Happy Monday!
What a busy day I’ve had already! I was hoping to have my weekend recap out early this morning. However, it has been an efficient day so far and I’m happy with it. 🙂
Nothing like starting the week with 30 minutes each of cardio and upper body weight training at the gym. I’m starting to notice changes in my strength and muscle definition. Although small, I will take each positive change with celebration and continue on.
How was your weekend? If you are just joining my blog, you may not know that I am a home body. I love to cook, read, edit my photography, blog and spend time outdoors. This weekend was a good mix of everything I love.
(Disclosure: Some of the product links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. This helps keep my blog running!)
Friday night date night
Friday was a HOT one! Charlotte may break record temps this week. We are talking real feel numbers of 100°F+. I’m not ready for this. Thank goodness the pool opens up this Memorial Day weekend.
Friday was also my niece’s third birthday. I’m so sad I couldn’t be in NH for it. However, I did send her the cutest gift! She loves to dress up and wears a dress or skirt every day. I found her a pink tulle bathing suit to wear to Grandma’s New England lake house. She is going to love it!
Nick finished work up early on Friday, so we decided to hit Uptown early before our double date. Friends had invited us to go to a Charlotte Knights baseball game. Eating gluten free at the BB&T Ballpark is almost impossible, so we prefer to eat before the game.
Parking for the game is best at the Mint Street Parking Deck. It’s $5 for games after 5PM. We were fortunate to arrive right after 5 and found parking quite easily.
Dinner was a gluten free pizza and salad at Mellow Mushroom. We spent an hour there between waiting for our food, eating and chatting about the night.
With 60 minutes left before the first pitch, we decided to enjoy dessert and coffee at Amelie’s French Bakery. It’s only two blocks away and a straight shot from Mellow Mushroom. Amelie’s had a few gluten free desserts to choose from. Here’s their pastry menu. We decided on the lavender coconut macaroon, mixed berry coconut macaroon and a salted caramel brownie. Since it was 90°F outside, we opted for an iced coffee with a splash of almond milk.
30 minutes later, we took a stroll through Romare Bearden Park to check out the hydrangeas, walked back to the ballpark and found our seats just as our friends arrived. We try to purchase seats in Section 219 or Section 218. When the sun sets, you are still in the shade in these seats. Nick sunburns badly and we make a point to keep him safe. 🙂
Just a little plug for one of my favorite vendors! I wore my new gluten free makeup from Serenity and Scott to the game. Specifically, their creme eyeliner, brow gel, blush and lip gloss. I’m happy to say the eyeliner lasted all night even though it was so hot out! (Here’s the angled brush I used with the creme eyeliner. It worked amazing!) Also, I had to rep my home town baseball team. Go Red Sox!
The night was perfect for a baseball game. It was a full moon and from our seats we watched it come up over the Charlotte city skyline. After the game, we were treated to an amazing fireworks display. What a wonderful way to start the weekend off!
saturday rest & relaxation
It was a lovely morning to sleep in after such a late night in Uptown Charlotte. We enjoyed our organic decaf drip coffee on the patio with the Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins I had made on Friday celebrating Celiac Awareness Month. Nick and I spent the entire morning chatting until it was time for me to cook lunch.
With all this hot weather, I have been craving salads galore! Nick grilled several chicken breasts for me, while I made a Gluten Free Kale Caesar Pasta Salad indoors. This cold salad would be a great addition to your upcoming Memorial Day party.
Saturday afternoon was a much needed nap, which commenced with my heading to the kitchen to cook up dinner. Another amazing salad: the Keto Burger Salad. Nick and I were suffering from allergies due to our large amount of outdoor time, so we ate inside and then settled in for a movie night.
Our movie of choice was Dinner for Schmucks. I happen to love any movie featuring Steve Carrell. We felt much better after sipping Sleepy Time Tea and laughing at the comedy routine between Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.
sunday cleaning & the great outdoors
As with each Sunday morning, we attended church for a couple hours and then retired to our back yard. Leftover salad from Saturday was lunch. We followed it up with liquid dessert. A drink we call Cacao Milk. Here are the ingredients in this amazing beverage for two:
- 2.5 cups almond milk
- 2 Tablespoons organic cacao
- 1 teaspoon organic matcha
- splash of organic maple syrup
- .5 cup organic decaf coffee
To cool us off, I served the drinks over ice in our protein shake bottles. Not only is this drink refreshing, it gives you a healthy surge of energy.
Sunday afternoon, we spring cleaned Nick’s summer clothes. I think we were successful as we filled an entire large trash bag with clothes. The first items to go were old tech t-shirts from training events and trade shows he had attended. We recently took advantage of Banana Republic’s friends and family sale and picked up several solid color men’s Soft Wash Crew-Neck t-shirts for the summer. These are Nick’s favorite items and we restock his closet once every couple years.
Happy with our afternoon endeavors, we grabbed some more leftover salad and spent the rest of the evening outdoors. We chatted about upcoming travel plans, financial goals and hopes for the future while sitting beside our outdoor fan. That pretty much sums up almost every conversation we have. ha ha!
How was your weekend?
What do you do to beat the spring and summer heat in the south?
