Raise your hand if you're extremely Type A! Raise your hand if spreadsheets make everything right! But really, I thank the gods of Google every night for Google Sheets and Google Wedding Planning Templates. I have one Googledoc where I store everything, and it is shared with Harrison so he can add things, check things off and have access to all the info about our wedding. Not to mention this is very helpful for my dear fiance who is a bit of a groomzilla, but that's for another post.

Major benefit of being "always the bridesmaid never the bride": everyone else's resources. I made my own Googledoc wedding planner (you can download it and use it below) by copying and pasting the most useful planners and spreadsheets my married friends sent me (you can tell my accountant friend put together the budget sheet right?) into sheets in a Google Spreadsheet. It auto-calculates totals and moneys and everything you could need. Great huh?

Other helpful wedding planning resources:

My Planner Template: 


Site: Google Drive Planning Templates 
What it does: Browse through planning templates for everything you could possibly need

Site: Weddingwire.com
What it does: wedding website builder, budget calculators, checklists, apps for your phone, vendor searches with reviews (I live for reviews), dresses, real weddings,  forums on pretty much all wedding-related things

Site: Theknot.com
What it does: Everything Wedding Wire does BUT it allows you to search by price range! And you can search weddings by color or theme.

Site: APracticalWedding.com
What it does:Spreadsheet dreams come true. Complete day-of workbooks for DIY Wedding and Formal Wedding, guest list, vendor list, contact list, packing lists and timelines. If you're planning a budget-friendly wedding you have to spend some time on this site for ideas, DIY tutorials, and readl budget weddings (sorted by price).

Site: LaurenConrad.com/wedding
What it does: Look everyone knows I love LC and how crazy is it that we both did internships in LA at the same time (ok I was doing mine when The Hills was actually on TV), we graduated high school at the same time, and now we're engaged together. So clearly I'm stalking her wedding planning and clearly it's super great. Most helpful planner resources: beauty timeline and overall wedding planning timeline

Site: AllSeated.com
What it does: pulls together guest lists from your social networks, tracks invites/rsvps, makes color coded and filtered seating charts

Bonus: EastSideBride 
What it does: Makes you laugh. A lot. This was sent by the same friend who introduced me to APracticalWedding.com. Again, so lucky to be "always the bridesmaid never the bride" for these great things.


What are your favorite wedding planning resources and websites?

P.S. Can we talk about this ? J. Crew confuses me a lot, this leaves me very confused. Are we doing this?

Linking up today:

 photo FFaves_zps6c1a013e.png 

Fantastic Friday Link Up

Friday Favs: Wedding Planning Resources (for the Type A Bride-to-Be)

Friday, February 28, 2014


Ok so these are essentially beef flavored cookies and I am pretty sure Harrison would enjoy these just as much as the dog (for the record- he refused to try them. If you are successful in tricking a human to eat these please let me know).

Anyway I couldn't help but laugh while I was making these for two reasons:
  1. This 3 ingredient recipe is pretty much clean. Hey if I'm gonna have a bougie diet so is my dog. 
  2. These are laughably easy to make. And cheaper than spending $15 on dog treats that picky dogs like Andi may or may not like. 

So here it is, the world's easiest clean eating beef flavored cookie:

Servings: 12 medium sized biscuits (of varying sizes. Next time I'm going to try to make them the exact size to fit into the Kong. Def spent a few minutes weighing the possibility of actually baking a treat into the Kong. I mean...)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 2 Cups of oats and the egg. Next mix in the broth. Once it is all mixed together add another 1/2 cup of oats. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Make your dough into any shapes you want on a non-stick baking sheet and heat for 25 minutes.

These treats don't have any preservatives so remember to keep them refrigerated in a bag or tupperware.

And that's it. Yep, that easy.


Linking up today- check them out!

Little Friday

Easy Homemade Dog Treats

Thursday, February 27, 2014



Sooo after four days of eating and boozing my way through San Diego last week I really need to kick up the workout routine and stop settling for one 20-minute HIIT. Plus I am in the thick of my February Funk (IS THIS SNOW SERIOUS RIGHT NOW) and exercise is pretty much the only thing that keeps me going and feeling good. So here was today's workout!

