June 28, 2013

6 Months

Six months ago today, The Pilot and I got into his very loaded vehicle and headed straight for 95 South to DC.

This was it. This was so many things. After almost 2 1/2 years of desperately wanting to move to DC, I was finally doing it. After more than 3 years of being in a long distance relationship, we were finally moving in together.

Moving to DC was the best decision I have ever made in my life.

It was SO fitting that my first issue of Washingtonian Magazine had the headline:
"Why we <3 living here right now"
The last 6 months have been some of the best months of my life. I have fallen in love with this city in a way that I didn't think was possible after I left London.

I had a good group of friends here before I moved, but I've made so many new friends and I feel like there's always something to do...whether it's grabbing froyo after work, going for a run, walking the monuments, or going mini-golfing inside a museum...there are an endless amount of things to do in this city and every time I catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument or the Capitol Building, my heart skips a beat.


I thought that that might have worn off by now, but it hasn't and I'm not sure it ever will. One of my goals for 2013 is to explore as much of DC as possible. While I feel like I've just barely skimmed the surface, I also feel like I've done quite a bit and have no intention of slowing down.


Some of my favorite DC things have been:

  • Riding BikeShare bikes
  • The Newseum
  • Miniature Golf at the National Building Museum
  • Eating anything at Matchbox
  • Bar hopping on U Street
  • The National Kite Festival
  • The Cherry Blossoms
The moral of the story? I wanted to move to DC. It took some time but I finally made it happen and I've never been happier. There are, of course, things I would change, but I consider myself lucky to be living in a place I love with some of the greatest friends I could ask for. I'm lucky to have an amazingly supportive boyfriend who came along with me...knowing that it would make his daily commute much less convenient...just to start the next chapter of our lives.

So, here's to the next 6 months being even better than the last. Here's to even more and better adventures with old friends and new. Here's to me continuing to fall more in love with this city every single day. Here's to new opportunities and endless excitement.

Whether you love your city or not, go out this weekend and fall in love with it...
maybe for the first time, maybe all over again. 

June 27, 2013

Three Things Thursday

1. Knee Update - Good news from the doctor! I have a slight tear in my hamstring and should be back in my Sauconys in 1-2 weeks. I'm already feeling better and excited to go out for a test run this weekend to see how I'm feeling. The Marine Corps Marathon is 4 months from today and I'm excited to spend the weekend cross training, running (lightly!) and putting together my training plan.

2. 30 Day Yoga Challenge - While I had to end my challenge, it's still a goal of mine for next year. July is a little bit of a tough month since I'll be doing some traveling but I'm going to try. I have my sights set on 30 straight days of yoga for August though so stay tuned!

3. Summer Bucket Lists - It seems like everyone has been posting a summer bucket list of sorts lately, which, naturally, has inspired my own. I'll post my summer bucket list sometime next week, but in the mean time, here are a few things I'm thinking of:

  • Watch an Outdoor movie in DC
  • Go to CitiField (I can't believe this has to be a bucket list item rather than a part of my summer routine)
  • Beach Time!
  • Leave the country
  • Oops my way around the country with The Pilot
  • BASEBALL
  • Have an obnoxious blogger BFF weekend with Jenna
  • Do Outdoor yoga
Do you have a summer bucket list? What should I add to mine?
Happy *almost* Weekend!!!

June 24, 2013

Love/Don't Love

1. This weekend, my mama came to visit! I hadn't seen her in way too long and it was great to have her in DC to show her all of my favorite places in my new home. Love.
2. We kicked off the weekend with a Nationals game on Friday night. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was the perfect night for a game. Love.


3. Saturday morning, we headed to Eastern Market. We walked around, did some shopping and then headed to brunch at Montmartre which has been at the top of my "Things to Do in DC" list for awhile now and didn't disappoint. Love.


4. We headed to District Commons (at Jenna's recommendation) for a *fantastic* dinner. Everything we ordered was amazing. Instead of ordering entrees, we started with plate after plate (after plate) of oysters and then shared a few of their small plates. It was perfect for a hot summer day. Love.
5. After dinner, we walked over to the Kennedy Center where we had tickets to see "Anything Goes" - my favorite Broadway musical of all time. Love.

