Restaurant Review: Bluestone Lane's Avocado Toast is SMASHING

Oh avocado toast, how I adore you.

Let me count the ways.

Well actually, there’s too many to count.

I love you all the ways.

I love you with feta.

I love you with chili flakes.

I love you with a splash of lemon or lime.

I love you on whole wheat toast.

I love you on white bread.

I really, really love you on Balthazar Bakery bread.

This is what I discovered last week when I took a trip to Bluestone Lane for my lunch break.

What is better than an avocado toast enjoyed outside in the sunshine on a beautiful fall afternoon with friends? Not much.

Bluestone Lane is one of those Australian café’s that keep poppingup around the city and thanks in part to the popularity of their avo toast, they just opened their 6^th Manhattan location (bets as to when the first Brooklyn outpost opens its doors?)

Each location’s offerings vary – and each location is also unique in its architecture and design. Apparently, the new Upper East Sidelocation is quite the site to see! 

However, we Midtown-lunchers headed to the Bryant Parklocation, which is situated in the glass Grace Plaza Pavilion on West 43^rd St. and 6^th Ave.

This place gets busy, and it seems as if almost everyone is there to order avocado toast. I can’t comment on their coffee, because $5 is a little steep for this McCafe drinking gal, but word on the street is that Aussies know their caffeine. Plus, they add scoops of vanilla ice cream to some of their drinks – something that I fully support.

Though busy, the staff at Bluestone Lane put love & care into their avocado toast – nestling it in a little brown box before sprinkling it sweetly with whatever toppings you choose.

At Bryant Park, the “standard” avocado toast comes in at $7 and includes avo, lemo, salt, pepper, chili flakes and olive oil. Feta, cherry tomatoes and prosciutto can all be added for an extra price – and $10.50 will get you the whole shebang.

Strangely for me – usually a lover of toppings – I decided to opt for the plain Jane. I was not disappointed!

This Balthazar toast is seriously incredible. Soo full of seedy-goodness.

The savory avocado mashed with olive oil benefits from the burst of citrus, pop of chili and bam! of salt.

I’ve finally put it together that I, personally, am a fan of the Avocado SMASH as opposed to avocado toast.

(The whole she-bang - beautifully photographed by Kaitlin over at California Endless Summer!)

What’s the difference you ask? Avocado toast usually implies sliced avocado, while avocado smash is more of a mash.

This isn’t surprising coming from a girl who loves her guacamole and used to cut her corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes into little pieces before mashing it together with mustard. True story.

One of these days, I hope to make it to another one of Bluestone Lane’s locations – preferably their sit-down outpost, the Café Collective, so I can order this delicious avocado smash with a POACHED EGG.

Because if you like it then you shoulda put an egg on it. 

Read More

Iron Chef Forgione Welds Familiarity and Originality

To step into Iron Chef Marc Forgione’s namesake restaurant is to be immediately transported out of Tribeca and into a space reminiscent of a twenty-something’s Pinterest page, where rustic barn weddings are all the rage. A dining room as open as Marc Forgione’s is rare in a town where diners are forced to convince themselves that crammed is “quaint.” The spaciousness suggests that your bill will be helping pay the rent, but it’s worth it for the rustic-chic accents and possibility of brushing shoulders with a Tribeca denizen like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. What also makes a trip to Marc Forgione’s worth the extra dough? Refined dishes with complex flavors and service that make you feel like a somebody, even if you’re not quite sure what to do when they present you with a finger bowl.

First to be brought to the table were a pair of perfectly puffed potato rolls, butter-glazed and gleaming with a sprinkle of black sea salt on top. They’re best when cut open and smeared generously with the whipped chive butter.

Complimentary bite-sized samples were small in size but big on flavor. Smoked halibut’s bold taste was toned-down nicely when sandwiched between two crisp slices of cucumber and warm everything bagel balls filled with vegetable cream cheese were topped with the perfect pop of salt and onion.

Despite possessing what I consider a sufficiently sophisticated palette, I have yet to reconcile my taste buds with truffles. It was refreshing to see an upscale restaurant with a menu almost entirely void of these trendy fungi. Forgione doesn’t lean on this over-used ingredient to create enticing dishes full of flavor. Instead, he relies on his training in American, French, and Asian cuisines to craft an inspired menu made up of basic but expertly employed ingredients.

The Chili Lobster starter is fashioned after an Asian crab dish which Forgione takes to the next level. Sweet lobster knuckles and a rich creamy claw sit atop a spicy chili broth with hints of both Sriracha and soy.

