I’m joining the Marvelous Monday festivities this week!

Marvelous is/was…..my SUNDAY

A “field trip” out of the city to a suburb yesterday.  We went hiking on a really pretty path and walked around the town.  Ahhh, so relaxing and such a nice day.

Marvelous is….house hunting for fun!
We stopped by a few open houses after the hike and found one that we both LOVED.  It’s about, oh, a million dollars over what we can afford right now, but it’s fun to dream, decorate in our imaginations (hey- I would put this here and get this for this room, etc) and actually quite motivating (hmm, how can I make more money?).

this one was really cute and special inside!

Marvelous is….our engagement photos!

They came out really nice and we’ve had fun looking at them.  This is the only one I have that I can save to my computer so I’ll share more once we get the rest.  Charlie was a trooper.

Marvelous is….warm, sunny weather!

Or is that not so marvelous?  I’m really afraid that there’s a hug drought starting since it’s rained only like 5 times this whole winter, but the sun does feel nice.

Marvelous is….finishing our wedding errands!

We checked off two more tasks off our lists this weekend and now we’re pretty much done with all the “meetings” for a while! Whahoo!! I still have plenty to do, but I get to take a break for a little.

wedding venue

Marvelous is….Saturday date night.

With some weekends out of town, some weekend guests, just a lot of stuff going on, we hadn’t had a date night in a while.  Sooo we decided to change that and ate at a cute Italian restaurant I’ve been wanting to try.  It was really fun and much needed!

Marvelous is….Argo!

I finally saw it via payperview Sunday night!  Really liked it.  Plus, can’t get enough Ben Affleck.

Marvelous is….the Farmer’s Market.

Fresh fruits and veggies…plus it’s right across the street so I don’t have to go anywhere to do my shopping (yes, I’m lazy lately).

Marvelous is…..SWIMMING again.

Remember when I used to go swimming twice a week? Yeah well in the past three months, I’ve barely gone at all.  I finally bribed myself into going on Friday night (my bribe was time on the couch watching tv if I went to the gym) and it felt so good.  Welcome back, swimming!

Marvelous is….all the blog giveaways lately!

There’s some good ones lately and I want to win!! A bike? A blender? Yes, please! How amazing would that be?  I know the odds are against me, but fingers crossed……

So you tell me…

– Did you like Argo?  Ben Affleck fan?
– How’d you spend your Sunday?
– What do you usually order at a Greek restaurant?
– What’s something your dream house MUST have?
– How often do you have date night?

Today’s my Friday! I’m leaving Thursday for a super long 6-day “weekend.” We’re going to DC for a wedding and then up to New Jersey. I’m excited- I went to college in DC and it still feels like my second home, even though I haven’t been back for a while. Only problem– forecast calls for Thunderstorms every single day. Fingers crossed it changes.

Happy for another What I Ate Wednesday too! Visit Jenn’s page for more fun posts.

Here are my eats from Tuesday:

Morning exercise: The day started off with a mile long swim! I usually don’t count my laps and just swim for a specific amount of time (usually 30 mins, sometimes 45), but today I counted so I could make sure to go a whole mile. It felt great!

Breakfast was post-swim, eaten at Starbucks. Coffee with soy, an enormous banana, and a greek cobani yogurt with a spoonful of jam.

Lunch was raw swiss chard for a salad, topped with half of a leftover stuffed pepper that I was too full to eat at dinner the night before. Hit the spot. I heart leftovers.

Snacks: Juicy watermelon.

And my favorite snack lately– a version of chocolate milk: unsweetened cocoa powder, unsweetened almond milk and a spoonful of sugar, all whipped up in a blender. It’s not as chocolatey as the real thing, but does the trick when I am craving chocolate or sweets.

And dinner was a veggie plate with Swiss Chard, zucchini, and a carrot. Plus an egg topped with nutritional yeast on the side.

Hope your day is going well!

–What’s your favorite summertime food?
–What’s your favorite snack lately? I need new ideas to bring to work!

Ahhh, end of the week….almost.

My day started with early morning baking while sipping coffee.
Ghiradelli Brownies…..from a box, not scratch. Hope this doesn’t make me a bad blogger

The usual breakfast

FINALLY unpacking my suitcase

What a mess

Commute to work- blah

Work Work Work

Lunch and snacks.

