Friday Favorites

I am a HUGE Storycorps fan (see more here, here, and here).

Woman and Children who look like Michael Cera. Haha!

I think everyone could benefit from Desmond Tutu's 30 day Forgiveness Challenge. Forgiving others and even forgiving ourselves is so important. 

As an Atlanta native, these stereotypes were spot on. Bless your heart.

Cute article about how to talk to kids the right way.

Really amazing video circulating the internet (ironically) about the need to unplug and step away from technology (especially smart phones). Definitely makes me take a step back and want to disconnect and be in nature right now.

Eight great quotes by Atticus Finch from one of my favorite books.

NPR article about how learning new skills keeps your brain sharp. Love this! Makes me want to take more dance lessons.

100 days of clean eating challenge. Very intense, but could be a good guide for some.

Sweet Mother's Day print perfect to give as a gift!

Happy weekend y'all...and Happy Mother's Day to all you mama bears out there!

xo

Saiah's Terminus

Last night we went to see Terminus. It's an immersive play set during the Civil War. 

It was really nice, because it actually takes place in the Clyde Shepard Nature Preserve in our neighborhood (so we walked a little over a half mile to get there and then walked home afterwards).

When you arrive, you have a choice of 3 different paths: "The Deserters' Path" has moderate walking, "The Homestead Path" has limited walking, and "The Path of Snares" has moderate walking with some running. We ended up choosing "The Path of Snares" which was represented by the black mug around our necks.

 The coolest part was walking through the woods (not all of it has a boardwalk) and following the various characters' trajectories and dialogues. The actors would run through the woods and cross your paths and there were times that the stories and audience groups would overlap. The "Deserters' Path" and "Path of Snares" followed along together for multiple stints of the play, but then separated for many crucial scenes.

 At one point on our path, we had to run in the dark through a bamboo forest to keep up with our main character. Each path also included "authentic provisions" to eat. Our path had cornbread, meat stew, and coffee (which correlated with a meal eaten by the actors), but since we're vegetarian we didn't have any (although it looked amazing). It was such an unique experience! 

All the groups came together at the Homestead area for the finale.

 I would love to be able to go back and get the full experience of the other 2 paths. I'm so excited to see what other future shows Saiah will put out. It is such a great addition to the Atlanta arts culture.

I'd highly suggest going to experience this incredible outdoor show. Also, Creative Loafing did a great review.The show ends on May 17th so hurry and buy your tickets now! 

xo

CSA Variety

I'm so excited that Spring is here, because now our weekly CSA box will have more than just kale, apples, and spinach. Now don't get me wrong - I could eat those items constantly, but it's nice to have more variety!

This week we got kale, mixed lettuce, onion, sweet potato, zucchini, eggs, and a ton of strawberries. YUM!

It should go without saying, but I'm most excited about the strawberries!

 If you're curious about the CSA program you can read more here.

"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever." ― John Lennon

SCADpad Tour

A few weeks ago, I mentioned this really cool concept/ experiment being done by SCAD called the SCADpad (you can read more about the concept here). J + I met up with our best friends, Victor and Anna, and grabbed an awesome lunch at Bell Street Burritos before heading over to the SCAD campus on Peachtree Street.

 Once you arrive, you walk up through the parking deck to the second level to find the living areas. There are 3 different pads with communal outdoor areas (i.e., large chess board, seating areas, and raised garden beds). 

I really loved all of the color inside of this pad and it had such a cool bed platform and stairs. Just a note that there are people (1 per pad) currently living in these pads and documenting their experience and the livability of these spaces. This whole thing is an experiment and based on the feedback, they may move forward with building more. The art inside these pads were incredible, but could you imagine the dust on those fabric strips after a while?

 So many cool materials and textiles everywhere! I also loved that so much of it was recycled materials. Everyone had to take off their shoes and wear little paper slippers to keep the pads as clean as possible. My favorite features of all of the pads were the windows! With just a touch of an iPad or iPhone, the clear windows instantly became frosted to block out all visibility and light!

