Day of Rest, Not So Much

I thought Sunday was supposed to be the “day of rest.” Today has been anything but so far!

Walk Sadie –> Breakfast –> Church –> Errands –> Lunch

Breakfast

Breakfast was a quick one because I wanted to be sure to have enough time to change and head over to chuch on time.

A simple combo of Greek yogurt plus lots of fresh blueberries did the trick!

Blueberry Overload

Creamy Spoonful

This yogurtbowl honestly had 3/4 of a pint of blueberries in it! Apparently I was really feelin’ fresh fruit. When I woke up I wasn’t all that hungry for some reason, so this light breakfast was enough to satisfy me for a little while.

Outlet Mall

After church, Ryan and I headed to the Prime Outlets, an awesome outlet mall about 15 minutes away from our apartment.

Our first stop was the Nike Outlet where Ryan nabbed a new pair of soccer cleats. He plays soccer on a men’s league and his old pair of cleats have been causing him pain (not to mention a black toenail 😦 ).

He's So Hardcore

I actually talked him into the orange pair! I thought they were quite snazzy. World Cup, here he comes! 😉

I’m not one to leave a store without a little somethin’ somethin’, and I bought myself a pair of running shorts for $15.

"Baby We Were Born to Ruuuun"

On our way out of the Nike Outlet, we passed a woman holding a baby alligator from Gatorland. Of course I had to pet the little guy.

Little Gator

You know how some girls keep their little dogs in their purse? Well, I think I’m gonna stash that little gator guy in mine. He was awfully cute. 🙂

We hit up some other stores, including one of my favorite shoe stores, Aldo.

I found these gorgeous shoes that I think would look wonderful with my bridesmaid dresses.

Pretty Shoes

I’m letting my bridesmaids pick their own shoes for the wedding, but I think that pair could look really cute! I actually asked if they had the strappy shoe in white or light pink to see if it could be a contender for my bridal shoes, but unfortunately it only comes in tan, black and silver. No dice.

Before hitting up some other stores (Banana Republic and J.Crew – my favs!) we stopped for a cold treat at Starbucks.

I ordered a light caramel Frappuccino while Ryan opted for a chai tea Frappuccino.

Manly Drink

Caramel Frapp

These cold treats were great pick-me-ups. It was HOT outside!

We also hit up le gourmet chef for loads of free samples. I honestly got a little full off of all the pretzels, dips and cookie samples. I am seriously a free-sample fiend. Love ’em.

Lunch

After several hours of shopping, we headed home for lunch. I made a quick quesailla of sorts with cheddar cheese, fresh spinach and steamed cauliflower.

Cheesy

Wrapped Up

I was still a little hungry afterwards and split a banana caramel protein smoothie with Ryan as well. 

Now it’s time to hit up the grocery store before I head over to my friend Laurel’s for some girl time. Catcha after dinner!

Noodle Bowl + Top Baby Names

Only one noodle bowl for lunch this week? What is up with me!?

At least I got it it in before the week was over!

Veggies + Cheese + Noodles

Today’s pasta surprise contained:

• Carba Nada egg fettuccine noodles
• Roased eggplant
• Steamed broccoli
• Steamed cauliflower
• 1 oz. Brie cheese
• One Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese wedge

Noodle Bowl

Close Up

It was a cheesy veggie delight!

I have never tried Brie cheese in a pasta dish and it really stood out against the veggies and the noodles. Brie is the BEST!

Also, thank you to those of your who let me know that the “coating” (as I called it) on the outside of Brie cheese is known as the rind when I mentioned it the other day. Apparently I’m quite French since I like it eat the rind like they do. ; )

Oui, oui!

50% Off Starbucks Frappuccinos from 3 – 5 p.m. Through May 16

You read it right! Sweet deal, huh? Hooray for Frappuccino Happy Hour! Click here for more information (or if you don’t believe me).

Top Baby Names

According to a new article released by the Associated Press, Isabella and Jacob are the top baby names of 2009. (Twilight, anyone!?)

Here are the top 10 boy and girl names of 2009:

(Courtesy of the Dept. of Social Security)

What are your favorite boy and girl names from the top 10?

From the top 10, I’d have to say my favorites are Jacob and Emma. So original! 😉

Streamlining Your Morning Routine

One of the questions I seem to receive again and again through this blog is how I get so much done in the morning.

My mornings definitely aren’t laid back and relaxed, but they are productive and energizing.

A typical day for me begins at 5:30 a.m. After throwing on gym clothes, I am out the door within 10 minutes.

Gym Clothes

Luckily, I can walk to my gym and usually begin my workout by 5:45 a.m. Depending on the day, I will work out for an hour to an hour and a half, and am usually home by 7:15 a.m.

Then it’s time to walk the pup! Sadie gets a 20 – 40 minute walk, depending on the day (She gets longer walks on cardio-only days since I’m home earlier).

Once our walk is over, I come home and shower, get dressed and make breakfast. I make my lunch and prep my breakfast in the fridge the night before, so everything comes together quickly.

After breakfast and snapping lots o’ photos for the blog, I’m off to work!

Here’s a summary of my routine:

• 5:30 a.m. Wake up
• 5:45 a.m. Arrive at the gym and workout
• 7:15 a.m. Take Sadie on a walk
• 7:35 a.m. Shower
• 7:45 a.m. Get ready
• 8:05 a.m. Make breakfast and take blog photos
• 8:25 a.m. Blog
• 8:45 a.m. Leave for work
• 8:55 a.m. Arrive at work

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I will often sleep in for an hour and take Sadie on a run, eliminating the need for her morning walk. I get an extra hour of sleep and Sadie gets extra exercise, so everybody wins!

