Lately

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  I hope everyone takes a few moments to remember the achievements and importance of this amazing leader today.

I'm lucky enough to have the day off, and I look forward to spending it outside on the golf course.  Here's what else has been happening in this neck of the woods recently...

Celebrating - The Panthers won this weekend and are onto the NFC Championship next weekend - helloooo to another glorious Sunday spent on the couch!

Training - Oh boy, only 33 days until the Princess Half Marathon.  I'm not where I want to be, but I have been loving all of the motivation in the form of timehop posts recently from my first couple runDisney races (Walt Disney Half and Tinker Bell Half)!

Scheming - Mike's 30th birthday is in less than 2 months.  It's a big one, so I thought I'd start planning nice and early.  I've had some fun with party themes in the past (pirates, St. Patrick's Day), but this one is going to top them all!

Eating - Gillian invited me over for a delicious healthy dinner last Thursday - so good!  I need to cook salmon more often.  Last week was also Restaurant Week in Charleston, but instead of the typical 3 courses for $30-40 somewhere, we opted for 2 courses of takeout (from 2 different places) for $30: pizza from DeSano and the Ultimate Coconut Cake from Peninsula Grill I've been dying to try forever - it definitely lived up to the hype!

and Drinking - One of my employee's birthdays was last week, so you know Taco Boy was a must (and margaritas)!

Reading - My most recent Blogging for Books read was The Whole Coconut, and to be honest, this was the first book I've reviewed that actually disappointed me.  I know that the explantation described "dairy-free, vegan-free recipes," but I was still hoping to find a few delicious desserts and coconut-flavored entrees.  Unfortunately, many of the recipes were not intended to come out being coconut-flavored but simply used coconut products like coconut vinegar, coconut aminos, coconut meat, and coconut flour.  On the bright side, all of the photos throughout the cookbook were beautiful, and I bet many of the recipes would taste delicious.  However, I have to be honest that I have not yet made anything from this book because each of the ingredient lists were extensive and definitely expensive.  If you enjoy natural and alternative cooking, this book is for you, but if you are a lover of all things coconut-flavored, I would keep looking.

Collaborating - I've partnered with a few of my favorite bloggers as well as a couple fantastic Etsy shops for some exciting posts in the coming weeks that I cannot wait to share!

Joining in - I just signed up to participate in this fun Valentine's Day swap!  I always love ways to meet new bloggers.

Praying - Lastly, if you are one for quiet thoughts or prayers or anything like that, please say one for an adorable little boy from my hometown.  Dorian's story has taken over social media after his last wish to be famous in China brought people together all over the world.  You can follow along with his courageous cancer battle through his Facebook page here.  This weekend, 3,000 people from my tiny town joined together on the beach to show that they're #D-Strong.

Linking up with Biana for Weekending!