Book Club Friday: The Peach Keeper

Happy Friday everyone!  And because it's Friday that means it's time for another Book Club Friday.  This week I'm sharing The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen.

From Barnes and Noble:
It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite Paxton Osgood—has restored the house to its former glory, with plans to turn it into a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, long-kept secrets come to light, accompanied by a spate of strange occurrences throughout the town. Thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the passions and betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover the truths that have transcended time to touch the hearts of the living.

Review
I had never read anything from this author before (although now I will!), so I had no expectations going into this.  It wasn't super long and was a good book for my trip to Dallas last weekend.  I really enjoyed the book.  I liked the characters and thought the plot was enjoyable.  When the book ended, I actually wished it had kept going because I wanted to know what happened to the characters.  Always a good sign in my opinion!

Anyone else read The Peach Keeper or any other books by Sarah Addison Allen?  Which one should I pick up next?

Mini Monkey Bread

A couple of Friday's ago was my friend Melissa's birthday.  Her birthday fell on a Friday and since she had a long run on Saturday morning, she didn't really want to do anything Friday night (understandable!).  So instead, our friend Nadia organized a surprise brunch to be waiting for her when she came back.

There wasn't much noticed (I think we planned it in 2 days!), but Nadia put together a fabulous spread.  In addition to the typical breakfast foods (scrambled eggs, sausage patties, bacon, turkey bacon and latkes), Nadia made (from scratch!) brown butter cupcakes with a caramel icing - and bacon bits on top.  Amazing!

we put together a great spread, huh?

a-maz-ing

We also had 2 kinds of mimosa's and of course, coffee to wake everyone up.  It had been a long time since we'd all gotten together and it was a wonderful morning/afternoon of catching up.  Must do it again soon!

My contribution to the day was Mini Monkey Bread.  I love Monkey Bread - it's one of my favorite things to bring to brunches.  It's been a Christmas morning staple since the first time I made it at the first Pajama Christmas (yes, it's a thing in my family.  And no, it does not mean staying in our PJ's all day.  Maybe I'll explain sometime around Christmas).

It makes a ton though, so when it's not a large group, it's easy to overdo it on the Monkey Bread.  I knew there'd be a ton of other food at the birthday brunch so wanted to scale back the quantity.  I kinda just made these adjustments on my own!

The Mini Monkey Breads turned out delicious.  Everyone enjoyed them and I call them a success!  Plan on implementing this version at Christmas too.

Mini Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread Portion
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup melted butter, plus some extra (non-melted) butter

Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tbsp milk

Bakeware
Muffin tin

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, set aside
3. Cut the biscuits into 4 pieces
4. Toss the cut biscuit pieces in the cinnamon sugar
5. Using the non-melted butter, coat the inside of the muffin cups with the butter (could also use Pam for this step, but butter is so much better!)
6. Drop tiny pieces of butter into the bottom of each muffin cup (no science here, just whatever amount looks right)
7.  Distribute the cinnamon sugar coated biscuit pieces in the muffin cups.  I used 6-7 pieces per cup
8.  Drizzle the melted butter over each cup (you probably won't use all of it)
9.  Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar (there will be some leftover, but I can't figure out how to cut down the mixture)
10. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

While baking, make cream cheese frosting -

1.  Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until well blended

2.  Slowly mix in milk until frosting is at desired consistency

Once the monkey bread is ready, flip onto serving tray and top with desired amount of frosting!

Below are some additional photo's to make you drool.

Enjoy!

Ready to go into the over - look at the melted butter and cinnamon sugar goodness

Right out of the oven

When flipped out of pan with buttery deliciousness

Frosting waiting to be applied

Wanderlust Wednesday: Amsterdam

Today's Wanderlust brings us to Amsterdam.  I have never been, but definitely hope to go soon.  It seems like a beautiful city (love the architecture and canals) and a fun time.  Plus, I bet it's spectacular in fall.

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Anyone ever been to Amsterdam?  Tell me your favorite thing to do there in the comments!

can i issue a retraction?

So, yesterday I made a statement that I was going to get back on track and that I was going to do P90X.  It was kind of a spur of the moment idea.  I had the video's and figured it would be a great idea.  I hadn't actually read anything that was involved yet (oops).  All I did was google the workout schedule so I would know which one I was supposed to do on Day 1.

