Hi, hi! 😀 I missed you guys yesterday! But I can explain my absence…
Guess who had a craaaaaa-zy Saturday night?
Errr, well… not this girl 😉 Unless, of course, your idea of crazy involves hitting up a favorite bar grocery store to restock on some essentials – because in that case, I went wild.
[Trail mix – Baked lentil chips – Salsa – Steelies – Canned pumpkin]
[Plain/Strawberry Greek yogurt – Almond milk – Cottage cheese – Kombucha]
Or not. Really, the only thing wild about it was the bill. Very ouch. But hey, a girl’s gotta eat [the foods that she loves], right? Right.
I did briefly entertain the idea of hitting up the mall to do some typical girly shopping, but inevitably decided against it. I have enough clothes to wear [for now], and there never seems to be enough food to eat. Besides… grocery stores are mercifully empty on Saturday nights because all of the “normal” people are out having a good time, leaving me to wander the aisles in peace 😀
My only complaint would be that people aren’t the only thing missing from the stores – a lot of my favorite products are, as well. They were out of the good eggs, there was only one baggie of trail mix left, and I had to resort to buying cranberry kombucha because all of the better flavors were sold out. Grumble.
Ahh well. Ya win some, ya lose some.
So, really, I don’t have a good excuse for my absence yesterday. Oh wait, yes I do – rest. Who says rest days only apply to exercise? As much as I love writing, sometimes I just get burnt out. Sometimes I really don’t want to sit down at the computer or think about coming up with a good post.
Sometimes I just wanna enjoy a beautiful day outside…
… finish up a good [but extremely bizarre] book…
… or spend some quiet time cozying up to a cup of tea…
So that’s what I did, and it was glorious 😀 But the best part about it? Devoting an entire day to doing absolutely nothing at all completely recharged my batteries, and left me more than willing to tackle everything on today’s to-do list, which included:
… a mid-morning trip to the gym…
… where I did 20 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill, followed by a lifting routine from NROLFW…
… which I completely rocked thanks to this beauty of a snack…
[cottage cheese mixed with vanilla protein powder and cocoa powder … banana with almond butter]
… which was amazing…
Then I spent most of the afternoon in the car or on the phone, taking care of business for work…
… which I only managed to get through thanks to [a few of] these gems…
… and a bottle of my not-so-favorite flavor of kombucha…
Then I had a bit of time to blog and make dinner…
[Pumpkin Chili Mexican Scramble]
… and soon I’ll be headed out the door yet again to do some more apartment shopping; and I hope that I find something I like soon because I’m hoping to be out by the end of the month. Fingers crossed.
But where was I going with all of this…? Ahh yes. Rest. I absolutely adore it. My workouts are always 100x better after I take a few days off, and I feel 100x more productive after I have a day or two to just chill. I used to run myself ragged by working out 7 days a week and constantly feeling like I had to be on the go, but these days I take make sure to take two days off from exercise every week, as well as a day or two to do nothing but chill. And it’s been nothing but great.
Hope you’re all having a restful night, loves 😀
. – . – . – .
Who loves rest days as much as I do?
Which do you prefer: shopping for clothes or shopping for groceries?
Any good book recommendations? I recently finished reading The Help, The Kite Runner, The Hunger Games, Room, and Her Fearful Symmetry. I’m planing on picking up A Thousand Splendid Suns next, but is there anything else I just need to read?
You know its funny, since I injured my back I was expecting that I would faaareak out and have major anxiety attacks being unable to do things. But that hasn’t been the case, I’m actually enjoying my little break and my body is too 🙂
shopping for clothes or shopping for groceries? – groceries for sure. I mean how many times do you go clothes shopping and they are all sold out of your size. Errg that angers me. ha.
Good for you taking a FULL rest day! I love how recharged I feel afterwards, too!
I can’t wait to read The Help, it’s next on my list. You should read any books by Ruth Reichl, she’s a great food writer! Also, I just read The Little Bee. It’s a good one, too!
I love everything about this post!! I love love love rest days, and while sometimes I feel a bit guilty if I’m laying on the couch.. I remember that I rarely get those opportunities and I should EMBRACE them 🙂
Rest Days are amazing and are so great for the body too ; )
Seriously, my perfect saturday night would be wandering around whole foods all night and getting a hot bar/salad bar dinner there, the little things that make me happy : )
Love the goods you got, I see pumpkin : ) the best!
Have a beautiful night girl!!!
I need a new book to read too!!
xoxo <3
Which do you prefer: shopping for clothes or shopping for groceries?
