Whole 30 Challenge

A couple weekends ago I met up with Caitlin to talk about The Lovely Lookbook (click here to go link up your fall colors since my linky wasn't working last Wednesday!). While we were talking she mentioned that her and her husband are trying out the Whole 30 program. She explained to me the premise of it and I thought it sounded doable.

I left Starbucks and called Chris and told him about my new plan to only eat whole foods for 30 days. He said, "Can I still have Blue Bell and spaghetti?" to which I replied ," Nope." He quickly came back with, "Yup, I'm out." Then he decided to say, "I'll bring you home some wooden pallets from work since that's just about how your food will taste during this challenge. Plus, they're organic since they are pure wood, so they fit all the challenge rules." Hardy-har-har, Mr. Tucker.

Jokes aside, I chewed on the idea of only eating whole food for 30 days. No sugar at all. No added sugar, no fake sugar, no sugar. No pasta, bread, beans, or ice cream. No yogurt, no almond milk. Basically, I can't have most of what I eat. I thought about the idea for a week and, after a night sitting on the bathroom floor because of acid reflux, I decided, I'm in.

This is my thought; I can do anything for 30 days. YOU can do anything for 30 days.

With Chris a no-go, I knew I needed to get mentally ready for Cokes to be opened in front of me and ice cream to be ate every night after dinner. So what did I do last weekend? Ate ice cream and drank Coke basically for three days straight. No wonder my stomach hurt so bad.

Just like my year of no shopping challenge, I knew some planning had to happen.

Last Saturday I read all there was to know about this challenge. I made notes and wanted to be really educated since screwing it up would completely defeat the purpose. I scoured Pinterest in search of edible whole food recipes, made my grocery list, and set out to Sprouts for the first time in years.

Why am I doing this, you ask?

Mainly because I am working my tail off in the gym every morning. I have come to love going to workout in the mornings, but I am definitely negating what I'm doing by chowing down on crap day in and day out.

Another main reason, my acid reflux. I have struggled with this since my freshman year in high school. I have been on every medication for it and nothing seems to work except getting my diet right. I am tried of waking up during the middle of the night with a sour stomach, and Chris is tired of waking up with me.

So, for roughly 30 days (at least 25, I started the challenge Monday) I will be eating nothing but whole foods. I say roughly 30 days because we go to West Point and NYC at the end of this month and I don't want to starve if nothing is available for me to eat. I am going to try my hardest to stick to it while in New York, but my main goal is to make it to October 30th.

I will be tracking my progress, not my weight. I am not doing this to lose weight and it is not a diet because the program says I can eat as much of any whole foods as I'd like. I will be tracking inches around my waist and I will just be keeping tabs on how I am feeling. I want this to be a lifestyle change, not a thing I do for 30 days then toss it to the wind.

And as for Chris Tucker, well he gets what I cook, so like it or not, he is doing a version of the program as well!

I can't wait to share recipes with y'all and let you know how it is going!

Have you ever done a whole 30 challenge?

WIWW: Camp + Link Up

Details here.

Details here.

Details here.

I know I could sit here at type about how busy I have been and blah blah blah, but honestly, I've been busy.

Last week we went to camp. As in me, the other 5th grade teachers, 14 chaperons, and 82 fifth graders set off out into the wilderness for a three day adventure. Okay, that's a bit dramatic (today's name of the game), but if you have spent any time with 5th graders, you know how exhausting it can be. Now imagine three days and two nights with those cherubs...it makes me want to pass out right now.

I love camp, don't get me wrong, but this year stacked up to be quite adventurous. Should I start with the bed bug outbreak? Or the thunderstorm that caused wild ten year olds to be cooped up in their cabins for two hours? Either/or, it was a hoot of a time.

By the way, I totally screwed up last week's link up, so if you are wanting to link up with The Lovely Lookbook and feature your fall colors, just click here. My bad, my bad. I never added the code to my post and whatdayaknow...no one was able to link up. Fantastic.

