One Word

I’ve seen this idea all over the internet since January 1^st.  Instead of a New Years Resolution that you know you’ll never keep, pick a word for the year—one word to bring focus and perspective.  I love this idea! And, I’ve been thinking about it since I saw it.  My word for 2014 is gratitude. 

I think in a day where social media is so prevalent: blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest; it’s really easy to get lost in what you don’t have.  A perfectly decorated house, the picture perfect family, time to cook the perfect meal while executing the ultimate DIY project and making sure to keep up with your cleaning schedule so there is never a chance that your house will ever look lived in.  Umm…that’s not reality.  Seriously.  I have to remind myself of that often.  That is not to say that I am going to give up reading all of my fav blogs every day or perusing any of the other sites mentioned above.  I love them.  They make me happy most of the time.  It just means that this year I want to actively practice gratitude for what I do have and for what I am capable of accomplishing. 

2013 had its ups and downs, but it left me so much to be grateful for.  Seth and I got married.  We started building a new house—on the water!  We both have the most amazing families EVER that stick by each other through thick and thin.  We have a pup (and human) who made it through a pretty bad car wreck and we both started new jobs that we love.  This year I have realized how lucky I am to have the friends I do in my life, new and old, they are pretty awesome. Not to mention the very basics—a roof over our heads, food on the table, and (rather nice) clothes on our backs.

When I stop and look at all of the things in my life I have to be grateful for, it makes it easier to navigate through the hard days (and we all have them).  I hope that focusing on the good will put life in general into perspective.  It’s easy for me to be insanely dramatic get worked up and focus on everything that is wrong instead of taking a moment to realize that most things I deal with on a day to day basis aren’t life or death.  An open mind and a grateful heart can do wonders.

What’s your word for 2014?

Cheers,

Nicole

Juicing Update

Just popping in for a quick update on the juicing.  I can’t believe I am going to say this, but this experience has been life changing good.  I feel better than I have in years (which is sad to say at only 29 years old), I’ve only had one migraine in the last 11 days, I am off all of my medication except one and I’m down to the lowest dosage on that, oh, and I lost 10lbs in the first 8 days—I just feel healthier.

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t always easy, there were some days when I just wanted to pack it up and eat a juicy t-bone steak.  But, when I really stopped and thought about it, I wasn’t hungry—I just missed the ritual of food.  That is probably the weirdest part, to not sit and chew something three (or more) times a day.

In full disclosure, I revised the plan a bit after consulting with my doctor, so I ended up eating and juicing for the first five days, just juicing for five days, and am now in the process of eating and juicing again for another five days (I’m basically just repeating the first five days of the plan).  I am doing it this way because we are so close to Christmas and I wanted to be able to eat, drink, and be merry, without getting sick from just suddenly eating rich foods again overnight.

So, I’m asking for a juicer for Christmas (I borrowed the one I used for this cleanse).  After this experience this is something I feel really strongly about continuing, it’s the first time in a long time that my body feels good.  I’ve suffered from chronic pain for a long time and hopefully I’m on the right track with this (in combination with my chiropractic treatments and magnesium supplements). 

I’ll keep everyone posted as I get back to real life.  I do plan on eating normally again…I just want to be more conscious of what is going into my body and will try to eat cleaner than I have been.  For me that simply means a lot more veggies and fruits and less processed food along with my (hopefully organic and hormone free) protein. 

Cheers,

Nicole

Early New Years Resolution and Juicing

I’m back--with an early New Years resolution of really keeping up with my blog this year.  It has become a sad overgrown lawn in need of desperate care and maintenance.  I miss having it as an outlet, as a space to share my thoughts, feelings and life, whether or not anyone is actually reading.

Let’s start with a personal moment.  I’ve had migraines since I was 7 years old.  Like way bad migraines.  Ones that have required constant prophylactic medication, hospital visits, countless neurologists, and even an injection that I give myself Seth gives me when it gets really unbearable.

