Good morning readers!
Today marks my last full day at home. I’ve already got the suitcase packed so I’m spending the day seeing a couple friends, some time with my parents and some time organizing clothes into piles I can donate or keep.
Yesterday morning I woke up to a lot of text messages so I wasn’t really able to sleep in. It ended up being a good thing since we had an impending snowstorm coming our way, I wanted to get out and try and hunt for a great sweater bargain before it got too messy. First, I made breakfast.
I made a 2 ingredient pancake topped with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB and washed it down with a glass of milk with blueberries on the side 🙂
Although I wasn’t successful in finding any sweaters that I loved, I ran into a friend from high school, got a pair of 5 dollar gym shorts and scored the BIGGEST bargain I think I have experienced to date.
I bought this sweater dress for $5.16 from Ann Taylor Loft. It was the only one in the entire store and I eyed this girl trying it on so I asked her where she found it. She ended up not wanting it (WHY?!?! I will never know) so she told me she left it in the dressing room. I’m so excited to wear it for NYE! 🙂
When I got out of the store, I realized how quickly our town was turning into a winter wonderland and how fast the snow was coming down.
Once I got home I was starving. My breakfast did a good job of holding me over awhile though. Nonetheless, the first thing I did when I got home was reheat my chili and add some guacamole to it for a little kick.
Then I was home for the day due to all the snow and had to cancel some of the plans I had made and my family friend ended up getting the flu so I won’t be able to see them this break 😦 Although I was bummed, it was great to have some time to myself and my parents. I ended up napping for awhile too. Then I decided I should show you guys some of my Christmas presents!
I also got this jacket from lululemon (it’s in the wash currently) and these running tights, but we had to exchange the size.
I am so fortunate to have gotten so much quality running apparel from my family. I also got a bunch of small things, like a great new nail polish color I’ve been rocking in my pictures, but figured you guys would be more interested in the big stuff.
After my nap, I lounged around for quite awhile watching Scrubs, Glee and eventually making a big salad for dinner. So big I actually had to move it from a bowl into a mixing bowl haha. 
In the bowl was spinach, zucchini, tomato, avocado, shrimp, cranberries, orange bell pepper, mushrooms, and beets in a balsamic vinaigrette. As if I didn’t have enough veggies in there, I also enjoyed a side of steamed asparagus. The dinner was absolutely what I was craving and filled me up. I enjoyed a couple bites of this local vanilla ice cream afterwards.
I then went outside to try and capture how beautiful the snow looked, but I’ll have to get some better shots of it today instead.
I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday!
Until next time,
Natasha
and went out to Whole Foods and Costco with my Mom for some samples galore!
Then ate a lunch
before I met up with my cousin Lauren and went shopping with her for some last minute christmas gifts for my mom and dad. I finally got the coat I’ve been eyeing on a good deal too!
After all that shopping I was one tired girl. I had dinner with my family then went out to Ashley’s Ice Cream in New Haven with my dad and brother (I had Strawberry since they make it fresh daily it was delicious! And had chunks of fresh strawberries in it 🙂 )
After spotting Kevin Jonas out and about a couple times, it was time for our other tradition, Dominick’s! It’s a locally owned restaurant that has been there since my dad went to college at Fordham and we still see the same waiters every time. You sit next to people you don’t know which is always fun and very much the neighborhood feel. I ordered Eggplant Parm but only ate a small part of the colossal portion.
I laid in bed for awhile when we got home because I was so exhausted, ate some cereal for dinner, then headed over to my friend Jackson’s where Eric him and Dan were working on music.
Monday morning was Christmas Eve! I was able to sleep in, luckily, and woke up to a good start to my day with a solid breakfast. Then a couple hours later, my mom brother and I went for a run and afterwards I made a smoothie then I hit the gym for some strength training and circuit training to try and work on my butt 🙂 (so. many. squats.)
Ater the gym, it was chocolate milk time!
After a quick glass I went upstairs and got ready, realxed until it was snack time around 6 o’clock.
I enjoyed some of the crab dip, some veggies, a little bit of cheese, and then realized we weren’t going to eat dinner until after 10pm. (so typical for our family, but always leaves me with a headache and not feeling well). So I went into the fridge and whipped up a snack (cottage cheese, raisins, banana) to tide me over while we decorated the tree.
Upon realizing it was snowing, it was time to eat dinner. Zucchini, Veal Parmesan, Fresh Egg Noodle Pasta and Homemade Tomato Sauce.
