Category: Personal

Valentine’s Weekend – Part 2. Hiking Mt. Tamalpais

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I couldn’t fit everything into one post…so, I had to do a second!

On Sunday morning, (Valentine’s Day) we woke up and checked the weather…and the forecast was sunny, clear skies in San Francisco! I’ve been wanting to hike Mt. Tamalpais for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect day!

We stopped for coffee at Starbucks (if I had my way, it would have been Dunkin’ Donuts..any other DD lovers out there?!), and made our way up to Marin.

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No matter how many times we go over this bridge…it never gets old!

Mt. Tamalpais – Dipsea Trail

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I loved this trail because most of it was along the coastline. Especially on our way back, we had the view of the ocean the whole time!

me walking

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This hike was absolutely gorgeous- the pictures don’t do it justice!

After our 2 1/2 hour hike, we were ready for some grub! We had passed through Mill Valley on the way, and Kendrick had spotted a unique burger joint (Super Duper Burgers); so we decided to check it out.

sipping smoothie

Mmmm…I could go for another one of these right about now.

We got back into Menlo just in time to play some paddle-ball…and watch the sun set behind us.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and got to share the day with someone you love. Let’s continue to show love, give love, receive love, and cherish love 365 days of the year ❤

xo

 

 

 

Valentine’s Weekend – Part 1. Our Brazilian Dinner

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Oi!

That’s Portuguese for “Hi!”

Kendrick was born and raised in Brazil, and as Valentine’s Day started to approach, I realized that I have never cooked him a full Brazilian meal! As I mentioned in my first blog post, Kendrick’s love language is food… so naturally, I knew he would be SO happy if I cooked for him. I decided the menu: Pão de Queijo, Feijoada, and Bolo de Coco.

Feijoada is a very traditional Brazilian dish. Way back in the day, Brazil had the largest slave population in the world, substantially larger than the United States. The Portuguese who settled in Brazil needed labor to work the large estates and mines in their new Brazilian colony. The food given to the slaves was restricted to rice and beans; but when times were good or there was a holiday, the slaves would get “scrap meat” aka less-desirable cuts that they added to their beans. By the 19th century, the dish became urbanized and was adopted nationally. That’s the story of how feijoada was born.

Pão de Queijo is a popular, gluten-free cheese bread that most Brazilians enjoy with dinner or as a snack. Bolo de Coco is a coconut cake, topped with warm, chocolate sauce.

Now that you’re salivating…I thought I would share these special recipes with you! I received the Feijoada recipe from my sister-in-law; which was adapted by her from my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law always makes Bolo de Coco when we come to visit, so this recipe was adapted from her as well.

Our Valentine’s weekend started on Friday, when I came home to the biggest bouquet I had ever seen! Kendrick picked lots of coral roses, since coral is my favorite color. The table runner and ribbon banner in the photos are actually leftover decor from our wedding! I made all the runners by hand, so I loved having an excuse to decorate the kitchen pink 🙂

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Easy Brazilian Feijoada

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

6 strips of chopped bacon

3/4 cup chopped onions

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

4 cans black beans

salt to taste

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 dry bay leaves

2 pkgs Hillshire Smoked Turkey sausage (or sausage of choice)

rice

oranges or orange juice

 

Preparation

Heat the oil in a medium pot and add bacon, onion, and garlic and cook until golden brown.

Add the beans and enough water to keep the beans covered (about 3-4 cups). Add salt, parsley, bay leaves, and thin sliced sausages.

Bring to boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Continue stirring from time to time, adding water as necessary.

Serve with white rice and sliced oranges.

bolo de coco

For Cake:

Ingredients

Pillsbury or Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake

Chocolate Sprinkles

Coconut Extract

Unsweetened Coconut flakes

 

Preparation

Follow cake instructions on the box. Add a handful of chocolate sprinkles (I usually just eyeball it). Add 1/2 tsp of coconut extract. Add a handful of coconut flakes (I really like coconut, but if you’re not a huge fan, you could omit this.)

Chocolate Sauce:

Ingredients

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 squares Bakers unsweetened baking chocolate (make sure to chop this into very fine pieces before adding so that it melts and incorporates evenly into the sauce)
Preparation
Add everything together in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until everything is incorporated. Once incorporated, bring the heat up to medium high (or however hot your stove needs to be to bring it to a rolling boil) then turn on low and cook until thickened about 10 minutes. It should be bubbling like crazy, with the heat only low enough to prevent it from boiling over.
Serve hot over warm cake!
* As you’ll notice, I left the cake “naked”, so that I could serve the sauce as desired on each individual piece of cake. The sauce can sit on the stove for a day or two, and be reheated as needed.

 

For the Pão de Queijo, I followed a recipe I found here. I opted for olive oil instead of butter, and regular milk instead of soy milk.

 

Finally…we were ready to eat!!

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After dinner, we exchanged cards and gifts. Normally, I’m the one who writes extra in greeting cards…but, this year Kendrick outdid me! He wrote me a letter, which was tucked inside my card. It was such a sweet surprise, and as I read it I started to get tears in my eyes- I truly have an amazing husband!

