July Disney Trip

Last Wednesday, my friend Stephanie and I headed up to Anaheim to go to Disneyland/ California Adventure. It has become our "thing" and we love it! The day was super humid and hot but the park wasn't as crowded as it normally is... bonus! We had quite the adventure with getting scolded several times by Disney employees, for doing things we didn't know was wrong lol. Also, Big Thunder closed twice while we were in line. The 2nd time it closed we were in line for 45 minutes and were the next people to get on. Huge bummer but they ended up giving us a fast pass for any time wanted. We were finally able to go on the ride after World of Color.  Oh yeah, they also closed down Main Street for awhile because of a bee hive too. :) Interesting day!

So excited to be in the park!!

Our first ride- Matterhorn, of course!

We had dinner at the Wine Trattoria which was so delicious. They had LOTS of gluten free options for Steph and it was nice to just sit for awhile.

So tired but powering through :) 

We got there are 8:30 and made it our mission to power through as late as possible. We had a blast and went on TONS of rides. One of my favorite rides of the day was Soaring Over the World (I think??). It used to be called Soaring Over California but they've recently changed it. They did a great job! We LOVED it!  We also got a fast pass to World of Color at California Adventure and WOW it was amazing! I had never seen it before and it was worth the wait! So beautiful!

We finally left around 10:30 and headed to our hotel. Such a fun day!

In the midst...

If you haven't noticed by now, I am a planner. I like to plan trips, date nights, my day, etc. Well this hasn't been working out so great for me because most of my plans lately have gone astray. A friend posted this verse today, and it really resonated with me. I know that when things don't go my way, that means that He is at work in my life. His plans are far greater than I can imagine and I know I will never fully understand. I am really trying to wrap my head around this at the moment.

Life has been a little nuts for us lately and it seems like the crazy just keeps on coming. Some of it have been great things... like this house we are renting. Our plans for buying didn't work out but we are loving our new house. Some of them are not so great things... I'm praying that the Lord will give me strength during this time and help me meditate on this verse. I know I don't understand, but someday I will.

Another friend sent me this prayer before my doctor's appointment this week and I have clung to every word.

 Just wanted to encourage you all today in the ways that I have been encouraged and uplifted. :)

General Tso's Chicken

I have been a HUGE fan of General Chicken since my days at P.F. Changs. It's a great combination of spicy and sweet and is basically a crowd favorite! I found a gluten free version of General Tso's Chicken on Whitneybond.com. If you guys haven't stopped by there before then you need to immediately. She has GREAT recipes and I've used a ton of them. I love that this recipe is gluten free because even though I don't strictly eat gluten free, I feel better when I eliminate as much as possible. Here is my version of her recipe... to see the original click here.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp canola oil (divided- I used more because I had extra chicken)
1/4 cup of gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Sriracha
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh garlic (grated)
2 tsp fresh ginger (I omitted this because I was out)
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tsp crushed red peper flakes
1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into large chunks) ** I doubled this
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 small dried red chilies (I omitted the chilies because I couldn't find any)
1/2 cup scallions (sliced- iIdiced them because I don't like the large chunks)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 tbsp canola oil with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, honey, garlic, ginger, Chinese five spice, and red pepper flakes. Set aside. ***I doubled the sauce recipe because I had over two lbs of chicken. This was a mistake because it was crazy spicy haha. Next time, I won't add as much red pepper flakes, Sriracha, and Chinese five spice. :)

2. Toss the chicken breast in the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. **I used extra cornstarch because I had more chicken.

3. Add the remaining canola oil to a large skillet over medium- high heat. I used extra canola oil because I had more chicken.

4. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes.

5. Add the chilies ( I didn't do this part) and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add the scallions and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and serve over rice. We used brown rice and it was delicious!!

**Next time, I would add in veggies and cut down on the spice. It was sooo good though!

Five on Friday {Change of Plans}

Happy Friday everyone! Today marks the first day that the Nordstrom sale is open to the public. I have no idea why I don't have a Nordstrom debit card... lol I could have shopped the sale a week ago! I actually tried to get one yesterday but the system is down. So, I'll be shopping the sale today! More on that later... I hope you have a great weekend!

One- Change of Plans

On my last Five on Friday, I posted about how excited I was to go on our upcoming trip to Cancun. Actually, I've talked about it a lot... Unfortunately, we had to cancel the trip. :( My doctor advised us not to go since we are trying to have a baby. Such a bummer. Originally, I wasn't worried about the Zika virus when we booked our trip because I hadn't heard anything about Mexico having the virus. Well apparently I'm not very geographically aware because Cancun is right next to all the places that have had serious issues with it.

On the CDC website, it has Mexico as a level 2 which means travel with precaution. When I saw this, I thought the doctor would just tell us to wear lots of bug spray and stay out of areas that are more prone to mosquitos. Boy was I wrong. He was very direct in telling us that we would be putting ourselves at great risk because there is no way for us to know 100% whether we contracted the virus. We would have to wait 6 months to continue trying to have a baby. It's just not worth it in the long run. For women who are not pregnant or trying to conceive, you're fine... so don't let this scare you :)

That being said, I'm extremely sad to miss this trip with my parents. We were going to celebrate their 30th anniversary and the resort sounded amazing. My parents have been super accommodating and tried to change the trip so we could go. We spent two days looking at tons of resorts, cruises, etc. I have never stared at a computer screen for that long lol. Unfortunately, a lot of tropical places are having the same issues as Mexico. Also, we just couldn't get the same kind of deal we had in Cancun.

