Mrs. Varitek

I'm alive.. I swear... I've been all over the place and crazy busy the past few days but have been missing you darlings bunches. And just because I've been too busy to POST doesn't mean I'm too busy to read about all your fab lives and what's been going on! So much exciting news around the blogosphere these days!!!! :)

Natalie closing on her new house...

Kailey getting a fantastic new internship @ Food Arts magazine...

Lo getting a great new job AND possibly another at Lululemon...

Congrats ladies! :)

Hows everyone's Friday going? I can't even explain how happy I am that we've reached the end of another week. Phewww... work + the gym = one sore and exhausted me all week long.

My life since Tuesday has consisted of: working doubles, working lunch shifts that turned into doubles, few drinks here & there... (I enjoy a Chardonnay, what of it??) homemade sushi night with my homies, searching high & low for the missing pieces to my Halloween costume, and getting in major workouts/starting to feel more like myself in the gym :) Although my shins are still bothering me (the right more than the left) I've been trying to rest it when I can, ice as much as possible, and starting today I'm going to wrap it if I'm planning on running. It's tough to give my legs some good R&R when my full-time job requires being on my feet for hours & hours (not to mention RUNNING while on the clock)

I wisely took Friday & Saturday off (woohooooo!) mostly because of Halloween... but now I'm thanking my lucky stars I did so that my legs can get a little break... minus the gym of course, which I'm preparing myself for now...

Just enjoyed some pumpkin oats for breakky...

The only complaint I had this morning with my oats was the fact that there's zero fruit in this house (besides my stash from apple picking, which I'm saving for apple spice muffins!) soI felt as though my breakfast was lacking a little volume.

A sprinkle of whole almonds left me feeling just as full as I do with my regular naner or apple loaded oaties though! Score.

Potential FAIL however is the fact I'm almost out of my beloved Pumpkin Butter *dun dun dunnnn!* What's a girl to do???

I got to try out my new Silk creamer in my coffee this morning though... the French Vanilla's delicious!! I didn't even need any sugar in my java this morning. The creamer adds just enough sweetness...so SMILE I will, Silk carton :)

Currently on giant snowflake cup #2 of the morning...

I'm gonna be a hyper all day today...

Sooo now I suppose it's time to backtrack and catch you lovies up on life para mi :)
I will recap Halloween costume hunting...
And working alongside Simsbury's finest fighters of flames....
And the delicious sue-shaaaay party....


All of which made my extra loooong week a little less slow & painful.


Wednesday morning I woke up needing oats like never before. Pumpkin to be exact... does anyone else see a trend here??

With a sprinkle of brown sugar and dollop of pumpkin butter (& a warm naner mixed in and mashed)


Continued to be the recessionista that I am and packed lunch, per usual....
Gahhhh Iced Gingerbread Clif bar!!! INCREDZ!


Also mixed that Honey Chobani with a spoonful of Teddie PB & packed it alongside some Kashi Warm Cinnamon for a snacky later in the day...
Work was long but eventful, literally. We had an event at work Wednesday night to benefit the volunteer fire department one town over... Simsbury sent us 5 firemen (& one firelady!) to accompany each server for the night when greeting guests, taking orders, and bringing out/clearing food. Good & entertaining times to be had.


They were hilar, first of all... sooo much fun and actually did a very good job. Me and my new bff J.T. the fireman were pure entertainment for our guests... aka J.T. was recognized by all the adults as "the bartender from De Codas (sp? who knows)" but it made for an interesting night hearing stories about his craziness. Ohhh boy.


He was bringing out my food for me, clearing my tables, mackin it on the lady customers, and hanging out with the kids who obvi adored him. Not to mention we were telling each other the whole time: I NEED A BREW PRONTO. The restaurant was packed most of the night because of the benefit so.... firemen = cha-Chinggg$$ in Allio's pocket ;)


We all ended the night with staffer beers (on a Wednesday!!!!! thanks to J.T. sweet talking my manager heyooo) and we lounged with the firemen in the bar.. chatted it up... the majority of us girls inquiring the Gray Fox fireman if he had been told he looks like George Clooney (striking resemblence) ...loved it.


