Whole 30: 30 Days of Clean Eating

We’re going to skip the part about me being a bad blogger, and jump straight to what we’ve been up to these last 30 days, ok? Good.

This summer Calvin and I had adopted a paleo lifestyle for the majority of our meals. We didn’t completely convert with everything though (aka: we still loved our craft beer several times a week and indulged at our favorite pizza place far more often than our stomachs or bank accounts preferred). But we felt pretty good about our 80% commitment and didn’t really see a reason to take it any further.

Then we went to Europe for ten days. Oh yeah, “Hey blog, we went to Europe for ten days!” Numerous pictures and stories to tell about that one day, but back to paleo. It was vacation, we were experiencing another culture (one that loved their potatoes prepared any way as much as they loved their fish and chips) so our 80% paleo effort stayed on the other side of the Atlantic. But our stomachs didn’t seem to like that situation very much.

We returned to the States and tried to fall back into our semi-paleo way of life, but doing something halfway is a hard thing to re-adopt. So when my sweet sister-in-law asked me if I had ever heard of whole 30, I knew this just might be the commitment I needed to figure out what my eating habits really should be. I’d read about whole 30 a lot through researching paleo, but it sounded pretty extreme and intimidating. Calvin was not on board.

However, after a weekend spent on the lake indulging in all kinds of delicious junk food (and paying for it on the way back to Memphis), Calvin told me he had changed his mind. We made a plan with Mary and set our start date for September 1st. Our journey of a month with no dairy, gluten, grains, legumes, sugar, or processed food of any kind was about to begin.

So what did we eat? Lots of lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats (primarily tree nuts and coconut). While it may seem limiting, when you stop and think about how many different kinds of meats, veggies, and fruits there are and how many different ways you can prepare them, you realize you can literally go 30 days without eating the same thing twice if you wanted.

We cooked more this month than I think we ever have in any 30 days of marriage. While we didn’t eat out a whole lot for meals we shared together before, these 30 days showed us how often we would just run out and grab something for a quick lunch or dinner should we happen to be rushed and unable to eat together. And for a girl that doesn’t just love to spend her free time in the kitchen, I really enjoyed all the extra time we shared there together this month prepping and cooking meals.

But you’re probably thinking that all sounds well and good, but tell me more about what made this challenging and what you learned from it. Well, glad you asked! It was definitely hard, especially the first 8-9 days. Sugar cravings are no joke. Even though we had done a pretty good job of cutting back on sugar through doing paleo for several months, the complete omission of sugar (even natural sugars like pure honey) is rough for us sugar-crazed Americans. It was most helpful to eat a good breakfast with a full serving of protein and some healthy fats with nothing sweet to help fill me up and not wake up my sweet tooth earlier than necessary. And while whole 30 doesn’t encourage a lot of snacking (your meals should fill you up and keep you full until your next one) if I was hungry I would snack on some raw veggies or mixed nuts to keep me from thinking about cookies or cupcakes until my next meal.

After a few days into the second week, I was getting better at building my portions to adequately fill me up and snacking less. The sugar cravings still happened occasionally, but they were much more manageable. The hardest part was fighting temptations that were right in front of me. You know, potluck on the floor at work, offers to go out for drinks with friends, sitting in pizza restaurants and only drinking water, the ice cream fundraiser at the office, all those delicious things that just seem to pop up. My stubbornness to finish what I start was actually a blessing in these situations.

Week three came and suddenly I felt like a brand new person. The cravings were essentially gone and I had consistent energy levels all day long. Did you know that it’s not normal to be tired at 2:30 every day? Or that some people can wake up with or before their alarm and feel energized and ready for the day? Yeah, me either. But I’m here to tell you that I am totally a believer now. I have never been a morning person, but now I can barely sleep past 7:30-8:00 (yes even on Saturdays), I have energy all day long, and when I start to get tired at night I go to bed and sleep soundly. This, people, is worth all the rule following for 30 days! Here’s a fun little graphic with a link to the full article outlining what you can expect during your whole 30.

