Well that was fun. Here’s a funny 5AM story for you: I am at my grandparents house right now in Chicago and I just got up to let the pups out and what do they do? *wabam* They both go bolting. Great, there’s me, no jacket, no shoes, in the pitch black because it’s before sunrise. Screamin’ like a banshee for my doggies to come home. Little dog (Sasha, the yellow lab puppy), comes stolling back after 5ish minutes like a jolly little thing. Matza, the sassy teenager, went exploring. After 5 more minutes of hollering (aka waking up the entire neighborhood), I gave up. My dad ended up waking up and searching for her…sigh. GOOOOOOD MORNING.

Anyways, I just wanted to say Hi and that I made it home safely! The family and I drove down to Chicago yesterday for my Mom’s extended family Christmas Party, which I did NOT want to miss. Here are a few quick photos form yesterday night.

Grandma, Mom (how cute is my mom?), Dad, Me 

 Selina, Clay, and I

ALSO. Look who finally got a haircut? THE BROTHER ^^ Doesn’t he look soooooo handsome? 

Dinner last night was de-licious. Italians really know how to eat. For starters, there were three different kinds of grapes: red, green, and purple. Don’t worry, I shared with everyone There was also pizza, homemade calamari spaghetti (that we call squiddies, jokingly), a few different salad selections, a big ol fruit tray, lots of veggies, lots of appetizers, and an out-of-this-world dessert table. Here’s my plate:

Yes, yes, I am sure you want a close up of the calamari, eh?

Nom nom nom.

Last night made me realize that I love my family. We only see my mom’s extended side about once or twice a year, so it was so great to catch up with everyone. I am a 3rd generation American (my great grandmother was born in Italy), but on the older side of my bunch. It is CRAZY to see how much everyone has grown up and how they are embracing life. Some of the cousins are just entering grade school and others are just finishing college. Like me

Anyways, today is going to be filled with lots of baking and shopping. Wait, did I die and go to heaven?

Do you like calamari/seafood?


What generation are you?

I’ve never been to a froyo place that had chia seeds at the toppings bar. 

Last night Blake and I went to Yogurt Lab after dinner. We got 1 and shared it….aka Blake had 1 bite and I had the rest. The guy doesn’t like dessert, what can I say? More for me! In the mix was Tahitian vanilla, peach/mango, and Greek frozen yogurt topped with chia seeds, shredded coconut, a few mochi, and mini chocolate chips.

Delightful.

Just like my new shoes!

I am so grateful to be a part of the FitFluential community. I was selected to be a part of the Saucony campaign and a few weeks ago was a pair of their new release Guide 6’s to test out. 

Now- I want to state that when it comes to shoes, I like multiple different brands. Usually I tend to prefer a brand depending on the article of clothing. Sports bras for example, I have basically all Target sports bras because I know they work for me. Shoes however, are different. There are some damn good makes out there coming from a variety of brands for a variety of different uses.

Alright back to the Guide 6’s. I’m usually a 9 or 9.5, but tend to get the bigger size because my left food is a 1/2 size bigger than my right. ARR. It really is a struggle trying to find a shoe that feels good on both feet.

For these I got the bigger size and I am happy with that. I also feel like my feet bloat (is that possible??) when I run and expand in my shoes so going a size up is usually what I tend to do. There is nothing worse than having your baby toe fall asleep on a long run!

I obviously like different shoes depending on what I am doing. Am I walking? running? lifting? wearing them to work? Because these shoes have a little bit more stability, my favorite use for them has been running. Believe me- I’ve tested them out in many different activities.

What I really like is a shoe that ascetically pleasing and comfortable. These have that. Not too much bling, but still good-looking and comfortable!

The above photo was me at Look Good Naked Bootcamp at Anytime Fitness. We did lots of plyometrics that day and this shoe worked because of the stability factor.

In high school when I ran cross country, I wore Saucony’s. I haven’t had a pair in about 4 years and these reminded me how great of a running shoe they are. To find more specs about this shoe…click HERE.

I am in a baking mood.

Watch out kitchen!