Chili When Its Chilly

I forgot to reattach my front door key to my key chain after it fell off last night. To kill time while waiting for Jared to get home from work, I walked a few blocks from my rented parking space to Copley for some browsing.

WTF Saks 5th Avenue?!?! Take the Christmas decorations down a notch. It's October 16th.

I showed amazing self-control. I picked up a vest in Banana Republic and various items in Vineyard Vines and Lululemon but I put everything back. My only purchase was from Sephora because I am almost out of a few makeup essentials.

We stopped at Shaws to buy food for the party tomorrow. I snuck a few goodies into the cart, items that I've spotted on other blogs that I really want to try. Shaws was out of canned pumpkin! But word on the street is that they're getting a shipment tonight...so I might jog there in the am.

I heated a can of chili for Jared and me to split as an appetizer. Its topped with shredded Mexican style cheese and a dollop of plain Chobani.

Washed down with some pumpkin beer. Harvest Moon isn't that great. I can hardly taste the pumpkin flavor. Maybe it needs more nutmeg?

I had leftover chicken and spaghetti squash for my at-home entree.

I've been watching episodes of the Rachel Zoe Project on my DVR and cleaning/decorating the apartment for tomorrow's festivities. Jared mentioned exercising tomorrow morning. In my opinion, the walking around and housework I did today combined with the stuff I'm going to do in the morning will burn enough calories to keep me healthy through the weekend.

Loving my philosophy of being healthy and making changes slowly! I am not going to turn my life upside down. Besides, the journey towards a healthy lifestyle is the most fun part!

It's My Party

And I'll cry if I want to... Or just eat whatever I feel like. I made my go-to instant oatmeal.

It took a while to blog about the weekend in NY so when I finished I took a nap.

I snacked on some Chobani and relaxed around the apartment. I got hooked on a marathon of the Rachel Zoe Project.

Photographed the 3 bottles we brought back from Seneca Lake.

I had to run a few errands on Newbury Street at some of my favorite stores: Johnny Cupcakes, Madewell, and Anthropologie. I guess Katie Holmes and Suri are staying at the Mandarin Oriental cuz there were photographers everywhere and there was a lot of yelling. I was more concerned with my birthday shopping.

I was SO hungry when I got home so I made a "salad" aka a bowl of lettuce with dressing.

Then it was time for the ultimate....
Potatoes in a pouch! Just boil 2 cups of hot water, add the mix, and there's a pan full of delicious goodness. Don't worry, I didn't eat the entire thing.

Jared and I went to Aquitaine to celebrate my birthday. Such a delicious meal! We shared a bottle of a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It was really good!

The onion soup appetizer was topped with gruyere cheese. I'm glad we split it because I would've eaten the entire bowl myself, and spoiled the main course.

I ordered the lamb. I like my meat cooked, not bleeding, soooo I ordered it "medium well." It was excellent. There were a few artichokes mixed in with the veggies so that made it even better! I was stuffed but I found some room to enjoy dessert.

We split the souffle for dessert and Jared requested a candle. I'm SO glad the staff didn't feel the need to sing! It was a sweet ending to my 26th birthday!

Another Day, Another Dollar

It was a grazing day at work. Up first: strawberries and cantaloupe.

Followed by a cheese stick! And some QT with my little British bear.

I mixed granola in my Chobani. Not a fan! I don't usually mix granola in Greek yogurt; I prefer to eat it plain. Maybe the granola just wasn't as good as Bear Naked? I love Chobani, but I wasn't overly thrilled with this mini-meal.

I saved the Luna bar and the banana to eat after my "lunch break" at the gym.

I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster while I read a magazine and then used free weights to work on my arms and shoulders for another 5-10 minutes. My lunch break workouts are always pretty short and sweet because I only have an hour before I have to get back to work.

My food situation got a lot better when I ate my Dolce de Leche Luna bar. Loved it! So much better than the berry flavor I had yesterday.

Jared and I went for a 3 mile run (30 minutes exactly) and then went to pick up our laundry. I was SO hungry when we got home. I inhaled my turkey sandwich and Sunchips before I even thought about my camera. I was distracted because Jared needed to get ready for a 7 pm business meeting and I needed to clean the house. Not sure if any friends are coming over for the NFL Kickoff...