lessons learned

things I learned in the last 48 hours:

1. I do not like mango. sad.
2. use xanthan gum sparingly - or smoothie gets as thick as well... gum. gross.
3. tempeh is pretty delic.
4. so is bbq sauce.
5. i'm a sucker for a 40% off deal.    dear banana republic - stop taking all my money. love, alli

and finally.. short weeks are soo much better than full weeks. 
I definitely already knew this, but its been sooo long since I've had a day off that I forgot.
just knowing that I don't have to work a full week again until the end of june puts me a fantastic mood. :)
so nice!  4 day weekend. i'm soo ready. 

smoothie this morning was a repeat by definitely one of my faves. this recipe but mixed berries instead of strictly strawberries.  so gooood.  i wanted it to last alll morning. 

as guilty as I felt not running on Monday, I'm really glad that it didn't. Yesterday was gorgeous and I was really in the mood to run. 
How can you not look forward to this?

Source

One of my favorite things to do while running is people-watch. I pay attention to everyone running around me, everyone thats out walking, etc. Some people look like runners, some people don't, some runners look like they're really enjoying themselves and some look like they're in pain. Now, if you know me, you know that I can't control the faces I make. So I can NOT imagine what I look like. ha. so I need to be more aware of that, though I'm sure it depends on the day.

I need to squeeze in 2 more runs by Friday since there is really no chance of getting my long run in while at Desantis's wedding in Raleigh on Saturday. (ahhh yay! soo soon) 
and its gorgeous out again today, so definitely looking forward to tonight.

(When did I become someone who craved a run?!  love it)

I heart NY

I love NY & even though I don't live there anymore, I think it will always feel a bit like home.
this weekend was fantastic!
I got in on Friday and had a low key night with a few of the best.

unfortunately, i failed at pics. so this is all i have of the weekend.

Saturday morning Breen & I got up and went running. I forgot how wonderful the West Side Highway is - and did 5 miles!!  I haven't run that far since I switched to outside, so I was pretty pumped. :)

every time I get to a new distance, I feel like a half miight be possible.

I'm not convinced enough to register though.

i do NOT love mondays. today struggled.

plus the fact that I'm going away this weekend again makes this week tough. I probably should have run tonight, but just couldnt bring myself to do it. tomorrow. ugh.

I did make a delic dinner though. inspired by fresheatsntastytreats.

1/3 block tempeh

whole wheat sandwich thin

1 oz shredded cheddar

red onion

bbq sauce. 

lit my mouth on fire a bit. mmmm. 

Friday :)

today is the last friday for a whole month that I have to work a full day. SCORE. 
I'm going to pretty upset if it stays like this:

while I have summer fridays.  in which case, I'll be looking for volunteers to join me on every brewery & vineyard tour that I can find in the Boston area.

I've been a little slow on the posting. sorryyyy

so! things i did this week -
lots of yoga - I keep saying I'm going to incorporate yoga into my workouts. its about time.
actually got up to run before work - I probably set my alarm twice a week every week, this is the first time since I moved that I actually got my ass out of bed. WIN
attempted a spinach artichoke turkey meatloaf - this combo does not exist on the internet (i looked)  it was good but needs a little work before its worth sharing.
had Sara & Abby over for dinner - so fun!  made these veggie enchiladas & you need to too. delic.
made an amazing smoothie - I used mixed berries instead of just strawberries tho so mine was purple. SO GOOD

and this weekend I'm heading back to NY to hang out with these kids.  excitement

Baby Mac!

Charles Hillen Macsherry arrived this morning & I couldn't be more excited.
obsessed. already.  one pic & i'm in love.

Congrats you two!   You're going to make the best parents.

Love you guys!

weekend recap

Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the Inaugural David D. Main Memorial Golf Tournament.
The rain stopped just in time for an afternoon of great golf & great people.  
Huge success!

Just a few of the many photos of the day



Saturday, I ran the CapeAbilities 5K. 

gooood morning. i'm sleepy but exciiited

Let's just say it was a phenomenal first race.  I was worried about pacing myself - since I really don't and I have no idea how face I run once I get off the treadmill.

I'm pretty sure I run slow. I was thinking it would take me around 33 min, figuring just over 10 min miles. I was thrilled when I got to the finish & realized.  

28:35

I felt like rockstar for the rest of the weekend :)   (ill spare you the after photo. smiled so hard I practically strained my neck muscles. fail. need to stop doing that)

Race 2 only a few weeks away

and on Friday - I made my first green monster. 

spinach

frozen berry blend - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries

unsweetened applesauce

chocolate whey protein powder

almond milk

vanilla extract

ice

DELICIOUS

getting hooked on smoothies. get ready for it. 



hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and painless monday.   1 day closer to the weekend!!

soo many veggies

once upon a time, not thaatt long ago, there wasn't a single vegetable I would eat. I existed on bread, chicken and sugar, pretty much exclusively.
well apparently, that girl is gone.
tonight's dinner - amazing. almost entirely veggies.

it was delicious.

salad - baby spinach, grape tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, walnuts, balsamic vinegar.

 giant sweet potato sliced up, sprayed with some PAM and sprinkled with garam masala.

(i actually had no idea what garam masala tasted like, but it was in the cabinet) SCORE.

veggies were necessary after having leftovers of last nights doughy deliciousness for lunch today. 

i'm fully slacking on running updates.  well because.. i'm slacking on running.  I ran a fantastic 4 miles on Friday and haven't been out since.  fail.   but first 5K on saturdayyy. excited.