Then it was off to have homemade sushi (say whaat!?) Yes. It was amazing. I went and met some chooches from work... after grabbing both a 6-pack of my beloved Shocktops & a bottle of Chardonnay (I just couldn't make up my mind... & the employees thought I was an alcoholic as I hauled booze to the counter, dropped it off, then went back for more a few times.. ummmm?)


Watched the Yanks LOSE! Hahaaaaaahaha.... and Jeremy proceeded to bring out the first homemade rolll (I WISH I had gotten some pictures because these were perfectly done! My roll was slightly sloppy. FAIL)


I ate my weight in homemade sushi with tuna, lots and lots of avocado of course, crab, cucumber, and a tiny bit of wasabi. I'm such a baby when it comes to spice... blech... I hate spicy things! Watched the game and chatted with the boy-o's while enjoying my brewnana and then midnight rolled around and it was time to hightail it home so I could be up for work again the next morning. Jeeeezum....


Began the morning with a long lost friend...


I can't even remember the last time I had a yogurt mess with cereal & PB for breakfast! I haven't been able to kick my oatmeal addiction in the morning. But this was definitely what I was craving and it was yummyyy as ever!

--1/2 cup Nature's Promise FF Vanilla yogurt

--1/2 cup Kashi Warm Cinnamon

--1/2 cup Kashi Wild Blueberry cereal

--Sprinkle of Cinnamon

--Dollop of Teddie PB

Packed a lunch, per usual...

Giant Honeycrisp...

With a tuna wrap on WW wrap with carrots, dijon mustard, a light spread of Garlic & Herb laughing cow, lots of baby spinach....

I did end up buying a cup of Cream of Tomato soup from Panera to go with my wrap which made for a lovely lunch and kept me full all day.

Work was loooong because of my lack of sleep (my own fault... boo) but it began rather normal. Got in at 11... opened up the restaurant... and things were pretty dead so me and the other two servers Kari & Nicki just enjoyed our morning coffee until the lunchtime rush began.

Once we thought it had "ended" my manager sent both of them on break (at 1:30 mind you) until 4pm! Yes... so I was told I would be the only server on from 1:30-4pm that day. OH not to mention the fact that my manager had very serious business to conduct at the Farmer's Market buying apples. You serious?

Not even ten minutes after everyone left, I got a rush of about seven tables all at once and had to seat them all, greet them within 2 minutes (it's called J&J treatment at FBread... and it's whatever when you're the only server on), get drinks, take orders, bring out food, CHECK said food after 2 minutes of eating, clear tables, clean tables, RESET TABLES, play bartender at the same time.. ummmmm is anyone else realizing the insanity that was my day yesterday????

About two seconds from a panic attack I luckily got help from friend Jeremy the cook (what a doll) otherwise I think I would have had a breakdown. I'm a GOOD SERVER, just FYI... I can usually handle a good amount of craziness all at once but this just happened to be the day that one table wanted our blueberry martinis (which I've made once... about 2 months ago) and a guy who was obvi over 40 ordered a drink but didn't have an I.D.... FAIL... and another table wanted to know if they could buy a bottle of the Amigo hot sauce we serve with our pizza (Ummm, nay?) yes, all of this had to occur the one day I have little to no help and may or may not have been ready to call it quits. HA!

All in all... I look at the postive. I made at least $40-$50 more than the other two that day JUST based on my little solo lunchtime rush. Cha-chingggggg once again!!

Sooo moral of the story? When the going gets tough, the tough get paid ;)

So I got stuck there about 2 hours later than originally planned but once 4pm hit I said PEACE, got dressed, and dragged my ridiculously tired ace to the gym....

And proceeded to pound out a run that felt like the OLD me :) I can't even tell you how happy my workout made me last night... I got in an hour of cardio:

45 minutes on the treadmill / 3.8 miles / 446 calories

15 minutes on the treadmill / 140 calories

Although my right leg was still causing some problems, I was able to spend more than 15 minutes on the tready and that hasn't happened comfortably ONCE this week... :) I'm hoping I can get in a workout similar, if not better, today so I can feel better about the amount of wine I am to consume this weekend whilest playing Mrs. Varitek...

