Author Archives: Brittany

• LA Eats

  Posted at 9:10 AM by Brittany, on November 10, 2015

  To be honest my latest trip to LA wasn’t very food oriented.

  I know…and no I’m not sick.

  

  I made it a point to try a few “firsts” starting with a trip to Spitz for their unbelievable falafel. I’d walk to LA just to eat that ball of fried chickpea goodness again. Plus I got to stuff my face while meeting new people. This girl is a gem.

  As for the treats (aka life as I know it,) the only planned pit stop was a visit to a bakery, and ohhh boy did I visit. Erin Mckenna’s Bakery was formerly known as Babycakes, which I had a negative experience with many moons ago. I’m not one to hold grudges, so I gave them a second chance.

  This was a good move on my part.

  

  I got chocolate all over my face with those treats, I had zero shame.

  Another local discovery was a post run acai bowl, $11 worth of fruity goodness. I’m glad the bowl was good, because my interaction with the cashier was less than stellar.

  “Does your granola have nuts?”

  “We have gluten free oats.”

  “OK, but does it have nuts?”

  “It’s gluten free.”

  “NUTS ARE NOT GLUTEN SHOW ME THE GRANOLA!”

  I digress…

  

  I spent more time making food than I did exploring new to me places, and I was OK with that. After a trip to a California pumpkin patch (which is nothing more than a plot of land with hot sun beating on your face and pumpkins placed atop hay, sorry CA, WA has you beat here) a new recipe was created with a white pumpkin.

  

  

  I also found my future tiny home, which was cool.

  

  

  White pumpkin pie, recipe to come on Gigi’s blog next Tuesday.

  

  Cooking food and making videos.

  In all reality I didn’t eat out a lot because I spent all my money on one banana at Disneyland. It’s OK Disney, I forgive you for your overpriced produce.

  

  Most expensive banana known to man.

  I then spent 1/3 of that on a banana twice the size the very next day.

  

  Gotta love amusement park prices. Hanger makes you do crazy things.

  Q: Would you pay $2 for a small banana? I’m not proud of this.

  

  | 54 Comments Tagged California, Explore, Food, LA, Vacation, Vegan

• Streets of LA

  Posted at 8:15 AM by Brittany, on November 5, 2015

  I can’t help but think back to this time last year when I was engulfed in Chemistry. Fall is my favorite season, yet 3/4 of my free time was dedicated to that class. Last fall flew by without so much as a hello, so this year I made it a point to enjoy each and every changing leaf.

  

  Not LA.

  This fall is flying by just as fast, but in a much more enjoyable way. I had a great trip to Ohio in September, just came back from California on Sunday (visiting this girl,) and am off to Arizona in just a month and a half.

  This is how I prefer spending my fall months.

  

  November means Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I must admit I do enjoy the extra joy that comes from this month of celebration. I’m thankful for my adventures with Gigi last week, starting with exploring the streets of LA.

  

  

  I was able to explore the land by foot each day, which as most of you know is my favorite way to explore. This allows me to see things I’d typically miss.

  Like a gaggle of black cats painted on a wall.

  

  I had a handful of great runs, two of which ended at my “new favorite” California coffee shop – Alfred {Coffee + Kitchen}. When their slogan is “But first, coffee” you’re in good hands.

  

  

  

  As a drip coffee lover I was happy to discover Alfred Coffee uses their own blend, with the help of Stumptown. I also appreciated the price on this cup of coffee, although I did find over $2 in monies during my few days of running.

  

  Their brew is called Alfred, sometimes simple is better.

  

  This is real life, from ONE run.

  The $$ I found payed for at least one cup of coffee. That’s a win in my book.

  

  LA is a fast paced city, which I could never see myself living in, but it allowed me to slow down and appreciate my time away from “real life.”

  

  Sorry mom and dad, this was too good not to share.

  They also have a solid grasp on living in the moment, at least according to the streets.

