As the temperatures rise my taste buds begin to crave adult beverages that are refreshing, and while I long to sip on something cold, itâ€s not that simple. (Is anything ever that simple??)  Hereâ€s my problem: I donâ€t care for white wine (red wine 4 life) and I never “acquired” that taste for beer those frat boys promised. When it comes to mixed drinks, I can only enjoy a select few without memories of college parties flooding my brain and activating my gag reflex. My taste buds clearly hate me since they want to sip something cool and yet, hate everything alcoholic except red wine. I began to accept that Iâ€d always be the weirdo ordering a glass of wine at the casual, outdoor bar until I discovered hard cider. Hard cider is more casual than a glass of cabernet, it comes in a bottle, and is a cool beverage that is lovely on hot days, but there are few brands on the shelf and itâ€s rare to see hard cider on the menu in bars/restaurants. But it seems like times may be changing! Just as the temperatures and humidity in Charlotte began to rise, I heard about Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, a brand new product, and was excited for the opportunity to do a taste test.

Testing something like wine, beer, or cider is always more fun in groups so I checked the calendar for upcoming social events. Ironically, the only thing I had planned this weekend was a get-together with three very pregnant friends. Remember how I said tastings are more fun with a group? Turns out that tastings are a blast when you are the only person in the group who can do more than have a sniff. Just kidding—I did drink one Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, but decided to really test ‘er out with someone else who could consume alcohol. However, I will say that the pregnant ladies enjoyed the crisp and fruity aroma of the Light Cider and look forward to the tasting part in a few weeks. We will have to schedule a do-over!

The next afternoon, my husband (Isaac) and I spent hours cleaning out our junk/guest/soon-to-be media room before rewarding ourselves with taste test, take-two. Right off we both enjoyed how the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider tasted—it has a very crisp, refreshing flavor that is lighter than most hard ciders with the perfect amount of sweet. Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is made from handpicked apples which I can distinctly taste, and the slight malty beer flavor creates a perfect balance. We were also very pleased to see that the Light Cider is lower in calories than most hard ciders and is gluten-free. Handpicked fruit, low in calories, and gluten-free?!? This stuff is practically healthy!

Honestly, I am glad I had the chance to review Michelob ULTRA Light Cider; it is delicious. And as an Anheuser-Busch product Iâ€m sure it will be available in bars and restaurants soon, but for the time being, I can grab a six-pack from the store and have a go-to summertime drink for cookouts and beach trips, just like everyone else!

 

If youâ€re interested in reading other reviews, check out  the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com.

In my last post I gushed about the adorable mountain cottage my husband and I escaped to last weekend. Now, as promised, I will share some of the highlights from the rest of our vacation. When we managed to rip ourselves away from the comfort of our cottage, it was usually in pursuit of food.

This is the photo a happy and hungry vegetarian.

I was pleasantly surprised to find several restaurants in Boone and Blowing Rock that offered multiple vegetarian options. For dinner the first night we wanted to check out downtown Boone and decided on Hob Nob Farm Café. It was very exciting walking amongst the college kids, out and about on their last day of class. (Reminded me how much fun it was to be that age.) And as much as I wanted to snap a photo of King Street, I already felt out of place dressed in overpriced jeans, pink shoes, and a shirt from Loft; pulling out a DSLR would have been too much.

Isaac and I quickly found our restaurant, ordered drinks, and waited for the food to arrive. For our appetizer we had Plantains served with a yogurt/mango dipping sauce. What can I say about plantains—so ugly, yet so incredibly delicious. I could have eaten three more platefuls.

Our apps didnâ€t stick around for long and we were excited when our dinners arrived. Isaac had one of the specials which was a quesadilla with roasted red pepper hummus, squash, cheese, and a host of other goodies. It was a little too garlicky for our stomachs, but the flavor was outstanding. I decided to splurge on Ravioli Medici: cheese raviolis tossed in a pine nut basil pesto cream sauce, portabellas, squash, peas, tomatoes, feta, and walnuts. Itâ€s been a long time since I ordered something so rich at a restaurant and I assure you, it was worth every bite!

For breakfast the following two days we enjoyed the complimentary continental breakfast and Yonahlossee Inn which was beside our cottage. On Saturday, we lounged around for a while after eating and then I tested out the fitness center. I love having a workout room all to myself.

