Freedom and Fun

So it may have taken me until today but I am super excited to recap the wonderful weekend we had in La Jolla for 4th of July! Phil and I were so excited to take our first So Cal trip together & I couldn’t have asked for a better time. We met our friends Marc & Nicole for a weekend of food, fireworks, freedom and fun! We spent the weekend at the beautiful Empress Hotel with views of the cove and a gorgeous terrace to enjoy breakfast and do a little yoga.

We enjoyed long walks, exploring the cove, wine tasting and delicious dinners but best of all…FIREWORKS!!!! I love fireworks, hahaha, and where we had dinner on the 4th we were able to see 6 shows all across the ocean…it was glorious!

We ended up driving back from La Jolla to San Francisco…which took 12hrs…but gave me a lot of time to think. I realized that have been losing myself in my work and I need to get back on track with being present, finding joy in the little things, and enjoying the blessings of life.

I have a month until I’m in Napa with some of the ladies in my Yoga Medicine family for the start of my 500hr training. I have some work to do, which I am looking forward to, but the trip will be here before you know it and I can’t wait!!

’til next time, keep smiling! 🙂

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Rub a Dub, Dub..

…These yummy short ribs are about to get a sear and head right into the tub.

Happy New Years Eve Day my friends! I am so excited for this year’s celebration! Especially living in a city, the pressure to go out to dinner, a bar, or party is strong but we both decided with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and a brunch in New Jersey with his family on tap for tomorrow, we would much prefer a quiet night in.

Apparently we are not the only ones with this awesome idea because my brother and his girlfriend will be joining us for dinner (hence those amazing short ribs above – clearly not for me)! In honor of both the occasion and our guests, I decided to whip up something special, and with a little inspirational help from my chef/close friend Frank I came up with something I’m SO jazzed about (keep in mind EVERYTHING is homemade): caesar salad, lobster mac & cheese, braised short rib w/creamy polenta, roasted brussel sprouts & balsamic cranberries, and chocolate pot de creme w/whipped cream. I started a lot of my prep last night (made the chocolate pot de creme & the mussel stock for the lobster mac, as well as chopped the veg, made the rub & rubbed the meat) to make today a little bit easier but I do really need to get started!

I can’t wait to share all the yummy details of this dish in my very first Foodie Friday of Fifteen, as well as all the details of my adventures as they unfold throughout the year. In 2015 I am making a promise, but really only to myself, to be the best version of myself, judgement free, everyday, no matter what!!

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 😉

Wait, its December?!?!

Does anybody else feel like they blinked and it was December?!?! I feel like I was on my Alaskan cruise just the other day at that was back in August – geez!!

Thanksgiving weekend was a success, between the Poconos with Phil’s family Wed/Thurs to my sister’s surprise baby shower Fri/Sat I had my hands full, but everything went really well. I’m sure some of you are thinking “I don’t remember you mentioning a baby shower” and you’re right! Since my sister is one of my biggest blog supporters, it was mums the word, haha! and boy was she surprised!!

Equally surprised this weekend was me by the amount of snow we got in the Poconos, 8-10 inches. Phil and I decided to make the trek to the mountains late Tuesday night because we heard the snow was going to be bad and boy am I glad we did. 

I’ve been keeping up with my Yoga Medicine 200hr TT as much as possible but I feel like its very hard to motivate at times – between physical practice, practice teaching, class observations, online lectures, the book report, anatomy project & generally reviewing the material, there is just so much I could be doing each day that its hard to know where to start. This week I plan to finish my anatomy project, pick & start my book for the report, teach one class & observe one class (in addition to doing 5-6 hours of physical practice)…wish me luck!

‘Til next time, keep smiling! 🙂

Monkey Around

Even when work, school, life, etc.. get stressful, you should always make time for a little Monkeying around…

Laughter and keeping things light is the best way to unwind a little in the middle of the day!

I have a monkey on my fridge, a rubberband gun in my drawer and a barrel of monkeys in the corner…just in case!

Don’t let the day’s stress keep you from monkeying around..