  Q: Have you been to LA?

  

  | 62 Comments Tagged California, Coffee, Explore, LA, Run

• I Want to Ride My Bicycle

  Posted at 7:20 AM by Brittany, on October 27, 2015

  I highly recommend listening to this song as you read this post, which has become my theme song for life. At least for the moment.

  Last week I took myself on a date to Seattle with one goal in mind: buy a bike.

  

  As you can see from the above photo I was successful in this endeavor, but before I get to that I want to relive my Seattle adventure.

  

  

  Despite my many trips to the city, I can never take just one photo upon arrival.

  

  I may be bias, or just sheltered, but this is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen. If anyone wants to take me to Europe and change my perspective that’d be great.

  I had the entire day to myself so I wandered, wandered, and wandered some more.

  

  

  My first stop in Seattle is almost always the same, a trip to Pike Place Market for good coffee, fruit, treats, and entertainment.

  

  

  

  After I got my caffeine and sugar fix I headed to REI. On my way there I saw many signs I was doing the right thing. Not that I needed any convincing.

  

  

  I’m not an impulsive person, and most of the time I miss out on things because I am too afraid of making the “wrong choice” or because I don’t know enough about things.

  I’ve been planning to buy bike for years now, but wanted to do some research first. After no effort on my part to do so, I decided to buy a bike based on feel.

  Complete and utter impulsiveness. I regret nothing.

  

  A 15 minute test ride, 30 minutes of paperwork, and nearly 2 paychecks later I rode away on my brand new bike. The color was not at all what I planned on, but I love it.

  I made this purchase based on the feel of the bike, and partly on the brand name. Cannondale makes great bikes, this much I knew.

  My ride back to the ferry was a bit scary as it was getting dark and I didn’t feel comfortable riding in the road like all the other bikers. Total newbie over here trying to maneuver around walkers on the sidewalk.

  

  I had to ride my bike onto the ferry (back to my car) among a sea of commuters. I pretended I knew what I was doing, but really I didn’t.

  At least I wasn’t the only one wearing sandals.

  

  The cool kids.

  A successful trip to the city, and I now have a new mode of transportation. 
  

  

  

  Now all I need to do is get my butt used to the seat, and figure out a better way to pack this into my car. For now, I’m content riding around my area.

  I also need a bike lock, a basket for my cat groceries, and strobe lights.

  

  Post purchase selfie after stuffing the bike into my car.

  Q: Do you have a bike?

  

  | 76 Comments Tagged Bike, Cannondale, Explore, REI, Seattle

• Mount St. Helens Summit

  Posted at 8:00 AM by Brittany, on October 22, 2015

  I find great joy in standing on the peaks of mountains.

  

  I find even greater joy when it takes every speck of energy I have to get there.

  

  There are two large and active volcanoes that are very well known in Washington State. One of them is Mount Rainier, which I’ve visited twice now, but to summit Mount Rainier it takes training, and somewhat extensive planning.

  

  The other one, a bit more “active,” a bit more rugged, but a bit more accessible is Mount St. Helens. This has always been on my list of “must climbs,” yet wasn’t on my radar until I got a text two weeks prior to the climb that went something like this.

  “Hey, I’ve got two permits to climb Mount St. Helens on October 17th, do you want to go?”

  

  You don’t have to ask me twice. After requesting the day off, finding a hotel for the night before, and packing my bag FULL of food I was ready.

  

  The beginning of the hike was mild, I like to think it was the warm up before the real hike. Only 1000ft elevation spaced over two miles was more than manageable. Once we hit 4800′ though, not only were permits required, but perseverance was too.

  

  

  Just past the tree line were the first signs of a blow. Back in 1980 this active volcano erupted causing a catastrophe that killed many people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. It is now known as one of the deadliest active volcanoes.

  Awesome.

  

  It was past this tree line that the hike really began, starting with the above field of boulders. With nothing but a handful of trail markers to guide us it was a bit of a puzzle to find where to go. What I knew for sure was that “up” was a solid direction.

