out for the weekend.

Hi friends!  It’s Thursday, which means it is the kick-off to a big weekend.  This weekend I have the privilege of being a guest minister for DiscipleNow at the church I grew up in.  I’m so excited to be back there to be a part of this amazing weekend.  I’m spending the weekend in someone’s home with a group of 8th graders.  It’s going to be great, and hopefully I will come back younger and cooler.  Although probably just older and maybe I can hope for wiser?  In all seriousness, it’s going to be a really good weekend.

 

So I am signing off until next week.  I hope you have a restful and fun weekend!

 

 

And check out my post today over on the Knoxville Mom’s Blog.  I’m talking about a reminder a woman in the grocery store gave me — that I’m a good mom.  Hoping I can encourage some other mamas out there that they are good mamas!

the 40 hanger project {how i got rid of a lot of clothes}.

As I mentioned last week, I recently took on the challenge of completing the 40 hanger project.  I was inspired by a couple of women on the Knoxville Moms Blog team.  Laura is completing a 50 hanger project herself and Natalie, knowing I was on an organizing mission, thought it would be a good one for me to tackle.  I love a good challenge, my closet was a huge mess, and I love organizing my spaces.  So challenge accepted!

 

If you saw the clip on the news last week or saw me mention it on here, here is the detailed post about it.

 

 

the 40 hanger project

 

When I first heard of this challenge I heard that you get 40 hangers and that’s it.  I built my own rules to fill in the gaps, so if you decide to try a challenge this like feel free to use my rules or substitute your own.

 

 

the befores [yikes!!]

 

 

1st step:  Go buy hangers.

You can definitely do this project without spending any money on hangers!  I went ahead and took the plunge to buy new hangers because I have wanted matching hangers for a very long time but could never justify spending the money on them.  I’ve heard so many fantastic things about velvet hangers, and really 40 hangers is not all that many, so I went to Target and bought them.  You can also find similar ones like these on Amazon. Closet Complete Ultra Thin No Slip Velvet Hangers for Shirts and Dresses, Black, Set of 50

 

I found that having nice hangers — and a limited number of them — really helped with the motivation of the whole project.

 

These were on clearance at Target because of the color.  They were 50% off, so I snagged up all the turquoise ones they had.  I have no problem having brightly colors hangers, especially when I can pay half for them.  I did still buy Tommy the plain white ones, though, for his side.

 

 

2nd step:  Pull everything out.

I pulled every clothing item out of my closet until it was empty.  Then I sorted and started deciding what to get rid of and what to keep.

 

 

3rd step:  Get rid of clothes!

I started with 124 hanging clothing items.  I did my first round thinking I had to be close to 40 and found that I was at 100.  Whew, it was a lot of work to dwindle down to 40.  But I loved it.  I had so many clothes I hadn’t worn in a very long time.  I had some things I kept holding on to just in case I needed them.  But if I had never needed them before, why would I need them now?  It felt really good to just get rid of stuff!

 

4th step:  Get rid of hangers.

I got rid of all of my old hangers.  Plastic, wire, fabric, my total mismatched, chaotic collection got bagged up and taken to the local thrift shop to donate.  There is no point keeping extra hangers around.  If I keep a stash of hangers around, that is only setting myself up for failure down the road to add more clothes.  Plus no one needs the clutter of all those extra hangers.

 

5th step:  Sort clothes to get rid of.

Some of my clothes got donated and some are going to be consigned and sold.  I separated them into piles and took the stuff to be donated right away before it got stashed somewhere and forgotten about.  The clothes to consign needed to be hung nicely and taken to the store or put online.

 

6th step:  Hang clothes to keep on new hangers.

This is a fun part.  It’s exciting to get stuff back in the closet and make it look really nice.

 

7th step:  Put clothes back in closet and organize.

Some people organize their closet by color, but that stressed me out.  I organize mine by type of shirt — starting with tank tops, then short sleeve, 3/4 length, long sleeves, sweaters, skirts, and dresses.  However you organize your closet doesn’t matter, just make it neat and systematic in a way that works for you.

 

 

8th step:  Step back and admire your work!

It’s a really good feeling to see a project get completed.  This is one that you could do for free — and in fact, could even make money on if you sell some of your old clothes!

 

 

[I don’t usually keep Junior Mints in my closet, but since it is right next to my bathroom and we are in the throes of potty training, this is a good, high place for them.]

