my favorite people to follow on instagram

"follow me and repost to win a dress! follow me and repost to win a tent! follow me and repost to win some hoop art!"


i follow a lot of people on instagram simply because someone is giving away a prize and i want to win. that doesn't mean i don't love their feed, because i won't follow anyone who has a boring feed or one that doesn't fit my lifestyle, but it just means, i follow a lot more people because of the beautiful stuff they create and don't know much more than that about them. however, there are a few people i have been following for awhile, usually because they are bloggers or have blogged in the past, and have grown to know a bit more about them and love to keep up with their daily lives, and quite possibly have a thing or two in common with them.

 

did i mention that i totally have a woman crush on these ladies also? they are seriously so gorgeous!

• i can totally relate to julie because she is a step mom also and sometimes struggles with how to find her place as a second mother to her step children. not to mention, having to deal with the "ex". however, she is a mom genius when it comes to keeping her 4 little ones busy. you can follow her on ig as @wrongway_peachfuzz.

• i have been trying to convince jason to move to hawaii for awhile now and maryam always makes island life look so fabulous! on top of that, she has a surfing husband, 3 incredibly cute sons, and just recently started her own line of fashions, of one sea. i am in love with her ideas and motivation behind this line! follow her on ig as @milkfriendly.

• i have personally known jennifer outside of instagram, when we were roommates for awhile after i graduated high school. she is such an amazing person with a passion for veganism, animal rights, and natural healing. she just recently got engaged and has a handsome little fur baby, named bingsley. you can follow jennifer and all of her life adventures as @jenniferlynn_ on ig.

• chelsea is a woman of many talents for sure! the girl is currently in nursing school, mother to a beautiful little girl, and blogger. how the girl is able to juggle it all is beyond me. chelsea is also one of my favorite bloggers, but her instagram has all the fun "behind the scenes" of her life that you don't always get to see on her blog. follow chelsea on ig as @_sunnysprinkles.

are you on instagram too? if so, be sure to leave your info below so i can follow you. you can also follow me on instagram as well as @sixcherries!



♥ joni 
......................

fat butt friday | my body measurements

it's been a couple of weeks since i posted about my weight loss, so i thought i would stop in this morning to give you an update. so far, i have been focusing on the pounds lost, but know that it is more than just those pounds that count. it's always so hard to take my own measurements accurately, so i finally got jason to do them for me and i was astonished at the results.

the last time i took my body measurements, was a little less than a year ago.

left: august 2012  right: june 2013

now, some of you may be thinking, "how is she claiming she has lost 30 some pounds if she was only 157 last year. well, i am here to admit it folks... i gained all the way up to 175 lbs. from summer to the beginning of 2013. i was super depressed, i was in a rut, i was unhappy with my home, and i packed on the pounds. BIG TIME! it is almost embarrassing how disgusting i had become. and even more embarrassing that i have been putting myself out there for the last couple of years with fat butt friday, and failing miserably EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

until now! 

the whole point of fat butt friday was to share my weight loss but, as i continued to fail, it became my way of encouraging myself as well as finding others who were struggling as much as i was. surprisingly, i found all of that along the way. and here i am today, with my head 100% in the game, losing weight, seeing results, and feeling great. i was so stubborn before. i actually thought i was going to lose weight while still hanging on to some of my bad habits.

you HAVE to eat healthy AND workout in order to see the results you want. i worked out EVERY DAY last year and lost maybe 5 lbs. but, i still ate all of the same foods and used the excuse that i worked out as an ok to eat the way i was eating. now, i eat clean and workout 6 days a week, and feel wonderful. I even put on a pair of shorts the other day that i wore the day i met jason.


total weight loss to date: 32 lbs.

