The Next Chapter

Just less than 2 years ago, I shared with you my excitement and nerves as I announced Nathan and my big move across the country to California. As we approach our 2 year anniversary in the Bay Area, I’m excited to announce that we are going to be moving back to Baltimore! In a month, no less!

Oakland Bay Bridge on our first day in California.

Our time in California has truly been great. It was scary moving out here on one income, not knowing anyone, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. There were a lot of smiles, laughs, butterflies, and tears along the way, but I can confidently say we did it. I’ve never been one for change; I’m a creature of habit and change scares the crap out of me. But I quit my 9 to 5, moved with my husband across the country, made some friends, and started a brand new career.

We conquered Mt. Tam!

My experience here as a personal trainer has made me a stronger and more easy-going person. Sure, I knew how to work out on my own, but starting as a personal trainer in a place where I had no network was tough! And you can bet I don’t have a set schedule; not day-to-day, not week-to-week. I’ve built up to more than 20 sessions per week and I’ll definitely miss my clients and co-workers. It’s going to be tough to replace my work family.

Love this lady!

Marcus and I have spent many bright and early mornings training together.

Over the past week, as I’ve broken the news to all of my clients, I’ve gotten some amazing responses that has made me feel like this is the right job and industry for me. I started out flying by the seat of my pants and I never thought people would tell me they’d miss having me as a trainer! It makes me confident that I’ll find my place as a trainer in Baltimore.

It’s certainly going to be a whirlwind of a month packing up and hitting the road. Did I mention we’re driving this time?! It’s going to be a hell of a trip; we’re headed down to L.A. and San Diego for a few days to start, then over to the Grand Canyon, and taking a southern route back to B-More. We’re absolutely stopping in Memphis for some BBQ, too! If you have any suggestions on any must-see [or must eat.. or drink] places, I’m all ears!

Soaking it in.

I’m excited to move back to Baltimore and to be with family and friends again, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

The never-ending hike.

I definitely foresee some wine country vacations in our future.

As I look back on my 1 year in California post, it still remains true. Nathan is my best friend, California’s pretty darn cool, and home is where the heart is.

They’re not excited at all that we’re moving home!

Cheers!

To the next chapter.

And with that, it’s time to scratch things off of our California Bucket List! You can be there will be plenty of pictures on Instagram so don’t forget to follow!

Food for Thought

What would be on your bucket list?
Any suggestions for cross-country driving?

Life Lately

Hi, friends! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to kick off this week. Next Monday is Memorial Day so hopefully most of you will have a nice 3-day weekend next weekend. Just a little something to get you through the week 😉 Thanks for sticking with me through my lack of posting lately. I’ll get back to my normal routine one of these days, but for now, this seems to be working for me, so I’m going with it.

I’m still waiting to start my new job so I’m currently enjoying a little extra downtime. It’s nice to only be working at 2 gyms right now. Ha, never thought 2 jobs would be when I got to relax! So, where exactly have I been the past few weeks?

Well, Nathan’s sister came to visit for a week. She was here for his birthday which was spent at the Giants’ game. Birthdays and baseball go together like baseball and beer.. which, of course, we had.

Day 1! Drakes Brewery, straight from the airport. We don’t mess around!

A birthday win!

Finally made it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Photo-bombing my own picture.

One of our new favorite wineries.

We also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary last week. It’s so crazy to think that it’s already been 2 years. And at the same time, it’s only been 2 years. I bet you wouldn’t be too surprised to learn that we celebrated with food and drinks.

Surprise picnic at work!

Aperol Spritz to take us back.

Oh, those porcinis and fresh pasta ❤

Holy Margherita!

We try to get back to our honeymoon as much as possible, so an impromptu picnic at Nathan’s office and Pizzaiolo for dinner had to happen. It was named one of the best pizzas in the Bay Area and it was definitely delicious; the crust was the most light, fluffy, tender crust we’ve ever had. That said, Il Casaro still wins for our favorite pizza since Italy. Next month, we’re going to see Book of Mormon. I called that the anniversary gift so we’re also planning on going to a nice dinner that night before the show. Any recommendations around the Orpheum Theater?

We’ve also made a successful foccacia bread at home [and by we, I mean Nathan..] which is HUGE for us! AND I’m dying over the fruit lately. Yogurt + cherries + nut butters [peanut and almond because I couldn’t decide] = heaven.

In the fitness world, I’m finishing up my 30 Day Kettlebell Challenge and have loved it. It’s been so refreshing to change it up and get my butt kicked in 25 minutes or less! Since I’ve just mainly been following that program this month, I’ve cut my cardio back significantly to typically one 30 minute run per week in addition to a quick warmup on the elliptical before my workouts. It has certainly helped me to fit my workouts in between clients. And speaking of clients, they’re picking up too! I’m searching for pockets of time but I’m so excited to have more clients these days. Only up from here, right?

