Category Archives: Holidays

A (healthy) Cinco de Mayo Treat

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hope you’re enjoying the sunshine, and partaking in a refreshing beverage!

Margaritas are one of my favorite cocktails… When done right. I love the fresh flavors, the sweet agave, the tangy like, and the kick of tequila.

One thing I’m not a fan of? Sugary margarita mix and syrups that are loaded with calories and things I can’t even begin to pronounce.

Enter the most refreshing, delicious and HEALTHY homemade margarita! (Mamacita, consider this a challenge.)

1 part tequila
2 parts fresh squeezed lime juice
Squeeze of raw agave nectar
Himalayan Salt Crystals

Fill a shaker with ice

Add ingredients

Shake it like a salt shaker, shake it like a salt shaker…

Pour into glass

Garnish with fresh lime and Himalayan salt crystals

Enjoy!

(Tequila entirely optional… It’s just as refreshing without! Only a little less fun if you’re me.)

That Little Green Monster…

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! As someone who is 25% Irish (Grandma hails from Cork), and looks 100% (woo-hoo pale skin!) have a wonderful (and corned beef and green beer filled) day!

Since the fine people over at the Lululemon Blog can apparently read my mind, and know exactly what I put into my green smoothies each and every morning… I figured I’d share their creation (and let’s be real the pictures they take look a hell of a lot more appetizing than mine!)

Start your day with a different festive green beverage… then move on to your libation of choice :)

image via

ingredients:
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or original)
• a shake of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of natural almond butter (or peanut butter)
*the healthy fat and protein gives the smoothie staying power
• 1 scoop protein powder (I like SunWarrior vanilla or chocolate)
* protein powder is perfect for post-workout muscle repair

toppings:
• a serving of granola (or other cereal for crunch)
• fresh berries

Recipe via

I’ll be sipping this while wearing my finest green spandex apparel getting my Pilates Teacher Training on all morning.

Happy Weekend! :)

First 48 Hours of 2012

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Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a blast ringing in the New Year, and that it’s off to a great start!

New Years Eve started off with a slight hangover (thank you New Year’s Eve Eve festivities at Wayfare Tavern and the Bucaneer) that was quickly cured by a big homemade breakfast, and 4-mile run outside (in my brand new University of Arizona Nike Tempos – courtesy of boyfriend for Christmas) They make you run faster, I swear.

We didn’t have any over-the-top plans, so Boyfriend and I decided to cook up a big feast and enjoy our own New Years Eve dinner for two. There was a delicious New York Strip Steak with a homemade balsamic glaze, mushroom, spinach and ricotta ravioli, homemade arugula pesto, Stella Artois’ and cocktails (fresh lemon/lime juice, Zevia Ginger Ale, Vodka).

We toasted the New Year and enjoyed a few more drinks with friends before heading home and making goat/gouda/mozzarella quesadillas (x3). A successful New Years Eve indeed!

Yesterday, after sleeping in, we awoke to an unseasonably warm January 1 day – 65 degrees and sunny in SF. Naturally, we had to take advantage of it (and do some dog-watching.)

I am a full on, dog stalker, and I’m totally alright with that.

New Years Day night we went to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I LOVED it. Daniel Craig as Bloomqvist is exactly as I imagined the character, and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth (while scarier than I imagined) was spot on. I can’t WAIT for The Girl Who Played with Fire to come out next. The only complaints I have is that I wish they set the scene a bit more in the beginning for people who hadn’t read the books.

Today (January 2) marked the first workout of 2012! Boyfriend and I hit the gym this afternoon, and I ran 4 miles at an 8:30 pace, biked 7 miles, and then came home to once again try out our new favorite kitchen gadget.

The VITA MIX!

We received this for Christmas from “Santa” (aka my parents) and I’ve used it every single day since. The smoothies (not to mention soups, sauces, nut butters, pestos, etc) this baby can make are ridiculous. I may never eat solid food again. And that’s a promise.

My smoothie of choice?

It’s actually green, I swear.

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 2 large handfuls of spinach, frozen mangoes, frozen pineapple, frozen strawberries, scoop Chocolate Sun Warrior Protein Powder

I’ve experimented adding 4-6oz (1 container) of 0% Greek Yogurt for extra protein and it gives it a more whipped texture which I’m a big fan of.

We’re in the middle of a huge New Years cleaning/organizing the apartment spree, so back to it… hope your last day of the Holiday weekend is going well!

Oh Hello 2012!

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We’re in the final few hours of 2011. (“Few” is being used loosely, since there are about 6.5 hours left of the year in California). I really can’t believe how fast 2011 flew by. I was reading People Magazine’s “The Best of 2011″ while on the stationary bike at my parents on Christmas and they said the royal wedding was in April. I could have sworn it was two months ago. (Seriously, we’ve been obsessed with all things Middleton for like 8 months now?) This year has honestly been one of the best yet (I swear they just keep getting better and better) and I cannot WAIT for what 2012 has in store!

