I had written a post for today but somehow it’s gone….bummer

So I’ll just make this quick

After a redeye flight, half sleeping, half wide awake….

We landed in bright, sunny Florida!

First stop, of course

And now off to the beach!

Happy Friday. TGIF Enjoy your weekend!

The week is almost ov-ah!!! It’s been crazy lately. Plus, I’m leaving for Florida on a red-eye tonight for a jam-packed weekend (a wedding, see friends, family, etc). Ate an orange in anticipation of the orange state:

Excuse the computer background....ate this at my desk

Two Florida things I am especially looking forward to (besides the family/friends part, of course):
1) 80 degree weather! It’s still raining cats and dogs here. Can’t complain cause we need it (grew up in the drought years), but some sunshine will do me good.
2) Dunkin Donuts coffee! I haven’t had my fix in way too long. I already told Jared we are stopping at the airport right when we get off the plane. It’ll be 6am there (ummm 3am SF time….eek) so I’ll need it anyways. He doesn’t drink coffee so can’t really relate.

So, here’s some random Thursday things I felt like sharing and rambling about.

1) We’re moving offices on Monday (the day after I get back from Fl..yikes, exhausted….) so one reason it’s been crazy is that we’ve been packing. I had to pick up boxes at Home Depot yesterday.

As I’m walking out (in the rain), a lady in a car asks me directions. So as I’m standing there talking to her, a gust of wind blows the boxes out of the cart and into puddles all over the street. I felt like I was getting punked as I chased boxes through the parking lot in the rain.

Yesterday was very much, “one of THOSE days.”

So work is filled with boxes…..and my apt is covered in clean laundry and suitcase stuff– I realized that 9-10pm Tuesday night was my ONLY chance to pack, so stuff is pretty much all over the place. Looks like a tornado hit. Oh well.

2) I finally got that fro yo I was talking about on Wed. Yogurtland is amazing!

There were almost 20 flavors– everything from Root Beer float to Pomegranate Raspberry (does that count as a superfood?)

I filled my cup…and went pretty heavy on the toppings. So delicious.

3) I woke up at 5:00am this morning and left the house by 6:00 for an early morning appointment. I usually don’t leave until 7:45. So now it’s 10:30am and I’ve already had 2 huge cups of coffee and 2 breakfasts. Feeling extra productive, but I keep looking at the clock thinking it’s time for my 1pm conf call….and it’s not even 11 yet. Random. Maybe this will help with red eye jet lag tomorrow.
I don’t really know why I’m telling you this, except that it’s prob the reason for my caffeine -induced randomness

4) What would we do without picture texts? Seriously. I went shopping the other day and liked this shirt’s color but couldn’t tell how it looked. I really have no fashion sense.
I sent the photo to my sister to ask her advice. Her response? “Rebecca, that looks terrible on you. Are you crazy?”

Haha, I love honesty. Sisters are the best for that. And I wasn’t even offended.

And for the last random thing of the day…

5) The Whole Foods sorta near me now has 3 flavors of Kombucha ON TAP! So neat.

And with only 15 cents for a refill, I think I’ll be spending all my time between here and Yogurtland.

Okay, tell me something random about you.
– Who can you count on to always give you their honest opinion? (i.e., my sister)
– What time do you normally wake up in the morning?
– When’s the last time you’ve moved? (work or home)

Work is so crazy this week. We’re moving offices and launching a “spring campaign” and it’s been go-go-go. It’s also been pouring rain pretty much non-stop, so it’s all quite a combo. Luckily, I’ve managed to do well on the exercise front and have def felt better because of it (sneaking in early morning and late night workouts to keep me sane).

Anyways, Happy What-I-Ate-Wednesday and Thanks for letting me be a part of it, Jenn!

7:30AM- Breakfast. Apple, HB egg, and Tall Sbucks Coffee with soy.

11:30AM- A very green Lunch. A salad with romaine, parsely, cilantro, and a pear on the side. I kept lunch light on purpose.

