Happy Monday! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was spent in Ocean City, MD with Michael and some of his family. I was really excited since I had not been before and I was seriously craving some beach time. It's been too long! We arrived on Friday just in time for the beautiful sunset. On Saturday we woke up late, had some eggs and bacon and headed out to the beach around noon. We didn't leave until 7. It was perfect! I don't think I really moved from my beach chair that whole time and that's exactly what I wanted to do. Because Saturday consisted mainly of sitting, I woke up earlier on Sunday morning to get in a run before going to the beach once more. I ended up doing 5 flat, sweaty miles. After refueling with some breakfast, we all headed back down to the beach again for a few hours.

Michael and I wanted to hit the road around 6, so we went for an early dinner at the Crab Bag. It was really fun and really messy. I kind of wish I could eat on a big paper table cloth with my hands all the time. Lady like?

Another highlight of the weekend: finishing this 1,000 piece puzzle. I've decided that I really enjoy puzzles and need to buy some for my apartment. They definitely increase concentration and alertness. I'm all for games that are good for the brain! We've been playing Bananagrams at work when we can't focus and it really does help!

Another random thought - how cute is this romper? I got it from Loft for half off! It's super comfortable and I love that it can easily be dressed up. Find it here.

- Rach

What's your favorite weekend getaway? 

Last Wednesday I turned 22! It was a pretty low key birthday...in comparison to my 21st, that's for sure! The day was well spent though and I enjoyed every minute of it. I started off with an early morning 3 mile run and it felt HARD. On Sunday late afternoon I managed to run 4 and a half miles easy - running is such a challenge for me in that some days I feel great and some days I'm just questioning myself why I even am doing it because my legs feel like two cement blocks. But on the days that I feel great, I am motivated to just keep pushing through! Anyway, I sweat a ridiculous amount and when I got back to the apartment, Michael had pancakes waiting for me (AWWW) so nice.

I decided to actually look a little nice on my birthday...I'm lucky because I really do get to wear whatever I want to work, but birthdays only happen once a year!

When I got to work I was surprised with lots of love! My c0-workers got me a spiralizer, muffin tin and a couple really cozy t-shirts. They already know me so well!

After work I went out with a few of my co-workers and friends to a couple different bars around work for SIPS, which is a city-wide happy hour that only happens on Wednesdays.

Michael picked me up around 8 and surprised me with a dinner at Talula's Garden, a place I've been DYING to go to ever since I moved up here. It did not disappoint. Unfortunately I had had a few drinks, I was very hungry and enjoying the evening so I didn't want to take out my phone to get pictures, but I did snap one of the beautiful garden we ate in. It's right across the street from Washington Square Park and it's a heavenly little spot.

We ordered an incredible cheese plate. I am STILL thinking about it, yet I cannot remember any of the cheeses that were actually on it! For my dinner I ordered the rainbow trout fish which was served over a crispy potato pancake along with roasted asparagus and a lemon cream sauce. I cleaned the plate. Talula's Garden is such a nice dining experience -  I definitely would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a beautiful meal in Philadelphia.

It was a great birthday! It ended with an even better weekend at the beach in Ocean City, MD! Details to come :)

- Rach

Do you have a favorite restaurant for your birthday? 

Good morning! I have a recipe to share with you along with some more weekend pics and a workout. Last night I came home from work and felt inspired to make a quick grab and go snack. I eyeballed a lot of this recipe so these are very rough measurements!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats
• Roughly 1 cup almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes
• Water - as needed for consistency

Directions:

• Mix everything together besides water
• Add in water until mixture can easily be rolled into balls without falling apart

This is a super easy snack to make to have on hand and perfect for before or after a workout. I ate one after my early morning workout this morning. I tried a new gym only a couple blocks away from our new apartment. I wasn't feeling very creative in making up my own workout so I did this workout from one of my favorite bloggers, Jen at peanutbutterrunner.com. I switched the chest flies to pushups and added in 45 seconds of a cardio exercise after each round (burpees, skaters and jumping jacks.)

When I can get myself out of bed real early, I like to workout before hopping on the train to work because it gives me the freedom to come home and relax after work.

Before I go I wanted to share a couple more photos from last weekend. On Sunday we had brunch at Toast and it was delicious! I ordered the smoked salmon egg toasts. Such a perfect brunch meal. Michael ordered banana french toast and an egg sandwich. His french toast was definitely the best.

I also finally found a winter coat to help me survive when it gets cold...

In all seriousness though this is a SUPER warm down jacket that I got at Burlington for such a good price. And with that I'll leave you with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y3815zqDHQ

- Rach