WVU win & PPP Breakfast

Is it just me or are weekends getting shorter and shorter? I’m pretty sure I’m also getting lamer and lamer. My weekends used to be spent at 2 for 1 Happy Hours on Friday nights (that always led into early Saturday mornings), laying in bed with my girlfriends eating junk on Saturday’s until we got dolled up to do it all over again that night and then having a Sunday Funday starting out with a champagne brunch and ending with Football games all over different bars in the city of Baltimore. Now it consists of grocery shopping, menu planning, drop offs at the dry cleaner, laundry, cooking and catching up on my DVR – and I’m not even married…this shouldn’t be happening yet!

Speaking of DVR – I am watching “Craigslist Killer” that aired on Lifetime…Did anyone see it? It’s pretty sick and I’m a BIG baby…I hope I can sleep tonight!

Weekend re-cap time

Saturday I had the other half of my Pizzert, topped with applesauce, pears and a little chocolate peanut butter! I met up with my brothers and cousin early in the AM and we headed to DC to watch the Georgetown/WVU basketball game. Guess who won? (Pretend you did not see my Blog title)

Yay! West Virginia… It was a good game – There were a lot of ups and downs!

During half-time the boys and I were chatting about buffalo sauce and with all of the cheering we’d done we worked ourselves up a nice appetite so I suggested Hooters. They’re boys, of course they are going to agree! Wellllll BAD IDEA. Worst service, disgusting food, and a long walk in the freezing cold snow. I ordered a grilled chicken house salad with a side of buffalo sauce to use as dressing. The waitress brought me out a container of lard…No joke. Um, thanks but I wont be pouring that on my vegetables!

Yuck Yuck Yuck! I requested a vinaigrette dressing instead but never got that… So i ended up eating some of these to get my buffalo fix.

Despite the service and the food…or lack thereof. The company was great I love my family more than anything ( i know i say that all the time…but it’s true and i’ll probably say it 1 million more times!)

I also saw this ad on an elevator on our way back to the car and thought DUH! Of course it can!!!

After the game I headed to the mall (hmm…that’s one resolution I’m not doing so well on). I only went to Nordstrom though…so that makes it KIND OF ok? I got a new pair of Hunter Boot sock liners (umm they’re $45?? ridic), a pair of Ippolita black onyx and sterling silver stud earrings and a Red v-neck staple shirt. I also spent some time at Barnes and Noble reading (see, I told you I was getting old!). I picked up a new Vegan cookbook “Skinny Bitch” and I’m excited to try some recipes!

I ended my night with some blog reading, leftover baked potato soup andddd you guessed it, vegan chocolate chips!

Today I woke up and was ready for my favorite spin class! I got their 20 minutes early…and it was booked. I could already tell it was going to be THAT kind of day…. Luckily I had an idea for a delicious breakfast to try when I got home… Pumpkin Protein Pancakes! I try to spend a littttle more time on breakfasts during the weekend because I have more time to experiment. These were perfect and hit the spot

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of brown rice protein
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients – protein powder, flour, oats, flax, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice
2. Mix wet ingredients – almond milk, pumpkin, vanilla.
   
3. Combine together.
4. Heat a skillet with cooking spray to med-high heat. Drop the batter into 3 portions in skillet and heat for 3 minutes on each side. Make sure you press down after flipping the pancakes the first time.
   
5. Transfer to plate and top these however you would like.

6. Digest these in 3.6 seconds.

There were really 3 of them… But the last one kind of broke so it went unpictured. The toppings I chose were a sugar-free maple syrup and a banana. This recipe is a keeper.

My friend called shortly after and asked me to attend a bridal show with her. If you don’t know…one of my dreams is to plan weddings, so I happily obliged. It was SO crowded… First thing we did was grab a glass of wine Can you guess which section we went to next? Cake Tasting!!!

There were also two that missed picture day. We each had a bite of the first 4, our own mini cupcake and a sliver of the last two. I think my favorite was the last one (not pictured) from a local bakery. It was a Devils food double chocolate cake which is weird because I’m usually not a fan of chocolate cake (or ice cream – even though I LOVE chocolate).

A candy favor table! Isn’t that pretty? Wedding planning is so fun! I’m so glad my friend invited me – we had a great time

Next up on my Sunday to do list was head to my second home… Whole Foods! I spent a quick 2 hours, a little over $100 and enjoyed every second – until I got home.

While I was carrying in my 65 pound bags during 35 mph winds (neither of these are exaggerations) – bags ripped, the waters fell out of their package and rolled down the hill, my flats slipped off my heel and I tripped on a step scrapping up 3 of my knuckles. Go ahead and just call me grace. Good thing I have care bear band-aids to make my boo boo all better

Dinner was also a hot mess and included not one item that should’ve been entered into this body of mine. Tomorrow’s a new day

I’m going to pre-make my breakfast for tomorrow morning – My first time testing out overnight oats! Don’t forget it’s meatless monday!! Try your hardest to make it without meat and start your Monday off on a positive note.

Goodnight ♥

My gym smells like BACON

You know what’s cool? My gym is surrounded by restaurants… PF Changs, Brio, Japanese Steakhouse, Philly Cheesesteak’s, Cadillac Ranch, Gordon Biersch and some other Mexican restaurant I can’t remember how to spell. So when I leave the gym and I smell bacon, fajitas and fresh bread I daydream about strangling whoever thought it would be a great idea to put a gym in this type of environment. OK maybe that’s a little extreme – But I would like to give them a little piece of my mind.

