Bites of My Life

Thankful for my family, my friends, my job, my home, health, experiences, opportunities, the list goes on. 

-A Very Jones Thanksgiving took place on Monday for lunch. Our chef team and managers all contributed dishes (pumpkin bread a la me!). I loved this retro honey glazed ham our chefs came up with!
-Thankful for these adorable cookies and thankful for my incredible work family. Monday celebrations continued from lunch into dinner. 
-Topped up with my favorite, as you all know, a brandy ice. Mentioned last week too!
-Cozied up in a house all to myself with Bon Appetit and Scandal on DVR.
-Monumental night hosting Willie Nelson at The Jones Assembly. 
-Singing along with my momma! "You were always on my mind."
-7:30am wake up call to get the pies going. 
-ThankFULL.
-No pies left behind.
-Post turkey, ham, dressing and pie detox.
-Detox smoothie followed by a plate of leftovers. 
-Holidays with a baby around really are the best. 

Annie

Annie

Bites of My Life

Thanksgiving week is hereeeeee! Mentally and physically preparing myself for all of the "bites" that are about to happen this week. Thanksgiving is hands down the best holiday, who else agrees? Spending my Thanksgiving a leetle different this year do to my growing family, but as the baby of the fam I've gotten pretty good at adapting to traditions. Except when it comes to real vs. fake Christmas trees. I won't even get into it because I've already exhausted my parents on the situation and to my dismay lost the battle. Anyway, I'm eager to get to Thursday to spend the day around a full table and end the day with a full belly. 

-Gingerbread protein shake on the go, but first a picture to prove it. P.S. mules are from Target, my best kept secret that now every single one of you know... 
-So if you haven't noticed I've been making protein shakes like crazy. Well my sweet friend Madison got me hooked on Arbonne's vanilla protein powder and I'm having so much fun coming up with creative shake recipes. I've always been on the lookout for a protein powder to add to my morning smoothies and this one is ittttttt! 
-Another day another shake. Peppermint mocha shake to be exact. 
-Showed up to bible study to see my cookie pizza there! Not made by me. SO COOL when people make your recipes, thanks Paige!
-Do yourself a favor and try the new maple rosemary matcha latte at The Jones. I can't get enough, and I loved getting to introduce Annie #2 to her first matcha with this one!
-Blogging tips and tricks workshop with a side of black coffee and pastries. 
-Behind the scenes of the most epic and easy holiday cheese board. One of my contributions to friendsgiving thanks to the help from Hickory Farms!
-When Friday goes from work, to a glass of wine, to a salmon board, to a basket of chips and salsa, to a margarita, to an early bedtime!
-If you know me, you know how happy this little drink makes me. 
-Making my food as festive as possible is a guilt pleasure of mine. Exhibit A. Pumpkin protein shake recipe here. 
-Perfect homemade pie crust was prepped yesterday and being stored in the freezer until it gets baked into pumpkin and pecan pie on Thursday. Recipe is here and here. 
-Loaves on loaves on loaves of pumpkin bread for our Jones Assembly staff Thanksgiving lunch today! P.S. pumpkin bread is the perfect t-giving breakfast w/ some AB spread on a slice and bananas layered on top. Perfect fuel for cooking all morning!  

Annie 

Bites of My Life

It's the down hill slope to Thanksgiving and the holidays in general for that matter. I have something on the books for every night this week (Thursday being Friendsgiving!!). The rush of the season is here. The busyness helps me stay productive, but also sends little stress waves through me. Regardless, this really is the most wonderful time of the year! *Cue the Christmas music*

