Weekend Sunshine_XXIV

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Hey everyone! How are you all hanging in? I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I'm going to ignore the elephant in the room today and just focus on the fun parts of the weekend! I hope those that celebrated Valentine's Day whether with their valentine, family, or a group of friends - had a marvelous time!

Here are the sunniest parts of my weekend!

We kicked off Friday night with homemade turkey burgers topped with organic cheddar and smashed avocado/lime, wrapped in romaine. For a side, I made sweet potato "fries". This meal is a winner and we will eat it again soon! PS: Notice the fancy club sodas? I'm still using my drink passes (2 left!) and decided to save one for Saturday night instead of Friday. I still like to pretend I am drinking so these club sodas hit the spot (I mean, kind of, let's be serious...).

Then, one of my Valentines (Janet) picked me up and we went to Peter Welch's for the 10am class (we didn't even plan our matching vday outfits). Then, we picked up green juices from the new Juice Bar on West Broadway "Squeeze". Mine tasted like Romaine lettuce (oof), but, Janet's was pretty good. She got "The Hulk", I got "Pineapple Hydration" so do yourself a favor and hulk it up if you go. Mine was NOT good.

I drank it though. I'll tell ya - my rice cake topped with egg and cheese with a side of my favorite fruits was mighty tasty!

Then, I came home to my other Valentine (Rob) who spoiled me with the prettiest flowers I ever did see!

Then, we decided to go to the restaurant (Riccardos in the North End) at 5pm instead of 8pm because of the elephant in the room and it was a glorious decision!  We sat at the bar for almost two hours before we sat down to a hand-picked table by the owner. Oh, and there were red balloons everywhere and I thought it was the cutest.place.ever.... I think I said "Omigod it's so cute in here" about 20 times to Rob. He's so good for not making fun of me once during that.

Then, espresso martinis.

And, semi-discreet selfies until I asked the nice bartender to take one.

Then, delish dinner and after that we met up with JohnO and Alicia for bevs. 

It was the MOST PERFECT Valentine's Day EVER!

Sunday and Monday included a lot of something that starts with "shov" and ends with "ling", but, we did eat some heart shaped pasta with aglio olio to fuel up so that was cool!

And, that about wraps it up! How did you all spend the weekend? I hope your Valentine's or Galentine's or whatever it was that you celebrated was relaxing, fun, and included a lot of laughs.

Have a GREAT WEEK! xo

Insta-Spiration IV

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Hola and Happy Thursday! It's time for the 4th edition of "Insta-Spiration". I've got some really good picks for you tonight. What I KNOW about storms: People lovvveee to cook. I'm pretty pumped to share some images from a couple of my friends tonight, not just bloggers. My friends are pretty awesome and they cook/bake some super delish things so I'm excited to share their skillz. 

For those not in the Boston area who are wondering how we are "dealing" with all this snow, I'll try to explain. Honestly, everyone is TRYING to be positive. We are making the best of it, but, when we look ahead to the forecast and see another blizzard and another storm week after week after week... it feels... claustrophobic. Here's the best way I can describe it... you know that moment when you realize that you don't like someone, you know it's not their fault that they rub you the wrong way, but, you know you'll never, ever truly be able to stand them for an extended period of time? You can take them in little bursts and they can even be enjoyable on some rare occasions. But then, they keep showing up and putting their dramatic mess in your life and you can't get away from it because it's someone you HAVE to see? And you keep thinking... geez when is this person going to take a hint and go the eff away? It feels like that. Smothered, claustrophobic, suffocating. That's how these storms feel. *Please note: I currently adore the people in my life so this storm is my only bad frenemy.

OK! Moooooving onnn, as promised, I have some great instas for you tonight so enjoy and again HAPPY THURSDAY!

 

 

Everything about this blend screams summer and happiness and detox and tasty! I had some watermelon for lunch today and I'll likely eat it daily until I get sick of it. (Is it possible to get sick of watermelon? I doubt it)

 

 

 

 

This made me LOL when CAROLINE posted this the other morning. So cute, funny, and motivational all at the same time!

