weekend happenings

The past 3 days have been so. Much. Fun. That, combined with the fact that's its only a 4-day work week anyway, has left me feeling completely unenthusiastic about that work thing tomorrow. 

Oh, and given that the weather has been in the high 80's the past few days doesn't help my motivation either. We don't get this sort of sun in June! We're blessed with "Juneuary" until July 5th, and then summer is on. 

This is exactly the reason why we were hesitant about planning our annual bocce ball tournament on a June Saturday. We knew there was a nice chance of it raining all over our bocce balls, but also knew that everyone would adapt just fine if that happened since rain is what we've evolved to manage. 

Amazingly enough, the sun, oh sweet sweet sun, decided to do is a big one and but out loud and clear Friday and hasn't left us since. It made for an awesome lawn game day, as well as some sweet tan lines. 

That little pool brought back so many memories. When I saw this I immediately imagined my dad doing the same thing 15 years ago. He probably had the same excited look on his fave, too. 

Scott won one trophy and a good friend won the other after a long, heated (literally) fight for the gold. We now have a total of 3 bocce trophies in our household. It feels pretty good to be winning at life. 

Sunday was an incredibly easy day for me while my husband spent 6 hours doing homework. He did, however, manage to sneak in a softball game and scored an awesome win. 

I had ran there, and quickly realized .5 mile on that this body is not cool with running in this hot heat. I had froze a 16 oz plastic water bottle beforehand, which was completely warm by the time I had trekked the 3 miles to he field. I think I'm going to stick with morning and evening runs whenever possible. 

We were both pretty ravenous when we got home, and while I really didn't feel like turning on any heat I settled on making fajitas since it only used one element on the stove. Oh, and the microwave but THAT I can handle. 

How was your weekend? Any tips for exercising in the heat?

weekend happenings

Friday night my sister came over and we made vegan pizza. It was ahhhmazing. We topped it with cashew "cheese" and pesto, along with the required tomatoes and onions. 

Saturday was the great Poulsbo Beer Run! I will give a more in-depth description this week, but lets just say it was so fun that we had to take a three hour nap in the park promptly after our forth and final brew. 

Sunday we took on the outrageously fun role of babysitters for my sweet little niece. This girl is a trip, and not to be taken lightly. She's the only person I know who chooses just one topping for her FroYo. And the only one who makes me laugh when she plays s fun game of "let's scream really loud in the house for hours!!!" 

What, your hometown doesn't have a museum dedicated to insects? There was also a tortoise present...and a boa constrictor. Pretty solid Sunday!

What is the strangest thing/place in your town?

weekend happenings :: 5.27.13

First off, Happy Memorial Day! I extend the biggest thank you to our nation's military for their unending support and selflessness to defend the United States. 

It's been awhile since I've done a "weekend what's up" post, but here it is!

Friday evening Portland fun! My boy planned us a secret trip to Portland, where he surprised with a concert to see a band I've been wanting to watch for-ev-er, Bloc Party. We also had to visit the best restaurant in the land of anywhere, Nicholas Restaurant. Their pita bread is the size of your head AND my head AND a toddler's head together. I used half for my dinner and the remaining half became my breakfast the nest morning.

Instagram: brittawebb

 Sunday my college roommate came to visit and we ventured to Fort Worden State Park. It's an old military camp that has bunkers that were used to house soldiers. Very interesting indeed!

Today we walked around downtown Poulsbo and got extremely full off delicious Mexican food. I scored some bargain black flats that I'm super excited about because it means I can throw out the other black flats I've had for 5.5 years that smell and are falling apart at the seams. Score.

I need to be honest and say that the majority of my time this evening has been spend in b-e-d. Watching Arrested Development, season 4, that I've been awaiting months for. We've made it the first 5 episodes and while the first couple were a bit slow, they hit their stride and have gotten many a laugh out of me. You'll have to let me know what you think of them.

Have a great start to your week!

weekend happenings + an unfortunate turn of events

So this knee pain I've been having an issue with on my past few runs? I'm pretty sure it's not due to any sciatic nerve has I had originally thought. Instead, I had a nice appointment with Google yesterday, who told me that it could actually be runner's knee, which there's a better, more legitimate name for that I"m not about to spell out and get wrong for you guys.

Apparently the cartilage underneath my patella isn't happy with me working it, most likely due to over-training it. Since I started marathon training in January, my weekly mileage has been higher than ever before in my running history. I thought I was being smart about it since I was following a plan, but didn't really stop to think about how it might also  be negatively be affecting my body that isn't used to be working it so hard.

So yesterday on my supposed 16 mile run was my breaking point. I had a little knee pain starting at mile 3, intense knee pain starting at mile 12, and then walked miles 12-14 back home. Walking surprisingly felt fine, which will be nice since I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of it these next few weeks.