I've been super emotional about the entire situation but I think it was the disappointment in everything, not just the trip that made me upset. My parents and Mark have been so sweet trying to reason with me and not make me feel like it's my fault. I'm hoping we can plan another trip like this again one day... maybe we will have a baby by then :)

Stephanie sent me the quote above: "God's plans for your life far exceed the circumstances of your day." - Louie Giglio. So true and it just confirms everything Mark and I were talking about this week. The Lord has a plan for us and I know that it's better than my own, just some days I have to hold a little tighter to that truth, than others.

Two- Business Meeting

My friend Sara and I had a business meeting on Tuesday. It was so great to finally meet her son Layton!! He's the most precious little thing and just hung out with us the entire time we had breakfast and talked business. There are so many perks to my Rodan+ Fields business but one of the best things is working with friends. :)

Three- Nordstrom Sale Picks

Booties  |  Purse |  Cardigan

Leggings  |  Jeans  |  T-shirt

Four- New Fave Salad

Mark's cousin, Laura. made the best salad a few months back at Tracy's bachelorette weekend. It has farrow in it and I've never cooked farrow before. Let me tell you, it was the easiest thing ever and tasted delicious! I made it with Chicken Milanese... another favorite of ours. You need to make this salad asap! Just a heads up, I omitted the radishes. 

Five- Blink 182 Concert

Last night, Mark and I went to the All American Rejects, A Day to Remember, and Blink 182 concert. It brought me right back to middle/ high school. I use to go to concerts ALL the time in high school and we were both super into punk. I wish I had my studded belt and checkered vans still haha!  Such a fun concert!

Weekend Recap {Moving Craziness}

Happy Monday everyone! Whew, that was a busy weekend... I am SO glad that the moving process is now over. We had lots of help, which was very much appreciated. Moving is not fun but with help, it is way more manageable. THANK YOU to everyone who came out and pitched in. I know it wasn't ideal to move on a Friday, but I'm glad it's over. We are officially all moved in and have made a big dent in the unpacking. YAY!

Our yay-we-are-done-moving-dinner :) 

Breakfast at Better Buzz...yum!

Mark hung a bunch of our pictures, so it's starting to feel much more like home. 

On Saturday night, we had a double date with the Kernkamps at the new movie theater in Point Loma. We saw the Infiltrator and I highly recommend it. Such a great movie!! The movie theater was super neat as well. It was like a Cinepolis but the outside restaurant and bar area were so beautiful and open. We can't wait to go back. 

On Sunday, we went to Mark's work get-together at the Padres game. We invited Rob and Spencer to come and we had a great time. Mark and I were pretty burnt out from the weekend so we ended the night on the couch watching a movie and relaxing. 

I'm ready to tackle this week and knock some more items off of my to-do list. I'll update you with more house pictures when we get some more done. Have a great day!

Five on Friday {Moving Day!}

Happy Friday everyone! It's officially moving day... ahhhh! Isn't moving just the worst?? I'm ready for it to be over haha. Packing and boxes have taken over my life! Hopefully today will go smoothly and we can get everything at least moved. Tomorrow we plan on patching any holes from nails, screws, etc. and I want to start unpacking then. Thank the Lord I am out of school right now. I don't know how people move during the school year. It would be more stressful, that's for sure!

image via

One- Visitors

We had visitors in town this week and we had a blast playing "tourist" with them for a few days. Chase hasn't been here in forever so it was super sad to see him leave. 

Two- Vacation Clothes

image via- it's even cuter in person!

Every time I'm out somewhere I am constantly on the hunt for new things for our Cancun trip. I found this adorable dress at Target last week and knew it would be perfect for dinner while we are there. I love the off the shoulder detail and the tassels are perfect! 

image via

How cute is this dress? I want to go back and get it because it's only $20! I love the blue tones. 

image via

I love this one too!

Three- New Shower Curtain

Image via

I bought this shower curtain this week for our new house. Anything with a a blue hue is my type of color :) 

Image via

I got these bath mats to go with it. Buying new things for the house is so fun! Expensive... but fun lol!

Four- Books, Books, Books

Buy it here

I have been trying to read as mush as possible and currently I am obsessed with the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. A friend introduced me to them and I love it. It's like a mix between the Hunger Games and Divergent. I'm almost done with the first book and I"m excited to keep going in the series.

buy it here

I also finished The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews and I really liked it! It was an easy read but had more substance than some other beach reads. Pick this up for your next vacation!

Buy it here

This is my next choice after the Delirium series. :)

Five- New Getting Ready Area

In our new place we only have one bathroom. That's a major bummer but Mark had the great idea of making me a "getting ready" area with a vanity. We've been looking at different desks and drawers to make the space more functional. 

buy it here

I like this white, glossy looking table from IKEA. It's not too wide so it will save space and you can buy drawers that fit underneath. 

buy it here

The Alex desk is a little wides but has space to hide cords in the back. This is the other option. We are going to measure the little closet/ room so see if it will fit. 

Think happy thoughts for us as we move today!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Weekend Recap

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend, I know we did. We had lots of things going on from a friend's birthday party to spending the day walking/ driving around Pacific Beach. Lots of fun!

Friday night's dinner: Stuffed portobello mushrooms and roasted red potatoes. I wasn't a fun of the mushrooms but Mark loved them.

On Saturday, our friend's hubby threw her a surprise birthday party at the beach. It was a beautiful day and a great time with friends. 

She's the cutest- look at that tiny surfboard!

Birthday Girl

On Sunday, family came in town so we went to Wonderland in OB for breakfast. YUM. We spent the day walking around PB, stopping in various places, and checking out some beach cruisers. We are looking to by some soon :) YAY! 

breakast at Wonderland- they look thrilled to take a picture!

watching the UEFA Euro Finals

blueberry cheesecake/ salted caramel ice cream... yum!

Later on, we had dinner with the Woosters. So much fun!

How cute is she??

Baby Emiko and Chasen

It was a great weekend and now it's packing time since we only have a few days left! AHH! Pray for us :)