Also, if I’m really hungry after my workout, I may bump breakfast up and eat before my shower.

I definitely have a jam-packed morning, but I don’t feel rushed at all.

I’ve managed to streamline my morning routine by using the following tips:

• Prep breakfast the night before
• Pack lunch the night before

Packed Lunch

• Brainstorm morning blog post while working out
• Brainstorm what to wear while showering
• Don’t wash your hair everyday (unless it’s greasy)
• Keep items you use daily in the same spot to avoid wasting time looking for them (Such as your make up, face wash, lunch bag, water bottle, etc.)
• Embrace the “natural look” and keep your makeup routine short

Breakfast

This morning my breakfast was yet another ode to Starbucks.

Frappuccino Wannabe

My Frappuccino wannabe smoothie contained:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop chocolate protein power
• 1 packet Starbucks VIA Ready Brew instant coffee
• 1 large pinch xanthan gum
• Cold water
• 5 ice cubes

Thick smoothies rock my socks! 😀

Smoothie in a Keg

Since my smoothie was poured into a Bubba Keg, which I find quite manly, I had to girly it up with a pink straw. 😉

Pink Straw for a Feminine Touch

Fit for a Lady

I think my body is super-sensitive to caffeine because I feel AWAKE after downing this coffee concoction!

Questions of the Day

What time do you wake up in the morning? What is your morning routine like?

Kinda Like Starbucks

Sadie says, “Happy Friday!”

"Hi Guys!"

I love my dog. She makes me happy. 🙂

Workout

As tempted as I was to take a BodyPump class this morning, I stuck with my guns and did my own total-body weights routine. My muscles need some shockin’ since I’ve been in the same routine for a while now.

After a quick 25-minute warm up on the elliptical, I hit the weight room for the following workout:

Total Body Weights

Those step ups got my heart pounding!

Breakfast

After the gym, I took Sadie on a quick walk before making a yummy breakfast smoothie.

I love Starbucks Frappuccinos and was determined to create my own this morning.

I made myself a banana mocha frappuccino by blending the following:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1.5 Nescafe instant coffee packets
• 5 ice cubes
• Cold water
• Approximately 2 tsp. xanthan gum

Instant Coffee

Blended

Banana Mocha Frappuccino

The mix was thick and creamy and had a nice little kick to it from the instant coffee.

After filling up my tumbler to the brim, I still had quite a bit leftover and tilted the ol’ blender back to get the rest.

Filled Up

To the Brim

Chug, Chug

Yummmmmy

My mock-Frappuccino was quite tasty and had a lot more protein than the Starbucks version to keep me full until snacktime. Score!

Do you like coffee drinks? Any favorites?

My favorite coffee drink is the Starbucks light mocha Frappuccino or the light pumpkin spice Frappuccino (which I reviewed here). Both are phenomenal!

63 Calorie Mock Frappuccino

Low calorie mock Frappuccino recipe in a minute… first, dinner!

After a trip to the dog park with Sadie, we hurried home to see Ryan! I don’t know who was more excited to see him after his one night away… me or Sadie. When I said “Daddy’s home” in the car, Sadie went berserk!

After exhanging a hug and kiss hello (and in Sadie’s case, a lick), Ryan and I left for a quick trip to the grocery store because we didn’t feel like living on soup for the rest of the week.

We went shopping hungry, so everything looked delicious! Ryan suggested making ravioli for dinner tonight since it’s a quick and tasty meal. We snagged a pack of spinach ricotta ravioli to cook when we got home.

Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

I chopped up some veggies (onion, squash and cauliflower) to include in our ravioli bowls.

Veggie Overload

Veggie Topped Ravioli

We added lots of marinara sauce to the mix and stirred it up.

Saucy

Ravioli Dinner Bowl

Ravioli never disappoints!

Low Calorie Mock Frappuccino

Tonight my dessert came in drinkable form. 🙂

Foamy Frapp

I made myself a low calorie mock Frappuccino using a recipe I had in my handy dandy recipe binder. I printed it off of the Hungry Girl website a couple months ago.

Raspberry Mocha Madness Swapuccino

Ingredients:
4 oz. Almond Breeze, Unsweetened Chocolate 
2 oz. Torani Sugar Free Raspberry Syrup
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. Fat Free French Vanilla Coffee-mate powder
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
3 packets Splenda
1 1/2 cups crushed ice OR 8-10 ice cubes
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip (a one-serving squirt)

Directions:
Place coffee, cocoa, Splenda and Coffee-mate in a glass. Add 1 oz. hot water to glass, and stir to dissolve ingredients. Next add Almond Breeze and Torani syrup and stir briefly. Now place contents of glass in a blender. Add ice and blend on high speed until well blended. Pour into a tall glass, and finish off with whipped cream.

Nutrition Facts (entire recipe, one Frappuccino): 63 calories, 7.5g carbs, 1.5g protein, 2.5g sugar

Blending Away

My Frapp

I am so impressed with how much this drink really does taste like a real Frappuccino! I made a couple substitutions to the recipe (which obviously alter the nutrition facts), but it turned out great. My changes included:

• Milk in place of Almond Breeze
• Sugar-free hazelnut syrup in place of raspberry syrup
• Decaf instant coffee instead of real instant coffee
• Omitted whipped cream (We didn’t have any because I can’t be trusted around a whipped cream dispenser)

If you’re a fan of the ol’ Frapp, definitely give this one a go!

I’m off to cuddle with Ryan and Sadie. It’s a very special day for someone in our little fam tomorrow… stay tuned!