Oh.... didnt I mention I've thrown together my HWeen costume?? ;) Because my Girl Scout idea fell through (estimated date of arrival was Oct. 30th... sorry that won't do) I frantically had to come up with a last minute (& easy) idea for a costume.

Enter my 2nd love next to Anthony: Baseball.

I went to Bob's and got a kid's size Varitek shirt... a new pair of Soffe white shorts... AND bought another pair of Soffe's on clearance ($5!) for running purposes.. and that's it!

I already have my Red Sox hat to match, white & red socks, and matching sneaks... and I'll be sure to sport the badass black streaks on my face. It felt good to have all this Halloween biz-nas completed. Phewww... I was beginning to get nervous there!

When I came home from the gym I was beyond starving and craved oatmeal (luckily finding out afterward that it was National Oatmeal Day!) So happy I celebrated.. ;) and it's very rare that I crave oats for dindin so this was fate I'm convinced.

Did you all celebrate the oat-lovers holiday??

After my dinner of naner-oatmeal with PB I wanted a snacky later on:

Deep Chocolate Vitatop warm and mixed with crushed graham crackers....

It may look horrendous but it was perfect! :)

Crashed shortly after and slept in this morning...ahhh, what a great feeling. Today is jam packed with things to do though!

The plan is....

~Go to the gym

~Finish up laundry/fold/put away

~Thinking of a Whole Foods trip!! (I won a gift certificate at our Breast Cancer benefit @ work about a month ago and have yet to use it!) maybe for lunch??? :)

~Play dress-up, get in my Varitek gear, and get toasty with my lovelies because tonight IS the first night of Halloween celebrating, let's be serious...

What do you all have planned for Halloween?

What are you dressing up as??

Andddd I'm OFF!

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Shin Splints, Anyone??

Good evening, lovemuffins :) How are we tonight?

I'm fab.. minus some minor crampage (TMI? Prob. Sorry.) But it's not too fun and resulted in a wardrobe change at around 4pm into Anthony's lacrosse sweatpants (aka pants two sizes too big for me), big warm socks, & zero makeup. Moral of the story? I'm a beaut right now, let me tell ya... a real catch.

Prior to the downturn of the day, I "slept in" until 9ish which was perfection. I woke up to Bella-Cat sleeping on my toes (equally perfect & adorable) AND nothing but rain outside (yuck!)... I began my morning with some of the regular breakfast... scrumptious banana-coconut oats:

Oats always seem to be the perfect solution to the rainy day blues :)

Had a cup or two of coffee & lazed around a little more to catch up on blog reading, make a to-do list for the day, AND plan out the rest of my meals for the day (part of my attempt to get more protein and LESS carbs in my diet)

Saddled up to brave the rain and go out to the gym...

I did 50 minutes of cardio - 20 minutes on the treadmill & 30 minutes on the elliptical

449 calories and a major leg workout later, I stopped at the grocery store for a few essentials for the rest of my planned meals of the day...

Where these caught my eye!!!

Seasonal Clif Bars!!!!! I've seen these around the old blog-o-sphere lately but they haven't shown up at any of the grocery stores I go to until now.... Cannot wait to try them :)

Have any of you been able to get your hands on these flavors?

What did you think of them??

I've still only been able to find S'mores Z-bars at one of those grocery stores too! Ughhhh...driving me nuts.

Anyway.. my legs were still sore after leaving the gym and it's starting to cause concern for me... I've had shin splints since high school when I first starting getting extreme pain and tightness during field hockey season. I've been able to keep it under control rather well through icing and wrapping during games over the years but lately the pain has come back full force. What is discouraging is the fact that it has been continually effecting my runs. The duration of my runs have become shorter & shorter due to the pain and even after excessive stretching (and icing) I haven't seen an improvement. IN FACT... it's only gotten worse :(

My concern now is that I won't be able to run the Turkey Trot I have signed up for that takes place in mid-November. It will be here sooner than I think and at the rate I'm going, I feel I'll have trouble even running the first mile!!!

