Weekend Deets and Eats

To be honest I cracked myself over my cleverness for the post title, sad but true. I think the lack of sunshine is making me go a little crazy. All of last week through Saturday it rained. All day. Every day. I was going nuts. I hate being stuck inside. The rain had me lacking motivation to do anything other than snuggle up in bed with a good book and a cup of warm lemon water. 

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to lift and run but also I wanted to see my lifting buddy who I had not gotten to see in 3 weeks. I was pumped to see him and catch up, plus I got a solid arm lift and run in. When I got back from the gym I was really hungry so I whipped up my classic post gym classic- protein oats. It was made with gluten free oats, Bob's red mill protein powder, strawberry slices, banana coins, raspberries, Enjoy Life allergy friendly chocolate chips, sprinkles, and a light drizzle of honey😋 I also had an egg plus 6Tablespoons egg whites on the side for some extra protein. 

I was tired of being cooped up in the house with all the rain so in the afternoon my boyfriend and I headed to the mall to walk around and look for a birthday present for one of my best friends. If you've never been to Sur La Table you are seriously missing out! It's a store filled with everything you could ever want or need for your kitchen and dining room. I always find so many cool kitchen gadgets that I want to try out, but I restrained myself and stuck to getting part of my friends birthday present. Sur La Table is pretty much a more affordable version of Williams Sonoma and they offer cooking classes too, which I want to try out sometime.

On the way back from the mall there was a break in the rain so we headed to a park to walk some trails. Despite the humidity it felt amazing to be back outside. I definitely need to move somewhere where I can be outside all year round. The rain started back up so we headed back and decided to get some takeout and watch movies for the rest of the night. The sun decided to peep back out through the rain so we got to see a beautiful rainbow, I was super excited because I love rainbows and it's pretty rare to see one in Michigan.

I felt like a salad for dinner and he wanted thai food so we ended up stopping two places to get food. I got an oriental chicken salad from Applebee's but subbed the crispy chicken for grilled chicken. The Applebee's we stopped at was super accommodating to my food allergies and the food was so good so I will definitely be back. I love when restaurants are willing to accommodate food allergies it makes me feel a little bit more normal. We were going to watch movies but stumbled across a hockey game on TV so we watched that. Even though it was a Blackhawks game and it's only the preseason I have been missing all the NHL action. I'm pumped for the season to get started.

This granny was up WAY too late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning😳) and of course I woke up way too early for getting to bed so late. I was totally dead so I had a pretty lazy morning and didn't make it to the gym until after 3pm which is unheard of for me. Even the gym staff was shocked I was there so late- and yes the staff all knows me by name because I'm there everyday. I'm not big on listening to music while working out- I listen to the news while I run on the treadmill, nerdy I know- but I for the past week I have not been able to get Nick Jonas' song The Difference out of my head. It's so dang catchy! I heard it at the gym while lifting and I've been listening to it nonstop since. His album that was released earlier in the summer is pretty good, he's definitely grown up since his Jonas Brother days.

Sunday night I was pretty dead from being up so late the night before so I had a relaxing night in. Cora and I played outside and watched another beautiful lake sunset. Fall is definitely in the air because the nights are a lot cooler and the sun is setting so early. I love fall but I know snow is around the corner and it makes me super sad because that means snow is coming😭 

That's a wrap on my weekend, have a great Tuesday everyone and be on the lookout for a new recipe tomorrow😏
What did you do this weekend? Would you rather have an exciting night out or have a cozy night in?

Thinking Out Loud

Happy Thinking Out Loud Thursday! I want to keep TOL Thursdays going because I have gotten such good feedback about sharing parts of my normal everyday life and I love reading other bloggers TOL posts so why not continue? There's a whole bunch of randomness, just like every other week- I'm talking presidential debates, sangrias and boots. Ready, let's go!

1. Is it Friday yet? I'm pretty sure I'm still exhausted from last weekend and it's just compounded into more tiredness. Staying up way too late and insomnia are not a good combo and naps just not cutting it anymore. I think I'm going to have to go full on grandma and go to bed at 8pm to get some extra sleep in. 