I did, however, break out the yoga dvd today & now I feel fantastic. really need to do it more often.

what ever happened to may flowers? april showers need to go.  and who knew boston was a crazy windy city?!  I need that to stop. annoyinggg.

lets fast forward to the part where its pretty and warmish spring. thankssss

oh! and the muffins I made last night. pretty good sans sugar. lil bit of peanut butter & makes for an excellent at work breakfast. :)

blueberries are the new strawberries

productive day!  made breakfast and dinner. aaand breakfast for tomorrow!



new smoothie!

pretty

1 6oz container FAGE greek yogurt

handful of ice

1 cup frozen blueberries

splash of vanilla extract

smaller splash almond extract

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1/2 tbsp chia seeds

new cup!  smoothie came to work with me today

I had to wing dinner tonight. pizza dough was defrosted and really needed to be used. sooo. stromboli?  I don't even know what to call it. completely made this up.

doesn't look so awesome

1 lb whole wheat pizza dough

1/2 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 link trader joe's sweet basil pesto sausage, cooked & sliced

3 oz part skim mozzarella, shredded

roll out dough on floured surface - divide in 4 portions

divide sausage, cheese, and tomatoes evenly between 4 portions of dough

fold over and seal edges

place on cookie sheet sprayed with PAM

cook about 10 minutes at 425

surprisingly tasted soooo good.  delic.

and then I made muffins for tomorrow. but I might have forgotten to add the sugar (and by might have, I mean I definitely did) so we'll see how good those are.. eeekkk. 

I went to the Sox game last night for Eric's birthday.  soo fun!  hope you had a great day!

so many good things coming up in the next month!  yayyyyyy!

margot in boston

CapeAbilities 5K

back to NY round 3

lauren moving to boston

desantis's wedding

my birthdayyy

happy mother's day

hope everyone had a delighful mother's day weekend.

I headed out the cape saturday afternoon to spend some QT with the parents.

loove it. so nice to be so much closer.

Mom & I made dinner.

salad.

4 of my favorite things in one bowl. tomato. red onion. goat cheese. balsamic. delic.

oh myyyy, was it good.  probably one of the best dishes I've ever had a part of making. mmmm.
recipe found here: Chicken Rollatini


so good.

and then there was breakfast. :)

 recipe not cooperating. you can find the inspiration here: texas style casserole

because strawberries make everything better. mmm

happy mother's day!

 & happy 1 year anniversary to my gorgeous sister & bro-in-law!

can't believe its been a whole year already.

happy thursdayyy

cinco de mayo!  the holiday created to celebrate my love for mexican food & margaritas. mmhhmm

so i made a repeat of previously blogged mexican wonderfulness here. unfortunately it was a marg free evening. 

this morning though. amazingggg.   all these blogs I read - talk about smoothies. smoothies for any meal of the day. delicious, cold, creamy, & filling.  sounds fantastic.  soo!  
this morning I made this..
(and was secretly super-impressed with myself that i managed to use kitchen appliances before work)

in love.

6 oz container 0% Fage yogurt

1/3 cup water

handful of ice

handful of frozen strawberries

1/2 tbsp chia seeds

2 Tbsp slivered almonds

splash of vanilla extract

i really need to invest in a giant cup. preferably with a big bendy straw.

and i was full til lunch! must make more of these. 

trying my first buckwheat bake tomorrow. prepped & ready to go for the AM.     had to seriously resist making lots of new deliciousness tonight. not enough time to eat everything I wanted to make.   such problems right?

whats everyone doing for mothers day?  i'm heading to the cape to properly celebrate momma w. :) 

random sox tuesday

tuesdays are usually pretty lame. except when you get an email offering free Sox tickets at 9am.  solid way to start the day.
I haven't been to Fenway in we'll say probably four years. so I made sure to bring the camera, zoom lens & all. 
didnt take many but got a few good ones.

 we had pretty good seats.

no explanation. just liked the colors.

in other events, i had a great run today. :)  monday's struggled so I geared myself up for today to be better. success!   I know I'm struggling with recipes lately, but i'm eating the remaining few portions of the sweet potato meatloaf & chicken tikka masala that I made recently & I failed to photograph.  next time promise. 

I did make overnight oats when I got home from the game last night. and though I'm not totally sold on overnight oats, they were good and kept me full longer than most breakfast.  recipe here. (i skipped the banana)    cinnamon chia overnight oats 

thats all i got for now. happy wednesdayyy!

only gets better

mondays are brutal. today was a tough one.
after a wonderful weekend with a few of my faves, how could I really focus on work?

unfortunately, my camera failed to make appearances at katie's shower or on my run. (but I managed to get a run in. go me)  how ridiculous is it that I'd never been to Fort McHenry before Saturday?!  I mean I was in baltimore for how many years? almost 6?   well. now I've been and it was fantastic.

blows my mind that I've known these two for almost 10 years. 
and now here we are... baby mac could arrive any day.
lil weekend recap.

amazing.

just because they were delic

 we had a fantastic little picnic.

mmm cheese..

lisa & I drank red wine out of mom-to-be cups.

& then.

we made dinner.

 

balsamic chicken

 sweet potato fries.

broccoli & cauliflower

and there was a walk involved. with hopes of inducing labor.

no such luck. i must wait to meet the little one. :(

can NOT wait.

as much as I want to put up ridiculous pictures from college. ill refrain.

we were in love with college. with it all.  

we had more fun than I can even remember

& it only gets better from here :)

and because its the only pic I got of this guy.

oh hey daddy mac, hope you enjoyed this. it isnt happening again anytime soon.