no, wait.... MATRON of Honor. Yes, that makes me sound very old. Let's just go with Top Maid ;)

Nora and Pat requested a joint bachelorette/bachelor party of canoeing down the Wisconsin River and camping on a sandbar. So no, not your typical high-heel wearing, panty-line, bar hoping, penis decorated, cab ride home kind of night. That kind of night wouldn't have been very 'Nora' and it most definitely wouldn't have been very 'Pat.' ;)

It took some planning, researching, and learning how to read a map, but all in all it was a FANTASTIC day of celebrating Nora and Pat. It was a 23-mile canoe trip down the Wisconsin River with about 30 people.  The plans were to camp on a sandbar half way, but b/c the river was so high, we couldn't find a suitable sandbar until we had canoed about 19 miles. eeeek! Let's just say we had some ladies with sore arms at the end of day one.

Here are some pictures from our canoeing adventure, followed by a few tips for the rookie canoe-trip-planner. I guess it is just a list of what I would have liked to know before I started planning.

representing ;)

YES! She is making hummus, avocado, sprout and roasted red pepper sandwiches for all of us! I about died I was so excited!

The Bride & Groom

Not sure what is going on here

It was pretty beautiful that next morning. Too bad I felt like death! UGG!

WHAT TO BRING:

Each person needs to bring:
- A tent
- Sleeping bag INSIDE A TRASH BAG in case anyone tips
- Bug spray
- Swim suit... duh!
- Something to cover up - the sun will cook you 
- Long sleeves and pants for night
- Sun screen
- A hat (if you want one)
- Sunglasses
- Some sort of cup to keep your drink cold - like one of these or a koozie
- A cooler with whatever you want to drink - beer, hard alcohol, whatever floats your boat... or canoe. ;) 
  Just remember - NO GLASS on the river - buy cans
- Snacks and food to eat for breakfast on the next day (we only organized dinner on day one)
- Toilet paper
- A plastic ziplock bag for your phone, wallet, camera, etc.
- Water shoes (nice, but not a necessity)
- Extra garbage bags for your trash - you need to carry out all of your trash
- Drinking water - the recommended amount is 2 gallons per person

One person needs to bring:
- Firewood, lighter fluid, lighter, and s'more fixin's of course!
- A small grill (if you decide to grill for dinner)

Things I wish we would have known:
- We were given the recommendation on putting our sleeping bags in a garbage bags, but I wish we would have put EVERYTHING in a garbage bag.  Even though we didn't tip, water still gets the the canoe from rowing and all of Logan's clothes and most of mine got soaked.
- If you have a group as large as 30, make sure you have a canoe dedicated to being the HEAD of the group and one canoe dedicated to being the TAIL.  We kept losing people because they kept thinking they were behind everyone when they were really ahead of everyone. It made it hard to stop and hang out all together when we wanted to take a break or to all decided on the camping location.
- This one comes from personal experience - If you are going to use a clip-on bug shield, do NOT shut yourself in your tent with it running and forget to open up the windows. I am pretty sure I killed a few brain cells and it was the cause of my puking sessions. Or was that the vodka? Maybe it was both. Either way, learn from my mistake and don't do it.

The canoe rental company we used:
Blackhawk River Runs
They were so helpful! I called them several times with questions and they even sent me a hand written letter about the trip with a map! 

The trip we took:
23 miles down the Wisconsin River
Started in Mazomanie - ended in Spring Green
They will pick you and your canoe up and shuttle you back to your car

How we organized dinner:
I had the groomsmen take care of bringing the grill, meat, buns, condiments, plates, napkins and eating utensils and each of the bridesmaids made a side - fruit, pasta salad, chips and dip, etc.

Cost:
$60 a canoe (2 people to a canoe - $30 per person)
I had one person buy all of the alcohol and each person pitched in $20.  You can do that or just have everyone bring their own. If you are going to buy a barrel, bring a back up tapper.

Ok, I think that is all my canoe-trip-planning knowledge summed up in one every long blog post.  It really was a great time! I hope this helps if anyone decides to plan a trip!

PEANUT BUTTER, STRAWBERRY & BANANA SMOOTHIE

YES! I am CRAZY for smoothies! They are such a healthy way to start your day. You get your fruits in and the protein from the peanut butter keeps you full. Here is another one of my favorites! It is a little more shake-like than the last one I posted.

PEANUT BUTTER, STRAWBERRY & BANANA SMOOTHIE

Two ripe bananas
Organic plain yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
Frozen strawberries (about 2 large handfulls)
Organic natural peanut butter (about 1 heaping table spoon)
Milk (normal, soy, almond....whatever works) (about about 1/4 cup)

Put it all in a blender, blend and enjoy!
Makes two 16oz smoothies.

