Travel

***Disclaimer: We paid for all of our travel expenses out of our own pocket. Any mention of companies or their likeness is purely out of recognition and please know that we did not receive anything free for our recommendations.***

First things first, we have a plain and simple rule when we travel and we really try not to break that rule. That is that we don't eat at any places we could eat at home. That usually means no McDonald's, Chic-Fil-A, or anything else like that but I will divulge that I consumed Chipotle on the first night of this trip because walking around downtown DC with every restaurant having a 2+hour wait time will make you crave the comforts of home haha!

I also feel that it is appropriate to divulge that we do not mind using Uber, public transportation, or just our plain old two feet to get around while we're in a new city so if you cannot handle that, this blog post is not for you!

When we were planning my 30th birthday trip, I was clueless at what exactly I wanted to do. it ultimately ended up being Stuart's idea of Washington, DC as our destination. It was a place that I had been begging to go for years and it was just enough sight-seeing for our 4 days in the city.

We happened to be driving by our local Amtrak station one night (that happens to be 5 minutes from our house!) and we both had the realization that we should take the Amtrak as a part of this once in a lifetime adventure!

Amtrak Travel: approximately $350.00

When traveling Amtrak, you have a ton of choice but our most logical option within our time frame (which was less than a month before our trip 😬) was the  reserved coach seats which gave us 2 seats together in a train car similar to an airplane. But the big differences were that we had so much leg room! (similar to the exit row of an airplane) and that we could move about the train cars any time we wanted! This is especially helpful because loading the train car at 5:00am meant that my coffee that I consumed while loading the car hit me about an hour outside of Camden! haha!

The biggest seller of train travel for us was that we could carry so much more than we could when traveling by air! We were allowed up to 4 checked bags, 2 carry on bags, and 2 personal items/bags. Now, our local Amtrak station does not allow checked bags so we didn't even explore that route but not having to worry about the weight of my carry on luggage was a game changer!

The biggest downside fo train travel was not something that we really experienced but just a few days before we left, it definitely made the news! An Amtrak train stuck for 36 hours! 😩 My dad actually texted me that article the day before we left and honestly, that was all I could think about the entire ride! But in our favor, this trip was uneventful and we made it in the recommended trip time! I will caution you that if you have a tight schedule, Amtrak is not for you. Anything can happen along the way and deter the trip.

We arrived in Washington, DC around 2:45pm and at Union Station, you can find all of the eating and shopping facilities that you need! for me, I had been craving a Shake Shack Burger so that is what we had as soon as we got off the train!

Shack Shack: approximately $20.00

After I got my fill of Shake Shack, we headed for the Metro, which is right outside the Union Station in DC. We always opt for the unlimited ride passes on metro systems in larger cities so we paid $60 per person for a 7 day unlimited pass (we normally gift our cards to hotel personnel before we leave so we feel that it is not a waste.)

Metro passes: $120 for the whole trip

We didn't know it at the time but we realized that our hotel had a shuttle from the Pentagon City Mall to our hotel almost around the clock every day so we tried to time our Metro trips with those shuttle times when we could. We ended up having to book an Uber twice while we were there so we will add those into our travel for the sake of cost.

2 Uber trips: approximately $18.50 (includes fare plus tip) 

We were pleasantly surprised to realize that most of the attractions in Washington, DC are free! All of the Smithsonian museums are free admission and so are the National Archives, Library of Congress, US Capitol, and the White House. The US Capitol can be booked in a group tour but we adamantly advise that you book through your local congressman's office. This is also how you would book a visit through the White House and even if you can't get into the White House at first, be patient! We found out the day before we left that we got into a last minute spot on a White House tour on our last day in the city and it is completely worth it!

As far as the monuments go, you can visit them whenever you'd like. We walked to most of them from the National Mall and didn't feel like the crowds were overwhelming.

Arlington National Cemetery has two highlights that we absolutely recommend visiting. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the graves of John F. Kennedy and his Family. We found that waiting until the last hour of the day (around 4:00pm as they close at 5:00pm) is the perfect amount of time to walk to both of these sites without much distraction and the crowds are almost non-existent.

During the days, we packed light with Stuart only carrying his wallet and phone, and me only carrying a small clutch with a phone, wallet, and chapstick (because the weather was FRIGID!) This made going through security relatively easy but still be prepared to strip all of your outer layers going through security!

When it comes to breaking down a food budget, we kinda played both sides of the fence. We packed snacks for the train ride and waited until we got into the city to have a full meal. Although Amtrak has a full cafe car that has sandwiches and snacks readily available from 6am-11pm on most trains. (We did partake in their coffee about halfway through our trip there! 😉)

While you're in the city, you can spend any amount of money that you'd like on food while you're there. We utilized a free breakfast one morning thanks to our hotel rewards program but then spent money at a real patisserie another morning. Really, you can do whatever you feel! There is even a McDonald's or Starbucks on just about every corner. Even when it comes to lunches and dinners, we ate everything from sit down dinners to food court dinners. You can really make this trip as expensive or as cheap as you'd like. And especially since you can bring more items along on an Amtrak train, we packed our own alcohol in "cruise flasks." 😂 (sorry Mimi!)

