Market Mornings

Happy Monday! What a wonderful weekend! The weather this weekend was fabulous – perfectly crisp and autumnal! Though the weekend had a lot of highlights – dinner at a lovely French restaurant, brunch at a seasonal farm to table favorite, quality time with my marvelous man, etc.. – my favorite part of almost every weekend is Saturday morning at the farmers market!

I should have taken some shots myself this weekend but I pulled this from an awesome Philadelphia website  that did a spotlight on the Rittenhouse Farmers Market not too long ago.

There is always an energetic buzz around the market no matter what the weather’s like and vendors from all over the greater Philadelphia area bring the farm to the city! There is something about putting a face with the food that makes every bite that much better!

Everyone always has a smile, offers insight into their process – for everyone there its a passion, not a job, and it shows! I can’t think of a better way to kick off my weekend than a stroll through the farmers market stocking up on organic, seasonal, local produce!

I love my market mornings!

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On my way…

The weekend is almost here and I am in a particularly good mood because I got a great workout in this morning! Even though I incorporated my alarm into my dream resulting in a few more hits to the snooze button then I wanted, I still made it to the gym a few minutes before 6am.

The beginning was a little rough: ‘Why am I doing this? My body hurts!’  were the thoughts swirling in my head for several minutes but with a quick flip of the Pandora station, I got into a groove. After about an hour I wanted to do more but that thing called a job, and the shower required to show up, was calling my name!

I am going to start taking pictures once a week…not to be posted until I see actual results…as an additional motivation and encouragement. I am already feeling better after a few days which helps me know I am on my way!

We’ll see how yoga goes tonight!

Love in the Rain

Day two of whats looking like a four or five day stretch of rain. I can’t say I am the biggest fan of the rain, but I don’t hate it either. I feel like the rain gives me an excuse to stay inside and relieves me of the guilt I sometimes feel when I am not out enjoying the glorious colors of the season!

That being said, I find taking a long walk in the rain, while properly bundled of course, to be truly cathartic. It sounds a little silly but its like you can feel God at work. If you’re not into the whole God thing, that’s cool…you could look at it as nature at work, but its the feeling of being a part of something much larger than oneself. I don’t know why, but I feel it more than ever when it rains…and I love it!

SOOO while I will be whipping up some seasonal sensations like pumpkin fettuccine and carrot ginger soup this weekend, I will also be taking a long walk or two in the rain!

Happy Friday Folks!

Peaceful Place

Finding a quiet place to reflect and collect your thoughts can be paramount for inner peace – especially when life’s chaos can seem insurmountable.

In some cultures, taking in nature while peacefully allowing your mind,body, and spirit to greet the coming day is a daily practice; however, if you’re like me, your morning is a bit more rushed!

Whether its a moment in the morning, afternoon or evening, take a time to find a peaceful place….and don’t forget to breathe!

Morning Tea (cleanse day 2)

Good Morning! It’s day two and I’m feeling great! I slept through the night which is rare for me and I had no stomach pain, cramping etc…

Part of the cleanse is starting the morning with a detox tea. Since I don’t drink caffeine, I used decaf, but the tea is green tea, juice of a whole lemon and some stevia.

Yesterday it was not the most pleasant but this morning I used more hot water to steep the tea and dilute the lemon juice and I must say the result was quite tasty.

I had the chance to sit quietly, while sipping tea, and slowly allow my body and mind to wake up – it was AMAZING!!

Day 2 is off to a good start!

SOOO, about that juicer…

Juice #2 was definitely more ‘pulpy’ than I would have liked but flavor wise it was still tasty! As I sucked the grainy green liquid through my straw I realized if I wanted to do this right, I would have to buy a juicer! After all, it isn’t called a JUICE cleanse for nothing, right?!?!

After a lot of research, I admittedly shouldn’t have been doing during office hours, I found a reasonably priced, reliable brand with great reviews. I will hold off on sharing any brand details in case it’s awful…not trying to squash anyone’s juicing success!

Since the prospect of watching my coworkers chew their undoubtedly delicious lunches was depressing, I ran to the store and snagged the last previously mentioned juicer for a whooping $63 total (and if you know anything about juicers, that’s a steal)!

While I will delightfully down the remaining two juices I’ve already made today, I am super excited to make tomorrow’s quartet with my new toy!

Still feeling good, not feeling hungry (knock on wood), and excited for the next 2 1/2 days!

Great Goddess Gifts of Goodness!

I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life who inspire me and encourage me to pursue passions and practice self care! One such lovely lady is my IIN peer coach Elizabeth who also is a District Manager for Arbonne.

After chatting recently about all the amazing benefits this bountiful brand provides for both its staff and clientele, I had to give it a try. While I am all about goodness from the inside out, I like to indulge my inner Goddess and take care of my outward appearance as well!

Arbonne has been in business for over 30 years and is all natural…and when I say all natural, I mean European guidelines NOT FDA guidelines. Turns out the FDA allows hundreds of perfumes, dies and chemicals in their “all natural” products that EU does not!

I am terrifically tickled to try the products provided and can’t wait to see what I am confident will be fabulous results!