Bra Event and Southern Utah Trip

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about the 29 things you need to do in Southern Utah, go here to read.  All of these ideas came from years of going down there and fine tuning the things we love doing down there.  I wanted to share with you some of the pictures from our trip this weekend.

Last month during the Build Your Blog Conference, bloggers were coming up to me and asking me their bra questions.  I love it how I'm becoming as the boob expert in the blogging community.  A bunch of my new friends I met were from Southern Utah.  The idea came to me to do a bra fitting event down there the next time I'm there.  Well, it happened to work out perfectly because McKay has been wanting to run in a 10K.  So we thought, why not make a weekend trip down there where we kill five birds with one stone: bra fitting event, get away, rest, play, and 10K.  Perfect, done!

29 things you gotta do in Southern Utah

Hello everyone!  I'm so happy to tell you McKay and I just got back from a mini vacation to one of our most favorite places, Southern Utah.  McKay and I actually met down there when we attended Southern Utah University in Cedar City and have always considered that part of Utah our second home, especially with all of the fun memories of going to school, falling in love, and being in one of the most beautiful and scenic places in America.

We had so much fun down in Southern Utah, I want to share with you some of the things you MUST try, do, see, and eat in this gem of Utah.  The great thing about this area of Utah (Cedar City and St. George area) is that there's something for everyone whether you're looking for adventure, looking for some rest and relaxation, on a tight budget (like we are), there for a short time, with just your spouse, or with your family, there's so many things you can do! 

P3 Portable Protein Packs, the perfect travel snack!

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. #CollectiveBias

My husband McKay and I went on a mini vacation down to Southern Utah to soak up the sun, get some much needed rest and relaxation, and to enjoy the outdoors.  I love to travel, but one of the things I don't like about traveling I feel like I come back feeling gross, bloated, and gained five pounds.  Eating out every meal and not being on a normal routine, can do a number on your body.  I try to avoid this by preparing and packing my own meals and snacks, but sometimes "ain't nobody got time for that!"  Sometimes you just need a little help.  I found these new Oscar Mayer P3 Portable Protein Pack and let me tell you it's the perfect snack full of protein: nuts, cheese, and lean meat.

I bought four of these #PortableProtein at Walmart and was so surprised at how affordable they are, I found them for $1.00 each!

The P3's are all under 170 calories; you can't find a protein bar less calories than that!  There's no sugar, no carbohydrates, no artificial preservatives, and packs a whopping 14 grams of protein in just one serving!  I was really surprised by how much more satisfied I felt when eating these and didn't feel as hungry, because you know during a road trip, just sitting around for hours can make you really hungry.

Not only would these be a perfect travel snack, they're perfect for on the go women that need some extra fuel in their bodies.

There's four different P3 flavors and all of them are DELICIOUS!  #MeatCheeseNuts

• Applewood smoked turkey breast with reduced fat marbled Colby and Monterey jack cheese and dry roasted almonds
• Applewood smoked ham with reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese and dry roasted almonds
• Rotisserie smoked chicken breast with reduced fat cheddar cheese and dry roasted peanuts
• Slow roasted turkey breast with reduced fat cheddar cheese and dry roasted peanuts

Here's me enjoying my P3 Portable Protein Pack.  No worries, I'm not driving, we're parked.

I highly recommend these snacks. We ended up buying a couple more for our way home!  If you're wondering what's in my travel bag: March Better Homes & Garden, an apple, 3 packs of Oscar Mayer P3's (I ate one already), Kate Spade glasses (thank you big huge sale at Nordstrom Rack), Say Goodbye to Survival Mode from Crystal Paine, not shown lipstick and chapstick, hand lotion, gum, phone, and water bottle. 

We got back home safely and soundly.  I'm so glad I didn't gain those five pounds, I only gained one, and I can thank to these protein packed and nutritious snacks for curbing my appetite for unhealthy treats.   

Thanks Oscar Mayer and Collective Bias for supporting Fry Sauce & Grits.

What's in my bag?: New mommy edition

Call me a creep, but I love to see what other women keep in their handbags.  It is super interesting to me, and I think it can tell you a lot about a person.

You've probably seen those edited articles in magazines of what celebrities carry in their handbags, everything looks polished and pretty. Well, I wanted to share what I consider my essentials because as a new mom, I carry a lot less makeup and random things, and a lot more baby gear!

So, this is what I actually have in my handbag right now--my essentials.

Road Tripping with Grits

Hello folks!  The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of travel for me, and I am happy to be back at home sleeping in my own bed, with my husband and my puppyhead Dex.

After visiting home, and having a beautiful shower, I hopped back on a plane to Alabama.  I got in Monday afternoon, saw Mumford and Sons play Monday evening, worked Tuesday, and left again Wednesday for a fun road trip to visit our friends in Gainesville, FL!