You’re left wishing there was more lobster to bathe in the broth, but luckily the thick slabs of Texas Toast are a perfect vehicle for sopping up the remaining soup.

A cornerstone entrée at Marc Forgione is the made-for-two Chicken Under a Brick. The whole Bell and Evan’s chicken is served deboned in a skillet sizzling with pan drippings and demanding to be Instagrammed.

The chicken is moist with sufficiently crunchy skin and accompanied by Yukon potatoes cooked to crispy perfection. The spuds soak in savory pan drippings that are flavored with capers, butter, thyme and rosemary. The greasy goodness is healthified with some greens –broccoli rabe with a bitterness that’s nicely undercut by the surrounding flavors. Last but not least are the fried onions which add the extra oomph.

There’s something on the menu to appeal to every person in your party but limited enough to ensure it’s perfected. Starters range from Kampachi Tartare to Parmigiano Reggiano Agnolotti while entrees run the gamut from scallops with bone marrow croutons to a well-touted T-bone.

Surrounded by exposed brick and well-worn décor, a meal at Marc Forgione feels special yet comfortable and encourages one to stay for a few extra minutes, finishing a cocktail and being treated to next-level services like a coat check for your leftovers. That’s right, when you’re here, you’re too special to have your table cluttered by a take away bag.

Marc Forgione is located at 134 Duane Street and serves dinner from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday– Saturday with brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. followed by supper from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 212-941-9401.

Read More

Friday Funk

Happy Friday to y'all!

I should be smiling - lots of great things happened to me this week. But it's cold and rainy and there's a hurricane coming and for some reason I just feel super BLAH.

I'm not sore. I don't have any "injuries" per say. I just have zero motivation or energy and everything feels achy - like I have the flu minus the cold symptoms. So I'm not really sure what's up.

I do know that I failed at completing all 3 Kayla Itsine's workouts this week for the first time in 7 weeks. I did legs on Monday and Abs/Arms on Tuesday but Abs/Cardio? I did the first 7 minute circuit this morning and then I quit. Yep - complete honesty. I was feeling grumpy and lazy and achy and I laid down on the floor and I tapped out.

I'm trying to give myself some grace. It's very unlike me to get started in a workout with a plan and then not to follow through. I'm trying to give myself the benefit of the doubt - listening to my body which is very clearly saying, "WE DON'T WANT TO DO THIS. We want to lay in bed and binge watch Orange is the New Black!"

I get it body, message received. In a few short hours we will be home spending quality time with Piper and the crew.

So here are a few reasons why I should turn my frown upside down.

1) Tuesday's run felt pretty OK which is all I'm really asking for at this point. I let my brain get a little carried away, and somewhere around mile 2.5 I decided, "Ok, you're wrapping up 5 miles with a sub 8:00 pace." While that may have been totally do-able 4 months ago - it is certainly not realistic at the moment. And you know what? Instead of feeling really discouraged by the actual pace I finished at - I felt satisfied that I had pushed myself and gotten in a run at a solid effort - no phoning it in, no saying "I'm slow now so it doesn't matter." The past few weeks getting back into running, it's been really easy for me to settle for a slow, easy, casual run just because that feels comfortable. But Tuesday's run pushed me outside of my comfort zone which in turn gave me a much better mindset for the rest of the day.

2) Wednesday I challenged myself again - with the goal of swimming a total of 1 mile at the gym. Though it definitely wasn't continuous, I accomplished my goal!

3) I GOT A GOPRO and my Instagram game is going to go WAY up ;)

4) The running store won a Brooks contest and I get a free pair of sneakers. I'm excited to try out the Pure Flows! I know, I know - they're neutral and everyone in the world tells me I should be running in a stability shoe. But both sneakers I trained for Pittsburgh in were neutral sneakers and I made it through relatively pain and injury free - so I'm just going to keep on keepin' on that neutral flow. For now.

5) Peter and I's Date Night this week was my first time seeing an IMAX movie in about a million years. I'm pretty sure the last time I went was in high school to see Harry Potter. We saw "The Walk" about Philippe Petit who walked a high wire that he illegally rigged across the Twin Towers. I thought the movie was really well done, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was great and now I MUST read the book ("To Reach The Clouds").

