Next up....

Christmas dinner with my man at the Book Bindery!  I will report on all of its deliciousness...

State Bird Provisions

There is just about nothing better in this world to me than an amazing culinary experience.  That is exactly what I got at State Bird Provisions.  I have the good fortune of visiting my best friend Megan in San Francisco, several times a year.  She luckily is also a foodie and loves to try new places with me when I come to visit.  So when she suggested we make a play to get into State Bird - both the hottest new restaurant in San Fran and Bon Appetit's "Restaurant of the Year," I was totally game.

We arrived at 4:15pm, to try and snag a coveted table, on a Monday.  You can make a reservation two months ahead of time, if you call within a couple minutes of the release.  We didn't have one, but had heard if we showed up early enough, waited in line and were one of the first ten people, we could probably make it in.  For me personally, this added to the excitement and anticipation.  We made it in!

Although a cozy table is always nice, I prefer the chef's counter.  The ability to see the masters at work and possibly interact with them is always my first choice.  Luckily we were seated right in front of the chef and got to see all the action.  State Bird has an interesting style of service.  Items are delivered in an almost dim sum fashion where they are brought around on trays or carts with an assigned price.  You decide in that moment if you'd like to try the dish.  It was a blast.

I convinced Megan not to hold back, I wanted to try everything.  Here is what we had:

New found love of oysters!

Oyster on the half shell with kohlrabi and chili oil

Huckleberry marinated beets with goat yogurt

Guinea hen dumplings with aromatic broth

Sherry glaze smoked potato with tonnato

Garlic bread with burrata

Ciccioli with rosemary buttermilk cracker

Sweatbread polpette with blackened fig

Duck liver mouse and honeyed cornbread

California state bird with provisions (quail)

Sweet corn & garlic chive "shortstack" with Mt. Tam

Plum jam "ice cream" sandwich, chocolate & fennel

"World Peace" peanut muscovado milk shot

Happy Alexis

Next time you are in San Francisco, I highly recommend you check State Bird out.  It was truly a meal of a lifetime.

Morning Workouts!

There is no one in this world, who is less of a morning person than me.  

Ask anyone.

I have been working out on and off for years now and have always had a problem sticking to my plans.  Whether that be a particular gym, class, routine, trainer, etc.  Something will seem fun and exciting for a while, then life gets in the way and it's easier to stay home, go to happy hour, sleep in, or whatever.  I think we all know how this happens.  Although I really enjoy working out once I'm at the gym, the anticipation of working out became a problem for me.  I would sit at work and think ahead to "having to go to the gym" and thinking about what I'd rather be doing.  I am mighty skilled at creating excuses or complications, so that's what I did a good deal of the time.  The result - I wasn't working out, wasn't seeing results and felt guilty all the time.

So what to do?  I thought to myself, how do some people just do it?  There seems to be these magical people who do actually work out many times a week, do see great results and keep this up over a long period of time.  The number one reason I found was - work out in the mornings, before work.  This was a horrifying proposition to me, as a devout non-morning person.  But I realized that is just an excuse.  You can make it happen just about anything happen if you are committed to it.  I knew however that I would not be able to build this skill and make the change without any help, so I read the book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam.  I highly recommend it.  It is short, to the point and gives you concrete information on how to use your mornings to become more successful (in many different ways).

To make a long story short, this is what I committed to myself:

• Three morning workouts a week - Monday, Wednesday & Friday 
• Adding a weekend workout once body is acclimatized (mid-December)
• Each session will be 1 hour 45 minutes and will consist of quality stretching/warm-up, strength training, 30 minutes of running and a cool-down stretch
• Compete in the Resolution 5K on January 6th, 2013
• Im doing the Couch to 5K Running Program to help me get into good running shape - find the treadmill guide here
• Yoga on Tuesdays during lunch

This seemed like a good amount of work to me, but also very concrete measurable goals.  I started this plan on November 19th and I have yet to miss a work out.  I have done 7 early morning workouts to date. My personal rule is that unless I have the flu or a fever, I will go to the gym.  There is no discussion about it.  I just get out of bed and make it happen.  Here are some tips to making this work for you:

Learn to Love Morning Workouts:

1. Make a plan - Decide which days you will go, what time you need to be up and schedule it on your calendar.  Make sure that you are giving yourself enough time to complete your workout and necessary stretching.  No point in waking up early to do it half-assed.
2. Put out your gear the night before - This is a big one for me.  It is no fun to stumble around in the dark when you are tired, trying to find your sports bra.  I set out all of my gear in order of how I put it on so it will be ready to go (even my underwear and hair tie).  Make sure your water bottle is filled up and a snack is ready to go.
3. Fuel yourself - Everyone is different, but I like to have something small in my stomach before I work out hard.  I've found that a banana does the trick and tides me over till breakfast.
4. Plan a good breakfast - This is more important than you think.  Not only will you be hungry when you've finished your workout, but its nice to have something delicious to look forward to.  Make sure you stock up on some healthy breakfast foods you like for when you get home.  My favorite - scrambled eggs, Brown Cow full fat yogurt and whole wheat toast.  
5. Find a buddy - I cannot stress how important this one is if you can swing it.  My dear friend Lis started this with me and she hasn't missed one either.  Working out it more fun with a friend and the accountability does wonders.  When I'm lying in bed not wanting to get up, I remember I would be letting my friend down too.
6. Go to bed earlier - I know this is hard and it really is for me.  But morning workouts won't be sustainable if you are constantly exhausted.  With the new found free time after work, this should be easier. But like anything, it's about making it a priority and a habit.
7. Up the stakes - There are many ways to do this.  I have two set up for myself.  First off, if I do miss a workout, I will put $10 in a jar.  The money from this jar will be donated to Treehouse (my employer, but also an amazing non-profit).  Secondly, I signed myself up for a 5K at the beginning of January.  It is great to have a concrete goal and something to work towards.  My plan is to sign up for an 8K once I've completed it!

The key is to make a commitment, but remain flexible.  I quickly realized that I couldn't get through everything I wanted to at the gym, have breakfast, shower and get to work on time.  So now, instead of waking at 6am, I am pushing it back to 5:40am to get the time I need.  It is simply what needed to be done, and I remind myself of that every morning :)

Please comment or let me know if you have any questions.  I am a convert and I truly believe that if I could do it, so can you.  Or come join my morning workouts!

Yesterday you said tomorrow

It has been an awfully long time since I've posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.  Part of the fun of having your own blog is that you can write whatever you want.  Unfortunately, when you make a proclamation on your blog and then don't follow through, it's out there for everyone to see.  So I decided to give my new changes a shot before presenting them to the world.  Not only to make sure I would stick to them, but also so that I would have meaningful things to say, backed up by experience.

I have spent the majority of this past year trying to "better myself."  I have tried various different workouts, types of exercise, personal trainers, a nutritionist, self-help books, you name it!  Some of which have really stuck with me and some that have fallen by the wayside.  I have learned many lessons and discovered what seems to work for me.  As we approach the new year, I am looking forward to the year ahead.  The start of a new year is always a good opportunity to take a good look at yourself, your life, your health and your priorities.  I don't believe in New Years Resolutions, but I do believe in being intentional.  There will always be an excuse if you look hard enough.

I want to live for myself today and build a strong foundation for myself tomorrow.

p.s. more posts to come shortly detailing what has worked for me!