Monthly Archives: February 2012

Jam-Packed Fun

Posted on by
4

Yay for Hump Day! We are half way through the work week! Alright, I hope you aren’t sick of this yet because I am almost done filling you in on the California trip.

Day #3: Sunday morning began with an awesome breakfast on the beach at The Beachcomber Cafe which is located on the same beach that we walked on the previous day, Crystal Cove. Brandon had made reservations for us a couple of days in advance because it is such a popular place. Even with reservations we still had to wait about 10 minutes, which was obviously no big deal. We are on the beach after all, so nothing is a big deal and we had a beautiful ocean view to gaze at while we waited.

It was a little chilly oceanside this morning, but we were  nice and cozy inside the restaurant. The restaurant is fairly open, but they do have a screen up to keep out some unwanted birdies and block a little bit of the wind. They also had heat lamps and even blankets! We all ordered coffee right away as we waited for our food.

Brandon, Will, and Dana

And then this piece of heaven was delivered to me. Macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. I was a happy camper.

Next stop was the Farmer’s Market. This was my second trip to heaven of the day. Not only did they have an abundance of fresh produce, they also had so many great samples out! Not that I really needed more food at this point, but this was such a great opportunity for me to try a few new things. I tried persimmons and pommelos for the first time,  and sampled a cara cara orange, fresh raspberry, and really great flavored balsamic vinegar. They also had a bunch of veggies of course, bread from a local bakery, and more.

They had a handful of food trucks parked there which are becoming so popular! We didn’t get the whole food truck experience this time but we were at least able to walk by them and see what they look like. I know Dana has eaten at a food truck here in MN, but I haven’t yet, so it was fun for me to see them.

After the farmer’s market, we headed to Balboa Island which is a sweet little town in Newport beach. We walked the sidewalks and saw some very interesting homes. Each home had so much personality. One house could have a completely modern look, where the next has a Tuscan look, and then the next a standard all-American looking home with a white picket fence. I loved seeing all of these homes and seeing all of the beautiful landscaping in their “yards.”

We sat by the beach for a while and soaked up the feeling of the warm sun on our skin. I miss that feeling! It’s been since October or so since I’ve felt the wonderful warm sun like that.

Across the way from us is what I believe to be the actual “island.” You can take a ferry over to the other side where they have a ferris wheel, restaurants, a large beach and more. We decided not to do that this time.

We had another island to get to. Fashion Island! Fashion Island is an outdoor mall in Orange County which offers a variety of designer stores and specialty boutiques. We did a lot of window shopping and people watching. I didn’t end up buying anything while I was there, and I realized while I was there that I am really not very fashionable. I have always known that I am not a “fashionista”, but it really hit me as I was looking at the clothing designs in these shops, not liking anything I saw, and knowing that these were considered fashionable items, how much I was lacking in the style department. Oh well! I guess everyone will have to accept me for who I am, sweatpants and all. :smile:

On our way to fashion island, we made a pit-stop at a local cafe for a quick bite to eat. I was in serious need of veggies, so I decided on the cobb salad piled high with lettuce, sprouts, tomato, cucumber, egg, and turkey and ham.

It was healthy and fresh, and helped me replenish my vegetable status for the day. After we walked around the shops for a while, I was exhausted, and really wanted to just go back to Brandon’s and relax. Considering I was the lead decision maker this weekend (kidding), we headed back home to relax. Dana and I packed up our stuff, and showered and then the men got to making dinner a few hours later.

For dinner, we decided just to make fajitas at home. I was getting a little tired of eating out at restaurants and I think everyone else was too. It was a good executive decision. Take a look at Chef Dana in action. He cooks, he cleans, I am one lucky woman!

In no time, these healthy delicious fajitas were ready to enjoy.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the Oscar’s and hanging out. It was pretty neat watching the Oscar’s knowing that we were so close to the action, and because we had seen some of the outside setup on Friday when we were in Hollywood! Alas, it was time to head to the airport for our red-eye flight. We were hoping to spot some celebrities heading home after the Oscar’s, but we had no such luck. I was however able to do some quick exercises while we waited for our flight. I looked like a fool, but I did lunges, tricep dips, and even threw a few burpees in there. I was “that” girl at the airport. Like I said, like me for who I am, sweatpants and lunges at the airport, and all. :wink:

We were kind of tired and I was completely slap happy at this point. Two flights, and one layover including one almost missed plane, and we were home.

Thanks for letting me relive my California trip with you all! I had such a great time as you can tell. We had a jam packed trip full of great food, friends, and wonderful sights. Dalynn, once again thank you for hanging out with us and letting us stay with you Friday, and Brandon thank you for being so great to us and showing us around! I hope to see you both again soon!