Week of Workouts:



PS can we just talk about how much more I would exercise if I lived in San Diego? There was no humidity! What is that??

PSS I could not even handle the music in the Barre video buttttt the burn!! OMG burning.

PPSS: Want more free workout videos? Check out my full listing of the best full length youtube workouts!








Linking up today with a few great fitness resources- go check them out for more workouts and inspiration!


The Hump Day Blog Hop


Femme Fitale Fit Club

Wednesday Workout: HIIT & Barre Workout + Weekly Planning

Wednesday, February 26, 2014


We ate at an amazzzinggg little breakfast spot in Encinitas where I had the most incredible breakfast burrito of. my. life. In an attempt to pretend I'm still in the beautiful weather eating delicious food with my best friends I made my own version of the breakfast burrito. Not quite as good, especially since I wasn't eating it outside in the sun overlooking the beach. I know, so dramatic.

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:
  • 1 egg cooked to your preference (I did mine over easy, apparently 90% of breakfast burritos are made with scrambled eggs but whatev)
  • 1/2 medium sized tomato, diced
  • 2 slices avocado
  • 1/3 cup sauteed spinach
  • 1 scoop fat-free or low-fat Greek Yogurt
  • 1/4 cup clean salsa (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have lots of these options)
  • 1 Ezekiel Tortilla
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • Optional: mozzarella cheese, hot sauce (duh) 

Combine all the ingredients in the tortilla, wrap it up and enjoy! All the protein and dietary fiber from the egg, avocado, Greek Yogurt and Ezekiel tortilla keep me full all morning.




Clean Eating Breakfast Burritos

Tuesday, February 25, 2014


Oh hey just got back from San Diego..could not be happier to land back in DC as we await another blast of winter, and of course return to work (sarcasm x 10). San Diego was so beautiful, and I don't even want to talk about the fact that my friend can see the beach from her house and pays less rent than I do in DC. We stayed right outside the city in Encinitas and soaked up sun (I even got to wear  new sunglasses) and got in quality time with my best friends from college. I'm proud of us because we even did a morning of triathalon training!

Anyway last week we ate this little tiny turkey sliders stuffed with spinach and feta and they were awesome! We put them on Udi's Rolls (one of my favorite gluten free bread options) and enjoyed a little Greek-ish supper.

Servings: 3 (2 sliders per person)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
  • 3/4 lb lean ground turkey ($3.00)
  • 1 egg
  • optional: 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs (helps hold the patties together- totally not necessary)
  • 1/4 medium red onion, diced
    1/3 cup crumbled Feta ($2.50)
  • 1 cup fresh spinach
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • For slider toppings: tomato slices, onion slices, lettuce and hummus (we used garlic hummus of course)
Chop the spinach and saute in a small frying pan- I do this by heating the chopped spinach with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring the entire time so the spinach doesn't get stuck to the pan.

Combine the ground turkey with the sea salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of parsley, the egg and te panko crumbs (if you're using them) and mix together.

Using 2/3 the turkey mixture, form little bowls (see the picture below). Fill each bowl with feta, diced onion, parsley, and sauteed spinach.

Use the remaining turkey to make little "lids" for the turkey bowls. Make sure to pinch the top turkey piece and "turkey bowl" together so there are no openings or holes (gotta make sure nothing oozes out during the cooking).

Cook the sliders in a non-stick pan covered over medium heat, about 8-10 minutes on each side. Serve with rolls, tomato slices, onion slices, lettuce and hummus and enjoy!

Turkey Bowls!



Turkey bowls topped off


this nutrition information is just for the sliders- does not include the roll or any toppings

Bonus: Encinitas sunsets. I'm moving.


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Clean Eating Feta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Sliders

Monday, February 24, 2014

**Update 2/ 23- I have been getting a lot of questions about how to find/download/subscribe to podcasts. See the bottom of this post for a photo tutorial

Seriously, podcasts saved me yesterday as I was either bopping around the Dallas airport or sitting on a plane en route to sunny San Diego (NO SNOW!!). I listen to podcasts via my iphone on the bus (yes they work for drowning out the sound of that man on my bus EVERY. SINGLE. DAY singing Maxwell at the top of his lungs), walking Andi, on car rides... The only down side is that when I'm listening to The Read I laugh out loud and look crazier than the guy singing Maxwell on the bus.

