Two weeks ago I had the chance to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium while I was down in Carmel for the holidays. Whenever I have the chance to visit a museum, aquarium, or exhibit of interest, I always jump at the chance. Personally, I really enjoy walking around and learning about the different things that are on display. Initially, I visited the aquarium the day after Christmas. Let me tell you- IT. WAS. PACKED. Granted, I went around 12 p.m., however, there were SO many people it was barely enjoyable. Each and every exhibit was filed with people. More than that, there were so many children, it was ridiculous. After trying my best to brave the crowd for about an hour, I finally gave up and left I decided to go back the next day right when they opened. Granted, there were still a lot of people, however, I was able to walk around and see everything that I wanted to see before the huge crowd came once again. Overall, the exhibits were pretty neat and I enjoyed myself. I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves. Pure, amazement.
Elise's Monthly Obsession: Lululemon Holiday Bags
Hi loves!
If you love Lululemon like me, you should know that every year they make a special holiday edition bag. Don't get me wrong, their red bags are super cool and are extremely versatile when it comes to usage, BUT a little change is always nice. I love using their bags for almost everything; reusable grocery bags, lunch bags, gym bags, garbage bags, and whatever else I can think of! This fall I noticed that their new holiday bags were a bit dark. They kind of reminded me of galaxy print things. They are mostly black with white speckles all over the bag. They are made out of the same material so they are the same durability, but I just think the pattern is extremely cute. On top of the holiday bags, Lulu decided to also give boxes for gifts this year. THE. BOXES. ARE. AMAZING.!!! I'm talking about Kiehl's style boxes people! They are all black and their logo is gold. I am so impressed with Lulu this year! The only thing is, ever since they started to add more "lifestyle" type clothes, they don't have as many cute things in my opinion. Anywho, I still spend way too much money there- at least i'm in their R&D program 😬. If you haven't checked out Lulu's holiday stuff you should definitely stop by!
Happy Holidays!
xoxo, E
Homemade Applesauce
I hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving! I have to say, I think Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I look forward to spending time with family, and eating all of the yummy food each year. More specifically, the turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are my FAVORITE! This year, I learned how to make homemade applesauce, and to my surprise it was really easy!
Ingredients: At least five different kinds of apples, cinnamon, a SLIVER of butter,and water (or apple juice).
Things you need: A food mill.
First, I sliced up all of my apples. I was making a lot so I used about eight different types of apples. Make sure you get some that are sweet, and some that are tart. Next, I put them in a large pot with about two cups of water (or apple juice) and constantly stirred them until the apples stared to get soft. Again, I was making a lot of apple sauce and you don't want to soak you apples in the water- you just want enough to cover the bottom of your pot. Also, I want to add that you can put the whole apple into the pot because the food mill will filter them out (seeds, core, etc., however, I did not do this). After the apples start to soften you can add your cinnamon and butter. Once you see your apples begin to peel away from their skin, you can then process the mixture in the pot to the food mill. I did several scoops so my food mill did not get clogged. After, I let the apple sauce cool down for about thirty mins until I was able to pack it up in mason jars and refrigerate them. It's so easy to make, and I really like it because I knew exactly what I was putting into it. Even though I didn't put additional sugar or use apple juice, I thought the end result was sweet enough for me.
If you try it out, leave a comment and let me know if you like it/ how yours turned out!
xoxo, E
Pressed Juicery Three Day Cleanse
Hi loves, so I've been so busy with life that I haven't had the chance to write about my juice cleanse experience right after I completed it. But, better late than never, right? About a month ago I was shopping around one of the streets in San Francisco that has a Pressed Juicery store. I do have to say that ever since my junior year of high school I have really enjoyed almost all of the cold pressed juices that i've tried. Granted, some taste better than others, but overall I love the idea and taste. I decided to visit Pressed Juicery to pick up a few juices, however I was in the "I'm going to be super healthy and do whatever I can today to motivate me" mindset. Right when I walked in, I knew the juices I wanted to pick up (my go- to favorites). BUT, I saw some of the seasonal flavors they had in stock and wanted to get those too. Long story short, I ended up picking so many that the girl who worked there just suggested I do a one day cleanse. Knowing me, I wanted to push myself to do the three day cleanse instead. Ten minutes later, there I am walking out of the store with three bags full of juices and waters..
The cleanse itself is one of the easier ones I have tried. This last time I did the cleanse was the third or fourth time I've done a juice cleanse using Pressed Juicery Juice. I do have to say, any cleanse will be difficult, but once you get over that initial hump it's not as bad as it seems. About the juices- Pressed Juicery has different categories of juice; Greens, Citrus, Signature Blends, and Roots. In addition, they also have cleansing waters that are basically water with cayenne pepper, lemon, aloe vera etc. For each day of the cleanse you choose six types of juice you want and could mix and match between all of the above choices. In addition to the six juices you choose, you also get two additional bottles, one aloe vera water, and one chlorophyll. Whenever I do juice cleanses, I try to mix and match so that I still get a balance between fruits and veggies each day. Here is an example of what one day of my juices would look like...