Tough call. I love both, but I definitely have to be in the mood for clothes shopping – whereas I always enjoy grocery shopping. I feel better about shopping for food, because I know it’s a useful endeavor, however I sometimes feel guilty shopping for clothes, because it’s kind of frivolous given the amount of clothes I already have 😉
Any good book recommendations? I recently finished reading The Help, The Kite Runner, The Hunger Games, Room, and Her Fearful Symmetry. I’m planing on picking up A Thousand Splendid Suns next, but is there anything else I just need to read?
The Shadow of the Wind. It truly is one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Amanda, thank you for this post. It’s really something I need to read right now. I am struggling with the whole rest day thing so much.. .the compulsive need to exercise is still there 🙁 This is a great reminder to take a dang rest day, and how much better I will feel after
Love the looks of that chili too! Might have to try that soon 🙂
I am also a major fan of Kristin Hannah books! Try Firefly Lane for your first one, one of my favorite books ever
I’ll take grocery shopping over clothes shopping every day! I scour the shelves for new products and good sales. Sometimes I just go to look and dream about recipes that I could make with some ingredients.
I’m glad to see someone else who enjoys rest days! I used to hate them, and then all of a sudden one day I really loved it. My last rest day I didn’t feel ready for one, but I took one anyway just because I feel like I should at least once every week. I was sort of stir crazy all day, but I managed. I also had the most amazing dinner ever (hummus salad, pancakes, sweet potato fries, and vegetarian cheesesteak) when in the past I would never allow such food on a rest day! I can’t believe I used to be afraid to eat..
Oh rest days.. I like them but I get ANTSY when I do nothing all day. I know it’s good for you to just calm down once in a while but, well, I like to be busy 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for your comment on my blog yesterday :). I definitely need reminders like that sometimes! I do love rest days (when I’m not in a funk) and I always feel so refreshed and energized the day after! I also love that you go grocery shopping on a Saturday night…that is totally something I would do! Good for you for taking a day off yesterday…we all need that sometimes!
I love rest! Though sometimes I feel like I get way too much of it considering my lack of driving ability and overabundance of time spent stuck at home. Eeep!
If you’d have asked me a few months ago if I preferred grocery or clothes shopping, I definitely would have said clothes. But these days- grocery for sure! I look forward to the weekend shopping trip like nobody’s business. A girl DOES have to eat!
I’m drooling over that cottage cheese. I wish I would’ve started my dairy elimination experiment tomorrow so I could go try that right now. WAHHH! I’ll just live vicariously through your delicious dairy eats. Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, NOMNOMNOM… vicariously.
🙂
I’m not too much of a reader, but The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was a good read. It’s a good mix of biography, story, and science. Definitely unique!
As much as I love shopping for clothes, I try to save my money for food because Bob’s Red Mill products ain’t getting any cheaper!
Rest days are the shizzz. They’re so importante for our bodies, but also for our minds. I absolutely love taking a day to read and drink coffee and tea in my PJs all day, and just being a total bum.
I’d be right there with you at the grocery store on a Saturday night, it’s totally normal right?!
Agreed. As soon as I gave rest days a chance (something I would have never considered in the past!) I’ve grown to love them and thrive on the energy they ultimately provide me with. I mean, come on now, we’re humans, not cars or machines! And eventually even those break down without proper care!
I’m reading The Help now and love it, but the previous book I read is probably one of my favs… Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. It’s kind of weird, but in a magical way… It’s essentially a murder mystery set in a small town and seen from the perspective of a boy and it’s just fantastic.
Yay for cottage cheese and protein powder! 😀 I’m cray cray for your delicious grocery goodies–so worth the little splurge, ain’t it? Grocery shopping totally pwns clothes shopping in my book heehee It looks like you had a fun and well-deserved rest day!
A Thousand Splendid Suns is extremely intense, but SO amazing, you’ll love it!!
Have you ever read “I am the Messenger” by Markus Zusak or “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer? I loved both of those and highly recommend them, big page turners for me 😀
I haven’t read either of those, but I’m definitely putting them on my list of books to check out 😀
I too adore rest days filled with warm sunshine and a good book! I loved The Kite Runner!
Another good book is The Life of Pi.
I definately like grocery shopping better than clothes shopping! I could spend hours in Whole Foods! I just wish i had the money to spend there!
Have a great night – and by the way i simply love that picture of the sun!
The Life of Pi is one of my favorite books 😀 I think I read it like… 10 times 😯
“The Glass Castle”! It is not a “light” read if that is what you are looking for, but it is really good, deep, and I couldn’t put it down. I really want to read “Room”!!! and “Sisterhood Everlasting” because I loved the sisterhood of the traveling pants books for an easy read when I was younger and want to know what they are up to 10 years later 🙂 Oh and” Kitchen Daughter”, geez I’m a nerd but I just adore reading! On another note, that chili looks to die for…drool!
