Yay, Friday! I am so incredibly excited for this weekend! I am getting my hair cut and highlighted tonight, and then Mal and I are off to Washington, DC to visit some friends until Monday. (Two of the three friends are in our wedding, so obviously we are psyched to see them!) The end of the work day cannot come soon enough!!!!!
I had to be at work super early this morning to help with an Admitted Student Open House, which meant that I needed to eat breakfast even earlier than usual. I had a bowl of oat bran with banana, almond slices, and brown sugar around 6:45 am. I'm surprised that I could even eat this early... actually, that's a lie. I can always eat!
Mal was still at home getting ready for work when I woke up. I offered to make him some oat bran as well, but instead he took a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and some iced coffee to go-- just in case you're interested in hearing about Mal's breakfast too.
When the morning session of the Open House was finished, there was plenty of leftover food for the staff. I grabbed a raisin bran muffin and a pear to eat as a 2nd breakfast around 11:00... I guess it could also be considered lunch, right? I'm satisfied now, but I'm not sure if this 2nd breakfast/snack will hold me over all afternoon. I haven't had a single vegetable all day, so I'll probably hit the salad bar in a couple of hours.
Muffin and pear with a cup of coffee... love free food!
Silvertone's
Silvertone's was a blast last night! I met our friends around 6:00. Mal was running late and there was a short wait for a table, so we decided to grab a drink and wait at the bar. (I ordered iced water-- boring, but I was so thirsty!) Mal arrived about 20 minutes later, and the four of us were immediately seated. We decided to order a plate of fried calamari to share. The calamari was pretty standard, but it was drizzled with a yummy anchovy mayonnaise and served with a spicy dipping sauce, both of which were delicious. The appetizer was a very generous portion; the four of us barely made a dent in it. As an entree, I ordered the Summer Salad-- greens with goat cheese, pine nuts, golden raisins, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette on the side. I probably should have ordered it with chicken because it really didn't fill me up-- it was mostly ALL greens. I also had a glass of Chardonnay with dinner. There was a ton of conversation and laughing at dinner, and we were having such a good time catching up, so we decided to order another round of drinks after we finished our meals. Around 9:30, Mal and I decided to call it a night because we both had to wake up bright and early this morning.
I'm a big fan of Silvertone's! The food was well above average and the prices were extremely reasonable, especially for downtown Boston. Silvertone's is also easily assessable from our apartment and where we work, so I'm sure we'll be going there again real soon. This restaurant/bar is definitely a new favorite!
More Sports Bra Recommendations
I received an email about sports bras from active.com this morning. Since we were talking about them the other day, I thought I would share some more recommendations: The Right Sports Bra for You
Friday, April 4, 2008
Breakfast 1, Breakfast 2
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Busy Afternoon Ahead
Lots to do this afternoon-- iced coffee date with a friend, finish preparing data for a 2:00 meeting, vendor presentation immediately after at 3:00, pick up recently hemmed pants at Banana, replace watch battery (stupid thing died!), meet Mal and friends for dinner. So much to do, so little time.
I broke into my lunch around 11:30 today. (I'm a bottomless pit today!) First course was diced tomatoes mixed with red onion, feta, salt, and pepper.
I am so happy that the produce at grocery store is finally getting fresher... this tomato was delicious! I also can't wait to go to the farmer's markets once it gets warm! There is one right down the street from my office.
Around noon, the second and third courses came out. Second course was a ham and mustard sandwich on Ezekiel bread, and the third course was 2 Lindt chocolate truffles, which I am about to enjoy... a whole lot. I have the never-ending stash of Easter candy, don't I?
With my crazy afternoon ahead, I figured that I wouldn't have time to post my afternoon snack, which is a Ryvita Fruit Crunch crispbread and 6 dates as well as an iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts (at least that is the plan). Hope everyone has a lovely afternoon!
Maple Mango Bulgar
Good morning! I'm looking forward to today. I have a busy day with meetings and presentations, but Mal and I are meeting a couple of our friends for dinner tonight. We haven't seen these friends since the fall, so I am excited to catch up. We're also trying out a new restaurant: Silvertone Bar & Grill. The website makes it look sort of funky, even kind of retro, and the online reviews say the food is great and the price is right. Can't wait for tonight!
Breakfast this morning was something a little different: bulgar with sugar-free maple syrup and mango.
I made myself an extra large bowl of bulgar this morning-- 2 servings, actually! I was famished when I woke up!
The mango was sooooooo sweet and delicious! I waited for it to ripen-up this time!
All together. I seriously need some new placemats! I bet you guys are sick of these ones. Maybe I'll pick up some new ones at Target when I go shopping for sports bras. By the way, thank you all SO MUCH for your recommendations! You guys are wonderful!