Moving on to Saturday. Well, let's back up. Friday night I was up with awful acid reflux. I was afraid I caught a bug, but I think it was just the excitement of a hot shower and a real bed that got my stomach all in knots. It was not fun.

Saturday I could have slept a million hours. Not much happened except for me gaining enough energy to launch myself off the couch and into the garage to put the final touches on our kitchen cabinets.

Sunday was started with church, then a trip to Spoons for my last brunch. Last brunch, you ask? You see, somewhere in my mind I thought it would be a great idea to try to Whole 30 challenge. I think all the bug spray from camp got into my head. Well, the bug spray in my head, and all the delicious food in my belly also played a role in this decision.

I will elaborate more in tomorrow's post, but Sunday was full of grocery shopping and errand running. Nothing to write home about.

And you know how the story goes, jeans and a tee shirt all day, errday up in this hizhouse has caused for no new pictures because Chris is at a city council meeting and I'm looking like a hot mess right about now.

I almost pinky promise that next week I will have some fresh lpics up for you, but just know, I said fresh pics...not a fresh outfit. Holla.

Now for the link up!

- All I ask is you link back to my blog and link to a specific post.

- Write about something fashion related!

- If you use instagram, use the hashtag #TuckerUpWIWW

Thanks for linking up and to see other WIWW posts, click here.

Linking up with Because Shanna Said So, Get Your Pretty On, The Pleated Poppy.

House Tour: Living Room

Back in May I showed you some progress on our living room. Frames were still picture-less, pillows were piled a mile high, and the coffee table needed to be cleaned, badly.

Even though we are not done with the living room, I figured I would show you the whole room.

My main focus in this room is using different textures and warm colors. When you are married to my husband, you have to be careful of not getting too modern with your designs. I want our home to feel cozy, yet not too dark and mature.

Let's start off with the red wall and deer mounts. Lord help me, what was I thinking when I suggested we hang those things in the living room? You have to understand that I grew up with dead animals hung on walls. But, I also lived way out in the country. I feel like we could pull off this look if we weren't smack dab in the middle of suburbia. Our six year old neighbor comes over all the time and always asks why Mr. Chris killed so many reindeer. We are surrounded by city folks and the deer need to come down, period.

Now for the red color. I love that the previous owners picked out this color, but I am a little tired of it. I am thinking the deer heads come down and this wall become the same color as its neighboring walls. As for what I will put up in place of the deer? I'm not sure yet. All I know is that Rudolph and his buds have got to go.

Moving around the room, here is an updated look at y'alls favorite wall so far. Thanks to all of your love for this wall of ours, this space has been pinned almost 6,000 times on Pinterest! Now at least there are pictures in the frames. And for those asking, the table sofa table can be found here. We bought it at Ashley Furniture, but it is no longer available there. As for the couch, we also got the at Ashley's and you can find it here.

Keeping the tour going, our mantel is something we get compliments on all the time and, to be honest, this is how it has looked since the day we moved in; give or take a few items. The mirror adds light to the room while its sunburst design adds a modern touch. Our wedding picture is a custom metal print from Tiny Prints. Its sleek, frameless design is so modern, but the colors in the picture add warmth to the mantel. The candlesticks are a classic touch and a touch of greenery is always a necessity. I love how the whole mantel resembles us as a couple.

Some things we are looking to change:

- The coffee table. Glass is not our friend, nor is it safe.
- The floors. Carpet and dogs don't mix. We are in the process of looking for new floors.
- Buy a rug when we get new floors.
- New curtains. I love ours, but we really want to go a little lighter with the color palette.
- Throw pillows. The ones the couch came with are awful, but so comfortable. When I have the time I am on the hunt for new covers.
- Reface the fireplace. The 90's called and they want their tile back.

I can't wait to keep y'all up to speed with how the progress is going. Slowly but surely we are turning this house into a home!