Living Room Paint

This week has been completely house-centric.  We only have a few days left to prepare before we move our stuff in, so we're hustling to get as much painting done as possible!  On Saturday we picked out our paint colors at Home Depot, and I was shocked when the bf agreed to go with Tropical Coral for our living room!  We got the paint mixed, and as he was carrying it around in the store a woman approached him to say what a "pretty" color it was!  Her seemingly innocent comment started an avalanche of second thoughts.  The woman working the cash register did not help the situation by telling us the color was "awfully feminine."  Yeah, I was pretty annoyed by that.  Don't judge our paint color!  Just take our money, lady!  Here's a pic of the living room when we saw the house for the first time (and no, we didn't get to keep Bambi's head).

Here's the living room now with one coat of Tropical Coral on the walls...

I'll admit, it looks kiiiind of pink in this pic, but I promise, it works in real life!  We're keeping the trim white and we have dark wood furniture that will contrast nicely with the coral.  Life is too short for white walls, right?

A Healthier Cookie

I've made these grain free cookies a couple of times this summer when I had a craving for a doughy dessert and I'm obsessed!  (Disclaimer: Honestly they're like eating cardboard compared to my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies, but I have to wait until after bikini season to eat those!) They're not very sweet because they don't have added sugar, and but have a hint of banana flavor to them (due to banana being one of the main ingredients).  If you can get past the fact that they are not sugary sweet, and just enjoy the bit of chocolate and the doughy consistency, you'll love them! 

Have you tried grain free or Paleo cookie recipes before? How did they turn out?

House Update

What a week!  I got back from San Diego Wednesday night and the bf and I closed on our house Thursday morning! It's such a relief to have the everything in place.  Since officially becoming homeowners, we haven't wasted one second working on our place.  We'll move in at the end of the month, so we have a great opportunity to paint while it's relatively empty (we've been moving our stuff into the new place each trip we make).  We literally worked all weekend and I'm exhausted!  We are thrilled with the progress we've made so far in the kitchen.  Check out our handiwork!  Here are some before shots...

 And this is what it looks like as of 8:30pm tonight...

I am such a DIY nerd.  I woke up at 6:00am Saturday morning because I couldn't wait to go to Home Depot to get paint!  We're going to spend the next three nights this week painting the new casa, then we have to leave town for the weekend for a family event, which will be a welcomed break from our house project.  Now I'm off to scrub paint off of my arms and legs and get some sleep so I can be ready to get back at it tomorrow night!

GBTA in San Diego

Every year I attend the Global Business Travel Association convention.  This year it was in sunny San Diego.  No complaints here!

The view from my room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  This is the only time of year that we get to stay at a fancy hotel because we always stay at the "official convention" hotel.  The rest of my trips are typically at La Quinta, which is fine.  But this is better.  :)

Orange County Weekend

This weekend I went to Orange County to visit one of my favorite people ever!

Monica, my pot luck roommate from college, moved out here a year ago.  I think the Cali lifestyle suites her. :)

Dark "Chocolate" Smoothie

Chocolate has been on my mind this week.  Something happens in the summer with my sweet tooth.  It's out of control!  Instead of buying a 300 calorie sugar-laden café mocha to quell my cravings, I've made a couple of "healthy" chocolate smoothies this week.  These things all over blogland as of late.  I first learned about them from Kimberly Snyder but have recently seen similar recipes on Eat Yourself Skinny and Sea of Shoes.

 It's pretty simple.  These are the ingreds- almond milk, cacao powder, a frozen acai berry packet, avocado, and stevia.  Throw them into your blender (I swear by my Vitamix) and you have a chocolate-y, filling little meal!

You can find the recipe here.  Enjoy!

Summer Bucket List

Earlier this summer I made a short list of things I want to do before fall arrives.  Here's my list with my progress so far...

1.  Try windsurfing.  Done!  It was a blast and the bf and I hope to buy our own windsurf boards (after we buy our house).
2.  Try stand up paddleboarding.  I'm doing this very soon thanks to a coupon for one free rental at White Rock Lake Paddle Co!
3. Visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
4.  Have at least one picnic in a park.  My bf and I had one lovely picnic at Klyde Warren Park.
5.  Visit SMU's campus and see the Meadows Museum of Art and the George Bush Presidential Library.
6.  Take a day trip to Galveston Island.  Planning to go later this month
7.  Purchase a bike.

What new things have you tried this summer?