Hello and Happy New Year! How are you guys doing today? I have a feeling blog reading and internet browsing may be a bit sparse today thanks to the holiday but I really appreciate you popping in to see what’s happening on PBF!
It seems like we’re still in holiday recovery mode over here right now but hopefully by the end of the week, once our usual routine is back in action, we’ll feel a little more like ourselves. Our weekend was a good one that included plenty of lounging and relaxing.
Friday
Friday was probably the most active day of the bunch and we spent the majority of the morning and afternoon catching up with friends over lunch and bouncing around at a local trampoline park. I’m not sure who had more fun – the toddlers or our husbands – but you better believe future visits to the trampoline park are already on our calendar!
We spent our Friday night assembling the most incredible train table and train tracks my mother-in-law sent to Chase for Christmas and he was in HEAVEN.
He played and played while we ordered pizza and enjoyed a low-key night at home.
Saturday
On Saturday we managed to get dressed and head off to the gym but after our early afternoon showers, we all changed back into pajamas and had zero ambitions to do anything other than unpack from our Florida trip and get ourselves a little more organized.
As far as our time at the gym, Chase had a ball in childcare while Ryan and I completed his and hers workouts after warming up together with a little incline walking on treadmill.
I ended up taking myself through a leg workout that looked like this:
I followed it up with a seven-minute barre booty workout that I completed thanks to a video I found on YouTube. After three rounds of the leg workout detailed above, the barre booty workout seriously burned. A great way to finish up my gym time!
We hit up the grocery store on our way home to stock up on food for the week. I did a little meal planning earlier that morning and am excited to dig into more plant-based dinners.
Here’s a little glimpse at our meal plan for this week:
- Monday: Golden Soup (leftovers) with Grilled Cheese and Fruit Salad
- Tuesday: Thai Crunch Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing
- Wednesday: French Onion Soup with Crusty Bread and Side Salads
- Thursday: Bacon Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice
- Friday: Up in the air
Once we made it back home, Chase requested a random midday bath which inspired all of us to change into pajamas once we were all clean. After Chase’s bath, he went down for his nap and slept for a solid two hours while Ryan and I celebrated! Chase napped a grand total of ONE time when we were in Florida last week (I blame the steroids he took for croup coupled with all of the excitement of travel) so watching our toddler nap like a champ again felt like a major victory for both our sanity and Chase’s overall demeanor.
While Chase napped, Ryan and I unpacked and did some much-needed cleaning around the house. I also managed to sneak in a little little shopping for an upcoming Nike blog post collaboration I have on my calendar later this month. Nike is currently running an awesome sale (extra 25% off all sale items!), so I nabbed quite a few things, including a pair of leggings for $30 (love the metallic detailing!), a cozy knit zip-up and a long-sleeve hoodie training top.
By the time Chase was up again, we weren’t feeling too motivated to leave the house. We hunkered down at home and Chase enjoyed playing with some of his new Christmas gifts while I whipped up a batch of Golden Soup (and cinnamon toast because I’m apparently 12 years old) for dinner.
I’m so over flu season and runny noses and hoped a soup packed with veggies and turmeric would help keep contribute to keeping our little gang healthy.
We ate our soup and then cuddled up under blankets on the couch to watch Kung Fu Panda together on Netflix before bed.
Sunday
Sunday morning began with Greek Yogurt Pancakes!
I followed the original recipe I shared back in 2010 but used strawberry Greek yogurt in place of the plain Greek yogurt and we all loved them.
We had every intention of making it to church after breakfast on Sunday morning, but as we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a bunch of cars leaving. Apparently church was canceled on Sunday and a bunch of us didn’t get the memo (I’m assuming this was announced last week when we were out of town), so we scrapped our original plans and headed off to Duck Donuts instead. Not a bad plan b!
(I think Chase was channeling Zoolander with his Blue Steel look in the above pic. Ha!)
