Since I've Been Gone

Hi friends! I'm back from a much needed and well, necessary blogging break. The truth is, I've missed it!

The last several days have been packed, mostly with work, and it doesn't feel like anything will be slowing down soon! This week I will be working some overtime, which is good and bad. But enough with the boring stuff!

I do have some very exciting news to share! I just paid for my ACSM personal training certification exam!! My current certification is not one I'm really impressed with and I finally decided to just get the one I really want! I am feeling so inspired to start training again:) It will definitely be a nice distraction from my current full time job! This will hopefully be the beginning of a very nice transition to doing something I am passionate about again:) Yay!

Last week was pretty much a blur of work, workouts, errands and just trying to get to the weekend. Not a feeling I am very fond of! Chris knew I had been feeling tired and just plain worn out so he surprised me with a really fun date Friday night to dinner at Bella Bru Cafe, where they had live music on the patio! It was exactly what the doctor ordered! We listened to Blues while we enjoyed a delicious meal:)

So here we are, it's Sunday night and I'm trying to prepare myself for another hectic week. Although, I am a little more ahead of the game than I was last week. Because my Aunt was here last week and we spent a lot of time with my family, I wasn't really home to catch up on laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning, which made this week feel a bit more chaotic. Not that I'm complaining, as we has such a great time with my Aunt!! But now that I've had a whole weekend to catch up, I say "Bring it on Monday!".

Okay, my hubby just brought in my hot tea and reminded me of the time, which means we should probably decide on the movie we're going to watch before I turn into a pumpkin:)

I'll leave you with some photos of the week...

Our delicious wild mushroom bruschetta appetizer at Bella Bru!


Relaxed as can be with his 'Down Town Brown' :)


Look at that Goodness of Tiramisu!


It deserves it's own picture:)


I was out shopping this afternoon and snagged these cute plum colored flats for only $4.90!! Oh how I love good sales:)


I also made a trip to Trader Joe's and picked up some favorite goodies of ours:) This Pesto Torta is oh so good!


And so are these scrumptious treats...dark chocolate covered espresso beans and almond coconut chocolates:)


And finally, their Vodka past sauce...mmm, mmm good!



Stay tuned, I've got some good posts for the week!

Tahoe and a Little Time

Merry Monday! I hope your weekend was absolutely fabulous!

As I told you last week, my Aunt is in town and I've been pretty occupied with my family the past several days. Therefore, I think I'm going to take a little break from blogging. Just for the week, I am just growing overwhelmed with the many priorities and responsibilities on my plate at the moment! Work is absolutely horrendous now that it's peak, family in town, appointments this week, preparing to take my next personal training certification, getting in the groove of training again, and of course the good ole' everyday stuff! You know, sometimes life just happens that way:) Stay tuned though, I'll be back next week! Thanks for keeping up with us!

I'll leave you with these two things:

Julie and Julia was FANTASTIC!!! I know I can be dramatic about a lot of things, but this truly was an incredible movie! Bon Appetit!!

On Saturday we went to Lake Tahoe with my Mom and Aunt and had a great time! We packed a yummy brunch and drove to a beach, where we enjoyed our picnic! The entire day was amazing and accompanied by perfectly warm weather! We ended up stopping at the lookout point where Chris proposed to me 2 1/2 years ago:)

And in true Kate fashion, I will leave you with some pictures:)

Lovely picnic brunch on the beach:)


The spot Chris asked me to be his wife!! (1/8/07)


Yay for the best decision of our lives:)




Recreating the picture we took when we got engaged:)



Have a great week and talk to ya soon:)

Favorites of the Week

Friday is finally here and I am happy as can be! The fact that it is Friday may just be my favotite thing about this week:) But, here are some others:

* I have found a guilty pleasure that I am a bit hesitant to share. It's one of those things I never ever thought I would do, but alas, I have become a fan of a certain reality tv show...

While flipping through some channels last week, I came across Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood and watched a bit of an episode, only to realize it is kinda cute. So I set it to record and have now seen most of this past season. Wow, I'm shameless:)


* Power naps. Chris had a short lunch yesterday, so after I dropped him off I still had abut 25 minutes left of mine. What did I do with my time? I parked in a shaddy spot at my office, put the windows down a bit, layed my seat back and took a little nap! Talk about refreshing!! It doesn't hurt that the weather this week has been unusually tame. Yesterday's high was 78, which was a nice change of pace:)

* Remember the almond croissants I told you about? Naturally, Lael took some photos of the delicious treats and I've been wanting to see the pictures. I knew my friend was talented! Here's a link to her flickr page, see for yourself:) The croissant pics are on the bottom of the first page. Notice the cute, green picnic table we're sitting at!