So we start reintroducing foods tomorrow. We’ll eat several different types of dairy throughout the day and observe how we feel while going back to the full whole 30 diet for the two days following. Grains with gluten come just in time for our weekend in Starkville; fist pumps for Stromboli’s! Although I fully expect to feel pretty miserable afterwards. Gluten-free grains get reintroduced on the 7th, and we wrap up with legumes on the 10th. It’s a little nerve wracking to start adding these things back in, but I’m really looking forward to knowing how each of these food groups affect me so I can make well-informed choices with my food.

I promise to come back with a full update after the 10th to see which of these food groups are the biggest culprits for inconsistent energy levels, headaches, and heartburn. Should be fun! If you want to know more about whole 30 I highly recommend reading It Starts With Food. The authors have done their research and have testimonies of thousands of people who experienced a similar and often more extreme transformation than Calvin and I. Their website, whole9life.com is also a great resource. And of course we’d be happy to share the recipes and other resources we used to help us on our journey or answer any questions if you want to know more.

Celebrating Three Years!

Let’s pretend I am a proactive and efficient blogger and this was actually posted Wednesday on our anniversary. Deal? Good! :)

Today marks my third year as a Morris. It hardly seems like it’s been three whole years since our wedding day, but at the same time I can’t imagine life any other way. Being Calvin’s wife is one of the greatest blessings the Lord has ever granted me. I’m so thankful He gave us marriage as a picture of our relationship with Him and as a way to daily sanctify us to be more like Jesus.

It’s hard, no doubt about it. But no matter how hard things may be, it’s equally as rewarding. Three years surely doesn’t make me an expert, but what I do know is that we love each other and work daily to die to ourselves in order to put the other first. While it certainly isn’t perfect, it sure is beautiful.

There’s no one else I’d rather do life with; thanks for choosing me to be your bride, Calvin. I love you and can’t wait to see what this next year brings our way!

P.S. If you want to see more pictures and read all about our day, go here. And if you need a wedding photographer, we loved working with Robby Followell!

What’s Been On My Heart

There’s a lot of life that’s been happening around here and so much to catch up on. But that’s not what’s on my heart today, so I think I’ll just stick to what is.

Goodness gracious, Jesus is good. Isn’t He? So often I just walk through life happy and secure with what I have, but with an attitude like I’m somehow entitled to it. And more and more recently, I’ve been reminded that I’m not entitled to it at all! In fact, I deserve death and life apart from Him. But what He gives me is so much more than that. And oh, so sweet!

It seems childish to think that I’m still coming to grips with this. But that’s also the beauty of it all. I’m so thankful that Jesus continually pursues me, teaches me, and allows me to grow.

I’m so thankful for the community of believers He has put in my life and the support they give that causes me to want to grow. Recently, our church has re-launched as Grace Community Church and that whole process has been difficult, but so good all at the same time. I’m so thankful for the Godly leadership that He has given us and for the community that is being built there.

But He is also using so many precious women who I don’t know, or barely know, from the online community. Many of these women may not even realize that I read their blogs and listen to their hearts, but I do and He is moving through them. I’m so thankful for the outlets He has given them to create a space for women to feel vulnerable, accepted, and real with one another. He is doing big things and I want to make sure I’m listening.

I have so much to learn and I am just grateful that He is still working on me with grace, mercy, and patience. I’m thankful for my loving family who surrounds me in prayer and challenge me to continually pursue Him. I’m so blessed by my wonderful friends who love Jesus and want their lives to reflect that on a daily basis. They put up with me and my selfishness, but love me anyways and challenge me all the time. And the relationship Calvin and I have is by no means perfect, but it is such a tangible picture of our relationship with Jesus. It’s amazing that He would give us the gift of marriage to help us grow in our relationship with Him.

I am entitled to none of this, but yet He has seen fit to bless me with it and I am so thankful! I hope that when I look back on this season of my life, I remember it with fondness. But I also want to say that I seized the opportunities in front of me to make less of me and more of Him. I pray He helps me to do that daily.

Happy Thursday, friends. May the rest of your week be filled with bountiful gifts from the Ultimate Giver.

Chi-Town days 4-7

If you haven’t read about the first part of our Chicago vacation, then start here.

