I'm Back

After a few days off spending time with my best friends and celebrating my birthday, I am back to the blog! I'm so happy to be back blogging and writing everyday :) Warning: This post will be very long.

On Friday, I anxiously picked up Olivia and Grace at the airport. After a trip to Dunkin Donuts for some beloved iced coffee, we were off to the beach! It was a beautiful day to relax and soak up the sunshine.

After getting my tan on, we took the train into the city to check into the hotel. We had dinner plans at Riverpark, a new restaurant on the East River. It got really good reviews and the views are spectacular! The only downside was the high cost.

I ordered the artic char, which was really good. I absolutely love fish, so I have super high expectations when ordering it at a restaurant, but this piece was on par! It was served with kale (!!), string beans, grape tomatoes, and some sort of sauce which tasted almost like a marsala wine sauce. 

We also order three dessert to share with the five of us. I was gonna pass, but honestly how can you expect me to pass up blueberry tarte? Not happening. After all, it was my birthday weekend.

After dinner, we went out on the town with a couple of my friends from Fordham. We headed from downtown to the Upper East Side where we danced the night away! I had so much fun being with the people I love so much! Fun ensued.

And late night I had about three pieces of pizza...with ranch. Why, Caroline, why? You only live once, right? At the very least, the pizza was loaded with tons of vegetables, I tried!

The next day we went shopping in SOHO and I spent a ridiculous amount of money (mom and dad, don't be upset it was all in good fun). If it makes you feel any better, everything I bought was on sale.

We ate at a place I've been wanting to try for awhile now, Spring Street Natural. All the ingredients are natural and organic and everything is made fresh daily. I decided on the vegetable stir fry which came with brown rice, kale (!!), cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onions and seitan. It was served in some sort of garlic sauce. I had never tried seitan until this meal, and I must say I may like it better than tofu, which is hard to beat in my book.

I think this post is getting a bit wordy so I am going to finish it tomorrow. I'll be back with the second half of the recap of my fun adventures in the city. Lets just say it entails tons of food. I'm currently trying to get my body back to feeling like its old self again after a weekend of indulging. I hate feeling sluggish like this, but hopefully I will feel up to speed very soon. Have a good night everyone!

Shop Til You Drop

Indeed, Bridget and I shopped our little hearts out today. We woke up at 9 am and drove to Madewell to participate in their anniversary sale, did any of you guess right? It was 75% off already on sale items and 20% off everything else in the store. I love Madewell so this was a dream come true!

Before I left, I ate something for breakfast that was new to me. Last night I tried out Gina's breakfast cookie. It requires a little prep the night before, but it is so worth it! If you want the recipe, click here.

The picture doesn't give the cookie justice, but I promise it was amazing! See those little clumps of brown on top? That would be almond butter, my new obsession. Peanut butter still takes top rank, but almond butter is definitely a close second.

After I was properly fueled, the shopping begun. I ended up buying $600 dollars worth of clothes for $110 dollars total. I was in awe and so was everyone else who was in the store. Thank you Madewell!

After Madewell, we decided to stop at Steve Madden because I wanted some wedges. Thankfully, I did find some! I also bought a pair of white shorts from Abercrombie for $30 buck! It seems like the whole mall was having major sales today. Fine by me.

When we got back after five hours of shopping, we were both starving! I decided to recreate the salad I had for dinner last night.

Chicken+craisins+slivered almonds+hummus+balsamic

Carrots on the side! Bridget also brought out tortilla chips, so I've been dipping some of those in hummus as well. I'm off to the gym as soon as I publish this post. I don't know when I will have the chance to blog again today, since we are going downtown to meet some friends tonight. Have a great night!

In a Pickle

I'm in a pickle to find a pickle! All afternoon I have been craving a pickle. I do not know why, but I've been thinking about them all morning and can't stop! I even searched midtown deli's in hopes of finding a big, juicy one. Perhaps after lunch if the craving is still there! If only this little guy could come hand deliver one for me :)

For lunch today, I packed the same lunch I always do. It truly never gets old. I mean after all peanut butter is my favorite! PB + banana + cinnamon on a whole wheat sandwich thin.

On the side I had some carrots. Not baby today! Big, fat carrots I bought to cut up myself. The big carrots are always cheaper, but they take time to wash and cut up. The baby ones are just so convenient. Oh well, save money, live better. Right?

Lunch was deeelish! I can't wait till the workday is over so I can go "home" and hit the gym! Much needed workout is in store for later tonight. Now...more on that pickle. I must find one before heading back to work, if only I knew of a deli that was nearby. Wish me luck!

One Heck of A Day

Today has been one longgg day. I took an 11 am train into the city to finalize my move out. When I got there I asked the man, "What do I have to do to move out?" He replied, "First move all your things out of the room and once that is finished we will continue from there." I replied back ands said, "Oh, I already moved everything out, I'm all set to go." He replied, "Wow! Okay, lets go then." I was thrilled to say the least. We went up to my room for one last time to check and see if their were any damages. I knew there were, but he walked in for one second and said, "Your good." Yay Mom and Dad! No charges for damages.

After that was finished I met up with one of my best friends, Danielle, for lunch in the park. We hit up Whole Foods and both made our own salads. I filled my box with a couple roasted sweet potatoes, a huge pile of arugula for the base, carrots, onions, several peanuts, lemon baked tofu, shredded zucchini, wheatberries,  chickpeas, and a dollop of hummus. All dressed with apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar. YUM.

We walked through Columbus Circle..

...and ate lunch in Central Park. My favorite park ever.

