wedding weekend recap (and food and fitness plan!)

Ben and I had an absolutely magical weekend in southwest Michigan celebrating the wedding of his sister Ashley and her husband Peter! We're struggling a little bit with the Monday re-entry process this morning but I wanted to share some of the memories and highlights.

Ashley and Peter planned to be married on an empty lot in his parents' neighborhood, overlooking Lake Michigan. It's one of those beachfront neighborhoods composed mainly of summer cottages, tucked away in the woods and almost completely hidden from the rest of the world. We held the rehearsal in the "Wedding Lot" and then Peter's parents hosted a wonderful dinner in their backyard patio, complete with twinkle lights, bonfire, and s'mores on the beach. 

The sunset lit the sky on fire and then we released wish lanterns into the night.

I also was able to catch up with my parents and both of my little sisters! 

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early in our huge, gorgeous, lakeside "cottage" and got to work! Getting ready with the bridal party is one of my favorite parts of being in a wedding, just having a chance to relax and have fun before the craziness begins. Ashley was an absolutely stunning bride.

This was the first time Ben and I were in a wedding since we got married almost two years ago! I didn't have a chance to take many photos of the actual event, but it was beautiful and perfect. 

Now it's back to reality for a week before I drive home for my best friend's wedding NEXT weekend! This is the craziest fall of my life, but I'm loving every minute of it.

Needless to say, I'm going to do my best to really focus on my clean eating and fitness plan this week to balance out all that cake, pie, and wine.

>>Food<<

Breakfast

-Oatmeal with Greek yogurt

-Protein pancakes

-Eggs and whole wheat muffin

Morning snack

-Shakeology blended with unsweetened almond milk, ice, and frozen banana

-Yogurt and fruit

Lunch

-Huge salad with tuna, apple and PB

-Dinner leftovers

Afternoon snack

-Veggies and hummus

Dinner

-Butternut squash soup with turkey sausage

-CHILI! 

-Baked chicken and quinoa

{it's going to be a short week for me since I'm driving back to my hometown Wednesday night to start prepping for my best friend's wedding!}

>>Fitness<<

I'm dialing it up a notch this week so I can look my best in my next bridesmaid dress! I'm planning to split my workouts and do a morning and afternoon session (30-45 mins each).

Monday

AM: Kayla Itsines Arms/Abs circuit, 15 minute HIIT routine

PM: Kettlebell Circuit

Tuesday

AM: Power walk, 20 min PiYo

PM: Bodypump (full body strength)

Wednesday

AM: Kayla Itsines Abs/Cardio circuit + upper body strength routine 

PM: none

Thursday

AM: Cardio circuit

PM: PiYo

Friday

AM: Kayla Itsines Legs/Cardio circuit + upper body strength routine

PM: none

Sat/Sun

WEDDING WEEKEND! 

AM: Run if I get a chance

PM: Dance partyyyyy!

Let's make it a great week!

Self Employment || Week 3

This is going to be a messy, short and sweet post because it is Thursday evening, I'm waiting for Ben to walk in the door from school at any minute, and then we're going to be hitting the road to drive to Michigan to celebrate his sister Ashley and her fiancé Peter's wedding! I can't believe this weekend has finally arrived. I'm obviously really excited for Ashley and Peter, but I'm also excited for the chance to mentally and physically disconnect from my crazy world, spend some focused time with Ben, and also be able to make memories with my family, my whole wonderful in-law family, and Peter's family (who I consider my extended in-laws already...haha). It's going to be a beautiful blast.

Anyway. I wanted to throw up a post and just type from my heart because this week was amazing and needs to be documented.

The first two weeks of my self-employment adventure were unsettling, scary, and very emotional. I didn't feel like myself, didn't know what I was supposed to be doing, and it was really confusing. But I powered through, set some goals and deadlines, read and listened to as much uplifting personal development as I could, and tried to stop overthinking and overanalyzing and overplanning (the background image on my phone is literally a graphic that says "Under Think It" so I am reminded every single time I pick up my phone to get out of my head and just take ACTION). I did a lot of visioning about my personal and creative mission, allowed myself to acknowledge that I'm just starting out and I'll constantly be evolving, I don't need to be perfect right away. Basically everything is finally starting to come together.

Week three has been a breakthrough.

For the time being, I have conquered all the fear and doubt (it's still there, don't get me wrong, but I'm choosing to ignore it and smash it with my gut instinct which tells me that I am doing exactly what I should be doing, and that everything is going to work out even better than I can imagine right now).

Whenever you start to feel overwhelmingly happy or just content with life, do you ever instinctively start to second-guess yourself and suppress those emotions? Sometimes I don't feel like I DESERVE to feel happy when things are going my way. I feel like I always have to have some sort of struggle or difficulty to complain and vent about so people don't start to feel like I'm un-relatable, self absorbed, living a perfect life that is unattainable to them. Because things obviously will never be perfect, and the grass is always greener. So I start to think that "oh well, something bad will happen and crush my joy so I better tone it down and be mature and realistic."

