Good evening!
I’m not sure about you, but today has flown by for me. My in laws were here today and Eric was also working from home, so we had a full house! I still have a lot of work to get caught up on tonight. My MIL was off to Ireland this afternoon to meet her brothers for an Ireland-Spain road trip. I attempted to hide in her suitcase, but unfortunately she is an over-packer much like her daughter-in-law…
She was SO proud to show me one of her purchases for her trip from a store called Ricki’s…
She knows how much I love lace and detailed-backs on tops. We actually have a very similar style…we are always complimenting each other on each other’s clothing! One thing she got me hooked on are brightly coloured scarves…I never used to wear them and now I always do. They are a great way to accent clothing or spruce up an outfit.
For dinner, Eric and I threw together a huge salad. We realized that it is our CSA pick-up tonight (Week 2!) and we still have a lot of veggies to plough through! We managed to demolish about 75% of our produce in these salads. Not bad!
This was one of the best salads…wait, I said that last time. :lol: They are ALL amazing, I will just leave it at that!
In this huuuuge salad contained: 1.5 organic romaine hearts, 1 small avocado, 1 tomato, 1/2 cup leftover stir-fry veggies, 3/4 cup lentils mixed in pasta sauce (on bottom), 3-4 tbsp of my better than bottled balsamic vinaigrette (obsessed!!), sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
A little tidbit about Eric- he used to only eat Caesar salad when I first met him 10 years ago, but he has developed a love for all kinds of salads now. Sometimes we have to fight over the last of the lettuce!
For dessert, some dark chocolate…
I LOVE this chocolate!!! I may have snuck another square when I was putting it away… :whistle: Cannot stop eating it.
Some backyard photography ensued..
Nature makes my heart go a flutter.
Don’t these pictures just make you want to go camping??
Swoon.
Health News Round Up
- 10 reasons you hate to cook and what to do about it – Huffington Post
- How to maximize the life in your produce – Fitsugar
- 10 Delicious and mouth-watering meat-free meals – Yum Sugar
- 7 Tips for a less toxic world – Huffington Post
- A lovely write up on Green Monsters – My Adventures In Veg
- Workout clothes for hot weather- what is best polyester or cotton? – Thatsfit.ca
- Are there really benefits from being a grump!? – BBC
- When a Crazy Produce Sticker Lady and Crazy Produce Sticker man collide… – Florida Food Snob
- Bethany’s Light Gazpacho recipe – Health
- Follow a personal trainer as she completes the Insanity DVD workout challenge – Physique Speak
- Should fast food restaurants post personalized calorie counts on the receipt? – That’sFit.com
- Pricey grocery stores attract the skinniest shoppers – MSNBC
- Trying to kick the pop habit? here are some fun tricks to spruce up plain water – Globe and Mail
- Too old to start yoga? This 90-year old grandma will prove you wrong – Huffington Post
- Try these simple tricks to slash your laundry bill by 90% – Casa Sugar
Spotted:
- 60 second black bean dip
- Vegan Overnight Oats
- Spelt pancakes for 2
- Banana soft serve vegan overnight oats and again here
Tonight’s question- Are you a nature girl? Do you like to go camping? Any camping stories/tips to share?
I am a huge nature girl! I feel like I am in my element when I am in nature. That is why living in the big city for 2 years didn’t really mesh with my personality. Eric is the same way. I’m on the fence with camping…I have only been a couple times (we don’t own tents) so I don’t really know HOW to camp. I feel like I need a tutorial…I wouldn’t know what to bring or what food to pack. Might make for an interesting blog post though! :biggrin:
When my best friend and I were young (grades 7-9 mostly), we used to camp in my backyard. We would pack all kinds of food (enough for a week!), grab our flashlights, and then put a super-powerful trinket lock on the tent. One time we woke up to a crazy pheasant trying to get into our tent! That was the end of that!
We are off to pick up our CSA box!
I am absolutely a nature girl!! I adore camping, and go every long weekend in the summer. We live in Saskatchewan, and we even go tent camping on May long weekend which always has BRUTAL weather … but we tough it out!
I love to camp. Though I have only ever done car camping (i.e. provincial parks – and I’m not talking backwoods Algonquin pp). The kind of pp’s where your tent is 10 feet away from your car. Last year my hubby and I completely finished our basement from scratch so we didn’t camp a lot (sadness) and when we did it rained a lot, so right now whenever it’ raining I like to keep the windows open and listen to the rain, it sounds like camping. Always important to remember to pack a lighter to start the fire, wet wipes (great or keeping your hands clean w/o treking to the w/r all the time), a ball or frisbee to stay entertained when not hiking or swimming. I can’t wait to go camping this year!
I am the same way, when it is time to pick up the produce box I rush to finish up last weeks. It is a good thing!
Those pictures make me want to go for a hike in the woods. I like nature, but I like to come home to my house at night.
I love to be outside enjoying nature. I once camped (in tents) with the kids for two weeks and it was amazing. We had a bring-your-own-bed and it was just like sleeping in your bed at home. I especially love the water and snorkeling.
I’m kind of in the middle.. I like nature but I also like electricity and running water :)
So cool that your MIL is going to Ireland! I’m leaving to go there on Saturday!