Embarrassing Fact of the Day: I run past the Watergate Building (center photo) almost every day...and never knew it was the Watergate Building until this weekend.
6. Sunday morning, we went to Matchbox for (amazing!) brunch before Mama headed back to Jersey. I spent the rest of the day cleaning, food prepping and getting ready for the week. Love.

All in all, it was a great weekend. It was so good to have my mom in town. In giant Don't Love news though, I broke my 30 Day Yoga Challenge. 

Thursday after work, I headed out for the 5 mile run from my office to my apartment and right as I hit Mile 3, I experienced sharp, shooting pains throughout my entire knee. I was 2 miles from home on a trail inaccessible by car and called The Pilot and had him come pick me up at a parking lot I knew was near by. The parking lot was maybe 50 feet away and I sobbed the entire way there. He took me home where I iced it and took some pain killers, but found no relief. My knee hurts to the touch and Dr. Google has been useless. The pain hasn't subsided much since Thursday and I'm headed to the doctor this afternoon to check it out. 

I'm 3 weeks out from the start of Marathon Training and I'm not optimistic. This certainly doesn't feel like the type of thing that I can just take a week off and recover from. I'm bummed that with just 10 days to go, I had to break my challenge and I'm even more down about how I'm feeling after being sweat-free for 3 days. Here's to hoping for good news. 

Hope you all had a fabulous, sweaty weekend.

Cheers,

June 20, 2013

Three Things Thursday

1. Marathon Training - I haven't actually made a training plan yet but I finally sat down this morning to start mulling it over and I'm ridiculously excited to get back on the training wagon...which is proof that backing out of my spring marathon and taking some serious time off was the best decision for me. Between my 30 Day Yoga Challenge and the 6am wake up calls, and the fact that I've been comfortably hitting my marathon goal pace, I feel more ready than ever to start training.


2. 30 Day Yoga Challenge - Today is Day 20! I did not wake up early go to yoga this morning...or any other day this week. Oops. In my defense, I've been pretty under the weather this week and will head to class tonight. Check back for a 2/3 update sometime this weekend!

3. Planes, Trains and... - Travel. One of my goals for 2013 is to get on a plane at least once per month. I haven't been anywhere since my brother's wedding and I'm going a little stir crazy. I'm itching to get on a plane and go somewhere new. The Pilot had a long layover in Nashville this past weekend which I was dying to go on, but the flights just weren't working out in my favor. Here's to hoping for a spontaneous adventure sometime in the next 10 days!


Tell me: Are you training for a fall race? Where do your summer plans have you jetting off to? 

This weekend, my mama is coming to visit and I'm excited to spend the weekend showing her all of my favorite DC spots! What are your weekend plans?

June 18, 2013

June: Sneak in Speed

Jeez, I can't believe we're more than half way through the month of June already. Counting down the days while making it through my 30 Day Yoga Challenge has definitely made the month fly by.

So, we're 6 months into the year and if you've been reading along for a bit, you know that I've been following the Runners' World Guide to a Fitter, Faster You over the course of this year. Each month has a goal that will ultimately help you to be a stronger runner. I've been following the month-by-month guide somewhat diligently with the exception of switching up the months of May and June, so here we are in June, where I'm following  May's advice: Sneak in Speed.

The Guide gives some recommendations for good speed workouts that don't involve a track, which is great because I have yet to find a track that is conveniently located to my DC apartment. I know that once Marathon Training rolls around, I'll have to seek out a track but for now, I'm happy to work on some of these workouts:

Strides: I typically run 20-30 second strides at the end of every mile on a run anywhere from 4-6 miles. I realized I was doing these wrong for a long time by going for an all out sprint, rather than just focusing on lengthening my stride. I aim to do these at least once or twice a week on easy runs.

