Wonderful Miss Sabrina from Rhodeygirl Tests told me the other day not to be scared me make my pizza dough from scratch. I’ve always bought it premade dough from trader joes, or just bought premade crusts from the grocery store. I’ve always been a little intimidated to use yeast. The other day I was at Trader Joes and saw a 3 pack of yeast and threw it in the cart. I was going to make my own dough.
Last night I opened up a little pizzeria in my kitchen, and the results were fabulous. Never again will I need to buy pizza dough because it can be made quickly and easily right at home. Chase went to the local italian deli and picked up some fresh in store made mozzarella and some pizza sauce, I went over to the local produce market and got myself some tomatoes, fresh basil, and some romaine lettuce. Never had to drive to the grocery store, just picked up some local delicious ingredients.
Here’s the goods 
Happy humpday which means that foodbuzz is only 2 days away! I’m in need for a getaway, and this vacation is perfect timing! First timer to the west coast and i couldn’t be more excited!
After work I tried to run again with Eden. This time we got about 3/4 of a mile until she stopped to walk. Practice makes perfect right? i’m going to keep trying with her, and try to train her to learn how to run. Hopefully she’ll catch on sooner or later! This was only our second time.
After our little run/walk I headed over to my Tuesday night hot vinyasa class. This is my favorite class of the week! It’s always such a tough class but I leave feeling amazing. This time the room was a little hotter than usual and got the sweat dripping right away. I love that Camille constantly pushes you to go a little further than you think you can do. There were two major accomplishments that happened in last nights class. When she told everyone they could get into headstand… I did it. By myself, in the middle of the room with no wall as a support, and got up. I couldn’t believe it. When I was up I about screamed with joy I was so excited. Felt amazing!
Also, at the end of class during plow pose, I can usually never get my feet to touch the ground. They kinda just hang by my head. Well last night, my toes felt something. It was the ground. omggggggggg, they can touchhh!
It’s amazing how quickly your body starts to respond to yoga. This is week 3 of me going on a consistent schedule and already I can tell muscles are starting to loosen up, my body is responding so well and feels amazing. Such a great class, I look forward to it every week! And what was even more amazing? Camille played a new hip hop playlist for meee!! Gah, it makes the class even better. Any of my Baltimore readers, get your booties to Camille’s yoga class. You’ll never look back!
When I got home it was dinner time! Made the veganomicon black bean burgers and topped them off with some spicy cream and smooth hummus from TJs( AMAZING HUMMUS ALERT!) and some Franks red hot, and then had them with some roasted kabocha squash. gahh this dinner was delicious. SO glad i have leftovers. The hummus and hot sauce on the black bean burger was amazing. pure deliciousness.
Welp, today after work i’m gonna go on a run then start washing clothes and packing and getting things together for san fran!!!!! love you all! xoxo
Thank you all so much for your kind words. I’m so lucky to have a support system like this here for me, it means so much. I’m a very lucky girl
Our halloween costumes were a success! Mr and Mrs Flash and Eden had a wonderwoman costume. Unfortunately, she didn’t like putting clothes on, so we only got to far as having the cape put on her, I guess she likes being nakee. haha.
I loved doing a couple costume with Chase. First time i’ve done one and it made me laughh. On our way over to our friend’s party a little boy was outside and shouted out “Excuse me Mr Lightning Flash, can I please get your autograph?” sooo cuteee.
Here are the superhero’s to the rescue!
I didn’t take many pictures during the night so i’m hoping to snag some from my friends to share with you guys.
Yesterday I went on a nice walk. I wanted to get some fall shopping done, esp to find some things for San Fran this weekend. No luck. I also ended up walking down to Whole Foods to pick up a few things. #1 thing I picked up: a Kabocha squash. I’ve been dying to try one of these for so long and finally got one! I cut half of it up and roasted it to perfection. These are SO delicious. The perfect taste. I think this one is my favorite squash of all. Now I see why miss Heather loves it so.
