Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

How is everyone?!  Is it just me or has this week been the Mondayest week of all time?  I think it's a combination of the super hot weather and the awful rain/wind/floods.  Gross.  Gross.  Gross.

In traditional Friday Fashion, I'm going to list off my new faves!

1.)  Notorious  O.M.G.  If you were a fan of Covert Affairs you will LOVE this!  I love Piper Perabo and I think she's brilliant!  The show is part television producer ruling the world/legal drama.  All parts perfect!  Thursdays at 9, y'all!

2.) Erin Oprea's book The 4 X 4 Diet 
If she trains Carrie Underwood, then she's good enough for me!  The book is a great combo of fitness, lifestyle, and food.  The book reads like a casual conversation with an amazing trainer friend.  The book is chock full of recipes and tabatas for all fitness levels.  Erin then goes into the science behind all of her finds, ideas, and recipes.

3.) Girl on the Train hype!  Is anyone else as excited as me about the release of this movie?!  Currently I'm in a Facebook chat entitled Girl on the Train Groupies!  I loved this book and read it in 2 days.  2.  DAYS!  It usually takes me a while to read a book because I'll get sleepy or caught up in work, but this kept me riveted from start to finish.  I think Emily Blunt will kill it!  Also, Justin Theroux is yummy so I want to see him.

4.) PT is ovahhhh!  I loved PT and I had a great experience at Strive PT in Moorestown.  If anyone needs a PT, get there ASAP!  I worked with Abby and she was amazing.  I cannot thank them enough for all of their hard work.  I think she really took all of my goals and made them come true.  She was fabulous and I cannot say enough good things about my time there, but I'm happy to be back to my usual self.

5.) Return of Running!  I can run again and it feels amazing!  I ran 6 miles on Sunday and 5 miles on Tuesday with little pain!  I had the biggest and goofiest grin on my face the entire time I was running.  I probably looked insane to those spectating my run, but I don't care!  I loved it :)  It feels good to be back.  This past month was hell for me, with not being able to run, and the whole mental game, so this was an amazing experience!

5.) Calia!!  I can't believe that I've gone a year and half without these workout clothes in my life!  In the past week I've ordered 3 pieces.

All can be found here

They're so comfy and perfect for transitioning from summer to fall and from the gym to brunch :)

6.) Brantley Gilbert's new CD is coming soon!  I heard his new song The Weekend and then the DJ said that the CD is coming out in November!  I can't wait!!  He's one of my favorite singers and songwriters.  No one writes a love song quite like him.

7.)  Carrie Underwood's Calia commercial!  So inspirational and it definitely gives me all the feels.  It's the only commercial I watch lol

I'm off to work with a new trainer (He's trying to kill me.  He texted me that.  I. CANT. WAIT.)

After that, (If I'm still walking) I'll be grabbing din din with Kate!  Can't wait to see her after the wedding and her minimoon!  I can't wait to hear all about it :)

Enjoy your weekend!  I have a 5k on Sunday, and dinners with Cait on Sunday and Saturday!  There may or may not be some Melting Pot in my future...


-E

Fall Fashion Finds

Happy Tuesday!!

How are y'all doing?  Are you enjoying this beautiful NJ summer, I mean fall, right?  It's 90 degrees! This week will be in the high 80's! What. The. Heck!?

I've been taking a lot of Boot Camp classes at my gym lately because of the ankle, and I'm kinda loving them!  Usually I steer clear of the Boot Camp style classes in favor of my own workouts, but lately I've been loving the change.  I'm looking at you sandbag pushes and battle ropes!  Also, with all of the after school festivities in September, I need to get in a quick workout, so 5:30 boot camp has my name on it.

Today I'm going to hit you with my Fall Fashion Faves!

This past weekend I set out to find some new shoes for Kate's rehearsal and I wound up finding these instead.  Not too upset about the shoe switcheroo.