The only positive point in this is the fact that the pain hasn't completely effected my workouts. I'm still able to bust out a good workout on the elliptical to make up for the missed time on the treadmill but, in all honesty, I'm more of a runner at the gym & would like to get my butt back on the treadmill (& kick its' butt!) I miss pounding out a great run and a long workout on the elliptical just doesn't give me the same accomplished feeling :(

Have any of you ever dealt with shin splints or some kind of injury/pain that has caused a drop in your productivity during a workout???

What did you do to solve the problem?

I'm desperate here! I'm not sure what to do next!!! Any advice you darlings could give me would be greatly appreciated!

The rest of the days eats look like so....

Snagged the idea for lunch from Therese for her easy-squeezy frittata... I used mushrooms (a whooole lot of them) rather than broccoli... Pre-poppin into the oven!

Made with 1 egg, 3 egg whites, 1 oz. FF cheddar cheese, BIG handful of chopped mushrooms, sprinkle of parsley, and salt & pepper....

All thrown into a pie plate coated with PAM....

Baked at 500 for 15 minutes & this browned beauty is what came out:

Sooo very good & so simple! Filled me up for quite a while & will definitely be making it again asap!

Just had to have another little sliver ;)

Doing good on the Meal Menu so far!
Oh..and P.S. that Sweet-Potato & Corn Chowder is on the menu for making tomorrow night (if I dont get stuck at work all night *fingers crossed*)

My afternoon snack was a long overdue yogurt...

Vanilla Chobani with 2 crushed graham cracker boards & a spoonful of Teddie PB

Did about 10 loads of laundry... Oyyyy! Very long overdue... and then plopped myself down to watch a Halloween favorite... ITS THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN.

Seriously... if C.Brown was a real person, he would be one sad little boy...

"I got a rock...."

Good God, poor child hahaha.

Then came dinnatime once the rumbling in mah bellay began...

Started with a pan of roasted veggies because when am I not craving those?

Roasted up some:

Yellow squash.. Carrots.. Mushrooms.. Eggplant... Onion

Along with a tilapia fillet I seasned with Season-All (a delicious combo of onion, garlic, blah blah) cooked it up in a pan for about 3-4 mins on each side...

Holy Yum... Hence why I could never give up seafood :)

My snack-fiend alterego presented herself tonight and I was craving chocolate like no other... luckily I stuck with this baby rather than picking out some tasties from our Halloween stash:

I'm a newbie to the Deeeep Chocolateeee although I do LOVE me that chocolate... I don't discriminate. If you are of the Chocolate Family, I adore you so.

Uhhhh....no brainer what was required to add to this bitty:

Light spread of smooth Teddie PB on top of a warm Vita-top? Yowzaaaah!!! PB & Chocolate at its best bebe...


And that combo, of course, requires a cold glass of this...

Time to devour.... Going....

Going......

Ended too soon if you ask me...

Thank you Sir may I have another?????

The rest of the night will consist of ME. SLEEPING. FOREVER.

I have a double at work tomorrow & want to make sure I get a full night's sleep... doubles have been killing me lately! I'm pretty sure I can blame lack of sleep and being on my feet for 9+ hours straight for this... then I'll be heading to the gym to (hopefully) get in a hard workout.... we'll see if my shins allow that :-/

Looking forward to:

1. The Volunteer Fire Department Benefit tomorrow @ work.... aka glorious firemen will be present at Flatbread and will be assisting the servers (aka yours truly) in serving dinner to customers.... Does anyone else see this as a potentially amaaaazing night? ;) Haha...come on girls. Can I hear a AMEN to FIREMEN.

2. Halloween festivities this weekend with Anthony & some of my college bebes who I've missed sooo very much! Still need to figure out a few minor pieces to my costume though (Ahhhh!) it's coming up fast!!

What are you lovelies looking forward to in the upcoming days???

