My sister is Martha freaking Stewart

Welcome to a brand new week!  Are you ready for it? 

I hope you guys had a great weekend.  I sure did!

Yesterday Mike worked so Bam & I drove to Fresno for the day to celebrate this little cuties 2nd Birthday.

I loved watching Alexa enjoy her big day.  Though I hardly got to see her because she was playing with her friends in the backyard, while I stayed inside because it was 103 and this girl is no longer used to the heat.

After lunch, it was time for cake.  Poor baby had a hard time blowing out the candles, so big sister Blair was happy to help.  I can’t even handle the cuteness here.

I had a great time catching up with my family and see folks I haven’t seen in so long.  When we lived closer to home, every Sunday afternoon we hung out at ma & pa’s house.  We barbequed and played pool volleyball in the summer and drank hot coffee & cocoa and played games in the winter.  It wasn’t even planned, everyone just knew where the cool people were at. 

I also caught up with my sisters friend Becky (on right).  They’ve been best friends since 6th grade, I think. She is the sweetest thing ever!

PS thank you Becky for the pics.

I’ve mentioned several times on here that my sister is Martha freaking Stewart and stole all of the crafty genes, well these pictures should prove that I am not making things up.

This is Amanda’s element…I swear she’s one of those Pinterest people that think of every single detail and can naturally pull it all together.

And the cake!  Can you believe it’s from Walmart?  Yeah, me either.

I hope she knows it is in the sister contract that she has to decorate my house. 

No trip home is complete without visiting my little grandma.  It was so nice to see her and catch up.  We are already talking about Thanksgiving-it’s a big thing for her.  Every year grandma makes a huge family lunch and she looks forward to it. 

Mike & I picked out salt water taffy for her & my uncle Charlie.  I dumped the bag out on the kitchen table and they loved trying to figure out all of the flavors.  It’s all about the simple things folks.  ❤

Every time I go back home and visit her, I come home feeling so incredibly happy and thankful. 

Are you like your siblings or complete opposites?

Um complete opposites, but I dig her style. 

Does your family have a tradition?  What is it?

What are 4 things you are thankful for today?

The sun coming out early here, I get to run, drinking coffee with Mike, time with the fam yesterday.

One of my favorite beach towns

Well hello there.  How’s your Sunday morning going so far?

I’m getting ready to head home to Fresno to visit my family.  It’s my niece, Alexa’s 2nd Birthday and I’m excited to see them!  The last time I think I was home was for Easter.

Anyway, since the Concours d’Elegance is in Pebble Beach, we didn’t want to deal with the traffic & tourist madness so we headed up north to one of my favorite little beach towns, Capitola.  

I kept telling Mike this place is my jam.  It’s right up there with San Luis Obispo a.k.a SLO.  And that’s a big thing coming from me since I’m pretty much head over hills in love with SLO.

It was cloudy but warm, probably in the upper 60’s with no wind which means it was quite the popular place to be.

We had lunch at a little Mexican place downtown then we walked around until the mister need to re-beer.  Did I jus make up a new word? 

We stopped at another restaurant with this killer view from the patio.  And once again I was begging Mike to move here.  He said something about Bam & I would die surely from skin cancer.  Whatev.

PS This is also the start line for the Mermaid Du. 

I even had our dream home picked out and everything.  How could he not want to live right on this inlet?  Crazy boy.

We walked around downtown and popped into a cute little shop.  Oddly enough these rubber ducks drew us in.

Then I saw these bubbling bath salts and had to try them.  I went with a coconut-banana that smells like a cream pie.  So in other words incredible.  Basically my bathroom smells like a very clean hippie lives in it.

Capitola has the cutest little shops & boutiques.  I saw this dress as we were driving by and had to check it out up close.  I adore everything about this dress.  It was 100% hand stitched with my favorite colors.  Too bad the price tag was a little out of my price range.

But the salt water taffy shop was definitely more affordable.  So we stoppin in. 

My favorites flavors are cupcake, red velvet, cinnamon and caramel apple pie.

What would your dream home look like?  Where would it be?

I would have a kick butt workout room with an awesome surround sound set at the perfect temp, a private chef on a warm, sunny beach with access to the most beautiful dog friendly trails.

Salt water taffy fans, what are your favorite flavors?

Imposter blogger

Good morning!

I realized that I’m an imposter blogger.  Oaky, okay I can explain.  I’m not a fan of popular items the majority of the healthy living/running blog world seem to love.

I can’t be the only one, so I thought it would be a fun topic to talk about.  Click images for sources.