6) I had a dream last night that I actually remembered when I woke up- which is very rare for me. In the dream, I was just doing Greek things on Paros Island (where I took a 3 week photography class back in 2011). It made waking up a little bit harder, but it was nice to take a few minutes to remember what an amazing opportunity it was to visit Greece. It was also a reason to spend some time flipping through the pictures in my (Facebook) albums and remind myself to make an ACTUAL physical photo album of my pictures. 

Speaking of pictures - I used to be so so interested in photography, and I've been missing it. Taking my DSLR out is usually a pain in the butt but I DO still try to some ~artsy~ pictures with my iPhone. I liked these two that I took this week. They're kind of boring on their own - but as a little mini "pop of pink" series I like 'em.

7) Last week I discovered the joys of picking a salad theme and stickin' to it when I created an Asian-inspired salad. This week, I went for Greek (hmmm, wonder if that's why I had the dream about Paros?) It was pretty damn delicious if I do say so myself - I had it Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night - and still have ingredients to make one more salad tonight! 
Here's what it had:
Peppers
Carrots
Sundried Tomatoes
Plum Tomatoes
Olives
Feta
Cucumber
Chick Peas
Sprouts
Spinach
Balsamic Vinegar for dressing 

One day I'll figure out the proper leaf to topic ration but until then, I will continue to essentially eat bowls of salad toppings. 

8) Avocados exist and were 99 cents at the grocery store this week. I've been digging half an avo mashed with feta, chili flakes, sunflower seeds, sundried tomatoes, olive oil and sea salt! 

9) I got free coffee for National Coffee Day AND my box of Quest bars was delivered - although I've already eaten half of them... (did everyone see they have PUMPKIN PIE QUEST BARS for a limited time? I mightttt need to order a box!) 

10) New snack alert! 2 new snacks this week. The first was an idea from Georgie at In It For the Long Run - nut butter dates!  I didn't make mine as pretty as fancy as hers - all I really did was dunk a date in peanut butter and call it a day -  but it was delicious and sweet and satisfying after my run and before I had time to sit and eat a real breakfast! The other snack was this DIY Kale Chip bag - in theory it's great - open the bag, pour in the olive oil, bake, voila! In execution - the chips still came out a little soggy. But texture aside, I dressed them up with some sea salt and NUTRITIONAL YEAST (cheesy, mmm) and they were pretty bomb.com. 

In other news, I'm really trying to make this blog more than just a running account of my life. I really enjoyed writing Wednesday's post and was happy with the feedback!

I've been brainstorming some other post ideas - but if anyone has any suggestions or anything they'd like to see on PB is my BF - please feel free to share your thoughts :)

In the meantime, here are some blogs that have been really inspiring me:
arunnarounddlife
Just The Elevator Pitch 
The Real Life RD
In It For the Long Run 

Any other favorite blogs I should check out? 

Read More

Resetting for Fall

All I want for Christmas is to not feel so damn unhealthy! Ever since I left for my work trip at the end of May - it's been a whole lot of false starts getting back on the healthy train. Which was fine for making the most of summer. But for the next 95 days (that's how soon Christmas is, crazy huh?) I'm attempting to chillll on the all you can eat dinners, fancy and indulgent restaurants (unless they're healthy...) and beer guzzling nights. 

(Normal for the past few months)

(Oops)

I may be sad to say goodbye to summer, but with the fall season I'm welcoming weekends spent running and immediately snuggling back into bed. Weekdays where an outdoor happy hour isn't tempting me after work. 

Some things I really want to focus on are drinking more water! And cutting out fake sugar - I am addicted to aspartame and I know it's SO BAD. 

MORE VEGGIES! Yes I eat a ton of carrots and avocados, but I need to be better about broccoli and string beans and spinach and all that good stuff. I'm a fruit girl. And eating a lot of fruit is fine, but it's a ton of sugar. And it's not that I don't like vegetables, so I should definitely make the fruit to veggie ratio a little more even. 

Less alcohol. Sadly, it needs to be done. And no, "I'll just have a few glasses of wine." No, I need to learn to go out and confidently hold my glass of water with lemon, still having a great time. Or, you know, more Netflix dates. 

Stop eating so late at night! I have a really bad habit of eating dinner around 8:30 every night, sometimes as late as 10 if I wait until the end of a shift at the running store to eat dinner. No more! It always leaves me super hungry in the morning.

As I sit here at my desk snacking on dry Special K cereal - I know this is the BIGGEST habit I need to break. Not as much snacking! And NO BUYING CEREAL AND GRANOLA! It is way too easy for me to not even realize I'm eating an entire box of it in 2 days when it's sitting at my desk. 