1. The Read: This has me on the floor every time I listen- it is hilarious. Two friends who are new-ish to NYC discuss pop culture, help listeners with their personal issues, and give epic "reads" at the end of every episode.
Must Listen:  ALL OF THEM.
2. This American Life: Stories of regular people, regular things, made interesting.
Must Listen: Notes on Camp
3. RadioLab: 2 scientist guys dive deep into all kinds of things and happenings and look into any kind of crazy question. They use sound to illustrate their explanations, it's so cool.
Must Listen: Colors
4. Ted Radio Hour: Four TED Talks about a chosen topic, plus interviews with the speakers.
Must Listen: Giving It Away
5. Freakonomics Radio: The guys who wrote the book have a radio show and they explore the economics of social issues.
Must Listen: How Much Does a Name Really Matter?
6. Savage Lovecast: Dan Savage answers all your deepest (and weirdest- no judgement just saying) sex questions with his witty humor. You never know what you're going to get.
Must Listen: I couldn't find the episode, but there's one where a guy talks about drinking vampire blood. Um..

Things I'm loving on the interwebs this week:


UPDATE: Podcast How-To (sorry I only know how to do this on the iphone. Anyone know how to do it on other phones?)

Step 1: Click the Podcast app on the homescreen.

Step 2: Click the magnifying glass in the bottom right hand corner. Sidenote: If you've never listened to podcasts, the "My Podcast" section will be empty and look different from this.
 Step 3: Type in the name of the podcast you are looking for.

Step 4: Click on an episode of the podcast.
 Step 5: To download one episode of the podcast at a time, click on the cloud with the arrow. If you want to subscribe to a podcast, cick the purple "SUBSCRIBE" button. When you subscribe to a podcast it automatically downloads the newest podcast as soon as it's released which is nice- it's like a little surprise!

Listening at work? You can always listen to individual podcasts from the websites by clicking the links I listed above.

Friday Favs: Free Podcasts + Internet Must-Sees of The Week

Friday, February 21, 2014

While I'm soaking up the San Diego sun my good friend Charisse is taking over Thursday on Broke & Bougie! Enjoy!

I'm Charisse, a twenty something non-profit professional. I also happen to be a full-figured fashionista and often Lindsay's personal stylist. I am so excited to finally get the opportunity to write a post of Broke and Bougie!

While getting ready for the ballet this weekend, I had a mini meltdown because I had nothing to wear and not in that "I have lots of stuff but just not feeling what I have" kind of way. In that moment I decided I needed to maybe a get a couple of new items to addto my wardrobe to get me fashionably through the Winter. I started with my usual plus size friendly online shops: Asos Curve, Target, and Simply Be. I wasn't really finding anything I like and then I remembered that I had read on one of the plus size blogs that I follow that Talbots is a great place for curvy girls. Not only do they go to size 20 in their straight sizes BUT they have womans and womans petite. When I think of Talbots I usually think of Boca, sweater sets and loafers but I thought why not try, you never know right? Plus a trust fashionista can make anything work. Boy am I glad I went with it, Talbots is currently having a huge end of season sale; up to 60% off all items. I purchased 3 pairs of great pants for $87 original retial price, wait for it......$387!! SCORE

Prints and textures seem to be on trend for fall 2014 so I will definitely get some wear out of these next season. If you are afraid of wearing prints on bottom, ease your way in with a subtle mono-chromatic print like these purchased in black.

I also have seen jewel tones making a return on the runways at Mercedes Benz Fashion week (streamed through Youtube) like these velveteen pants I got in a burgundy color.

Another item coming in strong this year is the tuxedo pant. I found this pair for under $30.

All pants were ankle length (another big trend) which is perfect for my 5'3 frame, they tend to hit just where I like it.

Moral of this story: open your mind to all retailers, you never know what you may find. Being a plus size woman who loves fashion is sometimes hard. The fashion industry is slowly moving towards seeing us as actual style influencers worthy of stylish and accessible clothing and not just people who need shrouds of drab clothes to cover a body that we are trying to change (come on Jenna Lyons, extend JCREW's sizing already).