Once I got home and actually read the instructional book that came with it, that I realized I may have over committed.  Each workout is at least 1 hour.  With the crazy hours I have been working, I am not sure I'd have the time every day.  In addition, they require more equipment then I currently own.  I'd need a pull up bar and more weights (I currently have 1 set of 3 pound weights).  Another part of the reason to do this is my gym membership is up and I am hoping to put off renewing until after the holidays so I can balance my budget for the season.  Spending money on a pull up bar and more weights just isn't feasible right now.

So, after reading all of this, I kinda figured I would still do it, but would have to make adjustments when I was missing equipment.  So last night I did Core Synergistics.  Or maybe I should say - tried to do Core Synergistics.  Let me just say, this was not made to do in a tiny apartment.  Most of the moves I couldn't do because I didn't have the space.

I know these sound like excuses (and they are) but I need to be realistic.  If I can only do 1/2 of the moves, is it worth it?  Probably not.

Once I realized that it was going to be pretty tough for me to do the program, I decided not to do it and to do something else instead.  Last spring I had purchased Power 90, another program by Tony Horton (yes, I am a direct marketers dream).  I did do it for awhile last year.  It's definitely less intense and the workouts are shorter and more manageable   They don't require me to buy any equipment and I know I can do them in my apartment.

So, today is Day 1 of Power 90.  I have read the instructional booklet and know what I am getting myself into (this time).  I'll try and do weekly recaps (when I remember) so I can track my progress.

PS - I am aware that I could have just removed or updated the old post to reflect the new workout plan, but I wanted to be honest with myself about why I am not doing it

Two for Tuesday

Time for another Two for Tuesday.

I just saw this show for the first time last week while flipping through channels.  It was (unfortunately) the season finale, but how, oh how did I miss this show.  It's basically a ridiculous game of musical chairs.  Here is the official description from the CW: "Hosted by actor/comedian Jamie Kennedy ("The Ghost Whisperer") and actress/television host Jessi Cruickshank ("MTV Live"), OH SIT! is a fun, high-stakes, high-octane musical chairs competition, in which 12 thrill-seeking daredevils race head to head through five physically demanding, obstacle course-style eliminations as they each compete to claim a chair, to the sounds of a live band. At the end of the hour, only one contestant will be left sitting triumphant to seize the cash prize. Adding to the fun, Tanika Ray ("Extra") will be in the trenches with the contestants both on and off the track and will add color commentary from the sidelines as the action unfolds."
The commentary was hilarious - I wish I had caught it earlier in the summer.  It reminded me of that show "I survived a Japanese Game Show" that was on years ago.

Found my new go to nail color for Fall - Butter London's All Hail the Queen.  I purchased it in a set of 3 from coterie.com a Gilt like beauty website.  It's a perfect color for Fall with a hint of shimmer.  It seems to be pretty durable too - painted my nails twice with it so far and they each lasted at least 5 days.

Getting back on track...

Happy Monday everyone!  I am back from my wedding in Dallas and man, was it a good time.  I'll post more details later this week (along with my wedding in SF, some recipes I've been making, a running update and about 100 other things I want to blog about).

The weekend was filled with family, good food and a crazy celebration!  We had some true 'tex-mex' while down there and it makes me want more!  Unfortunately, NYC is not really known for their great Mexican (I mean, there are some good Mexican restaurants but nothing that holds a candle to the food we ate there).  But overindulging all weekend has left me feeling not so hot today.  As I've said before, this summer wasn't my healthiest (at the time I was mainly concerned for how it would effect my marathon) and while my marathon went very well, I am still feeling really....gross.  There is no other word for how I feel.

These past 2 weeks post marathon have been very unhealthy and gym-free.  And yes, a break was needed post marathon, but it's time to get back on track.  I am hoping that by getting back into a workout schedule and healthy eating habits, I will fill better all around.  Top it off that my 30th birthday is approaching in a little more then 3 months (more on that subject later) and I want to look my best for it.

Basically all of the above brings me to the real reason of this post.  Today is Day 1 of my P90X challenge.  Yep, I'm going to do it.  I bought the set a couple of years ago when it first became big (nothing I like more then joining the bandwagon), but I never truly followed it.  I would do video's here and there.  But this time - I am going to do it.

