Runner, Runner

When I was little, I used to pack a little backpack, put on my favorite hat with a big sunflower plastered on the front, and pretend to run away from home. Weird, I know. I think the Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley inspired me to go on adventures and do awesome things, but let’s get real, I wasn’t leaving my front yard. But now that I’m older and wiser, I can go on said adventures and explore a little.

I’m not necessarily going on some awesome vacation (although I desperately wish I was), but I will charter new territory and hopefully gain a new habit. On Thanksgiving morning, I’ll be running my first race, only a 5k but a race nonetheless! Running has not been a passion, hobby, pastime, nothing of mine because I loathed running so badly. In elementary school, my Trenchbull-like gym teacher used to make us run timed miles for grades in third, fourth and fifth grades! It was pure torture and ever since then I think I have always felt an adverse reaction to the idea of running anywhere except the mall for a friends and family discount.

My dad inspired me, as he has run about one million races. He’s 51 years old and ran a Megatransect; a 28 mile hike/run through the hills of Central PA. He sent me a video and it looked absolutely terrifying but amazing all at the same time. We weren’t sure why it was called the Megatransect, so we Googled it. Turns out it is the name of an expedition in Africa a man by the name of J. Michael Fay conducted throughout the Congo Basin. Transect is a term in ecology referring to a survey of the natural vegetation in a particular area, and megatransect was born out of the large area covered in the survey. So interesting! (You can find all of that information online, just Google it.)

I’m excited but super nervous as I start training and such. It will be a long while before I attempt a mega race, but baby steps will slowly but surely take me there. I’m also in need of a good pair of running shoes; I will have to forgo all the frills this time and settle for a comfortable pair! Wish me luck!

Link Love October 14th

I’ve had a rough couple of days in the school arena and found no better way to cure my pains than with endlessly perusing the internet for all sorts of randomness and inspiration.  Here’s my roundup:

If you have pets, especially dogs, then I feel like you’re a dog person and understand how dogs are the most unconditionally loving beings on this earth.  I about lost it in my cubicle when I read this HuffPost Good News article.  More proof that animals can understand more than just eating, sleeping and loving you senseless.  Trust me, you will go home and hug your furry family members until they wriggle away to escape.

And because I can’t get enough of HuffPost features, I frequent HuffPost Travel for all of my wanderlust desires.  How to Travel Taught Me Someday is Today says what we are all thinking but too afraid to do.  Even if it’s not traveling, there is always something that we keep telling ourselves “someday, I will…” until someday turns into never and then what?  Time to start grabbing life by the balls and get out there!  Definitely easier said than done, but like myself, I know we are all working on it.

Like I mentioned, I’ve been pretty stressed at school and another way I appease my stress and anxiety is with shopping.  I enjoy saving my money and don’t mind the splurge every once in a while with my hard earned cash.  I found the most amazing Steve Madden flats at Macy’s. Although I didn’t order them online, I thought I would share my shoe happiness with you all.  They are fresh for the season and lucky for me the floor sample that had just been put out that morning was my size and the only size 6 in that particular shoe.  I wear between a 6 or 6.5 in most shoes but have even squeezed my feet in some 5’s.  It really just depends on the shoe for me.  Even luckier for me, Macy’s will give you 10% off floor sample shoes!  And on top of that, they had a shoe sale and I got an additional 20% off.  In my heart, I knew those shoes were destined for my closet.  The deal was too good to pass up!

I started following various blogs through Instagram then I moved onto frequenting their blogs online.  One of my favorites is Hallie of Corals + Cognacs.  I absolutely love her hilarious writing voice and her outfits are amazing.  I have found a TON of inspiration from her posts on travel and packing (still working on packing everything in a carry-on).  She’s currently in Paris and her Instagrams are enough to make me drop everything and book a flight!

xo

Today I…

conquered a fear!  I’ve been trying lately to conquer fears, even little ones the pop up along the way.  It is all part of my “trying new things, getting over irrational fears and just kicking ass in general” lifestyle change.

