Last Sunday, I had my 10 miler on the calendar. My last and longest run before my half marathon next Sunday the 9th of October! EEEKKKK! It’s always intimidating, but it feels so good to be done with it. Not only do you get that sense of accomplishment and all those feel good endorphins in your system, but you finally feel fully prepared (or as prepared as you’re ever going to feel) for your race! I met up with Erica at Kendall yards. We did 1.5 miles toward Riverfront park and back. She left, and I finished another 7.5 solo.

I think visors are the most dorky thing ever, but they really do serve a purpose when running hahaha

And on a side note, whats with all the crazy clowns lately???

I love how Spokane bolted down these orange adirondacks with a view

And these green ones too!

Another one of my running selfies. You’re welcome. haha

I started eating this GU at about mile 6. I love this flavor, and I love even more that it contains caffeine. These ones are my fave, it gives you a little extra boost.

I passed Life Center, I love that their motto is “Loving God, Loving People”

So, I’ve never done the Spokane half before, but I’ve heard that A LOT of it is the same as the Bloomsday course, which to me means there will be a TON of hills! So, I must say that I was not disappointed AT ALL to see that Doomsday was shut down for construction 😦 I still went up that way because I’m curious like that. But I highly doubt the course will take us that direction.

Here is some more random Spokane beauty from that day on the pavement

Passed 1000 steps again!

More turkeys! I think I may really be becoming the turkey whisperer

Mommy Daughter Date ❤

Sometimes you need that one on one time with your kiddo. So Makenna and I hit the mall to just hang and spend some quality time together 🙂 She wanted to get her GPS watch set up, but T-mobile couldn’t figure out how to do it with a data line, and I didn’t want to spend $35 per month for a watch, so that was a bust…

On our way!

We’re Beliebers LOL

We had pretzels and boba tea for dinner! Her choice

Here she was at her last soccer game, killin’ it in the rain!

And here she is reading to Lila, Dan’s little sweetie ❤

Kids are the best, they really do remind you that it’s the little things in life that truly matter. Plus they’re so darn cute… most of the time anyway haha

Acai

So, as many of you know, I’m borderline obsessed with acai bowls. They taste amazing, are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and boost your energy and brainpower naturally, through food!

Here is one I got last week from Method North. They blended the acai with peanut butter, topped it with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, granola, coconut and cocao nibs! Amaze!

So, I was super excited when I saw that Wal-Mart started carrying Acai! The said acai bowl from method runs about $8, but I found a box with 8 single servings of acai for $12.97

They look like this

I topped mine with this granola, along with banana and coconut. It turned out so good!

DAMMIT!!!

Here are some other random running pics and eats from the week:

YUM!

Double Yum!

Run starting from the G.U. Campus

This is under the Division bridge, where we put the paddleboards in

So pretty this time of year!

Lantern Fest is here again!

My home dye job turned out pretty good!

Chip, guac, and pico from Rancho Chico. Looks basic, tastes amazing.

It was raining so I decided to run inside on the treadmill this morning… blah… my least favorite kind of running, but its necessary sometimes… Speaking of this morning. I need to send a shout out to my boyfriend Daniel Feldhusen for leaving flowers on my doorstep this morning. Honestly made my day a million times better after a rough night last night. Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of my Dad’s death 😦 He’s the best and always knows how to make me feel better ❤

I love me some running analogies…

Have an awesome weekend everyone!! Wish me luck on my half marathon Sunday!!

I had the privelege of completing my first true long run of this training for the Spokane Half Marathon! I could not have asked for better weather. I got to the trail head about 6:45am. It was chilly, a little overcast, and about half way into the run it started not raining, but misting. It was perfect!

And look what I saw! These guys are huge up close and I’m not gonna lie, I was scared they were going to try and attack me. I just watched a video on Facebook the day before my run  of a mailman having to use his walking stick to keep a flock of turkeys away from him!! They’re savages I tell you!

I love seeing this mile marker. Only one mile to go!!

I finished up my 8 miler, and even though this is my longest run yet, it felt better than any other run I’ve done! I think all the iron and vitamins are kicking in!

DONE! And looking pretty rough, but I’ll take it ❤

Makenna’s Soccer Game & Ryan’s Party

Next up was my daughters first soccer game of this season! I sure love my girl! She works hard and likes to try new things, wonder where she gets that 😉

We got to head over to my brother’s house for my nephews birthday party, he barbequed up a burger for me and just happened to have a glazed donut, so BAMMM. I just ran 8 miles, I deserve it right haha

Good Eats

We made fajitas using leftover venison steak. OMG these were so good that I had to bring them for lunch the next day. Dan also approved.