I am doing the Lean Schedule (there are 3: Classic, Doubles and Lean) since the Lean one is the least intense.  And I am fully admitting right now that I will have to make alterations to the schedule because I still have to run.  But I am going to do it to the best of my ability.

Because I know I work best when I set little goals - I am going to break it into 3 sections.  Right now, I just want to get through weeks 1-4 and then we'll see how I feel and go from there.

Today's workout is Core Synergistics.  Going to do it tonight when I get home.

I am hoping by blogging about it, it will keep me honest and more likely to do it.

Anyone done P90X?  How'd it go for you?

Celeb Sighting (an old one, but still a good one)

I am off to another wedding this weekend (this time in Dallas) and have been crazy trying to get work done and run all my errands since I am losing the weekend (for errand running that is).

My cousin is getting married and I am super excited to see everyone!  I think I've talked about it before, but I super close with my family and am definitely looking forward to a weekend of family time!

Last night while I was running errands in the East Village, it occurred to me that I have never shared my best (and personal favorite) celeb sighting.  I think I should really call it more of a "run in" because that's what happened.  I literally ran into Ryan Gosling.  Yes, Ryan Gosling.  Of The Notebook and Mickey Mouse Club fame (notice the movie/show I choose to go with?).

The run in occurred back in April of 2011.  I was on my way to brunch with some friends in the East Village. I was walking down 3rd Avenue while at the same time, checking my phone for the exact cross streets.  I crossed 12th St (I was walking south on 3rd) and after crossing and getting back on the sidewalk (still looking at my phone) I ran into someone walking west on 12th (getting ready to cross 3rd Ave).  Without even thinking, I quickly start apologizing because I literally just ran into the person (thank god neither of us was carrying coffee or we'd have been in trouble.  While I keep blabbing on an apology, he says "No worries, it happens".

It's at this point I realize the person I just sidewalk attacked is Ryan Gosling (holding a ukulele, btw).  It must have been pretty clear that I realized who he was because I just stopped talking and starred at him.  He isn't even phased, repeats "no worries" and continues across 3rd Ave.

Recovering slightly, I immediately open the camera app on my phone to talk a picture.  Kind of hard when you don't want to be too obvious and trying to take it across a busy street.  It's not the best picture and I am pretty sure no one besides me would know it was Ryan Gosling.  But trust me - it is.  And he is just as attractive in person as he is on camera.

Wanderlust Wednesday: Munich

This weekend marks the end of the legendary Oktoberfest in Munich so let's travel there in this week's Wanderlust Wednesday!  I have always wanted to go to Oktoberfest and it is pretty high on my list of places to visit (actually, all of Germany is).  I am actually 25% German and for some strange reason, seem to identify more with my German roots then other nationalities (it's tied with my Irish roots).

My grandfather (the German one) has always been interested in learning more of our lineage and did a lot of work on our German family tree back in the 80's (yes, before the internet, he used to have to write letters to historians to research things).  The end result?  We can trace one line all the way back to the 1790's!  We also have a pretty decent sized binder detailing our entire lineage (including the research letters!).  I personally am fascinated by ancestry and want to do research on the Irish side next!

Anyone ever done any heritage or lineage research?  Is ancestry.com the best way to go?

Off to Munich!

Source

Source

Source

Source

Click on the link below each photo to see it's source

Two for Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Hope your week is starting out well.  Another busy one for me and I'm off again this weekend for another wedding!

Everything Maple!  When we were in Montreal there was maple everywhere.  And not the crappy processed kind - the good kind.  I love maple syrup so I may have been in heaven.  This was my treat post marathon: maple gelato and maple candies.  Yum!

Oh Fall.  You are my favorite season.  And one of my favorite parts - Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes.  They are just quintessentially fall to me.  I love them.  Now, I totally want one.

Race Report: Montreal Marathon

This race report is very different then I thought it would be.  Per my previous post (see here), I did not have a great training season.  Due to this lack of training, I was going into the race with pretty low expectations.  I just wanted to run a comfortable pace and finish standing up.  Honestly, I think having low expectations helped a lot.  I could just go out and run and have no pressure on me.  And it worked!  I had a great race!

We started the race weekend with a visit to the expo.

