Around the holidays, a lot of us tend to get so stressed out at work, stressed about family, stressed about getting gifts, the list goes on! But the absolute most important part about the holiday season - and any time of year, for that matter, is G I V I N G.  Although it's a hobby, blogging has brought so much joy into my life in the past couple months. I was invited to share my thoughts, challenges & support into the Bloggers Gonna Blog Facebook group a little while back, and it has changed the game for me. I never thought I could meet such talented, motivated & supportive people over the internet! The group has played a huge role in teaching me that blogging and building your personal brand is oh, SO much more than that. It's about CONNECTING with others and GIVING the support that you want and need as well. It takes a whole community to build a community. I'm so thankful to be part of such an awesome group of like-minded peeps. Georgie & Christina coordinated a big gift exchange for us all and I was so excited to give and get my gift! 

Secret Santa

My beautiful bloggy secret santa was Cassie from Almost Getting It Together! Cassie is a blogger in San Francisco who works full time in marketing and has time to run her awesome website. I love reading through all of her tips and lifestyle posts! Check out her blog for simple recipes and awesome travel tips.

Cassie put together one awesome gift. I've never tried these Rise Bars before and I'm so glad she introduced me to them because they're delicious!! Such wholesome ingredients. My favorite was the Carob Chip and the Sunflower Cinnamon! I haven't bought these at the grocery store yet, but my bet is that you can for sure find them at a Whole Foods! Cassie hit the nail right on the head here as I'm always on the go or in the office and ALWAYS need to have my snacks on me ;)

Cassie also sent over some Cheesy Pizza Kale Chips! Another great snack to always have on hand.

The next two items are my favorite. This Sweet Almond and Raspberry Seed oil has been saving my skin every night. Even though this winter has been extremely mild [not complaining], as soon as the weather gets below 70, my skin seriously turns into leather [Florida baby]. I get so dry! This oil makes my face and hands feel smooth and refreshed all the time. I've been using it at night and my skin doesn't feel so parched in the morning. 

I also received this amazing DIY skin care kit from Leonamade.com. The ingredients all come from family farms and fair trade coops. It's all natural and includes coconut oil - I'm in! I can't wait to experiment with this. I also love knowing exactly what's going into the product that I schmear on my face every night. 

Thank you SO much, Cassie for the amazing Secret Santa gift! I'm so thankful to be part of such an awesome group. Going into 2016 I can't wait to keep connecting with other bloggers. It's so important to give support in order to receive it. Check out Beverly's post on sweatyandfit.com to see what I got her for our gift exchange! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful, fantastic, all around amazing holiday this year. 

XO- Rach

What are your Christmas plans? New Years plans?

Did you take part in a gift exchange this year?

What's your favorite part about the holidays?

Happy Monday! I'm especially chipper this morning. I taught my 6 a.m. spin class this morning and I'm off to work (for a very long day) but this is my last full week of work before I get to go home to Florida for a much needed little break. I cannot wait to get back to the sunny 85 degree weather (although this weekend in Philly was warm!!) and spend a lot of time with the family. 

This past weekend was great - I didn't get home until around 7:30 on Friday night and had zero energy to do anything, but I woke up refreshed on Saturday morning. I taught a great Super Circuits class at Sweat Fitness, ran some errands, baked and relaxed. My ideal Saturday. Saturday night Michael and I went to a Christmas party with a lot of his Men's Health co-workers. A little too much alcohol, pizza and chips called for a very lazy Sunday, which I had no problem with :)

So Rachel from athleticavocado.com put together an Epic Roundup of Healthy Gingerbread Recipes where I found this amazing Pear Gingerbread recipe made by Lindsay from theleangreenbean.com! I just had to make it. I used Lindsay's recipe as a guide, but I did have to adapt it because I do not have a loaf pan in my new apartment yet, I didn't have any white whole wheat flour on hand (aka Lindsay's recipe is a tad healthier) and I didn't have any pears. SO, I worked with what I had to create these Apple Gingerbread Muffins. They came out incredible, so I bet that Lindsay's Pear Gingerbread recipe is out of this world. 

[yumprint-recipe id='10'] I LOVE these. I've never been one to use ginger a whole lot in my baking  and cooking, but it adds SO much flavor. It will definitely become a staple from now on! This recipe is very easy to throw together, and the yogurt icing is so delicious! I used plain greek yogurt, some powdered sugar and some vanilla extract. 

Have a wonderful day! Thank you, Lindsay for the awesome recipe inspiration!

XO- Rach

This Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Stew is an Indian-inspired stew that packs in tons of veggies and protein from the chicken, peas & black beans. All the flavors are brought together with the aromatic Garam Massala spice.  

I've really been into Indian food lately. There's a tiny little place right next to my apartment called Jyoti that has a different menu every day. I've only tried a couple of dishes, but I love love love how Indian food combines such wonderful flavors that are both sweet and spicy. So far my favorite dish included chicken & peas in a tomato sauce - just had to recreate it!

I wanted to make a big batch of something that can be easily reheated and eaten throughout the week, but last week I got real sick of plain old chicken and rice. On Sunday morning Michael made us a delicious breakfast with a sweet potato and kale hash - SUCH a good combination. So sweet potato and kale were the stars of this recipe. 

[yumprint-recipe id='9']Now I'm getting ready to leave for work - could not be looking forward to this weekend more!! It's been a super busy, crazy, hectic etc. couple weeks at work. Very excited to have a couple days off!

And on another note, I just got news that I was hired at Body Cycle Studio! BCS is a boutique cycling studio here in Philly. I'm SO pumped about this new teaching job. It will be a bit different than my other teaching jobs because it's so niche. So if you're in the Philadelphia area and love to cycle - check out Body Cycle Studio. Seriously ALL of the instructors are amazing. 

And that's a wrap! Have a GREAT Friday, everyone! 

XO- Rach

Let's Chat:

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Do you like cycling?

Do you like Indian food?