My plan right now is to take 2 weeks off for recovery. I'll start back out with easy runs to make sure I don't re-injure it and will hopefully be in tip-top shape by the time this marathon rolls around on June 2nd.

In the meantime, during these (extremely tedious) two weeks you'll be finding me doing these stretches for the nerve (just in case) and work on some strength training. I was happy to find this article on recuperation - the author makes it sound like a pretty simple recovery so here's hoping he's right!

Here's a little tasteroo of what went down this weekend:

Friday night Seattle meetup with a dear friend of mine who recently moved back to Seattle from LA! We went to Boom Noodle in Capitol Hill, did a little window shopping in University Village, and ended out night at Veggie Grill for dessert. Friday night at its best.

I ordered the "Tokyo Ramen" veggie-style from Boom, and while it was delicious, I don't think it met it's $14 price tag. I'm a volume eater, and my heart sort of stopped when the bowl was already half-full when it got to me. The "Chocolate Pudding Parfait" at Veggie Grill, however, was inhaled.

The oh-so-sad Saturday long-run view. This came straight off my 'gram.

 

Saturday afternoon plant sale on Bainbridge Island! What's hilarious is the irony of this - I get injured on a run and am on the prowl for a relaxing afternoon. Instead, I find this plant sale which was at the end of this 1 mile (albeit beautiful) walk. I was searching for veggie plants so when I discovered there weren't any I grabbed the first vibrant plant I saw and went with it. We waited in  line for 30 minutes in the rain for this little guy, and then promptly ran (hobbled, actually) away to fund some lunch.

 Sunday afternoon curtain-creating! With the madre, who knows all things sewing and could make anything out of a needle and thread. I'm sure of it. ;) My sad husband got some sort of stomach virus so I stayed away as much as possible yesterday. We got these curtains done in 5 hours, and I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. I'll post a picture once I get them hung!

Have you ever had runner's knee? How do you deal with being injured and taking time off from training or working out?

weekend happenings :: 3.24.13

Saturday morning birthday cake baking, consisting of a cookie dough layer, followed by a double dark chocolate ice cream layer, followed by peanut butter frosting, followed by a chocolate drizzle. Let me tell you, this turned into a fanTAStic cake! It's crazy weird to believe that it's 100% gluten-free and vegan, but it works.

Three things I need to say about this cake: 

1. The ice cream layer tastes like coconut, due to the coconut milk (weirrrrd.) If you're not into that, I"m sure you could use another type of"milk."

2. The parchment paper stuck to the bottom layer like a mofo, so I'm just going to give the pan a good oily spray-down next time and forgo the paper altogether.

3. The cookie layer on the bottom was the BEST. I'm going to make it another time and eat it all by itself, because it deserves such attention.

Saturday afternoon was a sunny ferry ride to Seattle for VegFest 2013!

So many killer sample. I went with my sister, and this was our lunch AND dinner.

Veg swag.

Sunday morning started out with a nice (albeit 19 degree) run. Love those sunrises.

Sunday afternoon was spent birthday party-ing! We went to Azteca for my mother-in-law's celebration, and then hopped over to my parent's for a BBQ to honor my sister's big TWENTY-FIRST birthday. Crazy. How did that creep up so fast?

I wish I would have gotten more pictures but my phone is out of space (not-so-perfect timing). So I should take care of that today.

Is Spring starting to sprout where you are?

weekend happenings :: 3.17.13

Friday night Homemade Happy Hour, which was my friends and mine attempt at greatly partaking in Happy Hour while walking away not fretting about how much you really did not need that second hummus platter or glass of Riesling.

Guess what? It was a success! Not so much of a surprise when you get 3 girls together that can chat the roof off any old place while partaking in snackage and vino. We went the healthy route (and failed to plan ahead and do a St. Patty's Day theme) and had homemade red pepper hummus, veggie and bread dippers, a sampling of TJ's dark chocolate, and 2 bottles of wine. I foresee the future success rate for such an activity being 100%.

For future reference, the winner for "Best Taste" went to the Swiss 72% Dark (middle, neon green). This was the only one that had Madagascar Vanilla in it, and twas bomb. The "Best Nutrients but Has Weirdest Coffee Taste" went to the Organic 73% Dark Chocolate (left purple). It was a bit thicker, had less calories and fat, and had a strong coffee taste to it. Unless you have wine that you can swish around after each bite, it might only be good for one square. The Fair Trade Belgian was a little insignificant, and just tasted deliciously dark.

Saturday morning = long run biznass: 14 miles, 1 Vanilla GU, and 0 raindrops.

Saturday afternoon = party hopping: Scott had his aunt's 90th birthday, which was briefly followed by our niece's 5th birthday party, which was followed by dinner at a friend's new house. Like the alert documentor I am, I didn't take any pics of any of these events, but I do have these important three things to share:

1. My sister-in-law will be making all of my children's sweet treats for any of their celebrations. Hers looked a little like this:

2. Portobello mushrooms are really tasty when they're sauteed and stuffed in tacos - even meat-lovers love 'em. How have I not tried this?