Progression Runs: These are my favorite, especially when they happen without me realizing it. The goal is to run each mile faster than the mile before. This trains your body (and your brain!) to run faster even when your legs aren't feeling too fresh. I try to run my long runs as progression runs, getting just a little bit faster each mile, aiming to negative split the run.

Marathon Goal Pace Runs: Last week, I headed out for 4 miles and ran 2 at MGP. These are essential to marathon training and while, I'm not quite training yet, it doesn't hurt to start getting accustomed to the pace I want to be hitting in October, now.

Some of The Guide's other recommendations are hill sprints and running with faster friends. I haven't yet to tackle hill sprints, but there's a nasty hill around my block that's just calling my name and well, as far as faster friends go...who wants to come run with me?

That's that! What are some of your favorite speed workouts?
Do you sneak in speedwork during your off season?

June 17, 2013

Love/Don't Love

Today is one of "those" Mondays that I'm trying very hard to keep it from being one of "those" Mondays. Especially when I'm already feeling a bit like this:


With the exception of Jenna, I think I am the only person in the District of Columbia who does not have summer Fridays. Don't Love.

I don't want to talk about it.

Let's talk about the weekend and how I wish it was still happening.

Thursday, after getting out of work early because of the impending apocalypse (aka a 10 minute thunderstorm), I headed out for a quick run and came home and ordered pizza with The Pilot. We were planning to go to the movies since are evening plans had been squashed by the end-of-days until Jenna texted to say that they were still on and off we went to the Congressional Baseball Game where the Democrats ate the Republicans for dinner scoring a whopping 22 runs to the Republicans' 0. Yes, that's right, the final score was 22-0. Love.


Friday night after work, I headed to yoga for what was supposed to be a 90 minute Chakra Restoration class and turned into a 2 hour long class that undid all of the restoration I did because I was so furious that the class went so late and made me late for my dinner plans. It's one thing to go 5 minutes over in a yoga class but 2 hours? Infuriating. Don't Love.

When I finally got out of yoga, I went out for Thai and a glass of wine with one of my favorite DC friends, Andrea. Then I came home and went to bed where I slept for 11 beautiful, glorious hours. Love.

Saturday morning, I met up with Jenna at the SW Public Library for their Annual Book Sale. We spent hours there buying ALL the books. I do not have photographic evidence of my pile but here is Jenna's for comparison. (stolen from her blog) We both bought about 25 books for about $25. WIN. Love.


I got back from the library...via Metro...with ALL the books...in a box...and in a bag...around 2 and decided that 2:00 in June was a great time to head out for a 'long' run of 7 miles along the Mount Vernon Trail. Thankfully, most of the trail is covered in shade, but still...it was hot..and somewhere around Mile 3, my hip flexor totally locked up and I had to stop and do yoga on the grass for 10 minutes just to get it to loosen up again. It was weird and it has never happened before and I didn't like it. Don't Love.

Post-run, I realized that *gasp* I missed my yoga class. I had thought it was at 4, but it was actually at 5...so I pulled out my yoga mat and popped in a DVD and did yoga so that I didn't screw up my 30 Day Challenge. It counts and I'm still going strong! Love.

After yoga, I met up with Jenna and Teri for margaritas and crepes on U Street. Excellent combination. We spent the evening on the patio talking about a plethora of absurd, random and inappropriate topics before calling it a night and heading home. Love.

via
Sunday, I took Peyton out for a run which went...interestingly. Then, Jenna came over to lounge poolside and soak up the imaginary sun that never came out. Once we started to feel rain drops, we called it a day and I went grocery shopping, came home and made a banana bread, went to yoga and then watched a bad ABC Family movie that I had DVRd, "You Again" before calling it a night. Love.

It was a great weekend and Sunday was an exceptionally long and wonderful day. Here's to not letting today be one of "those" Mondays and starting the week off on an exceptional note!

Happy Monday!

June 14, 2013

Meet the Mets

Hey kids, no Friday Finds this week. The internet wasn't all that exciting this week...with the exception of this gem that Jenna sent me that still has me cracking up...but will only make sense to people who live in DC...for the most part.