We recommend starting to plan this trip no later than 3 months in advance. That is the prime time to book tours to the White House and US Capitol so start there first. Depending on the time of the year, you can hold off on booking travel and hotel like we did. (HAHA we book our train tickets less than a month before we left and our hotel less than 2 weeks before!)

I would recommend spending the most of your budget on souvenirs (after your hotel and travel!) I couldn't leave any of the gift shops without buying something for myself or our niece and nephew!

Stuart and I are always welcome to questions about our travels and how we make them happen! So please feel free to ask us questions and we will help as much as we can!

Train travel:~$475.00 (includes 2 round trip train tickets and 2 unlimited metro passes)
Hotel: ~$350.00
Food: ~$375.00 (includes snacks, meals, etc. for the entire 4 days)
Uber: ~$20.00
Souvenirs: ~$150.00 (I bought a lot of books while we were there!)

Total: ~$1370.00

Introductions

It has been WAY too long since I used this blog (excluding last night's post obviously!) So I decided to do a little introduction to update everyone on who we are and what we love!

-Stuart turned 30 this year and we rang in his 30th in NYC!

-He works full time for the 246 Army Band in the Army National Guard and he honestly loves every minute of it! He gets to travel our great state with the band and play for some of the best people!

-He also plays in a New Orleans style brass band called Soda City Brass Band and they are awesome! 

-I work full time as a Toddlers Lead Teacher at a local private, Christian preschool and it is amazing! Who knew that I'd love to use sign language to communicate and change diapers all day?! 💖

-I am in school for an Associates in Early Care and Education and hope to pursue my Bachelors in Behavioral Health with emphasis in Childhood and Adolescent Disorders and do ABA therapy in the very near future!

-We just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and are loving life together!

-We recently got to see Muse and 30 Seconds to Mars in concert which was definitely on Stuart's bucket list and was a night to remember! 

We hope to keep sharing our lives with you and we hope you'll keep reading!

Season of Change

Back on Labor Day of this year, Stuart and I went with our realtor to look at potential houses for us. We found a house we loved and the price was just what we were comfortable with. So that week, we put in our offer and started packing up our rental in Forest Acres. On September 30, we moved out of our rental and into Stuart's parent's house for the short 3 weeks between our move out and our closing on the new house.

Long story short, we never closed on our house. In fact, this week we backed out of our contract and decided that that house was no longer in our future. I'd like to say that I was devastated but honestly, I wasn't. I was at peace with the whole thing before we even knew it wasn't going to happen. You see, we had been made to jump through hoops over the past 3 months that just made me TIRED. I would go to work every day and just be on edge waiting to hear the news on the house EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And let me tell you, that is no way to live.

So... where I would have normally decorated for Christmas at the beginning of November, I spent the first week of December finally moving into our "for now" home (AKA apartment that happens to be bigger than our rental house downtown 😳) and I can't help but struggle to get into the Christmas spirit. At almost 29 years old, I have learned through this process that sometimes God just says flat out NO. And we need to be okay with that. And let me tell you, I do not like to be told no. Just ask my husband! 😏

But here's what it taught me... No is okay. No is normal. No shows you what's truly important. No really just means "I've got something better for you!"

So here I am, laying next to my snoring husband in our apartment adjusting to our new normal. We are okay with it but I can't say that I don't still cry over what I thought my Christmas and life would be like in that house. We are just trusting that the Lord knows our needs better than we do and that He has the BEST for us in mind.

Recipes We Love

So today is the first Monday of the new year and I am so thankful to have one more day of winter break! Stuart went back to work today though and he started on Whole30 today so yesterday I took some time to prep a few things for him. These are staples in our house each week and they are super easy!

Whole30 Basic Vinaigrette (this makes 1 cup and only takes like 5 minutes. We easily double the recipe or I will make 1 or 5 jars at a time ;))
-1/4 cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
-3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

This goes great over salads obviously but I also love to use it with my sliced bell peppers for snacks.

Whole30 Basic Mayonnaise (makes 1.5  cups)
-1 1/4 cups light olive oil (this is important. you must use light or you will remake this 5 times like I did my first time)
-1 large egg
-1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-Juice of 1/2 lemon

Place 1/4 cup of olive oil, the egg, mustard powder, and salt in a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. While the food processor or blender is running (or while mixing in a bowl with an immersion blender), slowly drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of olive oil. After you've added all the oil and the mixture has emulsified, add the lemon juice, blending on slow or stirring to incorporate.