My meal planning has been lacking a little bit lately, so let’s all get back to that, shall we?

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Nathan’s whole roasted chicken with roasted sugar snap peas and [sweet] potatoes
Monday – Coconut Honey Lime Filipino Chicken Adobo Skewers with roasted red pepper and zucchini chips
Tuesday – Balsamic Watermelon Chicken Salad
Wednesday – Jerk Chicken Kabobs with Balsamic Fennel Salad
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

What’s happening in your life lately?
Any restaurant recommendations near the Orpheum Theater in SF?

Vegging Out

Have you entered my MealEnders giveaway yet?

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend. We stayed local and pretty low-key but definitely enjoyed the beautiful weather that we had.

Friday night, we kicked off the weekend with a trip to the gym…

…immediately followed by beer and delicious food at Cato’s, our favorite bar down the street.

The beet and feta salad with grilled chicken is my go-to. Extra beets, please!

 

Such a wild and crazy Friday! Which lead to an even wilder Saturday.

We saw this super cute dog in a hilarious onesie at lunch!

Saturday was the best. After lunch, we took a nice walk and then came home and totally vegged on the couch for the rest of the day. Dinner in and a movie was the perfect ending.

Sunday, I was making my way over to work around 7:45 when I saw the first Oakland marathoner running down the road. The race started at 7:30 and I was between miles 3 and 4. Holy hell, he’s fast!

And he was followed by lots more runners! It was so cool to watch everyone go by and cheer for them.

After work, it was time for lunch and groceries. Lunch was awesome! One of my favorite things about this restaurant, Southie, is that they will happily make any sandwich into a salad. So rather than the sandwich, I asked for the chilaquiles as a salad. BOOM! They made it happen.

The black bean mash was way more delicious than it looks 😉 And Nathan’s corned beef hash with poached eggs was equally as delicious.

How have we missed out on their brunch for so long? Aside from that whole work thing yesterday, it was quite a nice weekend. And now I’m looking forward to powering through this week. It’s a doozy but I think I’ll make it out alive!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Seared skirt steak with roasted potatoes and broccolini
Monday – Sticky Baked Chicken Pork with Apricot, Sage and Lemon Zest and Roasted Cauliflower Meuniere
Tuesday – Leftovers
Wednesday – Fennel-Garlic Pork Roast with roasted brussels sprouts and fennel
Thursday – Grilled chicken over Pear and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Sesame Vinaigrette
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

How did you celebrate the weekend?
Have you or would you ever run a marathon?

Beer, Wine, and Sunshine

Good morning! Today is the last day to enter my Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts giveaway.. are you in on it yet? Also, I’ve announced the winner of my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway. Such excitement to start the week!

We had another fun-filled weekend with Nathan’s mom. Friday we went into San Francisco to shop. We were on a mission to find Nathan a new suit and were especially successful leaving with 2 suits! We also finally had success at Liguria Bakery. Our most favorite pillowy-soft foccacia bread has been on our radar for months and every time we’ve had the chance to get over to Liguria, they’ve been closed or sold out. Friday, however, we picked up a plain square and a rosemary garlic square. It’s just the best!

After a beautiful day in the city, we made our way to Jupiter in Berkeley for a little patio beer, pizza, and salad action. It was too nice a day to let it go to waste so we spent as much time outside as possible.

Saturday was another day of amazing weather and what better way to enjoy it than in Sonoma? We tried a couple new places—Gloria Ferrer for sparkling wine and charcuterie, Viansa Winery, Park 121 Cafe for lunch, and Meadowcroft Wines. While we don’t typically purchase any wine when we go tasting, we couldn’t pass up the cab franc and port. They’re definitely bottles that we’re going to be saving for a more special occasion. Two-buck chuck does just fine on a regular basis 😉

Saturday night, we had a wonderful dinner at Homestead, a farm-to-table style restaurant that changes their menu daily based on the freshest ingredients they can get. Nathan and I had been eyeing this place for practically a year and had read great reviews so we were pretty excited to finally try it out. It definitely lived up to our expectations! I ordered the pan seared black cod, chickpeas, artichokes, grilled treviso, almond pesto; it was seasoned perfectly, the skin on the cod had a nice crisp to it and it was overall a pretty light dish. The housemade sourdough levain with housemade sea salted butter to start out was a real treat too. I probably could have eaten a whole loaf of that bread!

