Back to Normal and a New Record

HAPPY SATURDAY!

I've been hearing some funny comments about my Napa recaps from you all --
The most common: "How did you manage to eat all of that?!?!"

and... "you're not 21...."
Guilty.

Well, I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't walk away from this trip a few pounds heavier (true story), but more surprising has been the weird after-effects of all those desserts, the trays of pate and cheese... those glasses of wine.

I feel like I need to detox! like that'll ever happen. So, instead... This week has been spent eating what I usually eat: oatmeal, salads, rice pudding & froyo -- you were spared some pretty boring pictures, believe me!

However, since last night was FRIDAY NIGHT -- aka, the end of our lectures for the semester and the last chance to enjoy yourself before finals hell -- I decided to celebrate the only way I know how: with good food and great friends!

Lisa and I met up with Lee and begged him to take us to "Asian Heaven," which is basically some massive mall/complex that is made up of every kind of "Asian" restaurant, bakery, grocery store you could imagine....

Lisa & I were craving a huge bowl of soup, so Lee took us to his favorite noodle place!

We placed our orders and decided to expose Lisa to all the joys of Asian delicacies -- starting with an appetizer of fried fish cakes and picked cabbage
 

I don't know what it is about fried anything but I'm always a huge fan :)

Plus the words "fish cakes" just make you salivate on command - right?  Growing up in a half-asian household has made me immune to the weirdness of some delicious dishes!

Lee taught us all the tricks to sauce mixing.  Apparently, it's an art form.

I decided to satisfy my comfort food craving with a huge bowl of NOODLE SOUP!  Veggie noodle soup with added beef balls and rice noodles.  The soup was amazing.  Mine was filled with tofu, fresh broccoli, cabbage, and carrots!  Plus I loovvee Asian broths - so light and flavorful!

Lisa also ordered a massive bowl of soup! But she got the tender beef noodle soup with rice noodles and from what I hear, she enjoyed it immensely :)

I don't know how I forgot to snap a picture of Lee's meal!  It was yummmmy, although I'm still glad I ordered my "light soup twice the size of my head."  Lee got the stir-fried version of our meal -- rice noodles, some sort of sauce, and seafood!  I'm glad he shared, that's all I have to say.

SO, being a dessert fanatic, we made Lee point us in the direction of any dessert in Asian Heaven.  Um, I don't think I've ever felt more Asian in my life...

There was a menu with a million different desserts - half of which I couldn't figure out/pronounce.  Some with ingredients I doubt I would ever put in my mouth (tadpole...?) although, you never know.

We finally decided to order a "Vanilla parfait with brownie,"which sounded safe enough.  We weren't disappointed, we were just surprised by the creative add-ins.  We found ourselves digging into a sundae with cornflakes, chocolate syrup, jello, bananas, boba.... it was an adventure.

Then, we ordered chocolate ice with brownies, banana, red bean, and condensed milk.  Um... literally felt like we were eating chocolate air with a side of red beans and nanners?  GOOD but weird!!!!

I, once again, failed to take a picture of our last dessert --- Lee ordered the Mango GiGi with cold noodles.  First of all, what the heck is gigi? and second... there was a hay-like substance in the "gigi." Yeah.... we let Lee enjoy that one.

After we had a few good laughs, we drove around and enjoyed the Christmas decorations around our town while singing some classics. 

I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! And food... and friends... in that order (sorry, family, you're just not making the list this year ;) We came back to my apartment and laughed hysterically to Bridesmaids on DVD!!!!

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This morning, keeping up with my "getting back to normal" theme -- I was excited to lace up my sneakers for my weekly fun day, run day!!  Gotta love those long runs!

So, I started off my morning around 8:30 with my typical bowl of oats!
1/2 cup of oats, a handful of blueberries, some almond milk and a few crumbled walnuts

After finishing my oatmeal, drinking my amazing new Godiva Cinnamon Gingerbread Truffle coffee!! and catching up on some blogs, I was ready to go!

I had a goal of 15 miles in mind - my longest distance yet - and I was surprised when it was easy and enjoyable.  I've missed my usual long route through my favorite neighborhoods and up my never-ending hills! I literally don't think I stopped smiling the entire time...

Those endorphins must have kicked in after mile .2 

Confession: I really need to start fueling/hydrating properly, seeing as I still don't carry any water or fuel with me on my runs.  I finished 15.5 miles at around a 9 minute mile pace and then got ready for lunch!

