Five Favorites: Runspiration

This week is all about what's inspiring me to get running again!

Brooks Ravenna 5 Running Shoes

I'm super pumped to try these out! Nothing like a new pair of running
shoes to get you out the door!

Superfeet Carbon Inserts

Finally trying out orthotics to see what all the hype is about.

Adidas and Nike Livestrong Running Shorts

Of course I needed to get some new brightly colored running shorts!

Charity Miles App

I'm excited to test out this app during a run to see how it works.
I'll review it later!

Self Magazine: The Fat Burn Sweet Spot Article

Running in the cold might burn up to 15% more calories. Okay!

What's inspiring you to run this week?

Five Favorites

This week has been pretty great. I got a day and a half off from work because of snow, so I got to spend some extra time with my boyfriend :)

Also, I was at a conference for work on Thursday, and I got to hear from a really interesting man named Jaime Casap. He works for Google in their education department and thinks through how google products can be used in education. He was talking to some Philadelphia students about college and beating the odds.

He was a very dynamic speaker and I was completely engaged the whe time. The most poignant thing he said was that he never asked people what they want to do in the future; rather, he asks them "what problem do you want to solve?" And from there you plan what field to go into, what to study, and where to work in order to solve that problem.

 As someone who is still wondering what to do long term in my life, it really got me thinking about what problem I wanted to solve. You can read Mr. Casap's blog at www.jcasap.com

Anyway, all inspirational speeches aside, here are five things I'm loving this week.

Dr. Jart's Black Label Detox BB Cream

After searching endlessly through paulaschoice.com (a super helpful makeup review website) I finally found a moisturizer/brightener/anti-aging BB Cream that was rated "Best" on their website and didn't cost a fortune. I love the light tint to this moisturizer, it leaves my skin looking flawless and helps lighten the red marks on my face! Also, I bought this with my Birchbox points so it only cost me $6 instead of $36.

Eco Skin Rescue Serum

I bought this serum on a whim from Marshall's, but I've been pleasantly surprised with it. I like the smell of it and it's been doing a good job of helping to moisturize my super dry winter skin.

Peanut Butter Patties (Tagalongs) Girl Scout Cookies

It's Girl Scout Cookie season and time for my favorite of all the cookies, the Tagalongs. What's not to love? I get my chocolate/peanut butter/baked good fix while supporting young, female entrepreneurship, at least that's what I tell myself when I suck down a box of these.

Semi-Homemade French Onion Soup

Fact: French onion soup can be eaten for any meal (trust me, I've had it from everywhere for brunch to 2AM drunk munchies); it's transcendental.  Fact: you can buy crocks for about $1 each at your local thrift shop. Fact: French Onion soup is easy to make at home. You just need some French Onion soup mix or premade (we added onion slices to Pacifico's Organic FOS), a crusty baguette, and some gruyere cheese. We broiled these suckers on low for 5-6 minutes. Voile! 

Why Oh Why? Podcast

At first I thought I was just going to love to hate Andrea Silenzi, the host of this podcast. The first episode was cringe-worthy awkward in many different ways. But as I listened to the second and third podcasts I realized I was beginning to really enjoy this podcast.

The podcast is about Andrea and her friends' trials and tribulations of being young 20-somethings in Brooklyn looking for love. Think Girls mixed with Sex and the City. A lot of the podcast is filmed while Andrea and her friends share hilarious dating debacles over brunch or sitting on a couch. You feel like you're one of the girls, and the stories are both relate-able and completely ridiculous. I recommend you give this podcast a try! (Even my boyfriend enjoyed listening to some of it ;)

Five Favorites: The Perfect Snow Day

So if you're in the Northeast you may be aware of the snow storm that's happening as we speak. Outside it's snowy and cold; however, my work almost never closes due to inclement weather :-/ BUT that won't stop me from envisioning my perfect snow day. Here are my 5 tips for having the perfect snow day.

1. Sleep In

Getting enough sleep can help improve your memory, amp up your metabolism, help your body recover quicker, and lift your spirits. If you're one of those people who doesn't understand the value of sleeping in (I don't understand you). You can read all about how great sleep is here.