Cute mug! I want to see a better photo of it :3
Nice to hear you had a good rest day. And I really am going to have to try your pumpkin chilli scramble. it actually looks so good.
I LOVE grocery shopping, I look forward to my dedicated shopping days, although I usually in the supermarkets almost every day just double checking specials in case something I ‘need’ is there. Hahaha, sad? I think not! i just love food 😛
But I really do love clothes shopping, and because its not done so regularly as grocery shopping its usually a little more special. I prefer to go on my own actually, I can always get so much more done and dont feel bad for taking ages to try and re try things on.
haha of course grocery shopping is better ( at least in mah book!) great looking loot too 🙂
I love love love rest days now. And grocery shopping on Saturday night really is the best! I do have to agree the pickins are slim on Saturday nights but I love the crowdless grocery store. Another great time to go is early in the morning. I’ve found lots of good manager’s specials where food is at the expiration date but they put it out anyway for 75% off. It’s awesome 🙂
Good luck with apartment shopping I hope you find something soon!
I like clothes shopping, I LOVE grocery shopping. But there is nothing more frustrating when the store doesn’t have what you want or discontinues a fave product. Oh & you should count yourself lucky – they don’t sell any Kombucha where I live, hmph, I want in on the bacteria action!
I think you should definitely check out the book How I Live Now by Meg Rossof. I think its aimed at kinda younger readers( probably sold in the teen section) but its really good! Its not exactly a book about ED’s but I think anyone who has/had an ED should read it- makes you appreciate how much we have.
I never really noticed or thought about photography till reading your blog- but you have such a knack for capturing breath taking pictures and making every thing look good! Read: brown cottage cheese COULD easily look like something else…
Xxx
😆 Well thank you for that unpleasant visual – I’ve never thought of that ’till you mentioned it.
I LOVE rest days!! it feels like to a) be aaway from the gym and b) RECHARGE!
Much perfer to shop for groceries…something about all the zillion possible things I could create with all the stuff inside — whoo hoo! 🙂 I’m a big dork! Had a fabulous rest weekend in Tobago this weekend — so nice! If you wanna see some cool photos — hop on over to my blog and check them out! xoxox
blog rest days are perfectly okay in my book! I just took a few and I came back with more stuff to blog about 🙂
I also love grocery shopping. I’m weird like that. To me, entering a grocery store is almost like a little kid in a candy store, no joke.
I love rest days and I love that you rested from blogging as well. I like to do that from time to time. We all need a break at some point!
I love shopping for groceries — clothes shopping is frustrating for me. I know what I want but I can never find it. Groceries — I know what I want and I can always find it, even if it means I have to go to 3 different stores 🙂
Soooo jealous of your rest day! I had a lame weekend – housework. Not fun, but sadly, not restful either. I’m going to make myself go out and have a good time this weekend to make up for it.
I don’t blame you about shopping in off hours. I go early on Sundays before people with brats (I mean… kids) cause traffic jams in the store… loud, annoying traffic jams…
Jane Eyre?
You should read The Twisted Thread. It’s the book I’m almost finished with right now, and it’s been a great read! Also great…are rest days! I completely agree with you. I always seem to have the most powerful workouts following a day of rest. Recovery is a lot more important than people (even myself, at times) realize. Our bodies, like any machine, are not meant to run at full speed all the time.
By the way, I’m a Kombucha lover too. The Synergy line is my favorite! I like the Trilogy flavor, but Strawberry Serenity is a close second. What’s your number one flavor? Obviously not Cosmic Cranberry! I’m pretty sure I’ve tried them all.
As for shopping, I love both, but I spend far more money on food because I’m at the grocery store practically every day, and am the ultimate impulse buyer. It’s embarrassing how much money I’ve given to Whole Foods. Even more embarrassing is how many times I’ve tried to set a budget for myself and then failed. I think I just need a million dollar per week budget. Problem solved!
I’ll have to look into that book 🙂 And the Trilogy flavor is actually my favorite as well, but I haven’t tried them all because I haven’t been able to find them.
That chili is pretty epic looking! I’m jealous 🙁
And I’ve never thought about mixing cottage cheese with protein powder! I love them both– so thats something I’m going to try!
Fellow reader from Edmonton here!
I am always so sad when the trilogy flavor of kombucha is out at Planet Organic! Its one of the reason I go there.
Oh and I saw your picture of the bright sky…. have you ever seen a crazier storm and sky like this morning (at least I know someone else was awake at 530 am). I took so many pictures and videos because it was unbelievably cool. My friend has a video of a rainbow on one end and lightning on the other.
