long beach - washington not cali

You know how sometimes you have weekends that are just good for the soul? My weekend with my old roomies from college was just that. We met in the middle of Seattle and Portland in the tiny beach city of Long Beach, Washington (home of the world's longest beach - hence the name) which is just past Astoria, Oregon and it was lovely. We had good weather, good food, and great company. If you are in the Long Beach / Ilwaco area make sure you wander all the little shops, check out the longest beach front in the world, and have dinner at Depot Restaurant and Pelicano Restaurant. 

Cheers to my favorite ladies!

<3 BB

MYOATMEAL

Not sure about you guys, but I am a big breakfast fan. Big fan of breakfast...So when I had the opportunity to try out MyOatmeal via the Sweat Pink Ambassadors with Fit Approach, I couldn't pass it up. Anthony Collova is the founder of MyOatmeal - which is a website that lets you create your own combinations of oatmeal, as well as PB Lean (dehydrated peanut butter)...um yes please and yum. Anthony not only believes in providing clean, healthy oatmeal options, but also believes in the costumer and the community. 

'See, MyOatmeal.com is not only about gourmet oatmeal. There are plenty of cereal companies selling awesome products at fair prices. To me, MyOatmeal.com is more than any single company, any single product or any single person. It is about our neighborhoods, our community, or economy, our planet, and most importantly, how we treat one another. That all starts with how I treat myself, and ultimately how I treat my customers.'

Now, I was pretty pumped at the idea of creating my own flavor of oatmeal, but then when I got to the website and saw that there were so many options I was almost overwhelmed...almost. Decision making is not the strongest quality of mine, but I manged to come up with a pretty baller combination.  It might be a little weird how excited I was to create my own oatmeal, but whatever.... 

The website lets you start by picking the quantity of oats you want, what kind of oats, and then from there it's flavors and treats on flavors and treats to add. You can even have it set up so it automatically ships to your home every so often. 

The combo I finally decided on was: 

//5 grain rolled oats & flax 

//Peanut butter base

//Chipped coconut

//Ground flax seed

//Brown cane sugar granules

Pretty simple combination when you see ALL THE OPTIONS you can choose from, but sometimes I think peanut butter simple is best. 

The directions are pretty straight forward when it comes to cooking. There are options for both the stove top and the microwave. Neither option takes long to cook, so you can easily take it to the office, heat it up quickly before heading off to the gym, or use it for a post workout meal to get your healthy carbs and protein in after workouts. 

I used a 1/2 cup for my Sunday breakfast and it was the perfect amount. Brad was even a big fan too.

Just try not to drop the spoon you were using and get oatmeal EVERYWHERE. Not that I did that or anything...I suppose I can't blame Anthony for this mess either.... 

Let it sit for a few minutes to cool down and then enjoy! 

Price wise MyOatmeal is a little more expensive compared to your quick cook, sugar filled oatmeal, but overall it is worth the cost. You're getting a much higher quality of oatmeal, the ingredients are never processed, and because they are full of fiber, protein, flax, etc. you are going to stay fuller longer. Win, win, win! 

If you're a fan of oatmeal, I highly recommend checking out MyOatmeal.com! 

*Disclaimer, I was offered to try MyOatmeal in exchange for reviewing the product via the MyOatmeal team and Fit Approach! The oatmeal was given to me, but the opinions are all my own. I take breakfast very seriously.*

Cheers!

<3 BB

birthday shenanigans

As you all know I celebrated my birthday this weekend. Minus the fact that I am officially old ballz 25, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. On top of the Nike Fuel Band that Brad got me, he also made me cook my own dinner on Friday night at the Portland Culinary Workshop... and I had a blast. 

We attended a 4 course cooking class that featured a Sommelier and wine pairing with each course. 

The kitchen was adorable (and had exposed brick, my favorite!). 

Melinda Casady and Susana Holloway are the owners of PCW and here is what they have to say about the place on their website:

We could wax poetic on how we LOVE food, LOVE to teach and are a hoot to hang with, but the nitty gritty of it all is that we are two smart, hilarious women who talked over a breakfast one morning and knew what we had to do. We had to follow our dream of teaching our way…for you.

Susana was our instructor for the evening and she did a fantastic job of balancing teaching techniques and sharing kitchen tips, with letting us learning on our own.  

