Hey y’all & happy Friday! It’s been a couple of weeks since my last recap, so y’all are in for a treat with a bunch of birthday fun, yummy eats, and so much more!
Now grab your coffee, tea, or wine (😉) and get to reading!
Starting off from where I left you guys last (the evening of September 2nd). I had a very early morning of coaching that following Thursday with a break that gave me enough time for a beautiful sunrise walk. I accomplished a nice 2 mile walk before making my way back to work.
Thursday was my last day of coaching for the first week of my Fall coaching schedule and boy was it exhausting. It has been such an adjustment to go from not working at all for 2 months, to working a tiny bit throughout the whole Summer, to then having a fuller & consistent work schedule.
I wrapped up Thursday evening spending some time with Jordan & Mila while enjoying a delicious Freebird’s burrito. My go-to burrito includes a whole wheat tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, black beans, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
Friday, September 4th was my 25th birthday! I started the day with a nice 2 mile walk at my favorite park before making my way to my parents house.
I had such a fun & special time enjoying the morning with my parents & two brothers. I ate a delicious crêpe paired with a PSL while we all watched Disney’s live-action “Mulan” together. My sweet mom also baked some strawberry cupcakes to celebrate.
I was blessed with the sweetest husband you guys…This sweet man of mine planned the best & most surprising birthday dinner at The Annex Crafthouse with the help of my Mom and great friend, Lauren. It was such a special night spent with my loved ones while we all enjoyed some great food! I ordered the Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich, which is one of my favorites. My 25th birthday came to an end with feelings of love & joy in my heart. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
The following Saturday morning was another birthday celebration for my grandmother-in-law, Rita. Her 75th birthday was coming up in a few days, so I got together with all of the girls for a nice brunch at Mia Bella’s to celebrate. I ordered a delicious Frozen Peach Bellini & an Eggs Benedict with sautéed mushrooms, roasted potatoes, and fruit.
Later that afternoon, Jordan, Mila, and I made our way to my grandparents house for another little get together. My grandmother wanted to get some more family & friends together to continue celebrating my birthday, which was so kind of her. We had a great time hanging out & enjoying some yummy food. I also loved the birthday table she put together for me with all of the fun Fall decor.
Come Sunday, the 3 of us were pretty pooped from having such a fun & busy couple of days. We spent most of the day relaxing at home and then enjoyed some dinner at Captain Brad’s. I ordered a plate of grilled shrimp with sautéed veggies & mashed potatoes and Jordan ordered some boudin quesadillas that he said were delicious. We ended the night playing some games with Jordan’s family on the Nintendo Switch.
Monday was a fun day for sure. We enjoyed our last day of the Labor Day weekend going ice skating with our friends, Lauren & Jarrod, browsing through the mall, and grabbing a bite to eat at El Tiempo before having to say “goodbye for now” to our sweet Mila
Tuesday was so rough going back to a long work day after having a 4-day weekend. It was 100% a non-cooking day for me, so I grabbed a Chipotle burrito bowl for lunch and then tried out a nearby Italian place with Jordan for dinner. We split some Eggplant Parmesan & called it a night.
Wednesday was a day for more birthday’s! September 9th happened to be both Jordan’s mom, ShaRon, & my younger brother, Hudson’s, birthdays. We started the celebration festivities off at Red Fish with ShaRon for lunch. I ordered a plate of seasoned edamame & Jordan enjoyed a sushi roll.
Later that evening we went to my parents house to celebrate this little guy’s 9th birthday. He had a Marvel themed party with family and a few close friends.
The following Thursday was Jordan & I’s 4 year dating anniversary. Celebrating the day we began our relationship will always be something that I will cherish in the years to come because it is what brought us together and led us to where we are now. We both had very busy work days and time with our sweet Mila later in the evening, so we made some time to enjoy lunch together at Gianna’s in Downtown Tomball, which is where we actually had our rehearsal dinner for the wedding. This place has some of the best Italian food. We split their Seafood Stuffed Mushroom appetizer & Eggplant Parmesan entree. It was delicious!
I had tons of tasks & errands to get done on Friday. Once everything was finally completed, I got cleaned up to meet some good friends for dinner. Jordan and I met up with our friends, Ashton & Tyler, at our favorite local Tex-Mex spot called, Natalita’s #3. It was so great catching up with them. We had so much fun chatting that we accidentally stayed past closing time and realized we were the only ones left in the restaurant (besides the staff). That’s when you know it was a good night!
I had to get up bright & early for work the following Saturday, so I decided to try the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew for the first time & holy moly it was AMAZING!!! I’m a huge PSL lover as you all know, but I think this drink just might be my new favorite. 🧡
All of the tasks & errands I was accomplishing on Friday were to prepare for this super fun surprise party that I helped Jordan’s sister, Brittany, throw for ShaRon’s 50th birthday. We had been planning this day for months and were so happy we were able to make it happen. We got most of ShaRon’s closest friend’s & family members together for a fun night of games, karaoke, and good food & drinks. We served some delicious BBQ & I made a tasty sangria that my girl, Lauren, gave me the recipe to.
Lauren’s Sangria Recipe:
Ingredients-
1.5 Liter Bottle of Liberty Creek Cabernet
1 Cup of Amaretto (I used Disaronno)
3 Ounces of Simple Syrup
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Apples Cubed (I used Honey Crisp)
1 Naval Orange (whole slices)
1 Small Bag of Frozen Blackberries
2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries
1 Liter of Sprite
Instructions-
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT SPRITE and let sit for 24 hrs REFRIGERATED prior to serving. For the last step you can either pour the sprite into the dispenser OR pour yourself a glass of sangria and add sprite to taste.
