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February 15, 2010

simple, sweet and full of love

Filed under: Dinner,Party,Restaurants — Kristen :) @ 5:43 pm

I can hardly believe yet another long weekend is about to come to a close!  I always enjoy having an extra day 🙂  I hope you all had a nice weekend as well!  Our Valentine’s was simple, sweet and pretty low-key filled with a few parties, a nice bike ride and a new breakfast creation . . .

First a quick weekend recap 🙂 The first time we visited the new aquatic center near our house, we were on our bikes and it wasn’t open, so we decided to go back and see what the inside looked like.  Boy this place is gorgeous!!  We can hardly wait to start swimming, although yes, I still have yet to purchase a dang bathing suit, goggles and cap.  Another good thing is that it opens bright and early at 5am which would give us enough time to get in a quick swim and come back home to shower for work.

You know how Chris and I love ‘active’ gifts, so we each got each other a 30 punch card for the new aquatic center (each visit is 2 punches) for Valentine’s Day.  I think they are starting swim lessons in March, so I’ll have to check out some classes because I don’t think I’ve been in a pool in um . . . 2 years! I can keep myself afloat, but when it comes to actually knowing how to swim I am a fish out of water.

This place is huge with 14 lanes and a separate heated pool.

We also both got some new Asics gel-cumulus running shoes.  They were pricey, but they feel like heaven and are really supportive which is worth it when you are pounding the pavement.  My hip is feeling much better, so I can’t wait to try them out!  Plus our weather has been absolutely gorgeous in the 60s!  

We had two Valentine’s parties this weekend and it was fun to see some good friends again.  Of course there was a lot of food involved and I tried not to go overboard.

This one had various munchies like vegan egg rolls, potstickers, bean/salsa dip and veggies.  I think my favorite though was the chocolate-covered strawberries, yum!!  Haven’t had those in awhile.

The next morning Chris and I went on a really great bike ride with the Green Valley Cyclists for Valentine’s Day.  We did about 32 miles in 2 hours and I felt amazing afterwards!  It was a nice ride, pretty flat and overall really enjoyable.

The next party later that evening was a quick stop before Chris and I went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day together.

Awwwww her dog Louie is the cutest cupid ever!

Love the style of her living room and had to share 🙂  so chic

Chris and I munched on a few appetizers before heading out to dinner at Settebello.  We didn’t know if we wanted to make dinner together, but the last minute we just decided to go out and have a nice dinner.  This was actually our first time officially eating out at a restaurant since the Eat In Month Challenge!

We started out with a nice salad to share.

We decided on their special of the month called Cartoccio.  It contained roasted red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini sauteed with pancetta, roasted sausage, onion and fresh mozzarella.  It was delicious!!  I think we are going to try to recreate this at home next time we make pizza and load it up with even more veggies.

Their dough is perfection.  Crunchy and crispy on the outside, yet doughy and chewy on the inside.  It’s the perfect balance.

We didn’t have any dessert since we were both pretty darn stuffed and tired from the day.  We attempted to watch some TV when we got home, but I fell asleep soon enough!

Overall it was a great weekend 🙂  I managed to pretty much abstain from alcohol this weekend except about a cup of punch from the second party.  I finally had this realization this weekend of moving from working out to just maintain my weight to actually working out to train. I felt really good about it.  I enjoy having a glass of wine with dinner on the weekends or a cocktail with friends, but I realized that it may be fun while I’m buzzed or whatever, but it makes me and my training go to crap.  I want to do the Napa metric century in May and a sprint or olympic triathlon in September and I have a lot to work on in the coming months.  I’m not some amazing athlete or anything, but when I want to work hard for something all week and then have a few drinks over the weekend, it really sets me back.  Even though I felt old as we left the party at 9:30pm and I didn’t have any drinks, I felt so much better the next day when I was able to have a killer ride that left me on the clouds all day.  That feeling for me is so much better, plus it is so much healthier overall.  What do you think?  Do you work out to lose/maintain weight or do you workout to train?

This morning we made some heart-shaped banana brownie waffles from the Meal Makeover Moms.  It’s a little late for V Day, but I will share all the pictures tomorrow since I gotta get dinner going!  Oh my gosh, these were delish!  I also made a peanut butter ‘mousse’ which was out of this world.  They are like little waffle towers!

