Here’s our life lately in the frozen tundra that is Charlottesville.
After missing an entire week of school, plus a few days of two-hour delays, we STILL have mountains of ice everywhere here. This is what all the parking lots look like:
However, I feel a little bad even saying the word ice because of the horror that entity has caused, especially in Minnesota. Birch, who can now read, said the other day “Mom, that bridge said “F*** ice on it” and I had to explain to him (in an age appropriate way) that they weren’t talking about the snow on the ground (although eff that ice, too). No matter how you put it: I am anti-ice.
^^ The wall of hard ice the plows deposited into my driveway
The good news for me in terms of temperature is that I am flying to Miami tomorrow with a group of friends to embark on a cruise. This warm escape could not have come at a better time.
Here’s a bit of our inside life lately!
Baking muffins!
Birch’s new favorite thing is cracking eggs. One landed outside of the bowl and the other rolled onto the floor, but our whole wheat oatmeal muffins turned out great!
Healthy Breakfast Fuel
Smoothie and yogurt bowls with the above muffin on top.
Evergreen waffles and another yogurt bowl.
More waffles with heated blueberries and pancake day with the boys.
On the go!
Overnight oats on my busy school day and a post-workout green smoothie (I talked about what I add to my gym smoothie and why on Substack!)
Fire Ladder
I think being inside so much has me feeling claustrophobic because I panicked one night and bought a fire ladder. I had an image of being up so high with no way to jump down! It is stored under my bed next to my sauna blanket.
Retail Therapy
Old Navy is killing it with athleisure! I am living in this green sweatshirt, and love the purple jacket. I am going back for the purple hoodie when my Supercash comes around.
Also, the dressing room now has the technology to know what items you have in there, and you can look at other colors and request sizes from a screen. It was magic!
I also just bought this jumpsuit from Albion Fit when I got my new bathing suit. It’s a small petite and fits great! Can’t wait to wear it on the cruise.
Proof I wear more than athleisure! Going out to dinner with friends:
Dinner at Noble Steakhouse
I had dinner at the new-ish Noble Argentinian Steakhouse in the Glass Building (the old Paradox Pastry spot – miss that place!) What a treat!
I was obsessed with my Liberator cocktail (Leblon Cachaca, Sfumato, Creme de Cassis, Orange Bitters over one big cube).
The food was amazing from the baked provolone with chimichurri and red peppers to the beet salad to the NY Strip Steak with a Malbec butter.
And of course, the service with our buddy Juan Pablo was 10/10!
School lunch
I went to visit B at his school for lunch. He’s juuuuuust getting to that age where he doesn’t want his mom smothering him with kisses in front of his friends 🙁 But he loved the visit! So did his friends haha.
Twinning before indoor soccer practice
Mazen has also been cleared for all activities! Yay! B is getting so good at soccer now that he’s a bit older. We scrimmaged one-on-one and he beat me 7-6! (I did give him a few, but he earned a lot too!)
Lunches
I’ve really been into the cheese plate lunch! With lots of hummus on the veg.
And since I haven’t been into salads as much this time of year, these frozen burritos are great when I want something warm! Usually paired with above veggies and hummus.
Lunch on the go! Love clean juice!
This i01 with camu camu and olive leaf is my after-lunch palette cleanser, and it’s good for you inside and out, too. Tastes a little like apple juice.
Happier hour
I didn’t do dry Jan, but I always cut back this time of year, and I tried these Recess drinks. The orange vanilla was my favorite – incredible!! I didn’t really feel much with these, but they tasted great and have adaptogens in them. I also just ordered this mocktail pack that I can’t wait to try.
Dinners!
Chicken tortilla soup
I called this a girl dinner and Ivy said it had to have cheese to qualify. I’ll plan a cheese dinner next week haha. Sheet pan potatoes, broccoli and salmon.
True Nature Meats
I have been LOVING True Nature meats! They come frozen but are already seasoned and cooked, so you just heat them up. I got brave enough to try the sirloin steak and I cooked it perfectly! Well, reheated haha.
I also had the buffalo chicken which I served over pasta with spinach and blue cheese (kind of wing-inspired!?) It was so good! Mazen liked it, too.
My link gets you a discount if you want to try!
We had the second two servings as tacos.
And last but not least, lasagna! This was the Rana brand that came fresh, not frozen, so it was ready in 20 mins. Loved it!
And I’ll leave you with Birch’s vegetable challenge chart. He came up with it himself (after a few too many nutrition hints…!) and completed it!