SALAD BEAST: A whole heart of a Romaine lettuce head, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, sundried tomato and basil fat free feta, garlic salt, and a trader joes veggie masala burger! OH MY FIBER.  It was amazing.

I also made a batch of pumpkin mousse/filling/pudding...
I'll have to give you details later!!

Glad to be back to my usual routine :)

Celadon and Vineyard Runs

Hey guys!

Sorry I totally fell off the blogger-wagon this weekend... I was rotating between running around Napa and being too stuffed to get off the couch... so, blogging was a no-go.

You know what this means?
TONS OF CATCH UP!

Instead of writing some enormous all-encompassing post filled with a million pictures of drool-worthy food (cause I know you'd all HATE that....) I'm going to pretend I'm still in heaven -- Napa -- and write a little bit each day.

So... where did we leave off??
Friday night!

If you can even believe it, we managed to un-stuff ourselves (only slightly) from our amazing lunch at Bistro Jeanty so head out for our 6:30 dinner reservations at a nearby restaurant, Celadon

First, we enjoyed taking a million photos of our cute B&B  -- The Churchill Manor.

The restaurant was just a quick walk into "town" - right off of Main St.
I loved that Downtown Napa actually had a small town feel... it was picturesque and quaint.

Mom and I scored another perfect "couples" table in the corner and started our usual debates on what to order... although I don't think we could have gone wrong with any dish!

We started off with some great bread with world-class olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herbs. 

Then, after some soul searching, we decided to stick to our plan: order a bazillion appetizers and are too good to pass up and then skip straight to dessert! This was our Plan of Action during the entire trip and it never failed us.

First round?
Steamed mussels in a white white sauce with stewed tomatoes and pancetta.  Served with grilled bread for dipping.  WOW!!  The mussels were huge and juicy!  Probably some of the best I've had (once again, this trip was filled with "bests")... Mom, the mussel connoisseur, wasn't disappointed.

Our next appetizer was their famous calamari -- which all the reviews raved about. Flash fried calamari with pickled ginger and a spicy chipotle and honey glaze. Super unique twist on a classic!  It was like an Asian-fusion flavor that really took this dish to the next level..

For our greens, we decided to go with the Coconut Prawn salad on a bed of mixed greens with asian sesame dressing and mango slices.  THE SHRIMP WERE AMAZING!  I think the seafood here was top-notch... Every dish we ordered exceeded my expectations.

Finally, we had to satisfy by crab cake craving.... Crab cake on top of a salad frisee. My mom was stuffed by this point, but I devoured every last bit.  Crab cakes are one of my favorite dishes! Whatever was in the creamy dressing.... yum.

Our waiter made sure we ordered the right dessert...

They had bread pudding AND creme brulee on the menu, but how can you measure up to Bistro Jeanty's? 
 So, we decided to ask our server for a suggestion: without hesitation -- Ooey Gooey Chocolate Lava Cake for Two.  With Creme Fraiche gelato and fresh berries. 

Yeah?

You think we made the right choice?  As soon as you cut into the cake, warm chocolate spilled out.  And the best combination ever was when you got a warm bite of chocolate cake, a fresh berry, and some creme fraiche gelato to top it off.  Holy moly.  That's all I have to say.

After we were stuffed beyond belief, we walked around Main St. and enjoyed the feel of the holidays -- complete with a Christmas tree, cute boutiques, and an ice skating rink.

Mom tried to stay warm by a heater... failed.

I also took advantage of some black Friday deals at a small clothing store and scored a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal on some new jeans!  PERFECT.

We climbed into bed and sipped tea and read our books (for the first time I got to read for fun instead of for lectures.. talk abut heavenly) until we fell asleep.  I think we both slept for 9 hours -- also a first-time since this semester started.  I woke up, anxious to run!

After a few wrong turns, I finally found a gorgeous path that reminded me that I was in Napa! Vineyards, rolling hills, horses, farm houses.... It was a gorgeous 10.2 miles let me tell you!

I ended my run in "our neighborhood" and walked right through the old wooden doors to our gorgeous bed and breakfast! I showered and we went down for breakfast.  I was expecting something similar to standard hotel-fare... but boy, was I wrong.

We opted to eat on the patio, and we started our meal with a fresh fruit cup filled with diced pineapple, guava, kiwi, strawberries, grapes, a dollop of berried yogurt and fresh granola. Wow.
 

