Recap - When Life Gives you 5lbs of Lemons...

Recap of the weekend... in pictures.

Weather has been strange/icky lately.. thank goodness I got a new coat via Ideeli to keep me warm!

Sorry.. that's about all I have to say about the weather at this point.

Thursday night was GREY'S night like always!!!

The sister came over after our 'Pretty Kitty' appointments and we shared some wine from Whole Foods and picked up some Sushi to-go!

Deliciouso!

My favorite scene was at the beginning where Meredith and Christina were lying in the baseball field talking instead of practicing -- sadly I can't find a picture of this online!

While at Whole Foods picking up our wine Mari helped me locate next year's calendar... YOGA CATS!!!

Hilarious!

I had to have it.

Friday for lunch Mike took me out to Cafe Brazil.

I had the Egg White Veggie Omelette with an English Muffin, half a sliced Avocado & Fruit cup along with their endless coffee bar.  Seriously, they have an entire menu dedicated to coffee -- new flavors for the season included S'mores and Snickerdoo YUM.

Yes, it was breakfast for lunch but it was delicious. 

I ended up mashing my avocado onto the toasted english muffin and putting some of my egg white on top like a breakfast sandwich.  No, I don't order breakfast sandwiches - but then I make them myself lol

Friday once I got off work I pumped myself up for a run outside - it wasn't rainy/freezing so I had to take advantage of the break in crappy bad weather.

I hadn't worked out much all week due to work/weather so I knocked out 5 miles in 49:30 including two extremely long breaks at a stupid stop light that did not ever want to let me cross.  The run was hard, probably from sitting on my rump all week.. after walking ~3min and realizing I still had a mile before I was home I jogged another half mile then walked the last half as cool down bringing my total mileage to 6.

Snapped this pic when passing the brick wall... sunset was pretty!

Friday Night was the WORLD SERIES FINALE.

Okay, Finale probably isn't the correct term but I'm not a huge sports buff... so... 'Finale' it is.

Mike and I went to Kenny's Burger Joint to watch the game and eat some of our favorite burgers.

View of the bar --- like the quote on the wall? ;)

I don't typically like burgers (blasphemy I know -- how American am I?) BUT the Turkey burgers here are practically gourmet.  I get mine with Sauteed Mushrooms & Brie ::swoon::

And it's served on an artisan ciabatta bun.

And we split some sweet potato fries.

This was the best reward after a long run!

Saturday Mike & I had our COSTCO run and picked up millions of veggies and other food supplies so we decided to grill out with some friends.

I made the veggie skewers!!

Roasted Red Bell Peppers are SO delicious off the grill!  I could have had a skewer entirely of those babies...

We also had shrimp and some Broccoli Slaw our friends brought over.

At Costco I also saw a 5 POUND bag of lemons... and thought to myself HOMEMADE LEMONADE, HOW GREAT?!

It was a workout just lugging this bag to checkout at the front... it was a last minute thought and I'm sure Mike thought I was a little crazy showing up with the huge bag of lemons.

When we got back from the store, after making the veggie skewers I started on the lemonade.

Realized I don't own a lemon squeezer so this project was really rough!  I chopped a lemon into pretty thin circles for decoration and chopped 6 or 7 into wedges that I then de-seeded and squeeeeeezed with all my might into that pitcher.

PHEW!

That was exhausting.

After getting enough lemon juice/pulp in the pitcher I added water, TruVia, and 7UP to taste.  I had to go back and add like two more lemons.... but finally the finished product!

Homemade Lemonade <3

Recipe:

Yields 1 large pitcher

Juice/Pulp from 8-10 large lemons

1 lemon sliced in thin 'wheels'

1/3 liter 7 up or Sprite

Fill the rest of the pitcher with water & ice

TruVia to taste *(I used quite a bit -- just add, stir, and taste until you get the right taste!)

Optional: Spritzer of lime juice, Vodka

We enjoyed ours with a lil' Vodka, and it was a big hit.

Sunday was the BFF's family baby shower (we're having a friends only version in a few weeks) and it was fun helping her prep for the event!

Yes she is skilled... brushing her teeth in Sky High Bebe Pumps!

I seriously hope I look that sexy when I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant!!!

