aaaahhh!! so many pictures! well thank God for pic collage apps or this blog post would be 2 miles worth of scrolling. we had a low-key, relaxing time in Lakeway (right outside of Austin) at the Lakeway Resort & Spa this past weekend for our 7th wedding anni. time for a new mattress.
this sweaty selfie was taken after my last workout before our anni weekend began. i had only managed to unbraid half of the what seemed like 1 million braids in my head at that point, so i threw on a head scarf and got some upper body and cardio done regardless.
not gonna lie, i worked out with the anticipation of some good food in my near future! intensity is everything and i turned it UP. here's my stair slaver workout: (video coming soon)
after i posted this pic of my go-to traveling snacks on Instagram i remembered it would tip Sonny off about our trip, whoops. it's my year to plan and i hadn't told him a thing about leaving to go anywhere. oh wells.
i hardly ever leave for trips without:
- fresh fruit (nectarines this time)
- bottled water
- turkey jerky (high protein snack)
- Quest Bars ( i like Double Chocolate Chunk and Sonny likes Cookies & Cream the best)
- gum to combat mindless munching! that gets me in so much trouble
- roasted, unsalted nuts
- granulated stevia (for my coffee, tea, and oatmeal when eating at restaurants still operating in the stone age)
- Beats headphones + Spotify
- fitness or foodie mags
off we went! breakfast, snacks, and breast pump in tow. i actually sat in the passenger seat first but soon as my butt hit that seat Sonny reminded me that it was my year to host. yeah, yeah. i actually had another stop planned along the way, but the weather ruined it! i did NOT even check nor consider the weather when i was planning everything, seriously. i just knew it would be clear, hot, and sunny as usual. no. so i'll save that stop for a later date.
we're here! however, our room wasn't ready since we arrived earlier than expected. we were hungry again though so we hit up the resort's breakfast buffet per the front desk attendant's suggestion. boy was he right! everything, and i mean everything was as delicious as it looked. so.many.options. we love a good omelette bar and both got egg white omelets loaded with veggies. no surprise there. Sonny is prepping for a few upcoming shows and did his best to stick to his meal plan.
bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, migas, fruit... sensory OVERLOAD.
next, a couples massage i have been anticipating since i booked the appointment. we were already full and lethargic from breakfast and the massage was the icing on the cake for Sonny. at one point he was over there drooling.
the view overlooking the pool from the spa. the gym was right across from the spa and you knoooow we checked that out next.
impressive! you can get an excellent full body workout done in there, oh yeah. hotel gyms are high on our amenity list and this one gets 5 stars from us. they had my beloved arc trainer, treadmills, a full rack of dumbbells, and a bunch of machines including a Smith machine. lovely.
our room was ready by this time so we headed to check it out and take the most incredible, uninterrupted nap, EVER. boooo to the weather though.
it didn't start clearing up until the day we left, but we will certainly be back with the kiddos so they can have the time of their lives out there on that slide!
next up, an early dinner before the big Mayweather fight. so this was my first time seeing my hair straightened (my beautician wrapped it at my appointment friday and i kept it that way) and i was blown away.
may not seem like much to anybody else but man my hair has come a long way as far as length and texture! i decided not to get another perm but i knew that as soon as the tiniest drop of moisture hit my head, it would never be the same! after wearing my braids for a year (shout out to my gorgeous, mobile (yes, she will come to you), braid lady, Ogechi) with 3 short breaks in between, they really are the best fit for my sweaty, on the move lifestyle. they'll be back very soon, but i enjoyed being girly and flipping my hair around town all weekend, lol.
one of my regular Lifetime class members, Sally, lives in Austin and really hooked me up with the scoop on where to go in ATX. she suggested we stay downtown close to 6th street with the youngins' but after i told her how Sonny just wants to actually relax on his vacations she said to stick with the hill country, (i.e., Lakeway). we hit up Oasis and saw a little bit of the sunset. through the fog.
