{yummy} italian vegetable soup.

everyone's trying to be better, exercise more, and eat healthier. i, myself, have made numerous such 'vows' to do so in yesterday's post of my 100 things to do in 2014. and with tools like weight watchers, i know i have the skills to be a healthier version of myself.

one of my FAVORITE go-to meal options that are filling and healthy are homemade soups. when i first started weight watchers over 3 years ago, i became addicted to soups of the canned variety. they were easy and yummy. but once i transitioned to eating a 'cleaner' lifestyle (limiting processed foods with artificial ingredients and preservatives), i searched for soups i could easily make myself. i stumbled on the following recipe and have not looked back! it's filling, hearty, and can be altered to fit your tastes. i tend to make this on sundays so i can have it on hand all week long!

picture care of weight watchers

Italian Vegetable Soup

Ingredients 10 oz fresh spinach, baby leaves    2 medium uncooked carrot(s), chopped    2 rib(s) (medium) uncooked celery, chopped    1 large uncooked onion(s), chopped    1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced    4 cup(s) reduced sodium vegetable broth    28 oz canned diced tomatoes    2 leaf/leaves bay leaf    1 Tbsp dried basil    1 tsp dried oregano    1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed    Instructions Place all ingredients in a slow cooker; stir, cover and cook on high power for 5 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir and serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

LAUREN'S TIP: i like to make this either in the slow cooker or stove-top...it works either way. i also do tend to spice it up with some hot sauce. ;-)

xoxo Lauren

a new year. a 100 things.

productive. successful. happy. fulfilled. i'm vowing to make 2014 all of these things and more! they aren't resolutions, but life changes. i recently listened to our amazing Stella & Dot CEO, Jessica Herrin, lead a powerful life coaching call about setting ourselves up for the new year. my AHA moment came when she said this: 'connect your I WANT with your I WILL to get to I HAVE.' so powerful.

Jessica (we're on a first name basis, duh) mentioned in her call that it's fabulous to have those BIG GOALS, but to understand that it takes little steps to get there. it typically isn't done overnight. in scouring my favorite site of pinterest, i came across Michelle Lea's blog post committing to a 100 things for the new year and i thought it was awesome. it intrigued me because i thought, 'well, there are 365 days and 52 weeks in a year. a 100 things is totally do-able.' thus my brain began to churn out ideas...it tends to do that every so often. so without further adieu, i give you my 100 things for 2014. i'm going to be giving you updates throughout the year on these, so feel free to ask how it's going. i might need you to keep me accountable. ;-)

100 THINGS FOR 2014

Personal Growth
1. Begin to learn Spanish (thanks to my new iPhone app, Duolingo, this should be attainable)
2. Take a surf lesson
3. Learn how to drive stick shift
4. Attend MAKING THINGS HAPPEN in May
5. Force myself to go camping (apparently it's something everyone needs to do once...lol)
6. Fill out my Lara Casey Powersheets
7. Fill out my Jess Lively workbooks
8. Stop reading up on 'celebrities' (comparison is the THIEF OF JOY)
9. Learn to play golf
10. Take Krav Maga classes

In the Kitchen
11. Go completely CLEAN (no preservatives, processed, etc)
12. Attempt to cook a new vegetable 1x a week
13. Learn to cook a new dish 1x a week
14. Take a cooking class
15. Plant and grow tomatoes, peppers, and herbs
16. Organize family recipes
17. Install roll out shelves in pantry
18. Install under-cabinet lighting
19. Buy a slim stepstool
20. Buy a juicer

Home
21. Clean out 1/2 of closet
22. Clean out 1/2 of dresser
23. Paint my bedroom furniture
24. Buy a queen bed (FINALLY)
25. Get a Nest thermostat
26. Complete the 52 week challenge
27. Build dining room shelving
28. Install closet organization systems
29. Paint my bedroom/bathroom at Mom and Dad's
30. Paint my bedroom furniture at Mom and Dad's