Then Mom and I decided to split the two breakfast options:
a Veggie omelette with cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and veggies with a side of spicy sausage and red pepper sauce. The melty cheese was definitely a highlight for me.

But the french toast with orange zest and fresh maple syrup kind of stole the show...
Can you really blame me?

Although we split both dishes, we left some of our french toast behind -- had to save room for our lunch & dinner plans!  On our agenda for the day: hiking through the California redwoods! and then maybe some boutique shopping & wine tastings :)

I'll fill you in on our gorgeous hike later!

Hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend :)

Overworked and Overindulged

WOW. I've been missing in action for the past few days....
This week has been one of the busiest weeks of my life!

Thanks to the upcoming Thanksgiving break, all of our professors thought they would be kind and assign all the deadlines for our projects and papers before the break, so we could enjoy ourselves.  Good in theory.  Bad in practice.

This is what I've been doing instead of spending my valuable time with you guys --

No fun, huh?
In an effort to control my high levels of stress and my little to no sleep... I've been overindulging.

You guys know I have a sweet tooth that gets its way every night :) Howeverrrr -- my stress-induced cravings had me going on chocolate chip cookie binges, eating carrot cake like it was going out of style, and engaging in serious chocolate lava cake feasts. 

Okay, and maybe a few oatmeal raisin cookies snuck in there too....
Basically, anything that had chocolate or empty calories was consumed over the past 4 days. 

I enjoyed it :)
But, unfortunately, my tummy didn't.... I actually noticed that I had headaches and an upset stomach -- especially on my runs.  Lesson learned.

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Last night - FRIDAY NIGHT - signaled the end of my hellish week so obviously I had to celebrate with some of my favorite people! 

We had two expectations for the kick off of our stress-free weekend:
- good food
- mindless entertainment

check and check!

Lee suggested heading to Buckhorn Grill for some quick, fast, and delicious food!
After yelping the restaurant, I knew it would work for me.

This was their wall decor:

They mean business!! Good stuff in big portions?  You know I'm always game for that! They're actually know for a mix between comfort food and healthy salads.  Also game for that! 

Lee ordered the tri-tip plate with mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed roasted veggies, corn on the cob, and cornbread.

Annie was kind enough to order us the Frings Platter for an appetizer!!  It was a combination of sweet potato fries (my favorite), roadside onion rings, and french fries.  The onion rings were also amazing!  Especially when dipped in that mystery sauce :)

Annie got the chopped cabo salad -- basically it was a fancy southwestern style salad with a whole avocado and a cool fried tortilla bowl! Lisa and I got the same thing -- the Yik Yak salad!

My ginormous salad: Yik Yak salad with tri tip and a honey basil vinaigrette.  Yum.  That's all I have to say!! I think it was supposed to be an asian-style salad, with wontons and a sesame dressing, but I went rogue and made it custom!

Dessert? Obviously.
We went to Teacake Bake Shop which is the cutest little bakery within walking distance of Buckhorn Grill.  Win win!  They had about amillion different cookie and cupcake options!

Pink Velvet cupcake and a Chocolate Chunk cookie
 

Annie and I split her dolce de leche cupcake and my pink velvet and I only ended up eating half of the chocolate chunk cookie -- looks like my sweet tooth may be subsiding!

Then we took a family photo in front of a Christmas tree made entirely out of shopping carts! Talk about consumerism in America -- I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Go figure.

We were scheduled to see the 8:35 showing of Twilight!!!!!!!!  SO, in order to kill some time, we walked into this ultra-cool candy shop.  No, I didn't buy anything.

Annie and I have decided we'll use the candy bras and thong to lure respectable boys into our homes... I'll keep you updated with that!!

So, the movie was pretty bad, but I loved it.  I'm a twihard. 

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I'll keep this part short and sweet because I've already rambled enough....
that's what I get for being absent for practically a week!

Today: woke up.  Oatmeal.  Run.
13.5 miles.

Lunch:

1/2 a sweet potato, chopped sweet onion, a tomato, soy crumbles, broccoli, and mushrooms -- stir fried and topped with salt, pepper, and spinach!

 

There's no such thing as too much fiber. 

I'm off to work!!! 

I still have tons to catch you up on :)  

Have a great Saturday!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm sure you guys haven't heard that phrase a millions times already, but I'm not about to be the one person on the Earth who doesn't acknowledge a holiday that is totally centered around candy....

Oddly enough, none of us crazy college students really went all-out this year.  I think it has something to do with "being responsible" and "studying for midterms"... whatever that means.