Another to-do on the list is to catch up on all your blogs, hope you had a nice weekend!

13 Comments »

  1. Holy Yuminess… Everything looks amazingly good.

    Comment by Nutritious Foodie — February 15, 2010 @ 6:38 pm

  2. I’ve just recently felt like I work out to train. This switch over happened when I was working towards my first half marathon. Now that it’s over I feel like I need something new to train for. It’s such good motivation.

    I can totally tell when a drink or two set me back too. Not always worth it in the end.

    Your waffles are so pretty! Looks awesome 🙂

    Comment by Heather @ Get Healthy WithHeather — February 15, 2010 @ 8:17 pm

  3. Love your healthy, active twist on V-day (Aesics are my shoe of choice too)! And I totally know what you mean about your train of thought towards working out evolving; it’s so fantastic when it becomes something you enjoy doing versus something you have to do. And wow, that dinner looks delicious. Glad you had a wonderful weekend 🙂

    Comment by Alyson — February 15, 2010 @ 10:50 pm

  4. I wish Nick and I had more couple friends who had parties. Most of our friends are still single, which makes it hard to go out with them, you know? You always talk about the parties you go to and I’m jealous!

    That aquatic center looks AMAZING. I can’t believe it. We need one of those tha tI can go swim at. I guess I could go to the OSU center, and I may actually buy a pass when we move and I don’t have the apartment gym.

    The waffles look so delicious, wow. Regarding the money for sending the book, if you really want to pay me you can, but please don’t feel obligated, this was my idea and my treat!

    Comment by The Candid RD — February 16, 2010 @ 4:39 am

  5. Your heart shaped waffles are SO gorgeous! I’m so glad you had such a wonderful Valentine’s Day weekend!! Louie is SO adorable!! I love the picture of him sitting up – tooooo cute!! 🙂

    The aquatic center looks incredible!! I love how y’all give each other active presents, especially since you can share them together! Y’all are such an inspiration, truly!

    Comment by Astra Libris — February 16, 2010 @ 5:51 am

  6. yumm this entire post was drool-worthy! gorgeous photos! those brownie batter waffles look/sound ah-mazing…and i love the idea of giving “active” gifts to eachother! I’m more of a “workout because it makes me feel great” kinda girl.

    Have a great day! 🙂

    Comment by Kristen @ Simply Savor — February 16, 2010 @ 10:05 am

  7. Happy Belated V-day! Sounds like great, practical gifts — the punch card and shoes, love it! And the bike ride sounds wonderful! My hubby and I need to start riding together.

    I love her living room, too…and that restaurant is adorable, too. Oh, and the food….it looks wonderful, too 🙂

    Comment by Nicole, RD — February 16, 2010 @ 1:02 pm

  8. When I can finally get back to working out it will definitely be to lose but in the end to train x

    Comment by Tamizn — February 16, 2010 @ 2:23 pm

  9. Beautiful waffles! Now I want a heart-shaped waffle maker…

    Comment by BroccoliHut — February 16, 2010 @ 3:38 pm

  10. awe thanks kristen for posting the photos and your nice comments! 🙂 Cupid got a new hair cut too and he enjoyed all the attention!

    Comment by Julie — February 16, 2010 @ 9:40 pm

  11. I’m such a fish out of water too when it comes to swimming!! I think I exercise for both- mostly because I want to get better strength, distance, time, etc. but I can’t lie that it makes keeping in shape easier!

    your valentines looked like fun and I LOVE those waffles!

    btw, thank you so very much for your comment! It really meant the world to me.

    Comment by bhealthier — February 17, 2010 @ 8:01 pm

  12. I’ve been really into waffle lately, I’ll definitely making this. Love your heart shape waffles, so cute!

    Comment by coco — February 18, 2010 @ 1:48 am

  13. It does look like you had a fun weekend! I just love those chairs, they are very chic. I work out to both train and to maintain my weight. 🙂 I workout though mainly because I enjoy it so much it makes my body feel good.

    Comment by Michal — February 18, 2010 @ 5:34 pm

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