Today, my best friend and I went to Seven Springs Mountain Resort  in Seven Springs, PA.  It is a skiing/snowboarding resort about an hour and a half southeast of Pittsburgh.  We decided to head out this morning to check out the resort’s Autumnfest celebration during weekends in the fall.  I had never been to Seven Springs, ever in my whole life, although I have a lot of friends who snowboard and spend winter weekends there.

The fear part had to do with the drive there.  We had to take the turnpike, which is totally not a big deal, but for me it is.  I really don’t like navigating new places, especially when I’m not totally sure how to get there (what ever would we do without GPS?).  When I was little my dad used to sit around the house and read a giant book of maps of Pennsylvania and surrounding states.  He literally studied roads and how to get places.  Now that we all have GPS, we are all pretty spoiled in that respect.  I can definitely read a map but if I had to rely on one just to drive an hour away, I don’t know what I would do!  Actually, I do know what I would do.  I would study that map and figure it out just like anything in life.  So even though it doesn’t seem like a big deal to most (it wasn’t to my BFF/copilot for the day) it was a big deal to me, and gosh darnnit I am proud of myself. (Pats self on back)

So much like my Philly trip, I made it an survived!  Autumnfest was a little less than what we expected but we still had fun.  It had rained the night before and some serious fog was making its way off of the mountains on our drive up.  We could barely see ahead of us because the fog was so thick once we got off the turnpike and ascended up the mountain.  But the scenery (what we could see of it) was beautiful!  I’m a city girl at heart, but being out in the mountains is an awesome feeling.  Fresh air and the leaves changing is a nice escape from the concrete jungle.

We had a nice lunch at a little restaurant at the resort.  We ordered the most delicious apple cinnamon sangria filled with liquor soaked apples.  It was SO GOOD.  We also took a scenic chair lift ride even though it was freezing cold!  But we conquered a mini-fear there because the chair lift heights are no joke, and there is only a little metal bar that keeps you in the seat.  Overall, we had a great fall day!  What did you do today?

xo

Carla

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Heaven

This fall, I vowed to make some delicious fall-themed recipes and just cook more in general.  I get so bogged down in school and work, and that comes with a lot of lackluster eating.  I finally made something a few days ago and now have developed an addiction to these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  I ate five the day I made them and two the day after.  Good thing they aren’t the mega muffins you can buy at Costco, you know the 600 calorie 60 grams of carbs muffins, but they are sugary, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins nonetheless.  They are absolutely delicious.  I. Can’t. Even.

 

Now, I’m really not one to sit around and come up with recipes on my own.  First, I’m not a baker.  I’d rather whip something up on the stove than measure, level, sift or any of that baking nonsense.  Not sure why, but sometimes I get a little impatient with baking desserts, breads, etc.  Baking requires such specific measurements and I’d just like to throw everything into a bowl and TAAA-DAAAAA!!  So I Googled some Pumpkin recipes and came across the lovely lady behind The Girl Who Ate Everything and her recipe for the most amazing pumpkin chocolate chip muffins EVER in the history of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

The recipe COULD NOT have been easier to follow.  Would you look at that batter?  I’m not one of those people that avoid eating cookie dough or batter with raw ingredients because I’ve been doing it all my life and I’m still alive!  How could I ever deprive myself of the deliciousness that is raw batter?  It’s all about moderation.

The muffins came out moist and soft, not dry and crumbly like some muffins can be.  They got rave reviews from my trusty recipe taste testers (my mom).  The recipe is a great recipe.  Easy to follow, even for a lax baker like myself, and they taste amazing.  Probably going to make another batch!

I hope you are all enjoying the fall season!

xo

Link Love October 7th

I’ve decided to start a weekly (hopefully I post every week) post on things I love in the virtual world.  I tend to peruse the web a lot, and I am always in search of the posts that pass on good news, put a smile on my face or inspire me.  With all of the sensationalism in the media and throngs of stories that dwell on the negative in the world, we can all use a little cheering up!