Can’t wait for our next Vaca! Back to reality for now and back to getting my diet and exercise routine on track again!

Have a great day!

Prada, Gucci, and Larry King

Posted on by
2

Good morning! Wow, each time I am away from home and come back from being away I remember just how much I love my bed! It hugged me tight last night and didn’t let go until the morning. I was so tired and still kind of am. It usually takes me a couple of nights of sleep to recover from vacation.

Continuing on from yesterday’s post which would bring us to Day #2 in California. Considering we went to bed at 9:30 pm Friday night, we were both wide awake at 6:15 Saturday morning. We took advantage of being up early and got ready to head out for the day. We said our goodbye’s to Dalynn and goodbye to Hollywood and headed out toward Rodeo Drive.

On our way we stopped at a Farmer’s Market area to search for a place to eat breakfast. We ended up going to a little Bakery and Cafe called Du-par’s, which originated in Vegas and has been around for a while. I believe it is still in Vegas, but LA now has one as well. It has an old school feel; the waitresses even wear the old-fashioned bonnet type hats, and they make coffee from a large, old brass- colored coffee maker.

The menu was simple and classic. I settled for two eggs over easy and hash browns. The meal also came with whole wheat toast and  their homemade jam. We tried both strawberry and raspberry and both were delicious. We also drank a couple cups of joe on the side.

After breakfast we continued on our way to Rodeo Drive. We parked our hot mustang at a meter and started walking the ritzy sidewalks. We got there fairly early so it was nice and quiet and peaceful while we were there. We passed Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Cartier, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Harry Winston, Jimmy Choo, Prada, and more. I bought something at each and every store. :smile: Ha. I couldn’t hardly even afford to look through the windows of these stores much less step foot in them and buy something. I would have felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and there is no question about that (especially in my athletic apparel that I was sporting that morning).

As we were walking along the sidewalks, we had our one and only celebrity sighting of the whole trip. I walked past a man and did a double take. I smiled at him, he smiled back. It wasn’t until I passed him that I realized it was Larry King. I got my celebrity spotting that I was hoping for! I was pretty jazzed up about it too. I’m a little bit of a dork like that.

We wrapped up at Rodeo Drive and headed to Newport Beach to meet up with my friend (since middle school), Brandon, who is going to grad school at University of California, Irvine. His parents live in Newport Beach and we stayed at their home for the rest of the trip. They have a gorgeous place and were so accommodating and gracious.

We got to their house around noon and then waited for our other high school friend, Will, to arrive, before we headed to the beach. Brandon drove us over to Crystal Cove in Newport Beach and we walked barefoot in the sand under the warm sun. It was so serene and beautiful and I loved every second of our walk.

Brandon managed to get stung by a bee in the process of the walk which was really funny to me at the time (sorry Brandon). The bee got him in the bottom of the foot but that didn’t stop him. We kept on truckin’!

After the walk we headed back home to get cleaned up and grab some lunch/snacks: homemade guacamole, fresh strawberries, veggie chips, etc.

A few hours later we were heading out towards Laguna Beach to a bar called the Rooftop which overlooks the ocean and has a great view of the sunset. It was very pretty! We stayed there only for a little while before heading out to dinner in Newport Beach at the Bear Flag Fish Company. They are very well-known for their fish tacos and I can understand why!

You step in to the joint and the place is packed. In the front there is a closed glass deli case filled with about 10 different fresh fish filets. You chose your fish and place your order at the front. In about 20 minutes or so they make your fish of choice into a grilled blackened fish taco. I chose the Opah and was extremely happy with my decision. Seriously, check this out.

Fresh grilled opah, cabbage, jalapeno, cilantro, tomato, some really good cream sauce, and a squirt of lime juice over the top. I also ordered a side of black beans because I like black beans. These tacos were incredible! I would recommend this place to everyone! The prices were very reasonable too considering the amount of food you got and the freshness of the fish and ingredients.

Dana ordered a grilled artichoke as an appetizer which was also very good. I snagged a couple bites of that green goodness. I want to make artichokes on the grill at home!

After dinner we decided just to head home and relax on their outdoor patio. We called it an early night again and hit the hay around 10:00 pm! Once again, wild and crazy! One more day to share with you and then you will be all caught up!

*********
A little off-subject food news to share with you. I cooked with Tempeh for the first time last night! I will be talking more about it later but wanted to give you a sneak peek! Pasta with Tempeh marinara. It was GOOD!

 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Anyone have any fun celebrity sighting experiences to share?

