This year has definitely been a crash course in home management and grocery shopping is at the top of the things I've had to learn how to do.  Because my husband and I have been eating basically all of our meals at home, I've taken on the task of learning how to meal prep and actually have groceries in the house.  Because of our new schedule, we couldn't just cheat by hitting up the drive-thru any longer and I'm more than happy not throwing food away from our refrigerator!

Because we now pretty much strictly eat food prepared at home, I've relied on Flipp to show me the best deals.  Flipp is this cool app (they also have a web version that I use most of the time) where you put in your zip code and it shows you the local store ads.  From there, you can compare prices and see what's on sale.  If the store has an ad, then it's probably on Flipp.  Instead of trying to track down paper ads, I can just look on Flipp to see what's going on that week and can plan my trips accordingly.

This is not a sponsored post in any way.  I just love using Flipp to check out deals!

Here are some of my favorite shows that are worth a binge watch in January!  Most of these shows can be streamed in their entirety.  Click on the links to start watching!

1. Good Behavior This show just showed up on my DVR on day so I really wanted to hate it.  I watched the first episode and was immediately hooked, though!  It's just that good.  It follows the story of Letty Raines, a fresh out of prison con artist in her struggles to put her life back together while still committing crimes.  It's gritty and outrageous and I absolutely love it.  I started this show when the first episode aired and couldn't wait to watch another episode each week.  Season 1 just ended last week so it's ready to binge in its entirety.

2. This Is Us My husband really doesn't like watching shows, but we ended up starting this together about a month ago and we couldn't stop watching.  I'm usually not a huge family drama fan, but this show is so awesome.  The way the characters and the story is put together is absolutely perfect.  Without giving too much away, it's about the struggles and life experiences of a family.

3. The OA I originally heard about this show in a reddit forum and decided to check it out.  Wow, is it intense!  So intense that I actually had to switch to something else before I finished it.  It's about the fictional Prairie Johnson, a woman who went missing for seven years without a trace and returns suddenly.  There are so many layers to this show and it kept me guessing where it was going to go next.  I'm still guessing!

4. Travelers
I just binged this last week and started watching it because it was recommended from watching The OA.  It’s about a group of people in the future who travel back to the 21st century by taking over the body of a person who died. They’re supposed to be on missions to save the world but things go south pretty quickly.  Just like The OA, there's a lot of layers, but it wasn't quite as intense.

5. Channel Zero: Candle Cove
I remember reading the Candle Cove Creepypasta and was so excited when I heard a show was being made from it.  This show takes scary to the next level!  I’m not one for scary stuff, but the six episodes kept me intrigued and on edge!  It was interesting to see where the show took the basic Candle Cove story.

Note:  This is just our personal experience with food/dieting.  Always talk to a healthcare professional to determine your individual needs.

Since the new year, my husband and I have been trying to eat healthier.

The end of 2016 was such a mess in terms of food.  Between getting home late and not having the ingredients we needed, we found ourselves in the drive-thru line more often than not.  Of course, we felt like complete garbage afterwards and wanted to eat better, but we were in the thick of a downward spiral with food and it seemed like there was no way out.

In the beginning of 2017 I decided to make a radical change to my lifestyle and that definitely included food.  My husband wanted to go on a diet and I just wanted to feel energized after I ate, instead of feeling like I needed a nap.  I told him that if we learned to prepare our food at home, it would be a million times better than whatever drive-thru situation we came up with.  We were also at the point where it took a ton of food at the drive-thru to feel full.  That meant a ton of calories and generally feeling exhausted all the time.

So for the past couple weeks, my husband and I have been eating at home.  We’ve been going to the grocery store and meal planning and it’s been great.  My activity level has been way down and I still lost 3lbs.  My husband has lost 10lbs and says he feels so much better.  I’ve been through a lot of change in my routine in the past couple weeks and really haven’t noticed a difference except that I don’t feel like I’m going into a coma after I eat.  I’m just having fun trying different foods and actually having somewhat of a plan of what we’re eating.

I’m hoping to keep you updated on our progress and maybe even provide some meal planning ideas!

Even though I mentioned the Habitat ReStore in my 2016 Favorites post, I thought I would take this opportunity to showcase my 2016 ReStore finds just one more time!  I truly love the ReStore and all of the neat things they have to offer!

The bathroom only made a brief appearance on my blog in November during my 1 Year of Homeownership post, but the faucet and the tile as well as the grout are from the ReStore.  I’m a huge fan of the smaller tile and love the sandy grout look.  Even though the faucet looks weird in the picture, it’s just a plain silver finish.

How cute is the lemonade carafe? Again, you really can’t tell from the picture, but there’s little lemon designs in the glass.

Remember my watermelon sangria post & then my nonalcoholic version?  The cups & the pitcher were both from the ReStore.   The cups are also featured in my 4 Last Minute Cocktails post.

I made a strawberry pie over the 4th of July and photographed it on the table I got from the Habitat ReStore.  The table also makes an appearance in one of my ReStore Finds posts.

This pitcher never made the blog for whatever reason, but I think it’s really cool.  I also saw this style of pitcher in Revenge of the Nerds the other day which was awesome.

I shared this post about our living room furniture in July and here’s a peek at what it looks like now in our living room.  I also picked up this tiny table at the ReStore and it’s perfect for our small setup!

Our kitchen renovation was made possible by cabinets purchased at the ReStore and painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!

I mentioned this centerpiece in my very first ReStore Finds post.  Isn’t it the cutest?  I’m also missing that warm weather!

I decorated my sewing tables for the fall this year.  Right now, the dark blue one is sitting in my kitchen as an extra countertop!

 

Looking back at the year of ReStore finds was so much fun!  I can’t wait to see what the ReStore will have in 2017!

- I feel like I’ve been in a daze since Christmas!  I was so unbelievably tired last week.  I probably could have slept forever.  Thankfully, I’m feeling more energetic this week.

- My husband and I took a super quick trip to New York last week to visit the Grape Discovery Center.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but we were worried about the snowstorm coming in.  I’d love to go back and explore more of the New York/Pennsylvania wine region when the weather warms up.

- Our annual Christmas party was Saturday.  There was even a special appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Aaand there was a taco bar which is always great.

- I finally downloaded Snapchat on Christmas day and I’m hooked.  I’m also completely ridiculous on there and post the weirdest snap stories.  My username is rockin2thesound if you want to follow along!  I also managed to capture the best video of Freddie while doing Snapchat yesterday.  It was too awesome to leave on Snapchat so I posted it to my Instagram:

Happy New Year from Freddie & I!

A video posted by Tiff (@rockin2thesound) on Jan 1, 2017 at 12:56pm PST