>To splurge or not to splurge

>Hi Y’ALLLLLLLLL!!!!! How are you? I hope you had a fantastic couple of days. I spent the last couple in Myrtle Beach and left for the DC this morning.

I will miss you.

How do you eat when your on vacation? Do you stick to a diet or splurge on food and drinks? Do you exercise every day or not at all?

I used to go all out and really ‘live it up’, having whatever I wanted allll week long. Inevitably however, it always left me with a stomach ache. My bod is pretty used to all of the greans, fiber, veggies, and when I go all-out with pure carbs and sugary drinks – it leaves me in pretty rough shape.

The last few vacations however, I haven’t gone quite overboard. I’ve done the following instead:

– Kept at least 2 meals a day on the healthy-side (more veggies, fruits, whole grains the better)

– Splurged on 1 meal/item per day. Went for local favorites and not dishes I can order any time at home

– Had 1 sugary drink per day (pina colada, strawberry daiquiri, margarita). Sipped wine spritzers or clear liquors/soda/juice instead (light beer if your a beer drinker)

– Drink lots of H20. Have a water in between drinks and especially in hot weather

THIS WEEK I had lots of fruit:

And fruit plates:

Visited a local fruit & veggie stand:

Sipped refreshing white wine spritzers:

1/2 white wine, 1/2 soda water, ice source

Had a Protein & Fruit smoothie for breakfast on many days:

Yes, I packed my SunWarrior 😉

Splurged on Bailey’s on ice:

So. worth. it.

Tasted local food:

And still ate my veggies:

And how did I do???? Well no complaints in the stomach department all week! I woke early this morning for a farewell run on the beach then we headed out for our 6 hr trek to DC. On the way we passed several beautiful farms and extensive fields:

I seriously have so much fun on road trips with Seth (aka Manfriend)! We are such goofballs and like to play random games, belt our lungs out, and just have the most ridiculous conversations. The only downside…I have a bladder the size of a pea! At least it makes for some interesting stops 🙂

Well kids, I’m gonna catch up with Sir DVR and a glass of Shriaz:

I’m not watching Jersey Shore

Some dark chocolate:

And cuddle this guy:

QUESTION: What are your vacation tips???? Do you play by ear?? Go overboard??? Or not care at all 🙂

SOMETHING TO DO: Are you on TWITTER?? Follow me here!

G’NIGHT!!!!!! XX

>Beat the heat

>Helloooo!

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week! Mine has been busy-busy-busy! The poor pup had emergency surgery on Wednesday to repair a protruded hernia (ouch!). He’s doing much better today but not too happy sporting this around his neck:

Cross your fingers he returns to his chipper and smiling self soon!

In addition to the week’s craziness, the weather in DC has been insane! We’re talking 101 degrees today (and humid!) and 103 tomorrow! How’s the weather in your neck of the woods????

During the summer I find myself reaching primarily for COLD foods and drinks. In the mornings, it’s been Green Monsters and smoothies:

^1 scoop vanilla whey, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup frozen pineapple, handful spinach, 1 tsp. flax seed oil, cold H20, ice, stevia.

*Note: Try throwing a handful of fresh spinach into your smoothies. I swear you can’t taste it!

**Note: Add a small amount of healthy fat (ex: flax seed oil) into your smoothies (or over salad) to promote absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Without some form of fat, these vitamins go right down the toilet!

Smoothies that taste like Fro-Yo:

^Vanilla whey protein, fresh strawberries, ice, cold H20, stevia, pinch xanthan gum (to thicken)

^Pre-made smoothies. Naked’s new smoothies made with coconut water have 1/3 less calories. Coconut water is very good in the summer as it supplies electrolytes and more potassium than a banana!

Salads galore!

^Spiralized raw zucchini topped with diced tofu, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sea-salted peanuts, Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette, and red pepper flakes. This is a PERSONAL FAV!

And of course, staying cool by the pool!

Save the heat for nighttime…

^4th of July bonfire in Cape Cod

Have a wonderful weekend!

QUESTIONS:

1. What food(s) do you reach for in the summer?

2. What’s your favorite Green Monster?

XX

>Randomnessss

>HI DARLINGS!!!!

How are you? Hope your week is off to a great start! I decided to make this post completely random and post pictures of food, activities, etc. from the past few days…

Made roasted onion and eggplant (boiled then broiled) and topped with curry, sea salt, pepper:

And topped with my current obsession:

^Seriously get a hold of this stuff. You’ll thank me later.

Snacked on this combo quite a bit:

^Kashi Go lean, Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal, raisins, sea-salted peanuts, Better N’ Peanut Butter

Did a little fitness reading by the pool. What do you think of Oxygen magazine??

^I think it has great advice/workout routines/etc. but think the overwhelming amounts of diet pill ads are pretty lame.

Snapped this pic because I think it delivers a GREAT MESSAGE:

^PREVENTION is KEY!

Received a Thank You card and picture for attending the wedding in Tremblant, Quebec:

^Seriously could they have bleached out our faces anymore??? Hello, Casper.

Did a quick grocery trip and came across this MASSIVE can of beans..

^Maybe not as funny as I found it?? HAHA

Came across some old home videos circa 1990:

^I’m at the bottom with the long hair (other two are my sister and brother)

Had the same breakfast (Chocolate Covered Strawberry Protein Smoothie) for the last 4-5 days and STILL looking forward to it tomorrow:

^Chocolate whey, frozen strawberries, ice, ice H20, pinch xanthan gum, stevia, dash sea salt.

