This week was another jam-packed week of activity! I think everyone was trying to pack in as much as they could during these last few days of summer. To start things off, I’m going to give you my meal planning list for the week. Hopefully, it will give you some inspiration for September.
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Meal Planning Week of 8/25/2019
- Monday – Blueberry Coffee Cake, Burger Salad & Sunday Leftovers (LO)
- Tuesday – Kale Caesar Pasta Salad with grilled chicken & LO
- Wednesday – Buffalo Chicken with Sweet Potatoes (need to add recipe to website) & LO
- Thursday – Lemon Blueberry Streusel Bread, Grilled Grass Fed Filet Mignon and homemade gluten free Mac & Cheese (need to add recipe) & Dinner Out
- Friday – Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers & LO
- Saturday – Grass Fed Pork Tenderloin & Veggies and LO
- Sunday – Leftovers All Day
Monday
Started out my Monday with 35 minutes of fasting cardio on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of upper body weight training.
For my curl friends, it was wash day! The timing worked out perfectly as I was headed to the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce to pick up my prizes. My photograph recently won first prize for the Capture Lake Norman Photography Contest.
The curly hair products I used are as follows:
- Cleanse curls with Giovanni Invigorating Shampoo, Tea Tree Triple Treat.
- Deep Condition with SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque.
- Finger comb Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner/Detangler.
- Plop with t-shirt for 20 minutes.
- Finger comb Davines This is a Curl Building Serum.
- Scrunch in Kinky Curly Original Curling Custard.
- Diffuse on low and medium heat until 100% dry. SOTC.
After my curls dried, I drove to Cornelius, NC, to the Chamber of Commerce office. I had never visited before and was warmly welcomed by the staff. I was given a gallery wrap of my landscape photograph, two tickets to Charlotte Cycleboats and a gift card for $200! That gift card will come in handy when I purchase the carbon fiber, travel tripod I’ve been eyeing. 🙂
From my visit at the Chamber, I drove to Earth Fare for my weekly grocery shopping. You can see from the meal planning list what ingredients I was picking up. I apologize that a few of my meals aren’t in the recipe area of my blog. Sometimes, I forget what meals I’ve photographed. I’ll continue to update my gluten free recipes!
Monday night we exchanged our rained out Friday night Charlotte Knights tickets for Bark in the Ballpark. If you’ve followed my blog for any time, you know how much I love dogs. We have a deposit with a breeder of goldendoodles, but are still waiting.
It was a perfect late summer night for baseball. As it was a Monday night, the stadium was half full. That left plenty of room for the dogs to wander a bit. I had my eye on just about every doodle I saw. Here’s a few photos from the evening.
The red F1 Standard Goldendoodle in the t-shirt is Jack. You can find him on Instagram as @itsjackthedood. He was my favorite doodle in the park!
tuesday
Pretty uneventful day. Started the day with chiropractic, which was helpful as I cooked and baked all day long.
wednesday
6 AM workout at the gym. 30 minutes fasted cardio on the bike and 30 minutes of upper body weight training.
I spent most of the day cleaning the house. However, I did have an hour to myself in the afternoon. I spent the time getting in some yoga. Do Yoga With Me is my favorite, free website for yoga classes. I’ve been struggling with my hips so I visited Deep Release for the Hips, Hamstrings and Lower Back.
Wednesday night, we worked on the yard. Our holly bushes in the front of the house have started taking over. My husband was given a cordless electric hedge trimmer for his birthday. We put it to good use and now our house has better curb appeal!
thursday
I spent the morning working on travel plans for early 2020. As they start to come together, I’ll fill you in! We will be traveling someplace cold and snowy. Any suggestions for chic, waterproof boots that keep your feet warm? I’m going to need some new winter additions to my southern wardrobe. 🙂
That afternoon we ventured into the South End of Charlotte. My husband had a work meeting so we combined it with a few errands. One of which, was Sephora.
I’m not a big makeup fan. Most of the time my face is natural, but I like to have the basics handy. My foundation, concealer and mascara were all running out at the same time. Finding the perfect match for your skin tone is difficult. I thought it would be easier if I had a little help. Sarah was my consultant/makeover coach. Here are the gluten free makeup items I went home with:
- HOURGLASS Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint – color: warm ivory
- HOURGLASS Veil Translucent Setting Powder
- HOURGLASS Caution Extreme Lash Mascara – color: ultra black
- tarte RAINFOREST OF THE SEA aquacealer concealer – color: light-medium
After my mini makeover at Sephora South Park, we drove down the street to the mall. It was dinner time so we tried gluten free dining at Maggiano’s.
While Maggiano’s does not have a separate gluten free menu, the chef will come to your table and let you know what he can make. Basically, all the sauces are gluten free and they offer a corn pasta.
I had the Fettuccine Alfredo and Nick had the Chicken Parmesan. As I am always extremely honest with you, we both agreed if we never visited this restaurant chain again, we’d be good. 🙂 I’m not saying you wouldn’t enjoy it. However, we eat very little dairy and most of the meals contained LOTS of cheese. I asked for light alfredo sauce and my pasta was swimming in it. If you are in south Charlotte and have a hankering for Italian, try it out and let me know what you think!
friday
Friday morning fasted cardio and leg day for weight training. I upped my squats to 75 pounds, which is pretty good for me. I felt like I could have done more, which is a good place to be. Saturday morning is weigh in day, so we’ll see how I did this week.
I called my family after breakfast to check in, as I do each week. It was good to hear they were all healthy and happy.
I spent the rest of the morning cleaning the house and preparing for the long Labor Day Weekend.
Friday night a friend and I tried candle making at Rosewood Candle Bar in Huntersville, NC.
I’ll be writing all about our experience in my next blog post, Girls Night Out: Candle Making. To keep it short and sweet, if you are looking for a date night, craft party or something to do while visiting Lake Norman, check it out.
saturday
As I mentioned in last week’s Outdoor Light Shopping blog post, I had ordered 6 new lights for our Charleston styled home. We installed 2 last weekend and had 4 more to go. As with most projects, we needed extra supplies from Lowes.
After the first carriage light was installed, we took a look at the GRENADA 2-LIGHT OUTDOOR FLUSH MOUNT lights. They were oil rubbed bronze. 🙁 Huge disappointment as the website said they were black.
Wayfair was fantastic about returning them due to the error. I was at a loss as we wanted to finish this house project over the Labor Day weekend. Thankfully, I found this simple, yet elegant Black Outdoor Flush-Mount Light. It was $50 cheaper per light and matched beautifully with my wall lanterns.
sunday
With the delay in the outdoor light installation, we took advantage of the time and spent a few hours at the pool. It closes after Labor Day and the morning was just too beautiful not to take advantage.
After lunch, we installed the remaining lights and finished up around dusk. It was a full day!
How did you spend your Labor Day Weekend? Did you finish any house projects like we did? Or did you travel somewhere fun? I’d love to hear how your time off went!