I know a lot of people have mixed feeling about eating venison. And I did too for a long time. I remember being traumatized as a little girl seeing a deer cut open hanging from the rafters of my Dad’s garage and swore I would never eat it. But I grew up. I realized the health benefits of venison. And decided it actually is for me. And having a boyfriend that hunts makes it even that much more appealing.

Here are some health benefits of venison:

• Venison has more protein: 26 grams to 23 grams in beef
• Is free range, grass fed, and usually organic depending on what they eat
• Venison also has more vitamins and minerals per serving than beef does. It has advantages in iron, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin.
• Eat a 3-ounce serving of roasted venison, and you’ll get 10 percent of the DV for thiamine, 15 percent of the DV for zinc, 20 percent of the DV for iron and phosphorus and 30 percent of the DV for riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B-12. The B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B-12 help you turn the food you eat into energy, keep your skin and hair healthy and play a role in brain and nervous system function. You need zinc for forming proteins and DNA and healing wounds, iron for forming red blood cells and phosphorus for kidney function and creating strong bones. (livestrong.com)

I baked a chicken breast in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then topped it with pesto, mozzarella, and sliced cherry tomatoes. To Die!!

Dan and I made a breakfast stop at Boots Bakery downtown and ordered their pumpkin waffles. They came with Chai butter on top and syrup. By far the best waffle I’ve ever had! And when you order coffee, it comes in a random mug. I guess I’m the worlds best boss haha who knew!

And of course, gotta love pho! Especially this time of year ❤ This was from Pho Thinh, but I my fave is still Pho Van. Pho Sho!

What NOT to eat!

I stopped by Trader Joes on my way to work to pick up some kombucha and  something for lunch, so grabbed this. Sounded so yummy and healthy

OMG I wanted to spit it out immediately! GROSS!!  It tasted like expired baby food haha Don’t do it!

This is also from TJ’s. SUPER good, until you look at the nutrition facts…

Mind you, this is a really small portion and I ate the entire thing for lunch one day last week, whoops 960 calories!! UGH!

Oh, and I should probably put the donut burger in this category as well!

I think being healthy is a bit of a roller-coaster ride. There are going to be ups and downs. We try our best, there is so much temptation, birthday parties that include cake, a home cooked meal at Mom’s house, nights out which include wine or good beer, etc. but as long as we do things in moderation, we’re going to be ok. I think we need those days to make us try harder on the other days. It’s always going to be a battle, but we must never give up! Anyways, have a beautiful weekend everyone ❤🍁❤🌞❤🍊 

 

 

 

 

As I’m amping up my training getting ready for the Happy Girl 10K and the Spokane Half, I’ve been feeling fatigued during and after running, more so than normal. So naturally, it’s time to increase supplements. I always immediately go for an increase in iron since low iron runs in my family. That combined with being a runner means I definitely should be supplementing.

Always take your iron with vitamin C for better absorption.

I’ve also been taking fish oil to help libricate my joints and turmeric to keep inflammation low.

I take an amino acid pre workout drink with BCAA’s (branched chain amino acid) before I run to help with energy and recovery. In addition, I drink protein shakes, I do a multi vitamin, zinc, and plan on adding magnesium.

What do you take? Any recommendations?

Got out for a few miles! Doesn’t the Spokane River look beautiful this time of year!?!?

And the trail ❤

Random shadow pic

And, I found a lucky penny

Great Aunt Peggy’s Wedding!

Makenna and her cousin got to be flower girls ❤ and were throwing rose petals at everyone, love that they were having fun!

Makenna and Lila looking so adorable!

Dan’s oldest, Kaylynn. She’s beautiful, love this pic!

Kaylynn and Kylee ❤

My Mommy and Me ❤ being romantic hahah

I got to keep a bouquet and this yummy lemon cupcake for the road! So good!