 

I know this seems extreme, and it kind of is.  But I have felt for a long time that we just have too much stuff.  There is no reason I need a closet busting at the seems with clothes.  It is just plain excessive.  But knowing that and doing something about it are two different things.  So I am glad that I was encouraged to go ahead and take on this project.  If you are interested in this but don’t want to do 40 hangers, that is fine!  Just cut down to a number that works for you — 50, 75, 100, whatever.

 

 

A few practical tips —

~ I kept a lot of staple shirts, meaning shirts that I can wear year round with different pants, skirts, sweaters, etc. to get a different look

~ I used a long 5 in 1 pant hanger for my pants and I don’t count that as one of my forty hanger

~ I folded some sweaters and sweatshirts and keep them in a bin on a shelf

~ My blue jeans and t shirts are in drawers in my chest

~ I bought new hangers for Tommy’s side of the closet too.  He decided to get rid of a lot of his shirts as well.

 

 

I also bought these organizational shelves at Target, knowing it would help us to put things up there and keep our closet better organized.

 

I definitely encourage you to try to par down your closet.  It feels great to walk into a clean, closet and not have to part the seas to get a shirt out to wear.  I also don’t have as hard of a time getting dressed in the morning because since I only have 40 items, I like everything I have!  I used to stand in my closet thinking I had nothing to wear, but now I can walk right in and quickly pick something out because they’re all my favorites.

 

 

Another project down in #healthyandorganized2014 and I am loving the way it feels to get rid of stuff and be more organized!

 

 

 

Have you done any big organizing projects lately?  Have you gotten rid of a lot of clothes before?  How many clothes are in your closet?  I want to hear!

 

a few fun facts about today.

1.  This kid is amazing.

 

 

 

2.  It snowed today.  Snowed.  For real.  It’s March 25th and I live in Tennessee, and it snowed today.  This time next week it will be April, and it snowed today.  Having trouble wrapping my mind around this one.

 

 

3.  We get to have some pretty sweet dinner dates while Tommy is working.  Tonight we ran out to grab some Chick-fil-A and came back home to eat it.  We sat at the table enjoying each other’s company and talking to one another.  I had been quiet for a few minutes eating, and he looked up at me and said “I want to talk, mommy.”  He’s so precious.

 

 

So I told him to smile so I could take his picture, which he did.  Then he quickly changed to this:

happy monday, last week, + the weekend.

It’s Monday and today is the start of a new, short season in our lives.  Tommy goes on shift work for awhile starting today, so we will be adjusting to a new schedule.  This week will be different learning that new routine, but we’re up for the challenge.

 

The weekend was… interesting.  I started potty training on Friday and we continued through the weekend.  Friday was rough.  I kept texting my friend, Megan, who is basically a potty training pro, asking her if everything was normal.  It didn’t help that Thursday night was rough for Jack for some reason, so he and I were both tired on Friday.  But he did really well, and I think he learned quickly!  Just in the moment, it felt pretty hard on Friday.  Especially when he was crying that he didn’t want to sit on the potty after we had been doing it all.day.long.  Ohh… the joys.  But seriously, he is awesome, and I’m so proud of how well he did!  He’s doing great, but we are definitely still working on it.

 

I’m thankful that the things that have hung over my head for awhile with regards to him becoming a big boy are getting crossed off, and I’m so so proud of Jack for doing so well with getting rid of the pacis and potty training.  Whew.  Can we get a lot of ice cream now to celebrate??  Maybe a nice Carribean trip?  Potty training and paci dropping deserve that, right?

 

 

And last week.  Whew.  It was a crazy, busy week.  But a beautiful week.  I felt so honored to get to spread the word about Trisomy 18 Awareness Day, and I am so thankful to Jessi at Naptime Diaries for allowing me to share my story on her blog last Tuesday.  I’m also thankful that Natalie at Knoxville Moms Blog has been so encouraging about me sharing my story over there, too.  I wrote about our G and hope on Jessi’s blog last Tuesday.  And then I got to share some about T18 on the Knoxville Moms Blog.

 

My big news of the week was the announcement of Project Gabriel.  Man, I was blown away by the support.  I’m so thankful and so blessed by the encouragement and positive feedback we have gotten.  I am also so hopeful that this little project can meet some needs and spread some love.  Thank you so much for supporting us!  If you haven’t like our page on Facebook yet, would you go do that?  Click here and it will take you to the page.  Thank you so much!