We followed up doughnuts with a trip to Discovery Place Kids for their Noon Year’s Eve celebration which included a balloon drop at noon. Such a fun idea!
By the time we made it home, we were ready for lunch and then Chase went down for a nap while I worked on the computer and put away about half of our Christmas decorations and Ryan went to the gym.
Our big plans for New Year’s Eve kicked off in the early evening when we met up with some of our friends and their little ones at Novanta, a local pizza place for dinner. We had a great time with everyone and Chase seemed to enjoy spending a couple of hours with some of his best buddies!
Before heading home for the night, we swung by our friend Ben’s house where he was hosting some friends for a big NYE feast! We didn’t stay for much more than an hour because Chase needed to get to bed but it was still fun to be out for a bit on New Year’s Eve.
As for today, I’m hoping to make it to the gym, get some work done, spend time with my boys and Sadie and watch the UCF vs. Auburn game this afternoon. GOOOO Knights!!!
I really hope you guys have a great first day of 2018! Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you and your family! It looks like a great weekend was had and those Greek yogurt pancakes sound great!
Happy 2018, Julie! I love reading your blog. Thank you for all your hard work you put into it!
Thank you so much for reading, Kaitlin!
Happy New Year!! It looks like you had a really fun weekend with your super cute family :). Can you share where you got your green sweater from? I love it!!
Absolutely!! I got it for $22 from Nordstrom! Unfortunately it’s out of stock right now but they tend to restock their items regularly so I’ll report back if I see it for sale again!
Sounds like a great weekend! Hope you get more time to snuggle and relax today! After having some rough days (sick kids, injured mama) and lots of travels, it’s nice to settle in and catch up on your blog. Thanks for the recipe inspirations! Many blessings to your family for 2018!
I’m glad you’re able to relax a bit today!! Sounds like a tough ending to 2017 and I really hope your little ones are healthy and that you heal fast!! <3
Happy New Year Julie! It sounds like you had a pretty nice weekend to round out 2017. I love the idea of noon year’s eve and it was probably a ball for the kids and adults alike!
Sounds like you had a great weekend to end 2017! Happy New Year!! I hope you get to relax and snuggle today too!! It is terribly cold here, so I think that is what I will be doing all day today 😉 Xoxo
It’s SO COLD!!! Not bad weather for relaxing at home though! Hope you have a fantastic 2018!
Happy New Year to you and your family Julie! I have loved reading your blog over the years and I know 2018 is going to be a great year for you! Relaxing weekend are just the best..but I had a serious case of holiday blues while we took down the Christmas tree and put everything away. Hope you guys stay warm today!
Duck Donuts in Huntersville is open?! I heard about it awhile ago, but completely forgot they were putting one in. Yum 🙂
Yes!!! Woop!
Your New Year’s weekend sounds perfect! I also just saved that golden soup recipe and will definitely be trying it out this week. I hope you all have a great first day of 2018 🙂
Sounds like you guys had a nice weekend – a good balance of going out and being at home. My New Years Eve was pretty low key too, I went over to my boyfriend’s place. We watched some hockey on TV, Netflix and then some fireworks at midnight from his window.
Happy new year!
Hi Julie! I’ve been following your blog for a long time and I so appreciate your willingness to share your life, insights, recipes, and workouts with us. I’m joining you in having a cozy weekend- it is SO COLD in NYC! I hope you have a wonderful 2018! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures to come 🙂
What a fun weekend! We are soaking up every last drop of the holiday season with a family movie night tonight- thanks for the reminder about Kung Fu Panda!
Absolutely ADORE the “blue steel” look 💙 Your NYE sweater and those Nike leggings are also pretty fantastic. Hope your 2018 is off to a wonderful start.
Happy New Year Julie, to you and your family!
It looks like Chase is mesmerized with his train table. That will keep him busy for alittle while. Lol.
Happy New Year to you and your cute family! I look forward to reading your blog every day and appreciate your openness with us! Wishing you blessings and happiness this year!