While at the bacon infused gym I tried a new class (new years resolution)! Unfortunately, I was not a fan – but stuck it out for the full 60 minutes. Do any of you take Zumba? Maybe I didn’t enjoy it because I was the youngest one there by at least 20 years… It was a Friday night at 5pm so I guess people my age had better things to do (enjoy a cold beer & bacon cheese fries from Cadillac ranch). For those of you who have never tried Zumba it’s a latin aerobic dance class. The instructor was a little cooky… and everyone in the room just looked so uncoordinated. Basically we were all just flailing arms/legs, “popping the booty” and “doing the hoochie mama” for 60 minutes. Yes, my 50-year-old instructor was using these exact terms. If you all have had positive experiences PLEASE let me know and maybe I will try another instructor. But, for now I can say I’ve tried it and I don’t plan on going back! After my Zumba session, I forced myself downstairs to the cardio room to run. I like to feel sweaty when I leave a gym so I ran for about 25 minutes and then headed out back into the bacon-y breezy parking garage.

Yesterday I promised a NO oatmeal breakfast day… I added a teeny tiny bit of oats. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist! I got the idea from Chocolate Covered Katie to make a breakfast pizza or a “pizzert” as she calls it. This was soooo incredibly delicious! If you’re looking to get out of your normal breakfast rut, I HIGHLY suggest you try this. Here is my version of the pizzert.

Breakfast Pizzert

Serves 2

• 1/3 cup of whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• sweetener (i used 2 1/2 packets of splenda)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg (any spices you want)
• A handful of blackberries (or whatever fruit/nut/chocolate choice you would like)

To make:

1. Mix everything together and pour into an olive oil misted pan.

2. Cook in a UNpreheated oven at 420 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Decorate your blank canvas!

Better ‘N Butter Peanut Butter with sliced banana.

Good thing I live by myself (this week) because I have the other half for tomorrow morning! I’m thinking of toppings now…

When I left the house this morning…It looked like a snow filled sky.

But, we barely got an inch. Boo

The girls and I watched Toy Story 3 today. I love Disney movies but this is by far one of my favorites. I let them make their own pizza for lunch (my breakfast inspired me!) while I snacked on carrots and hummus – and that was about it…Easy Breezy Friday.

Lunch today:

Brown rice, black beans, sautéed spinach, green beans, zucchini and sliced tomato. I was bummed I forgot my avocado this morning to add to my bowl but I’m sure I had enough healthy fats in the Olive Oil I used to saute my veggies (not to mention the PB i eat on a daily basis).

Since I was early to Zumba, I stopped in Anthropologie (which is also in the shopping center). This is always bad news and I will admit I was afraid once I stepped in here I would never make it to the gym. All of their kitchen items are SO fun and pretty!

Everything is so perfect…and expensive! See those Flower measuring bowls? $48! I clearly couldn’t afford those so I headed over to the sale section.

I ended up with these two… It doesn’t excite me as much as my new lasagna pan – but I only spent $8 so I’m content. You can never have too many pretty dishes

Does anyone eat the shirataki tofu noodles? They look like this.

The entire bowl has 30 calories and 2 carbs or something crazy like that! I get my noodle fix, my thighs don’t get any extra carb cushion and we’re all happy You can buy these at Whole Foods near the Yogurts. Tonight I made an easy “Spaghetti and Meatballs”

The “meatballs” are from MorningStar – I honestly can’t tell the difference between these and the real ones. The sauce is just some crushed tomatoes and basil. I think everyone should try these noodles at least once – Can’t knock it until you try it!

Dessert was another handful of these.

I wonder if they have the white version too…I’d like to mix them together!

I think I’m going to do a “Favorite Friday” every week. Since this is my first week I’m going to start off with 10 of my recent Favorite’s instead of just a couple.

This weeks Favorite Items:

Fruit: Honeycrisp apples – I’m usually a fuji girl but these have been on point lately!

Workout: Zumba… kidding Spinning – I always enjoy a 60 minute spin class (as long as there is good music!)

Shoes: Bailey 3 button Uggs – This week they have to get the award… They have kept me warm and dry and are reliable unlike my missing running shoe from yesterday’s workout debacle.

Website: Shopbop.com – Even though I can’t afford anything. I like to just add things to my basket to make it feel as if I’m shopping

Movie: Life as we know it. Well, I only watched one movie this week… But, I’m a sucker for romantic comedy’s and I would see it again. Plus, Josh Duhamel is HOT.

Grocery Item: Better n Butter Peanut Butter – SHOCKER!

Store: Anthropologie – Obviously.

Workout Clothes: Under Armour Capri Tight – love love.

Cookbook: Cooking Light – Serves Two

Song to Run to: Bob Sinclair – World Hold On. This is always my favorite

What are your current weekly favorites!?

I’m going to end tonight’s blog with one of my favorite quotes…

“It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there…If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is… all around.” – Love Actually

Even in potatoes *picture courtesy of my dad*

I’m off to the Georgetown vs WVU game with my brothers and cousin in the morning… GO WVU! I hope everyone has had a great start to their weekend. ♥