June Date Night

Ryan and I take turns planning an extra special once a month for the other person. 

This month was Ryan’s month to plan our special date and he made reservations for a fun and romantic dinner at my favorite restaurant, Season’s 52. (You may see a recap of the date I planned last month here.) 

Date Night!

I absolutely love this restaurant because they use fresh, seasonal ingredients and keep the options healthy since they do not use butter and limit the calories in every dish to 475. They rely on seasonings, herbs and spices to flavor their dishes. 

I’ve never had a meal at Season’s 52 that I haven’t loved and tonight was no different. 

Ryan and I started our meal with sushi and ordered a spicy tuna roll to share. 

Spicy Tuna Roll

It was a little too spicy for me, but I am a spice wimp. I still ate several pieces and thought it was very tasty. 

Ryan then ordered a bowl of buffalo chili which we ended up sharing as well since it was fairly large and quite filling. 

Buffalo Chili

I know it looks pretty nasty in the picture above, but that’s only because we stirred the sour cream into the mix and were nearly done eating it when I snapped the pic. The chili was served with four squares of polenta which were my favorite part about the dish. Polenta is delicious! 

Then it was time for our entrees! It took quite a while for our entrees to come out, but we really didn’t mind and enjoyed hanging out and talking together. The restaurant actually ended up comping our appetizer because of the wait which was a nice surprise. 

For my entree, I ordered the reuben flat bread, which is actually a large appetizer, but definitely enough for a meal for one person. 

Reuben Flat Bread

My Dinner

 I absolutely adore corned beef and jumped at the opportunity to order a flatbread topped with corned beef and sauerkraut. It was fantastic! The flat bread was crisp and thin, and the corned beef was perfectly salty and moist. 

Dessert 

Of course we saved room for dessert! 

Ryan and I each selected a “mini indulgence” to enjoy. 

Peanut butter and chocolate mousse for me, pecan pie for him. 

His & Hers

PB & Choc Mousse

In the time that it took you to scroll past the above two pictures, our dessert was g-o-n-e. 

All Gone!

 

When we arrived home from our date, Sadie wanted some attention, so we took her on a 20 minute walk. Concluding date night with a nice walk with our little lady was the perfect ending. 🙂

I hope you guys are enjoying the weekend so far. See ya in the morning!

What I’ve Been Waiting For

The minute my butt hit the lounge chair by the pool this afternoon, I proclaimed, “This is what I’ve been waiting for all week.”

Pool Time!

There’s something about kicking back by the pool with a magazine (or five) that just relaxes me. I love taking time to simply do nothing and just be. It feels pretty good. 🙂

Pool Buddies

It was really hot outside and Ryan and I both took several dips in the pool to cool off. Splish, splash!

After soakin’ up some sun, we came home to scoop up Sadie to head out to get her some dog food.

On the way home we made a little detour to McDonald’s to pick up a medium strawberry shake to share. I didn’t have my camera with me, so it went unphotographed, but it was oh-so-tasty.

Lunch

Before splitting the strawberry shake with Ryan, I assumed I’d be making myself a large smoothie for lunch. After the shake, however, I knew a smoothie wouldn’t taste quite as tasty. For me, a smoothie just doesn’t compare to a rich, indulgent milkshake.

Instead I got to work making a big bowl of basil-flavored pasta with steamed cauliflower and fresh spinach.

I topped the noodles and veggies with Ragu marinara meat sauce and Parmesan cheese, stirred it all up and dug in.

Noodles on a Bed of Veggies

Lunch!

Stirred Up

It is now time for a much-needed shower.

Nine-mile run + Pool time = One gross girl 

I gotta get pretty for date night tonight! Ryan and I have plans to go to my faaavorite restaurant for dinner. 🙂

21

I did it! 

I ran 9 whole miles this morning. 🙂 

9 Mile Stats

I woke up a little before 7 a.m., laced up my shoes (yes, I tied the laces – no more blisters for this girl!), and headed out. 

I did an out-and-back route for the first four miles before running my typical five-mile loop around the large lake near our apartment. 

Around mile 5.5, I stopped for about 30 seconds to sip some water at a drinking fountain and eat a Stretch Island mango sunrise fruit leather. It’s amazing how such a short break can rejuvenate a run. The last 3.5 miles weren’t too bad, and I finished the run feeling like I can tackle a half marathon in the near future! 

Don’t get me wrong, my legs and lungs felt fatigued, but I feel like as long as I keep up with my training plan, 13.1 miles is a do-able goal on August 1. Phew! 

Breakfast  

After about 10 minutes of stretching and toweling off my sweaty body, I was ready for breakfast. 

I started with a cold and creamy cup of strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt. 

Berry Good

I love this yogurt, but I don’t really like all the goopy strawberry stuff on the bottom. I think it tastes perfect without all that fruity liquid stirred in. Sweet with a slight hint of strawberries. Yum! 

My main course included two dippy eggs with a strip of MorningStar Farms veggie bacon and a toasted Alternative bagel. 

Breakfast is Served

It was Ryan’s first time trying the veggie bacon and he loved it! The bacon flavor (and smell!) is spot-on if you ask me!

Extra Dippy Please!

Toasty

Dip It, Dip It Good

I love hearty breakfasts on the weekend. 

Happy 21st Birthday to My Sister! 

Today is a big day in the life of my little sister. 

Little Les

Dancing Queen

Leslie & Sadie

Sisters

I Love Her

Twenty-one years ago little Leslie was born. 

Today she celebrates her 21^st birthday! 

I sense an extreme hangover in her future. 🙂 

Happy birthday to the best sister in the whole wide world! I love ya, Les! 

In honor of Leslie’s big day, I leave you with an old picture of me and Ryan from 2006… on my 21st birthday.  Yikes! 

Me & Ryan on my 21st

What was  your 21st birthday like?