3. "Card Against Humanity" is the worst and best game ever. It's R-rated, so be careful.


Sunday for St. Patrick: Included church, errands, and some greenish soup. I use this recipe all the time (seriously, it's SO good) but just use whatever veggies I have in the fridge so it changes weekly. Tonight featured sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli.

Who ran a St. Patrick's Day race? How did you do? I saw so many fun race pics on Instagram (Instaddicting!) - I'll have to jump in and partake next year.

Did you have any green eats? Beer totally counts.

weekend happenings :: 3.10.13

Saturday morning waffles! I snatched my parents waffle maker straight away from them in order to satisfy a deep, ceaseless craving for waffles. There's something so unique about them that sets them apart from pancakes - you gotta love the melting "butter" in those little holes. Oh, and don't even get my started on the fruit/syrup combo.

Saturday run, read, and SUN! The Pacific Northwest got a little taste of spring, which I feel guilty for mentioning when so much of the country is still covered in, what is that called again? Oh, SNOW. I'm sorry, guys. Unless you're enjoying it, then AWESOME!


After my 10-miler, Scott and I took a nice long road trip on some Northwest backroads that we haven't driven down in years. It's easy to forget about all the pretty we're lucky enough to be surrounded by, and MAN, it was a great day for exploring.

I was, to say the least, STOKED that our little trip ended up at our favorite Thai restaurant, Sawatdy in Bainbridge Island.  100% unplanned, 100% devoured.

Good thing the library has extended checkout. This might take me until November.

Scenes from Manette bridge.

Seattle, Mount Rainier, and beyond.

Sunday as a down day. It went church, visiting family, prepping food for the week, an 8 mile (back to the rain) run, and dinner. However, dinner's big find was vegan parmesan cheese! Behold the glory:

Chyeah. Tell me about it. I used it to top our veggie lasagna, which is cooling from the oven as I type. I just blended whole almonds, cashews, and nutritional yeast until it got to be the right texture. (Here's a similar recipe to what I used.)I didn't measure anything out, just added more nuts if it wasn't as crumbly as I wanted it to be. I'm thinking it will also be a great substitute for bread crumbs, since we're all gluten-free like that.

What wild adventures did you partake in this weekend? Keep in mind, "wild" is all your perspective. Did you read a whole book? I love how crazy you are! ;)

weekend happenings :: 3.3.13

Friday night birthday shindig for my wild friend Amanda:

Saturday, LAZY day:
These pancakes were SO good.  I followed this recipe to the T and was definitely happy with how they turned out. I microwaved frozen strawberries and mashed them up to make sauce for a topping, along with peanut butter and syrup.

Yeah, this bread turned out phenomenal as well. I swear, I will be making this once a week. I just need to invest in more psyllium seed husks. I will have to do a full recipe post later this week that directs all attention to this bread.

Love me some bulk bin goodies. We needed a good stock-up.

SUNday, long run + bake grapefruit bars FAIL day:

Oh, Bremerton. You're no Bali, but you sure work with what you've got. This was how my entire 11 mile run was today, and there was nay a complaint from me.

See what I mean by FAIL? This is that. I found an awesome recipe for vegan lemon bars, which I adapted to accommodate my never-ending grapefruit supply, and then whoops. Burn city. Good thing we have two spoons for the husby and I to get down on the gooey center as a Sunday night treat.

Are you more of a sweet or savory breakfast person?

What was your most recent kitchen fail?

weekend happenings :: 2.18.13

3-day weekends are the best. There's always that feeling I get on Saturdays, the semi-panicky one that lets me know I only have somuchtime to get everything done before Monday hits (even when everything = lazing on the couch reading about lactic threshold).

But THEN. There's that glorious feeling I get on Saturdays of a 3-day weekend that make me want to kiss Abe and George for their dedication to our country...and providing me a whole extra to do absolutely nothing (sometimes something. See previous note on that).

Friday afternoon I drove an hour south to Olympia to visit one of my very favorite people in the world that I met in college. She's been globe-trotting around the world since we graduated, so it's nice to finally have her near me. We did a lot of talking combined with a lot of eating combined with some walking around and it was the best.

Quick interjection: this was hands down thee best burrito I've ever had. And it was 100% vegan, with a chipotle aioli. Check them out: Quality Burrito

Sunday: My sister is in a band called Zebra Mirrors, and they had their first show in over 3 months. They introduced their new band mates and their new songs, which I completely fell in love with. They will be recording their next album in April with a guy I went to high school with at his studio in Seattle. 

 That's all for now! I'll see you back here later for a marathon training update, dun dun dun.

What was a big highlight of your weekend?

What meal do you recall that you could eat over and over again?