Peace within

My mom sent me a lovely chain email yesterday. I know, I know, that sounds so oxymoron, but it was exactly what I needed to hear after my day yesterday. 

"Today may there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the
freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

And I will leave you with a gorgeous sunset I was able to witness over Lake Tahoe. Heaven on Earth.

Master Your Metabolism Summit

No Fail Technique to “Master Your Metabolism"

My sweet friend, Melissa Schollaert, is hosting an awesome online summit about metabolism and including some of the nations top experts in the field and I am excited to participate and also to share it with all of you!

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Have you ever wondered how to boost your metabolism naturally?
Are you tired of spending countless hours in the gym and counting calories only to feel like you’re getting nowhere?
Do you wonder what it would be like to wake up with energy every morning?
Would you love to make it through your day without coffee, sugar cravings and afternoon trips to the vending machine?

Join us for the "Master Your Metabolism Summit," happening June 15-22, 2014!

Join Melissa as she interviews 25 of the Nation’s top health experts in a conversation about metabolism and how hormones, diet, gut function and lifestyle all have an effect. Learn from the experts how to master this system and create your most vibrant health. At the Master Your Metabolism Summit, our hand-picked team of functional medical doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists, and health experts reveal how you can regain your energy, lose excess body fat, and boost your metabolism naturally through real food, lifestyle changes, and getting the lab testing you need!

Sign up here for a free ticket to this online event and to receive a complimentary gift from Melissa. Please make sure to forward this along to your friends and family - anyone who could use help Mastering their Metabolism.

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A sunny weekend by the beach

Being an adult is pretty dang complicated. It's expensive, it's full of unexpected events and we can't have our parents figure it out for us. When we were kids why did we only wish to be adults?? 

I got to spend some quality time with my amazing family this weekend and what was even more special was the extra time with this adorable little guy! This smiling face knows just how to melt everything away.

 

 

And this place knows how to show you a good time!

And this view will make you forget all of your troubles.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many people who love and adore me! What a special weekend!

Wednesday Randoms

I have been welcomed back to the reality of life by this horrible sunburn that I brought home with me from the beach. I am so happy for this short week - I ended up having a 5 day weekend with 2 of the days working remotely from beautiful places. Today I am catching up, Thursday is our Q2 event and who works on Fridays? This was perfect for a week back after a long weekend.

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This article about traveling is so spot on. It is amazing how "scary" people make the world out to be.

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I have never seen Amy Poehler be serious, but her message is perfect and spot-on.

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I loved #27! And the rest of this article!

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Last week, we had amazingly hot temperatures that cause everyone to lose their minds because it's the few days out of the year that you can comfortably wear a dress.

Sunday FOODday - 27/100 - SF 7x7

Happy Tuesday! 

Last week I made plans to spend Sunday with my college friend and AGD sister, Erin. Since I am on a mission to eat at most, if not all, of the restaurants on The Big Eat SF 7x7 List we decided to check some more off of the list. I BART'd into SF and Erin picked me up from BART and we headed straight to Trouble Coffee for coffee/tea and their famous Cinnamon Toast.

 Restaurant: Trouble Coffee

Dish: Cinnamon Toast

Verdict: Ahhmazing, I could not live without it

Alright, let me just start out by saying that this was the best cinnamon toast I had ever tasted. The bread was like 2inches thick and there must have been at least an entire stick of butter on it and then it was smothered into cinnamon and sugar. It was perfect. Note to all of you, they don't have decaf coffee in the cafe, so if you can't handle your caffeine, like me, stick with one of their many assortments of herbal tea - or drink half of your latte, like me. And then do pullups outside...to burn of 1/8 of the calories you just ingested...

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From Trouble Coffee, we headed to Balompie #3 for some popusas. Well, we first went to La Ciccia for a bowl of their Spaghittusu, but they are only open for dinner...next time! Erin and I ordered 4 popusas to share.

 Restaurant: Balompie #3

Dish: Popusas

Verdict: Delicious

Because the Big Eat list only says to order "popusas" we asked the waitress if she would recommend us a few options. We ordered: Chicharron y Queso, Zyote y Queso, Loroco y Queso and Espinaca y Queso. The Chicharron popusa was both of our favorites. And we could have easily split 2 and been totally full! The others were delicious, but not nearly as good as the pork & cheese.

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After popusas we headed to Plow for some crispy potatoes...

 Restaurant: Plow

Dish: Crispy Potatoes

Verdict: Ehh, I could live without it

We arrived right around 2 o'clock and we were told that the restaurant was closed until dinner. Fortunately enough, and totally not planned, we ran into my little sis (AGD) there and we asked them to make sure to order some crispy potatoes with their meals so we could try them and then check it off of the list. Nowhere on the list does it say how much of something you need to eat... They were alright...I wouldn't go back for them...

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As our afternoon progressed, we decided that it was perfect timing for some dessert. We headed over to the Chocolate Lab for a brownie. 

 Restaurant: Chocolate Lab

Dish: Brownie a la Mode

Verdict: Delicious

 

We ordered the brownie and on Sunday they offered a special Rocky Road Brownie, all with walnuts and marshmallows and more than we needed of hot fudge sauce. This brownie was so rich and delicious! If you ever need a chocolate fix, make sure to stop by The Lab! 