We took the scenic route home around the Pend Orielle River. Looks like a potential cover photo if you ask me… I love social media obvi

Logging Road Hike

Dan and I finally had a weekend together with no kiddos, so we decided to go for a hike up behind his cabin. I love taking the girls, but sometimes its nice when its just us. We hiked around the normal trails, but did a little exploring and found some logging roads. I’m pretty sure there was about a foot of super soft dirt, so we were real clean after haha

Tons of tractors all around too. Isn’t Mojo a cutie ❤

This dirt was Thicka than a Snicka

At the top

I made Dan pose for his senior photo hahaha

He got payback  at our hike last weekend tho LOL

Loved this view

Finished the night by the fire ❤ ❤ ❤

 

Fish Tacos!

So, I love the regulars that come into the bar. Bruce and Angie brought in some purple cabbage and cucumber for Miranda and I. So I thought fish tacos were appropriate 🙂

We used this recipe from Pinterest. The slaw was cabbage, cucumber, pineapple, and a squeezed lime. So good!

 

Dan made the tilapia on the cast iron skillet, and we also topped it with Trader Joe’s Cilantro dressing, and an avacado which pulled the whole recipe together nicely.

Speaking of cucumber, try this!!

Have a beautiful weekend everyone ❤

 

Personally, I have a really hard time running without music unless I’m running with a buddy. The world has ended if I forgot my headphones on a run! I have a lot of friends that run, and the most common question I get asked is “what do you listen to when you run?” Well, honestly, that is constantly changing, but in general; I like tunes with a good beat. I’ve recently discovered a feature on Spotify where you listen to music consistent with your pace, or your desired pace. Under the Browse option, there is a selection for running.

There are quite a few playlists to choose from, but I find that I prefer the one called “your running mix.” Spotify bases the music off of your personal liked and saved music and playlists.

You can either start running and let Spotify detect your pace, or what I usually do is hit skip and set my pace at 155 steps per minute which is equal to a 10 minute mile. I like getting my music going before I start running.

And voila!

I must say there are quite a few songs I have to skip, even with this list. For example, I love country music, but I HATE running to it! It just doesn’t make me want to run! It makes me want to drink beer and lay in the sun! Not a good combo right 🙂

I also love “Caked Up” radio on Pandora! It is mix of good songs remixed with a faster beat, it’s really good!

Here is what is currently on the “workout” playlist:

1. Never be like you ft. Kai by Flume
2. Be right there by Diplo, Sleepy Tom
3. Elastic Heart by Sia
4. High you are Branchez Remix by What So Not
5. Middle by DJ Snake, Bipolar Sunshine
6. Don’t let me down by Chainsmokers, Daya
7. Video Games Jakwob Remix by Lana Del Rey
8. As the rush comes, Gabriel & Dresden Remix by Motorcycle
9. Use Me by Bill Withers
10. Set adrift on memory bliss by P.M. Dawn

Sometimes I go for rap or rock, it just depends on my mood. I say go with what motivates you. Some people even listen to podcasts. Do what works for you!

I know I’m WAYYYY behind in the tech world, but I’ve recently discovered bluetooth headphones. GAME CHANGER!! OMG where have I been?! These are the best thing since sliced bread! You can sort of see them in this photo, the cord just goes behind your neck. No more accidentally tugging and ripping the earbud out of my ear! On the minus side, yet another thing I have to remember to charge ughhhhh

Hiking at Rimrock

Dan is such a sweetie and knows I love doing new things. So he took us up to Rimrock, along one of his old cycling routes. We headed out the old Sunset Highway, left on Greenwood Blvd and followed that up to the trail head.

These cuties were cheers-ing  to good times!

There was a tunnel so we had to check it out. I think I was more scared of this than any of the girls! It looks a lot scarier than it actually is.

I’m pretty sure this was Mojo’s favorite part of the hike, it was really cool in there

Being silly!

After Rimrock, Dan showed us 1000 steps at the cemetary. I have heard about this but have never been! It was hidden off the road and if I were alone, probably would have missed it! It was spooky and there were NOT 1000 steps haha I’m not sure how old these are but I’m guessing over 100 years, they are falling apart and could be a little dangerous!

We climbed to the top and checked out a small part of the cemetery, a very old part!

This looked so creepy, but when I peeked in, it was just a tool shed lol

So sad. A 1 year old 😦

Feeding the ducks at Manito. which I’m pretty sure is not allowed anymore… SHHHHH  In our defense, they were small organic crackers 😉

My brave girl made it to the top!

We ended the day at the Milk Bottle with 3 very tired girls!

Whatever it is you love, get out and do it!