Nut butters 

Confession: I have never loved nut butters.  Occasionally I don’t mind a PB&J sammich, but that’s only once or twice a year.  Oddly enough Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorite candy. I know.

Ice cream and fro yo

Every blogger in the world seems to live for fro yo.  Maybe I’m exaggerating a little.  Like nut butters, I do like it occasionally but I have to be in the mood for it.  I prefer salty over sweet.  Feel free to send hate mail to scbdoesntcare@gmail.com

Ice Bath

I have never taken one.  I despise being cold, but I really want to try one soon to check out the recovery benefits.  Maybe I’ll give it a try when I bump up my mileage while training for the Iron Girl half.

The Bachelor

Okay so this one might not be fair to add because I don’t watch too much tv, but I just don’t get the hype of it.  Maybe you can fill me in on why this show is so popular?  I’d rather watch Home Alone or Step Brothers.

Ginger

It seems to be in everything right now.  Ginger beer, ginger in fresh pressed juice, ginger ginger ginger.  Yuck.  It’s right up there with rosemary in the book of Jacqueline.  Sorry my ginger loving friends.

Blog world things I do like:

• Compression gear
• BIC Bands
• Fresh juice
• Mango coconut water
• Kale
• Coffee, duh

Okay, share yours!

A tank of gas

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!

I took a rest day and it wasn’t very eventful so I wanted to share our Sunday drive from last weekend that I never got a chance to post. 

Just in case you can’t tell, we prefer a tank of gas over collecting stuff. 

First stop was downtown Carmel Valley.  It’s a quaint town with a lot of charm and oak trees – a favorite of ours.

We stumbled into several wineries that I really want to check out.  I saw an Earthbound Farm on the way to Monterey, which was also added to my must check out list. 

Next stop took us out of the warm sunshine to foggy downtown Monterey.  We did the whole tourist thing last week when we checked out Cannery Row, so this time we wanted to go off the beaten tourist path.  It was really cute, but not much to do.  We did stop into a British Pub for a delicious lunch.

Mike is a history nerd so we checked out the Presidio Museum.  We both thought it was just okay, but the statue out front was really neat with incredible views of Fisherman’s Warf & the bay.

My favorite was visiting Colton Hall, where the Constitution of California was drafted in 1849.  It’s still being used today as a city planners office.

I dig all of the character and detail big time.

Monterey’s first jail is located right behind it and was really neat to see.  I can’t imagine what it was like back in the day.

We even randomly saw California’s first Theater.

And this reminds me of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.  #iam4

On a side note, I’m doing a little work on the blog over the next couple days so if you see pixel dust flying around and/or the blog is down, never fear, SCB is getting a new home.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Making fun of Mike until he cries. 

Anyone racing this weekend?  What race & distance?

What’s the most memorable place you ever visited?

How do you collect memories? 

I love snapping pictures and saving them in a file.  It takes up less space & I’ll always have them.

First day of school and a loss in the family

I woke up to pictures of my beautiful Lu on her first day of 8th grade. 

And my little diva in the making Blair bear. She’s starting pre-school.  I know it’s cliché but seriously, where does time go?

I miss my family so much so it’s nice to be able to keep in touch through Facebook.

Mike had to get his learn on too.  He went to the bay area to get mart and then to work after.  It was a crazy long day for him but I’m so happy he’s home chilling out with me.  Okay mostly drinking all of the coffee and pointing out boy stuff online.

Earlier this week a nice guy came by and asked if we need our windows washed and as much as I love to clean & organize this girl can not wash windows.  They look like a melted Hershey bar when I’m done.

So anyway Bam & I hung outside and waited for my stomach to settle so I could go for a run before he got here.  It’s been a punk off & on all week.  IBS and running don’t always go well together.

Then took selfies.  You are welcome.

Eventually the ole stomach decided to cooperate for a short run.  Unfortunately my camera only wanted to focus on the Jack butt & my watermelon(!) Nuun.  At least he’s cute.

I played the how long can I sit in sweaty, gross workout clothes before I’m disgusted with myself.  Turns out 1:22 was the magic number.  I made it to 5:33 the day before. I know.

I ran a few errands and one of them happened to be a stop at Bath & Body Works for hand soap.  Coincidence? 

Mike asked me to trim the bushes in the backyard, so I gave it a Mohawk.  Pretty sure I got out of this chore in the future.

Just kidding, the Type A in me couldn’t leave it.  Plus I love doing yard anyway.

On a sad note my mom got a puppy, Spot a couple weeks ago.  Spot somehow escaped the yard and a Sheriff passing through accidently ran her over.   

