On the Flip Side

Hey guys! I’m not at all surprised, but so warmed by your support and kind words. You’re such an amazing group of people and I’m so thankful for this space in the blogosphere. :)

I’m currently vegging on the couch after a very productive day. I got a lot packed and I’m confident enough to say that tomorrow should be fairly easy. I need to pick up the u-haul truck tomorrow morning (look out local drivers!!) and then will await my very special moving crew (thanks Mom, Dad and Sam).  Then its go-time!

Anywho, with all the excitement, it may be a couple of days until I post again. I hope you guys understand.

Take care and I’ll catch ya on the flip side from my new digs!

The Difference A Day Makes

Hey guys! Happy Emilyday. I have to tell you, yesterday was not one of my best days. Or the days before that for that matter. After coming home from my amazing trip to Atlanta, I was feeling pretty down. You guys know that I’ve been going through some life changes and it has been overwhelming and hard at times. I’m extremely close with my family and have some great friends here, but I had been feeling isolated and alone.

Instead of reaching out, I managed to bottle it up and forge on ahead (how often do we do that!?). Thank goodness my parents reached out and I had a great phone call with my Dad last night. I’m not going to lie, it took some tears and frustration but I’m now feeling much more excited about my big move this weekend and about my future.

I think I’m sharing this because my Dad reminded me that we have a lot of power to change the way we see things just by changing the way we think about things. Instead of being afraid about my move and starting a new chapter, I’ve realized that this is all really exciting and is a brand new chapter! I have blank pages, people. And you know what, we all do – every day.

As said so aptly by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them; life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” So true.

Anywho, it was with lifted spirits that I started my day. I did a 20 minute toning fusion workout from exercise tv and then ventured outside for a very brief (10 minute) hill run. It felt good to get out a move a bit (plus, I need my pedometer steps, right Em?). :)

I couldn’t wait to eat breakfast and promptly made a yogurt bowl when I got to work. This was 2% fage plain greek yogurt with kashi go lean, chia seeds, banana, cinnamon and honey. It definitely hit the spot.

For lunch, I hit the salad bar. It never disappoints. This had the usual suspects. You know the drill. I meticulously pick out all the lettuce and eat that first so that I only have toppings to enjoy after. Oh, I also held up the entire cafeteria line by asking for hot sauce. Totally worth it. :)

 

Snack was momentous – and something I was looking forward to all day. Em was kind enough to give me some of her new flavors of larabar – that’s right, cookie dough, chocolate chip brownie and peanut butter chocolate chip. Ohhh man.

This was SO good. Thanks so much, Em! Yum. I also already ate the other two – they lasted four days, haha. Let’s just say I got panicky wondering if the Whole Foods here has them at long last. I’m going to have to check next week…

After work I had some errands to run and then made my way to Panera for some thesis time. I have to be ready to present it on September 29th so this is serious crunch time. I just finished and am really happy with what I got done. It feels good.

Dinner was quite tasty – my usual Panera fare of half a greek salad, black bean soup and whole grain baguette. I LOVE dipping the bread in the soup. My favorite part, for sure.

I think its time for this gal to head home. I have tomorrow off to finish up packing and make sure I’m ready for the moving crew (my parents and brother – thanks guys!).

Have a great night, friends.

Lots of love,

Em

Here and Gone

Hi guys! Since I haven’t done a normal “day in the life of me” post in a while and I got a surprise night off from class, I figured I’d post this Wednesday and get back to Guest Post Wednesday next week. Hope that’s ok with you! :)

Well, this week has been pretty crazy. It was so rough to get back to reality after my amazing weekend, but I still can’t believe that tomorrow is Thursday! I took Friday off to help prepare for my move this weekend (gulp) and so I’m almost done with the week!

Anywho, today started out with a quick yoga for abs workout from exercise tv. It was brief but tough and perfect to get my day started on the right note. To fill my newly chiseled tummy, I had a yogurt bowl mess for breakfast. Plain greek yogurt topped with kashi golean, blueberries, some strawberry jam and a bit of almond butter. It was delish.

For lunch, I had a sammich with dark rye bread, a slice of pepperjack cheese, garlic and chive hummus, tomater and mixed greens. Carrots on the side for crunch!

