The One With the Box

Hi everyone! I took a little sabatical of boringness for a few days but now I'm back!

For breakfast yesterday I enjoyed yet another summer smoothie. I can't get enough of these in the morning!

Into the blender:

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• handful of frozen peach slices
• big handful o' spinach

I made a smoothie the day before with so much spinach that it looked hideously gross (but tasted great!) You're welcome for sparing you.

Look at these cute mugs I bought from Crate & Barrel!!

I went in here recently and browsed the tabletop section for a solid HOUR. Pete was with me while I squealed over cute mugs and spoons. He must really love me!! :)

I threw that random mug photo in, not only because they are awesome and fun mugs and make me want to drink more coffee & tea, but to break up two breafasts. Breakfai?

This morning after craving egg whites for days and days, my craving was satisfied!! I sauteed some spinach in a pan with olive oil first, and then added about 1/2 cup of egg whites. I ate it on an Arnold's Sandwich Thin.

It was filling & tasty!!  Look at how the thin is perfectly toasted!

Sunday Pete & I went on a little shopping trip to Kohl's. Pete got an awesome deal on some sneakers, and Peach reaped the rewards in the form of a box.

Box!

She quickly jumped on in, rolled around and did cat things in it. By the next day the box had been reduced to half a destroyed box. We decided it'd be fun to carry her around the apartment in it so she could have her Temple Grandin moment in the cow machine.

Today, the box died. It is no longer a box, and more of a homeless person sign.

She even thought it would be a fun way to earn treats.

RIP Box!! G'nite everyone :D

Decking & Doilies

Happy Monday!!  How was everyone's weekend?

Friday night was spent at Patrick's apartment with Mike & Kelly. We had some cocktails on the deck (we call this the act of decking) and then played Singstar & Buzz- a singing & trivia game respectively, for Playstation.

Doesn't my drink look innocent like sparking water? ;)

Some white wine spritzers  & cherry vodka with sprite zeros were enjoyed. Patrick found these cute little wine charms in his cabinet ( I love finding cute crap in my cabinet!)

Saturday I went to the beach with Emily and took no pictures because I didn't want sand in my camera lens. I will tell you though - the ocean had so much seaweed in it that it looked like a mojito!! I've never seen so much seaweed in water! It kept wrapping around our legs and getting all under our bathing suits ick ick ick!

The water was also super rough and we both lost our sunglasses after getting knocked down by multiple waves!  I love that we kept subjecting ourselves to this! Eventually we just sat in the sand by the water, trying to catch our breath. Whew! I needed new sunglasses anyway - it was this sexy pair:

Last night I went to Kohl's to get some new jeans & sunglasses. Apparently grandma's doilies are in fashion this fall.

This morning I craved something simple and went with toast with butter & raspberry jam.

I had a loaf of regular wheat bread in the freezer from a buy one, get one sale. I had it this morning but really wasn't feeling the taste of it too much. I am thoroughly spoiled by sandwich thins and bagel thins!

I enjoyed a cup of honeydew melon on the side.

Off to do some work!!

Getting Back Into It

So, this week hasn't been a great one health wise. I mean, it was fine, just clouded with some poor choices. Going out for a birthday is great and a part of life and I will always find a balance to include such activities in my life, but it's not a reason for a full derailment! I could've drank a bit less on Saturday (shhh judgies ;) and I could've made better hangover food choices the next day. And Monday - Ok now that's ridiculous. There was no need to ruin Monday. I need to remember to keep my eyes on my goals. I did feel however that on Tuesday (the start of my health week) I felt a renewed sense of drive. I'm thankful for that and even paused to be a lil bit proud of myself. In the past, I would've just gone on for weeks, saying I'd start over in September, or on my birthday mid month etc.

I found that when I used my blog to keep me more on track I .... get this... stayed more on track!!  So here are some meals!

Yesterday morning I made my awesome tropical smoothie, but this time had some spinach on hand.

Greeeeen

Check out this green! :D I love this color! I want to paint my walls this color and buy matching throw pillows. You can't even taste the spinach in this. I recommend it as a great way to get more veggies in.

For dinner I had a great salad. .. But I need to remember to position each addition nicely so I can take a prettier picture!

In the mix:

• lettuce
• spinach
• tomato
• celery
• baby carrots
• corn
• jalapeno peppers
• black bean burger

I ate this dressed with Wishbone Honey Dijon. After tasting this dressing, I promptly divorced Pete and married the dressing. SO GOOD! I do want to check the ingredient list though. Whenever something is this tasty, there is usually high fructose corn syrup in it. I like to try to stay away from this. It's hard though since it's in everything!

