loving lately

A few of my current obsessions.

• Brunch at the Smith. Free sparking water + veggies + Pumpkin beer + actual lunch options = ❤

• Drinks at the Trump SoHo.

• Friends with backyards in NYC. Shh. Don’t tell the Fire Department.

• Wine. (This one’s on the way out, we’re currently on a break. *Cue Ross shouting*)

I do have a couple things left in the questionable column, though.

• Green Kit Kats from Japan. It tasted good (like green tea!), but it made me feel weird.

• My new as of Tuesday brown hair. Photo coming soon. :X

the good life

Pizza Roma: $15 for a medium pizza & 2 glasses of house wine (with Groupon!)

Running through Brooklyn with Danny: Free!!

recycled from a few months ago 😉

Her Reward: $3

His Reward: FREEEEEEE.

(what can I say? both Jamie and I love embarrassing boys named Danny.)

Williamsburg Waterfront Coheed & Cambria concert: Free!!!!!

Veggie Sandwich: $7 Beer: $6

 Lovin’ Cup Unlimited Mimosas & Brunch entree: $15 (this probably doesn’t sound good to Jamie since she has 50 cent mimosas in VA Beach, but for New York…. this is … FANTASTIC.)

egg & cheese along with amaziiiiiiing tots

gigantic!

Playing with a random cat on the way home: also free, but possibly risky 😉 (psst, we think she’s just an outdoor cat and belongs to someone, she’s way too nice to be stray)

purrz

chillin

Oh, this has gotta be the good life…

the common cold blues

The best thing about this past weekend for me? I had a VISITOR! My semi-cousin (I have a strange family tree) and GREAT friend Tarrah came down from NJ to spend Friday-Monday in Virginia Beach.

st pattys matching 😉

Three wild nights with tons of great eats, great friends, and bud light limes..

brunchin' it up on the bay

take me back to friday please

Although the weekend was INCREDIBLE, I was looking forward to Monday to get back into my routine of healthy eats and running. We ate lunch on the boardwalk Saturday and I drooled over all the runners that were out in the sun- jealous! (It seems as if whenever I am not running and see another runner doing his or her thang it’s all I can think about!)

Anyway, I was ready for Monday: until the dreaded happened. I woke up coughing, hacking, runny-nosed and sore-throated. UGH. All I could seem to complete yesterday was a one mile warm-up run outside followed by Jillian Michaels’ Yoga Meltdown. That was rough yesterday, and today I feel WORSE.

I’m going to take it easy and down Emergen-C like it’s my JOB. (Take it easy while still working 65 hours this week, but who’s counting…)

I am mega-bummed and hope this clears up before my 8k this weekend!

lazy days, it’s the weekend brah

I love having a late start to a lazy Sunday. I’m a morning person through and through (this I’ve come to realize) so the fact that I slept until 10AM today was considered a personal accomplishment. After running 5 miles Thursday, 7 on Friday, and 6 yesterday my body was gracious for a sleep-in rest day, as well as brunch lunch date with my cousin Scott and his wife Joanne.

the newlyweds :*

danny loves brunch 😉

After a decent amount of screwdrivers mugs of OJ, Danny and I settled on splitting the BBQ fish tacos& and chicken and white cheddar wrap. Because we act like an 80 year old married couple, we’re indecisive and often split two entrees. 😉

wrap, taco, & sweet tater fries

Both were delicious, but I was stuffed after the taco. Danny was lucky enough to snag an entire wrap. I was ALSO super pumped when Scott and Joanne mentioned a pit stop at Target.

candy, anyone?

Post-loading up on Bubble-Yum and Skittles (the obvious essentials) we headed home for an afternoon of relaxation. We have plans to go to Danny’s parents tonight for a pizza dinner (YESSS!). I’m excited to give my body a well deserved day of rest.

weekend wonderful

As I’ve mentioned before, a bonus to living at the beach is the abundance of fresh seafood restaurants. On Saturday, Danny and I caught an early spring fever and headed to the Oceanfront for some beach& lunch time.

blue skies

Apparently we weren’t the only ones. The beach was pretty crowded for a February afternoon. We spotted lots of kite flying, castle building, and even some children shooting each other with pretend bow and arrows. (Really?!)

We were feelin’ fancy and tried our luck at Catch 31. The restaurant is located inside the Hilton on the boardwalk. It’s huge, absolutely gorgeous, and even has fire pit tables for outdoor dining on the boardwalk. I convinced Danny that he, too was ravenous and we ordered an appetizer of you-peel shrimp.

my favorite!

Delicious, and I even had room for an un-pictured lunch of grilled salmon with spinach and polenta. Just being inside the restaurant and looking out at the ocean made me SO excited for summer.

full bellies, happy faces!

Thank you for all of your suggestions on recovering from Friday’s running disappointment. I decided to take Saturday and Sunday off, only working out to a half hour of yoga on Saturday afternoon. My calves already feel better, and I’m antsy to lace up my Nikes for an afternoon run!

yoga meltdown

I love yoga. I am in NO WAY a yogini. I am so FAR from yogini-hood that I’m not even sure if “yogini” is an actual yoga term. I am a beginner through and through. I’ve been to just a few classes and decided in the past month that I’d buy a few yoga DVDs (since classes are EXPENSIVE), learn some poses, and if I like it invest in a studio membership when I’m rich.

Enter: Jillian Michaels’ Yoga Meltdown. Target; $9. And the best $9 I’ve ever spent. It’s not just because I have a creepy obsession with the woman, but because she makes it way easy to LEARN the poses and their names. The workout also adds reps of moves (ie what seem like lunges) to really get your heart rate up. As Court mentioned, this DVD may be her lunch time purchase of the day.