 

Wednesday I had a reporter filming my closet for a piece on organization and getting rid of stuff, and Thursday it aired.  I wasn’t nervous to be on there because I love cleaning and organizing and getting rid of stuff.  So that was all fine with me, but I was definitely nervous about my closet being filmed.  My house is not TV ready.  But she was so sweet and it went well.  And now that I have broadcasted that I have 40 hangers, I have some serious accountability!

 

I hope you’ve had a nice Monday!

how i changed up cleaning + why it works really well for our family.

I love having a clean house.  I’m not awesome at cleaning.  The older I get and the longer I’ve done this stay-at-home mom thing, the more I get into a groove and figure out the systems that work for our family and those that don’t.  The same is true when it comes to cleaning products.  I have learned since Tommy and I got married what products I like and what I do not.  And I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of money and time trying things I thought would be awesome, and they just weren’t.

So when my friend, Amber talked to me about trying Shaklee cleaning products, I was ready to take her word for it and see how it worked for our family.  Amber and I went through our Dietetic Internship program together — doing almost every rotation as partners.  I definitely trust her recommendations and think she is a fantastic dietitian.  We started our first jobs as RDs at the same hospital, so we have worked together a lot.  Amber has been a pediatric dietitian for over 3 years now and was a college athlete at Penn State, so any time I have a question about sports nutrition or pediatric nutrition Amber is my go-to RD.

I had never heard of Shaklee before I met Amber, so here are some of the highlights she shared with me to teach me about the company and their products.  Shaklee’s Get Clean products give a safe, powerful, green, and smart clean.  They are nontoxic, have no harsh fumes, and very importantly to me are hypoallergenic!  They are good for the earth, limit waste, and are an easy choice for any one.  I was concerned these products would be more expensive, but because they come in a concentrated solution and you just use a little bit of them in each bottle you make, they are actually quite a bit cheaper.

I quickly got a big, exciting box in the mail from Shaklee and have probably never been so excited to clean.  I started using the all-purpose cleaner and liked it a lot.  I was amazed at how little of the cleaning solution was needed to make a bottle of all-purpose cleaner.  Then I used it to clean a lot of my house.  My kitchen counters, cabinets, appliances.  It works great on everything.  

 

 

I didn’t get the Basic G — which is their germicide — in my initial shipment because I just wanted to try out the all-purpose stuff, but as soon as I realized how much I liked the all-purpose cleaner, I knew I was going to want the Basic G, too.  I’ve always been bothered by the smell and the fumes that come from typical cleaning products, particularly bathroom cleaners.  In fact, it is an irritant for my lungs — making me wheeze at times.  I had childhood asthma, which I pretty much outgrew except for a few things that are irritants — including cleaning products.  Even more important than that, I realized after I had Jack that I didn’t want him to be around those strong smells.  I figured if it could irritate my lungs as an adult, surely it wasn’t good for tiny baby lungs.  In addition to that, I could never clean while Jack was around because I worried about him being around the cleaners.  Now that I have started using Shaklee cleaners, I don’t have to worry about that!

 

After Amber sent me the Shaklee products, the next time I needed to clean the bathrooms, I used the all-purpose cleaner and loved that I did it while Jack was at home and awake and he could come in to the bathrooms and talk to me and “help” me.  It was really nice to not have to worry about him being around it.  I actually placed an order with her for the Basic G because I am so impressed with the products I got and look forward to having a safe germicide to use in my home.

 

 

Amber told me this scour off [pictured above] was her favorite product by far before I even got the stuff.  I was so surprised when I opened it to see this bright color and that it smelled so good and so natural.   I texted her right away to see what was in it.  She told me cherry pits!  Awesome.  I tried it on my stove to get that burnt on junk off, and it really did work!  It was amazing how clean and shiny it left my cooktop looking.  It was also really easy to clean with.  I didn’t have to give my arm a massive workout scrubbing stuff off — it just came right off.

 

This is what the paper towel looked like after just 30 seconds of using the scour off.  I had even cleaned off my stovetop before using the scour off, so it was clean except for the burnt on stuff.  Pretty impressive.

 

Personally, my favorite things about these cleaning products are that I can clean with my child around without having to worry about it.  I don’t need to wear gloves or open windows, and I can use them on just about any surface so I don’t have to have a separate cleaner for every thing.

