“Home is where the heart is”
Yup. It’s true. Lucky for me, I consider both the Bay Area AND Santa Monica “home.” So even though it was a total joy to spend the weekend with my parents and sister, I’m glad to be back with Kyle. Win win.
Eventually I will recap the wedding in more detail (so fun!), but for now, I’m trying to get organized for work tomorrow (reality check…wah wah).
I had leftovers from Patxi’s for Saturday brunch. I had baby carrots a la mode because I enjoy fiber.
Even day old Daiya still makes for excellent pizza.
I took to the streets for some cardio after I had enough time to digest. Guess who joined me? Milo (he’s the German Shepherd). Aside from his trips to the dog park with Kona (she’s the idiot Golden Retriever) he rarely gets the opportunity to go on distance runs. So it was high time the big man got some exercise.
He was pooped when we were done. 🙂
My parents had a dinner date already planned, so I was on my own for la cena. I made a Thai style egg/veggie scramble with a curry and almond butter sauce. I’ll post the recipe at some point. It was fantastic.
I had millet bread with sunflower butter to round out the meal, and then baked some quinoa granola while watching the UCLA game.
My parents’ pantry lacked some of the ingredients I typically use (chia seeds, coconut butter, etc.), but I made do. It was a bit hard to get off the tin foil, but otherwise I think it was a winning recipe.
I’ll share later this one later too.
Sunday morning flew by…my dad treated me to a guest pass at their gym, so I ended up getting in some quality time on the elliptical (while watching football of course), followed by a big girl weight lifting sesh. I felt pretty good afterwards. My guns don’t grow on their own. 😉
Unfortunately, the length of my workout left me with minimal time back at home to get my hair and face did. And FYI, I have wavy hair, which requires straightening. Given it’s current length, it’s a non-negotiable. So we may have left a tad later than we had hoped because of moi.
Fortunately, google maps grossly overestimated the traffic, so we arrived with more than enough time to spare. Hence the family photo shoot outside the wedding venue.
I like sparkling wine. And generous bar tenders.
Oh what a night.
Anyway.
I hit the road Monday morning and snacked on my typical faves as I made my way back down the I-5…
The time went MUCH faster thanks to the podcasts I downloaded. OMG, I am SUPER obsessed with Colleen from Compassionate Cooks. Her podcasts are on iTunes (vegetarian food for thought) and they are superb. Seriously. Inspiring and amazing. Definitely check them out!!
Even though I was exhausted when I finally made it back to the Westside, Kyle and I had a dinner date planned, so I put on my game face and did my best to stay awake until 9 pm.
We went to A Votre Sante in Brentwood which I will review in detail later. So many future posts I’m teasing here!!
I was mega wiped out when we got home, so it was a good thing I had already packed up the following goodies for work…
What do we have here?
First up, breakfast.
Banana, soy yogurt, home-made quinoa granola.
Next up, lunch.
Spinach, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, corn, quinoa, cashews and almonds topped in Bragg’s liquid aminos.
I hereby deem this quinoa and veggie crunch salad my new favorite. Is there anything better than roasted nuts on top of fresh, crunchy greens and grains. Negative.
Side note: I ate so many nuts while making this salad. Salt. Gets me every time.
Snacks: corn nuts, sweet & salty peanut odwalla bar
Dessert: Nana’s GF chocolate cookie
And that’s that.
I love quinoa granola! it’s one of my fvorites and I don’t make it enough!
Awww, Milo!! I want he and Punky to be friends.
i love the dog photos!
and i love sparkling wine!
i wish that i could cook like you!
xx
Mmmm…nana’s cookies are the best! Especially the peanut butter one – so good! 😀 It feels so good to have all your eats packed beforehand, and not having to sort that out after a long day…I love that 🙂 Your quinoa granola looks ama\zing, as does the quinoa salad…delicious! And artichoke on pizza is the very best.
I found that was a problem with my wavy and thick hair when I had it cut short. It was an absolute NIGHTMARE when I went camping with my (then new) boyfriend! It was too short to put in a pony tail, and I had no straighteners or electricity…I seriously cannot look at any of those photos without cringing, lol! 😛 Aaah…fun times…darn curls!! 😉
Yay – it must be so nice to be back at your “other” home with Kyle – it’s nice you have two places to call home!
xyx
I just started following Colleen and now I want every single one of her cookbooks. Her newest monthly newsletter is out today! Can’t wait to download some of her podcasts.
Wow, marathon post! Its great to see the breakdown of how you plan/prep everything and fit things into your weekends, very helpful for those of us still working out the kinks in our personal daily routines.
I LOVE a votre sante. It’s the first place I go when I’m home! (Well, maybe tied with Real Food Dailiy). Have you tried their spinach enchiladas with soy cheese? AMAZING!
mmmm salt, get’s me every time too. Really have to make your quinoa granola – I have heard so many good things about it!
I’m not very familiar with Brentwood yet, but I just looked at A Votre Sante’s menu and wow! Veggie options galore. I will have to check it out.
Milo said he wants you to come back and run with him some more 🙂
I’m not GF, but I LOVE those Nana’s cookies!! They have a chocolate chip flavor (I think Wheat free) that is SO good!
I can’t believe I still haven’t tried sunflower butter! Ahhh it’s on my list!
Wow, I’m pooped just from reading this post! You’ve been busy! All fun stuff though, which is all that matters.
I can’t wait to hear your review of A Votre Sante. It’s been on my list of places to try for quite a while, but I haven’t made it there yet.
Quinoa granola is my favorite!
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Aw I agree home is where the heart is, although I now live in uni halls, I still see home as my parents’ house!
It looks like you’ve been having a great time 🙂
Love the look of that granola and as usual your pre-prepared lunches look delicious!
I have been meaning to check out Colleen’s podcasts, thanks for the reminder!
“I had baby carrots a la mode because I enjoy fiber.” <- Haha! Sorry, not sure why I laughed so hard at this!
You BETTER share that Thai scramble recipe soon girl! Looks delish!! Almond butter curry sauce? Uh, yummmmm!
Soooo? Have you had enough of the KMB filling up your inbox? Haha! Too bad…I've still got some catching up to do! 😉