Like a good neighbor...

State farm is there!

If you watch the tv at all you know these commercials are all over the place.

For the last few days Cooper has been howling at the TV randomly and we couldn't figure out why. Andrew started watching and these commercials make cooper howl as soon as they play the jingle.

Why... I don't know but it cracks me up!

We finally recorded a video

So if you watched it and didn't laugh you have a heart of stone!

Thai Inspired Coconut Shrimp

I recently discovered Skinny Taste and honestly I don't know how I was out of the loop for so long!

I realized after my discovery I am probably the last person on earth to discover her wonderful blog of recipes!

At this point I am kicking myself in the but because I am always a stickler for eating healthy and this is the perfect site for me. I went on a pinterest pinning frenzy for a good hour on her blog!

So here is my latest creation: Thai Inspired Coconut Garlic Shrimp :)

Yummmo!

Ingredients: 

(She is much more of a stickler for exact measurements because she calculates points and calories, I on the other hand am much more of an estimator)

1 bag frozen Shrimp(Thawed)

EVOO

1 bell pepper sliced

1/2 cup of cilantro

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 can diced tomatoes

14oz can light coconut milk

1 squeezed limed
Directions:

In a medium pot, heat oil on low. Add red peppers and sauté until soft (about 4 minutes). Add scallion whites, 1/4 cup cilantro, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, coconut milk and salt to taste, cover and simmer on low about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend together and to thicken the sauce.

Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Add lime juice.

To serve, divide equally among 4 bowls and top with scallions and cilantro.

Hope you enjoy her recipe as much as I did! Yumm

Guest Post: Lauren from The Merry Mrs. Mobley

Here is another amazing blogger. Lauren actually know each other IRL aka before either of us had a blog! She is such a great women and she inspires me every day with her words! 

Hello to the fabulous readers of Adventures of the Southern Wife! My name is Lauren and I blog over at the merry mrs. mobley. I met the oh so sweet Brianna a few years ago when we were both students at the greatest university in North Carolina-NC State! I am honored to be guest posting for y'all today about something near and dear to my heart, as well as Brianna's-being healthy!

Running

One of my favorite ways to stay healthy is to run! I don't claim to be a champion of any sort, but there are few things better than getting outside for a good run after a long day of teaching hormonal middle schoolers.

Here I am running my first 10K!

 Evening Walks

My hubby and I try to fit in a walk each evening. Some days this is easier said than done. In the Winter we may be bundled up and in the Summer we may be dripping in sweat, but there is something wonderful about having some uninterrupted time with my love and pup each day. This is when we rehash our days and dig deep into our marriage!

A tired Daisy after a good walk.

CrossFit

This is more the hubby's thing than mine, but it's slowly becoming something we do together. In fact he signed me up for a month of beginner's classes at a local "box"-eek! There is something to be said about two eldest children competing in a workout to win. Talk about a challenge!

Nothing like a workout while on vacation!

Healthy Eating 

Aside from the occasional, okay okay nightly sweet treat, we're pretty healthy eaters in our house. We enjoy everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to grilled meats on a daily basis. We've learned that we feel better when we eat better. Check out my foodie page for lots of our favorites!

This is one week from our local CSA box!

Goodbye year two, hello year three!!

Two years ago I made the best decision and married my best friend!

I can't believe how fast two years have flown by!

We are still in DC exploring and celebrating our 2nd anniversary but I will be back later this week and recap our whole trip!

If you can't wait till then, you can click that little button on the right and follow me on instagram!!

Guest Post: Amanda from Eloquent English!

So here is another one of my favorite bloggers! I am totally not a fashion blogger so it will be a nice change for you guys to read about fashion on my blog! Amanda is also the one who took those amazing pictures of us that I posted about a few weeks ago!

Hi there!  I'm Amanda and I blog over at Eloquent English!  A blog that has nothing to do with speaking eloquently, and everything to do with fashion, lifestyle and stuff that is interesting to us.

a little about me and a little about style...

How did you get into blogging?

To be honest, boredom.  With my job responsibilities, I found that I would go through major spurts of downtime.  I use to shop a lot online and I'm pretty sure the UPS man figured if there wasn't a package delivered that day I must have fallen ill.  I figured I should probably do something else other than spend money, so I started a blog.

What's the one thing you learned about yourself from blogging?

That the word 'eloquent' is rather ironic as I am a terrible writer!  Over the last year I've been able to practice my writing skills and hone in on what I really enjoyed writing about.  I think that's one of the most important things about having a blog.  Write about what you love!

