…And the moment we have all been waiting for…the (almost) BIG NEWS!! Well, first, let me gush about how fun it was for Alex to meet up with us! Even though it had only been a couple of days since we departed Denver, I simply LOVE him to pieces! So picking him up from the airport was just delightful!

Also, Alex had never been to Austin, so I was excited for us to cruise the city a bit and for him to see it. We were staying west of the city in these incredible rolling hills that reminded me a lot of Europe. It was so beautiful!

Now for the big news…

TA DA! (Note: you rarely catch Alex out of a Love Grown tshirt…!)

After thousands of requests, hundreds of emails, and numerous tweets and facebook inquires from our beloved fans, we got the opportunity to present the LOVE to Whole Foods. The catch…nothing has officially happened…hence the reason I call it ALMOST big news! But we will most certainly keep you updated!

The best thing you can do is keep requesting the LOVE at your local Whole Foods!

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While Alex was down in Texas we had to do some sight seeing, plus the next day we celebrated my mom’s birthday! The 3 of us ventured south to San Antonio (what is known as the Venice of America) to check out the canals.

We also had some fun putting around camp on some STELLAR bikes spreadin’ the LOVE (check out the box in the back of my basket)!

But eventually the sun set and Alex’s short taste of Texas was over. We dropped him at the airport and made our way to Dallas. YeeeHaw!

This second trip to Houston FLEW by! After an eventful drive from Colorado, we finally parked it in Houston. We had an EPIC weekend of spreading the LOVE in some awesome KROGER stores and then met up with the moms of Stroller Strides – Pearland for another day of SPREADIN’ THE LOVE!

If you want to read about how AMAZING Elizabeth is, be sure to read the last blog post about her…essentially SHE IS AWESOME and has fabulous enthusiasm and knowledge ensures that you get an AMAZING workout!

After class, my mom and I packed up and headed to Austin. Austin was an even quicker trip…lasting less than 24hours, but packed full of fun & LOVE SPREADIN’! After setting up camp I headed out to meet up with Lindsay whose blog (Cotter Crunch) we adore! Lindsay is a ball of energy! It was fun seeing all of the things we have in common. (Clearly we were meant to be friends.) Lindsay’s background and love for nutrition along with a very active lifestyle has lead her to become a Nutritional Manager & Fitness Consultant. We chatted away and also discovered we had deeper connections and that her husband’s brother is an old friend of mine (small world).

That night Alex flew into Austin because we had EXCITING meetings the next day! Before I went to pick him up I met up with Christin (Purple Bird Blog) who is beyond AWESOME! We laughed and delighted over all topics–from food to massage therapy! She even brought me homemade Peanut Butter … EEK! So delicious!

Christin's INCREDIBLE homemade Peanut Butter!

By the time Alex got in it was midnight….so we rushed back to Elby the LOVE BUS to get some rest before the BIG DAY! (Details coming soon!)

It is truly amazing how much there is to know about RVs. I am by all means a novice when it comes to driving on the open road in a 32 foot bus. As if maintaining a house isn’t enough…RVing brings it all to a whole new level. The best part that I have learned is that no matter where you go there are always the most incredible people willing and eager to help.

We are only Day 3 into our trip and yes, we are already facing more “issues” with Elby. I like to think of Elby as a wise old woman who is fragile and yet tough, stubborn yet insightful, and glorifying all around. Elby definitely throws a great deal of challenges our way, but all have been good lessons…or at least good stories to now look back and laugh about. The best thing about Elby and her LOVE-covered exterior is that you definitely don’t go unnoticed.

Tonight we met some of the nicest people. After raising a red flag in the ‘RV Camping Book’ by draining my water tank straight from the tank as opposed through the system out out the drain hose, you could say I definitely got the attention of my fellow neighbors who made their way over to inquire what I was doing. Reid and Bill didn’t know what they were getting into…but before long their group had gathered around Elby because there were OH-SO-MANY questions I had about this whole RV thing. All I will say is that 15 years of this will truly make you an expert and with help from all of them, 2 hrs later I felt like I had just graduated from RV College. Did you know that RVs have a “heart”?! I mean, Elby is covered with LOVE and so it certainly makes sense, but now I know how to maintain her HEART and keep it in good health (I will just say this time it doesn’t involve Omega-3s from all the goodness in our Oat Clusters & Love).

HUGE shout out to this AMAZING group of STELLAR individuals. They simply saved me from so many headaches and troubles and their genuine desire to “spread the LOVE” put new wind in my sails! Another day of fun has passed on the road. I am off to bed to sleep soundly knowing that Elby’s heart is healthy!

