Hello Seattle!

I just returned from a fun-filled girls weekend packed with shopping, fresh seafood, a lot of Starbucks and the Hot Chocolate 15k in Seattle, Washington!

My friend Sarah and I originally planned to go to Seattle for a fun run called The Hot Chocolate 15k, we decided to make a three day weekend of FUN out of it. 

We began the trip early Friday afternoon with coffee in hand.

After a quick 3 hour drive, we finally made it. We checked into our amazing hotel and grabbed a quick bite to eat--we were off to explore the city!

Beautiful fireplace

lobby and dining area

We stayed at The W Hotel and it was beautiful! They had great Happy Hour drinks and the place was HOPPIN' too! 

We wandered along the streets of downtown Seattle and stopped here,

Now, I am a bit of a nail polish fanatic. I also love the brand Julep! We stopped in and came across $4 polishes (last season's polish on sale). SCORE!!! Now, those of you that don't know, this brand of polish typically runs about $14 a bottle, so $4 for one was pretty legit. 

We definitely snagged a few--by far, best shopping find during the trip!

I came away with these four

We stopped into Anthropologie (for fun...we have one here in Portland too) but I found THIS dress. I wanted to die--it was so amazingly gorgeous! The picture doesn't even do it justice. Trust me, it was adorable. All $138 of it! (giant sad face on the price)



We also had some great food! We ventured into Capitol Hill for some fish & chips and a good beer Friday night. We found a small pub called, Quinns. They had a cool atmosphere, great food choices and really tasty beer!

We really had a lot of really amazing food in Seattle--I don't think we had one thing that I could possibly complain about! 

We made sure to take a stroll through Pikes Place Market as well...

Super yummy homemade bagel with cucumber and tomato

And of course, we went for a scenic 5 mile run around the pier and on a running trail along the waterfront. It was gorgeous. We ran, stopped to snap a few photos, then continued running again. Here a few quick shots Sarah took.

ACTION SHOT!! :)

We had an amazing weekend. Every second was enjoyable. Girls weekend=success!

Stay tuned for my Hot Chocolate 15k race review later this week! Alright, I'm off to unpack, watch the rest of the Oscars and get my beauty rest before a new week begins!

How was your weekend?

Did you watch the Oscars?

Cabin Fever!

Wow! 

So...we have been snowed in all weekend!

To say I have cabin fever is an understatement. (I keep sending my husband out for more wine) 

That and movie rentals are the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

Thursday the snow began fall in the Portland metro-area and then an hour later, it snowed harder and a few hours later, it began to absolutely DUMP! This is so not typical Pacific NorthWest weather. We were given twenty minutes at work to load up the kids and call all parents to pick them up immediately. My 10 minute commute to/from work turned into an almost 40 minute drive home (which was not even close to the amount of time some of my co-workers spent commuting home).

So as most businesses in the area have been closed since Friday (including my job), my husband and I have been enjoying our snow days at home. We took a long walk around the neighborhood on Friday and were the only people on the road! It was actually a bit eerie--no cars or people out and about. But also incredibly beautiful and tranquil at the same time. Cooper loved the snow. He ran through the snow, plowing his nose into it and shaking his head quickly. It was pretty hilarious.

There's just something so unbelievably magical about snow... 

I have been subjected to indoor workouts only, as my attempt to an outdoor run was an utter failure. As the snow continued to fall, the wind started to whip and the snowflakes just nailed me in the eyes. I literally could not see one thing in front of me. No matter what direction I ran in, I couldn't see a darn thing! 

Major bummer.

I have been very thankful for my Barre3 online workouts. 

At least I had pretty snow to look at! 

Oh and did I mention that I have been spending my days either baking or cooking?

  If I don't stay busy, I will go mad. 

Peanut Butter/Chocolate Chip Muffins, get the recipe here

Don't get me wrong, I loved the snow but am also very happy that it is finally melting now. I'm ready to return to civilization and a good run! At least I was finally able to catch up on laundry, deep cleaning and some of my favorite TV shows. I do feel that I have accomplished at least that much over the weekend. :)

How was your weekend? 
Is it snowing where you are?

Vitamin D, Football & Fab February Plans!