As for exercise, I went to a yoga class on Thursday night and also Saturday morning I’ve been loving my yoga so much and really enjoy being able to work on different things with different instructors. Not one class is the same and constantly keeps my body guessing. Sunday I ended up going for a 3 mile walk around Baltimore, and going for a 4 mile run. I hadn’t run that long in forever and it felt so good to get back out there. It started off a little chilly but ended up being the perfect temp for a run. I’m excited for this POTM challenge, and I think I started it off on a good foot.
3 mi walk
1 mi walk with Eden
4 mi run
=8 mi for 11/1/09
I leave for San Fran in 4 days and couldn’t be more excited! It’s going to be a great weekend and i’ll get to meet in person with some great friends. Hope you all have a wonderful dayyy xoxo
This is so hard for me 
Chase is moving back to NY next Friday. He has been job searching since he’s come to Baltimore and hasn’t found anything. He is one of the assistant coaches for the lacrosse team at a community college nearby, and their fall ball season is over and picks back up in the spring for their regular season. They hardly pay anything so he needed a job on top of that. The market is so bad right now and he hasn’t been able to find anything and needs to save up some money so he’s decided to go back to NY for a while and work for his dad to save up and hopefully come back when he has enough. He’s applied to the Police department in Baltimore City and also one of the counties over here so hopefully one of them will pull through soon. He takes the police test for PG County next Friday and then is going home after that. I’m leaving for San Fran for the foodbuzz festival on Friday and when I come home he won’t be there It’s tough for me because we’d been long distance for over a year and it was so exciting to be near each other again. I’d missed him so much and it was the best feeling in the world to have him there with me and Eden completed the perfect picture. Another thing is, that I think Eden will be going back to NY with him. I can’t decide. I want her to stay with me, I don’t want to be completely by myself. The thing is that I will be at work all day. If she’s in NY she’ll get to be around people during the day and not have to be cooped up in a small apartment. I don’t know what to do.
I’m scared to live by myself. I’m sad to not have him with me but i”m going to try to make the most out of this weekend and the week ahead. Sad news, but I know that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.
I know that everything happens for a reason…. even if it might not feel like it right now.
When you’ve had a rough day yesterday and you come into work the next morning and your co-worker brought you your favorite fall treats. Pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin scone from Starbucks. Sometimes its the little things that matter the most. When someone goes out of their way to make your day a little brighter than it was the day before.
I love skin care lines. I love finding the best one for my type, and I keep on trying new products to see what’s new on the market. I love shopping on sample sale websites like Rue La La and Hautelook and one day saw that Hautelook was selling a skin care line by the name of Exuberance. The packaging drew me in right away. I’m a sucker for great design. Package design was my favorite part of my graphics classes in school. I did a little more digging into the website and read some things that were music to my ears.
Exuberance is a Canadian skin care line that was founded by Jodie Fedor last year. She makes her products with organic ingredients, natural plant extracts, bioactive botanicals, and pure essential oils. They are paraben free, no petroleum by products or synthetic colors or fragrances and their products do not undergo animal testing.
On their website they say”
“We believe wholeheartedly in the importance of loving yourself and taking pride in the things you allow into your life. In the context of skin care, this means only using effective products that are healthy and safe for you. Exuberance means loving your body, loving your soul, and loving what makes you ‘you’. As the old adage goes, what’s inside truly does count, and your insides (and your outsides too) well, they’re fabulous. They deserve the best.”
I love this message.
I ended up getting 3 products at an amazing deal from Hautelook.
Radiance Green Tea Facial Cleanser
Like other natural cleansers, this does not foam up. It is a cream cleanser and it is amazing. Doesn’t strip your face of moisture and leaves skin feeling supple after you cleanse. Love this cleanser.
Believe Facial Tonic
For a while I didn’t think toners were necessary for me. This was until I was started to get lots of clogged pores and blackheads, something that didn’t happen when I used toners. I quickly returned to toners, and this one is especially good. I was very impressed by how it instantly refreshed my skin.
She’s so Lovely Rose Daily Moisturizer
I have a hard time finding a good moisturizer for my skin type. I feel like I have very “normal” skin and moisturizers are either far too light, or too heavy and make my skin oily. This one is the perfect consistency and is instantly drawn into my skin. It makes my face so soft and moisturizes it just the right amount!