These mashed potatoes were lovely, in case you were wondering. 

Check out that form. 

We were paired up with another couple for the evening and they were super friendly, which made the experience more enjoyable, since we did have to share equipment and food with them. 

My favorite dish of the evening, besides the Pork entree, was the Huckleberry and Rhubarb compote over ice cream. 

It was paired with a sweet port and it was fantastic. 

Do you have these must have items in your pantry? If not, get on it! 

Once we were done prepping our food, the whole group (24 of us total) sat down family style for the meal, while the Sommelier, Maxine Borcherdine, explained each of her wine pairings. I found that portion of the evening super informative, because while I know my way around a kitchen fairly well and have worked in a restaurant, I am by no means a wine expert. 

Like I said, how cute is this space? The tables were made from doors and that brick, I want! 

Plus we got to take home goodie bags that each featured a 10 inch chef's knife. Yes please! 

Needless to say, I had a great evening and a great birthday weekend and I HIGHLY recommend checking out one of PCW's classes if you're in the Portland area or ever want to come visit me and cook together!!!! 

Cheers to 25! 

<3 BB 

tutta bella

When I was in Seattle over the past weekend, we had lunch at a place called Tutta Bella.  It's quite lovely. 

Here is the blurb up on the website: 

Welcome to the Northwest’s first and most celebrated authentic Neapolitan pizzeria. We use the finest imported ingredients and century old artisan traditions to bring the definitive Neapolitan pizza experience to our guests.

Check out their menu here. 

Naturally, because I am a horrible blogger I forgot to take pictures of the actual pizza that was ordered, but I did snap some others! For pizza we ordered a few different kinds including: the Margherita and the Tutta Bella, (which was my favorite of the pizzas.)

Photo Cred: Brittany

Oh hey, Bruschetta. You're yummy.

The Grad gal and her sister had lemon drops, that looked super sweet and delish.

I didn't get a chance to take a photo of their Napoli salad, but it was awesome. I may have even liked it more than the pizza, which is saying something, because I loved the pizza. 

But my favorite, by far, was the Tiramisu !

Who doesn't love Tiramisu? No really, who doesn't love it? I will change their minds.

Kelley and I were excited to eat.

Brittany, was even more excited.

Roomie love!

If you're in Seattle be sure to check out Tutta Bella. They a few different locations and it is worth the trip.

Cheers to the Tutta!

<3 BB

workout wednesday - win some, lose some.

You wanna know why I love my Grandma....

A) she plays draws with friends or draw something, whatever the hell it's called. 

B) she drew a picture of a wedgie that I was able to figure out

C) she then proceeded to call and congratulate me after I got it! 

D) we're cool, you don't have to judge us 

Speaking of butts.... How bout that beach body?! See what I did there? Nice, transition, Brooke... Pats self on back. 

I have been trying to ramp up the workouts again and it is mostly going well.  Minus last night when I had an unnecessary breakdown for no good reason at all.  Kind of like this one I posted about a few months ago. This doesn't happen very often, but when it does I just feel pathetic and I get really negative. Brad gets annoyed, frustrated, concerned, because he says negativity does not look good on me and I agree. After my little breakdown once the run was finished I realized Brad told me I just need to remind myself there are a lot of great things I have going on when it comes to fitness.  I need to focus on the positive things, like the fact that I was able to knock out over 6 miles during 2 different runs yesterday after bettering my time in this hard workout the day before. Fran, you're hard, but I finished you in 5mins30secs and I am kind of happy with that time. As opposed to taking the route I did, which was only focus on how sore my legs were, how out of shape I felt, how long the run was, how slow I felt, and how I was slowing Brad down... basically every negative thing I could think of.

Live and learn, people. Live and learn.

Then this morning I came across this blog post and it really resonated with me. Especially this line:

"I became a more capable, energetic, independent, and mentally focused person once my focus shifted from what my body looks like to what my body can do"

Anyway, enough about what I can't do. Let's talk about things I want to do... maybe? Do I dare? How many times can I use the word 'do'!?

Bear Complex looks hard in a good way. 

And since we're talking about bears.  I went all sorts of carnivore the other night and made this meat on meat on meat dish.

