The End of a Great Weekend

Well I had an absolutely amazing weekend with Alex, and I am very sad that it’s already Monday again.  Right after I posted on Saturday, I received some news that immediately made me burst into tears.  In a good way!  My bff had just gotten engaged that morning!  She is the first one of my girlfriends to get engaged, and I was immediately so happy for her that I started crying.  So congrats to Meghan and Ben, I’m so happy for you both!

I still had to get out the door for my long run, and I fully credit the good news for my absolutely epic run.  It was my best long run to date, and I actually enjoyed it.  The miles ticked by so quickly and before I knew it, I was on my last mile and heading home.  I stopped at mile 4.5 and 7.5 to run into the grocery store and grab some water, and took two walking breaks up some major hills, but other than that I was moving the whole time.  I remember looking at my Garmin and being surprised at how quick my pace was, and how comfortable with it I was.  It was really a great run, oh and Body Glide was my savior because I escaped all 9 miles without any chafing!  With about a half mile left to go, I saw Alex running towards me and stopped to give him a kiss before we both continued on our way.

I think with over a month to go before the half marathon still, that I’ll be just fine.  Well I hope so anyway.  After I showered and got some food in my stomach, Alex and I headed over to one of the local wineries to partake in their $6 tasting.

We grabbed our glasses and went to town.  The first wine I tried, was a warm spiced wine which immediately had me dreaming about Christmas time, and sitting by the fire place watching the snow fall.  I considered buying a bottle, but then figured that exact circumstance would be the only time I’d be in the mood to drink it.

I tried all of the reds, some of the whites, and a Blackberry wine that would make a great addition for Sangria.  While we drank our samples, Alex and I explored the store and various things for sale.

 

 

love me some wine!

 

 

award winners

 

 

99 bottles of wine on the wall

 

 

I want this in my house

 

 

boyfriend

 

 

tasting

 

 

$12 well spent

 

I purchased a bottle of one of the Cabernet Sauvingon’s that I liked, and then Alex and I made a pit stop to pick up some more pumpkin beer before heading home to make dinner.  Well I made dinner, Alex did something else.  Somehow in over the year we have been dating, I had never made my Chicken Marsala for Alex so last night I decided to change that.  In my personal opinion, it’s one of my best recipes and he needed to try it.  Normally I serve wild rice as a side, but last night I decided to undertake something I love but had never before made by myself.  Garlic mashed potatoes.  I found this recipe by Martha Stewart, and followed it exactly.  Well not exactly because I halved the ingredients, but besides that I stuck to it like glue.

I have to say, my first attempt at mashed potatoes was a success.  It was an intimidating process to try and get them together while also preparing the chicken, but I managed.  My kitchen looked like it blew up when I finished, but hey dinner was hot and on the table two hours later.  The consistency was perfect, now I just need to mess with the flavor a little more.  I think some more salt and pepper was needed.  They were still delicious though, and Alex raved about them, and had seconds later that night.

 

mashed taters

 

 

chicken marsala

 

I was intimidated by mashed potatoes before I started, but now I think I can conquer them with a little more practice :).  Alex and I relaxed on the couch for a little while after dinner watching the Yankees game and having a few beers.  Then I got a text message from Hope asking if we would want to meet up and hang out.  After having so much fun on Friday night, I quickly agreed, and Alex and I met up with Hope and her boyfriend Michael for a few drinks.  As expected, it was once again a fun night.  We reminisced about our college days, told the stories of how we met, our jobs, and just generally had a good time laughing and chatting.  We called it a night around midnight and all of us headed home.

Despite staying up late on Saturday night, I was up pretty early Sunday morning and crept downstairs so I wouldn’t wake up boyfriend.  I set myself up on the couch with the TV on and Chicago Marathon coverage streaming on the computer.  It was a nice little morning, and Alex finally stumbled downstairs as I was making breakfast.  The smell of bacon must have woken him up ;).  I made us bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on everything bagel thins to prepare us for a morning of errand running.

First it was off to Target to search for some Halloween costume essentials.  I found some gold hoop earrings and aviator sunglasses that I need for mine, and Alex picked up a shirt he needed.  Then it was off to DSW and TJ Max, I didn’t buy anything else, but Alex managed to snag some great deals on winter workout gear at TJ Max.  After a morning of running errands, we were tired and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the couch until I had to take Alex to the train station at 6:00 so he could head back to NYC.

It really was a great weekend, and I’m glad Alex and I ventured out to the winery to do something different.  With so many so close, it was ridiculous that I’d never visited one before.  We’ll have to try out another one next time!  Sunday ended with both a Phillies and Eagles wine, sorry about your 49ers babe, maybe next year!  I’m super bitter that I don’t have off today, what’s that about anyway?  Sigh, well happy Monday everyone!

A Weekend at Home

Wow, Monday again and the last week of July.  This summer is seriously flying by, it’s really sad.  Saturday I did end up going to the pool for about an hour and a half, but it was just too hot to sit there for much longer.  Every time I dried off, I needed to jump back in and get wet again.  Either way, at 3:00 it was time to head home and shower because my sister and I had plans to head out to KOP for a little shopping and dinner at Seasons 52.

Our first stop was Nordstrom’s where I got my watch sized so that I can finally wear it, and of course they were having a giant sale so I couldn’t help but browse through the denim.  I ended up finding a really nice pair of dark denim Paige jeans on sale, and my sister found a pair of petite Citizens that fit her perfectly (she typically needs to get everything hemmed).  It was a successful stop, and surprisingly those jeans were my only purchase.  Then it was on to dinner!