And for my friends who are pregnant, Amber recommends taking the Shaklee prenatal vitamin, which she personally uses.  Hearing her talk about the artificial ingredients and dyes in a lot of multivitamins made me kind of cringe.

I am definitely a fan of the Shaklee cleaning products and will be using them in our home from now on.  I feel really good about that.  Shaklee offers other categories in addition to cleaning products, but I have not tried any of them.  As a dietitian I’m all about getting nutrients from food, but Amber, especially as a fellow RD, is really good about saying which things are good to supplement based on an individual’s needs and diet.

 

Amber says that Shaklee is running a special through the end of the month.  All qualifying orders placed by March 31st will receive a free membership, 15% off the order, and a free meal replacement shake [a $60 value!].

 

If you have questions or want to learn more about Shaklee, you can find all kinds of information on Amber’s website here.  You can also reach her by email at ahs135@gmail.com.  She would love to help you find cleaning products that work well for you and your family or with any other interests you may have.

 

 

**These Shaklee Get Clean products were given to me but all writing and opinions are my own!

my video on local news + happy 1st day of spring.

This morning I was on local news WVLT Channel 8 talking about cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of stuff.  It falls right in line with mine and Becca’s hashtag of #healthyandorganized2014!  Here is the video of this morning’s segment.  Pardon my awkwardness 🙂

 

Just click the link below to see the video of the segment that showed on the morning news today.

http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Spring-cleaning-week-The-40-hanger-challenge-251179391.html

 

Next week I am going to post about the 40 Hanger Project, which is what I talked about on this segment.

 

This has been a busy week around here.  It’s spring break around these parts, so I thought we would be bored crazy but we’ve had a lot going on so that’s not the case.  Plus, I realized pretty early on this week that we were going to need some solid plans to make it through the week without a lot of TV or driving each other up the wall.

Monday we watched Frozen [which we have seen well over a dozen times now, and I’m totally ok watching it, too, because it really is great].  Tuesday we watched Frozen again.  Maybe more than once  I’m not a perfect mom.  But we also got out and did stuff those days.  We spent most of the day getting things done, running errands, and visiting people.  Tuesday was wild.  Crazy busy day.  I had packed it full from morning to evening — very, very late evening.  We did a lot of fun things and some business-type things, and it was great.  I also got to share about T18 and our story on the Knoxville Moms Blog on Tuesday.  Head over there and check out my post about  all of that that I wrote for KMB.

Wednesday morning I did the shoot for the news segment.  Guys, I am fairly confident that I am not the best person to have someone come film their closet.  Seriously.  My closet is nothing special, but I did get rid of A LOT of clothes, and it feels awesome.  I will share more details on my big closet clean out next week.

 

And today is the first day of spring.  It has been overcast all week and today the sun in shining!  So brightly.  It just feels like spring now.  Hopefully we can get some outside time in today.  Especially since as I write this Jack is jumping up and down on the couch.  Boys.

 

Happy first day of spring!  I hope it’s beautiful wherever you are.

thank you.

Wow!  I am so overwhelmed by the love and support yesterday.  Thank you for your encouragement, love, and words of kindness yesterday on Trisomy 18 Awareness Day.  And mostly thank you thank you for all of that about Project Gabriel.  I am so thankful for how you encourage me.  Seriously, I am blessed.  So thank you.  Truly.

 

If you missed my post yesterday, you can read it here.  And if you haven’t headed over to Facebook to like the new Project Gabriel Facebook page, please do.  I want it to reach those who really need it, and having support and people sharing and spreading the word is the best way to do that.  Click here to be taken to the page.  Or you can find it at Facebook.com/ProjectGabriel

 

Thank you!  My heart is overwhelmed with love and just so thankful.

 

If you are new here, thank you for reading.  I am so happy to have you here reading.  I’m off to watch Tennessee in their first [and hopefully not last] game in the NCAA tournament.  Go Vols!

it’s trisomy 18 day!

