February Challenge ("get my butt in gear") Recap!

Well well well, if it isn't March knocking on our doors! February seemed to come and go quickly, and while it is the shortest month, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that Alex is far away (sad face) and I was left to "get my butt in gear" all alone. Poo.

My challenge to myself this month was to 1) track my calories every. single. day. No excuses. And 2) work out/get active at least 3 times a week. I am happy to report that I successfully did both of those things!

It feels great to be active again. I am really trying to push myself a little more each time. It's rewarding to feel myself getting stronger.

For tracking calories, I use the My Fitness Pal app (it's also a website) and I love it. It makes it super simple to keep track of what you're putting in your body. The downside? It requires that you measure or at the very least guestimate portion sizes. So in the morning when I pour my cereal, I use a measuring cup (and when I pour the milk, too). It's an extra step, but it's worth it.

Another cool thing about the app is that you can tell it what your goals are: for example, you can say you want to lose 1 lb a week, which is a pretty normal diet goal. That's the setting I had it on last time, and it's tough. But it works if you stick to it.

This time, I set a goal of 1/2 a pound a week. I knew it would be easier (you get a lot more calories per day that way!) and help ease myself back into the process.

haha yes...this isn't far from the truth at times!

Since February 1, I have lost 4 pounds. I kind of like the "slowly but surely" approach. I get more calories, but I'm still losing weight. And I feel good. Win/win.

Another month down, another challenge completed. Tomorrow I'll announce my challenge for March! What will it be, what will it be?? Honestly, I'm not 100% sure yet...guess I should nail that down in the next 18 hours or so!

Alright, if you didn't love Destiny's Child circa 1999, we are no longer friends. I kid, I kid. But seriously, Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle were blared many a times from my high school ride. Good times...

This link-up is all about how we landed on the blog name that we have! So fun! Obviously, my blog's name is Young & Southern. When I began blogging a little over a year ago, I was a newlywed. (I guess I'm still kinda a newlywed, but it will be 2 years in July, so I don't really consider us newlyweds anymore). I didn't want to use "newlywed" or anything relating to it in my blog name, because if there's one thing I learned from "Newlyweds" with Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, it's that when you name something, pick a name that will last and still be relevant in a year! (Or, MTV, pick a couple that will last. Sigh.)

Anywho, Alex and I both take a lot of pride in the fact that we're Southern, and I think that affects a lot of things we do, a lot of the choices we make, and a lot of the things that make us, us. For instance, college football is king. We love sweet tea. Snail-mail Thank You notes and Just Because notes are must-dos. Monogramming everything we own, friends and family with double names, and Carolina BBQ are facts of life that we love. Life might take us out of the South at some point, but no matter where we live, Southern we will be.

Now for the "Young" part: unlike Southern, we won't always be young of course. But I truly believe that we will be young in our hearts. We met when we were in our early 20s, young by any standard. And although Alex recently hit the 30 mark and I will be there in 18 months, I still picture us as 24 and 23, like we were when we met.

And there you have it: Young & Southern.

A sweet surprise

Alex was supposed to come home this afternoon and stay just for the night, since he is living in GA right now. I saw him the weekend after Valentine's Day, so it hasn't been tooooo long, but of course I miss him a ton.

Last night, as I was hanging around the house and getting everything tidied up, the doorbell rang. It was about 8:30, so I thought it was weird. Don't worry, I did NOT answer the door! But then my phone rang and it was the Hubs. He said, "You know, it's hard to surprise you when you won't open the door!" I ran to the door and opened it to find him standing there, complete with flowers. It was such a sweet surprise to have him home for an extra day, and one day early!

We're having a little date night tonight, and I am really looking forward to spending some much-needed time with him!

I know a lot of girls claim they have the best husband in the world, and I don't want to start any disputes...but mine is pretty dang amazing, ladies.

My little weekend sewing project!

This weekend, I broke in my new sewing machine and got to work! I have been wanting to make new pillows for our living room for months. I would be lying if I said that throw pillows weren't at least 60% of the reason I begged for a sewing machine in the first place.

We had plenty of throw pillows, most of them from Pottery Barn, all in the coral/yellow/brown families. They all looked so pretty together. But two of them died (I do not recommend the chenille pillow covers from PB - they will not hold up to a dog of any size! Plus, the feathers from the inserts stick through and poke you) and two that I got from Homegoods were on the verge of death. We were left with a few mis-matched pillows, and a few naked feather/down pillow inserts.

I was on the hunt for pretty fabric, when I found these swatches that matched the colors we already had in play:

 

After mulling it over for a few days, I went forth with my purchase (hey, I had to think about it - good fabric ain't cheap, my friend!).

Then I had to get my sewing machine out of the  box and actually thread the sucker. I hadn't touched a sewing machine in years, so I was pretty rusty.

