I don’t even know where to begin describing the shenanigans that went down this weekend.
Friday night we celebrated my Dad’s birthday with our annual trip to a German restaurant. We eat German food once a year because it’s my Dad’s favorite — that shows how much we love him because I don’t think anyone in the world besides Germans love German food. I was lucky because my mom brought me a piece of his German chocolate cake that they had the night before — sensing a theme here?
We went to Mirabell and it ended up being FANTASTIC. I never love German food but this was actually delicious! They took their time with the dishes but it was worth it — everything came out piping hot and flavorful.
I had salmon with garlic-cream sauce and fried potatoes with a salad to start. My brother got the famous Wiener Schnitzel and we all sampled some potato pancakes — everything was great. Plus I got to eat cake in bed later that night and I’m not sure what’s better than eating cake in bed…
Saturday was when most of the shenanigans ensued. It was Chicago’s annual “12 Bars of Christmas” Event, otherwise known as TBOX. We started the day at 7am with coffee/Bailey’s, mimosas, egg sandwiches and cinnamon rolls.
Oh and did I mention the jello shot tower? Yeah, there was a jello shot tower.
Needless to say it was a fun morning.
Now, in the name of balance let’s talk weekly workouts.
- Monday: Rest
- Tuesday: 4 mile run
- Wednesday: Sweat on State (400m warmup run + main workout shared below)
- Thursday: Kick-ass spin class at Flywheel
- Friday: 60 minute Sculpt class at CorePower Yoga
- Saturday: Jello shots burn calories right?
- Sunday: Rest
Even though I only worked out four days last week, I feel like I pushed myself 100% for those four workouts so I don’t feel like I skimped on the sweat at all. Plus I’m finally starting to notice a significant difference in my upper body strength which is so exciting! I love that I now measure my success on what I can accomplish with my body, not on how it looks or how “skinny” I can get.
A workout that centers on running – my kinda day!
The blue pants always make an appearance at sculpt
Moral of the story? With great food/drinks comes great responsibility…to sweat! And when you make working out as much fun as I do, it all balances out. The jumping jacks AND the jello shots 😀
Questions:
- Any fun holiday parties this past weekend?
- Is there a type of food you aren’t fond of, like I am with German food?
- How do you keep a balance between food/drinks and fitness?
i had a big lunch 
Dude, as IF you don’t like German food- It’s one of my favourites- and of course, Australia only has like one restaurant to taunt me! I think I need to move to Chicago and do the TBOX. It sounds epic.
Lol you seriously live in the wrong country.
Nice going and adorable pictures!! You look so happy!! I absolutely love it!! In life, balance is SO key, so I love how you rock out the sweat and the jello shots!! That’s fabulous and you look absolutely fabulous doing it all!! You look amazing!! Love the gym pic!! Have a great week!! XOXO
Kristin you always bring a smile to my face! Thanks for your sweet comment!
I wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and find German food in Scotland! But it looks good!
Sounds like you had a fab weekend! Any day that starts with mimosas is always a winner!
Mimosas are the best! You’re not missing out on the German food 😉
Cake in bed is always necessary and always a great thing! I have never down TBOX full on. My first year living here my friends and I went but were not signed up for it. Looks like you had a great time.
Yeah I think it’s one of those “one and done” type things. It was fun, but the best part was being with my friends BEFORE the actual event haha
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of German food either. I haven’t been exposed to much though. Not sure how vegan friendly it is? HA. YESSSS good food comes with responsibility. Exactly why as I write this comment I am also on my treadmill incline walking. Had one too many chocolate bites yesterday! HA.
Yeah not vegan friendly at ALL. Their “vegetarian platter” was literally a plate of vegetables in various difference mystery sauces. I was lucky to find a salmon dish!
Now THAT is a weekend. Proust to the cake and all that 😀
Haha thanks I’m proud too 🙂 living that balanced life, yo.
I totally think your arm muscles are from the kick ass german food & jello shots… weights? nah!
Hahahaha totally! If any type of food is gonna boost your muscles it has to be German food haha.
