Norah

How's everyone's summer going?? I seriously can't believe how fast June is flying by!

Last weekend, I had a super fun time in Atlanta for the Norah Jones concert.

I kicked off the weekend with a very necessary trip to Dekalb Market.

This place is HUGE. I have never seen such an extensive produce section!

I got my favorite chia muffins + lots of other goodies.

Later in the evening, Mary Alice and I met up with Callie for dinner at Brick Store, an Irish pub in the adorable downtown Decatur.

Miss these chicks!

They had an awesome craft beer selection!

Since it was a pub, I went with the veggie burger and chips. Sometimes nothing tastes better.

Although we were stuffed to the max after dinner, MA and I couldn't resist splitting this bad boy from Cakes & Ale. 

I can't remember all the details, but it was some kind of blackberry whoopie pie with lemon filling. It was incredibly fresh and amazing.

My one healthy meal from the weekend. Lentils, kale, chickpeas. Look, there's even tofu in there!

On Saturday night, MA and I ate dinner at Top Flr before the concert. It was a cozy little place! We split the margherita pizza, mac 'n cheese (out of this world), and grilled squash and zucchini (to throw in a veggie). It was all fabulous!

I just got instagram this weekend- I have no idea what I'm doing but trying to be artsy!

The concert was great. We sat WAYYYY up top, but it didn't even matter. Norah is an incredibly talented and classy lady, and she totally rocked it.

Have you heard any of her new stuff?

This is a good one.

I told you we were way up top.

 bff girly concert bonding time.

And that, my friends, is how weekends should be- good friends, good music, good drinks, and good food!

Urban Cookhouse Obsession

Hi friends!

I like blogging in list form these days, so here ya go.

A couple of things to note:

1. If you've never roasted sweet potatoes in coconut oil before, you should do that...like ASAP.

Throw in some chicken sausage, sautéed spinach and tomato, and you've got the perfect dinner. It would have been good with quinoa too, but I'm out.

2. While you're sweet potatoes are roasting, you should head over to World Market and pick up some Wild Ophelia chocolate. It's the sister company to Vosges, and it's seriously good stuff. I tried the Peanut Butter & Banana (omg) and Southern Hibiscus Peach. Although I'm typically a dark girl and wouldn't have usually wasted my time on the milk chocolate varieties, I must say this chocolate is life changing.

3. My mom and I go to Urban Cookhouse at least twice a week. Sorry I'm not sorry. Here are some of my recent meals:

Berry Good Wrap with broccoli salad.

Pepper Patch Salad (no cheese, add chicken and avocado).

Veggie Quesadilla (add chicken)

4. There is a new Sweet Frog located like 2 minutes from my apartment. I happened to be driving by, saw the grand opening sign, and immediately pulled off to try it out. It's my new favorite yogurt place!

Cappuccino, dulce de leche, and coconut fro yo topped with mochi, coconut, and dark chocolate chips.

5. Speaking of yogurt, I could eat this every day and never get sick of it.

Vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 sliced banana, strawberries, blueberries, 1/2 vegan blueberry muffin from Whole Foods, and 1 T SunButter.

6. I absolutely love my breakfast dates with Laura. This week we tried out Crestline Bagel. I ordered a Power Bagel (multigrain with raisins, dried cranberries, and pecans) and topped it off with Chia Charger (courtesy of Laura)! You know you have a good friend when they bring a jar of nut butter to breakfast for you to try!

Good post-spin class fuel.

Yep. We're the cool people who bring our own nut butter for the table.

7. Here is the one picture I have from the wedding last weekend:

I'm a failure at documenting my life lately.

8. What To Expect When You're Expecting and Snow White and the Huntsman were both really good movies.

9. Here's what my planned workout schedule looks like this week:

Monday: 1 hour kettlebell circuit workout

Tuesday: 30 minutes elliptical + yoga

Wednesday: spinning

Thursday: Pilates

Friday: spinning

Saturday: 30 minutes elliptical + yoga

Sunday: yoga or a walk

Ok have a good one!