Dear friends,

It’s Trisomy 18 Awareness Day!  A day where we focus on T18 — the chromosomal syndrome our sweet baby G had.  We are going to spend the day remembering him, celebrating his life, and spreading awareness about T18 but also infant loss in general.

via

 

 

Today is one of those days I’ve set apart and made really special in my own heart.  I think the reason it is such a big deal to me is because I feel helpless, I am helpless.  As I learned about this day last year while I was pregnant with our T18 baby, I knew that in the future I would have to take advantage of what this day was set up for and spread awareness — do something.  And I have all of these dreams and big ideas in my head.  Some of them may happen, some may never come to be.  But I want to do something.  As a T18 parent, I have been helpless.  I would have done anything to save my baby’s life.  Any amount of procedures, doctor’s appointments, whatever it took.  But there was nothing that I could, nothing that our doctors could do.  Our Gabriel had Trisomy 18, and his days were numbered just as each of ours are too.  Feeling helpless is a terrible thing.  It’s something that doesn’t sit well with me.  So for over 14 months now, I have been learning to rest in that and rest in God’s powerfulness and not my own.  It’s been a hard lesson and one that I imagine I will continue to learn for a long time.

 

However, within that feeling of helplessness, I believe that God has stirred something in me.  I believe He has been at work for over a year now on my heart.  Seeds were planted a year ago, and they have taken root, taken hold of my heart, and are bursting forth.  And I am busting with excitement to share what all of this means with you!

 

A year ago, while I was still pregnant with Gabriel, Tommy and I knew that we wanted to do something to honor our sweet G.  We weren’t sure how that would look, what form it would take, and when it would happen, but we definitely had the stirring that we needed to do something.  We explored several very different ideas — I mean incredibly different ideas.  But we weren’t ready for it yet and none of the ideas really felt right.  In September, it hit me!  Just like that.  I knew exactly what we needed to do.  So I introduce to you first, dear friends, Project Gabriel.

 

 

Project Gabriel is a support network for women and their families who have experienced miscarriage, perinatal, or infant loss.  Project Gabriel is brand new and just getting started, and I am beyond thrilled to share and have this safe place for women who need some love, support, and encouragement during the most difficult time in their lives.

 

As the first act of Project Gabriel, we will be having a peer support group for women who have lost a baby either through miscarriage, perinatal, or infant loss.  This first meeting will be on April 14th at 6:30 pm with the location to be announced.

 

 

This is the passion of my heart, and it is with great joy that I share it with you today.  It’s both terrifying and exciting to share this little secret with the world!  And now, I need your help.  I want to reach as many women as we can.  If you know a mama who needs this support, who could benefit from being around women just like her who know that deep pain of losing a child, would you please let her know about our group?  I know the way for us to make the most impact is to have support from friends and the community.  Thank you friends for how you have supported and loved me over the past 14 months.  Now let’s do it for other women, too!

 

First up, would you head over to Facebook and like our Facebook page?  You can click on like our Facebook page, or find the site at Facebook.com/ProjectGabriel

 

And please share this post with anyone you think could use it.

 

so much love!

 

\\\\today I have the incredible privilege of sharing on one of my very favorite blogs Naptime Diaries  so head over there and check out Jessi’s great blog and incredible heart\\\\

 

Last year’s Trisomy 18 Awareness Day post.

_____________________________

If you are new here, thank you for coming over to read.  If you’re interested in knowing more about our story here are some posts to catch you up quickly:

when we shared that our 2nd baby was very sick

the definite diagnosis of T18

sharing details about baby G in the womb  

when G was born

Click on the Gabriel category to read more about our precious baby.  We celebrated every day with him — the special, the mundane, the hard, and the joyful, and I’ve shared a lot of it here.

weekend fun + a new week.

We had a nice weekend.  Hope you all did, too!  Saturday was beautiful.  We were really productive and stayed busy.  Jack spent the morning with his Nan and Pops having a blast doing everything he could and pushing his toy mower all around their yard.  While he was there Tommy and I took the dogs to the vet for check-ups and vaccines.  My friend, Sarah, is our vet now!  She and her sister are both vets at the same animal clinic, so we are excited to be going there now.  Sarah and I have known each other since 7th grade.  We lived together in college, and she was in our wedding.  So we are really happy she is going to take care of our dogs now.  Anyway, it ended up being a pricey visit since they both needed vaccines, and heart worm meds, and ears cleaned, and apparently Eli has a moderate to severe double ear infection.  The ear infections are back to get me, guys.  Thank goodness it’s in my dog and not my kid.  Whew.  If you ever see me walking down the street wearing goggles, maybe a ski mask, and maybe a highly unfortunate outfit, you will know the ear infections are back for Jack, and I’ve lost it.