At least we’re happy to know where she is and that it probably wasn’t painful, but I’m feel so bad because I saw how happy she made my ma.  As sad as it is, there are tons of other pups that need to be rescued so she’ll have to get another furry friend. 

Do you hang out in sweaty workout clothes or take them off right away?

It’s funny because I usually take them off right away.

Yard work, yay or nay?

YES!!  I’ve always loved working outside and after living in an apartment & condo for almost 2 years it’s so nice to have a yard to work on again.

What is your favorite scent(s) ever?

I love anything coconut.  Oh and vanilla

All freaking smiles & giveaway winner

If you follow me on Instagram then you probably already know that this pretty lady is one of my favorite IG friends ever.  She is so uplifting and inspiring I can’t even handle it.  She is currently training to run for 24 hours straight on a treadmill in San Francisco next month.  Yeah little miss crazy pants indeed!  My point in telling you this besides the obvious coolness factor is that I love her #allfreakingsmiles hash tag, so I jacked it.

Anyway, welcome to my new riding/running digs!

I finally had the chance to kick off my first training ride for the Mermaid Duathlon on the Coastal Recreation Trail or Rec Trail as the locals call it, but I don’t feel like one quite yet. 

I started in Seaside and rode south to Monterey.

Through Fisherman’s Warf.

I stopped to check out a couple cars that will be at the Concourse d’Elegance Pebble Beach this weekend.  Despite my begging Mike vetoed my idea of attending.  He said something about selling all of our worldly belongings & Bam not having a job. 

Anyway I made my way to Cannery Row and then to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove.

I did 10 easy miles with a big goofy smile on my mug the entire time. 

I couldn’t help but think about how lucky and thankful I am to be able to live the life I have.  I never ever take it for granted and tell Mike how thankful I am for him and everything we have all of the time. 

Overall I am pretty darn happy with life right now.  I think some of us, including myself want to live a content and happy life, but struggle to embrace our surroundings and appreciate the things we already have.  Maybe I’m easy to please, but I’ll never loose my passion for being thankful for the simple things.

Sometimes I feel a little bad about having a positive, happy life.  Since when did happiness become so cliché?  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always sugary sweet with rainbows and unicorns shooting out ma butt.  We have rough spots like everyone else.  Heck, sometimes the thought of sending Mike to an adult daycare has crossed my mind.  And he tells his buddies “she’s like the tea cups at Disneyland, she looks like a fun ride, but she will make you sick.”  Ha I can’t even lie, sometimes it’s true!

Sarah pointed out the other day that blogging is often times, one dimensional and girlfren speaks the truth.  I don’t always showcase everything that’s going on in my life because I consider myself a positive person and strive to always see the positive in every situation.  I do try my best to keep it real around here even when things get a little rough.  Cough**the move**cough.       

Holy crap since when did SCB become so girly?  Don’t you worry, I’ll be back with something sarcastic to say tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner of the Heart And Sole 26.2 giveaway is  JB!! 

Email me your info at skinnychickblog @ gmail dot com

Thank you everyone for leaving valuable advise & entering!  I’ll have anther giveaway soon.

Change is inevitable, progress is a choice

Good Tuesday morning friends!  How’s your week so far?

I’ve talked about my dislike for change, even when I know it’s a good thing, but I’m actually getting better with it. 

We have moved 3 times within the last year and a half which is so, so crazy for me.  Growing up I only remember moving twice.  Man, I live under a rock.

Then Mike & I lived in the same house for 8 years.

Although it’s rough, I always seem to grow a little more each time.  I am stuck in my ways, poor Mike ha!  But I’m always happy to break out of my little bubble of consistency & content.  Let’s be real, breaking out of your comfort zone is how we grow as a person.

Now that I’m out of my comfort zone, it’s time to get into the groove of life again.

Yesterday was a perfect start!  I went for a 3 mile run on a new {to me} trail. 

Y’all know my love for exploring and this was no exception.

The Spartan race was in town over the weekend so it was fun watching the clean up crew.  I bet that was a fun race.  Has anyone every done a Spartan race?

It was a lot warmer than I anticipated but I am not complaining at all – I LOVE the warm weather & sun!

As soon as I got home, I did a round of strength training exercises and a plank.  If I don’t do it right away, coffee & other things sound much more appealing.

I came home to Mike smoking the best grilled chicken ever.  He saw the recipe on the Grill Next Door a couple weeks ago and he finally got a chance to make it.  If you dig salty-sweet, this recipe is for you!

