Happy Wednesday, friends. Today is an exciting one over here and I'm feeling very motivated. One of the reasons being that I can't stop thinking about how great Ellie Goulding and Andra Day's performance was at the Grammy's on Monday night and it totally reminded me how obsessed I am with Ellie Goulding...I mean come on, look at this British badass! #goals.  [embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BB1QN_LTfS8/?taken-by=elliegoulding[/embed]

On a more serious note, today is my last day working at Group Two Advertising. WHAT?! I will no longer be working in advertising and I am pursuing a career in fitness full time. I'm pretty psyched, people. I've learned so much from my time in the agency, but all along I've kept up my fitness jobs part time, and I came to realize that I just needed to take the leap and jump in full time.  Every day when I would get to work, there was just this little hole in my heart because I wasn't pursuing what I am truly passionate about. GOODBYE desk job! I'll chat more about this later, because I know there might be some others in the same boat, but for now, let's talk about these Peanut Butter Banana Protein Bars...

There's not many combos that can beat a little peanut butter and banana. Sure, the taste is spectacular, but aside from the taste factor, the energy that these two foods provide together are perfect for starting your day, giving you a little afternoon boost or keeping you full at night.

 These Peanut Butter Banana Protein Bars are packed with protein to keep you full and satisfy that sweet tooth. They have a dense and moist texture, much like a pound cake or corn bread. And the best part is, these are so easy to make - one bowl, one pan! 

You'll want your bananas extra ripe for this recipe - easier to mix and also adds more sweetness! 

MMM, look at that crumbly, cake-like goodness :) 

[yumprint-recipe id='16'] XO- Rach

Have you ever taken a big turn and different direction in your career?

What's your favorite post-workout snack?

What's one of your favorite food combos?

By that I mean that this week involves a lot of happy hours. Last night I went to an event through YBConnected at the Brook's Brothers store in downtown Philadelphia to support MANNA, an organization that delivers food to those less fortunate in the Greater Philadelphia Area. My boss Mollie Elkman is one of the founders of YBConnected - the only woman in the founding group!

All ticket sales went to MANNA, as well as a percentage of the proceeds from anything that was bought in the store last night.

Shopping, wining, dancing and benefitting a good cause all in one night! Pretty cool.

My cousin Sara stopped by as well to have some fun before taking her board exams for nursing (Eek - good luck girl!)

Right after work today we headed to Independence Beer Garden again because the weather here is fantastic and I feel like I need to soak up all of the warm weather fun before it turns wintry here. Also because from 5-7 p.m. beers are $3 and food is only $4! I'm telling you - this place is a must if you are ever in Philly!

This morning I woke up and went on a beautiful 3.5 mile run before work. I love when the streets are quiet and it seems like everyone is still sleeping. Something about it makes running feel so therapeutic! It makes me want to try (again) training for a race. There are so many fun ones up here too. Last time I rushed into it and did too much too fast and got AWFUL shin splints. I've gotta ease into it this time because I am for sure no runner!

I cannot believe tomorrow is already Thursday. These weeks are flying by - I still keep writing May whenever I have to write the date!

- Rach

Runners out there - any tips for starting a race training plan?

Happy Friday! Sitting writing this post in the Philly airport. I keep realizing things that I love so much about this city and one of the best perks is that not only are there direct flights literally all the time back home to Ft. Myers (makes it easy to catch a plane after work Friday), but the train to get to the airport is the best thing ever. I caught a 3:30 train by a station near work (so easy to get to) and it took me right to my terminal for a whopping $6.50. It took me all of 3 minutes to get from the train and through security. Next time I know to leave later! It's the little things. But really, this in comparison to how expensive it was to get to the airport in NYC last summer is insane. I LOVE IT HERE.

Anyway, I'm going home for a quick weekend to see my sister graduate from Fort Myers High School. I'm excited to go home and see the fam and friends.

This week went by pretty quickly thanks to Memorial Day. Unfortunately there was a bug going around the office, and what seems like all of Philadelphia. I was up all night last night with a fever but luckily shook it off in time to make it to work today.

This week I tried some fun classes with my class pass. On Tuesday night I did a CrossFit class at CrossFit University City. It kicked my butt. We did a 32 minute workout. Every 4 minutes we had to complete a 250 meter run or row (I only rowed twice), 5 power cleans and 10 shoulder to overheads for 8 rounds. My triceps are still so sore from this workout, which I can't really figure out but at least I know they were working hard!

And Wednesday night I did another cycle class at Body Cycle Studio, which was AMAZING. The instructor was so fun to listen to and her playlist was on point. I need to get teaching again!!

Thursday I felt like POOP so I got home from work and passed out and today I am still not feeling great so I'm sitting at the airport drinking orange juice. Next week I'm going to try a couple barre classes, another RowZone class and possibly another cycle or CrossFit class. Loving the variety!

Next weekend when I finally have a free-ish weekend I hope to do some cooking and/or baking. I haven't been taking pictures of any fun meals I've made because I literally haven't made anything exciting. This whole week I pretty much ate the same thing every day. With my new job and a new city, it's easy to spend a little too much money on stupid stuff, so I'm really trying my best to not spend money on things that I don't need. Like, I don't absolutely need fancy juices or chia seeds or expensive coffee drinks or Ben and Jerry's (failing at this one). I could buy two dozen eggs for the price of one Starbucks latte, so those things really add up! Hellloooo adult life. I've been eating a lot of eggs, oatmeal, chicken, lettuce, bacon, apples and TUNA. So much tuna because it's so cheap.

Okay, time to board. Talk soon!

-Rach