 

Create the life you want, then go out and live it ❤

XOXO

Sami

So, some people I know are just as crazy as I am and agreed to sign up for the Spokane to Sandpoint Relay! This is a 200.2 mile run. It starts on the top of Mt. Spokane, drops down and back up to Indian Trail, then curves down through Riverside State Park, to Kendall Yards, then takes the Centennial Trail out to Coeur D’Alene, then north through Rathdrum, Priest River, and finally to Sandpoint. This is a long but beautiful course. Our team started out with 10 people, but apparently 4 had to drop out, so we ended up with 6, when most teams have 12!! Yikes, we were officially considered an ultra team, we were one of 3 running the S2S.

We had a prelim meeting to discuss all the details: food, driving, meeting place etc. It was nice because I had never met Jenni before and hadn’t seen anyone on the team in a while!

So, I’m far from organized, unless it comes to race day, one might suspect I have OCD, but trust me, I don’t! I always like to make a list just so I don’t forget anything. I forgot to charge my phone once before a half marathon, my phone died (which is what I play music on while I run), and I was in misery. Lived and learned from that one. So here is what I do now. Comprehensive lists! And this one was no exception. I had to pack for over 24 hours of misery  fun!! We had to prepare for 24 hours of running with 7 people in a vehicle together with no showers! Hence the wipes and deodorant!

---

This is what about half of it looked like

I slacked and didn’t get a ton of pics, so I stole some from Chana, with her permission of course 🙂 We met up at 5:15 am, loaded up the car and headed to the top of Mt. Spokane. We were all in great spirits! Everyone was excited, and even more so when Chana and her husband Eric and brother in law Mike pulled up in the decorated Tahoe!

Almost all of us went to Rogers, so we went with a pirate theme!

Complete with boxes to check after each leg of the race

Meet the team!

Stephanie, the team captain! She took care of all the technical race stuff!

Chana, who helped so much with getting everything organized, shopping, decorating, and food!

Jenni, she was awesome and stayed positive the entire time!

Mike, he was great! Hes a physical therapist and made us all do our stretches! Thank God!

Kris, he was the fun one that made me feel like it was ok to drink a beer after pretty much each leg of the race haha

Eric, he was our die hard driver and drove us all through the night!

And me after my 91 degree 7 miler dyinggg

I have to say, I adore these guys! It wouldn’t have been the same without each and every one of them!

Pic, courtesy of the BF ❤

Mike’s costume game was on point for the win!

As Bob Ross!

As Cheech!

There are a few things I would do differently. And I’m writing this because we’re going to do another one next summer. Probably Hood to Coast (Mt. Hood to Seaside OR) if we get picked for the lottery.

• I would set up a Facebook group and organize training runs with my teammates, a sort of motivational page that would keep everyone, including me, on track and held accountable
• I would pack my own meals. Chana was so sweet and bought a ton of food from Costco. Which was so nice not to have to worry about it. But when I run, I get used to the same food and hate changing it up on race day
• I would make sure we have enough people! I loved the small group for hanging out, but it was really hard only having one van, where most teams have two. If we’d had 2 we could have had time to actually park and rest, or cook a meal rather than an all nighter and a quick sammy on the go
• I would do way more research on each leg, the time of day, temperature, and elevation change. I definitely didn’t do enough of this and it led me to be less prepared than I would have liked to be
• I also would have set more time aside for group meet ups before the race and prior to the start, I didn’t help as much as I would have liked to with meal prep and decorations!
• I planned on getting up at home and doing a treadmill run at 2am, which didn’t happen. But trust me, next year it’s going down!

The 4 mile run at 1am was no joke! Not only was I getting tired, but my eyes were playing tricks on me and I kept thinking I was seeing a man about to jump out of the bushes! It was dark and scary, and I was all alone! But I finished it!

Kris finishing his midnight run!

Kris was having calf pain from the start, he was a trooper but couldn’t take the pain after the 4th leg. So we all finished our 4th legs and decided to call it. To be honest, as much as I would have liked to make it to the finish, I wasn’t sad about not having to run my next leg. 9 miles at what would have been probably 5 am on no sleep just didn’t sound that appealing at the time. We finished a total of about 125 miles at a time, each of us running over 20 miles individually. That’s a success in my book!

After photo:

We looked pretty good for feeling like our mascot:

Another Race…

So, we talked about running the Spokane half marathon, which is October 9th. If you had asked me right after S2S, there was no way. But now its been a couple weeks and I’ve forgotten most of the pain, so it’s about to happen!