This doesn't mean I had a boring weekend, though -- don't worry! My halloweekend was filled with friends and fabulous food, thanks to a night out in San Francisco :)

So, after my half-marathon fail, I went to work and pretended to look busy for a few hours until my friend, and part-time slave from Friday night, Lee, came to pick me up!  We headed into the city for some dinner and shopping :) sounds like my kind of Halloween.

I was yelping around and I stumbled across a restaurant dedicated solely to BAKED POTATOES!!

Obviously, I begged Lee to go there for dinner. 



They're an Americanized version of the UK specialty: Jacket Potatoes.  Which is essentially a loaded baked potato that acts as an entree because it's so massive and delicious!  Hot Spud turned out to be a made-to-order baked potato joint with a nice salad selection, as well.

I went with the Veggie Potato which included melty cheese, mushrooms, onions, peas, black olives, jalapenos, and steamed brocolli.  I got to choose my own sauces so I went for half beurre blanc sauce (white wine and capers) and half spicy chicken wing sauce :)

We also got a Fiesta Salad to split -- chopped romaine, tomatoes, tortilla shreds, black beans, olives, and a cilantro-lime dressing.

Lee decided to be manly and go for the steak potato.... which was amazing.  Of course, I snuck a bite!

We left feeling oddly satisfied.  Oh, baked potatoes, how I love you. Seriously, I need to start incorporating more taters into my life... maybe in the form of steak-cut french fries?

Anyways, I discovered something incredibly that night: Lee may have a sweet tooth that either rivals mine... or surpasses it!!!? What the...

SO after dinner, he suggested we do a mini-dessert tour of San Franciso.  As in, we walk around a stop at all the places that have incredible desserts and sample them :) It was totally like hanging out with my Sister -- sorry Lee.

Our first stop was Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

where we picked up a frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate. and a double chocolate peanut caramel apple on a stick! that's Halloween-ish right?

We ended up nibbling on the two items, but packing away the caramel apple and tossing a few bites of the cheesecake, so we'd have room for other adventures!

These included:
- Mrs. Fields cookies: chocolate chip walnut, white chocolate chip macadamia nut (my fave), and butter sugar with m&ms.  We, once again, nibbled and saved the rest for later.
- A stop for some dreyer's frozen yogurt - not too impressive, hence the lack of a picture.

Then, we came upon heaven-on-Earth.  Chocolate Heaven to be exact!
CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND:

Yes, that is a mint chocolate kit kat!!
It was soo good!  They also had a vanilla kit kat and an orange kit kat... but let's be honest, mint will always win my heart over.

Finally, after some strolling and some shopping - new jeans!! - we stopped at a diner and picked up two treats that we planned to take with us to the top of Indian Rock, so we could watch the lights twinkle from the East Bay :) The Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge at night are spectacular.

Excuse the horrible picture...
Creme Brulee Cheesecake and Carrot Cake.

I literally hiked to the top of this cliff in Ralph Lauren boots just so I could get a piece of that cake!! and by piece I mean I ate the majority... Carrot cake is my cryptonite

Lee and I kept joking about how this would have made the perfect date -- of course, anything that involves 5 types of dessert within a two hour period would be classified as a "perfect date" in my book :)

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Unfortunately, the rest of my Halloweekend was kind of lack-luster, due to some application duties and some exams to cram for :(  However, I did get in a good run to stretch out my legs a bit.

I ran an easy 9.3 miles -- surprisingly my legs could handle it.
Plus, I needed to blow off some steam because somebody ate all my leftover cookies and pumpkin bread last night :(  Yeah, it was a big deal.

I came home to have a repeat-salad -- thanks to the addition of Trader Joe's Masala Veggie Burgers, I've been craving these salad beasts recently!

chopped romaine topped with sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, veggie masala burger, soy crumbles and fat-free feta cheese.

Alright, alright, you caught me.
I might have taken a five-minute study break (ehhh closer to five hours...) to get a little goofy with my ladies.

I mean, if you had to guess what we were.... your first thoughts would be Spongebob super fans, right?

It's a long story, don't worry.... there's an explanataion for our ridiculousness.

Anyways, my schedule at work just got changed, so I'm not writing this post from the front desk at the gym :(  at 8 am!  Not that I mind, but this is usually my run + abs and back day... darn.

I'll catch you guys later and fill you in on my delicious dinner from last night!

Happy halloweeen!!