Moose Mug. The weekend in a word...HAPPINESS.

My husband is the best.  He is a true romantic. Leading up to holidays and special occasions he always acts very nonchalant and gets a kick out of teasing me about what we are or aren't doing, but he always has multiple surprises up his sleeve and nothing makes him feel more pleased with himself than getting me to cry from joy and surprise.   

Saturday morning started off with my usual routine; running, teach, walk the dog. Around 10 he called asking where I was because he needed to run to fedex for work, which is very believable.  Moose and I headed to the bedroom for a nap and awoke to him in the kitchen telling me he needed a minute.  I finally was allowed to come out and was given the most thoughtful gift. He not only made it but came up with the idea, a complete original!  I was floored, impressed, and in awe.  It is so beautiful.  Our first year summarized in photos, and yes in the shape of a 1.  I love it!  

Around 2:30pm we headed downtown, all I knew was we were staying at a hotel.  As we drove down Michigan Avenue we would pass hotels, Ryan would name the hotels as we passed and then laugh saying, "NOPE."  We finally arrived at the Peninsula Hotel!  I felt like we were truly on a vacation, a very fancy vacation at that.  
On Friday afternoon Ryan stopped by the hotel dropping off a second gift and my card.  Upon entering the room there was a bottle of wine, chocolate covered strawberries sitting on marshmallow pillows and a little pink box.  We celebrated and headed out for a long walk around the city.  Dinner at a fancy restaurant, followed by cocktails at trendy bars and sitting unders the stars. We woke this morning to no alarms, watching TV in bed, and ordering room service...that's what I call a perfect morning.  
Ryan got me to cry twice throughout the day=success to him.  It was an amazing weekend.  He surprised me and made me feel so special.  What a great man.  

We arrived home this afternoon and picked up Moose to head to the lakefront.

All in all it was a perfect weekend.  

Oh and after dinner tonight we did what everyone tells you not to do but we defrosted our wedding cake topper and ate it...IT WAS DELICIOUS!  We were shocked. 

Workout Plan for the Week:
Sunday: OFF
Monday: 7 mile run
Tuesday: Teach Bootcamp
Wednesday: Hot Vinyasa Yoga
Thursday: Teach Bootacamp and Pilates
Frdiay: 8 mile Run
Saturday: TBD

Merried One Year!

One year ago we were...

Happy  1 year to my best friend.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have found my true companion.  You get me.  I love you more each day. 

Cheers to the rest of our lives! 

 All photos by Clary Pfeiffer.

Summer Ab Series.

It's never too late to start your summer shape up, especially if you live in Chicago.  Today might have been the first bikini weather we have had yet!  

A couple of things to think about when you are working your core...
1) More is not always better. Doing 100s of crunches or minutes of plank is not necessary.  QUALITY over Quantity.  
2)  If you neck bothers you when performing crunches, stop crunching.  There are plenty of ways to effectively work your core without putting yourself into pain.  Your neck could be bothering you during flexion because of many reasons, why make it worse for flat abs?   One of those reasons could be due to improper form, seek out a Pilates teacher or trainer for tips on how to improve your form. 
3) Keep it out of your shoulders.  When holding planks maintain a good shoulder connection to your back, don't let the wait hang in your shoulders.  Think shoulders away from ears and a nice wide back.
4) You should NOT feel tension in your low back while performing plank exercises.  Use your core to support the shape.  For tips on planking.
5)  MODIFY when needed.  
6) Let's all workout SMARTER!

Dinner in the B house lately.

The last two weekends I have made some really great dinners and as I'm preparing them Ryan asks, "why aren't you taking pictures of the food?"  I explained to him that they are not my original recipes so they aren't going on the blog and then I decided I will take my pictures and share them with you because they have been really great!  
So here is some link love for my recent findings and some really great food bloggers:

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde from Raisin & Fig.
These were amazing and just a little spicy!  Going on rotation in our house.  

Chicken Tostada Salad from Shutterbean
 Super easy dish to make.  Full of flavor, light and healthy.  Love the tostada at the bottom. You could add black beans to it for a little extra protein and leave out the sour cream to make it a little lighter.

Miraval's Black Rice and Edamame Bean Salad  
A client of mine recently came back from the MIraval spa in Tucson and made one of their recipes and brought me a little jar of this deliciousness.  It's a vegetarian with a lot of flavor and really good texture.  I made this on Sunday so we could have it for the next few nights with dinner.  I had never had black rice before but it is quite yummy, with a little bit of a nutty flavor and after reading about it we should all be eating this "superman of super foods," full of phytonutrients and antioxidants.
*ingredient left off the list on the website but found later in the instructions: green onions

I would love to hear any recipe you have been loving lately!  Feel free to leave a comment with the link.