Well I’m Cold Blooded, Check It and See

“Well, I’m hot blooded, check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I’m hot blooded, I’m hot blooded”

Though I love that song, I am most definitely not hot blooded. In fact, I’m just the opposite.

“Well I’m cold blooded, check it and see
I got the chills and the goose bumpies
My arm hairs stick up, no they won’t go down,
I’m cold blooded, I’m cold blooded!”

I blame my dad for passing his “I’m always cold” gene onto me.

The Cold Ones (Twilight? What?)

The two of us may be found snuggled under a blanket in 80 degree weather (with a huge bowl of chocolate marshmallow ice cream in our laps, might I add 😉 ).

My cold bloodedness was absolutely thriving at work today. Why must office buildings be so darn cold?

By the time lunch rolled around, my arm hairs had not stopped standing on end since I sat down at my desk a little before 9 a.m.

Since the lunch I packed to enjoy today was a cold one, I knew I had to get something h-o-t to warm my insides.

Enter, Starbucks!

After walking two blocks to Starbucks and nabbing a hot Tazo passion tea, I felt nice and cozy.

Starbucks Tazo Passion Tea

A warm belly made me much more excited about eating my cold lunch.

On the menu for today was a big salad that included:

• Mixed baby greens
• Grape tomatoes
• Cucumber slices
• Shredded carrots
• Red and orange peppers
• Radishes (which, come to find, I don’t really like)
• Edamame

Big Ol' Salad

Holy Veggie Overload!

I used salsa as my salad dressing of choice.

Super Silly Salsa

I also enjoyed a juicy peach on the side.

Fuzzy Peach

The Goods

Ooooh yum. I enjoyed this ten times more after downing my tea than I would have if I were cold. Eating a cold salad when you’re freezing is not appealing!

Question of the Afternoon

• What places do you think are often unreasonably hot or unreasonably cold?
  

Sauerkraut Stinks

This just in: Sauerkraut is just as stinky as tuna salad.

I learned this valuable lesson as I assembled my lunch in the breakroom today and I heard several people proclaim, “Ew, what is that smell?”

I heated up my ‘kraut and headed on my merry way, making a mental note not to enjoy lunches that include sauerkraut during peak lunchtimes.

I served the stinky sauerkraut on top of an aidells Italian Style chicken sausage which I enjoyed in a super-soft Nature’s Own Whitewheat hot dog bun.

Sausage + 'Kraut

The sauerkraut/chicken sausage combo was delish!

I know sauerkraut isn’t for everyone, but for a German girl like me, it’s the jam!

Alongside my protein-packed sausage I enjoyed fresh grape tomatoes and cucumber slices for some color.

Nutrients!

Hump Day Lunch

Pre- lunch I also enjoyed an iced green tea from Starbucks that I picked up after stopping by my orthodontist’s office to get my permanent bottom retainer in. (How cool am I? 😉 )

An Intimate Look at PBF

(Wow. Can’t believe I just posted that pic. We’re all officially best friends now.)

Iced Green Tea

Sad news though… the green tea quickly went from this:

FULL!

To this:

G-O-N-E!

I seriously inhale any cold beverage other than water. Water is the only thing I seem to struggle chug-a-chuggin’.

Snikiddy Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to the following winners of the Snikiddy snacks giveaway:

• Diana: “My face cheese dish will always be twice baked potatoes… Seriously! Drool!”
• Yummy Sushi Pajamas: Her “tweet” was actually the entry that won… But here’s her yummy-sounding comment: “Oh these sound great! My fave cheese dish… is spring mix salad with dried berries, Italian dressing, and goat cheese. So good!”
• Meagan: “Grilled cheese is the best comfort food ever! Cheesy, Gooey, Deliciousness!”

Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your mailing address so you can get your hands on some of this delicious grub for the free-zie! 😀

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for an AMAZING giveaway soon! I get excited about pretty much every giveaway I do on the blog (because I am a freebie-loving freak), but the upcoming giveaway is my favorite one to date! 😀

Woop, woop!

Question of the Afternoon

What nationality are you? Do you like foods that are typically associated with your nationality?

I am German and Swedish (right, Mama?). I adore foods associated with my nationality, including brats, cabbage, apple strudel and pretzels.

Beefed Up

Monstrous salad alert!

Big Ol' Salad

I can’t believe I used to consider iceberg lettuce topped with sliced lunch meat a salad. Boring! No wonder I thought salads were so lame for the longest time.

To me, a big part of living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is making it enjoyable. I can honestly say I look forward to eating every single one of my meals – even the salads – because I always try to incorporate flavorful foods that I love into my breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

I would never look forward to eating plain salads, so I beef ’em up by adding foods I love like grape tomatoes, nuts, cheese, sweet corn and sliced veggie burgers or shrimp.

Today’s salad included:

• Spinach
• Carrots
• Sweet corn
• Grape tomatoes
• Green pepper
• Celery
• 3 MorningStar Farms veggie bacon strips
• Annie’s Naturals light raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Dressing

Veggie Overload

So fresh and so clean, clean. 😉

I should also add that I enjoyed a handful of almonds alongside my salad that eluded any photographs.

