HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I can’t believe it’s 2016. This is the year I graduate college! <- That is crazy.
Anyway, I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve and holiday weekend!
I’m coming at you today with a recap of my year so far. 😉
Tag: Cosi
‘Typical’ Won’t Be So Typical
Happy Hump Day!
As I said in my last post, I haven’t been able to get on here as much as I wanted to lately between working, packing, seeing friends, and getting ready to leave this Sunday for my semester abroad in Italy.
I’m packing like a mad woman these days, but I really wanted to drop by here quickly to do one last WIAW in America (til late December anyway!). My next WIAW will be in Europe. Ummm WHAT?!?
It still has yet to hit me. I think it won’t sink in until I’m literally at the airport. What has kind of hit me is that the food I eat and the things I do all the time here, my ‘typical’, if you will, won’t be so typical when I’m in Europe. I can’t wait to find out (read: taste) what my new ‘typical’ will be!
As always, thanks to Jenn for this lovely link-up!
My typical breakfast as of late has been a ‘strawberry banana mocha protein smoothie’. Looks sad, tastes like Starbucks. Just sayin’.
In the blender: 1/2 frozen banana + 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + handful frozen strawberries & spinach + 1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder + ice + splash (or five) of coffee. Perfection.
I’ve been really into cheese and fruit lately. You know how much I love my eggs, so I’ve found that scrambling an egg with laughing cow mozzarella and thinly sliced fruit is fabulous (granny smith apples, white nectarines, or pears have been my go-to’s). Add some form of carbs (naturally) and you have a complete meal!
As good as this combo is, I absolutely cannot wait for Italian mozzarella (and every other kind of cheese). All day, everyday, baby.
I will miss my Cosi. It’s my fave, I think that’s pretty clear to see if you’ve read my blog for, like, a week.
Of course I’ll greatly miss my parents’ home cooked meals that I get so used to when I’m living at home for the summer. My mom and dad are the best (I’ll miss them for way more than their food, trust me).
And, let’s be honest, I’ll miss my wraps. Love these, maybe a little too much.
I would also say I’ll miss my daily ice-cream (or drumstick cones!), but I have a feeling that Italian gelato might give it a run for it’s money. I can’t want to try the real deal.
I know Europe will be absolutely breathtaking, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t miss this.
I will undoubtedly miss home. Both of my homes.
Well, unfortunately that’s all I have time for today! Time to go pack til I drop nap.
I will see ya soon from Italy (if I can’t get on here sooner)! Eeek!
xo’s
PS – As you know, there are a number of changes I want to make to this lil old blog of mine (becoming self-hosted, changing the title, etc).
That being said, leaving the US for a semester is a pretty big deal. Next week, I’ll likely have no internet yet, plus I’ll be very busy becoming accustomed, meeting new people, exploring my new home, getting ready for classes to begin, and having fun!
I hate to be repetitive here (and I apologize if you’re reading this for the second time), but as I said in my last post, I plan to document everything (food, fashion, ((prob not so much fitness, but maybe?)), and fun all over Europe!), so I hope you will come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing my adventures (plus outfits, eats, and all that good stuff) on here, as well as on Instagram!
So buckle up, sit tight, and join me on this journey, because it’s about to get a LOT more fabulous. 😉
Food is fun.
Raise your hand if you agree with me! ^
It’s fun to make, it’s fun to order, it’s fun to buy (well maybe not the actual losing money part of that exchange…but it becoming yours is fun, no?), it’s fun to look at (and drool over), and mostly it’s just fun to EAT.
Am I right?
Anyway, that’s what was on my mind today as I looked at the food photos I had chillin’ on my iPhone that didn’t make the cut in the past couple WIAWs because they weren’t consumed in Cape Cod (round 1 OR round 2).
So this week I’m ‘attending’ the hilarious Jenn‘s link up party (have you seen her Instagram hashtags? I actually laugh out loud), not with a dreamy “WIWIAW“, or with fancy shmancy eats from NYC or Cape Cod, but instead with a regular old (but still insanely yummy!) WIAW.