Positive Thinking

This is going to have to be a somewhat quickieee post...because I've had a long night at work giving candy to little kids in costume and playing early Halloween dress-up (I was a black cat, very original, I know... but I found out just yesterday we were dressing up at work. Yikessss!) and it was the first thing I came up with... The little kids who were also dressed as kitties LOVED it though so, thanks children...

I started off my day with this delectable breakfast...

I know... NO oats present. Shocking, isn't it???

I was really craving a savory breakfast this morning.. specifically an egg over easy. I knew right away it was the only thing that was going to make me happy so I had one!

With a side of 9-grain toast with a light spread of Teddie PB!

And a Gala with cinnamon...

OH and Vanilla Caramel tea... abso-fruitleyyyy ;)


I somehow squeezed in a gym session before worktime...
45 mins on the elliptical / 4.85 miles / 390 calories burned


Then came home and made lunch... I had a can of soup via Amy that I hadn't tried yet and have been meaning to because the combo looks amazing. As I mentioned in my post Saturday, the Carb Monster has been present on a daily basis and I'm trying to make an attempt to fix that. Baby steps, of course... because I can't just cut out things I love like cereal, oatmeal, toast, sandwiches... blah blah BUT I know I can effectively lower my carbs and increase my proteins quite easily if I actually pay attention to each meal and balance it off of the one before it...

So I had the soup (beans for protein!)


And 1/4 of a sweet potato warmed in the microwave with a sprinkle of cinnamon..

I added some shrimp to the soup too for some added "oomph" hahah... not that that's a legit word, but you get what I'm saying

Delicious!

Rushed off to work, put some eyeliner whiskers on along with a pair of cat ears, carved a cat into a pumpkin, ate my weight in pumpkin seeds (and had 2 mini Heath bars from our ginormous candy collection... could NOT resist) and came home absolutelyyyy exhausted and ready to eat my dinner...

Which came from worky..

Organic salad with Goat cheese, free-range chicken, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery, seaweed, sesame seeds, & ginger tamari dressing....

Yeah..it tastes as phenom as it looks.

Now it's time to get to the REAL purpose of today's post: positive thinking.

I've seen sooo many inspiring posts from you bloggies lately that have just put a smile on my face over and over again.. You're all SO positive and continue to keep that mindset when things get tough and that is incredible. It's harder than it seems, at times, to "look on the bright side" when it appears that just about everything's going wrong. But I can assure you, there's always something to be thankful for and something to put a smile on your face.

So it got me thinking... what are the positive things in my life that I can look to in my mind or in person in order to keep me in a "good place" at all times? There are so many things that make me smile on a daily basis and I'm usually a cheery, motivated, and appreciative person just for the ability to do what I do. I work hard, love like crazy, have fun, and kick my own ass when exercising. I'm giving and would do just about anything asked of me for those I love.

When it came to making a mental list in my head of those things that I am thankful for & smile about in order to stay positive... these were just a few that came into my head:

Being an Aunt :)

My nephew, Jacob, was born in February and he is a bundle of happiness & is always smiling, laughing, and playing... he's made me realize all over again what is important. FAMILY! And because ours has now expanded, it's even more exciting.

Witnessing the seasons changing (especially the change to Fall) is a constant reminder of the beauty of nature... I'm an outdoor girl and especially during the Spring & Autumn I love nothing more than just taking in the sights & smells of these beautiful times of the year...

My little bitty baby Bella-Cat :)

She can always be counted on to sleep on my feet when I go to bed... wake me up with a light meow in my face... play with catnip.. and curl up with me when I'm not feeling my greatest. She's like a best friend who never has to say a word in order to brighten my day. Her fuzzy little face does enough :)


Coffee...enough said.

Haha... it gets me up in the morning, keeps me going going going throughout the day, is a great excuse to meet with an old friend and catch up, it's a comfort for me... wrapping my hands around a warm cup of coffee at any time of day just soothes my soul & puts me at ease. Not to mention the flavors are heaven to me.

My beautiful, amazing, hilarious, dedicated, and wonderful friends.....

Inside jokes....

Always laughing...

Vacationing...

Staying up late just to have good talks...