This was only my second trip to the restaurant, but the first was for lunch so I was excited to see the seasonal dinner items.  My sister and I arrived around 5:30 and there was already a half an hour wait for a table in the dining room.  Luckily we were able to snag a table in the piano bar area, and didn’t have to wait at all.  I of course started with my favorite cocktail from last time, the Firefly Vodka Raspberry Teatini and on my recommendation my sister ordered the same.

Then as an appetizer we agreed on the Garlic Chicken flat bread with balsamic red onions, roasted red peppers and Mozzarella cheese.  It was fantastic, and the two of us finished the entire thing.

I typically am not a red meat eater, but when I saw the Char Crust Filet Mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and tamarind sauce I knew it was what I wanted.

The steak was prepared perfectly for my liking, and each bite had so much flavor.  The mashed potatoes were delicious, and not too buttery.  The asparagus and carrots were also fantastic, and not covered in butter or oil.  I ate everything on my plate except the mushrooms.

My sister went with the Cedar Plank Atlantic Salmon with whole-roasted sweet carrots, fresh asparagus and red bliss potatoes.  The salmon was amazing, not fishy tasting at all and perfectly cooked.  She loved it also.

And then of course, onto the best part of the meal, dessert!  Both my sister and I each picked out one of the desserts and shared with each other.  I went with the Belgian Chocolate Rocky Road and Colleen picked the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake.

We each had a bite of each others, and then finished the ones we picked out for ourselves.

Such a delicious, satisfying, and healthy meal.  My sister enjoyed it as much as I did, and we’re already talking about going back in the fall to see what they offer then.

Sunday was a day filled with more errand running.  I wanted to pick up a travel case for my new MacBook, so Best Buy was our first stop where I found a pretty pink one.  Then it was to Barnes and Noble where I picked up the latest issue of Runners World to read their Sub 2:00 half marathon article.  Very glad I did because there is an awesome training plan included, and our last stop was Michael’s where I picked up some craft supplies for scrapbook I’m making.  In the midst of all this errand running, it started to downpour and my poor sister and I got caught in the rain and soaked.  Luckily the storms brought the temperature down by about 30 degrees, and it is absolutely gorgeous today!  Maybe I’ll even be able to get in a run outside.

Alright, I hope everyone has a good Monday I’m off to actually do some work!

Marathon Monday!

Last year was the first year that I really gave the Boston Marathon much thought, as running and I had just recently decided to give our relationship another go, but as with any new relationship I devoted my whole attention to it.  I read articles on Runner’s World for weeks about who to watch, and what to expect, and going in to marathon Monday, I was rooting for Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher.  Seeing as I have a full-time job, I thought watching the actual marathon would be somewhat difficult, but luckily Universal Sports was streaming live coverage all morning.  I sat at my desk for the entire thing, amazed at how so many people could run 26.2 miles faster than I could probably run one.  It gives me chills just thinking about, and 2 weeks before my first road race, Boston was exactly the motivation I needed to keep training and pumped.  Now, I may not have a race in two weeks this year, but I am still just as excited for Boston, and hopefully I will be able to watch the coverage again.  Also, I’ll be rooting for my favorite cynical anti-blogger, The Angry Runner, and hoping she kicks ass.  Good luck to everyone out there running Boston today!

Ok, back to recapping my weekend activities.  Are you like me and completely lazy with your blog reading on weekends?  Here’s what you missed:

• While the BF is Napping
• Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my!

Sunday morning, the bf and I woke up and went to my favorite little breakfast/brunch place.  It sits right on the Delaware River, has beautiful views and absolutely amazing food.

Yup, that’s the Delaware, doesn’t it look small for a major river?  No one ever believes that New Jersey is in fact, that close.

This was the view from our table.  The hardest thing about going to a brunch place for me is making the decision between breakfast and lunch foods.  Typically I order a Turkey Club sandwich, but yesterday I was really digging the omelette’s and went with it.

My omelet had spinach, sautéed  onion and green pepper, bacon, and American cheese.  Served with home fries and wheat toast.  This thing was gigantic, I didn’t even get through half of it and brought most of it home, which made for a lovely Monday morning breakfast a few minutes ago ;).  The bf ordered everything on the menu.

Two blueberry pancakes, home fries, 2 pieces of bacon and sausage, scrambled eggs, and wheat toast.  He left 1 piece of sausage and the eggs, nice job babe, you make me proud :).  After our breakfast feast, the options were either go home and lay on the couch with our pants unbuttoned, or do something active to make use of the pounds of carbs we’d just consumed.  Being active won, so we headed over to the driving range and par 3 course.

Babe in action, he kicked my butt, but I was having an off day.  There’s some fun video that I may try to upload later.

I would actually really love lessons so I could become an actual golfer, and my own clubs, with perhaps a pink bag, or purple.  Not that I’ve given my clubs and bag more thought than actual golf or anything, no nothing like that…  I did manage to par the 17th hole, and I was very proud of myself!

After golf there was some typical Sunday errand running with stops at The Home Depot (my god that place is a mad house on Sundays!), Dick’s (because they’re right next door to each other and I have a problem), and Pets Mart to pick up some prizes for little Pumpkin face.  She always wants to come outside with me, so I picked up a harness and long tie out thing so she can run around outside when I’m out there.  She doesn’t actually like her prizes yet, but I’m sure they’ll grow on her.

The bf and I relaxed and watched Sherlock Holmes before I had to take him to the train station.  Great movie, I really liked it a lot, and I’m thinking staring at Jude Law for two hours might have something to do with that.  Irregardless of his beautiful face and accent, the movie was funny and entertaining and I will give it my recommendation.  Not like that really means much as I would also recommend Cross Roads, give Britney a chance!

The bf headed back to NY last night, he has a job this week, hooray babe make that money!  He will be back on Friday though, and the two of us will be venturing down to DC for the weekend.  Ok I have rambled on for far long enough this Monday morning.  I hope everyone has a great day!