Enough talk. Let’s get to the good stuff.
Yesterday’s protein-packed breakfast.
^ What you see here are 2 scrambled eggs – one with garlic and chili powder, spinach, and a few very thin granny smith apple slices (big fan of sweet & savory over here!), and the other with cinnamon and apple slices! I know, both combos sound a little weird for eggs, but seriously, you just have to try them before you judge.
Oh, and of course I enjoyed the rest of the (huge) granny smith + plain greek yogurt with cinnamon! Then after my workout I had a cranberry almond Simple protein bar.
‘Twas a very tasty, very healthy start to the day!
No clue how long ago I took these pics, but here are more before-work meals. MorningStar Farms garden burgers, Flat Out wheat wraps, pop chips (sweet potato is my absolute favorite!), white nectarines, and Sparkling Ice. Ya know, the usual.
And a during-work lunch. Still obsessed with carbs of all kinds, especially in the form of ginormous bagels!
I’m seriously loving the almost weekly Cosi takeout thing we’ve got going this summer… How gorgeous is this salad?
That avocado though. I just can’t get enough of the Peruvian Palm!
Yet another repeat offender – my fave mango salsa salmon!
A summertime classic – hamburgers and corn on off the cob! My burger was super thick so I cut it the long way and ate each half ‘open face’ with tomato, onion, mustard, hot sauce, and lettuce on top!
-> 
A snack of one nasty looking greek yogurt + frozen banana smoothie (sprinkled with cinnamon) and one of my favorite protein bars. Yes, the smoothie looks awful, but it tastes amazing.
I don’t know why, but I have always loved sloppy-joes. We had them with some clean sides – sweet potato, zucchini, and summer squash. See what I did there? 😉
Nothing like cupcakes at a party. I can’t remember the last time I had one, so as soon as I took my first bite, I remembered how stinkin’ delicious cake is. These bad boys were so moist and fudgy, I just had to have two!
This bar. Dark chocolate pretzel with sea salt. Sweet + salty = perfection.
Panera strawberry poppyseed & chicken salad. Nothing says summer quite like this!
Another thing I’m loving this summer (and all the time)?
Kind bars! I’ve liked every flavor I’ve ever tried, but my favorites are: Almond & Coconut, Almond Cashew With Flax + Omega 3, Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio + Antioxidants, Blueberry Vanilla & Cashew, and Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt. Yummmmm!
Even more fun egg creations! (See, I told ya I make the ‘best’ eggs 😉 )
Apple cinnamon ‘pancake’, a wheat wrap, and another egg scrambled with tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, and hot sauce!
You know what I love doing no matter what time of year it is?
Sipping a mug of coffee. (And simultaneously being a complete weirdo…)
I usually make about two cups of Archer Farms coffee (the s’mores flavor is especially fabulous!) in the morning, and then sip it all. day. long. I like it at any temperature, so I’ll reheat it, put it on ice, or just drink it at room temp!
The perfect pre-workout snack = Almond butter, banana, and cinnamon whole wheat ‘pizzas’.
And last but certainly not lease, I love ending almost every summer day with ice-cream.
(And the Kardashians…)
Woohoo that was fun! I love getting to see what foods other people are loving, so I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my everyday eats!
I’ll see ya soon with a special post, so keep an eye out for that 🙂
Have a happy Hump Day!
xo’s
PS – If you want to connect and see even more food, fitness, fashion, and fun, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ fuelingfab!
In case you missed them, here are a few of my recent posts:
Less Than 48 Hours Later… (Escape to the Cape – Part 2)
Hi guys! Happy Hump Day!
I feel like it’s been ages since we last spoke…
It’s been much longer than I anticipated because I did end up going back to the Cape on Thursday night, and unfortunately we had no internet.
I actually wrote an entire Thinking Out Loud post last Thursday in the car, thinking I would hit publish as soon as we got to the hotel.