No turning back now!!

Here we go…. Have a beautiful weekend everyone!! XOXO ❤

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, what can I say. Summer 2016 has been one for the books! Makenna has grown so much and I can hardly believe she has already started 2nd grade, I have a new boyfriend whom I adore, have been getting outside, trying to see friends and family as much as possible, and have been doing my best to stay active most every day. As summer winds down, I’m going to shift my focus on getting back into a routine, kiddo to bed early every weeknight, and try harder to say no to things I just don’t have time for. But first, wanted to share a bit more of my summer! I have posted about lots of fun stuff, but wanted to share the other stuff I missed.

I finished up a little DIY project on an old picnic table my brother Shane gave me, here’s the before:

I also did a pinterest project like this:

Here are the after photos, couldn’t have done it without Dan’s help!

 

I love fixing up my house, I’m just not always the best at it!

Surprises from the BF are the best ❤

He surprised me with food too! A Sweeto Burrito, on their grand opening day northside

Sarah also brought me some amazing food, caprese chicken and tomato soup with fresh basil. I slacked and ate all the chicken before I took a pic, whoops. That’s the fat kid in me

Car selfies, its a love hate relationship

Cat ears at the mall

OK, so I normally don’t LOVE kombucha, but I like to drink it about once a week for the probiotics and all the other health and digestion benefits. This one is by far the best one I’ve tried, sold at Trader Joe’s

This was from the Starbucks in Target, she was amazing!

Makenna’s 7th Birthday!

Our kitty Django is growing so fast!

I’m obsessed with these turkey roll ups. Turkey, cream cheese, mixed berry jelly, an avacado slice, and sprouts! On a side note, why are sprouts so hard to find these days… Ecoli Eschmoli…

Paddleboarding=Love ❤

Ashley G and I

Such a good day!

Makenna doing flips and flips and flips on the bouncy trampoline at the mall

More running selfies, because that’s what I do haha

Wakeboarding!

My mom dancing with Dan ❤

I can vouch that shes an awesome dancer, used to compete in swing! I love this woman!

Walla Walla selfie …I actually clean up pretty nice when I’m not in workout attire haha

I pack salads for lunch way too much

Family lake days!!! One of my faves

Nolan!

Ray killin it!

My #1

Paddleboarding Adventure!

So, Dan and I parked at Pier 1 Imports and put the paddleboards in under the Division St bridge. Apparently we should have been on the south side of the river under the bridge because now there is a ramp specifically for this! But we didn’t mind

It was such a beautiful scenic route. We saw all kinds of huge bridge peices under the water, lots of trash :(, and tons of homeless people living under tarps on both sides of the river. We paddled East to No-Li Brewery, and had a beer

Yummy homemade BLT’s

My fave kind of new shoes, with my fave lil shopper

We had a blast shooting guns up in Ione

Beach Ready! And BTW this book  was amazing, recommended by none other than Dan. Great story if you’re looking for a good read!

Pho Sho!!!

I see some funny stuff as a bartender!

Fun lake day at Twin with friends that have twin girls who are 8, Makenna was in heaven!

….more running pics

You see these stickers all over town on cars that say 26.2 or 13.1 or 140.6 for an Ironman. Apparently this guy is a beast haha

These are pretty much amazing

And so is this organic bread!

Golf day with this cutie ❤

Coeur d’Alene day with my main girl ❤

We went out on a Saturday, which also happened to be the day before CDA Ironman! I love seeing all the people who have trained so hard to be a part of this, such an inspiration!

We stopped by Fine Brewed to pick up an Acai bowl and a BLT to take with us to the beach, love this place!

I couldn’t ask for a better view!!

I can honestly say, this was the first time I’ve ever seen anything this beautiful at a gas station haha

Nothing better than fresh tomatos from Grandma and Grandpa’s garden

First time trying Sunflower Seed Butter. I gotta say, it was really good, but still no comparison to almond or peanut butter!

Another yummy TJ’s find

Sometimes you just don’t have time for the sushi bar but you still wanna satisfy that craving! I don’t recommend this, I still need some real sushi in my life STAT

Makenna with one of her besties, someone at the store called them divas, and I can’t disagree haha

First day of 2nd grade!

Yup, yet another!

