MIMM - Because it's always marvelous

Today I'm joining Katie for her Marvelous in My Monday link-up - because even if it's pouring rain here in Balty, there are always marvelous things to discuss.

Outside of watching Andrew’s favorite childhood football team bend over be embarrassed in front of the entire world last night, it was a marvelous weekend.

My favorite commercial by far was the Budweiser #BestBuds one – which I had already watched a couple time before it officially aired yesterday – makes me tear up every time.

#BESTBUDS

I made these marvelous buffalo balls to snack on during the Superbowl, and Andrew loved them – he even begged me to bag them up so he could munch on the leftovers throughout the week. I think I’m slowly but surely proving to him that I can cook. I made a ‘healthified batch’ to save for myself, sans cream cheese, which I will probably mix into some salad for lunches this week.

We drank only New Belgium beers – brewed in Fort Collins, CO – the entire game with hopes that it would bring the Broncos good luck. Apparently it did the opposite. 

The groundhog saw his shadow so apparently that means another 6 weeks of winter. Winter here in MD hasn’t been anything too mind-blowing so I’m not going to exactly throw a tantrum over Phil’s prediction, but if I was still living up in Chicago like Nicole, I probably would have sobbed for a solid hour after the announcement was made.

Most marvelous part of my weekend? Outside of two 7(ish) mile runs this on Friday and Sunday, wine tasting on Saturday afternoon was awesome. Not only did we learn a lot about wine and the entire process of making it, but we ending up getting a free bottle to take home and bought two more bottles on top of it.  The little winery was called Basignani and it's up in Sparks, MD, about 30 mins north of the city. I recommend it – it was a fun experience.

How is FABruary going? Hopefully those buns are feeling sore. I’m pairing day 3 with some spinning later today. 

Cheers to my last two days of being 25 –

K

Preparation is Key

This weekend was solid. There really isn’t a particular reason why, just a lot of small fun/funny moments that made it fab.

Patapsco State Park is a big huge park near Baltimore that has an endless amount of trails to explore. I sometimes run there when it’s warmer, but on Saturday Andrew and I decided to bundle up and find some new trails.

We got a solid 75 minutes of hiking under our belts, and discovered some pretty stellar views in the process. Following the hike we hit up Subway’s JanuANY special and scarfed down footlongs. One each.

I probably wouldn’t have felt bad if we wouldn’t have followed up later that evening with a hot fudge sundae on top of a waffle. Oops.

'DONT EAT IT YET I NEED A PICTURE'

In comparison to my almost 100% paleo diet during the week, weekends can get a little sketchy. Granted, we were both freezing on our walk home, and literally nothing sounded better than hot fudge on top of a Belgium waffle...

Have I mentioned Vaccaros before in Little Italy? Its got some seriously decadent desserts. If you're ever in town, go.

Anyways,  even with a sweaty run bike run bike (15 mins each) workout yesterday pre-Broncos kicking the Pat’s butts didn’t make me feel much better. Pair that with some artichoke dip, and a celebratory shot or two when Peyton sealed the deal, and we’re talking about a pretty negligent weekend nutrition-wise.

I’m not too strict when it comes to weekends in general, but when hot fudge sundaes do call my name, I try to make extra certain that I set myself up for success for that coming week. Preparation is key.

Now, I  believe I’ve mentioned my snack drawer at work on here before, and I wanted to give you all a quick update on its current status, because it’s looking pretty damn impressive. Keep in mind, I'm a strong believer in keeping a stocked, healthy snack drawer...

Yes, there are at least six different kinds of tea in there. I continue to fall in love with tea, especially now that I have an awesome tea pot at home.

I went to town for a solid 90 minutes this evening in the kitchen, cooking up some broccoli slaw for my lunches (not pictured), a badass veggie fritata (picture bottom), and some delicious paleo Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Banana muffins. The original recipe can be found here - but keep in mind that I threw about a half cup of pumpkin in there, omitted the coconut (didn't have it), used coconut oil instead of butter, and used pecans instead of walnuts just because that's what I had on hand. 

They are great. If you're a muffin person, try these bad boys out.

Hopefully my food preparation this evening has me on track for success this week. Word on the street is that Balty is going to get a couple inches of snow tomorrow, something I'm actually looking forward to.

Snow > dirty dead grass.

Cheers!

K