2pm: Snack. I had BIG plans to go to the brand new Yogurtland (we don’t have any nearby) for a giant snack this afternoon. But then the weirdest thing happened. I really didn’t feel hungry for yogurt at all. I felt like eating fats and something savory. Who am I? That never happens to me.

So, instead of my yogurt plans, I went with a nut mix and an iced coffee. This nut mix was great because I am still trying to check off my Operation SuperFoods List and so I made a combo of all the ones I’ve been missing. Hazelnuts and Pecans (which I don’t normally like much), Almonds (i can’t make s nut mix without them), Goji Berries (superfood), Currants (Superfood), and Carob chips (superfood too!). I also got an iced coffee with Hemp Milk.

Interesting fact too- see the table in the above photo? It was made out of recycled milk cartons. Neat! Recycle, people!

6pm: Dinner- A red quinoa and edamame salad that I picked up at the same store. It was really good.

Not the most photogenic and certainly not very exciting eats this week, but oh well.

And because I can never resist, a photo of my favorite furball chillin’ with his new toy, Barney.

Hope your day is going well!

- Has work been busy or slow this week?
- What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen made out of recylced materials?
- You recycle, RIGHT?
- Do you like Goji Berries? I wasn’t as big of a fan as I thought I’d be.

Surprise, surprise (ok, no surprise at all), I have a new favorite Green Smoothie combo!

In my effort to check all the 111 foods off my superfoods list, I bought frozen pineapple at Trader Joes this past weekend. And holy moly, I have been making the most delicious pineapple smoothies.

New favorite Pinapple-tastic Smoothie:

Frozen Spinach
Frozen Banana
Frozen Cut-Up Pineapple
Vanilla
Water
And…..
Blend away!! ***The pineapple took a little more blending time than some other fruits, fyi.

At work the other day, we were talking about smoothies and debating straw vs spoon. I’m DEFINITELY a straw girl. You?

Breakfast of champions. Notice how the pineapple makes the smoothie a pretty, bright green color!

I haven’t had pineapple since we were in Hawaii in December and I ate the entire thing by myself in 3 days. Frozen pineapple is my favorite TJ’s product of the week (though I could really just buy a fresh one, cut it up and freeze it myself- ha lazy girl).

Truth though– I’m not a fan of pineapple juice. You?

So just like my mango smoothie post, there are a lot of reasons why pineapple is a superfood that you should add into your smoothie. Fittingly, it’s also the start of pineapple season (March-June….so eat one this week!)

Pineapple display at the grocery store today!

Here are some fun pineapple facts:
from source and source

• Pineapple fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain that has anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that consumption of pineapple regularly helps fight against arthritis, indigestion and worm infestation. ***worm infestation? ewww
• Fresh pineapple is an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and beta-carotene. So eat up and to fight off winter colds.
• It’s rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and minerals like copper, manganese and potassium.
• Speaking of magnese…..a cup of pineapple chunks contains 76 percent of your daily need for manganese, an essential mineral required for the synthesis of healthy bone and cartilage.
• The pineapple, native to Brazil, was taken to Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1493 after he found it on the island of Guadaloupe.

Okay, this is really random, but did anyone else take French in Middle School or High School and watch Telefrancias with the puppet character, Anana?? I had totally forgotten about it until I googled “pineapple” this morning. Loved that show!

So, you tell me:
– Smoothies with a straw or a spoon?
– What’s your favorite thing to put pineapple in? Pizza? Fried Rice?
– Do you already add pineapple to your smoothies?
– What language did you take in High School?

Life feels like it’s been all over the place for me lately.  A lot of balls up in the air, a lot of negative/glass-is-half-empty type energy.  It sucks. But enough of that.

Sometimes in life, you just have to be thankful for the little things.  They really add up, but if we close our eyes to them, it’s easy to forget they are there.  This weekend was full of many little things.

This weekend, I am thankful for pedicures with good friends who make you laugh.

Massage chairs.

The local nail place that offers you baked goods, candy, champagne, and wine….EVEN at 10:30am.

Which of these would you pick?

