Shopping in Color...

Spring has been making a solid attempt to come to Buffalo. Last week it was in the form of rain, that later turned to snow. Next week it looks like it might be in the 40s with more rain.

In preparaiton for more rain I made an investment into some "wellies" or polka dotted rain boots. I think black is too boring for rubber boots so I went with the more colorful version for spring.


I also did some shopping for the upcoming spring running I'm planning to do, but you'll learn more about that later this week. While browsing the clearance section of my local DSW I came across Nike Free's on clearance in size 11!!! (I have big feet) I was planning to buy a pair online in the next week or so, but I was able to save $30 by picking up this pair on clearance! I love saving money.


Sabrina and I also had hit up the outlets early Saturday morning to score some weather appropriate running gear. We shopped the clearance racks and scored great gear, and well basically ended up buying the exact same things for the most part.

First up a running jacket...


I picked up some general workout shirt for regular strength days...


Some Cold Gear from Under Armour...


Another Under Amour pullover...


Oh, and the best part- thumb holes! I can't stand running with gloves on so thumb holes provide the warmth, but can easily be removed (and not lost).


Despite that spring is almost here we still have pre-purchased ski passes that must get used before the snow melts in the mountains, so I'm off to try out my cold gear!

Do you like thumb holes or gloves?

Today she shops...

I decided to stick near the hotel today and do some relaxing. And any girl knows that a casual shopping day can be relaxing. Even though I'm not a big shopper normally, but it was nice to stroll through the sunny streets and go from store to store with no real purpose. It was a beautiful, sunny day so I was just enjoying myself.

And having no purpose caused me to find a few things...


Thanks to President's Day weekend there were plenty of sales so I picked up a few new tops...



And I got a chance to check out West Elm, which was fabulous! Luckily my bank account was spared too much damage because I have to travel home with the items purchased so I had to keep it under control- not an easy task!



We've been in need of some coffee mugs, and I thought these monogrammed mugs were great. Also found some great clearance/sale items that I could put to use around the house- sorry to ruin any surprises for my husband, but I just had to share!

Did you find any good sales this weekend?

Landed...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I spend my Valentine's Day flying the friendly skies with "LUV" Airlines, AKA Southwest. In the terminal I was greeted by this kissing booth, but I'm a married woman so I did not partake. Don't worry though no actual kisses were being given, only the Hershey versions.

My husband dropped me off bright and early at 6am, I didn't sleep last night, I didn't sleep on the flight, and for some reason I'm not even sleepy now. Upon arrival here in Oakland, I learned that apparently my bag got left behind on my transfer. I'm just hoping it didn't sent to San Diego, and that I have it at some point tonight.

The good news- I got a glimpse of the Grand Canyon! It was so beautiful I can't wait do to a road trip across the country! Looking at the different landscapes out the plane window makes you appreciate the beauty in this world.


After checking into my hotel in rainy, foggy Oakland I decided to venture out for some provisions. I was lucky enough to score a fridge and microwave so I can keep healthy foods available. And I even got a chance to check out Trader Joe's, (Anyone need Peanut Flour???- because they have some.)


I picked up seltzer water, honey Greek yogurt, mixed berry yogurt, spicy hummus, cilantro and jalapeno hummus, baby carrots, bananas, apples, unsalted pistachios, natural peanut butter with roasted flaxseeds, lentil wrap with tahini dressing, and a salad with pear and Gorgonzola. Oh, and some dark chocolate non-pareils. (Happy Valentine's Day to ME!!) Don't worry they will be rationed appropriately.


I also brought some KIND bars and Larabars too, but for now they are in my suitcase which is somewhere in the Continental US- hopefully! My luggage also has all my chargers- seem to require at least 5 different ones to keep everything operating.

Alright well I think I'm going to go relax a bit, pray my bags come soon, and maybe eat some dinner soon- maybe salad.

Have you been to the Grand Canyon? Did you ever have your luggage lost?

Cookie Time...

I'm off to go Christmas shopping! For me that doesn't mean the mall or the retail stores, it means the grocery store and craft store. I have recently been dubbed the 'Cookie Lady', and each year I plan my gifts around treats I love to make.



Last year lucky friends and family received a bag filled with:

Homemade Peanut Butter
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Spiced Nuts
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Homemade Cookie Mix with instructions

This year there is a whole new line-up because I like to keep people guessing. And with that I'm off...

Adventures in Canada...

Today Sabrina and I ventured across the border into Canada to do a little shopping. Our goal was to come back with some tasty treats and some new decorations for Sabrina's new place!

We plotted our route based on three main attractions: Oakville Organic Farmers' Market, Whole Foods, and IKEA.

Farmers' Market
So you're wondering why I would drive two hours across the border to go to a farmer's market, when I live just a few miles from a few different markets? Well... Sabrina and I wanted to pick up some Glo Bars, and the only place to get those is through Angela at Oh She Glows. If you've never checked out her blog, I suggest you take a few minutes and head over to her site. Not only does she sell tasty Glo Bars, but she also posts about the meals she creates- which are very inspirational. Sabrina and I walked away with lots of great bars to snack on in the coming days- we're very excited!

Here we are (Sabrina, Angela, & Me):

(I borrowed her photo since I didn't take a photo myself- hope it's okay!)

Whole Foods


Our next adventure was at Whole Foods in Oakville, Ontario. It was Sabrina's first experience at Whole Foods, which is always fun. It is considered to be a pricier store, but they have such interesting stuff I always leave with some fun new items that I probably wouldn't find at my normal grocery store.



My fun new products included:
-Roasted Garlic Oil with Garlic Scapes
-Crofter's Super fruit Spread with Black Currants, Pomegranates, Cherries and Grapes
-Peanut Butter & Co.- The Heat is On which is peanut butter with chili powder, cayenne peppers, crushed red pepper and paprika
-CoCo Mia's Dark Chocolate Crunch which is Belgian dark chocolate with buttery toffee and pecans
-Loaf of Seedduction Bread (unpictured)

Matt is already thoroughly enjoying the spicy peanut butter on slices of seedduction bread, but I do have plans possible to use it as a spicy Thai peanut sauce. Well I guess I'll play with it when the time comes. I'm also hoping to be able to re-create the mixture with the Vitamix.

After all that shopping we decided to try out Whole Foods prepared foods and made ourselves little tastings, which fueled us up for more shopping.

My choices:

(I got the tortilla, but end up only eating a quarter it.)

Sabrina's choices:


IKEA
Lastly we hit up IKEA. If you've ever been there, you know it's a couple hours of browsing and shopping- it's a fun time especially on a rainy Saturday. I only picked up a kitchen timer, bag clips, three white pots (that were on clearance!), and some wall hooks that fold up when not in use.




We had a pretty great girls day in Canada. I very happy with all the things I picked up, and I think Sabrina is too!

Alright, off to make sure my hard working husband gets fed. Tomorrow I'll show you what Matt got done in the kitchen today- it's very exciting!