Tuesday morning we grabbed a quick breakfast and walked back to the River to board Chicago’s First Lady for an hour long cruise down the Chicago River where we learned all about the city’s history in terms of architecture and their amazing skyscrapers. This was one of our favorite touristy things of the trip. It was super informative, gave us a plethora of pictures, and besides the extreme heat it was a great day to be on a boat!

An Instagram of the Wrigley Building

Trump Tower

Willis Tower

Merchandise Mart

Marina City

One of my favorite skyline shots

After the tour we decided to try out some of Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza from Giodorano’s. As promised, it was delicious but not my favorite in Chicago. I was saving the best for last so Calvin could always remember the deliciousness.

The rest of the day was spent back at the hotel’s pool in an attempt to cool our sunburns from the morning’s river cruise. And for dinner we went to a local Irish bar called Kerryman’s where Calvin enjoyed a gigantic smoked salmon sandwich {seriously, there were two pieces of salmon on it!} and I had a delicious mac-n-cheese concoction {macaroni, gouda, grilled chicken, and potato chips on top}. It was also wine night so we got a bottle of 91pt Malbec for super cheap only to realize Chicago restaurants don’t re-cork the bottles for you. So you better believe we sat there and finished the whole thing so it wouldn’t go to waste.

Believe it or not, we decided that we could manage some dessert before we called it a night, so we headed down the street to Grand Lux Café {thanks for the recommendation Olivia!} and stuffed our already full bellies with cheesecake and cupcakes. We were those stereotypical Americans who let their stomachs control their minds on this day. But I’m only slightly ashamed.

Wednesday morning we slept in and spent the day wandering around more of the city and doing a little more shopping. We found Nordstrom Rack and were much more willing to pay their prices than those at Nordstrom we saw on Monday, so Calvin and I both got a few things. I also found my way into Anthropologie and got a little lost in all its two floors of prettiness. I tend to only shop the sale room at Anthropologie, which in Memphis is a tiny little nook at the back of the store. But in Chicago it’s pretty much half of the downstairs floor, so there was a lot more to choose from!

Oh, and their Anthropologie had this across the street.

So much cooler than Memphis. :)

When Calvin said he’d had enough, we went back to the room and ate some lunch and just relaxed. That night was the Cubs game, so we had to rest up to get ready for Wrigley!

We rode the L-train to Wrigleyville and went to a souvenir shop before the game to get Calvin a shirt. Hooray for that accomplishment! While we waited to get into Beyond the Ivy, we walked around and took lots of pictures. It was so fun showing Calvin Wrigley Field and all the famous Cubs stuff.

Finally it was time to go to our rooftop seats where we spent the rest of the evening enjoying our cool location and the endless supply of burgers, hotdogs, beer, and wine. The game got off to a rocky start and I was nervous for a little while, but the Cubs pulled out a win {5-1 against Miami} at the top of the 8^th when they called it due to a rain delay.

Thankfully, we were able to go inside and stay dry until it died down enough to walk down the street to meet a friend who lived nearby. And then we rode the L-train back to our hotel and marveled at the novelty of practical and efficient public transportation. Seriously, Memphis needs that too. You think if I brought my list to the Mayor, he’d listen? So far that’s: Trader Joes, Crate and Barrel, a bigger Anthropologie, and better public transportation. Surely at least one of those things would be a better fit for the Pyramid instead of Bass Pro, right?

Thursday was our last day so we slept in, ate brunch at Grand Lux Café {we saw too many delicious things on the menu to just stick to one visit for dessert},

Exhibit A

and spent the rest of the day at Navy Pier. We had fun playing putt-putt and riding the Ferris Wheel, but it’s definitely just a touristy attraction. Everyone needs to say they’ve seen it, but it’s definitely not a place you want to spend a lot of time.

And for dinner we met our friend, Cody again and headed to Gino’s East for what we think is the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. Calvin was impressed, and for my pizza-loving guy, I was glad we could make that happen.