 

 

 

 

I can attest that this is the BEST healthier dessert I've ever made. They are so easy to make and even everyone at work liked them - win!

 

 

 

 

Yes, please and thank you, TINA! Eat and train.

 

 

 

 

Liz is a friend of mine who always a) makes amazing food that I want to eat off my phone and 2) takes great photographs of said food. She doesn't blog, but, I often confuse her photos with my blogger friend's  photos. This looks so delish and healthy and comforting all at the same time!

 

 

 

 

Becca is one of my bffs and she has been owning the kitchen during the storms lately. This pound cake spoke to me. I remember the day I fell in love with lemon poppy seed... When I was little... Shaw's in Middleboro used to sample muffins from their bakery section. My mom would always let me grab one. One day, I shyly (yes i was super shy - shocking, I know) went to grab what I hoped would be blueberry and there was only lemon-poppy seed. My mom told me to try it anyway and that's when I fell in love.  She even let me grab another one because I was so excited about my new 2nd favorite flavor of muffin! Delish!

 

 

 

 

This looks like the quinoa taco bowls I made a couple weeks ago and I'd like one again.

 

 

 

 

Those yolks, right? Perfect!!

 

 

 

 

If you don't know, now you know!

 

 

 

 

This. A fiery heart and a wicked brain. Ok?

 

 

Oh and this isn't an instagram post - this is my "oh hayyy it's snowing again - face".

Question: Who owns your favorite instagram accounts? I would love to know and check them out! 

Have a great night! xo

Weekend Sunshine XXIII

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Heyyyy Friendsssssss....

How are you all holding up? Guess what!? Boston has 50 inches of snow on the ground and we're in a sweet little pocket where we are going to get another 24 inches. -___- I am no longer amused... are you? I've decided not to bitch about it though. It is what it is, right? Things could be A LOT worse. It will melt some day, right? Right! In the meantime, I've been COOKING A LOT! You'll notice that "weekend sunshine" consists of a lotttt of homemade meals. I'll post a few of the recipes later this week - try them and let me know what you think!

On Friday night, I made one of my favorite recipes - Bourbon Pork Tenderloin with spicy mustard sauce, roasted beets over spinach salad and roasted potatoes. Yummmm.

The highlight of my weekend was definitely the "Cycle for Survival" event at Equinox that I had told you about earlier in the week. I spoke with one of the instructors, Shandell, before it was my turn to get up on my bike. She has been instructing each cycle event since 2011 and participates ALL DAY! This event started in NYC in 2007 and has already raised $63 MILLLION! In 2013, the event came to Boston at Equinox and has since grown to 13 cities! There was so much energy at this event - it was really powerful.

I also ran into Caroline and Carrie! Yay! (Don't mind my sweaty hair and red-face... I had JUST finished when I ran into these fab gals who had just arrived)

These tribute walls always get me. So emotional.

This event was really incredible. I can't even begin to explain the level of energy... it was beyond! There were pom poms and cheer leaders and the music was LOUD! There were symbols of strength everywhere. I was really moved. They truly stick to what they promote which is... 

Cycle for Survival is the national movement to beat rare cancers.  Our high-energy indoor team cycling events provide a tangible way for you to fight back—100% of all money raised directly funds lifesaving rare cancer research. 

I left the event with one big smile!

Later that day, I was cold and starting to go a little stir crazy. This is my "I'm sick of snow" face.

Then, Rob came home from work and took me out for Sushi and beverages. Happy girl.

This morning, I made these pancakes that came out WAY better than expected. They were delightful and I could have eaten two stacks.

This doesn't look like much but, for some reason it was soooo good. I made up the sauce for the chicken: 3/4 cu balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cu olive oil, 3 tbs dijon mustard, 2 cloves garlic,  2 tbs tahini, 1.5 tbs chopped rosemary, pinch of salt. Put it in a baking pan and cook covered for 25 minutes on 375.

Told ya I've been cooking a lot. What have you all been doing while being snowed in?

Hope you have a great week! xo