  

  Like where’s Waldo, stick version.

  The boulders were fun, though a bit sketchy at times. The vertical climb was more mental than physical at this point of the hike. Each step needed to be precise to ensure avoiding any loose rocks.

  

  After 2500′ of ash pumice boulders, the final stretch came into sight. This is when the weather started to take a turn. The rain started to fall and the wind got stronger. From this point to the top it was a complete mental sludge.

  

  There was so much loose ash and rocks it felt like one step forward, two steps back. I had to keep my head down because anytime I looked up I was convinced I had made zero progress. I never wanted to stop, but I was definitely tired and cold.

  After sludging for what felt like lightyears I passed a girl that said something to me that lit a fire under my feet. She was struggling just as hard as I was yet with a smile said to me, “you can only go up for so long right?”

  Damn right, and thank you for that.

  
  After four hours, 2 bananas, 2 kiwis, 2 Kit’s Organic Clif Bars (obsessed), 2 servings of pumpkin seeds, and an apple – the crater from the eruption was found.

  

  I didn’t stay at the summit for long due to frozen hands and a thick fog cover, but the 10 minutes I did stay were 10 minutes of pure accomplishment.

  Photos don’t even begin to do this sight justice, but it’s all I’ve got.

  

  

  

  Unlike any terrain I’ve hiked before, and officially the tallest peak I’ve stood on (8365′) Mount St. Helens is my most unique summit to date. It also fueled my soul for more. I want to hit the 10,000′ spot on Mount Rainier so bad.

  The climb down was a bit of a cold blur, but provided a great view of the trees when we came upon the home stretch. It took 3hrs to get down making 7 hrs total.

  
  

  

  

  I’d like to thank the trail markers for keeping me sane, and lost in the right direction.

  

  From death comes life and despite the destruction the eruption caused, life is slowly but surely coming back on this volcano.

  

  Oh, and before I forget – shout out to the volcano for not erupting again on October 17th, I wasn’t quite ready for that.

  

  Q: What gives you a huge sense of accomplishment?

  

  | 54 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Mount St. Helens, Mountain, PNW, Volcano

• Fall FoMo No More

  Posted at 8:32 AM by Brittany, on October 20, 2015

  *This giveaway is now closed*

  Time out, how is it already October 20th!? YOWZA.

  Like many other souls on this earth, fall happens to be my favorite time of the year. I adore the pumpkins, the apples, the kiwis (did you know it’s kiwi season, because the kiwis are BANGING right now), and the cinnamon. All the cinnamon.

  

  But seriously.

  Ah yes, I adore fall grown foods, but I also love the activities that come with fall. Pumpkin PATCH, apple ORCHARD, kiwi…picking up at the store, and cinnamon grinding. I had an epic adventure to an apple orchard/corn maze while in Ohio, but I haven’t done a single fall themed activity since and the months are slipping by.

  

  That’s where she comes in. This is Hannah, one of my adorable blog friends over at House Vegan. Hannah and I connected over delicious vegan foods and we share a love for all things fall. Including Disneyland at Halloween.

  Hannah wrote a very clever eBook titled Fall FoMo No More which stands for “fall fear of missing out.” Genius. In her book she gives tips, tricks, and shares delicious fall themed recipes in an attempt to help YOU avoid missing out.

  I am 2/3 of the way into October NEEDING her book to help me prioritize my fall activities. What’s doable, what’s not, write it down, cross things off, make it HAPPEN!

  

  You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy the recipes shared in this book, in fact one of my favorites wasn’t even edible.

  

  Frozen shower melts..are you serious? Sold.

  Of course there are indeed plenty of edible treats too, my favorite being the salted ginger chocolate chip cookies. I’ll take them all please.

  

  Hannah’s photo

  Or the chili con cashew queso. Straw not included.

