February Round-Up

After today, February will be long gone. I can't say that anything life changing or earth shattering happened for me this month aside from the fact that I ran 11 miles as my longest long run to date and ate a LOT (I'm talking colossal amounts) of candy. However, I wanted to share with you some photos from February that somehow got lost in the shuffle. Or rather, I forgot about them, rediscovered these hidden treasures & decided to share the bounty with you all today. You're welcome ;)

1. Coffee Crisp Cappuccinos during a breakfast date with B. Yes, they are as good as they sound. You get free refills, too!

2. Valentine's Day socks from my mama. My feet were feelin' the love.

3. Another picture of my feet, since I don't think you've had enough yet. More specifically, here are my fabulous running shoes that are ridiculously flexible and light and speedy. I have began to count the miles I put on these babies too. I loved my old Adidas shoes a little TOO much, and went over the suggested maximum 500 miles on a pair. Oops. I love shoes and I love running!

4. Christmas is around the corner! No, this Santa hand lotion was under my bed, and I just happened to find it while looking for my (coincidentally) Christmas-themed pajama pants.

On to March!

Hello, I'm Twenty!

 Goodbye, 19. Hello, 20!
On Wednesday I celebrated my 20th birthday! I ventured over to Vancouver Island on the last ferry Monday night. Although I didn't arrive until the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, it felt good to sleep in my old bedroom with those old familiar pink walls. Actually, I almost didn't know where I was when I woke up! Apparently I was pretty tired. Tuesday was full of fun and SURPRISES! I love surprises! As I sat in the living room watching daytime TV with my mom and eating breakfast, she told me that we would be getting pedicures that afternoon, and then after we would be going to The Running Room (specialty running store) in Nanaimo so I could pick out some new runners. Aah, wonderful day! And it wasn't even my birthday on Tuesday! However Wednesday (my actual birthday) was nice and relaxed. I had a delicious (and indulgent) breakfast, tested out the new elliptical machine my parents recently bought, ran some errands, and my dad surprised me with a bouquet of flowers (which I forgot to take a picture of) on his lunch break! Then I unfortunately had to catch the ferry back to Vancouver. Coming home is always nice, but the visits aren't long enough! Here are some pictures I took during my birthday stay:

New kicks! Mizuno Wave Elixir 7 & a very fitting Half Marathon issue of Canadian Running. 72 days until the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon!

The original plan was to have waffles for breakfast, but after the waffle machine decided to destroy them, my mom settled on pancakes! Don't you love it when mom makes you breakfast? I had a single pancake topped with cherry pie filling (oh, yes!), strawberries (YUM), and whipped cream (oh, heavens). It was so dreamy!

I opted for a sparkly red polish for my pedicure. Note: I have bruising on my toenails from a single DAY of wearing high heels for long periods of time. Boo! :(

January Fitness Favourites

I always wonder how many people set fitness related goals once January 1st rolls around. While I have fitness goals of my own (I'm currently training for my first half marathon), I also make an effort to look good (or at LEAST wear the proper gear) while breaking a sweat. Look good, feel good, do good, right?

I wanted to share with you some fitness gear that I am loving this month. It is important to have the right apparel when you are participating in a sport, whether it's yoga or running or cycling, as it will not only help you perform better, but it will help you stay cool and comfortable during your work out, too.

Here are my favourites:

Adidas "Falcon Elite" Runners: $66 (WOW, wicked deal for runners!)

Nike "Free 3.0" Runners: $91
Nike Reversible Running Headband: $18

Adidas Blue Mesh Running Shirt: (No price available)

Old Navy Yoga Mat: $15

Victoria's Secret Yoga Apparel: $20+

Nike "6.0 Icon" Hoodie: $53

Lululemon "Run: Back on Track" Pullover: $108

Lululemon Duffle Bag: $39

Nike Two-in-One Tempo Track Shorts: $51

What's Making You Happy?

Today was one of those days where the good stuff just wouldn't stop happening. I mean, it has been a great week leading up to this wonderful day, but it's kind of funny how so many fun/exciting things can all happen in the span of... Maybe ten hours or so?

Currently making me happy (in no particular order!):

- Spending New Years with my beautiful sister & spending time with her shopping and hanging out!

- Waking up & having caramel coffee and pumpkin spice oatmeal. Healthy comfort food at its best.

- New perfume from my wonderful boyfriend. I seriously cannot stop smelling myself when I wear this perfume, which I'm sure looks silly to those around me. In all seriousness, it's delicious!

- Stacks of magazines. There's more where that came from!

- Brand new running socks, fuzzy socks, and pink plaid flannel pajamas!

- Successful job interview! I think I am MOST excited about this.

- Chocolate, although the Christmas chocolate pile is slowly dwindling down (probably for the best).

- Half marathon training. Legs. Are. So. Sore!

Hope you all are enjoying the first few days of 2012 as much as I am!

Snaps of the Week

This past Sunday was Brandon's birthday, so we headed out to Brown's Social House in Richmond for some dinner & drinks! Being the girl that I am, I had to go for the mimosa on special rather than the Caesar - SO yummy, so filling!