This is my typical lunch and snacks this week- sweet potato, 2 hard boiled eggs for lunch, almonds and an apple for my snack....packed into a random shopping bag

More work.

Afternoon walk break to get some fresh air.

Hour+ commute home. I’ll spare you a photo of this “worst” part of every day.

Quick gym workout

Quick dinner. Shrimp+veggies.

And then BOOK CLUB. With wine. This is where I brought the brownies. Sadly, no pics…totally forgot.

So that’s how I spent my day.

You? What’s the best part of your day today?

Hey! Another Wednesday. This month, Jenn is asking for everyone to add an extra cup of veggies to their day. Sounds good to me! Except one thing…that did not happen on Monday, which was when I took pics for this post. It was moving day at my office at 8am….and I just flew in from Florida at 1am the night before. So, needless to say, I was a little scatter brained and ended up eating up a bit. Oh well.

But here ya go:

Breakfast: 6:30am. After a weekend vacation in Florida without many veggies, I was craving something green….I was also craving plenty of caffeine. Breakfast was a frozen peach, banana, and spinach Green Smoothie. And 3 cups of coffee.

Hits the spot every time

I spent the morning “helping” the movers pack up. Best part about office moving day is wearing yoga pants and sneakers to work, by the way.

Lunch: 12:30pm: Stopped at the local market on my way to the new office and got the Quinoa “Wellness” Salad. I thought extra “wellness” to this busy day could only be a good thing.

Tasted really good. Was a mix of red quinoa, lemon juice, currants, and red pepper. Plus a scoop of the chickpea quinoa (the yellow one). Sprinkled a few almonds on top. Very filling lunch.

Break: 3pm. We walked over to the new Starbucks to take a sunshine break. I got an unsweetened iced green tea. Sprinkled cinnamon on top. Was just what I needed (and the extra caffeine helped a ton).

Sipped in the midst of unpacking

Dinner: 6:30pm. I’m sad to say that I totally broke the “Don’t Eat Out” challenge today and we ate dinner out too.

Here’s my cute dinner date looking very serious while he sent a work email before our food came.

Went to a crepe/salad/sandwich place (that truthfully is probably better for brunch or lunch than dinner). I got the bbq chicken salad– a huge pile of cabbage, corn, peppers, avocado and bbq chicken. I LOVE bbq sauce, so this was really good and I ate a ton of it and was so full afterwards.

After doing a few other errands, went grocery shopping and then pretty much face planted into bed. Moving is exhausting….even WITH movers and even when it’s just at your office (not your home). Glad that day is ov-ah!

Question:
– What’s your latest favorite Starbucks/Other-Coffee-Place drink order?
– Good lunch out places near your office? There are some yummy looking ones near the new office.
– Any good eats today? Do you love BBQ sauce as much as me?

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.

Happy Wednesday! Blogging from an overcast and pouring rain day in SF. We need the rain like no one’s business, but it’s like Mother Nature stored up everything all season until this week and just let it all out finally! But rain= cheaper tastier produce, so no real complaints from me.

And now, time for What I Ate Wednesday, Thanks Jenn!

These are my eats from Monday. It was a weird all-over-the-place kind of day. I was getting over being sick and I had jury duty, which made my schedule far from usual. But some days are like that, so here ya go:

My morning started at 7am with a great swim in the pool. I got my own lane (everyone must have slept in because of the time change). Sweet!

8am- Breakfast. Random breakfast: Coffee with soy milk, a banana, and a handful of walnuts. Omega-3s and potassium to start the day? yes, please.

Check out the sticker, "I'm chiquita banana....." Love it!

I was on “call-back status” for jury duty, so I spent the morning working from home (in yoga pants sprawled out on the couch). I was totally expecting not to have to go in, so when the 11:30am recorded message told me that I had to “report” by 12:30 to the courthouse FORTY FIVE minutes from my house, I was way unprepared. Poor Charlie was woken up from a nap and dragged out of the house to “daycare” with me, lol. Aww, the life of a dog.