We ended our amazing trip with drinks on the rooftop bar across from our hotel: Rock Bottom Grill {and yes, Starkville friends—it may have the same name as our beloved Cotton District bar, but Chicago’s has Starkville’s beat}. I mean they brew their own beer and have a rooftop in the center of downtown Chicago. You can’t really compete with that.

And just like that, it was time to head home. Cities are so fun and Chicago is one of my favorites, but it’s always nice to come home. And no matter how much I complain about it or wish it had some of the great things other cities do, Memphis will always be home.

Chi-Town days 1-3

Warning: long post, in multiple parts, with lots of pictures ahead. It’s detailed, but that’s the way I like my vacation recaps. And this is my blog/housing for all our fun memories, so I get to do that if I want to. Don’t say you weren’t warned! :)

Calvin and I just got back from a wonderful week spent in one of my favorite places in the US: Chicago!

I have always had an unexplainable love for this city and Calvin had never been. I also love the Cubs and have always wanted to go to Wrigley Field with my basketball-loving husband. So one of my Christmas presents from him was tickets to a game! Thus, our Chicago summer vacation was born.

He originally got tickets to see a game during our anniversary week back in May, but since we kinda made a super big purchase that month {a house!}, we decided to push the trip back to later in the summer. Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue with the tickets because the other cool thing he did was research all the rooftop venues that line the streets behind the outfield of Wrigley, and got our tickets from Beyond the Ivy. They are much easier to work than Ticketmaster, and they give you all-you-can-eat food and drinks, so it worked out perfectly.

We drove to Chicago on Saturday and made it there without any major incidents. At one point it did start pouring rain and we were a little nervous that we might need to pull over to wait it out, but it ended up being a short, summer thunderstorm and we drove out of it pretty quickly.

Once we got to the city and Calvin experienced driving in all their traffic, we were really ready to be at our hotel and park our car for the week.

We got checked in and parked, and then decided where we wanted to go eat. We ended up choosing Bucca di Beppo because I had been there before and it was a block from our hotel and we wanted something easy. They serve everything family style there so we split a huge meatball and a bowl of pasta and got sufficiently stuffed. After dinner we walked around the block for a bit, but then headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast at Orange. We found this, and most of the restaurants we ate at, on Yelp and it did not disappoint! It was a charming little place that made their own juices {you could even create your own} and they served orange coffee. I will admit I was a little hesitant about it, but it was actually pretty good if you can get used to a slightly acidic coffee! And the food was just as good as the drinks. Calvin had a decadent breakfast sandwich with fried eggs, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a zesty pesto and I had cinnamon roll pancakes. And yes, they were as good as that sounds.

After we ate breakfast we moved our car from the hotel’s garage to one slightly cheaper {read, still really expensive} and walked from there to the Field Museum.

We spent the majority of the day here wandering around the exhibits and staying out of the heat. I don’t remember ever visiting the Field Museum before, and Calvin could spend an entire day in almost any museum, so we had fun exploring it together. Sue the dinosaur and the Tsavo lions were a big hit, and Calvin loved the Egyptian mummy exhibit. We definitely recommend carving out some time to spend here if you’re ever in Chicago!

We ended up skipping lunch since we ate such a big breakfast, so we had an early dinner at a local place called Flo & Santos where we ate sum yummy bruschutta and shared a thin crust pizza. I know, I know, Chicago is known for their deep-dish pizza. But don’t worry; we definitely had plenty of that later in the week!

We rode the L-train back to the area where our hotel was and enjoyed exploring Millennium Park and walking along the Chicago River before calling it a night.

I may be slightly obsessed with the Bean, aka the Cloud Gate!

But only slightly.

Awesome amphitheater

And some fun finds on our walk back…

The next day we had a light breakfast with some stuff we bought at Trader Joe’s {why doesn’t Memphis have one of those?!} and wandered around Nordstrom for a bit before we met a co-worker of mine for lunch. We ate at Yolk where we once again were blown away by the portions and couldn’t clean our plates before we were too stuffed to move. Are you sensing a theme yet? We vacation around our bellies and hop from restaurant to restaurant. There are no diets on a Morris vacation!