So instead, I'm linking up with my new blogger girl crush, Sarah, for Fan Fridays.


You all know that I'm on this major quest to visit every MLB stadium ASAP (20 down, 10 to go!) and that every time I visit a new stadium, I write a post called "Ballpark #__: Random City Random Team Name."

Well guess what I realized? I've never actually written a post about CitiField, home of the New York Mets, my favorite baseball team. CitiField opened in 2009, a year before I started my blog and I just started rattling off baseball stadiums in order of the ones I went to after I started this blog! So, here goes. 

All bias aside, CitiField is my favorite Major League baseball stadium. It is beautiful.  CBS agreed with me back in April and named it their #2 stadium (with Pittsburgh being #1 which is actually  my #2, so there).

It is a gorgeous park. 


It's easily accessible from Manhattan by the 7 line train and I love that when you get off the train, it's just there, in all it's glory, with the Shea Stadium Home Rome Apple right there in front of the park.

The exterior of the park was designed to look like Ebbets Field (home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) and thus, playing great tribute to the history of New York baseball. When you first walk in, you enter through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda which pays homage to Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn baseball.


There's a Hall of Fame which holds our grand total of 2 World Series trophies and features some great finds from Mets history.

Inside the Hall of Fame
There isn't a bad seat in the park. Believe me, I've sat just about everywhere! You can get tickets for as low as $5 and great seats for $20. If you're sitting anywhere in the Infield, you can see planes taking off  from LaGuardia Airport just behind the Scoreboard. You all know how much of a sucker I am for planes, so this just makes it magical...especially on an evening game when you catch that view at sunset.

*Sigh*
The park has some awesome food options including a Shake Shack (which always has insane lines), Big Apple Brews (great selection of craft beer), Keith's Grill, Box Frites, and the World's Fare Market (home to all of your gluten-free, vegetarian, and anything else to accommodate weird food restrictions).

Even though the stupid Nationals also have a Shake Shack, at least ours has a sweet skyline to  make it unique.
At some parks, when the home team scores a run, they shoot fire works. The Mets raise the apple. I love it. You can even buy t-shirts that say "Raise the Apple'.


The Mets are terrible. We are a Minor League baseball team with David Wright. There isn't much to say about the Mets other than we try...sometimes...and our fans never give up hope. People in New York like to say that there are a lot more Mets fans in April than there are in October, to which I like to argue that there are a lot more Yankee fans in October than there are in April. 


Mets games are a lot of fun though. As long as you aren't an asshole and don't show up in a Phillies or a Yankees jersey/hat/whatever when the Phillies or the Yankees AREN'T in town, we'll be nice to you. After all, we're just there to see our team play and hope that we don't have to go home with our tails between our legs. 

Not a great shot but this is Mr. Met praying on these shirts.
So if you ever find yourself in New York and want to catch a baseball game but don't want to give up your first born child for bleacher seats, head over to Queens and catch a game in CitiField because while we may not always win, at least we have good seats, good beers, and the best mascot in baseball.


Happy Friday!

June 13, 2013

Three Things Thursday

1. Nose Ring - When I turned 21, I decided to get my nose pierced. I headed out the morning after my 21st birthday with my girlfriends and got my nose pierced. I loved it. Two months later, I had to take it out before going into surgery and had it re-pierced (most painful thing ever) as soon as I could. I had it for 5 years and have been thinking about taking it out for some time now and two nights ago, while I was in bed and The Pilot was in the living room, I yelled to him, "I'm going to take my nose ring out on July 1." 5 minutes later, I took it out.


I immediately regretted the decision and went to bed. I'm fine with it now (a little bit?)...I have no desire to rush out and go get it re-pierced, but it makes me a little bit sad that this phase of my youth is over. I may have to go get another tattoo to console myself.

