Fleet Feet Event & Party Prep

Its been a crazy week! But…its Friday! And I’m teaching pump this morning, a great way to kick off the weekend. Or maybe Kay will teach for me:

We’re having a dinner party tonight and I did most of the prep yesterday. I made three lasagnas, two Mexican and one Italian.

I also baked two batches of cookies. I have a few more things to do today. Lots more pictures to come.

Last night, I was invited to a VIP event at the new Fleet Feet in Mount Pleasant (the 100th store in the Fleet Feet Franchise!!). According to the website:

“At Fleet Feet Sports, you will find a welcoming environment where runners, walkers and fitness enthusiasts of all abilities receive unparalleled service and support. Fleet Feet Sports' Fitlosophy is to help you find the right ''FIT'' in every facet of your active lifestyle.

Whether you walk, run, or simply need a good fitting pair of shoes, the educators at Fleet Feet Sports will work with you to evaluate your foot’s gait and natural biomechanics to help you select a shoe that offers the best fit and function for you.”

The store is so bright and cheery:

Check out the amazing wall of bras:

Cute dressing rooms:

Fantastic shoes:

Great gear and accessories. I even picked up a new Nathan Phantom pack to hold my keys, phone, shot bloks, etc while I run.

They had yummy eats for the VIP event:

 

Kaylin ate almost every grape in that fruit bowl…. They also had a great speaker and fun prizes. If you live in the Charleston area, definitely go visit Fleet Feet!!

Kay and I checked out a little early because she was SPENT. Here we are with Christina (don’t mind Kay’s “bow head”):

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Festive Salad Recipe & Dynamo Dog Review

Phew. I told you in my last post that Kaylin had been sick, but that she was getting better. Well, apparently I didn’t knock on wood and she ended up with a fever for the majority of the weekend. Another trip to the Doctors office and…we may be on the mend (knock on wood ;)).

Other than taking care of sicky peanut, I did get to teach my two classes, fit in an easy run, spent lots of time with Josh & Kaylin, and went to a birthday party for my niece and nephew. I brought along this salad:

Not a real recipe for this. I mixed a giant bag of spinach with a smaller bag of romaine. I then topped the lettuce mixture with two cans of mandarin oranges (no sugar added, drained, rinsed, dried), a large container or strawberries, diced, raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

I brought along these two dressings. The sesame pineapple vinaigrette is amazing (notice the photo bomber).

 

I think the salad was a hit! What did you do this weekend?

Recently , I was contacted by Cloudstar to see if Frank would be interested in reviewing their Dynamo Dog™ Functional Treats*. Frank LOVES treats, so I knew he’d be in:

According to the company:

“We are a small, family owned company, and for more than a decade have been baking all natural, low allergen treats right here in the USA.  Check us out at www.cloudstar.com.”

Adore that they’re made in the USA! They sent us four bags to review:

  

Dynamo Skin & Coat: “With salmon oil and vitamin E supplement, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs you will be giving your dog a healthy and mouth watering treat.”

Dynamo Tummy: “With added probiotics, ginger, and fiber from pumpkin, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs to ease digestion, you'll have one happy dog.”

Dynamo Hip & Joint: “With all the running and jumping dogs do in a day, they could use the added glucosamine and chondroitin, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs to keep them feeling their best.”

Frank watched as I photographed all of the treats.

 

He tried the bacon & cheese hip and joint variety first. It was hard for me to take a photograph because someone was ready to sample.

  Frank gobbled these down! He has enjoyed all of the varieties and always looks for more. He shared graciously shared a bag with his friend Tedy, more to come!

If you have a dog, you should give these treats a go!

*disclaimer: treats were received for free

Aurorae Yoga Top & Cookies

Happy, happy Friday!! This week has been a pretty good one…except the crazy events (Boston, Texas, flooding..) going on…and that Kay came down with a fever yesterday. After a trip to the pediatrician and a few tests…nothing turned up positive. Seems like its just a virus? Or maybe more teeth?? She is doing much better today (phew).  These crazy events definitely help put things in perspective.

I wanted to share a product review. I recently received the Aurorae Ladies Fitted Lenzing Modal® Tank Top: 

I wore the tank to take Kay for a walk. I also wore it while I taught Body Attack:

I was a big fan of how well it stayed in place during class. As a group fitness instructor, there is nothing worse during a class than clothing that rides up. The fabric also breathes really well. Bonus? Its made in the USA! Thanks Aurorae for the opportunity to review this product*!

Kay is napping…so I’m making cookies! This recipe to be exact. Baking is such a great stress reliever!

 

What are you up to this weekend? I am teaching Attack tonight & Step tomorrow morning. Hoping to spend lots of time with Josh/Kay/Frank. We’re also going to my niece’s/nephew’s birthday party on Sunday!

*Disclaimer: top was received to review for free

COOKIES (Giveaway)

Happy Wednesday!

Before I proceed with my usual ramblings, I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to everyone in Boston (and beyond) impacted by the horrible acts that took place on Monday. Senseless.

Today is my Uncle Gary’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!). To help him celebrate his birthday, we sent him love:

and cookies:

 

Gary is a pretty big cookie fan. I think most people are pretty big cookie fans :) Although I love baking cookies, I also really enjoy getting a cookie from a bakery. I have raved before about how yummy Tate’s Bake Shop’s cookies are, and now you have a chance to get your hands on some. First, a little word from Tate’s:

“We're happy to celebrate Mother's Day this year by honoring Moms, Grandmothers and everyone who's like a Mom with our Tate's Bake Shop Mother's Day Honor Wall on Facebook! Hope you can join the fun and spread the word, because we're giving away a Mom's Baking for Friends Basket each week to one winner selected at random from the Honor Wall. 