So to kick things off this week- 

Breakfast was some Chobani yogurt with pecans, half a banana and chia seeds to keep me full longer! 

I may have also snacked on some Special K - once the box is gone I'll be better, promise ;)

Lunch was a Juice Press protein shake. The. best. flavor. 

Pre-running store snack was a huge, juicy Gala apple and Spark! There were a bunch of free samples of Spark in our work pantry one day and I actually love it - I actually notice that I have more energy after drinking it. 

For dinner I made myself a delicious salad FULL of greens. My problem with salads is they usually end up a total mish mash of random ingredients. I guess that's not really a problem but Sunday night at the grocery store I tried to pick a theme for my salad - Asian! Mmmm. 

Spinach
Broccoli
Snow Peas steamed with Bragg's Liquid Aminos and Chili Flakes
Avocado
BABY CORN
Cashews
Annie's Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette 

It turned out so good! And there's definitely something to be said for not just tossing a ton of random crap in with your spinach. 

When I got home at 10:30 I knew I should eat, but I was HUNGRY. So instead of grabbing chocolate, which is what I really wanted, a made a bowl with frozen banana slices, a scoop of peanut butter, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It totally hit the spot and got rid of any dessert cravings, plus filled me up! 

Today, I also finally checked out Vitacost - a website so many fitness and health bloggers I follow use to buy their healthy kitchen staples. 

Living in Manhattan, I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the prices! For sure cheaper than Fairway, Whole Foods, Morton Williams, etc. 

Here's what I ordered: 

1) QuestBars - Double Chocolate Chunk
These are my favorite. I eat them as dessert or breakfast - heated up in the toaster oven. I've been eating them for about 3 years, but recently they've becoming SUPER popular - 7 Eleven even sells them now if you want to try all the different flavors instead of ordering a box of just one kind - but you do save money buying them in bulk! They're full of protein, low on carbs and sugar, under 200 calories, and delicious. They totally fulfill my sweets cravings without making me feel guilty. 

2) Bragg Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning
I've been meaning to pick up a container of this for awhile now - ever since Rebecca used it in delicious spinach dip and Kayla used it to season roasted cauliflower! It makes things taste super cheesy - without using cheese! 

3) Vitacost Peanut Butter SLIM
This is essentially a generic brand of PB2 powdered peanut butter, which I used to use CONSTANTLY and have been meaning to restock in my cabinets. I mainly add it to my oatmeal or smoothies instead of spoonfuls of actual peanut butter because it's literally half of the calories and still tastes great. We'll see if this brand is a good substitute for PB2! 

4) Let's Do Organic COconut FInely Shredded Flakes (Unsweetened)
I used to hate coconut, but now, it's nice to add some shredded coconut to my oatmeal, chia seed pudding, yogurt and smoothies! 

5) Desert Essence Natural Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleansing Pads
I've been hitting the gym a lot during my lunch breaks to do my Kayla Itsines circuits (yay, 30 minutes and done!) - and don't always have a chance for a full on shower afterwards, usually just a rinse. I don't want that to translate into awful breakouts - so I thought I would give these a try - seems easy enough to toss the container in my backpack and use them to wash off my face after each workout. 

		Item(s) Ordered		Qty.		Price			Discount			Total
		Quest Nutrition QuestBar Protein Bar Double Chocolate Chunk -- 12 Bars	1			$	24.99					$	24.99
		Item No: QST 9000241
		Bragg Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning -- 4.5 oz	1			$	5.59					$	5.59
		Item No: BRA 5066054
		Desert Essence Natural Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleansing Pads - Original -- 50 Pads	1			$	5.39					$	5.39
		Item No: DES 4220406
		Vitacost Peanut Butter SLIM(tm) Powdered - NON-GMO - Gluten Free -- 6.5 oz	1			$	3.25					$	3.25
		Item No: VCT 7019670
		Let's Do Organic Coconut Finely Shredded Flakes Unsweetened -- 8 oz	1			$	2.29					$	2.29
		Item No: LSD 2005203

Can't wait for my goodies to arrive :) 

One thing I was thinking of ordering but held off on is a protein powder to use in smoothies- any recommendations out there? 

If you click this link and make an account on Vitacost, you'll get $10 off your first order! STOCK UP! 