What's Going On

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been awhile again...I just can't seem to get back into that regular blogging routine.

Here's what you've missed:

-An Earth Fare just opened up in Birmingham. Yay for more healthy grocery stores around the area!

-Mary Alice came to stay with me last week! I had so much fun catching up, and it was such a nice break in my week. We hit up all the usuals- Earth Fare, Whole Foods, Anthropologie, and of course- ate some good food!

Lunch at Olexa's:

Pesto Chicken Panini on whole-wheat with salad on the side.

Dinner at Chez FonFon:

It's kind of hard to see, but that's the Crab Cake Special with salad, haricot verts, and roasted potatoes.

-My summer classes are now in full swing, which means my Monday and Tuesday nights are devoted to statistics and research. I am not happy about having to miss the Bachelorette every week!

Emily is the cutest.

-I ate a delicious veggie burger from Urban Standard last weekend.

Yes, that is sweet potato and edamame salad on the side. Yum!

I love the cool, eclectic atmosphere!

-My new favorite order at Starbucks is a tall blonde roast with soy milk.

Soy milk makes coffee soooo creamy.

- I made Tina's Paleo-Pumpkin Walnut Muffins. I am not paleo and never will be, but I love baking with almond flour! These turned out delicious. Oh, how I've missed pumpkin.

- Laura and I tried out a new to us breakfast place this week, Hart & Soul Coffee Company. I forgot to take a picture, but we both ordered whole-wheat toast with crunchy peanut butter. I <3 breakfast dates.

-I'm going to a wedding in Atlanta this weekend. Can't wait to catch up with sorority sisters and see people I haven't seen in forever!

Have a great day!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

I'm currently at the lake with the family soaking up some sun!

YAY- Road Trip!

I slept until the glorious hour of 9 AM this morning. It was incredible. I took my time getting everything together this morning and made it to the lake just in time for lunch. I had a chipotle black bean burger topped with melted Swiss on a whole-wheat sandwich thin with cucumbers, tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard. We had a nice little spread of sides from Catherine's Market, and I rounded out my burger with broccoli salad, roasted mushroom salad, and a farro and vegetable salad.

Yum!

This afternoon's festivities included a boat ride, baking whole wheat chocolate chip cookie bars (recipe to come later), eating watermelon, and a walk with my dad.

We just finished up our dinner feast which included steak and tons of colorful veggies- corn on the cob, steamed green beans and onions, roasted asparagus with cherry tomatoes, and a half a sweet potato. Lake dinners are always so delicious!

If you're going to eat a lot, it might as well be veggies right?

Since I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, I'll catch you up to speed and show you some foods I've been loving lately:

1. Salads:

I crave leafy greens (even more than usual) when the weather gets warm and have had some pretty spectacular restaurant salads recently...

Brio's Grilled Salmon Salad. Always a favorite!

Cheesecake Factory's Skinnylicious Spicy Chicken Salad. I have to say- they really did something right with this new Skinnylicious menu. 

Berry Good Salad from Urban Cookhouse. Berries, grilled chicken, pecans, and feta- what more could a girl want from a salad?

Panera Bread's Strawberry Poppyseed and Chicken Salad with a whole grain baguette on the side. I was pretty impressed with this salad's nutrition stats-only 330 mg of sodium for the whole thing!

2. Vegetarian Meals.

So wholesome. so pure.

Quinoa topped with green lentils and roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts and drizzled with Bone Suckin' BBQ sauce.

Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms from Whole Foods are delicious, especially with Alexia's Waffle Sweet Potato Fries to go with them.

Sunshine Burgers are really the best veggie burgers. Too bad they're so dang expensive!

Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry (tofu, carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and tamari) from Golden Temple. 

3. Sunflower Seed Butter and Chia Seeds.

I've been on such an almond butter and flaxseed kick lately, I've totally neglected these guys. I will never do it again- these two star ingredients have helped make my breakfasts even better than usual.

Oatmeal made with almond milk, chia seeds, sliced banana, blueberries, blackberries, chia seeds, and SunButter.