I decided to make this Valentine’s dinner Saturday night, so that I could relax and enjoy time with my hubby on Valentine’s Day- plus, we had leftovers…LOTS of leftovers! 😉

Did any of you cook for your significant other instead of going out? If so, what did you make??

I’ll be sharing Our Valentine’s Weekend – Part 2 on Thursday, so stay tuned!

 

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From PA to CA –> What I’ve Learned

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My first “selfie” in California

Today is my 3 year anniversary since moving to California. It still is pretty crazy to think that at 23, I picked up and left everything and everyone I knew – for a relationship that was so new and vulnerable.  People always ask me if it was hard to leave Pennsylvania…and I say yes of course, because my family and friends were there- but to be honest, the fact that I was moving to California, and not Wisconsin for instance.. made the move so much more appealing. I mean, I grew up watching “Laguna Beach“…and dreamed what it would be like to work at a surf shop and take weekend trips to Cabo with my best friends.

The first time I traveled back home, after living here for 6 months, I realized how different it is…living on the west coast vs. the east coast. Yes, there are some main differences…the biggest being cost of living..but what fascinated me most was the difference in myself.   This is what I’ve learned…

1) Be the change you want to see in the world. 

Living in the Bay Area isn’t for the “homebody”. It’s fast-paced. People are constantly innovating. Creating. Connecting. Inspiring. Leading. You never know who you will meet living here. That guy standing in front of you at Starbucks could be a billionaire. The woman whose children you babysit could be married to the CEO of some dotcom. You may just see Mark Zuckerberg out running on your favorite trail… you get my drift. The coolest part is, I feel like that energy rubs off on you…how could it not?? When you are surrounded by people who are shaping our world, it makes you think twice about what your role is and what you’re doing to contribute.

2) Being busy doesn’t equate to being happy.

I hear time and time again, “I’d love to do “xyz”, but I’m just so busy.” One of the frustrations I had when I first moved here, was finding people who were willing to invest time in becoming my friend. It seemed that no one had any time…and if they did, you had to schedule it months in advance. I used to think that they must be living happy, full lives but the longer I’ve lived here, I’ve realized how many people are stressed, overworked, overwhelmed, and unhappy…and the biggest culprit is their schedules. This leads me to my next lesson…

3) You have the Power to Choose. 

My husband read a great book titled “Your Greatest Power” by J. Martin Kohe and shared some insight with me. As adults, we have to take responsibility for the choices and decisions we make. We live in a society where we have the freedom to choose, but most people don’t take time to think about how their choices will impact them or their family. We find ourselves saying “yes” to everything…thus loading our schedules with commitments that we don’t even want to be at.

4) Invest in Personal Growth. 

After reading “Positive Intelligence” by Shirzad Chamine, I had a moment of enlightenment. I learned that there are “Saboteurs” as he calls them in your brain. They are your automatic and habitual mind patterns, each with their own voice, beliefs, and assumptions that work against your best interest. My personal Saboteur? The Pleaser.

“The Pleaser compels you to try to gain acceptance and affection by helping, pleasing, rescuing, or flattering others constantly. It causes you to lose sight of your own needs and become resentful of others as a result. It also encourages others to become overly dependent on you. Its lie is that you are pleasing others because it is a good thing to do, denying that you are really trying to win affection and acceptance indirectly.” -Shirzad Chamine

OUCH. That definitely wasn’t easy to read. But you know what? It helped me to grow. It helped me to understand the feelings I have when someone has taken advantage of me, and how my actions may have played a role.

(I’ll save my favorite self-help book, “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential” for another blog post…otherwise this could get lengthy.) 😉

5) Ignorance is not bliss. 

On the east coast, it takes a little longer for new movements to take root. (Kendrick’s dad still gives us grief about buying organic eggs.)  Although I recycled (for the most part), and I never littered or caused any intentional damage/harm to the environment…I never really cared to become informed on things like “agricultural pollution” and “sustainable farming”. It wasn’t until Kendrick and I watched “Food Inc.” and “Cowspiracy” that I started to realize how ignorant I had been. Let’s be honest…those documentaries aren’t intended to make you feel good; they’re not supposed to be a light-hearted film that you turn off and go back to normal life. They’re supposed to drive you to act…to re-evaluate the choices you make so that your kids, and grand-kids can live in a world that’s better than the one we live in. (Ps- if you haven’t seen these films, I HIGHLY recommend them…and while you’re at it, watch “Living On One Dollar” and “That Sugar Film“.)

6) Less is More. 

I’ve noticed Californians live in mostly smaller homes (due to super high prices) which forces them to be very efficient at maintaining only the important stuff.  We’ve been brought up to be consumers; “to spend money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to please people we don’t care about.” I never realized how much stuff I possessed, until I was forced to live in a smaller home. You start to realize…living in a bigger home, means more space for more stuff. (If you really want an eye opener, read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing“.) 