Since I am a southern transplant, I want to share with you what I found unique about our trip down to Florida.  It seems the south is full of quirky new things and it's always fun to discover them!

We took a few pit stops along the way to Gainesville.  First, we stopped in Dothan, the location of the first Del Taco in Alabama!  Andrew's favorite restaurant is Del Taco (dream big honey), and since there are none where we live, this was quite the treat for him.  Embarrassingly enough, we actually stopped at Del Taco several times on our trip so Andrew could get his fix.

Andrew enjoying his "Green Burrito"

The Six Most Effective Sunscreens You Need for your Face and Body

Hello!  I'm really excited to talk about this topic.  I have an obsession with sunscreens.  I get excited when I see a new sunscreen on the market.  This passion for sunscreen stems from being apart of a family of redheads with very pale skin.  We weren't like the typical family.  We're like vampire, we don't tan, we burn.  All of my life whenever my family and I would go anywhere we were always slathering gobs of sunscreen all over our bodies all the time to protect our delicate white skin against the radioactive waves from the sun.  It wasn't until my dad found skin cancer on his body was when I knew I wanted to make sure my children understand the importance of taking care of their skin against getting burned, skin cancer, and premature aging.   We used A LOT of sunscreen while vacationing down in Alabama.  Sorry Caitlin, mermaids don't wear t-shirts.

Travel Size Obsession! Packing Tips

Let's face it.  Everything is cuter when it's smaller.  Beauty products are no exception.

Why is it that whenever I see something miniature, I instantly want it?  And I always say to myself, "Well, that would be PERFECT for when I travel!"  

You would think I was a world-class explorer with how many travel-sized things I stock up on.  Seeing how at this point in my life, my vacations mostly consist of going to Utah to visit family, I hardly need the arsenal of small toiletries in my linen closet.

So, in an effort to cut back,  I have compiled a list of what I consider to be the most important mini travel items that you should have.  Because if you have 25 mini beauty items, then that sort of defeats the whole travel sized idea, right?

These are great to have packed and ready to go in case a weekend getaway opportunity presents itself.  (fingers crossed here!)

1.  The mini deodorant.

Sephora sells these little gems in a 1 oz. size for $10.  This may seem like a pricey investment for a deodorant.  But, let me tell you it has brought me so much happiness whenever I pack for a trip.  It's adorable.

2.  The travel makeup brush set

  This set is called the Bobbi Brown 'Luxe' Brush Set.  Nordstrom has these pretties available right now.  And for $125, it better be luxe.  But, this is surely an investment piece!  Can't you see the value people?! It folds into the thinest clutch ever, and it will make you feel so streamlined and chic you won't even remember your former self.  

3.  Shampoo and Conditioner

Kiehls

Shampoo and Conditioner are personal.  I received these travel gems when I attended a Kiehl's training at work.  I love them and used them on my beach trip last month.  The weight of regular sized S&C bottle is too much for a 3 day trip.  Lighten your load.

4. Shaving cream

Drugstore

Let's not over think this one.  It just cuts down so much space.  No need for frills here.  It washes right off, smooth legs are a must.  

5. Hairspray

Fekkai Sheer Hold Hairspray

This hairspray is lightweight and perfect for every day.  Small can, love it.

Okay, so this is by no means a complete list.  But, these are the things that I always bring with me, and depending on where I am headed, I will pack more.

This is the amount I would typically pack for a week away.

Please share any of your favorite travel items or minis with me.  Or, any other ways you save space and weight while packing.

Another packing secret: I love the "Zip and Ship" method from the girls at MMandLshow.

Check it out, you won't regret it the next time you are headed out of town!  You will feel so relieved knowing you have what you need, and your bag is underweight to boot!

And just because....

Dexter was trying to be a part of my travel products photo.  Sweet guy.

Alabama the Beautiful!

I've been looking so forward to our trip to Alabama and there were many reasons. First, I haven't seen Melanie and Andrew since Christmas.  Second, I've never been to the Deep South and was really excited to be eating, seeing, and doing what the southern folk do.  I enjoy going off the beaten path when it comes to trips.  I love seeing and experiencing different cultures.  Third, Alabama is a random place to go on a vacation. You don't hear many people say, "I'm going on my summer vacation to the deep south of Alabama where it's nasty humid."  Fourth, my entire family was coming, the more the people the more cray cray and fun it was going to be.  Fifth, this was a major trip for us.  We don't fly very often and this was Amelia's first airplane experience.  McKay and I were both anxious and downright terrified.

Our first day in Alabama we had to eat at the IHOP of the South, the Waffle House!  They're on every corner, they're cheap, fast, and are known for their waffles.  I ordered the pecan waffles with cheese grits, bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs and it was pretty dang good.  This meal was definitely not my healthiest.

