St. Kitts & Nevis

Well hello there, my long-lost blog readers!

 

So to be honest, I haven't been very good at taking pictures lately so there just hasn't been anything to blog about... OOPS! Luckily, on our recent vacation to St. Kitts I had my Mom and a tour guide there to take pictures for me. Last week, me, Michael and my parents head off on a vacation to the Caribbean island, St. Kitts! It was the PERFECT time to be gone from Tulsa...we missed several days of snow and also the PERFECT time to be in St. Kitts as they had gorgeous weather all week.

 

We finally arrived after a couple delays (does anyone fly without delays anymore??) and headed straight to dinner at one of our favorite beach shacks, Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack, home of the double decker grilled cheese (my personal favorite). Had to start off the week with a cold Carib beer brewed in St. Kitts.

Like I said, the weather was awesome all week... Can you tell by this picture?

The first few days we spent relaxing and lounging on the beach. It was such a nice getaway to have 7 days off work! On Tuesday, we took a boat tour to a nearby island, Nevis, where all the celebs hang out. I'm still pretty sure I saw Wendy Williams, HA! It was seriously amazing and the water was crystal clear. We had tons of fun hanging out on the beach at the famous Sunshine's bar and of course had to have the famous "Killer Bee" drink.

It was our 6 month anniversary. I could definitely get used to this kind of celebration every 1/2 year :)

 They even had corn hole in Nevis!! Michael was really excited!

The boat that took us to Nevis had only one other couple on board, who we ended up hitting it off with. Their last name was also Miller and they got married exactly 1 year before us! CRAZY. We ended up going to dinner with them that night at an Indian restaurant... remind me in the future, I apparently don't like Indian food.

Thursday we took an awesome tour that included walking down the black rocks, hiking the rainforest, and snorkeling. Our tour guide took pictures for us so we were able to capture the day!

 An old cotton gin where our guide hung out as a kid

 We did many "smelling tests" to figure out what fruits were growing around the island

 Pretty black rocks with waves crashing in the background

Andddd a massive wave hit us and we all got soaked! We were cracking up and so caught off guard! 

 Bamboo forest

 Where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic Ocean (The Atlantic is the left side with all the big waves)

 That's me! Snorkeling without fears for once!

 

Starfish family picture



I'm SO glad we got to enjoy a little time in the islands. It's so interesting getting to see different cultures and learn new things while traveling! I would definitely recommend St. Kitts to anyone and would be happy to give some recommendations on places to go while there. They have some AMAZING restaurants (Gnocchi at Ciao! was seriously to.die.for).

 

Now the hubs are I are counting the days until our Mexico trip in September! Only 178 more days!

 

Here's to blogging more,

Brianna

 

Eating Clean(er)

I've been struggling with a post-wedding/holiday food frenzy. It's been bad but oh, so delicious. But having a beach vacation coming up in less than 6 weeks, I've realized that the all you can eat diet just isn't going to cut it. My biggest problem with dieting/eating healthier is that I don't eat meat very often. It's hard to find a meal plan that works and doesn't include a bunch of meat as your protein. I wanted something quick and easy for my work lunches and portion controlled, so I wouldn't be eating too much food, especially at dinner time. I began searching the internet for some kind of meal delivery for vegetarians/vegans.

And then I found... VEESTRO! They provide many different options for meal delivery which include all healthy, organic and vegan meals. This was exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to order about 12 days worth of a la carte meals to see which ones I like best. They shipped out the following Monday and were on my doorstep by Thursday afternoon, frozen solid with dry ice. The best thing about it... It's VEGANUARY so I got a 20% off coupon code to start! (Code is VEGANUARY)

I had a few questions while I was in the ordering process and was so impressed with their customer service. They e-mailed me RIGHT back and answered all my questions. I wasn't necessarily looking for something that was vegan, but since I did, I figured I'd go ahead and see if I could go completely vegan for the 2 week period because WHY NOT! I tried my first two meals yesterday and have to say they were pretty darn good. I had an enchilada casserole for lunch (300 calories) and a country fried chick'n dinner with mashed potatoes (310 calories). Honestly, they were MUCH larger than I was expecting and surprisingly very filling. {The hubs even tried a bite of the chick'n after much persuasion by me and said it tasted like a chicken nugget!} The hardest part of this 2 week journey will definitely be giving up cheese, wine, and DIET COKE!

I'm going to post some updates throughout the next two weeks. I'm really pretty excited to try out the vegan life for a couple weeks, even if it doesn't last forever.

Eating Clean since 1/19,
Brianna

Cystic Fibrosis: Tulsa's New Leaders

I have been honored to accept a nomination as one of Tulsa's New Leaders of 2015.  As a member of a group of men and women who have been selected largely because of our community involvement and career success, I have been asked by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise as much as I can for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that shortens the lives of those it affects to a median age of approximately 37 years old.

On April 2nd, 2015, I will be honored at a party for participating in Tulsa's New Leaders and raising money and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As a participant, I have committed to raising at least $4,000 for CF.

I am asking all of my friends, family and blog followers to consider a donation to this amazing foundation to help find a cure for those living with CF. It's important to note that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is very efficient and nearly 90% of every single dollar raised goes towards investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education! Please consider a donation of whatever you can give. Every dollar counts!

You can donate online through my fundraising website: DONATE HERE!

For my fellow Tulsa friends, I would suggest that you consider purchasing a ticket to the event on April 2nd, 2015. I attended last year, and can tell you first hand that it is a blast! Tickets are available through my fundraising website and allow you to make a donation, as well as celebrate my nomination with me at the event. There will be an awesome dinner, live and silent auction and great music.

Thank you for helping me raise money for this very worthy cause. I am so grateful for your support and generosity!!

Brianna