Life Lately: Food, Fitness & Fun on the East Coast

Hello, hello!

My working vacation to my hometown has (not surprisingly) been a busy few weeks – lots of fun happening and catching up with loved ones! Here’s what life lately has been for me on the east coast:

Food. There’s been no shortage of good eats this trip, obviously! Some food highlights have included this healthy blueberry crumble that my mom for me on my birthday morning (oh yea, I turned 29 the day that I arrived in Jersey!)…

…chocolate covered fruit that we made the same day….

…and lots of veggies as per usual. My grandpa’s garden produces some insanely big zucchini!

His tomato plants also produce some pretty awesome Jersey tomatoes. Bruschetta and tomato sauce with zoodles have been enjoyed!

Naturally, I’ve done some cooking for my family. One treat I made them was my healthier rice crispy treats. While my nephews weren’t sold on them, all of the adults loved em!

One dinner that I made at my parents’ house was the below pictured Mexican stuffed bell peppers with avocado sauce.

There’s also been some protein pancakes and smoothies in my life, as per usual… 

…and I introduced my family to Halo Top, which they all loved.

One awesome dinner that I had out with my parents was this bomb pizza – because pizza must be eaten when in the northeast (California just doesn’t compare when it comes to Italian food.).

Called the “Patatini Bianco,” this bad boy had mozzarella, caramelized onion, and ricotta with crispy potatoes and truffle essence. So good!

I also simply had to make a stop to at my favorite childhood ice cream spot, Jersey Freeze, for a waffle cone of non-fat pistachio with chocolate sprinkles.

Fitness. On the workout front, I’ve mostly been fitting in workouts in my parents’ living room with lots of Jillian Michaels DVDs.

There have also been a couple of morning yoga sessions…

…though my parents’ dog thinks that the yoga mat gets rolled out just for her lounging:

One day last week I also did laps in my parents’ pool. Whew, their pool is much more of a lap pool than mine is, and it was a great cardio workout!

My swimming session had a Pitbull audience, with both my sister’s and parents’ dogs hanging out around the pool eagerly watching me.

I’ve been keeping them company while I work from my parents’ home. They’re giving me my puppy fill, though I miss my pup whose safe & sound in California!

I’ve been noticing how green everything is around Jersey compared to desert living in San Diego. 

Fun. There’s been no shortage of good times for me. My trip kicked off with a family birthday party at my parents’ shore house.

Kicking off my last year of my 20’s with both my hubby and family down the shore was great! I love a relaxing birthday celebration.

I’ve gotten to spend some time with my nephews, which is always nice. The aunt life = lots of reading books & doing puzzles! I now have 4 nephews + 2 nieces, and I’ve gotten to spend time with all but one new niece that lives in Virginia.

My family knows me too well, and got me lots of workout gear as birthday presents…

…so I think I’m set on exercise clothes for awhile!

With this summer heat, I fortunately have been able to be out on the water a good amount. I’ve been out on my parents’ boat in Jersey, and also went out on my father-in-law’s boat for a ride to Chesapeake, Maryland.

I love checking out the beautiful houses along the water, and happy hour on a boat is pretty fun too!

Little tidbit: My parents’ shore house is on a little island in Jersey called Barley Point. They actually met there when they were kids, so it’s a pretty special place to my family. My grandparents always had a house there, and after Hurricane Sandy hit the island pretty hard, my parents bought a demolished house there and built their beach house from scratch.

It’s a great place with lots of memories – and the view from their house is pretty awesome!

I also spent a day in Philly last weekend. My hubby was there all last week for the start of his MBA program at Temple U before he headed back to the west coast. I love the history  and architecture of the city!

I would have loved to do more in the city, but it was absolutely disgusting out so we were kind of limited with outdoor activities. It was still fun to see the city a bit though!

I also went bridesmaids dress shopping with some of the ladies in my family and my soon to be sister-in-law. Afterwards, we went out for margaritas/sangria. I love girls’ nights and the excitement surrounding a family wedding!
All in all, it’s been a great couple of weeks! I’ve got some girlfriend time, a visit to my alma mater, and a weekend back at Barley Point with my family as my plans for my last few days in town.

Tell me… What place is really special to you from childhood? Any fun summery weekend plans? Do you have nephews/nieces?