Friday Five | 3-13-26

1. Gate River Run

Ugh. I was absolutely crazy to sign up for this. It was 1 week after my Half, and I thought what a cool way to keep the running routine going. A 15k is a lot less miles than a half, right?! This was BRUTAL. I've done the Gate once before and found it really challenging. This year it was in a new location because of construction. Jacksonville really shows up for this race, and I love the vibes throughout the neighborhoods! 

The race didn't start until 8am, and this weekend happened to be HOT. It was already too warm at the start, and it just got hotter from there. The most challenging part of this race is a huge bridge at mile 8. By then, the sun is beating down and you have to go up hill. The finish line has also been moved, so you can't see it for the longest time. When I tell you people were falling out right and left! I've never seen someone so pale. Lot of people are doing shots and chugging beer throughout the race, so that led to a lot of vomit on the bridge too. 

I was not very proud of my race, but glad I finished. The post race celebrations were also out in the sun, and not a shade tree to be found. I can't tell you how many people we saw calling out for medics after the race! If they had just started it an hour earlier it would have made all the difference.

After a yummy lunch, we hit up the beach and that was worth all the suffering! 😂

2. Skylight Calendar

My amazing sister rallied our families to all chip in to get us a Skylight Calendar! I have had one in my Amazon cart for like 2 years, but never wanted to spend the money. It's been amazing. We are so reliant on our digital calendars with how busy we are. The Skylight syncs with all our calendars and has amazing chore/routine checklists. Our Skylight also came with meal planning features too. We've only had it a few weeks but it's made our communication so much better. I really like tracking our dogs medication schedule with it - Blake and I are completely on the same page with when Bailey got her last dose. 

3. Warrenties

I just have to say, I appreciate brands that stand behind their products!! First, my Oura ring suddenly had a weird battery problem. Normally, my ring lasts for almost a week without having to charge, but it started having to be charged daily. I chatted with Oura and they logged into my ring, saw that it did indeed have a problem, and promptly sent me a new one. Took less than 5 minutes. 

When I fell in January, I damaged my brand new Brooks. I had them for like 2 weeks, it was so sad. With a race coming up though, I didn't want to delay breaking in another pair. My aunt reminded me that Brooks has a 90 day trial, and so I just shot my shot and asked them about replacement...and they are sending me a pair! This might be my 8th pair of Ghosts, so I appreciate that they were loyal back to me.

4. Books I've Read Recently 📚

Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender - As I type this, I am having trouble remembering this book..if that tells you anything. Nora is the 2nd, younger wife to a wealthy man in Winter Park, Fl. Will goes missing, and Nora tries to figure out what's going on while navigating their elite community. 

James by Percival Everett - 5 Stars! Jim is a slave that finds out he's going to be sold. The same Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - but from his POV. I don't think you need to have read Huckleberry Finn to enjoy this. Slavery is horrible to read about, but this is so captivating. 

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green - Fantastic! Who knew Tuberculosis could be so fascinating. TB has been the most common viral disease for almost all of human history. John Green's writing makes reading about social/political impacts of a disease so interesting. 

5. Disney Photo Pass

For my Disney Half, I knew I wanted to be able to get all the race photos. I did a lot of research, and so many people recommended the Photo Pass. It's kinda pricey, but you can get all of your photos for a month and it includes everyone in your friends/family list. We got our money's worth! Not only did I get great race photos, but we also stopped and took a bunch while we were there over the weekend. Additionally, Blake's cousin took a trip a week later and I was able to send her all their photos too. There were so many cute ones!

Happy Friday! 

-Kristen

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Friday Five | 3-13-26

Friday, March 13, 2026

RunDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap 2026 | Rapunzel Running Outfit

We did it! After training for 5 months, my sister, myself and our 2 cousins successfully completed the RunDisney Princess Half Marathon. I feel so proud of this accomplishment. It wasn't my first Half, but it was my best. I felt great the entire race, and there is something really cool about feeling like you adequately prepared. 

