Christmas at the Beach

Oh hey! I am betting your blog feeds are all filled with 2015 this & that, so you're probably surprised to see Christmas 2014, well, I am pretty much on this really bad procrastination kick (I'm working on it though) so I am dedicating my first post of the New Year to what were my last photos of last year... seemed smart in my brain ;) So here ya go... a little recap of all things our wonderfully relaxing Christmas vacation at the beach was...

The Beach House//

Mom got there earlier in the week before the Hubs and I and the rest of the fam got there and decorated the whole place.  It felt so homey and cozy! It was the perfect place to spend our first Christmas away from Georgia and our first Christmas without my brother... For those of you who are new to the blog we lost my brother last July to a drug overdose.  This was our first Christmas ever without him & there was no way we could imagine spending it the same way we had all the years before.  The beach was our favorite place to be as a family and it just made sense to be there this year for Christmas.  

Very cool sidetone: When mom got to the beach she walked out back on the porch and saw dolphins... she knew it was my brother there in spirit saying "Hey, mom! Merry Christmas!" :)

Our favorite place to hangout - the amazing porches (yes, plural!) the one of the bed swing was right off of our bedroom! We did our reading and bible studying out there.  The beach is absolutely our place of peace and restoration.  

Every year my family always gets a new ornament related to something that we either did, enjoyed, or a place we went to.  This year instead of doing a memory tree with all of our ornaments we did a memory tree for just my brother... It was beautiful and it was so much fun to look at all of the ornaments because everyone reminded us of another great memory of him.  The top left ornament is from The Davis Direction Foundation, a local foundation promoting Heroin/Opiate Addiction Awareness efforts. I picked some of my favorite ornaments- Continuing clockwise: me and my brother- one of my favorite pics of us, then a fish bc he used to be obsessed with fishing in middle school, a hot wheels car because to say he was obsessed with cars as a kid is an understatement,  he also loved basketball and played all of the time, and the final is a red tennis shoe that says " I believe I can fly"- mom and I found it at Hobby Lobby this year and HAD to buy it because he LOVED shoes (I'm pretty sure he had more tennis shoe than me!), he loved the color red, and he is flying with the angels now :) 

everything about it was just perfect!

My ornament this year ;)

It's no secret mom & I have a slight Starbucks obsession... this tree is decked out in our Starbucks ornaments we buy every year!

What We Did// 

Puzzles, Puzzles, and MORE puzzles!

Walks on the beach with this handsome guy :)

On Christmas Eve we lit candles in remembrance of my brother.

The obligatory Christmas morning family photo in matching pajamas, of course.

We also had bonfires on the beach at night - it was the first time we had ever done that- so much fun!!

What I Wore//

(On Christmas day) 

the rest of the days I rocked pajamas and workout gear

Piko Top: Sage Clothing {exact}

Black Skinnies: J.Lo via Kohls

Boots: Target- ON SALE! {exact}

Christmas Scarf: gifted (from Kohl's)

yep, can't have outfit pics taken without a little silly face action!

What We Ate//

Breakfast//

Sweet Potato Waffles & Bacon 

French Toast w/ Cranberry Sauce & Gluten- free Sausage Cheese Muffins (used gluten free Bisquick)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Casserole & Bacon (Clean Eating)

Lunch//

Grilled Chicken BLT Salad

Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Tomato, Spinach, Sunflower seeds, hard boiled egg, balsamic dressing

Christmas Dinner Leftover Salad

Ham, cranberry sauce, tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled egg, spinach lettuce, & balsamic dressing

Dessert//

Fruit Cookie Cake 

Note: we substituted vanilla greek yogurt for cream cheese & sugar in recipe- it was delish!!

Oh and yes we ate dinner every night, but this girl was hungraaay and totally forgot to take dinner pics! oops! 

Our Last Day//

And.... for your enjoyment... just so you know who I get my weirdness from ;)

As always, thanks for reading! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! 

Here is to a VERY belated Happy New Years! 

~ xoxo ~

Danielle

FitnessFiles: Eats ~Snack Edition

So, if you have read my about page, you already know health and fitness are a HUGE part of my life!  I believe nutrition is the most important aspect of healthy living, however, it is often overlooked or misunderstood. I hope throughout this “Eats” series you find encouragement, new facts, yummy AND healthy eats, and advice you feel like you can incorporate into your daily life! After all, if I have learned anything from my experience with nutrition - it has to be attainable AND delicious, it’s all about progress.  If there is ever anything you want to see on here please let me know! You can leave a comment or send me an email (danielleadams28@gmail.com).  Please note I am not a registered dietician and all advice given on here is strictly from my personal experience. I promise if you ask anything I do not know the answer to – I will do my best to find an answer for you! More often than not – I’ll ask Josh (he’s my nutrition guru / amazing cook!) he knows WAYYY more than I do about all things nutrition. 

Starting off the series I’m going to share my top 3 favorite snacks! Keep in mind I do not like LOATHE cooking, so you will not find much of that around here. Snacks are no exception. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Emerald Vanilla Roast Almonds – ohmydeliciousness, these puppies are like mini cookies in your mouth! If you have not tried them, these are my top recommendation! I have not met one person who does not like them.  Unfortunately, I cannot find them anywhere except for SOME Targets, and when I do there is only like 2 or 3 left. Sorry if you find they are sold out, I probably bought the rest of the stock. Oops.  (Also, the cocoa roasted ones are delish as well)

 

2. Terra Cinnamon Sweet Potato and Apple chips (Warning: These are addictive, so for portion control I recommend getting out how much you want and putting the bag back- far, far away!) I have also tried the Terra Original Veggie chips they are very good too especially with some guac. (All varieties gluten free)

 

 

3. Blue Diamond NutThin Crackers (all varieties are gluten-free) – I eat these every day, and tend to make meals with them, partly bc of their deliciousness, partly due to my lack of cooking skills.   I have tried the Almond NutThins with a Hint of Sea Salt, the Pecan NutThins, and the Almond NutThins with Chedder Cheese.  The last two options are my faves! I can eat these alone or make a meal with them- here are a couple of my meal options:

        * 1 serving (about 16 crackers) with a Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese wedge and honey ham (I eat Hormel honey ham –its gluten free) I make little ham and cheese cracker sandwiches

        * 1 serving with a Laughing Cow tomato and basil cheese wedge and sliced pepperoni ( I try and get the reduced sodium kind if they have it) If you like pizza, these will become your new best friends! They are like mini pizzas! This is by far my favorite way to eat these delicious crackers. 

 

Side note: I do not have Celiacs Disease, I choose to eat mainly gluten free for the health benefits.  If you are curious what these are I will answer any questions via email and I am sure I will do a post about gluten soon!

 

Just a brief history - Josh and I decided to start watching our gluten intake about a year and a half ago.  Over the course of that time I have not only felt SO much healthier, but I have also lost a significant amount of weight (which was not my original intention).  For me, watching gluten was a part of a total lifestyle change.  I am so thankful for that change, because I have found new passions for exercise and healthy living. Here is a picture of my transformation:

I would love to hear about your favorite go-to healthy snacks and if you have tried any of my suggestions! If so, did you love them as much as me?!

Also, if you have experienced a lifestyle change I would love to hear all about it! Email me at danielleadams28@gmail.com. We can share and encourage eachother! :)

 

Be healthy. Be confident. Be beautiful.

Much love!

  Xoxo

Danielle