Read More

Happy Birthday Peter! Hanging Onto Summer

Everyone warns you that you shouldn't wait until something's gone to appreciate it. You know, "Don't it always seem to go, that you you don't know what you've got til it's gone." 

But lately, I've been suffering from something we'll call "Missing Something While It's Here." I'm trying desperately to cherish every last bit of summer we have. Soaking up every last ray, taking advantage of every opportunity to eat outside or run at dusk in shorts and a tank-top. But it's making me SO SAD thinking that any day now, restaurants will be packing up the al fresco dining option and going out for a run will require a whole lot more "hmm, which layers do I need?" 

Luckily, while it's creeping into late September, we had another week of beautiful weather. 

Monday was Kayla Itsine's leg day workout and DAMN was it a killer. No joke, my legs didn't feel fully recovered from it until Saturday. X jumps, weighted step ups, jump lunges (does anyone else find these to be the most difficult thing ever?), tuck jumps, sumo jump squats, split squats, weighted walking lunges and broad jump burpees.  My legs hurt all over again just thinking about it. 

A closing shift at the running store made for a late night. 

Tuesday was arms and abs with a little post-work yoga session. Then, I finally got back into the world of theater - writing a review of the Off-Broadway play Laugh It Up Stare It Down. The story wasn't my cup of tea, but the creative design was wonderful and one of the actresses from the cast of 4 graduated high school with my aunt and played for the same field hockey coach I played for! I stuck around after the show to introduce myself and Amy Hargreaves (Homeland) was extremely friendly and gracious. 

This was a first - during intermission, my friend was really hungry so we successfully took a pizza break in 15 minutes and didn't even miss the start of the second act! 

Wednesday morning Peter and I went to 5:30 November Project where we ran a whole lotta stairs! My ankle and shins still aren't all too happy about it. We had planned to do the 6:30 workout until around 7 but one of the worst things for IT Bands are stairs and hills so I didn't want to push it. Instead, we went for a nice flat 2 miles along the river. 

(Nothing like it!)

And again, a night at the running store. 

Thursday was PETER'S BIRTHDAY! He's old. Basically 30, now. We started the day with a 5:45 a.m. wake up call and journey downtown to Yoga to the People for my first ever hot vinyasa class. It was sweaty. And our teacher LOVED plank and chaturanga. My arms didn't love our teacher. But it was a good class - and for $20 for Peter and I ($5 class + $2 towel + $1 water bottle + $2 mat), it didn't break the bank either. (Although WHY does the NYSC yoga class schedule SUCK?!) 

During my lunch break I finished Kayla Itsine's workouts for the week with abs and cardio. 

After dinner it was time to celebrate! Peter had picked out a restaurant he wanted to go to for his birthday and DAMN did he pick well. Marc Forgione is an Iron Chef with a restaurant in Tribeca called...Marc Forgione's. There will be a review to come, but first, I need to see if it helps me win a Time Out New York contest that I entered to find the next NYC food critic! I'll let these pictures that I spent a lot of time perfecting speak for themselves. 

|

(There was even champagne waiting for us when we sat down!)

No birthday is complete without birthday cake, so after dinner I told Peter we were walking over to Parm for their famous, ginormous slice of ice cream cake. Pistachio, Strawberry and Chocolate ice cream with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry on top. Doesn't get much more classic than that! While there was certainly a TON of ice cream (think: Ben & Jerry's container) it was served super frozen and the chocolate crunchies in between each layer of ice cream just didn't measure up to Carvel. 

The fancy diner interior of Parm, though not at all what I expected, was cool and made me want to stop by for an eggplant parm hero at a later date. 

We went to bed fairly early because Friday:

Up at 5:00 a.m. to run 6.5 miles down to Pumphouse Park near Brookfield Place for a November Project workout. AND we did the workout - loops of the park + pushups + squats + dips. The pace was a little slower than our run to Southstreet Seaport the previous Friday, but both of our bodies were still functioning relatively pain free so SUCCESS. 

Then Peter did a million and one push-ups because that's what you do when it's your birthday at NP. And when you want to show off but forget that yesterday you did chaturanga approximately 1 million times. 

Friday during lunch I went to my favorite yoga class and stretched it all out. 

That night I honestly don't remember what I did. A lot of laying around watching Orange is the New Black and baking a LOT of cookies. Bed early so I could get up and workout before Peter's birthday party on Saturday. 

(S'Mores and Snickerdoodles!)

First up on Saturday morning, 50 laps at the pool. Each and every time I go I feel a little better, and this was no exception. It's probably the most I've swam in one workout too! After swimming I went to a 45 minute spin class. 

