Quick, Budget Friendly Work Out

One thing I learned, and expected, was that all that lovely weight that was lost to get into the fabulous wedding dress comes back quickly! I love the comfortable and secure feeling I have about myself in my marriage, but my pants are not longer comfortable. J and I decided that it was time to get back in shape since neither of us can afford new wardrobes. Mr. google found us two easy workouts that are high cardio, 15 minute calorie burners!

The first one is the Kettle Ball Swing :

This is a great workout that can be done with various weight and repetitions. Our workout suggested using a 15lb kettle ball and doing 15 workdown reps (first time you do 15, second is 14, third is 13, etc. You can reverse order too). We do this workout in alternating reps with the next workout I am about to show you. My first time I had to start at about six reps because I was so out of shape.

Kettle Ball Form:

1. You want to have a flat back with a natural arch when you squat.

2. When swinging the kettle ball between your legs, you want to swing it in the high thigh area. If you swing close to your knees your back and shoulders curve.

3. Swing it forward to shoulderish height. Squeeze your butt and hold your shoulders back.

The second one is the Squat Thrust:

Wow! This is a tough workout! It looks easy breezy but this is a big cardio workout! Like I said, we alternate the kettle ball swing sets with these, (kettle ball, squat thurst, kettle ball, squat thrust). You do these reps the same as the kettle ball. If you are feeling brave, or are in better shape than me, you can jazz this up. When you get into the plank position, do a pushup before getting back into the squat. You can also add a jump into your stand after you come back from the plank(or pushup).

So these only take about 15 minutes so there is no excuse of having no time. These are guarateed to raise that heart rate and leave you sore for a couple of days! These were listed as part of the Top 10 at home workouts from Bankok Health & Fitness. Check them out for more tips!

Groving Goodies

I live in Oxford, Ms which inevitably means that I am part of a tent group in the grove at Ole Miss. Although I am a State fan (gasp) I enjoy socializing in the Grove. Now that I am a married woman, I participate in the bringing of food to the tent. Although J would be just fine to buy food to take, I am determined to practice my cooking skills and find some tasty reipes.

My first mouth watering find:

Ham and Cheese Sliders



courtesy of

The Girl Who Ate Everything

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce (you probably could half this...I had plenty extra)
1 T poppyseeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Doesn't this just sound delicious?! I am pretty sure that I am going to serve these at my main dish game!

Wood, Paper, Glass & Pottery

One of the biggest challenges I had when J and I moved into our new house was figuring out how to decorate it myself. In ever other move, my mother came up to help me decorate and get everything set. Well, this go around J told me I should try to do it myself and then ask her to help me with things that stumped me. Needless to say, I had several days where I just could not make anything look right. J received several text messages resembling "Come home now. The furniture is being mean to me".

I finally figured it out when I remembered my mothers big decorating tip...Wood, Paper, Glass, Pottery! I know I sound like some nutcase off the street so let me explain. Every surface or "area" does not need to be monotonous when it comes to textures. In other words, you do not want a glass table top with glass lamps, glass vases, and glass dishes. This is boring to the eye. You want to mix it up with all kinds of textures.

Metal table, Glass lamp, Wood frame, Pottery vase, and random Hardware

Books(paper), Vase(glass), Broken tile and Pottery in vase, Metal frame, Pottery candle holder

You want to make sure that you mix different colors in there as well. If you have a blanket of colors that are all the same it can be boring as well. I love basic cream back drops with splashes of color, but I realize that everyone does not like that. Use the colors that you like, just mix them up a bit!

Once I mastered this basic rule of mixing textures and colors, I was able to start attacking my living room. My first project were the built-ins. My mother always had a knack for making her shelves look artistic and interesting and I wanted to do the same.

This is a great rule for arranging furniture as well. You do not necessarily have to have the textures listed above, but it can be fun to mix solids, patterns, old pieces, new pieces and even use things as furniture that are not meant to be furniture.

When mama came up, she helped me rearrange my living room to make it more appaeling to the eyes. I love the artsy turn out combined with the shelving!



Pups and Patties!

I am entering into a new stage in life, marriage! I am three months married and decided to start blogging again. Here is a place that I want to share all that I am learning as a new wife from decorating, cooking, and house work, to budgets and entertaining. I hope you enjoy!

Introductions to be given:

Me and "J" on our wedding day this year!

Pups (Toby)

Patties (Charlie)

We welcome you to our blog on Happy Lane!!