And for the newest little friends who come on their first visit to the nail salon and fall asleep in your arms while their mama finishes up her pedicure.

Sleeping while his mama finished up her pedicure

And sometimes in life, the simple things are all that matter.

What is something you are thankful for from this weekend?

So, I have to be honest.  I’ve been in a bit….okay MORE than a bit…of a food rut lately.   I eat the same things over and over.  Salad.  Green Smoothie with Spinach and Blueberries.  Sweet Potatoes.  Almonds.

Sure, they’re healthy things, but I’m missing out on other important, vital nutrients.  Where’s the Kiwi?  The Pumpkin Seeds?  The And it’s just time to get out of the rut…spring is here afterall!  That’s as good as excuse as any.

So, to counter my rut, I’m on Operation Superfood.  I will eat as many superfoods in each meal as I can…..and not just the same superfoods over and over again, a variety of every kind there are.

What’s a Superfood?  I’m sure you all hear it tossed around, but to be brief, a superfood is a whole food that is loaded with extremely high nutritional values, and some of their chemicals have been found to reduce the effect of certain disease processes.

Yes, blueberries are a superfood.  You get a lot of bang for your buck in one of those little guys!

Last week's blueberry raspberry smoothie.

I got a Superfood list off the internet the other day.  It’s a list of 111 “Superfoods” (some which I was surprised at and not sure I believe– Cheese?  A superfood?), but regardless, have been on a quest to cross them all off the list.

The Superfoods List is really long, so I put it at the end of the post (but I thought that it was better to have it all in one place).

So to start Operation Superfood:  When I was at the grocery store Wednesday night, I searched through the veggie aisle and only picked things I HADN’T eaten in the past few days (it’s been a long time since Swiss Chard HASN’T been in my cart, but time to move on to Mustard Greens, I guess).

And so far, so good. My days have been Superfood variety heavy.  And there’s nothing about Operation Superfood that could possible be bad for me…..so here we go.

Case in point– Dinner the other night:

Beets, Sweet Potato, Kale, and Asparagus....Superfoods galore

The Superfoods List is really long, so I put it at the end of the post (but I thought that it was better to have it all in one place).

I put a “X” next to the ones I’ve eated this week.  Please ignore the weird numbering system…..it just autonumbered after each pic and I couldn’t fix it.

1. Acai (antioxidants, omega-9 fats)
2. Almonds X (protein and fiber)
3. Amaranth      (highest protein in any grain)
4. Apples   X   (vitamin C, fiber, phytonutrients)
5. Apricots      (vitamin A and beta-carotene)
6. Artichoke      (vitamin C, fiber, minerals, silymarin, 7^th out of top 100      antioxidant foods)
7. Asparagus  X    (C and B vitamins, antioxidants)
8. Avocados  X    (monounsaturated fat & other nutrients)
9. Bananas X (vitamins C & B6, fiber, potassium)
10. Barley      (fiber, vitamins & minerals)
11. Basil     X  (antioxidants)

Basil & Grapefruit.....two superfoods that I rarely ever eat entered my cart (and my belly) this week!

1. Beans  X    (protein and fiber)
2. Beef, Lean      (protein, B vitamins, selenium and zinc)
3. Beets     X  (phytonutrients, carotenoids)
4. Blackberries   X   (antioxidants, vitamin C, phytochemicals)
5. Blueberries X (antioxidants, phytochemicals)
6. Broccoli      (vitamin and beta-carotene, cancer-fighting compounds)
7. Buckwheat      (fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, manganese)
8. Cabbage  X    (vitamin C, fiber)
9. Cantaloupe      (beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, fiber)

Purple cabbage....why don't I eat this more often? sooo good! With leeks and yes, a sweet potato