After dinner my family whipped out this huge Chocolate Souffle cake my mom always makes, but it was close to midnight and I was full in addition to being exhausted so I opted for my chocolate covered strawberry instead. While my mom got the cake ready, there was some dog snuggling action goin on. He, Oliver, was my Christmas Present 6 Christmas Eve’s ago! 🙂
Then my brother and I exchanged gifts with each other. I got him a couple movies on Blu-Ray and a Timex Ironman Sports Watch while he got me the 
It was cute, since I had to carry my bear a man on the metro bus struck up a conversation with me about it. We ended up talking and he was so sweet. After the holidays he’s traveling to Japan for 8 days. He worked there back in his 20s and always wanted to go back, so he is now! It was a little inspirational to see someone following through on a dream like that and a great start to my “holiday break.”
Once we got there, our parents were running late, no big surprise, so Nick and I went to a Starbucks and just chatted for about an hour catching up. While he chose a coffee, I chose a Mighty Mango Naked Smoothie. Always a good go to for me when I’m thirsty and hungry 🙂
However, I only drank half because I knew my family and I were going somewhere extra special for lunch today…
Does this look familiar to any of you readers?
Yes! That’s right! I went to the place where Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB comes from!!! 🙂 I was so excited for this little venture and it did not disappoint. There were so many interesting choices to choose from, and the dessert menu was TO DIE for, but I eventually chose The Elvis: maple syrup peanut butter, banana slices, and bacon on whole wheat bread with a big glass of skim milk to “wash it down” as they say on the menu :).
Although I wasn’t sure at first if I would get the bacon, I decided to try it. I rarely have it and figured if I was ordering a sandwich called the Elvis, it wouldn’t be right sans bacon. It was delicious. I enjoyed every last bite.
What was really cute is on the Potato Chip packaging the owner of the company explains when he was a kid his PB&J was served to him with carrot sticks and chips. He wasn’t allowed to eat the chips without having the carrots. He encouraged us to make sure we ate our carrots or his mom might come after us. I thought it was a great message to send out about balanced eating but in a very approachable and personal way. Peanut Butter Co. you are awesome.
I laid in bed until it was time to get ready for my friend’s annual holiday party. They’ve had it every year for the last 5 or 6 years and it became especially great once we all went off to college. I can always count on seeing this group of people once a year and it never fails to be a good time. I had some Shrimp and Cashewchinese food leftovers my parents had in the fridge with a simple salad on the side. I knew I would be snacking at the holiday party, so I wanted to get some good nutrients in me beforehand.
I ate at our dining room table that my mom spends hours decorating each year. Our whole house becomes “Chrismafized” and there’s lots of small details throughout – like my nutcracker name holder. Once I headed out, I swung over to target to grab a gift for the present swap game. Tradition.
While shopping, I had a couple gifts in my hand, but ultimately decided to pick a gift for a specific audience. When people get ambiguous gifts they’re either funny or traded back and forth a lot because people want something else, so I wanted to pick a gift that someone would definitely enjoy. I decided to get some Burt’s Bees tinted lip balms and bought myself a book to read over break. Perks of Being a Wallflower 🙂
I got to the party pretty much right on time, somewhat fashionably late by 15 minutes, and was drawn to Jack’s buffalo chicken dip he made. Holy wow. It was so delicious! And Haley’s boyfriend made bacon wrapped salmon which was also, amazing. It was dangerous to sit inbetween the two, but I enjoyed each bite and spaced them out. It’s always hard for me to avoid such temptation at parties, especially when everyone around me isn’t really concerned about it and enjoys what they’re having. At times during the party I found myself beating myself up for what I was eating and at those points I walked around the party and would go talk to someone different to keep me entertained and out of my own head.
We played the present swap game, caught up on how everyone’s life is going, shared personal stories, and I was laughing hysterically for a good portion of the night. I didn’t take a picture, but in the gift swap I won The Dark Knight Rises on DVD! WOOO! Such a good gift year for me 🙂
Then it was time for dessert! I tried one of each, but my ultiamte favorite was the Red Velvet munchkins Haley and Lauren made. They were incredible. 
I eventually decided I couldn’t be a prisoner to my own mind games, and just decided I would enjoy the evening, and hop back on the balance wheel tomorrow. Especially since I’m planning on moving to the other coast next year, I’m not quite sure how next years holiday will go. I’m not going crazy, but I want to be able to enjoy things and not penalize myself for it, not carry the guilt. Self control is still something I am working towards, but it will only be that much harder to achieve if I am constantly analyzing and beating myself up for certain things. I’ve gotta balance it all out.
Look Good, Feel Good, For Good! 