 

My afternoon snack was consumed in two parts – first, some delicious Food Should Taste Good cheddar chips (have you tried them yet?! So good!) and then a nanner.

 

After work, I made my way to the lake and walked around. Its so nice to see so many people out and about there all the time. The path around the lake is about 3.5 miles. It was hot but there was a lovely breeze (plus, its nothing like the heat down south!). :)

I was more than ready for dinner after my walk and made a quick salad with mixed greens, bell pepper, tomato, boiled egg and a chopped veggie dog. I also had a bunch of baby carrots with hummus (consumed pre-picture taking) and the last of my Food Should Taste Good chips. It was pretty random, but did a good job of cleaning out the fridge before this weekend. I think my eats may be a little strange for a while until I’m settled.

I just finished a delicious dessert of a dark chocolate vitatop smothered with some homemade pecan butter. Mmmm…

Now its time to chillax and watch some So You Think You Can Dance? I’m a sucker for it.

Have a great night, friends.

Em

Atlanta, Day 2 – Pedicures, Centennial Park & Dynamic Dish

And here is the final installation of my Atlanta recap. I hope that you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. In case you need to catch up – check out day one and day two, part one….

After a bit of sitting in our cool (literally and figuratively) hotel room, we set out for pedicures. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that this was my very first pedicure. It most definitely won’t be my last. I was drawn to the purples and went with a light lilac color. Em went with a pretty pink. I was in heaven during the massage portion. Ahhh…it was perfect after all of our walking.

 
Post-pedicure, we visited Centennial Olympic park. There are really neat fountains as well as the Coca-Cola museum, the aquarium, and CNN center. Its a really neat spot and it was awesome to walk around.

CNN Center was amazing. I kept thinking about how cool it would be to go to work there. Maybe I would run in to Anderson Cooper? Sigh.

7 more walking miles later, we were tired, hungry and ready for showers. On the menu for dinner was Dynamic Dish. A vegetarian restaurant that focuses on serving all local and seasonal ingredients. The menu is fairly small and changes regularly. From the outside you may not even notice that its there, but once inside, the decor is awesome and it feels like you’re walking right into someone’s kitchen.

We were seated right next to the sweetest couple – a surgeon and his wife who were very kind and offered me a glass of their wine (the restaurant is waiting on its alcohol permit but allows customers to bring their own drinks). The wine was delicious but I’d say the conversation was better. People in the south are so friendly, y’all. :)

For dinner, both Em and I ordered the veggie burger with gruyere cheese and a pesto spread served with sauteed taters. Everything was SO fresh and delicious. We were ooohhh-ing and ahhh-ing the entire time.

After dinner, Em took me on a tour of Little Five Points, which is a super funky part of Atlanta. Think lots of tattoos, eclectic clothing stores and fun restaurants and bars.

While we were perfectly satisfied with our dinners, dessert was our next stop. Cafe Intermezzo looks like an old fashioned saloon and would be the perfect date spot. Dessert customers walk up to the extensive (and drool worthy) case and are guided through by a “tour guide.” It was most definitely a difficult decision (carrot cake, red velvet cake, cheesecake, torte, tiramisu, mouse cake…) but I decided on a chocolate heath cake that was to.die.for. I’m so glad that Em and I split it though because it was super rich. Sorry for no pictures, it was dark in the restaurant and I didn’t want to ruin the cozy atmosphere. :)

Once we got back to the hotel, Em packed up and made her way home and I was left to my own devices. Being all dressed up and in love with the bathroom wallpaper, I took some fun pictures like a goofball.

I’m so thankful to Em for being such a wonderful guide and friend. I had so much fun on this trip and I feel like I saw so much of what Atlanta has to offer – its an awesome city. I can tell you that its been a tough transition back to the real world!  Ah well, I have a feeling Em and I will see each other again. :)

Atlanta, Day 2 – Piedmont Park & the Botanical Gardens

So, after our super fun and delicious blogger meet-up dinner, Em and I woke up around 8 on Saturday and made our way to the gym. I did 30 minutes (10 miles) on the recumbent exercise bike on an interval workout program. I’m not sure if it was the morning workout or what, but I was beat by the end of it! Em worked up a sweat on the elliptical as well.