I returned to find Isaac neck-deep in the jacuzzi tub (I have a photo, but Iâ€ll be kind) which was exactly what my tired body needed after an HIIT workout. Finally the stormy morning subsided, our fingers were shriveled like prunes, and our bellies began to growl. We decided to head into downtown Blowing Rock to browse the shops and find lunch.

The streets of downtown were crawling with tourists and we enjoyed looking through the unusual shops while soaking up the sun. Gotta get that vitamin D!

My favorite shop: the Life is Good store.

The most unusual: an art gallery with cat and dog clocks. I think this photo can speak for itself.

We had hoped to try out Storie Street Grille, but they had some sort of kitchen fire and had to shut down for the entire day. Sadface. Instead we went to Mellow Mushroom. Even though we have one in Charlotte, we were hungry and knew MM would have yummy veggie options. It did and we departed with fat bellies.

After a huge lunch we were looking forward to a hike. Not wanting to drive too far, we chose the Boone Fort Trail which was less than 10 minutes from our cottage.

I knew nothing about the trail except that it was near water and described as “moderately strenuous.” It turned out to be the most perfect 5-mile hike with a mix of flats and hills. The trail ran right beside a stream so there were lots of rocks and the air was pleasantly cool.

Hiking for over 2 hours is enough to erase all evidence of a large lunch which was one of the goals considering we had plans to try out Black Cat Burrito in downtown Boone.

To be honest, I was thrilled to have vegetarian options (i.e. tofu, tempeh, etc…), but the food was a little bland and lackluster. But that didnâ€t stop me from polishing off my burrito.

Our final day of vacation we requested a late check out and simply relaxed. I read Fifty Shades of Grey and Isaac played World of Warcraft. We had leftovers for lunch and headed towards our final destination: Tanger Outlets. We spent too much money in the first place, J. Crew Factory store, putting an abrupt end to our shopping excursion.

Isaac and I were very sad as we began our descent back to Charlotte, but were pleased to have found such a lovely vacation spot only a few hours away. Iâ€m already looking forward to the next trip!

You know that feeling when you are really, really looking forward to something and when it actually happens the reality cannot meet what was imagined? Considering I have been counting down the days until my mini-vacation to the mountains, I was slightly concerned that the reality would not measure up to my expectations. Fortunately, my expectations were blown out of the water!

Reason #1 our trip to Boone/Blowing Rock was so incredible was due to our accommodations, hands down. I found a small, affordable cottage at Yonahlossee Resort that is now one of the “Top Ten Best Places” Iâ€ve ever stayed.

When arrived at the resort Friday afternoon, the welcoming committee was there to greet us.

This is Lucy. She is a 12 year-old cat that lives at Yonahlossee and keeps everyone in line.

Lucy deserves a considerable amount of credit for making our stay so special.

We picked up our keys from the very friendly front-desk lady and went in search of our cabin.

The online photos of our cabin were very cute, but in the world of staging and Photoshop Iâ€ve become jaded and didnâ€t expect it to be as precious in real life. When we opened the door, I was overjoyed—it felt like we were entering the pages of a design magazine.

The décor was so chic and comfortable. I think the owner is actually a designer which explains all the perfect details. Now I want to hire her to design my apartment!

Besides the two queen beds, granite countertops, tile backsplash, hard wood floors, and gas fireplace, my favorite part of the cottage had to be the color scheme—black, white, and grey with a few accent colors. Be still my heart!

I didnâ€t get a good photo of the bathroom, but it was just an chic as the rest of the cabin and it had a jacuzzi bathtub! (I spent approximately 5 hours over the course of the weekend in that tub with my new book and a glass of wine. It was heavenly.)

Once Isaac and I were settled in we poured ourselves drinks and headed outdoors to enjoy the mountain air before dinner.

It doesnâ€t get much better than this, folks!

Next up, where we ate and played in Boone and Blowing Rock!

Several weeks ago I decided it was high time Isaac and I had a mini-vacation. I booked a weekend stay in an adorable cabin in Blowing Rock, NC. All week long Iâ€ve been checking the weather and cannot wait to escape the blistering Charlotte heat for three days of cool mountain weather.

Isaac and I have worked like dogs the past two weeks, tying up loose ends, so we can completely kick back and enjoy our retreat. When I got off work today I had my car washed, stopped at the store to stock up on necessities (wine, peanut butter cups, etc…), and began my pre-vacation house cleaning ritual.