After we left Yolk we walked over to the John Hancock building and made a trip to the Observation Deck. We spent some time wandering around and admiring the city from every direction before heading up a few more stories to the Signature Room Lounge. My dad and I did this when we were in Chicago together a couple of years ago, and it is a really fun experience. Basically you’re overpaying for a cocktail to enjoy a bird’s eye view of Chicago while you sit and sip your drink 96 stories in the air. It’s a fun experience and you can save a few bucks by skipping the Observation Deck and going straight to the Signature Room since it’s basically the same view.

When we left the John Hancock building we decided to walk back down Michigan Avenue and check out some of the shops since many were closed the day before. Luckily, my husband is a pretty good shopper and let me spend over an hour in their four-story Crate and Barrel! {Memphis needs one of those too, though it’s probably much better for my wallet that we don’t have one}. And from there he even took me to buy shoes. Seriously, I am a lucky girl.

We were near the River when we finished shopping and were looking for a casual, inexpensive place to grab a quick bite and a drink while we ate and watched the boats drive by. So I asked the girl checking us out for recommendations. She gave me two: one was a really expensive, fancy steakhouse {looked fun and delicious, but not what we were going for} and the other was a pretty chilled out looking place with a really unusual name—Dick’s Last Resort. So we went there. And then later decided that the girl must not have liked me very much even though I did buy something, because who recommends a place where waiters are purposely rude to you to anyone they like? But after sitting down at our table on the patio, we discovered that’s exactly what this place was. It was pretty much a Chili’s in terms of quality of food plus the added perk of having your waiter insult you and act like they’re annoyed by you, for fun. Maybe that’s a cool thing if you’re with a big group of friends and looking for some laughs, but for a couple on vacation looking for a cool spot to eat along the River, it was not.

Needless to say, we quickly ate our food, finished our drinks, and left. We had been planning to try out a local basement wine bar Calvin had read about, so we made our way there and hoped it would redeem our weird dinner experience.

And it did! DiSotto Enoteca is likely a local favorite on the weekends, but it’s in the basement of another restaurant, so typical tourists wouldn’t just stumble upon it. But that’s what Calvin is good at. Give him a few minutes with Google and he’ll find a cool place that the guidebooks would never tell you about! And because they never attract drop-ins from people passing on the sidewalk, we ended up being the only ones there. A little awkward for me at first, but Calvin was loving the fact that we had the place and the waitress to ourselves.

We ordered several different tastings of red wines throughout the night, enjoyed some delicious appetizers and cheese, and had a great time hanging out together. There was a slight mishap involving the rickety table, Calvin’s glass of red wine, and my white shorts but we didn’t let it spoil our fun. And thanks to Pinterest my shorts are perfectly white again! :)

Days 4-7 coming soon!

On Customer Service and How Stitch Fix Got it Right

I just have to take a second to commend Stitch Fix on their excellent customer service. For a company still in beta, growing rapidly, and working feverishly to make every woman feel beautiful, they didn’t skimp on their commitment to customer service.

From the fun little gifts they send in each box to their well-maintained email account, they are striving to make everyone who creates an account with them feel important. It’s what makes them feel like my local boutique and gains my trust to continue coming back for more. It’s what distinguishes them from your big, corporate department store and it’s what will continue to make them successful.

Don’t believe me? Take this email for example:

Amanda Morris, Jul 26 01:48 pm (PDT):

“Hello! I got my first fix yesterday and had so much fun trying everything on! I updated my profile a little and just completed my shipment survey. Thanks so much for all your help and the fun experience so far!

But I had someone tell me today that they recently received a fix after signing up through my link, and I never got credit for that.”

The email goes on, but notice the time stamp—1:48 in California they received this email from me. I immediately got an auto-response from them that said this:

“Thanks for contacting Stitch Fix!  Your question (#6039) has been received, and is being reviewed by one of our stylists.  We’ll get back to you as soon as possible, within 1 business day.”

But who needs a full business day when you can fix it in 14 minutes?

Rochelle O’Sullivan, Jul 26 02:02 pm (PDT):

“Hi Amanda,

We’re so happy to hear you’re enjoying Stitch Fix! I added (insert friend’s name here) as your referral and applied the credit to your account, sorry that the link didn’t work! :) Let me know if you need anything else!”