You can see all their products at www.exhuberancebeauty.com
I just wanted to let you guys know about these great products that I’ve come to love. I’ve used them for a few weeks now and have enjoyed how they have made my skin look and feel. These are purely personal opinions, and I was not given these products to review. I tried them on my own and had such great outcomes that I thought you guys should know about this new company! The prices are a little high, but for organic ingredients in your products and for how long these seem to last I believe that they are completely worth it!
So i’ve been dying to take Eden running with me. I’ve tried running with her before when I lived at my parent’s house and we would run in the paths in the woods behind my house but it didn’t really work. She would get side tracked easily and stop to sniff, and I wouldn’t notice, and it was just a mess. I only tried with her once, then decided walks would be better for her. Lately i’ve been seeing so many people running with their dogs in the city and i’ve been dying to give it a go with Eden. Yesterday was day 1.
She did pretty good! She stayed focused and ran along with me really well. She looked like she was having so much fun! It was a short run, about 1.5 miles, but I wanted to see how she did. I think she’s completely capable of learning to run with me and I can’t wait to gradually increase the distance so that we can go running together often. It’s nice to have a running partner thats always available 24/7. She was a wiped out little puppy when we got back. This will be great for the both of us
Last night I decided to make some black bean burgers from Veganomicon. These are my favorite, and I actually like them more than any store bought black bean/veggie burger i’ve ever tried. It’s nice to be able to whip these up really quickly at any time. They’re my favorite go-to recipe from the cookbook by far. Last night I made a slight adjustment. Usually it calls for bread crumbs in the mix, but the other day my mom gave me some Panko bread crumbs. Panko is a type of Japanese bread crumb that is used as a crunchy coating for fried foods. They’re actually made with crustless bread so the result is much crispier. They’re usually used in Tempura dishes in Japanese restaurants. I decided to use this instead of the standard ww bread crumbs in my black bean burger and it was a great addition! I felt like the mixture binded together better and the patties formed much nicer. I paired the burger with a dollop of ketchup and a japanese sweet potato. These little guys are found in asian grocery markets and are DELISHHHHHHH! When you roast them they are amazing. If you love sweet potatoes you MUST try these. Go find these purple little guys.
Last night I decided to make a breakfast cookie for this morning. I hadn’t had one in so long and the craving hit me big time. I made mine with half a cup of oats, a big spoon of pumpkin, almond butter, flax seeds, agave and a sprinkling of unsweetened coconut on top. I love how these keep me satisfied for so long I also had it with some pumpkin coffee. mmm.
Tonight i’m at the yoga studio, and may take the community class at 8:30. Not sure yet. I can’t believe tomorrow’s Friday. This weekend flew by. Perfect, because next week is foodbuzz festtttttttttttt <3
Happy Tuesday <3
There are a few things that I am so excited for:
Foodbuzz Festival. NEXT FRIDAY! I have never been to the west coast before and have always wanted to. I am so happy that I decided to make the big step and go. Now I get to meet all my blog friends in real life and couldn’t be more excited! We’ve all gotten together and figured out our schedules, and runs and yoga to add into the weekend. I’m going to need to empty out my camera, i’ll be taking lots of pics.
Fitbloggin’ ‘10 conference. Right smack dab in my hometown The hotel the conference is actually going to be held in is the hotel that we had my senior prom in. It’s about 1/4 of a mile from my work! There are tons of ladies going to this one, and I feel like more will keep on piling in.
POTM Challenge. Bobbi and Caitlin’s pile on the miles challenge ‘09. This starts Nov 1 and is a way to motivate us to keep moving in the months that are well known for feasting. I tend to become a wimp when it gets colder, but I just need to layer and get myself out there.
There’s so much blog love lately, its been amazing!