I have grandiose plans to actually work out in the morning before I see my last client of the week. Then we can throw our bags in the car and take off!

Things I’m looking forward to the most:

1. Cool temperatures. I donâ€t even care that storms are in the forecast.

2. Exciting vegetarian restaurant options. While there arenâ€t any purely vegetarian restaurants in Boone or Blowing Rock (at least, not to my knowledge), Iâ€ve found a number of veggie-friendly options! A few restaurants I hope we can check out:

Coyote Kitchen

Hob Knob Farm Café

Our Daily Bread

3. Hiking! Isaac and I have developed a lovely habit of taking frequent walks through our neighborhoods. I know hiking is more strenuous than a simple walk, but Iâ€m really looking forward to a few leisurely hikes through the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. We may also try to see a few waterfalls!

4. Having a bed to MYSELF! I know this sounds strange, but I donâ€t mind that our precious cabin has two queen beds instead of one.

Itâ€s not that I donâ€t want to snuggle with my husband; the truth is I get to do this every night. What rarely happens is me in a bed by myself getting a full night of sleep.

I. Canâ€t. Wait.

Have you heard of the Fifty Shades trilogy? My friend, Angie, was the first to mention it to me. I called her one evening as she was leaving a bookstore after having no luck finding the scandalous series. She admitted to feeling a little embarrassed to be in hot pursuit of erotic books. I laughed as I imagined her standing beside the romance novel section acting as though she was really interested in the religious history books sharing the bookshelf.

A few days later, Ellen mentioned Fifty Shades saying they were the top three best selling books on Amazon. Even though I was totally interested when Angie told me about the dirty books, hearing about them on Ellen meant I could read the books in public without shame since everyone else in America is apparently obsessed. So, I headed over to Amazon and impulsively order the entire trilogy. It is very unlike me to buy books (I prefer borrowing from the library) considering I rarely read anything that isnâ€t a magazine or blog. But the book descriptions said things like:

“The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man…”

“Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.”

“When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers

Christian Greyâ€s secrets and explores her own dark desires.”

[source]

They had me at “explores her own dark desires!”

My books arrived today, just in time for the vacations I have planned this month. I canâ€t wait!

Have you heard of the Fifty Shades trilogy? Do you plan to hop on the dirty book bandwagon?

What a day! When my alarm went off this morning I was utterly confused, trying to figure out the day and reason my alarm was waking me up. Then I remembered—Caitlinâ€s baby shower! I quickly got dressed, loaded up my car with the party supplies, and drove to Fabo Café to meet Jen. Miraculously, we turned the cute coffee/wine shop into a fabulous setting for a 30-person baby shower in one hour!

At 1pm our guests began to arrive and we kicked the party off with lunch.

Courtesy of Mellow Mushroom, we had several delicious varieties of pizza, bruschetta, hummus, and Greek salad!

They graciously provided plenty of food to feed the crowd; nobody left hungry!

(Actually, this was the pregnant lady line-up: Catherine, Kath, Sarah, Heather, and Caitlin. In order of due date!)

With lunch out of the way we moved on to silly, yet educational, baby shower games. But first, Caitlin was presented with a festive mommy hat to designate her as the guest of honor.

Of course we all had to take photos of her posing in the crazy hat.

Our baby game, jokingly renamed “What The F*ck Is That?!?”, involved showing Caitlin bizarre baby or mommy paraphernalia and making her guess.

Without going into the specifics, let just say that you can learn quite a bit about pregnancy, labor, and the wonders of the female anatomy through baby shower games!

We rounded out the party with incredible cupcakes from Polka Dot Bake Shop. Pinwheel cake toppers courtesy of moi!

I feel relieved the party is over and everything went according to plan, but at the same time, a part of me would love to press rewind and do it all over.

I had so much fun and think the mommy-to-be enjoyed her celebration!

****************************************************************************************

A special thanks to Mellow Mushroom, Fabo, Polka Dot Bake Shop, and Gwen Poth for your contributions and incredible service!

As I said in my last post, Iâ€d love to temporarily freeze time, but Iâ€m sure my very pregnant friend feels differently. So, Iâ€m left with two choices—I can either dread the impending changes or opt to embrace them. And this weekend I choose to embrace change, especially since a party is involved!

Jen and I have been planning Caitlinâ€s baby shower for weeks and weeks. We are now down to the wire and Iâ€ve spent the weekend tying up loose ends.

