Shopping

Happy for a Repeat Soon

March 18, 2013 by Allison · 54 Comments

This morning I woke up to something unexpected… SNOW!

I saw on the news that there was a chance of snow but the weatherman didn’t think that there would be any accumulation, predicting mostly rain. Er, he was slightly right – we got about an inch out in the ‘burbs where we live and nada downtown where I work. It’s mid-March, I thought spring had sprung?!

I’ll try my best to recap the race tomorrow, but I’ve never done a race recap before so I’m so sure how it’ll turn out – bear with me. Today I’m gonna let the pictures do the talking… It was definitely a marvelous weekend and I’d be happy for a repeat soon

Thanks Katie for hosting another marvelous link-up!

Question: What was marvelous about your weekend?

Question: If you could go anywhere for the weekend, where would you go?

— Allison

I Heart TJ’s // Berry Good Creamy Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Oats

November 27, 2012 by Allison · 30 Comments

That might be the longest post title I have ever created and ever read. Oops! Moving on… I love to shop. I love to window shop and peruse aisles looking for the latest and greatest. And I love Trader Joe’s, so much so that we’re on a nickname basis, heyyy TJ’s heyyy

shopping + fun finds+ TJ’s = grocery shopping greatness

I know not all y’all ladies [do I have any male readers? sorry Ry, you don't count] love to shop but let me try to persuade you that grocery shopping at TJ’s is an experience unlike anything else. Don’t believe me? Just check out their “About Us” tab on their website…

It started as a small chain of convenience stores called “Pronto Markets” before switching their name to Trader Joe’s in 1967
All of the employees rock Hawaiian shirts, which [I think] compliments the wood paneled walls
“Value” is a concept they take seriously by buying direct from suppliers [whenever possible], bargaining to get the best prices, and ultimately sharing the savings with us [the shoppers]… In their words, “every penny we save is a penny you save”

Still don’t believe me? I’ll let some pictures of my recent eats do the talking…

*products specific to TJ’s in bold*

Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane topped with Fat Free Cottage Cheese + pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie Spice + honey

plain Chobani + Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

Low Sodium Organic Creamy Tomato Soup + a runny egg & Reduced Carb Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas with Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole with Greek Yogurt

cranberry walnut parfait & sliced Cranberry Walnut Loaf topped with maple syrup

apples, Uncured Turkey Bacon, & cinnamon flax pancakes topped with cinnamon Chobani + cranberries + walnuts + maple syrup

turkey pepperoni, Low Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese, rice cakes, & Healthy Bites

veggie filled salad with Frozen Artichoke Hearts

Blueberry Wheat Bran Muffin & pretzels

Pumpkin Pie Spice Belgian waffle topped with peanut butter frosting + warmed apples + raisins + cinnamon Fat Free Cottage Cheese

simple salad topped with Steamed Lentils

Semi-Homemade Cho Brownies with Peanut Butter Puffins using Brownie Truffle Baking Mix

Thanksgiving Sausage-Pear Stuffing using Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Chicken Sausage + Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane + mix of veggies + pears

Chicken Gyoza Potstickers

creamy cinnamon peanut butter oats topped with a Deep Chocolate VitaTop + Very Cherry Berry Blend

Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane sandwich with Horseradish Hummus + sprinkle of parm cheese + red Anjou pear

Cranberry Orange Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Pie Spice Belgian waffles fixings

One of my most favorite things about TJ’s is that they always feature new products, sometimes seasonal, other times just tasty new finds. We buy most of our groceries at TJ’s since they also carry brand name products, but for things not available at TJ’s we’ll swing by Whole Foods or our local chain grocery store. For some of our favorite TJ’s staples click here.

Yesterday [recap]… #elf4Health 11/26 Day 1: Go meatless today.

A few of you asked me on Instagram to share my berry good breakfast…

Berry Good Creamy Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Oats

1/3 cup oats

1 cup water

1 teaspoon stevia

a few heavy shakes of cinnamon

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons peanut flour

1 Deep Chocolate VitaTop

frozen berries

1. Combine oats + water + stevia + cinnamon.

2. Cook in the microwave or stove until desired consistency.

3. In a separate bowl, mix yogurt + peanut flour and add to oatmeal [makes for a yummy peanut butter pocket].

4. Top with VitaTop crumbles and frozen berries.

5. Enjoy!

*I added a splash of Silk Light Vanilla post-picture because warm oats + cold milk is tasty!*

Today… #elf4Health 11/27 Day 2: Send a card or handwritten note to a friend.

Tomorrow… #elf4Health 11/28 Day 3: Try a new workout today!

Question: Would y’all like to see more frequent “TJ’s Featured Finds” kinda posts or a glimpse at our weekly groceries? Call me a dork but I love reading other peoples posts about their favorite finds cause I always enjoy trying new things! Product reviews? Recipes using the products? Share, share, share!

Question: What’s your favorite TJ’s product? If you don’t have a TJ’s near you or have never been [eek, tragedy], where do you typically grocery shop?

— Allison

Excitedly Looking Forward

November 24, 2012 by Allison · 20 Comments

I’m so excited that I just can’t hide it!

Not because I scored some awesome deals yesterday at Target [which was eerily quiet considering it was Black Friday], although I am looking forward to sipping peppermint tea out of my new mug with sparkly nails…

Not because of the Pumpkin Pie Pancakes I had for breakfast this morning [my pumpkin craving cannot be tamed ever since I had a slice of pie on Thanksgiving], although I did think they were seriously delicious…

Not because I currently may be serving as Nurse Allison to both of my under the weather boys, although I actually don’t mind the traditional housewife duties [as long as it doesn't include vacuuming or ironing]…

But, rather because there are SO MANY things to look forward to…

Christmas. A Caribbean cruise. Anniversaries. And not only my first half marathon, but 3 half marathons… I have a feeling that the next 6 months are going to be a.w.e.s.o.m.e. I cannot wait to share the details with y’all!

*Nike’s Marathon is random selection, I won’t find out if I’m participating until mid-December*

Source

Tomorrow I’ll share a recap of our Thanksgiving, plus two Thanksgiving dishes that were huge hits! I didn’t take too many pictures because I was enjoying the time with my family and friends, but I’m sure you don’t need to see 100 different pictures of me in my sweats [I didn't want to ruin my clothes while cooking, changed right before dinner], or of our turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, or cranberry compote since y’all enjoyed some of your own!

Question: What are you excitedly looking forward to?

Question: What was the best part about your Thanksgiving?

— Allison