Monthly Archives: July 2013

• Hangry

  Posted at 9:39 AM by Brittany, on July 31, 2013

  Monday was my sisters 29th birthday. To celebrate, my family and I went to eat at Red Robin. The weather was nice, which permitted us to sit outside. Big mistake. While it felt good outside, I think the waitress forgot there were people out there because it took WAY too long to get our food. I was getting so hangry I was ready to fight.

  

  My brain was like a forest fire until this burger was placed in front of my face. The second I got my food I turned into a tornado and it’s a wonder I didn’t choke. Sometimes I wish I had a set of gills that I could use to breathe through while I run train on my food.

  

  I would have eaten the plate if it weren’t plastic. Do not cross me when I am hangry.

  

  I look something like this.

  I don’t go out to eat very often because: A. It can get expensive, B. My waistline doesn’t like it, and C. I like to know exactly what I am eating, and with restaurant meals that’s almost impossible. With that said when I DO go out to eat, I take my “vegan” diet with a grain of salt. I like to go to all vegan restaurants when I can, but sometimes I go elsewhere.

  This meal for example is a Boca burger. The patty is vegan, but I have no idea what’s in the bun. Normally whole wheat buns are vegan, but I don’t ask when I am at restaurants. I don’t want to be “that person” that asks for every single ingredient, and if I were I should just stay home. SO I don’t eat out often, but when I do I close my eyes and assume my bread is vegan. C’est la vie..vegan with benefits at its finest.

  My booty has started to resemble Jupiter lately and in order to combat the severe case of belly bloat I have, today will be a day of SMOOTHIES! Bye bye broccoli gas, hello flat belly. Lots of fruit means LOTs of fiber. I like to ensure my colon never looks like an LA freeway in the middle of rush hour traffic. I need smooth sailing every day.

  

  Thankfully my work has fruit. I’ve been drinking this smoothie nearly every day. So simple, but so good. Splash of strawberry puree (I balance this with some water) splash of soy milk, a banana, and two packs of blueberries. Who says you have to get coffee at a coffee shop? Free smoothies never tasted so good.

  Q: Do you turn into a tornado when you are hangry?

  

  | 70 Comments Tagged Hangry, Red Robin, Smoothie, Starbucks, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 5:21 AM by Brittany, on July 29, 2013

  1. Lately my life has been very textbook. I literally do the same thing everyday. I wake up, I coffee, I eat, I let coffee do its job, I run, I work, I run, I eat, I sleep, I work. My days are a bit numb, but I’m glad to be busy. I’m working 11 days in a row and I don’t even care.

  

  My own smoothie creation.

  2. If you dare me to do something I’ll most likely do it. Add money to the conversation and it’s a sure go. I made a dollar yesterday just to bite into a brown banana. Don’t people know that this is when bananas are best? I didn’t dare spill my secret, and my dollar is safe in my pocket. I imagined biting the banana skin is what it’s like to be a Tasmanian devil. 

  3. While taking awkward photos proving I occasionally wear girl clothes before the wedding I went to last weekend, I noticed my uneven scapula’s. When I was 13 I broke my collar bone, and clearly the broken size droops. I had no idea..haha.

  

  I was trying to show off my runners tan, and instead I have a pathetic tan and uneven shoulders. Please tell me you notice it… it’s on —> side.

  4. I don’t like telling people I’m a vegan. In fact I don’t really like calling myself a vegan. The title is too stereotypical these days and too many people judge me before they know me. Just because I don’t want to put dead animals or their teet milk in my body, doesn’t mean I run around with butterflies and rainbows. My blog is another story obviously.

  5. My meals have been completely unimaginative lately. I need to find my spark in the kitchen again because I miss it. All I eat are a lot of veggie bowls with some kind of protein base. I also still lather my face with peanut butter, I just can’t get enough. Oh and fruit. Basically I am pretending I am a survivalist in my kitchen and eating off the land.

  

  

  Lunch break with lady green.

  6. I am already craving fall. Crisp morning runs, crunchy leaves, pumpkin GALORE! Only a couple more months!! Just the thought makes me twitch with excitement. Twitch.

  7. My cat is a ninja. That is all.

  

  Climbing up jackets on the wall.

