Wednesday in Boston

A little quiet around here today because something unexpected happened…

…the sun came out!

Oh beautiful, warm, bright sun. Welcome back to my life.

So what if it’s only 48 degrees and I’m still in my winter coat and this is the only warm day in the 7 day forecast. So what! We’re living in the moment and this moment isn’t freezing.

Blue sky above.

Outside seating set up (a bit prematurely if you ask me).

And four very muddy puppy paws, happy from a long walk by the river.

Tomorrow recipes. I just couldn’t stay inside today.

Enjoy and Exhale!

Little Bits of Random 3, Winter

I was going to do a Superbowl recipe roundup today but my dentist appointment ran long this morning, then there was the gym and subbing. Before I knew it it was late afternoon and going through all my bookmarked recipes felt like a lot of work.

Adding some photos to a post and coming up with short sentences to describe them sounded a lot more manageable and fun.

Trying to keep the winter germs at bay with fresh juices a couple of times a week. Finally nearing the end of my grapefruit stash.

A frozen over Charles River looking toward Cambridge.

Sad swing covered in snow.

My favorite part of snow, right after it falls and covers the trees.

More snow.

A winter playground.

My guilty winter pleasure. Please don’t judge. I love me some Bachelor.

Reflections of the city on the water.

My new haircut and my first attempt to curl my hair with a straightener. I know people have been doing this forever but I’m not very beauty savvy so it’s taken me a while to get with the trends. I’m not nearly as unhappy as I look. 🙂

A deep conversation with Eli about the Patriots right after their playoff loss.

Guy looking on as I ‘work’. Aka look at a pet video online on how to clean dog’s ears.

Playing in the snow during Wednesday’s run.

Winter run with my favorite pup.

A lovely soy chai from Thinking Cup that I had earlier this week while meeting up with a new friend.

Sadly, I don’t have any good pictures of Michael that I haven’t already used in the last few posts.

He works too much! 😦

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy and Exhale!

Recipe Testing and the Weekend

How was your weekend? Mine was very low key. Besides teaching, which I did on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I was out of the house very little this weekend. I blame it on the weather. I think it’s starting to get me down. I find myself daydreaming about running along Chrissy Field in the SF sunshine, having brunch out on the back patio at Zasie’s in Cole Valley and walking to the 24th Street Farmer’s Market year round in Noe. I’m homesick and I’m tired of being cold! I also realize I’m having a serious pity party that isn’t be warranted for at least another month. We’re planning a trip home in the next couple of months but until the tickets are booked I’ll just keep on daydreaming.

Besides daydreaming, the weekend consisted of a couple of logs in the fireplace, starting the Dexter series and trying to get Eli and Guy to sit still so we could play with the new camera. He’s so unimpressed.

Kitty playing nice.

Followed by kitty playing mean. He’s pissed!

The weekend also included of a little baking.

I tried and failed again with trial number two of gluten-free vegan banana bread. I admit, I’m getting closer. This time it was actually bread and not bar. It was light and airy which is an accomplishment. But it was also dry and not banana-y enough. I’ve been sort of stingy with the coconut butter so maybe I’ll add more to the next batch and another banana. In my head I can see the bread I want to make. It has those little pieces of banana swirled around throughout and a golden brown top.  Who knew banana bread could be so difficult?

Here are a few shots of round two. See, actual bread!

I also need to coat the chocolate chips in cornstarch or gf flour to keep them all from falling to the bottom of the batter. That poor left corner got seriously left out!

It’s not too bad with a little earth balance on top and my mind is now wondering if it would make a good bread pudding. I don’t know how to make bread pudding but it can’t be that hard right…says the girl with two failed recipe attempts under her belt.

Hope you’re weekend was wonderful. If you’re somewhere warm maybe you can stand with your face to the sun and think about me?

Too weird? I get it.

Off to yoga, please let the room be hot!

Enjoy and Exhale!

Yoga. Cook. Run. Football.