If you live in Atlanta, it's definitely worth checking out, but hurry because the tours end on June 1st! 

 xo

Eat Clean + Work Out Dirty

I've always really enjoyed being active, but sometimes I'll get into a rut and I forget how good it feels to eat clean and sweat it out. I've recently been recharged and have been working on improving my mind and body. The good news is that I really enjoy hiking, walking, yoga, and dancing; therefore, my biggest motivation in staying healthy is that the things I love come more easily for me and I can enjoy them to the fullest.

Right now my weekly workout schedule looks like this:

Monday

 Yoga (my work gym offers it during lunch on Monday)

Cardio Funk (high intensity hip hop dancing with some boot camp moves)

Tuesday

Zumba

Wednesday

Cardio Blast (7 AM high intensity circuit training class at work gym)

Long walk with Townes

Thursday

Long walk with Townes

Run 3 miles (unless I need to rest)

Friday

Zumba Toning (longer class at 75 mins with more weight training)

Saturday

Zumba (8 AM class)

Long walk with Townes (typically twice/ day)

Sunday

Long walk with Townes (typically twice/ day)

Run 3 miles (unless I need to rest)

I'd like to get more running days in soon and extend the length of the runs, but I'm still working on my running stamina. I also don't currently love running as much as the other activities, so I'm just trying to stay moving. This schedule varies some days, especially if I'm traveling for work (then I usually use the elliptical in the hotel gym). I've also been incorporating push ups into my routine daily.

Below is some of my favorite workout gear!

For the record, I'm feeling really great lately, but I am still a work-in-progress and still have ways to go!

How do you stay active? Are there any workouts you enjoy the most?

xo

[photo]

Weekend Recap

I was in NYC most of last week for work so all I wanted to lay low when I got home. 

As soon as I walked in the door, I wanted to walk through the neighborhood with Townes, but sadly he decided to lay down only 10 minutes into our walk (he's going to really be in trouble come July).

I decided to go to the gym for the Zumba Toning class (one of my favorites). It kicked my butt and I always have such a blast. The below photo doesn't quite show how sweaty I am, but trust me, after 75 minutes of dancing and weights I was exhausted.

On Saturday morning (after Zumba at 8 AM), we made tofu scramble (we use this recipe) and guacamole. Then I mowed the whole yard and we worked in the garden. I'm so happy Spring is here!

 

We ended the night with pizza and salad at Felini's and then a fire pit on the back porch.

The night was chilly, despite the hot day, so it was perfect. I was really fascinated by all of the bats in the sky - I always welcome bats since they eat mosquitos!

On Sunday, I ran 3.3 miles and then made 30 vegetarian wraps (greek, southwestern, and tofurky) for J's sister's graduation party. We had a great time and the weather was perfect.

 Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

 xo

Road Trip Part 4: Nevada

Now for the final part of our adventure!
After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed to Hoover Dam. 

I had been once before during a work trip, but J had never been. We decided to do the full tour, but to be honest, we didn't really find it worth the $30 per ticket price. Apparently access to the dam was really limited after 9/11 and they didn't talk as much about the building process or the people involved as much as we would have liked. It is very impressive and the amount of concrete used to make the dam is insane. Now it's officially checked off the list of places to see. 

After leaving the Hoover Dam, we headed to Las Vegas. I couldn't wait to get there and see my best friend, Kelly. She had suggested that we use the Hotel Tonight app for a hotel deal. We ended up getting a room at Planet Hollywood for $115 so it actually really worked out and I'd use it again.

Kelly picked us up and we headed downtown to eat dinner at Park on Fremont. It was such a great atmosphere with great food. It was right past all of the craziness on Fremont Street, but much more laid back and affordable. It was also J's first time to see old Vegas.

Kelly and I got some photos inside the restaurant together. 

This lovely horse painting was right behind us at our table.

Sign says it all, eh?

The next morning, I laid out by the pool for an hour after breakfast before we had to head to the airport. Despite all of the adventure, I was ready to get home to Atlanta and Townes. 

I hope you enjoyed this trip series and hopefully it's inspired you to go West!

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” - Ernest Hemingway

♥