Life tips from me to you this beautiful weekend 🙂

Bud Light Mang-o-ritas are no bueno

Too sweet, too beer-ish. I had such high hopes for this being my drink of choice this summer. I did try summer shandy too and that was pretty good! I’m just looking for the perfect lets-sit-on-a-rooftop-all-day-and-tan-my-pasty-skin drink. The search continues!

Good friends never change

I went out to dinner with my friend Alanna (who I haven’t seen in months) and it was like no time had passed. This girl is such a gem and reminded me why I need to make more of an effort with some of the friends I’ve made over the years. We studied abroad in Paris together and really developed a great friendship over there. You know you have a real friendship when you sit down after a period of time and you can just start talking again.

Branching out when you go out to eat can be so rewarding

I love being in love with my food when I go out to dinner. Deciding what to order usually takes me a year and a half because I get anxiety that I’m not going to pick the most delicious thing. That usually translates into me choosing something “safe”: usually fish tacos, a tuna melt, a big salad or pizza, something I know I’m going to gush over. When I was out to dinner with Alanna, however, we decided to branch out and order an appetizer that could be hit or miss. We chose a few mix/match bruschetta options and they were out of this world good. It just goes to show that the only way you discover some great food combinations is if you take that risk.

Bruschetta sampler: tomato/basil/mozzarella, ricotta/pistachio/honey, and brie/apples. I drool just looking at this picture! It’s so wonderful dining with another “foodie” who encourages stuff like this. I easily succumb to “peer food pressure.” 🙂

Running in the wind is hard

It is what it is. I found myself running with my hand in front of my face for some of the run because it was coming at me and sorta triggering my sports-induced asthma. Either that or I’m just a wimp. So if you’re from Chicago and you see a girl running towards you looking like she’s going to barf because she’s covering her mouth, not to worry, it’s just me being dramatic.

It’s too early for flip flops but we’re never too old for bunny ears

Some of my friends all met up last night to celebrate Monica’s birthday. It was a fun night full of cookies and card games. In the beginning of the night we spent some time outside by a bonfire. Being the genius I am I decided to wear flip flops. Luckily Moni was quick to offer up her pink slippers so I ended up looking like quite a stud. But hey, I was toasty!

 Questions:

• Did you learn anything this weekend?
• Are you a risk taker when you go out to eat?

Happy Friday! Looking back I had a great week, so let’s take a moment to be THANKFUL for all the things that made me smile these past few days.

Volumizing Foods

If there’s one thing I love most in this world, it’s sitting down to a BIG plate of food. There’s something so comforting about not feeling like you’re restricting yourself to a small portion size that may or may not be enough for you. Enter: volumizing foods with vegetables. I know plenty of people do it, whether it be adding spaghetti squash to your pasta or cauliflower to your potatoes. One of my favorites? Adding peas to macaroni and cheese. I enjoyed this monstrous bowl while watching Frozen for the first time (finally) with some friends.

Disney

Speaking of Frozen, I love Disney animation. When I was little I remember watching The Lion King and feeling like I was literally being sucked into the story because I was so in awe of the colors and music. Nowadays that little girl still jumps for joy whenever we watch a Disney movie. My current favorite? Tangled.

I even recently went to Disneyland and cried during the World of Color Water Show. I’m a sap.

Free Food at Work

Employers really underestimate the power of work perks. At my job, there’s more free food than I know what to do with. Aka it’s heaven on earth.

The song that made my week

I. can’t. get. enough.

 

Good Friends

It was my friend Monica’s birthday this week!! As one of my dearest friends AND most dedicated IHABL readers, I have to give this lady a huuuuge shout out. She’s one of those special people who comes into your life and really makes a mark on it. She has influenced me in so many ways to be more outgoing, carefree, honest and loving. Happy Birthday, Moni!

It took me two years to realize that I have Goldfish in my hair in this picture.

Inspiration of the Week

I wanted to end today’s post with this video. I saw it early this week and was absolutely moved by it. The main messages coincide with how I view and see value in this life. I honestly don’t care how much money I have or what kind of job I have in the future – if I can create relationships like this with the people I come into contact with I think I’ll have lived a beautiful life. Grab the tissues, by the way, it’s a tear-jerker.

Questions:

• What did you think about the video?
• What’s your favorite Disney movie?
• Best song you’re listening to right now

 

Welp it’s hard to believe but it’s Wednesday again! One random thing I’m happy about is that the hump day jokes have stopped for the most part. The camel commercial was funny the first hundred times it was referenced and then it just got tired. One thing that hasn’t gotten old yet? WIAW!