* And finally, this particular favorite hasn't happened yet, but we are going to see Julie and Julia tonight. I guess I'm counting on it being a winner:) Let's be real though, I just love going to the movies since it has become a rare treat!


Have a great weekend!

All In Good Health

For today's AIGH post I've got some fantastic options for those times you are on the run and need a go-to meal in a hurry! You know those days, you forget to pack enough snacks or you are traveling and don't want to stop at the dreaded Mcd's:( Well, keep these ideas in your back pocket and save 'em for a rainy day, although, they are so good you may find yourself eating them even when you aren't in a pinch:)

Perfect Pairing from Starbucks~

No suprise that this first option would come from SB'S:) For only $3.95 you can get their perfect oatmeal and a tall latte! This is actually my go-to in a pinch! Just a few things I would recommend to make this as healthy as possible:) The oatmeal comes with a pack of nuts, dried fruit and brown sugar. The nuts and fruit are 100 calories each and the sugar is 50, so I would suggest either using the nuts OR the dried fruit or half of each, and if possible, skip the brown sugar...unless you must;) As far as the latte, go for a non-fat with a sprinkle of cinnamon...mmm! A non-fat option comes in at only 90 calories:)

Grand total:

Non-fat latte = 90
Oatmeal = 150
1/2 pack nuts = 50
1/2 pack dried fruit = 50

Which brings us to a total of 340 calories:) And an added bonus, you get a great balance of complex carbs, protein and fat! Bring on the feel-good energy!


Jamba Juice new menu items ~

It's true, Jamba has recently come out with 18 new food items! I have actually only tried the wraps and they have been quite tasty! The Chimichurri wrap was filling enough to safisfy Chris and myself, alongside a sixteen ounce Bright-eyed and Blueberry smoothie! The wraps are aroud 400 calories each, so we opted to split one since we had a smoothie as well. Each wrap comes with a dressing, which of course adds some extra calories, fyi. Jamba now also has a great variety of smoothies that have no added sugar for the dietary conscious! With my smoothie of choice and half the Chimichurri wrap, my lunch totaled 410 calories.


It just goes to show you that even when you aren't prepared with healthy snacks or meals, there are still good options out there:)

Wishing you good health always!

Sushi, Sewing and Friends

Happy Thursday guys!

I am so excited to tell you about the sushi making class Parris and I went to on Tuesday! I am always up for new, fun things so when I saw this class offered at Newcastle Produce, I immediately signed up and new exactly who to ask to be my sushi making buddy:) Normally Chris and I would do these things together, but Chris doesn't quite love sushi like I do and a good girls' night is always in order;) So Parris accompanied me and we had a blast! The class was great and suprisingly easier than we thought it would be. We ended up making about six rolls each! I've been in heaven eating my rolls for lunch as well as a snack the past two days!! Can't wait to throw a sushi making party:)

I'm looking forward to taking more of these classes! They are such good dates, with friends and my guy! Next I want to tackle the 7 course dinner!!

Some pics of our class and also one of Lael and Me last weekend:)

This my friends, is a green goddess roll:) Just asparugas and herbs, YUM!


Our dinner, made by us!


We rocked sushi making like it was child's play;)


This is why I love Parris! I'm so glad we're friends:)


Nice lady took our picture:)


And after the class we went to my house and had chocolate cake and coffee, because sometimes, girls just need chocolate;)


Cheers! Notice my new dress I bought last weekend;)I'll take any excuse to wear a sundress!


And finally, Lael and Me at Humphrey Slocumbe:) This photo curtousy of Lael.