  

  Observing his prey (aka me while I am running..what a creep!) Also please don’t be jealous of my TV circa the 1700’s.

  

  Fangs of death.

  8. My confession posts are becoming more frequent. My topics to write about are too small for their own post, but just important enough to deserve being mentioned. It’s time I work on a new recipe. I haven’t had cake in weeks and my desire to shank is coming back.

  9. Somehow the Starbucks bag makes it into a lot of my pictures. The wannabe photographer in me thinks it’s artsy. Hanging out with my cat all day will do that.

  

  10. I used to wake up at 3:30 AM every morning for work. Today I woke up at 4:30 AM for work and felt like I was hobbling around like a drunk monkey. HOW did I do this every morning? Just another example of the wonder that is the human body. After an hour and an IV of coffee I was agile and glad to be up before the sun, and the world.

  Q: Who likes to wake up early? I do I do, but my ideal time is 6AM.
  

  

  | 84 Comments Tagged Cats, Coffee, Confessions, Random, Running, Starbucks, Vegan

• Love is in the Air

  Posted at 9:02 AM by Brittany, on July 23, 2013

  Saturday I went to a wedding. This was my first wedding in two years, and maybe my third wedding total. I went to weddings as a child, but I don’t remember them, so for my adult life we will just count the ones I know of..which makes the total three.

  

  “Hi. I’m Brittany and don’t know how to stand for pictures when I am alone. I am awkward.”

  

  Shameless selfie/proof I don’t always look like a wet running dog.

  Truth be told, I love weddings. I love the energy of a good wedding, and I turn to complete mush during the ceremony. This wedding was different though, this wedding was unique.

  

  The groom(s) yes..plural

  This was the most adorable wedding. Backyard, country, relaxed, eclectic themed bliss. The groom on the left has the most amazing decorative eye, and I want him to plan my wedding. Their house is so tranquil it’s like a secret garden getaway.

  

  Random sink coming out of the porch? LET’s PUT A PLANT IN IT! Genius..

  

  Old chair? Blue spray paint and a hole for a plant..LOVE THIS!

  

  This wedding was almost completely DIY and there is something so romantically adorable about that to me. So much love was put into creating such a unique experience.

  

  

  The bar, complete with orange solo cups.

  

  Follow the sign, you don’t have to tell me twice! THE GARDEN in the background..OHH I just swoon.

  I couldn’t help but secretly wish I had offered to make cupcakes for them. Not only would I have had an excuse to bake, but to be able to secretly give all these people vegan cupcakes would have been amazing. Owell, next time..

  

  What’s a wedding without a photo booth? I think I prefer this rugged “face in hole” style better. Get you cameras out, this is a snap it yourself photo booth.

  

  

  I could not get over the adorableness of his outfit.

  

  The altar

  The love and support from the friends and family of these two men was amazing. It’s refreshing to be around people who are accepting of all people, and I feel blessed to live in a state that is allowing everyone to show their love. Equality at its finest.

  

  

  Caught laughing

  Q(s):

  • Do you like going to weddings? YES YES YES! 
  • Traditional church weddings, or unique outdoors? OUTSIDE! 

  

  | 76 Comments Tagged Equality, Summer, Wedding

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 6:50 AM by Brittany, on July 19, 2013

  1. My dad once told me, “a sandwich is not a sandwich without some crunch.” I couldn’t agree more. Chips make for the ultimate crunch in a sandwich, but so does kale and chard.

  

  

  Perfect bread:greens ratio.

  2. I’ve consumed way too much coffee lately. Sigh.

  3. I won the most amazing giveaway a few days ago. I was lucky enough to finally try Lindsay’s healthy bites and OH MY GOSH. They have been taunting me for months, but after tasting them..I died and went to heaven. Please order yourself some, NOW!

  

  4. I was supposed to store my healthy bites in the freezer, but that was not necessary. I knew they would be gone within a few days…I was right…

  5. I got my first pair of compression socks in the mail. They are cozy.

  

  Black..to match my soul.

  6. I signed up for my third half marathon in October. Whoop whoop. I am super jazzed.

  7. The only reason I carry a bag while I’m away on day trips is to smuggle food with me.

  

  Food and a rubber-banded wad of cash…to buy more food.

  8. I’m almost ashamed at the amount of PB I have eaten in the last week. Almost, but not really. I will be getting more the moment I hit publish on this post.