This is Brittany Howard, from the Alabama Shakes, one of my most FAVE bands ❤ That voice tho

I recently went to a work meeting that was Catered by Christ’s Kitchen. They put women to work who have been victims of domestic violence or addiction. They give them on the job training to help get them back in the work force. Love it. The food was delish too

At Kendall Yards

I can honestly say I’m finally happy again in life. Losing my Dad was the hardest thing I’ve been through, and it taught me a ton. It taught me that sometimes things in life happen that are out of your control, and there is literally nothing you can do but deal with them the best way you know how to. Some things take longer for some people, sometimes we have to put on a happy face for our children or go to work when we would rather cry, or go for a run just to clear our heads.  In the end we will figure out how to be happy again. We just can’t give up on ourselves It’s been 3 years and not a day goes by I don’t miss him, think about him or wish I could have just one last conversation with him.

Have a great week everyone! Peace and Love ❤

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie and Lance planned a beautiful wedding, and everything about it was first class. We started with rehearsal on Friday night followed by rehearsal dinner at Angelo’s in Coeur d’Alene.

There were probably about 40 people and I did not hear one complaint about the food or wine! So good! I ordered the port wine and gorgonzola ribeye steak and it was amaze!  Highly recommended! Thanks Kellers!

We headed back to the hotel for some wine and a girls night. Renae had Natalie read all her “Letters to the Bride.” They were truly heartwarming and lets just say there was not a dry eye in that room, especially after Leslie’s tearjerker!  Every letter was personal and had at least a few great memories or advice in it! Such a great idea!

Here’s a quote from one of my faves ❤

Wedding Day

Saturday the wedding festivities began. I decided to wake up extra early and get my run in for the day! I love Coeur d’Alene, and happened to figure out that the wedding venue was only a couple blocks from the Centennial Trail. I hopped on near the park which brought me down and around to the boardwalk, then I went around the park and back through downtown.

As I got closer to the beach, I noticed some orange street cones and people blocking the streets off, wasn’t sure what what going on until I got close to the beach and realized it was the Coeur d’Alene Triathalon, so of course I had to stop and check it out/cheer people on/ look like a creeper all alone taking pics while running haha

I saw this that I need in my life ASAP! “Let’s go be runners” OK! Don’t mind if I do!

This kind of made me miss my tri days! Finishing a triathalon is a different sense of accomplishment than straight running. And the training is a lot different too.

Pretty sweet these paddle board rental shops are popping up everywhere! I wish Spokane would get on this bandwagon (a post is coming soon about paddle boarding in Spokane!)

 

CDA is another quaint beautiful little town! I could live here! So many people all over being active and eating healthy all over the place, it’s very motivating! The city does a great job of  being fitness friendly.

Im guessing the loop was about 2.3 miles or so, but yet again, my Garmin decided not to co-operate grrrrr

Wedding Stuff

So, just a warning, I got quite a few pics right up to the wedding, but then I decided to put the phone away and have fun …or maybe just had nowhere to put the phone in my bridesmaid dress, but thats neither here nor there haha here’s a bit of what I got:

Venue pic from their site, Blackwell Hotel

Bride getting her hair did

Flower girl too ❤ Watching her made me wish my daughter would have been with me for the weekend, but she was across the lake with her Dad.

Selfie! And if anyone is interested, this headband is from the icing 🙂

Being super serious

Love this Mrs.

I’ll let Nattie share her actual wedding photos when she gets them 🙂 Can’t wait! They were done by Crystal Madsen, the best in town, and she went to Rogers with us to boot ❤ The wedding was a beautiful success, very laid back and fun!

The Morning After

By the time we got out of bed everyone had already eaten breakfast and was packing up. So Dan and I decided to take a walk through the town and do some exploring …yes… in our matching shirts!! GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE! HAHA

Ummm somehow Dan managed to change???? Wait, what??? haha Anyway, we stopped at this cute shop called Fine Brewed. It was very eclectic and had everything from acai bowls, beer, wine, smoothies, protein shakes, salads, to fresh pressed juices. It’s cute inside and they played great music.

Pic from their site

We ordered the basic acai bowl which was topped with banana, granola, strawberries, and coconut. It was sooooo yummy!! I believe Method also has them if you’re looking for somewhere in North Spokane. We also got a protein shake that had honeydew melon in it, that was great too! Highly recommend this place! Here is a link to their facebook if you want to check them out @ Fine Brewed.

Oh and Sundays they have a bottomless mimosa bar SAYYY WHATTTT! I’m not into champagne, but I know tons of people who love it!