  

  Also Hanna’s photo

  Long story short: this book is adorable, it’s cheap, and it gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. You can buy a copy for less than the price of a Taco Bell combo meal (ew) click here, BUTTT you can also enter to WIN A FREE copy simply by leaving a comment on this post telling me your favorite fall activity.

  If you don’t like fall, well then I’m not sure how we’re friends. It must be because you love coffee, cats, or the great outdoors, and for that I can let it slide. As for the rest of you, share your favorites!

  Q: Favorite fall activity!?

  

  | 41 Comments Tagged Fall, Giveaway, Review, Vegan

• Prayers From Maria

  Posted at 9:05 AM by Brittany, on October 14, 2015

  This is my final post about my trip to Ohio, and it happens to be the first thing I did. Have you ever seen millions of sunflowers next to each other in one spot?

  

  

  These gorgeous yellow seed bearing stalks were strategically planted right off the highway in an attempt to bring awareness to the world of children’s glioma cancer.

  

  
  Maria McNamara was seven years old when she lost her battle with this cancer, but her story lives on within these flowers. The Prayers From Maria foundation has awarded close to half a million dollars in grants towards finding a cure.

  Talk about finding optimism in a tragic situation.

  

  

  I’ve never been a big flower lover, but the story behind this field of flowers was something I had to be apart of. I’ll never look at sunflowers the same.

  

  

  These flowers not only brought to life the stories of children battling this cancer, but life was buzzing in and around the flowers too.

  

  

  I find it fascinating to watch the life cycles of bugs and plants. Without them we wouldn’t have all this beauty. Does anyone else think it’s cool how people and bugs work together? Just me? I watched a lot of science shows growing up…

  This beautiful display of love and awareness allowed me to reflect on what is really important in my life. Sometimes the things I find to be problematic really aren’t that bad, and sometimes good things come from tragic situations.

  

  After reading about Maria’s story I learned that she showed strength and dignity while battling through her last days, offering prayers for other children battling this cancer. She was always putting others first despite her own struggles.

  There’s a valuable lesson right there.

  Life is what you make of it, so make it count.

  No questions, but do something today to make an impact on someone else.

  

  | 38 Comments Tagged Explore, Ohio, Prayers from Maria, Sunflower, Vacation

• Outdoor Ohio

  Posted at 9:20 AM by Brittany, on October 7, 2015

  It’s no secret I love being surrounded by trees. One of my favorite things about hiking is standing tall atop a mountain and admiring the world below me.

  A trip to The Holden Arboretum offered a hike like view, but with 1/20 the effort.

  

  

  120 ft into the sky, the emergent tower offered fantastic views of the trees.

  

  

  Up. up, up.

  

  Purdy little lady!

  

  I could have stared at those trees for hours.

  

  

  Even the bogs were pretty. So long as you don’t slather a Petri dish with its innards.

  

  

  I was able to explore the downtown Cleveland scene a few days after this country adventure, and the contrast between country and city life continues to fascinate me.

  

  

  I will always adore the beauty of unique buildings, and even admire the hustle and bustle of city life, but my heart will forever belong to the quite nature of the trees where time seems to stand still. It’s a much simpler life if you ask me.

  

  

  Royalty.

  I always enjoy seeing both the city and the country while visiting new places. I find it gives a solid balance of perspective, and it always confirms my love of nature.

  I’d like to experience the city life for a short time, but I don’t see myself living somewhere large for longer than a year. I much prefer the slow and quite life of the suburbs. Something tells me my running pants and socks with sandals wouldn’t fit in with the business suits and BMW’s of the city. 😉

  Q: Do you prefer country or city life?

  

  | 53 Comments Tagged Cleveland, Explore, Hike, Nature, Ohio, Vacation

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 8:00 AM by Brittany, on October 4, 2015

  1. I have two more posts about my trip to Ohio, (sheesh Brittany, talk about draaagggging it out) but in an attempt to break up the monotony and ensure other recent happenings don’t get forgotten I’m throwing one of these in the mix.