Dessert

After eating lunch at my desk, I met up with my friend Philip at a nearby Starbucks to catch up over some refreshing tea.

I ordered an unsweetened Tazo iced passion tea to enjoy as my post-lunch dessert.

Starbucks Iced Passion Tea

(Totally kidding about considering a cup of tea “dessert,” by the way. Just wanted to see how many of you rolled your eyes and sent hate-vibes my way for doing so. 😉 )

I sipped my non-dessert while chatting away with Philip.

I met Philip when I was in college. He was in Ryan’s fraternity and later became my Greek “little brother.” (Those of you early PBF readers may remember seeing Philip on the blog back in October.)

Philip just graduated from law school at UF and will be moving back to Orlando at the beginning of August to begin work at a local law firm. He’s like a real adult. 😉

I can’t imagine being a real lawyer at 25.

When I was in eighth grade I remember my English teacher telling me I should become a lawyer because I was so argumentative (I had a lot of opinions about the books we were reading). This teacher is the same teacher who told me I was going to give him a heart attack from popping my gum so loudly.

Question of the Afternoon

Has anyone ever told you what they think you should do for a living? Did you do it?

I’ve been told I should be a lawyer, news anchor, professional blogger (thanks, Merri!), and writer. I became the last one but would gladly be any of the last three. 🙂

Of Possible Interest

• Bikini Secrets from Brooklyn Decker, Audrina & Cameron Diaz (FitSugar.com)
• 8 Quick & Healthy Summer Dinner Recipes (Health.com)
• 66 Healthiest Packaged Foods (Self.com)

Our First Registering Experience

It’s amazing how three days away from the gym can feel like so long! 

My body was seriously craving a work out this morning. 

If you just aren’t feelin’ the gym these days, try taking a few days off (more than one!). It may be just the thing you need to get your mojo back. 😉 

Ryan and I hit up the gym for a good workout a little before 9 a.m. I did a total-body workout, similar to the weights routine I did last Monday. I had a yummy breakfast bagelwich before my workout to help me power through. 

Breakfast Bagelwich

To make my bagelwich, I toasted a sweet wheat Alternative Bagel and topped it with a wedge of Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese, MorningStar Farms veggie bacon and an egg white. 

I actually cooked the egg white in a mug in the microwave, which worked really well. I just sprayed a mug with cooking spray, added the egg white and cooked it on high for around 40 seconds, or until I heard a little “pop.”    

Egg + Bacon + Cheese

Fast food breakfast sandwiches ain’t got nothin’ on me! 😀 

Registering at Williams-Sonoma 

After taking Sadie for a walk around the lake near our apartment, eating another snack (hummus & cheese wrap for me) and showering, Ryan and I headed to Williams-Sonoma to register for our wedding!    

What a Lovely Sight

 My hubby-to-be in front of Williams-Sonoma??? I may have just died and gone to heaven. Would it be weird if I framed this picture? 😉    

A Glimpse into Heaven

Registering at Williams-Sonoma was a breeze.    

Ryan and I both thought the employees struck the perfect balance between helpful and aloof. Neither of us like someone breathing down our back, but whenever we looked especially confused, someone seemed to magically appear. 

Guess who was quite a big fan of the registering gun?   

Man and Machine

We agreed going into the experience that we would both have to like anything we scanned, but that we could each get one “freebie” item that the other person didn’t really care for. Neither of us ended up using our “freebie” item and we seemed to see eye-to-eye on almost everything! Maybe we’ll use our “freebies” when we register at Bed Bath and Beyond next weekend.     

Post-Registering Smiles

Ryan and I listened to the advice of former brides and those of you who commented on my blog before about creating a wedding registry, and registered for a couple of “big ticket” items like a set of Caphalon pans and a Wüsthof Classic 12-Piece Knife Block Set. I can’t quite imagine anyone going all out like that for our wedding, but a girl can dream! 

Wedding Band Selection   

Once we were done registering at Williams-Sonoma, Ryan and I headed down the street and picked up a grande chai tea Frappuccino from Starbucks. 

Chai Frapp

We then walked down to a nearby jeweler to check out wedding bands. 

I think we pretty much selected Ryan’s band today! 

He loved a thick platinum band with light etching on the top and bottom of the band. I’ll definitely post a picture when it comes in and we fully commit. 

I really liked a band with several princess-cut diamonds on it. I am not sure how many diamonds or what size diamonds I prefer, so the woman we were working with is going to shop around and give me a call when she gets some possibilities in the store. I’ll keep you guys posted!   

Lunch 

We swung by the grocery store on our way home from the jeweler and picked up food for lunch and for the rest of the week.   

When we arrived home, I got to work in the kitchen making a childhood favorite for lunch. 

English Muffin Pizzas

Pizza, Pizza

English muffin pizzas are the jam! 

To keep the “crust” crispy, I toasted the English muffins before topping them with tomato sauce and cheese and broiling them until the cheese melted.   

Oh-so-good! 

Now I’m off to unpack and CLEAN! Please try not to be too jealous.   

My goal is to clean, take Sadie for another short walk and make a homemade dinner before the Bachelorette tonight. 

Aaaand I’m off!

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!