Nathan got the pork loin, spaetzle, grilled onion, sauerkraut, whole grain mustard. He agreed that the flavors in his dish were on point and it was also rather light.

Sunday was pretty much back to normal; we dropped Nathan’s mom off at the airport in the morning and I headed into work. Back to reality, I guess. Ahh, it’s gotta happen sooner or later, right? We’re currently guest-less for 2 1/2 weeks before my friends get here and while we’ve enjoyed having company and are looking forward to more, we’re definitely going to the enjoy the quiet and home-cooked meals!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Leftovers
Monday – Crunchy stuffed buffalo chicken with ranch roasted potatoes and asparagus
Tuesday – Burrito bowl with perfect black beans [<–the best!] and chicken
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Thai chicken satay noodle salad with coconut peanut dressing
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Pumpkin Bars, Oats in a Jar, and a Mexican Buffet

How is it that the weekends fly by so darn quickly? I can’t believe it’s already Monday, we’re already half way through January, and we’re going to be moving in less than 2 weeks! I guess we should have gotten a ton of boxes packed over the weekend, but that wasn’t quite the case. Instead, we worked on finishing up some things in the fridge and pantry..

Bye bye almond butter. I’m already looking forward to making another batch after we move.

It’s always bittersweet to finish a jar of nut butter. Can’t complain about the oats in a jar, though.

Lindsay’s Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars

I made a few substitutions to the bars based on what I had in the pantry. I subbed peanut flour for the tigernut flour, goji berries for the cranberries, White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter & Co. for the coconut butter, and I added an egg and the xylitol. They turned out wonderfully and I might have had one as an appetizer to dinner…

Leftover citrus chicken with all the veggies in the fridge!

… a dinner that was to use up whatever we could from the fridge.

Yesterday I decided to suck it up and go for a run. I had a discussion with Nathan last week about how I’ve recently been frustrated with my body; if I want to see the changes I’m looking for, I need to make changes in my routine. So a 5K, I ran.

The fuzziness represents how I felt afterward. Ha!

Some people run a 5K in their sleep; heck, I used to! But since I’ve cut back, not only on my running, but also my cardio, a 5K isn’t as easy as it used to be. I’m determined to get it back though.

And this was just plate #1…

We treated ourselves to a Mexican buffet right down the street from our apartment and it was SO good! They had 8 different kinds of chicken mole, pork carnitas, pork belly, and tons of veggies. We definitely ate too much [hence last night’s dinner..] but at least we stuck to mostly veggies and meat, yes? I can’t believe it took us so long to go!

This week is going to be a doozy but we’re gonna get through. And I’m definitely looking forward to dinners..

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Cottage cheese, apple, and rice cake with peanut butter
Monday – Chicken bacon fra diavolo with potato noodles

Tuesday – Nathan’s night to cook!
Wednesday – Thai chicken salad with sweet + spicy tahini dressing & sesame chili-lime cashews
Thursday – Chicken & broccoli over soba noodles with red Thai curry sauce
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #119: Lunch Date at BJ’s Brewhouse

On Monday, I mentioned going out to lunch with Nathan over the weekend. While we’re trying to stick within a little more strict than usual budget because of our upcoming move, we wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Luckily, I was recently contacted by BJ’s Brewhouse to visit one of their nearby restaurants and check out the Enlightened Menu. Obviously anytime someone offers me food and beer, I can’t say no!

The Enlightened menu is great for everyone in the crowd and, especially when we’re all trying to lighten the load a bit after the holidays, it’s a great option when you’re going out. Everything on this portion of the menu is 795 calories or less and offers much more than just a plain old salad.

Not to mention, the lighter calories leaves room for a little beverage 😉

And even though they do show quite a nice beer list, you could always go with a lighter option and tap into the fully-stocked bar.

For our entrees, I went with the Kale and Roasted Brussels Sprout Salad with flame-broiled salmon.

Baby kale, herb-roasted brussels sprouts, romaine, blueberries, red grapes, dried cranberries, goat cheese, cucumber, candied pecans, toasted pepitas and red onions tossed in strawberry vinaigrette.

The salmon was cooked perfectly and all of the elements of the salad came together really nicely. I especially liked the candied pecans, brussels [obviously..], and the crispy crunch on the salmon. It was a great option to choose instead of the typical house salad with chicken and I’d definitely recommend this dish.

Nathan ordered the Mediterranean Chicken Pita Tacos.

Grilled chicken breast seasoned with Big Poppa Smokers’ Desert Gold Rub, cucumber, Roma tomatoes, red onions, feta and fresh cilantro tossed in red wine vinaigrette and drizzled with Greek yogurt crema in a chargrilled pita. With Greek yogurt crema for dipping and seasonal bistro grains.

