I like to think of myself as an adventurer. I love exploring new places (I have constant wanderlust!), doing "dare devil" kinds of things, and looking at life as one big adventure. Many come up with lots of reasons as to why they can't travel, move somewhere new, or be more adventurous in general. People have jobs they don't want to lose, family they're afraid to leave, and a pretty fixed vision of what "home" looks like. There's no doubt that taking risks is scary, and there's comfort in the familiar. I've also noticed that people like to look at this kind of stuff in a "lucky you" kind of way - as in, it's great that I have the ability to do it, but it's not possible for them. "You're traveling to XYZ? Do it now while you're young!" "You're thinking of moving to XYZ? ... [Read More]
San Diego
Appreciating Family Time in San Diego {Weekend Recap}
Hi there! I haven't done a fun little weekend recap in awhile, and since I had a great weekend a couple days back, it seems like a good idea to share what I was up to with you guys. After having a great day of meetings and health coaching sessions on Friday, I kicked off my weekend with a long walk at the park with my pup, then made some veggie orzo soup (my favorite lately!) to enjoy with my hubby. It was the kind of day that feels productive and busy, yet fun at the same time. After taking care of some work and cleaning my entire house on Saturday, the family-filled part of my weekend began! My cousin Michelle, who lives a few hours north in Long Beach, drove down to spend the night at my house. I made homemade pizza and farro Greek salad, and we drank wine, ... [Read More]
The Best Day Date Ever
Happy Friday friends! What's up for your weekend? I'm heading up to LA later today to hang out with my cousin and stay at her place, and then tomorrow I'll be attending IDEA World to workout with Jillian Michaels and see the latest & greatest in the fitness world! If any of you are attending IDEA as well, definitely shoot me an email or let me know in the comments below. I love meeting fellow fitness enthusiasts & bloggers! Backing it up to last weekend, today I want to recap my date last Saturday with my hubby -- AKA the best day date ever. We decided to head south into the area we used to live in in San Diego. First up on our agenda was hitting up my favorite farmers' market, the Little Italy Mercato. I used to go this market nearly every weekend when we lived ... [Read More]
Dining at The Red Door + The End of a Chapter {Weekend Recap}
Hello, hello! How was your weekend? My friend Danielle was in town staying with me the end of last week into the weekend, so I was busy hosting and having fun! Here are the highlights of our time together: Eat. I'd been wanting to visit The Red Door for a long time, and I finally got the chance to have dinner there. The restaurant offers a menu centered around local, organic, sustainable & ethically sourced, seasonal cuisine... so it pretty much couldn't be more my type of place! We both first enjoyed a glass of Gold Crush chardonnay, which was so rich and buttery. I've been all about buttery chardonnay lately and will definitely be nabbing bottles of it as soon as I find it around! We split a couple of dishes: First up was their vegan nachos, which had this awesome ... [Read More]
San Diego Spotlight on Swami’s Cafe
Hi friends, and Happy Friday! Today is another installment of my new San Diego Spotlight series, in which I share details about local restaurants, dessert spots, and wineries that I love. So far I've talked about Crepes & Corks Restaurant & Wine Bar and Elizabethan Desserts (Note: They were undergoing temporary closures the last time I stopped in there - insert sad teary face). Today's feature is a quintessential Southern California eatery called Swami's Cafe. Swami's Cafe is a wonderful hippy dippy sort of place that has 9 locations around San Diego County. My favorite one that I've been to (I haven't hit all of them just yet!) is their Highway 101 Encinitas spot, which is situated in a great location right next to the beach. This is most likely their first location, as ... [Read More]
A Weekend of Firsts: Vegan Sushi & Standup Paddleboarding!
Hey, hey! You know that feeling of satisfaction you feel after an awesome weekend? That's definitely what I'm experiencing on this Monday, as my weekend was an adventure filled few days that has left me smiling! In contrast to the San Diego area being rained out two weekends ago, last weekend was full of sunshine, and we took full advantage of the beautiful weather. Before I get started with sharing it with you, I want to announce that I'll be sending out my monthly newsletter this week! The newsletter is full of healthy living tidbits, recipes, workouts, and health coaching exclusives. If you aren't on my subscriber list yet, you can sign up here: Subscribe to the Nicole Crane Health newsletter list! Any who, on Saturday afternoon, my hubby, pup, and I went for a ... [Read More]