Since elementary school....

Most recently.... I've become thankful for the man at my gym who is WITHOUT A DOUBT, Matthew Fox's twin. *Hubba-Hubba* I can't believe I just uttered that....ew. I dont know if you watch LOST, but Matthew Fox makes it much more beautiful and causes more drooling, also... and thank you, beautiful M.Fox twin at the gym, you are at times the reason my 45 min workout turns into an hour when I'm distracted by your gorgeousness....HA

Now, DONT GET ME WRONG, I'm not a bad person here... because I'm absolutely head over heels in love, thankful, for my wonderful boyfriend Anthony :) He's the sweetest person I could have ever asked for and makes everyday a little bit better. He is my best friend and can always be counted on to help me see the bright side of any situation and make me smile even when I'm already in tears. I don't know how he deals with my sometimes bratty personality and my extreme indecisiveness about every little thing but he does it so well and I know for sure, I've found a good one...

I kept these things in my mind today as reminders for why I should always be a happy, positive person. Everyone has "off" days and I won't be irrational and believe I will always be 100% my best, but I will damn well try and with the help of my "positive things" it makes it just a little bit easier :)

What are some positive things in your life???

What made you smile today?

The Carb Monster

Hey Heyyy Happy Saturday!!

For those of you who are being mucho lame like me and ending your ultra fun Saturday at 10:45pm with a glass of wine, The Patriot aka Mel Gibs in his militia best (Grrrr baby, love it), and a blogging sesh... I SALUTE YOU :)

Not to say I didn't have a very fun night!!! I did, in fact, have a wonderful (but early) girls night out with three of my darling friends ...which I'll get to momentarily, but I love those nights where you're already ready to change into your comfiest clothes and spend the next few hours rekindling your relationship with the couch ;)

In the bloggy world, Alyssa's hosting a very special giveaway... simply by donating $1 (or more!!) to the National Eating Disorder Association, you enter yourself in the drawing to win a bunch of amazing goodies. It's such a good cause and even us recessionistas can afford it!!

AND...Lo's Halloween giveaway/scavenger hunt ends Sunday!! I dont know about you, but I'm psycheddddd for this one and have been having a lot of fun trying to capture pics of all 13 things from the list and you should get to it too!!

Let's hop on back to yesterday morning because I had what may very well be TOP 5 oats material for breakfast...

S'mores Oats!!

~1/2 cup oats

~1 cup water

~2 graham cracker boards worth of crumbs

~1 tbsp DCD peanut butter

....I seriously drool whenever I look at this picture... holy decadence for b-fast; a MUST EAT if you ask me!

Did I even have to mention what I had alongside the deliciousness???

Headed off to boyfriend's house shortly after packing what looked like a week's worth of clothes... ugh, I don't know if I'll ever be able to manage realistic packing like.. packing TWO pairs of jeans for a TWO day trip rather than five pairs of jeans "just in case" In case what!? In case I prefer very dark navy blue to regular navy blue skinnies? I've gotta get a grip...

I'm developing the muscles of a barbarian hauling my entire wardrobe around in 2 or 3 different bags every time I leave the house... G.D. it's ridic...

Let's be serious... girl to girls....

Do you tend to overpack for day trips or even vacations??

I know it's always beneficial to have options but I feel like it always ends up being more trouble than it's worth having to lug all that extra weight around!

Anyway... I met boyfriend at the mall because he and his friend James were already there... obvi popped into Forever 21 to check out the goods they got goin onnnn.

A.K.A....NOT MUCH. Ehhh... my current obsession is plaid button-ups (which they had an abundance of) with ties at the waist.. because I'm not such a fan of the button ups that are boxy and a simple tie around the waist instantly turns this kind of top feminine. Besides that, nothing caught my eye really. FAIL.

Met up with BF and received a very thoughtful present!!!! :)

He bought me a cookbook at Borders! (he knows me too well...) "365 Easy Vegetarian Recipes" which is absolutely perfect since I went on my "meatless kick" for about two weeks and found it surprisingly easy when I had good veggie recipes to use... this just made my day! He's such a sweetheart :) Pretty sure he knew he'd benefit from it too seeing as how I ALWAYS need a taste tester to approve new recipes ;)

We stopped at Panera for lunch because I was getting crabby....