Thanks again to Peas and Crayons for hosting. I can’t wait to check out what everyone’s been snacking on!

Breakfast

Like I previously mentioned, I’ve been trying to, well, not diet, but make little cutbacks here and there. I think the reason I feel a little heavier since winter is because I spent the duration of those four months making little concessions, like “Oh I can eat a bagel sandwich with cheese and eggs” or I need cream in my coffee on the daily”. And while there’s nothing wrong with those things, I was making more excuses than I was good choices. Soooo I’ve decided that I need to start my day on a lighter note, most days of the week. Insert Kashi cereal. I’ve been topping it with frozen fruit, chia seeds and almond milk. That plus a huuuuge cup of coffee on the side keeps me full just as long as those bagel sandwiches did.

Lunch

I snacked on some in-shell peanuts in the late morning to hold me over until lunch. Lunch was deliciously delicious as usual because I made my favorite sandwich: hummus and veggies with a slice of swiss cheese. I use Trader Joe’s basil white bean hummus and don’t think I’ll ever get sick of how great it is. It tastes like pesto!

Fruit salad and sparkling water on the side. Side note: I hate sparkling water. Never again.

Snacks

Snacks throughout the day (before/after dinner) were hard boiled eggs, plain greek yogurt mixed with truvia and blueberries, and a fiber one bar. They’re basically candy and so filling (especially if you put a little peanut butter on them).

Dinner

For dinner I threw together some leftovers from Easter–frittata!

I had another slice of frittata after I took this photo because, let’s be honest, I’m not a rabbit. Salad on the side with balsamic dressing.

The best part about yesterday was that I came home from work and Zain suggested we make some margaritas! It was so random for a Tuesday night but we had a ball blending up some pineapple drinks, listening to music and chatting about our days. So much for eliminating the excess, huh?

So there you have it…margaritas are a superfood and therefore should never be limited.

Questions:

• What’s the best thing you’ve made to eat lately?
• Do you like margaritas? Are you convinced they’re a superfood?

 

Happy Easter Monday! Does anyone have the day off? I have to say that was one of the best parts about going to Catholic school for most of my life…we had such a long Easter break!

Friday was an incredible day – we got an email around noon that the office would be closing at 2:00 for the holiday weekend – a complete surprise! I still had some work to do so I didn’t leave until around 3:00 but it was a beautiful afternoon to be outside. Zain was able to get off early too so instead of heading home for the weekend at night, we were home by 7:00 (just in time for dinner. boom).

What’s the best way to wake up? A run, of course.

60 degrees and sunny. It was a perfect, albeit slow run. I went out with friends the night before so I wasn’t exactly in prime running condition.

My mom surprised us with a delicious french toast breakfast. I like french toast but I always add eggs on the side too for a protein-packed punch. Solely-sweet breakfasts don’t keep me full for very long.

Saturday was full of shopping for Sunday’s Easter brunch. Zain and I stopped for a drink and some food in the afternoon for no reason other than we just felt like it 🙂

I always love the way drinks like that look (so cool, right?!) but I never end up finishing them. But the fried asparagus? I had noooo trouble finishing those. 

We spent Saturday night watching Now You See Me. It was a pretty good movie! Really entertaining, but they really pushed the romance part of it. I don’t understand why movies always have to have a love story…if it doesn’t go with the plot, quit forcing it, people! The magic part of the movie was suuuper cool though.

Sunday was spent the best way possible: dyeing Easter eggs, going to a beautiful Easter mass, eating lovely brunch food and taking long, slow walks with people I love.

Instead of a dessert I ended up making a delicious frittata from Daphne Oz’s cookbook Relish. I’ll be sure to share the recipe soon because it was hearty and healthy – full of black beans, monterey jack cheese, shredded potato, and onion and topped with a homemade salsa fresca. 

From frittata – clockwise: hashbrown muffins, deviled eggs, mini strawberry coffee cakes with orange glaze, hardboiled eggs, strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing, tuna salad, and potato rolls alonside ham and swiss cheese. For dessert we ate more of the coffee cakes and mini cheesecakes that my aunt brought. 

So. much. great. food.

It hit 80 degrees yesterday so we enjoyed brunch outside. The great food, mimosas, sunshine and family made it a great day.

 

Aaaaand now it’s back to work. But hey, it’s officially spring here so I’m going to enjoy as much time outside as possible. I’m one of the lucky few who gets to walk to work, a little blessing I truly appreciate.

Questions:

• How was your weekend?
• What was the best thing you ate all weekend? I could never choose 🙂
• Do you like magic shows? I never have but after watching that movie I’m reconsidering!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Anyone else feeling particularly sunny this morning?