Friends
31. Write a hand written note to a friend once a month to tell them how special they are to me
32. Create birthday calendar and send cards to each friend
33. Visit Memphis to see Mariel and Nick
34. Plan a girls weekend for Lauren in DC
35. Host a game night
36. Plan a wine tasting weekend in Charlottesville for Meghan's '30th' birthday
37. Go on a beach trip with the Fun Group (OBX?)
38. Celebrate NYE in a tropical location
39. Visit Alex in NYC
40. Get Brody and Winston to be BFF

Family
41. Throw Dad an AWESOME 60th birthday party
42. Have dinner every Sunday night at my parents
43. Visit with Jason and Sheena 1x a month
44. Take Brody to the dog park 1x a week
45. Bake Brody and Zoey homemade dog treats 1x a month
46. Have a spa weekend with Mom
47. Celebrate Jason and Sheena's wedding
48. Train Brody to be the ring bearer
49. Create a 'special' gift for Jason and Sheena's wedding
50. Make sure Mom and Dad celebrate their 33rd anniversary in style

Real Estate
51. Update blog daily (my posts may or may not be a lot shorter this year to make sure this happens)
52. Build a CRM tool for clients/customers
53. Build a brand
54. Meet up with each past client 1x a month
55. Attend sales meetings every week
56. Sell $6 million this year
57. Create a weekly email campaign
58. Hold open houses 2x per month
59. Attend Business Builder meetings weekly
60. Build my Suburban-Urban idea ;-)

Stella & Dot
61. Attend HOOPLA in Orlando
62. Double my team from 7 Stylists to 14 Stylists
63. Launch new Stylists STRONG
64. Promote to Senior Stylist
65. Promote to STAR Stylist
66. Provide a bi-weekly coaching email to team members
67. Listen to 2 training calls per week
68. Follow-up with each customer 1 week after purchase
69. Have 4 trunk shows per month
70. Increase trunk show average to $1000 per show

Financial
71. Pay off credit card debt
72. Complete the 52 week money challenge (perfect for 2014 Christmas expenses)
73. Save up 6 months of income
74. Enroll in life insurance (morbid, i know, but it's a necessary evil)
75. Enroll in disability insurance (yet again- necessary evil)
76. Read Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey
77. Track all mileage
78. Track all expenses
79. Begin saving for a new car
80. Update Mint.com and Total Money Makeover weekly

Health
81. Workout 4x a week
82. Go to spin class 1x a week
83. Go to Bikram 1x a week (only in the cold months- I cannot stand it in the summer lol)
84. Lose 10lbs by March
85. Lose another 10lbs by June
86. Lose final 10lbs by August
87. Be able to do a pull-up
88. Run a 10k
89. Go CLEAN with all beauty products
90. Track Weight Watchers points daily

Pass it On
91. Pay for person's coffee behind me in Starbucks once
92. Pay for person's toll fee behind me once
93. Volunteer at least 1x per month
94. Donate money to a different charity monthly
95. Be a person's 'Secret Pal' for a year without them knowing
96. Put together Blessing Bags
97. Keep nutritional bars in the car for homeless
98. 'Boo' someone this year
99. Buy a Christmas tree for a person at Home Depot this year
100. Always smile at strangers- you never know if they're having a bad day :)

xoxo Lauren

{boozy bevvie} summer shandy

it's no secret amongst my friends that i am not a beer drinker. it all stems from this one time...nevermind. somethings should remain a mystery. ha.

in any event, usually i can find a beverage choice that involves liquor or my standby, hard cider. but as i started to frequent nats games, i began to realize that those alcoholic bevvies added up dollar wise to a range that was not dave ramsey approved. so last summer, thanks to my awesome friend sarah, i started a new beverage relationship: the poor person's summer shandy.

sarah and i boozing at the nats-rockies game. obviously.

yes, they serve the beer 'summer shandy' at nats stadium, but it's still not my cup of tea. so what did i do?! yes- i did the following: half lemonade + half beer. perfecto.

it wasn't until a recent pinterest find Brandy and Shan at prettyplainJanes, that i thought to make it at home. i have yet to have the occassion for it, but had to share their version because it sounds pretty delicious. so check out the amazeballs recipe here. thanks to prettyplainJanes for being an awesome blog and bringing my fave boys of summer drink to the homefront!

image courtesy of www.prettyplainjanes.com

xoxo lauren