The spot for Peter's party was Loreley - a German beer garden on Steuben Day at the start of Oktoberfest. So fitting. We had a great time, and I even had avocado toast with my free beer from the keg they tapped at the bar to kick of Oktoberfest. 

They also paraded around this POOR LITTLE PIGGY!

My millions of cookies were a hit, and I unintentionally followed a German tradition when I decided to bake Peter a cookie shaped like a heart. Oktoberfestherzen are gingerbread cookie hearts! Mine was a snickerdoodle but close enough. 

During the day drinking we took a TO to stop by Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream which is supposedly one of the "Finest" Ice Cream "parlors" in NYC.  Peter and I disagree. 

Yes, you can tell that this stuff is definitely made fresh and with care. Each is in a TINY container. Like, I have bigger tupperware in my apartment. Talk about small batch! And yes, they have some interesting flavors. But you'll never know which ones are good because each customer is only allowed one sample. So when we tried one and didn't like it, obviously we weren't going to spend money on "Salt and Pepper Pinenut" without because able to give it a taste. That's not exactly a flavor I can conjure up in my mind and decide if I'm a fan. So instead we went with Raw Milk and plain old chocolate with their "homemade" whipped cream that was literally soup. For $8, I'm going to give this place a big old "OVERRATED." 

Anyone else have a better experience with Morganstern's?

The night went on, we moved locations, we had fun, we ate nachos. I helped myself to a piece of cake when we got back that night because Peter's mom is a wizard when it comes to baking. 

Sunday when we awoke I was the least hungover but that didn't mean I was feeling refreshed. There was a lot of lounging around (and maybe another slice of cake) before exploring the 92Y Street Fair on Lexington Ave. I finally bought some succulents to hang in little glass orbs about my bed! One is up and hanging and he other WAS up and hanging for about 5 minutes before crashing down, shattering, and spilling dirt all over my bed. 

At the street fair I also bought 3 beautiful fall/winter colors of ESSIE NAIL POLISH for $10. Favorite part about street fairs, for sure. 

The weather on Sunday was ridiculously gorgeous. The sun was hot, there was a cool breeze and not a cloud in the sky. We were lucky enough to snag one of the four outdoor tables at Meatball Shop for brunch where, after considering everything on the menu for a solid 10 minutes, I ended up ordering what I order every single time. Everything But the Kitchen Sink with veggie balls and pesto. Sunday's plate included broccoli rabe, zucchini, red cabbage slaw and fennel. It made for a great brunch/dinner. 

After Meatball Shop, we were too close to 16 Handles NOT to go.  A heaping cup of Graham Cracker and Birthday Cake froyo later and I was in a sugar coma. I left the boys to watch football and promptly passed out in bed. 

(This is how I could get into football...)

When I woke up I managed to motivate myself to do a 50 minute yoga video from YouTube and then headed out for some speed work in Central Park because it was such a beautiful night and I really wanted to get a picture of the sunset at the reservoir. So why not run, right? Right. A ran .5 miles to Engineer's Gate and another .5 miles on the Bridle Path. When I hit a mile, a kicked things up a notch for .5. Slowed down for .25. Kicked it up for .5. Slowed down for .25. Kicked it up for .5. Entered the reservoir loop and did two quarter mile intervals. My ankle was bothering me a little bit, so while I initially wanted to do 3 miles of fast running, I settled for 2 and comfortably ran myself back home for a total of 4.25 miles and a beautiful picture of the sunset. 

And a huge case of "Missing Something While It's Here."

Next up was grocery shopping, food prepping, an episode of Orange is the New Black, leftover Meatball Shop and bed. 

My alarm this morning was supposed to get me to the gym for Kayla Itsine's leg day but - that didn't happen so it will have to be a sweaty lunch hour today since I have work at the running store tonight. 

Here's to hoping this week is just as wonderful and filled with happiness and sunshine as last week! (Although there was a definite chill in the air this morning!) 

Funny story: Friday night I was shaving and, since I'm terrible at shaving, somehow managed to shave off a LARGE strip of skin on my ankle. It WOULDN'T stop bleeding! And of course, I had no bandaids in the apartment. So how did I improvise? Pantyliner wrapped around my ankle and held in place with an Ace bandage until I could get to Duane Reade in the morning. When I unwrapped it in the morning, it was STILL bleeding! Ugh. 

Read More