2. Watch a Good (or Guilty Pleasure) Show

One of my favorite things to do is have a lazy morning where I get to lay in bed and watch TV or read. May I suggest the new season of Community which just aired? They're trying to "re-pilot" the show since it went so off the rails last season. They credit last year's madness to a "gas leak."

3. Start off with Some Yoga

As I mentioned before, I'm doing Erin Motz's 10 Day Yoga Ab Challenge. Today is day 2! 

4. Cook Something Hearty

I made this chili in preparation for the snow. This sweet potato turkey chili from SkinnyTaste.com is failproof. Do yourself a favor and make it today!

Also, I wanted to share, I just recently subscribed to Clean Eating magazine. Holy smokes there are some good recipes to try in here! I love looking through healthy recipes and picking out which ones to make. This issue has a Fiesta Chicken Casserole that I know I'll be making sometime soon. Not to mention the Creamed Greens Mac N' Cheese.

5. Do Something Active

Whether you're the type to bundle up and go for a snowy hike (yeahhh not so much) or the type to stay cozy warm inside, do something active with your day to make sure you feel productive! Did I mention that Nike Training Club recently totally redid their app!?!?!?! You can see my opinion on the older version here (spoiler alert: I like it a lot).  

I'm super excited to see the new improvements! I was messing around on it the other night and you can now create 4-week programs along with make some minor customizations to the predesigned workouts like choosing between doing froggers or burpees.

Well, if you're one of the lucky few who has a snow day today tell me what your favorite part of it is!

Five Favorites: Current Health Obsessions

1. Juices/ Smoothies from Sip-N-Glo.

Unfortunately this place is on my way to work in the mornings. I say unfortunately because everyday is an internal struggle for me whether or not I should get their $8 juice. I KNOW $8 is ridiculous.... but it's soooo good :(  My two favorites so far are the "Honey Love" which has bananas, greek yogurt, spinach, almond milk, and raw honey and the Merry Berry which has bananas, oats, cinnamon, cranberries, almond milk, and acai powder. I'm thinking of trying their juice cleanse just because a day of drinking their juices sounds like a win to me.

Nevermind my dude-like hand in this picture. 

2. Pimped-Out Oatmeal

Since I suffer from Tom Haverford syndrome aka "Treat Yo Self"-itis I try to make smart money decisions on at least a few things. I buy my oatmeal in a GIANT container of just plain oats. The night before I have work I'll portion out about 1/4 cup of oatmeal into a Tupperware container. I'll mix in everything together dry so I just have to add water in the morning when I get to work. One of my favorite ways to pimp out my oatmeal of late is to add shredded coconut, walnuts, and powdered PB2 Chocolate to my oatmeal. YUM.

Coconut and Walnut love <3

I'm about to change your life. This peanut butter comes powdered. 2 Tbs is 45 calories. You just add water and POOF peanut butter. Or just put the straight powder on things like oatmeal, smoothies, ice cream, cake, mashed potatoes, chicken (some of those ideas might not be good).

3. Green Tea

It's colder than a witch's tit heart outside lately so tea is necessary! I love the extra health benefits of green tea (amped up metabolism? yes please!) These are the two flavors I've been drinking at least twice a day.

Just a good basic green tea

It's deliciously sweet and pepperminty!

4. Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate

I don't think I need to make a case for chocolate ever. I will say, I'm not a huge dark chocolate fan but I'm trying to be. This dark chocolate bar from Whole Foods is everything I want in a chocolate bar: salty, sweet, nutty, and addicting. And BONUS it comes with a love letter in the wrapper. Using my BA in English, I've deduced that this a love poem about chocolate which they have personified.

Definitely about chocolate.

5. Tek Towel

What's on my Christmas list, you ask? Well how sweet of you to wonder. I want a Tek Towel. A Tek Towel is just a super quick drying, light weight, compact towel that will help me amp up my gym game. Right now I rent one of their scratchy white tiny towels because I don't have enough room to haul a regular towel around with me to work. Hopefully my boyfriend gets the hint (read: blatant asking for it multiple times) and buys me one :)

Five Favorites: My Current Obsessions

Here's a list of things that I'm excited about this week!