My family are big Diet Coke fans, so my mom saved up all of her Coke Reward Points and was able to get all of us into the World of Coke for FREE in Atlanta!  This was fun, we got to see the history of Coke and the best part was we got to try different drinks from around the world.  My favorite were some of the South American drinks like Inca Kola.  The worst was The Beverly.  I don't understand how the Brits like the taste of carbonated bitter garbage.  We drank until we were sick.

We visited the iconic The Varsity in Atlanta.  It's the world's largest drive in.  Meh, the food was not the highlight of Atlanta, but at $7.25, it wasn't that bad.      

Nearby we saw there was a very old and historic Oakland Cemetery .  There were a couple famous people buried here and its the site for the 3,000 unidentified confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. Walking around and seeing such beautiful gravestones was so such a treat but also very sobering.  It made me think how precious each of those lives were and how each of those men and women buried there had a life, family, passions, and a story.  Sometimes I wondered, what was their story?  We saw Margaret Mitchell Marsh, the author of Gone with the Wind resting place.

The next day we drove the four hours to Gulf Shores, Alabama.  On the way there we stopped at this place called Uncle Mick's Cajun Cafe in the small town of Prattsville (15 minutes west of Montgomery).  This cafeteria style place had very southern and Cajun cooking going on.  The owner who also served the food could tell we were first timers so he had us try a taste of his recommendations.  I ended up getting the dirty rice, with alligator gumbo and crawfish etouffee.  It was a fun place and a great way to experience a taste of the bayou!  Also, their pecan pie was really good.  

In Gulf Shores the sand is white as sugar and the water is warm as bath water.  We were lucky enough to rent a place RIGHT ON THE BEACH!  I would recommend this!  It made it super convenient with kids and babies. It was fun to see beach goers fish for sharks.  We saw a couple 3-5 ft sharks being cast onto the beach.  Kind of crazy!  Some of the family got stung by jellies.  Good thing we had kind beach neighbors who had this numbing liquid so we didn't have to pee on anyone.  I was really happy to see the beaches restored back to where they were like before the BP oil spill of 2010.

We went to the most unique and crazy restaurant called Lambert's just north of Gulf Shores.  They're known for their homemade baked rolls and servers throwing them at their customers.  Melanie got pegged in the head by one of these airborne rolls.   The roll guy comes out with a pan of hot and fresh rolls from the oven on a cart and walks around and throws rolls at starving customers.   They're also known for their pass arounds where servers walk around with large bowls of fried okra, beans, fried potatoes, macaroni, cooked cabbage, and a bunch of other random food and they'll serve it on your napkin.  My favorite was how they served drinks in 50 oz plastic convenience store mugs.  Talk about real casual dining.  It took over a hour to get a table and I can say that as I was waiting outside in the misting fans, I thought to myself, "this better be worth it."  I ordered the BBQ ribs and they were pretty good.  What makes this place worth the hour wait was the fun atmosphere and the throwing rolls.    

On the way back from Gulf Shores we stopped in Montgomery where we saw some of the historical sites of that town.  We saw the church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached and we took a tour of the First White House of the Confederacy.  

The next day we spent the day in Montgomery where we visited the Civil Rights Museum.  This was a really cool place but it made me really upset and sad that people were treated the way they were because of the color of their skin.  We learned about the history of segregation and how African Americans were hated, persecuted, bombed, and terrorized in their own city.  I really liked it how the museum portrayed how different the lives of blacks and whites were during that time.  How the mortality rate for blacks was half of whites. 

Right across the street is the famous 16th Street Baptist Church where four little girls were murdered when members of the Klu Klux Klan set off a bomb in the basement of the church.

For dinner we went to this place called Moe's BBQ in Vestavia Hills.  This was one of my favorites.  I was in the mood for a lighter meal because when you're on vacation you tend to eat so much more then you do at home!  So I ordered the smoked turkey breast salad that came with a slice of grilled cornbread.  McKay ordered a side of wings and they were my favorite out of anything I ate there!  I had a bite of the catfish sandwich and a pork ribs and both were delicious!

We went to the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham.  This was such a fun place to see!  It was built in 1882 where it produced pig iron until 1971.  This place is haunted and it was kind of eerie and spooky as we walked through the tunnels, engine, furnace, and blower rooms.  I loved the industrial architecture of the place.  I kept on thinking how cool it would be to take some of the artifacts and put them in my house.  We saw a couple getting their wedding pictures taken here.  They hold concerts and weddings here too.  The best part about it, it's free! 

We went to this restaurant called Urban Cookhouse located in Homewood, Alabama.  SO good!  It was fresh, cheap, and really good.  I ordered the Down Home.

I was really sad to leave Melanie, Andrew, Dexter (their dog), and Alabama the beautiful.  Once we got home and I was able to sleep in my own bed, I realized how good to finally be home.  Thanks Melanie and Andrew for hosting six additional people in your home for an entire week.  You're great hostesses!