Hey y'all,

If you are new around here, I am a Carolina Alum and today ends UNC's regular season before they head to the ACC Championship against Clemson. I was raised a football fan and love going to the games. Last year, I unfortunately didn't make it out to Kenan stadium but this year I was able to go to the Homecoming game against our rivals, Duke, and then to the Military Appreciation game against U of Miami. The State game is always fun in our house since my baby sister, K, went to NC State.

Hey y'all,

It's Friday and if you are out hunting some deals I hope it hasn't been to stressful. I am actually almost done with my shopping thanks to Veteran's day sales and some great sales online yesterday morning. Now let's get to some things I'm loving on this Friday.

one. Thanksgiving. I had an amazing day yesterday hanging out with my parent's eating the best meal of the year. After dinner we went on a nice long walk around the neighborhood to try and walk off some of those calories. I mean, look at the caloric breakdown I found online. It's a good thing that my clean eating challenge and Cize start Tuesday.

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two. Urban Decay Vault II. If you haven't heard, Urban Decay in late October released a vault of all of their Naked palettes with some significant savings. Sephora sold out quickly and Urban Decay restocked it online this week and I was luck enough to snag it as a Christmas present to myself. I love my Naked palette and can't wait to have the two Naked basics and Naked 2, 3 and Smoke.

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three. Hallmark movies. It is officially okay now to watch all things Christmas and I have been watching some of the new Hallmark movies like Ice Sculpture Christmas, 12 Gifts of Christmas and I am excited for A Crown for Christmas tonight.

four and five. Fun Mail. This week I received the Write the Word journal and lSc's Save the Date!
The write the word journal has been a great reminder to take some time and just dwell in God's word without any devotional commentary but just what God has laid on your heart. LC's Save the Date is so cute that I couldn't keep it to myself! I mean, LC designed them herself and it perfectly fits her & R's sporty style (plus, she did the calligraphy herself!)

A photo posted by Jessica Driscoll (@jldriscoll12) on Nov 21, 2015 at 4:34pm PST

Hey y'all,

I hope that you are able to celebrate all that you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. I am spending it with my biggest fans (my parents) and the cats. While my family is not all together I am happy to have a chance to celebrate all of the year's blessings while we enjoy an amazing meal.

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One of my co-workers asked each of us what our traditional Thanksgiving feast looked like so I thought I would share. We typically cook two turkeys (one regular and one smoked turkey), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, steamed carrots, garlic butter crescents, and for dessert: pumpkin pie & apple pie. Since we have our meal around 3pm we typically munch on veggies and ranch dip for lunch after watching the parade.

Hey y'all,

As we prepare for Thanksgiving this week I felt that the verse "In everything give thanks"was very appropriate to begin the week with. Even with the stress of my job over the last few weeks I have felt very grateful for the family I have created in the Triangle pouring into me on weekends and of course for my actual family. I have the best support system and it is one thing on a long list of things I'm grateful for. This afternoon I started a list of things I'm grateful for including:

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Hey y'all,

It's Saturday! We made it to the weekend so it is time to show off some pictures I have taken over the last week or so. Kind of like an Instagram round-up of photos that didn't make it on the 'gram.

Hey y'all,

I can't believe it is already Friday! This week has flown by and I am gearing up for a busy weekend hanging out with some great kids.

one. Community. No not the show. This week I was able to have really great conversations and fun with friends at book club Sunday night and then Monday night my church is hosting a women's discipleship series and it was so encouraging to be there with women across the Triangle.

two. Tervis Tumbler. I love my Tervis Tumblers and this week I received a new one with a crab on it. I am so excited to be using it at work today for water. I might have added like 7 more tumblers to my Christmas list last night.

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three.Fabletics. If you are looking for workout pants, I am obsessed with mine from Fabletics. They had a great black friday/cyber monday deal last year so keep your eyes out. I am hoping to grab these:

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four. Now You See Me 2. I loved the first film and I'm excited to see where this film goes. I will miss Isla but the inclusion of Daniel Radcliffe is nice. I think I probably like this movie thanks to my parents allowing us to watch David Copperfield specials (and taping them from TV to watch over and over again).
five. Christmas shopping. I am typically one who waits until Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals and later but I have already finished shopping for my siblings and have ideas for almost everyone else. Let's hope that keeps the season of Advent stress free.

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Hey y'all,

Today I thought I would share one of my go-to meals when I feel uninspired. I got this recipe originally from Slender Kitchen. It is super quick for a week night and I sometimes make them on Sunday to last me the majority of the week. It has been a couple of months since I have made these since I found the Trader Joe's frozen turkey burger patties so ignore the stock image. These are delicious and I have cooked them on my George Foreman grill during the colder months.

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Ingredients
1.25lbs of lean ground turkey
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup red onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined.
Divide into about five patties (I have sometimes ended up with 6-8 smaller patties) and let rest for about 10 minutes. I put mine back in the fridge with Saran wrap.
Cook burgers on the grill for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Serve.