Saturday: 1 Hour of Barre3 & 2 mile walk with the dog

Saturday: 5.5 mile run (very easy pace)

Well first off, I'm just going to start by saying, what a BLOW OUT game yesterday. Right?!

 I didn't really have any emotional investment in either team so I wasn't too excited about it in the first place. Honestly, I was just looking forward to the spread of football food and the Red Hot Chili Peppers being in the half time show (they're one of my favorite bands & are awesome in concert!)
How did you feel about the game?

Well now that we've covered that, let's move on to more fitness related business... :)

How was your weekend?

I finally started feeling better on Saturday morning, which was perfect timing since I was signed up for a studio class of Barre3. 

Barre 3 is AWESOME. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. Barre is based on Ballet principles with Yoga and Pilates infusion. It's pretty much amazing and will leave you feeling the BURN when you're done. This particular Barre is Barre3 (there are a variety of franchises/names out there) but I love what Barre3 is what it stands for. There is a strong focus on a triad of principles: fitness (Barre), nourishment and connection (instructor & clients). A focus on health, fitness and encouragement?--Count me in, right up my alley! I was extremely excited to check out their Pearl District location this weekend and *praise the lord* I was finally feeling up for exercise on Saturday morning to enjoy it! Well, I could go on with how much I love Barre3 for days (and perhaps I'll revisit it for another post) but if you don't know much about it, you can check them out HERE. 

Through their website you can:

--Sign up for studio classes

--Get online classes

--Find healthy recipes

and so much more!

So, I really don't want to jinx it, but I must say, we have had some pretty amazing weather this week in the Portland area. With the sun peaking through our windows, I couldn't bear spending one more second inside the four walls of our home. I made sure to get my fair share of Vitamin D (and then some) as often as I could this weekend. I was pumped to get out and go for a run too! Oh my gosh, it was absolutely invigorating. I felt like I had come to life. Running is so cathartic for me, when I can't do it, I feel pent up. I absolutely loved the fresh air and sunshine. We don't get this often in Portland around this time of year, so I'm enjoying every second of it!

Well, we are finally in February. I thought January would never end. January was a very difficult month for me (for many reasons) but mainly because I was so sick. It really threw off my training plans and running abilities--I'm embarrassed to even share my actual January running milage . However, now that February his here, I'm moving on and I am determined to make it the month of FAB!

I like to give myself goals or values to work toward. At the beginning of each month, I create a short list of where I want to focus most, this way, I am aware of my goals and am really making them a priority. So, with that being said, here are some of my goals for the Fab month of February:

--ELIMINATE SUGAR--

 Let's be real here--> there is no health benefit to sugar, it makes me feel like garbage and I truly don't need it. Oh yeah, and it is so gosh darn ADDICTING! Now this doesn't mean that it's gone forever, but I want to know that I am not DYING to have it (honestly, I get pregnancy-level, "Gotta have it!", "I'll hurt ya if I don't get it!!" type of feelings when I'm craving sugar). I just want it out of my diet so that I can enjoy a bite here and there but not that I feel the need to have it every night after dinner (which I basically do now). That stuff is the devil, I tell ya. There are also some great alternatives to sugar that really aren't that noticeable. I found some awesome recipes that I cannot wait to share with you!
(More to come in another post about that)

--CROSS TRAINING: BARRE3--

With the killer workout this provides, I plan to incorporate this workout into my cross training days more often. I know that it will improve my muscle strength and make me a better runner because of it. 

--BE CREATIVE--

This is something that I haven't let myself do in a while and I love it. As corny as it may sound (and I don't really care), I really want to make inspiration boards for my running goals or take time to create thoughtful gifts for the people I care about most in my life. I want to take time focusing on things that I love to do for pleasure not because I have to. 

How about you?
Do you have any goals for the month of February?
How did you feel about the Super Bowl?

Oh and let's not forget!!!

THE WINNER OF MY BEARDED BROTHERS ENERGY BAR GIVEAWAY IS:
Jillian Tengood Hillman

Congrats girl! 
Please look for an email from me shortly!

**Disclosure: I am no dietitian and am not advising anyone to cut any items out of their diet. This is something that I am exploring for personal well being.**