bikes, bikes, and more bikes

maybe it's because i married a cyclist, maybe it's because they are vintage looking and they remind me of europe... whatever it is, i love drawing bikes!

i started with a bike for two

then drew this cute little tricycle

and finally this vintage penny farthing 

whatever my inspiration came from, i am seeing a recurring theme... you can expect more bike themed stationary to come in the future. i have added more items to my etsy shop too, so check out what is going on over there.

pumpkin pancakes

i had a half a can of pumpkin puree sitting in my fridge and i was about to go on a wonderful trip to visit my best friend and meet her beautiful babies... what to do with the pumpkin so it doesn't go bad? pumpkin pancakes of course! 

ingredients:

3/4 cup of pumpkin puree

1 cup of milk {i used almond milk}

1 cup of flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbls sugar {i used agave nectar}

oats {i subbed some of the flour for extra oats}

directions:

mix all dry ingredients very well. add wet ingredients and mix again.

heat a non-stick skillet, add cooking spray or oil. 

pour your pancake batter and wait for it to bubble before flipping.

makes about 7-10 silver dollar size pancakes.

i enjoyed mine with a dollop of greek non-fat yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

i found an amazing new blog on pinterest called walk to the mailbox, it is the perfect place to get running inspiration if you are looking to enter any sort of long distance running race. also check out fit chick in the city.

more park city please

when tommy and i decided to make the move to salt lake city, my first thought was skiing... i love to ski. one of my very first ski trips was to park city with my mom's side of the family, i think i was 7. it was such a wonderful trip and i have loved the thought of park city ever since. 

i am lucky now that i live only about 25 minutes from the park city. i haven't gotten the chance to do much skiing yet, but i have made my way up to beautiful park city plenty of times. 

driving up to p.c.

beautiful mountains on the way up the mountain

downtown park city

me and husband enjoying a coffee downtown

love this photo of husband, at high west distillery & saloon

cheers at high west

me hitting the slopes

lisa, me, and our snowman

me and husband playing in the snow

i will share more of my adventures in pinning soon... more painted mugs, green pancakes, homemade hummus and more!

my half marathon training

i have decided to train for a half marathon... call me crazy, but i am determined to see this through!

below is an example of the training schedule i have written for myself. making a schedule is the best way to keep myself on track and i cross off my days as i go to track my progress. it feels so good to cross off each run as i finish it!

-run: monday, wednesday, thursday, saturday

-rest days: tuesday, friday and sunday

-start with 3 miles and increase by approximately one mile every saturday

week 1) 13 miles total

week 2) 15 miles total

week 3) 16 miles total

week 4) 19 miles total

week 5) 21 miles total

week 6) 24 miles total

week 7) 26 miles total

week 8) 22 miles total

week 9) 18 miles total

week 10) race week! 21.1 miles total

{i tried to include the chart i created, but it wouldn't work}

i researched online a lot of different half marathon training schedules, and combined some together to come up with what would suit me best. on thursdays, if i am feeling sluggish or tired, i will do some weights and walk 2-3 miles, or do other cross training.

the reason you choose to run any distance race determines how successful you will be in completing the race. my reason is to accomplish a goal. i have wanted to run a half marathon for a while now, and i want to see it through. if you just want to loose weight, you might loose motivation once you reach your goal weight or start loosing weight at all. keep in mind that your goal should be to FINISH the race, not just to loose weight.

below is a photo of a my new favorite breakfast oatmeal. it is great to get more energy before or after a long run. i love oatmeal, but even if you don't like it, you will like this... it is so sweet and delicious!

pumpkin oatmeal with cream

i found inspiration for this oatmeal from chocolate covered katie's blog, her recipe can be found here.

i changed the recipe up a little bit. i didn't used the flake cereal, just oats, pumpkin puree, almond milk, agave syrup, and cinnamon.

i mixed the pumpkin puree with the oats and other ingredients, then let it sit over night with a bit more water. i microwaved the oats in the morning to take the chill off and made some delicious "cream" to go on top.