 

In other news we ran a bunch of other errands, while Jack went out to breakfast with Nan at “Old McDonald’s”, then to the library for some books and reading.  We had a slow-paced evening at home Saturday.  Sunday was raining.  We got some stuff done around the house, I did chores, and then Jack got more time with Nan and Pops while Tommy and I went to his Uncle Will’s wedding.  We are so happy for his Uncle Will and his new bride Christy.  It was such a sweet ceremony, and we are excited for them as they blend families and start their new lives together.

 

I am so excited for this week!  There are some really exciting things happening — mainly tomorrow.  I hope you will come back tomorrow and read my post which has A VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT [that is not a baby].  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

 

 

On Friday Jack and I went to Jump Jam for the first time with some friends.  The boys are about 2 months in age and Jackson is so cute!  They had a great time together.  And Jackson’s mom [Ms. Taylor who is one of Jack’s preschool teachers] and I had fun/were pretty nervous about all the jumping.  This place is basically wall to wall trampolines.  I felt pretty old, but we had a good time!  Tommy says Jack looks like a giant in this picture, but I think it’s so cute.  The boys are having so much fun.

spring, winter, sun, snow, and nutrition.

The weather this week has been crazy!  Tuesday afternoon it was 74 degrees.  Wednesday afternoon it was 44.  Tuesday I was hot while we were playing outside.  Wednesday I was bundled up in my coat again preparing for it to dip down into the 20s.  This morning I woke up and saw snow on our deck.  Wild.  Today it is supposed to warm up again, so hopefully we can get back outside.  I like winter, but I only needed one more snow and that big one did it.  And now that we have had warmer weather, I’ve gotten the taste of warmth and I’m ready for spring to be here.

Enjoying the spring weather with a selfie [what am I thinking?]   

 

This morning.

 

 

In other news, the Morgan household has had a dramatic shift.  Jack is no longer using pacis.  We cut him off last Friday, and he has done really well this weak without them.  He asked for his baseball paci before nap and bed on Saturday and Sunday but otherwise hasn’t mentioned them, other than to tell people that he isn’t sleeping with his pacis anymore.  He’s proud of his big boy status.  And we’re proud of him!  He’s used a paci since he was hours old in the NICU.  That was all he had to suck on those early days when he was too sick to eat, so I know they were a huge comfort thing for him.  

We told him that he was a big boy and big boys don’t use pacis, babies do.  We told him that he got to give his pacis to a baby who needed them.  He kept saying “and then that baby [or that kid] will bring the pacis back to me.”  He realized they weren’t coming back.  It was emotional Friday night, but he has done great!  So proud of him, and really not too bad.  The only down side has been that this appears to have been the catalyst to him dropping his nap.  He has been staying awake in his bed at night for several months now.  Some times he would stay up until 11:30, just chatting.  For months.  It was driving me crazy, but I felt like he still needed his nap.  Well, he has not taken a nap in 8 days and has done great.  He loves hanging out in his room for “rest time” and then independently deciding when he is done in his room.  He quietly leaves his room, goes to play in the office for a little bit [doing what he later tells me is helping me clean and organize], comes downstairs and turns the tv on, and plays with his toys quietly in the living room.  He loves having this independence.  He actually gets disappointed when I come out and say hi to him.  It’s adorable to see him being independent and operating on his own, and I hope to continue to foster his desire for independence.  That has been our routine every day this week.  He is precious.

 

 

Jack’s last paci sucking on Friday evening.  He got to suck on it driving around and then shortly after we got home, he put his pacis in a box to give away.

 

Going to sleep for the first time without pacis.  

 

 

He was supposed to be up in his room napping, when suddenly he turned the corner with a big smile on his face and his entourage with him.  He’s adorable.

 

 

Continuing with the NNM theme this week, I want to share this article about my friend, Lindsey.  Lindsey, aka the DIY Dietitian, is an awesome RD in Nashville.  Lindsey is one of my best buds from college.  We went through all of our nutrition classes together, she taught me how to make iced coffee, and she’s adorably fun and thoughtful.  She is actually the one who encouraged me to start this blog.

Check out the article above where Lindsey is interviewed by another RD about grocery shopping and all that good jazz.  Then check out this post of Lindsey’s about low calorie food finds.  Great suggestions here, and she gives a calorie breakdown, too, so you can know exactly what you’re getting when you eat these.