seattle surprises

You know what is one of my favorite things to do...surprising one of my best friends to the point she is so excited she cries. That really feels like a victory to me. Here is the back story. One of my old college roommates who lives in Seattle had a birthday this past week, so a group of us Portland ladies made the trek up to Seattle to stay with our other old roomie to throw a surprise birthday party for her. Well technically the birthday girl knew about the party...she just didn't know the four of us Portland ladies would be attending. 

Brittany, the birthday girl, is a big fan of her Saturday morning Step Class, so we arrived early to take the class with her and surprise her in there. Needless to say it was a success, because when she registered there were 4 familiar faces in the class she started to cry. #WINNING.  Also, side note. Step Class is a lot sweatier than I realized. That is some solid cardio for an hour. 

Anyways, the rest of the weekend was also a success. I always love being able to reunite with my old roomies and besties. 

Cheers to my people!

<3 BB

good news & good vibes

Well good news, everyone. Even though the US lost yesterday in their World Cup game they are still moving on to the next round so Bradley didn't  break up with me! Plus, this morning started off with a breakfast burrito and bacon so I would say Friday is looking pretty good, guys - even if it is cold and raining. Get you ish together, Portland. 

With my good mood this morning let's get to linking up with Amanda for Friday Favorites. 

//This article speaks to me. Everything about it is spot on. 

//When white people claim things. #Columbusing 

//I will NEVER stop taking from your plate of food. As Helene says, get over it.

//But no really, this was my life. Thanks Glide High School.

//For the record - this song will be EVERYWHERE this summer. Mark my words, people. Mark my words. - PS. look how hipster I am with my music tastes. Sharing this song before it blows up. 

Happy Friday!!

Pretty picture found here.

Cheers!

<3 BB

word to the wise

Don't wash your boyfriend's USMNT jersey the night before a big World Cup match...especially if he sleeps in it before each match like the boy from The Little Giants. He will be upset with you.

I will be sure to not make that same mistake again. We had to stay up extra late to let the jersey finishing washing and drying to not throw off the United States' Mojo...because Amurica. 

With that being said, we better win today and move onto the next round of play or I am sure Brad will blame me for the loss. In which I would respond with: don't put dirty clothes in the hamper if you don't want them washed. but what do I know? 

And yes, I know what you're thinking. A grown man wears his favorite team's jersey to bed before each match. The answer is yes and yet I still love him. By now you know Bradley gets a little intense when it comes to his favorite teams whether it is Indiana University basketball or the United State's Men's Soccer Team. The boy is passionate, I suppose. If only he loved me this much.

Moral of the story. Go USA!!!!

Cheers!

<3 BB

confessions of a weekend food binger

Today for humpday confessions with Kathy we are talking about my weakness. It's a problem. Some might even call it an addiction that might be a stretch. It's not drugs or alcohol or anything like that...BUT it is still not a good thing. Today we are talking about Confessions of a Weekend Binge Eater. 

That would be me. I am a struggle on the weekends. Here is the thing. I am fairly healthy. During the week I bring my lunches to work. I make my dinners at home. I work out at least 4 days during the work week. I am a healthy person overall. But come weekend. I kind of lose some of my healthy habits. Mostly the eating habits. We tend to save our 'going out to eat' for the weekend. I tend to get a little lax with the food choices I make. Take last weekend for instance. Let's talk about what I ate in one day....one day, people!

Nachos

Chili Cheese Fries

Chicken Strips

Regular Fries

Meat Balls 

Beer

Ugh, just typing that is embarrassing to me. *hangs head in shame* It is not even that I am embarrassed of eating unhealthy food. That will happen, it is ok to not have a perfect diet. It's the fact that once I go for something unhealthy I eat all the unhealthy foods. all of them. 

So, here is what I am trying to do. I am going to try and be less binge-y (that is probably not a word, but I am using it anyway) on the weekends. I don't want to feel guilty for the poor choices I may make. I don't want to feel like I am playing catch-up every week with my workouts and my eating after the poor choices I made. 

Now, I am not saying I will never eat unhealthy foods again. Because that is not realistic or fun. Food is delicious and life is short. What I am going to try and do instead is to be smarter with the weekend choices I make. Instead of eating every item of food on the bar's menu...maybe just pick one, Brooke? Or if I decide to eat an unhealthy meal, make sure the other meals of my day are a better option... Basically, what I am saying is I need to cut myself some slack and not feel bad about eating poor foods once in a while, but also not let one meal derail me and give me the excuse to make poor choices the rest of the weekend. 

This week I decided to start tracking my meals and what not in the myfitnesspal app. which is a first for me. I don't normally count calories and to be honest I am not using this app to start counting calories. What I am using it for is to track patterns, see what my meals are made of, pay attention to the amount of food I am actually eating, etc. It's annoying and addicting at the same time. We'll see how long this lasts. 

Anyways, I figured why not be honest on the blog with you guys. I know I talk a lot about being healthy and active and working out...which are all things I do and really enjoy, but I also don't want to create this false idea that I am perfect with my choices. I don't always have self control and that is ok.

Cheers! 

<3 BB 

things i love

So a week or two ago I decided to spruce up my About Me section - because I had nothing better to do with my life, evidently. Anyway, I wanted to give people a better idea of what they will find when they come to my blog and also give them a little taste of my favorite things. I thought making a collage would do just that. It also made me feel like I was back in 8th grade. Collages were my jam. 

