winter

This past long weekend, we had a fab opportunity to hop over to Madrid, Spain.  Flights were cheap, and friends of ours from Baltimore (who now live in Germany) suggested a Turkey Day meetup there awhile back.

So we were like sure, why not??

Madrid totally surprised me. I pretty much had no expectations going in, outside of knowing we were attending a Flamenco show for Thanksgiving Dinner... and that our friends Brian and Sarah would make better tour guides than we ever will.

Travel pals

I'll spare the rambling about the beauty of Madrid and the surrounding countryside (although I easily could write paragraphs about it) because I think I prefer that my travel posts offer more than just describing the trip, and more of the emotional side of it...

We both packed about thirty ten minutes prior to our cab picking us up for the airport on Wednesday night - I literally was just throwing random things into my suitcase and hoping for the best.  Luckily I glanced at the weather and noticed lows there were in the 40's, and that we should probably pull out those things that we haven't had to use here in TLV yet... what are they called again?

Coats.

Sure enough, the weather was crap.  Crap is actually the word I would have used six months ago... but after 3+ straight months of only sun, and temps in the 70's and 80's, I actually really really loved the weather.

Fun fact that most of you probably know but some of you may not - I really adore winter.  Always have, always will.  The snow, the cold that comes with it, the ice.  The bulky clothes, the skiing/sledding/snowball fights, hot chocolate - I could continue this list for days.

So yeah, I'm missing my winter a little bit.  I keep hearing from locals/people who have lived here for awhile - just wait, winter will come and it's going to suck.

Well, it's about to be December 1st and I'm still waiting, because I'm pretty sure I took the dog for a run on the beach in shorts and t-shirt this morning.

So anyways - back to Madrid. I rocked my winter coat and boots most of the trip, and loved every second of it.  The light drizzle and slight chill seemed to add to the enchanted-ness of such a gorgeous city, and the occasional wet toes were easily fixed by a few glasses of sangria.

Never in my life (outside of skiing in Michigan at age 5) have I gone on a vacation intentionally to somewhere colder; it's always been off to the beaches. But I loved every second of cold, dreary Spain, and it made me excited to plan our next cold weather trip, whenever that may be.

OK you probably have better things to do than read about how I tie my emotions to weather. I probably do too.  Have a great hump day!

Cheers - 

Kait

Extra Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm going to keep this short and simple, as Thanksgiving is not a day to be spent in front of a laptop.

The Elf for Health challenge today is to call someone you're thankful for. Simple enough - I may just scroll through my phone's 300 contacts and pick at random.

The truth is, I have so, so many things to be thankful for. It's why I'm a fan Thankful Thursdays on the reg - but obviously this Thursday is uber Thankful. Let's run through a few things.

I'm thankful for my friends. Everywhere. But today in particular, my friends here in Baltimore. They've helped Andrew's absence fly by, and have really grown to be an important group of friends to me. Thankful for all you guys - you know who you are.

I'm thankful for my supportive, amazing family who always have my back, always. While I obviously have good reason to have stayed in Baltimore this Thanksgiving, I'm still missing my fam and crazy mutt, wishing I was there to indulge in some solid Turkey Day food.

my crazy sister

However, my Thanksgiving meal will consist of this:

pretttty sure i'm the only person in Costco yesterday who bought pizza..

And this:

Colorado brewed beer is the only way to go.

WHY?

Because it's what Andrew wants. And he gets back today.

Details will be spared for now as I have t-minus 8 hours to get a whole lot of stuff done before he lands. Including a Thanksgiving run weeeeeeee!!

In short, I'm beyond thankful to be getting my best friend and better half back to Baltimore today. It's been quite the journey for both of us, and the holidays will be all the more sweet being able to enjoy them together.

I hope your day is full of indulgent food, and everything you are thankful for. A friend sent me this great post on Thanksgiving and how we 'broke it'  - it's pretty spot on to how I feel. Eat, drink, and be merry. Don't dwell on your waistline, today's a day to be thankful and enjoy life.

Cheers my friends -

K

Crafty Kait

I have personal rules when it comes to the celebration of seasons. Fall begins in September, winter begins in December. I don't care what the official dates are, that's just how I operate.

Christmas music cannot start until Thanksgiving. However, my roommate is going to break the rules and start decorating our house for Christmas this coming week. So yesterday I broke my own rule and pulled out my snowman mug from hibernation. It had been a long week, and I needed some joy at work.

Wednesday was a particularly rough day for me, one of those a whole bunch of little things added up to a slight meltdown at my desk. So when Thursday rolled around our highschool intern strolled in and handed me two bags of these:

and offered apologies for my rough day yesterday. He sits kitty-corner from my desk for the few hours a day that he's in the office, and most likely thinks I'm a nut job. I am. Regardless, the gesture was precious and brightened my day.

seriously though.