Well, to hell with that. I am really happy right now and I am just going to acknowledge it and ride the wave. Because I'm sure there will be struggles and challenges ahead, but they are in the future. And in the present, my life is amazing. I know people are jealous of me, but I'm not going to let that affect how I feel. I am working for this! I am working my butt off every single day, doing things that normal people aren't willing to do. I wake up at 5:30 and I haven't watched TV in months. I don't even read the newspaper anymore. Every waking moment is spent either working on a project, planning, or connecting with my team and putting myself out there. If you aren't satisfied or happy with your life, figure out what is missing and then just do it! You don't have to quit your job. Just re-think where your true priorities lie.

I definitely need to work on building structure, boundaries, and work/life balance, but I'll get there (I promise, Ben!!). I am working hard to build a foundation and get myself launched, but I'm doing what I love and I wouldn't trade this for anything.

I get to play with gorgeous lace and flannel all day, walk to Starbucks in the middle of the afternoon, meet friends for lunch, and design a schedule that perfectly complements my energy levels and is not dictated by a commute, meetings, or "quitting time." I am in complete control and it is making me feel alive.

My biggest accomplishment this week was re-launching my Etsy shop and revealing my new brand, Anna Maria Locke! I've had a ridiculously large stash of fabric just sitting in my closet since last winter, and I'm finally making things happen and sewing it into gorgeous scarves! This is a huge deal for me. Go check it out!

Alright Ben's home, it's go time. Have a wonderful weekend!

Food and Fitness Plan // September 15-20

I want to start sharing my weekly meal plan and workout schedule so I can hold myself accountable and give you a glimpse of how I set up my week! If you're trying to eat healthy or lose weight, going into the chaos of Monday with at least some sort of plan is critical to avoid the pitfalls of unexpected situations (brownies in the office, happy hour drinks, forgetting to pack a lunch...) and the same goes for workouts. 

It's so much easier to stay motivated when you can wake up and know exactly what you need to do, otherwise you give your brain a chance to talk yourself out of it! Motivation is a mind game and it takes a little bit of effort and focus to get into a consistent routine of planning, but once you start dedicating aside time every week to set yourself up for success, all of a sudden it will be a habit.

My mantra for this week is "no excuses" because Ben and I are finally heading into our weddingpalooza season! I can't believe it's mid-September already. Between the two of us we're either standing in or attending four weddings within the next five weeks! Plus our own anniversary is in the mix as well. It's officially crunch time to look fabulous in my bridesmaid dresses (and counteract all the wine, champagne, cake, and pie I'm going to be consuming)!

So here's my MASTER PLAN for this week! I'm going to be following the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan with my Challenge Group that starts today, but I'm mixing in my own workouts because I'm currently participating in the Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge and also doing Kayla Itsine's Bikini Body Guide circuit program! I love to mix it up to keep myself from getting bored.

>>Food<<

I tend to get into routines and eat the same or similar things every day for all meals except dinner. The 21 Day Fix containers are listed as colors.

M1 || 7:30 am

Shakeology blended with unsweetened almond milk, ice, and possibly banana (red, purple)

M2 || 9:30 am

Muffin and eggs (yellow, red) OR yogurt, fruit, oats (yellow, red, purple) OR protein pancake (red, purple)

M3 || 12:30 pm

Dinner leftovers OR a salad with tuna, apple with almond butter on the side (2 green, red, purple, orange, 2 tsp)

M4 || 3:30 pm

Veggies and hummus (green, blue)

M5 || 6:30 pm

Monday: Zoodles with marinara and chicken (greens, red)
Tuesday: Butternut squash soup with turkey sausage (greens, red, yellow?)
Wednesday: Salmon and quinoa salad (red, green, yellow)

Thursday/Friday/Saturday is where it gets fun: we're heading to Michigan to celebrate my beautiful sister-in-law's wedding! I'll do my best to make healthy choices but I am for sure going to relax and enjoy the weekend with my family. I'm planning to bring my workout clothes and weights with me so I can sneak in a workout here and there!

>>Fitness<<

Monday: 1 mile jog + Kayla Itsines Week 5 Legs/Cardio Circuit + Bikini Arms
Tuesday: 45 min power walk + Bikini Abs + Love Your Abs
Wednesday: Kayla Week 5 Arms/Abs Circuit + HIIT
Thursday: 3 mile run + Thai Tush
Friday: Kayla Week 5 Abs/Cardio Circuit + TIU Quickie
Saturday/Sunday: Rest/Run/HIIT, going with the flow!

Let's make it a great week!