Oh yes, and also Sunday morning Mike & I made a bunch of lunches for the week - trying to be healthy AND save money. Win win.  I shall be having a delicious sandwich and salad for lunch!

Questions for the Day:

What's your ideal weather forecast? Bright and Sunny? Snow?

Mine would be BRIGHT and SUNNY approx 80ish degrees with a light breeze.

Do you ever order eggs/an omelette and end up creating your own breakfast sandwich?  What do you think makes the perfect breakfast sandwich?

Egg white, english muffin, avocado... maybe a slice of provolone cheese OR some lox depending on my mood.

Ever tried making homemade lemonade?

The Look for Less - Jimmy Choo, Betsey & Steve Bedazzled Heels

Classy Platform Satin Pumps with Bedazzled Heels

Jimmy Choo Bejeweled Heel Satin Pump for $1,695.00

I love that the gemstones look like Genuine Sworovski Crystals and love the monotone aesthetic (black on black) but don't love the price!

SPARKLEZ SATIN PUMP WITH RHINESTONE HEEL

by Betsey Johnson for $149.95

Betsey's version of the Bedazzled heel on a satin pump... fun, feminine, frisky!

Steve Madden Partyy-R Platform Satin Pumps for $129.00

Steve's are pretty similar to the Betsey pumps for $20 less...

But the best deal I could find on Bedazzled Heel Satin Pumps was

These lil' beauties from Go Jane.

Rhinestone Trim Satin Platform Pump  for only $27.20 !



Obviously the rhinestones don't seem quite as high quality, but you're saving $100+ so what do you expect?

If you really wanted to you could always scoop up some handy dandy E6000 glue from your local craft store, some Swarovski Crystals, and bedazzle out the heel yourself with a pair of tweezers, a lotta patience and a few hours of your time :)

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Look for Less - *Sparkle* Edition (Gianmarco Lorenzi)

What beautiful shoe cost the same amount as the 90,000 mile scheduled maintenance for my Lexus?

THIS ONE DOES.

The gorgeous, stellar CHIC Collector's edition...

Gianmarco Lorenzi Collector Crystal Embellished Sandal  $1,416.00 

::le sigh::

I could plan an incredible vacation for that much money! Can't exactly justify spending it on shoes... or at least, just one pair of shoes.

Luckily there's a similar style that caught my eye and I want to share it with you!

Rhinestone Embellished Triple Platform for $56.10!

HELLO GORGEOUS!!!

Click the link to buy the shoe, then come back and thank me after all the complements you receive.

Would LOVE for anyone to send me pictures if you've got some of you rockin' a pair of shoes featured on my blog!  Lemme know ;)

Look for Less - Steve Madden Moscow-G Pumps

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!

Pay attention to the following.

Things I love in shoes...

Sparkle

Platform

Bow

The Steve Madden Moscow-G Pumps have all of these!!!!

They are available at Nordstroms or at Dillards for $129 right now.

but... that is a lot of money for shoes. Unless you're Rachel Zoe herself.

So, good news is Bakers just placed a very similar platform heel on sale!

The Carina G  is now only $49.99!!

I may even prefer the dusty rose color of these pumps by Wild Pair.

Happy Shopping!!!

Chilli Weather & Snuggle Time

Isn't that the cutest snuggling kitten ever?!

That's what I felt like this morning inside my super warm comforter.

Cold front in Texas = extra hard for me to get out of bed and be at work on time.

Any tips/tricks for how you wake up during colder winter months?

ANYWAYS

Knowing that there was going to be a cold front moving in, last night I decided to make the perfect chilly fall day meal --- CHILLI!

I actually have had chilli on my mind since we had a big storm blow through the other night that broke off several large branches of a tree I parked next to...

Yep. That's the view right through my window... Thank heavens the branches fell that way and not on top of my car!!!!

Chilli is quick, easy, reheats well as left overs, and can be relatively healthy AND high in protein if you make it yourself!

Here's my recipe:

Lean Texas Chilli:

Makes 5-7 servings, depending on how big you fill your bowl!

Ingredients

20 oz Extra Lean Ground Beef (96-98%) - you can sub ground Turkey!