Do you have any great straight size cltohing stores that work for a fuller figure? If so share away, I am always looking to add to my arsenal.

**Follow Charisse's fashionspiration on Pinterest

$20 Tuxedo Pant @ Talbots

$ 20 Curvy Velveteen Ankle Pants

Print Pants @ Talbots


Guest Post: The Best of Plus Size Pants (you'll NEVER guess where we found the best)

Thursday, February 20, 2014

fitnessblender.com videos ROCK

For those of us who can't even afford the employee discount at the gym, youtube is our own personal trainer. This is also great for those of us (cough cough like me) who have zero coordination and feel ridiculous in fitness classes. Here is a list of my favorite (and the best obvi) FREE full-length youtube videos that can be done in the tiny space between my bed and dresser with minimal equipment (little handweights at the most). There are lots of short workout videos all over youtube to put together your own workout, these full length videos are good for when I'm low on motivation and I know every time I have to change a video I run the risk of telling myself "Meh you know that was enough for the day..I'm gonna call it quits".

What am I missing? Anyone know of other great youtube resources?

Pilates


Barre


HIIT
**Speaking of HIIT- I also found youtube Tabata playlists that play 20 seconds of hype music, 10 seconds of chill, 20 seconds hype so you don't have to watch a stopwatch! Cool right??

Cardio/other:


Linking up today with a few great fitness resources- go check them out for more workouts and inspiration!


The Hump Day Blog Hop


Femme Fitale Fit Club

Wednesday Workout: Best Full Length Youtube Workout Videos (hundreds of full workout youtube videos listed)

Wednesday, February 19, 2014


Yall! Set an alarm!! It's virtually impossible to find actual discount Toms sales but this is legit so set your alarms and get up for Zulily's massive Tom's sale! They have women's, men's and kid's in all styles and sizes. Also after you buy you can send a link to your friends and when THEY buy you get $15 off your next purchase. If you follow this blog you know I buy everything from bakeware to jewelry  to atheltic wear on Zulily. Basically if I own anything namebrand, it comes from Zulily- you know this girl doesn't pay full price for that kinda stuff.

*Word from an experienced Zulily bargain shopper: last time they had a Toms sale the site crashed around 9:30 am, so I suggest getting on this bright and early. Especially if you, like myself, have the most common shoe size in the world (8) and it automatically sells out everywhere in every style that anyone else wants to buy.

Check out some of the Toms styles coming on Zulily:

PS did anyone know Toms has a bangin men's line? I had no idea! Good thing Harrison doesn't read this blog because he'd be seeing his birthday and Christmas gift this year (first 2 below). 
 
Gonna put my yonce (aka fiance) in a pair of these babies for $44 Gray Denim Desert Botas

$74 Black Suede Brogue
$37 Hemp Embroidery Classic

I got these!! $31 Natural Zebra Zag Classic

$44 Multi Knit Classics- look at that lining!

$44 Natural Zebra Zag Wedge Sandal

$42 Coral Crochet Wedge Sandals

Why do I want these? Is this my secret longing for Uggs to be acceptable again? $48- Blue Leopard Denim Fleece High Botas


$48 Mixed Taupe Suede Tribal Boots

DISCOUNT 40% OFF TOMS SALE!! On Zulily TOMORROW (or today depending on when you see this)!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014


Yeah yall, this is REAL. I made these and they are easy to make, they are clean, and they are DELICIOUSSSS! Since I've been on the clean eating thing for awhile foods like milk chocolate just don't do it for me anymore- gimme that dark chocolate!

I bought these mini cupcake liners at Target for $9 (plenty for future peanut butter cups). These were really good and unfortunately next time I'm going to have to make 1 at a time because self control was a little (very) difficult with these puppies.

Servings: 8 peanut butter cups
Cook Time: 0
Prep Time: 10 mins

Ingredients
  • 6 square of dark chocolate (I used Lindt 80% Dark) ($2.50)
  • 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Break up the dark chocolate and put it into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is all the way melted.

Combine the peanut butter and honey in a separate microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds- this makes it easier to mix. Stir the honey and peanut butter well.