-First Lite Bite post! Peppermint Mocha Protein Shake. 
-Fall breakfast quickly taken back inside since the mornings have been so chilly around here!
-Died a little inside when I heard of RX Bars new seasonal flavor Gingerbread, but after trying it, the excitement was gone. Gingerbread is a favorite flavor of mine but these lacked flavor completely.
-The StudioHop crew came to OKC on Tuesday for a Glow + Flow class at one of my favorite new studios. If you haven't checked out The Yoga Box, text me and let's go flow together. They also have a food bar inside and these little dark chocolate pomegranate bites they made are being recreated ASAP!
-New coffees and teas at work make for a caffeinated photoshoot!
-Really proud of my creativity on this. Took leftover spaghetti sauce, added some spices and cracked in two eggs for a version of shukshuka!
-Protein shake #2 of the week is this Gingerbread version. Vanilla protein, frozen cauliflower, almond milk, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and cloves!
-My kryptonite as of recently. It's like a not terrible for you cross between popcorn and Cheeto puffs. 
-My other current obsession is rice cakes. I mentioned them a couple weeks ago. Not sure what my craze is for eating something that resembles Styrofoam, but I think the fact that it's just another vessel to shovel almond butter into my mouth could be why...
-Game day, just like we were students again!
-Spent Sunday afternoon talking plants and healthy eating with my new friend Emma!
-Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup for Sunday dinner (and lunches the rest of the week). Forgot how good this recipe was...

Annie

Bites of My Life

Hi November! Hi daylight savings. Hi being dark at 5pm now....UGH. Love the fall so much, but nothing puts me in more of a cold weather slump then when it gets dark so early. I'll take it though since it means Thanksgiving, holiday parties, comfort food and cozy clothes. 

-Last of the Healing Bowl leftovers. I see a lot of this recipe being made again in my future. So easy to make a little different each day. 
-I have a thing for dressing up like inanimate objects for Halloween. I've been a cup of hot chocolate, a present, a flower in a flower pot, and this year...a glass of The Jones infamous Frosé. Gummy bear and all! 
-"Woods comma Elle!" Elle channeled her inner Legally Blonde this Halloween and we couldn't be more obsessed. 
-Giving Arbonne's nutrition line a try. From everything I have read and from what I have tried so far, I am looooooooving it. 
-Chocolate coconut smoothies for two! Elle bell approved! If only she could try it...
-My fave chocolate mint smoothie, now with a protein boost. I don't eat a lot of meat so I'm loving the added protein in my morning smoothies. 
-Claire's wedding pictures came in. I. can't. even. Every single one captured the day perfectly. 
-Happy 7th to my first fitness love, Barre3! I took a pretty big barre break these past couple months, but with sis back teaching post-pregnancy, I've loved adding it back in. 
-Rollin' with my homies straight into Stillwater for a Bedlam victory.
-Easy like a Sunday morning. 
-Skinny Vanilla Lattes and Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Lattes used to be my drink freshman year in college. It wasn't a productive study sesh without one in hand. Threw it back to the GSCDL days for an extra pep on my walk today. And I'll admit, it was also an excuse to get a Christmas cup.
-The best darn homemade meatballs. Adapted the recipe from Bon Appetit to make them whole 30 compliant and gluten-free and paleo. Hoping to get the recipe up this week.

Annie

Bites of My Life

A day late and a dollar short. Happy halloween and happy bites on a Tuesday!

-Halloween Candy Compost Cookie, the best way to swipe clean all the bowls of Halloween candy laying around. 
-Apparently biscuits are now a must when dining with Malory. Also seen here. Anyway, The Press opened in the Plaza District last week. Southwest comfort food and Fleetwood Mac on repeat #sold.
-Photoshoot for new brunch cocktails. Work is hard. 
-Lindsay's Healing Bowls were meal prepped for last week. They didn't quite heal me because of the nasty cold I caught last week, but still a huge fan. 
-Current snack obsession. Rice cake, almond butter, drizzle of maple syrup and sprinkle of Maldon salt. 
-Pumpkin bread, cause #NationalPumpkinDay. 
-Two Kardashians and two cats walked into a party...
-Have you heard about the Google Home Mini Donut Shop? It popped up in OKC this weekend and I walked away a winner! OK, google. 
-Best friends, in the living room, with the spoon. AKA Saturday involving a 2 rounds of Clue and 2 bowls of chili.

Annie