11:30am- Lunch. This was pretty early for lunch, but I wanted to eat before leaving for jury duty, so I just threw leftovers together. It sorta looked more like dinner (?). 2 chicken legs (with liquid aminos), kale (from the farmer’s market), and leftover roasted eggplant. I ate the kale in the car. Messy.

3pm- After serving my patriotic duty as a juror (thank goodness I didn’t get chosen), I went outside for a snack. Almonds (more nuts? yes of course), an apple, and an honest tea. It was my first time with the tea. It’s ok. Anyone love it?

Isn’t the courthouse pretty? Jury duty was actually not so bad– the whole process is really interesting and like one big history lesson (i’m a nerd, i love u.s. history stuff).

I did a few errands after leaving the courthouse before going home to get some more work done.

6pm- Dinner. Even with the daylight savings change, I’m still hungry early. By 6, I was more than ready to eat. Brussel sprouts and quinoa mixed with pinto beans and nutritional yeast. I got more than my fair share of nutritional yeast that day.

Snack: Later that night, I ate (unpictured) 2 pieces of toast and 2 handfuls of raisins. Raisins do not stand a chance against me. I can’t get enough. Too bad cause they are full of cals.
I got plenty of fats and protein, but I was still pretty hungry in the end of the day. Need to work on better balance, I suppose.

Have you ever been selected to be on a jury?
How often can you work from home?
Do you eat meals in the car ever?

Somehow, I was way ahead of myself when I called last week’s WIAW post #9….when it was actually #7, so fixing that this week, Whoops. Thanks again for hosting, Jenn!

This was a day of good eats. I’m still trying for mostly green, mostly whole, mostly easy-to-make-on-a-busy-workday foods.

Also, for both March and April, I’m in a pact to not eat out at all (except when I’m out of town) to save some $$$. We’re not taking cabs either– it’s crazy how you can blow $20 in an 8 minute cab ride sometimes. Anyways, we’ll see how it goes….

So, back to my day…..

7am: Quick 30 minutes on the elliptical and some stretching. I was a little tight from skiing this past weekend, so it was good to stretch out.

7:45am: Quick breakfast smiley face. Just what I felt like. Bananas are just so delicious sometimes.

Smile

10:30am: Homemade trailmix made up of my favorite almond, raisin, choc chip combo, plus a date mix.

12noon- Lunch. Kale salad, my fave. With tofu and leftover roasted eggplant.

i heart kale

3pm- Big, red apple. Eaten while getting some fresh air.

Check out how windy it was!

Can you tell how hard it's blowing? maybe not. Anyways, I managed to walk by this Starbucks without stopping....go me!

Dinner at 6:30pm: Millet (yum! long time no see), a big salad with beets and red pepper, and some leftover ground turkey. All of this was sprinkled with nutritional yeast and a little himalyan sea salt, of course.

Filling, coloroful, and tasty

Evening walk with a friend in the fog and wind. We almost made it to the bridge, but turned around because we thought we were going to get run over– It was so dark out, we kept having to dodge runners and bikers, lol.

Glass of wine to end the evening. Ahhhhh, nice!

I think my eat-in challenge this month is all about this:

sorry for no photo credit, can't remember where i got this

Note to self– Grocery shop and buy good food!

How often do you eat out? How often do you take cabs?
What’d you eat for breakfast this morning?

Hola, Happy Monday.  Good weekend, everyone?

Tahoe was really nice.  It snowed all last week, but it was in the 60s all weekend– meaning skiing in t-shirts (or many with no shirts!) and a tan.  Also meant 13 people in a 3 bdrm cabin and crowded slopes (ran into a handful of people I knew- love that!)

Instead of telling you what we did, thought I’d just show you.  I didn’t take too many pics, but enough for some highlights.

Left Friday after work.  Stopped in a small town for the most random Texas bbq.  It was totally random…..and really fun.

Best bbq was an overstatment, but this was the vibe of the place, lol

Yes, I went to a bbq place and didn't get any meat.....sorry to disappoint. This sounded better to me (and it was awesome)

Luckily, I was eating with two meat-eating guys

Bathroom pic.  Full length mirror, couldn’t resist.

