cookies Archives - Page 29 of 33 - My Healthy, Happier Life

Good morning friends! Right now i’m enjoying the one benefit to flying AirTran– free Wi-Fi in flight!

First of all, I apologize for the lack in posts this weekend but it was a busy one. Sometimes you have to step back and focus on what is in front of you versus worrying about all the other things going on. This weekend I focused on one of my best friends, Meg, all weekend! I spent Friday through Sunday celebrating her upcoming wedding. It went a little like this (pictures will be added tonight):

Friday:

My AirTran flight from LGA-ATL was delayed two hours but I was saved thanks a late lunch from the Au Bon Pain in the terminal and enjoyed grapes and a Asian Chicken Salad while I waited. In addition I finished my most recent book via iTunes and started reading this month’s Womens Health. Meg and her sister Katie picked me up at the airport around 9:30 and then we headed back to Meg’s adorable townhome in Smyrna. We stayed up chatting for the next few hours. She also treated me to a dinner of leftovers which not only answered my stomach’s roars but also introduced me to some great South Beach recipes. I posted the recipe for her crustless quiche on Saturday here.

Saturday:

After eight lovely hours of sleep, Meg and I enjoyed an hour long walk around Smyrna enjoying lots of catch up, wedding talk, and hills. We followed that with some morning tv (did you know some states like NY are delaying tax returns due to their economic sitauation?! Thanks GMA for that bit of news) and breakfast. I forgot how much I love GrapeNuts! Meg’s fridge was FILLED with amazing fruit that her sister and mom had purchased for the bachelorette weekend. Therefore we enjoyed a delicious mix of breakfast ingredients:

1/4 c GrapeNuts

1/8 c Maple Granola

1/2 c Cheerios

1/4 c Skim Milk

2 Crustless Quiche heated with some ketchup

This breakfast was perfect because it kept me full for over four hours which was needed since we were en route to Chatea Elan for her bachelorette! We headed up to Chateau Elan to meet the six other ladies who’d be celebrating with us. We were dissapointed that our villa wasn’t ready when we arrived around 1pm so decided we’d go off-site to find lunch. Just down the road we discovered a little cafe/bistro which delighted everyone’s cravings. Some girls enjoyed the fried green tomato blt while others dove into fresh, impressive salads. I wanted to make sure that I kept my eats in check since I knew tons of snacks and wine would be eaten later that day and night. I ordered the Black and Blue salad with the bleu cheese and dressing on the side so I could portion it myself. I added grilled chicken for some additional protein. This HUGE salad was only $6.95. I forget how inexpensive most things are back in Georgia!

After lunch we headed back to the resort and were able to check into our villa. The villa was perfect for the 8 girls as it had 3 bedrooms, 5 beds, and 2 bathrooms. After chatting and getting to know each other we headed over to the main house to enjoy a winery tour and tasting. We learned one very important fact- wine depends on the soil and clearly Georgia doesn’t have the best soil. We enjoyed plenty of laughs and were definintely “that group” laughing through the entire tour and honing up to the fact that we didn’t LOVE the wine. But, we had a blast none the less.

After the wine tasting histerics a few of us headed to the local Publix to pick up some snacks and wine since we didn’t purchase any at the Chateau Elan store. Four girls in a Publix with nothing but bachelorette thoughts is dangerous. Our checkout gal must have thought we were crazy as the goods included the following:

-3 bottles of wine

-hummus

-new Triscuts and Wheat Thins

-3 cheeses

-whip cream

-chocolate syrup

-Saran Wrap

🙂 What can I say? We had fun! After the outing it was time to make Meg blush as we enjoyed her good/bad gift and shower. She had a blast and we all got to know each other very well during the process! The rest of the evening was spent on random song fests, laughter, lots of wine, and then dinner back up at the main house. No bachelorette is complete without at least some inappopriate male guests. During dinner two men who had enjoyed FAR too much wine decided to break up our party by dragging their chairs over to our table and embarassing the soon to be bride. This was more than a bit annoying due to the fact that our server brought our meals out just as the men were joining the group. Therefore it was 10 minutes before any of us tasted our food and it was cold by that time. Oh well, their hilarious antics while inappropriate at times, did end up in a reward of a free bottle of Riesling for our table in addition to the complimentary champagne we enjoyed when we were seated. Not too shabby.

