March has been a long month. In many ways it has gone by quickly, but in others it has lasted forever, particularly because Steven is in busy season. Having a CPA hubby always means that spring is a time I get to see him very little. Thankfully we make the most of the time we do get to spend together. In an effort to remain accountable here is my goal check in for the month:

DAILY

• Drink eight glasses of water a day 
• Journal everyday
• Still keeping up with both of these daily goals! They are part of my daily routine now.

WEEKLY

• Workout four days a week
• I am working out daily now! Between using the Sweat App by Kayla Itsines, going to the gym, running, and walking I have grown to love the time I spend focusing on nothing but my workout and either a killer playlist or audio book. 
• If you are interested in my workout playlist you can find it on Spotify here. 
• Cook a new meal once a week
• It felt like I lived in the kitchen this month because of Whole30. I cooked a ton this month, but tried to stick to some of our tried and true recipes. I did make a few different dishes, you can see my favorite Whole30 recipes here. 
• Work from a coffee shop one day a week
• Nope. Didn't make it out at all this month. I wanted to avoid temptation while doing Whole30 and I knew I'd want a vanilla latte if I was sitting at a coffee shop for a few hours.
• No TV or Social Media one day a week
• While we haven't done this to the extent I meant it, we have been a lot better about getting out and doing other things rather than just sitting in front of the TV!

MONTHLY

• Read two books a month
• Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer  
• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 
• Finished listening to The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. 
• Try a new restaurant
• When we first decided on doing Whole30 in March it was because Steven is in busy season at work and we didn't have any travel plans. I ended up going on a quick trip to San Antonio for my friends proposal during the second week of Whole30 and ate at two new to me restaurants. 
• San Antonio 
• Burgerteca: While I didn't have the full experience since I basically just ate a chicken patty #whole30, my family all really enjoyed their burgers, fries, and ice cream. The restaurant was super cute and all the food smelled amazing. I will definitely go back when I can truly enjoy their amazing looking and according to my family tasting burgers. 
• Gloria's Latin Cuisine: I had the grilled shrimp with veggies and it was tasty. I personally prefer my own home cooked shrimp but for a meal out to celebrate with friends it was a good Whole30 option. I heard the margaritas were great! 
• Plan a girls night
• My trip to San Antonio was basically a girls weekend! I headed back to SA to be a part of one of my bridesmaids and best friends proposal! Here now fiancé keyed a couple of us into his plans and we helped him execute a beautiful proposal. Check out the BFF / proposal photo shoot! 
• Send birthday cards: I failed so bad. I have both cards and just never put them in the mail. Going to try and be way better going forward. 

THIS YEAR

• Run a 10k - Completed on February 24, 2018 
• Finished my first timed 10k in 59:15.6 mins! 
• Run a half marathon
• I am working my way up to a half marathon. I am currently working my way through a 10k to 15k program! I signed up for the Houston Marathon in January of 2019 so I am training slowly but surely! 
• Complete a Whole30
• We started Whole30 on March 5, 2018 and will be done with it and our reintroduction days by April 13, 2018. It has been quite the undertaking! I will have a review about my experience once we are done. 
• Plan our 30th birthday party
• I told my friends to save the date for December 8 so there's that! Other than a date I need to start planning - time is flying by! 

All the recipes I tried this month were Whole30 compliant or made to be compliant. One of the best things about Whole30 was that we didn't feel like we were restricting ourselves. Don't get me wrong, we still missed some of our favorite foods but at least the food we ate was delicious!

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind the recipes below may not be 100% compliant as they are. I recommend double checking the ingredients. With a few tweaks you can make the recipes compliant. 

All Day Frittata

I followed the recipe exactly and made it with compliant chorizo. It was very tasty! This was a dish I made for myself and I ate it for breakfast for the entire week. I will say, shredding the sweet potatoes took work but it was worth it in the end.

Red Curry Shrimp Skillet 

OMG, so good!!! This was one of my favorite recipes this month. It was super easy to make and oh so delicious! I got the recipe from the Whole30 Fast and Easy book and it did not let me down. I made 1.5 times what the recipe called for so that we could have leftovers and the curry tasted just as good reheated as it did fresh.

The Dud this month...

Breakfast Hash with Chorizo and Eggs

Well I did eat this for breakfast for a few days but it wasn't my favorite. I think I just prefer sweet potatoes over red potatoes now. The chorizo I used also didn't seem to crumble like other brands so that could have been part of the problem.