2. IT'S BOOT WEATHER! I'm super sad that summer is over but I do love fall because I have an excuse to wear all sorts of ridiculously adorable boots. The temperatures have been much cooler here this week and it's been raining a ton. When there was a break in the rain yesterday I headed out to pick up a few items and of course I had to wear a pair off gray booties I had stashed away. I found them on clearance at the end of last season for $6, I love finding a good deal. 

3. iSO10 is basically the bane of my existence. Since I updated the stopwatch on my phone no longer works, which I use every day at the gym. Also does anyone else keep swiping to unlock their phone?! I've been swiping to unlock my phone for 8(?) years I can't just automatically stop doing it. Please just let me swipe to unlock my dang phone. The only thing I do like about the update is the new emojis.

4. Pescience vegan protein is really good! I was skeptical about it, but I'm really glad I tried it. I wish they sold it in a 4 pound container as well as the 2 pound container. The chocolate flavor is sweet, but not in an artificial way. It's also a very thick protein powder, which I love and I can't wait to start using it in smoothies.

5. Can we talk about the presidential debate for a second? I'm a closet political junkie, but I knew the debate was going to turn into a crap show. I didn't even watch the debate but I did get a boatload of snapchats from people watching the debate and it was hilarious. So many face swaps, deer faces and flower crowns. 

6. Peach sangrias are my latest obsession. Ever since I had one in Grand Rapids I have been wanting another one. I am definitely not one to drink a lot or often, but that was delicious and I will be getting another one eventually. That was the first drink I've ever ordered. I just can't make myself pay for a drink because they're so expensive, but since it was my best friends birthday I justified the cost. 

7. It's been getting dark way too early and staying dark for way too long so I have been stuck running inside on the treadmill after my lifts. I have been playing around a lot with distance and speed and my runs have been feeling really, really good. I have been loving sprint intervals because they get my heart racing and the adrenaline pumping. 

I'll end things on seven because I am too tired to form coherent sentences at the moment. 

Do you have any fun weekend plans?

What is one thing you are currently loving or obsessed with? 

Birthday Shenanigans and Weekend Adventures

I know it's only Tuesday but this week already feels so long. I blame a ridiculously fun weekend packed with friends, food, a few drinks, and staying up WAY too late, so the struggle is real this week. There definitely needs to be a day between Sunday and Monday to catch up on sleep💤 I wanted to get caught up before sharing a few new posts this week and before things get crazy busy again.

Friday morning I hit the gym and got an awesome run and lift in before I headed out to Grand Rapids for the weekend. I knew there would be some indulging over the weekend so I wanted to start the day off on a good note. 

I'm always starving when I leave the gym, especially after a really hard lift. Post workout hanger is real! After cleaning up I made my staple breakfast of protein oats (recipe here) and topped it sliced banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, a drizzle of honey and course sprinkles😋 I also had one egg mixed with 6 Tablespoons egg whites for extra protein. I wanted a filling breakfast before I started driving because I knew it would be awhile before I ate again. After breakfast I quickly packed up my things and headed out. I never procrastinate and pack that late but the week had been crazy and I just never found motivation to pack. I listened to Sam Hunt while packing- I'm currently obsessed with the acoustic version of Come Over.

Kate's birthday was technically Thursday, but since she has classes I headed up Friday and spent the weekend hanging out with her. I had Friday afternoon and evening all planned out and full of surprises so she had no clue what I had planned😏 Since she just turned 21 I had to take her to a wine tasting. We are both wine lovers and there's a little apple house that's also a winery in Grand Rapids called Robinette's. Neither of us had ever been there but I had heard amazing things about it so we headed there. For 6 tastings it's $3 plus they give you a nice wine glass and if you bring it back you can have one free tasting a week! It's a steal and the wine is so good😍 My favorite wine of the day was passionate peach, it was so fruity and you couldn't even taste the alcohol. I couldn't resist so I bought a bottle and I'm hoarding it for later because I'm not sure it will last long. If anyone wants to buy me a dozen bottles of it for Christmas I would have ZERO complaints. 