  2. Things like National Coffee Day. You didn’t think I could go without posting something about this did you? My favorite blonde haired coffee master and I got to do a two hour coffee tasting at work where we drank, ate, and laughed with customers.

  

  

  3. Fall is my favorite time of year, and pumpkin is one of my favorite vegetables. After consuming an entire can I quickly realized I am not one of pumpkins favorite humans. I could have floated to the moon with all the air trapped in my belly.

  4. I lost all my morals last week and ate the most amazing scone. It was the size of two, topped with frosting fit for a donut, and I ate the entire thing.
  

  

  

  Chocolate espresso scone from the heavens.

  5. I also ate an entire jar of Costco sized PB, because clearly that was a smart thing to do. My skin disagrees, and thanks to the new planets discovered by NASA on my face I won’t be eating nuts for a bit. The body doesn’t lie folks, skin rebellion is REAL!

  6. Solo hiking to soak up the change in season.

  

  

  7. I’m using the coin counter app again to keep track of the change I find. I want to see how long it takes me to pay off my new running shoes. Most of the $$ I find is while running, so it feels like the right thing to do. 

  8. I.AM.SO.OBSESSED.WITH.MULBERRIES.

  

  9. I’m going to climb Mount St. Helens on October 17th and I am so excited. 

  10. 100 mile September didn’t happen. Right before my trip to Ohio I lost all desire to run so I skipped a day. While in Ohio I ran 12 happy and free miles, but when I returned home the motivation escaped me again. I honored my lack of motivation and 100 miles turned into something like 75 miles. Not at all upset about it.

  With that said, I stayed true to my goal of trying to break into the 8 min mile range. I’ve never run for speed, and tend to coast in my comfort zone, but I decided it was time to push my boundaries a bit and I successfully ran 3.5 miles at an 8:41 pace.

  Boom.

  

  My first 3.5 miler at a sub 9 min average pace!

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 58 Comments Tagged Coffee, Confessions, Garmin, Random, Running, Starbucks, Vibram

• Americas Most Beautiful Farm

  Posted at 9:00 AM by Brittany, on September 30, 2015

  I assume it takes a lot to be dubbed as Americas most beautiful farm, a title that is sure to attract people from all walks of life. For me all it took was the promise of a trip to Pumpkin Village and all the apples I could eat, the beauty was just an added perk.

  

  

  

  After a less than exciting trip to Amish country I was thrilled to let my inner child fly free at Mapleside Farms. For $6 whole dollars I threw my adult pants in the garbage and gave each child at the farm a run for their money. The coffee I drank at 5:30 pm may have helped me get wild, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

  

  

  I made sure to get all 600 pennies worth of my ticket to Pumpkin Village and hit each of the stops. After jumping on a giant pillow with a gaggle of children, it was time to ride “the longest slide in America.”

  

  That VIEW!! ❤

  The slide led to the party at the bottom of the hill with activities that made me squeal louder than a hog in heat.

  

  Duck racing

  

  I won the duck race.

  Hay rides

  

  View from hay ride, the apple trees are stunning.

  

  Corn mazes

  

  I had no idea pumpkins were so hydrating.

  

  Pig rides

  

  You didn’t think I meant real pigs did you?

  We were the only adults sans children in the pig mobiles.

  

  Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I gorged myself on apples.

  I ate at least 4.

  

  

  One of my favorite memories of the apple orchard actually happened days later while I was on a plane heading back home. We were suck waiting for a handful of other planes to take off and sat inside the plane for an hour before actually taking off.

  

  I went a little stir crazy.

  An older gentleman to my left stood up to get some food from his bag just as we were ready to take off, and was asked to sit back down. He seemed somewhat panicked as he stated that he needed something to eat because he had stomach problems. All he was offered was water, so I offered him an apple.