The beauty of living in California is living outdoors…where it’s sunny almost every day of the year. Going back to #1, California is definitely a place for those with an active lifestyle. Kendrick and I love hiking, biking, and being outside. We’ve had many talks about what is important to us; and living in an area where we can be outside (without freezing) is at the top of our list. Living in a smaller space makes me more aware of what I bring into my home, and what I decide to keep. There are less places to hide things, thus you’re forced to evaluate your stuff.

 

There you have it…my 6 “lessons” since moving to California. I wake up every day and feel so blessed to call this place my home. Kendrick and I live less than 2 miles from our fitness studio, and are surrounded by so many amazing people who love on us and make us feel like family.

Here’s what’s happened in the past 3 years…

First time in Big Sur
Santa Monica Pier
Venice Beach

 

Skiing Diamond Peak in Lake Tahoe
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First time in Vegas-dinner at the Paris hotel
Biking the Golden gate bridge
Biking in Napa

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Here’s to many more adventures!

xo

10 Tips for a Healthy Marriage

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10 tips for a healthy marriage

Photo by: Bri Cibene Photography

Hi! I’m so excited you’re here and so thrilled to finally put out my first post. This blog has been a long time coming, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my amazing husband, Kendrick.

In the United States, researchers estimate that 50 percent of all first marriages will end in permanent separation or divorce. After witnessing some of the people closest to us go through really tough marriage/relationship struggles this past year, I felt convicted to write about what Kendrick and I are doing to keep our marriage strong. 

Media outlets and television shows often portray marriages as a stressful thing and as a joke; an apathetic husband and overbearing wife; but it can be the best thing in the world. We’re always bombarded with negativity in the media, and it’s easy to settle into a relationship that is mediocre because we feel pressured to meet social norms.

Kendrick and I have been married for under 2 years, so I’m certainly not an expert nor do I have years of wisdom behind me. But, I’ve compiled 10 things that Kendrick and I have done/continue to do to keep our marriage healthy. Maybe you already implement some of these things too…or do something different! I’d love to hear what you do in the comments section below 🙂

  1. Learn your spouse’s Love Language. I read a great book, “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman shortly after we got married. At first I thought it was silly, but as I read, I realized that it is true that all of us receive and feel love in different ways. I feel love by physical touch, whereas Kendrick feels love through acts of service (for example, me cooking him food). I highly encourage you to read this book, it may either verify what you know about your spouse, or enlighten you with something new.
  2. Refrain from airing dirty laundry. This is a biggie… If I have an issue with Kendrick, I talk to him directly. I don’t find it healthy to exploit his faults to my family and friends. 
  3. Admire each other. Yup, you read that right. Kendrick and I spend at least 1 minute just looking at each other before bed. If you think about it, we probably spend more time a day looking at our phones than our spouse…so go ahead, and bat those eyes tonight 😉
  4. Learn when your spouse is having an off day. I’m pretty good at reading Kendrick, and know when he’s having an off-day. I don’t pry or interrogate. We often like to amplify our happiness on social media, and people forget that we’re human- we have sad days and bad days- it’s okay to have those emotions and OK to let your spouse work through them.
  5. Be honest about your spouse’s weaknesses…there’s a second part here- and offer suggestions to how they can combat bad habits.   Kendrick is always honest with me, even if he knows it will hurt me.  Your spouse should be your number one fan, and in being that, they want to see you succeed and be the best person you can be. If they are pointing something out with good intentions, don’t get defensive or shut down. They have your best interests at heart.
  6. Schedule a weekly date night. 
  7. Read a book together. One of the best decisions we made last year was getting rid of cable (TV is poison to the brain anyway). We started reading more, which translated to learning more, which translated to sharing more together.
  8. Budget together. Before we got married, we did what many couples do; which is to create a spreadsheet, and add up all the outstanding debts (like student loans). It’s never fun, but after we saw all the numbers, we both had a wake-up call and realized that in order to tackle our debt, we had to get on the same page.
  9. Exercise together. I want to live as many healthy days as God gives me with Kendrick by my side…exercise and eating healthy are two ways to ensure that happens 🙂
  10. Give back together. After hearing a sermon by John Ortberg at our church on the power of giving, we drastically changed our perspective. How often did we give more than what we felt comfortable? It was after that realization that we decided to actively give and trust that we would see that generous spirit come back to us.

 

For those who have been following Kendrick Fitness for a while, you may recognize the term, “K-Tips”. I’m not sure when exactly these “K-Tips” began, but basically they are fitness and nutrition tips that Kendrick posts online.

For his brother’s wedding, (the one where we met) Kendrick incorporated in his speech, “The K-Tips of a Happy Marriage“.

Here they are below…

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K-Tip: Let love be your remedy. The world can be an unforgiving and stressful place often times…so make your home and the time you both spend together a haven, a peaceful place where you can listen to your hearts and savor the comfortable closeness you share.

 

I’d like to challenge you, to try 3 of these healthy tips for the month of February.

I love this quote from the movie, The Wedding Date with Debra Messing.

“Every woman has the exact love life she wants.”

So…let’s make our love life the best yet!

❤

*This blog post was inspired by blogger Audrey Roloff‘s post, “6 Questions for Marriage“. Check out her new marriage blog, launching February 14!

#beating50percent #stayingido