Chi-Town Bound

Although this is the weather forecast for Chicago, I'm still excited to be leaving Friday morning. 

Yes it is much colder than I imagined it would be, but to put a positive spin on it, I get one more wear out of my fabulous winter coat the BF gave me for Christmas as well as a reason to sport the UGGs. However trying to "pack light" can be challenging when sweaters and pants take up much more room, but I'll save that daunting task for late Thursday night.

The other important issue at hand was where to eat dinner. After spending hours perusing restaurant after restaurant, we came to the conclusion that Chicago is much more upscale than Atlanta. Many of the restaurants were pre-fix menus only, and entirely out of price range (must have money left over for shopping!!). So after many debates of which restaurant we liked best, we finally agreed on the restaurant in our hotel, David Burke Primehouse. As the BF was reading the reviews for it and mentioned that they serve popovers instead of bread, I stopped him right then and said "you had me at popovers". It was a done deal. I'm going to backup and explain that my love for popovers began when I was just a little tyke. Whenever we would go shopping with my Mimi we would eat lunch at The Darling Tea Room (aka The Zodiac at Neiman Marcus), where they would bring out warm popovers, along with broth to sip on. Those lunches with my Mimi are probably some of my favorite memories and so now whenever I eat them, it takes me back to those wonderful days. Long story short, if I don't get my popovers in Chicago, things could get ugly.

Also, I forgot to mention that for once I am not dreading getting on a plane. Usually, I hate flying- I am just not a fan of it. Period. (Side note: I also don't like car trips that last longer than six hours.) I'm not going to go as far as saying that I am excited about boarding the plane, but I'm going to tolerate it. Why is that? This is why.  The Hunger Games. My bestie lent me the first two books so I will have something to keep me entertained for the flight. I am SO excited to read them as Linds compares them to Twilight. But I'll save my obsession with Twilight and vampires for another day. 

Friday Fun

As I previously posted, we were planning on trying out Zuma Sushi for dinner on Friday night. The plan was to meet the BF and co-workers at BBB for a drink after work and then go to dinner. Well my one raspberry vodka soda turned into two, and the next thing we knew it was after 8:00pm (way past my dinner time)! At that point we thought it was best that we not drive over there so we instead walked to La Fonda. Who can resist endless chips and salsa when you are tipsy? Not this girl! So although I am bummed that I still have not tried out the sushi place, it was still a wonderful Friday night and great start to the weekend!

On another note, we leave Friday morning for Chicago and I'm SO pumped for the sightseeing, shopping, and food! Oh and I am looking forward to the wedding and festivities too. It should be a great getaway, not to mention we are staying at the posh James Hotel (thank you HauteLook). If you have any suggestions/recommendations please let me know!!

Back to the Grind

Now that everyone is well again it is back to the grind. In particular, it means no more counting soup as a full meal for dinner or avoiding the mounting pile of dirty clothes.

So to ease my way back into the kitchen, we fixed salads for dinner on Sunday night, which required minimal effort, and Monday night I cooked this fabulous and easy recipe for honey mustard glazed salmon. Hands down it is one of my favorite salmon recipes and it calls for very few ingredients- lemon, honey, and mustard!

That has really been the extent of my cooking this week (I promise I am working on my domestic skills) and I'm looking forward to dinner at Zuma Sushi tomorrow night. I bought the groupon for it months and months ago so it is about time that try it out!

On another note, I have also begun my half marathon training once again. After taking a week off when I was sick, my legs certainly did not appreciate the physical activity two days in a row (Monday- run and Tuesday- long walk with the BF) so I gave them a night off yesterday. I instead got in a little cardio at the mall, where I purchased my first pair of TOMS. It's a good feeling knowing that because of my purchase, a pair of shoes  is given to a child in need. Money well spent in my opinion. So tonight it was back to the training schedule, although it was the last thing that I wanted to do. Luckily my B. Spears Pandora playlist got me through my workout, she really motivates me!

 I'll leave you with her music video for "Hold it Against Me". I pretty much listen to it every day on my 4 minute drive to work.

Spring Forward

Spring is just around the corner. 

On one hand, I could not be more excited for the warmer days and the chance to bust out my Spring wardrobe (the bright colors) and sandals. 

 And on the other hand, the Debbie Downer in me, is focused on the two dreaded words: allergy season. I fear that my allergies even started early this year. Don't they know that I have a few more days until Spring is officially here?? 

Perhaps it's not fair that I blame my allergies for my sneezing, sniffling, and coughing for the past week. I'll instead place the blame on a certain person that shall remain nameless. Okay fine, it's not entirely his fault and  I should accept that it comes with territory when we are both living in 800 square feet. It seems like every other person I pass at work is sniffling or coughing. The key point here is that they are AT WORK when they should instead be at home and not contaminating the building. With that being said, the Roomie caught the cold first since he works with more people and thus exposed to more germs, and was sick all last week. I tried my best to not only care for the sickly, but to also not get sick myself. I thought I had done a fine job of both as the Roomie was finely feeling better and I still felt 100%. That is until Saturday night when my throat started to feel scratchy. It had finally happened, I caught the dreaded cold. It was now my turn to feel miserable and keep the other one up with my sniffling, nose blowing, and tossing and turning.  Needless to say the past two weeks have been tiresome and challenging for the both of us but I am proud to say that I am on the road to recovery, and just in time for the weekend! The very feint silver lining out of all of this? I received some beautiful "I'm sorry I got you sick" tulips and caught up on a lot of reading. Cannot wait for  the Something Borrowed movie!

just the thing to brighten my day!

Now it's time to disinfect the condo, move out my bulky winter clothes, and prepare for Spring and everything that it brings, even the pollen! It's also time for me to get back on my running schedule so that I will be ready for my half marathon in November!

Emerging From Winter Hibernation

To be completely honest, I have zero motivation when it comes to working out during the winter. The thought of putting on summer-ish clothes to work out and then walk in the frigid cold to my car at night just does not sound appealing. I would much rather go home after work, get cozy, and cook dinner for the Roomie and me. Now that the winter weather is coming to an end, I realize that it is time to once again start hitting the gym. So to boost my motivation a friend and I have decided to train for the Rock 'n' Roll Savannah 1/2 Marathon in early November. Training began last night and although it was tough getting back into the routine, I am looking forward to the months ahead. 

I welcome any suggestions and encouragement along the way. Happy Running!

Furry Bundle of Joy

The BF made a big mistake this past weekend and discovered the most adorable dog breed, a Cavachon (Cavalier King Charles and a Bichon). For those of  you that don't know me, I'm very picky when it comes to dogs. I prefer small dogs because they cannot jump up and attack you, or knock you over with the wag of a tail. There are exceptions of course, but sadly that does not include the BF's dog. Jackson is way too big and terrifies me. Perhaps if he had a much calmer temperament I would like him, but he is way too "playful" for me. With that being said, I also have horrible allergies, which sadly includes dogs. So not only is the Cavachon a perfect size, but it is also hypoallergenic! It's a win win, or should I say "WINNING" in the words of Charlie Sheen. 

With that being said, who wants to buy this adorable puppy for me? Oh and also maybe help me take care of it, train it, etc. I'm not sure I'm responsible enough to raise one on my own! 

You can't say no to this face!