Post workout, we went back to the room and got started on making some breakfast. Em was kind enough to bring some oats, peaches, barney butter, and the proper tools. I thought, when booking the hotel, that we would have a kitchen, but alas, we did not. Enter: tiny coffee machine.

I brewed some plain hot water and just mixed it with the oats and let them sit covered for about 5 minutes. I was nervous that the oats wouldn’t be cooked but it worked out perfectly. And let me tell you, Georgia peaches are delicious!

We got freshened up and set out on a walk to Piedmont Park. On the way, we saw Margaret Mitchell’s old home – she wrote Gone with The Wind.

We were excited to find that there was a market going on at the park. There were all sorts of yummy looking goodies and kind faces. It was great.

Our walk further into the park brought us to our ultimate destination – the Atlanta botanical garden.

The botanical garden was amazingly beautiful. It was so nice to walk along all of the gardens. We started on the canopy walk which is an elevated walkway above the gardens. We saw this butterfly there.

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We made our way past the reflecting pools, sunflowers, purple basil, a cooking demonstration (!!) with butter and fresh basil and into what I found to be the coolest part – the indoor gardens.

The orchid house was unbelievable. I’ve never seen so many gorgeous flowers – we fit right in. :)

 

There were some super cool carnivorous plants as well. I felt like they were eyeing me as I walked by…

We then entered the rainforest. :) Well hello, pheasants.

Those string looking things coming from the ceiling are actually the aerial roots of a plant (we weren’t sure which plant).

Then it was time for a quick trip to the dessert…

 

We reminisced a bit about Hey Dude! Do you guys remember the name of Mr. Ernst's son?

It was kind of unreal to walk out of the Botanical Garden and see the city skyline. It felt like we had been transported somewhere else.

At this point, we were more than ready for lunch and went to Willy’s for burrito bowls. We couldn’t decide if it was just because we were so hungry or because they truly were divine, but these were amazing!! They had rice, black beans, tofu, sauteed pepper and onion, pico de gallo, lettuce, guacamole and cilantro. I also had a refreshing and bubbly diet coke.

 

Side note: Midtown is SUPER vegetarian friendly. There were numerous veg-head options at all restaurants we went to.

Stay tuned for our afternoon activities… 

Atlanta, Day 1

Well, do I have some catching up to do! This weekend was an absolute blast and it was so fun to meet Em and some other Atlanta bloggers (and reader!). I am so thankful to Em for her wonderful hospitality and activities…

As you know, I arrived early on Friday. Em picked me up at the airport and we made our way to the hotel. Now, I booked this trip through Orbitz, and was so pleasantly surprised by this hotel. It is beautiful and we felt like stars (and actually saw one!).

Once we got settled, we made our way to the gym. It is at the “PH” (penthouse) level and there were some amazing views to sweat to. I did a hill walk on the treadmill while Em used the elliptical and then we did some weights and called it a day. 

We got dressed and made our way back out to walk to lunch. The neighborhood that we’re staying in is Midtown and its so cute. SO many great restaurants and history. For lunch, we went to The Flying Biscuit where I ordered scrambled tofu with a side of grits. It was my first time trying grits and man, were they good. There was also a biscuit on the side which I had to have couple bites of. Delish! (And blurry).

For lessert (lunch dessert), we ordered a single oatmeal pancake with peaches on top to share. It was unbelievable. Good call, Em!

We walked around for a bit more after lunch in search of a nail salon to get a pedicure, but ended up heading back to the hotel to check out the pool instead. We couldn’t resist the allure of the rooftop pool and it absolutely did not disappoint. We felt like we were on The Hills.

 
After pool time, we showered up and got all ready for our blogger meet up. We met Tina, Serena, Lee, Laura, Tyler, and reader Anna (soon to be blogger?) at Seasons 52. I wasn’t aware before going that their menu consists of items that are all under 500 calories. I don’t think I would have guessed either, if I wasn’t told! The food was delicious.

I ordered the chipotle shrimp flatbread with feta cheese. It was so light and crispy. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and spicy – just the way I like it!

For dessert, there were numerous shooters to choose from. I couldn’t resist the promise of cream cheese frosting and so went with the carrot cake. It was so good – and just the perfect amount!

 

I think all of the excitement and walking (7 miles!) tired us out because we were both asleep in bed within a half hour of getting home. It was soo comfy in our room…