Eatin' lunch on the rock

With lunch I also enjoyed a Zevia, a natural zero calorie soda. Great option for soda lovers like me who don't want to ingest tons of aspartame.

After lunch, I said by to Danielle :( Miss you Dani!

And it was just me, myself, and I going to take care of the large boxes.

It took a lot of effort and the mail room at Fordham is not a Post Office, it's only a package pick up place. SO I had to borrow a cart and roll two twenty pound boxes to the nearest Post Office. It was difficult to say the least, AND the people working there were beyond rude. This is where I roll my eyes at New Yorkers. Ugh.

I finally arrived back on Long Island where I hung out with Bridget's family for a few hours. I snacked on a ton of carrots and my favorite peanut butter ever, Peanut Butter and Co.'s Cinnamon Raisin Swirl. This stuff is seriously dangerous, but I can't help but purchase it every time I'm at the store!

I didn't really eat a proper dinner because I snacked so much when I got home from the city. I had a full belly. After playing some basketball I wanted to go for a run, so Katherine (Bridget's sister) and I set out to run three miles. We ended up going a little further.

Woohoo! Felt so good. Now I'm back at the house relaxing. I just enjoyed a bowl of Cookie Dough Cereal and an apple and I am now sufficiently full! I'm currently watching Baby Mama, which I've never seen before. They all say its hilarious, but I'll let y'all know after I watch it. Good night, I'll catch ya tomorrow!

Two Cheers for Starbucks

Since I started this lil' blog I have been on the search for free wifi in order to post during lunch. However, until today I haven't been able to find free wireless internet. Very frustrating. Well, thanks to Starbucks I am able to post during my lunch break due to their complimentary internet! Woohoo,  I am pleased.

Last night I made my lunch to pack for this afternoon, which is basically the same as yesterday's lunch, with the addition of cinnamon.

sandwich thin+banana+peanut butter+cinnamon

 I will now be sitting here for lunch from now on due to the nearby Starbucks that I need. It works well today though because the sun is no longer shining from this morning, its not chilly and cloudy. Summer where the heck are you?!!

Along with my sandwich, I enjoyed some really orange carrots. This combo never gets old. Y'all will be seeing it a lot in the future, so I apologize now for the repetition!

All morning I worked on edit credits and am now dreadddinggg going back to work. Luckily, I do not have tasks to do all day, which leaves me time to work on this blog of mine. I added the "About" page to the header, which describes the blog, my interests, and what I'm all about.

I'm planning on adding more tabs in the very near future. If any of you have any requests for posts, or a recipe you want me to attempt just give me a shout-out in the comments! I'd love to hear from you. For those of you working the rest of the day like me, try to enjoy it, just three more hours. For those of you who are currently sitting poolside or playing, I think its time for you to get a job...or I am just extremely jealous... Have a great day!

The Sun Will Come Out

After the dreary morning, the sun finally came out when I left the office for lunch! YAY for sunshine.

I always eat in the same spot everyday..A nice spot of green in the concrete jungle.

For today's lunch I packed a sandwich thin with peanut butter and bananas. On the side I had carrots. This is my favorite, go to lunch! I never, ever get sick of it.

Goeeeyy

Off to dinner and then the gym, catch you later tonight!

Workin' it out

Collider

Last night Bridget and I wanted to watch a movie. We could not decide what to watch until we stumbled upon a very interesting film entitled Never Let Me Go. The film, based on the book of the same title, depicts three young children who are clones and attend a boarding school for other clones who were made for one purpose and one purpose only, to donate organs to others. The film follows their lives as they grow older and experience life, their love for one another, and the power of friendship. Overall, I thought the movie was interesting and entertaining, but very disturbing at times. Bridget thought it was "disturbing, yet in a compelling way." I wanted to bring this movie up to see if any of you have read the book or have seen the movie to see what you all think. Ye or nay?

***

Shortly after breakfast, Bridget and I hit the gym for a nice workout.

workin' on my fitness

I completed 30 minutes on the elliptical while reading Entertainment Weekly, then switched to the arc trainer for 15 minutes. I rounded out my workout with a cool down of five minutes of incline walking on the treadmill. When we got home I dove straight into the fridge and started on lunch. On the menu today was similar to yesterdays lunch. I used one whole wheat tortilla and loaded it with turkey, dijon mustard, lettuce, and chopped onion. Eaten taco style! Yum. On the side I had carrots, and spinach and artichoke hummus. 

I'm off to take a much needed shower and then relax for the rest of the day, I'm exhausted! Enjoy your afternoon <3

Waffles n' Peanut Butta

Last night for dinner we ordered Japanese take out. I had salmon teriyaki, which was only okay. I got the teriyaki sauce on the side and then drizzled some on the entree. Madelyn and I split an order of garlic broccoli and I also had a small side salad with ginger dressing and an apple for dessert.

all together now

After dinner, we ran to Carvel to get Robert some "flying saucers," or "chip wheelies" as we call them in cincy/ky. Bridget ordered swirl in a cone and I gladly finished some of hers off.

When we got home Robert asked me to make popcorn with him and I gladly agreed. Its been a long time since I have eaten any and I was in the mood for more dessert.

olive oil + cocoa + cinnamon + stevia

***

Fast forwarding to breakfast, I had two toasted whole wheat Van's Lite waffles with peanut butter (365 Whole Foods brand) and sliced banana. I also added some cinnamon--best combo ever!

deeelish!

I'm off to the gym, then relaxing for the rest of the day! Catch ya for lunch. Have a fabulous day :)