No Room For the Blues + WIAW

July 30, 2014 By Laura

Coming home is hard.

Some might say it’s downright depressing…

I fell in love with Colorado last week. I will move there one day. Atlanta is getting older by the minute. I love my city – we have gorgeous parks, amazing food, and my friend and family are here. But I was born here. While I’ve been lucky to travel a lot, the time for a change of scenery is growing near. Since I can’t exactly pick up and move to Switzerland, Colorado is a good second.

I think the goats miss me too. More on this adventure to come!

In lieu of an after work hike, I got my nails done. Nothing like a little pampering to soothe the travel blues.

Speaking of blues… my toes are now No Room For the Blues! The nail color is Wooden Shoe Like to Know. Gotta love OPI! They were totally talking about my nasty feet after all the Colorado adventuring. Not that I’m paranoid…

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This WIAW I’m back from Colorado but OUT of groceries. Desperation has set in…

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

#MoveHappy in the Mountains

July 28, 2014 By Laura

Being in the mountains mandates some #MoveHappy action.

It’s downright chilly in places!

This week of #MoveHappy I joined forces with Heather! Literally – I spent the entire week in Colorado. Here’s just a quick showing of what we did:

Ready to rock & roll down the river!

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The Best Sea Bass Ever

July 25, 2014 By Laura

Sea Bass is a pork belly of the sea.

Who wants chicken when you can have pork?!

It especially appropriate that Heather, Kirk and I had pork belly of the sea together rather than the chicken. Heather hates chicken. All poultry, really. But I digress.

First, a strange wine. This Abraxas Vin de Terroir from Robert Sinskey had a glass cork! (And can we all agree that cheese is awesome?)

The the pièce de résistance – Kirk’s Miso Glazed Sea Bass. I saw this recipe on Heather’s blog nearly a year ago and never forgot it. It struck me as strange because I always prepare my sea bass simply, with lemon, pepper, and maybe a few herbs.

When Kirk suggested it for dinner, I was beyond thrilled. It did not disappoint! Talk about #strangebutgood… look at this thing of beauty:

I took one bite and sat in stunned silence. It was unreal how buttery and delicious this was! It literally melted in my mouth.

The soy and miso combined with mirin and a little brown sugar created the perfect balance of sweet and salty. After it was over I went back to the serving plate to drag some veggies through the left over glaze. In hindsight, I probably should have licked the plate.

In conclusion… you should head on over to Heather’s blog for the recipe and make this.

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How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

An InLinkz Link-up

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I can’t believe I have to go home soon… I’m so sad!

Are you a sea bass fan? How about chicken of the sea (tuna)?

What is the strangest thing you ate this week?

Colorado Livin’ + WIAW

July 23, 2014 By Laura

Colorado is stunning.

Whether it be a WBFF fitness show or a sunset…

I’ve been enjoying some incredible views in Colorado!

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This WIAW I’m in Colorado camping out at Heather’s house. It’s been so much fun being here and in her kitchen!

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

#MoveHappy 4: Fudgy Plantain Protein Muffins

July 21, 2014 By Laura

I’m high on my #MoveHappy this week!

I’m in Colorado… what were you thinking?

This week I get to do my #MoveHappy challenge with Heather in Colorado! In case you missed it, Heather and I are co-hosting a challenge to have FUN with fitness in July. You can read the details here. We have a lots of prizes and 5 chances to win some of our favorite fitness-related items. Last week’s prize was announced on Heather’s blog, and this week I have the goods again!

First let’s talk about how awesome is is to be here for Heather’s 2nd bikini competition! She decided to start competing almost a year ago this week when we were on vacation in Napa. I told her if she did, I’d come to Colorado and do a competition with her… this time she’s competing in a different organization and I’m taking a year off, so I came to spectate. Doesn’t she look great?

We celebrated a great show with lot of tasty food at Session Kitchen. The server was amazing – she even brought out a special dessert for Heather! Chocolate Chip Blondie S’mores with streusel sucre and White Russian gelato.

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Competition Weekend Through an iPhone Lens

November 18, 2013 By Laura

I don’t even bring a camera when I travel anymore.

Disclosure: The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Verizon Wireless.

When I got my first smart phone, it changed my world. I’ve never liked having to carry multiple devices or go to more than one source for tasks.

Verizon offered me the chance to upgrade from my iPhone 5 to a 5s and I pounced on the opportunity. From the solid, light-weight of the metal-casing to the fingerprint-reading lock, I am impressed. I also love the new iOS7 system. It offers iTunes Radio, which is like Pandora but better because you can tag songs as favorites to remember to purchase later. I’ve wished for this feature on the radio SO many times!

The light weight and the radio features allow me to travel light on a plane or the gym – just grab the phone and my in-flight entertainment or energy-inducing jams are there. I love being able shake up my music songs – my playlist was getting OLD after all this competition training.

Since I spent the weekend with Heather in Colorado for our competition, I joined her for a final workout. Radio up and headphones in, I killed the last back/tri workout I’ll do for 2 weeks (it’s REST time!). It was SO much fun to be able to do it with a friend, and to shamelessly ask gym employees to take iPhone pics for us.

