i can't believe it's not...ice cream

i think it is important that i share something very important with you: blue bunny frozen yogurt is ridiculously good. in fact, i thought it was actually ice cream the first time i ate it. but then i looked at the nutritional facts thinking how horrified i was going to be after eating a half gallon by myself (not really. but kind of.) and was actually shocked in a good way. there was barely any fat. there was a lot of protein. the ingredients didn't contain words i couldn't pronounce. there were healthy probiotics that didn't require me to turn into jamie lee curtis and eat activia. i mean, let's be honest, it still has calories and all dessert is probably full of crap that we don't need to be stuffing into our bodies by the very-large-spoonful, but in general, i feel pretty good about this stuff. i also feel pretty good about the fact that it tastes remarkably good and has incredible flavors that don't just include chocolate and vanilla. (but they have those too if you're into that.)

my favorites include the two flavors that i have tried. but honestly i'm so happy with them i'm not sure it's worth branching out.

 

white chocolate raspberry (follow the link for nutritional information) includes "white choclate flavored frozen yogurt swirled with a raspberry ribbon and dark chocolate chunks". win win win. win.

carmel praline crunch might even be slightly better if that's possible. "butter pecan frozen yogurt with praline pecan pieces swirled with a salty caramel ribbon." is there a combination that sounds more fantastic? i don't think so. i'm on board for pretty much anything that contains salty caramel. i am actually eating some while i write this and feeling like all is as right with the world as it can be on a random tuesday night in february.

the wonderful thing about the two aforementioned flavors is that harris teeter carries them in mini single-serve sizes. meaning you can flirt with the cute baby ones without making a serious fro yo commitment, just in case you have issues with that.

p.s. this post is not related to blue bunny in any way and all opinions are my own. meaning, blue bunny didn't pay me to write about how much i love their fro yo. but if they wanted to pay me or give me free product, i mean, i probably wouldn't say no to that.

images via: 1.petitefolie 2.flickriver 3.flickriver

friday eye candy

meet my friend allison. she's gorgeous. she runs half marathons. she loves jesus. she has a cute dog named ranger. she now lives around the corner from me. she sells mary kay. she is the only person in the world i know who owns and loves every season of friends as much as i do. and she just got married to her best friend. i don't know rob too well yet, but my favorite thing about the two of them together is that when they had a long distance relationship they'd use skype to play connect four with each other. is that not the cutest thing ever? personally, i'd be partial to texas hold 'em or monopoly deal, but it's probably hard to wager things via the interwebs.

i had the honor of sharing in allison and rob's special day and despite the fact that the temperature never rose above 50 degrees, had a blast at their outdoor ceremony. what's even better is that allison hired my sweet friend and insanely talented photog, lindsey lee hartsell to capture her special day. and it's your lucky day because there's a huge slideshow of their lovey nuptials over on her blog. go check it out and round out this week of love with a real wedding featuring two people who definitely love one another.

happy friday!

p.s. if you leave a comment on lindsey's blog post, allison can win free photography. it takes five seconds and i promise lindsey lee will not fill up your inbox with spam. i mean, why wouldn't you want to help allison print more photos of her fantastic bridesmaids to hang on her walls?

all images via lindsey lee photography

the one with the candy hearts

 

better late than never, but happy valentine's day! i've been running six ways from sunday today, but it's been a happy one. cupcakes for breakfast at our office party. planning with a sweet sweet coworker who is leaving tomorrow to have cancer surgery. event rebrand meeting at the insanely cool ten park lanes in charlotte. learning and live tweeting at the TEDxCharlotteED conference this afternoon. dinner with my parents. now i'm sitting by the fire and nursing my sugar hangover.

 

if you haven't already done so, hop on over to ibelieve and read my far more insightful thoughts about today instead of my half-asleep wishes at the end of all the craziness. i hope you felt loved today. and i hope you ate some candy hearts and chocolate of some kind. until next year...

 

"and love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. we have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking." - henri nouwen

put a little love in your heart

even though i almost never post lately, you should know i'm still alive. and in celebration of the fact that i love valentines' day and it's coming soon, i have taken the time to create the ultimate love song playlist. i like love songs. i like making playlists. especially ultimate ones. i also especially like love songs that are not generally played by delilah. all of the ones on the playlist in the sidebar ------> really resonate with me for one reason or another. they are my favorites and you should listen to them. and stop being mad at me for never posting on my blog. my valentine to you. you're welcome.

a few other notes in regard to this playlist:

- kc and jojo's all my life almost made it. don't judge me.
- in case you ever had any doubt that you're the inspiration isn't one of the greatest love songs ever, watch this video from the old tv show ed (remember that!?). tom cavanaugh and julie bowen are second only to ross and rachel and nick and jess when it comes to great tv couples.
- nickelcreek's when you come back down isn't just an ultimate love song, it's likely my favorite song in all of the world.
- if you aren't already a dave barnes fan, you should be. three of his songs made the list because they're that good.
- i'm sorry, tpain, but just because your song is entitled best love song and i like to listen to it when i run does not entitle you to make the list. thanks for playing.

additional note: if you're reading on a tablet or mobile device, the embedded playlist won't load. but don't dismay! click here and put a little love in your heart.

image via laurenconrad