This Thought Catalog story includes two things I love:  nautical themes and love.  And it doesn’t hurt to take a new perspective on the one thing that keeps everyone going.

The Everygirl is an online resource for women all over the world.  The site features career profiles of successful women in an array of professions, home tours, beauty and career advice and information to keep the Everygirls out there informed.  I visit the site almost daily and it has really inspired me to tap into my creative side!

Because Beyoncé!  She’s taken over the world and made thousands of women (and men) feel FLAWLESS.  I saw her last summer in Boston for the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, and I can honestly say it was the best night of my life.  We had great seats and Bey is the true definition of a performer. Buzzfeed always has the best articles to brighten anyones day, and they featured 9 Career Lessons to be learned from Queen Bey herself.  All Hail the Queen.

And finally, because it is Halloween and the witching season is upon us, it wouldn’t be right without some Hocus Pocus.  Take this Hocus Pocus trivia quiz to test your knowledge of the world’s greatest Halloween movie.  I got 11 out of 14 right!  Not too bad since I spent two weekends ago watching the movie back to back two nights in a row (that’s four times) but an infinite amount would be too little.

 

Stay Flawless.

 

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin Oreos, pumpkin soap, what’s next…pumpkin scented stationary?  For the record, real pumpkins taste…well, they taste like squash and nothing like pumpkin pie or your 1600 calorie Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Frappucino whatever.

Don’t get me wrong. The first chance I got, I headed out to Bruegger’s for some pumpkin spice coffee. (I much prefer the flavored coffee and not the flavored drinks teeming with pumpkin flavored syrup) But on my latest trip to Trader Joe’s, I could not escape the pumpkin fervor. They had pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin pancake mix, just about anything you liked they had a pumpkin version of it.

I fell victim to TJ’s sampling trap; they sampled their pumpkin seed brittle, and OH MY GOD it is amazing. Their Harvest Spice tea, not so much. It was heavy on the spice as I felt as though I had just huffed a container of pumpkin spice blend. My faced morphed into a weird contortionist-like smirk and a fellow TJ shopper looked on in laughter, “we won’t pick you for the Harvest Tea spokesperson, I guess.” No, sir, you will not.

I can’t say I don’t absolutely love the fall season.  Leaves changing, pumpkin picking, Halloween movie watching, cozying up in a sweater enjoying the crisp cool air; it is definitely a nice break from the heat and humidity of the summer months.  If my entire fall 2014 consisted of delicious comfort food, Halloween candy and watching Hocus Pocus and the Halloween movies over and over and over again, I would not be upset.  Although, I am trying to squeeze in some ghost adventuring.  Tis the season!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.  I like the occasion more so than Christmas.  On Halloween, you can be yourself (or someone else) for a little while and have fun with it!  As a kid, I always tried to come up with a creative and awesome costume each year, but I couldn’t get too far from the typical witch, princess, cat, bunny, slutty bumblebee, the list goes on.  Blonde Barbie Princess was my favorite costume because my mom bought me a blonde wig and I got to pretend to be a Barbie (thankfully, I grew out of that phase).

As an adult, what I mostly look forward to every year is Halloween movies, Ghost Adventures specials and food.  Apples are in season (Gala are my favorite) and I love perusing food blogs for the latest fall recipes.  This fall, I hope to actually try a few new ones out!  I’ve been drooling over recipes and food blogs, especially those featured in this HuffPost Taste article.  Everything looks AMAZING.  I always end up reading these articles during some downtime at work and I find myself starving even though I just had breakfast.  Keep an eye out for some Halloween Throw Back Thursdays (tbt’s) in the next few weeks leading up to Halloween.  Hopefully, I have tried out some delicious fall recipes as well!

Xo

Carla