This mayo is a staple because you can use it like you would normally use mayo or if you're like me and don't do mayo, you can switch out the lemon juice for lime juice, throw in some cilantro, and it makes an awesome "sauce" over a steak.

I use this mayo to then make Stuart's chicken salad. He eats this by itself or over lettuce. I got this recipe from my aunt when she sent it to me she just said, "These are the ingredients. Add them and mix til it tastes right." (We get it honest. Mimi never measures. You always just add and mix til it "feels right")

Chicken Salad
-Shredded chicken breast
-Mayo (I use less because we like a dry chicken salad but that's up to you)
-celery, chopped to your liking (we like it a little more chunky)
-parsley flakes
-salt and pepper to taste

I just throw everything in my Ninja with the dough blade attachment and mix until it is all combined. It's that easy and extra yummy!

We keep eggs (fresh and hard boiled), clementines or mandarins, bell peppers, and bananas around all the time for "snacks"

As for an update of our weekend and how we've done with our plans. It was not a success but it was not a complete failure either. We walked 3.5 miles Saturday and Sunday which was nice. We did kinda okay with our eating but we did go to Sonic for ice cream last night ;( Stuart said it was our last blow out with sweets haha.

So what are some of y'all's favorite healthy recipes that you make each week? 

Here We Go!

So today is January 1st and as I said, today was SUPPOSED to be the start of a new lifestyle. But things do always work out the right way do they? We had meals at both of my grandparents houses today. One for lunch and one for dinner. Let me tell you, that is always some GOOD food but boy do I have self-control problems when we go there. Cornbread and sweet tea get me every time.

So tomorrow I will wake up to a new day and a new opportunity to put my plan into action. I don't start my AdvoCare All-In 24 Day Challenge until January 11 but I am going to start eating clean and exercising now to get ready. If you're interested in more info about the challenge or just about AdvoCare in general, check it out here or feel free to ask me! 

As far as meals this week, I am working on our menu and I'll be making chicken salad with Whole30 mayonnaise and a few other staples. This pork loin recipe is going in the crockpot tomorrow for our dinner and the leftovers will be for lunches this coming week. Tomorrow I'll post about the recipes we love to use each week and what we prep on the weekends to get ahead for the week.

New You Resolution

Y'all. First of all, it's been almost a year since I've written anything on this blog. Actually, I've written a lot but never finished anything to publish. I'm not really surprised. I wasn't a good "finisher" this year.

So for 2016, I'm going to do something about it. My "resolution" is to end 2016 better than I started it. Easy enough right? Not really. I have some specific health and wellness goals but I feel like putting them into words is setting myself up for failure. So this is what I've come up with... Bear with me because theis may get wordy. ;)

Long story short, after a little over 4 years of marriage, I've gained a substantial amount of weight. After taking into account that I was a little on the "too skinny" side before, I have set a weight loss goal for myself for this year. I'm not gonna get specific with numbers on here yet but just know that the ultimate goal is going to require a total change. A reinvention if you will.

So that leads me to the re-branding or reinvention of my blog. The Cupcake Intervention is going to be about my daily (read "hourly") struggle with sweets and all things not-so-good for me. I will share goals, stories, achievements, recipes, and ideas as I dig through the "healthy" stuff and find the "good AND good for me" stuff.

I will be blogging at least every other day but let's be honest... some days there won't be much to report. But other days there will be so much that y'all may just get tired of hearing from me ;)

Oh, and you'll hear about Hubs and his journey as well. His is different than mine but still the same on so many levels!

Now excuse me while I go drown in the sea of Christmas meals and homemade sweets! ;)

2015

2015 is just a few days away and we have been talking a lot about resolutions around here! Although we don't actually call them resolutions because we're more likely to succeed without the pressure of a new year's resolution ;)

I find that when you share your goals with people, you find common ground and in turn, find accountability. I'm not good a being vulnerable so here goes nothing...

1. This is a two part goal- the first part is to rock my bikini in the Bahamas over Spring Break. This means no feelings of needing to cover up or hide! Then I want six pack abs! I know, it's a little reaching but I'm willing to work on it. This will obviously be null and void if I get pregnant but a girl can dream right?!

2. Read a book a month. We actually are allowing ourselves to count the books we are reading right now so I'm hoping to add the first one to my list by the end of the week! Right now I'm reading "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!) and "The Best Yes" by Lysa TerKuerst.

3. I am going to spend this year really digging into the Word. I plan on using podcasts and studies to dig deeper and to really learn more about the Bible. Thankfully I have a husband who has been doing this for years so I have a great resource to answer all the questions I may have and someone to encourage me to continue. If anyone wants to join me, let me know! I'd love to have some ladies studying along side of me! :)

Well... that's all we have so far. I like to give myself smaller goals that I can build on and grow in so we'll see how it goes. I will try to update the blog (easier said than done) on where I am with everything and I hope to hear your "resolutions" so that I can cheer you on as well!