Life lately

I usually don't post on Saturday nights, but we are just relaxing at home and I was in the mood to blog. We've been enjoying our weekend so far and I hope you have too!

Earlier this week, I shot this photo while walking to the bus stop. I had just finished an interview on the radio (taped, not live, luckily) and I was so relieved to be done and heading into work. The leaves under my fantastic and comfortable Tsubo boots were just too pretty not to capture.



I go through phases where I become obsessed with cottage cheese. This week, I put it on everything and also ate it plain. I really enjoyed it on toast as an after work snack and in my lentil soup.



Last night, we walked around the mall after enjoying a dinner out. I almost always take stairs vs. the escalator when I can, so I loved how Aurora Healthcare encouraged people to be well and take the mere 30 steps to the top with their "30 steps to a healthier you" slogan.



This morning, we woke up and packed our gym bags for a trip out to Mukwonago. We met my parents at the beautiful new YMCA and enjoyed working out by doing cardio and weights and then hitting the pool. I am not much of a swimmer, but I did love their walking pool, the water slide, chilling in the whirlpool and swimming with the kick board. We had a lot of fun with my parents and I hope it's something we can do more often.



Once we got home, I wanted to chill on the couch and read My Berlin Kitchen. I am only 55 pages in so far, but I like Luisa's story and recipes. There is a recipe that really sounds delicious and uses quark--it's called quarkauflauf. I had actually just read about it in Alysha's article on quark that was featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Entree section on Sunday. I hadn't read Luisa's blog, The Wednesday Chef, before picking up this book, but I am following her site now because I like the way she writes and I love Berlin.



I think reading about Germany made me crave pretzels. Luckily, I had picked up this Deutsche Kuche pretzel dough at Aldi a couple of weeks ago.



This is the pretzel I was most proud of, although I realized after that the ends didn't need to extend down so far.



The verdict? They turned out pretty good. They didn't taste like the "bretzeln" we adored in Germany and reminded us more of bread.



Well, I am off to listen to Spotify, drink some wine and keep doing laundry. Night!

Rainy weather = an impromptu at-home workout

It was pouring here tonight, so once I got home, I wasn't too keen on going back out in the rain to drive to the gym. I am not normally that wimpy about rain, but I just wasn't feeling like getting rained on anymore (blame it on waiting at the bus stop outside).

I came home to find a surprise package in my door, which contained a workout video called Fit in 5: Ultimate Body Blitz! I received it from Self magazine. Basically, I was a "loser" in another one of their giveaways, but they gave me this video anyway. So cool, thanks Self! It was as if the mail gods were telling me to stay home and try the video out, so that's what I did!



Mid-workout break for a self-portrait...



...and the last of my Fitmixer aminos! I don't think I am going to buy them again. After doing research, I am not so sure I need aminos.



Overall, I loved the 20 minute strength exercise I did tonight. It definitely got my heart rate up in a short period of time. I really liked how the teacher, Violet Zaki, combined cardio and strength in exercises that were completely new to me. I worked my glutes and abs hard and those are the areas I need to strengthen most.

The only negative was that the teacher moved through the lunges really quickly and that is a move I have to take my time on, so I did exactly that!

I am looking forward to trying the yoga, pilates, dance and cardio workouts. I'll report back on those soon! I think this video will be great to pull out when I can't make it to the gym!

Dinner tonight included this quick and easy Seeds of Change quinoa and brown rice mixture I picked up at Costco.



I enjoyed the flavor, but Craig thought it tasted like plastic.



Do you enjoy working out at home? I like bringing out workout videos or the Wii Fit when the weather isn't great outside, like today. That especially applies to when snowy evenings in the winter.

Wordless Weekend

Le Reve Patisserie and Cafe in Wauwatosa

If there is one restaurant in my hometown that I have been talking about getting to for ages, it's Le Reve. I finally accomplished that goal on Saturday. My friend Danielle and I get together at least once a month and we planned ahead on a shopping and Le Reve date. Both of our husbands don't like French food (or so they think) and so I had the perfect dinner companion to go with.

Oh and please excuse my iPhone photos. I wish I could have brought my DSLR, but that just wasn't possible because we went shopping at Mayfair before and after dinner!

We got there around 5:15 and found the restaurant busy, but nowhere near as packed as when we left. I would definitely recommend going early!





Isn't the interior adorable?





We were seated upstairs and it was cozy, yet not cramped at all.





Danielle was shocked by how small her diet coke was, but I told her it must have been the kind they sell outside the US that isn't sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.



We started with Crostini de Brie and literally said oooh and aaah as we ate it. Total comfort food!



I ordered a crepe with vegetables (legumes printaniers) for my entree. It was tres bien!