1. Cardamom      (antioxidants, fights H. pylori bacteria)
2. Carob    X  (fiber, protein, minerals, antioxidants)
3. Carrots   X   (carotene, fiber, vitamins & minerals)
4. Cauliflower      (fiber, vitamin C, biotin, folate, phytochemical)
5. Celery      (vitamin A, minerals)
6. Cheese, low-fat   X   (calcium, protein)
7. Cherries      (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals)
8. Cilantro/Coriander      (phytonutrients, minerals)
9. Cinnamon X     (antioxidants, minerals)
10. Cloves      (vitamins C & K, minerals, fiber, eugenol)
11. Cod      (protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins)
12. Collard greens   X   (antioxidants, vitamin C, beta-carotene, minerals)
13. Corn      (fiber, vitamins, phytochemicals)
14. Cranberries      (vitamin C, fiber, phytonutrients)
15. Cumin      (iron, lowers blood-glucose)
16. Currants      (vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants)
17. Eggplant      (minerals, fiber, flavonoids)
18. Eggs X (high protein vitamins B and D)
19. Elderberries      (high vitamin C, flavonoids, antioxidants)
20. Fennel      (fiber, potassium, vitamin C, phytochemicals)
21. Figs      (high fiber, minerals, polyphenols, antioxidents)
22. Flaxseeds  X    (omega-3 fats, fiber, lignans)
23. Garlic      (phytochemicals)
24. Ginger      (antioxidants)
25. Goji Berries or Wolfberries (beta-carotene and zeaxanthin)
26. Grapefruit  X    (vitamin C minerals, phytonutrients)
27. Grapes      (vitamin C, potassium, resveratrol)
28. Guava      (vitamins C & A, fiber potassium, phytochemicals)
29. Halibut      (protein, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids)
30. Hazelnuts (protein, fiber, antioxidants, folate)
31. Honey  X (trace enzymes, minerals, amino acids, flavonoids,      antioxidants, prebiotic)
32. Kale    X  (nutrient dense, vitamins, minerals, folate, phytochemicals, lutein)
33. Kiwi    X  (nutrient dense vitamin C, lutein)
34. Lemons  X    (vitamin C, limonene and other flavonoids)
35. Limes      (powerful phytochemicals, antioxidants)
36. Mangoes X  (vitamins A, C and K, potassium, carotenes)
37. Maple Syrup      (manganese, zinc)
38. Millet      (fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids)
39. Mint      (antioxidants, vitamins, minerals)
40. Molasses, Blackstrap      (calcium, iron and other minerals)
41. Mushrooms  X     (selenium, B vitamins, potassium vitamin D)
42. Oats X (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber)
43. Olives & Olive Oil (monounsaturated fat, polyphenols are antioxidants)
44. Onions    X  (flavonoids quercetin is antioxidant, other phytochemicals)
45. Oranges  X    (potassium, vitamin C, folate, phytochemicals)
46. Oregano  X    (strong antioxidants carotenoids)
47. Papaya      (vitamins C &A, carotenoids)
48. Parsley      (vitamin C, iodine, iron, phytochemicals)
49. Passionfruit      (vitamin A & C, potassium, calcium, iron, phytochemicals)
50. Peanuts  X     (resveratol and other antioxidants)
51. Pears    X  (vitamin C, potassium, fiber antioxidants)
52. Pecans   (thiamine, magnesium, protein, fiber, antioxidants, oleic acid)
53. Pepper, Black  X    (improves digestion, antioxidant, antibacterial)
54. Pepper, Cayenne      (capsaicin, beta-carotene, thermogenesis)
55. Pepper, Chili      (vitamins A & C, potassium, iron, capsaicin)
56. Peppers   X   (vitamin C, beat-carotene & B vitamins flavonoids, capsaicinoids)
57. Persimmon      (vitamin A, C, and fiber, antioxidants, minerals)
58. Pineapple      (vitamins C & B6, manganese,, copper, anti-inflammatory bromelain)
59. Pistachios      (fiber, protein, potassium, phytosterols)
60. Plums/Prunes  X    (fiber, potassium, vitamin K, iron, antioxidants)
61. Pomegranates      (vitamin C, antioxidants, polyphenol)
62. Potatoes      (vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants)
63. Poultry, Chicken & Turkey  X (protein, niacin, selenium)
64. Pumpkin (fiber, potassium, vitamin A, beta-carotenes)
65. Pumpkin seeds    X  (omega-3 fatty acids, phytosterols)