Steven and I after completing the 2018 Rodeo Run!

Wow! I hadn't realized how eventful February was until I wrote this recap! In an effort to remain accountable here is my goal check in for the month:

DAILY

• Drink eight glasses of water a day 
• Thankfully this has become normal for me! I try to drink an entire water bottle when I first wake up and just keep my Swell water bottle full throughout the day. Since I only drink coffee and water it has been pretty easy for me to keep up with this goal. 
• Journal everyday
• I am truly enjoying journaling everyday. It helps me sort through my thoughts and feelings. The Day One app really makes it easy since it sends me a reminder to write in my journal. 

WEEKLY

• Workout four days a week
• Four days a week as turned into my minimum when it comes to working out. I excercised six days a week in February! I look forward to my workouts now! It is a time for me to forget about everything else on my to do list and just focus on self care. I am still using the Sweat App by Kayla Itsines for strength training and am running about three times a week. 
• Cook a new meal once a week
• I've honestly never cooked so much in my life. I am pretty sure I've cooked more in the last two months than I did all of last year. You can see my favorite recipes from February here.
• Work from a coffee shop one day a week
• Well I made it out to a coffee shop once in February! With the client work I've been working on it has just been easier to work from my desktop in my home office than on my laptop. 
• No TV or Social Media one day a week
• Total fail on this one. Steven did get rid of the Facebook app on his phone though so that's a step in the right direction. 

MONTHLY

• Read two books a month
• I read 2.5 books! The 0.5 is for Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow since I'd started it in January. I am so glad I read Hamilton. History was always my least favorite subject in school but now I am intrigued to learn more about our founding fathers. I can see how Lin Manuel Miranda was inspired by it! 
• I signed up for a library card! I can't believe I hadn't done it sooner. I love having access to tons of eBooks and audiobooks! 
• After getting my library card I downloaded and read Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling  and Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse.
• I also started listening to The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. I am about half way done with it. 
• Try a new restaurant
• I hadn't realized how many times I'd gone out for food or drinks until I wrote this list. What a busy month! March's list will be much much shorter since I doubt we will be able to find many Whole30 compliant meals at restaurants.
• Houston
• Republic Diner +  Noodle Bar: This place is down the street from our house. We'd been out all day celebrating our friends birthday and really wanted to go to Jinya for ramen but the wait was over an hour long. We found Republic Diner and decided to give it a shot. I had the Miso Ramen and it was delicious! Jinya is still my favorite place for Ramen but Republic Diner is a great alternative. 
• Cafe Poetes: This cute French inspired cafe was showing up all over my instagram feed. It is the cutest place I've been too! I had an iced vanilla latte, the egg muffins, and shared a magnum eclair and lemon meringue eclair with my friend. Everything was delicious! I was nervous that this place was going to be more about the aesthetic than delicious food but it had both! 
• Night Heron: I personally didn't have any food but our friends did and they really liked it. I had the Highball to drink which was described by the waitress as a pina colada without the sweetness and it was fine. It came chilled without any ice cubes which was interesting and it was a large cocktail but it wasn't my favorite. 
• Emmaline: Wow, this restaurant is so gorgeous! As soon as I walked in I was impressed with the look and feel of the entire space. I really wanted this place to be a home run but my food and cocktail were just ok. I will certainly be back but I might skip on a meal and just have a drink and appetizer at their bar or rooftop patio. 
• Austin
• Pinthouse Pizza: When we first walked in I was a little nervous because it was crowded and there were no tables in sight. We decided to hang around and have a drink while we scouted out a table. Once we finally got a spot to sit down we ordered our pizza. I am so glad we waited for a space because the pizza was delicious! 
• Patika: I can't speak towards the food but my Iced Vanilla Latte was good. Not the best I've had. 
• Guero's Taco Bar and Cantina: We popped in for drinks at the bar. My margarita was good and the chips and salsa were decent. 
• Amy's Ice Cream: Technically I just had a few bites of Steven's ice cream cone but my goodness was it delicious! He got the Mexican Vanilla ice cream, yummy! 
• Fareground at One Eleven: This is a food hall with a bunch of different options. It was a very neat looking place. I have to admit it was on my list because I'd seen photos of it on Instagram. I ordered Ramen from NI-KOME Sushi & Ramen and it was ok. To me it didn't have much flavor even after adding in my spice bomb. 
• Summermoon: Our friends told us about Summermoon and it did not disappoint! Steven and I both had Iced Half Wintermoons and they were delicious! It is basically an iced latte made with their special moon milk. Whatever they put in the moon milk is so good! 
• Plan a girls night
• I dropped the ball on this one. While I didn't plan a big girls night with all the girls I did get to have a couple of different girls days! 
• Send birthday cards: Done! 