Saturday morning SKIIING

Awwww, prettiness

Lunch in the lodge.  Notice the 6 glasses of water in the background.  Yes, I drank them all!

Few more hours of skiing and then Post Skiing Beers.  Ahhhhh, yes please!

Breakfast Sunday morning in the cabin.  Always an event when 13 people are there.

These got eaten in less than 12 hours

Rules for breakfast: Sit where ever you can find space. Drink as much coffee as possible. Laugh.

More skiiiiiiing.

Lunch #2.  Healthy food, I was impressed.  It’s a vegie/tofu/chicken stirfry.

Post-ski Fro yo, of course.  I only ate a little because it actually wasn’t very good.

Left the resort at 5pm, went back to the cabin to shower and eat a quick dinner, started home around 6:30.  Busy day!

Long drive meant we had to stop for ice cream at the halfway point, of course.

Would you believe it was my FIRST Dairy Queen experience?  Oreo blizzard.  Not impressed, unfortunately.  One bit.  Not very good.  Sorry to offend anyone who loves it there

And then back home at 10:30…….and asleep by 11!

Come on weather, SNOW MORE so we can go skiing again!

Do you like Blizzards or Dairy Queen Ice Cream?
AND I know people in NY do Hamptons houses, Michigan gets leases at the Lake, Boston at Cape Cod, and SF does Tahoe ski cabins……What do they do in your area?   

Lately, this is what I crave all morning long……waiting impatiently for lunchtime

Brussel sprouts, peas, avocado, nutritional yeast, and Himalayan seat salt.

So simple, yet so so good.

It combines my two obsessions (as of late):

Avocados (of course)

And brussel sprouts (something I DESPISED as a kid)

And with the nutritional yeast and other added goodies, it becomes a warm bowl of filling fibor-ous mid-day yum.

Did you like brussel sprouts as a kid?

What’s your lunch or veggie of the moment?

Happy Wednesday!  Weeks after a long weekends are always so great- love that it’s already the middle of the week.

And can you believe it’s the end of Feb already?  Still trying to get my veggies in for Jenn’s Feb challenge.

These are my eats from yesterday (Tuesday).  It was kinda a crazy day and I ate out a bit, which was nice (on my tummy, not my wallet).

7:45AM- Breakfast.  After a light 30 minute workout, I came home to a Green Smoothie.  I eat way too many of these lately (or is that possible?).  Can’t help it, still obsessed.  It was the usual spinach, banana, blueberries, water, almond milk, and a tiny bit of pb (new addition).  It made a massive amount, a cup and a half.  Yum!

10am- Mid-morning snack.  An orange. Plus a cup of tea.  (Notice the no-coffee in the morning? was trying for less caffeine, but as you’ll see in the afternoon that didn’t work so well…..)

Sweet and delish

12- Lunch.  Whole foods salad bar, lucky me.  Tofu and Kale & Seaweed salad.  Have you had that salad yet, it’s amazing.

Scenes from the salad bar.....and my shoe peeking out in the background

2pm- Snack.  Almonds, 2 dates, and a Guava Kombucha (that I picked up at Whole Foods too).  Around 3, I had an (unpictured) cup of coffee too.  I tried to go without it today, but no such luck.

And good zen advice from the kombucha

7:30 pm- Dinner!  I was Hungry with a capital H by then.  Jared and I went across the Bay to meet a friend of his for dinner, which meant a long commute night.

We went to a little Peruvian place that had JUST opened that night at 5pm.  So fun to be with them on their first night!

We split a bunch of dishes– Roasted chicken, Hanger Steak over Rice, Sweet Potato Fries, and a really yummy veggie salad with beets, carrots, avocado and who knows what else.

I also tried a sip of a purple corn drink– it tasted like cinnamon applesauce.  But it’s a special Peruvian fermented soft drink.  Yum.

NOW– Things I want to know from YOU:

How many times/month do you eat at the Whole Foods Salad Bar?  I’m prob twice per month.
Have you been to Peru?
I’ve spent a lot of time in the Peruvian airport on my way other places, but never been outside of it.  Machu Piccu would be amazing to see.
Tried any other cuisines lately? I haven’t, but I’ve been wanting to try Ethiopian food for a while now, need to schedule that