Simple Celebration & Features

Posted: May 7, 2011 at 8:16 am

Woo hoo for the weekend! Interestingly enough, I didn’t pine away for the weekend this past week and it ended up getting here much faster than it normally feels like it does. Funny how that happens, huh?

Last night, I got some time with two of my favorite ladies in the world.

 mom night

My mom and my sister came up for us to have an early Mother’s Day celebration for my mom. We kept things very low-key, which is just what my mom wanted after a tiring week of work. Simple always sounds good to me, so I happily obliged.

We picked up some Subway subs for dinner because not having to cook makes all us ladies happy. Let’s just say, that none of us were made for the kitchen.

 subway

After our “five-star” dinner, we showered gifts on the guest of honor. First, my mom opened her special treats from Makenzie. A homemade card (which had to be on “Ariel paper”) and some simple Nutella brownies Makenzie helped me whip up.

 coloring

Check those babies out, people! Only THREE ingredients! Nutella, flour, and eggs. And those three ingredients = rich decadence.

 nutella brownies 

All for the momma. At least I know her loving nature will lead her to share. 😉

Finally, came time to pass along the gift my sister and I got her. We decided to give her a more notable present this year since it has presented so many challenges. We wanted to give her a special token of our appreciation, love, and admiration for her.

 bracelet mom gift

She loved it! And cried. Not surprising. Motherhood will make a person emotional. Believe me. I know full well how crazy emotions get as a mom.

mom

To tone down the tears, we took a light-hearted approach for the remainder of the evening. We chilled and sat back to watch Dear John, since my mom had not seen it and always wanted to as a Nicholas Sparks fan. Hmmm….maybe that movie choice wasn’t the best to stop the tears. 😉

It certainly wasn’t the most extravagant of celebrations, but simple really is best sometimes. It allowed us to focus on what really mattered most – our time together. Now time for the FFF Features of the week? 

Featured Personal Post – My Ideal Day

Featured Moment: Fun Financial Seminar

IMGP0960

Featured Meal: Grilled Chicken Salad

grilled chicken salad

It didn’t appear on the blog this week, but it should have! Grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, goat cheese crumbles, cucumber, avocado, and tomato. Delish! And for the record – the black spot is some random thing that appears in all my pictures lately. I need to take care of that.

Featured Workout: Cardio + Weights Hodge Podge

This workout kept me going even when I didn’t have the initial desire/energy to work out.

Featured Cuteness: Baby B at the Zoo

IMGP0996

His little face just screams “WHERE have you brought me? And WHY am I NOT in your arms right now?!” 

Featured Reading: New Blog & Recipe To Check Out

image

Katie @ Dashing Dish makes unbelievable creations, that are usually lighter versions of favorites. I want to dive in to these Lemon Drop Cupcakes sooooo badly!

11
image from Dashing Dish

I hope you all have a love-filled weekend!!

  • What is one thing you always try to keep simple? Mine is cooking. It won’t happen if it isn’t simple. Even then, it sometimes doesn’t happen. 😉

 
46 Comments to “Simple Celebration & Features”
  1. Baby B is getting so big!!

    Happy Mother’s Day Tina 🙂

  2. I always try to keep cooking simple too – seriously, it makes a difference!

  3. Happy Mother’s Day Tina (and to your mom!)

    Nutella, flour, eggs = awesome. Those look super rich!

    What did you think of Dear John though? I was so mad at the end!

    • Tina says:

      I had seen it before – and yes the end super frustrates me! That’s Nicholas Sparks for ya though.

      And they are super rich!

  4. Mandy says:

    happy mothers day! 🙂 xoxo

  5. Glad you had a great week, Tina! I love the Dashing Dish! I’m a sucker for any kind of recipe blog, but healthier recipe blogs are my favorites! My favorite Dashing Dish recipe is the protein milkshakes….so good! 😀

  6. That’s awesome you guys got Subway! I ran past one the other day and was reminded how tempting that fresh-baked bread smell is. 🙂

    Happy Mother’s Day!