Wellp that wasn’t exactly possible when we had no internet. The hotel ‘had wifi’ but for some reason it didn’t work, at least not in our room..
I was a little extremely frustrated at first, but then I decided to fully embrace a much needed break from technology. I didn’t use my laptop once and I only used my phone to text (and to Instagram one pic) when we were at restaurants and places where there was service. I have to admit, it was really nice to step away from the internet and social media for a couple days and just focus on my family and enjoying our little vacation.
Anywho, most of the post I wrote on Thursday is still relevant so I’ll probably edit and publish it tomorrow. Since today is Wednesday and all and I have tons of food pics, I think that calls for another WIAW, hosted by Jenn of course!
First of all, you may be wondering why I headed back to Cape Cod less than 48 hours after I returned home from there…
I got back from Chatham last Tuesday at about 8pm, worked Wednesday and then Thursday from 7am to 1. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to give someone else my on-call shift Friday so I could head back to the Cape with my parents on Thursday afternoon. They had made these plans to go a while back, and since a few of my college friends were possibly going to be in Chatham, my goal was to at least see one of them.
Going into it, I knew that even if I didn’t end up seeing my friends, the quality family time was needed, especially since I’ll be leaving for Europe in less than a month.
After I got off work Thursday, I did a quick run and some arms, then repacked my bag (that I had basically left packed from Tuesday, just swapped out some outfits and such).
We arrived in the Cape Cod town of Yarmouth around 7pm and went right to The Skipper Restaurant & Chowder House. We had to wait an hour to be seated, but we didn’t mind!
I started with a few spoonfuls of my mom’s chowdah, which was super thick (and tasty).
For my meal, I ordered the ‘Grilled Scallop Salad’ which was fantastic. The cranberries and poppyseed dressing were just the right amount of sweetness to balance the salty scallops. I also had a piece of cornbread alongside my salad which tasted like dessert, so obviously I loved it.
We ate every bite of our meals, but there was no question about whether I would get ice cream from Skipper’s Icecream counter…
I chose the ‘Sea Salt Caramel with Walnuts’ which had some surprise chocolate caramel cups in it! I learned quite the valuable lesson by eating this ice-cream -> I don’t love plain walnuts… I guess I only like the candy-coated variety. That said, I loved everything else in this bowl of goodness that I enjoyed later on at the hotel (and I still ate all the walnuts – gotta get those healthy fats ;))
On Friday I woke up and ate a quick breakfast before heading out for a run (while my parents walked). I had some greek yogurt, a pear, and a bit of s’mores coffee pre 5 mile run, then a protein bar afterwards. Nothing too exciting, but it got the job done!
There was not a single cloud in the sky and our hotel was right on the water, so we quickly changed into our swimsuits, bathed in sunscreen, packed some lunch, and headed to the beach!
We relaxed in our chairs for a couple of hours before my mom and I took a walk along the water. When we returned, we were more than ready for lunch!
I packed a pb banana wrap, a white nectarine, and a kind bar.
Around 3:00 we decided to head back up to the hotel to lounge by the pool.
Clearly it was rough day..
For snack I had a gala apple with the rest of my pb + some almonds.
Around 4:30 I took a much needed shower and then we headed to Hyannis for dinner!
We parked our car and then walked around in search of the perfect place to eat. We came across The Black Cat Tavern where we were told it would be an hour wait. I had plans to meet up with one of my roommates (the same one I saw last week!) at 7:45 for an a Capella concert, so we said thanks anyway. As we started walking away, the hostess stopped us and said they could actually seat us right then. Score!
I chose the ‘Oven Roasted Pistachio Encrusted Salmon’ which was cooked to perfection and served on top of the most delectable orange honey glaze and creamy fruit risotto. I ate every last morsel and even used a piece of crusty bread to soak up all the delicious remnants. It was dee-lish.