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These boots are the things fall shoe dreams are made of.  They're the perfect color, perfect heel height, and perfect amount of fringe.  I'm in love!  I got mine at Nordstrom Rack, but these are on sale!!


THIS JACKET!  I want a green army jacket to wear in NOLA!  I think it's the perfect fall jacket and I want it so bad!  It's a great neutral, goes with everything, and I can add a scarf to dress it up.

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Can we call this #hatgoals?  I know, I know, every year I say I want a floppy hat and I think THIS WILL BE THE YEAR!

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This one is from Macy's and it's $40.  I may peruse TJ MAXX to try to find a cheaper one.

I've been obsessed with Carrie Underwood's Calia line for a while now, even though I ordered my first pieces this week.  It's kind of a pricey line, but some sales were found and thus I have 2 new pieces en route to my casa.  

I'm officially in love with this tank.  The only problem?  I don't know which color to choose!  It comes in white, black, and this fuchsia color.  I love the white, but I don't know if I can give up my signature pink!   I think it'll be cute with ankle booties (see above, wink, wink) and jeans, or with sneaks, a hat, and leggins.

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What are you loving for fall fashions?!  

Enjoy the day!  Hopefully we'll be back in the normal fall weather soon!  This girl wants to bake some pumpkin goodies!  

XOXO,

E

Getting Back on the Wagon

Happy Hump Day!

How are you all today?  Thanks for all the love on Amanda and Tony's wedding post!  It was such a beautiful wedding and I was so happy to celebrate with them!

Ahhhh, celebrating.  After 2 solid weeks of non-stop fun (starting with a fabulous beach trip, Deb's birthday, Miami trip, and then Amanda's wedding week!) I am feeling the effects.  I haven't been eating as well, letting the sugar monster rage, sleeping less, and enjoying some cocktails and champagne.

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So now it's time to put the ice cream down and head back to my usual healthy lifestyle.  While the prospect of skipping my favorite treat for a few weeks is making my heart hurt, I'm excited to have my energy back!

It's crazy how much food effects my mood, speed, and overall well-being.  After the junk food coma I've been living in for the past weeks, I've noticed that I'm a lot sleepier, slower with my running speed, and just feeling kind of blah.  

To get back on the wagon, I decided to hit the ground running even though I'm exhausted and still adjusting to life after the parties!  So when my friend Lindsay asked if I wanted to go to rooftop yoga in Philly, I jumped on the chance!  I knew that the day after the wedding I wouldn't feel like running 12 miles, but yoga would feel amazing!  

Look at that view!

We headed into the city for the Katie Gould led class.  The class was awesome!  It takes place on the roof of the now closed Bok Technical School in South Philly.  The school has been restored and still features classrooms that still resemble the school in its prime.  They still have the original signs that say Boys' Gymnasium and Girls' Gymnasium.  They have blown up yearbook pictures as decor and the whole thing just screams city cool.

The class was the perfect combination of challenging, relaxing, and restorative.  The Bok School has also become part of the Philly pop up bar scene so after the class, we headed across the hall to the bar.  Still detoxing from the wedding fun, I opted for a coconut and jackfruit popsicle (their popsicle guy wasn't there yet so I settled for a water) and Linds had a mimosa.  We hung out on the rooftop, caught up on girl talk, and took in the view. It was just what I needed.  For more information the link is here!

Monday was Bachelorette Finale!!  Who was happy with her choice?  I didn't think JoJo got the best crop of guys, but I do agree with her choice.  I think Jordan was best suited for her.  

We hosted our usual finale party with some of the ladies that participated in the Bachelorette Bracket. We decided to make it an ice cream party, so everyone brought either an ice cream or a topping to share.  

Our ladies!

Nom Nom Nom

I had a coconut milk cookie dough ice cream base with marshmallow fluff, whipped cream, hot fudge, a gummy worm, a few gummy bears, peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms, brownies, and mini Twix Bars.  Baby steps getting on that wagon ;)

Tuesday was a full on wagon day!  Starting with this salad beauty!  I picked up a kale, carrots, sunflower seed, and cabbage salad that I mixed with pear Jersey tomatoes, and baked chicken.  Twas delicious!  Also, PLUMCOTS ARE BACK!  So.Excited!

