A Few Things on Friday

Hello friends and happy April!

I've been a busy little bees this week prepping for Easter brunch and it feels good to take a break and pop in for a few things this Good Friday. I hope you had a wonderful week!

This is our second year hosting and we’re expecting about 30 guests – it’s going to be amazing. This means any free time this week is being spent baking, cleaning, putting together baskets for all the kids, shopping for food/fixings for the bloody mary & mimosa bar and prepping plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt. It’s all coming together quite perfectly and will be so worth it when we’re basking in all the love and joy in our home on Sunday.

The thing I love about Friday posts is that I can just list out some random things I feel like sharing which is good because I'm pretty sure that is all I'm capable of at this point in the week.

(one) I completed Erin's #1800MinuteChallenge on Tuesday and it felt pretty awesome. I actually finished at 1,811 minutes and it's cool to think how throughout the challenge I kept forgetting about the possibility of winning a cash prize if I completed the challenge. I was more focused on keeping myself accountable to get my 30/day of exercise in and while winning some cash to top it off would be great, I'm just really excited and proud of myself for finally getting into and sticking with a fitness routine. Yay!

(two) Jonathan has been slammed with work the last few weeks so I've been trying to get as much of the Easter prep done as I can myself without adding to his list of things to do. The other night though, he took a break and sat down to fill 100+ plastic eggs with candy for the Easter egg hunt we're setting up for all the kids on Sunday. This is great because I was starting to wonder when I'd have a chance to do it and he was so sweet chatting with me about where we'd hide the eggs and all. It was nice to watch him relax and step away from work for a bit.

(three) After seeing a handful of blogs raving about acai bowls, I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about so this morning, I traded in my usual egg white omelet and tried to put one of these together. I'd say it was a success and absolutely delicious. I probably could have added more frozen fruit to the blender because I think my mixture could have been a little thicker. Let me tell you though, this was a delightful way to start my day. It's cold, crunchy, fruity and left me feeling full and energized through lunch. The best part? I don't think you can really go wrong here with ingredients. Obviously you need the acai smoothie pack, granola and frozen fruit but the possibilities are endless for toppings and other add-ins. I'll share how much and what ingredients I used for my bowl next week but if you haven't gotten in on this goodness yet, you should probably give it a try.

(four) After blogging on and off for years, I am in the process of getting a custom blog design for the first time ever. I've always tried my best to design my blog to the best of my abilities but this year I realized that just wasn't good enough anymore. I want a space here I am proud of so Sarah is working on something for me and I can't wait to see it!

(five) In just a few hours, my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephews will show up on our doorstep and I can't wait to hug them! They're driving down from Buffalo and last night when I got in bed, I got this text from my sister.

Alyssa is my eight-year-old niece and a few years ago when I was up for a visit, my sister and I took her to Build-a-Bear for a girls day. She named her bear Alena and every time I spoke to Alyssa after that, she would give me updates on Alena and whatnot. It's been a while since we've even talked about her teddy bear but I thought it was the cutest thing that she worried I would be upset if she didn't bring it down with her. I love that little girl!

And that concludes all the thoughts I can form into words today. I have a bit more baking to do before the fun starts later. I hope you all have a happy Easter and enjoy time with family and friends!