Love this quote and thought it was appropriate for a wedding recap blog post:

This one is a little more me, anyone who knows me, knows…

Have a great week my friends, peace and love, Sami ❤

 

 

 

A couple weeks ago, 5 of my best girlfriends and I rented a mini van and headed to wine country to help Natalie kiss her single life goodbye!

We tried this lemongrass ginger beer first thing, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who loved it!

Renae was the Maid of Honor and found this amazing condo in downtown Walla Walla

The rooftop patio was my fave ❤

Complete with a roof too hot tub and a grill!

I’m pretty sure I want to live here… someday… when I can afford to move all my friends and family here 😉 haha kidding, I love Spokane!

So, Renae made these awesome bachelorette kits! She even had her mom sew the bags they came in. So cute!

They were personalized with everything from bracelets to penis whistle’s (I’m pretty sure Sarah is never throwing hers away) to homemade wine glasses that match our bridesmaid dresses. Oh, and the hangover kits too. She is so thoughtful.

Downtown Walla Walla Run

So the first night there, we pretty much hung out, went to dinner at a mexican restaurant, and didn’t get too crazy. Thank God because I’m training for a relay race and had to get a run in!

We were close to downtown so I decided to leave from the condo and check out the wineries and such.

And a few other cool places. The courthouse was beautiful.

And had to take a photo of this Record Shop haha

Such a cute town, love the big American flag in the middle of downtown!

It was so awesome seeing things in town at a slower pace than driving, I thought 7:30 would be a great time because there would be no traffic or people, and there wasn’t. The bad thing were all the stop lights. I guess I didn’t think that part through, and no, I’m not the runner jogging in place at every red light haha

Back to the hotel!

So, we got up and went to Clarette’s for breakfast, which was a really good hole in the wall if thats your thing. It’s definitely mine! Then we hit up Dutch Brothers, Emily’s obsession, so she could get her fave coffee the size of her head! She’s obsessed! Can I just say that I love these girls ❤ No drama!!!

Once we got all ready, we took a million pics (sadly, not on my phone) and headed to do some wine tasting!

First stop was Kontos Cellars, this was my fave wine we tasted! I regret not buying a bottle, but didn’t want to pack that around all day…

I stole this pic of the tasting room from the net, I had to because Natalie, future Mrs. Keller, wanted a pic with the cork “K”

Then we finished our wine-ing at Plumb Cellars with a wine slushie!! OMG so good!

 I think I’m getting old because while the rest of the girls went bar hopping, Renae and I decided to head back to the condo and relax

I’ll leave you with our “morning after mug shots” haha

Hope you guys have a fab rest of your week ❤

 

 

 

 

As the Spokane to Sandpoint Relay gets closer and closer, my motivation gets better and better! I was getting nervous because my back injury was not getting better fast enough, but after physical therapy, I was golden! The hard part about taking a break from running is that, if you don’t use it, you lose it. So basically I had to start over, ughhh I always tell myself I am not going to do this, but it never fails!

So, like I said, starting over is rough, but you just make yourself do it and it does get easier! Here are some pics from the last couple weeks of my running excursions. And let me tell you, the times on the old Garmin were starting to scare me. But now, they’re almost race ready!

Track Running

This morning was 3 miles on the trail starting at Boulder Beach, I love that stretch at 7:30 am! The sun is in a great spot, its cool, mostly shaded and beautiful!

I’ve never seen anyone down below the dam like this, so obvi I had to take a pic!

There was a rowing team finishing up, I couldn’t quite catch them, but got a pic of them getting out.

I’m obsessed with my new shirt, GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!!! I love this, but I also love that Dan and I have matching shirts haha pics to follow 😉

So here is a problem I have been having. My Garmin is REALLY getting on my last nerve. I get the “locating satellites” message for like 10-15 minutes, then I start the timer, but it won’t GPS my run. So I’m forced to go back to my old ways using the Run Keeper app, buuttttut I also use Spotify for my music, which is fine, except when I try and take a picture it overloads my phone, my phone powers off and KILLS my phone battery 😦  Anyone else having these first world problems?? Can I fix this? HELP!!!

But, to be completely honest, it’s probably good for me to run unplugged sometimes. No music, nothing tracking me, just me and the pavement. It was kind of nice to focus on my breathing, the views, the smells,  and all the wild animals for a change ❤