It's easy to enter - just click the link http://woobox.com/zakfaz and follow the instructions. All you need to do is decide who you'd like to honor, post an image of your honoree and say a few words about why they're special to you. That's it!”

YES! Mother’s day is coming up quick. I think your Mom/Grandma/you would love a Tate’s gift. Want an additional chance to win some Tate’s goodies? How about this Mother's Day Brunch Basket that features sinful sour cream coffee cake, a lemon pound cake loaf, two each of Tate’s heavenly raspberry bars and crumb cakes, plus a box of Tate’s Bake Shop’s famous chocolate chip cookies? Ummm yah!!

Just leave a comment on this post by Friday, April 19 at noon telling me who you would give this gift basket to if you won. And, hey…there is nothing wrong with saying you’d give it to yourself ;). You DO not need to have a blog to enter. Winner will be randomly selected.

Bonus! You can use the discount code mom13 at checkout on the Tate’s Bake Shop website and receive 20% off any purchase until May 12, 2013.

Good luck!!

disclaimer: prize will be provided by Tate’s for free

New Favorite Recipes & Happenings

AHHH! Sorry for being so MIA. Last week was hectic. It was spring break week here, so I was subbing for a lot of instructors that were out of town, Josh was on travel, and Kay was sick (despite her tubes she has another double ear infection :(). But, I’m back! So other than the above, a quick run down of last week:

I did a 12 mile long run with Kaylin. I was only planning on doing part of it with her, but she fell asleep mid run and ended up making it through the whole thing! I am planning on doing another race soon, more to come:

I found an awesome product at Harris Teeters that I can’t get enough of:

 

One of the gyms I teach at got a new stage. I taught on it for the first time on Sunday. I’m happy to report that I didn’t fall off:

 

I’m learning choreography like crazy because we have our Body Step & Pump launches this weekends. I’m so glad we launched Attack early, I couldn’t imagine learning another program right now.

I’ve made two new recipes this week. Stephanie’s Cheesy Spinach n’ Chobani Enchilada Bake. Pre-bake:

 

Post:

 

It looks TOTALLY indulgent, but with low fat cottage cheese and 0% Chobani, its actually pretty light! Give it a go!!

Next up, Maria’s Easy Marinara:

  I think I could eat the whole pot with a spoon and nothing else! So tasty. I used some of the sauce to top a pasta, vegetable & chicken mixture:

   

I froze the rest. AWESOME recipe Maria!!

Last item! I received my new Ellie outfit, a very cute sports bra and pair of fitted pants.   Ellie recently had a delay in delivery of their March line (which is still available on the website). They sent their customers a note that included the following explanation:

“As a new company, we have had some obstacles, namely in production. The March pieces were delivered at the beginning of this month but were not up to our standards of quality. We sent them back in exchange for brand new, improved pieces that will all be sent out next week.”

I can only imagine the challenges that are encountered when you start a new business. I really respect the fact that Ellie takes pride in their clothes and sent back the initial items. Hope you consider giving Ellie a try (disclaimer: I received my outfit for free)!!  I will be testing out my new gear when I teach Attack today.

Kay’s Easter Basket with CLIF Kid

The Easter bunny & I were super excited to put together Kaylin’s Easter basket this year. Lucky for us, we had help from Clif (disclaimer: CLIF products were received for free).

First, I searched on Etsy for the perfect basket. Although I think Pottery Barn kids has adorable baskets, they’re really small. I found this one on Polka Dot Tot:

I stuffed the basket with all kinds of goodies including Clif Kid Zbars and Zfruit ropes:

 

At 1 1/2, Kaylin is too young for candy (in my opinion), so these treats are perfect. According to Clif:

“Both Zbar Chocolate Brownie and Zbar Crispy Chocolate offer kids chocolaty, organic whole grain goodness. And Zfruit is 100% real fruit twisted into a fun rope shape for when kids want a tangy and chewy alternative to jelly beans.”

Outside the Clif goodness, I picked up bath toys, a Doodle Pro, sidewalk chalk, a book, Annie’s bunnies, and a truck filled with blocks:

  Instead of using traditional Easter basket grass, I stuffed the basket with tissue paper (less messy ;)).

 

I think we’re ready!

  

What do you want in your Easter basket?

TV Debut & Weekend

AH! So, I told you how I’m running the Color Me Rad race in my wedding dress to raise money for the Special Olympics, right? Well, tomorrow, Kindal, Tracey (from Happy Wheels), and I will be featured on Lowcountry Live! We filmed our segment today. 

 

I wore my new Lulu top and my Ellie capris (Kindal wore her whole Ellie outfit!!) .

I think the segment went well? I don’t think I said much haha. I will post the video if I can get a hold of it.

 

A BIG thank you to Lowcountry Live for having us.

How was your weekend? I enjoyed lots of time with Kaylin and Josh, went out to eat, and I taught at the gym. Few pictures from the weekend:

The wonderful Caroline took my Body Pump class on Friday:

Kay tested out the new Chobani Champions tubes. She is a big fan:

  

 

Weekends always involve Starbucks (ok…maybe most DAYS involve Starbucks). Loved the first trivia question (the answer is A):

 

We went to the park:

 

 

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!!

 

Reminder: You have until Wednesday at noon to enter my five giveaways!!