*NOTE TO SELF* Don't drive/shop for hours without a snack handy if you are me... I get cranky as a G.D. two-year old when I'm hungry!!!!!

I got the 1/2 sandwich & soup combo...per usual

~The Cream of Tomato soup (of course... I'm addicted to it)

~1/2 a Turkey Artichoke panini (Turkey, tomato, spinach artichoke spread, carmelized onions...yummmmm!)

...They didn't have apples (FAIL!!!!!) so they stuck a piece of bread on my tray, which I left ... didn't you spy the title of this very post??? HA!

Very yummy as always and left my belly full & happy....

BF got the same combo with the Summer Corn Chowder (I had a bite or two.. it was pretty good! Had a hint of seasoning and a sweet aftertaste yum yummm) with a 1/2 of some kind of delish sandwich...

On the way out, I caught sight of the baked goods, especially the cookies and thought "Gahhh, I wish it was Friday..." OH WAIT....

Realizing I'm apparently lost in my own mind and then finally putting two and two together to find out it IS Friday, I politely asked for one of the Toffee Nut cookies so I could celebrate my favorite "holiday" of the week :)

Then proceeded to explain Cookie Friday to BF who, of course with his giant sweet tooth, MORE than approved :) and I'm pretty sure he will be joining me next week for my celebration...

We came home and BF picked up a 12 pack of these precious bebes on the way...
There's a sweet shot of my little cookbook to the left ;)


We relaxed... got in our snuggle time (yeah yeahhh I CAN be lovey dovey at times haha) and then got ready to go out for dinner with BF's brother and his girlfriend, Sara,who I adore!! She's sooo much fun and we have so much in common which makes visits to BF's house even MORE fun because she usually plans on visiting the same nights that I'll be there...


We chat about clothes, exercise, FOOD especially, baking, music, Coach, and vacations...


So us four headed out to Time Out Tavern, our favorite place about 5 mins down the road from the boys' house. They have AMAZING martinis, great appetizers, and pretty decent prices for the quality food you get.


Of course.. since there was a 30 min wait, Sara and I headed straight to the bar to get the martini party started...
Peach Blossom Martini (this x 2!)


When we sat down I immediately ordered the special soup...
French MUSHROOM Soup!!!!
Prepared the same way as their French Onion, but I love love love mushroooms so I'm pretty sure it was fate and we were meant to meet at the Tavern that night (I swoooon) Ironically, I dislike the huge amount of cheese restaurants always seem to pile on top of the soup... the mushrooms & broth were what I was really after!


I knew I needed some protein by this point... I was a little sluggish most of the day and I know when my body is lacking a good dose of protein so I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich on wheat with lettuce, tomato, & cheddar cheese....


Along with sweet potato fries...

The sandwich was good (messy, but good) I would have preferred if they toasted the bread or something... it was falling apart in my hands and I was left with a mess of chicken and cheese... blech!


The fries were BOOOOOOMB!!!!!!!
Nice and crunchy and sooo very sweeet :) Just like they should be....


We also split the Chocolate Lava Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream between the four of us... no pic because I pretty much inhaled my few bites of the heavenly thing before a decent pic coud be taken. Oooooops ! I can assure you, it was perfection.


We had such a fun time at dinner, caught up with each other.. talked about plans for Halloween (only 5 days away!!!!) witnessed a VERY rude man named Roger complaining and embarassing the hostess right in front of us... My original plan was to save the last few sips of my martini specifically to throw in his face later in the night (EW!) I hate nothing more than rude customers... as a server myself, I could tell the hostess was doing her best to be as polite as possible when the whole time she just wanted to say... Hey. JACKASS. You're complaining to the WRONG person. I wish I had just done it for her... one more Peach Blossom and I probably would have been stupid enough to do so.


Have you ever had a situation at work having to deal with difficult people? How did you handle the situation???