Jacket: Gap, Shirt: Gap, Jeans: Banana Republic Factory, Shoes: Converse, Bag: Theit, Necklace: Sprightly So

How would you describe your personal style?

From day to day that can change, but for the most part I'm pretty simple and classic.  Most weekdays I dress professionally in Banana Republic and on the weekends I like to dress a little more down to earth in Urban Outfitters or something of that nature.

What was your most recent purchase?

A Purple Ombre Maxi Skirt from the Market and a Grey Ombre Shirt from Urban Outfitters!  Apparently I was in an ombre mood!


What's a quick go-to outfit when your running late?

I tend to layer a lot of clothes since I'm always cold.  I'd probably throw a pair of skinny jeans, a funky cardigan and a cute pair of heels AND if my hair isn't blown out, I'd throw it up in a big ole bun!

Yes, more train tracks!!!  Okay, same tracks on a different day.

beanie: UO, shirt: F21, cardigan: Zara (similar), jeans: Gap, shoes: Journey's, bag: theit

Can you share your top 3 style tips?

1. If you find something that you love, it's okay to buy more than one of it.  If it works well, why not?

2. Be open minded!  Sometimes we say, 'it's cute, but it's not me'.  Try it on anyways, you never know!

3. Light scarves are a great affordable accessory this time of year.  You can wrap it around your neck, wear it as a headband, tie it on your purse or wear it as a belt.  So many options!

Jeans and t-shirt or dress?

I'm definitely a jeans and a t-shirt girl.  I'm one for the utmost comfort!  Don't get me wrong, I still own plenty of dresses!

Flats or heels?

Heels all the way!  I have a lot of shoes, but I find myself grabbing my nude heels a lot.  For one, heels make you taller and at 5'4" I need a little height.  The nude color also makes your legs look longer! and the nude color matches almost everything.  I love my Nine West Gwendle Pump in Camel!

Guest Post: Laura from Life of Lu

So my first guest blogger for you is Laura from Life of Lu. This post made me laugh cause as a fellow teacher it is so true. Hope you enjoy!

Hi friends! I'm Laura, from Life of Lu, and I'm so excited to be guest-posting for Brianna while she enjoys her track-out vacay with her hubs! I'm just going to go ahead and say that I'm totally jealous that she gets to visit two of my favorite cities, Charleston and D.C.! Lucky girl!

One of my favorite things about Brianna and her blog is that she's a teacher (just like me!), newlywed-ish (just like me!), and she lives in the Triangle area of NC (just like me!)....can you tell we have a lot in common? So, when I was thinking about ideas for this guest post, I knew there were a lot of directions I could go, but I decided, that in light of teacher appreciation week having just wrapped up, that I'd go the teaching route!

We're going to play a little game called You Know You're a Teacher When... 

I did this here on my blog last year and have been collecting some new ones this school year! And, even if you're not a teacher but have just spent any amount of time with a child, I think you'll be able to relate to at least some of them!

Let's play!

You Know You're a Teacher When...

1. You have all kinds of awkward conversations with students about why using phrases like "lady crotch" are inappropriate for school...and life, really!

2. You discover random post-it notes with multiplication facts written all over them stuck to your shoes at the end of the day

3. You could easily transition into a job as a therapist if teaching doesn't pan out because you conduct at least 20 mediations a day, prompting kids to use "I feel statements" over and over again :) Oh, the drama!

4. You supply all of the holiday treats at your family Christmas gathering...because everyone knows what teachers really want for their holiday gift is sweets ;)

5. You open your closet and 3/4 of the items are from Loft...I hope that's not just me!?

6. You're not phased by the multiple lies you get told on a daily basis-- my favorite:  "I don't know how my bouncy ball ended up in the toilet...it must have been a magical blue orb." Totally believable!

7. You secretly get a thrill out of intercepting notes between students, especially love notes!

8. Your friends and family (who inevitably make more money than you!) constantly emphasize how good of deal or how cheap something was to convince you that it's not going to put a dent in your generous teacher salary!

9. You've mastered the art of keeping a straight face when you ask kids simple questions, like, "Did you enjoy the new milk in the cafeteria?" and get answers like, "Das baby milk, like from the tinks" as the student makes the gesture for boobs OR you get told things like, "I pooped a poop to big to flush."

10. Your Friday afternoon "Professional Development" includes adult beverages and your favorite teacher friends :)

Ok, all you teachers out there...it's your turn! You know you're a teacher when... Go!

