A Post-Grad's Attempt at a Healthy, Joyful, and Blissfully Sweet Life

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Hit the Jackpot

hey there!

i hope you are doing well!  i am-i joined a gym!

while i was in college i took full advantage of their gym and exercise classes.  my best friend robyn and i took many together, like zumba (LOVE), step, yoga, and kick boxing.  i love working out on my own, and running will always be my favorite form of exercise, but there is something addicting about exercise classes that always gets me.

when i graduated college, i no longer had a membership to the gym so could no longer take their classes.  i instead did workouts at home but it wasn't the same.  i craved group exercise something fierce.  with the winter weather seriously getting me down, i figured now was the best time to get a little hit of endorphins to cheer me up!

i joined my town's gym yesterday and took a yoga and spin class.  yoga and i have a love/hate relationship.  mentally, i loveeee it.  physically, it makes me want to die.  which oddly only makes me want to do it more, so i get better at it and strengthen my body.  so bring it, yoga!

spinning i was so excited for.  i have heard it is a fast, heart pounding, sweaty kick in the butt and have wanted to try it for years.  and i must say: i'm addicted.  hear that? addicted.  i have strong legs from running, so pushing them to their limits in spinning felt almost too good.

my mantra i repeated to myself when i wanted to slow down? Munson's.

confused?

let me paint you a picture:


get it now?

Munson's, my friends, is the best chocolate place ever.  luke lives right by one of their stores and introduced me to this little shop of heaven in the summer.  i have never been the same since.

luke has learned:
is julia upset? munson's.
are we celebrating an anniversary? munson's.
do i want to get boyfriend points? munson's.
is it a friday? munson's.

most recently he gave me this box of everything that is good in the world for valentines day, along with a chocolate rose because let's be honest, a chocolate rose is way better than a real one.

and as i was on that bike last night convinced my legs were going to fly off my body and my heart was going to burst and all i wanted to do was stop, i thought to myself "MUNSONS!! DO IT FOR YOUR MUNSONS!!"

and?

it worked.

i must say, suddenly having all these classes open to me feels like i hit the jackpot.  today i am trying two other classes and i could not be more excited.

maybe YOU should try it!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Pancake Pile Up

Hello chickadees! i'd like to invite you to breakfast!


if we were having breakfast this morning, i'd give you a stack of pancakes like this one. breakfast foods are my favorite by far, so i always have fun experimenting with new creations.  if i could, i'd have breakfast for every meal of the day.

i would also give you some of my chocolate truffles.  they are delish, and at my breakfast restaurant, dessert is mandatory!

i would tell you about how yesterday was day two of being snowed in, and how i decided to use my time wisely and lay around doing nothing put my skills to use.  i'd show you the homemade granola from Jenna's cookbook White Jacket Required that i made, and how it made the whole apartment (all three feet of it!) smell of cinnamon and maple syrup.  yum!


as i piled the pancakes onto your plate, layering each with a slab of peanut butter, sliced bananas, greek yogurt, and granola, i would tell you about how after the granola was done i sat around the apartment all day, wisely saving all my energy because i knew i'd be needing it once katherine and i summoned up the courage to tackle finding our cars under the mountains of snow


we'd laugh about how this is what i found when we went outside:


the neighbors clearly had their priorities in order. gotta keep the beer cool! cheers to that.

i'd tell you about how pretty the neighborhood looked as the sun was going down, and how i was struck by this scene when i took a pause from shoveling:


and how much fun katherine and i had trecking up and down the huge snow drifts just to get in and out of our house.  i'd show you pictures of this awesome hidden fort we found right next to our doorstep:


as i poured you a cup of coffee from my favorite grocery store ever, Fresh Market, (i love you, too, Trader Joe's!) i'd reassure you though that i still vehemently hate the snow and the cold, and would reenact one of my 5 or 6 thousand hate rants i went on last night to katherine about how i NEED TO GET OUT OF NEW ENGLAND AND OVER TO WARM, SUNNY CALIFORNIA RIGHT THIS INSTANT!

i'd regain control once you then gave me a chocolate and told me to stop yelling.  chocolate usually calms me down, this luke has learned.

as we finished our last bites of pancake and last slurps of coffee, i'd tell you about my conspiracy theory that luke is hiding a puppy in my apartment somewhere for me to find on valentine's day.  he denies this theory, but we'll see who's right on thursday...

luke, i better be right.


so, want to come over for breakfast?

Friday, February 8, 2013

Baby It's Cold Outside

Hello, hello!

it's been a WHILE. and i am so sorry about that!  but i am currently stuck in my house due to a blizzard, so i figured this would be the perfect time to write a blog post!

it's a shame that all the roads are banned and flights are cancelled because my roommate showed me this this morning and i had my bag almost completely packed before i realized....i can't leave my house.  thanks a lot SNOW, for ruining my plans once again! i hate you.

clearly i need a happy pill.

happy_pills_store_5.jpg

seriously though, is this not a genius idea?!? i think we could all use a good sugar high every now and again!  sugar highs for everyone!!

so what does a girl do who has approximately three feet of living space to entertain herself with all day and night? make my OWN candy.

can't stop me now, snow!

 i found this post the other day, and knew this would be the perfect day to make them.  wine and chocolate? i don't think i know of anything more important to my survival.  amen? amen.


i would, however, love some ice cream to go with my chocolates and unfortunately i don't have any.  so that means i have to drive to the store, and thereby risking one year in jail (the threat the governor gave if anyone was found driving.) is ice cream worth one year of jail time? we all know the answer to that question.

i'm foreseeing this blog going in a different direction soon...

a ninja mask for ice cream expeditions! they'll never catch me
the chocolates needed time to cool in the fridge, so while i waited my roommate and i decided to tackle the blizzard ourselves, but not before putting on 14 layers of clothing each.  we could barely move down the stairs to get outside, but moving proved not to be too much of an issue once we entered the tundra.


MAN, that wind was strong! and the ice pellets that hit my face-that hurt.  but jumping into the huge snow banks and being the first to make tracks in the snow was quite enjoyable.  i felt like a kid again! i miss that feeling.

but then i got back to the apartment and ate a wine-infused truffle.  then i was very, very happy to be over the legal drinking age.  i'll stay a kid at heart, but not on paper, thanks.


and now, back to wishing i was in california, where the weather forecast is 60 and sunny...wouldn't that be nice.

stay safe if you're in the blizzard territory, friends! and have a glass, on me-it's not like you'll be driving any time soon...