We followed this training schedule and I highly recommend. It has you run 3 times a week, and I felt like it was very well paced. 

Cons of a Disney Race

There are SO many people who do this race. My gosh, the expo and the run itself were both so crowded. There are certain areas of the course that narrow, and people do not follow the 'walkers on the right' etiquette well. I hit 13.1 miles well before the finish line just because of all the weaving. 

The early morning was also brutal. It's recommended that you get to the start line corrals about an hour before your wave starts. The resort has a great busing system for getting runners to the race. But you have to be on the bus by 3:30am (or earlier!)! The lines for the bathrooms were outrageous as well! I slept so poorly because I was afraid i'd miss my alarm. So, it's already an extremely early morning, and you are doing it on just a few hours of sleep. 

The bus also drops you off about a mile from the start line, so you need to plan accordingly. 

Pros of a Disney Race

Disney just does everything top notch. They know how to move huge groups of people! I was impressed with the medical tents. They know there are so many inexperienced runners on the course who might need help. There was even a woman handing out popsicle sticks loaded up with vaseline! There were plenty of water and Powerade stations - and they also passed out the Honey Stinger chews that I love. 

The race medals and shirts are great quality. I felt like with such a high race registration fee, this is the type of swag I'd expect. 

There were a ton of race photographers on the course! I highly recommend purchasing the Memory Maker package. I was able to download all of my own photos, as well as those in my friends/family list. We got our money's worth ten fold. Such great shots too! 

Tip! 

If your family is going to spectate in Magic Kingdom, or really anywhere on the course - they need something bright/colorful/different so you can spot them. There were SO many people on main street, we never would have found our family. Blake bought a giant photo of my face to hold up - and I was so glad he did! As soon as we hit the street, I was like "there's my face!" and I knew exactly where they were. 

Race Must Haves:

Outfit: 

All in Motion Shirt | Fabletics Sports Bra | PopFlex Skirt (longer length) | Brooks Shoes | Feetures Socks | Flower Hair Clips | Blake's Shirt

Running Favorites:

Honey Stingers | Body Glide | Body Glitter | Bib Boards

-Kristen

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RunDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap 2026 | Rapunzel Running Outfit

Friday, March 6, 2026

Friday Five | 2-20-26

1. Revive Stock Up

Revive is my very favorite place to get essential oils. Such great quality, and proper pricing. While I needed a restock of a few oils, mainly I placed this order to get the Immunity Boost Cleaner concentrate. I'm in love with it and have been gravitating towards using it for just about everything! It works really well as an all purpose cleaner and it's great on floors. The concentrate lasts forever too because you dilute it. 

New to me is the body scrub! It's vanilla and lavender so I was sold. It's awesome. I do have a referral link, but usually the code PRIME gets you a bigger discount. But! It looks like Revive products are also on Amazon.

2. Olive and June Nail Strengthener

Last year, I committed to improving my eyelashes, and I feel like I did! (Mainly because of this product) This year, I'm giving the same kind of attention to my nails. They've always been weak and peely. Like my whole life. I'm extremely hard on my hands as well. I'm already blown away by this nail strengthener I've been using! It goes on like nail polish, but quickly absorbs into your nails. You can use it occasionally, or daily for a more intense therapy. It has helped a lot! My nails are noticeably stronger and thus have gotten a bit longer.

3. Beauty By Earth Self Tanning Drops

If you want a 10/10 fake tan that has 'better' ingredients this is it. I have loved their lotion, but this is the first time I'm trying the drops. The scent is great, and you just mix it with your usual lotion. LOVE!

4. Books I've Read Recently 📚

We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristen L Berry - Sydney finds a photo of a mystery girl, that turns out to be her aunt. Her aunt Carol went missing in the 1960's and no one ever talks about her. Turns out a lot of girls went missing around the same time, and Sydney is sure it's all connected. This was really good and I'd probably give it 4.5 stars. 

