Favorite Things Friday returns!

It's been awhile since I've done one of these :) 

1. Blueberry banana and chocolate chip banana breads !

2. New cycling kit! Wahoo, 50 miles here I come.

3. When my bff sent me this picture because this sweatshirt made her think of me :)

4. Getting a thank you note from my boss for working hard :)

5. Watching this in my PJs (I really need to stop being so wild on the weekends).

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Favorite Things Friday!

It's time for another FTF! The weeks are just flying by. Like I said earlier this week, we are entrenched in midterms right now, which has been an extra challenge considering the (very alluring) great weather we've been having (luckily the weather is supposed to get bad again next week?). Here are some of my favorite things this week!

1.  GETTING MAIL! I adore receiving mail, and have always been big into letters, so it was great to get TWO letters this week! It makes me feel so good to get a note from a friend and that people had taken the time to write out letters to me :) Getting mail is an extra-special thing in this age of instant-messaging and email. Made my week when I got called to the mail room :)

2. Broccoli! And soup. Broccoli is the best. This week I've been eating it plain, chopping it up in salad, and stirring it into my soup with other veggies. Broccoli is filled with iron and calcium, which are both things I need because I don't eat much meat or dairy. It's also a great source of fiber and those Omega-3s that everyone's always talking about. YUM.

3. Train rides as the sun is going down. Our trips home this week have coincided with the sunset and I love watching the glowing sun as we're traveling home! The 3-hour (total) commute each day doesn't seem so bad when you can look out your window and see sheep grazing or kids walking home with their parents. It's much better getting home when it's still light out!

4. Being able to have bare legs! Yikes, my legs have hardly seen the light of day for MONTHS! (They are still this pale in the middle of August though...I don't really get tan!). Yesterday I loved getting out my favorite pink skirt and going to class with bare legs in the 60-something degree weather. 

Off to get ready for Amsterdam! We head out around noon and will get there at dinner time. Have good weekends, everybody!

Favorite Things Friday!

We are off to Zurich this afternoon! On the agenda includes boat rides, an 8-mile hike, botanical gardens, and chocolate :) We are going with our friend and it should be a lot of fun!

Not so fun is that I'm sick. I have a sinus infection :( With the lack of sleep, exposure to lots of sick people at the Chateau, travel, and piling running on top of that, I guess my system broke down. This is the first Friday since I've been here that I slept in (until 7:45 when my sore throat woke me up) instead of running. Some runners say that they'll run with any ailment "above the throat" but for me, anything below the forehead is a no-go. This was a tea and ice cream for breakfast kind of morning (even though dairy when you have a sore throat is bad because apparently it coats your throat, making it harder to swallow... I will make better choices for the rest of my illness :).

The good news: I haven't had a sinus infection since the end of August. After that I started using a prescribed nasal spray to ease my symptoms. 6.5 months without a sinus infection is the longest I've gone since I was ~12 years old. THIS IS A BIG DEAL! I know it might sound like I'm a baby, but when you have 3-4 in a row every fall and again every spring, and when they're incredibly painful, this is something to be very excited about! So even though I don't feel great now, I'm still really grateful that I don't feel like this alllllll the time anymore!

Favorite things this week:

1. Salads! And fruits. Okay - this is a favorite EVERY week! This is my weekend food-supply. Lunch for today and snacks for the rest of the trip! Granola, bananas, hardboiled eggs, cranberries, a salad, granola bar, and plain granola!

2. Sunsets. So cliché but this one right by my house last night was too pretty to ignore.

3. Sorry for the blurry bus photo - this favorite thing is PINK HOUSES! Most are duller pastel colors so these ones were worth noting. It would be cool to live in a pink house.

4. Spring weather. (Those in the polar vortex, it's coming to you too! I promise!)

5. Hobnobs. This is a classic British packaged cookie... a hard crunchy oatmeal cookie with chocolate on the bottom. I have been making my stock from the trip last!

6. This cookie recipe from http://eatrealhealthyfood.com. No dairy, eggs, gluten, or added sugars! Choco chip cookies with apple sauce, PB, dates, and oats. I made these for the trip this weekend and they came out so yummy! More like granola bars but perfect for travel :)

7. Grapefruit. Welcome back to my life! I used to eat one of these a day, but haven't so much here because we don't have a good grapefruit knife. Maybe it's time to re-introduce these...clearly I need the vitamin C!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! My next post will be on...ZURICH!