In comparison, I’d say his portion was a bit smaller than mine, mostly due to the huge hunk of salmon on my plate. Nathan enjoyed the tacos, though felt like he would have preferred some sort of veggie side dish over the couscous because there was already pita with the main part of the meal. That said, he did enjoy the couscous salad as well.

Seeing as how we were enjoying meals from the Enlightened menu, we opted to skip dessert. However, going back with friends, you bet we’ll have to try the Pizookie Trio! Those things look AMAZING!

If you have a BJ’s in your area, definitely go check out their Enlightened menu [and awesome beer list] when you get a chance.

Food for Thought

What would you order off of the Enlightened menu?

Disclaimer: BJ’s Brewhouse provided our meal complimentary but as always, all opinions are my own.

Fabulous Food & Our Weekly Meal Plan

Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you had a great, relaxing weekend. Mine kicked off with an early power yoga class at Truve.

So not fair.. they’re both yoga instructors!

I’m not much of a yogi but good lordy, my body was sore! I think I need to hit up yoga a little more regularly and get some stretching in. Later, I grabbed lunch with a friend at what may just be my new favorite sushi spot. It just so happens to be about 10 steps away from where I’m moving!

Friday night was our night out on the town. Nathan and I made a deal to go out to eat less on the weekends so we really went for it!

Beer #1: Perennial Abraxas

If you can get your hands on this beer, you don’t want to miss out. It’s one of the most complex beers I’ve had and it really makes its way through each of the spices as you drink it. The cinnamon stood out the most but there’s also just a hint of spice at the very end. Amazing.

2 Meat + 2 Sides: Chicken & pork with cauliflower salad & cowboy beans with burnt ends. Also added a hot link!

Whenever we go to Perdition, we split the 2 meat plate. It comes with 2 sides + pickles and bread; we’d had the pork and chicken before but never tried the hot link so we decided to add that too. It was so much food! But of course, we ate the whole thing. It was wonderful and I definitely went to sleep fat and happy that night. Ha!

Saturday I was so ready to head back to Truve for barre; I’m officially addicted and it may just be my new favorite class. I was also ready for a much lighter day of eats.. and Sizzlefish 😉

Sizzlefish shrimp & kale salad with ALL the veggies!

Digging the Atlantic Cod!

It was nice to stay in and use up some of the extras in the fridge and freezer before we move! Speaking of moving, we had to scedaddle yesterday for a couple hours while our place was being showed to potential renters so we took advantage of a gift card and went out to lunch.

A nice, lighter beer paired with a kale and brussels sprout + salmon salad was calling my name. Delicious! [But more on that later..]

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Crispy Thai pork [+ turkey] lettuce wraps with cucumber salad
Monday – Cuban chicken & black bean rice bowls with fried bananas
Tuesday – Turkey burgers with roasted potatoes & side salad
Wednesday – Grilled chicken/fish & brussels
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought
Have you ever tried barre?

What I Ate Wednesday #118: Weekend Eats & Treats

I’m sure most people enjoy a few more treats here and there on the weekends. I know I do! I typically save my drinks for the weekend as well as going out to eat. We do a pretty darn good job around here cooking during the week so it’s nice to take a break and let someone else do the cooking for a couple of days. That said, I like to think I do a decent job of keep it balanced with my drinks, treats, and lots of salads.

[Friday]

Friday we tried a new place called Farm Burger. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big burger-eater, aside from making turkey burgers at home, but this place intrigued me. Probably the amazing sounding toppings.. and the kale salad with roasted beets. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a good salad!

I was also told that the fries were fabulous. We got a large order of garlic fries to start. And in case you’re wondering, that was enough to feed 4! Ha. But I made up for all the fries with my kale salad and chicken burger. One of the biggest things Nathan and I both noticed was the freshness of the ingredients; the chicken burger tasted just like something I’d make at home which we both found to be a nice change of pace from the typical burger place. I’d recommend it and we’ll be back!

[Saturday]

For lunch we hit up a little Mexican joint; more so because we didn’t have much food in the house and this was a pretty cheap option. The shrimp was seasoned well and there were a good number on the salad, but I could have used twice the number of veggies! Minor details..

The pizza. Oh, that was a good one! Topped with yukon gold potato, leeks, and gruyere cheese; oooh baby! Perfect with a beer [Southern Tier Pumking, of course] and nicely offset but huge amounts of kale and veggies 😉

[Sunday]

Lunch time. Korean style. My new favorite is dolsot bibimbop, no rice, extra veg. I’m aware that I order a rice bowl with no rice, but you still have to try it. I was more than happy to take some leftovers home for my lunch salad on Monday.