Not only were they extremely prompt, but they resolved my issue no questions asked. And this is actually the third time I’ve contacted them and I’ve had the same experience every time.

Not bad for a company still in beta, huh? I think companies with this kind of marketing strategy and commitment to customer service are the future. Who wants to shop at a big box store when you could have this? Great job, Stitch Fix! Keep up the good work!

Want your own fix? Use this link. And please let me know if you’ve signed up and scheduled a fix! I’d love to hear how it works for you. But also, as you see from my email, sometimes the link doesn’t credit my account but they’re always willing to fix it if we tell them!

P.S. Stitch Fix didn’t pay or perk me to tell all my friends about them. I’m just super impressed with their business and want others to know!

My First Fix

We just got back from vacation where I did a wee bit of shopping, but not enough to keep me from being excited when I got my email notification saying my first fix from Stitch Fix was on its way! Read more about Stitch Fix from my last post, here.

When I checked at lunch today and saw it was “out for delivery” I tried everything to speed up the afternoon so I could get home to see what was inside. When 5:00 rolled around, I rushed straight home to find this pretty package on my porch.

and I was just as excited about what was inside. Wanna see?

Item #1:  Laying on top of the fun post-it notes they sent as a complimentary gift, was a pretty silver necklace. I definitely liked it, but it seemed pretty plain for $30. Although, I rarely buy jewelry and I don’t have any really long silver necklaces, so it’s not totally out of the running.

And I realized once I was done with my dress up session, that I never actually put this on with an outfit. Oopsies!

Item #2: The next item was a soft and flowy floral dress. I have a couple floral pieces in my closet, but it definitely isn’t the first pattern I’m typically drawn to, and for $121 I knew I was going to have to be wowed in order to keep it.

I have to admit, that even for a floral, girly dress I liked it. But it was a little shorter than I’m usually comfortable with, especially for work (which is what I primarily requested for this fix), so I don’t love it enough to keep it for $121. But I must admit that the necklace my friend Jessie made looks great with it!

Item #3: I knew when I saw the pattern of the next item that I was going to like it. But when I realized it was an open front, “faux wrap” {as they called it} I got nervous. But I liked both the looks on the style card they sent and the $62 price isn’t bad when you consider I’ve already paid for $20 of it, so I was willing to try it.

The picture is a little out of focus and I’m not sure what’s going on with my face, but I loved the look with jeans and my Toms ballet flats! But I just couldn’t seem to get the “faux wrap” to lay right. I feel like all the fabric was gathering above my waist and getting bunched up. And I was also worried that a strong wind would easily blow it open for everyone to see! I’m sure a cami would fix that fear, but I still have the bunching problem.

I felt way better about this dressier look when I saw it in the mirror than I do in this picture. The lighting makes the skirt look like it’s exactly the same color as the shirt and it just looks washed out. I was a little worried about this in the mirror, but by seeing the picture I’m sure I would want to wear this with a black skirt or something entirely different, if I keep it. I’m still up in the air on this one. I feel like it’s cute and different, but maybe not the best fit for me. Thoughts?

Item #4: I have mixed thoughts about this one too. It’s a sweet, feminine white blouse that kinda looks like you put it on backwards from the front, and that they didn’t quite finish making it from the back!

On the card, everything is cute and multi-functional…

and from the front it looks normal enough. Cute with jeans and could easily be dressed up for work…

but it’s a whole other story from the back. Definitely okay to wear out on the weekend with jeans {if I can get over my shirt being halfway open!}, but definitely not work appropriate with a skirt or dress pants like the card makes it seem. Unless your corporate office is very different from mine?!I just don’t think I can justify $88 for a fun weekend look.

Item #5: This was my favorite when I saw it in the box! I mean how did Stitch Fix know I bleed maroon and would need a cute skirt for my next trip to Starkville?

I love both of these looks, but don’t have a flowy sleeveless top like they paired the first look with.

