katiehigg – Page 15

01/13

Monday Morning Ramblings

Seriously ya’ll, my weekend flew by.

I wanted to get my tree taken down, but here I am on Monday, with the tree still up! It WILL get taken down this week danggit!

I am trying to get more organized. It’s one of my New Years goals (goals that I need to post so I can visualize and make them happen, but yeah, still need to get that written up). I bought a cute new planner. Nothing special, but it’s a place to write out my important dates so I can see them all laid out. I have tried and tried to get with the digital planning, but I need to write it out, with a pen & paper and actually SEE it. My husband does not understand because he’s such a digital planner type of guy, but it not only helps me remember things, but it motivates me to stay on track.

I also started Shaun T’s T25 workout by Beachbody last week. **our living room has been converted to the exercise room so that’s why the table is moved in the photo above** Today starts week 2! My hubby is doing it with me so that is helping me stay accountable. But last night I wrote out my workout calendar for the month and hung it by my desk. I can’t even tell you how happy it makes me. It’s just so cute and structured. I love seeing it all written out and planned!

Now if I could get on track with my eating and meal planning, I’d be golden! That is on the agenda for this week. Over the weekend, we had a birthday party, it was rainy and gloomy, my teen was doing a 31-page extra credit history packet (that I cursed her under my breath for because if her grade was better she wouldn’t have to spend hours trying to bring it up with EC!) and also working on a science fair board. Ugh. And now it’s Monday and my precious weekend is over.

*sigh*

Oh well….it does no good to complain about it now, does it? Just gotta pull on the big girl panties and get on with the week!

As a parting note, I read this quote today and I really (like super really) loved it.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. ~ Mark Twain

I’m not sure I would have fully grasped it before going to France last year, but as much as traveling gives me anxiety and as much as I love my comforts of home and long for them while I’m away, there was something really special about experiencing the way other people live. I don’t want to stay in my one corner of the earth for my entire life.

posted by katiehigg 2 Comments
Filed Under: Monday Motivation, My life, Randoms Tagged: beachbody, getting organized, schedule your workouts, t25

01/10

new purse, new boots, happy girl…

Switched my purse over and got to wear my boots yesterday. It was a good day! 😉

posted by katiehigg 3 Comments
Filed Under: #whatiwore, Fashion Tagged: how to wear rain boots, hunter boots, minimac, rain boots, rebecca minkoff, the best rain boots, what outfit goes with green hunter boots

01/10

Red Velvet Cupcakes (in a jar!)

Anyone else obsessed with peppermint flavored foods in the winter? I guess it’s mostly around the holidays for me, but Chick-fil-A serves their peppermint chocolate chip shake (deliciousness you can slurp through a straw!) during winter so I’m saying it’s a seasonal thang.

I found this recipe posted by Paper & Stitch, and it was like a lightbulb went off. Red velvet cake and peppermint sounds like a heavenly combo! Why on earth I hadn’t thought of this combination before, is beyond me.

It’s so easy peasy, you’re going to want to make all your cupcakes like this! I just used a boxed cake mix (hello, not Martha over here) and canned frosting. I prepared the cake according to the box instructions, filled the little mason jars about 1/3 full and baked them right in the jars (didn’t know you could do that until I found these cupcakes). I adjusted the temperature for baking them in glass, but I had to watch them because they weren’t done when I thought they’d be. I’d start with the normal temperature and just check them. I also greased the inside of the jars with coconut oil. Not sure if that was the right thing to do or not, but they turned out fine.

I used a can of cream cheese frosting and added 1-2 tsp of peppermint extract, along with some pulverized candy canes (mostly just tiny bits and the candy cane dust). Then, I used some of the bigger candy pieces to sprinkle on top.

I was so happy with how they cute they turned out! And they were delicious too!

This makes about 22-24 cupcakes. I used approx 2 cans of frosting for the whole batch.

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Filed Under: Foodie, Foodie Friday, Recipe Tagged: cream cheese frosting, cupcakes in a jar, how to make cupcakes in a jar, how to make cupcakes in a mason jar, how to package cupcakes for a potluck, mason jar cupcakes, peppermint cream cheese frosting, peppermint red velvet cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes

01/08

just over here watching ice melt.

I’ve had major A.D.D. trying to blog lately.

I deleted 3 blog posts that were 90% finished, but weren’t relevant anymore

I have ideas, but can’t seem to get them typed in a timely manner

*sigh*

must.

focus.

I got some sweet Hunter boots and a new purse as belated Christmas presents, but it’s been so blasted cold and I haven’t gotten dressed out of workout clothes, sweats or jeans & a tee yet so I’m waiting to blog those properly. Although if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already gotten a sneak peek at the purse. 😉

In other news, here in FL we had a bit of a cold snap. It was so cold I had to drip all of the faucets in the house overnight to make sure the pipes didn’t freeze. Okay, it’s debatable whether I had to drip them or not (newer house and not sure if that’s outdated advice), but the news people were fuh-reaking out about the temperatures and they told me to do it. So, we dripped…all night…on all 6 faucets.

Last night we turned the sprinklers off, but apparently not before they had already started up so this morning we woke up to icicles in the yard! The kids thought it was uber cool and obviously I did too since I spent 30 min taking macro photos of them in the cold. 😛

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Filed Under: My life Tagged: blog a.d.d., fun with icicles, icicles, macro photography

01/02

Happy New Year!