After the wine tasting we hit up the corn maze, which is HUGE! Every year they have the corn maze in a different shape and this year it was in the shape of Snoopy and the Giant Pumpkin. At the beginning of the maze they give you a map if you want help getting through it but we opted to figure it out without the map. It took awhile, but we finally found our way out👍 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to Kate's last surprise for the day, which was a trampoline park! A few of our other friends met us over at the trampoline park and it was a blast! There were areas just for jumping and doing flips, a giant foam pit, two dodgeball courts- one for adults and one for smaller kids, and a basketball area. The guys were all about the dodgeball court. Somehow it ended up being guys against girls and I'm not proud to say but I got impaled by a few balls, but cut me some slack it was my first time playing dodgeball. We got a Groupon for the trampoline park so we got admission for two for the price of one, so we bought a couple Groupons so everyone could get in. We jumped and played dodgeball for over an hour and by the time we sat down everyone was sweaty, hot, and very tired. It ended up being a really good workout between all the jumping and laughing💪

Despite being exhausted from the trampoline park I could not fall asleep when we got back. I ended up watching some of the guys play Rocket League for awhile and when I finally went to bed I didn't fall asleep until almost 5am and of course I woke up at 7am and was wide awake. I was totally exhausted but I hauled my butt out of bed and went for a run. It felt good to get moving and get the blood flowing early, but by the time I got back I was dead. Since I was away from home I couldn't have my usual breakfast so I picked up a few Bob's Red Mill oatmeal cups because they're perfect for traveling. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some fruit that I could throw in while I waited for the oats to be ready. After eating I did something I never do I went back to bed for awhile. 

Since everyone was pretty dead from the night before Saturday was a very slow day. We finally got up and moving in the afternoon and hit up Main Street Pub for some late day grub. I used to hit up this spot with friends while I was up at school so it was strange being back as a graduate. I ordered my favorite salad, the fuji apple chicken salad. The salad had two kinds of lettuce, grapes, walnuts, apple slices, grilled chicken, blue cheese (which they happily left off for me) and raspberry vinaigrette dressing that I got on the side because I rarely like salad dressing. I also tried sweet potato fries for the first time and holy cow I've been missing out! I don't like and can't have regular french fries so I never bothered to try sweet potato fries, but they're so good! Since Kate just turned 21 we had to celebrate with a few drinks. I ordered a peach sangria and it was amazing- I couldn't taste the alcohol so I was super careful because those sort of drinks are always dangerous. We ended up calling it a night pretty early because everyone was still tired from the night before and Kate had to study for an exam on Monday. 

Sunday morning I got a very chilly run in and devoured all the food after. I hate wearing extra layers- hoodies, under armor, etc.- while running so I just opt to freeze my butt off until I warm up. It also motivates me to run faster so I heat up quicker😂 I changed into sweats to warm up when I got back but it ended up warming up and being a nice day. 

I ended up getting back later than I planned on Sunday due to lots of road construction and traffic being extra heavy from the construction. I was in the house no more than two minutes when the power went out. It was a perfectly sunny day, no winds, nothing but the power just went out. The laundry I planned on doing had to wait so I unpacked some and headed out to get a bite to eat with my parents. I got a harvest salad that had romaine lettuce, spinach, toasted walnuts, onions, tomatoes, dried cherries, grilled chicken and raspberry vinaigrette. I picked the onions off, I am not an onion lover, but other than that it was pretty good. I just has been looking forward to making a home cooked meal since I had eaten out basically all weekend. Thankfully by the time I got back from dinner with my parents the power came back on. 

It was an incredibly fun weekend and I'm already looking forward to going back soon to try out some new places downtown. 

What did you do over the weekend? 
What is your favorite outdoor fall activity?