1/3 cup Mexicorn

12 oz Chunky Salsa

Louisiana Hot Sauce

2-3 tsp Chilli Powder

1 can Diced Tomatoes

3/4 cup Black Beans

Diced Onions/Bell Peppers

Directions

1.  Cook Lean Ground Beef in Skillet.  Strain out any liquid once meat is cooked throughout.  Put meat to the side once cooked/strained. 

2.  While meat is cooking add onions and any other chopped veggies you may have on hand to skillet and begin to saute on med/high heat.

I had chopped onion leftover and a few mushroom sliced but would've loved to add chopped bell peppers had any been left in the fridge!

3. Add jar of Salsa, Can of Diced Tomatoes, splash of Louisiana Hot Sauce (don't add too much here -- you can always add more later to taste!), 2-3tsp Chilli Powder, 3/4 can Black Beans, small can of Mexicorn to skillet and cook on medium/high heat stirring often

I like to use Pace Mild Chunky salsa because I know the flavor isn't giong to be too harsh, it's more of a crowd pleaser.

4. For easy seasoning grap a packet of chilli/fajita seasoning at the grocery store!

5.  Simmer your sauce until it thickens a little (~10min total stove time)

get that sauce cookin'!

6.  Stir in beer beef  {omg that was an accidental typo.. but now that I think of it, a splash of beer sounds pretty awesome?!} and let chilli simmer on low/medium heat for ~5min. 

Thick, chunky chilli!

You can serve with a sprinkle of cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and/or chips.

I had mine over some delicious oven roasted broccoli - for me, the crispier the better!

Now, Here's the 'skinny' on the Chilli:

Note: does not include nutritional facts for additional toppings like chips/cheese

{Facts are for 5 servings from above recipe}

Calories: 225 cal

Total Fat: 4.8g (for 96% lean beef)

Carbohydrates: 18.1g

Dietary Fiber: 4.7g

Sugars: 7g

Protein: 27.1g

Plus 21% Daily Iron!

This is the perfect base to a meal -- add chips, cheese, broccoli, pitas and Voila - Dinner is served!

Speaking of comfort foods that just warm you up on a chilly/stormy day... I find I drink more hot tea this time of year.

New favorite *combo* ~ Moroccan Mint Green Tea & Decaf Raspberry & White Tea

with a dash of Truvia

Questions for the Day:

From above --

Any tips/tricks for how you wake up during colder winter months?

personally, I already set my alarm a few feet from my bed so I can't hit snooze without getting up!

What's your favorite winter comfort food?

Do you drink hot tea?  Cold tea? Simply a coffee kinda gal?

I'm always a coffee girl, but fall/winter I tend to grab a cup of hot tea in the afternoon!



Race Day Tard Face (not a model)

Seeing as I've just been getting into the whole racing thing I was not aware that while certain outfits may feel really cool and you may think you look Bad A*$ that does not neccessarily reflect on film. 

ugh.

WHY did no one warn me #1 that pictures would be taken? and #2 that I should potentially wear a different outfit for racing entirely?  and I could even go so far as to add a #3 - that pictures could be snapped at any random moment so be ready at all times.

Welp. Guess I'll have to remember that next go-round...

So Saturday was my 5k for SWEat for SWE (Society of Women Engineers). 

It was sponsered by a SWE chapter at a local college and it was their first race to ever put on... that being said they did a fantastic job.  The race was through a beautiful park and other than not starting for approx 30-40 min the race went well.  They even had a professional photographer to capture the memories....

Now I seriously considered writing the photographer and asking her to take these photos offline, or at least not posting any on my own blog, but then I thought to myself "That's selfish Britt, if anyone can learn from your mistakes then it's your obligation as a blogger to post about this terrible race day offense".

or more like "Even if they're not good for anything else, at least some poor ppl scouring the internet and stumbling across your blog can get a laugh or two."

FINE.

But... I'm not posting the close up shot of me half stretching half texting... because it's really just wrong that that picture was snapped in the first place! rude.

Letia and I before the race:

Yes... I do live in TX.  We had a cold front.  This meant it was like 60 degrees outside... I was mostly excited bc that Lululemon sweat band not only covers my elf ears but it catches sweat and keeps it from dripping in my face.  Win win.

The jacket came off and got tied around my waist after about .5 miles... probably could've done without it.