2. 30 Day Yoga Challenge - Day 13! Some days are better than others and today...kind of sucked. I guess yoga can be like running in that way, but it's going well as per my update last Tuesday. Since you all seemed super impressed with my ability to do crow (and thankfully unimpressed with my inability to touch my toes), here's a little photographic evidence...aka...here's what happens when I come home and say "Boyfriend! Look what I can do! Take a picture of me so I can post it on my blog!" Please be nice and don't tell me if my form is horrible. I almost cried when I found out I've been doing downward facing dog wrong my entire life...I thought that was supposed to be the 'easy' pose. 


3. Pinterest - I joined Pinterest (add me!) last summer and then kind of forgot about it. Lately though, I've been pinning a ton of recipes and actually making them! My favorites? 

Sweet Corn & Chopped Spinach Quinoa Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
aka today's lunch
Homemade Ranch Dressing that tastes EXACTLY like the real stuff
Creme Brulee Baked Oatmeal
So there you have it! Have you done something drastic lately like taken out your nose ring? Am I going to keep regretting it?! What fitness challenges or accomplishments have you rocked lately? Any great pins you've been eyeing? Share them with me!

Happy Thursday!

June 11, 2013

30 Day Yoga Challenge Update

This morning, I woke up at 5am to go to yoga. 

I did the same thing last Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday. 

Ally will totally approve of this gif. 
Who AM I?

I think I'm becoming a morning person.


I KNOW. 

It's hard to get out of bed, but once I've actually started moving, I don't mind it...and you know what? 5:45am is beautiful. I think I might actually start running at that time...we'll see.

So yes, I'm 11 days into my 30 Day Yoga Challenge and it's going really well. I've been having a little bit of pain in my lower back since Sunday's class so I've been doing modified poses but as far as the challenge itself goes, I'm feeling really good. 

I've taken a mix of hot and cold classes varying in duration from an hour to an hour and a half and the classes have all gone really well. I like some instructors better than others and actively seek out their classes, but for the most part, I just go to classes that fit into my schedule. I've been going to Mind Your Body Oasis which is oh so conveniently located at the Crystal City Metro station...and I love their studio.

The "Zen" Room...aka the cold studio
via the MYBO website
Things I've Noticed through 11 Days of Yoga
-I still can't touch my toes. Nowhere near them. It's somewhat embarrassing, but every once in awhile there's someone else in class that can't touch their toes either and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
-I hate Downward Dog. 
-I can rock a serious crow pose. 

This is not me. It is some random chick off the internets.
-Tree Pose is utterly impossible in a hot room. There is no way to get my leg to rest on my thigh while I am sweating like crazy. 

Tree Pose 
-I thought this would be a lot harder than it actually is. I'm not sure if it's just that I'm that committed or if it just really isn't that bad, but I don't feel like this is a never ending challenge and I don't ever dread going to yoga. In fact, when I practice in the mornings, sometimes I crave class in the evenings...I haven't managed a double day yet though.

So that's that. I've fallen in love with yoga. Even though I don't think I'll ever be able to touch my toes, I find solace in the fact that I love the way my Goddess pose looks and that I feel like I'm getting stronger every time I sink a little bit deeper into Pigeon...and that's what matters.

Tell Me: Have you ever tried a Yoga Challenge? How did it go for you? Do you practice yoga? What's your favorite pose?

June 7, 2013

Friday Finds

Kids, this is a good one. The internet was so full of fantastic boredom-killing stuff that I had to start this post on Wednesday!

1. Upworthy - I posted a video from this site last week and it's basically my new favorite website. They're tag line is "Things that Matter. Pass 'em On." I love it. This video,  in which Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly shuts down Lou Dobbs and Erick Erickson is gold.


Apparently, you can only link to YouTube videos on Bloggers so I've listed the Upworthy link along with the video from another source.

2. Whole Living 2013 Action Plan - Whole Living is Martha Stewart's healthy living website that I just discovered. The tag line is "Body+Soul in Balance." The website has a number of fantastic resources for clean eating and healthy living and I love this 21 day detox. I'm seriously considering taking on the challenge! 

 3. 31 Reasons Tough Mudder Races are for Crazy People - No explanation necessary. 