  9. My cat has learned how to climb up jackets that are hanging on the wall. Such a ninja.

  

  Please notice the tongue slightly sticking out. Such a creep.

  10. This post is ridiculously sporadic and has little to no depth. For a more meaningful post go back and read my last post about my amazing running. I love running. YAY running.

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 75 Comments Tagged Cats, Confessions, Half Marathon, Random, Running, Vegan

• Who’da Thunk

  Posted at 7:30 AM by Brittany, on July 17, 2013

  I’ve been running now for about two years. I started running solo, then I started to run with a buddy, now I am back to running solo and I am thriving more than ever before. The moment I let go of looking at my watch and obsessing over my pace, it was as if a brand new runner was born, a runner that I am starting to love!

  I’ve been working on my speed lately, and my goal is to get a sub 9:00/mile for at least      3 mi or more. I went for a 3 mi run last week and my pace was EXACTLY 9:00/mile! SO CLOSE! This is still the fastest 3mi I have run, so that is a success in itself. I hadn’t run over 5 miles in almost two months, and decided to see if I still had what it took to run 8 mi.

  

  NOT only did I still have the endurance, this was my fastest 8 miler ever. SUB 10:00/miles! My longer runs are naturally slower than my short runs, but not this one! Not only did I move quicker than normal, but this run FELT GOOD! I didn’t feel tired at all! Well my legs did, but that’s for many reasons. MY endurance is what I was focused on. The small speed work I have done is PAYING OFF for my longer runs!

  

   

  I’ve always loved running AFTER I am done, but lately I have been loving the run WHILE I am running. I still struggle getting out the door at times, but once I am moving I love it. I am finally starting to consider myself  “a runner” and it feels damn good. You know what else feels good? When big companies like your photos on Instagram….

  

  Bahaha to be fair they “liked” quite a few peoples photos, but I still felt special. Anyway, running is rocking my world right now and I am so thankful for my body’s performance.

  In non running related news, today is Disneyland’s 58th birthday! To infinity & beyond!

  

  I want to gooooo…

  Q: Have you had any amazing workouts lately that rocked your world??

  

  | 73 Comments Tagged Asics, Disneyland, Running

• The Power of Kale

  Posted at 5:17 AM by Brittany, on July 15, 2013

  Have you ever seen the show, “Monsters inside me” on TV? If you haven’t I will give you my cliff notes version of the plot. Basically it’s a show that reenacts true stories about people getting parasites inside their bodies either from eating something, swimming somewhere, laying somewhere filthy and so on. It’s quite frightening really.

  One episode in particular haunts me to this day. A group of people traveled to Mexico and went out to eat at a local restaurant. They were all infected with a type of parasite that came from rat poop. The real kicker is HOW they got contaminated. SLUGS ate the poop, and crawled their nasty way all over the lettuce in the restaurants garden. The restaurant didn’t see the slug(S) and they were CHOPPED up with the lettuce and fed to the travelers. OH MY LORD.. if you’re a regular to my blog you’ll know slugs are my biggest fear. Keep this story in your short term memory, I’ll come back to it.

  The other day I went for a hot, hilly, sweaty run. Upon my arrival home, my stomach had its mind set on one thing: A GIANT bowl of cold greens. (You know where this is going…)

  

  Now let me just say, I had a garden last year. This garden was very successful, and one of the most successful things I planted was my Swiss chard. I didn’t harvested the chard on my own because I was always fearful of what I would find lurking in the leaves. One day I felt brave and decided to go get some chard..all by myself. MISTAKE! SMACK dab on the middle of the leaf I grabbed was a slug the size of a quarter. Needless to say I flipped shit.

  I never harvested that chard again.

  OK back to the other day. I had just finished mixing my bowl of spinach, chard, kale, and regular lettuce, this bowl was huge. Like bigger than my head huge.

  

  Just as my broccoli was finished steaming I saw it. Right there on one of my kale leaves..was a slug the size of an uncooked grain of rice. Don’t ask me how I saw it, I have unbelievable slugdar (slug radar.) I froze. This bowl was too big to waste, I had to overcome this fear of mine, and eat the damn bowl of greens. I went through EVERY single leaf. Once I confirmed this was safe, I ate the entire bowl. Kale has some serious power.