Note: I never measure ingredients. The above measurements are guidelines. You may have to stir ingredients in the blender a few times between blends to get it to all blend together. If it is too think, just add a little more milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

MIXED TAPE MONDAY - RUNNING MIX VOL 1

Is it really Monday? Can I pleeeeease just have one more day to recoup from yet another crazy busy, jam-packed, without a moment to relax weekend? Not sure who I am asking this question to. Is there someone I can talk to who is in charge of handing out bonus weekend days????

Anyways, people often ask me if I always eat healthy? HECK NO! I eat healthy a good 85-90ish precent on the time. I like (by like I mean love) my chocolate and truly believe throwing back a few beers (or vodka sodas w/ lime) every once in a while belongs in the "healthy" category... at least for your mental health. I guess I improved my mental health this weekend. ;)

I do have to admit, after a night out, it feels so, SO good to get back into my weekly workout routine. It somewhat throws me off and I do not quite feel "right" again until I hit the gym.  Here is what I will be listening to as a get my butt back into gear this Monday morning.  Enjoy!



And just to prove today is going to be fabulous....

Oh, and a few shots from of our weekend wedding fun! Congrats Brian and Theresa!

BLOGLOVIN' & A NEW PHONE APP

What is your happiness? I guess a lot of things mean happiness to me, but the picture below perfectly describes one of my happy places. I. AM. BUSY. That might be the understatement of the year. I work 4 days a week, freelance on the side (so I am really working way over 40 hours a week), I hit the gym 5 days a week, I actually cook for my family, take care of a one-year-old, and now I guess I am a blogger. can I call myself that yet? hmmm.... that might be another topic of conversation.

My good friend Keri gave me this piece of paper. It was a piece from her daily desk calendar and it made her think of me. I have kept it ever since.

Anyways, what I am trying to say is that my few hours in the morning are sacred to me. I have always been a morning person and something about life being so calm for just those few hours makes me happy.

I wake up at 5am, make myself a pot of coffee (and a smoothie :) and sit and read my blogs. Many of my friends have this same routine (maybe not at 5am) but follow their blogs by bookmarking them and constantly checking if they have made a post.  Silly, silly girls! You all need some bloglovin' in your lives!  Seriously, check it out HERE or just hit the "bloglovin'" button at the top right of this page.  All you do is sign up with your email, search and add your fav blogs and they will all go into your news feed as the bloggers publish their posts. That way you only need to bookmark ONE site - bloglovin'.

Ok, now on to my new obsession - A Beautiful Mess phone app.  From my pics below you can see just how much fun I have been having. 99¢ is a small price to pay for this much fabulousness! :) Check it out HERE.

HAPPY FRIDAY KIDS!  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I will not be posting on weekends (except for maybe something small on Saturday mornings if I feel so compelled) b/c with all of that listed above, I still need to find time to relax, have a little fun and just be with my family.

4th OF JULY WEEKEND: PART 2

Logan's parent's own a lake house up north. Every 4th of July weekend the whole Buell family spends a few nights at the lake. This year my sister in law, Holly, had the great idea of splitting up the meals between the families.  Logan and I took breakfast (biggest loser pancakes) and lunch (healthy chicken salad sandwiches and white peach and feta salad) the first day we were all there. We spent the weekend eating, drinking, and playing in the water. I love that this is one of the the many traditions we are building. Building traditions for our family is something that Logan and I am really excited about as we continue through life.

I love this picture. The lighting was perfect and it was in the morning when the lake was still calm.
 Jordan catching Finn and Chuck in his kayak 

My beautiful Niece - Miss Brynn

These two fight like sisters and I laugh every time (even though I shouldn't)

My family :)

Boat ride with uncle/god father Paul

H & J on the jet ski

Logan slalom skiing

THROUGH MY IPHONE:

1. Brynn's beautiful braids        |         2. Cousin Love

3. Catching Ellis climbing the stairs... again        |        4. How we wake up Uncle Logan at the Lake

5. Red, White, and Blueberry Beer brewed by Paul        |        6. Whatcha doing down there Uncle B?

1. Couple selfie        |        2. Don't let the pink ride  fool you

3. Chocolate chip pancakes        |        4. Sister-in-Law breakfast bake

5. Passed out - it's a rough life        |        6. So happy on 4 wheels

RANDOM THOUGHT

A good friend of mine sent me this quote last week. I had to make it pretty and share it with all of you. I am sucker for inspirational quotes. I think I want to frame a bunch and put them on a wall in my house. hmmmm....... I feel a blog post coming on. Free printables maybe? :)