It shows my love: 

//for music 

//for fitness
//for coffee and food

//for my future home that will someday be filled with industrial design (take notes, Bradley)

//and most importantly it shows my love for this great city of mine that has so much to offer. I am having a love affair with Portland and I want everyone to know. 

These are the things that keep me excited to blog. They help keep me creative. They help keep me active and more than anything, they help me experience new things, so I can come back and tell you guys about them. 

things i love by brooke-l-smith 

What are some of the things you love? 

<3 BB 

Summer Solstice Loving

Happy Summer, My Peoples! 

Can we talk about how it is officially summer?! This is mind blowing to me. I am already sad summer is going to be over before we know it and it technically just started this weekend. I have that feeling you get on Sundays when you know work is right around the corner. Get it together, Brooke. You have so much fun to still partake in this summer. 

With that being said I celebrated summer in style this weekend and did some paddle boarding on the Willamette River. We rented our Stand Up Paddle Boards from Alder Creek Kayak and met up with good people for some sunshine, some paddling, and a little workout even. This whole paddle boarding thing is no joke. A few hours spent on the SUP and you have yourself a nice core and stabilizer workout. You also have a little sunburn too, if you're lucky. 

After paddle boarding we headed over to one of my favorite breweries, Base Camp. It might not have the best beer in town, but it sure does have one of the coolest vibes. They were even having a summer solstice celebration too! Double the fun! Brad and I also learned that the nail and hammer game Hammerschlagen is harder than it looks. Also, the word Hammerschlagen is oh so German and oh so fun to say. 

Oh, and the fat kid in me wants to share a little secret regarding Portland Eats. We tried Smokehouse 21 this weekend. Rumor has it they have the best ribs in the city. Man, oh man, they weren't kidding. The ribs and the mac n' cheese with bacon and the deviled eggs and the cornbread and the pork cheeks and the collard greens were fantastic. Ok, I am hungry again. I need to stop myself. 

Cheers to Summer!

<3 BB

migraines are the worst

So this girl is rocking a solid migraine at work this morning. Real fun - said no one ever. This is pretty much how I feel about my migraine right now. It has left me with zero motivation for this day. 

Basically, what I am saying is, I have nothing of value to bring today. Instead I will just share my favorite links for Friday Favorites with Amanda and bang my head against my desk hoping that new pain will distract away from my current migraine pain. Seems logical, right? 

//Do you want to know what makes me feel a little bit better about my life? The fact that I am not as dumb as any of these people.

//Why did no one throw me a first moon party?! But no really, best commercial ever? 

//What would a Friday during the World Cup be if I didn't talk about the hottest players? 

//One of my favorite things about teams losing...their sad, sad fans. Sorry, not sorry, England. 

//This quote, though? Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Lastly, in honor of summer I am sharing one of my favorite summer time songs for #backthatazzup Friday. This song never gets old for me and always reminds me of my summers spent working in Alaska during college. 

Now I'm off to go make friends with my headache so it goes away.

Cheers!

<3 BB

angel's rest hike

A few weeks ago when we all had that Monday off (I don't even remember which holiday it was... Memorial Day maybe?) some friends and I all went hiking up in the Columbia River Gorge. We decided to hike Angel's Rest and let's just say there isn't all that much resting involved. The hike is just shy of 5 miles round trip and has an elevation gain of  1,450 ft.  The views though - the views make the elevation gain all worth it.... so pretty.

If you come visit me, I will take you on this hike. 

Cheers! 

<3 BB

hashtag confessions

Happy Wednesday, people. Let's get right to it and start confessing things with Kathy and her blog....because why not share my embarrassing moments and quirk? They happen often and they are awkward.

I confess: After last week's yoga sesh I started getting deep into the world of instagram hashtags. First it was just #yoga and then I came across the hashtag #nakedyoga. I may or may not have looked. It was what you would expect... .a combo of pretty yoga girls doing poses with little to zero clothing on, as well as fat, hairy men attempting. Browse at your own risk.

::Speaking of hashtags... I confess: There is one for the World Cup called #WorldCupMyBalls. I died and then might have used it.

::I confess: I get irrationally upset over that stupid Sprint Framily commercial with Kevin Durant...not because it is stupid and Kevin Durant can fly in it -but because the kid has a horrible southern-ish accent and the mom doesn't. Never mind the fact that the other commercials have a talking hamster and what not....The commercial is not real life because of the accents. Also, how are they using the word Framily and getting away with it on National TV for their ads? Get it together, Sprint. You're the worst. 

::Lastly, I confess: I am starting golf lessons tonight and I am nervous. I dislike doing things in front of people if I am not great at them. It's not that I am horrible at golf, I just tend to swing too hard sometimes and miss the ball entirely. That's not embarrassing or anything... I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers!

<3 BB

Get sweaty for the US

So unless you live under a rock or hate our great nation you would know that yesterday, the United States Men's National Soccer Team won a pretty important game in the World Cup Group Stage.  So in honor of their win I wanted to share a workout that would make you nice and sweaty just like our boys in Red, White, and Blue were.

Here are examples for each movement so you look like a pro - just like the soccer boys.

::Down Dog Abs
::Side Lunges 
::Dumbbell Woodchops
::Tricep Push-ups 

Also, check out this reaction a Portland news anchor had on live TV when he realizes the US just scored their second goal that would give them the lead and win. You can watch the video clip here.

But no really, do this workout for not only US Men's National Team, but for our Country. It is what our Founding Fathers would want.

Cheers! 

<3 BB