Best thing about it: The DVD gives me and others who enter my room the illusion that I am extremely good at yoga. Some of the simple poses LOOK really cool and make me feel like I am balancing in strange, strong ways.

look ma, no feet

maybe next week i'll get that leg straight

(I’m sorry mom if you are reading this and cringing. My room is really not that messy, those are just my work clothes and apron on my bed. You are more than welcome to come help me clean if if you want, though…)

Danny came home from work last night and caught me twisted like a pretzel. After he attempted some bridges of his own (he made me promise I wouldn’t include the photos) he deemed himself my official yoga photographer.

This morning, I woke up CRAVING that french toast I made yesterday. I decided to re-create and tailor it to my own liking. I subbed in an Arnold’s sandwich thin, almond butter, egg whites, almond milk, and cinnamon. Half a banana made it in, the other half went straight into my mouth.

how cool is it that they make these with flax now?!

Topped with a drizzle of syrup and BAM! Delicious. (Are there any “healthy” syrups of syrup alternatives? I was thinking some honey would be good but I don’t have any. Syrup is LOADED with sugar… and while I have no problem with sugar, I love hate to turn my breakfast into candy.)

sunny morning! 66* today 😀

how to win girlfriend points

One peanut butter banana sandwich+ One french toast mixings (eggs, almond milk [I’m sneaky], cinnamon, vanilla extract)…+Listening to hardly the most exciting webinar of your life…

burn baby, burn! well don't BURN..

Equals “BETTER THAN I-HOP!” (In my head I whisper, “I sure as heck hope so..”)

crab plate 'cause we're beachy like that

 

ALL smiles.

a foodie weekend

On Saturday my mom came to visit me and bring me some belated birthday presents!! 😀 What girl doesn’t love presents?! Especially when they included some new reads, girl scout cookies, and wine.

Power Foods & Heart of the Matter

I originally read about Power Foods on Fit Sugar so I’m excited to dig in and check out some of the recipes!! I’ll be sure to let you know how it is. And if you didn’t know, Emily Giffin doubles as my favorite girly author and way to pass the time on the subway. When I’m reading her books I come extremely close to missing my stop.

After presents, pre-shopping, we needed to fuel up so I decided to take my mom to Friend of a Farmer since we were heading to the Union Square area for shopping. I had been once before and it was delicious + cute so I thought we’d give it a go! The only downside is there is always a wait. Apparently, my mom doesn’t know what Carrie Bradshaw says about waiting, and she we gave into two seats at the bar instead. (“They say life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. But sometimes in New York, life is what happens when you’re waiting for a table.”)

Sorry, random guy.

It’s decorated of “warmth & wood” according to their website. It does have a farm like, yet home-y feel – adorable! I was jealous of the couple who had the cozy table by the fireplace. I got the boomer special – pumpkin pankcakes filled with walnuts, scrambled eggs, home fries, & your choice of meat. Instead of meat, I decided to go with extra home fries instead of the offered salad. Oops 😉

Savory meets sweet mini pancakes

My mom got the blueberry pancakes and they were served on a skillet! I ate just a few bites of my eggs, but the pancakes were a perfect Courtney size. 🙂

"These are ACTUAL blueberries?!!" "Yes, Mom, we aren't in NJ."

We were both eyeing up our neighbor’s assorted breads served with apple butter. Lemon, banana, zucchini, & honey whole wheat. They looked delicious, but we decided that would be a better choice if we ordered omelet entrees, and I couldn’t give up trying the pumpkin pancakes this time!

Mid-shopping we needed a pick-me-up and Pinkberry seemed perfect, especially because I had been craving it since last week. I tried the new blood orange flavor – YUM! My mom got plain with no toppings. Is this not outrageous?! She still loved it, though! 😀

Blood Orange + Raspberries + Dark Chocolate

After a long day, I said goodbye to my mom, relaxed for a bit, then headed to Williamsburg for Mexican with Danny.

My FAVORITES.

Occasionally, I don’t read the details of what I order. I see the word vegetarian and I feel no need to pay attention to much else.  Case & Point. I ordered the vegetarian enchiladas and when they came out with steamed vegetables and NO CHEESE I was almost saddened. I luuurve my cheese. Luckily, I had plenty of guacamole, a raspberry margarita, and a sweet date to keep me grounded and happy! 😉

Steamed broccolli just does not belong in Mexican food.

Afterwards, we met up with some friends and because I was f-r-r-r-reezing, I got a hot spiked apple cider.

My Williamsburg tradition.. pretending I'm serious with my friend's fake glasses

Right before I got on the subway back to Manhattan tonight, I was excited to see a food market with TONS of vegetables. I was jumping for joy when I saw the prices compared to the grocery stores near my apartment. Occasionally, in times of desperate need, I have to pay $4+ for a Larabar so I was ecstatic to see $2 price-tags. (Non-NYers I’m sure you’re cringing.)

The goods, plus my new food processor, EEEE!!!

Some of which included: spinach, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, green & yellow zucchini, portabello mushrooms, spaghetti squash (!!!), and my most expensive item – pomegranate seeds, which I am oh so eager to eat! (Already seeded for the lazy girl in me.) After this experience at the store, I am starting think I may be way too enthusiastic over vegetables…. I am almost as animated as when I play Angry Birds.

Check back soon for Jamie’s recap of her race Saturday! I’m so proud of my best friend – she did awesome and it motivates me to keep running & never give up. That’s the best kind of best friend, isn’t it? 😉 Love you, little J!!!

college days! ❤