A lot happened this year: I ran my first full marathon in 3:57:03, traveled to Boston, New York, LA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Maui and the Big Island, went to countless wine festivals, attended the weddings of several good friends, celebrated the engagements of several more, spent a lot of time with our families, had great times with friends, went to countless Giants games, ran 2-half marathons and PR-ed each time, got a lot more adventurous in the kitchen… oh and started this little blog. :)

In honor of the New Year, boyfriend and I always make a monthly resolution. Something attainable, and something we want to improve on. It can be as simple as “Don’t leave things until the last minute” (a specialty of mine I’m trying to get better at) or “One Mental Health Day a Month” (where we both take the day off and take a drive up the coast, go for a bike ride, a hike, or just relax and recharge at the park or beach). While that tradition is continuing on, I also wanted to make a list of my 2012 “goals” (the word resolution bothers me), so rather this is a list of what I hope to accomplish in 2012.

So here goes!

  • Run a race every calendar month of 2012 – could be a 5K, 10K, 12K, or Half-Marathon… I’m not picky. Whatever it is, I want 12 race bibs by this time next year.
  • Run a sub 1:50 Half Marathon. My current PR is 1:55, and I know that 5 minutes is a lot to shave off, but I’m confident that if I put in the time and speedwork I can get there. It’ll probably just take a few attempts.
  • Cheer on friends at their races. I’ve never actually gone to a race just to cheer, but now that several friends are getting into half-marathons and triathlons, I want to cheer them on. I was overwhelmed with all of the cheering and course support from my family and friends when I was running the marathon and I want to return the favor.

.

  • Explore a new (or several new) place(s) with boyfriend. We love to travel and explore and I would love to add some new destinations (domestic and international!) to our list. (ie: a hut on the beach in Bora Bora with a glass bottom floor. ;-) ) Just saying.

  • Try out at least 1 new recipe a week in the kitchen
  • Try out at least 1 new SF restaurant a month. There are always so many new restaurants popping up all the time, with so many great reviews that it’s time to get started in trying as many as we can.
  • Volunteer at the SPCA 1x/week – If we can’t have a dog just yet, then I’m getting my dog fix once a week somehow.
  • Weekend. Trips. – Camping, roadtrips, wine tasting, you name it. I want to do more of it. We did a great job of this in 2011, and it’s so nice to get out of the city and explore every now and again.

  • Rescue a dog. Or more specifically, a labrador. This one is a long shot (a lot of factors have to happen to make this a reality), but why not make it a goal? 2012 is a looong year. If it happens in 365 days from now, so be it :


Time to get New Years Eve started! We’re cooking a big delicious dinner at home, opening a bottle(s) of wine, and then meeting friends for drinks to ring in the new year. I couldn’t be happier!

Hope you have a very, very happy (and safe!) New Years! :) Catch ya in 2012.

Final Friday of The Year

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Happy LAST Friday of 2011!

For the 95% of you that aren’t working today as evidenced by the Financial District (and more importantly the all-telling Starbucks being a ghost-town), I’m jealous. To the 5% of you that are working but are leaving in ~15 minutes (2pm thank you boss!), we’re almost there!

I work in sales, so working on the last day of the month is pretty much a necessity. You never know the last minute deals that come in that need closing! (And with the after Christmas sales happening everywhere, I’ll take every extra dollar I can get.)

In just a few minutes, it’s time to hit the gym for some cardio, then meet boyfriend for some wine and appetizers and last-minute holiday festivities downtown… and then another holiday weekend is upon us! We’re in the process of finalizing New Years Eve plans, but as long as there is plenty of champagne in my future I will be quite the happy camper.

We have a big weekend of relaxing, wine, relaxing, food, relaxing, movies and more relaxing ahead of us and I can’t wait.

So this morning, as I sat at my desk no where near the beach, my friend Lauren sent me a text message containing this fine photograph of her current whereabouts.


To which I replied back with that I’m currently dealing with.


One of these things is not like the other.

If you live here (or anywhere currently experiencing this “winter weather” that I am not familiar with) and are vacationing somewhere warm, stay there as long as possible. It’s so foggy out today I can’t even see the water.That is ~50 yards from my office.

On my trek to find a food establishment that was actually open today in the Financial District (seriously Focaccia?) I stumbled upon one of the last remaining buildings with Christmas decorations still standing.

At least someone else thinks the holidays aren’t over until January 1 as well. (I’m going to ignore the fact the same building was in the process of CHOPPING DOWN their other Christmas trees. Have you no shame? It’s not even New Years!)

Speaking of the holidays (because this is one of my last chances to), when I was doing my Christmas shopping, I came across an ornament I thought looked exactly like my friend Ali’s dog Puddles. The cutest dog on the planet.Naturally I had to get it for her. (Ali, not Puddles.)

Turns out, I wasn’t too far off. Is that not the cutest dog ever?

Hope your holiday weekend is off to a great start!

Big New Years Eve bash or  house party with friends? (Wine/champagne/beers included in all of the above)