Greek yogurt bowl with 1/4 C oats, sliced banana, blueberries, chia seeds, and SunButter.

4. Ice Cream:

Does this even need an explanation?

Whole Foods Cookies and Cream Gelato!

Vanilla + Salted Caramel Pretzel fro yo with Reese's, almonds, and raspberries. Fro yo is my one true love.

In other news, I shot a gun. Yeah, you heard me.

 I feel so hardcore.

And finally my workouts for the week:

Monday: Spinning + YStrong (basically the same thing as BodyPump)
Tuesday: YCross (55 minute bootcamp style class) Holy cow. I was DYING during this class. Great workout!
Wednesday: Spinning
Thursday: 45 minutes on the AMT + yoga
Friday: 1 hour personal training session (we used resistance balls, medicine balls, and bosu balls). My abs are feeling it today!
Saturday: 4 mile walk
Sunday: off

Hope you all have a fabulous and relaxing weekend!

Done WIth Finals

Hope everyone had a festive Cinco De Mayo!

I'm officially done with exams and have a little break before summer classes start in June. My meals were pretty repetitive this week and looked a lot like this:

Overnight Oats topped with Love Grown Foods granola for a quick and easy breakfast.

Pomegranate Chobani, 1/4 C oats, 1/2 diced apple, blueberries. and 1 T almond butter. I love yogurt, fruit, and nut butter!

Packed lunches- pb&j on sprouted wheatberry bread, an apple, and veggies.

Whole wheat naan pizza with pesto, sautéed spinach and red bell pepper, part skim mozzarella cheese, and chicken sausage. This might be my favorite food in the entire world. I can't even explain how good it is.

On Thursday night, my friend Killette and I met for frozen yogurt. It was a great way to celebrate exams being over, but they have obviously upped their prices because this cup cost over $6.00! When the cashier told me the price, my jaw dropped, and I even questioned her to see if the price was accurate. I didn't even get that much yogurt!

I got a mix of caramel pretzel and vanilla and topped it off with granola, pb cups, and coconut.

After work on Friday, I headed to the lake for the second weekend in a row! I also had this awesome lunch at Organic Harvest:

I ordered half of the Jack and Veggie Panini on 3 seed bread and a cup of the Italian bean and pea soup. I love how wholesome all of the food here is!

My brother left for his internship in Houston this afternoon, so we had a going away party for him last night! He cooked us steaks, and my mom prepared tons of veggies. 

Filet (half for me), sautéed mushrooms, half a sweet potato, half an ear of corn, green beans and onions, and asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Talk about a plate full of delicious foods!

Kodiak Cakes are quickly becoming a Saturday morning breakfast tradition at the lake!

Topped with the requisite pb, berries, and light maple syrup.

I had a relaxing morning at the lake watching two episodes in the second season of Downton Abbey! 

Has anyone else watched this show?? It's so intriguing!

Before my brother left, we had one last lunch ride and lunch again at Sinclair's. This time I ordered the Shrimp and Avocado Salad, but I substituted the cheese and artichokes for tomatoes and almonds. Much better combination, in my opinion!

I headed back to Birmingham mid afternoon to meet Laura for a fun Mexican dinner at El Barrio, a new to us restaurant. It was an outstanding meal!

We started out with sangrias and chips and salsa. Everything was so fresh, and the salsa had beans in it, which made it extra good.

For my main course, I chose the Veggie Quesadilla, which was filled with spinach, mushrooms, charred corn, and goat cheese. Hello, favorite foods! It also came with a salad to round out the meal.

Now that we've gotten the food out of the way, here's what my workout schedule looked like this week:

Monday: spinning + pure barre 

Tuesday: 25 minutes elliptical + yoga

Wednesday: spinning + yoga

Thursday: spinning + yoga

Friday: yoga + 1 hour walk

Saturday: 30 minute run + sit ups and pushups

Sunday: haven't decided yet!

Let me just saw how amazing I feel after practicing yoga 4 times this week. Exercise is so therapeutic!

Have a great night!