Changing subjects, remember how I have been gym-less since moving to Baltimore in July, and have just been bouncing around on free trials like a sneaky little weasel? Well I scored a 30-day pass to Canton Club about two weeks ago, and have been LOVING the 5:30 AM Friday morning spin class.

The instructor has the potential to be my grandma's age, no exaggeration, and she kicks our asses. Repeatedly. Gets up there, plays some awesome jams, and screams motivation until my gluts are on fire.

Another awesome part of the class is that the studio overlooks the harbor, so we got to see a beautiful sunrise. I wasn't able to snap a picture of the sunrise itself as I was too busy sweating like a madwoman, but hopefully these help you get an idea...

My roommates and I are hosting a Bears/Ravens party tomorrow paired with a Friendsgiving (it's likely I will be the only Bears fan present) and therefore we felt the need to be domesticated and crafty last night with a few glasses of wine. Here's what we came up with:

Pinecone turkeys!

While I sat at the table tracing my hand I realized it had most likely been about 20 years since I had last made a turkey out of my hand. We all did it at some point in elementary school, and there was an odd level of joy that I found in the simplicity of doing it.

Or maybe it was the wine, I don't know.

I'm off to the gym. Today calls for the elliptical and a solid lifting session, I really haven't been giving my muscles enough attention lately. Hope your weekend is fabulous, Go Bears!

Cheers - 

K

Full of Turkey

There’s always something refreshing about going home and being with familiar faces.

The 6:30 AM flight out on Thanksgiving morning to start off the trip didn’t even phase Andrew and me. Coffee in hand, we were way to excited to get the festivities under way.

Which we did, quickly.

braiding my little sister's hair. like, so presh.

Festivities ended by about 8:30 that night, when the 4 am wakeup call from that morning quickly crept up on both of us, and Andrew hit a wall like mile 22 of a marathon.

those are actually his stuffed animals he packed for the trip.
doesn't travel without them.

The weekend was a whirlwind of a exploring the city, good times with friends and family, and of course, so much food. Pumpkin cheese cake, pizza galore, turkey tex mex soup; you name it, I probably ate it.

Even some karaoke singing that cleared out half the bar.

I took a lot of time off from working out, unless you count the squats I did in the airport whenever my boyfriend wasn’t looking. I did go for a short run on Sunday afternoon post-Bears game, my knee hated me about 20 mins in… same story different day.

I have more thoughts about that, as well as giraffes, but I’m going to keep this one short because I have a crap ton of laundry to do, and zero food in the house. As much as I love you guys, eating takes precedence. Sorry.

How was everyone’s Turkey Days? Any turkey trotters out there?

Cheers to a new week!

Holiday Tunes

Freeeddommmmmmmmmm!!!

Today’s half-day marked the last day of work for me until mid-day Monday, and I couldn’t be more pumped.

Today is also an epic day because I finally caved in and started listening to Christmas music. I gave my office a lecture last week about how that WAS NOT acceptable pre-Thanksgiving time and I would off judge anyone who I caught doing it.  However, this morning I woke up and just felt the holiday cheer in my bones, and decided to give in on my drive to work.

The first jam of the season? Mistletoe by JBeibs, obviously.

However, can I just make the quick argument that the Hanson Christmas Album is the best Christmas album that there is? Followed closely by Jessica Simpson's.

not debatable.

My favorite single would definitely have to be Last Christmas by Jimmy Eat World. They definitely nailed it.

I’ve also recently been wearing my badass Columbia boots around my house in hopes that it will snow, while the temps out here have been staying pretty steady in the 50’s. They may not be put to as much use out here in Maryland compared to when I lived in Colorado, hence why I shall make an effort to wear them in inappropriate social settings that will make my boyfriend uncomfortable to be around me.

 Last night I did a short interval workout on the treadmill and felt decent. I wore my sweet shirt that I got from the Zoo Zoom which I’m obsessed with and may just wear for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. I also really need to find a new pair of shoes because my Asics Nimbuses (Nimbi?) now feel way to heavy after switching back into them from my Brookes Connects. I’ve been eyeing the Asics Blurs, has anyone out there ever ran in them?

best shirt ever.

Anyways, Andrew and I have an early 6:30 AM flight out of BWI tomorrow morning, bringing us into Chicago by 7:30 AM with the time change. I expect my sister to be waiting at our gate with a bloody mary in hand. Wait what? Seriously though, I’m super psyched for some solid family time, lots of turkey/cranberries/stuffing, and of course some outings with friends.

What are your  Thanksgiving plans? Better yet, what’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Cheers to the holidays!

Kait