  7. Janelle says:

    Subway is our go-to dinner when we just can’t handle cooking and don’t want to feel like the Michelin man after eating greasy pizza.
    Please share the recipe for the 3-ingredient brownies – my family is on a huge nutella kick!

    • Tina says:

      I linked to them above. The link should be blue.

      But otherwise – it’s 1 cup Nutella, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose). Baked at 350 for 20 minutes. Yum!!!

  8. Lee says:

    A simple celebration is usually my favorite kind!

  9. Sounds like a great night with your ladies! I hope you have a great weekend!

  10. Emily says:

    Happy Mother’s day! I get subway about 2x a week 🙂 it’s wonderful. You look amazing and reading your blog helps me stay motivated…I’m struggling right now. Hope you have a good weekend!

  11. Erica says:

    First, happy mamas day- you look fabulous! And your mom and sister are adorable.

  12. Happy Mother’s day! I love those low-key celebrations where you just get to enjoy each other. I can’t wait for tomorrow!

  13. Errign says:

    I honestly TRY to keep everything simple – eats, life, schoolwork, my schedule, etc, but it doesn’t always work!

  14. Kristen says:

    So, I seriously want to grab Baby B through the screen and hold him! He is ADORABLE! Those cheeks are to die for! I only hope my babies are as cute as yours!

  15. I’m the same as you! I always want to keep cooking simple

  16. well if baking and cooking are in their own category, I ALWAYS try and somewhat have to keep my baking simple because I usually screw up the recipes anyways when there is too much measuring! the thing I love about cooking is you can throw in a little of this n’ that…but with baking if you throw too much of something or the wrong ingredient it can ruin the whole batch!

    those nutella cupcakes look right up my alley–simplicity wise! 🙂

  17. Tiff says:

    Did I just see Nutella in a brownie recipe?!?! I think I’m going to have to revisit this site! I just stumbled upon your blog from your guest post at PB Fingers. Looks great!

    • Tina says:

      Oh, thanks! Hope to keep seeing you around. Love making new blog friends. Can’t wait to visit yours. 🙂

  18. Lauren says:

    I try to keep exercise simple! That’s why I love running – it’s so simple to just put on my shoes and go.

  19. Great post on Julie’s blog. I could really relate as I too am a recovered binge eater. You’re so right about getting rid of food rules – once I started allowing myself to eat treats on a regular basis I was much less likely to binge on them.

  20. lindsay says:

    I love that you all had subway! but where’s the wine? haha. Have a wonderful mothers day tomorrow.
    🙂

  21. Cooking for me too. I’m so awful in the kitchen that if it doesn’t have less than 5 ingredients I get so flustered.

    BTW, I really liked your guest post over at PBF. 🙂

  22. I just found your blog thanks to your guest post on Julie’s blog. I think your body after baby progress is amazing. My little guy is 15 months and I’ve been struggling to get back to my previous weight. You’re a great inspiration and your kiddos are too adorable! Thanks for having an awesome blog!

  23. i’ve arrived here from your guest post on PBFingers, and just wanted to tell you how inspiring you are girl! that post really opened my eyes and made me realize I am not alone 🙂

  24. *Andrea* says:

    just stopping by…found your post on PBF and i too struggled with binge eating, which i am slowing recovering from. began after my period of anorexia and has been so hard to overcome. you’re so inspirational!!!

  25. Hi, Tina! I’m so glad we came across each other, and I adore your blog! You are such an inspiration to so many, and I admire your openness and honesty! I’m just getting my feet wet in blogland and so far, the best part is meeting such lovely fellow bloggers like you!

    Also, your bundle of joy is SO super cute. Love. And I love that y’all kept it low key for madre’s day. I miss my mums; she’s in TX while I’m out in SF, but I had some chocolate covered strawberries sent her way from Harry & David, so hopefully she’ll enjoy the yummies! What sweet daughters y’all are!

