All posts by hannahviolin

I am a violinist. I also enjoy running, working out, reading, and hanging with my friends and cat.

Vitacost Giveaway and Huge Sale

NEW YEAR NEW YOU!  YOLO! LIFE IS SHORT!

Did I miss any cliches?

Okay, we all know the best way to lose weight is to diet and exercise, right? And I’m a huge proponent of eating proper meals, and getting enough fruits/vegetables and protein, and NOT starving yourself, because if you starve yourself your body goes into starvation mode, and honestly, that’s not good either.  Plus they always say, don’t diet, just change your lifestyle.

You have to fuel your body properly to work out.  You have to treat yourself properly and consider feeding yourself as something that is IMPORTANT and not guilt-ridden.  And interestingly enough, cookies and dessert are not actually needed everyday. (This is something I struggle with during the holidays, not so much during the year, oddly.)

But sometimes you need a little help.  Or you feel a bit desperate, or like you need a little bit of a jump start. Here’s where Vitacost comes in! (Click on that link, I save $10 and you save $10.)

ALSO Vitacost is running a huge sale from 12:01 EST today (Jan 3) through 11:59 EST tonight!  24 hours only, so act fast.

 

 

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From the company:

Achieve your goals naturally with help from Vitacost.com’s wide selection of diet products, diet foods and weight management supplements. Whether you’re looking for weight-management supplements, diet supplements to support lean muscle, or appetite and satiety support, you’ll find an array of dietary supplements to meet your needs. Forget questionable products or ingredients – you can depend on the high-quality, all-natural supplements offered by Vitacost.com. From filling fiber to caffeine-free formulas, Vitacost.com has everything you need to stay on track, without harsh stimulants and mysterious chemicals. Along with a healthy diet and exercise program, our dietary supplements and other products can help you manage your weight and feel great. At Vitacost.com, we’re committed to providing you with quality vitamins, diet supplements, minerals and other health products at the lowest prices available.

In addition to the one day only discount code, I have a giveaway to offer that lasts for a week.

Honestly, I wish the giveaway I had to offer you was for some protein powder, because I love that stuff and eat it every morning either in a fruit smoothie or mixed into oatmeal, but instead it’s for a Slim-Fast Starter Kit.  After all I just blathered on about, I’m suggesting you switch your breakfast and lunch for a shake or something.  But hey, free is free, right?  And yeah, it’s possible I just suggested you need to lose weight–it’s possible you don’t!  I won’t assume that everybody gained a bunch of weight over the holidays 🙂 (In fact, a recent study suggests being a little overweight could help you live longer…)

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The contest runs until midnight EST on January 10.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

It’s been…one year…

Happy Anniversary to my husband Chris! 

Last year:

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This year:

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(No, I’m not wearing my bridesmaids dress.  Yes, I did buy it because it sort of looked like my bridesmaids dress. It’s a short version and I got it for approximately $25 at Marshall’s and I love it! Yes, I own things that aren’t purple but I rarely wear them.)

Here’s to many more! 

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Looks about the same, right?  The holes are where there were little wooden “support beams” for the cake topper. 

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Tasted great too!  I wrapped it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, one year later, tastes fantastic!  We actually refroze it after each having a piece…I don’t know how many more times we can do that though.

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Shameless “our wedding” plug: If you are new to the blog and you love weddings, be sure to visit my wedding tab!  We planned our wedding mostly by ourselves and had it in St Louis (at Moulin Events, and here’s a link to my post with all our vendors), so if you are getting married in St Louis and have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them (honestly I love talking about weddings, so feel free to talk to me no matter).  A good friend of mine recently got engaged and I was getting all excited talking to her about it, and she said, You really want to plan another wedding, don’t you!  I said, well, maybe…maybe I should be a wedding planner!  But seriously, no, it’s entirely too stressful (I do play violin for weddings, so I’m in the industry), but I had so much fun planning it (in retrospect, I think we had an okay time and fought a bunch) and frankly, I love attending weddings too.  I’m still waiting for my sister’s professional photographs and hope to do a recap of her wedding and vendors when that time comes. 

The Best is STILL Yet to Come

I know everybody is the same, but I hate taking down the tree and the Christmas decorations.  We have to dispose of the tree today and I spent what seemed like forever (15 minutes, omg!) taking the ornaments off and lovingly putting them away (wrapping a few in tissue paper, piling the rest haphazardly in the box) for next year.  I used to get really sad about Christmas being over, but this year I’m not feeling that.  I’m excited for the next few months, excited for our upcoming anniversary and anniversary trip, and nervous about the hard work I’ll be putting in the next few months, both work wise (lots of violin about to start happening), marathon training, and of course, blogging.

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(more self portraits at gigs?)

In other words, I’m looking forward to the New Year and am taking today easy to regroup, pack, and mentally prepare myself for what is ahead.

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(And watching some Indiana Jones!)

I haven’t made any resolutions as I’m already pretty awesome, but that doesn’t mean I’m not continually trying to better myself.

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(I am already pretty awesome though!  And I spent about 20 to 30 minutes on my hair for once and loved it.  I still had a few bobby pins in my head this morning.)

My friends are awesome too—and BEAUTIFUL.  We girls decided to dress up all fancy-like for the party (that’s why the women are pictured but not necessarily the men, who were primarily wearing jeans and button down shirts.)

Stephanie—a fantastic hostess for the party last night, me, Jennedy—who just got engaged, and of course, the one, the only, Vanessa.

New friends and old!  Carrie, Michelle, Vanessa, me, and Christy.

With Michelle, just about to officially toast the New Year!

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I cut my foot with my other shoe heel.  It looks worse than it felt.  I love these shoes though!

Photo: Chris Tantillo is very serious about his gin.