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After our brownie we headed to North Beach to meet up with Melissa for some wine. An hour and a half later, 2 bottles in and lots of catching up, Erin had to head home so Melissa and I decided to keep checking dishes off of my list. 3 more to go! :-)

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As our first appetizer, we headed over to Bix for their Steak Tartare.

 Restaurant: Bix

Dish: Steak Tartare

Verdict: Good

 

 It comes out to you on a plate not fully prepared. The plate has the steak, minced shallots, mustard and a few other ingredients and the waiter mixes it all together making sure to add salt and pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. The steak was a little too salty for my taste buds, but it was amazingly fresh. If you are into steak tartare, check this place out!

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We wanted to stop one more place before we sat down for another meal. We walked over to House of Nanking and because there was a line out the door we ordered to-go and ate this on the fly! 

 Restaurant: House of Nanking

Dish: Fried Onion Cake

Verdict: Delicious

This dish was light and delicious! Definitely worth the $4 (or however much it was!)

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Before making our way to Park Tavern, we wanted to stop by Tosca for their mussel soup. Unfortunately, it is a seasonal dish that they haven't had for a few months...we decided to ditch Tosca and head straight for our main course!

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 Restaurant: Park Tavern

Dish: Poulet Noir

Verdict: Ahhmazing, I could not live without it

Alright. Hands down. This might be my most favorite dish, on this list, to date. We ordered the chicken and they brought it out already split for us. O.M.G. This was seriously ahhhmmmaaaazzzing!! And totally affordable! The entire dish was $28! And then we split it! Definitely make sure to stop in at Park Tavern for a carafe, or two, and this chicken. You will not be disappointed!I may go back there every day for the rest of my life.... we will just have to wait and see....

Buon Appetito

Check out the other restaurants I have been to here

Out the Door: SF 7x7

Hi All! I have checked off another item from the SF Big Eat 7x7 list - actually one from this years list and one from last year! I figured 100 places in 2014 wasn't enough so I thought I'd tack on 2013s list as well..

Since it is so gorgeous outside, we decided to walk down to the SF Ferry Building and grab some lunch and ice cream. 

Anyway... on to the Crispy Imperial Rolls

Restaurant: Out the Door

Dish: Crispy Imperial Roll

Verdict: Delicious

These were delicious and totally hit the spot. The sauce is a perfect balance for the rolls and the rolls were light and crispy! I didn't eat any of the lettuce, just the noodles and the rolls. If you are ever looking for something quick, get these but make sure not to get there at 12:30 in the afternoon...there is nothing quick about 12:30pm at the Ferry Building on a work day :-)

Honey Roast Link Up

I saw this today and loved the idea! I hope I can come up with a few!

-- I am a good-parking-finder-gem! If you are trying to find a parking spot in a crowded area, wish you were in the car with me, we'd find one in no time flat, right out front!

-- I am great at efficiently using my time. I will be watching TV while cooking while texting while updating my calendar while writing someone snail mail. I just.can't.focus.on.one.thing.at.a.time.

-- I am notorious for sending thank-you cards.

-- I am great at not spending money. Yes, you read that right!

-- I am really great at planning, managing and coordinating. It's one of my favorite things...

And I will leave you with this hilarious video!

Reno Visit

I drove up to Reno on Thursday to visit my cousin and my grandparents. The original plan was to drive up first thing on Friday morning but because the forecast was snow... say what?! It's the end of April, you say?! Believe you me, that is exactly what I was thinking! Anyway...I decided to drive up on Thursday to make sure to miss the bad weather, and based on what happened on Friday I am sure glad I did.

Friday was spent working remotely and relaxing. My cousin flew in around 7pm and my uncle joined us all for dinner. It was such a great evening catching up on our lives, talking about the family and eating the most delicious vanilla ice cream dipped in caramel and chocolate bars! Um, hello, these are amazing and can (apparently) be found at Costco! 

Saturday, we woke up and went to the movie theater to see a live stream of Cosi Fan Tutte from the NY Met. Did you know that you can go to the movie theater and see the Opera live streamed?! It was pretty awesome! There are subtitles and during the intermission the cast is interviewed backstage. We were offered an amazing vantage point and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

After the Opera we headed to lunch and then back to the house to rest. My cousin and I then headed over to the Great Basin Brewery for a couple of flights and to catch up with some girl talk. Sometimes girl talk and beer is just what the doctor ordered! If you ever find yourself in Reno, I definitely would recommend for you to check out the brewery and enjoy a flight or two. They have some pretty amazing beers! As we were sitting at the bar, we decided to order a plate of their mac n cheese because it just looked oh-so-good and it definitely did not disappoint! 

After drinks, we headed back to the house for dinner and to watch / sing along to Grease. Umm, can you believe that my grandparents had never seen it!? Grease was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I was absolutely shocked that they had never seen it! Of course my cousin and I could not help but belt out all of the words. I would like to say that we did refrain from dancing...alright alright you got me, I danced along with Grease Lightening... ;-)

Reno was a great little weekend getaway and I am so glad that I was able to get out there and see my family.