Hey, It's Okay...

• to eat a bag of microwaved popcorn only to go back for seconds on a rainy Friday night (...and then declare that you are swearing it off forever...again)

• to spend an entire day reading your Nook Book color (right now: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer)
• to stand outside for a few minutes when it's drizzling to feel the rain hit your face
• to wear the same jean shorts until they are too stretched out and you get "saggy butt" (or you spill something on them)
• to drive all the way to Whole Foods just because you need some more xanthan gum
• to visit the same Marshalls three days in a row, in hope that you missed something hiding in the racks the day before
• to almost get "misty-eyed" when your blender mysteriously stops working
•  to drink two protein packed smoothies a day, just because you want NEED some chocolatey-frostiness-in-a-cup
• (recipe: 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1c. vanilla Almond Breeze, ~1 spoon of xanthan gum, 1 packet of stevia, 2c. ice, 1/4c. water AND BLEND :)
• to realize that focusing on yourself doesn't make you selfish, it makes you smart
• to dance in your car...even at stoplights
• to read seventeen magazine, even if you're in your twenties :)

Can I get an amen? AMEN!

Have a great weekend!

Strait Nookin' It

I don't know about you guys, but I am exhausted. My body and brain need a major time out this weekend. Funny, right? Didn't we just have a 3-day weekend? Oh well. I'm starting my 2nd job on Monday so I need this entire weekend to build up my strength. Next week I can hit the ground runnin'...and I better have time to fit in a run or two, or three :) So... my weekend will consist of tons of pool time, a Nook Book Color loaded with free books (thank you public library e book program!) and bottomless cups of delicious chocolate frostiness! What are your weekend plans? Anyone else need some downtime?

No Pumkin, Only Applesauce

Everyone has problems, right? Let me tell you about two problems that I have, I can't find peanut flour OR canned pumpkin. Now in the grand scheme of things I know these things aren't a big deal (not in the slightest) but I've been playing around with different breakfast combination's in my head and NEED these two items. As food enthusiasts I know you all know what I'm talking about--you have this craving, an anticipation of a certain taste on your tongue (don't make that raunchy, people!) and you need it, ASAPNow! So where are you lovely people getting your canned pumpkin and peanut flour...not at Trader Joe's, not at Whole Foods, not at Stop & Shop--oh Gosh, where the heck are these things? Please share!

Anyway, due to the lack of peanut flour and canned pumpkin in my life I decided to experiment with applesauce. So I made my normal hot oats and added in about a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce with a packet of truvia and nuked it for about a minute. Then threw in the basic berries, peanut butter, grape preserves, banana, cinnamon and voila...hot apple oats :)

It was delicious-- so make it, savor every bite, spread the word!

On an unrelated note, I have a question about lifting (figured I'd throw it out to my lovely bloggy friends). I have been lifting a few times (mostly arms so far), and I have weird chest-aches. Can you pull something in your chest? Did I strain something? Did I lift too much weight? Have you ever experienced this? Help me quick before I misdiagnose myself on Web MD!

East Coast Hoppin'

So due to my traveling from RI to NY yesterday I didn't take pictures of my food for WIAW..but it's still so much fun to play, so head over to Peas and Crayons and show the world what you're scarfing down lately :) For me, it's oatmeal, peanut butter, carrots, and veggie burgers!

So, I'm still exhausted from my weekend. It was so much fun seeing all of my friends and visiting new places (new restaurants/bars in NYC, Mohegan Sun Casino in CT and Block Island, RI). Instead of ranting and raving about what I did, I'll share some more pictures, since who doesn't love to look at pictures. And if you're as tired as me from this weekend, I'll make reading/viewing this post a little easier--haha, don't ya love me? Also, I'm attaching links to everything in case I peaked your interest!

Greek food at Kefi and drinks at the Blue Donkey (both on the Upper West Side)

Dinner at Big Bubba's BBQ and a concert at Mohegan Sun in CT (check here for concert schedules)

Day trip to Block Island, RI (ferry schedule here, and tourism site here)

It's Wednesday...how do you get through "hump" day?

NYC to BI

Whew! I made it through the weekend. I just got home a few hours ago and even though I am EXHAUSTED I wanted to touch base...and give you a little preview into my weekend. I went from NYC to Mohegan Sun to Block Island, RI in less than 48 hours. More to come tomorrow and thank you to my newest followers :) I hope everyone had a wonderful and memorable 4th of July/Canada day weekend!

At Kefi, a cute Greek restaurant in NYC with Christina.

(Free) Ryan Cabrera concert at Mohegan Sun Casino.

The rowdiness/epicness that is BI, RI.

4th Fever

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Canada day/4th of July weekend :) I'm signing off until Tuesday. I'm heading to Rhode Island and seeing all of my friends from school. Although it's only been a little over a month since we have all been together, it feels like a lifetime. I can't wait to head to Block Island, have a lemonade-chrystal-light-vodka (or two), and dance on the ferry boat! Oh, and seeing Ryan Cabrera tomorrow night won't be too horrible (prepare for tons of tweets).

Hey Ray, should we bring our yard glasses a la Senor Frogs?

Have a safe and wonderful weekend! What are your plans?!

The bugs.

Hi, everyone! It's finally Friday and I am so excited for this upcoming weekend--a Ryan Cabrera concert with my best friend, a trip to RI and Block Island for the 4th? Happiest girl in the world award goes to...Me!

Sandwich thin, spinach leaves, low-fat cheese, cherry tomatoes, veggie meat-less balls, salsa (in substitute for tomato sauce)

I wanted to thank Sarah at Feeding Brain and Body for giving me the Amazing Blogger award--love you girl! (PS: Have you tried making her egguffins? They're yummy in yo' tummy!) I'll get to those bloggy questions later but I wanted to bring up something quick. I got two bugs...the lifting bug and the cooking bug. It was only a matter of time before I caught on to both--I read so many cooking/fitness blogs now that it would be impossible not to. I lifted for the first time yesterday and damn, ladies. I give you all a ton of credit because my upper body is hating on me right now. But I'm going back for some leg action today, is lifting as addicting as I think it is? Also, dabbling in the kitchen, I decided to create a healthy pizza, because I was craving some Italiano :)
On to the amazing blogger questions:

Tagging:

Meri-Goes-Round

A Picture A Day

BrittFit

ForgottenBeast

Sweet Cheeks

(hopefully you guys haven't been tagged yet!)