  He graciously accepted the apple, and proceeded to take at least six photos of his shiny green fruit. Anyone that takes photos of their food gets a gold star of approval.

  

  Children’s play barn in pumpkin village, but I would totally live in this tiny house.

  I lugged my (1/2)peck of apples all the way from Ohio to Washington in a carry on with ambitious thoughts of apple pie, apple crisps, applesauce and more. Instead, I ended up baking my apples and plopping them right onto multiple bowls of oats.

  It tasted like apple pie, but was half the work.

  

  Mapleside farms gave me my first taste of fall for the year, and I can’t wait to check out some farms around my area. I only hope I get the chance to ride more mechanical animals.

  

  Q: Have you done any fall activities yet? Next on my list is a pumpkin patch and a you-pick apple orchard.

  

  | 43 Comments Tagged Adventure, Apple Orchard, Corn Maze, Fall, Ohio

• Amish Country, Ohio

  Posted at 9:10 AM by Brittany, on September 28, 2015

  You know you’re in good company when you visit someone that puts ” visit Amish country” on the to do list. Before last week I had no experience with the Amish way of life, other than the extremely scripted “reality” TV show “Breaking Amish,” which I admittedly have been sucked into watching more than once.

  

  PC Meghan, a true horse and buggy.

  It seemed to me the Amish lived a very simple life, similar to the idea of living off the grid which I love. While this is true for most Amish that abstain from things like electricity and cars, I also discovered things I didn’t know.

  Meghan and I found ourselves smack in the heart of tourist Amish country, where despite the beards, dresses, and fancy hats, the Amish people were no different when it came to making money. Whatever it takes to make that dollar, even if it’s not completely ethical (in my eyes.)

  

  My excitement quickly turned to fear when I saw a 3000 lb horse with sad eyes kicking ferociously to get out of his 10×10 pen, and when I saw an obese pig (I pray it was just preggo) having stomach convulsions. I suddenly felt like I was in a horror movie and my stomach sank to my toes. We spent ZERO pennies at this spot.

  

  We quickly moved on to check out the bakeries, because the words “homemade” and “fresh baked” spoke to my sugar loving soul louder than a morning rooster. I also got excited to check out the famous cheese factory, and I don’t even eat cheese.

  Not only were they “not making cheese today,” the cheeses has added microbial fillers and colors. Um, what? Worse than this were the “homemade” baked goods.”

  Cue the Psycho music.

  

  Well shoot, apparently my homemade goods have been missing some key ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils, polysorbate 60 (wtf?!), and artificial flavors.

  It wasn’t all scary though, the autumnal displays had my heart singing like a summer canary. Pumpkins, mums, and wagon wheels OH MY!

  

  

  

  I also found my soulmate at one of the antique shops, but he refused to come home with me after I told him I would NOT be filling his belly with Amish made cookies.

  

  All this needs is the word “my” after the word “steal.”

  After spending one too many hours trying to find a ray of hope, my hanger became unmanageable. With no explanation other than the magical white squirrels waving their tails again, I found a place to eat that was FRESH and delicious.

  Like a water mirage in the middle of the desert.

  

  

  Cute decor too!

  

  I hoovered a burrito quicker than a Dyson vacuum

  

  The ONLY item in all of Amish land, with no crazy oils or unpronounceable ingredients.

  Moral of my story is this: things aren’t always what they seem. I pray this is the case with the animals I saw at stop number one. ¡Ay, qué horror!

  I’d like to add that I am in no way “judging” the uncomplicated way of life for the Amish, and if it weren’t for the stories and sights of the living conditions for the animals I would be all about that life. I’m simply sharing my experience. 🙂

  Q: Have you ever been to Amish country? Tell me I’m not the only one that has shamelessly watched “Breaking Amish.”

  

  | 43 Comments Tagged Amish, Explore, Ohio, Vacation, Vegan

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, deep connections, exploration, and lots of potatoes.

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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