After dinner, Katie surprised us with her latest baking extravaganza. She worked at a bakery in Macon two years ago and since then has been quite the baking sensation! She has an amazing talent for decorating cakes in yummy chocolate. She made a delicious vanilla cake with buttercream icing which was decorated with adorable white chocolate undies and bras that she made! The other cake was chocolate cake covered and filled with chocolate ganache and then covered in chopped Reese’s cups. I kid you not! It was incredible looking but FAR too rich for my tastes. I definitely enjoyed the Reese’s cups that adorned the outside of my piece though.

Sunday:

I woke up bright and early in hopes of squeezing in a quick run before Jamie and I had to leave for the airport. One mile in I could tell that a full run was not going to happen due to dehydration. I took a note from Meghann and others and embraced this by doing a mini bootcamp. I jogged for 10 minutes and then would stop for a 5 minute power walk and then completed the following:

40 mtn climbers

15 pushups

15 lunges each side

40 mtn climbers

I repeated this circuit of run/walk/strength for 45 minutes before returning to the villa. Upon returning to the villa I joined the other girls for a delicious breafkast of fruit, bagels, and cheese. Unfortunately, the rest of the day went down hill from here. Jamie and I arrived at the airport by 12:15 which gave me 2 hours of reading before my 2:15 flight. But, my flight was delayed 3 times and then finally cancelled! I was not very pleased with the way AirTran handled the debacle either. I ended up being rebooked on the Monday 8:12 flight. Luckily, Meg and her fiance Spencer happily rescued me from the airport which just meant I had the chance to spend more time with Meg! We spent the afternoon downloading pictures and visiting Victoria’s Secret so she could exchange some of her latest gifts. I took advantage of this trip and bought some super comfy goods as well. I love their newest line! Meg and Spencer were kind enough to invite me to join them and their friends at dinner. I forgot how much I love Mellow Mushroom. Started over 20 years ago by some Georgia Tech and UGA college students, Mellow Mushroom delivers healthy and quality ingredients by way of huge salads, calzones, and pizzas. Meg and I tried to find a happy balance by sharing a garlic knot, ordering lil’ salads which are HUGE, and enjoying 1 piece of pizza each. The mini Greek salad was filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, mixed greens, carrots, olives, and some Feta cheese. I’ve really enjoyed asking for cheese and dressing on the side lately as it lets me portion everything myself. By 9pm we were both exhausted and fell asleep before our heads even hit the pillow!

Sorry for the long post but i’ll update with links and pictures later today once i’m able to download the pictuers to my computer. I promise I took plenty! Have a great Monday and hopefully by the time you’re reading this I will have safely arrived back in the land of rain aka NYC and hard at work.

Song of the day: Black Eyed Peas Imma Be

P.S: Has anyone seen that the weather in NYC is supposed to be amazing (60!!) this week but return to rain and wind just in time for the Half Marathon? I’m just hoping that weather.com is wrong as usual! 🙂

Follow:

On Saturday, I had the great opportunity to enjoy my 9 mile run with Dori and Melissa. I had never met Melissa before but by the time we hit the 1 mile mark the three of us were all laughing and finding common topics. It was a very successful “blind date run” if I do say so myself. We ran 5 miles from Dori’s apartment towards the park and then around the park before entering for the NYRR Race for Haiti. Unfortunately, we had about 15 minutes standing around before the race started. But, we used this opportunity to stretch a bit, pretend we were 7 minute milers, and check out some awesome running peers. At one point I was standing next to a woman who had completed an Ironman Triathalon and a guy about 6’5 who was wearing a backpack and sporting badges from multiple continents. He definitely looked like an adventure runner! The four miles in the park went pretty well though I’ve found that I will never PR if I talk during the run. I’m too new at talking while running to also keep a challenging pace. Therefore, our pace during the first three miles was around a 10:15 vs the normal 9:45 i’d try to keep in races. However, talking did ensure that any hills went by VERY easily. I think the hills are getting easier since i’ve done them every weekend for the past month. The final mile was tough for me as I got a horrible side stitch/cramp. I don’t know why this happened but it meant that my final mile was not a sprint but a bit of a hobble. I finished strong and never gave into walking though which made me proud! I’ve decided that i’m definitely doing the NYRR Coogan’s 5k on March 7th in hopes of setting a PR. I’ve been building speedwork into my weekly training plan along with the hills so it will be great to see what my legs can do. I’d love to break 28:30!