♥ ♥ joni - sixcherriesontop(at)gmail(dot)com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram | bloglovin' ♥ ♥

iced chai latte

with the hot days here again, i still want to enjoy my coffee and tea, but some mornings i just can't enjoy a hot cup when i am already sweating at 6 in the morning. for years i drank nothing but coffee... hot coffee, cold coffee, frozen coffee, you name it! 

last year, i really got into drinking tea. not just any tea but chai tea. oh my word, i didn't think it was possible to love anything better than coffee! but now that summer is practically here, i still want to enjoy it, even on the hottest of days. iced chai tea is no secret, but i wanted to share my personal recipe with you, a trick i've learned, and some products i love.

so, first things first... brewing your tea.

i am not up to speed on the BEST way to brew tea, however, i have found a way that is quick and simple for me, and still tastes great... I USE MY KEURIG! that's right, i actually put the tea packet in my keurig. now, some of you may say, "well, they sell chai tea in k-cups", and you are right, but i'm a frugal mama, so i save a ton of money buying the tea bags.

 

i usually brew two bags separately on the smallest cup size to get the strongest version of my tea, then place it in the fridge to cool. this is a great thing to do the night before so that it is ready first thing in the morning!

once your tea is cold, simply add your favoritest ingredients, pour over ice, and... boom! done! like i said, not that hard! so, here is my little "recipe" that i usually go with for a delicious cup of iced chai latte that is still stays true to my new lifestyle change and weightloss plan.

1/4 cup almond milk
20 drops of vanilla liquid stevia (my favorite brand is nunaturals)
1/8 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
cinnamon to your liking

add these items to your cold chai tea brew and stir, then pour over ice and enjoy!

i used the twinnings brand of chai tea because it was all i had left, but tazo is my favorite so far. 

i like to live a clean eating (and drinking) lifestyle, but i NEVER judge anyone who decides otherwise. i always encourage others to eat clean as well, but i don't push my own opinions and beliefs on anyone. i choose to eat clean because it has been the only thing my body can handle in the success of my weight loss.

in saying that, one of my absolute favorite things to add to my coffee and tea used to be the torani line of syrups. if you haven't tried them, then you are seriously missing out! a lot of coffee shops use them or similar products, and i am telling you, you will love them. they come in a huge variety of flavors and last a super long time. just trade out the vanilla extract for this stuff and you are set. buy a few of them and you could enjoy a different coffee or tea every day!

and of course, you can also exchange the items above with any type of milk or sweetener for a similar drink.


prefer iced coffee? check this out!

♥ ♥ joni - sixcherriesontop(at)gmail(dot)com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram | bloglovin' ♥ ♥

10 things on tuesday

1. i watched the movie, people like us, yesterday and cried like a baby at the end. such a great movie! if you haven't seen it, you should!

2. right now i am playing single mom while jason is away from home doing some national guard training. he has been gone before, but for some reason, we really miss him the most this go round.

3. i have my first senior session lined up this month and i am super excited about it. i haven't used my camera nearly enough lately, so this will be good.

4. i have been so crafty lately, but sadly i don't really have any of it to share with you guys. i get so wrapped up in the actual activity that i don't even think about taking pics. so far i have painted another chalkboard, dip painted some baskets, made a polka dotted hair wrap, and animal topped canning jar lids.

5. father's day is coming up and i LOVE my dad! i have decided to find an old crate and fill it with lots of specialty foods and snacks from trader joe's and world market for my dad. he LOVES that sort of thing.

6. i have stepped up my workout game by adding in a video workout in the morning and running in the afternoon. i am feeling the best i have felt in a long time lately!

7. next week is phoenix's birthday and i have no idea what i am going to do for her yet. i am such a slacker mom. i am thinking i will bake cupcakes since i take pride in my cupcake making skills, and have a ice cream bar to go along with it. something simple.

8. two things i have been wanting terribly lately... a pool and a trampoline. my mom used to have an in ground pool at her old house and i was spoiled to that luxury. not a summer goes by that i don't think about that pool and all the fun we used to have there every summer. lately, i have really been missing it. AND, we used to have a trampoline but it got old and started to become unsafe and now i really want another one! (totally for the kids here!)

9. jason and i have discussed a serious move next year and i am already getting the itch to start the process. we have totally outgrown this house and our children need a bigger space. perhaps our new home can have a pool? that would be... AWESOME!

10. i would love to win $50 from shabby apple over at vintch. i have had the toe the line dress on my wishlist for awhile now and fell in love with the gondola dress too recently.

♥ ♥ joni - sixcherriesontop(at)gmail(dot)com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram | bloglovin' ♥ ♥