Goodby almonds-- I ate pumpkin seeds for a workday snack this week

1. Quinoa      (more protein than any other grain, iron, vitamins)
2. Raisins     X  (phytonutrients, boron)
3. Raspberries  X    (fiber, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin C, antioxidants)
4. Rice, Brown    X  (antioxidants, vitamins, minerals)
5. Romaine Lettuce      (vitamins A & C folic acid, minerals)
6. Rosemary      (antioxidants)
7. Rye      (fiber, lignans, vitamins and minerals)
8. Salmon X (omega-3 fatty acids)
9. Sardines      (omega-3 fatty acids, calcium)
10. Sesame      (lignans, phytosterols)
11. Shrimp      (protein, selenium, vitamins D and B12, omega-3 fatty acids)
12. Spelt      (B vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein)
13. Spinach  X    (fiber, folate, vitamin K, minerals)
14. Strawberries      (vitamin C, folate, potassium, fiber, antioxidants)
15. Sunflower Seeds      (Vitamin E, folate, minerals, phytosterols)
16. Sweet Potatoes   X   (Vitamin A and beta-carotene, minerals, fiber)
17. Swiss chard      (fiber, vitamins A, C & K)
18. Tea    X  (flavonoids)
19. Tomatoes X (vitamin C, potassium phytosterols, beta-carotene      lycopene)
20. Tumeric      (vitamins, minerals, antioxidant curcumin)
21. Tuna      (protein, minerals, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids)
22. Walnuts  X (omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, minerals)
23. Watermelon      (lycopene)
24. Whole Wheat    X  (antioxidants, vitamins)
25. Whey protein      (amino acids)
26. Yogurt    X  (calcium, probiotic)

So, I’m up to 46 this week!  And the list will help me figure out which ones to buy next week.  I’m hoping to get to all 111 by the end of the first week of April….and then I guess I’ll start the list all over again!

How about YOU?  How many have you had in the past week?  Which ones do you eat really often?  Which ones do you never eat?

Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by and that’s def a good thing in my book. I always look forward to reading all your What I Ate Wednesday posts, so THANK YOU JENN for setting this up!

These are my eats from Sunday, which meant I was less rushed making food than on a weekday, but still wanted easy meals.

Breakfast: 7:30am (I know, who wakes up this early on a Sunday?!?!) Oatmeal with half a banana, blueberries, pb, and almond milk.

8:30am: Lap swim in the pool. I’m so obsessed with swimming– I feel like it’s a mental therapy as well as exercise. I sort out everything I’m stressing about while I’m gliding through the water. Love it.

10:30am: COFFEE finally. And a crunchy apple.

1pm: Lunch. Spinach salad with chicken, tomato, and red bell pepper. Drizzled with basalmic vinegar.

3pm: Snacktime. Coconut “Greek Style” yogurt (have you tried this??) and a Kiwi. I’m on a big superfood kick (more on this tomorrow) and Kiwi’s a superfood I hadn’t had for a while. I will be buying more asap– forgot how delicious they are! The yogurt was okay, but I don’t think I’d buy it again.

7pm- Dinnnah! Pile o’ Veggies! Roasted sweet potato, roasted brussels, and roasted beets, sprinkled generously with Himalyan Sea Salt. Have you roasted beets yet? Sooo good!

9pm: Dessert. Always save room. To continue my coconut craze of the day– Coconut sorbet. Yum.

So there ya go! Now, it’s my turn– Questions for you:

Do you like coconut?
What’s your exercise obsession right now?
What’s your favorite veggie to roast?

Morning sunrise

Morning coffee.   x3. 

It’s 11am and I’ve had 3 cups of coffee so far!  Normal?  Or really NOT normal (unhealthy?)?  Some days I just really NEED coffee throughout the day.  And today is one of them.  So I’m going with it.  Healthy or not.