I'm trying to get my self back on the wagon because I have a race in 5.5 weeks and I want my usual energy and mood back to where it is supposed to be!  It's healthy and normal to enjoy life, but then we have to reel it in and get back to normal.  I'm trying to allow myself the ability to find balance in living a fun life full of friends, outings, and delicious food, but also keeping my workouts and majority of eating healthy.  I'm also trying to find balance in not making myself feel guilty and beating myself up for falling off the wagon.  Does anyone else struggle with this?  That feeling of guilt if you don't eat perfectly healthy?

Have a Happy Hump Day!  I'll see you all later :)

Laissez les bon temps rollez part 3

Happy Hump Day!

Today is the last day of my NOLA recap.  I guess that means vacation is really over.

I'm skipping the traditional What I Ate Wednesday post because y'all have seen what I've been eating all week.


The agenda for today is pretty busy.

AM weight session followed by a 5 mile run.  After the run was a quick breakfast followed by working  in my room from 9-12.  Next is lunch followed by tutoring from 2-3.

I'm excited because dinner will be at Living on the Veg in Beach Haven with Ra.  I love a good midweek beach trip.  Maybe we'll picnic on the beach?  I also heard there's a green juice in my near future…

Back to NOLA…

Sunday was Day 3 in NOLA and it did NOT start with a  5 mile run.  We decided to sleep through the run and it turned out to be a great decision.  Nobody wants to be tired and grouchy when you have 5 hours on a plane in your near future.

The day started with brunch at Biscuits and Buns on Banks.  This restaurant has been on my radar since Zach sent me the spreadsheet of all the NOLA places to eat and explore.  This restaurant has Erin written all over it.

I love a good tongue in cheek restaurant name

Free cucumber water for waiting guests!
I may have had 3 glasses...

The menu…how cute is their logo?

All of the juices

This cute pic says Make Biscuits Not War!

Spinach and carrots juice!

Happy girl with her juice

Shrimp, goat cheese, greens, pistachios, and grapes!  With a side of fruit.

I'm going to be recreating this soon!  Maybe it will help me get back into the swing of things and school?

 After brunching, I grabbed another cucumber water for the road as we walked back to Zach's apartment.  We changed into kayaking clothes and headed back to City Park.  We went  to the New Orleans Museum of Art or the NOMA.

They had a beautiful exhibit on Antebellum Parlors and decor.  It was gorgeous.  Not really my style but I can appreciate the intricate detail.  They also had a little history synopsis of the owner of the parlor's furniture.  He actually is from Philadelphia and was a Quaker.  He got the land from the Spanish government.  He moved down to St. Francisville to run the plantation.  A Quaker who owned slaves?  Interesting...

 The pahlah…Does that text make me sound Southern?

Next we went to visit the Katrina exhibit.  It was a little disappointing because it wasn't fully about Katrina.  It was about death and reconstruction and natural disasters around the country.  They did have a cool water display.  Displays of plexiglass with embedded digital water photos were placed around the museum with varying heights depicting the water levels post Katrina.  It was really moving to see the water levels that were well above our heads.  The artist said she wanted to create a display that showed the level of fear/discomfort/drowning that was the people of New Orleans' reality 10 years ago.

A break from all the seriousness…

We found a really cool exhibit on American Captialism and decadence.  It was a golden Abrahama Lincoln log cabin.  The interior was full of gilded symbols of capitalism--gold bullets, gold gas caps, gold candy, and other cool items.

I think Abe would like his upgraded cabin

Inside the cabin

You can see the gold bullets to the left of Zach's head

Gold gas caps to the right of Zach's head

Gold roof

We ended our museum tour in the gift shop.

Seinfeld!

This sponge dish said, Sponge worthy.  Fab!