4. 22 Maps that Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently from Each Other - This has been floating all over the internet all week and it is genius. It's fascinating to actually put America's linguistic differences on a map. I'm glad to know that my pronunciation of the word 'pecan' is normal according to my linguistic upbringing.


5. Sandwich Monday: Dunkin' Donuts Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich - Have you heard of this new Dunkin' Donuts Sandwich? It is right there along the lines with the KFC Double Down...aka a heart attack wrapped in sandwich paper. From the Dunkin' website, "this savory and sweet breakfast treat, which consists of a fried egg and cherrywood-smoked bacon inside a split glazed yeast ring donut." What gets me is that they advertise that it is only 360 calories which drives me crazy because it leads people to assume that something that is low-cal is healthy. This NPR article offers reactions to the creation of the new "sandwich."


6. The Friday 5: Most Annoying Facebook Posts about Being Engaged - This is hilarious. I warn you to make up something funny to tell your boss when you start laughing out loud while reading this at the office. After reading it, I skimmed through the rest of Ashley's blog and am definitely a fan. It's the perfect mix of style, beauty and absolute hilarity.


So there you go, some of my favorite Internet finds for the week! What are some of yours?

Have a great weekend!

June 6, 2013

Three Things Thursday

1. 30 Day Yoga Challenge - I'm on Day 6 of my 30 Day Yoga Challenge and I'm feeling great. I thought this week would be really hard since I've had to take 3 6am classes to accommodate for the fact that the Mets have been in town all week, but it's been fine. I feel great, my skin is really clear (I have no idea if that's related) and I have noticed a very visible difference in my posture. I'm definitely sitting up a little straighter and it feels natural, rather than forced. I love this challenge so far and am really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the month pans out.

via
2. Running - A couple people asked if I'm taking a total break from running. The answer? No! Never! I needed to hit the reset button and take some time off. Now that it's time to start thinking about Marine Corps, I'm building a slow base. The plan is a minimum of 3 runs per week (no more than 5) topping out at about 30 mpw by the end of the month to launch into MCM training. When I'm not running I'll be doing yoga, core work, strength work and of course, riding BikeShare bikes all over DC. It's a reset and I think it's going to help me a lot going into MCM training while, simultaneously helping me avoid burnout.


3. Allergies! - Last night, The Pilot and I went to We the Pizza for dinner (decent pizza) and then biked to Nationals Park for Game 2 of the Mets v. Nationals series (10-1 win! YES!). In the time it took for us to get from the pizza place to our seats (20ish minutes), my tongue had started to swell, my lips puffed up and I had hives on the sides of my mouth. I went to the First Aid area to get some Benadryl and was basically sleep walking by the 5th inning. I have no idea what caused it! I haven't had a reaction like that since I was a baby! The only thing I can possibly think of is that I'm allergic to pepperoni and my pizza may have had some contact with pepperoni. It was so bizarre though and I'm bummed that I was basically asleep through most of the game and had no idea what was going on.

I might have gone to the hospital if I had had this guy for company
via

June 5, 2013

National Running Day

I celebrated National Running Day with my first run in over two weeks.

4 glorious lunch time miles along the Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument in view on the way out, and the Lincoln Memorial on the way back.


It was absolute perfection.

How did you celebrate?

June 4, 2013

RIght Now

I'm borrowing the idea for this post from Steph!

Reading: "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. I read her book, "The Poisonwood Bible" a few months ago and couldn't put it down. This was her first novel and so far, it's no disappointment. It's engaging and I love the story it's telling. I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up, and I'm glad because the back-of-the-book doesn't seem like it would appeal to me, but I love it so far.

Eating: I just finished my 2nd breakfast - a strawberry-avocado-kale smoothie. It sounds gross, I know, but it was actually pretty good! I was out of bananas but I think the recipe would have been better with at least one banana. Noted for next time! Also, I can't get enough of Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne Pasta. It is the best pasta I have ever had. Add it to the list of things to start buying in bulk.


Watching: The METS! The Mets are in DC this week and The Pilot and I have tickets to all three games! I'm stoked! After our slaughter of the Yankees and subsequent slaughter by the Marlins, I'm interested to see how this series is gonna go!

