Show Me Your Friday Face

We made it to Freedom Day…also known as Friday. Woo whoo!

This week has been hard on me. Like crazy hard. My day job has been crazy. I’m working hard on my side hustle with Beautycounter after I get home. I feel like I need a mental break. But this too shall pass .

I’ve been switching my my eyeshadow every few days since I got the gorgeous Winter Jewels Palette from Beautycounter. But I’m gravitating to certain ones over and over again.

In the Winter Jewels Palette, I’m completely in love with the Rose Gold eyeshadow. I’m wearing only that and the Volumizing Mascara in the photo above.

But I recently got the Nude Eye Trio from the Holiday Collection. The nude cream eye shadow is to die for. It’s the color of my dreams. Neutral with a hint of gray. I hope they keep those two shades after the holidays are over.

If you haven’t checked out the Holiday Collection, I highly recommend that you do. Everything is so gorgeous. Perfect for stockings. I can make recommendations for the special people in your life. So let’s give the gift of clean beauty.

Anyway, I didn’t intend for this to be a Beautycounter post, but I’m just really loving everything they’ve got going right now.

Happiest of Fridays, friends!

Building Community

Living in a small community has its perks.

I love the fact that I have a wonderful farmers market in my rural community. There are actually several, but I do have a favorite one.

And they take community seriously.

They took the time to host a community breakfast. And it was the most gorgeous set up I’ve seen. Surrounded by fall decor and pretty fall flowers, 50 people in our small community came together at a place we all love to eat breakfast and fellowship.

And it was absolutely beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. We had so much fun, and the food was all locally sourced.

I was all bundled up in my favorite winter hat, and Brad was looking mighty fine, too, even with his crazy eyes. We really have a hard time taking a “good” picture together. You’d think after two years we would have it figured out, but we definitely don’t.

Brad’s mom LaDonna was there, too. And so was his dad. And it was the perfect way to spend a cold Saturday morning.

We had coffee and omelets and homemade apple bread and locally sourced sausage, bacon and ham. And lots more. The good news is you can get all of that and more at Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock. I don’t do my shopping anywhere else. And I like it that way.

Eating locally sourced produce and meats has been so good for us. I can definitely say we have kept better eating habits since “cutting the cord” with the grocery store. And we have made some amazing friendships since spring. I can’t imagine not going to my favorite little farmers’ market now that it has become such a staple to my routine.

What are Saturday morning traditions? Do you shop local?

Eating Healthy is Hard

I’ve been struggling the last couple of days. I’ve fallen prey to donuts and cookies and cheese and trail mix. My body is not happy.

I went live on the Adventures to Wellness Facebook page talking all about it. And my very sad and empty pantry. If you haven’t followed over there, you definitely should.

But this morning I listened to a podcast, and I have a new attitude about staying on track.

Jen Hatmaker’s “For the Love” podcast featuring Danielle Walker from Against All Grain is on point. Danielle shares her thoughts on Paleo and Whole30 and how falling off the wagon keeps you humble.

Sometimes I get angry that healthy foods are so expensive. And that Food conglomerates own the good industry. And that people are sick from poor nutrition.

But all I can do it buy my foods from local farmers. Continue to live a Paleo lifestyle. Don’t settle for foods that are subpar regarding nutrition. And work toward my Food Freedom.

I am healthy and balanced.

I repeat that affirmation every morning during my Miracle Morning routine. Because I need to hear it. I need it reaffirmed every single day.

Because I value my health. And food is a key component in that.

What has inspired you to recommit to a goal you set?

Chili and Mashed Potatoes

Chili makes the world go round.

So does mashed potatoes.

Put them together, and you get all the best things in life.

I can’t say enough about this deliciousness. I had a major chili craving thanks to the cool snap in the weather.

I usually put it over mashed sweet potatoes, but I had creamer potatoes from the farmers market I needed to use.

And it was a yummy, filling dinner.

What do you put chili on?

Daily Burn Workouts

Thanks to the Miracle Morning, my workouts have been solid.

I haven’t missed one since I started the new morning routine. So that’s over a seven day workout streak.

I’ve talked about Daily Burn before, but I’ve really enjoyed the Barre Harmony workouts.

They are a combo of barre, ballet, yoga and Pilates. It’s one of the few workouts that I actually enjoy.

But to keep it fresh I mix in Cardio Sculpt and Power Cardio during the week. And I recover with yoga and mobility workouts on the weekends.

If you don’t live close to a gym, Daily Burn is the thing for you. I’ve really enjoyed getting my workouts in at home. And it doesn’t cost much to get started.

I can definitely tell I’ve gotten stronger. The sad tricep push-ups I started out doing have gotten better. And people have said my legs look more toned. That’s the barre classes.

What are your favorite ways to workout? Where do you go?