Mmmm Andre. Nice. Jello shots are totally low-cal if you use sugar-free jello! And you’re so right about German food. It’s the worst.
Preach! Haha
That salmon sounds amazing and I am LOVING the sound of a jello shot tower.
I am going to a Christmas party this weekend, so I might have to take some.
Yeah it was supposed to be a tree but we couldnt stack them that high so it became two mini towers haha. It was so fun! Do it!
Looks like you had a fun week!
It was a ball!
When I saw jello shots in the title, I wondered if you went to TBOX. Brave girl. I saw a few TBOXers on the CTA, and that was enough for me. I actually saw a guy on his way to TBOX when I was on my way to my race Saturday morning, which was a little mind-boggling to me, since it was like…maybe 8 a.m. More power to him (and you!), I suppose.
Yeah it was intense – one and done! Never again
This post’s title is AH-MAZING! Would you believe that I have never actually had a jello shot? I feel like I am missing out on life somehow. And I think you did a perfect job of balancing fun eats and drinks with workouts. I mean, what’s the point of working out so hard if you can’t enjoy a few things?
Amen! Come over and we’ll have jello shots together 😍
Looks like you’ve had soooo mmuch fun!!! Loved the Christmas pics–you’re good at super getting into the holiday spirit!
As far as balancing crap and fitness? I don’t drink…so that makes life simple, but I do eat crap…like super amazing pecan pie 🙂 I just balance it out the next day with eating clean, and I may or may not work up a sweat, I don’t really care haha.
You’re awesome!! Have a fun week!
Hopefully one day i stop drinking – it doesnt make for good food choices either. But for now i guess ill just have to keep balancing 🙂
Hi Lauren! Oh balance is key! That looks like a super fun and festive day with friends. I saw so many Santas running around San Francisco for SantaCon this year, but sadly I was not one of them. I need to try CorePower. Have a great Monday! 🙂
Corepower for sure! They have such a good variety of classes!
Ahh your Saturday sounded so fun!
It was! But sunday i really needed a NAP haha
I think I ate so much Chinese food growing up that now I am never in the mood for it. That’s a bummer since my husband loves it so much. I keep shooting him down and saying I dont want to go to Chinatown to get some.
To balance life and fitness, I just try and maintain an active life and eat well, but don’t over restrict my cravings. I love sweets so I will eat them when I am in the mood. The better I eat, the less I crave them anyway, so it’s a win win. Looks like a fun weekend!
Thanks! Yeah it was a fun weekend! I dont love Chinese food either but Thai food? That’s a different story!
Happy birthday to your dad! I am not fond of German food either. My Nana is full German and used to make alot of bratwurst and stuff like that which I always hated. But your salmon sounded tasty. That doesn’t remind me of a German food. What a fun weekend! My Christmas parry was last weekend and it was a good time, but yours looked alot more fun…haha.
Haha well christmas parties are always fun! Yeah german food is nothing special – the salmon was great!
Ohh wow looks like you had a blast this weekend! I went to 3 holiday gatherings over the weekend! I must admit I love jello shots every once in a while 😉
I always make the time to workout if I am going to be eating a ton. The best thing for me has been scheduling a marathon in January so that you HAVE to run through the holidays lol… it works…
Yeah that was a bold move!! Haha but a smart one! 3 parties — you have a lot of friends 😉 lol
There is nothing better than eating cake in bed! That jell-o shot tower is also amazing!
Thank you thank you — cake and jello shots. It was an epic few days
Oh my gosh, I miss TBOX! It looks like you had such a blast and a great crew too!
That was the best part – the big group of friends! The bars weren’t even the best part 🙂
Cake in bed is never a wrong way to end the day! Love the festive jello shots.
Agreed! Cake is always acceptable!
I don’t know that I have even had much German food. Except chocolate cake of course. Glad you are feeling stronger. That’s always such an amazing feeling.
German chocolate cake! What could be wrong with that? I’m a coconut fanatic 🙂
What a fun and festive get together!! I am supposed to be hitting up an ugly sweater Christmas party this wknd…I have actually never been to one! Should be fun!!
Ugly christmas sweater parties are the best part of the season!