fitness tips + an albion fit giveaway …

November 10, 2014

I’m very excited to partner with Albion Fit again for a fun giveaway!
I’ve been loving and wearing their fitness clothing and swimsuits for a while now, and I feel like they just keep getting better and better!
I’ve always been a huge fan of their cropped leggings made out of high quality compression fabric, they suck you in right where they need to, and you can tell just by the feel of the clothing that it is high quality fabric.  I’m wearing their go capri in turquoise.
I also loved this go long crew grey and white striped super soft top with thumb holes.
I have always enjoyed having an exercise routine.  It all started back in high school when I got my first gym membership, I enjoyed working out at least 3-5 times per week.  I continued to stay active, better at times than others doing a lot of yoga, and running.  Fast forward to three kids, and lots and lots to do I still try to stay active.  I haven’t been a member of a gym in years, but here are a few things I like to do to stay in shape at home. 
  • Sign up for a race.  I ran my first half marathon last year, and boy was it a motivator to get out there and train.  I don’t think I’m the type of person to be signing up for races all the time, but I think maybe once a year or every other year will keep me motivated.  Training for a race can be a big commitment for time, and I also started having some knee issues, but it really helped me achieve some running goals, and I loved training and accomplishing a big fitness task.
  • You Tube-  There are so many free workout videos on You Tube!  I love the Jillian Michaels videos, Be fit Yoga, Fitness Blender Tabata, and my favorite is the ten minute arm workout by Tracy Anderson.  So many good choices, for free!  If you have ten minutes to an hour, you can fit one of them in!
  • Playground workouts.  I usually always have to workout with my kids around, so I discovered that I could workout at the park while my kids were playing.  I walk or run to a nearby park, and while the kids are playing I’ll do squats, push ups, crunches, bring my fitness bands and wrap them around the park equipment for stability and you could even do pull ups on the monkey bars. (I’m too big of a wimp for that.)  You may look a little funny, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
  • Run, hike, bike, or walk!  I know I mention running above, but there is nothing like being outside!  When the weather is nice, and you can get your exercise while enjoying nature, there isn’t much better than that!  I think that I’ve made some of my biggest decisions in my life lately on a run.  I get a chance to clear my head and really focus and think!  It sounds funny, but we are always distracted with devices in front of our faces, and an open road or trail in front of you can do wanders.  Hey, cheaper than therapy right?
I know I feel better when I stay active and eat healthy.  I have had one too many sweets this fall, and boy and I feeling it, better get back on it. Wink.  We all have our struggles with finding the time, but when we do, I think we know it’s worth all the hard work and effort.
So, let’s do this giveaway!
Albion Fit was nice enough to provide a $100 gift card for one of my readers!

Feel free to enter below!  Leave a comment after you browse Albion Fit, and tell me what your favorite item is.  There are a lot of opportunities for bonus entries below as well!  You can enter until Friday November 14th at midnight, and I’ll announce the winner November 15th!  Good Luck!

Also, feel free to use coupon code: armelle15 for 15% off your next order at Albion Fit!  Expires 11/20/14

Recipe // pork carnita and avocado tacos

November 4, 2014

I just love gourmet tacos.  There are a lot of fun gourmet taco restaurants popping up all over the place, and they are just amazing! I took a few of my favorites and tried to re-create some at home!
I love pork carnets, and they are so easy to make in the crock-pot! If I’ve learned anything about preparing pork, it’s that low and slow it the best way, always.
Crock Pot (Slow Cooker) Pork Carnitas
serves 6-8
4-5 lb pork roast
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 can 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup beef broth
juice of 2 limes
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
Place roast in the crock pot.  Place the remaining ingredients on top, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
For the tacos, I like to use the Tortilland brand uncooked corn tortillas.
I place some cojita cheese, pork carnets, radishes, green apples, and you can put sliced red onions and jalapeños and finish it off with some mexican crema, or mexican sour cream.
We also made some avocado tacos.  If you haven’t tried avocado tacos, man you are missing out.  They are so so good!
I use the tortillaland uncooked corn tortillas and heat them up.  Then add a layer of cojita cheese, then avocado, then some radishes, then some beets slice very thin with the mandolin.  Then I top it with a little mexican crema, or mexican sour cream.  Then, I finish it off with a little kosher salt.  Yum!
We ate these tacos Halloween night before we headed out to go trick or treat.
This year we had a cute Little Bo Peep.
A scary Frankenstein.
And, our little UPS guy.  
They had a blast, and would barely hold still for a few pictures.  The second they saw other trick or treaters out there, it was over.  No more pictures for mom, they wanted to get out there asap!
They loved every minute of it.  Halloween and holidays really are magical with kids!

{all photos by me}

Holiday // halloween feast

October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween!
I hope you are having a great day!  Amidst all the last minute preparations I wanted to quickly share some of the details of our Halloween feast we had with my little family.
I don’t have the time to set a fun table all the time, but when I do I really enjoy it!  Making the holidays a little extra special for my children is one way I show my love for them (hello love language) so it was a lot of fun for me to set up and see how excited they were.  The little pumpkins on the table are actually bread bowl pumpkins from Harmons.  My kids loved that the bread was orange!
A quick and easy detail I added was adding a little sprinkle rim to the glass goblets I found at Tai Pan.  
It is so easy to do.  All you have to do is put a little corn syrup in a dish, then dip the rim into the corn syrup, then dip it into the sprinkles and pat them on well. And, there you go! So easy!
A lot of this I had already in my party box.  I know hoarder status, but it’s nice to have things on hand that you can pull out of your hat!
I placed little pumpkins on the plates with some wash tape with their names on it.
I had some mini easels, so I thought it would be perfect to put the cookies on it as a decoration as well as a yummy treat.
I went to Trader Joe’s and they had all of their fun pumpkin flavored treats, so I pretty much bought them all.
Mini pumpkin pies, pumpkin salted caramels, pumpkin scones.
I put some black and white gum balls from Orson Gygi into some beakers for table decor as well.
The cheese spread was fun.  I used those babybel cheeses and drew little jack-o-lantern faces on them with eatable markers, and rosemary crips, and pumpkin crasin crackers.
I decided to go simple on the food.  My local Sams Club had these darling pre-made pumpkin shaped ravioli that I added some thyme and pine nut browned butter sauce.
I also served some steamed broccoli rabe as “witches brooms.” The kids loved all the little details.
This was a fun new tradition for us that I hope we can do every year!  After we finally got a chance to carve our pumpkins. Traditions are the best!
I hope you have a Happy Halloween! We are excited to head out to trick or treat!
{all photos by me}