A project of mine on Tuesday at work involved a lot of ribbons. Lots, and LOTS of ribbons (and continued on until Wednesday).

New running shirt from Skinny Runner. I love it already & have used it on the majority of my runs!

Soft, delicious oatmeal banana cookies. I used this recipe, but used 1/2 cup raisins & 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. These babies are so yummy, especially fresh out of the oven. Bonus: make the whole house smell fantastic!

A couple treats before my last exam this past Monday evening. Sometimes it's nice to just sit by the window in a coffee shop and see what's happening - most of the time you see some pretty darn funny things, too! I enjoyed a shortbread cookie (with white chocolate icing, um hello, heaven!) with an almond milk caramel macchiato. Oh, and in the bag are some shoe ornaments for the little tree in the apartment!

Hope you've all had a good week!

Christmas Wishes: Running Edition

Fitness and health has recently become a big part of my life. A couple years ago I lost about 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercising - none of that diet pill garbage or starving yourself (I like food too much!). Although I love dancing (I danced ever since I was 4 up until grade 11), running is my exercise of choice, combined with yoga and some strength training. A large portion of my Christmas list is dedicated to the sport of running. While others think I am crazy for loving running, it honestly is such a good way to get out any frustrations and start the day off on the right foot. Plus, it does wonders for your legs & booty!

Here are several items featured on my running list:

Zensah compression sleeves for calves. This is especially helpful when I experience soreness in my legs from a hard work out and keeps the blood moving!

Foam rolling is definitely something all runners should be doing, but I just haven't gotten my hands on one of these bad boys! I've seen them at Winners and various sportswear stores, but I guess I just thought, "next time." Nevertheless, foam rolling prevents injuries throughout your training & is so important to stave off injuries in the future.

A Garmin Forerunner 305 has had tons of great reviews, and lots of fitness bloggers I read swear by this little device to clock their time, splits & distance. So helpful considering I have nothing like this!

 The most important (to me) item on my Christmas list isn't exactly something tangible. It has always been a goal of mine to run a half marathon, so my wish this Christmas is to be signed up for the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon! It would be such an amazing gift, because not only is it something I HAVE to use, but it will give me motivation to work hard with my training and accomplish one of my (many) goals.

 

 Running tights & crops are way better for running than short shorts when the cold weather hits. Unfortunately it already has here in Raincouver (I mean, Vancouver..)! 

 I already have a subscription to Runner's World magazine (it should be here any day now! Fingers crossed), so any running related books are on my Christmas wish list, especially this one by the Olympic distance Runner, Kara Goucher.

 Running t-shirts & tanks. It is so tempting to run in a big comfy t-shirt, but the fact of the matter is that heavy cotton shirts are NOT your friend when it comes to running. You want something that will wick away moisture and keep you cool (or warm depending on the garment). I am building my collection of running T-shirts & tanks, but it doesn't hurt to have more!

Finally, the last item I'm sharing with you is the iPod shuffle. I have an iPod nano & an iPhone, but I really dislike having to hold onto something as I run. Often times it takes me a while to get comfortable with something in my hand and headphone wires hanging every where. It gets difficult and frustrating when you are getting tangled up along your run! An iPod shuffle is perfect, because you can clip it onto your jacket or the waist of your pants (or even a sleeve) without worry.

Okay folks, that is all for the Running Edition of my Christmas Wishes! If you work out, what is your exercise of choice? Do you have any equipment for this particular activity that you would like for Christmas?

Have a lovely day!

A Jumble of Things

New running shoes I am utterly obsessed with.

Photoshoot before the Twilight Shuffle 5K. Notice the colour coordination here - it was done on purpose!

Look at ma shoooooes! And not my curved & strange finger.

Mom insisted, I swear!

Girl's Night!

Prince William is on my head. Take that, Kate!

Lauren and I!

Part of my dad's Father's Day present - it was filled with his favourite candies!

This accurately represents my dad. Thug & doin' his G-thang, every day.

Yes, I'm super, and my mom is a google eyed creature & Sarah is brilliant.

These are the last of the pictures I have been meaning to upload for over a week now! I have some more posts I have to do up, so look forward to some shopping items & outfits coming up!

Recently

The above pictures are from my phone during a morning run. Gorgeous way to start the day!

iPhone pic: London Fog time!

Gross. I began to shake this in the store, and as I was paying the lady says, "make sure you don't shake this. It is naturally carbonated, and one girl had it explode all over her." Oops.

 Dad, why are you watching the hockey game instead of paying attention?

The olive shirt returns!

I'm debating whether I should spend my day in bed. It's currently 11:47 AM and I kicked myself out of bed (after sleeping two hours past my alarm...) to run, then came home and worked on my sixty five pack (do I ooze sarcasm here or what?), stretched, showered & made a monstrous smoothie bowl topped with a serving (plus some...) of Puffins cereal. I'd like to say that I have been productive, but honestly, I don't feel like I have! Hopefully I'll find some motivation to get out of my bed and change out of a t-shirt and sweatpants. However, sometimes these days are nice when your body wants a break from the go-go-go!