So YOU’RE the one that’s stealing all my Trilogy drinks!! 😉 And the sky was pretty crazy this morning. I was actually a bit freaked out when I opened my eyes and the sky looked like it was on fire. Really pretty, though 😀
I went grocery shopping on Saturday night too, and was amazed at how empty the store was! I think the cool people hang out at grocery stores 🙂
Both food and clothes shopping makes me anxious, so I’d have to say I prefer shopping for books. Or office supplies. I <3 notebooks.
Grocery shopping is one of my favourite pastimes…yes, I’m 23!! On days where I ‘should’ rest yet feel like getting in some activity, a leisurely walk seems to be a good compromise!
I love shopping for groceries. I got at the other time of day when the store seems to be a ghost town… right when it opens!
The problem there is.. the silly workers have yet to stock a lot of the shelves. Especially the produce. Sometimes they don’t stock produce until 3-4 hrs AFTER the store opens.
I believe the store should be READY to go as soon as it is open for business!
Haha shopping in the early morning is my other favorite time. But you’re right… some times the shelves aren’t stocked yet, or they’re just in the process of doing it, which is kinda frustrating…
That’s totally what I do with my saturday nights when I have nothing planned! I love grocery shopping, because I don’t have to try anything on in the store 🙂
I really want to make that cottage cheese, vanilla, cocoa, almond butter dish! What are the details on that?
I used 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, a little less than 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein, and 1 Tbsp. of cocoa powder.
Shopping for groceries is my fave! Thrift store hunting could count, but it truly is hunting more than shopping (LOL).
As for rest, I love sleeping :D, and when my body asks for it I give it lotsa lounge time (like yesterday!)– but to be honest since eating the right amount for me, my natural inclination towards lots of fun physical activity has skyrocketed and I LOVE rollerblading, biking, walking, jump roping, and all that almost every day! Today I took a bit of a a “rest day” but that was really only becuase it was almond 100 degrees outside, and probably 100% humidity too! It was practically impossible to go outside without feeling squished (I had to walk three blocks to post a letter and almost flopped lol). I used the time to catch up on ton of email, blog, and calls (had to find a new flute instructor now that we’ve moved!). By 1 pm I was bouncing while on the phone, and by 3 pm I was vibrating! So my sister and I played some old records in our victrola and danced to old music :D. Some days, my rest days are filed with tons of fun activity, but not much computer time. But of course, I always give my body physical rest when it wants it. Sometimes I’ll be halfway down the street on my bike or rollerblades and be like: “You know what? I don’t actually feel like doing this right now” and I just turn around and go back home!
Welcome back! I’m glad to be back too – yesterday we got back from our trip to Quebec, and I’m definitely ready to read blogs and write posts again. As for your questions…
1. I love rest days, and feel really healthy when I take a full day to do no exercise. So important.
2. Grocery shopping, definitely. I wear the same clothes for a long time.
3. The Alchemist and The Namesake. Both excellent.
I love rest days! Always pumped for my next workout afterwards!:D
Grocery shopping always wins for me too, my friends think I’m insane…haha!
Have you read the girl with the dragon tattoo series? I read the first over a year ago and loved it, need to read the next one soon before I forget again!
I totally prefer grocery shopping!! A happy belly means a happy Kat 🙂 and I usually end up spending more time grocery shopping than I do clothes shopping somehow!
Btw, we have a spare room. You could always move out here to LA 😉
Don’t tempt me! With the weather we’ve been having here lately… I’d kill for some more sun!
I will hands down choose grocery shopping over clothes shopping. Sunday mornings are the days I look most forward to during the week because it means restocking my fridge/shelves!
I just read one of the most amaziiiiing books ever, and I can’t remember the title of it and unfortunately I sent it home with someone else 🙁
The other day I decided to try out your Mexican Pumpkin chili scramble (only adapted it to how I wanted it) oh my goooodnessssss to die for. (You can see what I did here http://flavorator.blogspot.com/2011/07/pumpkin-chili-deeeeeeliiiisssshhhh.html !)
Samantha
http://flavorator.blogpspot.com/
Shopping for clothes or groceries? Now that’s hard- it’s a solid tie I would have to say since fashion and food are my two favourite things! About shopping for clothes though, I DEFINITELY have to be in the right mood to peruse/try on/make financial decisions otherwise it’s daunting and exhausting.
Good book recommendations: Shantaram by Gregory David Robert (BEST book I ever read!)
Too true! I do enjoy shopping for clothes, but I really have to be in the mood, which doesn’t happen all that often. WHen I’m not in the mood, I just get really overwhelmed and frustrated…
I love seeing other peoples grocery buys. It cures my curiosity almost as well as WIAWs do! I hate when they are out of a lot of the things I need! I prefer shopping for something I need, and since I need food more often I more often enjoy shopping for food. However if I really need a new sweater or something I get quite the thrill from going to the mall to try and find it 🙂