  

  Topped with mustard and nooch.

  From watching that TV show, to finding slugs in my garden, I was bound to find one in the produce I purchased at the store. I never eat greens without the though crossing my mind, and the worst part is that I may have missed tiny slugs in the past because I didn’t see them. OHhhh the horror. I’m just glad I saw this one before my colon had to jump ship.

  So what’s the point of this story? Kale (and other greens) aren’t only powerful inside your body to keep you healthy, they also are powerful over your mind and can help you overcome the disgust and fear from seeing your biggest phobia slime its way across your lunch. There was no way I was going to let that bowl go to waste.

  

  20 minutes after my lunch I found this deserted snail shell. I thought it was cool..go figure.

  Q: What’s your phobia? If it’s some kind of creature, would you eat food that you saw it crawling on? I think the hot run I went on fried my reasoning skills because I don’t know how I talked myself into eating that bowl…HAHA! 

  

  | 53 Comments Tagged Hot, Kale, Running, Vegan, Veggies

• Bloggers

  Posted at 8:43 AM by Brittany, on July 12, 2013

  Can I just say how much I love blog friends? There are a few people I have become very close with in the last year, just from blogging and reading each others blogs. Text messages, phone calls, vacation plans, and even unexpected gifts have taken place!

  

  The best gifts are the ones that are personal. If you know me, you know I love to bake (specifically cupcakes) and I LOVE CATS! HELLO cutest cupcake liners I have ever seen! This amazing gift came from one of my FAVORITE bloggers Lily. I love this girl so much I am planning to attend her wedding next year with another favorite blogger, Megan! It takes a blogger to understand the bonds we form from all over the world, and it’s a bond I wouldn’t trade for anything. Not even cupcakes! THANK you again Lily, this made my day!

  Megan and I met in real life two months ago when she was visiting Seattle, and we became instant BFF’s. I am so excited to road trip it to Michigan with her next March!! Any other bloggers in the DC/Virginia area should HOLLLERRR for a giant blogger party meet up!

  

  My best friend sent me this picture on NYE, it made my day life.

  Happy Friday everyone!!

  Q: Who’s coming over for kitty cupcakes!?

  

  | 56 Comments Tagged Blog, Bloggers, Cats, Cupcake, Running

• Blissful Blueberries

  Posted at 7:16 AM by Brittany, on July 10, 2013

  Working in a coffee shop means I get to work around drool worthy baked goods all day long. I have been lusting over the blueberry scone at Starbucks since it was first launched a few weeks ago as apart of the new La Boulange treats. This scone is made with dairy, so I took the inspiration and baked my own dairy free scones!

  

  I took my scones up a notch though and added orange zest and squeezed an orange on top, with some sugar for a crumbly finish. Craving satisfied! If you look close you’ll see the zest!

  

  I used a pre-made flour base so I don’t have a recipe for you, but perhaps this post will inspire you to bake some scones to have with your morning coffee! I had just purchased some fresh organic blueberries that were on sale, it must have been fate!

  

  If all else fails, there is a Starbucks on every corner and you can go buy a blueberry scone from them, I hear they are delicious! I bring some home to my mom anytime I can! Bringing home scones for my family means I get to eat more of these scones, win win!

  

  I still had plenty of blueberries left after making these scones, and decided to throw some in with a bowl of quinoa. From there I added some pistachios and topped it all off with some lime juice! SO simple, but so delicious!

  

  I don’t have a recipe for this either because I just eyeballed everything. I used a half cup of (pre)cooked quinoa (which comes out to be more like a full cup after the quinoa is cooked,) around 3/4 cup of blueberries, and around 1/2 cup shelled salted pistachios. Squeeze as much lime (or lemon, or ORANGE!) on top as you desire!

  

  Close up shot.

  I LOVE blueberries, so perfect for summer.

  Q: What’s your favorite flavor scone? 

  

  | 60 Comments Tagged Baking, Scones, Starbucks, Vegan

• Hot Hot HOT!

  Posted at 7:13 AM by Brittany, on July 8, 2013

  The temperatures have been (finally) rising in Washington and we are away from 50-60 degrees and into the 80 degree range. This is nothing for some of you, but for me I die. I die at night when I can’t sleep because it’s too hot, I die in the day when I get into my car and can’t breathe until my AC gets going, and I die when I try to run while it’s still 80 out.