After the race Dori had to hurry off to her fabulous behind the scenes tour of the Lite Choice with LilVeggiePatch. (Bo has already told me that he wants a tour of Lite Choice as he has always wondered how they make the flavors. Hopefully it’s in our future!) While Melissa and I didn’t have any awesome plans like that, we decided that 9 miles and a new friendship definitely deserved a delicious brunch. Melissa quickly named multiple places in the area but as soon as I heard Alice’s Tea Cup I was sold! Two weeks ago, after the blogger brunch Meghann and I stopped in here to pick up some delicious tea to go. I’d never heard of this divine, cozy, restaurant until last weekend and had been craving it ever since! We were within three blocks of Alice’s Tea Cup Chapter II which is located at 156 East 64th street.

Alice’s Tea Cup was a dream come true for its two founders. After a lifetime of enjoying afternoon tea, they finally started their own cafe where patrons could enjoy delicious teas and healthy fare. Each item on the menu is made to order and each tea is given at least 3 minutes so it brews to perfection. Entering Alice’s Tea Cup makes one come alive with the whimsical and light hearted colors and paintings around the space recreating the images of Alice in Wonderland. However, this is not a place only for the young but also the young at heart! They serve breakfast, lunch, and such from 8am until 8pm Monday through Friday and brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 3pm. In addition, they serve great drinks like Mar “tea” nis during brunch and their happy hour! I definitely think there needs to be a blogger meet up there soon for a happy hour!

After a 20 minute wait Melissa and I were seated upstairs surrounded by other runners. We were overwhelmed by the amazing menu which is more than FOUR PAGES long! We started by choosing two teas to share, Alice’s Tea and Chai Tea. Alice’s Tea is their most popular tea and was filled with rich spice flavors. The chai tea was served with skim milk already added so it was like a wonderful latte! These teas were the wonderful warmth we needed after the chilly run. Their brunch selection is amazing and is sure to please any patron whether they want a cheeseburger with sauteed onions or divine french toast. Dori suggested their french toast which is mini bites of french toast infused with brandy baked bread pudding style. WOW! After a long debate we decided that their Mad Hatter for Two was the perfect brunch option for two girls who wanted to sample everything. We were able to share two sandwiches (Albacore Tuna and lapsong smoked chicken/herbed goat cheese/apple), three scones (pumpkin, chocolate, and cheese/ham), tea, and cookies. We were only able to enjoy the sandwiches, tea, and 1/2 the pumpkin and chocolate scones before our fullness stopped us from sampling more. Melissa and I thoroughly enjoyed everything and never stopped chatting once during the hour and a half brunch. There was so much to talk about since we’d only met a few hours earlier! I look forward to another running date and hopefully a double date with she and her boyfriend soon.

They happily boxed the leftovers for me so Bo could enjoy them later for lunch. Everything was absolutely delicious including the leftovers. Bo said the ham and cheese scone was a delightful savory mixture that reminded him of everything that he loved about the South’s bacon and biscuits. He devoured it for lunch as soon as I walked through the door!

Thank you Alice’s Tea Room for an amazing post run brunch. I can’t wait to return!

Get excited! The wonderful Zesty Cook is giving away ANOTHER website makeover! Hop over to http://zestycook.com/its-makeover-giveaway-time/comment-page-1/#comment-17530 to enter!