Recently they’ve been extra bad.  I’ve seriously had one everyday for a month.  I come home from work, take a shot, strap on a cold mask, and beg my husband to rub my head while I fall asleep—all before 7pm.  Not a very fun way to live.

So, I started going to an Upper Cervical Chiropractor.  You can read more about that here, if you are interested. So far it seems to be working.  And, at the suggestion of my Chiropractor, I’ve jumped on the juicing train in an effort to really detox and reboot my body.

I am doing a 15 day reboot plan where you eat and juice for 5 days and juice only for 10 days.  So far it’s been three days and a lot of kale.  Honestly, it is so much food for the first 5 days, it is almost hard to eat it all, I feel like all I do is eat all day long.  Here’s a peek of what my days have looked like..

I am happy to report that so far, I feel pretty good (despite fighting a cold).  I’ve been warned that the first few days are rough, but hopefully easing into the juicing by eating first will help.  I'll keep posting with progress for anyone interested! 

I'm Back!

Hello my long lost blog friends!!

So, today I met Chassity from one of my favorite blogs Look Linger Love.  It was really cool, like dorky slightly stalker-ish cool.  She came into the store and I felt like a major celebrity had just walked in.  And, she is totally sweet.  It inspired me to get back on the blog train.  It’s been a really long time, too long.  I’ve been really busy an unfortunately my blog has suffered as a result.

Let’s start with my last post…apparently; it’s IMPOSIBLE to plan a wedding (and keep a full time job) for $10,000 – in America.  But, don’t worry, I didn’t fail at my task completely…I am in fact having a wedding for less than $10,000---in the Dominican Republic.  Yup.  Seth and I are getting hitched here in the DR in two months.  So far it’s been a lovely and stress free planning experience consisting of a one-page checklist that I had to email back to my wedding coordinator.

In other news, as many of you know, my Dad and I opened up a bakery in May.  SweetMan’s Baked Goods is located in Pawleys Island, SC in the Pawleys Island Plaza (next to Tuesday Morning) pardon the shameless plug.  It’s certainly been a learning experience and everyday gets better.  Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to… some yummy treats to make up for my absence.

Cheers,

Nicole

PS. Welcome to the world Addison Eadon.  Congrats to a proud mommy and Daddy!

Forward Movement

This week was a good week. For those of you who don’t know, I have been working hard with my Dad on plans to open our own bakery.  

"Like" SBG on facebook and stay tuned for updates!

He happens to be THE most phenomenal baker eva (must be where I get it from).  Anyway, we went to look at some potential store locations this week.  We found an awesome spot, we need to work out the logistics, but it felt great to have forward movement on a dream that we both share. 

In honor of forward movement and “following my bliss,”  I got some business cards made for my growing cake business.

Aren’t they cute? 

Last week I had two more orders…

A fresh coconut cake for George (it was his birthday) and I know you are not supposed to brag about your own cakes, but as a self-proclaimed “Coconut Hater” I was expecting to be ambivalent about it at best, so imagine my surprise when I tasted it and it was the most delicious, perfectly sweet, and all around amazing cake I’ve ever had!

I actually went to Whole Foods, got two coconuts and went to work…I think George will agree that it was worth every swing of my mallet (that I used to crack the coconuts)!

The other cake was a chocolate on chocolate for another birthday. I made mini cupcakes of this one (to taste test) and it was a chocolate lovers dream!

Stay tuned for more cakes and more wedding planning!  And, let me know if anyone needs a cake, I know someone who can make them ;)!

Today I'm Thankful for my Family

I know that its now the middle of January.  But, I wanted to take a minute to re-visit the holiday season.  It went by so quickly, and it seems to go faster every year.  I'm so thankful for my family and my new fiance-- I'm one lucky gal!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes and Cake

The ultimate question...Can a girl ever have too many shoes?  I think not my friends... I for one have a problem, a real shoe problem.  I know Seth was SHOCKED, to say the least, when we moved in together and he saw how many pairs I actually owned.

So, it seemed fitting that my latest cake was a shoe...on top of a shoe box.  I love it.  It turned out amazing and the 15 year old girl who received loved it too! Which is even better...