There’s a new restaurant that opened up near our house called BlowToad and despite being named after a fish that looks like a porcupine, they actually specialize in coal-fired pizza. After an impromptu trip to have a drink at BlowToad on Wednesday night, Isaac fell in love with the fact that they have 25 craft beers on tap. I really wanted to try their pizza so I decided it would be fun to … [Read more...]

We may not have our date set yet or our wedding venue booked, but at least I know all my bridesmaids are ready and willing! It took me quite a while to decide how I wanted to ask the special ladies in my life if they would be part of my wedding. Since none of them live here in Richmond, I had thought about just calling them all and asking over the phone. That option would have worked out just … [Read more...]

Studies show that what we eat before, during and after a workout can have a significant effect on our energy levels, the quality of our workout, and the recovery process which follows. Our muscles need to be properly fuelled to get the maximum benefit from the workout we’ve just completed. And, without the proper nutritional support, you won’t get the optimal “bang for your … [Read more...]

Happy Valentine’s Day! I had originally planned to leave work early today so that Isaac and I could go on a guided tour of a wedding venue this afternoon, but my boss is amazing and convinced me just to take the whole day off. She definitely didn’t have to twist my arm on this one. And I’m glad I did because the day is already off to a great start. Nothing is better than waking … [Read more...]

Can your camera phone help you to lose weight? The Facebook C Diet is a social media experiment in mindful eating using a cell phone camera and Facebook. It was created to see if food craving compulsions could be controlled through community-based, online coaching.Twenty participants signed up in January 2012, to find out if their food choices are based on convenience, calories, cost or a … [Read more...]

The VA is 4 Bloggers meet-up at Feast was awesome yesterday – much thanks to Sarah’s great planning skills. Feast is a cute little food shop/cafe in the heart of C-ville. I had heard great things about the place and so I was pumped to have lunch there. The shop is filled with delicious gourmet food items and they have lots of samples sitting out (which I love!). Their cafe menu … [Read more...]

So happy the weekend is here! It’s already started off quite well and there’s plenty more fun to come… Yesterday morning before heading to work Isaac and I checked out another wedding venue – The Carillon. It’s a city owned World War I memorial located in a park near downtown Richmond. There are a lot of great things about this venue – super close to our house, … [Read more...]

February is a fun month around these parts because we have lots to celebrate. The festivities started yesterday for Isaac’s 28th birthday! Cupcakes were involved. I was going to go all out and make these Ginger Cupcakes but time got away from me and I ended up grabbing a box of cake mix from the store at 8:30PM on Tuesday night. I felt guilty but at least it was an organic mix, right? I … [Read more...]

These days there is an incredible amount of information available on what to eat for health, fitness and weight loss. Unfortunately, a good deal of it is distorted, biased, or simply untrue. Often, the scientists conducting studies on a given food product, or supplement, are employed by the very company which produces the product — how can they possibly be impartial? At other times, studies are … [Read more...]

How was your Super Bowl Sunday? Did you watch the game? I’ve never been a Super Bowl fanatic and typically pay more attention to the commercials than the game, but we had a few friends drop by our place yesterday and it was one of my favorite Super Bowls. The game didn’t really excite me, but the company and snacks (including Liz’s Creamy Hummus and Stephanie’s pimento … [Read more...]

How has your weekend been thus far? Mine has been busy but that’s been a good thing. We started things out by relaxing on Friday evening after work. Wine and cheese with Isaac after a long week = perfection! On Saturday we woke up early to tour The Mill at Fine Creek, a potential spot to have our wedding ceremony and reception. The Mill came highly recommended by a couple friends of ours … [Read more...]

Happy Saturday morning to ya. My last post gave quite a few healthy snack ideas for Super Bowl Sunday and I’m back today with a couple more. One is for an eggplant dip called baba ghanoush and the other is for a veggie chili. Both recipes (and the photos that accompany them) are Eat Clean originals created by Tosca Reno. As you all know, I think Tosca is awesome and love the Eat Clean … [Read more...]