In moving to a new area, there are so many things to discover in your everyday life. It's so much more than just knowing where you're going to live and work - What will your favorite new restaurants be? Where will you exercise? Shop? What activities will you be involved in? After moving to the Bay Area last month, I thought about all of these things and much more, many of which I have yet to figure out. While I quickly discovered a dog park to take Harley to, where the closest Trader Joe's is, and my new favorite winery, finding a gym took a few more weeks, and I'm still figuring out things like good hiking spots. In the past week, I've discovered a couple of things in my new town that I'm happy about -- because uncovering the little things that I'll take pleasure in will allow me to ... [Read More]
Archives for April 2013
Gourmet Vegetable Sandwiches
Hi friends! Hope that your weekend is off to a great start. My hubby and I are planning on checking out the Saturday farmers market in our town today, and I'm looking forward to nabbing local produce directly from the source. There are tons of farms around us, and I get excited about straight-from-the-farm-to-the-table food. I'll keep you posted! Today's recipe is inspired by one I recently saw in Vegetarian Times magazine for roasted veggie sandwiches with a zesty white bean spread. I had planned on making their exact recipe, but when it came time to make dinner, I had a growling stomach and didn't want dinner prep to be time intensive (I feel like this has been a theme lately!). So, instead of roasting veggies, I quickly sauteed them, and instead of making a bean spread, I used homemade ... [Read More]
Live with Intention
Last night after watching my DVRed episode of The Following (SO good yet SO disturbing!), I needed to watch something lighter to get visions of psychopaths and murder out of my head before going to sleep. I wound up putting on a reality TV show about Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. In the episode, Ryan talks about his work hard, play hard mentality. While I don't think show is meant to be inspirational or anything more than goofy late night entertainment, I went to sleep thinking about how this mindset really resonates with me and is how I always want to live my life giving my all, taking chances, and living life to the fullest. When I woke up, I zipped through my work with great productivity. Later on I had a session with a personal trainer at my gym. I went into the workout with Ryan ... [Read More]
Peppermint Dark Chocolate Smoothie
Last night I took my first class at my new gym - a nice & sweaty kickboxing session. When I got home from working out, I needed something to eat quick that would please my growling stomach, replenish my muscles with some protein, and also satisfy my mood for something chocolatey. I hadn't had dinner yet but it was kind of late, so I wanted something that could double as a nutritious little meal AND dessert. I knew just the thing to make, as I had picked up peppermint extract during my last grocery store run and was anxious to try it out. This smoothie did not disappoint! It's definitely my new favorite shake combo. Peppermint extract is the key to this recipe. It tastes like dessert, yet it can work for a meal or snack at anytime in the day. Peppermint Dark Chocolate ... [Read More]
Strawberry Avocado Sunflower Seed Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
Hi there! My weekend has been filled with fun and gorgeous weather. Yesterday I researched some hiking spots in the area and we ventured out to explore one of them. Though we wound up not getting to the trail we had originally been aiming for, we still found a pretty area to get some exercise in. I think I'm almost getting used to having cows roaming around near me. We saw a couple of pretty deer frolicking in a field, and on our way back saw a man riding a BULL. I had no idea that riding a bull on the side of the road is a thing that people do nowadays. In response to this comment, Adam said, ''Well at least one guy does..." Yes I suppose! Today we had our first real beach day since moving to the Bay Area. We went to Santa Cruz, and there was not a cloud in the sky. When we got home from ... [Read More]
Measuring My Body Fat Percentage
After a few months of doing lots of outdoor workouts and at-home exercises with little gym time, I was ready to join a gym in my new town. My hubby thinks I'm nutty, but I like to immediately feel good vibes at the gym I join. After all, I know I'll spend a lot of time there! In the past I've been a member at gyms with interesting scenes - including one that had just turned coed from being an all-male gym (HELLO shirtless grunting men everywhere!), one that felt more like a club than a gym (lots of women with their hair down and cleavage out, hanging around waiting to get picked up) and one where a couple of my ex-boyfriends worked out (awkward!). So, after checking out a couple of facilities, I found an Anytime Fitness club that seemed like the perfect fit and immediately joined. It's ... [Read More]