almond milk cream:
1 banana
3 T of almond milk {or any milk of choice}
cinnamon
1 tsp nut butter

directions:
mix all ingredients in a blender until thick and creamy, you can add more milk if the consistency is too thick.


enjoy! 

healthy chocolate mousse?

is it possible to make a healthy chocolate mousse? i promise it is! i found this recipe on pinterest, originally pinned from here. i was skeptical... tofu as the main ingredient in a chocolate mousse recipe? i gave it a chance, and it was well worth it! 

here is the original recipe i found, my mousse wasn't as beautiful as this photo, but it tasted delicious! i don't have a magic bullet or a food processor, so i just used my blender... the tofu doesn't blend as smooth, but it doesn't effect the taste. 

photo courtesy of chocolate covered katie

i enjoyed my healthy chocolate mousse with a glass of red wine while watching the movie valentines day, on valentines day... perfection!

ill have to make this for husband when he is home. i am so glad i found CCK's blog so that i can still satisfy my sweet tooth and stay fit and healthy at the same time.

ill be posting my training schedule and updating on my half marathon training progress. i'm new to running such long distances, so it will be a learning process for me... any tips to succeed in a long distance race?

half marathon and sweet treats

i have been talking about running a half marathon for years now, and i finally signed up for one! yes, on april 21st, i will be running 13.1 miles... the training has begun and i think i deserve lots of healthy sweets for all the running i will be doing the next 9 weeks.

here are some photos of some very tasty {husband approved} sweets i found on the chocolate covered katie blog. visit her blog for the recipes, they are delicious and you won't feel guilty eating them, promise!

cookie dough fudge bites

raw peanut butter cookie bites

so good, they deserve another photo!

i have also been coming up with a few healthy recipes of my own, involving lots of kale, ill be sharing them soon!

bonjour mon amis

... okay, so i don't speak french, but i do love paris. i fell in love with paris when husband and i went to visit and i could have spent the whole time perched under the eiffel tower. 

i have been working on some new stationary, one of the new items inspired by my love of the eiffel tower. visit my etsy shop design by keally to see all my new items. here is a little preview...

bonjour

owl

bridal shower

stay tuned for all kinds of new delicious goodies i have been making, and ill tell you about the new goal i have set for myself {what am i thinking!?}

dinner for one please

happy v-day everyone! since husband is away on valentines day, i thought i should cook up a dinner for one. i made this delicious meal yesterday and will have the leftovers tonight for my v-day dinner, along with a sappy movie and a yummy sweet {healthy} dessert. maybe ill try this from chocolate covered katie's blog. 

spaghetti squash pizza:

ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash

fresh kale {about 3 stems}

vegan cheese {or regular shredded cheese of your choice}

pizza sauce

1 garlic clove

olive oil

cut spaghetti squash in half {i microwaved for 4 minutes first to reduce cooking time}, cook in a pyrex dish, flesh up for 20-30 minutes at 375 F. while squash is cooking, saute garlic and kale in a skillet with olive oil until nice and crisp. shred squash and put into a small pyrex dish, add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. spread pizza sauce on top of squash and add kale and cheese. broil for a minute until cheese has melted and browned {keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn}. 

take a fork and dig in! it really is delicious and tastes like pizza!

ill post some more delicious vegan desserts i have been trying soon, they already passed the husband taste test! {though i am not vegan, i figure if i'm going to indulge, i should do it the healthy way-and they are really tasty too!}

february date night

 thanks to shannon, i gave husband a year of dates for one of his birthday presents {the BIG present this year being a tv, seen here}. 

we recently went on our february date night. i found out that slc was celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the winter olympics, and they were re-lighting the olympic flame {right up the street from our house}. we got there what we thought was just in time, but not enough time to go inside, so we waited at the gate and watched as they did speeches leading up to the big moment. it turns out, they were having technical difficulties... everyone started walking back out to their cars, and husband turned to me and said "i bet it will go off as soon as everyone leaves", it was right on cue, because... BAM, it goes off! we walked in and enjoyed the moment.