Roll Out the Red Carpet

Posted on by
Reply

Hello friends! How was everyone’s weekend? We just got in after our red eye flight home from California. It is cold here! I was hoping it would magically turn warm while I was gone and we would jump right into Spring. A girl can dream. Anyway, I have lots to update you with so I figure I will have to do this in stages otherwise it will be too overwhelming for me. Here we go!

Friday morning we flew (on first class!) into Los Angeles, California with one layover in Dallas. The flights were smooth, I read some of my book, Women’s Health Magazine, watched an episode of Whitney, and ate pretty good food! We ate breakfast and lunch on the plane. Carb city for breakfast. Out of this schmorgousboard of food I ate the bagel and the berries, and saved the banana for a mid-morning snack.

I also made sure to keep chugging my water throughout the flights. It is so easy to get dehydrated on flights and I almost always feel pretty nasty after a flight. I always bring my big CamelBak water bottle and just fill it up once I get past security (since you can’t have more than 3 oz of liquids). It works well and helps me keep track of how much water I am drinking. Plus, it saves me from having to spend $2 or whatever it is for bottled water and more eco-friendly too.

A few hours later it was time for lunch which began with warmed mixed nuts. Num! My favorites were the pistachios for sure.

Next the main course which was a grilled chicken salad which had some type of sauce on it that tasted like salsa but I’m not 100% sure what it was. Anyway, mixed greens with grilled chicken, jicama, tomato, black beans, corn, and blue cheese crumbles. Yup, on the airplane. American Airlines did a good job! On the side was tortilla strips to go on the salad which I vetoed, and Stacy’s pita chips with Tribe hummus. It just kept getting better and better; so healthified!

A tiny bit of a torturous moment was after lunch, there was a waft of a scent of warm cookies that floated by us. We both looked at eachother and said “ah man, cookies.” We did not give in even though they smelt wonderful. That was temptation #1 of the trip.

When we arrived to LAX airport we headed to pick up our rental car from Avis. We didn’t know what car we would be getting, we just knew it would be small because that is what we requested. We get to the front desk and the clerk says, “would you guys be okay with a Mustang?” Really? Haha. Was not expecting that but, why not!

And there she is. The silver bullet (not to be confused with Coors Light). Once we found the 405 we headed out towards Hollywood area. It was beautiful outside when we arrived; about 65° at the airport, and as we headed towards Hollywood the temp crept all the way up to 86°! It was a crazy temperature change. We headed to Griffith Park which overlooks the city and gives you a great view of the Hollywood sign. They also had a visitor’s center which was perty.

I was loving the feeling of sun on my skin. I could have laid down right on that sidewalk and taken a nap. Besides the warmth of the sun, it was also so nice to see green everywhere! Back home in Minnesota it is pretty gray and dull right now. I soaked up the views and we headed out to meet up with our friend, Dalynn who lives in Hollywood. She lives just a couple of minutes away from the Kodak theater and we stayed at her apartment the first night.

I am so upset I didn’t get a picture of Dalynn for this post! I couldn’t believe it! We met up and headed to a bar to relax for a bit with a couple of her friends. On our way to the bar we walked down the street to the area where the Oscar’s were going to be taking place two days from then (last night). Although most of it was blocked off it was still neat to see the area where all the stars would be and to imagine them filing in on the red carpet in their Prada, Gucci, what have you.

I was imagining Brad Pitt and George Clooney looking so studly in their Armani suits smiling for the millions of fans. Very neat!

For dinner this first night we headed to a Mexican restaurant called Loteria Grill. I ordered the Burrito Calabacitas which is made up of zucchini and roasted corn succotash, salsa verde, onion, cilantro, queso fresco, and beans and rice.

Oh geez, good thing I was hungry! That thing was mammoth-sized! Dana had shrimp tacos and Dalynn had the Chilaquiles. Everyone loved their food. After dinner we kicked around what we wanted to do. Dana and I were exhausted from our 3:30 am wake-up call that morning and were hardly functioning at this point so we actually decided to call it an early night and were sleeping by 9:30 pm. Yup, in Hollywood. We are pretty crazy aren’t we?! I mean really, we need to settle down because we are getting ridiculous. :wink: I was so happy to sleep. I wanted to be well-rested so I could be fully re-energized for the next days ahead!

So there you have it. Day Numero Uno. It was awesome! Dalynn, it was so great to see you and thank you again for letting us stay at your place! Hope you can make it back to MN in the near future.

**************

Random off subject note: We did not make it into Grandma’s Half Marathon lottery. We are pretty disappointed but there is nothing we can do about it so we are thinking it happened for a reason and it wasn’t meant to be. However, we WILL still be running the Minneapolis Half Marathon in the beginning of June so we are very pumped for that! Now we just need Spring to roll around so we can really kick training into high gear! Yeeahh!