I sautéed zucchini and had a slice of sourdough.  It was a perfect post workout meal.

Followed up with some fresh afternoon juice. 

It’s my favorite combo, but for some reason it was on the bitter side.  Maybe it was the spinach?  I don’t know.

On another note, last call to enter the Heart And Sole 26.2 giveaway.

How many times have you moved? 

What is your “normal” day look like?

Tell me 5 things you want to accomplish this month.

Run & ride consistently, take my probiotics every day, get in more fresh produce, take Bam to a dog beach, run the beach trail.

Fall race’s and coupon codes

Good morning!  Or afternoon for my east coast readers.  I’m a little late posting today and my only excuse is…well I slept in.  And it was everything I thought it would be.  I guess all of the moving and exploring caught up with me.

It’s a good thing that I am well rested, hydrated and caffeinated because today it my first day of fall race training!  I am stoked!!

I told you guys about the Mermaid Duathlon in the beautiful beach town of Capitola I’ll be doing in October last week.  I still swear they designed the course with me in mind. 

If you want to become a Mermaid with me, use coupon code SKINNYCHICK10 {all caps} for 10% off your entry fee.

They just released the official race shirt and I am digging it big time.  A major plus that it’s designed for women, so it doesn’t look “boxy.”  Did I just make up a new word?  Just roll with this one mmmkay.    Oh and the fact that it’s pink is a major bonus.

Well I am uber excited to add another half marathon to the list, Iron Girl in Santa Rosa, CA.

I am officially ready to redeem myself from my last half.  If you are interested in torturing yourself with me, use coupon code SKINNYCHICK for $10 off your entry fee. 

Which is probably why you may have seen this badge on my sidebar. 

What’s on your fall race schedule?

If you could design a race shirt, what would it look like?

I’m a sucker for tanks & obnoxious colors, so a neon pink/yellow tech tank.  Oh and if budget wasn’t a problem, I’d let the folks at Lululemon make it for me. 

Do you have training cycles or do just train all year?

I typically like to train all year and stay in half marathon shape.  I’m hoping to build back up and having something to train for is a huge motivation.

Just ask the locals

Mike came home last week really excited about the new sandwich shop his boss took him to, Ike’s Love & Sandwiches.  He even said something crazy: they rival our beloved Stacked in Grover Beach. I know.

So I had to check it out.

The best way to learn about gems like this is to ask the locals.  Or go to the restaurant with the longest line.  Okay I’m done telling you all of my secrets.

Gotta love a menu with cool names.

I had the vegetarian Sesame Street that I totally screwed up by adding bacon.  Best decision ever!  And Mike had the Nacho Boy which was really good too!

They even give us free caramel apple suckers for dessert.  I think I’m in love with this joint!

Then we went for a drive on highway 1, but this time we headed south to Moss Landing.

And looped back around to Seaside.  I adore this little church.

And the incredible, breathtaking views!

When we came home Bam wanted to show Mike where the last gopher sighting was.  It was quite interesting…for Bam at least.

Tell me about the last scenic drive you went on!

What are you feeling thankful for today?

What is your favorite restaurant in the history of ever?

A new life lesson

Hi friends!

I spent the day bumming around Monterey.  It was a gorgeous day to be at the beach.

I learned a new life lesson-if we’re going to live by the beach, I need to keep a pair of flip flops with me at all times.  I am almost positive I took half of the beach home with me.  I mean it’s not necessarily a bad thing but you know.

One of my favorite things to do is hop in the car to explore.  I love getting lost and finding cool stuff like this lake/inlet with a really cool dirt path around it.  I can’t wait to run around it!

Oh and I found Trader Joe’s so now my life if pretty much complete. 

I spent the afternoon hanging out at with Michele. 

She has ran 6 marathons and 23 half marathons.  Um, holy amazing!

I already know we are going to be good friends because she suggested we meet at Starbucks and we talked about running, life, our love of baking and races for 2 hours and didn’t even realize it was 2 hours later.

I came home and hung out with Bam outside for awhile.  Mr. Energy missed me so we played for a bit and then Mike called to say he was on his way home from work early!!  Our favorite part of the day is when he comes home in case you were wondering. 

We got dressed and went out for dinner at Famous Dave’s.

Griselda was our server and she freaking rocked!!  This girl can put up with Mike so that automatically makes her uber cool. 

Everything sounded delicious, we had a hard time deciding so we ordered it all. 

Best decision ever.

What was the best life decision you recently made?

What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

Lay in the warm sand, stare at the waves, find an awesome running trail & go boogie boarding.