Just Lovely.

It's here... the weekend. I will do nothing but enjoy it starting right... now.

We're headed to dinner and the movies tonight. The weather is warm and I'm going to throw on some sandals and enjoy a nice evening stroll.

One of my favorite corner bistros.

And hopefully a fun little date night flick.

Followed by a scene similar to this Saturday morning...heavenly.

And of course I'll be celebrating only my new favorite holiday on Sunday. 

The Royal Anniversary duh.

Hope your weekends are just lovely my friends.

XOXO- Miss V.

Living Green.

I've been on a bit of a "green" kick lately which has me inspired to share a few of my favorite "around the web" tips, tricks, and "truths". The truths being some not so nice facts about some food items that are causing us harm ;(. None of this is intended to be preachy, because we're all learning here, including myself but I will say that living a "greener' more organic lifestyle has been a work in progress for Mr. Jones and I ever since we moved in together. There is still a long way to go and a lot to learn but thanks to some informative reading we are continuing to change our habits and creating a home and a lifestyle that is more sustainable, better for the planet, and healthier for us.

So let's start with a few of my fav's!

Being a complete OCD cleaner/neat freak I thoroughly enjoyed Veronica's post about her cleaning routine! No joke I love cleaning day at my house ;)

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Her post inspired me to share a few of my own favorite green cleaning products ;)

Mrs. Meyers! If you're not a fan of cleaning these products will surely make it a less tedious task if not change your mind entirely! Her scents are amazing and you'll feel good about using the all natural ingredients to get your home sparkly clean! I've used almost all of these and love them all.

 Method All Purpose Cleaner is a staple in the bathroom, I keep one in there at all times so I can quickly wipe down mirrors, counter tops, shelves or the floor with one great product! These also come in lovely scents.

My newest favorite! JR Watkins. Currently I have the lemon scent as my everyday counter top cleaner in the kitchen. Heaven in a spray bottle. The smell alone will make you want to find any reason to wipe down your counters any chance that you can ;)

(I buy all of my cleaning products at Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, great if you are always getting coupons in the mail for BB&B like I am ha!)

Next up the lovely Christina from Carolina Charm!

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She has a great little series going on right now called Handy Homemaker Tips and Tricks which I love! I love all of the homemade cleaning solutions she has on there and am determined to try them out for myself! Going green doesn't mean you have to spend more money...there are a ton of homemade cleaning solutions that you can make in bulk that will literally save you hundreds of dollars over the year! Love this tub scrub idea!

Pinterest is also a great resource for handy home tricks!

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 Ashley over at Adventures of Newlyweds is a great resource on healthy eating and exercise habits. She recently posted this info on how White Bread is made. gross. We LOVE Daves Killer Bread and all of the healthy benefits that come along with a super delicious taste. If you don't have Daves Killer Bread near you I would encourage you to look for breads/pastas etc. that are whole grain, and include things like flax, seeds, and as few ingredients as possible.

We really like this pasta as an alternative, while it's not 100% whole wheat it does contain all kinds of healthy vitamins, and it does not have that whole wheat chewy factor that I just can't get past ;( We eat pasta pretty regularly as we only eat meat once or twice a week so this is a great alternative.

Another eye opening article on the food we eat was this little expose on Chick-Fil-A posted by Food Babe via 100 Days of Real Food.  (another great read for healthy wholesome eating) Knowledge is power people. I'm really torn because I LOVE chick-fil-a and since we only eat it once a year when we are in the South I have a very good feeling it will be on our list of things to do..having said that  I LOVE that she provided an alternative recipe that will most likely be on our weekend menu sometime soon ;)

And last but not least, I am LOVING some free reads I scored on the Kindle recently which have been great for opening my eyes to all kinds of things.

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I'm telling you we are really changing the way we view our food around here, we've stepped it up and gone almost 100% organic in our grocery shopping and are in the process of signing up for an organic produce delivery service.. we're leaning towards this one which allows you to customize what's in your order and the size of your order.

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Learning to eat with the "seasons" is something I am really excited about not only will it be great to support local business, but it's fresh and organic and will teach us to eat and cook with the vegetables and fruit that is seasonally available.

Phew!! That is a lot of info to take in but I am just so motivated right now to continue to change our habits for the better and share what I've learned with others! I hope you can take something positive away from all of this and even better if you have something to share with me I would LOVE to hear about it!! It's a team effort to change the way in which we live and love our world and ourselves.