We finished dinner right around 7:30 so I made it just in time to catch the Hyannis Sound concert with one of my college besties and her mom (while my parents explored town and went to ice cream, awww).
If you are ever in Cape Cod in the summer and you like good music, cute boys in Vineyard Vines, and/or having fun, you need to see one of their shows. Click here for all the info (and to listen to some of their amazing music!)
After the incredible show, we drove to my friend’s condo in Chatham where I was spending the night. On the way back we stopped for, what else, ice-cream!
I chose the ‘Purple Cow’ which was black raspberry with white and dark chocolate chunks. Yum!
We stayed up giggling like middle-schoolers and chatting away before calling it a night around 1:30.
It was a long but fabulous day!
On Saturday morning we woke up at 8:30, ate some cereal and fruit, then headed out for an easy run around downtown Chatham!
It was pretty humid out, and the pool was calling our names when we got back!
We were bummed we couldn’t see our other roommates (one had an early ferry ride to Nantucket, so the timing didn’t quite work out, and another ended up having to go to New Jersey), but we had a blast and were thankful just to see each other again!
My parents picked me up at 11:45 and as soon as we arrived back at our hotel, we got set for the beach.
It was pretty windy and the sun was going in and out of the clouds, so after about an hour I had to drape a towel over me as I ate my lunch (which was the same as Friday’s).
In an attempt to escape the sea breeze, we headed to the pool shortly after.
Around 4:00 it started to sprinkle, so I headed in for a shower before mass and dinner with my parents.
^ Lilly Pulitzer + some serious tan lines…
After church we went to The Waterfront at Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis.
I chose the ‘Sweet Salad’ which was a ginormous bowl of fruit over a bed of lettuce with seasoned shrimp. I thought it could have been tastier with spinach instead of romaine and iceberg lettuce, but the fruit and dressing were great and the shrimp was even better!
The sun was setting outside the window, which was an absolutely perfect way to end a yummy summer meal.
We then drove to Harwich Port to walk around for a bit before it got dark.
As we drove back to the hotel, we were on the lookout for a good ice cream spot. We saw tons on our way, but most were super crowded, so we decided to just head back to Skipper’s Icecream.
I got ‘Lobster Tracks’ which was vanilla ice-cream with a thick fudge swirl (oh my gosh), and red white-chocolate caramel cups. It was to die for. Definitely my favorite flavor of this trip!
^ That second photo is a massive fudge chunk. Aka a bite of heaven.
I went to sleep very happy (and very full) that night.
I got up at 7:45 on Sunday and went straight out the door for another 5 mile run. When I got back I stretched and sipped some coffee out by the pool, soaking up one last bit of sunny Cape Cod.
Once my parents were all set, we packed up, checked out, and headed to Hyannis for brunch at The SunnySide Restaurant.
.
We grabbed a table outside and enjoyed some breakfast while people-watching and recapping our awesome mini vacation!
I got a blueberry pancake and an over-easy egg. Once I saw my moms wheat toast and jam, I wish I had gotten eggs and toast instead of the pancake, but I was craving pancakes all weekend, so it had to be done!
We hit the road around noon, just as storm clouds rolled in and the skies opened up. Perfect timing!
Because Cape traffic can get a little crazy on Sunday afternoons, it took about 4 hours to get home, so a light lunch was needed in the car around 3:00.
I whipped out an undocumented nectarine and then topped a wheat wrap with pb and banana (while we were in motion, hence the horrendous presentation).
Plus an apple and more pb as soon as we got home!
In the summer, my parents usually throw something on the grill and we have a nice Sunday dinner with my older brothers, but since we didn’t get home until after 4:00 and were in no mood to cook, we ordered takeout around 7:00.
I got my fave Cosi salad (the Peruvian Palm). No pistachio-encrusted salmon or waterfront dining, but I still liked it!