Greens 3, Citrus 2, Greens 3, Root 2, Wheatgrass Seasonal Flavor, Coconut Cinnamon, Aloe Vera Water, Chlorophyll, and Lemon Water With Cayenne Pepper
As you can see, there are A LOT of bottles to drink in one day. Trust me when i say, you will need to go to the bathroom WAY more than normal. However, while I was doing this cleanse, I had so much energy, I felt "healthy", and I lost a few pounds. I have read some articles that say juice cleansing is not good for your body at all. However, I have also read some articles that say doing a juice cleanse have benefits for your overall health. Whichever side you believe in is your own choice. I personally did this cleanse because I love the juices, and why not have a little kick- start into fueling my body with the right nutrients it needs. Overall, I highly recommend Pressed Juicery juices. If juice cleansing isn't for you, the juices still taste amazing!
Here are a few more picture That show you what is in each of the juices.
xoxo,
E
Bridge 2 Bridge 12K
On Thursday of last week, I get a text from my friend saying "Do the Bridge 2 Bridge run with me on Sunday!" Of course, me not knowing what the heck this run is all about, I check out their website and I am reeled in. I paid the $60 something registration fee, and that was that. Investigating more into this race, I found out that it is sponsored by Oral B and benefits special olympics. More than that, their sponsors are the same sponsors for Bay to Breakers, and two other races which I forgot the names to already. But, the cool thing is that if you participate in all four races (all 12Ks I believe) in one calendar year you receive a medal for each race plus an additional fifth medal for completing all the races of that "series." My friend and I are planing on participating in those next year.
This run was actually my first 12K, for those of you who don't know, a 12K is about 7.45 miles. So, this morning, I took a Lyft down to the Ferry Building, registered, had my gear checked, and enjoyed some of the sights. There were some people who were dressed up, families participating together, and lots of friendly faces to chat with. The run was almost exactly the run I did the previous day with my run group. We started off at 9 a.m. at the ferry building, ran down past pier 39 towards the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point, turned around and ended up at Marina Greens. The run was mostly flat, with the exception of a few STEEP hills. At the end of the race, all of the runners were offered a lot of complimentary items (beer, wine, champagne, popsicles, chocolate milk, etc.). Overall, I would love to do this run again, especially since it goes to such a good cause.
After the race, my friend and I went down to Boudin's at Fishermans Warf to grub on some clam chowder in bread bowls, yum!
Here are some pictures I took from today.
xox, E
Nike+ Run Club: Long run
This past Saturday, I was signed up to run with my run group that started at 8:03 a.m. The night before, I was super tired from a long work week so I crashed early. Being that it was the weekend, I didn't have my alarm set for the next morning. Low and behold, I still woke up fairly early (at 7 a.m.), but doddled on my phone scrolling through social media, looking at people's Snapchat stories etc. Not knowing what time it was until I checked my phone, I realized that it was already 7:15. I WAS SO CLOSE TO CHOOSING NOT TO GO TO THE RUN GROUP. At this point I was about 90/10 for not going. I even went to the check in confirmation, and stared at the cancel button for a good minute. Then, I thought to myself "If I don't go, I will regret it, and I have nothing better to do this morning." Let me tell you, I AM SO GLAD I WENT! Sometimes the hardest part is just getting up and going.
When I got there, I decided to do the 8 mile run instead of the 12 mile run. We ran down to the Marina Greens like always to get some dynamic stretching in and to warm up. Our route deviated slightly due to the new pacer I had, however we still ran along the water, did some hill work, and ran through the Presidio, under the Golden Gate Bridge, and back to Nike. The weather turned out to be extremely nice too.
Here are a few pictures from the run. Enjoy!
xoxo, E
Sutro Baths
This past weekend was one for the books. The weather was amazing so my friend and I decided to play tourist in our own city. I suggested we rent those little yellow carts and drive around the city, however my friend suggested we check out Sutro Baths. Somehow, my idea got overruled and we ended up going to Lands End. For those of you who don't know what Lands End and Sutro Baths is; Lands End is right at the coast of San Francisco. You can find some of the most amazing views in the city here (in my opinion). On a clear day, you are able to see Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, and even some dolphins or whales! Sutro Baths is part of the Golden Gate Recreational Area. However, at on point in time, Sutro Baths was the largest public swimming pool in California. That is, until the 1960's where it burned down and was never rebuilt.
Once we parked at Lands End, we followed a small path down to the baths. Due to it being a nice day, there were a lot of other people who were out and about as well. We both hadn't been to Sutro Baths since we were younger so we thought it was pretty cool once we got there. Some of the things we saw while exploring were; a pair of dolphins, some caves, and a small little beach only accessible once you've gone down to the baths. Needless to say, it was a cool experience, however due to it being an old swimming pool, there were a lot of decaying stone, and algae you had to be careful of when you were walking. One of the tourist there missed a step and fell right in, yikes! Here are a few pictures I took from our adventure.
xox, E