1.  Argus Motion and Fitness App

I downloaded this app the other day and I think it's really pretty/cool. It builds these little hexagons as you go about your day. It estimates calories you've burned using your basal metabolic rate and steps you've taken. You take pictures of your food and add your water, tea, beer, wine, and all physical activities. It's also a step counter (not super accurate) if you leave the app on in the background!

Five Favorites: Fitness Apps

I love how there are so many great apps that can make your life easier, but I find a bunch of the fitness apps out there to be kinda clunky (and I'm not looking to pay big $$$ for them). But there definitely are some great ones out there. Here is a list of my top five fitness apps.

In no particular order:

1. Nike Training Club

Five Favorites: Links I'm Loving Right Now

Only the best for you.

Trans Fat: What Are They and Why the FDA Is Finally Banning Them- Gizmodo

I mean, because we know it's bad but what the hell is Trans Fat?

Five Favorites: Links I'm Loving Right Now

Okay, here are my 5 favorite links of the week. The list is heavy on the Buzzfeed.com but then again, so is my life.

30 Delicious Things to Cook in November- Buzzfeed

Food porn w/ recipes

Five Favorites: Last Minute Halloween Costumes

I always end up cutting Halloween costume decisions down to the wire. This year I have compiled some great ideas for last minute Halloween costumes with stuff you should mostly have in your house or can easily be bought at non-Halloween stores! The last one is what I'm being this Halloween! Enjoy!

Five Favorites: Health Blogs

I always love discovering new healthy living websites. I like sites that are a good mix of everything from healthy eating and workouts to humor and style. Here are my top 5 favorite healthy living websites.


1. Eat Simple, Love Yoga

Meg is a busy graduate student living in Boston with her boyfriend. She eats a simple diet of whole foods and is always sharing delicious sounding recipes! She's also a certified yoga instructor!

Five Favorites

Here are the things I'm loving and looking forward to this week!

I loved the warm weather (and drinks) at Midtown Fall Fest this year!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! A family friend celebrates which means
two Thanksgivings for me!

I'll be celebrating a friends's birthday this weekend at one of our favorite Mexican places!

Desperately in need of this 3 Day Weekend! I'm hoping to relax and catch up on some fun reading!

I'm going to see the Pennsylvania Ballet perform Jewels next week with a friend! I'm so excited!

What are you looking forward to or loving?

Five Favorites

Here are the things that I have been loving all week and I'm looking forward to this weekend!

I want everything in this picture! Love the mint color of this desk I saw at a thrift shop

More thrift shop finds! I'm so excited to be inspired by these two cookbooks (for $3 each!)
Everything looks so beautiful and yummy!

Looking forward to making this recipe for mini chocolate chip pumpkin muffins from Skinny Taste.

I'm excited (and nervous!) to try my first Lithe Method Lithe101 class this Saturday.

I had a great time at the Rescue Run 5k! I loved running for a cause that I am invested in!
And running with a friend made the whole race even better!

What are you loving/looking forward to?

Five Favorites

I'm always excited about a new discovery or something I have coming up. This Friday, here are the five things that I am loving/looking forward to!

The view of the Delaware River we had during our work retreat this Thursday.

I'll be running the Rescue Run 5k with a friend on Sunday to benefit the Monster Milers, a program we volunteer for which takes shelter dogs on runs. (I got to take that beautiful girl out a couple weeks ago).

This amazing warm lobster roll I got from the Surf and Turf food truck today. Mango butter, kale, cabbage, and jalapeno (with lots of juicy lobster meat???) yes, please!

(Text conversation between my sister and me)

The job I have now is only a 1-year contracted position that is over at the end of November, but I found out that my organization will be keeping me on as a manager! (pay raise!) I'm so happy to be able to continue working with all of the amazing people in my office! 

(My Sweat on the Mat class I created in the Yoga Studio app)

While this week was an amazing one for me, I've felt run down and off-track. I'm looking forward to going home, doing some intense yoga, and maybe watching a chick flick or reading.