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead - Theo is the new executive producer for The Future Saints, a band that has been struggling since the death of their manager. The manager was also the lead singer, Hannah's sister. Hannah has written some darker music since she's grieving and it takes the band on a whole new journey. 

Recursion by Blake Crouch - Gosh, I don't think I was smart enough for this book. It's like time travel meets deja vu. Barry is a detective, and all over the city people have been having false memories. There were parts of this that were riveting, and others that were so redundant (naturally so) I was over it. 

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson - A shorter book about a woman named Lillian who is called by her former college roommate with an odd job offer. Madison is married to a politician, and his twins are coming to live with him after their mother's death. They need a full time, live in nanny. Seems like a good gig, until she drops the news that the twins literally catch on fire when they are upset. Ok, so this book is hysterical, and completely my perfect recipe of just enough quirk. There is like a lottt of language so it's not something I'll recommend to everyone.  

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - This book is one of my all time favorites. I've been recommending it to everyone for years. Recently, I had three days in a row of cleaning jobs and no library audiobooks to listen to! So, I just flipped through my collection on Audible and did a re-listen. It's just as great as I remember! 

The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty - I gave this one a try because I have a free trial of Kindle Unlimited. It's a different genre for me! This is a King Arthur retelling I guess. Vera is living life, when an old guy comes into her job and claims she's actually from the past and Queen Guinevere. He (Merlin!) takes her back in time, were they try to recover her memories and figure out what all went wrong. Overall, I did really like this! It was really well thought out, and changed up the original story. I did feel like it was drawn out too long, but then left on a cliffhanger - didn't know this is going to be a series. Some problems I had along the way were properly explained later, so that was good. WAY too much language and it took me out of the story. It was kind of explained away that Vera could talk like she did in the future and the people in the past would magically understand her. 

5. 9 Days Until Race Day!

Next weekend will be the big day! My half marathon is March 1st. I have a lot of feelings about it. Ultimately, excited and ready to do it. My sister and I tried on our race outfits and ran 8 miles in them successfully and comfortably - which was a huge weight off the shoulders. I was nervous about my skort -but it's awesome and so fun!

Next weekend is also our anniversary weekend! So excited to celebrate all weekend! Moderately of course, can't over do it with 13 miles to run. 

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-Kristen

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Friday Five | 2-20-26

Friday, February 20, 2026

A Few Meal Ideas!

Lemony Chicken Orzo

I got a new cookbook! This recipe was delicious and higher in protein. Unfortunately, our feta cheese went bad, so we used our leftover gorgonzola - it would have been better with the feta for sure.

This recipe includes orzo, grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, green olives, and feta cheese. Topped with lemon juice and fresh herbs!

Chicken & Gnocchi

Another recipe from the Skinnytaste cookbook! This was very tasty and made for some good leftovers. I also had made fresh sourdough, so that paired perfectly. This recipe includes grilled chicken, gnocchi, a cream sauce, and spinach.

Honey Garlic Shrimp

We made this Apple News recipe for shrimp and added rice and edamame. Other than the marinating processes, this recipe took just a few minutes to put together.

Chicken and Gorgonzola Salads

This is a copy cat recipe. We really love the grab and go salads from Publix that have the chicken tenders, gorgonzola, green apples, cherry tomatoes, and cranberries. We found a balsamic dressing that paired perfectly too!

Viral Trader Joes Dumpling Bake

This was a fun thing to try! This recipe went viral and all the ingredients can be found at Trader Joes. We loved it. I especially fell in love with the soyaki marinade sauce and will be repurchasing. 

Copy Cat Chickfila Hashbrown Bowls

 

This is my favorite thing to order for breakfast at Chick Fil A! It's a bowl with hash browns, eggs, chicken, and cheese. I normally order it with the grilled fillet instead of the nuggets. And, hot sauce is a must!