Ventured to the Georgetown Waterfront to enjoy a cocktail with friends and the beautiful riverside scenery:

Swedish Embassy:

OK KIDS, I’m off to a BodyPump class then meeting Kels (sister) for lunch at Chop’t and a little Tarjayyy shopping then volunteering with ma kiddos!!!

Have a great week!!!

QUES: Whats the most RANDOM thing you did/saw/ate/watched this weekend???

XX

Laur

>Weekend successsss

>Holaaaaa,

How are you??? Hope you had a splendid weekend! Was the weather bueno??

THANK YOU all SO MUCH for helping out with the SURVEY I posted last night! If you haven’t done it yet I’d greatly appreciate it!

What’s in it for you???



1) Its quick (and from the comments I’ve received) it’s kinda fun!

2) By completing and re-posting (or just commenting if you don’t have a blog), you are automatically entered in my SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!

3) If the label launches, I will be giving away plenty of goodies!

Moving on….



My weekend was pretty fantastic. The weather was nice, I went on a few good runs, did some shopping, and we found our NEW APARTMENT!!! It’s only a couple of blocks from our currently place but it’s SOOOO much bigger and nicer! I can’t wait! We’re moving in June 1st so pics will come 😉

In the spirit of a new apartment, we did some apt shopping. Here are two of my fav purchases:



^Book end

^Theme for bathroom

The weekend was also filled with some good eats. Salads seemed to be the theme (or the theme of the meals I felt like snapping pics of!)

^Whole Foods salad bar (Romaine, kale, organic chicken, egg whites, cherry tomatoes, onions, Cuban garbanzo bean salad, olives, wasabi peas, chili powder, cumin, and chipotle salsa. SO GOOD!

^Manfriend’s meal, and obviously stole a few bites: Shrimp and veggie quesadilla from Surfside (amazing restaruant btw)

^Shrimp salad (Grilled shrimp, corn and bean salsa, romaine, pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro

^Amy’s Tuscan bean and rice soup. A new Amy’s favorite!

^Had a few of these throughout the weekend (1 scoop vanilla protein, frozen nanner, cherries, 1 tsp flax seed oil, handful spinach, almond milk, stevia)

Even better than my food was the MUCH needed R&R…

^Rosemont Shriaz. A personal favorite

^Picked these up cause I haven’t had Jelly Beans in 2349873 years. Crazy how only a few satisfies a sweet tooth. Or maybe that’s cause I’d rather have wine??? 😉

And drum roll please….

^Season 9 has arrived!!!! Whooo! Let’s see if we can stretch this out longer than a week! haha

And some much needed cuddle time with my favorite puppy:

Aaaaand what weekend wouldn’t be perfect without some gorgeous runs in the city?? (that sounds a little nast, ha)

Saturday: 7 mi; L2 Shred

Sunday: 5 mi; L3 Shred

Monday: 5 mi (no shred, ma booty hurts!)

And I still stopped to smell the roses:



^Well not really roses…but still perdy.



And some other pleasant things along the way:

^White House (view from Pennsylvania Ave)

^Potomac River

^LOVE this window (Caribou Coffe3 @ Pennsylvania and 17th St). Reminds me of my BFF Alyson (who I miss like crazy and needs to get her act together and move to DC asap!)

Alight I’ve gotta tend to my experiment, I leave you with this hot stud I stalker-ishly captured the other day:

^This style seriously exists in DC (and pretty much only found in Georgetown). Plaid pants (often Seersuckers), pressed and/or popped-collar polo, blue sports jacket with gold buttons, brown leather loafers with NO socks, and these Ray Bans (I also like them better on Jessica Alba).

There are soooo many of them!! Clones I tell ya! haha

And CONGRATULATIONS to all BOSTON MARATHONERS!!!!

I ran my first Boston Marathon six years ago, and my life was never the same…

Have a good evening and fantastic Tuesday!!! ❤

>Snowday in the District!

>Hey Hey!

It’s a BLIZZARD in the District! We already have about s 10 inches now, and are expected to get another 10 more! This would be nuthin’ back home in NH, but there are literally NO plow companies here! It’s up to the city so residental streets in the DC/MD/Northern VA area are expected to be snowed in for days!

Despite the lack of travel opportunities today, I’ve been enjoying the snow day! I woke up bright eyed at 12:15pm (Aaaaah, love Saturdays). Made myself a Power Smoothie:

(I SWEAR it’s delish!)

….And parked it on the couch for some DVR‘d reality TV and a couple episodes of 90210 🙂

Unfortunately as a nurse, Kels (sista) didn’t have a snow-day. All buses are stopped and the roads aren’t plowed, so she layered up and trecked her way to the hospital.

Kels in my Under Armour Cold Gear spandex (AMAZING line if you’re a winter runner):

And leaving the apt:

Nuts!

I made a delish/healthy dinner so figured I’d share 🙂 I was craving seafood!

Sauteed 2 chopped garlic cloves (in 1.5 Tbsp EVOO), then added fresh scallops + dash of salt and pepper.

To accompany the seafood, I roasted an Acorn Squash in the oven until crispy. AMAZING!!!

Boiled whole squash for 15 mins (to make cutting easier). Then cut, sprayed with EVOO spray and added a dash of salt + pepper. Prior to serving, I drizzed a teeeensy bit of organic maple syrup over it. Fan-freakin-tastic.

Well, off to get a quick workout in (get my a$$ kicked by Jillian). Then trecking a few blocks to Shehla’s for a movie night!

Have a great night!

L

*Random ques: What are your favorite activities to do while snowed/rained in????