Galaxies Collide

Okay enough of this sporadic blogging! Clearly nothing that interesting has been going on..?? Or perhaps waay too many things that I just can't capture it all on film...you decide.

No but really with work/traveling/apt hunting, I have been completely MIA and hope to pick this blog up again very soon in full force!

However, I did want to make sure that I gave credit where credit was due, and I received a package from the lovely individuals at Galaxy Granola, and they definitely deserve 2 THUMBS UP.

Galaxy Granola is made with apple sauce instead of oil, so the calorie content and nutritional benefits are FAR better than the normal stuff. This is an amazing find for me because I have deemed myself a "granola addict". Seriously, I can add granola to anything. You name it. But mostly I could just eat it plain, which is where the stuff kills me. With Galaxy Granola, it's not as "clumpy" so the desire to eat it straight out of the package is a little lost saving me lots of unnecessary granola food comas ;)

However, the taste is still there and it comes in so many different varieties, so it's hard to get sick of them.

This is Vanilla Almond and Raspberry (I also received Not-so-sweet Vanilla, but that one is loooong gone)
Hip-hip hurray for a new found Galaxy of Granola!!

Chi-caaaa-go!!

Hey all! I hope you had a great weekend, because I definitely did...I have been in Chicago since Thursday! Every time I go out there I have such a good time and I say to everyone, "I can't wait to move out here".... eventually I think I would like to but for now, I'll just stick to my weekend celebrations in the Windy City. Here's a recap of some seriously fabulous eats that took place :)

A coffee and reading at Newark prior to take off (I've been trying to get through Emma ever since my Jane Austen kick. It's taking a little longer than expected...) 

I decided to skip the complimentary turkey sandwich and kit kat bar and instead snacked on a Larabar and a bag of mini carrots. I wanted to make sure that I didn't get full because I know that myself and some co-workers were going to be hitting up this later....!!!
Mercat a la Planxa! Mercat is Chef Jose Garces restaurant, the winner of Iron Chef this year. I've been waiting to go to this place since I heard we were headed to Chicago so clearly I studied the menu in extravagant anticipation :) While I didn't take photos of everything, here are some of the star studded tapas. 

Seasonal Red Sangria 

Croquetas de Mariscos

Diver Scallops 

Bruschetta, Cana de Cabre (goats milk balsamic strawberries), and Costillas de Ternera (braised shortribs flatbread) 

 Serrano Ham and Fig Salad

 

Seriously everything was unbelievably amazing..and these were only a few of the things that we ordered! My favorite was the Pelotas de Calabaza y Cordero (butternut squash dumplings, lamb ragout, Beech Mushroom escabeche, black truffles) holy cow - holy incredible. mm mm mm

On to the rest of the weekend! On Friday I left the beautiful Westin River North and headed to Lincoln Park to stay with two of my girlfriends from college. We went out had a great time and caught up, and ended the night with a burger at Five Guys. Have you ever been there?? I haven't had a burger in [I can't remember how long ago]...needless to say this will add to the story later.. We woke up on Saturday and headed to brunch at Ann Sather Cafe. 

Apparently I just had to try the cinnamon buns, and so I did, and they were fabulous.

So warm and gooey! Along with that I got multigrain pancakes with fresh strawberries and a side of turkey sausage. I felt great while eating that..but as the day went on, my stomach got more and more uneasy. I could feel the Five Guys burger just chillin in my stomach and my stomach was NOT happy about it. Long story short, by the end of the night I felt like I had a mini dose of food poisoning or my stomach was just in shock from eating that greasy food again -- it's pretty crazy/incredible how things like that can effect your body! 

Has this ever happened to from eating something terrible and that you're just not used to??

Unfortunately I ended up curling up in a ball and falling asleep super early :( I woke up this morning and felt sooo much better, just a little weak. I'm hoping I regain some strength by tomorrow, but I dont think I will be eating burgers anytime soon! 

I ordered some snacks at O'Hare for my trip back, and the nice man at the Starbucks station gave me some free nuts to try! 

First time I tried Vanilla Rooibos Red Tea - Two Thumbs Up! 

Are there any other teas that you recommend?? I'm trying to get into tea...vs. my coffee addiction ;)
Ooof sorry for the long post but clearly I had a jam packed weekend and ate some jammin food! Looking forward to a great week :) except for the JETS loss :( Everyone at the airport was watching the end of the game lookin' sad .. tear

Jump Start your Life

Good morning !! 

I saw this billboard on Caitlin's site last night:

There are six inspirational/motivating quotes on this board that I think ring so true to everyone and it's something that I want to try to incorporate in my daily routine, or make a part of my daily mantra [if you will]. 

Friends are more important than $$ - well DUH! but I want to keep this at the forefront of a lot of the decisions that I make in the future.

Stress is related to 99% of all illness - I had/have no idea if this is true or not, but it's a good rule to live by. I do know that stress has a visibly negative effect on my body, personally. When I was a Senior in high school I started having migraines so badly that I would get sick and need to go home from school. They stopped when I received my first college acceptance letter. Coincidence? I think not!

Dance, Sing, Floss, and Travel - Well hip hop classes and singing in the shower are a part of my weekly routine anyways so check ;) but seriously I think I probably need to floss better haha. Travelling, well ironically that comes with the job title but I need to travel for pleasure this year. A few trips planned already: St Johns (oh yea!!)

Boston

Snow Tubing in CT

Miami (still in the works)

Vegas?? 

Looks like I'm doing good so far!

Sweat once a day - I realized that my mood has become directly related to whether or not I get some sort of physical activity each day. Does this happen to you?? I'm going to try to keep fitting in some sort of workout/movement each day to keep me sane and healthy - any suggestions of fun activities are greatly appreciated!

Do something once a day that scares you - I think this is the best one on the board, as well as the hardest. Living life on the edge, or at least taking chances, keeps me motivated, energized, and appreciative of the things that come easy. In the future, I'm going to try to look back on each day and be able to pick out at least one moment where I did something exciting that I'm happy about or proud of. Any takers on joining me? :) I think this is going to be hard, because let's face it a cubicle doesn't exactly open doors to wild and crazy adventures. However, I think that it will be that much more rewarding if I manage to accomplish this (at least a few times a week). 

How do you feel about these messages?