As the title suggests, the weekend went something like this. Yoga. Cook. Run. Football. Repeat. Not very different from the rest of our weekends except for the menu. I hope I’m not boring you yet.

Saturday’s run was a short one. I’ve decided to try running this 3.1 mile route around the river once a week for time to see if I can improve my pace. Here’s Saturday’s stats.

My legs were feeling pretty good and it was warm out, although I was still a little congested from last week’s cold. I’m pretty happy with this time.

Saturday night was the Broncos Ravens game. For those who don’t know, Michael is from Colorado, hence a huge Broncos fan. I, being the good girlfriend I am, helped cheer them on hoping for a Broncos Patriots rematch next weekend.

We watched the game from the comfort of our PJs with a bottle of red wine.

Michael in his gear, looking fierce.

Unfortunately they couldn’t pull it together and lost in overtime. 😦

Eli was so depressed he couldn’t even look at the camera.

Sunday started with a walk to the Apple Store. I’ve been struggling with my old phone for the past few months and Michael finally convinced me I needed an upgrade. Either that or he was just sick of me talking about how the buttons weren’t working. I am now the proud owner of an Iphone 5!

With the warm weather holding Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t resist another run. Eli and I headed out for a loop around Cambridge.

If you’re interested in times, here it is. A little slower, a little longer. I tried to kick it at the end over the Mass Ave Bridge to Tim McGraw’s ‘How Bad Do You Want It’ but Eli was pooped and I pretty much dragged him the last 250 yards.

After our run it was time for the Pats game.

My turn for gear!

The Pats looked good and won their game, woohoo!

Eli is a fair weather Broncos fan. With the Pats win he decided to switch teams.

Here’s hoping for a 49ers Patriots Superbowl.

My cooking over the weekend included these guys. Recipe tomorrow.

Hope your weekend was great.

Enjoy and Exhale!

Little Bits of Random 3

If you missed past posts from this series see Little Bits of Random 1 and 2. These are a hodge podge of pictures that don’t fit into a specific blog post. It’s also a chance for me to share 100s of photos of my pets without feeling guilty because I warned you first!

Most of these pics are mine but some are courtesy of Will Pine. If you haven’t had a chance to check out his work he’s the wonderful photographer that shot my yoga pictures.

Starting with a Will photo. Michael and me in the Commons.

Sarah walking in Copley Square. Love this shot.

I’m not sure what’s happening here. We had been waiting for a table at the Buttery for a long time and were getting delirious.

Two best friends lounging together.

Our living room all spruced up for the holidays.

This was a recipe from the sweet potato challenge that never made it but the fruit looks delectable.

I love this grainy photo of our little family. We were trying to take a Christmas card picture but Eli and Guy weren’t having it.

A fountain in the Commons, can someone please tell me what these two children are doing?

This was the first photo we took back in September for my yoga photo shoot. I love that everyone in the background is completely unfazed. Gotta love New Yorkers.

A great pic of Will and Sarah.

Your kitty doesn’t read the Bhagavad Gita? Mine does!

While Will and Sarah were visiting Will insisted on a Duck Tour. This pretty much sums up the 90 minutes we spent on the tour.

Michael and Eli hard at work.

Love this face.

Hope you enjoyed a mostly non-food related glimpse of the past few months.

Happy Wednesday!

Little Bits of Random 2 and a Pumpkin Banana Smoothie

This post was just titled Pumpkin Banana Smoothie but then Eli ate half my breakfast and the picture below is so priceless that I decided to do a little bits of random post dedicated to the pets.

I’m sorry I ate your bagel but you left it unattended lady. If I give you this look you’ll forgive me in 3 seconds right?

Me and Eli getting ready for a run.

Kitties need chapstick too.

And puppies need kisses.

Apparently this is what morning looks like in our bed.

And how Guy looks when held against his will.

 

Best friends!

And for those of you who want the pumpkin banana smoothie recipe here it is, super simple.

Pumpkin Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup almond milk

3-4 ice cubes

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon maple syrup

————

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!