Zach also found a mug that once you added hot liquid Van Gogh's ear disappeared and was replaced with a rag to show that it had been cut off.  HIIIIILARIOUS!  

Next, it was off to kayaking.

Cheesin'

Super Siblings take on the Lake!

We didn't crash and we didn't get attacked by any ducks, birds, drones (yup we saw a drone that followed us around for a while).  We also think we could begin training for the 2020 Olympics in kayaking.  

AFter kayaking it was a quick shower and packing.  We headed to the airport, said goodbye and then it was time go through security.  NOLA's airport is great because it's very separated--each airline has it's own security line so everything moves pretty quickly.  I was checked in and through security within 15 minutes.  Unheard of in Philly!  

I completed my airport cardio and munched a Subway turkey/provolone/spinach/lettuce/tomato/pickles/vinaigrette on 9 grain Honey Oat bread.  

Surprisingly, it hit the spot.  Usually I'm not a sandwich girl, but this was goooooooooood!

Surprisingly amazingly delicious 

The flight home was pretty good.  We had a singing flight attendant who made everyone crack up.  We also had a rowdy bunch of partiers who clearly didn't want the NOLA party to end.  They quieted down a little bit as the flight progressed.  

My connector in Atlanta was a stay on the plane connector which was kind of a bummer because I LOVE the Atlanta airport.  I did move to the front of the airplane so I could deplane (a great word, BTW) earlier.  

I knew within 8 minutes of people boarding that the tickets may say destination Philadelphia, but the deal destination was Struggle City, USA.  No matter what--without fail--every time--I end up sitting next to a smelly guy and a man who has no sense of personal space.  This one guy ended up hogging the arm rest and moving into my space.  I was scrunched up to the window in 1/3 of my seat for 90% of the ride.  Also, so many people couldn't fit their bags in the overhead compartment.  So much insanity!   If you can't lift the bag, you can't pack the bag.  

At least I got to eat another bag of honey roasted peanuts…

I was sad that my trip was over, but I was happy to see my family again.  

I hope you all have a great Hump Day!  

I'll see y'all tomorrow :)

-E

What I Ate Wednesday

Hi All!!

Happy Wednesday!

I'm finally back on the blogging train after a super awesome weekend and busy Monday. (Maybe I'll post my Bachelor in Paradise recap tomorrow?  Why not? Who says you should blog about life when it happens?) 

I'm really loving these WIAW posts. I love reading what everyone is eating. Does anyone else love that or am I the only weirdo?

Lately I've been all about the Farmer's Market finds. I usually start my Mondaylenong off with a quick trip to the local farm (reason #14434 why NJ is the best-we have real farms about 4 mins from your house!) and I picked up some cucumbers for juicing, peaches for grilling, and blueberries for oatmeal/eating every time I open the fridge. All were tres delicious! 

Pre-run fuel is the oatmeal cookie. This cookie is life changing because it gives me all the nutrients I need for my run without bogging me down or giving me any sort of tummy ache while I run my 5 amers. 

Post run b-fast is the usual oatmeal foodgasm. 

Lunch has been delightful!   

Salmon with an Orange vinegarette drizzle over a Greek salad.   Yummmmm

Dinner was leftover Bachelor in Paradise dinner!

Crock pot chicken salsa with avocado on top over brown rice. Daddy was also kind enough to grill some fruit for us to enjoy. 

Grilled fruit is one of my favorite summer treats!  The grilling really brings out the flavor and sweetness of the produce. I highly recommend giving it a whirl. 

I've also been snacking on the last remaining piece of Fudge Kitchen's chocolate fudge. This is reason 174737 why NJ is the best state-we have fudge and farms and beaches and blueberries all within 40 miles of each other. Winner winner fresh food dinner. 

I've also been taking some spoon dips into Phillies Graham Slam ice cream. I'm actually allergic to milk, but 1 little spoonful a day doesn't hurt. 

That's what I've been eating lately. 