It was such an amazing long weekend with my family (and a friend!). I’m so glad I decided to take work off to spend that time with my parents. I’m going to miss them so much when I’m abroad, so this was the perfect trip for us. Plus, the beach and food weren’t too shabby either…
Once again, thanks for enduring another photo dump/ rambling post from me! I hope you enjoyed reading it because I loved writing it.
Have a great rest of your Hump Day, and a fabulous rest of the week 🙂
I’ll see ya back here soon with some Thursday Thoughts, a ‘how to pack‘ post, and much, much more!
xo’s
PS – Don’t forget, my Twitter and Instagram handles (as well as Pinterest) are now @fuelingfab (which will possibly be my new blog title!). Your input on my blog name (once I go self-hosted) is still much appreciated 🙂
Questions of the day:
- Have you gone anywhere fun this summer?
- Do you have any end-of-summer plans coming up?
- What is your all-time favorite ice-cream flavor?
And in case you missed them, here are some of my more recent posts…
{Kinda Sorta Not Really} Wordless Wednesday
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! Mine was amazing, and I hope yours was also full of relaxation, family time, fun with friends, fabulous food, and some fitness thrown in there, too!
I’m still on break for the next two weeks, but I’m definitely feeling the after Christmas (and New Years Eve) blues. I took a decent amount of photos, so I thought what better way to beat those blues than a kinda sorta not really “wordless Wednesday” recap!
~~~~~~~~~~
Modern Family marathon.
Chex in a Christmas mug. (Does anyone else think the vanilla flavor tastes like sugar cookies? SO GOOD.)
Oreo brownie.
Pre-church peppermint mocha.
Christmassy nails.
Lacy shirt and new boots for Christmas Eve Mass.
Christmas Eve lasagna, garlic bread, and salad.
Santa came!
Enough dessert for 19 people?
Lemon poppyseed cake with orange glaze, rounds 1 & 2.
Round 3.
Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate.
Five mile run in the snow. Perfection.
I’m dreaming of a white (day after) Christmas.
Cosi date with friends.
More.
And more.
First trip to Moe’s.
I guess I liked it?
Hot cocoa by the tree.
Feeling snacky.
Christmas celebration #2.
(Early) birthday cake!
Out with the fam.
Dear peppermint stick, why do you have to be seasonal?
Clean and simple.
Microwaved.
Tired from last night = lazy easy eats.
Imma miss this
so, so much.
~~~~~~~~~~
PS – Want to kick-start the new year? Check out this workout!
PPS – This year, instead of making resolutions you won’t keep, make the commitment to become the BEST you.
~~~~~~~~~~
Questions of the day:
- How were your holidays?
- What are your goals for 2014?
- Any post requests?
It’s Been A While…
Hey guys!
It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
I’ve been suuuper busy. My weeks have been jam packed with midterms, papers, internship work, study abroad research, health coaching, football and hockey games, awesome runs in the perfect Fall weather, quality time with my friends, a brief visit home, the list goes on…
Besides the lack of sleep, it’s been good!
I’m loving the fact that it’s Fall! The leaves are gorgeous and the temperatures are PERFECT. Plus, apple and pumpkin flavored everything doesn’t hurt! 😉
I don’t have much time this morning, but I wanted to share some pics that have been accumulating on my phone!
Enjoy 🙂
~~~~~~~~~~
Wraps on wraps on wraps.
Giant cookies.
Panera Roasted Turkey Harvest Wheat-berry Salad. Perfection.
Stacking bracelets, mixing metals.
Typical week day dinner – turkey burger with veggies and (somewhere in there) quinoa salad. YUM.
New kicks.
More new kicks. May not be wearing these too often…
Home for the long weekend = homemade meals!
And Cosi!
Back at school – not too shabby.
Froyo nights.
More Panera.
Look what I did, Mom!
~~~~~~~~~
Sorry that was jumbled and not too exciting but I’ve got some more to come… hopefully soon!
Have a great week, everyone 🙂
~~~~~~~~~~
PS – Has anyone checked out FitStrongandSexy.com? If not, check it out now – you will be so happy you did, I promise.