after perusing the menu for forever i finally decided on salmon with sweet potato cakes, grilled veggies w/ a side salad, and Sonny went with a grilled shrimp salad. i ate most of those chips.
then, we stopped by the landmark Whole Foods Market in downtown Austin for snacks and gelato! so many nostalgic memories here for me. you can read about one of them in the IG post i made that day <3
gosh i love this store.
especially this aisle.
unpictured are the plantain chips and chocolate covered raisins i killed before the fight even started.
was it just me or was the Mayweather fight...boring?? anyway, the next morning we were both up super early as usual and headed to the gym before breakfast. who forgot their workout shoes? :'( so unlike me! i went anyway but i don't advise working out in flip-flops around weights, guys. in addition to the shoe fiasco, i had one of THE dumbest workouts ever. complete waste of time. i was so worried about my hair puffing up i didn't want to move. and i love to move. i think i did the arc trainer for like 8 minutes super slow, then some dumbbell curls, lunges, and squats holding the dumbbells. didn't sweat a drop. ridiculous. i love my hair like this so much but unless i flat-iron it every single morning (and i definitely won't) then i just can't rock the straight look with my lifestyle. THE struggle.
we got cleaned up, explored the resort a little more, then headed to hit up the omelette bar again.
7 years in the marriage game! hard to believe i've known this dude for almost 14 years.
we had plans to go out on the lake that fell through, so we hit the Lakeway Galleria Outlet Mall to look around and get some lunch and fro-yo.
found a new fave flavor i've never had before-- taro. yum! i discovered it at Red Mango back in houston too.
pistachio & taro fro-yo randomness. worth every bit of dairy bloat.
while walking through the galleria, i did a double-take after seeing the word Chiso! close enough. what a rare sighting. from there we went back to the room to pack up because #Texans. yeah, they were apart of last years Miami trip too. so was the Mayweather fight now that i think about it!
i requested a fridge to our room to freeze and store the milk i was pumping. gotta get it out, and gotta get it done. we headed to watch the Texans game at Sally's beautiful home in the hill country before heading home to our boys.
our actual anni this year is on monday, september 15th, and instead of going out to dinner, we went to the gym and sipped on anniversary protein shakes.
wouldn't have had it any other way.
happy 7th anni, Mr. Egwuatu!
thanks for reading:)
le
so guess what else went down during my 29th week of pregnancy!? Mr. Egwuatu and i celebrated 9 years of marriage together! meeting him on campus at UH back in 2000 happened yesterday. yall hear me? yesterday *sobs uncontrollably* :( anyway, around this time last year we were in Maui frolicking on the beach, but this year we stayed local for a change. not only cause of the current zika threat, but cause of other current financial obligations, a new full-time kindergartener, and because Lord willing, we plan to do it BIG next year for #10 (and take that family Disney vaca before Dego turns 3...CAN NOT WAIT). it's saving season for us. so, we found some local things to do and enjoyed our special day together, just the two of us.
we <gasp> started with a 530am workout, whoop! Sonny joined the #5amWorkoutClub for a day and was front and center for my Barbell Strength class. he is clearly not one of us, haha. 
(he was really just taking a quick breather)
"A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity. The order varies for any given year."
we took our time, laughed, joked, and enjoyed our lifting session together. no rush whatsoever. usually our boys are in the child center so we have to get it in before the time limit is up and the staff comes to hunt us down! this was needed.
and so was this! Sonny found the cutest, yummiest little cafe for our post-workout breakfast. 
then, it was on to sing and rap our faces off with P. Diddy at his Bad Boy Reunion Tour Concert!!! we don't do concerts often..in fact this was our very first one together! pregnancy narceolpsey didn't take me out and we were literally up and on our feet for most of the performances reminiscing and jamming. great show!
she was born on our anniversary last year and we met her via Skype while in Maui. we are another year older and she is now one. happiest of birthdays, baby Natalie!
