Just Say Julie

For this week's installment of what's in my bag, I thought I would talk about what is literally in my bag. These are two things I pretty much never leave home with out. The one on the right is my trusty datebook. I love this datebook because it is just the right size to toss in my purse so I can keep track of what is going on in my world. This is actually my second time purchasing this particular datebook (I picked the first one up at a car wash on a whim because I liked the Austin theme to the book) and I'm getting ready to order my 2014 book for myself and two of my coworkers. The other massively huge item is my wallet.  Yes, I said wallet. I know it is big but that is why I like it. It holds everything. All my cards, including all those ridiculous loyalty cards that are hard to keep up with, and my checkbooks (we have 2 accounts) for those random times I need to write a check. Plus it is easy to grab and go if I don't want to take my full purse along with me. It has...

Texas is known for two types of food: Barbecue and Tex-Mex. While I have to be in the mood for barbecue, I can eat Tex-Mex 7 days a week. The better question is where do I want to get the Tex-Mex. There are so many good places to chose from here in Austin but I have a few favorites that tend to be my go-to places when I am in the mood for good Tex-Mex. First, there is my favorite taco joint: Torchy's . Two weeks after we moved into our new house, a Torchy's opened across the street from our neighborhood. There is also one near my office. So I end up hitting there close to once a week. Their queso is to die for with the diablo sauce and guacamole mixed in and my all time favorite, Fried Avocado Taco, is always on the menu.  Plus, I usually like to try the taco of the month just to mix things up a bit. For quick bite close to work, I like to hit Cabo Bob's Burritos . Cabo Bob's is basically a locally Chipotle where you can select your tortilla, meat and fillings....

Somewhere along the way, I became one of the makeup people.  I have always had a love for makeup even though I don't wear a lot on a regular basis. I'm always quick to try new products once they get on the market, which is funny since I still tend to go back to my tried and true long time love products. I think I have tried just about every foundation on the market. The problem I run into is not know if something will work out with my oily skin.  I can't always follow the recommendations of many of my fellow makeup loving friends because they have drier skin than I do which means products that work well for them most likely won't work for me. So I have to try things out for myself and often end up being on a different side when it comes to favorite products.  So here are some of my go-to face products: Foundation: For everyday wear, I prefer the CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation . This provides decent coverage although it isn't as long wear as...

Chris and I have been doing Weight Watchers since the end of July with a pretty decent amount of success.  I've lost 16 pounds and he has lost about 20.  I think we have both stalled a bit which I hate with the holidays coming up because I wanted to be closer to my goal so I could relax a bit and enjoy some of my favorite seasonal foods. But I figure I can still enjoy my holiday favorites in moderation and really hit the diet hard again after the first of the year. I'm still pretty motivated to lose weight, especially when I see a picture of myself with a roll right above the waist of my jeans.  One of the things that has helped us be so successful on our diet was the menu planning we have been doing using WW friendly recipes. I found a lot of recipes that we really got excited about trying. As people who loved food, this is just what we need so we wouldn't be as tempted to cheat. One of my favorite new recipes that I discovered was the taco soup my boss made for us ...

It was my intention to discuss interesting football games I watched in my Scoreboard Saturday posts. However, that would have required me to actually watch football today. Alabama had a bye week this weekend so I ended up spending my day in other, less fun ways.  My company is in the middle of upgrading our accounting software so we had to spend our morning completing the work needed for our month end close so the upgrade can take place on Monday.  Not really my idea of a fun Saturday but we made the most of by enjoying some Round Rock Donuts and my boss's yummy pulled pork. On my way home, I had to pick up my team's packets for the Austin Race for the Cure next weekend and hit the grocery store. The nice thing (bad thing?) about HEB on a Saturday is they give out samples while you are shopping. I tried some tasty chicken, wine, and sushi. So of course I ended up coming home with some of it. After I got home from the store, Chris mentioned that Jackson's eye had looked ...

Surprise! Two months later, I finally decided to show back up in your feed reader.  I really didn't mean to fall off the blogging band wagon but it happened.  Since school started back, we have been non-stop.  I know that never really changes in my world but it is the truth.  Somehow we seem to be busier than normal.  Plus I used a lot of my Fridays off during the summer to blog and schedule posts.  I haven't had that free time recently so I guess I will have to try to make up for it now. Luckily, it is now November and that means NaBloPoMo.  One of the goals I set for myself this year was to complete NaBloPoMo again.  The last time I did this, I found out I was pregnant with Jackson at the end of the month.  Hopefully we won't have any surprises like that again this year but nonetheless, I suspect it will still be fun.  I decided to make things a little easier on myself by deciding on a them for each day of the week. Unfortunately, si...