I love to serve this with baked Alexia Rosemary Fries without a bun. I have lettuce wrapped these burgers as well.

Hey y'all,

As I am sure most of you are aware, the movie The Martian wwhich stars Matt Damon, is based off of a book by the same title. A few months back, my friends and I picked it for our book club read and I figured that I should go ahead and share my feelings.

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Hey y'all,

It's Friday meaning it is time to link up with some amazing bloggers and write about five things on my mind/favorites from this past week.

one. Duke vs. Carolina. So last Saturday I attended the Duke/Carolina game at Kenan Stadium for UNC's homecoming. It was my first game of the season and it was so much fun. The stadium was packed and Carolina demolished Duke 66-31. I can happily say that the Victory Bell will be in Chapel Hill for another year.
 two. Southern Weddings Magazine V8 Launch Party. Last night I was able to attend the Southern Weddings Launch Party of the new V8 at the Carolina Inn. I went with lSc who I will stand beside as she says "I do" in June. I am still dreaming of the Bacon Bar. It was a fun event of great food, mingling with vendors, fans and the SW girls. I even connected with Kristin over our sorority and was able to chat with Nicole. Random but Nicole and I have known each other since we were merely sophomores in college!



three. La Croix Passionfruit. Random fact about me but I was a big soda drinker in college. I do not drink coffee so I turned to soda as my source of caffeine and continued with that habit postgrad. Well, about two years ago, I kicked the soda habit. I now mainly drink water only with some tea, juice, and smoothies. I love La Croix sparkling water to mix things up and I recently grabbed the Passionfruit flavor from Target and y'all, it is so good. I honestly have about 5 favorite flavors of La Croix now.

four. Cycle. I finally made it back into the gym and took my favorite cycle class. The past two weeks have been rough emotionally at work so I have been eating lots of chocolate but going to a class always lifts my mood.

five. Name Change. My sorority sister and friend LJ posted on her blog the many reasons she was not changing her name after she got married and I think it is well worth the read. Plus, this means I can always call her LJ.

And bonus, how cute is this video, Harry Potter as told by kittens.

Hey y'all,

It's Wednesday, which means it is time to check out the books that I just returned to the library. I was so excited when the sequel to The Jewel came out and it arrived at the library the morning before my plane ride to Chicago. Here's the description:

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 I read the first half of the book rather quickly on the hour and a half flight to Chicago and on the way back, I got nauseous after reading a page so I set the book down for a good week. I felt that this book's story overall was not as strong as the first book. While I am glad that Violet was able to escape, the meat of the story was in the last fifty pages or so. I can't wait to read the next book though since this one left off with a cliff hanger.  

Hey y'all,

For my first Toning Tuesday post I thought I would do a little recap of my second half marathon, the City of Oaks REX Healthcare Half Marathon on November 1st.

As far as training went, this time I didn't do much training...I know this is bad. I had a plan from Hal Higdon but I wasn't very motivated and would fit in runs here and there. I didn't run much at all the month before the race and was even recovering from a cold so I went into the race hoping I would just finish. I met up with the 3hr pace team (14 min miles) at the start and stayed with them for the first 9 miles. They were doing the Jeff Galloway method of running 2 minutes then walking 1min. This was great for me (minus the fact that we often were running up all the hills and walking down them). We were even a little ahead on time completing some 13:30 miles. I made it to the 10K mark at 01:31:14.

 However, after I hit mile 9 I decided to leave the pace group and hope I wasn't swept by walking the remaining 4 miles. My left ankle hadn't been happy for a good 5 miles and my hips were really tight. I threw on T. Swift's 1989 album as Chesson always recommends and made it to the finish line at 03:13:46 with my chip time being 03:06:50(2 minutes faster than the Bull City Race Fest marathon I completed last year with my baby sister which you can read about on my old blog here).
 I of course sent my Mom a selfie with my medal when I finished.

Also, my best guy friend came up from Atlanta to run with me. He completed the full marathon that morning (in under 4hrs!).

I think my favorite signs from spectators on the course were a sign that said, "This is what you do with an extra hour," and one that said "Smile if you are not wearing underwear."

Hey y'all,

Hey y'all,

In late October, I took a week long vacation and headed up to Chicago to visit my best friend, aMl, while she is up there learning all things medical. I thought I would share some pictures from the trip.

Hey y'all,

I love to make smoothies for breakfast, they are quick and super filling. I sometimes even make this smoothie for lunch on Saturdays when I come back from a cycle or step class.

Hey y'all,

It's time for more book reviews. Sorry to go MIA Monday and Tuesday but with the start of registration week and working for a college, the past few days have been crazy at work. I thought I would share a dystopian young adult book I picked up recently.

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Hey y'all,

I hope you all had a fun and safe weekend! This weekend my best guyfriend TS drove up from Atlanta to hang out and run the City of Oaks race so this saying was my mantra as I completed the half marathon. I will do a full recap on the race on Tuesday.
Sometimes we all need a little reminder that we can push through and accomplish some amazing things.