Happy spring days make me crave country music like no other. I know country music is pretty polarizing – you either love it or you hate it. But I love it and you’re reading my blog so listen or keeeeep scrolling 🙂

I had such a great night last night! I got off work and knew I needed to go for a run. I rushed home, changed my clothes, and headed out to the lake.

It was one of those runs where I really pushed myself. Not in speed, but in distance. I set out to run four miles but just kept going! Six miles in the books. It’s exactly what I said a few days ago – get me outside and my running potential soars. And we all know good runs put us in the best mood, so I woke up with a lingering runners high.

In other random news I’ve moved passed egg sandwiches and am back on the Kashi train. Kashi + tonssss of fruit + chia seeds + almond milk is the way to go in these upcoming spring/summer months.

And I thought I hid it pretty well that I didn’t shower yesterday but look at that ‘do. Hair errrywhere.

I’m pretty excited for this Easter weekend! It’s going to be so fun to spend the next two days with my family. We have cooking, bowling, and brunch plans so it really doesn’t get much better than that. After hours upon hours of Pinterest-hunting we have our final menu put together, but since I wasn’t able to include all the deliciousness that I found I figured I’d share the recipes with you. If you’re celebrating Easter this weekend or are just in the mood to try out a new recipe, check these out.

Spring Recipes

Cheesecake Fruit Salad

Carrot Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Croque Monsieurs

Creme Brulee Muffins

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Frozen Butterfinger Mousse Pie

Primavera Quiche

Is your mouth watering yet? Food-centered holidays are the best, aren’t they?

Have a great Friday!

Question:

• What are your plans this weekend?
• Do you like country music?
• Which of these recipes looks the best?

Alright alright alright! Happy Monday, everyone!

It’s always tough to jump right back into posting about everyday life so let’s just play a quick game of “get you up to speed”. As many of you know I started a new job last week. I still work in public relations as a paid intern, but now at a global agency downtown. Yes, I’m still an intern, but you know what? These days you gotta do what you gotta do. Plus I’m finally getting paychecks after eight months of 9-5 work with no money so who can complain? I certainly can’t, not with this view:

There are a ton of perks of working in the John Hancock building. For one thing, employees have access to a gym and grocery store. I could basically sleep under my desk and be just fine, no need to leave. And that picture above? That’s North Avenue beach you see. I’m telling you…this summer is going to be pretty perfect. I’m pretty sure working the whole day is a lot easier when you know that there’s a beach waiting for you only a few blocks away. Plus, look how official I look:

Another perk of this city when the sun finally comes out? Beautiful runs. I’m so happy to report that this will finally turn back into a running blog thanks to the Lake Shore path. I didn’t get much traction on the blog until late in 2013 so I’m sure many of you don’t remember, but I actually do like to run haha. However, I am NOT a treadmill lover. I can knock out maybe four miles on the treadmill before I feel like a hamster on a wheel. So the minute I saw the Lake Shore path full of runners last week, I absolutely HAD to join in. I mean look how beautiful it is?!

I’ve also been able to spend much more time with Zain and my friends on the weekends now that I’m not working a second job. Weekends are now spent how they are meant to be spent: getting brunch, playing freeze tag, sitting on rooftops, going to trivia nights, drinking fruity drinks, and eating fro yo.

Of course it’s not all fun and games. Working at an agency as huge as the one I’m at is quite the change from our 10-man team over at my last job. It’s one of those places where you can easily get lost in the shuffle, so it’s definitely going to be a challenge for someone like me, someone who is pretty shy until I get to know people on a personal level. In this case I’m going to have to be outgoing from the start in order to even begin to get to know my coworkers. But it’s an opportunity to grow.

Well it looks like rain today, but do we expect anything more from a Monday? I just hope it stops in time for me to get a run in after work, otherwise I have a date with the treadmill. I’m looking forward to this weekend because I’m going home to the suburbs for Easter weekend! We’re having brunch this year (so obviously I’m not disappointed in the least) and I’ve decided what I’m going to contribute:

The Pioneer Woman’s Individual Key Lime Pies! I had a mini-Food Network binge this weekend and Ree is officially one of my new favorites. I used to be a Giada-fanatic but Ree now has my heart. These little individual pies are adorable and I’m hoping I can find some mini mason jars to put them in. It may be a small family gathering but why not make it as Pinterest-y as possible?

Questions:

• What’s your favorite spring dessert? I’m all about the citrus once it starts warming up
• What was the best part about your weekend? Mine had to be the fro yo and biking throughout the city with Zain