Lastly, and this has nothing to do with fitness, but you should totally download the A Beautiful Mess app for your iPhone photos. It's awesome. The end.

Cheers!

<3 BB

ruby jewel

With the nice weather comes ice cream. le duh. (That's how the French say it.)

Brad and I headed over to Ruby Jewels on Mississippi Ave. for a pre-dinner dessert the other day and gosh it was so worth it.  Whoever decided dessert comes last has been doing it wrong the whole time. I got to enjoy my ice cream and not feel like I was force feeding my full stomach the goodness. 

Here is the blurb from their website:

Ruby jewel creates extraordinarily delicious ice cream for all to enjoy. Every flavor is carefully hand-crafted daily in our North Portland kitchen using the best ingredients thoughtfully sourced from farmers and food producers in Oregon and around the Northwest. Family owned and operated since 2004, we are committed to supporting our local community, economy, and limiting our impact on the environment wherever possible.

preach it! 

Ruby J is known for its ice cream sandwiches, but you can also get ice cream cones as well.

drool worthy

Yeah, that is a double chocolate cookie with peanut butter ice cream sammie.  Brad picked a winner with that combo.

I went with espresso ice cream in a cone and it was lovely. I have also decided that espresso ice cream is definitely in my top three favorite ice creams. Along with cinnamon and maybe strawberry or chocolate chip mint? The last one is up for debate. Suppose I will just have to keep eating ice cream until I can come to a decision, daumn.

We sat outside but were still able to smell the waffle cones because the floor to ceiling windows were open and that's my favorite. If that doesn't make you stop for ice cream then you must have the heart of the devil or be extremely diabetic.

I told myself I am cutting back on sugar (which I have been), but this was too good to pass up.  Sometimes you just gotta splurge. Which I did! 

I wish ice cream was as beneficial for you ask Kale is. A girl can dream. Oh well...

Cheers to ice cream!

<3 BB

fall so hard

via

Not sure why I am sharing this embarrassing story, but oh well here goes... Enjoy the visual. Laugh it up on my account!

Yesterday, while I was at the track coaching, I tripped and ate it, hard ... I wasn't paying attention (that never happens) and caught my foot on a little metal rail thing (super descriptive, Brooke) that lines the infield and the actual track. It of course happened in front of all my athletes and this wasn't one of those trips where you can kind of catch yourself and not actually fall.  This was the kind of trip where you try to run it off and keep yourself up, but I couldn't and fell on my hands and knees, left a bit of track burn on my knee and bum and everyone gasped and then laughed. It was embarrassing.

Nice job, Coach Brooke, Your athletes really want to get advice from a girl that can't even stay on her own two feet.  In my defense though, the stupid railing is dumb and it shouldn't be there! Mature, I know. 

This fall then lead me to think about how clumsy I am all the time sometimes.

I am that girl who:

::always has bruises from running into table edges

::always has bruises from.... shoot, how did that bruise get there again?!

::drops weights on her shins and feet

::falls while doing box jumps (this still has not fully healed and there is a nice scar forming, by the way)

::misjudges where doorways and entryways are, so I run into walls

::constantly has scrapes, cuts, and burns on my hands

For being fairly athletic, I am sure a struggle street.

Anyone else have this problem?!

To make myself feel better about my life, I had some comfort food when I got home.  I had Annie's Mac and Cheese for dinner. Obviously, not the healthiest choice I could have gone with, but hot daumn was it delish. I was tired and it has been in our cupboard for a few months now calling my name. I couldn't not eat it.

Yes, I am wrapped up in my blankie. It was almost bedtime (8:27pm), don't judge me.

Luckily, for me and my beach body needs, Brad was there to share the cheesy goodness with me or I would have eaten the entire box.  Not that I know I can eat an entire box or anything.  I have never done that before I tell myself that Annie's is better for me than Kraft. I mean, it has to be right?! The color of the powdery substance is more natural cheese color and less cheetos orange, that alone has to be healthier. I also paired mine with an avocado and we might have added a little bit of additional cheese and some chicken to the mac as well. Gotta get swoll. Protein on protein on protein.

So yeah, that's my Embarrassing Story Wednesday for you. Hope you had a good laugh! You're welcome.

Cheers,

<3 BB