Currently

Happy Friday, Y’all!

A couple weeks ago I read a similar blog post from two of my favorite bloggers Tina and Julie.  Their idea was to list what they are ‘currently’ loving and I thought it was so clever, I’m gonna share it with you 🙂

Current Music
Of Monsters and Men

I’ve been on a serious kick ever since attending their concert last week

Current Indulgence
Strawberry Shortcake my coworker brought in.

So delicious and light – Tis’ the season for strawberries!

Current Favorite TV Show
Game of Thrones. Hands down.  Daenerys is so badass, I want to be her!

Current Nail Color
Essie East Hampton Cottage

Current Toning Exercise
The Tone It Up! tummy tuck and Sunkissed Abs Workout.  Love how motivational these trainers are and that all their workouts are free!

Current Favorite Restaurant
This one is tough, we all know how much I love to eat out.  I’m going to have to go with Hopleaf in Andersonville.  Delicious craft beers and phenomenal mussels & Frites – what more could you want?

Piccolo Sogno in the West Loop takes a close second – I’m a sucker for fantastic Italian food, especially when dining on a killer patio.

Current Chicago Activity
Going on walks with Bailey and Brian and stopping at restaurants to grab an alfresco drink.

Current Blessing
My sister.

She just returned from an abroad trip in Italy and Greece.  I’m so glad she had an amazing experience and can’t wait to catch up with her and hear all her stories.

Current Drink
Coconut water! Can’t get enough of it – Zico is currently my favorite brand.

Current Wish List
A Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS watch

… My birthday is coming up, just saying 😉

Current excitement

Running the ‘United Run for the Zoo 10k‘ this weekend with my best friend and then celebrating at Chicago’s German Maifest!

Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.

Your turn!

What are your current favorites?

Madness in March

Hi there!

Someone was not happy to see me leave this morning…

It is a sad and happy day here in Chicago.  Last night we learned that one of our beloved Bears players will not be returning with us this coming season.  I have heard/read many opinions on the topic, but I think it is safe to say that Brian Urlacher is a great player and will be missed on the team.

Onto the HAPPY!  March Madness is in full swing today and I saw some really amazing outfits on the CTA.  I wish I could have snapped some pictures for you all, but I would have felt like a creep busting out my camera.

My coworkers and I have a NCAA Bracket Pool for our HR Department and the winner gets a good chunk of $$.  My favorite NCAA team is not in the tournament this year, so I will be rooting for some of my good friends alma maters.

Lunch

Yesterday’s lunch was pretty much grab and go.  I didn’t have time to pack my lunch like I usually do, so while I was getting my morning coffee I grabbed one of those Starbucks Protein Bistro Boxes.  I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t think it would keep me full from lunch to dinner, but it was quite delicious and filling!  The box came with a hard-boiled egg, sliced apples, grapes, two pieces of cheese, one museli bread and a single serving of Justin’s Honey Almond Butter.  I also had sliced cucumbers that I had in the fridge from a previous lunch.  Yum.

I needed a little sugar boost around 4:00 p.m. before my run so I ate 2 pieces of Dove Dark Chocolate.

After work, I headed straight to the gym to complete my training schedule for the day: 5 miles on the treadmill and a lot of stretching and foam rolling.  I was so exhausted once I got off the treadmill… the foam rolling felt so amazing.  Sometimes I feel like when I have a certain mileage I have to run for training, it almost makes it harder for me to complete than if I were just to wake up and run for fun.

Nevertheless, I felt great when I got home and wanted to cook up something healthy and flavorful.

Dinner

After I was greeted by one happy little pitbull, I immediately headed to kitchen and knew what I wanted to make.

Spicy Balsamic Chicken

This is one of my go-to, quick and simple recipes

Ingredients

2-3 organic boneless chicken breasts (1 made for lunch today)

3 tbs. of balsamic vinegar

1 tbs. honey

1 generous pinch of red pepper flakes (we like it spicy!)

1 dash of hot sauce

1 clove of minced garlic

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat.  Butterfly the chicken breasts and season both sides with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook 5-6 minutes per side.

2. While the chicken is cooking, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, hot sauce and garlic and whisk together.  Add the mixture to the pan when there is about 5 minutes left and cook until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.  I served this chicken along side organic white quinoa sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and haricot verts.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with haricot vert, it is a french green bean.  Haricot meaning beans and Vert meaning green!

Brian and I were both full and happy from this meal and the best part was that there was leftovers for me to take to lunch today!

At 9:00 p.m. I was craving something sweet, so I grabbed a chocolate zico coconut water to tie over my craving.  If you have never had one before, they are absolutely delicious and taste like a chocolate shake!

Last night, I updated my ‘Weight Loss’ page at the top of my blog… take a look if you want to learn more about my journey!

Have an amazing Thursday and good luck to your favorite team!