So happy to be back. California day two, coming up next! We may have spotted a celebrity btw! Be sure to check in later gators.

And We’re Off

Posted on by
Reply

“I hopped off the plane at LAX, with a dream and my cardigan…”  We are officially California bound baby and yes I just quoted Miley Cyrus! So what? I am pumped. I’m still hoping to can spot some celebs, but more than anything I am just very excited to get away and see some friends.

Aww, Kate I wish you were going to be there too. :smile:

First things first, a little recap from yesterday. I could not quite capture the deliciousness of this salad but I will still share the photo to give you some idea of what into my belly at lunch.

I wasn’t quite sure of how this would turn out because I was literally just tossing items into the mix that I had on hand that I thought might blend well together in a salad.

In the mix:

  • raw kale
  • chopped walnuts
  • feta cheese
  • two clementines, peeled and segmented
  • Craisins
  • balsamic vinegar

At first bite I still wasn’t sure what I thought of it, but I kept mixing and kept eating and eventually came to the realization that I really enjoyed this mix. It’s packed full of superfoods and vitamins too! For lunch I also ate a banana, apple, and carrots. Crazy veggie intake I know. I like to really fill up on them before a vacation because I don’t know what my intake will be like while I am away.

For dinner, I wanted to try and use up some of our perishable items in the fridge. I steamed a whole lot of broccoli, topped it with cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper, and threw an egg on top with some mustard, and called it a dinner. I’m so sorry you have to witness yet another runny egg. I have been in such a kick with this egg bit. It’s probably getting old but it is just so tasty and such an easy way to get some protein into a meal.

Here’s a couple of not very attractive photos.

K, seriously ugly photos but seriously delicious. If I haven’t convinced you to try runny eggs over veggies, I will. I won’t give up on it.

Alright, I am out! I will do my best to keep you updated on the trip but can’t make any promises! Either way I will catch you up at some point. Happy Friday everyone!

Love My Runny Eggs

Posted on by
3

Today is my last day of work before VACATION! Friday morning Dana and I will be on our way to sunny California and I am beyond ecstatic! I am even excited for the flight over there because I plan to read, eat, and relax. Moose is a little bummed he can’t come with us. He’s always wanted to see LA. :wink:

I need to get to L.A. if I'm ever going to catch my big break.

Guess what I did this morning!?

I actually got up early, out of my warm heavenly bed, and got a run in on the treadmill! I have been terrible about getting morning workouts in lately, but I figured this morning was the only time for me to do it because we have a laundry list of things to do tonight to get ready for our trip! Plus my friend who is extremely dedicated to morning workouts texted me an encouraging message this morning to help get me out of bed. She is amazing. :smile: Thanks a million!

More good news, I didn’t have any knee discomfort today. Whatever was causing the discomfort the other day has completely subsided which I am very thankful for.

********

Tuesday Recap

I really loaded up my bowl for yesterday morning’s breakfast. Besides the usual fruit, yogurt, and cereal, I also added in a small handful of chopped walnuts and extra yogurt for more “staying” power. This baby held me over until lunch.

Since it was Ash Wednesday, we were supposed to fast in between meals. I found that this is extremely difficult for me because I am a “small meals throughout the day” kind of person versus a three meals that’s it person. I always have breakfast, sometimes a snack around 10 but usually not, lunch always, piece of fruit or small snack mid-afternoon, dinner, and then a snack before bed. Yesterday I stuck with just breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and my body was upset with me almost the entire day. Oh well, it was just one day!

After work I met Dana for Ash Wednesday mass. Day one of no sweets was a good one. My body is seriously unhappy with me after all the sweets I have eaten lately. It is thanking me for a break. I feel out of balance and it’s time to get back in balance.

I went for a walk on the treadmill when I got home. I have been a little lazy when it comes to actually making the trip to the gym, which is only 7 minutes away BTW. I honestly feel that the laziness is associated with the sugary diet lately. It is amazing how quickly you can begin to feel a slide.

Dinner was veggie-filled. I sautéed up a bunch of veggies from the fridge including this little cute eggplant that I had bought at Whole Foods last weekend. It’s just a little babe!

I also threw in leftover fajita filling from last night’s dinner, broccoli, mushrooms, kale,with a little garlic powder, salt and pepper, and topped the warm dish with diced tomato, shredded cheese, and of course, a runny egg. I love my runny eggs.

Delicious and satisfying as always. The rest of the night was dedicated to one last load of laundry, and relaxing while watching Modern Family and Whitney! Wednesday night is our “big” night of shows! No packing was done last night which means tonight will be a fun-filled packing extravaganza. I really don’t like packing. I always pack WAY too much because I never know what I will need!

I am off to work! Have a Happy Thursday!