After several hours of measuring, cutting, sewing, and re-sewing a few edges, I was done! Not to toot my own horn, but I even put zippers in them! (toot, toot!) I have never fooled around with putting zippers in anything I've sewn, so I was pretty proud of myself.

 

 I couldn't wait to get them on the couch! I am absolutely loving the way they look in our living room!

In case you're wondering, the solid coral pillow covers are from Pottery Barn and the solid brown covers are from Hobby Lobby. I plan to make several more pillows with the remaining fabric, but I need to purchase more zippers and pillow inserts first!

That was my Saturday project! I feel so accomplished :)

Penny modeling the pillows./ She's a big fan/

Friday's Letters & a sneak peek

Heck yes - it's Friday! Get excited!

Dear Alex: I really don’t like this long-distance thing. I miss you all the time: when I wake up, when I get home from work, when I eat dinner, when I go to bed. But I am so proud of you and I know you are loving your new gig! It will lead to great things for us, I just know it.

Dear house: I am on a rampage lately, I know. But in a good way. I have the décor bug and all I want to do is update, redecorate, clean,and make you pretty!

Dear Ellie: I’m trying to be sweet to you by letting you sleep in our room about half of the nights in each week. But if you continue to wake me up 7+ times a night, I’ll be forced to leave you in your crate. You’ve been warned.

Dear Penny: sorry for letting Ellie sleep in our room…I know that’s your territory…

Dear winter: I know a lot of people are giving you a hard time already, but I’m not over you. Not yet. I know that it won’t be too long before I we’re all complaining about how hot it is.

Dear fabric store: eeeeeek! I am in love. And now that Ihave a sewing machine, you better WATCH OUT! I just wish your fabrics weren’t so expensive. Probably a good thing or I would be buying a lot more…

Dear followers: thanks for being patient with me and my lack of posts lately. Honestly, I haven’t had much to say in the past few weeks, and I don’t want to post something just to post if that makes sense. Thanks for your comments, your loyalty, and for reading – it means SO much and you make me smile!

What is everyone doing this weekend? Here is a little sneak peek of a project I am working on and hope to have completed this weekend:

Intrigued? I'll be sharing as soon as it's done! Can't wait!

Have a fabulous weekend, dears!

Wintry weekend

I spent the weekend down in Macon with my hubby and got to see where he is currently living, working and studying (!). Although he had to work a lot on Saturday, we still got to spend some quality time together and have a little belated Valentine's Day dinner on Friday night.

All winter long, I have been longing for the white stuff to come our way. Ya know, a little bit of snow. So wouldn't you know that on Saturday, when I was 3.5 hours South, the snow came to Greenville. Now, the two biggest reasons that I wanted snow this year was 1) our house has been built for 2 years now and I've never seen it covered in snow and 2) Ellie has never seen snow!

I kept seeing friends' pics on FB and Instagram and it was clear that we got a really good snow, like several inches. I was so sad that we weren't there to see it! Furthermore, Ellie was at the boarder in Greenville for the weekend, so she saw it for the first time without us there to see her reaction. Bummer.

So on Sunday, we got up early because Alex had to work anyway, and I hit the road, trying to make it home before all the glorious snow melted. This is what I came home to!

A lot of it had already melted, but at least I got to see the yard covered in a perfect white blanket of snow. :) As for the pups: I couldn't get them from the groomer until the afternoon, and by then, almost all of it had melted. But there are still a few patches left in the backyard that Ellie enjoyed playing in.

I can't help but hope that we get just one more snowfall this year (when I am actually in town to see it falling!). Then my winter will be complete and I will welcome spring with open arms! 

Happy love day | Life lately

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovebirds out there! And for all the single ladies, happy Single Awareness Day (yuck!!!). [Don't feel bad, I'm a married gal and I will be spending my V-Day alone, since the hubby is in GA]. Regardless, I hope you all are feeling the love today from someone!

At my house, Penny is rocking her "Little Valentine" shirt, while Ellie is pining for a red velvet cupcake (fat chance there, pup). While I won't get to see my Valentine today, I will see him tomorrow when I head down to Macon for the weekend!

 

the meds!

My posts have been a little sparse lately, and I'm sorry about that. Life lately has been a little crazy. I started my Humira this week for treating my Crohn's. I went Tuesday morning to the doc so they could show me how to inject it and I had 2 injections then. On Wednesday, I was scheduled for 2 more injections, which I very bravely gave myself! It was a moment on triumph for sure!!

My injections

I also found out yesterday that one of my best friends (and the friend I've known the longest) is pregnant with a little girl!! I am so very happy for her! All my friends are having little girls, which is so much fun. But one of these days, I'm going to need a little boy to spoil, too!

Other than that, I have been adjusting to life at home without Alex around. I've been a little blue and lonely, but I know it will all pay off and this decision we made together is going to benefit us in a huge way in our future. It's just hard to be patient :)

I hope you all have a great Valentine's day! xoxoxo