And by “loose ends,” I mean making pinwheel cupcake toppers

picking up gluten free, red velvet cupcakes from Polka Dot Bake Shop

(I canâ€t promise that all of these cupcakes will make it to the party tomorrow.)

making decorations

and dragging out every last serving dish I own.

Fingers crossed that all goes well tomorrow!

This time last year I was newly engaged.

I had recently been in an auto accident which totaled my car and screwed up my neck. My job as I knew it was in the early stages of deterioration. I lived alone in a tiny, one bedroom apartment sans central air or cable TV. One of my best friends lived down the street and I was lucky enough to work with my other best friend. There was vague talk of babies, but no bumps in sight. I was regularly attending yoga—the 6:30am class, no less. And I was hell bent on returning to my pre-injury running abilities.

Three hundred and sixty-five days later, everything has changed. Everything.

Now Iâ€m married, have a new car, central air, and a cable TV addiction. My job did deteriorate which gave me the push to open my own practice. Then the old job morphed into a new, amazing (so far) part time position. One of my best friends is now über pregnant and recently moved 7 miles away. My other best friend is engaged and will move to Wilmington in less than a month—at least sheâ€s not pregnant. Speaking of pregnancy, it seems to have become some sort of contagious disease. I just hope I donâ€t catch it! Iâ€ve temporarily fallen off the yoga bandwagon and have no goals of running faster than 10 min/mile or further than 5 miles.

Seeing all of this in black and white elicits a range of emotion and I donâ€t really know what to make of it. I am extremely grateful that the majority of these changes have been positive, donâ€t get me wrong, but the process wasnâ€t always rainbows and sunshine. I also have mixed emotions about the changes that are yet to come. Introducing babies into the mix seriously alters the course of things and while Iâ€ll surely fall in love with the new additions, I will also mourn the carefree nights, dance clubs, flexible schedules, and spontaneous get-togethers. While Iâ€m happy to see close friends take the next step in life, be it procreation, marriage, and/or relocation, the selfish part of me wants everything and everyone to stay the same.

Last year, had someone told me Iâ€d be married, with a billion pregnant friends, and a successful private practice, I would have thought it was all a lie. With that in mind, Iâ€m trying to remain open to the possibility that Iâ€ll look back in a year and see things have turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I think that is called optimism. Something I should work on…maybe next year.

Back in 2009, it took some convincing before I was willing to to give up my ghetto Razr cell phone and take the iPhone plunge. Prior to the upgrade, I didnâ€t have texting, internet, or photography capabilities. Considering that my iPhone could now easily be mistaken as an additional appendage, Iâ€d say Iâ€m making up for lost “smart phone” time. Although I fought the technological changes at first, I find new ways to improve my life and entertain myself via iPhone on a daily basis.

Sharing random-ass cell phone photos is one of my favorite blog post trends and I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Looking through photos of my life, dating back to 2009, was quite entertaining. I hope it is for you as well!

My sister and I taking totally inappropriate photos while my 60-something year old father runs the Marine Corp Marathon. Good times.

Halloween 2009. I donâ€t know what I was supposed to be, but it was a good night. And I donâ€t know whose card that is stuffed in my top.

My nieces sweet little hands after a manicure. I think this was in preparation for my sisterâ€s wedding.

Snowstorm, December 2010. It was ahh-mazing!

My fabulous sister. Duckface. Philadelphia, PA.

Canâ€t get enough cupping!

Puerto Rico

Beloved wedding dress.

Epic vegan wedding cake!

And seven months later the dress still fits!

Have you ever heard of those nude road races? I first learned of these bizarre running events a few years ago through a friend who tried to convince me to participate. I said, “No way, Jose!”  That is still my stance, but I do understand the desire to feel naked while running. Nothing is more uncomfortable than shirts that ride up or shorts that give me muffin top and rub my inner thighs raw. Havenâ€t we all had otherwise enjoyable runs ruined by uncomfortable clothes? Well, buckle up your seat belt ladies (sorry fellas) because I have discovered running shorts that will make make you look down to be sure you didnâ€t run out of the house bottomless!