For the last couple of years we’ve let the kids stay up and ring in the New Year with us. They think it’s awesome to stay up until midnight and get to drink sparkling cider out of wine glasses. 🙂

My 15sec recap of 2013

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Filed Under: My life, Personal Tagged: instagram, new year, ringing in the new year, sparkling cider

12/27

Christmas (Eve) #whatiwore

These last few weeks, unless I’ve needed to dress up for a certain reason, I’ve mostly been wearing my pj’s or jeans & sweatshirts. But on Christmas Eve, I felt like putting a little effort into my appearance. Pretty much just a dressed up version of jeans & a sweatshirt, but hey, I look a little more dressed up at least. 😉

The sweater and sunglasses are new, but the rest is old schtuff.
I tend to wear the same jeans & shoes over and over again. And apparently earrings too! 😉

posted by katiehigg 4 Comments
Filed Under: #whatiwore, Fashion Tagged: cute bow sweater, dolce and gabbana sunglasses, dressed up jeans and sweats, lucky jeans, the Limited, whatiwore

12/27

Wishing you…

from my house to yours!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or a Happy whatever you celebrate. 🙂

The month leading up to Christmas, wasn’t so happy and pleasant. We lost a beloved grandfather and family member of my SIL was seriously injured (but will be okay). Honestly, I couldn’t wait for the holidays to be over and start 2014. But, the month is ending nicely.

Last week I took the kids for a quick trip to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney. We don’t go to Disney World very often, but it’s nice to be able to have a quick getaway that the kids enjoy.

On Christmas Eve we headed to my MIL’s and had Christmas with my husbands side of the family. It was a tradition started before we had any kids and while it’s gotten earlier in the day through the years, this was our 15th year celebrating on Christmas Eve. It’s a time that is just for us and we all look forward to it. I score every year with my gifts, but this year I got this sweet Tory Burch wrap bracelet to add to my collection.

On Christmas we unwrap all our gifts at the house and then head to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. This year we had two celebrations because my sister could only come up the weekend before Christmas.

We still have two extended family Christmas celebrations and then we’ll be done and ready for the new year!

May 2014 bring you much health and happiness!

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Filed Under: My life, Personal Tagged: happy holidays, merry christmas, wishing you happy holidays

12/13

Favorite Gifts 2013

Tory Burch fragrance :: Diana glass lens (dslr) :: mirrored polka dot jewelry box
jewelry tray :: Gorjana-Griffin ring :: quick charger
Polar Loop :: Kate Spade mug

even more gifty goodness…

Photo Credit :: glitter bokeh background

posted by katiehigg 2 Comments
Filed Under: Fashion, Fitness, Inspiration, Randoms Tagged: gift guide 2013, holiday gift guide fashion, jacksonville fashion blogger, photography, tory burch

12/10

Thanksgiving :: #whatiwore

Yep, what I wore on Thanksgiving. That is not a typo. lol. I am just getting around to posting this and it seems ridiculous, but I took the time to get my daughter to snap a few photos so I wanted to at least post them.

Sadly, these photos aren’t even from Thanksgiving day, but a couple of days later when I wore the exact same outfit again because I liked it. 😛

P.S. holding my phone is so cheesy, but I wanted something to hold and it was the closest thing I had that wouldn’t look totally out of place

That photo up there ^^^, I think I’m picking lint off of me, but I thought it was a good shot of my bun. 😉

sweater (Target, but couldn’t find online) :: camo jeans from Express (also seen here)
:: sketchers hidden wedge high tops ::
Essie nail polish (sew psyched) :: earrings (Target) :: bracelet (Etsy)

Ignore the peeling polish and crappy cuticles..please & thank you!

posted by katiehigg 1 Comment
Filed Under: #whatiwore, Fashion Tagged: camo pants, camouflage fashion trend, sock bun, what to wear with camo skinny jeans

11/26

30 day Challenge Wrap-Up

Okay, so it’s fess up time. You may have noticed a little radio silence lately. No excuses really. I could tell you that I was stressed, I had other things on my mind, I pulled something in my neck, etc. All true things, but it is what it is.

I was doing SO well too. Even after a couple of hiccups, I was able to pull it back together, but once I pulled a muscle in my neck (last Monday), I fell and didn’t get back up…just laid on the road and let the wagon ride off without me.

Time to call the wagon back though. No, not another challenge. With the holidays afoot, I know I won’t stick to it.

But it’s about balance.

I’m going to continue making water a priority and try to get a workout in 3-4 days a week (hopefully more).

I realized that being active is good for me. I would be in a horrible mood, but once I got my workout in, I felt so much better. Even if I hated it while I was doing it, I was happy that I made it happen. I did realize that some days I felt like my 30 min weren’t very productive, even though I was technically doing something. Which goes against everything I believe in and part of the reason that I slacked off. If you bust your butt for 15 min, you can burn more calories in that short workout than you would walking for 30 min and even though it’s not all about calories, I think the 15 min busting your butt should count as exercise for the day. I think a better goal to have set for myself would have just been to “sweat every day” or maybe 6 out of 7 days. My brain needed a rest. I kept wanting a day “off” that I didn’t have to think about it.

Live and learn, eh? Now it’s on to Thanksgiving and Christmas! Did you know Christmas is only 28 days away?! I haven’t even started my shopping yet and as fast as the days have been flying by, 28 days is going to pass in no time!

But for now, I’m just concentrating on Thanksgiving. One holiday at a time for me!

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! My kids are out of school as of tomorrow, we are celebrating turkey day with extended family, and on Friday, it’s our annual visit to a holiday craft show downtown. Fun times!! 🙂

posted by katiehigg 1 Comment
Filed Under: 30-day challenge, My life Tagged: 30 day challenge, finding balance, thanksgiving