Today was a fun day:

5 am 5 mylah 

6 am b-fast while watching RHONY and a DVR'd Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Making The Team 8. 

8 am weights session 

9:30 am barre 

10 am Pilates

11 am shower and get ready to babysit 

12 pm lunch of chicken salsa

1-4 babysit

Capping off this fun night with a Phillies game!  We're excited because we can see J-Roll play!  Unfortunately, Jimmy was traded to the Dodgers and we don't get to see him light up short stop anymore. I'm excited to see him back. I'll give him a cheer when he makes a good play. I'm a nice fan like that 😜

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your hump day!

Eat up buttercup,

E

Day In The Life

Happy Tuesday!

How is everyone doing? I'm doing pretty fab right now. Today is a nice quiet day so I figured I'd write out a quick Day In The Life post for you all. I read this on Jen's blog and loved the idea. 

I'm a nosy person and I love to know what everyone does all day? Anyone else like that or am I the only weirdo?

Here goes!

5:30 am wake up, brush teefers, wash face, make tight pony tail for my morning run. 

5:50 am eat breakfast cookie for some pre-run fuel 

6 am- 5 mile run

6:45-7- shower my sweaty face (also time for shower concert!)

7-8:30-oatmeal breakfast and catch up on RHOC from last night. Is anyone else loving Meghan this season?  I'm a HUGE fan!  I think she's refreshing and just what the doctor (Andy Cohen) ordered. Before her I didn't really have a favorite. 

8:35-go to hot yoga. I'm almost done my 5 session groupon and idk if I'm going to continue. I might try out some new yoga styles before I commit. 

9-10:30-sweat my asana off

10:30-11:30-return home for shower #2

11:30-12-eat lunch, check email, check social media, and blog. Lunch today is Wegman's organic vegetable and barley soup. 

12-4pool lounging and catching up on some glamour magazines

4-4:30-pm snackage of baby carrots, gahhhhhhlick hummus, and a green juice. 

4:45- leave for Pilates and barre. 

5:30-6:30-Pilates 

6:30-7-barre

7-dinner of grilled chicken with mango salsa and veggies

8-get ready for bed

9-RHONY. IM ECSTATIC BETHENNY IS BACK!

10-go to bedddddddd

I hope you enjoyed reading this day in the life blog. I swear j actually do work in the summer but today was a much needed (and rare) day off. 

What does a day in your life look like?

-xo

E

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

Let's all do the Friday Dance!

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How was your week?!  My was bueno.  It was my last week of "real work".  I taught SMARTBoard lessons to my fellow teachers during Professional Development.  It's weird teaching to fellow teachers.  A lot of the teachers in my class are people that I know or have worked with.  It's super nerve wracking.  

Teaching to kids, I got this.  Teaching to grown ups?  Completely different animal!  

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I think it's because I respect them all so much and every day you want to impress them and prove yourself.  Anyway, it all went well and I think I did a good job.  

After work on Tuesday I went to babysit.  We played trains.  Let me tell you, Type A chickas like me should not be allowed to play trains. Why?  Because Type A me needs all of the pieces to align.  It took us an hour to assemble the whole thing.  It was divine.  All the pieces connected, no pieces were forced, there was complex loops, and it went under the table and circled back around.  

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Wednesday was my first "Day Off" in what felt like forever and I spent it at a 5:30 am spin class.  The usual spin instructor is away for the summer and we have a replacement spin instructor.  It's just meh now.  I then had a lifting session.  

Wednesday night Kate and I went to the movies to see Spy.  It was very funny.  You can never go wrong with Melissa McCarthy and a girl power comedy.  There are so many good movies coming out! I want to see Aloha, Magic Mike, and Trainwreck.  I'm having a total Amy Schumer moment right now.  I loved her on The Bachelorette!  She's hilarious and I think that movie will be fantastic!

Thursday was an early run.  Usually I run at 5 am, but this time I ran at 7.  Let me tell you, 7 am runs in the summer are way hotter than 5 am runs!  Also, 5 am runners are much friendlier!  When I wave to 7 am runners, some wave back and some ignore you.  