THIS YEAR

• Run a 10k
• I did it! I trained for six weeks using the Nike + Run Club app and I finished my first timed 10k in 59:15.6 mins! 
• Run a half marathon
• I am working my way up to a half marathon. I start a 10k to 15k program next week! 
• Complete a Whole30
• We will be doing Whole30 starting March 5, 2018. We are as ready as we will ever be! I have our meal plan and grocery list ready for the first week and am excited to tackle Whole30 with Steven by my side. 
• Plan our 30th birthday party
• I have ideas but no set plans just yet. Thankfully Steven and I don't turn 30 until December. 

I tried a few new recipes this month and I found my absolute favorite baked fries recipe. If calories weren't a thing I would eat the Baked Parmesan Truffle fries every day, so good!

Buffalo Chicken Ranch (Whole30)

The Duds this month...

North African Chicken Skillet with Sweet Potato Noodles (Whole30)

I wasn't a big fan of the flavors in this recipe. I think it mostly stemmed from the mixture of tomatoes and dates. It was a weird sweet flavor that through me off. When we were cooking this we made it in two skillets and we left out the tomatoes and dates in Steven's skillet and he said he liked the flavor of the chicken and enjoyed the sweet potato noodles.

Orange Chicken with Cauliflower Rice (Whole30 Fast & Easy page 102)

I barely ate my serving and didn't even bother trying to eat the leftovers because this recipe was just so bland. As I started cooking I could already tell I wouldn't like the food. The recipe didn't have me marinate the chicken which should have been a red flag for me. Overall it was just a bland recipe and if you have the Whole30 Fast & Easy cookbook I would suggest you skip this one.

Wow I can't believe that January is over. In the blink of an eye the month disappeared. It has been a busy and productive month thankfully! In an effort to remain accountable here is my goal check in for the month:

DAILY

• Drink eight glasses of water a day 
• There were three days that I didn't hit my goal. It's easy for me to get to five glasses of water but after that I have to remind myself to drink more. I find that the days I work out I have no problem drinking eight glasses of water. It's my rest days that require me to put in some more effort. 
• Journal everyday
• Honestly, I am excited to review my journal at the end of the year. It has been fun writing about my day. When I first set out to do this I thought I would be handwriting into one of my countless pretty journals, but I knew that I would not really keep up with journaling every day if that was the case. Instead I started using the Day One App on my iPhone. The App is perfect for jotting down my thoughts as I have them. I also like that I can attach pictures to my journal entries.

WEEKLY

• Workout four days a week
• I've been really good with this one! I started the year with a ski trip  then started using the Sweat App by Kayla Itsines and 10k training. 
• Cook a new meal once a week
• Check! I'm starting to lose my fear of the kitchen... finally! Check out the recipes I tried in January here.
• Work from a coffee shop one day a week
• Totally didn't do this at all. 
• No TV or Social Media one day a week
• Steven and I put away our phones for one day, but we did watch TV. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be to completely disconnect. 

MONTHLY

• Read two books a month
• I started reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow at the beginning of the month and I am only half way done with it. To be fair it is 731 pages long and not an easy read. It has been great so far and while I considered spending a full day or two just reading to get it done this month I don't have that kind of time to dedicate to it so I will finish it next month. I did take a break from Alexander Hamilton to read Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I read it in a day! I'll have a book review for both books soon. 
• Try a new restaurant
• I got to try three new to me restaurants this month. I went to happy hour at Ginger and Fork, ate brunch at CommonWealth Coffeehouse & Bakery, and got take out from Bernie's Burger Bus. 
• Plan a girls night
• Not exactly just a girls night since the guys were around too, but I made a trip out to San Antonio to celebrate two of my friends birthdays. We got to catch up and spend time with each other which we always love doing. 
• Send birthday cards
• At the beginning of the month I designed and got custom birthday cards printed for the January babies! 