But anyways, on to more important things……

Anyone else catch the new law passed in Israel?
Supermodels MUST have a BMI of AT LEAST 18.5.  If they use photoshop on their photos, they MUST disclaim it.   article here

(photo of Israeli supermodel from above article)

Israeli lawmakers, “hope will reduce eating disorders and promote a healthy body image.”  Recently, an Israeli supermodel died of starvation.

On of the photographers says, “I look (back) 15 to 20 years ago, we shot models (sized) thirty-eight. Today, it’s twenty-four…..This is the difference between thin and too thin. This is the difference between death and life.” 

I don’t know what the equivalent those sizes are in the US, but I’m guessing a 24 is a 00.

This cartoon is a little harsh, but I included it anyways:

Really, really interesting.  This seems like a step to keeping models healthy and to make sure that youth have realistic HEALTHY body images.

I know this is a much larger issue, too big for this one short blog post, but a few questions—

Do you think this law would fly in the US?
Do you think it’s something the government should get involved with?
Do you think the new law will “work” and keep models healthy and kids’ expectations of their body realistic?

After our Tahoe/snow/trip debacle, when we finally got home on Saturday, we were both hungy, but wanted something easy to make. Normally, I would have ordered Chinese take-out or a pizza, but with the “no eating out (while in SF) all this month” rule….we had to cook.

Sooo…..BBQ Chicken Pizza it was!

My cooking had been less than stellar lately (as you can probably tell from the lack of recipes I’ve been posting), but we finally had a winner!

Since I’m guessing all of you have “those” nights too– the ones when you don’t want to think about cooking too much, but want something tasty– I thought I’d share the recipe.  And frankly….it was really good and I’m pretty sure I’ll make this on a non-lazy “I want something really good for dinner” night too!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• Pizza dough (I went the lazy route and got the whole wheat dough at Traders, but Katie makes a good one and I just use ww flour instead)
• Pizza sauce (Store bought or try this one (can keep it in the freezer if you want)
• 2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
• 1 cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 small tomato
• 1 handful fresh spinach
•  1 (smaller) handful fresh basil
• Cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Flour cutting board or work space and let dough sit there for 20 minutes.
3.  Shred chicken and place in small bowl with bbq sauce.  Stir to coat chicken evenly in sauce.
4.  Chop up bell pepper.  Cut stems off basil and spinach.  Slice tomatoes.

5.  Knead and then roll out pizza dough until it’s 12 inches in diameter.  I did this by hand, which took a little while ’cause my bf doesn’t seem to own a rolling pin…(not that surprised)
6.  Spray a baking sheet and put the rolled out dough on top
7.  Spread pizza sauce on top
8.  Sprinkle veggies evenly across dough
9.  Add chicken
10.  Sprinkle generously with cheese!

11. Cook in oven for 9-11 minutes….or until cheese starts to bubble.

And, enjoy!

This was seriously better than any take-out pizza.

Ok, enough of my pizza talk.  Your turn!

How often do you eat pizza?
Do you own a rolling pin?  Do the guys you know own a rolling pin?   Just curious……

On Friday, Jared and I were planning to go to Tahoe for our last ski weekend of the season.  As I mentioned in just about every  post last week, it’s been raining HARD around here.  And of course, Rain in SF = Lots of Snow in Tahoe.  We knew it was going to be a slow drive up, so we both took a half day of work and left the city at 3pm.  It normally takes 4 hours to get to the cabin.

6 hours
4 random gas station bathroom stops
and
1 surprisingly tasty McDonald’s salad later……

It was 9pm and we were JUST reaching the base of the mountain.  It was raining hard the whole drive and had quickly gotten dark.  At our dinner drive-through stop, we thought about turning back, a little intimidated how our little two-door car was going to handle the upcoming snow, but decided we wanted to go and trudged on.

Half an hour later, the rain turned to slush—big, drops of slush– and the roads were slipperly.  And then the slush turned to snow.  On the already dark, curvy highway, the power was out and it was pitch black.  The headlights were shining into the snowflakes and instead of making it easier to see, it was almost blinding.  We couldn’t see the lane lines either.