1/2 cup bulgar: 320
1/8 sf maple syrup: 15
1 mango: 85
Coffee w/ soymilk: 50
Breakfast total: 470
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Hump Day Happenings
Lots to catch up on, but not a lot of time. Tonight's post will be brief, but I included a lot of photos, so hopefully, the pictures will be "worth a thousand words."
After lunch, my friend and I grabbed coffee and chatted at Starbucks. Before going to Starbucks, I almost always plan what I am going to order. Today, I got to the head of the line, and my mind went blank. I had no clue what to get! I ended up blurting out: iced tall soy misto. Not bad for being put on the spot, huh? It ended up tasting wonderful-- pretty much an extra milky iced coffee. I'll have to remember this drink for the next time!
Around 3:30, my stomach started to grumble. Snack time! I ate a couple pieces of Ryvita Fruit Crunch, which is sweet crispbread made with fruit, oats, and honey. I also added a few squirts of Olivio spray to each of them.
Delicious crispbread up close... check out those whole grains!
My banana was super ripe and sort of beaten up from my morning commute, so I decided to mash it up and add a spoonful of peanut butter. It didn't look pretty, but it was tasty and filling!
Dinner
Dinner tonight was a mix of semi-random ingredients. Pasta was tentatively on the menu for this evening, so to jazz it up, I added steam collard greens, cannelloni beans, green olives, garlic, olive oil, and feta. Overall, I enjoyed the combination of flavors. However, I could have done without the olives-- they didn't seem to mesh well with the rest of the meal. Oh well, I ate everything else, except for a few random olives.
Meals always taste better with feta!
And no meal is complete without something sweet. My treat this evening was a Lindt chocolate truffle and 5 pitted dates. Yum!
Sweet All Around
Good news! I got a raise! Well, my boss told me about it a few weeks ago, but the paperwork was finally submitted this morning, so my salary increase should appear in my next paycheck... and the raise is retro active. It wasn't a huge raise, but every little bit helps... especially with a wedding in just 101 days! (Yep, I have a countdown!)
Breakfast was scrumptious today! I mixed 1/3 cup of oat bran with 1/3 cup of hemp milk, 2 tsp of brown sugar, and 1/8 cup of sliced almonds in a big bowl... then popped it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I loved the smooth, soft texture that the hemp milk added, and the sweet flavor of the brown sugar-- my breakfast was almost dessert-like this morning! Mmmm!
Up close and personal with my oat bran...
From above with an orange, which I peeled and enjoyed with a mug of coffee at my desk...
Lunch
I'm eating lunch at my desk today, but I have plans to run some errands and grab coffee at Starbucks with a friend this afternoon, so I won't be chained to my desk all day. The weather looks gorgeous this afternoon! Let's hope it's warm outside!
After finishing dinner last night, I packed up the leftovers, which was a good size portion, for today's lunch. It was so easy to prepare in the office, only requiring a little rearranging on a plate.
Easter candy for dessert: Russell Stover Truffle Egg, chocolate truffle covered in milk chocolate. Obviously, my sweet tooth needs to be satisfied each and every day! :)
Sports Bra Recommendations
I need some help. I am in desperate need of new sports bras. All of mine have lost their "support"... and boy, do I need support in that area! Has anyone recently purchased a sports bra that they really love, but that didn't cost a fortune? Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Sauteed Greens with Chicken, Cannellini Beans & Garlic
A Mild April Fool's Day
It's relatively mild today in Boston. Spring is coming! The day has also been pretty mild in terms of April Fool's Day pranks... being done to me and done to others. When I was younger, my mom almost always played a joke on my sister and me on April Fool's Day, so even now, I still love harmless pranks. I don't have anything planned yet, but it would be fun to play a prank on Mal tonight, so please let me know if you have any good ideas! :)
I successfully made it to the gym this morning! I did 20 minutes of free weights, followed by 40 minutes on the elliptical and stretching. I was pretty hungry before the gym, so I downed a big glass of water and ate a piece of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter. After my workout, I made breakfast, which was bulgar with hemp milk, dates, and almond slices... and took an orange to eat at work.
1/8 cup sliced almonds: 70
1 tbsp PB: 90
Lunch was leftovers from last night: Beet, Bacon, and Feta salad, but served cold. I actually liked the salad a lot better this way.
From above in Tupperware... I was going to lay out the salad, all nice and pretty, but I thought the beets might make a mess. It was much easier eating out of the plastic container.
And to conclude lunch: Lindt chocolate truffles (love these!) and a mug of peppermint tea with a 1/2 packet of Stevia.
Beet and bacon salad: ~300
2 Lindt truffles: 160
Lunch total: 460