  

  The heat just ZAPS my energy, but I am really loving the fact that this is my “slower” pace lately. My slower pace used to be 10:30-11:00 miles, but for the last month it’s been 9:30-9:40 miles. I can feel the difference when I am running slower, but even this “slow” pace is fast for me. I talk about pace too much, but only because I get so excited!

  

  Check out that vein in my hand…

  The real test will be when I start running longer distances again, but I am still content with my 3-5milers. On top of melting out of my own skin, I am 90% positive I had a slight case of strep last week. Aside from having someone in a lab coat swab my tonsils and smear my mouth bacteria on some agar agar, I let the symptoms describe themselves. My tonsils were the size of ping pong balls, my throat keept me awake at night it hurt so bad, and there were small white bumps on my throat. So gross, and def strep symptoms. I rode it out though, and tried at home remedies like ACV and honey with cayenne.

  I mentioned in my last post that I just can’t hang when it comes to eating ice cream on a hot day, but give me a cupcake and I will pummel through walls. Even poorly frosted cupcakes get a chance. This frosting melted into a sad puddle, but was delicious!

  

  Much less heavy than ice cream, but still satisfies my ferocious sweet beast. I also like my brownies and cakes cold, so they get put into the fridge immediately. Along with cold cakes my diet has been consisting of cold fruit and cold grains. Starbucks just started selling the most epic salad, and it just so happens to be vegan!! I am so obsessed, man I love my job.

  

  

  Gorgeous layering!

  The dressing is delicious, but way too oily so I only use a skosh, just enough to give the kale some flavor. I’m a plain grain eater anyway. Well done Starbucks, well done.

  While I enjoy the heat in moderation, I have to admit that I am already looking forward to the fall months. October is my favorite month of the year, and I’m already day dreaming about all the pumpkin and cinnamon I will be consuming around Thanksgiving. Too soon?

  Q: How do you handle the heat?? I’m a big wimp, I like 65F and sunny..anything more and I wine like a squeaky door handle. I don’t know how my family in Arizona handles the 120F months. Too hot, TOOOO HOT! 

  

  | 63 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Garmin, Hot, Running, Summer, Vegan

• Good People

  Posted at 7:30 AM by Brittany, on July 6, 2013

  Last weekend I spent some time with old/new friends. I say old/new because while they are new to me friends..I have met them before because we all went to high school together. A mutual friend recently came into town and brought us all together. Since the three of us have no friends we decided to make a trip to Seattle together.

  The original plan was to go to a couple farmers markets, but we only made it to one and were only there for about 8 min. Enough time to snap some pictures & drink some juice.

  

  Fruit wine!

  

  

  Raspberry Tetris

  The remainder of the day was spent figuring out public transportation (I have never ridden so many city buses in my life, and it was a blast of an adventure), eating good food, and spending time looking at thrift shops, bakery’s, and coffee shops.

  

  While this bakery had an adorable picture worthy sign, they did not have anything worth purchasing inside. So I did what any Seattle lover would do, and I walked across the street to Starbucks. I got some weird looks for getting a drip coffee while it was 80F outside.

  

  This is how I double fist. Water and coffee!

  It’s no secret that I love to walk, however the temperatures were getting higher and higher throughout the day, and it was hard to walk at times. You know you’re with good people when despite the heat you still go out of your way to walk for some sugar.

  

  

  This homemade ice cream shop has one vegan ice cream option, which was delicious, but reminded my why I don’t like ice cream on hot days. Call me crazy, but I feel so sick and weighed down with the heaviness of frozen cream on a hot day. Nonetheless this coconut milk chocolate chunk ice cream was SO good. Must remember for a COOLER day.

  

  I really liked that my ice cream was the same price as all the “normal” ice creams. Usually I find that I am paying more for a vegan option (which is lammmeee) but this place charges by the scoop regardless of the flavor! That’s the way to do it! All in all it was a fun and exhausting day with new friends.

  Q: What foods do you stay away from on a hot day? Ice cream, fatty foods, HOT meals, anything heavy. 

  

  | 47 Comments Tagged Adventure, Ice Cream, Seattle, Starbucks, Vegan

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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