Let the Cleanse Begin!

So today is the day.  The hubby and I begin our three day purifying cleanse by Sambazon.  When they reached out to me regarding the cleanse, I originally said no.  It was just not my thing.  There was no way I could live on juices alone for three days.  After further discussion I learned that this cleanse actually included a good amount of food but was extremely clean eating, working together with the juices to detox.  Food while juicing?  Now this I could potentially do.

After no caffeine or alcohol for the last three days, eating every three hours and purchasing more vegetables, fruits, seeds, and oils than I ever have (see below), we are now ready to do this!

I will definitely let you know what I think at the end and definitely share some of the recipes if they taste as good as they look.  Three days cannot be that bad, can it?

The Pleated Maxi

When it comes to wearing something simple yet still looking chic, the pleated maxi skirt tends to be one of my favorites.  Not only do they come in an assortment of colors but everything else you wear can be easy breezy simple and you still look pulled together.  My favorites items to top the skirt are a simple black tank and sandals, along with a denim shirt for when the summer night becomes a bit chilly.  The entire looks reads effortless.  

Skirts from left: Ted Baker (on sale) / MANGO / TopShop / Ted Baker (on sale)

Denim Shirt: Madewell / Tank: James Perse (on sale) / ALDO

Lazy

It started with Friday.  It was the last day of school.  I had been anticipating this day for so long that I couldn't contain my excitement.  Summer was officially beginning at 11am and we were all ready for a little fun.  I completely forgot about a post and was wrapped up in the celebration with the three kids and our friends.  

Then the weekend hit and it was filled with a soccer tournament, graduation parties, family reunion, dinner at a friends, and of course, Father's Day.  It was late nights, lots of friends and family, so much fun and ended with complete exhaustion.  I did have plans to write a post for today, I really did.  But then last night when I had the chance to do so, I choose to watch Million Dollar Listings New York (don't judge) instead with the hubby, embracing the fact that we were finally sitting down.

And then it all ends with this morning.  Again, I planned on waking up early before the kids woke up to write up a fabulous post for all of you.  Unfortunately I realized at 6:30am that this was the official first day of summer and I would be crazy to not take advantage.  It took only a second for me to roll over and go back to sleep.  It is not very often that I get to be lazy and it felt SO GOOD.

The laziness is now over though and I must get this house back in order (DISASTER) and prep for some fun plans we have this week.  Summer is here which means three little ones are going to be looking to me for fun and I need to be at the top of my game.  It also means that I will be posting regularly again.  I hope everyone is having a great start to the week!

Just Thinking...

Tomorrow is the last day of school.  I do not know who is more excited, me or the kids.

I have discovered that Baby Girl needs her beauty sleep.  It is actually amazing how much her personality changes when she is tired.  The teenage years are going to be fantastic.

I gave up caffeine.  Who knew I had it in me.  I still like a warm drink in the morning so now I drink decaf which makes me one of those people who drinks coffee without caffeine which I have always found strange and now that is me.

In case you were wondering, I will never give up wine.

Next week the hubby and I are doing a three day juice cleanse.  This one involves food because I could NEVER not eat food for three days.  It is also only three days because I am not that committed to giving up indulgence for too long.  I am also already looking forward to the wine and food I am going to eat the day after so I am potentially a bad person for this all together.

My Middle Man continues to state that he is going to live in Washington D.C. when he is older because he is going to be the President.  I expect you all to vote for him.

The last time I did a post like this was the week before Spring Break which leads me to believe that my brain stops working as vacation draws near, I have nothing to say and so you get this.

My Oldest is now going into 3rd grade.  3RD GRADE!  I am waaayyy too young to have a third grader.  

I just picked up this Sen dress from Bardot.  Such a fab summer staple.

On the list for movies I want to see are The Great Gatsby (I KNOW!  Cannot believe I haven't seen it yet), the Lone Ranger and Man of Steel.  Just call me a Leo/Johnny/Henry fan.  

My triathlon training is back in full swing....FINALLY.  

I watched Real Housewives of Orange County last night and I continue to ask myself, if you are not married, and have no children, how are you a housewife?  Very deep thoughts on a Tuesday night.

There you have it!

A Lighter Chocolate Milkshake

My kids love sweets.  Surprise surprise right?  Ice Cream, cookies, cupcakes, candy.  They love it all.  This is to be expected with a mother who also has a slight addiction to all things chocolate.  I seem to always be walking the tightrope of not indulging them with sweets but also not being too crazy about it that one day I find candy bars hidden under the mattress.  

To help with the balance I am constantly looking for recipes that offer the sweet flavor my kids love but are not filled with SO much sugar and fat.  I came across a recipe for this lighter Chocolate Milkshake, and thought I would try it out.  

It was a hit with two out of three of the kids (Middle Man is SO picky that this was no surprise at all) and I enjoyed it myself.  With coconut milk, agave, bananas, peanut butter and cocoa powder, it created  a blended drink that provided some nutrition AND tasted like a dark chocolate milkshake.  Is it an In and Out shake?  No.  But it did curb that craving for something sweet and was a refreshing drink on a hot day.  With summer right around the corner this will be a running staple in the house when the ice cream cones feel like they are on overload.

One vs. Two

The one-piece vs. the two-piece.

Every summer I think I am going to venture over to the one-piece side to "try them out".  And each summer I end up in bikinis.  

I want to find a fabulous one-piece, I really do.  And I am not talking about just any one-piece but something that is sophisticated and sexy at the same time.  There are a million of them out there but every time I try them on I actually think they look less flattering on me than a bikini.  How wearing less clothing feels better I do not think I will ever be able to explain but it just does. 

And so this summer begins, with me trying on a few one-pieces that I just didn't like and now I am back to finding some cute bikinis. 

So I ask you.  

Which do you prefer?

Have you made the switch from one to the other? 

We Did It!

Like I said on Friday, the hubby and I ran with friends in the Camp Pendleton World Famous Mud Run this past Saturday morning.

IT WAS AWESOME!

We spent 6.2 miles running up hills, climbing over walls, getting sprayed with fire hoses, crawling under nets and swimming through mud pools and everyone loved every second of it.

I have no idea how long it took us but we made it to the end and linked arms as all 10 of us ran through the finish line.

I CANNOT WAIT to do it again!

We couldn't stop laughing throughout the run and one of my favorites moments was when we were swimming through a mud pool with mud up to our neck and one of my friends yelled out "I cannot believe we are doing this!"

We are all excited about doing it again next year.

When it was all over, I took the best hot shower ever and kicked back at a friend's home with a big glass of wine.

It was the perfect way to re-cooperate.

In other news, I also found the triathlon that I committed to doing this year.

I am so excited and now have two months to get ready for it.

The Mud Run was I all needed for a little more motivation.

Happy Monday!