After an extremely long week & weekend, I decided I was going to let myself sleep in & get a bit of rest in on Sunday before being extremely productive in preparing for the upcoming week.
I spent most of Sunday conquering a bunch of household cleaning, going to the grocery store, and getting meals prepped for the beginning of the week. Jordan & I were starving after finishing up at the grocery stores, so I made us some homemade pizza’s before getting started on meal prep. For meal prep, I made a rice & black bean mixture and sautéed some red bell peppers & onions to have for lunches. Jordan loves to use these ingredients (plus toppings of course) for veggie tacos and I have recently become obsessed with making homemade burrito bowls. I also sliced up some fruit for Jordan to take with him to work for breakfast the next day.
I was so proud of how productive Monday morning was. Jordan and I woke up around 6am and went for an outdoor run together. I wanted to start off with something challenging, but doable so we could keep it up. We set out to do 1 mile filled with 2 minute walk/2 minute run intervals and it went very well. Once we got back home, I made myself a cup of coffee & packed up Jordan’s meals for the day. I also made myself a delicious spread for breakfast that included 2 slices of whole wheat toast, plant-based butter, 2 pasture raised eggs, and some strawberries.
In between getting some tasks done, I took some time to use my veggie noodle maker for the first time. It was so fun & easy to use. I had plans to make a dish with zucchini noodles for dinner that evening, so I went ahead and prepped the noodles earlier in the day.
For lunch, I enjoyed a homemade burrito bowl. I love to mix my rice & black bean mixture with H-E-B’s guacamole & Tofutti’s dairy-free sour cream. This meal is so delicious & tastes very similar to the burrito bowl that I typically order at Chipotle.
I tried out a new recipe on Monday evening after we got back from watching Mila’s ballet & tap class (which she did great at by the way). For dinner, I made a Lemon Garlic Rainbow Trout with Lemon Butter Zucchini Noodles/Spinach/Kale & Chili Beans. Overall the meal was good. I loved how the zucchini noodle mixture turned out, but I feel like the fish could have been much better. I had never worked with trout before, so I have some practicing to do before sharing this recipe. 😊
Once our bellies were filled, Jordan and I went for a short evening stroll to help with our digestion before calling it a night. I’ve been trying to be more mindful of taking short walks after eating lunch & dinner when I can. It really does make a huge difference in the bloating & indigestion that can come after meals + it’s always a good idea to get more movement in each day.
I had a very interesting morning on Tuesday. I woke up at the crack of dawn to enjoy some coffee & oatmeal before my first skating lesson & then made my way to the trails for a walk during my coaching break. During my typical 2 mile walk I accidentally stepped on a baby copperhead… thankfully I wasn’t bitten & I also didn’t harm the snake, but boy was he mad at me and definitely wanted to bite me afterwards lol. Needless to say, always make sure you are paying attention to your surroundings while out in nature.
For dinner on Tuesday, I tried out another new recipe. My original goal was to make an air-fried Orange Tofu with Fried Rice. Unfortunately the orange sauce did not turn out very well, but I still made the most of the air-fried tofu by seasoning it with a little sesame oil & low-sodium soy sauce before mixing it in to this delicious fried rice.
The fried rice was pretty simple to make. I started off cooking chopped white onion, minced garlic, and frozen peas in a little bit of olive oil. Once the veggies looked cooked, I scrambled up 3 pasture-raised eggs and then added in the Jasmine rice, chopped green onion, sesame oil, and low-sodium soy sauce. Once I perfect this recipe with the air-fried tofu, I’ll share the entire thing, but fried rice by itself is a fun and fairly simple recipe that you can easily make your own by adding in whatever veggies you love.
Wednesday started off with another 1 mile run with Jordan. We did intervals of 2 minutes of running/2 minutes of walking for a mile just like we did on Monday. After we completed our run/walk, I got Jordan’s meals for the day packed up & I enjoyed some scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee.
I didn’t snap anymore photos on Wednesday, but my day mostly consisted of getting tasks done, coaching, and a little bit of shopping before grabbing dinner & drinks with Jordan while we watched the Astros vs. Rangers game.
Thursday’s are a very early & long work day for me. After getting in a few lessons, I made my way to the park for a 1.80 mile walk during one of my breaks. There was such a nice breeze the entire walk, which made me even more excited for Fall weather.
I had a 40 minute window at home before heading back to the ice rink for work, so I made the most of every minute by whipping together some of my favorite veggies & couscous for Jordan and I to eat later for dinner.
After finishing my last skating lessons for the week, Jordan and I picked up Mila to spend a couple of hours with her. We spent that time at Jordan’s parents house where we were all able to enjoy each other’s company and a yummy dinner together. Jordan & I devoured our veggie medley with couscous while Mila & the rest of the fam ate ShaRon’s delicious smelling spaghetti.
I had every intention of waking up at 6am to go for another run before breakfast this morning, but my body was saying “heck no,” so I decided to listen and let myself sleep in until about 8:30am & enjoy a nice breakfast of 2 slices of whole wheat toast, 2 pasture-raised eggs, and a cup of coffee.
I spent most of the daytime glued to my computer & phone screen trying to wrap up work & today’s recap before getting in some cleaning and a quick workout. I enjoyed some leftovers for lunch that were just as delicious as the night before. I also tried my best to get in another mile of running/walking intervals, but I mostly ended up walking. My body was just not feeling it today’s, but I’m still very happy that I got out and moved a bit.
We just picked up our sweet girl & are ready to enjoy the weekend with her.
Well this is where I’m going to leave y’all! I hope that you all enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back to write very soon.
XOXO, Paige.
Paige Muse 