Set out your 8 mini cupcake liners and evenly spoon 1/2 the chocolate into each liner. Now evenly distribute all the honey and peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate in each liner. Top each one off with the rest of the melted dark chocolate.

Place in the freezer for 30 minutes then enjoy!!

*lesson learned: set out the liners on a plate so you can easily transfer them all to the freezer. Almost had a man down on the transfer- melty chocolate peanut butter in paper is not the easiest to carry around..




I spent last week snowed in with the rest of the east coast. But with the flu. THE FLU. 5 years of barely getting paid for working in public schools, I've always thought "well at least I've gained a steel immune system". WELP the ole steel immune system let me down bad. This was the can't-focus-can't-do-anything-but-lay-down-and-stare-at-the-ceiling kind of flu. I ventured off the couch to make some chicken soup which actually turned out incredible. INCREDIBLE! And I hated everything last week! Everything except this soup:

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients
  • 1 lb chicken thighs (I use the thighs because I loove the juiciness. If you're watching fat intake closely use chicken breasts) ($5.00)
  • 32 ounces (or 4 cups) low sodium organic chicken broth ($4.00)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped ($3.00)
  • 1/4 red onion, diced ($.25)
  • 1 medium tomato, diced ($.50)
  • 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked ($.75) 
  • 1 chicken buillon cube ($.25) (Click here for a cleaner substitute)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped ($.50)
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced ($1.25)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper 
  • 1 tsp olive oil/coconut oil
Line a medium sized frying pan with cooking spray/olive oil/coconut oil (whatever your preference). Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook covered, for 10-15 minutes on each side (you know it is cooked when there is no pink in the middle when you cut into it with a knife). Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, place it on a cutting board and shred it using 2 forks (if it's too tough use a knife to cut it into teeeeny pieces).

In a large pot saute the red onion, green onion and garlic with the olive oil (or coconut oil) for 4 minutes. Add the tomato and saute for another 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, cumin, quinoa and buillion cube to the vegetables and bring the broth to a boil. Once it boils turn the heat to low and simmer the soup for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes mix in the chicken to the mixture.

Divide avocado chunks and cilantro into the serving bowls (it was just two of us eating so I put the rest into a tupperware and added it to my leftover soup later in the week). Pour the soup over the avocado and cilantro and enjoy!
Onions, tomato and garlic satueing (is that a word?)

Now with the chicken broth

Prep the serving bowls

Ugh is anyone else as over this snow as Andi and I are?? Sickkk




Clean Eating Chicken Avocado Soup

Monday, February 17, 2014

http://25.media.tumblr.com/8d721c401a77e4fb8a1c91a57d761847/tumblr_mz2lb9sQ5A1qli8ufo1_500.gif 

 In honor of House of Cards' AMAZING return, a tribute to the greatest political villian of all time, who also happens to have an incredibly fabulous work wardrobe: Claire Underwood. ("I'm willing to let your baby wither and die inside of you" OMG CLAIRE REALLY?!).

Did anyone else notice Claire's color-coordinated closets that she casually wisped by while talking to her media manager? Claire Underwood's closets in a few words: white, neutral, grey, black and tailored.

So here's my knock-off Claire outfits that can go straight to the tailor:

First off: Claire Underwood's Perfect Grey Dress.

 Claire's Perfect Grey Dress for the Broke and Bougie: 





Second: Claire's Perfectly Tailored White Button Down (or button up, depending on where you're from)

Claire's Perfectly Tailored White Button-up for the Broke and Bougie:





Third: Claire's Perfect Blue Dress

Claire's Perfect Blue Dress for the Broke and Bougie:





Fourth: Claire Underwood's Perfect White House Awards Ceremony LBD

Claire Underwood's Perfect White House Awards Ceremony LBD  for the Broke and Bougie:





Fifth: Claire's Perfectly Feminine/All-Business Suits

Claire's Perfectly Feminine/All-Business Suits for the Broke and Bougie: 

This is a piece that truly needs to be tailored. For the big-bootied  narrow-shouldered munchkin-legged women such as myself, the perfect suit does not exist- we have to make it. Here is where I have found the best deals on suits (that are almost always on sale):

Holiday Bonus: Claire Underwood Fashion for the Broke and Bougie

Sunday, February 16, 2014