I hope you guys have a fabulous week, and thanks again, Brianna, for letting me hang out here on your bloggy today!

How Track Out Feels

So I tracked out last week and I had every intention of blogging everyday.

Well umm its Friday and its the first time I sat down at my computer so we all know that didn't work out!

I promise I haven't been sitting on my couch napping an eating junk food!

So here is what my week looked like

- Andrew surprised me by staying home one day and after he went for his weekly morning man coffee came home with this delicious treat for breakfast. Man he knows the way to my heart :)

- Cooper has been enjoying my track out as well. He sits by the window all day long and the only time he moves is to go to another window that has better access to the sun

- I signed up for emeals a few weeks ago and this is one of my newest attempts. Its a Thai inspired coconut garlic shrimp!It was delicious! Recipie to come next week.

- May was starting to scare me that we were not going to reach pool weather. But luckily the weather fairy new I was tracking out and needed some days by the pool. 

- We are heading to spend a week in DC for our anniversary and said we weren't going to do gifts. But Andrew surprised me with this home-made gem. Its a picture of our first dance and the lyrics of the song we danced to. What a romantic ( ps this is totally not like him so I was so surprised!)

- I have to admit this book has rocked my world. I heard such great things about it so when Amazon offered the kindle version for free I jumped on it! Lets just say I read the book in less than 24 hours. Its an amazing story of a girl, turned wife, turned mother and her experiences with God's amazing grace and timing in her life.

So that is all. Hope you had a great week and venture to the pool this weekend, the weather is beautiful!

Shake My Head...

Ever have that moment when you see someone do something and all you can think is SMH!!

It's even worse when that embarrassing thing happens to you!

So lets turn it back to my senior year in high school for this story.

Andrew and I had been together for 2 years and we were going to his brother-in-law's parents house for  his nephews birthday party ( did you follow that??!!)

So the party went great, we grilled out, ate cake, opened presents and then it was time to go.

Andrew's mom asks me to go upstairs and get Andrew so I do.

I walk to the bonus room and everyone is on the floor playing, including a person on the floor on all fours with their butt up in the air. Now in my case they were thin and fit like Andrew so what do I do, I walk up and slap their butt so hard and who turns around but Andrew's sisters father-in-law.

Yes yall, I smacked a 70 year old man's butt. My face turned as red as a cherry and he looked at me and said "Woohoo, can you tell my wife I like it rough!"

Omg I wanted to die. I apologized no less than a million times and everyone was dying laughing.

To this day I still get teased about it!

Spring Photoshoot with Amanda English Photography :)

A picture is worth a thousand words.
I love pictures and I always told Andrew I wanted to make sure we document our lives by taking family pictures every year.
I was so excited when Amanda asked me to take some pictures with her because she was going to open a photography business.
Check her out on facebook here

So we met at Historic Oak View County Park in Raleigh and began our photo shoot.

I had never been here before and yall its beautiful!

Here are so of my favorite shots!






















I hope you loved them as much as I did!
Now I just need to pick out which ones I want up in my house!

Want to help a blogger out??

Lord yalll!

Track out is upon us year round track 2er's and Friday at 12:45 can't come fast enough!

I am looking forwards to these next three weeks off!

Andrew and I will be spending about a week and half vacationing and celebrating our 2nd anniversary in 

Washington DC

And....

Charleston, SC

So here is where you come in..

I need some help keeping this blog afloat! 

So if you love guest blogging or just want to guest blog for me let me know!!

Frightened

So yes I am sure you are shocked there is a post coming from my section of the web.

These last few weeks have been crazy but that is for another time.

While I haven't been blogging but I have been reading yall's and I noticed this blog everyday in May and thought it would be a great way to get the creative juices flowing!

So Frightened...

Fears, Anxiety, Phobias

I have a million but here are my top 3 and some of my fav ecards to go with them!

1. Close Spaces

Yes yall I have some intense claustrophobia.

When I was a junior in high school I got stuck in an elevator at the University of Maryland and since then its all gone down hill. It was 2.5 hours yall with about 20 other people! 

Now I don't like being trapped in anything where I can't get out on my own will:: Airplanes, trains, elevators, etc

2. Doctors

I hate the doctor ( except the dentist he doesn't tell you that your terminally ill). I can diagnose myself with any terminal disease with the help of my anxiety and WebMD. For that reason going to the actual doctor brings my feels up even more!

3.Storms

I hate storms. Anything that can just drop out of the sky and blow over a house, or crack the earth and engulf a house isn't high on my list of favorite things. You'll find me during any severe weather glued to the news.