Favorite Things Friday: Lux Edition!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I really like Valentine's Day. I think it's a sweet concept - not necessarily something limited to romantic partners but a day that I like to share the love with friends&family too!

My Frenchified Valentine to you all :)

Finally, a FTF after quite awhile without any!

1. When my mom sends me delicious recipes!

Like THIS!

and THIS more Luxembourg-friendly one...

I definitely want to try my hand at that pudding when we're back from Carnaval!

2. The idea of doing this during my Pelatonia training!!! 

Just kidding! (Maybe.)

3. The ideas that PB Fingers shared for nice v-day gifts! Good for gifts to friends or to a special someone... very cute!

4. Planning travel for each weekend...and taking full advantage of being able to take off and visit totally new lands every week or two!

5. Fruits & veggies! This banana might look a little brown but that's how I like to eat them. Shopping for myself has been an adjustment but I've been loving picking out my own produce at the supermarché and making new combinations in my salads every day!

6. My chocolate collection from Belgium :)

(and the bits from my sweet roommate :)

7. Celebrating HRG's special birthday from afar :)

8. THESE funny running-related Valentines....

9. Traveling all over with this silly guy!

10. Having a family that sends cards like this!

11...and getting to live in the beauty that is Luxembourg.

Favorite Things Friday!

This is my last FTF until LUX! I can't believe that! I'm in a sort of state of shock that I'm leaving in THREE days.

This morning I woke up early (for me) and took my time before getting in three miles. I wonder if I can make it to 35 miles this week??? My legs didn't like me today after yesterday's 10 miles but I'm trying to get in the habit of easy running after long runs. I think if I was really training for something I would take a day off before and after long runs (or cross-train) just because running the next day doesn't usually do much for me - at least at this point!

Funny fact: Today I actually saw TWO banana peels in my path on my run. Forget slipping on the ice... looks like I need to worry about slipping on banana peels! I think it's funny to imagine the hilarity of that actually happening.

Here are a few of my favorite things this week:

1. This cup of coffee. Caramel and white chocolate (who knew I could like white chocolate?) mocha!

2. Running with my flip belt :)

3. Selfies of my new trim and the way that my stylist taught me to style my natural curls!

4. This awesome key chain my mom gave to me as a gift :)

5. Trader Joe's milk chocolate...mmm.

6. Getting lunch again with one of my besties :)

7. Reading late at night!

Hopefully I get to do a FTF next week in Luxembourg...

Bon weekend!

Favorite Things Friday!

Goodness me, it's been a long time since I've done one of these...I think the last one was over Fall Break! Time really zooms by...I feel like that was last week!

Since this is the first "FTF" in 2014, I've come up with 14 of my favorite things.

1. Drinking from this mug :)

2. Practicing being European with my good friend :)

3. Baking with (or just eating) the good stuff 

4. The messages on the Dove chocolates that my best friend gave me ;)

Why, thank you, Dove!

5. Getting outside at last!

6. The way downtown looked on New Year's Eve.

7. Hot yoga!

8. Cuddling up and reading books like this in preparation for my big adventures...

9. Eating this every single day...

10. ...and finding more good eats on this website.

11. Tall pink socks that are warm AND match my pink laces. Double win.

12. Planning to make my own bday cake...

13. These socks, too.

14. Ending the day with a book and some pear. It's the simple things, after all!

Favorite Things Friday: Fall Break Edition :)

I'm hoooome! So this week's fave things Friday will have a fall-break/home theme to them!

1. This yummy lemonade sold in our Business School. I usually don't drink anything but water but I really liked the packaging for this lemonade (thought the glass bottle was cool) and I'm so glad I got it! It lasted me a few days and I just kept taking it out of my fridge. Was so refreshing on these uncharacteristically-warm fall afternoons!

2. The "therapy dogs" that will be coming to visit during midterms next week :)

3. Going downtown and seeing the beautiful spot where I want to take wedding photos (if I ever get involved in the institution of marriage! i.e. Not for a looooooong time...).

No edits!

3. Finding this chalk-drawing in front of the art museum :)

4.  Hanging out with THIS GIRL!

5. Taking selfies in the beautiful weather

Okay sorry for the 5 billion pictures, I just was so excited about the gorgeous day and being in Cleveland! Now I'm drinking Gatorade and hydrating/resting for SUNDAY. Also on the agenda: Sister time and visiting the Grands! Have a beautiful Friday!