I adore camping! One of the biggest expenses on any vacation is your lodging. You can almost cross it out when you camp. Also, it’s so good to take a break from 2010 and unplug from the real world for a couple of days. I just recently spent a week backpacking in the Smokies. It was such a great time. I love the cities, but the mountains are so peaceful. Definitely give camping a try! Borrow a tent and some sleeping bags, don’t feel bad about cheating and using lighter fluid for your campfire, pack some good, portable food, and go try it for a night or two!
I absolutely hate the outdoors. Always being FORCED to be outside during the summers really turned me off to it. I hate camping, I hate dirt, I hate bugs, I hate when it is unbearably hot or cold. I become a bit of a whiner when I’m camping! lol
OMG looooooooove that shirt!!!
Although I’m a big fan of nature I have never had a good camping experience
1. Camping 7th grade, fell into the glacier-fed river in March. I had to hold onto a super slippery rock with algae until someone could pull me out. If I would have let go there was a very high chance that I would have died to to the rapids and rocks in the river.
2. I was a junior counselor at an adventure camp. We were playing a hide and go seek in the woods [along a river]. I was had a headlamp on, but it fell off when I slid down the side of a embankment. The river was so loud I couldn’t hear people call my name, and they couldn’t hear me. Eventually they found me and rescued me :)
3. We were swarmed by meat-eating bees. They wanted our hotdogs and any meat that we had. It was so disgusting.
Hi Angela,
To answer your questions – I am a total nature girl. And, I would love camping – if it weren’t for bugs. And public bathrooms :(
Just wanted to let you know I signed for the GoodLife Half Marathon on October 17th – it will be my first one EVER. And the furthest I’ve ever run is 5k. Gulp!! But it happens to be 2 days before I turn 39, and I just decided it is my gift to myself. So, I will be starting my training very soon. I joined through Team Diabetes, so I’ll be raising $350.
Thank you so much for sharing your half marathon story, it helped me make my decision, and I’m looking forward to the challenge!
If you decide to enter as well, let me know and we can meet up!
Dawn :)
I’m a total nature girl- open water swimming, canoeing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, trail running, mountain biking – I love it all! I come from a reallllly outdoorsy family- they would add fishing and hunting to that list!
Last year me and my dad went on a backpacking trip in virginia for 4 days 3 nights, it was such a great experience, we went with the REI travel group..there were 3 other people and 2 guides.It was cool to have the two guides they told us so many of their camping stories and taught us so much, It was cool to kind of be away from everyone, no cellphones or anything and it was really relaxing, we learned how to set up camp, tents, cook, and lots more! I would definitely recommend an air mattress, we had sleeping cushions for our tents but you could still feel all the rocks and stuff underneath, wasn’t the most comfortable thing! I love being out doors and hiking!
YES YES YES! I am a nature girl and feel most alive when I am outdoors. We camp (half-camp we have a pop up trailer) at least 4 times every summer. We always go out the Sequoias for about 5 days. It’s so beautiful and the smells….nothing like it. I bet it’s beautiful up where you live.
I was brought up in the countryside so love nothing more than fresh air on my face and walking through beautiful places. However, I’m not a camper! I feel so grubby and am not food with sleeping / eating outside!! Your garden looks beautiful, you are so lucky to have those flowers in your back garden. It must be great to eat out there.
I love nature, too! It helps me clear my mind when I’m walking or hiking through the woods. It also reminds me that there is something greater than me ‘out there’ that created this beautiful Earth!
I haven’t camped much, but I did go on a 12-day backpacking trip in the Adirondacks as part of a requirement for the college I went to. We had to fast in solitude for two of those days! Sounds crazy, but it was a wonderful experience.
I am a nature girl! I love forests especially. Camping is cool too. Scotland is great for nature, but unfortunately the weather doesn’t always help! Nature, great. Pooring rain, not so much.
I am a nature girl too :o) We always went camping when I was growing up, and my boyfriend loves it as much as I do. We like to go camping at the dunes where we live. You can only get there by boat, so you need to make sure you have everything you need! We bring our son with us and he loves it too. We also like to ride in trails in the woods with our four wheeler and stop to set up the tent when we see a nice spot.
I LOVE nature! We grew up going on yearly ski trips out west, as well as several 2-week long hiking trips in the Pacific Northwest hiking up Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, etc… I love packing sandwiches, fruit, and bottled water and taking a break on a large rock by a stream for a quick bite. We went camping a few times, but it’s funny my DAD was the one who didn’t like it!!! My mom loves it! The only problem I have is if we would run into a snake. Thankfully that hasn’t happened… yet!!! ;) Here’s to hoping it never does!
Those pictures are beautiful!!!
I’m SUCH a nature girl :D We technically live in the city, but we’re super close to the river and the countryside (like less than 5 minutes walk) so I can just about cope. We have two camping trips lined up for the summer – we’re doing a week in Amsterdam (ok, technically we;re staying in Wagonettes which are really just glorified tents) and a second one somewhere in the lovely Yorkshire countryside! If I do get out into nature fairly frequently I start to feel like I’m going to explode. I’ve never understood how people can love living in big cities – there’s always so much noise and movement…. it makes me really anxious. Last year I lived in a basement by a main road and it drove me insane!
I never know what kind of bra to wear under a top like that :S