waiting at the gate for the flame to be lit

all the people waiting for the flame

the flame

it was great to see all the people so enthusiastic about the experience. we came back to our place to have hot dogs and s'mores in our living room, a "camping trip!". i made a fort and everything.

eating our s'mores in our make shift fort 

our make shift fort

a healthy baked breakfast

i know i said i would try to make chocolate covered katie's banana butter, and i did try it, but it was early morning and i didn't have time to take a photo before leaving for work. i used a bit more banana than i probably should have for the amount of peanut butter i had left, so it had a strong banana taste. i spread the mixture on my sandwich and had it for lunch, and it tasted like banana bread! yum! ill try this again now that i have more peanut butter. 

feeling more adventurous, i decided to make CCK's cookie dough boatmeal {sounds delicious-i know!}. i made it at night, knowing i had to be in to work at 7am and i also doubled the recipe so husband could try some as well when he woke up {hours after i did}. pictures of my creation below and the recipe can be found here. 

it was moist and delicious

sprinkled with cinnamon

i made it with a banana {maybe ill try applesauce next time i make it}

thanks katie, for all your delicious recipes! i already tried some others too!

ill share mine and tommy's february date night next-we saw the re-lighting of the slc olympic flame and had a camping trip {in our living room}

healthy desserts anyone?

i recently found a blog called chocolate covered katie. i discovered her blog through pinterest. she makes healthy, vegan, delicious looking desserts. husband and i tend to eat lots of sweets, and although it doesn't effect his super lean athletic physique, it effects mine...

i have decided to make a some of CCK's delicious recipes, and i will share photos of these recipes when i make them, with links back to her blog if you want to try to make them yourself. first up, banana butter! {i figured i should start simple}.

i am hoping her delicious desserts will satisfy mine and tommy's sweet tooth, and help my waistline in the process.

here is a photo of my super power husband

tommy

v-day nails

i appolgize in advance if anyone reading has a fear of feet. i admit mine are not the most beautiful of feet, but they aren't too bad either, maybe a little on the wide side.

RepinEdit

i saw this adorable valentines inspired nail polish idea on pinterest and since i never wear nail polish {on my hands} i thought i would give it a go on my feet! i used essie clambake for the base and added a cute heart using Mabelline sheer ballet pink once i had two good layers of base that were good and dry. i topped it all off with a top coat of clear to seal it so it would last longer. i figured i could try it on my finger nails, but i would just end up taking it off right away, so what is the point?!

essie clambake & mabelline sheer ballet pink

my v-day feet

close up-yikes!

it would have turned out a lot better with a darker, or less sheer color for the top coat. you really do need a steady hand, and it took a few coats to cover the dark base color for the heart. didn't turn out as cute as the inspiration photo, but it is still fun!

ill be spending my v-day alone with a sappy movie and popcorn (and probably chocolate) while husband is away at his team training camp. any suggestions for a good chick-flick?

green smoothie

i love a green smoothie, it is so easy to make and delicious too!

 

ingredients: (for single serve, just double the ingredients to make for two people)

 

1 banana (ripe)

generous handful of spinach or kale

a few table spoons of greek non-fat yogurt (plain or vanilla)

almond milk (or any milk of your choice)

2 tablespoons of quick oats (optional)

1 tablespoon of peanut butter (optional)

all the ingredients ready to go, minus the peanut butter

 

just throw all ingredients into a blender, add the peanut butter and oats to make it a more subtantial meal. i add enough milk to make it the consistency i like, you can also add water instead of milk if you want to reduce calories. almond milk is pretty low on calories though, and lactose free.

ingredients ready to be blended together

i enjoyed my green smoothie today with some avocado spreaded on toast, it was a green day today and a totally delicious light lunch!

 

anyone out there have a favorite green smoothie recipe you want to share?