Peace, Love, and Granola,

xoxox Miss V.

Love Tank.

Hi friends! Well it's definitely Monday around here. Beginning with the fact that I forgot I was out of coffee...can you imagine? Pretty much any morning my only reason for getting out of bed is for that first delicious cup. From there it just was kind of... off. However not awful, just... a Monday. Moving on, let's discuss my last two weekends!! I have had some spectacular girl time over the last couple of weekends and as my fav Vicki Gunvalson would say, "My love tank is full!" Ha!

This past weekend Mr. Jones was in SD at our Alma Mater for his annual alumni soccer game, so... I quickly filled my weekend with jam packed friend time and it was heavenly. Lucky for me my darling Jules planned an impromptu trip from Portland which made it all the better, and my dear Cori was in town from SD as well! I really took zero pictures this weekend, (gasp). I had misplaced my camera, and am not a huge fan of iphone pics, on top of that it was just such a relaxing weekend that forcing a photo shoot on everyone non stop just felt a bit invasive. So you'll just have to use your imagination, and this one Sangria photo I stole from Danes.. (winos)

We spent Friday in the burbs at the Grindes drinking wine, munching on snacks and staying up waaay past our bedtimes just overdosing on girl chat. ;) Saturday morning we joined mama Kylie and little Ryland for brunch and then headed to the city to lounge in the sun all day by the pool. That evening Jules and Dana spent the night and we whipped up a Mexican fiesta, complete with homemade tortilla chips and Skinny Girl Sangria. YUM. Sunday I met up with Cori for lunch and the weekend ended with Mr. Jones home safe and sound cuddling on the couch. Phew... that was a lot.

The weekend before the girls and I tried something new for a Girls Night Out event... I present to you.. Wine and Canvas! Ha! What could be better than girl time, creativity, and take home art?  (oh and vino ;) We thouroughly enjoyed ourselves, although the three hour painting class could have been a tad shorter in my opinion,  but overall a very fun and different way to get out on a Saturday night with the ladies!

 Rach, Danes, and Tina ready to get started!

 Our art teacher who led us through the painting step by step.

 Myself, Rach H., Gina, and Laura ;)

All of the ladies with our finished paintings!

So proud of us!

All of these girls, plus lots of fun, a few glasses of wine, lots of laughs and heart to hearts, equals one happy lady.

So very grateful.

Hope your Monday is coming to a nice end and the rest of your week is filled with things that make your heart happy.

XOXO- Miss V.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...Tree Hugger.

Happy Wednesday friends! It seems that coming back from Spring break has been a tad more of an adjustment than I had anticipated. I'm day three (almost over) into being back into a normal work week and I have been on the go go go!! I LOVE checking things off my list but I also had to "call it quits" at some point this evening so I could set aside time to unwind, thank goodness for RHOC on demand and the ridik antics of these ladies in the wilderness. 

Speaking of nature...I am super excited for all of the fun Earth Day activities I have planned for my kiddos on Friday. We have some great books to dive into, 

 

a fun science experiment, a craft and a gardening activity!

 We'll be painting pots and planting flowers!

 I plan on taking pics to share! One of the things we'll be talking about is how important it is to conserve/preserve our National Parks and Natural areas. Mr. Jones and I recently headed across the Golden Gate Bridge and spent the day taking in the beautiful scenery that surrounds us. We spent time in the Marin Headlands natural area as well as enjoying some scenic dining in Sausalito.

 My handsome guy.

 Quite the entertainer... hmm

 Downtown beautiful Sausalito

 Doing my best Vanna White in front of the bridge..

Lucky in LOVE this week with our inspiring surroundings and trying to remember that every day should be spent loving on this planet Earth that we call home.

Peace, Love, and Granola..

xoxo- miss v.

Photo Book.

A little photo book of my spring break trip to NYC. Time spent with the fam was lovely. Hope you've all had a wonderful week, I've been enjoying a semi extended break and am back in the classroom tomorrow, then only 8 weeks until summer vacation! Enjoy the photos friends and wishing you all a very happy almost weekend.

Brooklyn and the Empire State building

Walking through the park with Mommy, visiting sweet friends in NJ and brunching with my Daddy.

Rooftop cocktails sunny strolls through the "squares" Union, Herald and Times ;) spending time with my Sissy.

Though they may be far these people and places are always close by in my heart.

xoxo- miss v.