the truth always comes out

You may have noticed that last week on the blog, things were a little sparse (see fake birthday and arm party posts). This is because the one thing I can think to blog about is exactly the one thing I don't want to blog about.

You see. I went vegan.

I know.

I love chicken! And I've long since admitted that I'm not technically an animal lover (minus puppies).

I didn't want to blog about it for those reasons, and because I feel somewhat bandwagon/poserish.

But, many of you also know that for the last ten years I have struggled with some major digestive issues and as much as I love chicken, what I'd love even more is to feel better.

So, last month a doctor suggested I try a vegan diet. It's been a few weeks and, although I am missing my favorite protein sources (chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt and cheese. OK. And FroYo.), I am off to a good start. Last year, for the same reasons, I gave up all grains and sugar, and the fact that I can now fully add those items back in is making the transition significantly easier.

This is certainly not going to become a vegan blog because (1) there are already so many resources out there dedicated to it, (2) I'm far from being a SME and (3) after trying so many different remedies, I am not yet buying in that it will work. A little jaded, I admit. But, at this point, it's better not to get my hopes up every time.

However, I did recently try my first dedicated vegan baking experience with these chickpea chocolate chip cookies. They taste slightly less sweet than traditional cookies, but are still pretty great. Mine took 20 minutes to cook, not 10 like she said.

I'm sure I'll dabble in some vegan posts as I continue to embark on this new lifestyle. If you have any tips, feel free to send them my way.

So that's that. Now you know what I've been hiding :)

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&a happy thursday it was

If you can't beat em, join em, which was exactly our mentality last night. We knew we couldn't beat the heat (106 today through Sunday!), so why not just dive right in? The entire evening was spent outside and I loved every minute of it.

Melissa, Lindsey and I ventured to Atlanta's Food Truck Park. It was very happy, particularly because I tried the Happy Hippie from the Happy Food Truck. You can't even deny that much happiness!

After that I journeyed over to the Goat Farm for my sweet friend Savannah's going away party. It was only my second time to the farm, buuut I kind of love it there. 

I'm really sad, for myself, that Sav is moving, but after seeing her last night - from her excitement around her new job, to the way she glowed when she talked about being with her family - I can't deny that this is a great move for her. I will miss her very much, especially her Sunday night dinners and our afternoons by the pool with King of Pops, but I am really excited for her to begin this new adventure. <3

And now, it's Friday. Which is the perfect way to wrap up a lovely Thursday night, if I do say so myself.

Ain't No Party Like an Arm Party

Post fake birthday blues? Nothing a few bangles won't cure. 

Lately I've been really into mixing ridiculously mismatched bracelets like peach&grey + gold + teal&brown. Whether or not it works is debatable, but for someone who once had a strict no bracelet policy, I think it is a lovely change. 

I hope you had fun pretending it was your birthday and possibly popped some champagne. I'm honored by how many people wished me happy fake birthday. 

I think I should do this more often.

But seriously. 

This could get out of hand.

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the flossy, flossy

Do you ever have those days where you're feeling slightly less excited than usual? Not boredom - because that denotes a lack of busyness - but possibly less stimulated? I've arrived at this Wednesday a little less buzzy than usual, approaching my to do list with a lesser than multiple evils attitude.

What's the deal? I don't think I'm alone either. It seems everyone is busy with a side of blahs. I *think* it has to do with all of the anticipation for next weeeek - we're just so excited for the Four Day Fourth week ahead that we're forgetting to enjoy this lovely end of June.

And so. On this June 27 day, I shall live like it is my birthday. (And you should too!)

When I lived with Hannah, we liked to pretend it was our birthdays all the time, which included keeping both of our Happy Birthday banners hung all the time (see here), drinking champagne even when we weren't celebrating (unless you count the Bachelor as a celebration), and pretending calories don't count with random midweek cupcakes.

I'm fairly certain these actions will put the pep right into my step today.

I'll let you know it goes!

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