This morning I felt I initiated myself into the "Healthy Blogger" world. I finally bought Chia seeds!!! :D

*Naturally I didn't take a photo*  *Still learning blogging*

As soon as I opened them, I had to resist the urge to mix them in water & slather them all over Peach to see if I could grow my very own Chia Pet.

Don't you dare.

I was excited to finally try these little powerhouses out. They have a ton of omega 3s in them and have a gelling action when exposed to water that makes them plump up, keeping you fuller *not a word for longer.

I added them to my usual sandwich thin with peanut butter, 'naner, & cinnamon.

I can't wait to try them in other recipes where they really plump up.

So that's all for now! I will be photographing more stuff that I eat soon & attempting to stay on track in the meantime :)

Inspiration, Goals & Gaga

Its August! (2nd).

Time is flying and 29 is rapidly approaching. I've felt a bit discouraged lately and needed a couple pick me ups the last few days as far as goals. It's funny how when you ask, the universe throws you some signs.

On Friday I stumbled across Janetha's post over at meals & moves called words of wisdom. It has her favorite motivational quote which I immediately fell in love with.

“Do something about it. When something is troubling you, make the commitment to change it. Then begin to act on that decision right away. Some of the influences in your life are under your control, and many of those influences are outside your control. Yet you can always decide upon and put into action a positive response to anything.

Don’t sit around being amazed at how miserable you are and at how unfairly life is treating you. Instead, be amazed at how quickly and effectively you can do something about it.

Don’t complain to others about how tough it is for you. Instead, inspire them with your positive and enthusiastic attitude and actions.

When the world feels all wrong, that’s a valuable signal. It’s your way of telling yourself to get going and make a difference.

You have plenty of good options if you’ll simply make the effort to find them. Pick the best one, get busy putting it into action, and take positive control of your world.”

-Ralph Marston

The comment section of this post also has a ton of inspirational & motivational quotes that are favorites of others. Thanks for the inspiration!

I've also been enjoying Julie's new Tuesday segment over at PBfingers.com - Blog Talk Tuesdays where she is bequeathing her tons of blogging knowledge on us!! It's been helpful and interesting to read as someone new to blogging. In the same day (last week) I discovered Tina's own blogging tips over at Carrots 'n Cake. She created a wondefully helpful post that I highly recommend for anyone who blogs and is looking for some pointers. I found these just as I was beginning to get a bit frustrated at being in just the beginning stages of this blog. I know I need to build this up, lots to learn, and put lots of work into it but this info all fell into my lap at just the right time. It reminds me that other people have created successful blogs and that it is a posisbility for me too!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a taping of The View! I was super excited about it because Lady Gaga was co-hosting & performing! Plus The View is just a fun place to go any day! I always love seeing behind the scenes stuff.

Thanks to my friend Karl, me & some friends (Mike, Brandon, Jose & Derrick) were able to get the VIM (Very Important Monsters) treatment and sat super close!

Gaga was cute, fun to listen to during hot topics, and knocked out an amazing performance.

 She is one of my (our) favorite acts and it was so exciting to see her up close!

I've seen Gaga perform a number of times at concerts, benefits & now at a tv show and she never disappoints! It was a great way to start my week. :D

Back to the 80s

How y'all doin'? Why do I suddenly type like Paula Deen?

Saturday night was spent celebrating Ms Emily's birthday. Me & Pete got into the city a bit earlier and had some drinks beforehand. We stopped at a cute place called Walker's (RIP Brother's & Sisters) and sat outside to enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

I've been craving wine lately and ordered a German Riesling. It was crisp and refreshing!

I had to make sure to order water since I was thirsty from walking around. Note to self: Do not quench thirst with wine.

Then we headed over to a place called Bubby's to enjoy dinner!

Can you see where this nite is headed?

This place uses mostly organic & local ingredients. I love exploring downtown NYC. Even though I'm a native, I'm rarely in this neighborhood.

After dinner we walked down by the water which was 2 blocks away from to check out the sunset.

Velcome to the America!

After dinner, a stop at a bar and a walk by a Delorian (sufficiently 80s themed!) we headed over to Canal Room for an 80s band called Rubix Cube.

It was a fun night of  80s music and dancing!

The next day it was back to the 2010s (what are we calling this decade?) and nurse a hangover relax at home. We finally said goodbye to Duke.

I was wondering if I would be sad or miss his cute face, but 20 minutes before he left he took a dump on my carpet. Time to go!! Sticking with kitties! :)