We were going only 20 miles an hour…..and still had another 20 miles before chain control kicked in so we felt like we were going to slide all over…..and even after that, we still had 60 miles to go.

I know all you mid-western and east coasters are probably thinking we’re babies for being freaked out of snow, but let’s just say….it’s a windy, curvy, dark, mountain road and def not salted or cleared.  And yes, we’re Californian and Floridian and def not used to driving in snow!

So after only 5 minutes of it, we both looked at each other and said, “let’s turn around.”  I think I held my breath on the ride back.  I should have taken photos, but frankly, I thought the car ride was going to be the least eventful part of the weekend and so wasn’t even thinking about it.

Though I did think to take this random photo. lol

With Jared’s trust hotel.com app, I looked up hotels in the area and we found one sort of close by in Grass Valley.  So Tahoe/snow/ski trip aborted……and off to an old-west gold mining town we went.

It was after 10pm by the time we got to the hotel….over 7 hours in the car and we were more than ready to relax.  Turned into a spontaneous weekend trip!

We woke up the next morning to our free hotel breakfast.  I absolutely love breakfast in the hotels.  I have no idea why (and Jared thinks I’m crazy), but something about it all being free and so cozy, I just love it.

French toast station (aka, what Jared ate)

I had oatmeal with half a banana and two cups of coffee.  Plus a glass of oj.

The weather seemed better and we considered trying to go back up the mountain now that it was light out, but realized we would have gotten into the same issues coming home on Sunday (which was when the worst snowstorm was going to hit), so decided that staying was a better option.  So off to sightseeing we went!

We started at the Empire State Park, which is one of the oldest gold mines in California, established in 1850.  It was a huge gold mine back then and now a preserved state park.  They have a little museum and you can walk around and see how everything worked, even go down into the mines.  Really interesting and such a big part of California history.

The mines

Really pretty grounds

Where they weighed the gold

The "cottage" (aka, house of the guy who owned the mine)

We went down into the mines

Jared on the track that took the miners underground every morning. Geez, what a dangerous life that way

After our mine tour, we went to the little town of Grass Valley and walked around.  It looks just like an old west town. 

There’s the oldest hotel in California (filled with Mark Twain stuff), and cute little shops and restaurants.  It’s nice to find a town nowadays with no chain-stores.

We had lunch at Main Street Cafe & Bar, which turned out to be SUCH a great choice.  It’s Mediterranean and was really cute inside.

We had the best waiter.  And we both loved our meals.

I got a grilled chicken salad with buckwheat noodles and a peanut dressing on the side.  It was delicious.

After lunch, we drove over to the neighboring town, Nevada City (yes, randomly Nevada City and Nevada County are in California….not Nevada).  It’s also a historic gold rush town and slightly bigger than Grass Valley.

It’s adorable—and my kind of town—there were 4 ice cream and candy shops within 4 blocks!  We stopped for hot cocoa and goodies at the candy shop.  I got a caramel and dark chocolate dipped marshmallow.  It was AMAZING!  Sorry, my pics of it didn’t come out.

And then, we started the drive home, which luckily only took 2.5 hours.  We  made bbq chicken pizza (recipe tomorrow!) for dinner and hung out on the couch watching Hancock (Will Smith is so great) and Outbreak on tv.

We were going to grab drinks for St. Patty’s day…..but as happens a lot lately, it was super late before we knew it and so we nixed our plan.  We turned off the tv and played cards instead.  I lost and am still mad about it!  Now it’s Sunday and I must say, it’s been sooo nice to have the whole day with nothing planned (went swimming, caught up with long-distance friends on the phone, cleaned my whole apartment, and did a kajillion errands– feel so productive!).

Anyways, so that’s the story of how my ski cabin weekend in Tahoe turned into a random hotel-gold mining-old-west trip instead.  Random!

Do you like hotel breakfasts too or am I the only one?
Have you ever changed plans mid-trip before?
Any green beer for st patty’s day?