So I went with this shirt instead. But without leggings? Oh my word, it’s short! When they said “mini” I didn’t know they meant that mini! Definitely too short for work without tights. But this? This I can do. I told you I bleed maroon, and I have the matching necklace and headband to prove it! And $68 for a skirt isn’t unreasonable to me. Especially when I’ve paid $20 towards it already. I was hoping to get  both summer and fall/winter seasons out of this, but I guess I can, just not at work.

So I’m pretty sure #5 is my keeper and I’m still on the fence about the faux wrap blouse from #3. Overall, I think Stitch Fix did a great job with my first shipment and they gave me a lot of versatile pieces that were close to my style, but edgy enough to bring me out of my comfort zone a little. The only thing I didn’t quite understand, was how some of these pieces could be a part of my work wardrobe, which is specifically what I asked for. I plan to update my profile a bit to let them know I’m not comfortable with skirts and dresses as short as the ones they sent me {the length is too short for my office’s dress code, and that’s primarily where I wear all my dressy outfits}. I’m also going to change the fact that I’m open to an open-back style, because after trying on that white blouse, I realized I’m not. And I’m going to take Keight’s advice about the jewelry, “interesting, statement jewelry only please!”

I’m really glad I tried this out and am hoping for an even better fix my next time around.

Okay so now it’s your turn. Comments on the looks? Are you going to try it out? If so, use this link!

P.S. Sorry for the yellowy light/lack of natural light and my messy, messy hair. I boycott the blow-dryer in the summertime, and it doesn’t help that my straightener is broken.

A New Way to Shop {AKA: Getting My Fix}

Calvin and I went shopping on Saturday and as much fun as it is to wander a store full of pretty clothes showing your husband everything you like, if he’s like my guy, it’s probably not his most favorite activity. But we don’t go shopping all that often and I rarely buy myself clothes, so Saturday was a treat and he was a trooper. (PS-I’ve discovered that iPhones have greatly increased a man’s patience while on such excursions with his wife—thanks Apple!)

But thanks to a new website called Stitch Fix, guys might soon find themselves in need of a new excuse to play Angry Birds. I heard about Stitch Fix from my friend, Raechel, then she convinced Keight to try it, so armed with both their opinions, I decided I had to try it out for myself!

So what is Stitch Fix and why will it make the guys in your life a little happier? Well, glad you asked! Stitch Fix is a new online company that takes information about your style preferences then sends you a shipment of five of their picks for you to try on in the comfort of your own home (see no dragging your guy to the mall!). You can schedule your fix at anytime (as often or as infrequently as you’d like) and there is no obligation to keep anything you may not like. Plus, free shipping both ways!

They are still in beta testing so you have to request an invite, but once you receive it it’s time to start completing your profile!

They’re very thorough and give you lots of opportunities to tell them about your lifestyle, preferences, and body type.

And once you’re done, just give them your shipping and billing information, then choose a date to receive your first fix! You can even enroll in automatic shipments (I think this will get you a fix per month), but I left mine blank so that I can just log-in and schedule the next one on my own. Each time you request a fix you will be charged $20. But this will apply towards the items you keep from that fix.

And when you think about how quickly you spend $20 (5 Starbucks frappuccinos, 2 lunches at your favorite deli, a pair of movie tickets), then it really doesn’t seem like that big of a risk. You get five items in every fix, so you have fairly good odds of at least liking one or two things!

And once you’ve completed your profile and scheduled your fix, all you have to do is wait patiently for it to arrive. I scheduled mine for the end of the month since we did just go shopping this weekend, but I already can’t wait for it to be waiting at my doorstep! I specifically requested some blouses and dresses that I can wear to work, and I made sure they knew I lived in a very hot/humid climate so I can’t wait to see what they pick out for me.

Okay now it’s your turn. Try it out and let me know what you think! Use this link to request your invite and be sure to let me know when your fix arrives!

Happy shopping (from the comfort of your couch) :)

A Big List of Morris News

I feel like I start all my posts with, “Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve updated our poor blog, let me catch you up!” and since that seems to be the reoccurring theme, maybe I should just admit to myself that I’m not a daily, weekly, or sometimes even monthly blogger.

So if we all agree there are no expectations for this little corner of the Internet, then I’ll write when I can and you can read when you want to, deal?