THIS YEAR

• Run a 10k
• I started training! I am less than a month away from running in my first 10k race. 
• Run a half marathon
• Obviously I am not at the point where I can run a half marathon yet but training for a 10k is progress towards this goal. I haven't signed up for a half marathon yet but I did sign up for a full marathon next January. 
• Complete a Whole30
• I bought the books, started cooking a couple of recipes, and started planning. I have a couple more weeks to finish preparing before Steven and I start our Whole30 in March. 
• Plan our 30th birthday party
• I have ideas but no set plans just yet. Thankfully Steven and I don't turn 30 until December. 

Favorite Recipes: January 2018 

Restaurant Style Chicken Tikka Masala (Whole30)

Indian food is something I crave constantly and this recipe did not disappoint! I love spicy food so I ended up adding some Chili Powder and Cayenne Pepper to add a little more spice. I served it with cauliflower rice and it was delicious!

Paleo Carnitas with Pork Loin - Crockpot (Whole30) 

So easy and so good! I added extra jalapeño peppers, because incase you haven't noticed I like my food spicy, and it was just perfect. We ended up eating the carnitas in tacos (tortillas are not Whole30 compliant at all) but I can see eating this with some cauliflower rice and salsa and being content when we do properly do a Whole30.

Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken  

Super simple and super delicious! This chicken recipe is definitely being added to our dinner rotation.  I served the chicken with cauliflower rice, but next time I will add a side asparagus or broccoli to make it a more satisfying full meal.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake  

This cake was delicious! I loved every bite of it! It was just the right amount of sweet which is perfect since I made it for brunch and didn't want it to feel like an outright dessert. I made the cake the morning of brunch, but it can be made ahead of time which is a plus.

Sweet Potato Home Fries  

This is a perfect base for multiple meals. For breakfast, I ate the home fries with a fried egg and some bacon and for dinner I ate them with sausage and avocado. So good!

Now for the duds of this month...

Chilaquiles with Sweet Potatoes (Whole30) 

I had high hopes for this one but it ended up looking a lot better than it actually tasted. I used some leftover crockpot carnitas on it and fresh guac because I love both of those but some how mixed in with all the other ingredients this recipe just fell flat. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

I don't think I've ever worked so long on a single recipe. I spent over two hours working on this soup!   It was delicious, rich, and filling but that much work for dinner makes it a once a winter recipe for me. Not something that will be on my monthly rotation.

Cheesy Tater Tot Breakfast Bake 

I made this for family brunch and while it tasted fine there was something off about it. In the comments section some people mentioned changing some of the proportions of the recipe and I think they may have a point. I would give this another try with a couple of changes but as is it wasn't my favorite.

I remember first opening up my shop, Jessica Marie Design, like it was yesterday. I was working full time after college and as a creative outlet I decided to start selling my hand made game day dresses, appliqué shirts, and monogram necklaces.

It was August 2012 and I had four items listed in my shop and I was ready for sales to pour in! I even made a sale that very first day! Can you imagine my excitement? I just opened a shop and I already had my first customer! It was looking good! I ended up making seven sales that first month. To a new seller it was not a bad start! If anything those sales made me hopeful. Then came nothing... I made one sale in September and one in October and nothing the rest of the year.

My next sale came in March 2013. At that point I'd completely changed what I sold in my shop. I'd removed my original four listings and replaced them with digital downloads. I made that switch because the free digital downloads on my blog were getting lots of attention and I kept getting requests for more custom designs. I was selling tech wallpapers, digital scrapbook paper, and printable stationery. Thankfully the digital downloads were selling much better than my handmade items because I was about to be out of a job and the income was much needed. In May 2013 I moved to Houston with Steven. He'd finished his masters degree and had a job lined up. I on the other hand moved with out a job and was treating my shop as a full time business.

June and July were slow months for my shop. I was making a couple of sales here and there and taking on more custom work. It was a custom request for a printable planner that changed the course of what I offered in my shop. After I created the custom printable planner for my client I decided to offer printable planners in my shop.

Then came August 2013. Business was booming! It was the first time I saw the potential there was for turning my creative outlet into a full fledged business. That was a full year from when I'd first started my shop. Throughout that year there was lots of trial and error and lots of learning. If I hadn't been patient I definitely would have quit my shop back in 2013, and if I hadn't persisted through the failures I wouldn't have made it to 10,000+ sales today!

Each and every year since starting my shop has had it's own share of failures, growth, and learning. I've been striving to hit the 10,000 sales mark for a long time and now that I have it's exciting! What is most exciting is that my business is now in a transition phase. What once worked is not working as well so it is time to change it up. While I may not know exactly what I will be offering I know that if I've reached my goal once I can reach it again.