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Christmas Elves Kicked Me Out of the House (New Kitchen Lighting)

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Alternate title: An Early Christmas Present 

Alternate title #2: My Husband Is A Bad Liar 

About a week ago, I received an event invite on the calendar that I share with Mal. It said: “Tina gets out of the house while Christmas elves put together her present.” Hmm… very interesting. I accepted the invite, but, of course, I wondered what the heck Mal was planning. And as soon as he got home, I asked him about the “Christmas elves.” He just smiled and told me that I needed to find something to do on Saturday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Well, ok then. I knew he was excited about whatever he had planned, so I didn’t ask anymore questions.

On Saturday morning (yesterday), I packed up my things, said goodbye to Mal, Quinn, and Murphy, and took off for the day. #peaceout

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First stop: CrossFit for a fun partner workout. My partner and I finished it as prescribed just under 30 minutes.

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After class, I took a quick shower at the gym, swung by Coffee Shack for an iced coffee, and then got a manicure (color is OPI The Thrill of Brazil) at Gel Polish Bar. FYI for the locals: Gel Polish Bar gives the most amazing manicures. I usually destroy mine in less than week, but theirs last about two weeks for me, which is UNHEARD OF when it comes to my manicures. And, honestly, I’d probably let it go longer. It’s just that my nails start to grow out and it looks kind of weird, but the gel lasts forever!

snowy saturday

After that, I headed to the Derby Street Shoppes. I figured with Whole Foods, plenty of shopping, and restaurants, I’d keep myself busy! 🙂

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I was pretty hungry after eating an early breakfast and working out, so I popped into Whole Foods for second breakfast. I grabbed a table, pulled out my laptop, and got to work while I ate and finished my iced coffee.

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I worked about 1.5 hours before I met Kerrie next door at Rustic Kitchen for lunch and drinks (and, of course, plenty of Designed to Fit Nutrition talk). I ordered the Harvest Salad with chicken breast on top and, holy cow, it was delicious. Listen to this combo: Baby greens, housemade granola, apples, butternut squash, cranberries, cheddar, and cider vinaigrette. OMG. Loved it.

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Kerrie and I spent a couple of hours chatting over lunch before she needed to leave for a family get-together. It was nearly 3:00 PM, so I sent Mal a text to see if I was “allowed” back in the house yet. His reply: “3:15.” Well, ok then. I had my meal plan/grocery list for the week ready to go, so I went back to Whole Foods and did our shopping before heading home.

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As soon as I walked through the front door of our house, I immediately noticed the new light fixtures in our kitchen!!!

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Our electrician friend (with Mal and Quinn’s help) replaced the dated (i.e. ugly) chandelier in our dining area as well as the lighting over our kitchen island.

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Oh my goshhhhh, I love it so much!! What an improvement, right?! Our kitchen is a million times brighter, lighter, and cheerier now. And it seems so much bigger!! What an awesome “surprise” from my family!

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I actually caught on to Mal’s little “elf surprise” awhile ago…

My suspicions started a few weeks ago when he asked me approximately 8,000 questions about kitchen lighting. He even pulled up Houzz on his laptop (on more than one occasion) to try to figure out what styles I liked. I thought it was a little strange, but I had suggested recessed lighting in our kitchen, so I thought maybe he was just excited about a potential home project. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Mal acted all sketchy when texting our electrician friend. Again, I thought it was weird, but I thought they were just plotting a guys’ night out. But, when Mal told me that I needed to leave the house for most of the day because Christmas elves were coming, all of the pieces came together! 🙂

Even though it wasn’t a true surprise, I loved walking into our kitchen and seeing what Mal picked for fixtures. He totally nailed my style, and I love, love, lovvveeee our new lighting. (It really does make our kitchen look different!) And, of course, I love that my husband is so incredibly sweet and thoughtful and coordinated such an awesome Christmas present for me! What a guy. I definitely won’t forget this present anytime soon!

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