Ok, good. Now that we’ve got that out-of-the-way, what do you want to hear about first? The house? Our new favorite recipes? Neglected DIY projects? Penny? My new job? How hot it is in Memphis? My new obsession with Jerry’s Sno Cones? The LuvMud 5K?

Well, obviously that’s too many topics for one post so I’ll answer that string of questions with one sentence for each, and come back soon with longer, more exciting posts full of details and pictures.

The house is awesome and feeling more and more like ours each week. We have loved cooking in the big kitchen on a gas stove and trying out new recipes. Our current fav is this angel hair pasta and prosciutto recipe courtesy of Pinterest. We undertook several DIY projects right after we moved in and are planning to tackle a few more this weekend and over the holiday next week. Stay tuned.

Penny is loving her new-found freedom of being outside without a leash, and she recently had her canine friend Gracie over for a week. So it’s safe to say she’s pretty content.

Like how I threw a new job in the midst of this random list? So as of July 23rd I will be a Regional Account Manager for IP. I’ve LOVED my Supply Chain job and will miss my current group so much, but as a marketing grad I’m excited for this new opportunity. Way more to come on that!

It’s freaking hot in Memphis. I need a pool, lots of frozen alcoholic beverages, and sno cones to make it through this summer. Luckily, Jerry’s Sno Cones helps. I’d always heard of this place but never been until we moved. And it definitely lives up to its hype. It’s a Memphis must!

I ran in the LuvMud 5K last Saturday (an obstacle course 5K kind of like Warrior Dash) and it was fun but hot. I’ll leave you with a before and after picture of team Muddy Buddies.

Happy Friday friends! Back with more soon!

June Va-Voom

There are lots of updates coming soon, but for now I just wanted to pop in and tell you all about this fitness challenge I’m participating in.

You may remember my friend, Keight Dukes from when we ran the half marathon in December. Well she has put together a June fitness challenge (June Va-Voom) to provide some fun motivation and competition to work out for 30 days! When I heard about her idea, I immediately emailed her to tell her I was in. I have not been exercising like I want to and I attribute that to my laziness and lack of motivation. But I love a good competition, so I thought it’d be the kick in the pants I needed to get up off the couch.

Basically, there is a list of exercises you can do and each is assigned a certain number of points. It’s all things you can do at home like sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, etc. and running or some kind of cardio. She has mad Excel skills so she put together a spreadsheet for us to keep up with our workouts that calculates our points for us. Then she posted it in Google Docs and now we can see where we stand against the others who are competing. At the end of the month, the three people with the most points will get a prize—cash! We all paid ten dollars to join and so far there are 43 people participating. That’s $430 divided among the top three! Such a great motivation to work out for cheap!

And just to make it even more of a game and less of a workout routine, I decided to do the non-cardio exercises the “deck of cards” way. I’m sure many of you already know what this is if you played any kind of team sport in JV, high school, or college (ahem, Keight!), but if you’re a band nerd or just straight up not athletic like me, then you might be scratching your head right now.

Basically, you get a deck of cards, assign an exercise to each suite, shuffle the deck, and then flip over the cards one-by-one and do what it says. For example, if sit-ups are hearts and the first card is an eight of hearts, then do eight sit-ups. Jacks, Queens, and Kings are equal to ten, and Aces are eleven. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll get through a fourth of the deck and want to cry. But at least it’s a fun way to break up the monotony of doing sets of the same exercise over and over until you’ve worked your way through them all!

I am currently in 27th place because I was a slacker and didn’t start until yesterday, but I am excited about the 26 days ahead and will work extra hard to catch up and take home a prize! If you want to join us, I don’t think it’s too late. Just email me or Keight and I’m sure she’ll be happy to add you in. The more the merrier!

Now, I just have to figure out a way to convince all my Finding My Feet teammates to come run with us again in December. We are officially registered for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, but we haven’t started training yet. We have a Heroes team and would love some more teammates, so if you’re reading this you should consider signing-up! I know it’s cheesy, but I promise that if I can run 13.1 miles, so can you. Anyone want to join us?