Behold: my new, bright-ass green Nike Womenâ€s Dri-FIT Fundamental Road Race Running Shorts. Whew—that is quite a name for a tiny pair of shorts. I think these retail for $28, but I got them on sale ( I do think $28 is a lot for shorts). They arrived today and I was incredibly surprised to see how well they fit. The waist band is wider than my Nike Tempo shorts which eliminates muffin top and lower belly pooch. The length is shorter and doesnâ€t have the seam other running shirts have which eliminates the chaffing. The fabric is super lightweight which provides that naked feeling. My only complaint is the color; I thought they were going to be more kelly green than neon green, but I guess that means I just need to buy more!

Do you know whatâ€s amazing? Swiss cheese is amazing. Iâ€m all of a sudden obsessed with it. Know what else is amazing? Real Housewives of Atlanta. Itâ€s amazing. I know it is total trash, as are all the Real Housewives series; nevertheless, the ridiculous escapades of those self-indulgent, obnoxious women captivates me. And a plate of swiss cheese cubes seals the deal!

Isaac hates that I throw away my life watching this trash and he believes that Iâ€m filling my mind with a false sense of reality. (This coming from the man who plays World of Warcraft more than 9 hours a week.) The truth is that even after hours of exposure to the RHOA, Iâ€m well aware that my life will never be like theirs, even if I wanted it to.

Why, you ask? Well, because of several things.

1. My boobs are real. As is my nose, my nails, and my hair.

2. I work for a living. And by “work for a living”, I donâ€t mean marry a rich athlete and get divorced or sleep with rich, married men. Not that thereâ€s anything wrong with that…

3. Iâ€m not the easiest person to argue with (just ask my husband), but it has been a really long time since I had a screaming match with a so-called friend. The last time I had a Real Housewives-esque throwdown with a friend I was 21, alcohol was involved, as was some stupid boy. Iâ€m certain I was also wearing jeans that exposed my butt crack along with an open-backed shirt. Screaming at a friend was the least of my mistakes on that particular evening.

4. And the final reason Iâ€d never fit in with the Real Housewives of Atlanta…because they never drink anything but white wine. Iâ€m a red wine girl through and through.

Rising temperatures are always a reminder that it’s time for all the comfy, loose winter attire to step aside and make room for its skimpier warm weather counterparts. Thinking about the tiny clothes I’ll beg to wear come mid-July, I realize it’s time to cut back on the chocolate and turn up the heat on my workouts.

When I try on my summer clothes and look in the mirror I know I look just fine; I don’t need to lose weight. But to be honest, I’m aiming for slightly above just fine. Ever since I got back into weight lifting in preparation for my wedding, my idea of “the perfect body” has shifted and so have my goals for how I’d like to look. In the past, I hoped that my fairy godmother would tap me with her wand and I would wake up to a long and lean physique.

Now my ideal body has shifted and I pray that I’ll awake to something much more tight and toned.

The likelihood of me ever achieving either of the above bodies is slim to none, but given my body type I have a much better shot at the muscular body. I’ll take it.

With a goal of “tight and toned” in mind, the next step has been finding a workout plan. With regards to strength training, my mantra has been consistent, heavy, variety. Consistent workouts and heavy weight is pretty straight forward, but I’ve found a nice tip to help with variety. I’m always coming across great workouts on blogs and magazines and I began stashing interesting workout plans in the front pocket of my gym bag. Now when I need something new I have a ready-made collection of workouts. This idea really saves me on those days when I don’t have the mental energy to plan. I just pull out one of my workouts and don’t have to think.

When it comes to cardio, I have a hard time introducing variety. At the end of the day I need to pound out a few miles in order to let go of the day. However, my moderate cardio routine is not an effective way to reduce body fat and muscles do not show when they are covered in a layer of fluffy fat. Enter HIIT workouts. I came across an HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout plan that also incorporated one moderately paced workout a week—perfect! The plan actually came from Self magazine (I think it’s part of the Self Lose 10 Challenge) and I couldn’t find it online, but maybe it will be available next month. Anyway, I love the plan because it has a variety of HIIT routines ranging from 15-40 minutes and as I said, a easy paced run is part of the plan.

So far I’ve done three HIIT routines. Last night I suited up in a fancy-cami-turned-running-tank and ran 15 minutes to the gym, completed an arms workout, then banged out the following HIIT:

It’s amazing how exhausting 20 minutes of running can be.

My so-called turning up of the workout heat began last week and I look amazing…just kidding. I look the same, but I feel excited about my potential muscles that will be on display when warm weather necessitates small clothing. And in the event I crash and burn (and binge on chocolate) in about 2 weeks, fall and its encompassing clothes are just around the corner.