Chris doesn’t like to take normal pictures, but he’s happy to make a ridiculous pose!

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Case in point!  That’s Bryan, Chris, Jessica, and Kyle (who just got engaged to Jennedy, pictured above.)

Oh—and we’ve got this bit of cake on top of the fridge thawing.  Wonder how it’s going to taste, one year later 😉

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I was rereading this post from last year “The Best is Yet to Come.”  I think the title continues to ring true.  I hope I never get to the point where I feel my best stuff is behind me.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy New Year, dear readers!  I thought I’d kick off 2013 by sharing the recipe I made last night for a party I attended.  I’m waiting to get a few more pictures from the party before I tell you all about it.  So I’ll just talk about food instead!

Who doesn’t love a good spinach artichoke dip?  I recently decided it was time for me to make my own for an earlier party, and it was so delicious that Chris requested I make it again for New Year’s.  I basically followed Alton Brown’s recipe, but I made a few minor changes for my convenience and it turned out great!  (It may not be the prettiest food, but it IS delicious.  And totally healthy, as spinach is a very healthy vegetable.  I’m sure my trainer would give this recipe the A-OK.)

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Ingredients

  • 1 small package (10 oz) thawed, chopped frozen spinach, thawed
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, drained
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I used fresh garlic instead)

Directions

In a large saucepan, cook the spinach until completely heated.  (I didn’t add water, nor did I drain afterwards, but you certainly could.) Add the artichoke hearts and the cream cheese.  Stir until cream cheese is melted.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  (I doubled the recipe for the party and it was all gone.)

Year in Review in Pictures

I figured I can’t call myself a real blogger without a year in review post.  Plus I have some time right now as I wait for Chris to play his concert before we go to our friend’s party to usher in the new year in style.

I’m going to take a little bit different approach than many.  Only pictures.  One picture to sum up each month.  If you are a regular blog reader, you’ll probably recognize all these photos and you can skip this post.

(I was just thinking, nobody makes that whole joke about how long it takes to remember the new year when you’re writing checks anymore, do they?  Bring on 2013!)

2012 in Pictures:

January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

August

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September

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October

November

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December

Bonus Pictures:

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Thanks to everybody for their love and support this year.  I hope that 2013 brings more new adventures and wonderful experiences. Until then!

Oh and…

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Cats and Chinese food

Lots of bloggers like to do year-end recaps.  2012 has been a pretty eventful year for me, and I could probably write a really long post about it and include tons of wedding pictures.  But maybe I’ve already written about myself enough?  Perhaps I’ll be inspired.

But today I just want to share yesterday with you.  I was active on social media (this is a shocker) and took a bunch of pictures, and you all know I enjoy re-sharing my pictures.  (And I like doing journal-type entries the best, honestly.  I don’t know if you find them interesting, but I enjoy writing them.)

The day started with a blogger meet up.  I belong to a facebook group made up of bloggers from the St Louis area.  I hadn’t made the past few meetings as they were on Friday nights and I work late and then usually am too tired to meet new people afterwards.  This one was on a Saturday morning and involved coffee, so I was excited.  It was kind of a meet up fail though, because it was just me and Lindsay.

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I was going to the gym afterwards, and figured that gym clothes, ponytail, and no makeup were totally appropriate for a blogger meet up. 

We had a great time chatting and drinking coffee at Deer Creek Coffee in Clayton.  We discussed everything from the tax implications of blogging to whether or not our husbands like to eat leftovers.  I was inspired by Lindsay’s energy and excitement about blogging and life in general! 

Maybe my next blogger meet up will include more people?

Then it was time to hit the gym.  I thought I felt fine but after I started working out I didn’t really.  Mike had originally planned a circuit of 1 minute sprint, front squats, and kettlebell swings (we squeezed in an extra workout because of my trip next week) but I almost passed out after the second sprint so he revised the workout.  (He actually asked if I wanted to go home and we could reschedule but I felt like I should soldier through.)  Oops.  I made it through the workout though, and I’m sure felt better for it!  That is, it was probably a huge waste and I should have taken him up on his “rescheduling” offer but I felt like a loser.  In retrospect I think he really wanted to go home as well since I was his last client, and he was drinking water just as fast as I was.

Nonetheless.  Shower and then work time.  Rarely is there a Saturday I don’t play a wedding and yesterday was no exception.

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St Charles!

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Gorgeous view of the…casino…

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Me having fun with my timer camera app while waiting for a cue.

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Leslie should appreciate my no ears hairstyle for the day.

After my gig, Chris and I decided to go out for Chinese food.  Our favorite place to go in St Louis is Wei Hong Bakery and Restaurant.  We discovered this place a few years ago and love it.  It’s very casual and fairly inexpensive and always delicious.  They say it’s pretty authentic too, but I have never been to China so I can’t vouch for that.  Maybe I should take my brother there next time he’s in town!

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I had hot and sour soup to start.

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And then a seafood tofu casserole.  They have this tofu that is called “egg tofu” on the menu—I suppose it has eggs in it (sorry Carrie and other vegans) but it is AMAZING.  It has the consistency of a custard or flan, and I could probably eat it for every meal.

Naturally our meal ended with a fortune cookie. 

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Me, impatient?  Never! 

Anyway, the last thing we were doing was meeting some friends who recently got engaged (!!) at Sasha’s.  But first I was lying on the couch watching TV and…

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How could I go anywhere with this guy on my lap?

I decided to destroy her evening by flipping her over for a picture…

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I wanted to get her belly in the picture, but my arms just aren’t that long!  I probably should have gotten Chris to take the picture but I didn’t think ahead.

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This picture is an example of how photography is all about angles.  She doesn’t look fat at all, does she?

And yet…

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