We both still had room to share a dessert, so we ran downstairs to check out them out and decide on what to get. They were all so beautiful!







We finally settled on a Gateau de Noisettes--a Hazelnut Cake. The sweet older couple next to us teased about which of us would get the sole raspberry. Danielle got it. I preferred to have the toasted hazelnuts. I am a huge hazelnut fan. Have been ever since I lived in Europe.

I only wish I could have snapped a better photo. This was an amazing cake!



I also ordered some macarons to bring home with me. Can you believe that I had never had macarons before? I have always admired how pretty and petite they are, but never had the opportunity to try one. Not even in Paris.

I had to dig out my DSLR on Sunday and shoot some photos of these gorgeous and delicious cookies.







While I thought the pink was pretty, I actually preferred the green and cream colored cookies.



I hope to get back to Le Reve very soon! I'd love to try breakfast or lunch there next. Or maybe just go for dessert and coffee sometime.

Le Rêve Patisserie & Café
7610 Harwood Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
(414) 778-3333

7 things I learned over the weekend

Reflecting back on the weekend, I realized that I "learned" a lot and wanted to share those things with readers, as quirky as some of them are.

1) My current khaki colored pants should not be worn anymore. I wore them shopping on Saturday and the view of my backside was not pleasant. The pants I was wearing just aren't flattering anymore, if they ever were. I'm on the hunt for a new pair. Also: I must do more squats and butt toning workouts! I am sharing something I don't like about myself because I want to change it.

2) Cleaning out my closet is kind of therapeutic. I switched my summer clothes out and brought out the fall and winter items. I also simplified my shoe selection for the new seasons. I am happy to also report that I have a pretty big Goodwill pile and I will also attempt to sell some items at a consignment shop soon. I need to go through this process more often.



Karma decided to sleep in the middle of my laundry/sorting pile.



3) My husband is amazing. I knew this already, but that guy spent most of his weekend digging out old, moldy caulk and redoing the entire tub and window. We also spent a fair chunk of time at ACE hardware in the caulk aisle and had to make two separate trips there. Fun! Glad that project is done. Can we buy a new house now?



4) Buying a new pillow helps me sleep better. It has already forced me to be more of a back sleeper, which is great. I tend to sleep on my side or stomach and then I get these huge lines on my face in the morning. I know those can't be good to keep getting long term. And hooray for the pillow I picked out being only $10 on sale at Target.

5) Showering at the gym isn't really that bad. Since the caulk had to dry for 24 hours, I had to shower at the gym after my workout on Sunday and while I have always dreaded it, freshening up there wasn't that bad. It just takes being organized with my supplies.

6) It took a visit to a French restaurant over the weekend to realize that my French comprehension and pronunciation is better than I thought. While I have never taken a formal French class, spending time in Switzerland with French Swiss classmates, traveling in Paris, and my natural language skills helped me feel more confident with the language. I even managed to pronounce the dessert my friend and I ordered correctly!

7) And finally, don't use a priority mail box for certain situations. Due to this, I spent about 45 minutes in the post office on Saturday. I have to credit the two ladies I worked with at the post office though--they were kind and patient. I am happy to have found a decent post office near our house.

It wasn't the most relaxing weekend, but I felt like I accomplished a lot and at least I got out of the house to enjoy shopping and dinner out with a friend. More on that in my next post.

What have you learned about yourself or life lately?

My week at a glance

Wow, this week flew by! I can't believe it's Friday tomorrow, hooray!

Here is what I have been up to.

Thanks to Partners Hub, I got to try all sorts of various chocolate milk with my work lunches all week.

The Horizon was my favorite.





I have been enjoying looking at the beautiful mum plants planted along Wisconsin Avenue on my bus ride to and from work. I need to buy some mums of my own next year. They are just so pretty. I love fall!



I found a cool new book at the library this week. I have been enjoying looking through it so far. I always like to check out magazines I don't subscribe to, like Cooking Light.



I have been eating Sassy Cow ice cream for dessert all week. I love this salted caramel flavor!



I got to get away from the office for most of my Thursday and spend it at a conference held at the Harley Davidson Museum. I didn't get to go in the museum yet, but the buildings and grounds themselves were cool to walk around!







It seemed like all of my shoes were falling apart this fall, so I have been buying a lot of new ones, including these lovely $12 black patent flats from Target (they were on sale last week). I am not usually that keen on patent, but they look nice and dressy for work. I wore them today and they were very comfortable. Much better than heels!



No photo to show, but Craig and I went to yoga tonight and it was great. We hadn't gone together in a while and it was fun to practice with him. While my usual favorite teacher wasn't there, I enjoyed the new poses our substitute teacher came up with, especially the ab ones.

I hope your week flew by like mine did! It's almost the weekend!