So last night I went to my fav hot vinyasa class at the studio. It’s held by Camille, and she knows how to kick your ass. I love how she pushes you when you don’t think you can do it. Right near the end of the class she told everyone to go ahead and go into headstand, handstand or nothing if you don’t want to do them. Everyone got into their positions and I sat their kind of clueless. She asked if anyone needed help and I raised my hand. She swore that I had done one before, and believed that I had the strength to do it. I’ve only once ever gone into a headstand and it was against a wall, with the instructor holding me. I was scared to do it in the middle of a room where I could easily tumble over. She stood by me and showed me the proper positioning so I didn’t get hurt, and then told me to try it. I got up! I thanked her for helping me up, but she said she didn’t hold me, she just stood there just in case. It was a crazy feeling being able to do something that I thought was so far advanced that I’d never be able to accomplish it. It still makes me nervous, but at least I know now how to practice so that I can keep getting better. My muscles are screaming at me today, so I know that I worked them well
So yesterday I came home for lunch and wasn’t exactly sure of what to eat. I ended up throwing some random ingredients together and came up with a delicious combo! Tofu, chickpeas and bbq sauce went into the pan. I got them nice and heated up. I toasted a pita and put a slice of pepperjack cheese into it, added some hummus then threw in the mix in the pan. Added a few slices of banana peppers and it was delicious! I’ll be making it again today for sure.
After dinner I made some of Jenna’s famous chicken enchiladas. Ah these are to die for. They never disappoint. Chase ate so much he was in a food coma.
Well today i’m planning on either a yoga class or a run outside depending on the weather. If i go for a run i’m going to try and take Eden and see how she does. I’ve run with her a few times for a block or two and she seems to enjoy it, but she always loves to sniff and wander so we’ll see. I’d love it if we could run together. get both my run in, and tire her out and get her walk in. Crossing my fingers!
welcome back to monday! yikes that came extremely fast. I loved reading all about what makes you ladies smile. They each put a smile on my face I had such a good time with my family and friends this weekend. Friday my mom, sister and I went to DC for the day bc my sister is studying abroad in China over her winter break and needed a Visa. We made a day out of it and decided to throw in a little eating and shopping into the mix. I asked a few of my friends for recommendations in the dc area and two of my best friends both mentioned the same pleace. I looked up the menu, and it was a cute tapas restaurant that had rave reviews. I was sold. We went to Zaytinya which I actually found out that Mike Isabella from this seasons Top Chef is their head chef. Their menu was filled with Mediterranean style tapas (small plates) and we all decided to get a bunch of things to try and share them all.
The bread came out first and was the fluffiest thing i’ve ever seen. SO light and airy it came with some olive oil and balsamic.
We got grape leaves
Falafels
Zucchini and cheese fritters
The lightest calamari on earth
A salmon, feta and leek in phylo dough roll
and some type of grilled chicken
The food was miniature but with a mighty taste. Everything was delicious and melt in your mouth amazing. I hope to definitely come back with my dad next time and make it a whole family trip. AMAZING food and definitely recommended
After we left lunch we searched for a sweet ending. We happened to walk by a self serve froyo place. I’ve heard of these places but have never actually been in one myself. You get a large container and fill it up as much as you want and they charge you by the weight of the container. My sister and I bought got the pumpkin pie froyo and she added graham crackers to hers. For both of ours it was only $4.50. Not too shabby at all.
The next morning my family went to brunch in Baltimore. My dad had heard on the news that Baltimore magazine had come out with their list for best brunch and Golden West Cafe which is in an area called Hampden was on that list. He looked at their menu online and was determined that we needed to go. What I also loved was that they had so many different vegan/vegetarian options available. The place had such a cool vibe inside. Lots of knick knacks on the wall, record covers on the walls, and even the menus were record covers laminated. I decided to go for the Hopi Cakes. 2 cornmeal pancakes with bananas and blueberries topped with creme fraiche and pinenuts. diivinnee!
I wanted to give a big thank you to all of you for voting for me for the Good Mood Blogger You are all so very sweet. There are multiple bloggers who are going for the same position and we all decided to bond together and help each other get to the top. You are allowed to vote once a day so please vote for me and all of these amazing ladies!!!
Meghann (www.graduatemeghann.com)
Sarah (www.muchfruit.wordpress.com)
Amanda (www.runtothefinish.blogspot.com)
Have a wonderful Monday XOXO
Thing that makes me smile :
Making chocolate chip cookies from scratch on a whim after dinner and eat them right out of the oven snuggled up in blankets on the couch
what has made you smile recently?