Below is taken directly from CHIC MEETS HEALTHY:

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“FYI: If you missed Bess‘ post for Janae, a bunch of us bloggers sent virtual hugs in support of her being unable to participate in the Boston Marathon due to a stress fracture. She is always upbeat and cares so much for her readers! Send her some of your hugs!

• ALL my new followers! Seriously I swore I only had 23 yesterday and today when I looked there were 27! Thank you – that totally made my day!
• The sunshine coming out the past two days – the sun’s gorgeous rays really do make you feel so much better and is a mood lifter! Get out and take a walk during your lunch break – totally makes you more productive!
• How amazing the blogger network is – I loved seeing how many girls sent hugs to Janae! What’s your good deed of the day?
• The Annapolis-Baltimore trail. I am so glad my girl Stacey introduced me to this trail because it is perfect for a flat run, bike ride or great view to take your dogs for a walk! 13 miles of awesome scenery!
• The fact that it is FRIDAY and the weekend is here! We have family stuff planned for tomorrow, but Sunday I am venturing out in DC all day! Packing a picnic and some flats for walking around the city!
• Peanut Butter and Co.’s Cinnamon Raisin Swirl and White Chocolate flavors – our PR department at work was sent a variety 6 pack! Love it!
• Our interactive department won TWO ADDY awards yesterday! I had goosebumps when I heard my name being called as the Interactive Project Manager!

Which can only mean it’s an occasion for my first giveaway! I’ll be giving away the Cocoa Goodness Granola bag to a lucky winner. Sorry – but only US residents are eligible. Maybe I’ll add an extra sweet surprise in the delivery

3. Become a Follower of Chic Meets Healthy”

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After a couple weeks back in Denver SPREADING the LOVE, we are now back on the road and heading back to TEXAS! Denver was simply amazing! Time at the office, catching up with friends, and enjoying some of our favorite restaurants were some of the things thrown into it all. Elby the LOVE BUS made some appearances at some epic events and all in all it comes down to one thing: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

Team BBQ's at the LOVE PAD

But the LOVE needs to be spread, so I rallied my mom to join me on the road for this next excursion in Elby. And an excursion it has been. Like I have said before, there is never a dull moment when trucking the nation in a 32 foot bus wrapped in LOVE. It was a crazy day getting out of Denver. We packed Elby full of boxes, loaded up all of our stuff (we will be away for a couple of months) and loaded on Pea the Prius. In the midst of dealing with the ratchets on the trailer, one of the metal levers got stuck. As I tried to dislodge it, the metal lever flung back smashing into the back of my hand–OUCH! My hand immediately started swelling and bruising, but we finally hit the road (with a bag of frozen soy beans on my hand) and were ready to rock.

We got our music going, my mom and I started chattering away, and we were feelin’ good–this trip to Houston will be easy…

About 4 hours in (just across the Texas boarder), I noticed that the passenger side mirror is more shaky than usual. I kept an eye on it, but sure enough that big mirror was bouncing around like kids on a trampoline! I was driving, so I had my mom reach out the window and see what was happening. When she did it was apparent the mirror had come loose. We made our way to the side of the road and there we were “fixing” the mirror…with duct tape. 20 pieces of duct tape later, we are back on the road.

Gotta LOVE Duct Tape!

We passed the town of Channing, TX and were on a two lane road in the middle of NOWHERE when we suddenly heard ripping only to watch the side mirror peal off the side of Elby and then BANG (just like that) it disappeared! Now, to take Elby from 70-mph to 0-mph takes some time. In those seconds, my mom is reaching out of the window and seeing the mirror dangling by the electric wires as it bangs the side of the bus! Now what?!

Well, when you are miles from civilization and when you’ve seen more cows than people, you realize you must figure these things out. Thank goodness, however, we had cell reception and after 2 unsuccessful tries to RV service centers, we finally got through to Rodfathers RV & Auto Body Shop! It was 8 o’clock at night–and the fact someone answered was amazing!! Michael, the owner, told us to cut it off and bring ‘er in to get fixed first thing in the morning. So, we cut the wires, pulled the mirror inside and headed to Amarillo, TX.

That night we slept at Walmart and felt the bus swaying in the wind the entire night–the winds out here are almost worse than Wyoming! In the morning we drove to Rodfathers RV & Auto Body Shop where Michael fixed the mirror. Michael and his team were AMAZING! They were absolutely incredible–so nice and genuine! We left them with loads of LOVE and continued our trek to Houston.

A great start to our trip…!