    Looking forward to following along! 🙂 xoxo

  26. OH – and one more thing. LOVE the premise of your blog. My faith is also so important to me, and it’s wonderful to ‘meet’ other ladies with similar values! 🙂 xo

  27. Morgan says:

    I just wanted to say you are such a great mom, daughter & sister! What an inspriation you are!! Keep up the great work and keep being fabulous!!!

    P.S. I agree, if the recipe is not simple, I shutdown and move on to the next. Too many ingredients = too many distractions in my world! 🙂

  28. Simple celebrations are the best! Big, extravagent parties can be fun, but more intamiate time with friends and family is the best
    I like to keep running simple, if that makes any sense. I like to run with minimal gear, aka ipod occasionally and not constantly think about my pace, distance, speed, etc… just simply run 🙂

  29. what is the recipe for the brownies, muffins? I would love it.

  30. Karolina says:

    My cooking needs to be pretty simple…anything more becomes stressful or gets ruined. It looks like you had a fantastic and special time with your family celebrating mother’s day. Very fun (and happy early mother’s day to you!)

  31. Those cupcake look awesome. And I REALLY love that quote!

  32. katie says:

    Aww..Tina thank you so much for featuring my recipe! 🙂 You look seriously AMAZING by the way! 🙂 Have a blessed mothers day!!! xoxo

  33. I try to keep my life as simple as possible in general. It’s too short to stress about most things! “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” right?

  34. Allie says:

    Happy Mother’s Day!!! 🙂 I can’t believe how much you and your mom & sis look alike!
    Baby B is looking wonderful as well <33

  35. cait says:

    just came across your blog! i love it! Happy Mothers Day!

  36. Michelle says:

    Happy Mother’s Day!!
    One thing I keep simple is my jewelry. I pretty much wear the same thing every day.

  37. What a wonderful way to celebrate Mothers’ day your mom is an amazing woman. As you said she has had a very challenging year and has clearly handled it with grace and courage.

    Happy Mothers Day to her and to you Tina! 🙂

  38. Tina, thanks for the Dashing Dish link! The recipe for those cupcakes sounds like some of the Weight Watcher recipes I use. I’ll have to give that one a try!

    Also, I’ve been eyeing the Nutella at the food store, but kept passing it up. Now I have a reason to buy it!! Thanks for the tips!

    Happy Mother’s Day!

  39. Morgan says:

    Happy Mother’s Day Tina!

Leave a Reply to *Andrea*

(required)

(required)


 

 
Catch Up With Recent Posts

Announcement Time

Posted: November 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes! I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness […]

88 CommentsRead more →

Self-Love Reflection: The Road Not Taken

Posted: November 20, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hello FFF readers! Nice to meet ya! My name is Carissa and my husband and I blog at Fit2Flex.  Well, I blog…he consults! We are both certified personal trainers with a passion for healthy, active living and clean eating.  I am also studying to become a registered dietitian, a race announcer, and a runner.  Stop […]

24 CommentsRead more →

Healthier Eating For Kids

Posted: November 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens! As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them […]

14 CommentsRead more →
 

Announcement

Posted: November 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey, everyone! I wanted to pop in and say I am working on some new and exciting changes.  As a result,I may not be posting as much during the coming week.  Please stay tuned for the big announcement! Love you all! And still feel free to find me on Twitter and Facebook for the time […]

21 CommentsRead more →

Where The Change Happens

Posted: November 16, 2011 at 7:54 am

It’s kind of funny. I become a certified personal trainer and the first workouts I turn to this week come from someone else. The book came in for me at the library last week and, after flipping through it, I couldn’t wait to give the circuits a go. Making The Cut includes a lot of […]

79 CommentsRead more →

From Beginning To End

Posted: November 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

Good morning! First off, thanks for the many congrats yesterday. Love you all bunches for the tons of support you have given me in so many things this year. I hope I can return a little bit of that love through this here blog as well. So yesterday I had my first parent-teacher “conference” for […]

55 CommentsRead more →