Expo was nice - nothing super amazing, but big enough to entertain me and Pam for an hour.  Smaller selection of race clothing then other Rock n Roll races, but still a good selection.  I (of course) bought the race jacket (we know I love race clothing!).

I am going to run that!

The expo did also have a really cool booth were you could make your own North Face shirt.  I made one which had an upside down shoe with the Montreal skyline on it and a 42K on it.  For only $20 bucks!  Pam also made one with a shoe print on it.  Mine says Run MTL.  Great expo find!

Mine shirt is the top one - great expo find!

After the expo, we walked around Montreal a bit, but tried to stay off our feet.  We did encounter part of the race course - a big hill right at mile 10.

Yep, we'll be running up that hill

Race Day

The race started at 8:30am on Sunday morning out by Parc Jean-Drapeau.  Pretty easy to get to via the subway (they told us).  And it was - minus the 15 minute walk to the start which was pretty annoying.

The race started on a bridge (sorry, don't know the name).  We started near the end and ran down the off ramp.  The corrals were pretty well organized and they had the wave starts running smoothly.

A pic of the start from the race website

The first mile was down an off ramp and off we went!  My first mile was a little fast - combination of the excitement and the downhill.  I just kept telling myself to slow down and run my race - don't let the people around me control my pace.  The first couple of miles went around an amusement park - pretty fun to run under a roller coaster.

I had decided to break the race up like I do half marathons - two six mile sections with a mile in the middle.  By breaking it up like that, it was a lot more manageable then counting down from 26.  Since I had never been to Montreal and had no idea where I was, I just tried to soak in the event and scenery.  It was really beautiful.

My pace was turning out to be pretty consistent.  I was trying not to push it too much.  The half and full split at about 12.8 miles.  Once it split, the course really emptied out.  I was genuinely worried that my pace would slow once I was truly alone.  But surprisingly, I didn't.  I just tried not to over think it.  One foot in front of the other.  And my pace stayed the same.

Since I hadn't had a great 18 or 20 mile run, I kept waiting for the pain to set in.  But then I hit the 10k to go marker and realized I still felt really strong.  I almost startedto cry.  I couldn't believe it.

My pace really didn't slow until 22.  And then only by like 10-20 seconds.  I was amazed - couldn't believe it.  It was around 22.5 miles that we ran past the Olympic Stadium (Montreal hosted the summer games in 1976).  It's actually a pretty unique stadium and I was pretty psyched to get to run past it.  Shortly after we past the 5k to go mark.  I could not believe it.  My pace was still starting to slow, but I just kept telling myself it was okay to slow, I had run 23 miles.

There was a hill at about 24.5 miles.  It was an out and back so I had seen it going out and knew it was coming.  Right at the base of the hill, the 4:15 pace group caught up with me.  Since they were right next to me, I decided to see if I could keep pace with them up the hill.  And I did.  I continue to run with them for a little bit figuring I could try and prevent myself from slowing too much.

Right after 25, with the pace group right next to me, I was ready to be done.  So I decided the faster I ran, the faster I would be done.  And I took off.  Like literally took off.  My body was hurting but I knew I could push through it (and it made for some interesting race photos).  My mile 25 pace was much faster then any of the other miles.  When I turned the corner and saw the finish line - I was so happy.  I kept pushing myself until I crossed the finish line.

Once I crossed, I looked at my time - 4:16:52.  Holy cow.  It immediately occurred to me, I knew it was one of my faster times.  I knew it wasn't a PR (pretty sure my Dublin time will be my PR for a long long time).

My times overall were pretty consistent.  I was so happy and excited.

As they handled me my medal, tears definitely welled up in my eyes.  It was such a relief to be done and I was so happy it went well.  Better then expected.  I think since I had no expectations, it was pretty easy to just run how I felt.

I was definitely pretty sore for the next couple of days, but I was so overjoyed about the race it didn't matter.

Overall, this was an amazing race.  My final time was my second fastest time yet.  So happy about that!  I was happy I ran a comfortable race and was able to keep my pace the entire time.  Montreal provided a great course and a wonderful experience.

While the course wasn't lined with spectators, the ones that were out were fabulous.  They all cheered and yelled my name and definitely helped keep me going.

Marathon #9 in the books.  And a great one to boot.

Me in my official race jacket.

A happy marathon finisher.