A Little Weekend Recap + I Love Smoothies!

Hi! Happy Monday!!

How was your weekend?

Before we move on any further- can we just take a minute and ponder how the heck it is already the middle of July!?! This summer is flying by!! My oldest daughter starts first grade in just a little under a month! Insert me crying here!!!  

It is so corny and such a cliche- but SO true- time flies by when you are having a fun!!

Speaking of fun- I am taking the week off of posting my menu plan because we are at Baba and Papa's (that is what my kids call my parents :) house for the week!! Aaron is back at home, because, well, as he said, "Somebody's gotta work!" HA!  

So- I normally don't do a full blown recap of the weekend- because honestly, I don't want to bore you- but I had to share what we did this past Friday and Saturday- because it is just too awesome to keep to myself! :)

A coupe months ago, one of my best friends invited us to come to a lake house her family was staying at for a week this summer.  Her dad's company owns the lake house and one of the perks of his job is getting to pick a week during the summer (AT NO COST TO HIM) to stay at the house.  My friend's parents are SO kind and generous, they allow my friend and her brother to invite their friends to come stay at the house too and it is just one big party all week long.  My friend graciously invited our crazy crew to come hang out and being that the house is only 1 1/2 hours away from us- we jumped on her offer!! :)

We were blown away when we arrived at the lake house- it was absolutely GORGEOUS! 

The house had a pool, that my girls literally lived in for 3/4 of the time we were there.  If they weren't swimming, they were out on the boat tubing!  They had the time of their lives and it was SO special to see them having such a magical summer adventure!  We had the best time hanging out with every one there...we only knew my friend and her parents, but everyone else staying at the house was so nice and a pleasure to be around!  

As we were headed home yesterday, Aaron and I kept talking about how much fun we had and how we couldn't wait to come back again next year.  Then we started talking about how we would love to have a lake house someday so we could share it with our kids and grandkids. I love dreaming about the future with my husband! :)

Here's a cool panoramic view of the wrap around porch and pool!

This view is from the bottom of the stairs that lead to the boat dock...

looking up at the house!

Here is a great shot of the pool and outside bar...it was seriously SO MUCH FUN!

 Such a beautiful house!

 My husband took this picture when they were boating on the lake....

And I saved the best for last...this gorgeous sunset!! 

It was such a fun getaway and we are so thankful our friend invited us!!

Okay-so now I am totally going to switch gears- but I thought I would share about my favorite breakfast.  It is the start of a new week, time to get back on track with making good, healthy choices after a weekend of not eating terrible, but definitely not my norm :)

Maybe you are ready to make some changes in your diet or you are in a rut with what you are eating for breakfast- and this might be helpful for you! :)

My husband is a BIG breakfast person.  He needs a substantial meal to fuel his body first thing in the morning and if I served him a steak and baked potato at 7 am- he would be a happy camper! HA!  Me, on the other hand, cannot even FATHOM eating something like that before 5 pm- HA!  I am NOT a big breakfast person and honestly, it is very easy for me to wake up at 5 am and not eat anything until 10 am.  BUT- that is super unhealthy and because I work out first thing in the morning- I HAVE to have something in my body or I will straight up pass out.  

Smoothies have become my favorite "meal" to start off my day.  They are light, taste delicious and I don't feel "weighed" down after I drink them.  The worst feeling is having a full tummy when you are trying to pound out 4 miles on the treadmill- UGH.

So- before I share how I make my "go-to" smoothie- I thought this was a super fun guide on how to make the perfect smoothie- of course- I found it on good ol' Pinterest! :

 source

And now this is what I use in my "green" smoothie every morning: 

2 tbsp PB2 powder

1/2 frozen banana 

good sized handful of spinach

1 (or 2) stevia packets

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 4-6 ice cubes.  

Blend everything up (I have a Ninja blender and really love it!) and enjoy!! If you have never had a smoothie with spinach in it- you will never know the difference!!

The possibilities are really endless when it comes to making smoothies! My one tip for a fool proof smoothie is to use frozen fruit!! Using frozen fruit versus fresh fruit makes for a much creamier, milkshake like consistency- which is what I like :)   

I would love to know- are you really into making smoothies? If so, what are some of your favorite combinations? I am always looking for new smoothie "recipes!"

Hope you have the best Monday!!