Best of all is the super-fast Verizon 4G LTE service. I’m extremely impatient, so being able to over-share instantaneously via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter is a must. I did just that alllll weekend long from Colorado!

I’m drafting this on a flight home and the internet is painfully slow, so the full recap will have to wait. In the meantime, here’s the iPhone-powered Cliff’s Notes:

Heather and I didn’t get top 5, but we had a blast. AND we got to cheer Lisa, who placed 4th in Bikini Class C.

We celebrated in style at one of Denver’s best restaurants, Fruition. Kait joined us too – it was so great to meet her for the first time. I ordered pasta carbonara with hand-made cavatalli, pork belly and a 6 minute egg (I ordered that solely for the #yolkporn) and duck conﬁt pierogi with caramelized brussels, kumquat marmalade, and roasted apple pan jus.

The food was great, the service was perfect, and the company couldn’t have been better… but I’m still amazed I didn’t fall asleep in my (unpictured) dessert.

Sunday was a beautiful morning – not a cloud in the sky! Heather, Kirk (her husband) and I slept in and headed out for coffee and a hike.

We headed back to meet Lauren and Greg (her husband) for brunch. We sipped on a Kirk-and-Heather whiskey barrel-aged homebrew (out-of-this-world good!) and shoveled a cheese plate in our mouths while Kirk prepared the meal The smoked salmon eggs benedict was one of the best I’ve had!

I’m sad to leave, but made a ton of good memories… and rekindled my desire to MOVE to Denver! It was all pretty marvelous.

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I am so grateful for Heather and Kirk putting ~~up with me~~ me up for the long weekend, and to everyone who commented/tweeted good luck messages. It all made the weekend that much more special. Thank you! <3

Are you an iPhone or Droid lover? What are your favorite apps? I’ve become addicted to LINE camera.

Do you like to hike? That’s one of the reasons I want to live in Denver!

My Vegan Friendsgiving

November 26, 2012 By Laura

Sometimes you need a holiday break to be a real break.

Not that holidays aren’t nice…

This year I was feeling run down after training so hard from my competition, working, and – yes – consistently blogging. I love all of these things, don’t get me wrong. I also love my family. However, a true vacation getaway was in order. When Heather and Kirk (her hubby) extended an invitation for me to crash their Thanksgiving vacation on the slopes in Vail, CO I jumped at the opportunity.

We ate fantastic food, drank amazing wine, skied, cooked a vegan Thanksgiving, and even ran a 5K (my first in at least 6 months). There was also a tasting dinner before we left for Vail, but that’s another post.

I am relieved to report that after a 2 year break, I can still ski. There were a couple of falls, but nothing bad and after a couple of runs I was able to keep up with Heather and Kirk on their snowboards. I can tell my legs are much stronger now than they were two years ago. ~~I guess hack squats work…~~

We took a break from the slopes for Thanksgiving. We earned our turkey with a 5K Turkey Trot! It was a lot of fun… and I realized exactly how much harder it is to run at 9000 ft.

Following the run, Heather made her famous doughnuts. These were her Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts with Cranberry Frosting. All vegan, and all delicious. Heather had to adjust the recipe due to the high altitude; I’m totally impressed by her ability – they were absolutely perfect. I ate mine at a painfully slow pace (like my 5K – haha). It was so delicious I didn’t want it to end!

I should also note the lovely orange plates provided by the condo owners. Seriously. Doesn’t they know that orange does NOT photograph well?!

We spent the rest of the day watching football, playing Scrabble, and being bums. It was awesome. We got up every once in a while to begin another dish for out dinner, so when it was time to eat everything pulled together quickly.

This was my first vegan Turkey Day. I’ve never been a big fan of traditional Thanksgiving food anyway, so this was absolutely perfect for me. With a spread like this, why would anyone miss the turkey?

Clockwise, left to right: Kirk opening the champagne, Heather’s Beer & Butternut Mac ‘n Cheeze, the spread, and our vegan hazelnut cranberry roast en croute.

Each dish was better than the last. Heather’s vegan mac ‘n cheese was every bit as good and the “real” thing. She also made the first cranberry sauce I’ve ever liked! I made a version of other Heather’s Caramelized Onion, Cranberry & Kale Saute. It was basically the same except I added jalapeno and used fresh orange juice in place of maple syrup for the vinaigrette.

My (orange) plate:

Much more to come on our adventures, but I’m sure you’ve seen enough orange plate photography for one day. 🙂

Thank you again to Heather and Kirk for letting me crash their holiday and being such incredible hosts!

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I fell in love with Colorado. I may have considered pitching a fit when I had to go to the airport.

Have you ever had a “Friendsgiving” or another friend-holiday?

What was the best dish at your table this year?

Happy (Non) Turkey Day!

November 22, 2012 By Laura

Wishing all of you a…

My Friendsgiving crew (Heather and Kirk) already completed a 5K Turkey Trot (NOT as easy at 10,000 ft.) and we’re on to breakfast before my very first Vegan Turkey Day Feast!

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Today I am especially thankful for friends that stick by and support through thick and thin, crazy training plans, meals of epic proportions, and everything in between.

Quick – name one thing you’re thankful for!