On a totally different note, my grandma was so excited when she heard about my new found interest in sewing that she sent my Mom home with a ton of vintage fabric:) I went through it with my Mom last night and am quite excited about my new treasures! I am obsesed with aprons, so she also sent a few of my great grandma's aprons to use as a pattern! I'm pretty stoked about it! And BTW, I have asked for a sewing machine for Christmas, but am lost about what I really need. If you've got any suggestions, I would really appreciate them (Parris, Laurie, Aunt Betty??):)

And lastly, I skyped with Rebecca in GERMANY yesterday! Even though it was only for about a minute because apparently, 3G and skype aren't a great match:( Anyway, I'm just feeling so lucky to have spent such quality time with good friends the past few weeks! It has been exactly what I've needed:)

My Aunt C is flying in today to spend a week in California! Can't wait for some family time this weekend! On the agenda: Julie and Julia, Lake Tahoe and being poolside:) This is my aunt who did the flowers for our reception. She is amazing:)

I'm hoping I can make it through this morning...I only got 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night! But sometimes, yogurt with friends is just more important:)

Have a lovely day!

Inspiration of the Month!

Okay, so I say inspiration of the month, but I actually think I will stay excited about this for a long time to come! I have known about Lululemon for a while now, but because we don't have one close, I've never actually shopped there, besides online. That is until very soon, since we have one coming to the Galleria in a few short months!!

I truly am inspired by the company as a whole! Their mission, the culture and values each employee seems to embrace and most of all, the fact that they really seem to inspire others to the very lifestyle I aspire to engulf every single day! (I've been doing some research!)

It's true, I love fitness and everything that seems to go along with it: the training, the pain, the reward when you accomplish something you've been training for and, well, the clothes:) I think it's safe to say that Lululemon will quickly become a favorite place to furnish my workout wardrobe!

This is their manifesto. Tell me that doesn't inspire you!


And how cute is this gym bag?!


Happy Tuesday!

Off to a Great Month!

Merry Monday to you, Lovelies!I hope you had an extraordinary weekend!

Ours was quite event-filled, but absolutely full of wonderful people and fun! As I told you Friday, we had Jeff and Becky over for homemade pizza and Gran Torino. Great night, despite my minor fisaco with the pizza dough:) It is so refreshing to have people over who love our pup as much as we do:) I think she bonded with them while they dogsat her the week we were in Hawaii for our wedding. This picture makes me laugh! All night she was attacking Jeff with kisses! I'm so glad you two are dog people!! We had so much fun!


These Dahlias are like a kiss from summer:)


We spent Saturday morning with my in-laws:) We went to Awful Annie's for breakfast (YUM!) and then did some garage saleing (no surprise there!). And that evening Chris and I had the best date! We had dinner at Sarritella's, one of our favorite restaurants (with much history for us) and enjoyed some delicious pasta, wine and the best bread sticks that come with peanut butter on the side! And for part two of our date night we packed up dessert, champagne and some blankets and headed to "our park" to watch Charade on our portable DVD player:) Talk about a great, romatic night with my husband! We were up on a hill that offers a spectacular view of the sunset as well as the lovely Saramento evening breeze:)

My hubby at Sarritella's:)



Our yummy dinner!


Excited about our dessert and movie in the park!


The lovely hilltop sunset:)


Strawberries, mini cheesecakes and champagne!



And finally, Sunday was spent in San Francisco with my darling friend, Lael. While we hung out, Chris went to the Giants game with some guys:) Basically it was a great day for all parties involved:)!

We started the morning at a wonderfully delightful bakery called Tartine, where Lael and I both ordered the Almond crossaint and a latte! I must say the 30 minute wait in line was so worth the delectible sensation our taste buds received when we took our first bite of this pastry in the park! No lie, the best almond crossaint I've ever had! So worth the "splurge" calories!! With all the walking we did though, I'm sure at least half of it was burned off;)

We spent a good amount of time at Anthropologie, where I FINALLY bought this dress I've been wanting for several months now and it finally went on sale! I'm still giddy about it:)

We ended our day at Golden Gate park with more walking:) Our intention was to rent bikes, but by the time we got there, the Giants game was over and Chris was headed to pick us up...bummer, but I cant say we didn't have a lovely time together.

Oh, but I can't forget the other treat we had! There is an ice cream shop called Humphry Slocombe that serves some really unique flavors like Breakfast surprise (Bourbon and Corn Flakes) and Salt n' Peppa. After trying several, I ended up getting Pineapple 5-spice and Coconut. I know, compared to some other flavors, mine were so boring, but absolutely delicious!

I don't know what's wrong with me, but again, I didn't take ANY pics of my time with Lael. She is sending me some from her camera, so those to come soon:)

I am so lucky to have spent time with two of my closest friends the last few weeks!

And on a semi-random note, my Mom is finally coming home tonight after visiting our family in the Midwest the last 2 weeks!

I hope August has started out wonderfully for you!