Trying to mix things up at home, I decided to make a copy cat version. We had some left over chicken nuggets, so I used those. 10/10

-Kristen

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A Few Meal Ideas!

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Half Marathon - 4 Month Check In

Total Miles Run: 225!

Favorite Run:

Least Favorite Run: I'm actually going to combine my least favorite run with my favorite. Early in January, I fell right at the beginning of my first 10 mile run. It was mostly just embarrassing, but I tore up my knee and bruised my arm pretty bad. But! I cleaned myself up and did the run anyway. The adrenaline pushed me through it, and it felt amazing to climb over that setback. My knee ended up healing pretty well and didn't slow me down overall. Taking recommendations for scar gel...

Favorite Playlist/Song: I have the most random playlist going...Really loving Connor Price or TwentyOne Pilots right now for running. I've heard Harry Styles new song is a good running jam, so going to add that too.

Confidence Level: Some runs I feel like I could do this all day, and then other's feel so hard! I am confident I will be able to successfully complete the Half, but I am not 100% confident it won't be hard.

Want to do anything differently?: In February I'm dialing it in on nutrition!! January was a huge turning point for me nutritionally. I can confidently say my body has changed significantly because of running, but it wasn't until last month that I actually lost a few pounds. My goal for February is to lock it in, and see what a few more weeks of extra protein will do. 

Overall, January was a good running month! The weather has been a bit of a challenge, as well as not getting bored with the same ole neighborhood running route. A few Sundays I ran at a park downtown and we had coffee and bagels after - loved that! 

-Kristen

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Half Marathon - 4 Month Check In

Monday, February 2, 2026

Friday Five | 1-30-2026

1. Cal AI

Maybe this first thing should be it's own post. Long story short, I thought that training for a half marathon would include a little weight loss. Not a single pound has been lost, it's kinda nuts. That said, my body definitely looks different, and that's important. But, I really wanted to dial in the nutrition here in my last month of training. Blake has been using an app called Cal AI , so I decided to download it too. It's an AI, and all you have to do is take photos of your food and it calculates the macros. It's not perfect, so sometimes you have to make a few adjustments. It's extremely easy to use though! 

In my first week of using this app, I'm down 3 lbs. On top of that, I'm eating a lot more! It's really helped me amp up the protein. In fact, most days it wants me to eat my weight in protein! I'm going to keep using it and see what happens - but I'm encouraged so far! 

If you want to give the app a try, I do have a referral code: ZNUVHP (you just enter it when you create your account)

2. Wantable

My Wantable stylist just gets me. Every time I get a box I'm so torn about wanting to keep just about everything! This time, I kept a pair of jeans (my 3rd pair from Wantable!), a pair of shorts, a pair of joggers, and a pair of wide leg pants. 

If you follow this link, you'll get a $25 credit towards a Wantable box!

3. Ab Challenge

I love a 30 day challenge! This one jumped out at me when I was scanning through the workout options on Apple Fitness. It's a 30 day challenge, with a 5 or 10 minute video each day. Short but sweet! A great reminder that even a small habit can make a big impact. 

4. What I Read This Week 📚

It's A Date (Again) by Jeneva Rose - I've been reading a lot of Jeneva Rose lately because she has a lot of title on Kindle Unlimited. The gist: Peyton has been serial dating, and while on her way to commit to the person she really loves, she's hit by a car. She wakes up in the hospital with memory loss. All 3 guys she's been dating show up and claim to be her boyfriend - so she dates them all again to try to recover her memories and figure out who she had decided was the one before the accident. Obviously a ridiculous premise, and by chapter 3 I knew exactly how it was going to end. 

Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi - The Shatter Me series is one of my favorites, so when I heard Tahereh Mafi was going to continue the series, I was excited. I hate to say it but I was pretty disappointed. This takes place several years after the last book, and James the little brother is the main character. The best parts were when they original characters are on the page. I'm not interested in reading any further. 🫤

The Intruder by Freida McFadden - A very solid Freida McFadden book! Not super twisty, but very engaging! The gist: Casey is living in a cabin in the wood, and a bad storm is coming. On top of worrying for her safety, a young girl is hiding out in her shed. This girl will not say what she's doing there, but she's definitely hiding something. 

Good Material by Dolly Alderton - Andy and Jen have broken up, and now his life is kind of a disaster. He's also a stand up comedian. I have a lot to say about this book. I surely did not enjoy being in the brain of a 35 year old crude male, but there is a lot of humor to be found in this story. Actually, some of my favorite bits were the ways Andy described relationships. This book really comes together when it switches POVs at the end.  

5. Handy Lady

This is a funny picture I snapped at my mom and dad's to send to my sister. My mom told me she had a honey-do list and I was like I can do that stuff! Well I was able to do 2 out of 3 things, and that felt good! Knowing how to do things is so satisfying! 

Happy Friday!

-Kristen

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Friday Five | 1-30-2026

Friday, January 30, 2026

What I Bought to Make Sourdough

I am enjoying making Sourdough so much! I bought a freeze dried starter in November and have been making loaves every week since. It's one big experiment, but so far it seems like it's really hard to totally mess up. 

The recipe that I have loved is this one from Farmhouse on Boone. It's very straightforward and has been successful for me! 

When I first started researching how to bake Sourdough, I got overwhelmed. There are so many people who are serious about the craft! My advice would be just to take the leap and try it out for yourself. It's actually not as complicated as I expected it to be. You also don't need to go out and buy a bunch of supplies to make great bread! 

Here's what you'll need, and what I bought:

Starter

You can ask a friend for some of their starter, or I've even seen people selling them on FB Marketplace. Making your own is an option too. I read that older starters are better, so I opted to buy a freeze dried starter on Etsy. I followed their instructions on how to feed it and it went great! 

Wide Mouth Mason Jars

You will need a large mason jar for your starter. I bet you have one already in your cabinet! Thrift stores are a good place to look, and truthfully you can use a recycled spaghetti sauce jar. Whatever you use, I highly recommend it have a wide opening.

Food Scale

Bread recipes are most accurate when measured in grams, so you're going to need a food scale! 

Large Glass Bowl with a Lid

A large glass bowl will be necessary for stretch and folds and fermenting. You can use cling wrap, or a dish towel to cover your dough, but a lid is great to have! 

Sourdough Proofing Kit

This kit came with a bunch of Sourdough proofing accessories, and I have been really glad I bought it. I wasn't sure if I'd use everything, but I have! 

It includes two scrapers, one that helps you scrape your bowl, and one that is great for cutting dough. It also has a dutch whisk which is awesome for bread making! I mainly purchased it for the two proofing bowls - which have been just right. This kit has a bread lame too, which you need to score your loaves. 

Dutch Oven 

Traditional Sourdough is made in a dutch oven. I actually don't have one, but have been using my Our Place Perfect Pot. I have my eve on a specific dutch oven for sourdough though, and I've put it on my anniversary wish list. 

Cooling Rack

I bought myself two Pampered Chef cooling racks like a decade ago and a half ago, and I don't think I've used them as much as I have in the last few months making sourdough! 

Slicer

This is a huge want, not a need - but I'm SO happy we bought it. My loaves have been really hard on the outside, and our breadknife was just not cutting it. (Pun fully intended.) We bought this slicer and it has been a game changer! You can adjust the slice width, which is great for making sandwich sized slices. I appreciate that is has good suction cups on the bottom, so it feels much safer to use. 

Bread Bags

Another optional item! I've found that I want to send bread home with everyone who comes by! It's really nice to send them with a bread bag and a cute homemade sticker. 

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-Kristen

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What I Bought to Make Sourdough

Monday, January 19, 2026