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Just wave!  It takes like 5 seconds total.  Anyway, I digress.  

Thursday night I went to Pilates and Barre.  These two are my therapy classes.  They make me so happy and I just feel more centered after taking those classes.  

Today I went for a 5:30 am run.  I'm watching old school Real Housewives of OC that I have DVR'd.  I love Old School OC.   I'm going to tutor now, but then the famsquad is going to the Tall Ships Festival in Philadelphia!  I'll tell you how it goes :)  I may or may not have a nautical themed outfit on today….

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Have a Happy Friday!  It's the weekend :)

Love Love Love,

E

WHAT THE HECK BACHELORETTE?!

Hey All!

Happy Tuesday!  I'm half way through the work week now and I feel like time is slowing down yet simultaneously speeding up and out of control.  Insane!

Monday is a Zumba and lifting kinda day around here.  Zumba was great.  Sometimes Zumba can be wonky if the instructor isn't good or you just have a case of bad music.  THIS Zumba was everything I could have ever wanted--fab songs featuring oldies plus newbies and the best instructor!

Did everyone watch Bachelorette last night?  WHAT THE HECK?!  I'm not loving this season.  I was never a huge Kaitlyn fan--Team Becca all day err day-but I thought Kaitlyn was the lesser of two evils so I was rooting for her over Britt.

I'm not loving these random, sporadic rose ceremonies.  I need one every week at 9:37 people!

Confession time:  Every week my friends come over and we pick our faves and call them our Bachelorette Husbands.  Weird?  We respect each other's dibs and are encouraged to like them for them only.  We take our fake future husband rules just as seriously as real boyfriend/husband Girl Code Doctrine dictates.  I'm a fan of Ben Z (except I feel like he sold Josh--my friend's BH down the river).  My other friend's BH is Shawn.

Shawn's date was precious!  Loved the moonlit boat ride.

I like that Ben H tries really hard to open up.  Also he looks like Peter Brady and I kinda can't get past it.

That group date was a cluster of lunacy!  First of all, why is Nick back?

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I'd be mad, too!  Plus, who writes lyrics like that at a family friendly mariachi contest?  

Also, why all the contests Kaitlyn?  Did anyone else notice that she always does things where they have to perform and she sits back and laughs at them? She makes them look ridiculous just to get a laugh.  That's MEAN!  Every other season has the Bachelor/ette interacting with other guys/girls on the date.  She just stands there and creates situations that are not conducive for interactions!  Also, the fighting does have to stop--it is primitive and coming off as desperate.  

Anyway, at our party last night we decided to roll with the Tex/Mex theme and make vegan quesadillas!  I had these at Wegman's this weekend when I was eating all of the samples

shopping.  

So good and so easy!

Salad beat with tomatoes, avocados, cukes, greens, and a splash of pear infused vinegar.

Guac with baked Ezekiel chips! 

She tore up a wrap, drizzled some OOVO and salt on them and then baked them.  To. DIE. for.

Collage of the yummies<3

It's Better Bean Wholly Chipotle Black Bean Dip in an Ezekiel wrap with some Monterey Jack Daiya sprinkled on top.  DAAAALISH!  

We ate and watched the crazy unfold.  I'm not a huge fan of this season, but I love the show itself so I'll watch it.  My friend brought up a good point--after Andi everyone else just kinda falls flat.  She was one of the elite Bachelorettes.  No one will top Jenn Scheft in my mind, but Andi was great!  She had a job (mad she isn't a lawyer anymore), was funny, took it serious enough without being weird, and she was just cool to hang out with.  Don't you love how I act like I know her?  

Also, my friends and I joke that only Bachelorette can you tell 25 guys point blank that you're looking for a husband after 2 weeks and no one blinks/runs for the hills.  

Have a Happy Tuesday!  We're having extreme heat up here in the Northeast so to my NJ friends--stay cool!

xoxo,

E