Was also excited to try out my new Zensah Compression sleeves.  Maybe I could've done with a subtler color choice?

Waiting around for the race to start... there's a good shot of my #.

...and of my ridiculous hair.  HEY I did not plan for this race to happen the morning after my roommate's birthday celebration. It was rough even waking up.  I should get 1 million runners points just for attending.

Waiting around at the starting line... I was impressed at the range of people that showed up to race!

A few of whom beat my time... including this guy:

He doesn't even need a shirt.

And this guy, who should be a shining example of what you should do when you cross the finish line:

Seriously, he must be a professional.  Looks like the streamers were all to celebrate his big finish.

Then there's me.

I showcase this picture to show you the one female who beat my time and just how close to her I was... darn.  Too bad I didn't even realize I was that close to winning... I honestly figured there were about 100 people in front of me.  Guess I was 'In My Own Zone'.

I followed this guy most of the race... the back of his shirt said "SOS DEFENSE" so I pretended we were in training... ya know, to be legit spies or something... it's totally possible

"Hey! Wait for meeee!!!"

{#wanttokillmyselfforpostingthis}

Seriously... I promise I tried to think of smiling as I crossed the finish line but somehow that did not translate in to any of the pictures...

I probably could've passed SOS DEFENSE guy but I think he really didn't want to be beat by a girl... and I'm not about to crush someone's dreams.  It looks like we may have worn him out as it was....

"Dam* little blonde girl nearly killed me!!!"

I'm proud of him for giving this race his all! And after running together I feel like we're BFF in some way... although he probably has no idea who I am.. or that he's now featured on my blog as "SOS DEFENSE man".

I thought about posting a few pictures of people who I felt took better 'finish' photos than I did.. then I realized that was basically everyone.  Too depressing and time consuming to post them all.

But I didn't want to leave out my other New Best Friend...

This old guy was AWESOME.  Love his duds... and definitely gave him a 'high five' and cheered him on through the end!

So, like I said... learned a lot this race.

Recap of Things I Learned this 5k:

#1)  Hot pink compression socks, while functional, may look better paired with skirts/shorts... or on Skinny Runner.  Really, most things would look better on that girl.

#2) Practice smiling while breathing hard.  Prior to race.  So you don't make a tard face in all your 'finish' photos.

#3) 60 degree weather probably doesn't call for ear warmers and long sleeved jacket.

#4)  Need new armband for phone (mine fell out mid race)

#5)  Old people who run races are awesome.

#6) I'm actually improving as a runner!!!!! woohoo!!!

Yep, the last one is true - I PR'd!  By like 2 minutes. 

According to my SoftRace App I completed 3.19 miles in 27:40.

So how did I prepare to run such a fast race time you ask? (haha, funny... I know... )

{Thank you RunningOffTheReeses for that lil gem!}

Let's see... like I said, the night before was my roommate's birthday celebration...

I had custom Cake Pops made!!

{That's the birthday card I got her in the Middle}

So, I'm pretty sure eating 2-3 of those babies made all the difference in my race.

I had Oreo and Chocolate Peanut Butter - YUM!!

But really I didn't do well at all the 5 days leading up to the race... work was more stressful than ever and I barely slept!  So recovery this week was important... recovery called for healthy foods and WINE.

Salmon and Roasted Veggies!  

Left overs for lunch!

And of course a FroYo celebration!

This mix was Cheesecake and Strawberry FroYo topped with Strawberries, Kiwiberries, and Cheesecake crumbles :)

We even decided to test out a new wine to celebrate.. the Root Carmenere!

I'm not a wine snob, in fact most of my favorite wines fall under $15 per bottle, but apparently my 'palate' is becoming more 'refined' since I did not  read anything about this bottle, sipped the wine, and told Mike it tasted like "Blackberries and Pepper"

Check the Label.

Pepper = Spice in my book. 

SPOT ON.

So a few Questions for the Day:

Do you like Wine?  Do you like to try to guess what random mix of flavors the bottle claims you should taste?

Any embarassing race photos of you floating about out there on the World Wide Web?

Any SUGGESTIONS for taking better race photos next time?  Certain 'go-to' outfits if you will?

Thanks!