First 5K!!!

This past Saturday, I completed my first EVER 5K race! At the end of July, Dennis and I began a new quest to become more fit. We joined the gym and haven't looked back since! 

I have myself on a strict schedule of 3 days of running between 2-3 miles (using the Couch-to-5K app on my Iphone) and 2-3 days of either Turbo Kick (a cardio kickboxing class) or Zumba (aerobic dance). 

The 5K we (my sister-in-law, Jenny, and I and several of her friends) completed, was called the "Mud and Muck" Race. They were a super fun bunch!  The proceeds of the race went to benefit Harvesters. We ran the trail at Unity Village in Lee's Summit, plus they added a disgusting "mud pit". Which I chose not to partake in... As you can see in the picture below. 

Although I didn't go through the mud pit, my team greeted me at the finish line with a giant hug! So, I got a little muddy :)

The back of the team tank tops! I dubbed myself "Meatball", as in MEATBALL PROBLEMS!!!! 

The front of the team tank. The team name was "The Real Housewives/Husbands of Lee's Summit", but seeing as we live in Waldo, mine was a little different! 

We all had so much fun, we plan to do another 5K together in October! Can't wait!!!

Trash The Dress!

Well, I'm sure there are many ladies out there who wonder to themselves; "what the heck do you do with your wedding dress once the wedding is over?!". I pondered this exact question for several months and finally decided to do something I saw on a T.V. show before I got married... A "Trash the Dress" photo shoot! My photographer, Mike Freeland and his team at Freeland Photography( freelandphotography.com), were happy (ecstatic is more the word) to oblige me in my request. This was a first for their studio. 

I worked with Tiffany Buckley, who has been involved in ALL of the photographic aspects of my wedding. She shot my bridal formal and was the second shooter for both our wedding and engagement pictures. She is just sensational! Her creativity astounds me and she never disappoints when it comes to capturing my personality in our sessions! 

These photos were taken at the Little Blue River in Grandview, MO (Dennis' home town. Bulldogs for LIFE!) It really is such an under-utilized area... I had no idea how beautiful it really is!

My mother is dying right now!! I didn't tell her about the shoot... I took my dress to the cleaners FIRST thing the next morning! She'll never know, right?!

Love this picture :) My husband is such a beefcake... 

New Ink

On July 14th (my half birthday), I rewarded myself for losing a total of 110 pounds with a fabulous tattoo :) Courtesy of Alex from Irezumi on Wornall!

"Mai pui" means "Never again" in Italian.
I got this as a constant reminder of  what I "never again" want to be!

Later that night, Dennis and I headed to Westport for the Food Truck Festival-Burger edition. We were pretty disappointed. By the time we got there, almost everyone had sold out of food. We ended up with some mediocre gyros from Rockin' Moroccan and cupcakes from 3 Women and an Oven (that were delicious, but very hard to eat! I was a total mess!!!). We then ventured to the Riot Room to hear a friend's band play. Here's how the conversation between Dennis and I went:

Me: "Hey you want to go see Chris' band play at Riot Room?"
Den: "Yeah, sure."
::Walk up to pay for tickets::
Me: "Oh yeah, I should probably tell you... They're like a screaming death metal band!"
Den: "Meh... Whatever!"

Here I am at the show... "Captain Hardcore", herself!

Copy Cat Jose Pepper's Cheese Crisp Salad with Tomatillo Ranch dressing

This is my absolute favorite thing to get a Jose Pepper's! A salad at a Mexican restaurant, you ask? Yes, I know it's weird! But it has all my delicious favorites rolled into one amazing salad!

BEHOLD...

Shear deliciousness :)

Here's what you'll need for the salad:
(This is for 1 serving)

-1/4 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
-1 large flour tortilla

-1/2 cup of Spanish rice. I made my own (recipe below), but you can use any kind of pre-made brand, if you don't have time to cook a batch.
-1/2 cup Romaine lettuce
-2 oz Chili Lime marinaded chicken strips from Trader Joe's (or any other kind you like)
-1/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
-1/4 cup pico de gallo. I made my own (recipe below), but you can use any prepared brand
-1/4 feta cheese

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375
2. Place your tortilla in a cereal bowl and top with cheese. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until tortilla is golden brown. This creates the "bowl" for your salad.
3. While tortilla bowl is cooking, heat chicken and black beans in a medium sized pan on medium-high heat. Only until warm.
4. Assemble your salad. Mine was as follows: rice, lettuce, chicken/bean mixture, pico, and cheese.

Let's talk dressing! I went the easy route and used a pre-made salsa verde and bottled ranch and mixed them together. But there are lots of recipes out there to make your own from scratch.

Spanish brown rice
-2 cups uncooked Minute brown rice
-1 3/4 cups water
-1 can summer corn
-2 tablespoons Spanish Garden's taco seasoning
-1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
-1/4 tablespoon chili powder
-1/4 tablespoon salt

Mix all ingredients and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until rice is tender

Homemade Pico De Gallo
-1 large, ripe tomato
-1 medium white onion
-1/4 cup cilantro
-1 lime
-salt
-garlic powder

1. Chop onion into chucks, add to food processor with cilantro. Pulse until onion is minced
2. Dice tomato into bite-sized chucks
3. In a bowl, combine tomato, onion and cilantro.
4. Squeeze lime juice over ingredients and season with garlic powder and salt to taste.

Festa Italiana!

Jen and I enjoying some delicious frozen Bellinis!

Last weekend was Unico's annual Italian Festival in Zona Rosa. Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger with more things to see and do! This year, we took Casey and Jennifer; as they had never been. I think this quote sums up their experience..."Now I know what it feels like to be in New Jersey!"

I think they had fun... They said it was "people watching" at it's best!

"Cartoon" Lori and Jen :)

Nail Madness 2

Next week we are headed to Jamaica for our friends', Bryan and Ann's, wedding. Well, you can't go to the beach without a proper mani/pedi!

I mulled over tons of my Pinterest findings, finally settling on white with silver and gold glitter. The picture above is the inspiration from Pinterest, the bottom is my actual foot :)

We bought a house!!!

We are SO excited to announce that, as of Friday, we are officially HOMEOWNERS!! We purchased a beautiful house just off Ward Parkway on a very quiet cul-de-sac. We have spent many hours preparing for our big move on Saturday the 26th; including painting almost EVERY room of the house!

I think home ownership looks good on us! What do you think????