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Missing: Running...which is exactly the point I wanted to get to. I haven't run since Cleveland - over 2 weeks ago. This morning was the kind of morning that's perfectly crisp, cool and sunny and for a minute, I thought about dropping my yoga mat off back inside my apartment and forgoing yoga for a morning run. I needed to get to the point where I missed running to really want to get back to it. Tomorrow is National Running Day and the perfect excuse to lace up my Sauconys.


Anticipating: A nice long walk outside on this gorgeous day. It is absolutely beautiful in DC and it seems like cruel and unusual punishment to be forced to be indoors all day!

Wishing For: Good news and big changes.

Drinking: H2O. My go-to drinks in the summer are water and smoothies.

Laughing At: This video. Things like this make me insanely happy.


Loving: Soon to be summer in DC. The weather has been perfect. All you haters can move to Alaska. Yes, I get that it will be humid. I'll take humidity over 25 degrees any day of the week.

Beginning: A 30 Day Yoga Challenge. I'm on Day 4 and it's making me feel like an entirely different person. I didn't think I could ever actually like yoga this month. The classes I've been going to have been ok, some much better than others, but the simple fact that I've gone to yoga for the last 4 days is having a tremendously positive impact on me. I really hope I can keep this going.

via
Listening To: Once summer rolls around, I pretty listen exclusively to country music. "Get Your Shine On" by Florida Georgia Line is currently my jam of the week.


So that's what's going on on this beautiful Tuesday! What's going on with you right now? Any book recommendations? Song recommendations? Have you ever done a 30 Day Yoga Challenge?

June 3, 2013

Love

I don't have anything not to love right now...so that's a good thing!

This weekend was perfect. It was so relaxing. After last weekend's wedding festivities, I really needed a weekend of doing nothing. Love.

The Pilot is on vacation and Friday, after work, we met up with Jenna and co. for Happy Hour drinks at Oyamel followed by dinner at Vapiano and flaming volcanos at Chinatown Gardens...one of my favorite DC pastimes which I've been partaking in since I first fell in love with this city just 4 years ago. Love.

Saturday morning, I slept in and headed to a yoga class at Mind Your Body Oasis. The class was a Hot Hatha class and I'm still sore from it. It was hard and made me seriously question my decision to take on a 30 Day Yoga Challenge, but in the end it was worth it. Love.

I spent the rest of the day lounging poolside with Megan and some friends, soaking up the sun, evening out my runner tan lines and just laying low. Love.


For dinner, I turned to Pinterest and made one of the best meals I've ever had. Holy moly, it was amazing. There is absolutely no photographic evidence because I devoured it but let me tell you...cooking quinoa in vegetable broth instead of water is revolutionary. Love.

Sweet Corn & Chopped Spinach Quinoa Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
After dinner, The Pilot and I had a quiet night in and watched "Without Limits"...I'm sorry to say it was my first time watching this movie but PLEASE go read it....especially if you're a runner. I read "Bowerman and the Men of Oregon" last year and loved it, while the book and movie aren't related, the movie closely follows Pre's story in the book and I really liked it. Love.



Sunday morning, I woke up early and made French Toast with Strawberry Sauce. YUM. The secret? Add 1/4 cup of OJ to the egg mix! Post-breakfast, I headed to yoga for an awesome classical yoga class before spending the rest of the day doing some cleaning, hanging out, relaxing before church and an early bed time. Love.

The weekend was great. I needed a low key weekend like this and it was the perfect weather for it! I'm glad I'm finally getting to spend some time poolside now that the summer months are starting to hit. I've been feeling a little under the weather since yesterday and hoping it doesn't get any worse because this weekend, the METS are in town and I've got 4 baseball games to go to! Love.

So yes, in case you didn't pick up on it, I've kicked off a 30 Day Yoga Challenge this month. Today is Day 3 and I'm headed to class after work. Wish me luck!

Hope your week is off to a GREAT start!

Cheers,
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