I woke up before BF this morning so I snacked on a Honeycrisp I had brought along and caught up on blogs & played on Facebook, you know, the reg....
Once caveman finally woke up around 10 it was time for breakfast... I made OATS! (Apple-Cinnamon to be exact!) I had to use the not-so-good stuff for my PB... all they had in the house was Skippy PB but it was better than nothing!


Tasted great and held me over for hours and hours.. seeing as how I didn't have a full meal until 6pm, this was a good choice for breakky....


Bid a sad goodbye to BF and the other two chooches, sadly turned down pumpkin carving with BF's little sister :( and thought about how bad I wished I had stayed on the drive home because of this fact, and then drove home...


NOT before stopping at the gym!!


Which was uneventful, to say the least...


My shin splints have been getting worse and worse :( I'm currently icing my right shin at the time actually because of this.... my runs have become worse lately in terms of length and power while running. I ran for 15 minutes... took a break because of the pain, tried the elliptical for 15 mins only to find out it was broken and wouldn't switch to Cardio setting, hopped back on the treadmill... ran a quick 1.25 miles, then was DONE because it was already time to get home and get ready to go out to dinner with my girlfriends!


Snacked on another Honeycrisp after leaving....

Me and three of my friends went to Da Capo.. a place that's been in the area for almost a year now that NONE of us had tried yet. We heard they had good Caprese salad... good enough recommendation for me...


We got complimentary warm rolls with good olive oil.... so I enjoyed one

Follow by TWO appetizer portions of the Caprese Salad for the table....
I had this and another 1/2 of the tomato & mozz combo...
They served their caprese salad with roasted red peppers which I personally was pretty excited about!! Loooove me some roasted red peps! :)


We ordered a large white pizza for the table....
Broccoli, ricotta, mozz, roasted garlic on the whole thing...
...and mushrooms on half for Morgan & I the shroom fiends ahhhh yum!

Had 2 pieces (it was ALL I could handle after the apps, bread, & house Chardonnay)


Oh... that is until our waiter brought us out a free 3-layer chocolate mousse cake (SAY WHAAAA!?!) yeah... needless to say, we hugged Tyler passionately before leaving and offered him marriage in return for his sweet surprise. I think we made his day if I'm not mistaken....


Ahhh so unrelated by the POINT behind this post was my Carb Addiction. Whitney's post totally hit close to home because I have the same exact issue (minus the fact I'm not training for a marathon at the time like super-girl Whit who looks fabulous as ever whether she thinks so or not! :) haha) but it IS something I've been meaning to address...


YES, you heard it right.
Hello, my name is Allio, and I'm a Carb-a-holic....


I need to cut back. I haven't noticed a significant difference in weight or anything, but my body just feels more sluggish and I DO feel more weighed down physically during workouts these days which I think has something to do with the insane amount of carbs I throw into my mouth. I don't mean to do it either...


The culprits???
1.) Oatmeal.... which I will continue to eat each morning because it's packed full of nutrients and I load up my oats with good things like fruit, peanut butter for protein, & this breakfast keeps me full and happy the longest
2.) Sandwiches... I'm a sandwich fiend.. PB & J, turkey, quesadillas, bagels with jam... I love me some bread.. and by the time lunch rolls around, I usually crave it!
3.) Cereal.... when I have cereal, I find it veryyy difficult to end it at one bowl. I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life & that is no exaggeration! I love it... everything about it... but its carbo-heaven.


SO... you will hopefully see more protein based meals & snacks on the Chocoholic homefront from this day forward as I attempt to balance my starches with my proteins on a daily basis.... let's hope it works out *fingers crossed*


Currently??? Watching the beginning of, yet another, Mel Gibson movie (me and Gibby are in love) this time.. We Were Soliders and I'm laaaahvin it already... having one more chilled glass of Chardonnay... and then getting straight to reading a book my biotch Lauryn lent me tonight called Smashed... aka a real-life recap of a girl's drunken adventures beginning around age 16 and ending at 22... hmmmmmmm.. Sounds familiar?? I dunno, maybe.


Happy Saturday Bebes! :)