We ended the weekend on a lighter note—lettuce wrapped flank steak tacos. That plate of food + about 3 or 4 more of those little tacos!

Throw a little chocolate and some wine and I’d say we had ourselves a delicious and pretty well-balanced weekend. It’s all about the kale, right? 😉

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite pizza topping?

What I Ate Wednesday #116: Downtown Napa

Can you believe we’ve lived in California for over a year and had never been to downtown Napa? Clearly that had to change so Sunday we put on our drinking caps and made the 45 minute drive. Our plan was to stop at the Oxbow Public Market and then head to NakedWines.com for $10 all we can sample. Sounds like a pretty good plan, right?

Our first tasting stop at the public market was at Fatted Calf. We didn’t intend on that being a snack stop, but when we got in our jaws dropped, the woman behind the counter started offering samples, and we just couldn’t say no!

Everything was absolutely incredible, from the pate maison to the housemade roast beef and lomo [cured pork loin seasoned with paprika.] So many samples; it was such a great appetizer.

Next up, we went to Ca’ Momi where we started with their own Ca’ Secco.

Followed by a shared porchetta & cipolle flatbread sandwich.

And to wash it down, a shared beer; Anchor’s new-to-us Our Barrel Aged. Anytime I see barrel-aged, I’m sold.

Of course, Nathan couldn’t forget dessert. He picked up some of their famous cream puffs.

I took a bite of a couple but apparently I’m not a big cream puff fan. More for him 😉 Not to worry though, I did get some toasted almond gelato around the corner!

And since we’d walked off our drinks and snacks already, by the time we got to Bounty Hunter, the smell of the smoker drew us right in.

To continue the theme, we shared a bbq chicken sandwich with a side of brussels. And each a glass of wine to wash it down.

And after all of our eating and drinking excursions, we never did make it out to Naked Wines. But I’d say we did pretty well for ourselves, yes? 🙂

We had to test everything out to make sure it’s up to par for all of the people coming to visit us next year.. you know, since we’re upgrading to a 2 bedroom apartment what whaaattt! We’re so fancy. And I’d have to say this place far and away passed our test. I can’t wait to go back and eat and drink more!

Food for Thought

Do you ever share dishes at a few different places?

What I Ate Wednesday #111: 24 Hours in San Francisco

Have you entered my WIN Detergent giveaway yet?

If you had 24 hours [or maybe just a little more] in a city, how would you explore? Or on the other side, how would you show someone around? I mentioned the other day that my friend, Jordan, was visiting over the weekend for work. We had Friday evening as well as all day Saturday to take him out and show him the city. He’d never been to San Francisco before so Nathan and I had our work cut out for us! No problem though; we let our taste buds lead the way.

[Friday Night]

First stop was for beer at Thirsty Bear. Nathan and I had been before but it had also been a few years since. Let’s just say next time, we’ll pass.

We more than made up for that with our Moscow Mule pitcher from B Restaurant. Jordan said it might have been the best cocktail he’s ever had!

After some strong drinks, Fresh Roll was the perfect dinner. It’s like a Chipotle-style Vietnamese restaurant and it was delish!

[Saturday]
We started our day at 10 a.m. for a dim sum brunch at Yank Sing in the Financial District.

Steamed Pork Buns

Seafood Basil Siu Mai.. my fave!

Shanghai Pork Dumplings

Shanghai Pork Dumpling

Taro Cake

From there, we stopped at Tout Sweet in Union Square. That was one of Jordan’s only requests, and it just so happens the owner and winner of Top Chef Just Desserts was doing a demo and book signing that day! We made a second stop back there in the afternoon to say hi 😉

Raspberry Peanut Butter Macaron

Jordan & Yigit

They’re famous for their macarons and having been disappointed when we bought the real deal in Paris on our honeymoon, Nathan and I had our doubts. These macarons, however, were fabulous! I may have to get more if we go back again.

After sweets, we trekked over to the Mission for a beer..

.. a few relaxing minutes at Dolores Park..

.. and our final stop in the Mission, El Farolito for some amazing Mexican!

The biggest plate of al pastor and beans I’ve ever seen! And demolished 😉

We waddled out of there and hopped onto a train and then a bus and into the Fisherman’s Wharf area all to see the beautiful bridge.

We finished our night in North Beach with a proscuitto and parmesan pizza from our favorite place, Il Casaro.

Best Italian-style pizza since Italy!

It was a long, fun, and very filling day and I’m glad we were able to show Jordan so many areas of the city and our favorite spots to eat in such a short period of time. So…… who’s visiting next?! 😉

Food for Thought

What are your favorite restaurants to take visitors?